Inside BS Show

➜ How to survive a recession

➜ Why you can’t wait around to start building your own recession strategy

➜ What your recession 2020 strategy should look like

In today's show I share a sure-fire strategy to help you survive the 2020 recession.

See, when it comes to businesses, recessions are a kind of the “boogeyman”.

Everyone is scared of what the next recession might do to their business and livelihoods.

But instead of prepping for it now, many people wait until the effects start to hit their business before they ever try to change.

I’m here to tell you that’s completely wrong.

I’ve survived through recessions, so I know a thing or two about how businesses are affected. In fact, I’ve even seen growth during recessions where many others saw losses.

So how can you do the same?

Well, first you need to make your action plan NOW rather than later.

Waiting for the recession to hit is a recipe for running your business into the ground.

In this show I talk about why now is the time to create your business’ recession strategy rather than later.

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➜ How to establish trust and credibility in your industry

➜ Using LinkedIn effectively to position yourself as an industry expert

➜ What you should NOT do on LinkedIn

No matter what businesses you’re in, credibility is vital.

See, without establishing yourself as an authority in your industry, you’re not going to get very far.

People prefer to buy from the experts in any given industry. This is because being an expert is one of the quickest ways to build rapport and trust with your audience.

If you’re not viewed as an expert in your industry, it’s likely that people will flock to the competition instead.

So how are you supposed to build the authority that allows you to be seen as an expert then?

Luckily, social media platforms make now an easier time than ever to position yourself as an authority figure.

In this show I cover exactly how you can use LinkedIn effectively to establish credibility in your industry.

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In this show we cover 5 ways to recognize buying signals. 

Buying Signals in Sales Training tip 1: Prospect comes into your office for a consultation. Buying signals over the phone are similar. The prospect calls your office for a consultation. 

Buying Signals in Sales Training tip 2: The prospect comes to an event you host. This is not because you can read buying signals body language. The simple fact that people are taking time out of their day, traveling to, and participating in an event you are hosting is a buying signal. 

Buying Signals Sales Training tip 3: The person presents a problem you can solve. When prospect begins to tell you his story it includes something you can help them with, that's a buying signal. 

Buying Signal 4: The customer willing participates in the buying process. If you outline the customer buying process and the client opts into it, they want to buy. For example: You put out a video with a case study that walks the viewer through the buying process. The clients that come to see you, watch that video in advance and then follow that process themselves. 

Buying Signal 5: The prospect asks about price or financing or the start-up process.  

These five buying signals are often not obvious to people who have not been focused on them. The hope is that this video will help you recognize buying signals in the future.

If you work in b2b marketing or b2b sales Dave Lorenzo offers sales training, sales techniques and sales tips you can't miss. Be sure to subscribe. 

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What do you do when sales are down? In this show, I give you five ideas for how to get out of a sales slump. I talk about the importance a positive attitude and the benefits of self confidence to get you back in business.

Keep in mind that it hasn’t been long since you were making deals left and right. Remember the winning attitude that enabled your success and tap into the benefits of self confidence that will help you succeed again.  

Here’s how to get out of a sales slump: 

1. Focus on what we teach kids in baseball. Don’t worry about winning the game; just win the at-bat. In sales, take things step by step: nail the call to get the appointment, to make the proposal, to eventually win the business. 

2. Read testimonials. Take pride in positive things people have said about doing business with you. Recognize the benefits of self confidence and self esteem for getting your sales groove back.

3. Call your current and former clients. Look for upselling or repeat sales opportunities and find ways to deliver additional value to those who appreciate you.

4. Get in front of an audience. Volunteer to speak at the Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, or even Career Day at school. Dress up, share your passion, demonstrate value, and soak in the applause.

5. Do a mass mailing. Send 100 snail-mail letters to ideal potential clients, describing something new and exciting about your business. One week later, start following up, and prepare for your next sales boom.

Confident about how to get out of a sales slump? Ready to reclaim your spot at the top of the sales leaderboard? Start today!

As salespeople – and as human beings – we inevitably face rejection from time to time. In this show, I explain how to handle rejection in sales. I talk about the importance of believing in yourself to get past the negative aspect of selling we all dread – the moment someone says “no.”

We all want to be liked, so when potential clients tell us they’re not interested, it hurts. Although you can’t diminish the sting of being turned down, you have to recover. You need to find the next “yes.”

Here’s how to handle rejection in sales, build up your rejection armor, and get back in the game:

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Write down three things you’re grateful for every day. Focus on areas of your life that are going right. Review your journal morning and night. 

2. Before calling a new prospect, read a testimonial from a client you’ve helped. If the call doesn’t go well, read two or three more testimonials from satisfied clients. 

3. Contact a client with whom you have an especially good relationship. Enjoy a positive conversation and boost to your self-confidence. 

4. Teach someone something. Teaching is giving, and when you give, you feel good about yourself. Realize the importance of believing in yourself as a valuable person who matters to others. 

5. Think about your unshakable beliefs and values. Remember that you’re a good person who’s doing good things. 

Learning how to handle rejection in sales is all about realizing the importance of believing in yourself. Overcome your fear of being rejected by recognizing all that you offer. And when you do get turned down, concentrate on the next deal – it’s right around the corner.

