Conversational Selling

About Mike Montague: Mike Montague is the Director of Community Engagement and a Certified Trainer at Sandler, where he hosts the How to Succeed podcast, Sandler Summit, and other live events. He is also the author of LinkedIn The Sandler Way and numerous courses and content on sales and leadership. In addition, Mike is a podcaster at Playful Humans, a community designed to help the burned-out and bored get re-energized and engaged with life. He is a contributing writer on the Sandler blog and many other international publications, including the Thinking Bigger Business, Hubspot, and LinkedIn sales blogs. Also, he has entertained and educated thousands of audiences as a professional speaker, on-air radio personality for Mix 93.3 and 105.1 JACK FM, and MC for other live events. Mike has also been an opening act for Billy Idol and Frankie Valli as a DJ and was named one of Kansas City’s Rising Stars of Business in 2015. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Mike. 

 

In this episode, Nancy and Mike discuss the following:

• Communication is the key in Sandler.
• OK, Not OK principles in sales.
• Social selling and social media marketing. 
• Advantages of back-and-forth conversation over blasting messages on social media.
• Social selling definition and purpose.
• Fewer connections lead to more conversations.
• Playful Humans - a space for happy people.
• Why salespeople should be happy to be productive?
   

Key Takeaways: 
 

• I fell in love with the communication principles and people deserve respect, and it should be an adult-to-adult conversation, and learning how to be an adult in a conversational selling kind of way with Sandler was really a cool experience for me.
• Social selling is just adding people’s information and opportunities to your pipeline by using any type of sales or social media platform.
• From a marketing perspective the more connections you have on LinkedIn, the better, the wider your reach, but from a sales perspective, it's actually the deep relationships that matter.
• We forget that happy people do more work.
• The harder you try to sell, the less likely you are to get that. 

"So as human beings, we can only keep track of about 150 to 250 relationships at any given time, we just don't have the bandwidth. And it's an interesting number. It's through a lot of scientific research. It goes back to even when humans were in tribes, wandering the planes and stuff. It was like at about 150, you see them start to split off because you just can't know everybody, and you can't keep close to relationships with that many people. So, what happens with salespeople is... They start getting weaker relationships. They start chasing weaker deals and they start missing things from their ideal clients because they're not paying attention to them. " – MIKE

"It is interesting to me that when you take yourself and your work less seriously, you can become more productive. People equate hard work with success. And I don't think that's true. It depends on the work you're doing. If you're building a deck or a brick wall - sure. The more work you do, the higher the wall is going to get, but in selling, that's not true. And selling the harder you try to sell, the less likely you are to get that. " – MIKE

“Do not be afraid to be yourself. So, whether that's in sales, in social selling with LinkedIn, or the kind of personal branding and play work that I do with Playful Humans, I think we try to fit in often too. And that makes us boring and the same as everybody else. That is when you embrace your weirdness and your silliness and your personality, and then go find people that want that rather than trying to make yourself into something that other people want. I think that's a really powerful lesson.” – MIKE

Connect with Mike Montague:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedmontague/
• Sandler Training: https://www.sandler.com/
• Playful Humans: https://playfulhumans.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]
  
   

About David H. Mattson: Dave Mattson is the CEO and President of Sandler Training, a global training organization with more than three decades of experience in providing training to companies of all sizes throughout the world. His key areas of focus are sales leadership, strategy, and client satisfaction. Since joining Sandler in 1988, Mr. Mattson has guided the firm to its position as a global provider of sales and management training with over 250 operating units in 25 countries. Under his leadership, the company has also been recognized four times in the Top 20 Sales Training Companies by TrainingIndustry.com, and nine times by Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” as the number-one sales training company in the United States. He is a best-selling author, sales, and management thought leader, keynote speaker, and leader for sales training seminars around the world. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Dave.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Dave discuss the following:

• Why Sandler is so successful.
• Script and its function is Sandler world.
• Applying Sandler tips and tricks in personal interactions.
• How one can quickly size up his/her prospect's communication style.
• The connection between DISC and Sandler Methodology.
• Sandler methodology in a college curriculum.
• Sandler Rules for Salespeople and for Sales Leaders.

