Master Deal Maker Secrets

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

Say we have a friend that owns a business, and they might have one or two sales employees. Perhaps that business owner has been selling their own product for years, and they've found success in working hard.

Soon, they reach a spot where they have both a warm market and a successful network for referrals.

In this lucky example, our friend has happened upon a sales type that everyone dreams of: effortless high conversion rates. When they meet, they transform those clients into buyers.  But be wary, every success story comes to a tipping point—and it’s crucial to recognize it.

Time and again, I’ve had to fix this mistake because most people just don’t see it coming.  Successful business owners say, “Right, I’m going to hire another salesperson.” And they do, but then the salary for a competent sales executive is upwards of a hundred grand. Sometimes, depending on your industry, they’re even more expensive.

Now, the employee’s salary isn’t the problem. The big mistake I see is the lack of systems. When I say “system,” I mean: what is your business’ sales process that your newly hired employee is meant to use?

Often, a fresh employee will implement their own habits, or they’ll try to use skills they learned at their previous job. This can be a huge problem. So, you want to have this conversation with your new employee soon, or even apply this during your selection process.

Don’t hire the wrong person simply because you lack a system. If you have a strong one in place, then it makes it easier to choose a new team member. This goes especially for Australia. I’m always saying to people: if you’re going to pay for a full-time employee, you want to make sure that you have got the best person, right?

As a business owner, time is money. And you need a fresh hire that can be brought up to speed with product confidence quickly, so that they can exceed company goals.

There’s nothing worse for a salesperson than to not find success. It’s soul-crushing to be in a new job for months and come up empty-handed. If you can help, then you’re investing in your new employee.

The best way to assist is with a system.

Every good business needs one to help train employees and get them to the “I am exceeding sales goals” point. This would be even better if it happened during an approved time period. Frame it like this: “This is your induction program. For the first 30 days, we’re focusing on product knowledge. The next 30-day period will be client introductions.”

In worst-case scenarios, a new employee will spin their wheels and then make excuses for not selling. One thing leads to another, and a year later, you’ve invested too much time in this person for no profit.

However, I’ve seen a pattern. There is a specific transition period between “I need a new salesperson” and “I’ve hired the perfect employee.”

The key here is that you must have an ongoing motivation and management system throughout the hiring and onboarding process. Otherwise, bad habits might develop that neither you nor your new hire will benefit from. But what is the easiest way to set up this system?

To start, your best first step is a map.

Unfortunately, most people don’t even realize their process because success often comes from an innate skill set. This makes it harder to map out.

The next part is differentiating between what you as a business owner can do that your new salesperson cannot.

My number one focus is helping you navigate areas like these so that you can hire someone and have the confidence that they’ll succeed. You need reliability first and foremost.

With my help, you’ll not only confidently hire a salesperson, but you’ll also invest well in marketing. This way, your company funds will be placed in the right spots. Everyone wants two or three salespeople for every 10 leads and three to four conversions from these leads.

Having awareness will take you from “I need a salesperson” to “I’ve got a great new employee, and they’re exceeding all expectations.” Remember, a system is your best friend.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

The age-old question: are salespeople made or born?

From my experience, there is a definite answer—some people are born with an innate talent for excellent sales.

Often, natural-born salespeople are questioned about their process. How are they so successful? Can it be explained? For someone wanting to increase their sales (and don’t think they’re a born salesperson), your first step is to be willing to break out of your comfort zone.

If you aren’t willing to improve, then you’re starting out on the wrong foot. No one can teach the obstinate. However, if you begin with a positive mindset, even those without a predisposition can be great at sales.

Even I don’t technically have the personality for it. When I took a psychometric test, I was classified as an introvert. That, paired with other qualities, means I’m not predisposed to be good at sales, but that’s just on paper.

This is exactly why I set up my business. When I first started in sales, I didn’t have any help nor a mentor. These are things everyone deserves to be successful, and I want to be the mentor I wish I had at the beginning.

