Sales Babble

Flawless Follow Up with Steve Rosenbaum #162

In this episode the original backend specialist Steve Rosenbaum joins us to discuss the importance of flawless follow up.  Steve walks us through a simple 5 step process that generates leads, gives you an advantage, filters out unqualified prospects and nurtures a conversation that stimulates interest.  Steve  is a boat load of fun and informative to boot.  I’ve been interviewed on Steve’s podcast, Back End Conversions and Marketing  and I’m excited to have Steve on Sales Babble too.

Backend Conversion Specialist

Steve calls himself the original backend specialist, a term he coined working with his first client babaloo.com.   In his mind he’s all about the process AFTER you get a lead. It’s at the backend where you qualify, nurture, and build a relationship.

Differentiation – too many marketing firms focus on the front end e.g FB ads, SEO, Social media etc… Steve focuses on the backend. This is where you close sales.

Flawless Follow Up Process

Steve walked us through a 5 step process (starting with step 3, what a wiseguy).   Its goals is to work with prospects at  the Right Time, Right Place, with the Right Message.

#1 Grow Your Connections: Build a following, build a list. You can cast a wide net if you know your audience

#2 Capture Home Field Advantage: Move your audience to your email list. Get them away from LinkedIn or other social media venue.

#3 Filter for qualified leads: Ignite interest with an email that sparks interest “Are you looking for A B or C?”

#4 Ignite the relationship: Put hurdles in front of people  to stay on your list. This way they will self qualify.

#5 Follow Up Forever: and ever, and ever, and ever …..

This system was designed to improve Steve’s odds of putting himself in a lucky situation again. Frequent follow up creates opportunity. Prospects are not going to remember  that they’v once talked to you.  Don’t expect to hear from them on their own. They’re not going to call you back. YOU need to take the lead and keep following up. Remind them. When you remind them always Entertain, educate and engage. This makes sales go up!

Take Action Advice

Follow Steve’s 5 steps to the letter! Start at step 3. If you’re having conversations everyday the timing is going to work.

How To Connect With Steve Rosenbaum

SteveRosenbaum.com

Direct phone: 512-553-5154

skype: stephen.j.rosenbaum

Back End Conversions and Marketing  podcast

Go to SteveRosenbaum.com/SalesBabble for the FREE video series. Click today!

 Marketing Episodes

Here are some pass episodes where we talk about marketing and the overlap, with sales. Listen to them today!

* Give to Get Marketing with Ray Wood #159

Master the Art of Closing the Sale

A Game Changing 10 Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals

In this episode we discuss the importance of having a repeatable sales process. Our guest Ben Brown has just published a book titled “Master the Art of Closing the Sale – The Game-Changing 10-Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals”.  In our conversation we walk through each of these steps with Ben sharing concrete advice on how you can apply this process to your business.

Front Loading the Sales Process

Ben’s 10 steps consists of a front loading  sales process which makes the entire sale more efficient. The sooner you can qualify and discover what your prospect values, the sooner you can discern if you should pitch them, or give them a pitch.

Download Find The Itch Before You Pitch 

10 Step Sales Process 

When closing a sale Ben shared the following process. We walked through it step by step with examples.

* Get Prepared – be mentally prepared when you start your day.

* Research and Relate – do your homework and know your prospects.

* Qualify Potential Customers – don’t waste time with people who will never buy.

* Find an Emotional Trigger to Persuade – people are more likely motivated by emotion vs logic.

* Setup the Offer – repeat back the issues and desires to reinforce need.

* Present the Offer – build rapport buying signals and build yes patterns. The presentation could be 5 minutes or 30 minutes. It depends. Give them what the need, not what you want to present.

* Close on Product Concept – does this solve the problem does it sound like the way you want to go?

* Ask For the Sale-  “are you ready to move forward?”

* Ask For the Money –  ” what credit card do you want to put this on.”

* Ask for Referrals

How To Find Ben Brown

360 Sales Consulting specializes in sales training and coaching for small business and entrepreneurs who need help with their sale process. Ben has a proven method of the sales process and can provide analysis of the current method to see where improvements need to be added.

Linkedin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/360sales

Twitter   @team360sales

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/360salesconsulting/

Ben’s book: “Master the Art of Closing the Sale – The Game-Changing 10-Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals”.

Download Find The Itch Before You Pitch 

What are the Sales Process Steps

Here are past episodes that discuss integrating process into your sales. Click on one now!

