Growing Small Business Archives - Page 8 of 14

Selling, Sales, Coaching, Non-Sales, People, Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Mindset, Outlook, Professional, Growth, Leadership, Buying, Customers

Apr

3 Keys to Successful Selling for Non Sales People (Part 1)

April 24, 2016Shawn Karol SandyEntrepreneur, Growing Small Business, Selling for Non-Sales People, Small Business

More and more when I meet business owners at conferences or events and exchange introductions, the conversation quickly turns to “Selling” for the owner and how difficult it is for them. Most often, they say, “I just don’t have enough time to get out there and sell.” But what I really hear is, “I’M NOT...

Selling in small increments builds buyer trust

Apr

Selling In Smaller Increments Builds Buyer Trust

April 17, 2016Shawn Karol SandyGrowing Small Business, Selling Pro, Small Business

Several posts back, I shared how one of my clients was focused on how BIG and monumental the sale was for her and for her customers. She was suffering from a bit of self-sabotage by projecting her emotions and insecurity on to her customer and letting fear of closing the sale or NOT closing the...

Heat Up Your Sales Results, Joanne Black - Referral Sales

Apr

Heat Up Your Sales Results – Advice via Referral Expert Joanne Black

April 10, 2016Shawn Karol SandyBe Better in Business, Growing Small Business, Selling Pro

We’re back this week with another blog post on how to avoid Sales Fails. This time, I asked another Women Sales Pro member, Joanne Black, “What would be the one thing, you would tell sellers to stop doing immediately?” Being the sales industry authority and go-to expert on Referral Selling, Joanne’s response was no surprise...

packing self sabotage, buyers don't need your baggage

Apr

Are You Selling Self Sabotage? Buyers Don’t Need Your Baggage

April 3, 2016Shawn Karol SandyEntrepreneur, Growing Small Business, Selling Pro

Last week I was working with a business owner on her sales process. She had engaged a prospective new client and we were discussing the next steps to close this large opportunity. She was nervous, understandably, and she really wanted and needed this account and all the working capital and credibility it would bring. In...

Basketball and Business, Does your team have the right skills?

Mar

Does Your Business Team Have The Right Skills? (March Madness Edition)

March 27, 2016Shawn Karol SandyBe Better in Business, Culture, Entrepreneur, Growing Small Business, Leadership, Uncategorized

This post evolved from a conversation with a colleague, Gina Trimarco, of Pivot10 Results, a leadership, sales, and service trainer, a studier of people, and a fantastic business sage. Gina uses analogies and metaphors in much of her training and coaching so I challenged her to take part in our March Madness Business blogging and...

Conversion Rate, March Madness, Casualty Rate, Sales, Selling, Small Business, PreQualifying, Opportunities, Leads, Lead Generation, Conversion, Prospects, Customers, Practice, Skills

Mar

Is Your Sales Conversion Rate Really A Casualty Rate?

March 20, 2016Shawn Karol SandyGrowing Small Business, Selling Pro, Small Business

What is your conversion rate and why is this little number such an important indicator of your company’s performance and health? In the big picture, understanding your conversion rate helps you know exactly how much it costs you to gain a new customer. This can help you plan your budgets and determine your pricing and...