Over the years, I’ve excelled at sales because I studied, practiced, and taught. The best thing about teaching others is that it gives you a better grasp of the subject. Through student-teacher collaboration, sales techniques can be refined and improved.

Honestly, I’m just a person that believes in the process. Through a genuine hunger for mastery, I’ve collected a series of practices, teachings, and mentorships from the best in the industry. Essentially, this is the reason I’ve found success in sales—even carving a living out of it.

So, can anyone become a world-class, top 5% salesperson?

Let me give you an example. A man, the top salesperson for his coffee company, contacted me recently.

In his mobile coffee franchise, its success brought a system, and through it came scripts. Because of the stagnation, he chose to leave it, and now he sells advertising in hotel lobbies.

So, there are interactive screens in these lobbies that persuade hotel guests to plan their trips. They can easily find local events, etc. to visit. For anyone taking a trip, these lobby screens are an attractive asset for choosing a hotel to stay in.

And this man oversees selling hotels with these interactive screens.

However, he was in over his head and had no idea where to start. Without the familiarity of a system, he felt overwhelmed.

This is the problem most people have; they feel lost when encountering an unfamiliar area. It’s necessary though. How else can you find the right system where you fit if you don’t try new things? It’s easier if you organize.

My question to you is: what is it that you’re doing to systemize your process?

Also, how well are you paying attention to your front-end engagement?  I’d say that there are 6-9 leverage points to increase sales.

Let’s start with the stage-to-stage conversion. I’ll break it down into simple ideas:

• What is your conversation rate from inquiry to the first appointment?
• What happens in your initial conversion?
• What happens in your initial chat conversation using social media?
• What does your initial email chat look like?
• How are you enticing people to respond by email?

Your process needs to take all of these into account. The rate of people converting from the first appointment to second (or even straight to a sale) is what determines your actual strategy.

Your plan must consider what works and what doesn’t. Carefully look at your conversion rate through each stage, from initial contact to quote.

This is what separates a good salesperson from an excellent salesperson: proper planning. If you don’t have the innate talent for sales, this is exactly how you get better. In my opinion, the person that plans well, using data and actionable goals, is the most successful.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

The age-old question: are salespeople made or born?

From my experience, there is a definite answer—some people are born with an innate talent for excellent sales.

Often, natural-born salespeople are questioned about their process. How are they so successful? Can it be explained? For someone wanting to increase their sales (and don’t think they’re a born salesperson), your first step is to be willing to break out of your comfort zone.

If you aren’t willing to improve, then you’re starting out on the wrong foot. No one can teach the obstinate. However, if you begin with a positive mindset, even those without a predisposition can be great at sales.

Even I don’t technically have the personality for it. When I took a psychometric test, I was classified as an introvert. That, paired with other qualities, means I’m not predisposed to be good at sales, but that’s just on paper.

This is exactly why I set up my business. When I first started in sales, I didn’t have any help nor a mentor. These are things everyone deserves to be successful, and I want to be the mentor I wish I had at the beginning.

Over the years, I’ve excelled at sales because I studied, practiced, and taught. The best thing about teaching others is that it gives you a better grasp of the subject. Through student-teacher collaboration, sales techniques can be refined and improved.

Honestly, I’m just a person that believes in the process. Through a genuine hunger for mastery, I’ve collected a series of practices, teachings, and mentorships from the best in the industry. Essentially, this is the reason I’ve found success in sales—even carving a living out of it.

So, can anyone become a world-class, top 5% salesperson?

Let me give you an example. A man, the top salesperson for his coffee company, contacted me recently.

In his mobile coffee franchise, its success brought a system, and through it came scripts. Because of the stagnation, he chose to leave it, and now he sells advertising in hotel lobbies.

So, there are interactive screens in these lobbies that persuade hotel guests to plan their trips. They can easily find local events, etc. to visit. For anyone taking a trip, these lobby screens are an attractive asset for choosing a hotel to stay in.

And this man oversees selling hotels with these interactive screens.

However, he was in over his head and had no idea where to start. Without the familiarity of a system, he felt overwhelmed.

