Business Development 2.0
Posts tagged Sales
Converting Your Lookers Into Buyers
May 19th
After an interesting morning in the office we have been debating the value of auto-responding emails and how to effectively SELL products online.
Online businesses can be a beast, especially when EVERYONE is doing it. There are hundreds of differing opinions about “the best” way to increase your conversion rates and sell more products online.
It appears that most businesses would agree that either directing traffic to a strong landing page with adequate calls to action, or getting potential clients into an email funnel with free products are the two most effective ways complete the conversion process. What makes a good landing page? With so many auto-responder emails out there, is your business throwing money at automated emails that just get deleted?
Other professionals might argue that developing credibility online through various media is the best (though more time consuming) approach to making more sales. So many people are using social media incorrectly, and filtering through all of the available information is becoming more and more difficult.
Ultimately, all of these methods have been proven to work for businesses, and there are numbers to support their success. Every business is different, and different approaches work better for different products, services, price points, etc. With so much good information out there, we want to simply know what works for you and why.
Today, we are presenting you with a question: What do you believe is the very best way to convert your digital following into sales?
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What to Understand About the CEO’s Business
May 17th
Whenever I am talking to a new prospective client, there are a number of things I want to understand about them and their business. I have a sheet on my wall with a list of short words and phrases that reminds me not to forget going over things like: their vision, their goals, what keeps them up at night, etc. I go through my list, talking about a few of them in this video.
What to Understand About the CEO’s Business from Scott Smeester on Vimeo.
Social Media Marketing 101: Make The Most of Meetup.com
May 6th
“Ugh. I don’t want to join another online community…”
Hello - My Name Is: SUCCESS
In the age of social media, there are so many options for how people can interact digitally. Sometimes it can be frustrating to determine which web-based services will be right for you and your business with so many possibilities. Without a doubt, Meetup.com is something that everybody can and should use. Meetup is exceptional in the online world because it is absolutely about face to face human interaction and providing a forum for real people to connect.
Here are a few ideas for how to utilize Meetup.com to increase sales and business:
Networking
Do a search for your city (25 mile radius) with the word ‘business.’ If you live in a reasonably populated area, you should be finding at least a few business related groups of actual people (example: 394 groups have tagged themselves with ‘business’ in the Denver, CO area). Use these groups as an opportunity to get to know other business owners, professionals, and people of similar interests in your community.
Even though commerce is becoming increasingly more digital, face to face interaction and business will never go away. Meetup.com provides a new way to connect with other businesses and that, in-and-of-itself, is an incredibly valuable tool.
Sponsoring
With 180,000 “meetups” happening every month, many need places to gather. Businesses that have meeting spaces (offices with conference rooms, restaurants, etc.) would be wise to offer manageably sized groups a place to gather. Restaurants and bars would be especially wise to offer a discount to group members during the time of their meeting. It has been said that 50% of each deal is ‘showing up,’ and this is a fine opportunity to get people to ‘show up’ at your place of business.
Meetup.com does charge to start and maintain a meetup group, but it is under $20.00 a month. Companies would be wise to pick up the bill for a group once in a while in exchange for recognition and promotion. This is a small investment with a great opportunity for some ROI.
Community Involvement
Several of the available groups focus around community service, spirituality, and other non-business topics. Any good PR person knows that active involvement with the greater community is an important part of business and recognition. Selecting one or more group that focuses on other things than business is a good move to develop personally and ‘get your name out’.
Shameless Self-promotion
If your business is B2C, then it you should be looking for groups in a related focus to your product. This may take some creativity, but it is an awesome idea. Here are a few examples:
- Carpet cleaning companies should look at pet owner groups.
- Companies that sell fabric, sewing supplies, arts and crafts stuff, etc. should be looking at craft-centric groups like quilting, painting, artisans, etc.
- Restaurants would be wise to look at ‘singles’ groups.
Reaching out to groups of people that have relatable business is the first step. Following through, offering discounts, interacting, and promoting are the completion.
Start your own group
For less than $20.00 per month you can start your own group. Meetup.com can work with your Facebook account to promote groups and events; it can also send out emails to your address book. Creating a group would be a wiser choice for people already using the service but are not finding their specific audience or niche.
