A Few Personal Thoughts After Years Of Coaching Hundreds Of Teams
June 18, 2013
No matter how big the team – there are standard guidelines to follow. Of course, the number one reason to run any business is to make money and have a better life; therefore you should always build your business to sell. Michael Gerber said you should sell your business after about seven years, or at the least, reinvent it. I have had the privilege of coaching teams that earn 9 million a year in gross commission income and I have also coached teams that have done as little as a couple of hundred thousand in business. No matter what the total volume, there are a few issues that stand out in my mind. • The bigger the team the better you become at leverage, but the trick is to grow the bottom line as the team grows. Far too many teams make proportionately less money because they’re no longer selling. … more »
Saturday Sales Tip
June 15, 2013
In a highly competitive industry like sales it is critical that you maximize every lead, every prospect and every opportunity. One moment you could be generating tons of business, the next you could be struggling just to schedule a meeting. For good times and bad, here are 3 tips to ensure you take full advantage of every sales opportunity: 1. Continuous Goal Setting Top achievers are always setting goals for themselves. They set annual goals that they strive to achieve, but they also set small goals to keep themselves motivated throughout the year. For every sales call, meeting, presentation, etc. set a goal for yourself. It doesn’t matter how unrealistic the goal is, as long as it motivates you to do your best. 2. Ask Yourself ‘Why?’ Staying motivated is so important for success in sales. In order to stay motivated you need to ask yourself “Why?” Why do you … more »
Managing Remote Employees
June 11, 2013
Remote workers can increase a company’s competitive advantage by allowing them to hire and retain better candidates, reduce office costs, increase productivity, and have more highly motivated employees. In today’s global workforce, the majority of US companies have some portion of their personnel working remotely from their main office. Companies now need to do more with less, and statistics have shown that employees are more productive when they can work from a home office, cutting down on commute time and disruptions. While some companies are embracing the move away from strict 9-to-5 workdays and cramped cubicles, others are nervous about what this new model means for productivity, accountability and overall staff performance. Here are 6 strategies to successfully manage remote employees: 1. Measure What’s Important In the “good old days” measuring staff performance seemed easier because managers could see who was pulling their weight and who wasn’t. With off-site employees … more »
Tell A Story
June 8, 2013
You cannot rely solely on your 30-second elevator pitch to convert leads to customers. You cannot always connect with a prospect using traditional sales techniques. Sometimes you need to connect with the prospect on a personal level. As a salesperson you need to be able to sell yourself through a story and not just through a sales message. Here are a few tips on selling yourself through a story: Use Point Form Your stories should never sound like you have told them 1000 times before. People tune these stories out. You want to speak naturally and be relaxed. Instead of writing out a story to tell a prospect or group of people, write a few points to run off of. This way your story will feel genuine and have a greater affect. After awhile you won’t even have to look off your bullet notes. Beginning, Middle, and End Every story … more »
“Self Praise Is No Recommendation”
June 4, 2013
The most valuable form of advertising is word of mouth. This marketing represents a win-win scenario for the advertiser. Firstly it’s free and secondly it’s the most believable. You can say whatever you like about your business, your customer service, your awards, your experience and longevity in the industry, all of which may be true and verifiable, but if a relative stranger sings your praises to an acquaintance it carries much more weight. Testimonials provide the much-needed social proof that can sway a wavering prospect into a paying client. So it’s important to take full advantage of this invaluable resource. Here are five tips for making good use of testimonials: 1. Avoid The Temptation To Edit – Testimonials work best when they are in “real language” that reflect the writer’s intrinsic speaking patterns. Grammatical and language quirks help the reader connect and verify the authenticity. 2. Purpose Specific – Position … more »
Saturday Sales Tip
June 1, 2013
Sales slumps are going to happen to everyone at multiple points in their career, and a lot of the time they will occur after the salesperson experiences their most success. Sometimes these slumps are left entirely up to chance and have nothing to do with the individual and their abilities. Sale slumps are unavoidable but it’s important not to get discouraged and lose your focus. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! Here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. Sales Slumps Are Normal Even the best salespeople in the world will go through slumps. They are normal. Just keep working through them and you will soon experience a long streak of successful sales. 2. The Plateau Effect Sales will often plateau after a sales slump. Again, this is normal. During this period salespeople are trying to integrate new skills/techniques into their sales process to … more »
Automated Summer Marketing
May 28, 2013
Outlining and automating your marketing strategies for the summer months will allow you to spend more time with family and friends enjoying the warm summer days and balmy nights. Having systems in place that work for you while you are on the golf course, the boat, at the cottage or the beach will alleviate stress and keep your business rolling. Automation is a key theme in email marketing that has grown enormously in recent times, in fact the use of automated campaigns is up by 30%. This shows that brands are using more automated services and becoming more strategic in their marketing campaigns, which is a move in the right direction. However, an in-depth look reveals that they are missing out on some crucial basics. There are some critical factors that need to be understood by marketers about automating their email marketing. How is automation beneficial? Many marketers feel that … more »
Improving Decision Making Skills
May 21, 2013
Top business executive and entrepreneurs face countless decisions in their day-to-day routine, the most successful use a highly-evolved and stylized balance between “go with your gut” and rationale. The development of these decision-making skills was formulated by learning from mistakes, listening to advice and an innate hunch of what needs to be done. There are 5 things to consider when making business or leadership decisions: 1. Risk Analysis – Successful leaders balance skepticism with openness. If a hunch only exposes your business to a low level of risk, then it’s worth exploring without too much up-front thought. High level risks like changing locations, staff or suppliers require more in-depth consideration, so apply the brakes and examine the idea from a more analytical standpoint. 2. Determine The Motivation – Successful business leaders and entrepreneurs are no doubt capable of making rational decisions which is a driving force behind their success, but … more »
Saturday Sales Tip
May 18, 2013
There are some salespeople who sell by the book and those who just do what works. Nearly every salesperson has their own method that works and maybe even their own special “technique”. Regardless of how they have found success in the field, there are a few things that every salesperson should live by. 1. 60% Listening. 40% Speaking. I think you could argue that it’s actually 70% listening because of how important uncovering and understanding the client’s needs are. If you aren’t listening, you’re probably saying the wrong things. 2. A two sentence sales message You need to be able to communicate why they should choose you and why you do what you do better than your competition. You need to do this in two sentences or less to be effective and for them to take an interest. 3. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Don’t spend too much … more »