This is the problem most people have; they feel lost when encountering an unfamiliar area. It’s necessary though. How else can you find the right system where you fit if you don’t try new things? It’s easier if you organize.

My question to you is: what is it that you’re doing to systemize your process?

Also, how well are you paying attention to your front-end engagement?  I’d say that there are 6-9 leverage points to increase sales.

Let’s start with the stage-to-stage conversion. I’ll break it down into simple ideas:

• What is your conversation rate from inquiry to the first appointment?
• What happens in your initial conversion?
• What happens in your initial chat conversation using social media?
• What does your initial email chat look like?
• How are you enticing people to respond by email?

Your process needs to take all of these into account. The rate of people converting from the first appointment to second (or even straight to a sale) is what determines your actual strategy.

Your plan must consider what works and what doesn’t. Carefully look at your conversion rate through each stage, from initial contact to quote.

This is what separates a good salesperson from an excellent salesperson: proper planning. If you don’t have the innate talent for sales, this is exactly how you get better. In my opinion, the person that plans well, using data and actionable goals, is the most successful.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

If you want to sell well, your biggest asset is your mindset, and today, that’s exactly what we’re going to cover. Once you have the three most important elements, nothing will stand in your way. It’s interesting that most people are unaware of these day-to-day basics for self-improvement.

Imagine a triangle and cut it horizontally into three smaller pieces (more at the top). In this example, you’ll find it compares to your results for sales—with great sales being the outcome.

But how do you reach this outcome?

With these mindset basics mastered, it’ll gift you with accelerated conversion rates. This all stems from people seeing your brand, being wowed by it, and spreading positive word-of-mouth info.

For the best results, there are three key elements to align:
1. How you feel about yourself.
2. How you feel about your product.
3. How you feel about your company.

If you aren’t 100% confident, then you’re compromising any sales action you take. Lack of certainty is the number one killer in business. It’s not always your fault though. Problems at home or anything to conflict your mindset hinder progress in this regard.

One other addition to this list is how you feel about your product. And I can tell you—your product must have 100% of your support as well. Time and again, I’ve worked with salespeople who have no interest in their own product, either it’s too expensive or otherwise.

A direct result is their sales are poor, or they let their bias lower their quality. Don’t let this happen to you. Believe in your product.

The ideal salesperson needs to own their own product and find it useful. When you have hands-on experience with what you’re selling (and love it), it makes for a genuine sales pitch. Remember, people respond to authenticity much more often than pure information.

Another aspect to work on is how you feel about your company and workforce. Keep in mind that 100% support in this arena will only benefit you overall. When you can trust your team, you can trust the process of getting your product (or service) to the right people with the right energy.

The market has hard to navigate on your own, so building a strong team is essential. Support them, and infuse them with the earlier mindsets so that you all work towards the same goal: selling a useful product that you all believe in.

Let’s reexamine that diagram we spoke of earlier. If its foundation is solid, then you have the proper support for the rest of this mindset change. For a real-life example, think about how you sound on the phone, or in conversation, when you’re having a good day and believe in yourself. You sound better, happier, and more attractive to your customers.

On the phone, 80% of our communication is non-verbal. It's in the tone, the cadence, and the confidence that's portrayed in our voice.

Similarly, in person, 96% of how you communicate is non-verbal. Your body language communicates much faster (and stronger) than your words alone. Think of your facial expressions, and how much a simple eyebrow raised at the right time, or a smile, can change a conversation.

If your mind is aligned, it shows up in how you present yourself, how you sound, and even comes across in what you write.

So, what would your results look like? The outcome will be a change in the market, how your clients see you, how they hear you, how they perceive you, and how they read what you send them.

Remember those three points I mentioned earlier? Use them as the foundation of your triangle. Like pillars, they’ll support everything you do: how you feel about yourself, how you feel about the product you sell, and how you feel about the company that you work for.

