Andy Paul's Blog, page 45

#429. Mold Your Mindset for Success. With Gerhardt Gschwandtner.

Gerhardt Gschwandtner, Founder and CEO of Selling Power Magazine, and CEO of the Sales 3.0 Conferences, joins me on this episode of #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:00] Gerhardt became interested in sales by a chance meeting with a successful salesperson in a coffeehouse in Salzburg. Gerhardt later went from the theater into sales.

[2:56] Gerhardt trained sales reps for a multinational French company. He traveled the world, and ended up in the U.S. He started a company, but still traveled. He reveals the reason he started into publishing, and the development of his magazine.

[4:14] Gerhardt saw, as he interviewed successful  people, that there is a certain mindset that shapes the salesperson’s skillset. What else is needed, for sales success?

[7:41] The key to mindset is your inner CEO, or the prefrontal cortex of the brain, that has the power of awareness, and performs executive functions.

[9:17] No-limit thinking is about expecting to succeed. You change your belief systems about your ability, by what you tell yourself.

[10:51] Gerhardt interviewed Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632 consecutive MLB games) who has a strong work ethic, shows up, and is committed to be the best he can be. He learned early, the path to success. Gerhardt helps people to envision their success.

[13:50] You have about 60K thoughts a day, with 80% of them negative. Gerhardt suggests ways that an accountability partner can help. He also discusses the cadence of success and internal boosts you can give yourself.

[15:34] There are levels of mindset. Gerhardt describes them, and how they can be changed. The mindset is your garden, so stop watering the weeds, just water the flowers. Gerhardt offers steps to work with mindset.

[19:42] Good examples can inspire you and help you get over your fears. Gerhardt gives a case study of Bob Carr, Founder of Heartland Payment Systems, whose father left when Bob was 13. Bob started studying U.S. Presidents for guidance.

[22:47] Gerhardt encourages putting structure to the dream, and finding your success mentor. Ask. You are not alone, and life is much easier when you have a good support system. People do want to help each other.

[25:18] Technology is mindless. It accelerates everything, but we need to keep in mind that sales is a people business, not a technology business. Pick up the phone and call someone!

[29:28] Neuroscience and psychology are revealing amazing things that are possible. Looking at the science, Gerhardt has assembled 12 modalities into one course that can take you higher than simply “positive thinking.” It can be life-changing.

The post #429. Mold Your Mindset for Success. With Gerhardt Gschwandtner. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#428. Correctly Using Data to Manage Sales. With Greg Dalli.

Greg Dalli, Co-Founder of Clarus Designs joins me on this episode of #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[:47] Greg became legally blind at age six, and soon realized he would need a different approach to problem solving. After college, he became a business intelligence analyst for a startup. He helped scale the firm from $15Million-$200Million.

[2:36] The purpose of Clarus Designs is to help sales and marketing teams make better decisions, and grow, using data.

[2:58] Greg tells how to find ‘the truth,’ which varies case by case. You start with clean data.

[4:13] Clarus Designs simplifies problems, to focus on what is actionable. Does it matter how many emails it takes, on average, to touch a contact?

[7:11] Clarus Designs helps teams look at metrics in relation to other changes, such as, new customer growth in relation to average sales price. Greg tells how the two metrics correlate.

[8:28] Clarus Designs suggests teams can tie activity metrics to success metrics. It’s not just how many emails they send, but how many people they connect with, as a result.

[10:30] Greg explains how success metrics might be applied usefully, or how they might lead to missing goals.

[12:00] Assuming from last year’s data that 5X pipeline coverage will yields your sales goal does not work. The pipeline will get filled with unqualified leads.

[14:18] The more stressful the situation, the more likely people crave control. They seek control through activity metrics, but activity metrics are not tied to outcomes.

[20:47] Greg contrasts time management with efficiency, or sales dollars per hour of selling time.

[25:10] Asymmetric metric variability represents a skewed distribution, in forecasts. It is easy to overestimate when the deal will close, and underestimate the discount to get the deal.

[29:25] Managing pipeline coverage must assume a significant percentage of the coverage will fall out from no decision.

The post #428. Correctly Using Data to Manage Sales. With Greg Dalli. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

Accelerate! Expresso #01: Weekly Review Show – April 3 -9

 

Accelerate! Expresso is a weekly round-up show that contains snippets from each interview from the previous week’s slate of guests on Accelerate!

These clips have been edited into a tight, short show that will give you just a taste of the insights you missed if you didn’t catch every episode of Accelerate!