* Sales Cycling and Startups with Jon Woodroof #145

* Wizard of Oz Sales Process with Steve Kloyda #137

Master the Art of Closing the Sale

A Game Changing 10 Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals

In this episode we discuss the importance of having a repeatable sales process. Our guest Ben Brown has just published a book titled “Master the Art of Closing the Sale – The Game-Changing 10-Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals”.  In our conversation we walk through each of these steps with Ben sharing concrete advice on how you can apply this process to your business.

Front Loading the Sales Process

Ben’s 10 steps consists of a front loading  sales process which makes the entire sale more efficient. The sooner you can qualify and discover what your prospect values, the sooner you can discern if you should pitch them, or give them a pitch.

Download Find The Itch Before You Pitch 

10 Step Sales Process 

When closing a sale Ben shared the following process. We walked through it step by step with examples.

* Get Prepared – be mentally prepared when you start your day.

* Research and Relate – do your homework and know your prospects.

* Qualify Potential Customers – don’t waste time with people who will never buy.

* Find an Emotional Trigger to Persuade – people are more likely motivated by emotion vs logic.

* Setup the Offer – repeat back the issues and desires to reinforce need.

* Present the Offer – build rapport buying signals and build yes patterns. The presentation could be 5 minutes or 30 minutes. It depends. Give them what the need, not what you want to present.

* Close on Product Concept – does this solve the problem does it sound like the way you want to go?

* Ask For the Sale-  “are you ready to move forward?”

* Ask For the Money –  ” what credit card do you want to put this on.”

* Ask for Referrals

How To Find Ben Brown

360 Sales Consulting specializes in sales training and coaching for small business and entrepreneurs who need help with their sale process. Ben has a proven method of the sales process and can provide analysis of the current method to see where improvements need to be added.

Linkedin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/360sales

Twitter   @team360sales

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/360salesconsulting/

Ben’s book: “Master the Art of Closing the Sale – The Game-Changing 10-Step Sales Process for Getting More Clients and Referrals”.

Download Find The Itch Before You Pitch 

What are the Sales Process Steps

Here are past episodes that discuss integrating process into your sales. Click on one now!

* Sales Cycling and Startups with Jon Woodroof #145

* Wizard of Oz Sales Process with Steve Kloyda #137

Strictly Cold Calling – Success Strategies for Business Development with Kerry Heaps #160

In this episode  we meet Kerry Heaps, the publisher and editor of Strictly Marketing Magazine. The magazine covers marketing and sales information to help grow readers business. The magazine covers topics ranging from networking, marketing, sales, cold calling, promotions, public relations, branding and social media. I invited Kerry to visit us today because she’s an expert in cold calling and big fan of the Stephen Schiffman method of using phone calls to generate opportunities. Kerry has a terrific attitude about cold calling and you’re going to love her and  her advice on how you can  grow your cold calling skills.

What Makes for Success in Cold Calling

Kerry believes there are 5 aspects for cold calling success:

1. Get over the fear and  stop putting it off by sending emails or a DM on Twitter. If you’re not on the phone talking to prospects, you don’t really know what they are thinking.  Why do people put off cold calling? They don’t want rejection and falsely believe social media is the hot new thing. Don’t fear the phone, it’s your friend.

2. Have a goal in mind. Phone calls and letters make a difference. People answer the phone while they delete emails as spam. Come up with a game plan. You’re not going to close them with one conversation. Instead set up a plan,to get them to sign up, schedule a meeting, attend an event, ” I have some free tickets, would you come?” “I have a free white paper, would you review it  if I sent it to you?” .   Telemarketing is a huge part of business development. Always have a script.

3. Work only qualified leads. Create a contact list. Work office parks, go door to door and pick up business cards. Attend networking events. Purchased lists can have value, but often they are out of date. Some companies have multiple contacts you’ll need to address. She keeps leads 6 months, even if they are not interested. You may find people job shift all the time. Work smart and recycle leads..

4. Be persistent – Make a 100 phone calls in a day. Stay consistent and be on the phone. Keep your pipeline full with a calendar. Schedule on your calendar like an appointment.

5. Follow up – Often times buyers are not ready to pull the trigger due to schedule, budget, priority etc…. and sales people fail to check in until it’s the end of the fiscal calendar. Have a follow up plan. Tell them you will follow up in 3 months. Send them thank you notes and connect on social media to keep top of mind. She will clip out articles and share. She may call for holiday wishes until the day comes to meet your commitment to follow up.

Follow Up

Remember it takes a lot of time to find qualified leads. Have the patience to keep working them. Every 6 months, follow up. Put them in the “not interested” file.