I’ll leave you with one last piece of advice: make sure to keep your promises. This builds customer loyalty and trust.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email follow-up templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

If you want to sell well, your biggest asset is your mindset, and today, that’s exactly what we’re going to cover. Once you have the three most important elements, nothing will stand in your way. It’s interesting that most people are unaware of these day-to-day basics for self-improvement.

Imagine a triangle and cut it horizontally into three smaller pieces (more at the top). In this example, you’ll find it compares to your results for sales—with great sales being the outcome.

But how do you reach this outcome?

With these mindset basics mastered, it’ll gift you with accelerated conversion rates. This all stems from people seeing your brand, being wowed by it, and spreading positive word-of-mouth info.

For the best results, there are three key elements to align: 1. How you feel about yourself. 2. How you feel about your product. 3. How you feel about your company.

If you aren’t 100% confident, then you’re compromising any sales action you take. Lack of certainty is the number one killer in business. It’s not always your fault though. Problems at home or anything to conflict your mindset hinder progress in this regard.

One other addition to this list is how you feel about your product. And I can tell you—your product must have 100% of your support as well. Time and again, I’ve worked with salespeople who have no interest in their own product, either it’s too expensive or otherwise.

A direct result is their sales are poor, or they let their bias lower their quality. Don’t let this happen to you. Believe in your product.

The ideal salesperson needs to own their own product and find it useful. When you have hands-on experience with what you’re selling (and love it), it makes for a genuine sales pitch. Remember, people respond to authenticity much more often than pure information.

Another aspect to work on is how you feel about your company and workforce. Keep in mind that 100% support in this arena will only benefit you overall. When you can trust your team, you can trust the process of getting your product (or service) to the right people with the right energy.

The market has hard to navigate on your own, so building a strong team is essential. Support them, and infuse them with the earlier mindsets so that you all work towards the same goal: selling a useful product that you all believe in.

Let’s reexamine that diagram we spoke of earlier. If its foundation is solid, then you have the proper support for the rest of this mindset change. For a real-life example, think about how you sound on the phone, or in conversation, when you’re having a good day and believe in yourself. You sound better, happier, and more attractive to your customers.

On the phone, 80% of our communication is non-verbal. It's in the tone, the cadence, and the confidence that's portrayed in our voice.

Similarly, in person, 96% of how you communicate is non-verbal. Your body language communicates much faster (and stronger) than your words alone. Think of your facial expressions, and how much a simple eyebrow raised at the right time, or a smile, can change a conversation.

If your mind is aligned, it shows up in how you present yourself, how you sound, and even comes across in what you write.

So, what would your results look like? The outcome will be a change in the market, how your clients see you, how they hear you, how they perceive you, and how they read what you send them.

Remember those three points I mentioned earlier? Use them as the foundation of your triangle. Like pillars, they’ll support everything you do: how you feel about yourself, how you feel about the product you sell, and how you feel about the company that you work for.

I’ll leave you with one last piece of advice: make sure to keep your promises. This builds customer loyalty and trust.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email follow-up templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

Recently, I spoke with Mandy Hopper, a certified strength and conditioning coach (focusing on netball), with a Master’s in Sports Science.

Mandy works with the West Coast Warriors Netball Club, helping their athletes get even better. She has coordinated the strength and conditioning programs for the State League Squad under the Twenties, and the Men's State League Team.

In addition to this work, she regularly visits the Warriors Academy team and various netball clubs around WA to speak about strength and conditioning--especially as it relates to netball and running strength sessions.

For women’s fitness, Mandy is passionate about helping them lose weight and build muscle. After surmounting personal issues, she crafted an amazing program to help women lose weight, keep fit, and be strong.

Mandy noticed that most Sports Science graduates struggle to get jobs. Some ended up doing things in a commercial gym space, and this is more common if they did not have a master's degree or a Post-grad.

She emphasized that the job market is hard, and she didn't want to end up working in those spaces. Her guiding light was her desire to help athletes. It carried her through the rough, unknown starting period.