Key Takeaways: 

 

• Sandler Methodology is a conversational sales model that allows you to insert your own personality, your knowledge of your own client base, and what you're selling.
• The success triangle is behavior, technique, and attitude.
• Salespeople get paid to change the way they communicate. Buyers do not get paid to change the way they buy.
• The buyers just want to know if you understand their issue. They want to feel comfortable and trust that you do understand and have a solution.
• The top pros get rejected 80% of the time. So, it's the norm.

"Good salespeople are like doctors. The doctor comes in and they're super smart, but they say “Nancy, why'd you come in today? Tell me a little bit about the problem that you're experiencing”. They ask questions, right? The value of a salesperson is determined by the information you gather not dispense. If you think about that. Because of that, if I use the doctor analogy if I were to go in, the other doctor doesn't do that. They say “Nancy, thanks for coming in today. Hey, before you say a word, let me show you, my diplomas. Let me tell you about the universe that I went through. And I am at the top of my class. Let me show you the tools that I use when I operate”. And I do this data dump and you're like, who cares? Let me tell you about me because people want to tell you about their problems, right? And I think that's the difference and its maturity that happens that way." – DAVE

"So, we have rules for salespeople, and we have rules for sales leaders. And again, I go back to, you can read a 400-page book on selling. Or what we've done is we've said, look, again, Sandler teaches the way to think, not necessarily what to say. So, if you have things like, there are quick rules, like don't spill your candy in the lobby, all that simply means is go in and seek to understand. So, they're catchy phrases, so you'll remember them, but they apply to so many different scenarios in a selling situation versus a script that fits into one particular area. " – DAVE

“First of all, no one wants to be rejected. If we even go back to, you know, and I'll age myself here. We had school dances, you know, did I want somebody to hold up a sign and say Dave, please come ask me to dance? Yeah, because I was afraid to go over there and say, would you dance with me? Because I didn't want to be rejected, you know?.” – DAVE

Connect with David Mattson:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-mattson-99538612/
• Sandler Training: https://www.sandler.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]
   

About LJ Sarkodee: LJ Sarkodee, is the creator of Freedom Sales School, author of Conversations that Convert, and Founder of Sales Closers. She has over 20 years of high-ticket sales closing experience, selling services from £2k ($2.5k) - £100k ($120k). LJ's expertise lies in helping businesses and entrepreneurs close more deals and generate more revenue through effective sales strategies and techniques. Her company, Sales Closers, provides a wide range of services, including sales coaching, training, and consulting, that help her clients achieve their sales goals and grow their businesses. She hired and led virtual sales teams around the globe, to sell out multi-six and 7 figure launches. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about LJ.

 

In this episode, Nancy and LJ discuss the following:

• Why do people burn out in sales?
• LJ’s person burnout story.
• Recruiting sales professionals and finding A players in sales: tips for interviewing the candidates.
• Why are some people really afraid of outsourcing?
• Peculiarities of the high-ticket closing sales cycle.
• Get control of the sales process.
• Importance of training outsourced salespeople internally. 
   

Key Takeaways: 

• Whilst that was a hard period and a hard lesson to learn, I'm thankful for it, as it taught me how I didn't want to do things moving forward.
• When we are looking for A-Players, it's always character first and foremost what we're looking for.
• I kind of make a joke that if a salesperson is too good at interviews, that's a concern of mine.
• A surrendered sale is just the art of being present in the conversation and allowing it to flow from there. 
• In the training team internally, we see that element of continual improvement and we believe that it's a skill to receive feedback and receive coaching.

"And linking it back to what we said at the very start, I think sometimes as women as well, we're trying to balance all the things and spin all the plates at once, being a mom and a business owner and doing the sales, be a good wife. And we try and wear all these hats, and it's just not practical at all. We're just not very kind to ourselves and, my belief is that when we're in that, prospects aren't getting the best of us so we're not showing up in the best possible way, whether that be working for ourselves or whether it be working for in an employed role either way. If you're showing up at kind of... the gas tank is half full, then you're doing no one any favors at all. And that inevitably will come crashing down at some point if you don't listen to your body." – LJ

