What a crazy year—it seems like it was March just yesterday! But we’re moving into that time of year when we need to close out 2020 in as strong a way as possible. And we also need to be looking at 2021 and Q1, Q2.
So what are we going to do in the remainder of 2020 to close more sales deals as we roll into the New Year, and close them faster? Our goal as a corporate sales training company is to help you win!
Here are 10 time-tested ideas that work for me.
1-Present Options and Recommendations in the First Sales Meeting
I’ve said this before in the past, but I want to reinforce this simple fact: the conversion rate is 70% higher when you recommend a product. A full sixty percent of people make decisions based on FOMO, that fear of missing out.
So why it is that so many sales people go on a discovery meeting and then leave that meeting to create a customized solution and proposal?
In some instances, I get it—this specialization that you’re trying to bring in front of your customers. But it’s hard enough to get meetings as it is, much less have to schedule a meeting, go to discovery, leave the meeting to create a proposal, come back and track the person down to present the proposal. Then after all that they’ve got to think about it. And then you’ve got to track them down again.
You might say, “My process is a lot more streamlined.” But I doubt it. I’m here to be real with you.
So when I’m on a sales call, I’m ready to present options in that very first meeting. And I am ready to make recommendations and proposals on the spot.
2-Use Research to Your Advantage
If you want to move from the transactional selling that has been necessary during COVID to relational selling, you’ve got to use research to connect more deeply with customers.
As I share in my sales training, I use tools to do this. LinkedIn is one obvious example. And some of us have LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and it’s a really great tool. I’m also using a Chrome extension with a website called Crystal Knows (www.crystalknows.com). And the shortcut is that Crystal does virtual personality profiling. The extension syncs with LinkedIn when you’re in Chrome to pull up personality profiles and traits of the people that you’re looking at. This tool is not free, but it’s not expensive, either. And I use it all the time.
So, I’m using research to connect more deeply with sales clients. It’s called “building quick trust.” And “quick trust” must be built within 5-10 seconds. You’re going to do that most effectively by having more information on the customer, their company, etc. So dig in on LinkedIn and make sure you’re prepared for all your calls.
I realize this is kind of 101, but are you actually doing it?
3-Ask Better Questions
Your questions simply have to be better. One of your main questions that makes me nuts and that I hear when I’m doing sales training is this: “Tell me more about your business.” C’mon, you’re better than that.
Or “What keeps you up at night?” Okay, c’mon, you’re better than that one, too. And then, “What’s your budget?” You can do better than that.
Those are three questions we do need to ask, but maybe ask them in a more vibrant kind of way so that we don’t sound like every other salesperson that’s calling on that customer.
Here are four that I really like to ask: 1.) “When you agreed to meet with me, what business challenge or problem were you hoping that I could help you solve?” That is one of my absolute favorites.
The next one is similar, but it’s more of a storytelling kind of approach. 2.) “If I could give you a magic wand that you wave, what would you want to see happen as far as our relationship goes—what’s your buy-in from me?” Or “If I could wave a magic wand for you, what business challenge could I help you resolve?”
The next question I like to ask is, 3.) “When you think about competing here in our community and against others in your industry, do you want to be seen as having some sort of a presence out there? Do you want to be competitive? Or do you want to be dominant?”
And the reason this works for me is because, sure, I can ask them their budget for buying whatever product I’m selling. But they’re going to give me a number based on their reality.
Let me stress it again, when I ask this question and give them those three options, that’s going to lead me towards a budget number that’s based more in actual reality–rather than simply their reality.
The other question I like to ask on a regular basis is, 4.) “If everything went perfectly, if our relationship was perfect, you buy the product I’m selling, and then … what do you want the end result to be? What would the perfect end result be for you?”
Or, more simply, you could say, “If I’m going to keep you for a lifetime as a customer, what do I need to do?”
I think those are just better questions than, “What keeps you up at night?”
4-Prepare Yourself to Talk About COVID Delays
Delays are happening right now. People are delaying Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. Be prepared to talk about it.
Jot down the most common objections you’re going to get on one side of a piece of paper. And on the other side jot down what your answers are going to be. And be prepared for delays.
5-Revamp Your Proposal
You’ve got to think about revamping your sales proposal based upon the research that I hit on before. Let me give you two tidbits that might help motivate you to do this.
From our Sales Training World research, we’ve found that when we looked at 1,200 pages of 100 different proposals that 79% of our test users simply scanned the proposal, and only 16% actually read it. So I think we sales pros need to remove about 50% of the text from our proposals.
Another telling find in our research is that nearly all of the most successful businesses we looked at had proposals that presented three pricing options.
And then, the last finding was that these successful businesses used proposals that were full of pictures and a wealth of examples.
So, be thinking of the research out there and revamping your slide decks, your capabilities decks, and these kinds of sales tools. And again, remember that only about 16% of people actually read what it is you’re putting in front of them.
6-Give More Than One Pricing Option
Why do I love three pricing options? I love three pricing options and I stress them in my sales training because if you give somebody one choice, it’s sort of a yes or a no. If you give them two choices, now you’re starting to get them thinking. But if you give them three choices, they will typically buy the middle option.
So you create your pricing and your proposals around the middle option.
To reiterate, present three pricing options. I want to see a good, better, best in almost every situation. Or a presence, competitive, dominant—or a gold, silver, bronze. However you word it, present three pricing options if you want to sell more.
7-Set a Very Specific After-Proposal Follow Up Plan
So you’re on the meeting (remember, I suggest you go there with a proposal), and you’ve gone there ready to sell them something—ask great questions, share testimonials, and show them what you’ve got.
