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If a prospect isn't calling you back....Quick Tips

2011-04-15T15:51:00Z

1. No more than 3 voice mails. On the third, I like to be totally unconventional and say something like "I'm starting to feel neglected. Please call and let me know "yes" or "no" if you'd like me to continue to contact you or if you're even interested" Straight to the point is best - save you and them time.

2. Approach it in a way that you are asking for his/her help. People very rarely "not answer" when someone is genuinely looking, and asking, for assistance. Just a short "I'm really looking for your help with something, please call me back" (You get the point)

3. LinkedIn. It was created for a reason - use it! Approach someone else from that same company. Use your network to get an introduction. Ask for their connection and make the invite personal and straight to the point.

4. Seek out someone else within the company (theirs) to become an ally. For me, gatekeepers are great friends....use them!

5. Find out what associations/organizations/events they attend and go. Seek them out and let them know you've been trying to get a hold of them. Carry your phone (calendar) and ask when you could swing by.

6. Don't sound like a sales person - sound like a friend or an already associated with colleague

I'm all about non-conventional methods. And they work in almost any case. Be different. Set yourself apart. Make them want to talk to you.

Now....go get 'em!

Take Advantage of all Opportunities

2010-05-06T05:01:00Z

TAKE ADVANTAGE……

I attended a Meet The Press event this morning. This was hosted by The Gazette and benefitted Leadership Pikes Peak (of which I am a proud alumnus). Weird part is why weren’t more people, business people, there to take advantage of such a great opportunity?

There were four great business & media leaders on the panel:

Cindy Aubrey, KOAA News Director

Allen Greenberg, Editor, Colorado Springs Business Journal

Liz Merrill, KKTV 11 News Director

Jeff Thomas, Editor & VP, The Gazette

What a panel, huh? Being in sales, and a business owner, why wouldn’t I want to get in front of these people? Why wouldn’t I want to learn how the news works? Why wouldn’t I want to learn how to figure out the difference between good news and bad? I DID WANT TO!

Why didn’t others?

Dee Vazquez (Pikes Peak Library District), a friend and fellow LPP Class of 2008 Alumni, and I were the only ones there from our class. However, not unusual, since that seems to be the case a lot of the time. There were 45-46 other up-and-coming leaders that graduated with us, but weren’t there today. Some other participants were other class alumni and some current class, but not sure where the rest of the 60 or so people came from. Either way, I look at this as a way of continuing our LPP education and my professional growth.

A great man once told me, to establish your expertise in your field, make sure people know. Get your name, your card, anything in front of those that, when needed, will call you for a quote. For an opinion. For information. Who does that? The media. (By the way, thanks to Tom Grinewich with the CSBJ for that advice)

Regardless of what the actual panel discussion was about, I was there. I learned a lot from very talented people. I got my card in to each one of their hands afterwards and discussed not only what Sales Department does, but how the information they just shared helped me. And, it did. Most importantly, when they need an expert in the Sales field…who might they call?

NO. Not Ghost Busters. ME. YOU. THE EXPERTS.

Take every advantage you can!

Outside of the Box

2010-04-22T15:10:00Z

Outside of the Box (for one client)

I started working with a new client a couple of weeks ago. What did they hire me to do? Get doctors to refer to their Physical Therapy business. I’ve never worked in the medical field before, but thought, this won’t be a challenge. I do KNOW people in the field. People

I’ve met over the years that can help – if approached the correct way.

Yes, I’m still calling on doctors from the names they drop every once in awhile and also by just doing a simple web search. While effective in some ways, maybe not the most efficient.

I’ve been doing something different (that they haven’t been doing): using my network!

Out of the 25 hours I’ve contracted with them each week, yesterday alone took 5 of those hours. And this was done with 2 appointments. Both appointments with those I already have established relationships with.

First Appointment: My daughter’s OB/Gyn. I had stopped in before to see if I could catch this doctor, but it was his surgery day. Rather than waste time in going back and trying to catch him after his patients the next day, I waited until my daughter’s next appointment. What a perfect time to catch someone’s attention, especially after her exam was completed. I brought up that I was working with, gave him some updated materials and the conversation started from there. We spoke for about 20 minutes. Mostly about my client and what great things they did, but at the end of the conversation, he asked about marketing his practice and what I would do. (Emailing him some suggestions later). But what finally happened from the call – he told me he’d like to come down for a swim (in the only heated hydrogen peroxide pools in my client’s wellness center) and wanted more brochures so he can have some for each exam room for his patients. He’ll be referring exclusively to this business from now on. Who would have thought that this could happen with my daughter still sitting on the exam table covered in a blanket from the waist down??!! (Oh, seriously have to tell you about my Chamber Ambassador call I made while standing partially naked in front of my plastic surgeon. Another day)

Second Appointment: Used my Leadership Pikes Peak classmate to get into Evans Hospital on Fort Carson. My client accepts TriCare and where else better to get patients that from the military? John is a PA at the Family Medicine Clinic at the hospital. After chatting back and forth thru Facebook, we set a time to meet. The owner, my client, had time and wanted to attend the meeting with me. I picked up the client down the road from Gate 1 at Fort Carson. After waiting for awhile for John to get back from lunch, he introduced us to numerous people at the hospital. Took our brochures and explained the way they could directly refer to a place. Not only that, we met the nurses and the officers in charge of both the Family Medicine Clinic and the Orthopedic Clinic. Even in the process of setting up a lunch & learn with the docs, PA’s and nurses there.

