When do you quit following up?
How often do you contact a prospect before giving up? Once, twice, three times? And by not persisting are you missing out on closing deals? Years ago I had a [...]
23
01, 2020
20
01, 2020
Generating referrals on steroids
We all intuitively understand the power of referrals. But most people leave them to chance. One of the most powerful ways to target prospects in your market is to find someone who [...]
16
01, 2020
Are you coming on too strong?
In business there’s ultimately no difference between making sales and starting a personal relationship. My name’s Rashid Kotwal. Let’s say you’re looking for a new relationship. That special other in [...]
13
01, 2020
How to get an unfair advantage in sales
A fundamental axiom in sales is people buy when they want to. Not when you need to make a sale! And that at unless you’re right in front of them at that [...]
9
01, 2020
Turn cold prospects into warm ones by….
2020 is upon us. I’m sure you have big plans. Lots of sales growth. But it’s one thing to set a sales target, but quite another to have a strategy to achieve [...]
7
01, 2020
Why you must align prospecting, marketing & sales to close more business
Are you finding it’s getting harder to get in front of the right prospects? Secure meetings and close deals? And therefore aren’t growing at the rate you’d like? If so, you’re not [...]
3
01, 2020
Why you should celebrate “no’s”
The late Ziz Ziglar was a consummate salesman who loved hearing the word “NO!”. That may sound ridiculous, so bear with me. Zig knew that when prospecting it took a certain number [...]
21
11, 2019
When you need clients fast!
Ever been in a tight spot with cash flow? Where you need clients fast? Here’s what you need to do. Transcript Ever been in a tight spot with cash flow? [...]
21
11, 2019
Why the first sale is always to yourself…
I’m constantly surprised at how many professionals hate the thought of “selling”. Often they have images of slimy snake oil salesmen spruiking miracle potions. But sales is nothing like that. In our [...]
12
11, 2019
Do you have a realistic handle on your numbers?
In our experience very few SME business owners have a realistic handle on what it takes to grow revenue. Often arbitrary numbers are bandied about. “I want 20% or 30% growth”. But [...]
21
10, 2019
Beware the quiet one!
“Beware the quiet one in the corner. They are the ones likely to wield the power and sign the cheque” Words drilled into my at the beginning of my career almost 4 [...]
10
10, 2019
Do you have sales posture?
You’ve finally got that meeting with who you believe could be a good prospect. You turn up at the appointed time, but they keep you waiting. When you finally sit down, you [...]
8
10, 2019
Are you over-complicating sales?
People over-complicate sales. Ultimately sales is about finding people who have problems you can solve, then putting your value proposition to them. Ergo, you must be very clear on two things. The [...]
3
10, 2019
A fundamental Start-Up mistake!
AI, block chain and Fin Tech start-ups appear to be sprouting up everywhere. Founded by someone who has what they think is a great idea who then goes ahead to create a [...]
1
10, 2019
Why you must prospect!
The internet has completely changed the sales paradigm. We’ve been seduced into thinking marketing will produce all the leads we need. So we won’t actually have to go fish for prospects. Never [...]
23
09, 2019
How to pitch for investment…
If you had to pitch your product or service to a potential investor how would you go about it? I was recently asked to coach a bunch of start-ups in the art [...]
17
09, 2019
Confusing activity with outcome!
Let’s talk about the sales elephant in the room. Prospecting. We’d all love leads to magically appear ready to do business. The reality is they won’t. It’s your job to actively go [...]
5
09, 2019
How to control your next sales conversation
Have you ever found yourself rambling in a sales meeting? Losing control of the conversation? So you find yourself going down rat holes where your prospect has taken control, setting the agenda. [...]
3
09, 2019
Flawed thinking…
If I were to ask you who your market was, how specific would you be? Would you say, “potentially everyone”, or could you narrow it right down to specific people experiencing specific [...]
28
08, 2019
Test, tweak & refine – your keys to success
Smart business leaders understand two principles summed up in these two sentiments. “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” and “Feedback is the breakfast of champions”. In business much is made [...]