"So, I think again, when it comes to higher ticket sales, what we're looking for as much as the sales experience is the life experience. So, when it comes to, you know, overturns, handling objections, that kind of thing. If someone doesn't really have it in the muscle or doesn't have the life experience to be able to connect with the prospect and understand where they're coming from, I think that's, it's quite difficult and we notice that in conversions. " – LJ

“There's another nuance with surrendered sales for me as well. And that's in the sales conversation itself. It's like the art of being attached to the outcome and just being present in the conversation and trusting the flow of that conversation rather than trying to over-control and over-orchestrate what's going to happen next. It’s, you know, this surrender is just the art of being present in the conversation and allowing it to flow from there.” – LJ

Connect with LJ Sarkodee:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ljsarkodee/
• Sales Closers: https://www.salesclosers.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]
   

About Lynn Whitbeck: Lynn Whitbeck, the Founder/CEO of Petite2Queen and Future Forward Sales, uses her expertise to guide entrepreneurs and business leaders to successful sales growth. Building on her 30 years of success and experiences as Vice President of Business Development and COO of direct consumer technology start-ups, Lynn is focused on catapulting sales teams and educating individuals daily to superior performance and success. Lynn is committed to lifting business leaders with the ingredients for growth and a profitable sales recipe. She helps transform thinking to the client's perspective and end sales chaos with a robust strategic plan to harvest the hidden profits. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Lynn.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Lynn discuss the following:

• Secret ingredients of a profitable sales recipe.
• Building Successful Sales Strategies on Referrals Basis.
• The difference between ghosting and a no-show.
• 7 reasons why salespeople get ghosted.
• How do we bust the ghost? 
• Lynn's story about a huge multimillion-dollar account.
   

Key Takeaways: 
 

• The primary reason that you get ghosted is that people are busy.
• It's all about the right message, the right audience, and the right time. 
• People are ready to buy at different stages.
• You demonstrate worthy intent by asking the right questions and listening more than you talk.
• They will respond if you demonstrate value and worthy intent without hounding them.
• Getting a handwritten card or package that ties to your product or service will move the conversation forward and build reciprocity.

"A profitable sales recipe has to include the core foundation of sales strategy, which is thinking like your client, truly understanding your ideal client avatar, the client journey, and then the human-to-human relationships and building those relationships with worthy intent. So, when you have that recipe, then you can execute on that and then (part of like the client journey) to build that profit in is, of course, you seed the referral process from the very first conversation and then all the way through your client journey so that when you've earned the right you ask for the referral. That shortens your sales cycle, brings you a more profitable business, you create introductions, and you feed your business. And in addition, of course, then you also can sell more to your existing clients." – LYNN

"It's really asking for an introduction, not a referral. So, to me, a referral is longer. I would ask for an introduction because that's not as threatening, and that's not. That differs from a referral trust you and is passing on this trusted relationship. So that would be a formula that I would apply to." - LYNN

"There's a difference between ghosting and a no-show. With a no-show, they don't come up or show up for the meeting. There are all kinds of extenuating circumstances and reasons around that, but I'm going to focus more on ghosting because it will cover some of that for the no-shows. But the first thing about ghosting is my question, which is rhetorical, but it's who's ghosting Because I want to be honest with sales, we sometimes ghost our prospects because we're not following up. Okay, so that is absolutely critical. So, let's talk about the reasons that people get ghosted because it is a morale killer for salespeople. And it's one of the top three things that salespeople list as one of the things that really hurt them in their business." – LYNN

Connect with Lynn Whitbeck:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnwhitbeck/
• Petite2Queen: https://petite2queen.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Merit Kahn: Merit Kahn, CEO of SELLect Sales Development, author of Myth Shift: Challenging the Truths That Sabotage Success, co-host of The Smarter Sales Show podcast. Merit is a certified emotional intelligence coach and certified speaking professional with over 25 years of experience. Throughout her career, Merit has worked with a variety of individuals, including salespeople, entrepreneurs, and professionals, as well as sales teams. She helps them shift their approach from selling to being chosen by their ideal clients. In her spare time, she is a stand-up comedian counting down the days until she trades in her title “single parent” for “empty nester." Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Merit.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Merit discuss the following:

• Sandler Training in Merit’s life.
• You need to be selective about the clients that you bring in.
• Have you ever felt like you were pushing against the tide when what you really want is to be open to receiving more business success?
• Nobody believes they're close-minded, right?
• What prompted Merit to writing Myth Shift?
• Is the strategy of having an open mind to absorb new information and then pivot when necessary correct?
• Why do so many of us sabotage success?
• Interesting story about Emotional Intelligence. 
• Fun fact about Merit.
• How can my people reach you?
  
