Posted on Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Six Steps For Networking Success

What do you do with all those business cards? These six tips will help you get the most out of your next networking event.

If you have a love-hate relationship with networking events, you’re not alone! You might get nervous or awkward before an event or feel like there’s not really a point.

The truth is, from cocktail parties to huge conventions, networking events are a great way to meet new prospects or referral partners. But they can only help your business if you go in with a plan. By following these six steps, you’ll make more effective (and profitable) connections at your next networking event:

Block your schedule before and after the event.
Meet 3 quality people.
Send an email immediately following the event.
Connect with them on LinkedIn within 24 hours.
Call them within 48 hours.
Do what you say you’ll do!

Let’s dive in.

Buffer

Posted on Monday, February 20, 2023

Ten Prospecting Myths and Misconceptions

Don’t fall for these common misconceptions about prospecting clients!

Sales professionals tend to build their careers the old-fashioned way—start at the bottom and work their way up. Besides the occasional book or seminar, most don’t have a formal sales education—we learn as we go.

Unfortunately, the self-taught approach can lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions. And these myths could be holding your business back!

I’ve worked with thousands of salespeople as a sales coach and consultant. Most of the myths and misconceptions I’ve heard from sales professionals seem to be about prospecting. Here are the top ten:

Buffer

Posted on Monday, January 30, 2023

Closing Deals Fast: The Impending Event Close

Is your prospect indecisive? The “Impending Event” close will motivate your client to act now.

Most salespeople have a few “tried-and-true” approaches to closing a deal, and there’s nothing wrong with having a go-to that you use all the time. It’s what you’re most comfortable with, and it works—until it doesn’t.

If you really want to be a sales champion, you need to understand and master a wide variety of closes. This way, you’ll always have something in your back pocket when your tried-and-true technique comes up short.

To help build your sales arsenal of closing techniques, I’ve been sharing a few of my favorites. Here are some of the closes we’ve covered:

If you’ve got a client who just won’t make up their mind or finds every excuse to hesitate, The Impending Event Close is a great way to provide some urgency and motivation—and get your prospect’s signature on the dotted line.

Here’s how it works:

Buffer

Posted on Monday, September 26, 2022

Finding New Prospects—With Old Prospects

Is your sales funnel drying up? Rebuild your prospect list by reworking your past no’s!

Every salesperson knows the feeling of staring at a big new sales goal and thinking, “This is impossible!” Your sales funnel isn’t full enough, there aren’t enough prospects, and you’ve already exhausted every lead.

How can you get more prospects when you’ve already called everyone you could?

Here’s a clue: When a prospect says no, it doesn’t mean forever. And if you went back through all of your calls and proposals from last year, you’ll notice many rejections aren’t a firm, final “No.” Your client might have said “not now” or “maybe later,” but you chalked it up as a loss and moved on.

Buffer

Posted on Monday, August 1, 2022

Status Quo: Your Biggest Competitor

To overcome client objections, salespeople need to understand what makes us resistant to change.

Every sales professional will face a wide variety of objections and obstacles during the sales process. But whether you’re trying to close a deal, or simply set up an initial meeting, there’s one fundamental obstacle that you’ll come up against time and again: The status quo.

Never underestimate the power of the status quo. As a salesperson, it will always be your biggest competitor. Humans don’t like to change—even if we’re unhappy!

People will make any excuse to maintain the status quo and avoid change. From a prospect, these excuses look like these:

Buffer

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Setting Better Goals: The 2-Year Approach

If you’re only looking one year ahead, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

I’m a big believer in goal setting (like an Olympic Gold Medalist believer). Whether it’s in your personal life or your sales career, you need a goal to measure your success against and keep you motivated.

Every sales professional needs to set (and revise) business goals. Even if someone else in your organization is setting revenue goals for your team, you need to do your own personal goal setting—to make sure you’re working toward where you want to be. It’s critical to your business success.

Buffer

Posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2022

The Easy Way To Find New Leads

Is your prospect list too short? Try the simple method of Power Prospect Brainstorming to rebuild it.

Quite regularly I’m told, “Dew, I just don’t have enough leads!” As a salesperson, it’s hard not to panic when your sales funnel is drying up and fewer and fewer proposals are going out. You need to grow your prospect list and get more leads to call on—but it seems impossible.

Stop right there! There are ALWAYS enough leads!

Unfortunately, sales professionals often fall into a scarcity mindset and miss out on abundance. Feeling like you’ve “tapped your market” is a perfect example of scarcity thinking.

Keeping your prospect list full is crucial for your sales funnel and can drive an abundance mentality through your entire sales process.

Buffer