How To Find Kerry Heaps

Here are some links that go from strictly cold calling to Strictly Marketing!

www.strictlymarketingmagazine.com

www.

Give to Get Marketing with Ray Wood #159

In this episode we meet Ray Wood, the founder of   LockedOn  a new tech startup that has created an app for real estate agents. Ray has expertly used marketing to drive sales by using what he calls a Give To Get Marketing process. Ray tells the story how he built his Tribe and shares with us his 6 step process for writing marketing copy that persuasively gets prospects to take action.

Why Build a Tribe

Build a tribe of people who you can serve and add value. These are your future clients. Ray started to use technology to keep prospects warm. In the world of real estate, many deals demand a long sales cycle. Growing know, like, trust is much easier by sending out periodic emails and warm calling every so often.  He believes you should warm call with news, versus just checking in. This is a case  of giving first, before asking, or give to get marketing.

Using Technology to Enhance Sales

Too often sales people are winging it with no more than a list of prospects in Outlook. When working a large number of deals, use technology to keep track of each opportunity. CRMs, especially those that are custom designed for your industry, are critical to keep on top of prospects and sales that have a long sales cycle. That’s why Ray started LockedOn.

Copywriting Formula

Ray shared his 6 step handy dandy copywriting formula for the listeners.

* Interest grabbing headline (can be used as a subject line in an email or heading in a piece of copy).

* Stir up and aggravate statement – create an emotional experience around their pain or desires.

* Solve the problem statement- show how you can take away their pain or fulfill their desire.

* Prove it with a testimonial – reference happy customers with direct quotes. Use people prospects can identify themselves.

* Call to Action – ask the prospect to do something, call, email, click on a button to advance the sale.

* PS – Always have a final statement that repeats the call to action.

How to Find Ray Wood

You can find Ray Wood all over the internet:

This is the LockedOn App 

Here is the Working From Roam eBook.  (Tools and Resources Guide) More info at WorkingfromRoam.com

And here is the eBook version of How To Sell Your Home For More. More info a TopAgentsplaybook.com

Facebook.com/bestagents

Twitter: @raywoodlive

Download Find The Itch Before You Pitch Study Guide

Stop wasting time talking to prospects that will never buy. Instead find the itch before you pitch with this study guide.

Sales and Marketing Alignment

You can listen to past episodes that talk about marketing and sales and how the two can work together.

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Four Ways To Fix a Bad Reputation with Pamela Gockley

Pamela Gockley had a bad reputation and it wasn’t going away soon. It was a shock when she first heard about it and it was hurting her business. But she was able to overcome and she has since authored two books:  The Reputation Factor and The Art of Running Red Lights.  In this episode Pamela shares four ways sales professional can fix a bad reputation for themselves and their companies. Are people talking about you? In a bad way?  In this episode let’s find out.

The Four D Process

Pamela has a process you can use to fix a bad reputation. It has four stages,  you pass through each to create and rebuild your reputation.

Discover Stage – To begin, find out if you have a reputation problem  Become self aware through self-assessments and asking strategic partners and peers.

Define Stage – Answer the question “what do you want your reputation to be?” Consider the 6 skills of a successful sales person, where do you rate on each skill? Be honest.

Development Stage –  In this stage you start to work on yourself. Let’s focus on three areas:

First impression – hair, clothing, posture, body language and non-verbal behavior all affect how people judge you. Be awake to what people perceive the first time they meet you

Communication – communicate with people in the medium they prefer. That may mean email, cold calling, Twitter, etc… Meet people the way they want, not the way you want to.

Network – answer the question “who is around you and who are you seeking out?” Find your niche. Pamela defines it in three floors:

The ground floor friends and family,

Second floor business contacts

Third floor is people you want to meet.

Defend Stage – Bad things happen that may or may not be your fault. Have a process in place to recover. Have a plan (insurance policy of sorts) to stop panic and to make certain everyone in the organization is on the same page.

A Bit About Apologies

We all make mistakes. Some times we’re innocent but the company we represent is guilty. Make it your responsibility to accept responsibility.  Admit your guilt and make it right, maybe gifts and discounts, but most importantly a heartfelt apology. Survey your clients often and find out what’s working and what’s not.

Take Action

For 7 days note how people react to you. Positive, Negative? What can you learn from your observation?

How To Connect with Pamela Gockley

Pamela is the author of two books:

* The Reputation Factor

* The Art of Running Red Lights

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelagockley

https://www.facebook.com/pamela.gockley

Twitter @pamelagockly

Get a Free Book

To get a free copy of The Art of Running Red Lights  send and email to pam @ vigilant.net

 

Download Find the Itch Before you Pitch!