   

Key Takeaways: 

 

• Our core philosophy really is that selling is not about being pushy or aggressive, it's about being selected.
• The truth is we must dramatically open the client’s hand to illustrate the point that we have to open someone's mind so that they can receive our value.
• My first role is to open their mind to new possibilities because, and one of the best questions for that is, have you already decided it can't get any better or are you open to a new possibility?
• Really the total intention of my keynotes, my programs, my coaching, my consulting work, the whole essence is around open minds and closed deals.
• As I got more and more experience in the world, I realized that at face value, those lessons didn't really serve me the way that they were written.
• Instead of just changing my mind willy-nilly or flip-flopping, which also has a negative connotation in the marketplace, I would consider that new information and then I made a new decision.
• I think when people sabotage their own success, they're certainly not doing it consciously.
• And what I learned was that there was this foundation of emotions, how well we understand our emotions and the impact we have on other people that was very different with these two.
• You and I know that the most important thing you could do with a question that a prospect asks you is fine out why they asked you that.
• The most scientifically validated assessment tool on the market, I use a system through assessment through MHS, which is multi-health systems, and they're fantastic.
• I can open your mind to new possibilities in ways that I'm not even able to do with you know, expertise and credibility and training and coaching, but I can do it with laughter.

"Our core philosophy really is that selling is not about being pushy or aggressive, it's about being selected. So we really teach people to stop selling and start getting selected. And how you do that is really by Asking good questions, having good conversations, as you well know, it's not about what you say, it's about the questions that you ask. And those questions help your prospects understand that you are credible and confident, and you can solve their problems. And that's when they select you. And the second piece of it really is you want to be selected by them, but you also want to make sure that you're selecting every single one of your ideal clients because you're going to put a lot of effort and energy. " – Merit

"And the way that I distinguish marketing and sales is marketing is everything that happens before you're in a conversation. Once you're in a conversation, you're in the sales part of the process. And what you don't wanna do is send somebody " – Merit

“What I took from that when I read that study was, we all want to be perceived as open-minded. So how can we use that to our advantage? Not in a manipulative sale, you know, pushy way, but to recognize that I need to appeal to your bill, your desire to appear open-minded and once I remind you of that desire then you are inclined to agree with that. And now you're more likely to hear my value. And whether we select to work with each other or not, from there is a different story, but I promise you, you will not sell or close a deal to a closed mind.” – Merit

Connect with Merit Kahn, CSP:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meritkahn/
• SELLect Sales Development: https://www.sellectsales.com/
   

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Robyn Balsley: Robyn Balsley, founder of Graceful Impression. With over 15 years of experience in marketing and branding, Robyn has worked with a wide range of clients, from small startups to large corporations. She is known for her ability to create compelling brand stories and design impactful marketing campaigns that drive results. Partnering with HALO, a global leader in branded merchandise, uniform programs, and recognition and incentive solutions. She works with clients to break through the clutter of our  
media saturated world and connect their brands to customers, employees and other  
audiences critical to their success. Through years of experience helping companies build their brands through products, Robyn is also working with individuals to reignite their confidence, provide the strongest impression of themselves, when it matters most. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Robyn.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Robyn discuss the following:

• How does someone go from marketing and branding to personal styling?
• How do you assess what a person's personal style is?
• How you feel inside shows how you feel on the outside. Can you expand on that?
• The importance of showing up.
• The value of everyone in an organization showing up.
• How do you have that conversation with team members that aren't showing up?
• The story the audience would find interesting
• Why does Robyn focus on working with companies and teams versus individuals?
• Something, in particular, Robyn wanted to spotlight.
• Pajama style in different generations. 
• Robyn’s view on casual dressing.
• Is all from the waist up in Zoom meetings?
• Is Robyn’s family all styled appropriately each and every day?
• Fun fact about Robyn.
• Something that you believe is true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
• Why don't you share what you offer? Robyn’s area of expertise.
• What's your advice on cleaning out your closet? 
• One takeaway you'd like to leave the audience with.
• How can my people find you?
  
