I will cover off later about how you can grow your business by selling using more advanced sales methods, but I have to at first make the assumption that you are a new business, so fire up people as you are going to have to start COLD CALLING!!!
Now before you run the other way screaming, COLD CALLING is perhaps the easiest thing in the world to do, and the secrets to making it so are starting to get out thanks to people such as Ari Galper. (google him if you want to explore this further)
First and most importantly, if you dont love what your business is, or you dont love what your products or services do, then QUIT NOW! You see the secret to any sales success and especially cold calling is an undying belief in what it is that you are selling.
What you are selling needs to be great, and you need to OWN this! It has to seep from every pore of your body, as what makes people buy will be your passion for your product. Being passionate will make you confident and this will help you succeed.
But sales is not just confidence. As if you are too confident you will just walk right up to people and vomit your products and services all over them.
The second secret is……………. CONVERSATION.
You need to start a conversation with the person you are connecting to, either face to face or on the phone. How do you know that you even want them as a customer, or how do you know they need what you have to sell, unless you talk to them.
The 3rd secret? Look in the mirror. You have 2 ears and 1 mouth, so use them in that ratio. ASK QUESTIONS, but dont go too far and interrogate your prospect.
When I started my first business, I spent the first 12 months cold calling door to door, and was amazed when I told people this and they gasped in horror.
You see I didnt know any better, and I loved reducing peoples bank fees, so I had no issue walking up to a complete stranger and starting a conversation with them about their business, and we would eventually discuss if they were interested in reducing their fees.
You see I dont really believe that sales is a numbers game, as that would assume a complete moron could still be a great salesperson, and this is so far from a reality it is not funny.
In terms of numbers I think that there are 3 types of prospect or potential customers. (Imagine a David Attenborough accent for this!)
Lets start with the worst species. The NEVER EVER! Quite simply they are never ever going to buy from you or anyone else for that matter. They are still with Telstra on all of their services, and possibly are still using dial up internet as they keep hanging up on salespeople offering broadband.
To survive in the sales wild you just need to recognise some of these tell tale signs and move on to greener pastures.
Next is the WISHY WASHY. This is the species that an experienced sales hunter will be able to sell to, but a new sales hunter will probably only sell to them 10% of the time. This is the biggest potential market out there so a focused effort on improving your sales skills will result in a higher success rate here.
Lastly there is the DESPERATE, or SITTING DUCK. These people are just waiting for you to visit them as the timing, the product the service, everything is just right. Its like the stars have alligned and you will be rewarded for waking up, getting out of bed, getting dressed and either visiting them or calling them.
They are not a myth. They are out there, and they are the reason why the “numbers game” of sales exists in some way.
So to summarise : get passionate, get fired up and start some conversations. You just might end up being a succesful sales person.
Good luck…
Unless you want to be stuck in a cycle of forever looking for your next client, then I strongly recommend you develop a referral strategy within your business.
Many business owners I meet, dont even ask for referrals, they just get the referrals that come from doing a good job, or being a nice person to deal with. I call this organic or natural referrals, and the exciting thing about this, is that if it is happening then you are only days away from cranking up your sales!
Even if you are a new business, your first sale to your first client will be the hardest. Once you have sold to them, and assuming you deliver on the promises made during the sale, you can leverage off this client without making them regret they ever met you.
So where do you start the leverage?
Well, if they were a business, visit the businesses near them, if they were a home owner, visit their neighbours, and tell the people you visit that, “I was just in the area as I seeking my client, Fred, so I thought I would pop in and say Hi….”
Refer back to your client and how you helped them at all times.
If you are targetting an industry, ask your client if you can refer to them when speaking to other people in the industry, get their permission first, if they say yes, great! If they say No, then you will have to refer to the fact that you helped someone in the industry and maintain their privacy and respect their request.
So how else can you leverage off your client? Referrals….
Once again, this only works if you are not full of ”it” and deliver on what you say you do. Then you can ask your client if they have any family, friends or colleagues that they can refer you onto. Now this is where most business owners stop, and many dont even get to as mentioned before.
Dont expect people to do this for free, and whatever you do, DONT DISCOUNT (see my other blogs for why this is a dumb move!)
Create a referral program that offers your valued client, who is an ongoing referral source, value for their referrals. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!
