To help you reach your sales goals
Sales Planning
Dealing with "Get It Right" People
Feb 2nd
Dealing with “Get It Right” People
You’ll need to know your product facts thoroughly to win over these people. They want specifics, and don’t want irrelevant information.
Try these tactics:
Prepare your “case” in advance. Stick to business.
Approach them in a straightforward, direct way.
Use a thoughtful approach; build your credibility by listing pros and cons to any suggestion you make.
Make your presentation organized; present specifics and do what you say you will do.
Take your time, but be persistent.
Draw up a scheduled approach to implementing action
with step-by-step timetable; assure them that there won’t
be surprises.
Give them time to verify reliability of your actions; be
accurate and realistic.
Provide solid, tangible, practical evidence. Don’t use testimonies
of others or unreliable sources;
Provide exact descriptions of expectations and plans and
how it fits into the overall plan.
Don’t be casual, informal or loud. Don’t ramble, act disorganized or leave things to chance or luck.
Don’t rush the decision-making process. Don’t push too hard or
be unrealistic with deadlines.
Don’t be vague about what’s expected of either of you;
Make sure you follow through-and don’t miss a deadline.
Great Questions To Ask!
Dec 23rd
Get Key Customer Information
with Questions
Ask questions to:
Expand
“Can you tell me more about…?”
“How would that work?”
“What would that mean to you?”
Clarify
“I’m not quite sure I understand.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
Redirect
“Ok, I think I understand what you need here. Now could
you tell me how you feel about…?”
Ask questions to explore your customer’s current situation:
“Exactly what business are you in?”
“What generates your profits?”
“Who are your customers?”
“What are the challenges you face?”
“What’s happening or changing in your industry?”
“What’s your organization structure like?”
Ask questions to explore your customer’s desired situation:
“What would you like to see happen?”
“What would you like to see improve?”
” What would that improvement mean to your company?”
” What are your goals and visions?”
” What are your personal goals?”
” What concerns to you have about the future?”
” What problems do you foresee?”
Cold Calling, How To Cure It!
Jul 14th
I bet you suffer from a disease known as Call Reluctance. It is a disease that runs rampant throughout the sales community.
Symptoms include sweaty palms, procrastination, busy work, excuses, anxiety and lack of enthusiasm, which all leads to just not wanting to do Cold Calling.
Recently, Culpepper conducted a study on Cold Calling and determined that 85% of Sales Professionals suffer from this infectious disease!
We all know Cold Calling is key to sales success and the phone is the most critical tool. But since very few people actually enjoy Cold Calling, how can we make this activity more fun?
Watch/Listen on Video Newsletter
Try these five prescriptions to help you cure your Call Reluctance.
#1- Make your first call to a friend or family member to put yourself in a good mood.
#2- Set goals for yourself and reward yourself when you meet them. For example; “If I can do Cold Calling for sixty minutes straight, I can afford to call it an early day and go to my child’s soccer game.”
#3- Eliminate distractions such as e-mail, texting, personal calls and co-workers. SHUT YOUR OFFICE DOOR.
#4- Block out a consistent day-to-day schedule for phone time and hold yourself accountable. NO EXCUSES.
#5- Have fun and play a game. Here’s an idea; give yourself $5.00 for each call. If you make 20 calls in an hour you just made $100.00. I bet you will make more than that long term with your commissions.
Thanks for reading.
8 Tools and Materials for a Successful Sales Kit: Can You Name Them?
Mar 27th
8 Tools and Materials for a Successful Sales Kit: Can You Name Them?
By Mike Krause
If you were building your dream house would you start construction without a vision of the completed house? Would you hire a contractor who preferred to build on whim and felt a blueprint was unnecessary? What if he lacked the necessary tools for fulfilling the blueprint or worse, used inferior materials?
Would you expect any less for your business?