Then when the client says, “I need to think about it,” you’ll be ready for that too, and you’ll be ready to implement three steps, which are No. 1, tell them “Let me back up and in 48 hours check in.”
Then No. 2, if they need more time and 48 hours isn’t enough, ask them, “If you need more time, what are we going to do?”
And finally, No. 3, ask “What if we miss each other?” which is how I psychologically try to program my customers. “If you stand me up for this date, then what?”
It’s also worth noting that we need to be prepared for when their answer is “no.” I’m not going to beat them up about it. But I might say, “I’d rather get a ‘yes,’ but if it’s going to be no just tell me ‘no.’” Or, “If the timing isn’t right, tell me ‘no’ so I can quit bothering you.”
A very specific follow up plan that I stress in my sales training is: after I get finished with my sales call, I check back in 48 hours. So, consider these follow-up statements: “If you need more time, let’s text about it.” “If we miss each other, then what?” “What do you need?” And then, “If the answer is no, tell me ‘no,’ I’m not going to beat you up about it.”
8-Talk About the Love You Have for Your Customers
A lot of times salespeople feel like they don’t want to talk about their clients. But you have to.
In the land of COVID, stranger danger is real. People are more likely to buy from you if you’ve helped other people be successful. That’s why I’m always open to share and talk freely about my other clients.
Yet, in nearly every slide deck I see, in just about every proposal that I see, there’s no mention of anybody else that we work with—our clients. Why is that?
“Well, you know, we really can’t talk about other people,” many say. But stop. We’re not talking about being unethical. I’m talking about singing from the mountaintops.
Don’t be afraid. Tell them how much you love your customers and how much they love you, and that they’re going to love working with you, as well.
Go ahead and sing that love from the mountaintops.
9-Get Clear on the Path to Making a Decision
Some people will tell you to step It up in advance. I don’t think it’s the appropriate thing to do. For example, “Okay, what’s your timeline here?” “Do you have the authority to make this decision?” That reminds me of how we used to do things in the ‘80s. And most buyers don’t respond to that.
But if I get to the end of the sales call, and they’re showing excitement, they’re giving me buying signals, I ask them, “So what does your path to making this decision look like? “You seem like you love this idea. Do you love it?” And if they say, “I love it,” then great. I’ll say, “So what’s your path to getting this approved?” and “What do you need from me?”
And then I’ll ask, “What do you think is going to be the biggest roadblock that you’re going to run across? What can I give you—video, can I reformat this slide deck for you, could I record the sales deck using a tool like Loom or Soapbox and give it to you to show your boss?”
A lot of sales trainers out there would say, “Never meet with anyone who’s not the decision maker.” Well, that’s easy to say if you’re not really responsible for selling anything.
I think we have to meet with people that are in the chain of command.
So remember to ask, “What do you need from me?” Get really clear on this with your clients and prospects.
10-Deal with It if Somebody’s Answer is “No”
If you’re going to close more sales deals, you’re going to need to rock through them. If a customer’s answer is no, I’m not going to beat them up about it.
A lot of times people will say, “Never give them the opportunity to say ‘no.’” Okay, that’s a copyright 1996.
You have to recognize that in today’s world we’re having to resell people all the time. So if you really make them angry because you jump back down their throat when you’re in full-press sales mode … if the answer is “no” or “not now,” your answer should be something like, “We’ll get together and we’ll work together at some point in the future.”
Some people will say, “Well, you never get a second chance to sell them.” I just don’t agree with that. I feel like we have to resell these people over and over again.
If the answer is “no,” that just means “not right now.” And actually, that’s alright.
Rock through those deals.
In closing, remember—I say it all the time—if sales was easy, everybody would be doing it. And they’re not. So we’re either crazy or we’ve found careers that will feed our families for a lifetime.
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Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Let your calendar, not your inbox, drive your day. Don’t fall victim to the idea of answering an email real quick. We talk about this in every corporate sales training workshop. A 30-second interruption can take you 2-minutes to reengage. Most people thrive when a structure is in place. Randomly working on random projects at random times is not a recipe for success. Block out time on your calendar for tasks and be dedicated when the time block pops up. Set the task to repeat daily if needed.
Create mini-goals. When working remotely, it is smart to set small goals that are very short term. For example, setting a goal to finish a proposal before you take a coffee break. It’s important to set little goals all throughout your day. A big win at the end of the day is normally comprised of small wins throughout the day.
Switch it up. When things aren’t rolling forward to your satisfaction, you might just need to change the routine. If you used to have great success prospecting for new business at 4 PM and it’s not yielding the result for you that you desire, move the time block to 3 PM. Sometimes switching it up can mean rearranging your office. All too often people stay the course when things are not working. There can be some great benefits from changing the direction if you’re not getting the results you desire.
Don’t be a web camera zombie. Creating human interaction by sharing your webcam can be extremely beneficial in team environments. All too often, a poor set up in your home office or remote location can make you look like a webcam zombie or a person in witness protection. This is sort of a joke but, it is a reality for a lot of people that work remotely. Many people say to me, “does sharing your webcam really matter? “ Yes! Experts tell us that 65% of important cues in conversations are visual.
Set time limits. Here have you ever looked down at your clock and realized that 90 minutes had gone by and you hadn’t even come up for air? It happens to us all. Setting time limits for everything that you do is critical to your success. Experts from various fields have reported increases in productivity from 75% to 150% by simply setting up a timer next to your desk and using it to keep you on task.
Fight the urge to multi-task. According to Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic, our brains aren’t built to do more than one thing at a time. And when we try to multitask, we damage our brains in ways that negatively affect our well-being, mental performance, and productivity. Reduce stress and get more done. Stop trying to multi-task.