   

Key Takeaways: 

 

• It takes three to five seconds to make a first impression.
• Everyone thinks they don't know their style, but they do. We know what we like, and what looks good on other people, and we can emulate that in ourselves.
• And I see way too many cameras turned off on calls because people aren't ready for the day. 
• When dressed up people felt accountable, and they were more productive, and they admitted they were more productive.
• I truly believe people will argue with me on this, but if you wear your sweats all day long, or if you get up and get dressed, even if you're wearing jeans and a nice shirt, you're going to perform better if you get dressed.
• I saw it throughout the pandemic. I challenged clients to get up and get dressed at least five days a week. And those that did said they felt better, and they didn't feel so isolated.
• I noticed that everybody in Japan got up and got dressed every day, like on the street, they're riding bicycles to work, but they're still dressed, or you just didn't see anybody in sweats or workout wear or pajamas for that matter. And to me, the biggest thing that came across for me was respect.
• I think just challenge yourself at the beginning of a week, kind of have some people prep their food for the week, prep your clothes for the week.
• It takes the stress out of getting dressed.

"A great example is one of my clients they’re in the financial world. And pre-pandemic, they were wearing suits to work and very, very buttoned up. And now they've relaxed the dress and they can wear jeans, a blazer, a nice blouse or a shirt. And it's kind of confusing to their employees. Some will come with jeans that have holes in them because they can wear jeans, but that's not really what they're saying. So, they're losing their culture, and in some companies, it's even part of their branding, going back to my previous life, it's how your team is showing up as a part of your brand." – ROBYN

"And it's truly our mental state that affects how we show up, how we, what our, attitude is, and how we people perceive us. It has a lot to do with how we are. Think about a great example of that, If I put on my workout clothes, my mental mind tells me that I'm going to go work out. So, that's kind of what we're prepared to do. But if I'm wearing my workout clothes all day long and I'm working, it's confusing and we're not putting our best self forward. So that's really where that mental from the inside out." – ROBYN

“How you dress while working from home matters. And you will be more productive if you dress a little, if you just dress up, just up-level, just a little bit versus wearing pajama bottoms, and a t-shirt. It truly a hundred percent makes a difference.” – ROBYN

“And I think just really going back to the whole sales aspect of it all, when we're in front of clients, we need to put our best self forward. And even if we're cold calling on the phone, it's how you're dressed for that cold call, I think makes a difference. I believe it makes a difference.” – ROBYN

Connect with Robyn Balsley:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynbalsley/
• Website: https://www.gracefulimpression.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Brandon Leibowitz: Brandon Leibowitz, the Founder of SEO Optimizers, a Digital Marketing Agency that focuses on helping small and medium-sized businesses get more online traffic, which in turn converts into clients, sales, leads, etc. Brandon got his start in digital marketing in 2007 after graduating from college with a degree in Business Marketing. In his first job, he handled the marketing aspects of an e-commerce website. In 2008, he realized that most businesses would need a website to stay competitive in the future. Having a website is only one piece of the puzzle. Ultimately, they need someone to help market their website to bring in traffic that will, in turn, convert to clients. And this was the beginning of starting his own company. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Brandon.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Brandon discuss the following:

• Why is SEO so important as it relates to sales?
• Is there any way SEO can drive prospects that are within your target audience? 
• Brandon’s unique idea makes him different and sets him apart.
• How does Brandon optimize his website for conversions?
• How important is video marketing these days? Brandon’s experience in this.
• An interesting story for the audience.
• Something, in particular, you would want me to spotlight?
• How do you get Google to trust you?
• Fun fact about Brandon.
• What SEO strategies are recommended in 2023, and how are they different perhaps in the past years?
• How long in your experience does it take for SEO to really start working?
• “Keeping a positive attitude and mindset is what will drive success”, why is this important to Brandon?
• Is the SEO industry agnostic or does it work more in certain industries than others?
• Something that is true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
• What are backlinks? And how do you get those backlinks on the other sites?
• How can my people reach you?
  
