Why don’t people buy from me?

Did you ever ask yourself, “Why don’t people buy from me?”

The Biggest Marketing Challenge WE All Face

The biggest challenge we’re dealing with today is change. Things are changing so fast. As a result of this rapid pace of change people do not know who to trust!

There are six questions your prospects want answered before they will buy from you. These questions are designed to allow you to think like your buyer and speak with them so they know you are the right and safe choice.

Why the Six Questions are Important

When I started my business back in 2001, I lacked trust. What I really mean is that I did not know who could help me get clear on my ideal client. Every time I ask someone they said things I did not understand. I was confused and a confused mind does not take action. This is what we’re dealing with.

Stick with me as I talk about things you may not have thought about before. Keep an open mind because, to grow your business, you need to find someone you can trust.

Remember we stated earlier that “trust” is the biggest marketing issue we need to address. This is what marketing is about – helping our prospects to trust us so we can start the sales process.

Let’s jump right in.

The Six Questions

Question 1: What Do You Do?

What do you do? What would you tell me?

If you answered, “I am a financial planner,” or “I am an accountant,” or “I fix computers,” then you got it wrong. This is not what you do; it is how you do it.

People want to know what you do before they want to know how you do it.

For example, if you are a financial planner, here is what I would hope to hear: “I help people make the right choices about their money,” or “I help them make wise money decisions,” or “I build, protect and transfer wealth (my favorite).”

People want to know what you do before they want to know how you do it.

Question 2: Why should I care about what you do? Or, “What’s in it for me?”

If I asked a financial planner how he is different, what would he say? This is really important because there are thousands of financial planners that want my business. Why would I hire one over the other?

If you’re a business owner and looking for customers, you have prospects who are asking, “What’s in it for me?” Your job is to marry your skills and the outcome you provide to the prospects that have that need. Don’t make your prospect figure it out, tell them. That’s all your prospects want know. Don’t make your prospect guess.

Question 3: Why are YOU the Right and Safe Choice?

They’re going to want to know the answer to this question: “How do I know you are the right and safe choice for me, right now?”

The question of why you are the right and safe choice addresses a very powerful question for your prospects: “Can I trust you to do what you say you will do?”

They want to know how you will make them more effective and productive, how you make them right and how would you make them look good?

Business owners have a strong need to be more effective and more productive. Here is what you need to know. Simply ask them what they want to achieve and tell them how you will help them achieve that goal. When they understand how you’re going help them achieve their goal and how you can make them more effective and more productive, they are on board.

 

Question 4: What do you do better than anyone Else in the World?

You are unique. There is no one like you. The uniqueness you bring to the business is a great example of how to answer this question. It is not the only answer but it is a great place to start. Let’s look at a specific example.

How many people have heard the Southwest Airlines commercial where they discuss “bags fly free”?

What does Southwest Air do better than anybody else in the whole world?

Fun?

Yes, Southwest is fun to fly, but what do they do that no other airline does? “Bags fly free.”  That’s really all it is. They are the only airline that does not charge for bags. This isn’t rocket science.

Question 5: Why is that Important to my Prospects?

Why is what you do better than anyone else in the world important to me?

When you answer this question, you’re moving into allowing the customer to buy from you. This is actually the beginning of the buying process.

Will you:

  • Make them more money?
  • Give them more free time?
  • Create more value?
  • Reduce risk?
  • Save them money?

This is the beginning of the business case of why you are the right person or your company is the right company.

It’s just that simple.

Question 6: Why Buy From Me? Or Prove It.

So here’s the last one question. Why buy from me? This is really the fundamental question; this is where the proof exists. Do you have the credentials? Can you say that you’ve done this for another company and can do the same for me? Do you have endorsements from others who will vouch for you?

If what you are doing is not working as well as you would like. Try this process. It works. The answers you create can be used to craft a killer 30 second commercial, create actionable contents for your web site and make it easier for prospects to understand why they should be from you.  There are 16 modules on answering the six questions. To make it easy you can purchase or rent this course at https://gumroad.com/l/6-questions

Ron Finklestein is an international author of four business books and the creator of the Business Growth Experience. To learn more go to www.businessgrowthexperience.com.

 

Sales Tip 11 – Hey, What’s up

Hey, what’s up?

Someone who bills themselves as a social media & LinkedIn expert (her words not mine) asked to connect with me on LinkedIn. I accepted this request.

The email I received from her had only this question, “Hey, what’s up?”

Maybe I am showing my age but I have no clue how to answer this question. Is she asking about work, my family, what I am doing right now, what I do, or who I do it with? It left me feeling confused and wondering if she thought she was on Facebook (I perceived Facebook communication to more informal.)

I replied, “I do not know how to answer this question,” trying to gain some clarity in what she was asking.

I get the reply, “what do you do?” This made we wonder if she read my profile since it clearly states I help companies grow sales and increase revenues. I replied, “I help companies grow sales and increase revenues with sales training, coaching and consulting.”

Her reply, “do you have a web site?” Again, if she read my profile she would know that. I replied, “I have several of them.”

This whole process could have been shortened if she did a little homework (such as read my LinkedIn profile.)

If you want to engage me in a dialog please be clear. Tell me what you do and why I need your service. Don’t send me an email and ask “what’s up?” I do not know you. Tell me why I should invest in a relationship with you.

If you think you can help tell me why. You could say something like, “I looked at your web site and here is where we can help.” Please specify which site you are referring to as I have several. If you do not mention the site I will assume you did not look or you would be specific. This is important because this is where the sales process begins.

Finally, don’t make me work at understanding what you do or why I should care. If you don’t know your business well enough to answer that question, get some help. Especially if you are selling social media marketing services. If you can’t market yourself how would I expect you to market my services?

We are all busy people and we want and need help that will take up closer to our goals. I think we appreciate being approached with a meaningful well thought out message.

LinkedIn is a powerful marketing tool. Use it with the respect and responsibility the members deserve.

With that being said, I invite you to go to <a href=”http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com”>www.businessgrowthexperience.com</a> and download my free report on the Six Questions Prospects want Answered BEFORE They Buy. It will help you answer my questions above.

If you would like a free sale assessment please fill out the form below:

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

Sales Tip # 9 – Stop Thinking

Sales Tip # 9 – Stop Thinking

Stop Thinking

Just stop thinking.

You did the analytics. You did the risk analysis. You know what can go wrong. You know you need to take action but you can’t stop thinking about what can go wrong, about what you may have missed.

You know you need to make that cold call but all you can focus on is the rejection. You cannot stop thinking about all the ways someone can reject you.

You want to call your accountant (financial advisor, friend, business associate) and ask for the referral. You can’t stop thinking about how asking makes you feel weak or what they might think of you for asking.

I could go on but you get the message.

There are things we want to do, we have to do, to get the results we want. Yet we don’t take action. We are afraid. We are afraid of what others might think, what they might do, or a whole host of others fears that are unlikely to happen.

Stop thinking and just do!