Celebrate wins. No matter the size or scope of the victory, always celebrate wins, especially if your team is working remotely. Working remotely can be an out of sight out of mind type of scenario. Create encouraging interactions by celebrating wins and uniting your team around common victories.
If there’s one thing that this health crisis has helped us understand is that we truly can survive without being in an office every single day. I truly believe that another thing has been defined, without live social interaction we are just not as happy as a team or as people. So, will we figure out how to work remotely forever? I hope not.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coaching, sales training, sales training program
As we navigate the changes in our world right now, I think it’s important to focus on the Customer Needs Assessment as a part of my corporate sales training blog.
If you’re in a leadership role, right now you might be saying, “No, Ryan, don’t talk about not doing a CNA.”
Here’s my point, though. We’re living in a world where people are limited in cash, limited on funds, and certainly limited on patience. For the most part, I think everybody right now is actually limited to some degree in their cognitive abilities. So how do we expect someone we’re selling to to actually understand what they need vs. what they want?
Think about this regarding the Customer Needs Assessment. Very often it focuses in on what they want, and not what they need. Think about all the questions you ask. “What’s your budget?” “What are your goals?” “What keeps you up at night?” “What’s the biggest business challenge for you?” “How can we help you overcome that?”
It’s all focusing on what they want. They want paying customers, they want new business, they want to retain business. Want, want, want.
It really should be called the Customer Wants Assessment, right? Think through this with me before you shut down on the idea. Be open-minded. I sell every day, just like you do. I’ve been in sales and marketing for 30 years. I didn’t stop selling to become a consultant; I love the sales business.
So here’s a radical idea: Maybe we need to find our joy in that, in the sales business.
So this Customer Needs Assessment, where we ask them what they need—it really focuses on what somebody wants. So if we don’t actually guide them toward what they need, they’re going to come back to us in the coming weeks or months and say, “I didn’t get any ROI.” They didn’t get the return on investment that they needed. And so a lot of the time they didn’t get what they needed because we gave them what they wanted.
So here’s what I want you to consider in addition to the CNA: putting forth powerful recommendations.
Let me give you some background on my thoughts here.
There are a lot of impatient people out there right now. How many of you feel cranky right now? I feel cranky. I’m cranky about the world, I’m cranky about politics, I’m cranky about COVID. I’m just cranky. And it’s difficult to deal with cranky people you’re selling to. They try to tell you what they want, and you’re trying to convince them what they need, so I’d like to talk to you about recommendations instead.
Were you aware that Nielsen, the TV ratings and audits company, reports that recommendations are the most trusted form of information? This is a tool we can use as salespeople, and this is something I stress in my sales training. We can coach our customers on why they need something, and what they need to buy. And then we can get them to a point where we not only fulfill their wants, but we actually get to the heart of what they need.
Harvard Business Review had a review of 600 top sales professionals, and here’s what they found out: Most sales reps rely on a customer to coach them through the sales process. Now, the superstar sales reps that I work with in my sales training, we coach the customer. We know the questions we need to ask the customer to find out what it is they truly need beyond what they want.
But still, most customers are going to struggle to identify an exact need. For example, they might say, “I need more customers.” So I may say, “When you say ‘customers,’ can you be more specific? Tell me more. Give me some detail about that.”
So, to guide customers to a recommendation, I’m doing a great deal of comparative selling.
Creating a comparative conversation helps you draw out ego, helps you draw out emotion, and helps you draw out logic.
Sometimes in the advertising business, where I spend a lot of my time, I’ll say things like, “Who do you feel does a great job of marketing here in our community?” I suppose they could say, “Nobody does.” But typically they give an example of somebody.
And then I’ll say, “Do you want to be like them, better than them, less than them? Do you want to be competitive with them, or do you want to dominate them?” I work to determine what’s the circumstance for them.
What I don’t ask them is what their budget is. Because if you ask them what their budget is, they’re probably going to give you a number based on their reality. Not the reality of marketing in the community where you live.
My next tool to guide customers to a recommendation is sharing success stories through comparative selling.
Let’s say, for example, that you sell in the software space. When you create a comparative conversation, you’re actually comparing the customer that you have on the phone to other customers that you’ve had in the past that are very, very happy.
Here’s an example. When I sell, I ethically share stories about my current clients. I share what they love about me, what they love about the software, what they’ve loved about the company, what they’ve loved about the experience–and I can begin to compare customers.
I use these comparative conversations so I can recommend products based on the happiness of other customers, realizing that other customers’ happiness will oftentimes translate to the happiness of this new customer that I’m trying to get.
It’s easy—and it’s all about sharing success stories.
But sometimes we salespeople don’t like to do this, and the reason we don’t is because we feel like we’re talking about a customer behind that customer’s back. But we’re not. What we’re actually doing is shouting from the mountaintop how happy other customers are with us.
And if they’re happy, then this new customer probably will be, too. And happiness is ultimately what we’re seeking.
Now, you might get really technical about this, and you might say, “Well, Ryan, I’m not looking for happiness, what I’m looking for is making sure they have the ROI that they demand.” But I am here to tell you, when push comes to shove what most people want to do is what others have done to be successful.
Just last weekend I was talking with a friend of mine. She said, “I’m having some great luck losing weight.” I said, “Cool! I would love to drop 15 pounds. I think it would make me happy and make my wife happy. What are you doing?”
And she told me about her weight management plan. So I immediately went home and looked it up online to find out how I could get involved in this.
The point is, her success story led me to make a great buying decision, for me. This is a simple buying example, but it can resonate through everything you do.
Consider that when you have a linear conversation, a one-way conversation with a client, what you do is keep them inside their own bubble. And it’s not until somebody gets out of their bubble—OUT of it—that they realize, “Oh, other people out here are happy, they’re being successful, and I want to be like them. What are they doing? What is their weight loss plan? How did it work for them? What made them happy?”