Begin with the End in Mind
Business owners are contractors. It doesn’t matter if you have one employee, fifteen, or five hundred. It makes no difference if you opened your doors yesterday, last year, or twenty years ago. Business owners are responsible for constructing an enterprise and that requires a vision, a plan and high quality tools and materials to make it reality.
Fortune 500 companies know this…it’s why they’re part of the Fortune 500.
But you’re thinking, “I don’t care about becoming a Fortune 500! I just want to be successful in my own niche!” Please take a deep breath because it’s time for the adult conversation. The fundamental tools and materials are all the same! Let’s take a look at your vision of success along with the basic checklist of tools and materials you need to get it.
What Success Isn’t
People go into business with a vision of success. This vision is different for every business owner (cue the music):
I want to be in charge of my own schedule.
I want my work to be my passion.
I want to make enough to lead a comfortable life.
I want to be big and powerful with piles of cash in the bank.
Guess what? According to the Small Business Administration 62 percent of businesses fail within five years (cue the record scratching sound). While business owners may have different visions for success all will agree that failure is definitely not part of it. No one starts a business thinking I want to be a statistic.
Tools and Materials
If you were building a house there are basic tools and materials you must have. I.e., a level, hammer, and string along with some nails and wood. You could certainly start with a subset of this list but at some point you will need all of them or construction halts. Moreover, if you skimp and invest in second-rate tools and materials you end up with a second-rate structure.
Whatever vision you have for your business you need successful sales to achieve it. Period. Successful, sustainable sales require a certain set tools and materials. Here is a successful sales kit:
1. A Unique selling proposition. What do you do that’s different? What is your true value in the eyes of your customer?
2. Know your goals. Are you setting realistic goals? Do you have a plan to reach them? Are they balanced with other aspects of your business?
3. Target market. Is your target market clearly defined? Can you explain why this is your target market? Does your target market define your value the same way you do? How are you communicating to your target market?
4. Approach letters. Do you have an approach letter (if not, why on earth not)? Are your letters resonating with the reader?
5. Messaging content and timing. What do you say in your voice-mail, website, marketing collateral, and emails? Do you know how to get prospects to return your call? Do you know the optimal times to call?
6. Sales process. Do you and your staff know all the steps in your process? Do you have a sales process (again, if not…why not)?
7. Appointment setting. It should take you seven days or less. Anything longer indicates a broken system. How long does it take to set yours?
8. Flow Chart. Can you draw a chart of your processes? Hint: It’s the only way you can be certain everyone (including you) can be consistent about it.
From a one-person consultant to a Fortune 500 company, every successful business has this sales kit. It’s not esoteric, extensive, or complicated. It is, however, absolutely necessary. So fulfill yours and please, we have enough junk out there so fill your kit with quality. Your success depends on it.
If you want more information on any of these tools or materials Sales Sense Solutions can answer your questions. Call 585-704-6453 for more information.
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps you stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales assessments, strategies and practical advice.
How to Handle a Referral: A Step-by-Step Guideline
Mar 12th
How to Handle a Referral: A Step-by-Step Guideline
According to a Rain Today survey of over 200 businesses that hire service providers, referrals from trusted sources were the most important factor in a hiring decision. Ironically, handling referrals correctly is an often overlooked portion of business etiquette.
Always Remember This
A referral is a vote of confidence. You have impressed someone (e.g. friend, colleague, client) enough with your services to the point where they feel compelled to recommend you to someone else. They are giving up their time to pass your name along in order to help you. This is an act of kindness and should always be thanked. Furthermore, the way you handle the referral will reflect on their reputation and yours.
Here is the 3-step process on how to handle referral communications and results:
1. Thank the person calling with the referral and ask, “How would you like to be involved in this process?”
2. Maintain open communications throughout the process.
3. Operate in the moment. This may sound a bit Zen-like but it simply means don’t wait too long to follow through with your actions.
A Referral Scenario: Act I
Your phone rings and it’s a familiar client.