In this episode, you’ll hear excerpts from my conversations with my guests during the week of April 3-9. That’s episodes 422-429 if you track Accelerate! that way.

Come listen as I was joined by the following experts: Erik Qualman, Lori Richardson, Jeff Schmidt, Doyle Slayton, Eric Siu and Scott Beebe.

It will whet your appetite to go back and listen to an entire episode with your favorite guest.

The post Accelerate! Expresso #01: Weekly Review Show – April 3 -9 appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#427. Put Purpose to Work in Your Business. With Scott Beebe.

Scott Beebe, Founder and Head Coach of MyBusinessOnPurpose.com, joins me on this episode of #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:32] Scott gives the rundown on his background in football, theology, corporate, church, and an NGO. After his position was dissolved, he hired a business coach, to start his business to liberate small business owners from the chaos of business.

[4:55] Entrepreneurs today find themselves busy playing every role on the team. Instead of planning how to grow, they haven’t even determined where they want to be in three years.

[7:27] Scott cites Michael Gerber’s E-Myth. You need to provide immediate service, while running a company, and always have a vision story for growth.

[10:24] Six months to six years is a good timeframe for a vision story. How does that differ from a goal? Vision requires time for finances, products, and personnel to mature.

[13:05] The vision story is the detailed snapshot picture of what the future looks like. How does it relate to your mission statement?

[14:21] Your vision story, and your unique core values drive your day-to-day decision making.

[14:44] Unique core values are personal to you, beyond the basic core values such as integrity. Scott gives case examples of how core values inform projects.

[16:43] Scott gives an example how one unique core value works ideally for one concrete contractor, but would not work for someone else.

[18:20] Core values also inform prospect and seller whether they are a good match for each other.

[21:14] Core values win deals. Scott gives another example.

[22:43] “[Unique core values] are the curbs along the side of the road you’re taking to get to your vision.” — Scott Beebe

[24:03] Scott explains by an example what kind of case would justify violating your unique core value.

The post #427. Put Purpose to Work in Your Business. With Scott Beebe. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#426. How to Use High-Quality Content To Fill Your Funnel. With Eric Siu.

Eric Siu, CEO of Single Grain, and host of Growth Everywhere, joins me on this episode of #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[:38] Eric has a marketing agency, Single Grain, and two podcasts: Marketing School, and Growth Everywhere. Eric’s mission is to build great online businesses with a foundation of education first. Eric explains the name, Single Grain.

[1:42] Single Grain works with technology and education companies to help them with advertising and SEO. They also implement their own strategies to grow their business.

[2:29] Eric sees conversion from one stage of the buying process to the next as the biggest challenge facing B2B clients. The process is a sales funnel with a logical sequence of steps.

[3:33] Eric recommends a mix of inbound, outbound, SEO and paid advertising. Eric explains his company’s inbound and outbound activities.

[6:15] Eric suggests looking at Buzz Sumo to find relevant topics for content marketing. Evaluate content for value and depth, and differentiate yourself by putting a unique spin on it. Be patient. Eric tells how his podcast downloads have grown.

[8:44] Eric explains Brian Dean’s skyscraper technique to get higher SEO results by getting more links.

[10:15] Link building is an important element of SEO, and will likely continue to be, for the next five years.

[11:06] Eric tells why content still works to push through the buying decision. Start building your brand, including content. It takes years to establish. People don’t make a final decision before talking to, or connecting with the seller; content counts.

[16:17] Eric covers stages of the funnel — top, middle, bottom, and purchase. Contacts at the top are invited to read a blog post. Contacts that have already engaged with your brand are at the middle of the funnel.

[17:28] Eric explains retargeting people who have visited your site, with ads on Google and Facebook. After retargeting, people move to the bottom of the funnel. Content for each level of the funnel should meet the needs at that level.

[20:10] It is important to be able to target people with content based on their behaviors on your site. It will increase your conversion rate.

[21:04] Eric talks about sales pages. They work. If you’re at the bottom of the funnel, it’s time to make a decision.

The post #426. How to Use High-Quality Content To Fill Your Funnel. With Eric Siu. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#425. How to Engage the Interest of Prospects. With Jeff Schmidt.

Jeff Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Services at ClearSlide, joins me on this episode of #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[:41] Jeff got started in sales selling contingency placements as a search consultant. He moved into a full-time sales job for VMX, selling call processing software (early voicemail). He sold by cold calling on the street.