MAKE IT PERSONAL!!!!
Do not offer a recovering alcoholic a bottle of scotch for referring someone to you! If you dont take the time to get to know what your client loves then how are you going to know, that what you are going to offer them is of interest to them? Get this wrong and it can stuff the whole thing up, but take the time to get it right and AMAZING things happen.
By taking the time to connect to your client, you will be able to offer them a referral reward that is both relevant to them, meaningful to them and most importantly it will show them that you give a damn about them.
I can not state HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT THIS WILL HAVE ON THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS.
If you do it right.
So to summarise:
You can start leveraging off your clients immediately, without causing any issues.
Create a referral program, focusing on making it relevant and meaningful to you client – PERSONALISE IT!
Lastly, you must promote your referral program to your clients, or how else are they to know about it.
Stay in touch for Part 3
This has to be the biggest issue facing any business owner, whether they are an existing business, or a brand new business. How do I grow my business?
After 10 years of being in business I can tell you there is no “on switch” or “silver bullet” that will achieve this for you. Unfortunately for all of us, there is no “easy fix”. However there are ways you can achieve growth through clever and thoughtful planning.
Advertising and marketing executives will tell you to advertise but ask them to guarantee results and they will run for the nearest door. Google Adwords and other internet marketing ideas are useful but again offer no real guarantees, as they may get people to click on your website, but traffic is just that… traffic.
It is not sales or growth, unless your business is in the internet advertising industry and then this is what you need. For everyone else:
I think the better question to ask yourself, is how do I grow my business cost effectively and time efficiently?
In 2009 there is strong evidence to suggest that networking any business is a cost effective way to grow a business, but takes time, which if you are starting a new business is a mute point. You have plently of spare time so it is cost effective and time effective. But if you are an existing business you may be time poor so you need to ask yourself what networking group should I join?
The answer to that is any group. Any group you are willing to take the time to plan how you are going to “work” the group, as essentially networking is word of mouth, so as long as the people in the room have mouths or the ability to communicate to other people, then they can all assist in the growth of your business, which is why you are there.
But like any other aspect of your business life, failing to plan is planning to fail. Everyday I meet business people who are flying blind, with no plans and I have no idea how to assist them as at the end of the day they dont even know what they want to achieve, as they have NO PLAN (replace with NO CLUE if you like.)
These people perhaps started a business during a booming economy, when essentially any business would succeed, and now they are in trouble, as cash is tight and consumer spending is in a freefall.
There is no point going to networking functions and standing against the wall, but possibly worse then this is walking up to complete strangers and verbally vomitting you and your potentially irrelevant business all over them. So to conclude this blog I will give you some advice on how to better network which I recently received from a very learned friend.
- Introduce yourself – but ask the person you are talking to who they are and what they do.
- Then ask them what sets them apart from their competitors. (Whats their USP?)
- What do they love the most about their business. (Whats their WHY?)
- Lastly and most importantly ask them – WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?
This last question is the most important, and dont bother asking it, if all this time you have just been waiting to vomit all over them. Ask them what they need help with, and then depending upon what they say, do your best in the next 7 days to help them.
They may need staff, they may need a hug, either way dont ask the question if you dont want to be involved in providing the answer. The point of this excercise is, that if you are willing to help others before self, then they will help you.
I have often met with people, that need to speak to the person standing 5 metres away, and these people may never meet, and they actually need each others services, but with everyone vomitting all over them they will never get together. So I introduce them and both of them thank me, and I know I now have 2 more people that will support me and my business when I need them.
And this is all done without losing my breakfast! Speaking of breakfast it is time I had some.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and come back soon for Part 2.
During a recession, every business owner should take the opportunity to review their business, and ask themselves a few questions:
How much did your business change to suit the market conditions of the day? And were all the changes for the better? What decisions were made on the run, to try and take advantage of the market conditions you had? (emphasis on the had!)
What things did you start to sell or do because the market was there?
Is the market still there?
Which staff did you hire, because you needed staff who could speak english and had a pulse? And now which staff do you no longer need. What more could your staff be doing?
It is the business owners that take the “bull” by the horns and tackle these questions now, before the market forces it upon them are the ones that will prosper.
And what about your stock levels? Are you over stocked? If so – what is your strategy to move it on?