22
08, 2019
Stop marketing – Do this instead!
If you’re a small business owner how much money and time do you spend on marketing? Trying to generate more leads. And how much effort do you put into sales, actually converting [...]
15
08, 2019
How to win more deals
Sales. It’s such a loaded word for many coaches and consultants. They cringe at the thought of contacting strangers to convince them to buy. And to a large extent I can’t blame [...]
13
08, 2019
Suffering client feast & famine?
Feast and famine. Seems to be the perennial curse of small business. It goes something like this. You get clients and become really busy. As a result you stop any marketing, prospecting [...]
8
08, 2019
Who’s your real competition?
Who’s your biggest sales competitor? It’s not whom you think. It’s the status quo. Doing nothing is the easiest thing for people to do, even if the process or products they’re using [...]
6
08, 2019
Who you gonna call?
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters isn’t the answer! In an increasingly digital world there’s an awful temptation to hide behind email, messaging and social media when it comes to selling. And while [...]
1
08, 2019
Is “Selling” a loaded word for you?
Selling! It’s such a loaded word. And it’s surprising how many people hate the thought of doing it. Which is fine, unless your livelihood depends on it. And as a consultant or business [...]
30
07, 2019
Creating a “We Space” in sales
I constantly remind our clients that corporations don’t buy. People do. And people buy when they feel a level of trust and feel you understand them, their values and what they’re trying [...]
25
07, 2019
Prospects Lie. Get over it!
Over the years I’ve learned one thing about prospects. They lie! Generally not intentionally, but they lie all the same. Now before you take umbrage and reply telling me you’ve never done [...]
23
07, 2019
What would you give to get a client?
How much would you give away to get a client? What steps would you take to enable a prospect to convince themselves you’re a good fit and could solve their issues? Would [...]
17
07, 2019
Reaching out…
How often do you reach out to a prospect? Once? Twice? Three times? Even more? Would it surprise you to know that the majority of people stop after the first contact. But [...]
16
07, 2019
Will you rock the boat?
Would you challenge your client’s thinking? Put contrary opinions or question assumptions? All too often there’s a tendency to go along and not rock the boat. But is this the best approach? [...]
11
07, 2019
Why you shouldn’t send proposals
Have you ever had what seemed like a great sales conversation and had your prospect say, send me a proposal? You then spend the next however long creating and sending it off. [...]
2
07, 2019
Would you buy your own product?
One of the biggest reasons people don’t like to “sell” is they don’t completely believe in the value they provide. The late Zig Ziglar insisted the first sale is always to yourself. [...]
25
06, 2019
Are you a naked salesperson?
Ever been in a meeting where the salesperson whipped out their laptop and insisted in going through a long presentation? Slide after slide of boring detail of how their solution worked. While [...]
13
06, 2019
Why speech rate matters
Want to become a better communicator? Ensure you get your message through? The rate someone normally speaks at reflects the rate at which they process information. This has major implications in persuasion [...]
11
06, 2019
Are you asking deep questions?
Sell high end, complex products or services to senior decision makers? Decision makers want to feel you truly understand them and the outcomes they want. Both on a personal and business level. [...]
6
06, 2019
The only thing you can control in sales is…
A speaker in an innovation workshop kept humorously stating he was an overnight success after 15 years of hard slog. And that more often than not, things take much longer to come [...]
28
05, 2019
Sales team underperforming? Do this…
You’ve hired salespeople to fuel your growth. You had high expectations but time’s passed and they’re not getting the results you’d hoped for. It’s all too common a scenario, so what’s gone [...]
23
05, 2019
How contactable are you?
How easy do you make it for prospects to contact you? How about referral sources? I'm constantly amazed at how difficult people make this. LinkedIn profiles don't have phone numbers. Neither do [...]
21
05, 2019
3 Questions every prospect asks before buying…
Every prospect asks themselves 3 questions before becoming a client. Should I pay attention? Can I trust you? Is your recommendation going to work for me? In a world where we’re constantly [...]