Want to help more people and make more sales?

While teaching sales strategies to two different clients yesterday and today, both said to me, “Wow.. I need to unlearn what my company taught me. No wonder I’m not getting many appointments set.”

I’ve also heard this before from past clients. And this can’t be coincidence.

These two particular companies are well known and respected ones – one of the oldest and best-known in the financial services industry and one very respected marketing company. Both teach their sales staff very specific strategies and scripts filled with phrases that boast of the company’s successes, accolades, and awards but do very little to engage the prospect’s dreams, wants and desires. They don’t connect the dots from what the company offers to what’s in the prospect’s mind and heart.

So how do you connect those dots? By asking great sales questions.

Here are six quick tips to do it: 

1. Don’t assume you know your prospect’s pain and pleasure points – ask them. Even if you guess correctly, they need to be expressed in their own words, not yours, so they can relate both intellectually and emotionally.
2. Make an active sales experience for your prospect, not passive.
3. Create a sales conversation instead of a presentation.
4. Help your prospect get clear on what they want, how it will positively impact them and what the costs are for not acting.
5. Use check-in questions and assess the fit as you go.
6. Leave the decision-making power with your prospect. As you progress, ask them if they’d like to hear more. Don’t try to be sly or force a sale on them. If you’ve done a good job at helping them connect the dots, the buying decision (the “close”) is up to them. 

It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is if you can’t help your prospect make an emotional and intellectual connection. Your goal is help them to take action and have ownership of their buying decision. These steps will virtually guarantee that. 

Jason E. Rosado
Business Coach & Speaker

Helping service-based small biz owners and sales professionals achieve your ideal business in 12 months or less. Want to get started?  Sign up for your FREE “Business Success E-Series”!   

773.829.1276
Jason@DistinctiveCoaching.com

Website: http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason
Facebook Profile: http://facebook.com/BizCoachJason 
Small Biz Tip of the Day: http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz  

Feel free to comment with your thoughts, experiences, and share your insights with the other members. The more you share and post, the more exposure you get for your business…

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Have a great week!
BizCoachJason
http://facebook.com/BizCoachJason

Even if you’re not a baseball fan, stick with me here. I’m talking about how to implement your sales game plan to gear up for a long, successful season.

Actually, I’m more of a football and basketball fan myself, but this baseball analogy made too much sense to pass up.

But first, let’s talk about how your philosophy can impact your overall game.

I work with my clients to transform their sales philosophy so “sales” is equated with “service,” no matter where the prospect is in the sales cycle.

“Sales = Service”

The goal of your sales call is to find a way to offer help and work with that prospect (not “pitch to” them) towards realizing some value gained from your interaction. That value you provide should be appropriate and proportionate to your own business goals and needs.

So when you contact a prospect, the main question on your agenda should be:

“How can I help this person make their job and life better?”

This approach solves A LOT of confusion, anxiety and uncertainty, and it also creates a very effective, ethical and enjoyable sales process for both parties.

If the result of your contact ends up simply being the chance for you to give some advice, resources or other form of value, great. They’ll appreciate and remember you for it.

If the outcome is to set up a face-to-face, phone or web meeting to offer more time for an in-depth conversation, solution or advisory session, even better.

If your call ends up being a sale that’s going to solve all their problems, that’s obviously awesome.

But even if it turns out that they don’t need your help, that’s good, too. Either it isn’t and won’t be a good fit for you to work together, or it just isn’t the right time for them *right now*. You can assess that, so you know how and when to move forward with them, and that is time well spent.

Remember, it takes time to develop a relationship, and this is how successfully closed sales are built - over the course of productive and mutually beneficial interactions and conversations.

In terms of progress during the sale cycle, let’s get back to our baseball analogy, because this is where it gets really important and most sales professionals strike out:

You don’t need to hit a homerun every time.  

Actually, don’t even try to hit a homerun every time.

The risk/reward ratio is in your favor to just get on base – make small victories that build – rather than striking out most often with the hope you’ll hit one out of the park once in a while. Those probably won’t happen fast enough, and you’ll be out of the game in no time at all.

So by thinking and acting in terms of providing service when you’re up to bat, you’ll hear the crowd go wild, you’ll advance your runner, and you’ll safely cross home plate more often.

And the best part – Everyone wins.

Play ball!

Sales skills – relationship building, problem solving and service skills – outweigh product knowledge importance.

In short order, your task list to close a sale is:

• Get buyer attention
• Tailor and deliver an enticing marketing message
• Build the relationship, as well as your credibility, trustworthiness and likeability
• Coach the sale through to completion
• Follow up when promised

Of course you want to have a good understanding of how the product or service works, and more importantly, how it will solve the prospect’s challenges, wants and needs. And you want to sound knowledgeable and professional, but the specifics about the product or service process aren’t as important because you can call on others in your company to answer those questions, if needed.