Read more information about Meetup.com demographics and how to start using it.
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How To Use Sales Assessments Effectively To Maximize Results
Mar 25th
There are so many good assessments and evaluations available to help business owners and managers successfully generate a quality in-depth view of their sales team and its
members; often these can be used inappropriately, which will definitely compromise the validity and integrity of the results.
Personality tests are great to determine how people get along with one another and develop interpersonal relationships. Behavioral styles evaluations can assist in determining ‘best practices’ in managing individuals and their behaviors. The problem with these is not in the assessments themselves, but when using them to determine what actions you should take in the selection and development of salespeople. A leading assessment company at one time even claimed that there is no direct correlation between behavioral styles and successful sales performance. Using the information that these can generate may be a great tool to maximize your sales force as long as the information is kept in context.
What you need is great tool that will help you learn what makes a successful salesperson, if and how a salesperson can improve, where improvements are necessary to your sales team, and more. You need a tool that determines what obstacles may be preventing successful sales, how much realistic improvement you can expect, action plans for improvement. Do you want to predict which candidates will succeed in your sales position with 95% certainty? This can be done, and it is through approaching sales positions and sales with a direct and objective view on the science of sales. Use a sales assessment that effectively profiles your company and the potential candidates, critically evaluates potential talent, and maximizes the results for your company consistently. Smeester and Associates specializes in using tools like what’s been described above to help maximize sales for companies. If you want assistance in finding a tool for you that can effectively increase the performance of your sales team, then contact us;
Hiring Sales People – Why Place SO Much Value On Industry Experience?
Mar 23rd
Companies looking to expand their sales force often consider “industry experience” as a must-have for their candidates; a smart business would quickly eliminate this practice, and place more value on the quality of the salesperson and their history in selling.
A great salesperson is great regardless of the industry! Any savvy professional in sales should agree that performance history, adaptability, comfort, confidence, and passion are infinitely more valuable qualities and skills than years of experience in any particular niche. Making sure that your next sales hire can demonstrate sales core competencies leaves them open and available to focus their energy on learning about your company, business, and products. A person who already understands the science of sales and the ability to relate with your potential clients will definitely be trainable in your particular market, and educating that person will be incalculably less expensive than hiring another sales dud who already has spent 10 years in your field.
Industry Experience is not nearly as valuable as salesmanship and a proven history of sales.
In the ever-changing world that we live in, it would be wise to focus on those that already know today’s sales/marketing scene, and have the know-how to continuously evolve with the market around them. Finding sales stars can make any business grow tremendously, and a real sales all-star will always shine no matter what they are selling. Next time you are looking to grow your sales force, don’t limit yourself to people who have been in your field of business.
Ultimately, it should be infinitely more cost effective and fun to train somebody in your market, products, and services, than teaching them about selling. You absolutely can hire great salespeople, and the first step is changing your approach. The science of sales is proven to work, so leave the selling to the sales force and make yourself more available to continue making the best business you can.
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Social Media Marketing 101: Don’t Get Caught Up In Just Selling
Mar 19th
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is an incredibly powerful tool, but so many businesses stepping in to this world get too immersed in the SELLING aspect and lose track of the SOCIAL aspect.
Stay on target with Social Media Marketing
The internet has become the next “great conversation” of history; millions of people every day log in to a number of sites to read, post, respond, and develop new digital communities. Recent studies indicate that nearly 60% of Americans engage in social media (Facebook, Twitter, linkedin, etc.), which makes Social Media Marketing a wonderful opportunity to get your business’ message out to an incredible amount of people for very little (if any) cost to you. However, too many new businesses step into this digital world with the intent to only sell, and don’t seem to know that in this arena PARTICIPATION leads to sales. Only 25% of social media users (roughly 46.3 million Americans) “want to be sold to”, which leaves the remaining 75% of users looking to simply engage and participate.
The expectation now is that you, as a business, interact with the scene and not just post frequently about your products and your services. Develop a personality on the web, share your thoughts, promote interesting other people, and sell yourself. Even if you have the absolute BEST product and service in the industry right now, YOU still have to sell it and most consumers are more likely to buy from a person they can relate to. The opportunity will arise for you to sell as long you stay involved with potential customers.