Taking notes on “Selling” from Cooking Competitions If you’ve had young children, you’ll feel my lament over those awful cartoons with the characters and theme songs that take root in your adult head like uninvited weeds in your brain garden. From the mouse to the purple dinosaur to the little girl who yells everything and carries a backpack – there are dozens of children’s cartoons that contribute to the world’s adult beverage consumption. Thankfully, my children have graduated from most of those cartoons. The occasional obnoxious Spongebob Squarepants and TMNT (that’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to you) still show up from time to time but for the most part, my Jr. Associates have fallen in love with cooking and baking competition shows. They love the idea of challenges and all the tricks and turns, sabotages, and the pressure cooker that all the contestants are in. As we watched our favorites this weekend, I listened to my children talk about what they would do differently, other strategies they would take, or how they would explain their dishes another way. After the 3rd or 4th episode of Cutthroat Cupcake Chopped Academy (a mash up of all the shows), I started to think about the similarities of the pitfalls in cooking competitions to where we see mistakes in sales and selling. Strangely, though no surprise to those of you that know me, in this relaxing down time, I couldn’t help but build some sales coaching analogies from these entertaining battles. Today, I have made for you . . . Four Ways Sellers Can Avoid Ending Up In Hot Water - Listen to what’s important. Many a sale and a challenge have been lost by not listening to what’s TRULY important to those making the decisions. When cooking contestants don’t build their strategy around satisfying the criteria they will be judged against, their success is compromised from the start. Going through the discovery process is critical with your customers to understand not only what they want, but how they will be making decisions, what their success metrics look like, and ultimately, how they want to go through the buying journey. Miss this key component and you could quickly be eliminated as a potential provider. Don’t serve the status quo. Just as cooking shows challenge the skills and creativity of contestants, buyers want sellers that bring them different and creative solutions to their problems. Stand out from the competitors by highlighting what makes you different and focus not on your capabilities, but your competencies, and results that you’ve proven for similar clients. True contenders don’t show up with the easiest dish or the most common ideas. Challenge yourself to serve your clients something different. Don’t die for your perfect plan. Sometimes, in cooking, as in selling, we’re thrown a curveball. A mystery ingredient in a baking challenge might be the equivalent to a potential customer asking you to work with a smaller budget or a shorter time frame. I’ve seen this blow a hole in many a sales pro’s “perfect plan” and they never quite recover because they’re not able to be flexible or go outside the box for resources or solutions. Listen to your customers, consult your team, play to your strengths, and adjust and adapt to the circumstances so you can meet your client’s needs. You may not be able to solve all their challenges on your own but you can track down other resources or collaborate with your customers to customize the opportunity just for them. Don’t tank your presentation. Part of the pleasure of these pressure cooker contests is the moment of judgment for competitors where their efforts are weighed and measured against the expectations of the judges. We’re rooting for the contestants, for we know all they’ve been through and how they fought to get their final product ready for presentation. And this moment, many battles are won or lost by how the contender steps up and presents. Confidence or lack thereof is the first place to lose. Fear of rejection or fear of walking away empty handed can be off putting to customers. It detracts focus from discussion and emphasizes desperation. Some contestants lost the judges when they start inventing fancy names or try to distract from their presentation’s potential flaws. Buyers, just like judges, see straight through those tricks. Calling any dish “deconstructed” means you are missing ingredients or couldn’t pull it together in the end. Glossing over incompatibilities or dodging objections annoys customers and discredits your trust and credibility. Be transparent with your solutions and present your offers confidently. Next time you’re up to bat with a prospective new client, think about the pressure cooker of one of these cooking or baking competitions. Keep your eye on the prize by truly listening to what problems your customers are asking you to solve and confidently adapt to their needs and delight them by serving them their own unique solution customized just to their tastes. Until next time, stop hoping, start cooking SELLING! -sks PS - Jumping from the kitchen to the office – if you feel like you’re losing your battles at any one of these points, contact us. We can help you understand your customers, deeply differentiate your offers and profoundly connect with your audience to earn trust and sales quicker.

Mar

Four Ways To Sharpen Your Sales Skills

March 13, 2016Shawn Karol SandyGrowing Small Business, Selling Pro

If you’ve had young children, you’ll feel my lament over those awful cartoons with the characters and theme songs that take root in your adult head like uninvited weeds in your brain garden. From the mouse to the purple dinosaur to the little girl who yells everything and carries a backpack – there are dozens...

what is a sales playbook, alice kemper sales trainer interview

Mar

What is a Sales Playbook? – My Interview Response with Sales Trainer Alice Kemper

March 7, 2016Shawn Karol SandyEntrepreneur, Growing Small Business, Sales Tools

Earlier this year, my friend and super sales trainer, Alice Kemper asked me my thoughts about the term “Sales Playbook”. I had shared with Alice that we build these often and help our clients execute these plans and she’s heard the term frequently lately and wanted to know if it was a “buzz word” or...

Are your eyes on the competition or your customers? What you SHOULD obsess about in your business.

Feb

Are your Eyes on the Competition or Customers? What you SHOULD be Obsessed with in your Business.

February 29, 2016Shawn Karol SandyGrowing Small Business, Leadership, Small Business

How do you “handle” the competition? Meaning, do your competitors factor into your offers, your customers, your sales and marketing strategy? How much weight should you give to their consideration? And, What exactly should know about your competition and how do those insights affect YOUR plans? Unless you’re operating in a total vacuum, you should...

Common Sales Fail - Stop - preparing - proposals - prevents - buyers - brushoff

Jan

This Common Sales Fail Costs You Time and Money – via Sales Expert @JaniceMars

January 18, 2016Shawn Karol SandyEntrepreneur, Growing Small Business, Selling Pro

Last week we kicked off a series highlighting costly Sales Fails from leading edge sales trainers and consultants around the country. With so much experience coaching, training and in the fields, my mastermind group of Women Sales Pros had plenty of examples to contribute. In the last post, we highlighted the #SalesFail many reps are...