When I think about doing cold call I starting thinking of every reason someone won’t talk to me and I make every excuse to not pick up the phone. When I stop thinking about calling and just do it I have no problem picking up the phone.

When you see that beautiful girl, don’t think about it – just ask her out.

When you go to a networking event, don’t think about it – just introduce yourself to someone and find out how easy it is.

Here are some thoughts and beliefs I use to help and you might find them useful:

  1. If I am uncomfortable about something I assume there is a special gift on the other side so I just do it. Be reasonable. I am not talking about jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
  2. If I feel this way others do too. I am not alone. Others have overcome their fears and I can overcome mine.
  3. I surround myself with others who support reasonable risk taking.
  4. I ask for feedback and question the reason for the fear with my coach and advisor.
  5. I try to do something daily that makes me uncomfortable. I take action and when I am successful I wonder what it was that I was afraid of.
  6. I look for reasons it can and will work.

I was recently at a networking event and I received a great testimonial from one of my clients. Shortly thereafter I received a call from a business associate who wanted to know how much it was to join my program. I did not answer the question. Since I know him I asked him this question: You like to think. If you are willing to stop thinking and take action you will do well in my program. Are you willing to stop thinking?

His response was, “That will be hard for me.”

I love his honesty. He is joining and he knows what he has to do.

Can you be that honest?

Stop thinking and answer the question! No excuses!

To your success,

Ron Finklestein
Contact me now for your free sales assessment: ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

 

 

Sale Tip # 8 – Why are you different?

Sale Tip # 8 – Why are you different?

I received a call from my nephew and he asked me this question, “Why are you different?” What is was really asking is, “Why are you different from your brother?”

As I answered the question I realized he was asking a fundamental question about sales and marketing as well.

Each prospect wants to know, “Why are you different than your competitors?” and “Why is that difference important to me?”

Why are you “different” than your competitors?

Most people talk about how good they are and they do not tell the prospect why this is important.

For example, I am a sale trainer and coach. People ask me how I am different than my competitors. I explain to them how everything we do is research based, market tested and results oriented. I then ask them if they want to work with someone who read the book or the person who wrote the book (since I have written six books.) Having written six books on business growth is a powerful differentiator. All my material is in the public domain allowing them to check it out to see if it resonates with them. It also allows them to explore my depth of knowledge.

This makes is easy for the prospect to understand my uniqueness in helping him solve his sales issues.
The next part is just as important because here is what they really want to know: Why is your differentiator important to me?
They are really asking if you will create more value, make them more money, save them money, save them time, make them more productive, make them money or reduce their risk. That is what most business owners want. Can you position your product or service in a way the prospect can understand and act upon?

Let me give you an example.

We help companies (what we do) increase revenues, grow sales and shorten the sales process (why it is important) putting you back in control of the revenue generation portion of your business. (We are different) than our competitors because our program is research based (our books), market tested (proven by existing clients) and results oriented (grow revenues/increase sales) and what we teach will not only help you grow sales and you will use it to improve nearly every type of relationship you are involved in.
We need to stop marking our prospects think so hard about what we do and why that is important to them. In a book called Achieving Sales Excellence the author researched 8,000 business owners and the owners said the most important part of the sales process (39%) is the ability of the sales rep to effectively communicate the impact your product or service will have on the company and help move the prospect through the sales process.

How successful you are in sales is dependent on many things but these are important:
1. How effective you are in communicating your value in a way the prospect understands
2. How effective you are in helping the prospect through the buying process
3. How easy you make it for the prospect to understand why your unique value proposition is important to them.

Be sure to check out the other sales tips at http://www.ronfinklestein.com

To Your Success!
Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788

 

 

Sales Tip # 6 – Are you Likeable?

Sales Tip # 6 – Are you Likeable?

We all know people buy from others they know, like and trust.

If that is true, and I believe it is – are you likeable?

If you are likeable what do you do to be likeable?

Recently, I was meeting with a seasoned business pro. It was our first meeting. He was semi-retired and we were talking how his assessments would help his clients make great hiring decisions. He wanted to see if I was someone he could introduce to others when the need for sales training was identified. We had a very good discussion. I listened as ho told me about his assessment and the positive impact they have when used.

When the time came he asked me how he could help me.

I pulled out my one page document that outlines what problems we solve and who we want to meet and showed it to him. He pushed it back and said, “It is too detailed.”

I pushed it back and said, “I get a lot of business using this document!”

He said, “It is not the document that gets you business.”

Trying to be open-minded I asked, “Why do I get the business?”

He only said “you’re likeable.”

I paused – what do you say to that?

We finished our meeting and on the way home I asked myself, ‘what did I do to be likable?”

I listened. I was interested. I asked questions for clarity. I really wanted to learn what he did.

I was not satisfied with what I was thinking.

I decided to ask a group of well-respected and accomplished business associates how one is “liked” – from their perspective. They are from all walks of life, of different ages (24 – 61) and they all sell into different markets. They included Mike Lemmeyer (home improvement) from K Guard, Tim Plonski (Financial Services) from JK Investments, Dave Kuhner (Marketing) from Team Kuhner, Bob Powers (Financial Services) from Primerica, Paul Stefunek (Retained Search) from Paul Lawrence & Associates and Ron Finklestein (Sales Training/Consulting) from Business Growth Experience.

After a very interesting discussion here is what we came up with:

  1. Smile – Smiling indicates a high-level of trustworthiness.
  2. Listen – Don’t listen to prepare for the next thing you are planning to say but listening to understand.
  3. Eye contact – Making eye contact indicates you are present in the discussion.
  4. Look the part – You must dress as one in your industry would dress. For example, plumber in a tuxedo would raise a red flag whereas a plumber dressed a plumber makes sense.
  5. Communicate effectively – Don’t make others guess at the meaning you are trying to communicate.

It seems so simply and I understand how difficult it is to be effective in all five areas. Please let me know your thought and the actions you take to be likeable so others may learn.

To your likeability,

Ron Finklestein
If you like this article, check out my newest website: Make a Difference. Here we focus on growing sales, leadership and personal development.

 

 

 

Sales Tip # 5 – Don’t be Stupid

Sales Tip # 5  – Don’t be stupid!

Sometimes in our haste we do something stupid.

I received this email, “If you are still in business call me?” That was all there was to the email (I withheld the signature and company name – I will tell you he sold merchant services.)

No greeting.

No first name or introduction.

He did not tell what problem he was trying to solve for me. Was he trying to help me grow sales, increase revenues or reduce my expenses?

He did not tell me who he was or what he did.

No – this is how we can help you – just “are you still in business?”

Was he lazy or just stupid? I really don’t know but the impression he made was less than stellar.

If he wanted to talk to me why didn’t he ask me for a good time to call or the best phone number to reach me or ask me if I to talk to him?

My opinion of this email is that it was the most arrogant email I have ever received.

