A Life You Love: Sales Tips with Jennifer Fisher

As the world of sales continues to change and evolve, so has the number of sales tactics and various technologies to help teams close new business and retain current business.

Many of the old-school sales tactics don’t always necessarily work and having too many new ones in place can also cause challenges.

It’s a tough world for salespeople, especially in B2B. But there is also a wealth of knowledge and techniques out there that will help sales teams achieve success and reach their goals.

While it is easy to be inundated with information, thanks to the internet and the thousands of sales gurus saying different things — there is still one sales tactic that every salesperson should still master: relationship selling.

Here are a few stats in the B2B space that stood out to me:

• 82% of B2B decision-makers think sales reps are unprepared.
• In B2B, 68% of opportunities are lost because of indifference or perceived apathy by the sales rep.
• According to Gallop, only 46% of customers said vendors deliver on what was promised.

Yikes, that’s not good.

Those kinds of stats show why focusing on relationship selling and generally showing an interest in more than “just the sale” is important.

Plus, with all the tools and sales technology it can be distracting for the sales rep and make it seem that those items are enough alone to win business.

Here are my three tips for building strong relationships:

1.      Authenticity is key – be authentic!

2.      Engage in active listening – really listen to what your clients and potential clients have to say.

3.      Do not fake it until you make it – be yourself

 It just makes sense, building positive working relationships will be key to closing a new deal, retaining current customers for the long haul, and developing trust that can lead to new referrals.

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Shruti is the former CoFounder-CEO of Wingman (now Wingman by Clari), which is an actionable conversation intelligence platform that unlocks insights from every sales interaction. As the founder of Wingman, Shruti was also their first salesperson who sold their first million dollars in revenue single-handedly. Despite being an outsider to the SaaS ecosystem and to the US, Shruti has managed to successfully scale the business, been selected to the prestigious YCombinator program, raised funding, and hired a team of 40+ talented folks.

Connect with Shruti on LinkedIn

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Just Have Conversations to Close More Business (feat. Kevin Snow)

The co-host of the top 100 Apple Podcast, Growth Mode; COO of Success Champions, and the owner of Time On Target, Kevin Snow is a sales expert and a serious technology geek who knows how to help his clients take their automation game to the next level.

Part entrepreneur, part salesperson, part networker, part technology master, and part Star Wars fan…

Connect with Kevin Snow on LinkedIn, Time On Target, and Sales Success Champions

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How to Get Motivated & Build Your Personal Brand (feat: Donnie Boivin)

Donnie Boivin is a motivational speaker, author, podcaster, businessman, and coach that helps to change the game in mindset and success. His book “How to be a success champion: Business Strategy for Badasses” is a story of his own life that has inspired thousands to get out of their own way and go for it. Donnie Boivin has launched his career, from being a corporal in the US marine corps and spent over 2 decades mastering sales and marketing to becoming a Founder and CEO of the Success Champions family of companies. Success Champion Consulting, Growth Mode Podcast, Success Champion Magazine, the Badass Business Summit, Success Champion Networking, and an award-winning professional. 

And you know what – he’s an all-around nice guy!

Donnie is opening up Champions 90 to all my listeners:
It's a 90-day business development challenge.
5 activities to get you dialed in and doing the things that will grow your business and it's free.
No catch, No Upsell, No Webinar
If you are up for the challenge, sign up here

Connect with Donnie on LinkedIn

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Leveraging the Skill of Influencing to Win Business (feat Douglas Cole)

I’m excited to have Douglas Cole as a guest this week on A Life You Love. Douglas is the author of The Sales MBA published this past summer where he focuses on the skill of influencing as well as the mindset advantage – what best-in-class sales professionals understand about likeability, mutuality, and objectivity, and how to use these qualities to supercharge your success.

Douglas Cole
The Sales MBA

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How to Grow Your Pipeline Faster and Easier (feat Jamie Shanks)

Jamie Shanks is a global innovator of social selling, pioneering a method of B2B selling in the digital landscape that no one has implemented before. Jamie co-founded and operated Sales for Life, the largest sales training agency in the world.

Over the past decade, Jamie and his team have trained and mentored over half a million sales professionals in social selling and smarter prospecting.

