Interviews

April 26, 2012 Interview on M.O.

MO: Where does your entrepreneurial spirit come from? Who or what were your early influences and inspirations?

Michael: My spirit comes from my heart and my mind. I came from an entrepreneurial spirited background and did not develop overnight. It takes a true risk-taker to be successful in business and you have to be in the right place at the right time with the right amount of money and message.

MO: Why is it a mistake to use generic sales training? What should managers be using instead?

Michael: Great question! Generic sales training is okay to start, but in the end it will not pin-point your true problem until an outside person observes you. Managers can reach out to someone like me and what I can do is observe first and then make solid recommendations on the pain-points that I found. For pennies on the dollar having a second opinion is critical in today’s competitive world. What happens is we go blind to the obvious, because we are so busy in our day-to-day operations that we cannot see the true road-block.

MO: What are some tools, strategies or techniques you use with your clients to help them achieve their sales goals faster?

Michael: 98% of all sales people do not have a sales process in place according to recent Culpepper study. What I do is I tie it all together into a very easy step-by-step process so the sales professional knows his/her messaging and can manage the sales process. It’s critical to always ask yourself “what’s the next step?” and if you do not have an answer, neither does your client/prospect.

MO: Can you talk about the new DVD and CD’s you’ve recently released? Where did your inspiration come from and what did your development process look like?

Michael: I’m really excited about my CD & DVD collections coming out, it’s been three years in the making and I recorded it live at a recent seminar. The inspiration came from the heart, I want people to stop working so hard at selling and find an easier way to be successful. The DVD/CD set gives everyone an opportunity to learn sales.

MO: What makes you different than your competition?

Michael: Me. Every day I sell myself and my services to people. Every day – I still make calls, I still go on sales calls, I still coach people, I still develop new techniques & strategies. I’m in the “trenches” and that’s where I love to be.

MO: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally or professionally?

Michael: I’m super excited about my second book that was just purchased by one of the top publishers in the world and you can expect it out in about a year. Also, I just released SalesSense.tv a new membership site for people to ask me specific questions with regards to their sales challenges.

http://www.mo.com/Michael-Krause-Sales-Sense-Solutions

Join us in this powerful Webinar on networking!

“The Next Generation of Business Networking is Here!”

Click here to register.
Make no mistake. Networking is a great way to meet a lot of business professionals at one time. Networking events allow people to put a face and personality to your business. But like everything, there is a right way and a wrong way.

If your networking persona is amiss you risk wasting your time and worse, wasting the other person’s time.

In this Webinar you will learn the following:

Learn the best practices when networking:
The importance of online to offline networking in the B2B marketplace.
What type of group should I join?
How to be effective when networking?
The importance of online to offline in the B2B networking business.
The importance of accountability.
Embracing technology and leveraging it to grow your network.
What is the proper etiquette when networking?
What questions should I ask?
What elements should be in my elevator speech?
What should be my goal when attending an event?
How should I follow up with a new partner?
And so much more…

Click here to register.
We will record the session for those who cannot attend the live session.

Michael Krause, Chief Sales Architect, Sales Sense Solutions, Inc.
585-704-6453 | Mike@SalesSenseSolutions.com  | http://www.SalesSenseSolutions.com/

Michael Marcellus, President, TipClub, Inc.
800-798-0270 | Support@tipclub.com  | http://www.TipClub.Com/

Click here to register.

Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851), by Emanuel Leutze. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Source-Wikipedia)

Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on Christmas Day, December 25, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, this was the first move in a surprise attack organized by George Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey.

I know a lot of people have off this week and are taking it easy with friends and family. However, should you be taking it easy this week? Or planning your surprise attack for 2012?

For the last month, I’ve been pressing harder than ever to make sure that on January 1, I’m starting my plan of attack for 2012, not thinking of my plan of attack, but executing my plan of attack!

Why attack this week?

1. People are more relaxed this week and more receptive to calls. (If you’re  working and their working, you’re already on the same page)
2. Do what others are NOT doing. Success is about doing the opposite of others and working smarter not harder.
3. Start ahead of your competition in 2012 and be ahead of your quota!