I, like most business owners, work hard. We have bills to pay, our family to feed and house payments to make. AM I STILL IN BUSINESS???? He did not research on me or my company. He had no idea of the industry I was in or if I even needed his services.

Do you think I called him back? NO!

Do you think I responded in any way? NO! (I did respond to tell him that his email as arrogant.)

Did I think he was either desperate or lazy? YES!

Did I think he had my best interest in mind? NO!

Sometimes we get careless or forgetful of proper email protocol. Sometimes we take shortcuts. Mistakes happen. I get that. But…

In today’s world of social media I could put his name and company name all over the internet as an example of what not to do. Instead I write a blog post.

We need to slow down and remember that sales is about the relationship (as short as it may be.) Basic courtesy is still necessary: Respect is still necessary and people skills are important. When the relationship is there people will buy-it all starts with respect.

When doing email marketing keep it short and to the point. Create an eye-catching subject line. Tell me what you want and WHY I SHOULD TALK TO YOU! Get me a link to learn more if I am interested.

It is about staying focused on the end results. There is only four things business owners like me want from you when you market to me: 1. How to increase revenues. 2. How to reduce expenses. 3. How to increase my productivity. 4. How to add more value to my clients. If your email does not address at least one of those issues – save time and do not sent the email.

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@ronfinklestein.com
p.s. We are launching a new web site that provide high quality training and a very low price. Check it out. WWW.MADPPV.com. We focus on sales growth, personal growth and leadership on this web site. BTW, MAD means Makie a Difference.

Tip # 4 to Grow Sales – Buy on Price – Buy Twice

Buy on price – pay twice!

Many years ago, while I was remodeling a house, I needed a specific tool to finish the job. It was a fairly expensive tool, $99 on the low-end up to $400 at the top end. Naturally I chose the $99 tool and finished the job.

After several uses I realized I purchased the wrong tool – it didn’t do everything I needed it to do. I bought the tool because of the price. Since then I have spent a lot more time and money trying to use the tool for things it was not designed to be used for and decided to buy a higher quality tool more suited to my needs. I purchased the second time, not on price, but on value.

I bought on price and I paid twice.

How do you help your prospect buy your value and not your price?

It starts with a well-defined sales process. Each step in the process is designed to add value to the prospect. Here is the process I use:
1. Rapport strategy
2. Define problem
3. Explore impact of the problems
4. Collaborate with the prospect and jointly create the solution
5. Get the order
6. Ask for a referral
7. Conduct a review of the call to determine what worked and what did not work and make the necessary changes

The rapport strategy is designed to help them like and trust you.

Defining the problem helps you understand the symptoms and cause of the problem.

The exploring step help both you and the prospect understand the impact of the problem and what happens if the prospect does nothing.

The collaboration step allow both you and the prospect to build the solution together. It is very hard for the prospect to reject a solution they helped build.

The outcome of a well-designed process is the order, concerns, or a “no.” It is a natural outcome of the process. Each can be dealt with since each party now knows the issues.

After the order is signed the next step is to ask for a referral. The more specific you can be the better the opportunity to get the referral.
Finally, review the sales transaction and change what did not work and continue doing what did work.

Sales is not an art, sales is a process. When the sales process is both well designed and executed even people who do not perceive themselves as sales representatives can do quite well at sales.

DefinitiveSalesFinal032513You can learn more from our book, The Definitive Sales Play Book: How to Grow Sales and Create Lifetime Customers – available at Amazon.com

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788

Email me at ron@businessgrowthexperience.com to schedule your free assessment sales assessments.

53 Things I wish I Knew BEFORE I Started my Business

53 Things I wish I knew Before I Started my Business:

  1. How to write a business plan
  2. How to execute a business plan
  3. How to find a good coach
  4. How to park my ego and ask for help
  5. How to network and build an effective network
  6. How to build effective relationships
  7. How to sell
  8. How to manage money
  9. How to use marketing to build a brand and attract the right client
  10. How to find the right customers
  11. How to ask for the order and not expect them to ask
  12. The value of surrounding myself with others who are better than me
  13. How to be vulnerable
  14. When to say no
  15. When to say yes
  16. How to take calculated risks
  17. The value of ethical leadership
  18. When to hire
  19. How to hire
  20. When to outsource
  21. What to outsource
  22. To understand what people were really saying
  23. How to value my product
  24. How to price my product
  25. Understanding of my ideal customer from both a demographics and psychographics perspective
  26. How to find a good accountant
  27. How to find a good financial planner
  28. How to find a good graphic designer
  29. To set my goal higher
  30. To go for the “no”
  31. Take more risks
  32. Forgive myself sooner when those risks fail
  33. Test for understanding
  34. Learn to say no
  35. Learn to say no again
  36. Reward myself more often when good things happen
  37. The power of a goal
  38. The power of a goal that I have to report on
  39. When to give up on  an idea
  40. When to act on an idea
  41. The power of planning
  42. The higher power of a plan “B”
  43. How to take better care of myself
  44. The power of a great diet
  45. How to get to the feeling of “belief” sooner
  46. Setting up a good filing system
  47. How to write a book sooner
  48. No caring what others would say
  49. Doing what is right
  50. Sleeping better at night
  51. How powerful “brainstorming” is in understanding a problem
  52. The power of having a database of trusted people who can help solve a problem and letting them
  53. The value of being a friend

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
ron@akris.net
330-990-0788
www.businessgrowthexperience.com

 

10 Lessons Learned in 2013

2013 has been a good year for me. I introduced many new products, created new relationships, and had a total knee replacement. I learned much and as I reflect back I want to share the top 10 learning’s I experienced. As you plan your goals, dreams and aspirations for next year, I thought I would share some lessons early in the hope you will think differently about personal growth, wealth and health going into 2014.

10. Life planning as well as business planning is essential. Create a life plan and get really focused on what is important, what makes you happy, and what provides peace of mind. Life is an experience to be lived and not a lesson to be learned.

9.   I like learning. It does not matter what it is. I realized it is important to me to bring value to every relationship and I give away too much. Not sure I want to change this too much.

8.   People who get both knees replaced (AT THE SAME TIME) impress me, I think. I know how much work it was to recover from one knee replacement, I could not image doing two at the same time!

7.   I now see the medical industry as a customer service organization. The positive service I experienced, at the hospital was extraordinary; from the nurses to the nutritionist to the physical therapist was incredible. Made the whole stay that much more pleasant and I believe my recovery time faster.

6.   I realized the value of good friends. Several stepped up to help out when I was in the hospital. I was amazed and impressed that people would be so open and sharing with their time, talent and money. What was really cool was I did not have to ask!

5.   One of our dogs died this year. The other became very depressed. It is very clear to me they need company and create deep relationships that benefit all.

4.   I love being greeted so warmly by my dog when I come home. I will take time and allow him to greet me when I walk in the door and I will greet them with the same level of love and enthusiasm (this was on the list last year.)