Client: Hi, this is Jane from XYZ Company, how are you?
You: I’m great and you?
Client: Doing well. I have a referral for you. You’ve been a tremendous help so I was telling a colleague about you and they wanted me to give you their contact information.
You: Thank you Jane. I enjoyed working with your company and the highest compliment any client can give is a referral. I’ve also been passing your name around in the community. (Obviously, only say this if it’s true.) What’s their contact information?
Client: It’s Jim Great at 123 Main St., 123-4567. Here’s their email and you should know they’re in the medical industry.
You: Thank you. How did you leave it with Jim on how I would contact him?
Client: I said you’d call or email.
You: Perfect! I’ll call him right now. Let me ask you, how would you like to be involved in this process?
Client: Just send me an email and let me know how it works out.
You: You got it! Anything else I should know?
Client: Yes. He has 3 school age kids and is hard to reach after 3 p.m.
You: Thanks again, I’ll act on it (insert when you know you’ll follow through).
A Referral Scenario: Act II
Hang up and call or email Jim.
You: Hello, Jim Great? This is (your name) from (your business) and I was referred from Jane to speak with you regarding (your services).
Jim: Yes, I spoke with Jane and your name came up.
You: Yes, Jane is an excellent client and we had a great relationship. What do you need help with? But let me ask you, do you have a few free minutes to talk?
Jim: Well, we are having problems with (listen carefully)!
You: Would you like to set up a time to discuss your needs in more detail? I find it best to meet you at your location and learn about your business. How is next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.?
Jim: Great. See you then.
Act III: The Grand Finale
So far so good? You’re not done yet. After hanging up with Jim you need to do the following:
• Send Jim an email confirming the face-to-face or phone meeting.
• Immediately call Jane back and update her. Thank her again, and ask her one more time how she’d like to be involved.
• Send Jane a thank you card. If it’s a big client consider including a small gift certificate for coffee or to a restaurant.
Follow this basic format for all your referrals and feel confident that your business and referral etiquette is as good as…gold? No. It’s as good as your improved bottom line and reputation which is even better.
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps business owners stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales assessments, strategies and practical advice.
4 Telemarketing Questions Every Business Owner Needs to Ask (Do You Know Them?)
Feb 11th
4 Telemarketing Questions Every Business Owner Needs to Ask (Do You Know Them?)
By Mike Krause
If you’re a business owner, you know the simple truth. When you strip away all the rhetoric and analysis your business is ultimately supported by one thing: sales. Whether you’re running a small home-based business or a multi-million dollar corporation, sustainable sales require sales-related phone calls.
Let’s be honest, sales calls aren’t sexy or fun–they’re a pain. So who handles them? You? Your staff? Maybe you outsource but wince at the bottom-line cost.
Ultimately, the decision is driven by your perceived value. Why perceived? Because telemarketing is an investment and all investments are subjected to a cost-benefit analysis. A cost-benefit analysis only works if it’s comprehensive and this is where most business owners make their biggest mistake. I’m here to help.
Ask yourself these four questions to make sure you’re assessing the true costs and benefits of a telemarketing campaign.
1. Who is making my sales calls right now? If I’m making them, what owner-specific activities am I giving up in order to make these calls? As the owner is this the best use of my time? There are activities that only you, as the owner, can do. Lead generation sales calls aren’t one of them.
2. Do I have the expertise to maximize the effectiveness of a telemarketing campaign? A truly effective campaign requires thorough staff training, experience and a top-notch database. It takes hours of invested time to be able to honestly answer “yes” to this question.
3. Are my sales calls happening consistently with regular follow-through? Anyone who has tried to lose weight will tell you–sporadic, yo-yo dieting doesn’t work. Telemarketing is no different. A surge here an there does not create the momentum you need for consistent, reliable results.