   

Key Takeaways: 

 

• SEO is all about just doing keyword research, figuring out what keywords people search for, and then incorporating those into your website.
• You want to make sure that all your printed information is at the top of your page, so ensure that whenever someone gets to your website, all the important information is at the very top, so they don't have to scroll down because the majority of people don't scroll down on a website.
• Video is good because people's attention spans are short. 
• If you can have a presence on YouTube or any of these video platforms, that's going to really help build trust.
• Making sure that you're targeting the right keywords and then writing them for those keywords can change your business.
• You have to build trust with Google and with people when you're doing digital marketing.
• The more websites that talk about you, the more trust Google is going to give to you.
• Once you get to that first page of Google, you're pushing someone off that first page and they're not going to be happy about that.
• They're doing something right and if you can incorporate what's correct into your own website, that's going to make Google trust you in a similar way.
• SEO is pretty much industry agnostic, but the less competition, the quicker it's going to result in more rankings.
• You don't need to be everywhere. You just need to be in front of where your audience is looking for you.
• Backlinks are clickable links from other websites that point to yours.
• It's not immediate, so if you're looking for immediate results, paid ads are going to get you that immediate traction, but SEO is a more long-term play, where you build it up and build it up and build that trust up over time.
• You just got to keep showing Google that you're relevant and trustworthy, and once they start trusting you, they're going to start ranking you, but you must build that trust up because Google just doesn't rank anybody without your trust.

"SEO is a way to bring in traffic. So, when people search on Google, there are ads at the top. Those are all paid ads, but right below the paid ads are the organic results. And SEO is about getting you in those organic results, so you get that free traffic. So, when people search on Google for your keywords, you show up and you capture that free traffic. So, they go to your website, and hopefully on your website, you could convince them to become a sale, lead, phone call, email, whatever that conversion goal is." – BRANDON

"Traffic is just half the battle. And once you get people to your website, how do you get them to convert? And that's where I try to figure out what we do to your website to make it optimized for people. That way they become a lead, a sale, or a phone call because a lot of people just focus on getting traffic, but they don't focus on what happens after that traffic gets to my website. How do I make sure that they actually stay on my website, that they go from a visitor to actual, a lead or a sale? And that's how I try to focus on that. " – BRANDON

“If you don't have that positive mindset then you get distracted and frustrated because SEO does take time. It's not immediate So if you're expecting immediate results, then you got run paid ads but for SEO It's more of a long-term strategy where over time you're going to build yourself up build your credibility and trust up and that's going to just bring in more traffic, but it's all about patience with it because it is not immediate unfortunately.” – BRANDON

Connect with Brandon Leibowitz:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonleibowitz/
• Search Engine Optimization: https://seooptimizers.com/
• Social Media Marketing: https://getplusfollowers.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Bryan Charleau: Bryan Charleau is the founder of Pitching Sales. He is a seasoned sales professional with over ten years of experience in the sales industry, ranging from software to construction. Through his experiences, he has learned countless lessons and gained first-hand knowledge of the challenges that sales professionals face when establishing themselves in this competitive field. Bryan’s first book, Pitching Sales, is filled with important and often overlooked information that can help to prepare you for the beginning stages of your career and to guide you through some of the unexpected situations you may find yourself in. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Bryan.

In this episode, Nancy and Bryan discuss the following:

• Bryan’s unique approach to sales.
• Why the word selling has such a bad rep?
• How did Bryan get into sales?
• Why Bryan felt compelled to write Pitching Sales and where it fits in the market.
• Why do people hate picking up the phone?
• Is there another story you want to share with the audience?
• Bryan’s view on the fact that experienced salespeople don't pay attention to the activities.
• Does Bryan believe in scripts?
• What is the one takeaway you'd like to leave the audience with?
• How can my people find you?
   