Mikal Belicove, an author and Social Media Adviser, has stated, “It’s called Social Media, not Social SELLING.” Remembering that media is a crucial part of the whole equation will aid you greatly as you begin and continue your company’s growth in Social Media Marketing. Above all, the expanding realm of using social media as a sales tool is about developing a RELATIONSHIP and sharing your voice with a vast amount of potential new customers.
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Why Most Sales Recruiters SUCK!
Mar 18th
You might be paying somebody far too much money to do little more than a career-centric website could do. Here are a few reasons why most sales recruiters are bad for you and worse for your wallet.
Sales recruiters can be a gamble
Every business owner has felt the sting of a bad hire; it hurts business, costs you money, and damages morale. But, you usually dust off the frustration, hire somebody new, and move forward. You might even investigate hiring (or purchasing) somebody to help manage the hiring recruitment process for you, so that you can focus on continuing to move your business forward. However, be aware that many sales recruiters are terrible… at best.
1) Most sales recruiters ARE simply resume filters.
If all you need is a stack of resumes, then most sales recruiters will do a great job gathering as many resumes as possible and filtering for “experience.” But, you may want to do a little shopping around to some automated systems first; you’ll probably get a lower price for the same questionable results. Most sales Recruiters are only paid based on placing a salesperson in your company, but there is very little evidence up front that this person will fit, perform, or even excel. The typical Sales Recruitment process focuses on experience – and rightly so, but any sales guru will tell you that “industry experience” is completely unimportant.
2) Many Sales Recruiters don’t properly profile your position.
Finding the right salespeople requires so much more than experience and past performance. Many sales recruiters won’t even try to grasp the full and complete picture of your company; instead, they will only look at the product you are selling and match “professionals” with that product. Profiling evaluates and assesses the potential salesperson’s lifestyle and sales abilities. For example, proper assessment considers a candidates comfort with differing sales cycles, how they interact with different prospects and understand their potential clients, and much more. Profiling confirms that your potential new salesperson and your company are a mutual match. Many Sales Recruiters don’t consider things like this in their recruitment process because they focus too closely on simply filling the position.
3) The process can not maximize results.
Any business owner should be able to agree that their sales force has not performed as hoped for, and that 20% or less of their sales force has met and surpassed the goals established when they were hired. This is often due to a rushed and poorly developed recruitment and hiring process. When sales recruiters fail to fully develop a solid process that appropriately and adequately sorts through the thousands of applicants, you will be left with too many possible candidates that likely won’t perform how you NEED them to.
To combat poor sales recruitment programs, all you need to do is remember that this situation (like so many others) IS sales, not gambling. You wouldn’t gamble on a lemon of a car in hopes that it doesn’t break down as soon as you drive it off the lot, so why would you hire salespeople in hopes that they might generate an appropriate stream of revenue for your company?
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The Importance of the Common Problems Sheet
Feb 13th
For reference, please open and complete ”Common Problems with Sales Teams“.
Pretend that you are like one of my CEO clients, who have been through the common yet very painful experience of hiring salespeople that don’t sell. If you’re like most, you might get 2 people - out of 10 - that actually can and does sell and increase revenue. What is common is that CEO’s are plagued by salespeople who complain and make up excuses why they can’t sell: the economy, the prospects and/or clients, the products and or services, etc. Add to this the fact that these complainers are usually taking a minimum of $5000/mo. base. Now pretend I have you complete “Common Problems with Sales Teams” at the beginning of the meeting…. it gets the meeting kicked off right!
A “Common Problems” sheet is a tool that you should be using as a precursor to every meeting or call. It can help in several ways:
- Gets the prospect focused on an agenda, i.e. why your are meeting or talking on the phone.
- If your prospect has problems that you truly can fix, it gets them emotionally involved up front (remember, emotions are necessary to get people to make a decision). It is used to see if your prospect has pain. If you were the CEO above, how do you think you’d feel?
- It tells your prospect what you do and how you can help without you having to say a word
You can create a Common Problems sheet for whatever you sell. Just download the “Developing Common Problems Sheet” and be on your way. You’ll see that having your own Common Problems sheet will greatly help you!