I’d say they both worked out extremely well. And although the total time came out to about five hours – I probably couldn’t have gotten the level of commitment from running around to 4-5 different doctors’ offices.

I used the Stuff that I had. I worked out of the box.

Focus on Clients - ERC

2010-03-01T17:44:00Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MF_cLIqUW0

Check out the above video to learn more about our client, Expense Reduction Consultants.

In sales, the word “No” is not the issue…wasting our time is!

2010-02-01T03:34:00Z

In sales, the word “No” is not the issue…wasting our time is!

Why can’t people just come right out and tell a salesperson “No”?

It’s one of the first words we learn as a child, as it should be since we’ve all heard it enough. “No, hot” “No, get out of the street” “I told you No” So why do we forget this when it comes to being adults? Not just adults, but business professionals?

“Half the time men think they are talking business, they are wasting time” – Edgar Watson Howe

In today’s world of rush, rush, rush – wasting time is death in sales. If someone’s NOT going to buy, move on. We don’t make money on the soft yeses or the call me next months. We make money on attaining new clients. Clients that pay, not play.

Tips for NOT WASTING TIME:

1. Don’t leave any more than 2 or 3 messages for the decision maker. This includes voice and email. One of the things that work for me on the 3^rd message: “I’ve left two messages and instead of wasting your time anymore can you please just respond and tell me if yes or no?” Puts the ball in their court. And, they appreciate the fact that you’re thinking of their time (whether true or not)

2. Don’t count on the “soft yeses” from someone you may know in the company. The person that thinks your idea is great and so does their boss (the DM). Get it, in writing, from the DM themselves. Insist on talking directly to them. Make sure they know what they are buying.

3. The “Let Me Think About It” prospects. Simply ask, “What is there to think about? Let’s go over the advantages and disadvantages right now”. As we all know, this person usually just wants to get off the phone. Well, if that’s the case, wrap it up then and see if you even want to be on the phone any more with them.

4. Invest your time, and or money, in a CRM system. Log your calls. Log your conversations. And call back on the day they asked you to. The Sales Department LLC uses Salesforce.com. It’s customizable, internet-based for multiple users and is very cost effective.

5. Pull the “competition” card. If you are a company that works exclusively with one business per industry, work that angle. There are always tons more, reputable companies that could use your help. Let your prospect know, subtlety, that you’re aware of that fact. Point is, if you KNOW your service and/or product will give business an advantage, let them know it.

All the above tips come down to one thing….Make sure you set time limits. Make sure YOU know these limits. Make sure your clients and prospects know these limits.

Please contact Sales Department LLC if you can’t find the “time” to increase your revenue!

Collaboration

2010-01-26T21:58:00Z

I’m a closer. Always been a closer. Will always be a closer.

That’s what Sales Department LLC does, we close. Whether closing an appointment for a client, or the full sales process. We know how to sell. We know how to help our clients sell.

Branding/Marketing = much different than selling.

Collaborate = To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort.

After receiving this email from a prospective client:

We are looking at doing more on a local basis as opposed to a National one. We have also just lost our sales department, if you will. We have some ideas but not sure how to get the most runway with such few folks. I'm assuming that you help folks figure out the best, most cost effective way to handle their sales and network. What do you charge to consult and help give guidance and ideas?

And this as the follow-up:

Are you available around 10:00 or so tomorrow morning? I’m not sure what we are going to do or what product we have in mind. What I wanted to ascertain from you was, if the managing director agrees, what your consultation fee is to help us brainstorm or give us ideas on how we get the most out of the local economy and perhaps into Denver.

We did what any sales expert would do, we called in outside forces. The force we called, Tonya, owner of Barzhini! www.barzhini.com. Tonya and I met the prospect together this morning. This is how it went:

Hello. Introductions. What are you looking for? Answer: not sure. More questions from us. Product info from them. More questions from me. More questions from Tonya. Still not sure. More questions….etc, etc, etc. The meeting was two hours long, but the results were these:

1. Client wasn’t sure what they could do yet (money/guidance from corp.)

2. No brand awareness

3. No marketing campaign

4. No familiarity with social media

Sales Department and Barzhini have their work cut out for them. But, with collaboration, we can come up with 2 or 3 different options to offer the prospective client as a whole. To get them started and on the correct path. So they know what their goals are and so do we. We will work together, all of us, to make it a success. From the initial email, to collaboration, to profitability (on all sides)

Moral of the story: don’t sell something for which you’re not an expert – get help. COLLABORATE.

CLOSE.

Welcome

2010-01-24T21:58:47Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.