Other Episodes on Self Assessment

* Selling For Introverts with Alen Mayer #61

* Selling With Personality with Irene Anderson #47

* Four Skills You Need For Sales Success – HEAT

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How To Schedule Sales Appointments with Automated Emails

In this episode returning guest Neil Kristianson shares his automated email expertise. How many times have you walked away from a networking event or a conference with a truckload  of business cards wondering how you’re going to follow up? Neil tells us exactly what to do to keep those leads warm and convert them into an appointments with automated emails. 

 Problems With Follow Up

People collect leads at an event. Then they struggle with what to do with them. Maybe they send an email, maybe two. But that’s the national average. Studies say you need to follow up at least 8 times before you can convert a lead to a conversation.

Things you must do:

* Get them out of social media into a place you can control. Create your own email list.

* Prospects read their email.  You’re not at risk of losing them like you do with your FB or LI account.

* Email is easier to follow up with vs a social media venue.

* Don’t add them to your generic blog list without permission.

* Ask permission by giving tips on your topic. Get them to put themselves on your email list.

* Let them download something of value.

Email systems are all permission based. Don’t buy a list and just add them. That’s a No No!

Gmail  canned response

Use this for the first email you send to your prospect.

 

Engaging Email Keeps Prospect Warm

You must get people to interact with your emails. Google looks at the behavior of the readers of your email. If they are not opened, you will be moved to the promotions tab.

* Plain text emails are more likely to be opened then fancy pretty emails. Google prefer genuine authentic emails.

* Create a welcome series of 5 – 7 emails.

* Each email should talk about one thing. There should be 1 call to action. Don’t confuse the reader. Focus on the core thing.

* Have a story… Email #1 What’s your problem, #2  the issues you face, #3 solutions they can use.

* Create Lead Magnets: Downloads, video, free consulting call, etc…..

* Email has two games…. a short term sell and a long term nurture.

How To Find Neil Kristianson

* emailsplat.com

* Podcast https://emailsplat.com/beyond-the-optin/

* Go to emailsplat.com/SalesBabble to what video on the Triple Loop AutoResponder series.

Join the Sales Babble Facebook Group

There are daily postings on the private Sales Babble Facebook Group.

Lead Magnet Episode

Listen to this past episode on How to Build a Lead Magnet  with Yoon Cannon.   These are used to get people on your email list.

Lead Generation Strategies

* Take Command of the New LinkedIn User Interface with Brynne Tillman #151

* Referrals – The Master Key To Winning Sales with John Spence #127

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5 Superpowers of Successful Sales Account Executives

David Kahn is the author of the recently published book

Cape Spandex Briefcase, Leadership lessons from Superheros. He is Senior VP of HR for Redina and a leadership strategist and academic researcher for organizational development. In this episode, David channels his inner superhero and shares the 5 superpowers sales account executives wield for selling success.

Batman vs Captain America

David’s favorite superhero is Batman. But when it comes to leadership, his model is Captain America. Captain America exhibits confidence, command and when the task is done, the team says we did this together.  It’s very Taoist.

David believes:

– sales is another form of leadership

– executives are selling ideas vs sellers selling products

– focus on the end result and you will find success

The 5 SuperPowers

All 5 superpowers are based around courage. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself and to put yourself out there. It’s also what’s necessary to take your career to the next level.

Power of Accountability – you own the outcome. As an Account Executive you have the courage to overcome the fear of losing. Fear can make you too cautious.

Power of Conviction – your value is determined by the goals you strive for and the manner you achieve them. How you do things matters. Ethical conduct is the single most important leadership competency.

Power of Persuasion – you effectiveness is based on your ability to influence others. Leaders communicate and understand the clients on a human value. Asking questions is the pathwork to persuasion.

Power of Competence – there is no substitute for being knowledgeable and skilled. You can’t persuade and lead on charisma alone. Intelligence is important, but you only need to be a bit more knowledge to be competent about a topic. You must be relatable, not jargon heavy.

Power of Collaboration – when achieving a goal you involve others. All sales are based on relationships. It’s not about authority. Approach every deal like it’s the first of many.

Take Action Advice

Always strive to be the best person in the room: the most informed, most ethical, the most prepared, the most persistent, and the most willing to display compassion.

How To Find David Kahn

David is an avid superhero fan thus the 5 superpowers sales account executives is the concept of his book:

Cape Spandex Briefcase, Leadership lessons from Superheros.