3.   Honesty, integrity and common sense make me tick. I love business and personal relationships with people where I know what makes them tick. I want to know what is important to you. I can always get better at communicating my intent and cultivating valuable relationships. Some people will love you and some won’t. Some feel it is ok to criticize because they can do it anonymously and no one will know. Relationships can be difficult. Always give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that when the time is right, things will be ok.

2.    Nothing is as valuable as your health. Having experienced a number of health challenges with a new knee make me aware of how I value mobility, sleep and activity. It is amazing how my attitude got better when the body feels better. Enough sleep is essential to great health and a positive attitude.

1.    Getting back to “my why.” For years I had a strong spiritual practice. I got away from it due to family obligations, business challenges and other reason. I changed and my spiritual practices did not change as I changed. I will implement practices that keep me grounded and focused on what is important. When the “why” is clear, life gets easy.

Bonus Lesson: The same challenge will keep showing up in your life until you learn the lesson life is presenting to you.  You would have thought that I would have learned that by now!

Another bonus lesson: Be Grateful. Share your gratitude.

Happy New Year,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
RON@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com

 

 

 

Half of Success is Just Showing Up!

Half of Success is Just Showing up!

I run Mastermind groups and several clients asked this question, “Why are people late or they don’t show up when they register for an event?”

A variation of that same question is, “Don’t they understand how much time, energy and money we invest?”

We can expend this question to include: Why won’t people return phone call, especially where a business relationship exists? I am not talking about a cold call.

I do not believe these are time management issues. I think they are behavioral issues: lack of focus, lack of clarity on what is important, maybe laziness.

Those questions are legitimate and in my opinion they reflect very badly on people who exhibit this behaviors.

When I have a sales call with a prospect I try to never be late. I believe it is a sign of disrespect when I am late. There are times when I am late. It may be a traffic accident, a call running longer than expected, etc. When I am in that situation, I call the person I am planning to meet and ask them if they want to continue with the meeting or reschedule.

I was on a radio interview promoting my latest book, Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant, and I was on the call exactly at 3 PM. She commented on my time management. I told her if I were not on time it would be the ultimate of disrespect to her and her schedule. She is busy. She has a radio program to run. She is dependent on the time slot the radio gives her. If I am late it puts her in the rough spot.

I was watching 60 Minutes and they were profiling Alabama football coach Nick Sabin.  One of his player was late for a team meeting and Sabin asked him why, “I could not get my earring out,” was his response. Sabin asked him this question, “Do you care more about your earring than this football team?”

Sabin was interrupted by someone who could not get his earrings out? Really. Shows you where his priorities are!

When you are late or do not show for a meeting or event, think of the message you are sending about who you are? Think of what the prospect thinks if you are late: are you dependable, can I trust you to do what you say you will do, will you blow me off again in the future, what will happen when I share with you my problems? They have a busy day and you are negatively impacting their schedule.

There are four rules all (sales) professional should implement daily:

  1. Do what you say you will do.
  2. Do it when you say it will be done.
  3. Don’t be late.
  4. Be a good listener.

As the old saying goes, “half of success is just showing up.”

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

I could not believe he refused!

Last week my wife and I went shopping as some of our favorite places – second hand stores. I was preparing for total knee replacement and I needed some durable medical supplies (canes, walkers, ice packs, etc.)

The store we visited is called Kathleen’s Kornor. As you can imagine Kathleen is the owner and a friend. She is on West market Street in Akron, what is referred to as the Highland Square Area.

While visiting, the internet went down and Kathleen could not take credit cards.

This individual wanted to buy a roll of shelving paper and had no cash. He wanted to use his card, which could not be processed because of the internet problems.

I offer to pay cash and only ask that he pay it forward. He actually refused.

Not wanting Kathleen to lose the sales, I gave Kathleen the money. He offered to reimburse me $1.

As I walked out the store I simply asked him to pay it forward.

As I walked out the door I wondered why he resisted our simply request.

This got me thinking about all the times I refused help because of pride, time, embarrassment and other strange things we humans sometime do to ourselves.

So now I have a request I would like you to pay it forward. My Coauthor Dr. Tony Alessandra if offering a DISC assessment at no charge ($79 value). Here are the details. You can receive some great information and help someone at the same time.

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

The Definitive Sales Playbook: How to Grow Sales and Create Lifetime Customers

The Definitive Sales Playbook: How to Grow Sales and Create Lifetime Customers

Dr. Tony Alessandra and I are proud to announce our newest book  The Definitive Sales Playbook is now available on Amazon.  Brian Tracy was kind enough to write the Foreword.

The book was the outcome of a sales membership site Tony and I built with the help of TruNorth. The book reflects the different modules available in the site. The book is designed to be help new sales reps increase sales through the use of best practices, remind seasoned sales reps what they did to be successful and help take existing sales reps to a whole new level in their sales performance.

If you are interested in our sales training or coaching program please contact Ron Finklestein. To learn more about Ron Finklestein  or Dr. Tony Alessandra just click on the highlighted links.

I included the Table of Content for your review:

Introduction

Nine Behaviors of Successful Salespeople

The Platinum Rule ®   — Treating Others the Way They Want to be Treated!

Building And Maintaining Rapport Throughout The Connecting Phase

Building And Maintaining Rapport Throughout The Exploring Phase

Building And Maintaining Rapport Throughout The Collaboration Phase

Building And Maintaining Rapport Throughout The Confirming Phase

Building And Maintaining Rapport Throughout The Assuring Phase

Negative Preparation Leads to Positive Results!

The Power of Testimonials

Lead Generation with Social Media

Blogging as a Sales Tool

What is the number one thing that business owners want from their sales rep?

Behaviors of Non-Performing Sales vs. High-Performing Sales Reps

Why Goals Fail

How to Build Trust Quickly

Why People Won’t Buy From You!

Question #1: “What do you do?”

Question #2: “How are you different?” or “What’s in it for me?”

Question #3: “Why are you the right and safe choice?”

Question #4: “What do you do better than anyone else in the world (in your industry)?”

Question #5: “Why is that important to my prospects?”

Question #6: “Why buy from me?” or “Prove it.”

Sustaining Motivation

Bite-Sized Training

Selling by the Numbers

Identifying Lucrative Prospects

Identifying Your Best Prospects

Incoming Prospecting

Visibility Strategies for Incoming Prospecting

Prospecting

Asking for Referrals

Knowing Your Competitive Advantages

Your Competitive Advantage Statement

Contacting by Phone—Key Telephone Skills

Using the Phone as a Prospecting Tool

Contacting Prospects Online

In-Person Contacts

Common Up-Front Objections

Skills For Responding To Resistance

Three Steps to Successful Sales

Identify Customer Needs

Question Topic Categories

Exploring Important Topics

Ten Tips for More Effective Questioning

Identifying Success Criteria

Ten Commandments of Powerful Listening

Active Listening

Types of Decision Makers—Understanding the Cast of Characters

Features versus Benefits

Five Key Elements of Presentations

Proposing Solutions

Price Concerns

Product Concerns

Postponement Concerns

Product-Price-Postponement Concerns Worksheet

Negotiating Tips

Confirming The Sale Signals

Benefit Summary

Stairs of Customer Loyalty

Commitment To Your Customers

Effective Communication With Customers

Enhancing the Customer Relationship

Thirteen Ways To Assure Customer Satisfaction

Monitoring & Measuring Success Criteria

The Annual Check-Up

Expanding Your Sales

Time Analysis Questions

Return On Time Invested

ROTI Account Classification

Appendix A — Quick Reference Guide

Building Rapport Throughout the Sales Process

About Dr. Tony Alessandra

About Ron Finklestein

 

Click here to purchase the book  The Definitive Sales Playbook.