Researching info and getting back to the prospect in a prompt fashion with the requested data can even aid in building credibility. It’s much better to double-check something than provide incorrect, conflict or confusing information.

Happy Sales!
Jason

Do you agree or disagree? Please post your thoughts and experiences.

You can learn to do workshops, teleclasses and keynotes much more easily than you might realize.

“But public speaking scares me to death!”

Even those of you that get terrified at the thought of speaking in front of others can become great and really enjoy this by taking a few very easy steps:

• Speak about topics that you know very well
• Speak about what you are truly passionate about
• Speak to people that you really enjoy helping and working with
• To start, speak in an environment that makes you most comfortable - and you can create, mold and shape that environment in several ways
• Practice, practice, practice

Not only is speaking great advertising for you both pre-, post- and during the event, but it also helps generate cash flow from speaking fees and sales you make because of it.

Ok.. so now I have a topic and an offer to speak, but what if no one shows up?

A lesson I learned a while ago (the hard way) is that it’s  important to help promote the event, so it’s a win-win for you and the event organizer.

One of the first times I was asked to speak, I felt great, and I was very honored. But I didn’t feel humble at all.

I thought, “Finally, here is something I am going to get paid for, and I don’t have to lift a finger to market it myself.”

I was getting paid to just show up, deliver content and value during the event, and be on my merry way. People would love it, I would make sales, and the event organizer was absolutely on the same page.

Well, that turned out to be very shortsighted of me.

For one thing, the event organizer did a terrible job with marketing, and the event was sparsely attended. Although the presentation went well, I made less money and had less opportunity to market and make sales at the event.

I learned my lesson.

If you market an event that you are speaking at, you will likely get more attendees. And those attendees that you bring will already be fans of yours, and perhaps current or former clients. They will be able to testify on your behalf, and they will also become even more familiar with you and your expertise, thereby becoming closer to being a client of yours, if they weren’t already.

It’s much easier to market and sell to people that have familiarity with you than those that don’t.

And it’s much more fun and ethically fulfilling as well.

Also, by bringing guests to someone else’s event, the event organizer will love you. They will become a bigger fan of yours. Even just seeing the effort that you put forth in trying to get guests will make a big impact with them.  And they see that your event was one of their best attended, they will recommend you for other speaking engagements.

Lastly, you can control the quality and quantity of the marketing by being active in the process. Not all meeting and event organizers are great marketers, as I learned. And no one knows your strengths and selling points as well as you do.

By providing your own marketing copy to the organizer - material that you know has a great chance to bring in a crowd – you are providing more value to your attendees by letting them get to know you pre-event as well as what to expect during and even perhaps after the event. You are also reducing the amount of work the organizer has to do and strengthening that relationship. And all this is happening while you are multiplying your exposure by promoting the event yourself as well.

I’ve used these techniques to help my own clients, and to increase my value, my revenue and my client base from speaking, and I’d be happy to help you as well.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more about event speaking and marketing, and how doing these things can really help you to explode your business!

To your success,
Jason

Where is BizCoachJason Rosado speaking next? Check the Events page here, or have him speak at your event!

On the flip side, one good reason for not offering a “freebie” is when your sales funnel is quite full and you want to use an intro product as a qualifier to see if the prospect is willing to pay to taste. This works well especially with higher priced services.

I use a combination of free and not free intro products to begin the marketing process and allow people into my client funnel. This has worked very well for me, and I teach my clients to use variations on this that will help them. As long as everything is customized, part of an overall marketing system, and presents them as the experts they are, then free can be a great way to go to get the results they want.

Another worry related to the subject is that the word “free” in itself can  undermined your product or service value, and it’s better to use words such as “complimentary”, “no obligation”, or “no charge”.  

I think those words and phrases put up defense reflexes quickly, and actually can have the reverse effect, putting people on guard for an impending sales pitch. “What’s the catch?”

I think using the word “free” is fine as long as it’s framed well. Always let your prospect know exactly why it’s free, and don’t come from a place of desperation or insincerity. “Free” is straightforward and easily understood. But you want to show that your free product does have tremendous value, and people will respect that.

And besides, who doesn’t love getting something for free?

Happy New Year!
Jason

http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com

I’m happy to say that recently a number of past clients have contacted and hired me again to help them with this very question, to get down pat the skills, strategies, motivations and action plans needed to make it happen. That’s always a wonderful sign and feeling.

I like to help my clients set up a system that involves online and offline networking, getting exposure as an expert in their field, and using various client attraction methods to really put the fun back into marketing and sales.

I recommend people find ways to engage past, current and future clients in ways that really resonate with them as individuals and appeal to their target client. Provide lots of helpful info – create newsletters or teleclasses, speak at events, organize networking gatherings, use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Meetup, partner up with others that share the same target audience, and join a “leads” group.