You can also find him here:

* www.leadersayswhat.com

* On Twitter @leadersaywhat.com

* On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidskahn/

Cape Spandex Briefcase, Leadership lessons from Superheros

Leadership Episodes

There are daily postings on the private Sales Babble Facebook Group.   Next discover your inner leader with these episodes. Listen today!

* Selling with HART with Mega Cindy Vranken #143

* 4 Step Sales Framing Process with Aaron Janx #131

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The DUM Sales Qualification Questions

This is the third anniversary special episode and we take up where we left off with the SORT episode . They say there is no such thing as a dum questios. Not true!  Today we learn some DUM questions and they are very smart.

Here are the seven questions to find out if your prospects VALUE your product. Find the prospects in your suspects.

SORT Questions

First we did a refresher from Episode 99 on the SORT method of sales qualification.  These questions will discover your prospect’s  challenges, pain and desires.

* Story questions

* Obstacles questions

* Ramification questions

* Transformation questions

Prospects who pass these questions understand the value of your product or service. Alas, they may still be unqualified to buy. We need to go a step further to see if they have what it takes to make a buying choice.

DUM Questions

They say there’s no such things as a DUM question. Not true. We have three questions and they’re really SMART.

* Decision questions

* Urgency questions

* Money questions

Not only does your prospect understand the value of your product, but they also have the money, desire and ability to make a wise decision.

Stop Wasting Time

Some people are NEVER going to buy.  Sort them out and save time focusing on QUALIFIED clients only.

Where to Find the SORT and DUM Sales Qualification Questions

Download the study guide “Find The Itch Before You Pitch” here.

There are daily postings on the private Sales Babble Facebook Group.  Got  a question or comment send me an email or call 630-768-3134

Other Qualification Episodes

Did you enjoy this episode? Listen to these other episodes on how to qualify prospects.

* How Curiosity is the Engine of Sales Achievement with Tony Jalan

* How To Qualify Prospects using The SORT Questions #99

* How to Sell Coaching Services with Julie Foucht #98

* The Ultimate Sales Revolution with Steve Lishansky #77

* How To Be Bold By Prequalifying Prospects Part 2 with Tom Reber #65

* How To Be Bold By Prequalifying Prospects with Tom Reber #64

* Sales Advice from a Dating Coach with Myke Macapinlac #50

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Kaizen Health The Birth of a Technology Startup #154

Today we meet Mindi Knebel, CEO of Kaizen Health.  Kaizen Health is a technology startup  that merges the advances in ride-sharing (Lyft and Uber) with the challenges of getting patients to their medical appointments.  Kaizen Health hosted a launch at 1871 in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Sales Babble attended the launch, with a microphone!  

In this episode we meet the staff of Kaizen Health and hear the story of the birth of this technology startup. 

Bunker Labs

Mindi’s company works out of Bunker Labs, an incubator focused on helping veterans launch new ventures.  Mindi partners with her father who is a veteran.  Last spring our host attended a pitch fest at Bunker Labs (see How To Pitch a Startup here) to witness the first time Mindi presenting Kaizen Health.  She knocked it out of the park and won the Bunker competition in July 2016. 

Launch Party

Pat recorded this live with the help of his wife (shout out to Denise!) at the Kaizen Health launch party.

Mindi talks about Kaizen and how it got started

We meet Jim Knebel of business development and former colleague

Next we  meet Rey Shallwani of Client Solutions who discussed the challenges of building a business

Later we visit meet two representatives  of Mount Sinai Hospital of the beta clients, Care Manager Nurse  Lilian Davis  and Care Manager Nurse Kim Rees-Parham.

Jim talks about the complexities of automating a process with insurance companies

Lastly we  heard advice on startups (See below).

Sales Advice for Technology Startups

In the interview the staff recommended entrepreneurs to:

* Draw upon your network to learn the market

* Draw upon your network to find beta clients

* Listen to your beta customers and draw upon their experiences

* Be passionate about your mission, investors will follow

How to Find Kaizen Health

You can find Kaizen and staff at:

* Kaizen Health is a technology startup

* Bunker Labs Incubator

* Mindi Knebel is the CEO

* Jim Knebel is Business Development

* Rey Shallwani is Client Solutions

Listen to Other Startup Episodes

* Sales Cycling and Startups with Jon Woodroof #145

* Selling with HART with Mega Cindy Vranken #143

* Lose Your Ego Gain The World with Todd Lemense #139

* Location Independent Business Essentials with Dan O’Donnell #138

* What Startups Need to Know about Business Development with Tim Allen #119

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