As a salesperson, if I can help customers be happy—happy like other people–then all of a sudden they start buying what it is that I’m selling. It’s a simple sales concept that works and that resonates with customers.
I’ve had the opportunity to walk through and be a part of almost every sales training program in America, from Carnegie to Sandler. And a problem I see is that they focus on a one-way conversation where you identify somebody’s pain and then you fix that pain.
That’s great in theory, but as a salesperson you can actually take it to the next level by telling them about other happy customers whose pain you have eliminated. It’s about proving that you have done something for other people.
It’s about getting beyond the old fashioned Customer Needs Assessment to start recommending products, sharing success stories, and creating comparative conversations.
And remember, in these conversations, be mindful of the questions that you ask. Make sure those questions take you to a better place.
So, what are the questions?
I try not to ask the same questions that have been asked for the last 10-15 years, the ones that make you sound like all the other salespeople that have shown up either face-to-face, on Zoom, or on the phone.
I strive to ask the questions that other salespeople don’t. In that vein, I don’t ask, “What keeps you up at night?” I would rather ask a question, something along the lines of, “If we could help bring you one perfect customer, what would that customer look like?”
Or, “When you agreed to meet with me, was there a business challenge you were hoping that I could help you solve?”
I’ll say it again, rather than asking, “What’s your budget?” … especially in the ad sales world where I spend a lot of my time in the advertising business, I’ll say, “If we could help you be bigger and better than your nearest competitor, what would that look like?” “In the past, what have you done to solve these types of problems?”
Or I might use something back from my good old Sandler days like, “What is the biggest challenge that you’re facing right now that you think I can help you solve?” Or “How long has that been a challenge or a problem for you?” “What have you done in the past to fix that problem or remove that problem from the greater equation of your business?”
When you ask your questions, remember these ideas I espouse in my sales training programs: Most people want to be led. Most people like recommendations. Most people don’t like a linear conversation—they want to know what others are doing and what you have done to help other people.
So, in closing, the Customer Needs Assessment isn’t dead, necessarily, but if we don’t breathe some new life into it, if we keep doing the same thing we’ve always done, we’re going to get the same result. If we want to see a different result, we’ve got to do something different.
That’s why we’re advisors … try to be an advisor, don’t be a salesperson. Breathe some new life into your Customer Needs Assessment.
And managers out there—sales directors, sales leaders—look at the questions your salespeople are asking prospects and customers. Make sure that they’re updated. Make sure they reflect the current situation that we’re in.
Then finally, always remember. If sales was easy, everybody would be doing it. And they’re not. So we’re either crazy or we’ve found a career that will feed our families for a lifetime.
About this blogger:
Ryan Dohrn is an award winning sales coach and offers sales training to thousands of sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and the author of the best-selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on sales training and sales coaching for companies in 17 unique industry sectors from media to tech to aviation. He is also the owner and Publisher of SalesTrainingWorld.com an online portal for sales training success.
Contact information:
Ryan R. Dohrn
President/Founder, Brain Swell Media LLC
Publisher, SalesTrainingWorld.com
Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
http://RyanDohrn.com
http://360adsales.com
http://sellingbackwards.com
http://SalesTrainingWorld.com
Follow him on Twitter.com/ryandohrn for daily tips and advice.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandohrn
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Tagscorporate sales training, sales training, sales training program
All sales reps at, one time or another, wake up and really don’t want to sell. Maybe it is just one day. Maybe it is all week. Whatever the case, you have been bucked off the horse and you know that you will be in a world of hurt if you do not get back on the horse and ride again. Trust me, this happens to all of us. As a sales coach, I will get on a call with a sales rep that is normally ON FIRE and they will say, “Ryan I just don’t feel like selling today.” I get it.
Lets explore six ways to re-ignite your passion for sales.
1. Change your environment. When times get tough I find a new spot to work. Whether it is a coffee shop or a pool, I change my scenery. I have gone to the lake and rented a pontoon boat. I have rented a hotel room with a balcony and a great view of the pool. I have even caught a cheap flight to Vegas. Change your scenery to re-inspire yourself.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ON THIS TOPIC, Click here!!
2. Go back to your core training and use math to your advantage. You have heard at least 300 times that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes.” Right? For those of you that have read my book Selling Backwards you know that I work my “Big 50 prospect list” religiously. I work 50 clients every month to get 10 quality meetings. From those 10 meetings I present 8 great proposals. From those 8 proposals I close 4 or more deals. What is your prospecting plan? Figure it out and grind it out.
3. Try the non-sales approach. Go to a web site like Inc.com and find a great article that will be applicable to your prospect or client list. Maybe an article on motivating your team. Then, share that article with your clients or prospects. I truly feel that 40% of your sales communications should be non-sales related. You will be blown away at the number of times a non-sales email will generate business.
4. Seek out inspiration. Watch a Tony Robbins video on YouTube. Listen to my podcast. (Wink). Read an inspirational book or blog. Read Brendon Brouchard’s book The Motivation Manifesto. Get inspired. Seek out motivation. It probably will not seek you out.
5. Dress for success and rock it out! What? I’m not joking. Put on a suit or your best outfit and jam to your favorite and loudest music. I mean JAM IT OUT! Go all out. Put on the makeup. Wear the suit only reserved for interviews. Do your hair. Do it. Dress like you are meeting with the CEO. Then, turn up the volume. Fake it until you feel it.
6. Find some love. Call on clients that love you. When things are really crazy and I feel overwhelmed I will often call on clients that love me or I will call my Mom. Why? Mommy loves you no matter what.