4. How much money am I saving by doing my telemarketing in-house? Let’s say it costs $30,000 to outsource your telemarketing needs. But it only costs $20,000 for a full-time employee to do it in-house. You’re saving money, right? Wrong. Don’t forget to factor the true cost of an in-house employee. You have to spend time hiring, training, and managing. You have employee maintenance costs in their payroll, taxes, benefits and compensations. And don’t forget about turnover costs. I hate to be blunt but it’s time for the adult conversation: if the time it takes you to do all of this is only worth $10,000 then you don’t have enough respect for the value of your time and even less for that of your staff.
No doubt, these are tough questions. The answers make you realize that yes, managing your own lead generation telemarketing is a waste of your time and money. Outsourcing is the smart answer. (For the record, this isn’t a long-winded sales pitch–Sales Sense Solutions can set you up with a qualified telemarketing service but we don’t handle that ourselves). Bottom line: spend your time closing the sales on qualified leads because when you outsource you will have more of them to handle. And that’s what you ultimately want…right?
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps you stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales strategies.
20 Ways to Recognize Your Star Clients
Jan 28th
20 Ways to Recognize Your Star Clients
By Michael Krause
You know what makes your organization unique. You’ve identified why your customers value your products over the competition. With those fundamental but critical items in place you’re ready to focus on you customers. Are you clear on whom your best ones are? Crystal clear?
As a general rule you want to spend about 80 percent of your time on your clients who are the most profitable and embrace your reason for existence. This usually works out to be the top 20 percent of your customers. These are the people who will give you the largest profit margin for your efforts.
There are other benefits for identifying your top 20 percent. You can confidently implement strategies that:
• eliminate spending too much time on those who give you the least amount of return for your efforts.
• create targeted marketing campaigns for specific customer categories.
• establish incentive programs to move less active customers into your top range.
• develop a relationship package to secure relations with your valued customer groups (such as a bronze, silver, gold or platinum level).
You can also assign specialists to focus on specific aspects of your customer segments. These can include someone dedicated to the large accounts and strategic alliances, a relationship manager responsible for managing current clients and up-selling, and a hunter who looks for new business where no current relationship exists between a customer and your organization.
In order to choose your top 20 percent you have to segment your customers into niche categories. It’s quite possible to have multiple categories each with their own top 20 percent. Here are twenty questions to help you accomplish the task.
1. Where is the revenue coming from?
2. What are your customers passionate about?
3. Who gives you the greatest profit margins?
4. How do they purchase? (Credit, cash, corporate account, checks, PayPal.)
5. Where do they purchase (Brick and mortar, online, catalog.)
6. What do they purchase? (Which services? Which products?)
7. What are their purchasing patterns? (Once a year, many small items, a few larger items.)
8. Where do they live? (In an apartment, condo, city, suburb, development, out-of-state.)
9. Where do they work? (In a home office, downtown, office park, mom & pop store.)
10. What attributes do they possess (Consistent, fickle, committed, particular, loyal.)
11. What types of people, places or things do they like?
12. What do they value?
13. What do they read?
14. When do they read it?
15. Where do they read?
16. What types of meetings, groups, or classes do they attend?
17. What do they value? (Education, money, service, philanthropy.)
18. Who complains the most?
19. What else do they purchase?
And most important,
20. What type of people are you attracting to your business?
Great meeting tips to keep your employees engaged!
Sep 11th
Effective Meetings – Tips
The following are some tips to help you make your next meeting successful, effective and maybe even fun.
Before The Meeting
1. Define the purpose of the meeting.
2. Develop an agenda in cooperation with key participants. See a sample agenda.
3. Distribute the agenda and circulate background material, lengthy documents or articles prior to the meeting so members will be prepared and feel involved and up-to-date.
4. Choose an appropriate meeting time. Set a time limit and stick to it, if possible. Remember, members have other commitments. They will be more likely to attend meetings if you make them productive, predictable and as short as possible.
5. If possible, arrange the room so that members face each other, i.e., a circle or semi-circle. For large groups, try U-shaped rows.