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➜ Why a coach is a great resource for mastering the B2B sales experience

➜ The benefits of having a mentor in sales

➜ How to find and hire the right sales coach

No matter what you’re doing in life, there’s no way to make progress without learning from others.

Whether it’s art, sports, or speaking, you need people to help you reach your goals. This can be in the form of books, videos, online posts, or one of the most effective ways to learn something quickly, coaching.

Hiring a coach or mentor is one of the best ways to learn a new skill because you can get direct feedback on your progress, and B2B sales are no exception to this.

Selling to businesses is a skill, and like any other skill, you need people to help you hone it.

If you want to master B2B sales, one of the quickest ways to get there is with someone who’s already a master at the craft.

In this show I cover some of the many benefits that you can get by hiring your own sales mentor.

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What does your prospecting plan look like? Have you considered using direct mail to increase customer leads? If not, you should consider it. 

Using direct mail is beneficial because it can be very cost-effective and highly targeted. Compared to email, direct marketing material is far more likely to be read by the prospect. 

However, it’s important to know how to be successful with direct marketing. There are a few steps that you can take in order to make this an effective part of your prospecting plan.

The first step is to identify 100 companies that you want to work with. It’s important to do some research and find companies that would make for good customer leads. This will help you to target your campaign.

The second step is to find five people in each company who are good targets. These are the people who you’ll want to direct your campaign at.

Then, outline 12 topics you’ll use in the campaign. When coming up with your topics, make sure that they’re interesting, entertaining, and emotionally provocative.

The fourth step is to send one letter to each person on the list each month. Make sure you’re consistent about this.

And the final step is to follow-up with a phone call one week after mailing each letter. After having received and read the letter, your phone call won’t seem cold and your chances of building a good rapport will be much better than if you had just called with no introduction.

The targeted nature of direct mail makes it a highly effective part of any prospecting plan. Follow these five steps and you’ll be able to increase your customer leads with a well-designed campaign.

In this show, I discuss some reasons why relationship selling is so effective, no matter what your product or service is. If you want to know how to win a client, there are a couple of approaches that you can try; however, only one will help you be more successful.

I’ve worked with Pat Murphy of Heartland Payment Systems since 2008. During that time, we’ve had many conversations about the ways to sell credit card processing. I use that company as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of relationship selling.

The way most people do it is to go into one store after another – one pizza shop after another. You knock on doors and ask the owner if they want to save money on credit card processing. 

This transactional approach to selling focuses on the product that you’re offering. You talk about the benefits and features and hope that the client will be interested. This approach can work for some people but if you really want to know how to win a client, I think there’s a better way.

The other way is the consultative sales approach. This approach demonstrates why relationship selling works because you first get to know the business owner. Once you get to know them, you introduce him/her to people who can do business with them or people who can solve a problem. This way, you’re offering value before you’ve even made a deal. 

Rather than knocking on the door of a business and immediately talking about your credit card processing, you start with rapport, which leads to trust.

This is the perfect illustration of how to win a client using relationships. The reason why relationship selling is effective is that it allows you to demonstrate your value. If it works with credit card processing, it can work in any business.

In this show I share 6 ways you can drastically increase sales for your team as a sales manager.

➜ How you can make more money for your team as a sales department manager

➜ 6 key tips for managing a sales team

➜ The one thing you must STOP doing Immediately to boost sales team productivity

As a sales manager, you have a lot of responsibility for your team.

Your reps may be the ones out in trenches, but you’re the one who makes sure operations are running smoothly so they can do their work well. 

You’ve got to be willing to do things and get in the thick of it to make sure your team not only meets their goals, but exceeds them.

I see sales managers all the time who fail to take key steps that lessen the loads on their teams, and this only ends up in reduced sales.

Reducing meetings, makings collection calls, and fighting for every penny your reps make are just some of the many things you can do to help your department sell more.

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When building contact with affluent clients, there are a few strategies that you can use to be successful. In this show, I share five business networking ideas that will help you grow your network of wealthy clients.

The first strategy is to focus on delivering sophisticated, high-level programs that affluent people will find valuable. Package your programs so that they come off as high-end. Offer end-to end luxury turnkey service.

Affluent people are busy. They don’t want to waste their time waiting around for documents to be finalized. There are a plethora of options for offering more convenience to them.

Another method of building contact is to join the clubs where affluent people socialize. Join clubs that require people to have a lot of money to join. This way, you can talk about things related to the club and once the other members find out about you, they’ll want to do business because they’ll trust you.

The third of the business networking ideas is to speak, publish, and network with the trusted advisors to high-end clients. Educate the people who do the evangelizing. Give seminars to these people so that they will then pass on your name to the people they work for.

Fourth, host events that will attract the affluent. Private performances, wine tastings, scotch tastings, cooking classes – these are all great offerings that your prospects will enjoy. 

Finally, get referrals from existing affluent clients. If you currently have an affluent client, sit down with them to a dinner and ask them who else they know that could use your services; then ask them to introduce you.

Use these business networking ideas to attract affluent clients so that you can make more money. Building contact is about building trust; with these five strategies, you can become a trusted part of the affluent community.

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