We will all fall off the horse now and again. No big deal. Get up. Dust yourself off and get back in the saddle.
Need a sales coach or sales training? We are here to help. Reach out: Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com . 803-634-3886
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
The month of February brings to the forefront a single day where love is the focus. Valentines Day. Yes, that one-day where we go all out for that one person we love dearly. I would suggest to you that if you wait until February 14 you have missed 11 other months to show your love. Because I am a sales coach and not a life coach, I need to quickly move over to the lovers in your business life? From a sales training perspective, what have you done recently to show your clients some love? If you don’t take care of your clients your competitors will! That I can promise you.
Experts tell us that it takes fives times the money and five times the energy to win a new client. So, what can we do to show our clients some love and keep them in a long-term relationship? Let’s have some fun on this topic, but also look at some serious ideas to boost your relationships with your clients.
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Here are 6 ways to show your clients some love this month and beyond.
- What about sending hand written love notes? The art of the hand written thank you note has neared extinction. Join me in reviving this age-old sales retention activity. Buy some nice thank you cards and grab a nice pen and get to work. I like to send along a $5 Starbucks card with my thank you notes too. Is your handwriting poor? Check out Bond.co (not dot com. Dot co) They will write your thank you notes for you for $7 each.
- Who doesn’t love to eat? Send some lovely small edible gifts. I use 1-800-flowers.com to send small tokens of appreciation like popcorn or cookies. A little secret is to buy the free all year shipping pass. This means all of your shipping is covered for the year at one flat rate. There are many non-floral gifts for under $20.
- How about sending non-sales emails of love? On a monthly basis I like to find a great motivational article or Youtube video to share with my clients. I find many on Inc.com under their motivation section. I write a simple email and send them the link. I do NOT mention sales at all. “Hi Bob. I came across this great article and thought I would share it with you. – insert link – . Have a great day. – Ryan” In my sales training workshops, we spend 45 minutes on this important topic. Why? Because this retention activity truly needs to be a part of your daily sales life.
- Introduce your clients to experts that will love them too. Set-up meetings for your clients with subject matter experts that you know will benefit their business. For example, find a cyber security expert or an SEO expert and work out a deal with these pros where the first consultation is free for your clients. Or, you pay for it.
- Online educational love-fests. Or, you can call them “webinars” if you want. Lol. Educational webinars are a great way to show your clients some love. Arrange for an expert to talk on a webinar about topics that are important to the industry or community that you serve. You might event tap some of the subject matter experts from #4 above for these webinars. The topics you choose are important to draw a crowd. You might even consider using a survey to determine the topics that are important to your clients. This is an invitation only type of online event. Those invited can ask questions as well. Don’t worry about large numbers of attendees. Keep it intimate and action oriented. Do not over think this retention activity. I use GotoWebinar for this type of activity. GTW is cost effective and I have never one time experienced a technical issue with the system.
- How about a sexy phone message from the boss? Ok, that might be a stretch. Arrange to have your boss or a member of top brass simply call the client. Even if you get a voicemail the impact is awesome. Clients love to hear that the boss cares about them enough to call them. If you make this a monthly activity, the time commitment is fairly minimal yet the impact is monumental. Keep in mind, you will get voice mail 90% of the time.
If you will wait for the holidays to show your love. By the time you wait for the Christmas holiday to say I love you, your competitor has asked them for a date 11 times. The odds of success are in their favor. Show your clients some love today! Make these activities a part of your sales training program and your annual client retention program.
Loving your clients and having an active retention plan in place is mission critical to your long-term success in the sales business. Those that master the retention game survive a VERY long time in the sales game. Don’t wait. Start showing some love today!
XO Ryan
—
Ryan Dohrn is an internationally certified sales coach and sales trainer with a focus on seven multi-national industries. Ryan is also a top sales conference speaker and sales meeting speaker.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
The key to your success in the world of sales is increasing the number of meetings you are granted by prospective clients. Developing an effective prospecting process can be the difference between life and death in your sales career. For me, the goal of prospecting is simply getting to a meeting. Period. The goal of prospecting is not to sell anything. I am just hoping to meet with a client via phone or in person for 20 minutes. If you are selling during the prospecting phase you will greatly reduce your success. Over the course of 25 years in the sales and marketing business I have seen many prospecting plans from many unique angles. I have identified five factors in the prospecting process that will increase your chances of being granted a meeting with a prospective client – I call this my T.A.R.G.E.T. prospecting tool. I use this tool every day in both writing my prospecting emails and leaving voicemails for my prospects. I will break it down into six pieces for you; each piece builds on the previous.
Listen on iTunes as well, click here.
The T in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “time”. A person’s time is highly valuable to them, each and every day. The main reason that more prospects do not grant you access to present to them is the simple fact that many other sales people have wasted their time. It is imperative that you focus on NOT wasting their time in your prospecting emails and voicemails. You want to articulate that you realize other sales people may have wasted their time. But, in doing so, be careful not to sound like all the other sellers that also emailed them that day. An often over-used phrase in prospecting emails is “I know that your time is valuable.” Or, “I want to be respectful of your time.” These two phrases are common and un-authentic. Instead, I want you to consider phrases like, “I promise not to waste your time.” Or, “ I’m sure other sales people in the past have wasted your time.”
The A in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “authentic”. Showing that you are authentic is critical in breaking the ice with someone you do not know. People that are authentic are not afraid to admit their faults. People that are authentic are more focused on others then themselves. People that are authentic truly want to help you. I would ask you to consider phrases in your prospecting emails and voicemails like, “I truly feel that this idea will benefit you.” Or, “I have seen firsthand how this has benefited my other clients.” Or, “I have three clients like you that are seeing solid success working with us.” Or, “I fully recognize the fact that you do not know me.” Your authenticity is also further driven by your focus on all the points in the T.A.R.G.E.T. system I am proposing to you.