6. Choose a location suitable to your group’s size. Small rooms with too many people get stuffy and create tension. A larger room is more comfortable and encourages individual expression.
7. Use visual aids for interest (e.g., posters, diagrams, etc.). Post a large agenda up front to which members can refer.
8. Vary meeting places if possible to accommodate different members. Be sure everyone knows where and when the next meeting will be held.
During The Meeting
1. Greet members and make them feel welcome, even late members when appropriate.
2. If possible, serve light refreshments; they are good icebreakers and make your members feel special and comfortable.
3. Start on time. End on time.
4. Review the agenda and set priorities for the meeting.
5. Stick to the agenda.
6. Encourage group discussion to get all points of view and ideas. You will have better quality decisions as well as highly motivated members; they will feel that attending meetings is worth their while.
7. Encourage feedback. Ideas, activities and commitment to the organization improve when members see their impact on the decision making process.
8. Keep conversation focused on the topic. Feel free to ask for only constructive and non- repetitive comments. Tactfully end discussions when they are getting nowhere or becoming destructive or unproductive.
9. Keep minutes of the meeting for future reference in case a question or problem arises.
10. As a leader, be a role model by listening, showing interest, appreciation and confidence in members. Admit mistakes.
11. Summarize agreements reached and end the meeting on a unifying or positive note. For example, have members volunteer thoughts of things they feel have been good or successful or reiterate the organization’s mission.
12. Set a date, time and place for the next meeting.
After The Meeting
1. Write up and distribute minutes within 3 or 4 days. Quick action reinforces importance of meeting and reduces errors of memory.
2. Discuss any problems during the meeting with other officers; come up with ways improvements can be made.
3. Follow-up on delegation decisions. See that all members understand and carry-out their responsibilities.
4. Give recognition and appreciation to excellent and timely progress.
5. Put unfinished business on the agenda for the next meeting.
6. Conduct a periodic evaluation of the meetings. Note any areas that can be analyzed and improved for more productive meetings. See a sample meeting evaluation.
And remember, effective meetings will keep them coming back!
What are some of your tricks?
Failing to Plan or Planning to Fail
Aug 8th
Failing to Plan or Planning to Fail
As you walk into the room to meet a hot prospect I’m pretty sure you aren’t planning for failure. But if you failed to plan then that’s exactly what you’ve set yourself up to accomplish. The irony is the fact that the only thing separating you from success is about 20 minutes.
Take 20 minutes to do your homework. Your efforts will make a strong first impression, increase your credibility, and improve your chance of earning their trust…and business. Here are 10 steps to 20 minutes of successful planning:
- Send out an email confirming the time, location and agenda.
- Google your potential client’s personal name and business.
- Ask colleagues or associates if they’ve heard of XYZ. Use this information to personalize your familiarity with your prospect’s company. “My colleague Sarah mentioned reading a favorable review on your product. I want to pass along the compliment.”
- Mention the client’s website at your first appointment. “I took some time to check out your Web site. I could really relate to your commitment on providing ___________ to your customers.”
- Search LinkedIn to see if they are already connected to you in some fashion. “Were you aware we share some people in the same network?”
- Mention other existing clients in your prospect’s specialization to build confidence. “I find my manufacturing clients face similar sets of issues.”
- Prepare your questions before your meeting and anticipate possible objections. “In the beginning some of my clients are concerned about time commitments. Then they realize the efficiency I bring to their systems.”
- Confirm appointment 24-48 hours in advance; leave a voice mail after hours.
- Gather your information folder or other leave-behind marketing materials.
- Take careful notes during your meeting for follow-up. Including a thank you letter that recaps the details of your meeting. (Okay, technically not an action for preparation but it’s too important to exclude from this list).
All of the above can be done in about 20 minutes and will make all the difference in the world.
Do you have anything you can add to this list? We welcome your comments.