Click here to learn more about our sales training and sales coach

 

To your success,

 

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788

 

4 Most Powerful Words in the English Language

Four Most Powerful Words in the English Language!

I recently did a radio interview on blog talk radio. We talked about how to use the four most powerful words in the English Language to grow sales and increase revenues.   I wanted to share the broadcast with you. Please give a listen and post your comments. Here is the link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kurtsteelelive/2013/08/09/4-most-powerful-words-in-the-english-language

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788

Ron @ businessgrowthexperience.com

Check out my membership site and get your free download. got to http://www.businessgrowthexperience.net

Gmail Changes – Warning

Google is at it again. These changes have already been made to my account!

Gmail is rolling out new features for their inbox and they’re starting to automatically filter your email messages for you (this also applies if you use Google Apps for your business email address!).

The emails of many of the people I follow are categorized as “Promotions” and automatically making them skip your inbox and putting them in a separate folder (similar to your spam box now).

This means you won’t see any of our awesome emails (or emails from others you follow) in your main inbox unless you adjust your Gmail settings!

Gmail will implement these changes over time so you may not see any changes to your email yet.

But, it won’t be long before your inbox is going to look much different then it does now.

When this happens all you have to do is change one little setting and save your changes.

Here’s what to do:

Click on and drag one of the emails from us to the “Primary” tab. Then make sure you click “Yes” when the alert pops up.

If you want to completely remove these new tabs simply go to the Settings box in the upper right hand corner of your inbox and select “Settings”. Click on the “Inbox” tab and unselect all categories except “Primary” (remember to save your changes!)

And that is it!

Now you won’t miss out on any important emails from others you follow (including us!)

A special thanks to Joe Polish for make me aware of this! This too important not to share.

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

If you are in Northeast Ohio on 8/13 I invite you to join me for a sales lunch an learn. No risk or commitment on your part. Here are the details: http://saleslunchandlearn.eventbrite.com –  seating is limited so be sure to register early. I need to know how much food to bring.

Rynd Speaks

This is the first chapter of my next book. It is a parable on how Bob uses  the Nine Laws to solves some very difficult personal and business problems. The Book is called Rynd’s Nine Laws for Personal and Professional Success – Going from Success to Significance. My coauthor Mike Larocca and I are very proud of this book because of the compelling story, the easy read and lessons learned. It will be available on Amazon in shortly!

Please read and enjoy.

Bob’s Drive

 

“Why am I the only person in this office who can do sales?”

Bob is seated in an elegant office, in a luxurious black leather chair at a cherry wood desk, none of which he ever seems to notice. He’s wearing a tailored gray business suit. His jacket is draped over the back of his chair.

Bob is facing Richard, who wears a tailored navy Armani suit despite holding the title Inside Sales Manager and thus rarely leaves the office. Richard begins to formulate a reply, but Bob cuts him off.

“No, scratch that,” says Bob. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m not the only person who can do sales. But I am the only person who will do sales, who does do sales. It’s not difficult. Everyone we contact needs this service. It’s a great service. It’s simple to see this. It’s simple to explain this. But why am I the only person who’s actually doing the work?”

“I –”

“Don’t answer that. I’m not in the mood right now.”

Bob realizes that right now’s not the time for a reasoned conversation. After a brief, almost guilty look at Richard, Bob says, “Let me go calm down first. Then tell me what happened with Greg and the Eastern contract.”

My reaction was unreasonable, Bob realizes as he leaves his office. But being annoyed at this problem is not.

Bob briefly wonders how long it’ll take Richard to return to his own office, and almost smiles, but his amusement quickly gives way to his annoyance.

Bob doesn’t mind doing sales. He’s good at it. It’s not what he would have envisioned himself doing twenty years ago, but he doesn’t mind sales. Or marketing. Or customer service. Or even purchasing, receivables, payables, or payroll.

Well, maybe not payroll.

No, the problem is that he is either doing or overseeing all of them, in too much detail, being pulled in 94 different directions at once. He owns a business that grossed four hundred grand last year and he’s still working harder than he would in a 9-to-5.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Bob enters the break room and is halfway to the water fountain before he stops. The table is cluttered with napkins and plates. On the counter beside the sink are several bottles of soda.

Unfortunately, Bob’s secretary chooses just that moment to open the opposite door and enter the break room. Ella’s smart “office chic” business suit, silk blouse, expensive shoes, and styled black hair make her look almost as efficient as she actually is.

“This is just ridiculous.” Bob throws his hands in the air. “Am I a business owner or a babysitter?”

“Bob, I thought you were –” she begins.

“Am I the only person who is even marginally engaged in this place? I can’t believe I have to tell you to keep the kitchen area clean, to take out the trash, to answer the customer emails on the same day. It’s ridiculous that you don’t know all this. It’s ridiculous that you aren’t already doing all this. Is it ignorance or apathy? No, wait, let me guess – you don’t know and you don’t care.”

Ella knows this isn’t true. She also knows that Bob knows this isn’t true. She enjoys working for him most of the time, but he can overreact on occasion. She suspects it’s the result of keeping such a tight lid on his feelings, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to tell him that.

The atypical situation in the break room leaves Ella stunned for a moment. In that moment, Bob leaves the room. He’s out of the building before she ever gets the chance to tell him that the so-called mess was in fact Bob’s workers setting up the break room for his 45th birthday party.

Bob quickly drives his silver luxury sedan from the parking lot, enjoying its smooth handling and easy power. He always enjoys the first minute of every drive, before his thoughts and plans move to the front of his mind and distract him from his surroundings. The first car he looked at cost more than he was willing to spend, but he likes what he bought instead.

He drives half a block along the access road, stops at the intersection where it meets the four-lane “proper” road, turns left when the light changes, and starts using his hands-free phone.

“Ella, it’s Bob. I’m sorry about that. Really. I shouldn’t have done that, okay?”

“Sure.”

“I’m going to Eastern to see if I can save this contract. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Okay.”

Bob drives his car onto the interstate and accelerates rapidly. He notices that Ella seems subdued, which makes him feel guilty. “I’m sorry I blew up back there. You do a great job. I’d be lost without you.”

“No problem.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Bob ends the call, swerves around someone who apparently doesn’t realize that interstates also have minimum speed limits, and makes another call.