The R in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “relevant”. There is nothing worse that receiving an irrelevant, generic sales email from someone you do not know. I am amazed that companies still continue to use this approach as a prospecting tool. It does not work unless you email thousands and thousands of prospects, and even then it is hit and miss. Instead, I want to prove quickly that I am relevant to my prospect by pointing out something from their website, company Facebook® page or their profile on LinkedIn®. I recognize that this might come across as creepy if it is not handled properly. For example, “before reaching out to you, I was doing some research on your website and saw that you have recently moved into the aviation industry.” Or, “while researching your company, I saw on your LinkedIN profile that we both worked for ABC Company many years back.” Or, “in preparing to contact you, I saw on your company’s Facebook page that you’re promoting the XYZ product right now.“ Generic does not work. Relevant always wins.
The G in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “go”. This premise is simple: I want my email to be focused. We want them to move forward, and we need to ask them to do so. I am not suggesting that you be pushy or arrogant, I am suggesting that you consider phrases like, “I truly feel that I can help you with ______. Can we chat for 20 minutes or less via phone Tuesday at 9am, 11am or 3pm EST?” It is important to understand that each component of the T.A.R.G.E.T. prospecting system is important.
The E in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “ethical”. Have you ever received an email with a great subject line, and then opened the email to discover that you were tricked? If you are anything like me, this makes you mad. I have never, ever applauded a sales person for tricking me. The subject line is often the ethical barometer by which you are judged – it sets the tone for your chances of getting your email opened or replied to. I recently wrote a blog called 10 Great Sales Subject Lines. Check it out at this link: https://salestrainingworld.com/sales-training/10-sales-email-subject-lines-to-get-an-open-read-and-reply/ Some of my favorite subject lines include the date that you want to meet the prospect and the name of your prospect’s competitor.
The final T in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for tick-tock. Meaning, tick-tock like a clock. When is the best time to send a prospecting email? What time of day should you send an email to get a reply? 10am and 2pm are the most common times for meetings in corporate America so these would be two times to avoid. Your email will just not get the attention required to receive a quality reply, if any reply at all. What times of day are predictable for fewer meetings? 11:15am and 4:15pm. Why? Not many meetings are booked at 11:15 because they will potentially interfere with lunch. Not many meetings are booked at 4:15 because they will potentially interfere with happy hour. I have seen a dramatic increase in email opens and replies during these two times of day. Maybe you sell to an industry working on a different schedule, like restaurants or contractors? You will need to alter your email prospecting send times to coincide with times that your potential clients will be most attentive.
Let’s bring this T.A.R.G.E.T. blog to a final point: increasing the number of meetings that you are granted by prospective clients is the key to your success in the world of sales. Period. Without the meeting, you do not have a chance to present anything. Developing an effective prospecting process can be the difference between life and death in your sales career, and email is one step of that process.
Remember, if sales was easy everyone would be doing it.
Ryan
About this blogger:
Ryan Dohrn is an award winning sales coach and offers sales training to thousands of sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and the author of the best selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on sales training and coaching for media and
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Fall is not known for being the best time for sales.
In fact, because the holidays and the New Year come one after another, most salespeople expect their numbers to dwindle down to nil as December ends.
This time of year, we could all use a little boost – some motivation to keep our momentum going through the slow season.
Just because it’s Fall doesn’t mean you have to cop out!
As such, here are 7 ways to keep going, keep selling, and enjoy more success as a fresh year moves in.
If you need extra inspiration, we have a podcast that covers this topic right here. Listen in and read up for some timely advice.
7 Corporate Sales Training Tips to Keep You Soaring
1. Use This Time to Prime Your 2018 Sales
Most people don’t make buying decisions on the spot, or instantaneously. Instead, buying decisions often happen weeks or months before the buyer takes action.
With the new fiscal year approaching, many companies will not have an approved budget until after we hang up the 2018 calendar.
This is why it’s important to keep selling at this slow time – and sell hard.
In essence, you’re priming your buyers for a sale that will close a few weeks or months into the future. When the budget is ready, they will be, too.
2. Build New Client Relationships
The holiday season is the perfect time to build new client relationships. There are tons of themed events and parties where networking is easy. People are feeling more generous and giving, too.
Take advantage and set up “meet and greet” or “lunch and learn” meetings where you can build up those essential connections.
3. Keep Prospecting Steadily
Since so many other salespeople think of Fall as a “dead zone” for sales, you have a golden opportunity to get ahead.
Instead of sitting back and expecting dormancy, make those phone calls and send those emails. No matter the season, prospecting is something you should do daily.
4. Get Excited Again
Your feelings about the product you’re selling will affect your sales. It’s as simple as that. If you’re not excited, you’ll have a harder time getting clients excited, too. Combat this by reigniting your fire.
Think back to what excited you about the product when you first started selling it. Tap into that. If it helps, listen to upbeat music on your drive to work, put up positive reminders, or change your desktop to something that motivates you.
5. Do Some CRM Housekeeping
Out-of-date sales tools and data are no help to anybody. It’s important to clean house every once in awhile to keep the ship running smoothly. Make sure your data is updated, your accounts are in order, and you aren’t hanging on to dead accounts.
6. Focus on Your Professional Development
If you still have some downtime, invest in your professional development.
Here are a few ideas:
- Read a great sales book and learn something new. There are lots of lists online to pull from, like this one from Inc.
- Scour the internet and find inspiring sales or management videos. Look for ones that cover your weak points so you can learn and grow.
