Sales Process - Ron Karr's Business Development Blog

Posts Tagged ‘sales process’

Tweeting for Sales

In April of 2008, Steve Keating, Manager of Selling Skills at the Toro Company, heard me speak about using social media to build one’s sales. Already involved with Twitter, Steve had at the time a few hundred followers. After hearing the presentation, he decided to make it a key strategy in building both his personal brand and enhancing the value proposition of Toro.

Today, Steve enjoys a following of over 65,000 people! His twitter ID is @LeadToday. In building his list of followers, Steve employed 3 simple tactics:
1. Provide valuable ideas on how to be an effective leader
2. Re-tweet valuable ideas from others thereby expanding his network and leveraging other people’s wise thoughts
3. Show appreciation by thanking those who have re-tweeted his ideas and thoughts

This was a process that Steve has nurtured on a consistent and disciplined basis.

So how did Steve and Toro benefit from getting 65,000 followers? For one, it strengthened the relationships with dealers and distributors by providing ideas on how to grow their businesses. This resulted in Toro enhancing its overall value proposition and keeping its competitors at bay.

In addition, the brand of Toro was also enhanced. Imagine having 65,000 people interested in leadership reading Steve’s daily tweets on a consistent basis. How much would it cost Toro to get this kind of exposure on a daily basis using other media outlets? With Twitter the total cost can be rounded to the grand sum total of zero dollars. Add to this the flexibility of customizing messages to events happening real time. This by itself makes Toro and Steve more relevant to the market place.

Finally, the connections Steve has made around the world with other leadership experts exposes him to additional ideas and concepts he can easily import into his organization thereby making him more valuable to Toro’s success and enhancing his own personal brand.
This is the power of Twitter. Notice how Steve does not sell his products in his tweets. He simply builds value which in turn creates buzz that generates business.

Congratulations Steve. And thank you for recommending Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way to your list.

Tags: Business Development, Closing, Closing sales, cold calling, cold calling techniques, Customer Loyalty, customers, employees, Leadership, leadership speaker, leadersship expert, leadrship, marketing, motivation, Motivational Speaker, Negotiation, negotiation speaker, Negotiations, Public Sales Seminar, Retail Sales, ronkarr.com Larry O'Donnell, Sales, sales leader, sales leadership, sales motivation, sales process, sales speaker, sales strategies, sales trainer, sales training, Sales Training Program, sell effectively, Success, teamwork, Telemarketing, Telemarketing sales, value added sales
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Customization the Key to Extraordinary Sales Results

Retailers like Sam’s Club and CVS have figured out that huge profits come from customization. Using discounts to track results, Sam’s Club achieved a 1-2 percent acceptance of generic discounted offers.

Realizing it had a trove of information regarding buying habits and the purchasing history of each customer, it developed a new program called eValues. It gives each buyer discounts on the items they normally purchase. This customization has led to an acceptance rate of discounts between 20-30%, a dramatic increase from the generic discounts’ acceptance rate.

Customers want and expect vendors to know their wants and needs. In sales, this means asking the right questions, doing the right research and listening.

If you conduct sales using the old school method of talking too much about the features you have to offer, you are going to lose the deal. Find out the outcomes they are after and then only talk about the features they are interested in. Customize the solution so they will accept your offer. This strategy is crucial to being competitive and closing more business in less time.

Want to know what questions to ask and how to persuasively communicate your value? Read Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way. It has made the best sellers list of what corporate executives are reading.

Tags: Business Development, Closing, Closing sales, cold calling, cold calling techniques, Customer Loyalty, customers, employees, Increase Profits, Leadership, leadership speaker, leadersship expert, leadrship, marketing, motivation, Motivational Speaker, Negotiation, negotiation speaker, Negotiations, Retail Sales, Retail Success, Sales, sales coaching, sales leader, sales leadership, sales motivation, sales process, sales speaker, sales strategies, sales trainer, sales training, Sales Training Program, sell effectively, Success, Telemarketing, Telemarketing sales, value added sales
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Appreciate the Living, Not Just the Dearly Departed

Something happened this weekend that reminds us all that we should not only appreciate the ultimate sacrifices made by our brave men and women fighting for our freedom, but also take time to thank the living and show our appreciation for all that they have done to help us achieve our successes.