Key Takeaways: 
 

• Everybody's had an experience that's turned them off of sales, but they overlook the experiences where they bought something, where that salesperson was very helpful.
• I guess that stigma can sometimes come along with this profession.
• And one of the interesting things that go along the lines of hearing No is just having that mindset switch where you realize: “It’s okay to hear no”, “It's okay to be rejected in this profession”.
• Whether you've made a sale or not doesn't matter.
• That's where most people start in this cold calling environment, and you have to get the proper mentality to move forward and make something to yourself, or else, you're going to get frustrated, fizzle out, and you might get out of the profession.
• As long as you're coming in with the proper mindset of saying, “Hey, if this person says no, it doesn't matter whether you made a sale at the end of that day”, then you start hearing those yeses.
• Perfect scenarios very rarely exist. They should be looked at as a bonus, not as the norm.
• I do think it is important to have a guideline for those initial 3-6 months allowing that person to grow and integrate their own personality and own thoughts on the product or service or whatever it may be.
• Don't fear that rejection. Don't make that excuse to pick up the phone. You are getting further than the person beside you who picked it up once and made one sale and doesn't know any better why they got it or how they got it.
• I know how hard this is to be, and I know that I just hate to see good sales professionals get turned off of the profession, and that's kind of what I try to help people with.

"When you start to take that time and say: “This is a career that I want to look into. I'm going to do things outside of the office to prepare. I'm going to read books. I'm going to go to seminars, training courses, whatever it may be.” I think that's a real shift in mindset. And when I look back about 10 years into my profession, I realize there wasn't really anything that helped people in that first 3-6 months in getting off the ground because you see all these sale books on the perfect clothes and how to prospect and how to expedite your sales cycle, etc. Well, that's great information if you know how to sell and you're already in this profession, and you're looking to go to the next level. But that doesn’t help you if you’re scared to pick up the phone." – BRYAN

" We've grown up. And we've been conditioned to avoid hearing No when we're asking for something. And that can wear on you. If you hear it continuously, it doesn't matter what aspect of life, but if it's determining your paycheck, it's hard to hear it time and time and time again. And that just leads to you picking up that phone slower and slower the next time you hear it. And it can really start a dangerous cycle if it's a profession that you're really trying to get into." – BRYAN

“And my favorite part about selling is you can never learn at all. There's no end to the book. There's just so much information and practice you can be doing just to get better and better.” – BRYAN

Connect with Bryan Charleau:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryancharleau/
• Pitching Sales: https://www.pitchingsalesconsulting.com/

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Donnie Boivin: Donnie Boivin is the CEO of Success Champions. This online community gives you back your time while connecting you with other business owners looking to scale and grow their businesses. Donnie created the Badass Business Summit helping businesses unleash, be seen, and sell. And has appeared on hundreds of podcasts, spoken on hundreds of stages, and is going bigger with his message daily. Also, he is the Host of Growth Mode Podcasts, which gives you all the insights you need to know while building your business. Donnie is one of the leading global minds on sales, business development, and business growth. He is the first person to make sales and business development relatable and human. Donnie is a community builder at heart — he builds champions. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Donnie.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Donnie discuss the following:

• How did Donnie get into podcasting?
• Story of three profitable companies that all started because of a podcast.
• Donnie's purpose in life is to get as many people to freedom as possible. What does he mean by that? And why is that?
• Why do so many people struggle with building a business?
• What is the Badass Business Summit all about?
• Is any particular facet of the business that seems to be more common than others?
• Success Champion Networking: How did Donnie come up with that idea? And what happens when you belong to it?
• Criteria for picking and choosing the players in the community.
• How many people are included per group?
• A fun fact about Donnie.
• Something that you know is true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
• What is the one takeaway you'd like to leave the audience with?
• How can my people find you?
  
   

Key Takeaways: 

 

• I was interviewing from the perspective of and trying to learn how other people found success.
• Badass Business Summit is designed to bring in expert speakers on very specific operational mindsets, marketing, and sales perspectives to teach workshop style, so you're working on it at the summit. So, by the time you leave, it's already functioning in your business.
• Networking needs to be a portion of your business development strategy, not the entirety of it.
• If you can sell and then network, and you can bring your clients back to the network, and you get a group full of people doing that - amazing things happen.
• I had no choice but to learn things and screw up things along the way.
• I realized that many people like me were struggling to build a business.
• I will share everything I screwed up and how we fixed it, and I will help people in those dark places scrambling to figure out how to build their businesses.
• In this moment of time that we're in, the only thing you need to focus on is your personal brand.