- Consider hiring a sales coach or enrolling in corporate sales training to truly hone your skills and make the most of them.
7. Create a Client “Wish List” for 2018
Who would you love to add to your client accounts in 2018? Create a list and make goals to nab these clients. Research them, then create a sales marketing plan to reach them.
It’s great to keep setting goals and reassessing old ones. Measure your progress, celebrate your victories, and remember to keep working hard to reach your targets.
Autumn Doesn’t Have to Be Slow for Sales
Forget the myth that the Fall season is a slow time of year for sales. Instead, bust through it and create your own forward motion.
The holiday madness and the drearier weather can contribute to lags, but you don’t have to let these perceived roadblocks win.
All you need is an attitude shift and some determination to steamroll through a slow Fall.
If you could use some extra pushes, teaching, or motivation for your sales gig, reach out to my team for help. We can inspire you to do great things with corporate sales training and coaching.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Would you like to know how to attract more businesses to your products or services?
It is actually a lot simpler than you may think. You don’t have to hypnotize or manipulate them into buying. All you need to do is just give them what they want.
With the right corporate sales training, you will be increasing your sales in no time, while maintaining a good business-to-business relationship.
The key to soaring corporate sales is an understanding of the human behavior.
Fundamentally, all human beings have the same mental triggers that usually drive their actions. To fully understand and influence your potential clients, you need to know what those mental triggers are and how you can effectively utilize them in your corporate sales message.
Corporate Sales Training: 4 Things Corporate Clients Don’t Like
Here are four typical psychological behaviors that may block you from closing an otherwise successful corporate sales deal.
1. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Change
Have you ever tried keeping a New Year’s resolution? Maybe lose a few pounds?
If you have, then you definitely know how hard it is to change a particular behavior. Despite your good intention and dedication to fixing unhealthy habits, many people still continue to eat junk food, drink excessively, and fail to exercise.
As a corporate salesperson, you must understand that one of your key roles in corporate sales is asking businesses to change from buying nothing to something, or from buying from a competitor to you.
So how do you go about it?
The best way to inflict positive change to your potential clients is by sharing your success stories. Businesses will feel more confident and more secure with your products and services once they discover how it has helped many other similar businesses before them.
2. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Doing Business with Strangers
From your childhood, you probably remember the phrase “stranger danger”. Well, guess what? It’s back! And it’s here to tremendously affect your corporate sales.
Nobody is willing to buy from a person they barely know or heard of. A corporate sale is no exception.
When selling a product or service to another company, you need to inject information that is more relevant and helpful to the company. Let the company see how much of an asset your product or service can be to them.
To this end, before making any prospective corporate sales call, ensure that you have thoroughly gone through the company’s website, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles as well as the general internet to gather all the information necessary to beat the “stranger danger” mindset.
3. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Making Hard Decisions
Of course, we’ve all sat for multiple-choice exams. How does it feel when you get to a question and you’re stuck between answer A and B? Frustrating, right?
So how do you expect your prospective clients to buy products or services from you if you put them in a similar position?
When selling, it is imperative that you make it easy for businesses to buy from you. Make it very clear how your products and services will solve their problem, make them more money and/or save them time.
Don’t put your customers into a situation where they have to think hard about striking a deal with you. In fact, don’t let them think at all. Present yourself to them in such a way that they’ll see you as a caped crusader who has come to their rescue.
4. Corporate Clients Don’t Like to Buy What They Don’t Understand
By nature, people are averse to risk. If they don’t understand what you are selling to them, they’ll definitely not buy from you.
86% of people are estimated to be visual learners. So the best way to make clients understand what you are selling is by using visuals. When a client asks a question try to answer it in a more visualized manner. This means that you should use graphs, videos, and previous success stories, basically anything that they can relate to at a personal level.
And that is how they will start buying from you.
Good Corporate Sales Training Gets You More Sales
In order to make it huge in corporate sales, you need to have a sales process and stick to it. Carefully analyze the human behavior and create a repeatable process that can help you learn and grow to replicate with each and every client you come across. That’s the only way you’ll achieve your corporate sales success.
About Ryan Dohrn
Ryan Dohrn is a corporate sales coach and offers corporate sales training to thousands of corporate sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and the author of the best-selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique corporate sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on sales training and sales coaching for companies in 17 unique industry sectors from media to tech to aviation. He is also the owner and Publisher of SalesTrainingWorld.com an online portal for sales training success.
Contact information: Ryan R. DohrnPresident/Founder, Brain Swell Media LLCPublisher, SalesTrainingWorld.comRyan@BrainSwellMedia.com
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Many sales trainers talk about the “good ole days” before email. When the phone was your weapon of choice. Many even suggest that email has ruined the sales process. I could NOT disagree more. In my sales training workshops I teach that email is an amazing piece of technology. If used in the right way it can truly help the sales professional win and grow business.
Before we get into the best sales subject lines for email success, please allow me to offer three pieces of email sales advice.
1. Email does not replace the phone. The phone is an amazing tool when trying to build a relationship with a prospect from a distance.
2. All to often you ignore the phone and only focus on email. Sales superstars know how to balance phone, email and face time to maximize the total sales process.
3. Email lacks tone and emotion. Of course you can YELL and 😉 , but, your voice is a powerful sales tool. During my sales training workshops I teach a pattern of voice mail and email prospecting that gets results! Do not give up on the phone when these sales email subject lines get you results.
Here are my top 10, email subject lines that have been getting me results in the last 30 days or less. I will also provided email examples and advice on each as well.