Self-thought questions:

1. What worked in 2011?
2. What did not work in 2011?
3. How am I going to change what did not work in 2011 to benefit my business in 2012?

Take the time to plan:

1. Dedicate two hours of silence, no phone, no e-mail, and no distractions…
2. Write your plan down and commit to it.  (In your own handwriting!)
3. Keep your plan of attack for 2012 in front of you daily and hold yourself accountable.

It’s up to you to develop your surprise plan of attack like George Washington or develop your plan of attack with your couch, like George Costanza.

Which George are you? Would Love to hear your comments…

Suffering from high-turnover? Suffering from repeating & training the same concepts over and over again to your sales team that takes little or no initiative on their own?

I have the solution!

Recently, I have been working on a few projects where the above was the problem/pain. The framework we designed was around automation and strategic training spoon fed to the sales team.

The result:

1. Accountability to the sales team through reporting. (Big brother is watching)

2. Reduction in trainer time answering the same questions over and over again. (Now they have the ability to send a link and make the sales rep become engaged)

3. Reduction in travel expense. (All in an E-learning platform)

The impact has been HUGE and now the sales representative is held accountable.

How are you automating your sales process?

I get it- discounts drive new clients.

I understand Groupon and the millions of other companies that are on the deep-discount bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a bargain hunter too, however the business doesn’t always benefit from these massive discounts to grow their business. We all have read about how Groupon and like-minded companies are NOT paying off for businesses:

1. No repeat business-people come once and never come back commonly called “coupon hunters”

2. Under profit margins on the HUGE discounts offered by Groupon

3. Clients perceive establishment as a discount place and are never able to restore value back to full price.

Let me give you an example of ludicrous discounting; this week I received an e-mail offering a $7,995.00 discount off an $8,995.00 item for a complete DVD set with a 12 month membership from a company. These were my first thoughts:

1. Price gouging!!!

2. What value are you TRULY offering to your clients?

3. What about the client that paid $8,995.00? How do they feel?

It’s okay to discount on occasion your product/service, but how much is enough?

I would love to hear your comments about discounting:

Sales Sense Solutions’ Sales Training Programs Featured as the Answer to Poor Sales Planning

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) November 22, 2011 — Sales Sense Solutions’ Sales Training Programs Featured as the Answer to Poor Sales Planning

Dr. Jeremi Bauer, CEO of Bauer Management Group is authoring an eight-part series to help the leaders of small and medium-sized businesses identify and correct serious issues before their companies enter crisis mode or fail. Dr. Bauer recommends the sales training programs of Sales Sense Solutions as models that are invaluable for small and medium sized businesses of all types to increase sales through proper sales planning and execution.

Sales Sense Solutionswas featured in Part 2 of Bauer’s series titled Ineffective Sales and Marketing published November 10, 2011. Mike Krause, Chief Sales Architect of Sales Sense Solutions, Inc., claims that the worst thing a sales person, or organization, can do is to be unprepared for a selling engagement. By answering key sales planning questions, a sales professional prepares for those engagements and start down the path to effective – and successful – selling.

Dr. Bauer also references 96 short videos created by Mike Krause that are available on YouTube and Vimeo. These two-to-three minute videos focus on tools, tactics and strategies that anyone in sales can put into action immediately to increase their sales effectiveness.

About BMG Bauer Management Group (BMG), was founded to help small and medium sized businesses capture opportunities and overcome challenges. BMG partners with our clients for the long-term, becoming strategic partners in the organizations success and helps keep owners from falling into the trap of working for the business by identifying and work on pain points in the organization. Then help owners identify and capture tactical and strategic opportunities that will ensure continued growth. Through this process, the owners are able to look at their business from 30,000 feet and begin to manage their business instead of their business managing them.

About Mike Krause and Sales Sense Solutions, Inc. As a recognized sales thought leader, Mike Krause inspires business leaders and sales professionals of all generations – from the most experienced to the newest rookie on the team – to maximize their personal and professional potential. Mike shares his proven strategies for sales success in his book, Sell or Sink: Strategies, Tactics and Tools Every Business Leader Must Know to Stay Afloat! Learn more at www.SalessSenseSolutions.com and www.SellOrSink.com.