Connect and build relationships based on mutual interests and joint benefits. It’s all there for the taking, and it can be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience!

If you would like more info on any of these ideas, please feel free to ask me. I’d be happy to help.

All the best,
Jason
Jason@DistinctiveCoaching.com 
773.829.1276

Helpful links:
http://bit.ly/dcsnsr – Social Networking Special Report
http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com – 5 Easy Steps to Grow Your Business

“I don’t know about the rest of you but I have decided to stop boring my prospects and wasting their time. Before my next sales call I will have at least 12 reserve question topics to use when the prospect gets silent. What I am doing currently is wait until things get silent the start showing brochures and product dumping…”

This is an interesting question, and I know a lot of entrepreneurs feel this way when they are making lead generation calls, having coffee while networking or giving sales presentations.

Here was my reply and advice on this question:

Hi,

Kudos on the idea for preparing 12 questions for your next sales call.

What I would recommend instead of waiting to use them for when the prospect gets silent, is to start with them.

This is what I work on with my own clients to greatly increase their sales effectiveness and close rates. Also, from a personal stand-point, I hate it when someone is trying to sell me something and assumes that I have no background or clue about what they’re talking about. They take 10 – 15 minutes of my time to “educate me” on stuff I already know or don’t take the time to find out my previous experiences or perceptions. This is a big turn-off, and even if I really have some interest, they probably have already blown the sale with me.

As a sales pro, you want to ask lots of questions, get them talking. Have them talk about their pains, their desires, their wants, their needs. Ask them about problems they’ve had and experiences they want to top.

Ideally, they should be talking 80% of the time. After they have given you all the info they can think of and relate to, and qualifying and pre-selling themselves in the process, then it’s your turn talk and be the answer to all their prayers.

Just make sure you are being truthful and can deliver on all you promise.

Good luck on the next call! And please let me know if I can answer any questions or ever be of assistance in any way.

All the best, and no more Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…..’s :)

Jason
http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com

A: That’s an awesome and very valid question. I always look at any business opportunity or investment as what’s going to be the bottom-line return on investment?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a lot of time reading articles, books, listening to CDs, MP3’s and watching DVD’s on various success topics. You may have also spent money to attend workshops, weekend or sometimes week-long seminars, and paid great tuition and travel expenses to do it. I’ve done all of these as well.

There is a ton of great information out there, and I enjoy providing my Business Success E-Series subscribers the valuable insights that I provide on various business-building ideas, strategies and skills. But it’s the lack of a specific customized strategy and accountability that usually slows down entrepreneurs from taking this wealth of information and creating the kind of success that they want.

According to statistics from the American Society of Training & Development, the probability of achieving a goal if you hear an idea is 10%. If you plan how to achieve the goal, it’s 50%. When you commit to someone else that you will achieve the goal and put in place a specific accountability system with that person, it goes up to 95%.

Coaching helps you sustain measurable progress towards your goals, improves your skill set, and helps you to think and plan more strategically while managing risk more effectively. Because of these factors, your stress level will decrease because you have created a strategic plan, an accountability partner, a sounding board and a mentor to work with you, freeing up even more energy, time and thought to make your accomplishment even easier and the process more enjoyable.

And the investment? Well, yes.. it’s not free. Entering in business coaching is an investment in yourself and your business. If you want to double or triple your sales, spend less time working and more time playing, or reduce your stress so you can sleep soundly at night - are those worth the investment? Only you can answer that. And I am happy to help you find that answer. Just ask.

Here’s to your success!
BizCoachJason

http://www.DistinctiveCoaching.com/Social-Networking-Special-Report

Here’s what some people are saying about it…

“Jason, I love this report! I have been having a hard time figuring out Twitter and your report has done wonders for me. Thank you. Is it ok for me to share the link with others?
Continue the wonderful work!”
- Sheila E.

“I just read your report on social networking. I could relate to some of the same frustrations! lol Enjoyed reading the tips. Thanks!”
- Nancy B.

 ”Thanks for sharing the link. One of the better summaries on using social media/networks for business owners.”
- Brett T.

“Hi Jason,  This guide seems really interesting and goes right along with the training topic we just had. Why don’t you also post this info to the group? I think that audience would really benefit from this too.
Thanks!”
- Frankie G.

“Nice! I can definitely use some of these ideas. This makes a lot of sense for marketing. I can tell my sales are really going to take off now!”
- Shawn T.

“Jason, great report – sure opened my eyes. I could use this help.”
- Jim W.

“Jason, Hope you don’t mind…I posted your Special Report to my wall, encouraging all to forward it to their business friends who don’t yet ‘get’ the importance of social media… ’Pass this article along to your business friends not yet on FB, Twitter, et al – Thanks to Jason Rosado’ ”
- Geoff M.

“Wow… Thanks for sharing this!”
- Susan M.

http://www.DistinctiveCoaching.com/Social-Networking-Special-Report