1. Subject line: (Name of a mutual connection) recommended I get in touch.
Body of email: “Hi Donnie. Ryan Dohrn recommends that you and I touch base about _______. He and I mutually felt that this idea could benefit you. Could I have 20 minutes via phone to discuss this week? I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: There is clearly no better way to connect with a new sales prospect than through a referral. Agree? Also, notice that I assure the prospect that I will not waste their time. Many sales people before you have wasted a prospects time. You want to take pride in not being one of those “vampires of time.”
2. Subject line: I was just wondering…
Body of email: “Hi Rachel. I was wondering if you would be open to a 20 minute phone call about (insert sales topic here)? I promise to respect your time. 20 minutes is all that I need.”
Advice: This sales subject line is often used as a follow-up or can also be used as a way to offer a meeting invitation. For example,
3. Subject line: May 29th?
Body of email: “Hi Ron. I will be in Clinton, IA on May 29th for a meeting. Could I get on your calendar for 20 minutes in the morning? I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: I often use this subject line to request a meeting date or to offer a follow-up date for a meeting.
4. Subject line: 3 reasons…
Body of email: “Hi John. I truly feel there are three reasons why we should work together.
1. Your mission. I understand your company and appreciate your mission.
2. Your support needs. I have a quality reputation for offering best in class customer service.
3. Your budget. We are the only company offering your payment options. “
Advice: This subject line is most often used after you have tried several times to connect with a prospect via email. The idea is to list three reasons why the prospect should reengage with you via email.
5. Subject line: Did something happen?
After a proposal or a meeting this subject line will often play with a prospects emotions and get you a response. I might even say in the email “Hi Terry, Was there something that happened after our meeting that I can help you resolve? You sounded very positive about setting up a follow-up call. I am not a high-pressure type of guy. I truly want to help you with ________. ”
6. Subject line: New idea for you.
Body of email: “Hi Bob, I would love to share with you a new budget friendly idea that is really working for other companies like yours. 20 minutes is all that I need. I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: I like to use this subject line right out of the gate when trying to set a meeting with a new prospect. Of course you need a new idea to share. Or, you can share a thought that will give your prospect a slight competitive advantage.
7. Subject line: (Name of a competitor) is marketing very well? Or, just the company name of a prospects competition.
Body of email: “I see that John Doe is really marketing a lot these days. I have an idea to really give them a run for their money.” Or, “Hi Rex, I see that John Doe just launched the new ABC Model. I have a unique idea to share with you that could give them a run for their money.” Or, “Hi John, your competitor John Doe just bought into our system. I truly feel you need to take a look at this as well.”
Advice: This subject line is most often used by my media sales coaching clients. But, it applies to other sales sectors as well. This sales subject line will ruffle a few feathers. So, be careful. I never EVER share client information with other clients. I am simply using this subject line to prompt a reply based on friendly competition. Again, you want to be ethical with what you share using this approach.
8. Subject line: Wrong person?
Body of email: “Hi Michael, I hate to be that sales guy that keeps emailing the wrong person. Any chance you could point me in the right direction of the person that handles _________ ?”
Advice: Often used as a last ditch effort, this subject line allows the client to provide you information that you can use to move them off your prospect list. Be real and often you will get a reply. This truly only works if the sales prospecting pattern you use is aggressive. If you only email once a month, forget about it.
9. Subject line: 20 Minutes?
Body of email: “Hi Nicole. I saw on your web site that you just launched the A350 Model. I have an idea to help you promote that to our client list of 36,0000. 20 minutes is all I need to share with you an idea. I promise to not waste your time and keep you on the phone for 45 minutes. I pride myself in not being that type of sales person.” Or, “Hi Nicole. I saw on your web site that you just won the contract for Jayco. Congrats. I have an idea to help you with the staffing issues related to that contract. 20 minutes is all I need to share with you an idea. I promise to not waste your time and keep you on the phone for 45 minutes.”
Advice: This subject line can be tricky if you do not also include a promise. You will need to tweak the above based on what problem you hope to solve. Or, what your idea can do to save her time, money or effort.
10. Subject line: I will respect your answer.
Body of email: “I would very much enjoy working together, but if you have decided to not move forward I will be very respectful of your decision. Any update on your project decision status is appreciated.”
Advice: Not used enough. It is often taboo to allow a client to say no. To encourage them to say no is also taboo. But, what I have found is that when the client feels like they can tell you no they will at least reply.
Final thoughts: There are certain sales training programs that teach you “sales tricks”. Those zinger lines of narrative that force a client to a “yes decision”. In the day and time when there were not many options for products and services those “sales tricks” worked well. Today, most buyers will not tolerate the high-pressure sales tactics of the past. I find that my systematic approach to sales relies on three things… working the right client on the right pattern with the right message. Relevance is key.
How can I help you and your team? Each year I train hundreds of sales professionals. My methods are fun, ethical and based on the simple fact that I sell every day to feed my family. My ideas are fresh, relevant, tactical and you can use them right away.
Media clients please visit: http://360adsales.com
Get out there and sell something!
Ryan Dohrn
Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
When you interact with others, you probably focus a lot on what you say. Words, of course, matter. But there’s something that might matter as much as, if not more than, your words.
Nonverbal communication holds a lot of power to influence others either positively or negatively. And it doesn’t just include your arms and hands: You can communicate with eyes, with your posture, with your stance. Once you’re aware of your own body language, you can start to use those insights to read other people’s thoughts and reactions—particularly important when you’re going on a sales call.
Even if the conversation isn’t one-on-one, nonverbal communication makes an impact. When you’re standing in front of an audience, convincing them to listen or to buy in to whatever it is you’re talking about, your nonverbal communication can help you fight a winning (or losing) battle.
What should you know about nonverbal communication? This graphic explains it.
Click To Enlarge
Via Salesforce
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