Mandy’s vision always included physical therapy, while her mother reminded her to focus on other athletes. Through these competing ideals, she found a balance. Of course, strength and conditioning were important, but she never gave up physical therapy because of her love of working young women.

For her, making an impact was fulfilling. However, she discovered growth from rewriting her boot camps and expanding her focus to a wider scale.

Even though netball and athletic conditioning were her primary goals, Mandy never lost her passion for physical therapy.

Others told her initially that netball had no market, trying to discourage her from a career that might not go anywhere. Looking at it from her inside perspective, Mandy saw the highest amount of injuries (knee and ankle especially) in any female sport. Netball needed someone to help.

The sport is a 10-week private program that they run, which is open to any 12 to 17-year old athletes. They started running seminars and in with the first wave, she ended up helping 10 girls.

Before Mandy knew it, she received even more emails. She got fantastic results in the first 10 weeks in terms of their movement quality and strength improvement. And best yet, the girls weren’t injuring their knees.

With her Warriors affiliation, Mandy already stocked up on email contacts. Using these, she sent out summation emails, reinforcing the importance for girls to join this trending mission.

Her program boomed. With the personal training side, Mandy emphasized the importance of proper sales processes.

She had to open her mind, saying, “You're not a salesperson, but you have the answers to this person’s problem. They need your help.”

Once she became confident with sales, the business soared. It’s easy when you can master both sides of it: personal training and financial matters.

What is her biggest takeaway? For Mandy Hopper, the biggest lesson learned is making sure you have a solid network. Everyone talks and everyone trusts one another—make sure all are on the same page.

To learn more about Mandy Hopper visit: https://linktr.ee/mhperformance1

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

Recently, I spoke with Mandy Hopper, a certified strength and conditioning coach (focusing on netball), with a Master’s in Sports Science.

Mandy works with the West Coast Warriors Netball Club, helping their athletes get even better. She has coordinated the strength and conditioning programs for the State League Squad under the Twenties, and the Men's State League Team.

In addition to this work, she regularly visits the Warriors Academy team and various netball clubs around WA to speak about strength and conditioning--especially as it relates to netball and running strength sessions.

For women’s fitness, Mandy is passionate about helping them lose weight and build muscle. After surmounting personal issues, she crafted an amazing program to help women lose weight, keep fit, and be strong.

Mandy noticed that most Sports Science graduates struggle to get jobs. Some ended up doing things in a commercial gym space, and this is more common if they did not have a master's degree or a Post-grad.

She emphasized that the job market is hard, and she didn't want to end up working in those spaces. Her guiding light was her desire to help athletes. It carried her through the rough, unknown starting period.

Mandy’s vision always included physical therapy, while her mother reminded her to focus on other athletes. Through these competing ideals, she found a balance. Of course, strength and conditioning were important, but she never gave up physical therapy because of her love of working young women.

For her, making an impact was fulfilling. However, she discovered growth from rewriting her boot camps and expanding her focus to a wider scale.

Even though netball and athletic conditioning were her primary goals, Mandy never lost her passion for physical therapy.

Others told her initially that netball had no market, trying to discourage her from a career that might not go anywhere. Looking at it from her inside perspective, Mandy saw the highest amount of injuries (knee and ankle especially) in any female sport. Netball needed someone to help.

The sport is a 10-week private program that they run, which is open to any 12 to 17-year old athletes. They started running seminars and in with the first wave, she ended up helping 10 girls.

Before Mandy knew it, she received even more emails. She got fantastic results in the first 10 weeks in terms of their movement quality and strength improvement. And best yet, the girls weren’t injuring their knees.

With her Warriors affiliation, Mandy already stocked up on email contacts. Using these, she sent out summation emails, reinforcing the importance for girls to join this trending mission.

Her program boomed. With the personal training side, Mandy emphasized the importance of proper sales processes.

She had to open her mind, saying, “You're not a salesperson, but you have the answers to this person’s problem. They need your help.”

Once she became confident with sales, the business soared. It’s easy when you can master both sides of it: personal training and financial matters.