“I’m sorry I blew up back there,” he tells Richard’s voicemail. “It’s not your fault. Since this is a local customer for a change, I’m going down there to save this one in person. Keep pulling those numbers together. I’ll catch up with you later.”

After quickly checking his GPS to remind himself which exit to take, confirming that his memory is accurate, he makes another call.

“Greg,” he says. “Bob. Tell me what happened.”

“I –”

“Give me the short version.”

Greg pauses. “The guy with the title Purchasing Manager does not, in fact, make purchasing decisions.”

Bob exhales.

“Exactly,” says Greg. “All that effort explaining what we do, winning over a guy – and we did win him over – who can’t say yes or no. He’s got to go run it by his boss, and we’ve never spoken to her at all –”

“And he’ll lose something in translation.”

“Right,” says Greg. “That’s exactly right.”

“So we find out who she is and then we start over again.” Bob bangs on his steering wheel in frustration.

“It gets worse. While we were busy with the gatekeeper, Dickson got into the company president. She’s the one making the decisions.”

“Oh… fudge.” Bob breathes deeply. “Dickson. How did they find out who the decision maker is before we –? No, never mind how they found out. The question is, how do we fix this?”

Oh great, he thinks, flipping on his headlights and windshield wipers. Rain.

“Recommendations,” says Greg. “Testimonials.”

“What about them?”

“If we start over now, we sound like salesmen.”

“That could be because we are salesman,” says Bob, chuckling.

“We know why we’re different from our competition, why Eastern should hire us instead. But we can talk ourselves blue in the face explaining that and it won’t be as effective as recommendations from our customers.”

“This is true,” says Bob. “But unless you know how to get our customers to drop whatever they’re doing and just jump in ahead of Dickson right now to tell Eastern just how great we are…”

Ahead of Bob, a car brakes suddenly. The lanes on this stretch of interstate have a way of suddenly ending or turning exit-only and panicking those unfamiliar with it, so he isn’t surprised, but he is annoyed. He swerves left and wonders why he’s so easily annoyed these days.

“We could always sabotage them,” Greg mutters, followed by a noise that doesn’t travel well from hands-free phone to hands-free phone.

“Did you just laugh nervously?” Bob asks.

“What?”

“I’ve read about that in books – oh, how I wish I had time to read books again – but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it before. Was that a nervous laugh?”

“Um… no… um, I was just joking about sabotage –”

“Of course you were joking. Sabotage would be unethical.”

“It would,” Greg quickly agrees.

“So we don’t do that. We don’t sabotage Dickson. We reframe the job.”

“Reframe.”

“Sure. Reframe. If we’re bidding against an incumbent, we make the old entrenched methods look bad. If we’re the incumbent, we make our insider knowledge critical. If we’ve got a better reputation for data security, we play up the threat and likelihood of compromising a system. If none of our competitors provide a single point of contact, stress that we do and why it matters. If we’ve got a less experienced team, we play down the need for expertise and talk up our ability to do the same work at lower cost. If we’ve got a more experienced team, we play up the value of experience, and the peace of mind they’ll enjoy knowing that our people are all hired, trained, and in place. Make what we do best seem vital and what others do well seem not so important. Stress the critical importance of anything we know that our competitor doesn’t. Reframe.”

“Ah,” says Greg.

“Ideally before they call for bids, of course.” Bob takes the exit that leads from the interstate he’s on to the interstate he wants to be on. “Oh, have they called for bids on this yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Great! We are in there! We can help them decide what to stress in the RFP. If Dickson can beat us on what does matter to the customer, we bid on what should matter to the customer. Can you meet me in –”

Bob is driving in the leftmost of five lanes, which quickly narrow to four and then three lanes, and he needs to shoot to the far right lane within the next mile. This particular stretch of interstate brings out the worst in the lane jockeys, no matter the weather, especially if there’s a slow-moving bus or truck.

Bob is momentarily distracted by his phone call and therefore unaware of the car on his right, in his blind spot. The car veers to its left and smashes into Bob’s car at 73 miles per hour.

The road is newly wet, when the asphalt is at its slickest. Bob’s car skids. Badly.

Failing Forward,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com – Download the free report
www.businessgrowthexperience.net – Sales Membership Site – try it today!

 

 

Choice Points!

What is a Choice Point?

A Choice Point is a point in time where you choose – make a decision to do something different.

In one of my mastermind groups, we were on-boarding a new member and each member discussed the value they received as a member:

  • I am lonely because there is no one I can discuss important issues with. My wife doesn’t understand, my employees have hidden agendas, and others simply do not understand the complexity of what I do.
  • I need someone to hold me accountable. I know what to do but many times I won’t do it.
  • When I am making a big decision I ask myself what questions would my mastermind group ask me. I make better decisions as a result.
  • There are no hidden agenda and I know the feedback I receive is real. The members only have my success in mind.
  • And I could go on!

Each member came to a point in their career where they made a decision to get involved, to be committed. They came to a Choice Point and made a decision to do something different.

Choice Points can be the results of external events (the economy, death in the family, divorce, etc.) The can also result from internal events (decision to get married, have a child, change jobs, etc.) A Choice Point comes from the need to do something different. It can be embraced as a positive event and proactively embraced or actively resisted.

One choice suggest acceptance. One choice suggests struggle.

It is a choice – a Choice Point!

Some members join the Mastermind and actively embraced the change. Others joined the Mastermind and resisted the groups’ participation. The ones who resisted are no longer members. The ones who proactively embraced the Mastermind are growing personally and professionally. It is just a choice!

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein

Check out http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com and download our free report: Six questions Prospects Want Answered Before they buy.

If you work in Northeast Ohio and want to attend our Sales Lunch & Learn events please click here http://saleslunchandlearn.eventbrite.com.

 

 

What I learned at my Sales Lunch & Learn

What I learned at my Sales Lunch & Learn

I do a monthly lunch and learn sales coaching program each month. In an effort to reach more people I recorded the session and posted it on YouTube. The link is below. I do not plan to keep this public long so if growing sales is important to you, take some time to watch/listen to this video.

After a short while, I will make this video private and only my client will have access to it via Google Plus.

This video was recorded live as part of a coaching session to private clients of Ron Finklestein and the Business Growth Experience. Ron discusses some challenges sales people must overcome, what business owners expect from people selling to them and nine actions they must take to become more successful. To learn more on implementing these actions please check out our sales training web site at http://www.businessgrowthexperience.net.

If you prefer personal coaching, check out http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com and download our free report: Six questions Prospects Want Answered Before they buy.

If you work in Northeast Ohio and want to attend one of these Lunch & Learn events please click here  http://saleslunchandlearn.eventbrite.com.

 

http://youtu.be/nv_sfMZ8Vz0

Do people trust you?

Do people trust you?

People buy from people they like and trust. I don’t think anyone would argue with that.

So how do you develop trust?