And now he’s automating smarter prospecting signals to help salespeople even more. He’s committed to making your pipeline growth easier, faster, and possible with the help of Relationship Signals.

Jamie Shanks
Pipeline Signals

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Being True to Yourself by Selling with Dignity, (feat Harry Spaight)

Harry Spaight brings the energy and passion to this amazing interview. His mission is to serve others and sell with dignity.

Selling With Dignity takes a different approach. Instead of viewing people as numbers and machines, salespeople can be dignified in their approach. Selling is an honorable profession when it is done right. When sellers feel they are valuable and have integrity and respect, this opens the door for better conversations and eventually relationships.

Listen on for a great interview!

You can connect with Harry at http://www.harryspaight.com
And on LinkedIn

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How to Get the Most out of Networking Events

I’m sure you have heard it before. Going to networking events is a great way to make new connections.

But guess what? If you don’t learn the proper social skills or understand how to make the most of them, then you are missing out on something crucial!

Sure, networking events have their pros and cons. But ultimately, they put you in a position to build rapport with like-minded individuals and offer the chance to increase your spheres of influence. So why not go?

Before you do, ensure you know how to maximize your time and capitalize on its benefits. 

1. Be clear about your goals and desired outcomes
2. Arrive ahead of time
3. Talk to people and meet new people
4. Become a card collector rather than a card giver
5. Identify the event organizer
6. Be approachable
7. Be inclusive
8. Facilitate introductions
9. Have fun and be yourself
10. Have a structured follow-up plan that works

Building relationships is important to getting ahead both professionally and personally. And knowing how to network and communicate with others at conferences and events effectively is vital to making this happen. You must plan your time wisely and know how you can be of value to others to benefit from the opportunities being presented.

Thank you so much for listening to, A Life You Love: Sales Tips with Jennifer Fisher – I look forward to continuing the conversation next week.

Now go LIVE, the sales life you love!

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Lessons Learned from Lost Opportunities

Want to increase your probability of sales success?  “Lost” prospects may be the key!  Many salespeople hit the ‘delete’ key on former prospects and focus on new prospects. Big mistake!  These former prospects can make great future customers. To increase your sales – earn business again from prospects you’ve “lost” over the years.

1.       Make sure you’re going after the “right” opportunity in the first place and that your prospect fits your Ideal Customer Profile.

2.       Reach back out to your prospect to understand why you lost.

3.       Reflect on your own actions to see if you could have done something differently.

 A lot of good can come out of a lost opportunity, even though it’s dismaying. Proper feedback channels can go a long way in turning lost opportunities into a potential jumping board to better ones. 

Thank you so much for listening to, A Life You Love: Sales Tips with Jennifer Fisher – I look forward to continuing the conversation next week.

Now go LIVE, the sales life you love!

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How to Offer Value Through Education

In today’s episode, I will talk about “education” to help build client relationships and drive revenue. 

This technique varies slightly from the value-based method in that instead of discovering what will make your offer value to the customer, you allow them to discover it for themselves by helping them become more informed.

By focusing your efforts on providing insight into your product or the market itself, you not only increase your client’s interest in the product but also their trust in you as a reputable voice within the industry.

In fact, salespeople who ask the right informative questions, and who teach their customers by providing unique perspectives on the businesses they’re selling to, often outperform their counterparts who are utilizing different sales approaches.

Education-Based Selling is the process of making your prospects better and more informed customers.

By investing time and energy in making your customers more intelligent, you simultaneously build trust and make them more interested in your offer.

Remember that to do this properly, you must know more than your customers. Otherwise, you’ll scare them away.

Some Benefits of Client Education

• It establishes you as an authority
• It allows you to stand out from the competition
• It provides an unbiased, trustworthy view

Providing valuable information to clients is a strategy that pays huge long-term dividends in terms of client trust, engagement, and ultimately growth in your business.

The education of clients helps them to save time and money, boosts their personal brands within their organizations, and provides them with a trusted business partner and reliable ally when needed.

Thank you so much for listening to, A Life You Love: Sales Tips with Jennifer Fisher – I look forward to continuing the conversation next week.

Now go LIVE, the sales life you love!

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