The incident I am referring to is the untimely passing of the legendary child actor Gary Coleman. The child star of Different Strokes stormed into our living rooms in the early 1980’s, broke down racial barriers and touched the hearts of many with his loveable and sassy personality. Unfortunately, after the show Different Strokes went off the air, Gary’s fortunes came to an abrupt end and the rest of his life was saddled with financial and personal woes.

You may ask how this is different from all the other stories of child actors who could not smoothly transition into adult life. What’s different is not so much Gary’s story, but the untold story of how his loved ones wished they had repaired their relations with him and his wife before it was too late.

Gary sued his parents and manager for allegedly mishandling his earnings from Different Strokes. Estranged from his parents at the time of his pre-mature death on Friday, his mother told the Associated Press that she had prayed that “nothing like this would happen before we could sit with Gary and Shannon and say, ‘We’re here and we love you.’ ”

We have Memorial Day to thank and remember those who made the Ultimate Sacrifice. We have Thanksgiving to give thanks for all of our riches.

We have 362 days a year to thank everyone who has made a difference in our lives and to simply say we love you. Use each and every one of those days to give thanks. Saying thank you and showing appreciation while people are alive allows them to experience your true heartfelt feelings. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you are then forced to say “I wish I only said…..”

Tags: Business Development, Closing sales, cold calling, cold calling techniques, Communications, Customer Loyalty, customers, employees, Family Relations, Influence, Leadership, leadership speaker, leadersship expert, leadrship, marketing, motivation, Motivational Speaker, Negotiation, negotiation speaker, Negotiations, Personal Relations, Public Sales Seminar, Retail Sales, Retail Success, ronkarr.com Larry O'Donnell, Sales, Sales Boot Camp, sales coaching, sales leader, sales leadership, sales motivation, sales process, sales speaker, sales strategies, sales trainer, sales training, Sales Training Program, sell effectively, Success, teamwork, Telemarketing, Telemarketing sales, value added sales, voice mail
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Want Success? Increase Your Velocity!

Instead of concentrating on being more successful, work on increasing the velocity in your efforts on a daily basis. What is velocity? It is the ability to get more done in less time. It is about gaining speed, power and momentum in your actions to achieve your goals in less time than originally anticipated.

Granted this is what we all want. But how many times do we let the small things in life mess with our velocity. Things like false assumptions. Too often we take people’s words and create our own stories as to what we think they are saying. Then our actions are based on these stories we have created and often miss the mark. It happens in sales and leadership all the time. And we wonder why we don’t get the sales or move the organization forward in a timely manner. There goes your velocity!

How about when you don’t think things through clearly and you operate out of a task mentality vs. purpose mentality. Yes, you may be busy. But are you doing the necessary work that needs to be done so you can achieve your goals? If you are letting your tasks drive you vs. your purpose, there goes your velocity!

How about when we try to influence others based on what we need vs. what they want and need? Are your recommendations truly being heard and acted upon? Or are they being received as some pushy sales pitch or order that is less likely to be accepted? There are two types of actions in this world: The limited action necessary to keep one happy and pretend you are doing your job, and the action of being all-in; where you are doing whatever it takes to get the job done. If you want people to accept your ideas, support you and be all-in, make sure you’re positioning them in the context of how they are going to benefit. Not because you need it. If you don’t change your context, there goes your velocity!

Velocity is the key to success in sales, leadership, negotiations, customer service and just about anything else in life. Ask yourself, what can I do today in my conversations and actions that will add velocity to my life and help me achieve my goals quickly? Here’s the funny thing. Your answer, if you think this through clearly, has more to do with how you can help others succeed vs. your own success. This is what generates true velocity!