In my opinion, building trust starts with building rapport. Rapport is something we do every day with every person we meet. It is not something that is done the first time you meet someone, it happens every time you meet them.  Some of the more common techniques include:

  • Pacing
  • Matching and mirroring
  • Vocal variety and tone of voice
  • Eye contact
  • The way we dress
  • etc.

Rapport is not something we are taught to do, it is something we do. Some are better at building rapport than others. Some are naturals and others study it and make a decision to master it. One of the less common and more powerful ways to build trust is to take the time and develop the skills necessary to treat others the way they want to be treated. You can learn more in my book The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery available on http://www.amazon.com

When people trust you they buy from you and they are loyal to you. This means they return to buy more.

When your employees trust you they will work harder for you and make better decisions.

You create deeper and more satisfying personal relationships.

Did you meet someone that you just liked, you became immediate friends and realized you wanted to spend more time with them, maybe find a way to do more business – that is rapport.

Did you meet someone of the opposite sex and immediately wanted to do on a date? That is rapport.

Did you buy something you never thought you would buy because you liked the person doing the selling? That is rapport.

Rapport building is a skill that anyone can learn and should learn.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Ron Finklestein
Download my free report – six questions prospects want answered before they buy from you at http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com.

My sales membership site has some great material on treating others the way they want to be treated. Check it out at http://www.businessgrowthexperience.net.

Can I invite you to coffee?

Can I invite you to coffee?

I give myself permission to call people I want to meet and invite them to coffee.

Here is my approach.

“Hi Bill, this is Ron Finklestein. I been hearing good things about you and I would like to buy you a cup of coffee. I have no agenda others then getting to know you a little better. Are you open to having a cup coffee?”

I have never been turned down using this approach. It is not unusual for this meeting to be schedule out a few weeks but I have never been refused. I do this once a month and I do it for me. I want to learn what others do to be successful so I can be more effective at helping my client grow, prosper and get results.  

There are some things you need to know when you do this. Be authentic, don’t use it as a ruse to get in front of them and sell them something, be open to what you can learn, and be a good listener.

I recently did this with a gentleman who recently sold his business.

We had a great meeting and he told me why he met with me. “I never had anyone just want to have coffee with me who approached me the way you did. I was curious.”

During our discussion I asked him how I might help him achieve his goal. He said, “I never had anyone ask me that question before.”

I could tell there was something he wanted to share so I waited for him to make up his mind. Finally he told me that he wanted to get into coaching and he was concerned because he had no methodology. We then talk about my methodology and how it was created. I told him I could shorten his process if wanted to license my approach.

He had to leave to catch a plane and told me he would read some material and let me know next week if he wanted to proceed and learn more.

This all happened because I reached out.

I do group sales training and I shared this story with them. None could believe I would set up meeting without the purpose of getting business. I explained to them that you can have different purposes in meeting others: curiosity, networking, referrals introductions, problem solving, asking advice, etc.

The universe works in mysterious ways. I just follow my path and if I like someone I tell them. If I want to learn more I ask them and I never leave a meeting with someone I just met without asking these two questions:

  1.  What are you hoping to get out of our meeting today? I ask this because they are meeting with me for their reasons and it is useful to know what they want.
  2. What is your goal and how can I help you achieve it. People are surprised by this because most do not have goals. This helps bring some clarity to the meeting.

Give yourself permission to call someone you find interesting and ask them to coffee. Tell them you the truth; that you have no agenda and you just want to learn about them.  Watch how both you and the other person change. Be prepared to create some new meaningful relationships and be open to whatever the situation offers.

To Your Success (However you define it)

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
www.businessgrowthexperience.net (my sales training membership site)
www.businessgrowthexperience.com (my consulting site)
www.ronfinklestein.com (about me)

 

 

 

Our gift to you – our readers

Our gift to you –

 

As a sales trainer and business coach, one of the biggest problem I  see is lack of follow through-not because they can’t follow through – but because they do not remember to follow through. This is because they do not have a process, system or method that works they can use daily. This lack of follow through is most pronounced in the sales area.   

 

Dr. Tony Alessandra created an 60+ page eBook on how to sell collaboratively. The content of this book is extraordinary. It is a complete, proven process on selling that works. As a thank you for being a reader, I am making this eBook available to you.

 

Please read it, use it and implement what is discussed. It will make sales easy.

 

Just click on this link and you will be taken to the page to download the Collaborative eBook:

http://www.businessgrowthexperience.net/ron/

Enjoy!

Ron Finklestein
ron @businessgrowthexperience.com
www.busineessgrowthexperience.com

Have a Hero – Be a Hero!

Have a Hero – Be a Hero!

I am planning to do a series of posts on what people to do to make positive change in their life. I asked many people their tips and strategies for making change and have received over 100 good comments. Over the next several months I will be posting these tips and strategies. I am not sure if I will do all 100 but I will share some very good ones going forward.  

Before I post the first tip, let me give you some background. I wanted to help a client make some personal changes and I was getting stuck in helping him through some personal changes so I asked for some help. I sent out an email to several trusted advisors asking them how they introduce change in their lives and the outcome they experienced in introducing change. Their responses were incredible.

The most notable outcome they experienced in creating personal change is the expanding of their three foot circle. They created a more global view of the situation. They saw thing differently and they are better able to choose their response for the situation.

These articles will occur in no particular order. I am writing about them as it makes sense for me. I would encourage you to share with me you particular strategy for dealing with change, creating changes or helping others deal with change.

Here goes. The first one is – Have a hero, be a hero! (Special thanks to Joe Smucny for this one!)  

Can you imagine how you will live your life knowing you are a hero to someone: a child, employee, coworker, wife or husband? What if you knew someone would ask you why you did something. What would you say? How would you say it?

Can you imagine how you would live your life if you had to answer to your hero for every action you took: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin, Jesus, Buddha, or any of the thousands of people who could qualify as heroes? How would you answer their questions?

This raises the bar. It requires that you think about your actions and the impact they have. It requires that you take action, ownership, and responsibility for all things in your life.

This set the bar high and I like it.

Who is your hero and what action do you take to be like them?

Who do you want to be a hero to and what examples will you set for this person?

Please share your strategy for personal growth and change. You can email it to me or you can post it here. Please know if you send something to me you are giving me permission to use it.

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

330-990-0788

 

Are you being disrespectful (and losing business) and you don’t know why?

Are you being disrespectful (and losing business) and you don’t know why?

If you wonder why you are losing business, the story below may be useful. I run several groups call the Business Growth Experience (www.businessgrowthexperience.com). During one group I mentioned how frustrated I am with contractor not showing up on time or not showing up at all and not letting me know. My specific comment was “if I am not yet a customer how will they treat me when I am a customer?”

This lead to a discussion of how disrespectful it is to be late. When you are late you are telling me that I am not important, you do not respect my time and effectively you do not respect me. Each member of the Business Growth Experience talked about how difficult it is to be on time and one gentleman stated, “when I am late I am not honoring who I am, I am not in sync with my values of honesty, respect and dignity towards myself. With that said, I am almost always late and people think nothing of it.”