"Quit focusing on the referrals and focus on whom you need to be introduced to, not from an in-client user, but from a place where their client base is your ideal client base and you guys can build this synergistic mutually beneficial relationship." – DONNIE 

"I think most people were like me, and we worked for somebody else for 20-plus years, and then we jumped out, and we wanted to start a business. And we don't realize that somebody was telling us what to do during those times working for other people. And now you're out on your own; nobody's telling you what to do. And the second portion of that is when you work for other people; excuses are easy. If the business is down, you can blame marketing, sales, leads, the economy, and everything else. But as a business owner, you don't get that choice to blame anybody. If the sales are down, go sell. Marketing sucks. Go fix marketing. You know, it's whatever it is. And people have never actually looked at themselves in a mirror to see what they're made of. And when business gets hard, they don't want to face their own reality because they're scared of whom they meet if they start looking inside. And so, I tell people, the greatest exercise in the world you can do is go to your mirror every night and say the words I'm proud of you. And whatever pops up that you're not proud of is the thing you got to fix or do. It's the greatest exercise I've found for me for self-discovery. " – DONNIE 

Connect with Donnie Boivin:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnieboivin/
• Success Champions: https://successchampionnetworking.com/
• Badass Business Summit: https://badassbusinesssummit.com/
   

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]

About Joseph Rockey: Joseph Rockey is the founder of Elite Business Conversations, a company that provides cutting-edge training and coaching to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Their coaching methods are relationship-based, meaning they focus on building strong, trusting relationships with their clients. This approach has proven to be highly effective in helping clients improve their sales, develop positive company cultures, and achieve success in ways that are meaningful to them. Joe has extensive experience and expertise in the business coaching industry and has a proven track record of success. Since 2011, Joe has launched over 15 different entities in multiple industries - to name a few: podcasting, business consulting, personal growth coaching, keynote speaking, and real estate investment. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Joseph.

 

In this episode, Nancy and Joseph discuss the following:

• How is it humanly possible to launch 15 different entities in 12 years?
• What makes a person a master of anything?
• How do you go about fixing a stalled business?
• The difference between educated cold calling and uneducated cold calling.
• Joseph's point of view on building a winning culture phenomenon.
• How can my people find you?
   

Key Takeaways: 
 

• Many people in this country live essentially under a sales system taught to them in the 60s, if not older.
• Salespeople are the ones who are going to heal the world.
• I do make a solid line between educated cold calling and uneducated cold calling.
• Let's have an educated conversation background, where I can leave an intelligent voicemail that gets someone to call me back, and we can move forward.
• Once you have a system, the simple fact of life is to pick up the phone and make it happen. Because staring at the phone and thinking it's going to work does not work.
• It doesn't mean we don't like the person doing that job. It just means we need to recalibrate the job in a way where it'll be productive.
• And now, everything about this job is an opportunity for me to improve my life rather than a place just to be and show up.
• The best people make the best companies. And that's the fact of life.
• Every position has elements of their job that are tied to it and that are untied to it. And we need to get them tied to it, but in a way where it's beneficial for everyone involved.
   

"In allowing your employees to have freedom by the fall, you are also allowing them to have innovational opportunities so that they can come out and say, you know what, for me, it works best if I do this, that, and the other." – JOSEPH
 

"There are three elements of any company's revenue cycle. The first one is we have to have people know we exist, and they have to want to come to see us. The second one is when they're actually with us, do they feel comfortable enough to exchange resources in exchange for the promise of a future product? And then part three is the future product. So, we're a lot of salespeople think it's only about that middle part. I'm with the individual. Can I convince them to give me resources in exchange for this future project? And the reality is, if you fail your business at any of those three components, you will be hung back by your weakest of those three links. It's just the way it is. So how do we fix a sales process? We start with which of your three links is wrong, which one is the worst, and whether we are not getting people to know that we exist. And have people want to find us? Well, what's our model for doing that? Is our model a passive or proactive?" – JOSEPH
 

Connect with Joseph Rockey:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerockey/
• Elite Business Conversations: https://elitebusinessconversations.com/
   

Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
  

Connect with Nancy Calabrese: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
• Website: https://oneofakindsales.com
• Phone: 908-879-2911
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
• Email: [email protected]