Velocity is the key theme woven throughout the entire book Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way!

Tags: Business Development, CBS, Closing, Closing sales, cold calling, cold calling techniques, Customer Loyalty, employees, Increase Profits, leadership speaker, leadersship expert, Motivational Speaker, Retail Sales, ronkarr.com Larry O'Donnell, Sales, sales coaching, sales leader, sales leadership, sales motivation, sales process, sales speaker, sales strategies, sales trainer, sales training, sell effectively, Success, Telemarketing, Telemarketing sales, value added sales
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Do Baseball Coaches Need Sales Skills?

Why did Steve Teel of Teel’s Baseball (academy softball and baseball) bring me in to speak with their coaches on sales skills? The answer is simple. Coaches need to know how to communicate to all of the buying influences if they are going to grow their business.

Steve Teel is a smart business owner. He knows there are several buyers in any sale. In his market, you have the kid taking the lessons. Let’s call him or her the end user. You also have the parents who sign the checks. They usually have a different set of needs and desires than the kids do. And then you have the area coaches who can act as a great source of referrals.

Steve realized that if his coaches do not spend time with the parents asking about their expectations, they will feel neglected and the possibility will exist that the coaches will fall short in certain areas. Steve understands that his coaches need the same set of skills a professional sales person uses. Afterall, any coach at any level has to sell their ideas to their students or clients. Therefore, you need to know how to ask the right questions, how to present the ideas so they are acted on and how to listen to your customers.

After spending an hour with his coaches, the results were dramatic. Some coaches left with a renewed sense of purpose regarding the tremendous impacts they have on the lives of their young clients. All of the coaches now have a greater appreciation of the role the parents play in the success of their lessons and are now making them an active part of the process.

Bottom line, referrals have increased as have revenues from satisfied clients.

By the way, Teel’s Baseball was very successful before they brought me in. Like all successful companies, they realized there were things they needed to pay attention to if they were going to stay at the top.

What things do your sales people need to pay attention to in order to get to the top or stay at the top? What increases are you looking for in your sales career and life? If you are looking to increase your sales and earnings, then get your copy of Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way today! This is the book I used for the presentation to Teel’s.

Tags: Business Development, Closing, Closing sales, cold calling, cold calling techniques, Customer Loyalty, customers, employees, Leadership, leadership speaker, leadersship expert, leadrship, marketing, Motivational Speaker, Negotiation, negotiation speaker, Negotiations, Retail Sales, Retail Success, ronkarr.com Larry O'Donnell, sales leader, sales leadership, sales motivation, sales process, sales speaker, sales trainer, sales training, sell effectively, Success, SuperBowl, teamwork, Telemarketing, value added sales, Waste Management
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Are You Strong Enough To Sell Your Way Out of the Recession?

What would you do with a client, even if he is retired, who claims you added millions of dollars to his bottom line, not top line? You stay in touch in with the guy.

On Tuesday, I called John Treace, retired EVP of Sales for Xomed Surgical and Wright Medical and ask about his thoughts regarding today’s sales environment.

He said something very interesting: “The only way to come out of this recession strong is to sell your way out of it. You have to sell what you have. That means you need to have a strong sales force in all areas. Any weak area can cause significant loss of revenue, even for the big players. Why? Because the little guys are doing anything and everything to claw their way to survival.”

Is there any part of your sales operation that or sales process you feel is not as strong as it should be and needs to be addressed in order to maintain and increase your sales revenues and market share? That is the question I am posing to my clients. Please give it some thought and feel free to call me to discuss your findings. I am confident we can help you address these issues soon enough to ensure attainment of your 2010 goals.

Great News! Just heard from my publisher yesterday that Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way continues to sell and is even selling stronger than when it was released in 2009. From the comments we have heard, people are getting the answers they need to strengthen their sales process and thrive in this recession.

Tags: leadership speaker, leadersship expert, Sales, sales coaching, sales leader, sales process, sales speaker, sales trainer, sales training, value added sales
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