[2:08] Jeff tells of his SaaS sales journey, leading to his move to ClearSlide to sell solutions for sellers and marketers. Jeff is excited to be selling a product he uses everyday!

[4:00] The biggest internal challenge facing sales reps, is getting the sales stack to work effectively. The biggest external challenge, is aligning buying and selling processes effectively; knowing where the customer is, and what they need next.

[7:02] Sales reps already know how to send out emails, but as far as calling goes, they need to know better what their audience wants to talk about, to have it ready to discuss, and to conduct the interaction to move the sales process forward.

[9:19] Managers need to coach reps on their engagement skills, and also on their reporting compliance.

[10:22] ClearSlide, a sales engagement platform, has three pillars: Content (for interaction), Communications (reporting the interaction), and Insights (helping sellers prepare for the next conversation).

[16:18] The last mile of the buying journey is critical. Jeff tells how to inform the prospect, and align with their progress.

[17:44] Sales insight into stakeholders is crucial, whether in small companies or large.

[18:46] Jeff asks, how do you solve ‘hopecasting?’ There is a reticence to adapt processes to fit reality. Leadership must be accountable for insights; marketing must provide and curate content; sellers must be accountable for executing sales.

[21:59] “We can live and work with yeses and noes, but maybes are killers.” — Jeff Schmidt. Engagement data provides important qualitative insights.

[24:16] Proceduralize and understand what you want from each tool in the sales stack. Integration involves not only the technical flow of data, but insights informing the conversation.

[25:33] Jeff explains how to qualify prospects. Qualify properly, or disqualify properly. These directed events provide additional insight to work on productive leads. Percentage of conversion of pipeline is an important metric.

The post #425. How to Engage the Interest of Prospects. With Jeff Schmidt. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#424. How to Sell on LinkedIn. With Erik Qualman.

Erik Qualman, #1 bestselling author and motivational speaker, joins me on this episode of #Accelerate! His books include bestsellers like Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence, and his latest book, How To Sell On LinkedIn: 30 Tips in 30 Days.

[1:02] Erik’s background is in digital and search. In 2009, he wrote Socialnomics. It became number one in eight countries, and he started speaking. He has made a career of motivational speaking, while writing five bestsellers.

[3:49] Social selling is a tool to help you connect. You need to use your EQ more than IQ. These tools do not replace selling face-to-face. Using LinkedIn incorrectly is a loss for all parties.

[4:45] You’ve got to network before you need to network — before you need the favor or the transaction. Play the long game, in a short timeframe. There’s an art to the conversation online, as much as there is offline.

[6:10] Listen first; sell last. What’s their issue?

[8:46] Erik supplies four questions to answer in your summary that will make positive connections with your prospects.

[9:55] Follow thought leaders on LinkedIn. Questions asked of them point to challenges, opportunities, and pain points. Provide answers in the forum, to give value, and find prospects. Hard work separates you from your competition.

[11:39] Model your LinkedIn profile after the profiles of the people you aspire to become. Study them, and provide similar value and content. They’ve done the R&D of what works. Use the best from them, and make it personal to your case.

[13:11] Study the network of your competitor. See if you have meaningful connections with any, and reach out to them.

[13:52] Post it forward. You can endorse someone new each day. That is networking before you need to network. When you want a warm introduction, indicate why, and the value you want to be bring to the introduction. It’s a win for each party.

[17:55] Use email for outreach. Erik says to Google how to download your contacts’ email addresses from LinkedIn.

[19:27] The selling happens in the face-to-face meeting. Offer a few specific times and dates to meet, and get an appointment.

[21:49] Erik offers strategic questions that help you find if you have the decisionmaker, and if so, what the budget is — without asking sensitive questions. Ask thought-provoking questions, that give revealing responses.

The post #424. How to Sell on LinkedIn. With Erik Qualman. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#423. Increase Sales by Increasing Diversity. With Lori Richardson.

Lori Richardson, Founder and CEO of Score More Sales, and President of Women Sales Pros, joins me again on this episode of #Accelerate! (Please also listen to Episodes 19 and 71.)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[:53] Lori’s company, Score More Sales, helps mid-sized companies to solve sales issues. She also has a pet project to see more women in sales leadership. She shares her thoughts on leadership diversity.

[2:34] In the last year, Lori has been working to understand how women are influencing the B2B sales landscape. She suggests tactics companies can take to hire more women in sales.