What if you diary is empty, or thinning out? Do you have empty appointments or billable hours?
Do you even have a strategy for moving stock? Oh and discounting the crap out of it is not a strategy… by the time you paid for the advertisements and the staff, you may as well just give it to a charity and claim the tax deduction. Plus good luck selling next seasons stock for the RRP when you just gave away this seasons stock…
Discounting is dumb!
My advice is to actively consider trading your stock or services at their RRP, for goods and services you need now. But what do you need now, I hear you ask and how do I trade it? First things first….
Do you need to motivate your staff?
Do you need a business coach or consultant?
Do you need to reward your clients?
Do you need to advertise more?
Do you need a new website or brochure?
Do you just need a holiday?
By adopting a trading strategy or by using a trading partner, you could get any of the items I listed above without cash, using your stock as payment! You can swap the ability to provide services in the future for stuff you need now.
Feel free to email me what stock you have to clear, or what idle capacity you have to provide, and at the same time attach a list of the things you need to purchase for your business or lifestyle right now and I will do my best to create a good outcome for you.
In the meantime consider the fact that I recently helped a client swap some slow moving stock for a boat, something he had always wanted but thought he couldnt afford, even during a booming economy. Instead of selling the stock at cost, he has swapped it at full RRP for a magnificent boat worth $130,000.
Oh, and by the way, the facts are that in this kind of economic climate, the amount of trading that you can do increases dramatically. Most businesses have more excess stock and more idle capacity than ever before, plus most importantly a desire to do things better, faster and smarter. Cash may be king, but like all kings they fall from grace eventually, but barter is always smarter.
Happy trading!
Does your business rely on sponsors or donations? Or perhaps a strong base of volunteers?
When was the last time you actually asked or interviewed your sponsors or supporters and asked what they want to achieve from their support of your business or team. I am amazed at how many sporting teams, charities and other supporter based organisations are missing this key point.
It is almost like you are expected to support them, because they are there, or because you love the “team” or charity?
During a booming economy, this might have been ok, but in a recessionary or cashflow restricted cycle this simply wont work, you might maintain your die hard supporters, but you will lose more fringe supporters then your die hard supporters can make up for.
Make sure that you connect to your sponsors and find out what they are seeking to gain from their sponsorship, whether their contribution be a time or money thing. They may just want to be part of something bigger then themselves, but if you dont involve them of make then feel like they are a part of the team, they will eventually move on to another team that fills their need to be wanted and valued.
If they are looking to grow their brand or their business – then it is your job to make sure that you create opportunities for them to do so. Ask them what they want – it is the easiest way to find out the answer! And this doesnt have to be expensive, it can be a simple meeting at the head office whereby a select few people are invited.
Dont over promise – be realistic if they want to pick up 1 more client, then do everything you can to analyse your database and make the personal recommendation to that contact and get them together. Drive the interaction by creating a “smart cup of coffee” between the parties, even take on the role of host. If a deal results, then your team will always be remembered as the instigator of it, and this will be useful when it comes to contract renewals.
Find ways of adding value to your sponsorships – that doesnt have to cost. If you are a sporting team, chances are your supporters and sponsors will value the opportunity to meet the key people involved in the team, be it players, coaches or committees. This again can be done low cost, but provides massive value to the overall sponsorship offer, and some things you just cant put a value on.
Over the past 10 years, I have been in around these sorts of businesses, and for the most part, the people that run them are “blindly” in love with what they do, and do wonderful work; but unfortunately think everyone else loves what they do as much as they do.
Take the time to step back and make a subjective assessment of what you are offering your sponsors and supporters, and see where you can get more personal and add more value. You may get a surprise just how much more you get out of them, by paying them a little personal attention.
If you want to have a succesful business, then the best piece of advice I can give you, is to stop discounting!
Discounting is dumb! It is dumb on so many levels, think about it!
The discount you do today, will be the discount your customer expects tomorrow. It will be the discount their friend expects when your customer tells them about the discount he got, and before you know it, you are never selling at your normal selling price again.
So how do you get people to buy now without discounting? Try adding value!
Create a retail experience that offers unrivalled customer service and adds value to your customer and you will never lose a sale again. To see this in action think about the last time you were a customer and you were completely blown away!
I bet you a million dollars, it was either great service, or it was great value!
Not a discount.