Business Development 2.0
Posts tagged professional sales
What to Understand About the CEO’s Business
May 17th
Whenever I am talking to a new prospective client, there are a number of things I want to understand about them and their business. I have a sheet on my wall with a list of short words and phrases that reminds me not to forget going over things like: their vision, their goals, what keeps them up at night, etc. I go through my list, talking about a few of them in this video.
What to Understand About the CEO’s Business from Scott Smeester on Vimeo.
Note to Self: Leverage Telemarketing Calls
Apr 28th
Scott, don’t forget that you can practice your listening and questioning skills – i.e. become a better salesperson – by actually doing something as simple as receiving those telemarketing calls and talking to the salesperson.
Note to Self: Use Telemarketing Calls to Practice Sales Skills from Scott Smeester on Vimeo.
The Changing Landscape of Sales Teams
Apr 15th
I talk to a lot of sales managers and CEO’s that are still looking for sales candidates that, among other things, are supposed to be good prospectors and hunters – in the hopes of the development of new business. However, prospecting is no longer necessary for sales teams due to Social Media Marketing. Watch this video to find out why.
Prospecting Not Necessary for New Sales Hires
Apr 12th
No more do you need to recruit salespeople who will bring “a book of business,” or “hunt,” or even “smile and dial.”
Due to the proliferation of social media marketing, prospecting is not as necessary.
You may have heard the phrase “cold calling is dead,” and it absolutely is (I know there is a salesperson/business owner/consultant out there rejoicing!). Why call somebody you don’t know* if you could have a bottomless supply of people to talk to who have (technically) filled out the dream form on your website – i.e. full name, all areas of interest, decision maker, what they admit they need help with, etc. We’re talking about leads who are asking for demonstrations and have given all the key indicators for a close. This happens everyday for all types of companies and businesses because, leveraged correctly, Internet technologies available on the market help build a river from many small streams of people you have attracted. Running this kind of marketing and sales system is a fraction of the cost you could pay a salesperson to “hunt”.
Assuming you hire salespeople correctly, if you provide the quality leads available you can scale down your sales team so it consists of nothing but closers (“coffee is for closers!”). These “closers” are people who are good at walking people through to a decision. Somebody patient. A nurturing salesperson. A listener.
Finding the right one is the only thing you have to do now.
* Yes, I did a TON of cold calling in my day Photo by DSC1597
Why Everybody In Your Organization Is a Salesperson
Mar 13th
I say it all the time – “LIFE IS SALES” – meaning that all of us is selling something whenever we communicate with somebody. That’s probably no new news to you. However, you’d be surprised by the CEO’s that I know that, in addition to hiring salespeople that can’t and/or won’t sell, hire their executives, customer support people, even their receptionists that have terrible sales skills – and I believe they are leaving tons of money on the table, among other things, because of this mistake!
Am I saying that everybody in your organization needs to be able to prospect, find pain, negotiate contracts/pricing, and close the deal? Well…. yes, but not at the same intensity level as the full-time salesperson. However, every person should be able to gently ask questions to get the real problem and carry that through to a solution, be it a customer, vendor or fellow employee. Every person should have great listening skills to make whoever they are dealing with feel important. Every person should be keeping their eyes and ears open and looking for ways to help.
You’re using Track-It sheets, right?!
Feb 9th
One of best ways to do something your competition isn’t is to use a Track-It sheet that records you and/or your sales teams activities. Here are some activities I recommend you start keeping track of:
- Goals review – at least once a day
- SalesMind – 8 minute affirmations to reduce negative scripts (call reluctance, money tolerance, etc.) – at least once a day – contact me to learn more about SalesMind
- Dials – how many times you just dial the phone
- Contacts – how many times you talk to the decision maker
- Appointments
- New opportunity
- Referrals given – a great way to get referrals is to give them!
- Referrals received
- Yes/Close – agreement to do business, a sign up, a free trial.
- No- no’s aren’t bad. Get through them!
- Blog post – make the world better and market yourself at the same time
- Email opt-in – get people on your ‘touch’ list
Advantages to Tracking Activities
Setting up Track-It sheets allows you to design you and/or your sales team’s time for success. Then, you use it for accountability. If you notice you’re not getting the results you wanted, just look at the Track-It sheet. Did the necessary amount of effort go into closing more business?
Another reason why tracking activities can be a benefit is that it can show you the problems of why more new business isn’t closing. For instance, if the dials to contact ratio is solid, i.e. 10% for cold calling, but appointments are way low, you know there is a problem with asking for the appointment. Then, by recording the sales calls, you’ll be able to determine what you and/or your sales reps are saying that may be affecting the prospect negatively.
For Sales Managers – Tying Salary to Activities
Are you paying your salespeople a base salary? I hope that the Track-It sheet is tied directly to the base compensation. For instance, whenever I pay a base salary to a salesperson, the expectations are set right up front that the salesperson is expected to keep their Track-It sheet on their desk at all times and they need to mark all activities and results. Furthermore, in order to get their base compensation, they’re required to turn their Track-It sheets in as proof of their activities. If the salesperson only does 75% of the agree upon activities required for success, in many cases dials, the salesperson only get 75% of the base. No muss, no fuss.
Always (ALWAYS) ask “Is this a good time?”
Jan 29th
When was the last time a salesperson that called you asked “is this a good time?” I don’t know about you, but you’ve about ruined it with me if you call me for the first time and fail to ask if this is a good time. I’ll go further to say you’ve just about hit a homerun if you DO ask me, because so few people do it and it is such a professional thing to do. I’m willing to bet that you and/or your sales force will have a significant improvement in closed business by getting in the habit of asking such a simple question because it really is a powerful bonding and rapport method.