Have we reached a point where we have no respect for our time or the time of others? I realize that people run late, do not returning call (people I know) or respond to emails, are not necessarily the people I want to do business with. I decided I would not do business with any contractor who was late, did not deliver the proposal when they said they would or did not show, even if they had a good reason (without a call).

I do not think I am too different from the average business owner. I do not have time to waste. I want to associate with people who value my time as much as they value their own time.

How much business is this costing you when you are late? What message are you sending your prospect, associate or friend?

To Your Business Growth,

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788

ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

 

The Fuel that Drives the Engine of Your Sales Success

The Fuel that Drives the Engine of Your Sales Success

It is important to identify the prospects that will have the highest need for your product or service.  These are your best prospects—the ones who are most likely to buy, use, and recommend you and your services.

When you have identified your best prospects and know where to find them, you can use your marketing skills to generate leads that will most likely result in profitable sales. Qualified lead generation is the fuel that drives the engine of your sales success.  The techniques discussed here can keep you supplied with highly qualified leads.

How can you identify those prospects that are most likely to want to hear your message? And, once you’ve identified the profile of those most likely to buy—your TOP 20%—where can you find prospects in large numbers who fit that profile?

Begin with an analysis of your sales over the last year or two.

In your analysis, you look at three things:

1.            Who bought what?

2.            How did you find and sell those customers?

3.            Why did they buy what they bought?

Possessing the right marketing skills is crucial in properly identifying the right kinds of prospects for a company. Smart companies accomplish this responsibility by profiling the top twenty percent of their current customers who typically provide eighty percent of their profits.

Looking for new business is very expensive. Therefore, companies need to avoid the wrong kinds of prospects for them.  Just as it is critical in distinguishing the attributes of the right prospects, a company needs to outline the characteristics that make-up the bottom twenty percent of their customer base. Anybody in business can easily recognize who the complainers, price-grinders, and transaction-oriented clients are. By clearly understanding the bad traits of those bottom twenty-percent, companies can much easier avoid the wrong prospects.

This is a review of one chapter from our (Dr. Tony Alessandra and Ron Finklestein) new book. Let us know and we will notify you when it is through the publication process. The book is called The Definitive Sales Playbook: How to Grow Sales and Retain Customers (Soon to be available on Amazon.com.

Ron Finklestein
Download our free report on the Six Questions Prospects Want Answered BEFORE they Buy from YOU. www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

 

 

How to Get a Meeting

How to get a meeting!

I was at an event where a business broker was discussing how to prepare your business for sale to get the highest dollar when selling. At the event I met several people.

I received an email a few days later from one people who simple said: “I want to meet with you and learn more about your business to see if I can help. Are you available for a meeting?”

Naturally, I said yes and we had a great meeting. Ironically she bought from me.

Contrast that to the emails I receive (sometimes daily) where some internet company (typically web design) sends me an email that talked about how good they are: we are from India, we have these skills (and proceeds to list them), we have all these employees, we worked with all these great companies, and you should hire us.

They don’t tell me why (what’s in it for me), they don’t tell me why I should care and most importantly they don’t tell me why I they are the best (right and safe choice) for me. This is a problem because I have worked with some Internet marketing companies and they don’t response after they take your money. It is frustrating because it is impossible to stop these types of emails other than make them as junk.

If you want a meeting, tell me what’s in it for me. It could be as simple as I want to get to know you better. Someone recently did that and I spent 30 minutes on the phone with him and we agreed to have a follow-up meeting.

When requesting a meeting there are three things to keep in mind:

  1. Tell the person the purpose of the meeting – be clear.
  2. Tell them what you want to cover – have an agenda – they can’t read minds.
  3. Tell them why they should meet with you (answer that lifelong question of what’s in it for me?) Put yourself in my shoes and ask yourself is this a good reason. Be brief.
  4. Suggest a date/time so we can eliminate phone tags – in the event the other person accepts the request.

Have a great meeting.

Good Selling

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788

Ron @ businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com

p.s. Download your free report: Six Questions Prospects Want Answered Before They Buy at www.businessgrowthexperience.com

 

 

Food Almost Killed Me and my Business

This is a true story and I struggled with sharing it. It is confession time. For years I was sick: migraines, fatigue, joint pain, gas, bloating and the list goes one. I knew I would die (I am totally serious here) if I did not get this under control.  Running my business (and my life) was a desperate act of pure will power. For over two years everything hurt. I did not have the energy to try to grow my business. It took all my energy to get out of bed in the morning; it was all I could do was maintain some semblance of a normal life. I just could not understand what was going on.

This is not an exaggeration.

Let me give you the short version of the story. I tell you this not for sympathy but to help you understand the value of good health in growing a healthy business, enjoying life and making the most of every situation.

I took three naps a day.

I eliminated all activities except the bare necessaries of meeting only with customers.

I woke in the morning with so much pain I dreaded getting out of bed.

I had two spiritual visions in six month that I was dead and my wife was in mourning.

I was forty pounds overweight.

I experience four migraines a week.

The muscle and joint pain was so bad I did not want to move.  

I was not absorbing the medicine I was on and needed larger and larger doses. Nothing helped!

Emotionally, I was tired, depressed, frustrated and angry about the situation.

Fortunately, I found a doctor who helped me understand I was allergic to gluten in wheat. As I got better and tested other foods, I found I also had a negative reaction to soy, corn, dairy, eggs, and rice products. In the last 12 months my diet has changed to mostly meat and vegetables.

Because of the way I eat and how careful I am about what I eat and potential of cross contamination, I have been laughed at, ridiculed, and made fun of. Most waiters and waitresses are not familiar with people who deal with this problem and they think I am being ridicule. As a result, I tend to avoid most social occasion where food is the reason for people to get together: chamber lunches, business lunches, breakfast lunches, etc. I am tired of explaining. I am tired of being the only one at the table of eight paying for food but not eating and having people wonder why.

As a result of this dietary change, my life has changed for the best. I am happy again. I have energy. All my physical problems are gone. My relationship with my wife is great and I now can smile again. My hair is gradually changing color (from gray to brown) and I dropped 40 pounds.  I actually started exercising again after 15 years.  

I enjoy meeting people again. I am actively prospecting for new client and I am enjoying my work as a sales coach and trainer again.

I did not write this post to complain but to ask you to think about the food you eat. Is it helping you? Is it sapping your energy? Does it give you gas? Is it making you miserable? What impact is the food you are eating having on your energy and relationships? It is hard to have a good life and a strong business when you don’t feel well. For the first time in my life I finally understand the value of a proper diet and power of eating the right food.  

Because it can take from a few minutes to a few days to understand if food you eat is giving you problems, it is hard to make the connection. Keep a food diary is a great place to start.

I always sign of my blog post with, “to your success.” Today, I will sign off with to your health.

Ron Finklestein

www.businessgrowthexperience.com

ron @ businessgrowthexperience.com       

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