What is her biggest takeaway? For Mandy Hopper, the biggest lesson learned is making sure you have a solid network. Everyone talks and everyone trusts one another—make sure all are on the same page.

To learn more about Mandy Hopper visit: https://linktr.ee/mhperformance1

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

I recently talked to Tracie Parisi on the show and we discussed how you can automate your follow. I recently met Tracy at a Masterminding event that we were both involved with, where we've been talking a lot about this whole idea of automating follow-up.  

Tracie started in business in her mid-20s, because as she noted, she hates being told what to do. She started working in the legal profession as a legal secretariat, but it didn't work for her.  

Then, she got into property investing. She went on to buy multiple properties and make some great coins out of that. Tracie has four children and she needed something that could work around the kids. They had some criteria and there was nothing they could say that they wanted to buy.  

Eventually, they raised nearly a million dollars. Her mom and dad also invested and they started one of Victoria's largest indoor-place inters cafes. She had the kids at work with them. She even noted that she was in labor with her fourth child, serving customers! 

Having come from a small business where everything counts, she said that there was a disconnect between where they're generating the leads and inquiries. The conversion side isn't happening, which led her down the path of actually really care about her client's results - not just what she does for them but what happens in the rest of their business and how much revenue they create. 

Tracie also noted that the first mistake was here’s no system in place to make sure that there was an opportunity to create meaningful conversations. So, she used to make sure that not only did the leads go through to the CRM, but also it would go to a shared spreadsheet; because she wanted to know what they were doing. 

The second one is what's called the ‘law of diminishing intent’. It says that “Today, it's a priority; but the further I get away from today into the future, the more that the intensity of that priority is going to diminish.” 

Tracie positions it as: “Let's just keep trying to create the opportunity for a conversation.” It doesn't mean someone can't say no, but it is a conversation that creates sales and everything else we want.  

 For Tracie, the first most important thing to keep in mind when you're putting together an automated follow-up system is a platform. The platform needs to work and it needs to be simple to use. 

The second one is going to a conference and making sure you take one thing away and implemented in your business. As business owners, what's the highest and best use of our time now? Where should we be spending our time?   

Is it sitting behind the computer and putting in a follow-up system in place? Or is it having someone else do it for us? If it is you, then great. If it's not, then find someone who can do it for you. 

 Through Tracie and I’s conversations, I'm in the process of being able to go back to all these people I've worked with; and I've been giving them what to say and what to write and how often to write and giving them how to do all that manually. But being able to help these people to implement the system that I've put in place with them on autopilot is just it.  

It just lights me up. I saw all this stuff; and for me, it all exists in timing. It all exists in language. Obviously, the language needs to be contextual to the industry and the relationship and all that sort of stuff. All that nuance is built-in with the stuff I'm already doing and what we're going to be able to do is to make it hands-free.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

I recently talked to Tracie Parisi on the show and we discussed how you can automate your follow. I recently met Tracy at a Masterminding event that we were both involved with, where we've been talking a lot about this whole idea of automating follow-up.  

Tracie started in business in her mid-20s, because as she noted, she hates being told what to do. She started working in the legal profession as a legal secretariat, but it didn't work for her.  

Then, she got into property investing. She went on to buy multiple properties and make some great coins out of that. Tracie has four children and she needed something that could work around the kids. They had some criteria and there was nothing they could say that they wanted to buy.  

Eventually, they raised nearly a million dollars. Her mom and dad also invested and they started one of Victoria's largest indoor-place inters cafes. She had the kids at work with them. She even noted that she was in labor with her fourth child, serving customers! 

Having come from a small business where everything counts, she said that there was a disconnect between where they're generating the leads and inquiries. The conversion side isn't happening, which led her down the path of actually really care about her client's results - not just what she does for them but what happens in the rest of their business and how much revenue they create. 

Tracie also noted that the first mistake was here’s no system in place to make sure that there was an opportunity to create meaningful conversations. So, she used to make sure that not only did the leads go through to the CRM, but also it would go to a shared spreadsheet; because she wanted to know what they were doing. 

