Not showing prospects the investment you’ve made in winning their business
Before you can expect a prospect to make an investment in buying your products or services you must show them that you have made a similar (if not greater) investment in winning their business. A salesperson who fails to show how much they value that prospect’s business can’t expect much success. Continue reading
Not properly understanding your customers’ needs
Not understanding the actual needs of your customers or prospects is a fundamental mistake. This usually results when people make assumptions about what their customers need or value most. The best way to prevent these sorts of assumptions from occurring is to speak with your customers frequently – and remember to listen to what they say. Continue reading
Failure to appreciate the need to actively look for new business
One of the first mistakes people can make regarding sales is failing to appreciate the need to prospect for new business. Many people adopt the position ‘we don’t need more customers, we have all the work we can handle’ or ‘I’m not comfortable cold-calling and it’s never successful anyway.’ These are not sufficient excuses to neglect developing your customer base. Continue reading
Michael Hyatt’s revelations below about time management are very easy to appreciate, and the ‘Two Minute Rule’ from David Allen is a real gem – and so simple I kick myself for not doing this sooner. But I suppose when we’re all ‘so busy’ and caught up in ‘doing’ things, we forget to wonder about the ‘why’ or ‘how’ of what we’re doing.
I think the two most important pieces from Michael’s article is making a decision and acting on it – immediately – and setting time limits. The statement that actions will expand into the time we have allotted for them is so true. And if we fail to consciously limit the time we allow certain things to take, we run the risk that those things will expand to fill all of our available time.
Read Michael Hyatt’s article below and see if his suggestions for improving how you manage your time might have a positive impact on your own productivity. Enjoy.
Four strategies for cutting your to-do list in half
Whenever I ask a friend how they are doing, they inevitably respond, “Busy. Crazy busy.” It seems like all of us have more to do that we can possibly get done.
One of the most helpful time management principles I’ve ever found is David Allen’s Two-Minute Rule. The basic concept is that you take immediate action on anything that can be done in two minutes or less. This is the key to becoming more productive.
To implement this, you should do these kinds of actions NOW. Why? Because it will take longer than two minutes to add the action to your to-do list, organize it, get back up to speed later, and complete the task.
Instead of going through that whole rigmarole, you just do it and move on to the next task. It is a huge productivity booster. And it will keep your to-do lists much shorter.
In addition to the two-minute rule, here are four strategies for cutting your to-do list in half:
You will get better with practice. Consciously try to implement this principle. Nike got it right with their slogan: “Just do it!” This applies to task management as well. Ready, set, go!
Question: How many items are currently on your to-do list? How many could you have eliminated if you had just taken the action when it first appeared?
Lately I have been doing a lot of research for one of my clients – mostly on various online marketing or promotional opportunities they have been aproached with. My client wanted to know if the opportunities were worthwhile and represented good value for money – and whether they would generate a reasonable return.
I would advise that you evaluate these sorts of opportunities with an open mind. That’s not to say with unbridled enthusiasm and
One was an opportunity to join an exclusive online advisory panel positioned as ‘preferred’ suppliers for a particular target audience. It would provide fairly exclusive access as part of a limited group of suppliers which the referrer would direct prequalified enquiries to. They infer those enquiries would be substantial given the high traffic to their website (without actually suggesting how many relevant enquiries that traffic may generate).
The other was for a professional services (accountants, solicitors, surveyors, etc) review website which claimed to offer broader exposure online due to their high traffic. Combined with independent vetting of professional qualifications and impartial customer reviews, the mode is similar to sites dedicated to providing impartial reviews of tradespeople (which have proven successful).
In theory, both opportunities could provide increased exposure to my client’s target audiences. However, both opportunities came with a rather hefty price tag. I was asked to look into each and evaluate their merits.
The obvious selling point for both opportunities was their supposed high volume of traffic and new visitors to their respective websites every month. Their greatest benefit to customers is the increased exposure and potential for new enquiries. However, I am not inclined to believe a salesperson’s claims – especially in the absence of specific figures or supporting evidence.
It’s nothing personal – I don’t only mistrust salespeople – but I recognise they are inclined to present their products and services in the most positive and beneficial terms. They make all sorts of claims; some claims are valid and can be substantiated, and others are less reliable.
Selling the invisible can be harder than selling a physical product.
If you are a service-based business then the ability to sell is vital to your long-term success. Selling professional services is however different to selling products. You are selling your experience and skills in the form of billable time. It requires operating on a higher selling level.
The person responsible for selling that service must have a focused mindset, in-depth knowledge and the skill to clearly articulate the value of the service and transmute what is often a “reluctant-but-necessary” purchase into hard cash.
Raising your profile
Reputation is very important! Think about your last significant or expensive purchase.
How did you decide what to buy? If you’re like most people, you probably made your decision based on the reputation of the brand or organisation.
Now imagine you’re the company that is trying to build a powerful reputation. How do you establish that reputation to meet your projected sales targets?
A good offer, which is compelling, persuasive and leaves the recipient with a clear notion of what they must do, can make all of the difference in the overall effectiveness of your direct marketing.
In order to craft these highly productive offers, here are the elements which should be considered:
The best offers include several of these elements. Think about how else you can improve your next offer to your existing and propspective customers – make sure it is clear what you are asking them to do to take advantage of the offer and put a time limit on it to encourage them to act promptly whilst it’s still fresh in their mind.
Last month two clients asked us to help in this area following last minute requests for them to deliver presentations. We’ve not come across a more simple and effective formula for writing a speech as the one outlined below.
If you’re unexpectedly asked to present something and you’re unprepared, or if your presentations lack focus, just follow this formula:
This is simply a nuts and bolts approach to writing a speech or giving a presentation and identifies the most critical elements for success. If you can cover each of the above points, your presentation should meet your objectives and also communicate the right things.
Preparation is key but even if you only have time to run through it a couple of times, try to do so. Record yourself if you can to help identify any areas of weakness or if not imagine yourself “on stage” delivering the presentation and critique your performance afterwards in your mind – what worked, what didn’t?