Saturday Sales Tips


You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky


Hi %FirstName%,


How has your week been? It’s Saturday again, and I hope you achieved some of the targets you set for this week. I’m sure time goes by more quickly the older I get - how are we at the middle of September already?!


Last week I talked about the success I’ve had as a contributor to the book Sales Genius #1 (it became an Amazon best seller on Kindle and the paperback version is now out! You can find it here) and the drive that had given me to forge ahead with my own book.


For this coming week, I am continuing to work on defining the 12 steps involved in the sales process for my new book, and importantly, I am still open to ideas on a title, or stories from you that you might like me to consider including. This is a great opportunity to get your name in print (if you want to, although you can remain anonymous if you prefer!), and raise brand awareness for your business, so don’t hold back! Any stories are welcome, even embarrassing dating mishaps. Have you ever said the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time when on a date? I know I certainly have and I have also had plenty of dates which have gone wrong from the start!


The cartoon below always makes me chuckle when I think about dating and how people meet!

I’m sure you remember me explaining that I had decided to move away from the train analogy (after I decided with the help of my team that the subject matter was a little dry!) and draw on something that most of us have experienced - dating. If you didn’t catch last week’s email, you can find it here.


I feel that I am on the right track now (there’s that train again) with using dating to explain different situations and approaches to sales - and I’d love to know your thoughts on this, so if you want hit reply and let me know please do!


I know that you are used to making sales, and have seen some success in this area up to now, but running with the dating analogy, I’d like to suggest that you think of it as a way of meeting your ideal client match… much as you would approach meeting your ideal partner!


In this week’s email, I am going to show you some further examples of how succeeding in sales is much like succeeding in love, and how the two situations have a lot in common.


First introductions matter


So I mentioned in last weeks email about how I use a number of dating analogies when it comes to sales. One of these is my bar story.


Imagine you are sitting at a table in a bar. You are waiting for a group of friends but you are a little early so you are having a drink alone before they arrive. Someone you’ve never seen before walks up to you, and dives in to a long speech about how they’d like to take you on a date. This person talks at you, barely giving you a chance to respond. How would that make you feel? Would you warm to them?


Now, there a few ways you could react to this.


If you were sitting there thinking about how much you want to meet a partner and how you wish the person of your dreams would just suddenly come into your life - maybe you would respond positively to this encounter. I mean, if it happened to be David Gandy or Angelina Jolie doing the asking… well I can imagine your response :)


If you prefer not to be accosted by a total stranger; you may not feel so welcoming.

In fact, this may put you off this person altogether, even if they did happen to be your perfect match!


Your potential clients are like the person at the bar. Maybe they have a want (to meet their perfect partner) and are open to a dynamic and forward way of finding a solution (you approaching them out of the blue). These are the clients that may be receptive to cold contacting.


BUT… and here is the catch - you need to get to know their problem, or their ‘want’ before you can suggest how to address it. So how can you find out about a person without spending time talking and listening to them? There is another cartoon which I like which makes a great point.


Know your prospects and their market


Yes, cold contacting can, and does work when the solution you provide solves a real problem for a select group of prospects. But your ideal clients are looking for solutions to actual problems they have, and your understanding of these problems can be the difference between landing a client, or not.


But how do you get inside the minds of your clients? Let me give you an example.



If your target market is accountants, you need to find out where they are hanging out online and in person. Conferences, networking meetings, trade shows… all of these places are where your target audience discuss their pain points and problems, and it provides the perfect opportunity for you to understand their situation and what they need to make their life easier.


Hands up, how many of you use social media to keep up with developments in your field? I’m guessing most of you - and so will the accountants that you are trying to reach.


Are they part of a Facebook group, or do they follow particular Facebook Pages? Do they join in with Tweet Chats? (A simple Twitter search for #UKaccountant is a great start). These are relatively simple ways of listening in to what your prospects are talking about (ie their pain points).


The world of social media marketing is vast, and can help your business and sales conversions in different ways - let’s dive in to that another week.


Once you have come to understand your prospect, your first contact with them can immediately show that you are aware of their pain points.


Building on the initial date or attraction


If you are not comfortable doing prospecting, then you need to get comfortable with this to move your business forwards. It may help you to focus on adding value for your prospect to start with. Get them to see and think of you as someone useful, and someone they enjoy hearing from.


I myself, strive to create and share valuable content.

My aim, first and foremost is for you to feel that you have learned something from these emails, and from my blog and videos. I hope they give you food for thought, and real actionable tips that you can start to use immediately.


When considering your prospects, instead of thinking of what they can do for you, and how you can win their business, think of how you can position yourself as an industry expert - solving problems and providing answers on a consistent basis. This will increase the ‘know, like, trust’ factor (we will explore that further another time!).


Just as building a solid friendship can lead to romance… a solid foundation with a prospect can lead to a great paid working relationship further down the line.


You now know where your ideal clients like to hangout online (from your prospect research), so if you can be present in the same places - answering questions, interacting, providing value; you will get noticed.


You are warming up your prospects in a very genuine and helpful way and this will create real connections, and attract your ideal clients to you. They will come to know you as knowledgeable and helpful - a thought leader; so when you do offer to solve a problem for them, they will be more trusting and receptive.


The best sales people really focus on their prospects’ needs and wants - and not just on what they want to sell. Much in the same way as the best partners really want the best for the person they are with, and not just for themselves.


Work hard to get to know your prospects


When you are getting to know a potential new romantic partner, you want to find out all about them.


Yes, you want to know what they do for a living, what they do in their spare time, what their interests are… but what is more informative is why they do these things. What motivates them, what values do they hold, what drives them. This is often the common ground people use to connect and build the foundations of their relationship upon.


And it’s the same in business. Your clients don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Understanding both your target market, and your own business, makes it easier to find that common ground and relate to your prospects.


I explain more about this concept and outline exactly what you should be doing before embarking on your sales campaign, in this video - check it out and let me know what you think in the comments or why not subscribe to the channel.


Once you get to know your prospects and their pain points, you can become clear on how you can help them. Through effective customer research, you can reflect on the services your business offers, and whether these are really what your potential clients are looking for. Once you know you have what they need, you are already in a strong position to make a meaningful connection.


Finding your Prospects


In the dating world, there are plenty of options to meet a possible love interest.

Internet dating (Tinder, anyone?!), speed dating, singles nights, an introduction from a friend… and there are equivalent opportunities in the business world too.


As mentioned above, finding out where they hangout online is a great start. Local networking events and conferences that will provide the opportunity to start making connections and building relationships with people are also very valuable. Just as someone could introduce you to their single friend - a business contact could also introduce you to prospective clients.


For more ideas on where to find leads for your business, or just for a refresher, check out these tips
in ‘How To Find Leads For Your Business’.


I hope that these ideas and suggestions on how to find prospects are helpful and show you how similar sales and dating really is! More to follow in future emails on the common link between the two and how you can build your skills and adjust your approach to find 'true prospect love'!


As you may know, I launch a new video on my YouTube channel every Saturday morning. My video this week is ‘5 ways to get a prospect to call you back’ - full of advice and value for you to apply to your own business. Click on the photo above and have a watch of it and let me know if it helps you!


Keep driving forwards, stay focused, and I’ll see you back here next week.



James



www.jameswhite.business


Sales Trainer and Mentor

I specialise in working with successful service businesses who want even greater sales success


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