The second one is what's called the ‘law of diminishing intent’. It says that “Today, it's a priority; but the further I get away from today into the future, the more that the intensity of that priority is going to diminish.” 

Tracie positions it as: “Let's just keep trying to create the opportunity for a conversation.” It doesn't mean someone can't say no, but it is a conversation that creates sales and everything else we want.  

 For Tracie, the first most important thing to keep in mind when you're putting together an automated follow-up system is a platform. The platform needs to work and it needs to be simple to use. 

The second one is going to a conference and making sure you take one thing away and implemented in your business. As business owners, what's the highest and best use of our time now? Where should we be spending our time?   

Is it sitting behind the computer and putting in a follow-up system in place? Or is it having someone else do it for us? If it is you, then great. If it's not, then find someone who can do it for you. 

 Through Tracie and I’s conversations, I'm in the process of being able to go back to all these people I've worked with; and I've been giving them what to say and what to write and how often to write and giving them how to do all that manually. But being able to help these people to implement the system that I've put in place with them on autopilot is just it.  

It just lights me up. I saw all this stuff; and for me, it all exists in timing. It all exists in language. Obviously, the language needs to be contextual to the industry and the relationship and all that sort of stuff. All that nuance is built-in with the stuff I'm already doing and what we're going to be able to do is to make it hands-free.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.

Visit http://JohnBlakeAudio.com to Learn How to DOUBLE Your Enquiry-to-Sale Conversion with The Lead Flow You Already Have.

On today's episode, we are talking about the Phoenix, because for me, the Phoenix is the perfect metaphor for business, you must be wondering, "why is the Phoenix the perfect metaphor for business?" Well, about seven years ago, I transitioned from being in a partnership with a business partner and I went out on my own.

I had a number of things going on at the time, my first wife had just passed away very suddenly and I had a three and a half-year-old son and a five-month-old son, it was a particularly challenging time. So I created a new brand and I came up using the likeness of a Phoenix. 

When I looked into it, I realized how much significance it had. I mean, it had some personal significance for me because I was literally having to relaunch my entire life, not just my entire business, but I had to relaunch myself personally, I had these two children under the age of four, one of which was basically a newborn.

The most popular myth of the Phoenix is Arabic and in Arabic, the Phoenix archetype was for a thousand years, then it dies and it is literally reborn through its own ashes. That had personal significance for me at the time because I literally had to relaunch my entire deal, including my business. 

That was why I adopted the Phoenix as my brand and have run with it ever since. But from a business perspective, and this is the main point that I wanted to get to here, is that when you're in business, you get to the end of the month and even if you've had a really good month, the next month doesn't care.

The Phoenix is such a perfect metaphor for sales because you know, it's not about what you did last month, what did you do for me lightly? And what are you doing now? When was the last time that you got in front of a potential client? How many conversations did you have last month that could have resulted in business taking place?

You know, so many businesses out there can get busy dealing with the clients that they've already got or looking and focusing in the minutia of running a business that they forget about what the actual lifeblood of a business is. And that is generating new business, coming up with new ways that you can help and service and delight your clients and give them a fantastic outcome. Often we get complacent and we sometimes forget to do the things that have made us successful.

It's a very easy thing to lose sight of, busy work can eclipse the things that deep down we know we should be doing. That's why I love the imagery and the branding around the Phoenix, because the Phoenix, every thousand years it dies and it has to be reborn through its own ashes.

I know this is a slightly unusual, subject, it's more of a metaphorical or a philosophical type subject for us to be talking about. But, I've had this brand for a while and I haven't really talked about it that much, but I recently had somebody asked me about it and I explained it to them, it turned out that they were quite fascinated.

To DOUBLE your lead-to-sale CONVERSION with the leads you already have, go to http://JohnBlakeAudio.com for his exclusive, free, no-fluff, audio training and companion PDF guide.

Inside you’ll get word-for-word email followup templates, phone scripts, and more that you can put to use today.