[5:41] Lori talks about traveling to universities and colleges to speak to women about B2B selling. If they are thinking retail, can they refocus on B2B? Lori notes that most successful women in B2B had family role models they followed.

[9:30] Lori considers certification and degree programs to have an influence. The Women Sales Pros website is planning to feature more success stories, including the financial rewards.

[12:18] Recruiting strategies: using gender-neutral language in job descriptions, such as collaboration, helping, working together, and results, adds great interest for women.

[13:44] Sales research shows that on average, women perform at a higher level than men, so include them! Diversity improves a team. There is increasing diversity among clients, and sometimes a woman connects where a man does not.

[15:35] Lori attended a sales conference recently. Did she see more male or female presenters? Lori asks you to think about that at your next sales conference.

[17:46] Women Sales Pros are women sales experts. At first, they were not typically called to speak. Now, they speak on main stages, and at companies. Lori sees huge progress, and has great goals for more women in sales and leadership.

[19:11] Lori considers not hiring more women to be a costly sales management issue. Lori asks, If you could increase revenues by 5 or 10 percent, why wouldn’t you?

[19:45] Lori says to consider what an applicant sees in your company when they interview. Do they see a professional work environment, with an opportunity where they could be promoted? Do they see people like them in high positions?

[22:50] What does Lori say about pay inequity? There is commission, and then there is salary. How does territory allocation create inequity? Bad sales management has costs.

[25:35] Lori suggests evaluating the sales team, pipeline, and process, and making some very educated data decisions around accountability, when a salesperson gets lazy. They will often select themselves out, and solve a problem.

 

The post #423. Increase Sales by Increasing Diversity. With Lori Richardson. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#422. Inspire Buyers to Action. With Doyle Slayton.

Doyle Slayton, CEO and Founder of Xoombi, joins me for the second time on #Accelerate!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[:34] Doyle was in sports broadcasting, cold-calling for sponsors. He learned he loved sales! He moved to outbound prospecting and management, but started to find that nobody picks up the phone anymore! He saw there was a problem.

[5:27] It’s all about alignment. Doyle suggests how to get marketing and sales together to get sales moving. How does branding fit in the buying process?

[7:27] Doyle examines a variety of issues in sales today. Every consultant has a different take. What is happening on the front lines? Doyle gives his thoughts on simplicity.

[9:02] What are the must-have tools? Doyle talks lists, personas, multiple contacts, and accounts. Direct dial numbers and email addresses are key. What does Doyle suggest about marketing automation?

[13:19] The discussion turns to Saleswings, HubSpot, and other tools of the trade.

[15:09] How do you combine application with theory? Doyle gives a couple of case studies.

[18:20] The books, Influence, Pre-Suasion, and The Science of Selling, explore the emotional/psychological side of decisions. Doyle says canned demos are “where deals go to die.” Be different from your competition by being “of” your client.

[21:54] Doyle boils it down to inspiring buyer action. He makes points on web presence, cool factor, curiosity, scarcity, process efficiency, case studies, social proof, and an easy entry point.

[29:33] Doyle puts himself in the shoes of his clients. He identifies with them as he advises them. His passion carries into prospecting and sales calls.

 

The post #422. Inspire Buyers to Action. With Doyle Slayton. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.

#421. How to Solve Common Sales Problems. With Suzanne Paling.

Suzanne Paling, is Principal at Sales Management Services, a sales management consultant to small business leaders, and author of The Sales Leader’s Problem Solver: Practical Solutions to Conquer Management Mess-ups, Handle Difficult Sales Reps, and Make the Most of Every Opportunity, which is the winner of the USA Book News Award in the Business/Sales category in 2016.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:45] Suzanne wrote her book to solve the 15 most common problems of her clients. She walks leaders through solutions.

[3:12] Suzanne discusses the inconsistent sales rep, who misses regular quotas, and barely catches up by Q4.

[6:37] Before you solve a problem, how do you need to think about it? Do you understand the data? Why write a report?

[9:30] What is the role of your supervisor, in developing your plan for addressing the rep? When do you speak to the rep?

[10:05] What consequence is appropriate for inconsistency in sales?

[12:31] Suzanne says it is easy to deal with reps who never make quota. She talks about the bad effects of inconsistency.

[14:35] Are there common causes for quota inconsistency? Suzanne explains what she has found.

[15:28] CRM non-compliance — what causes this issue?

[18:58] Suzanne considers that CRM compliance can be boosted by hiring people who already do comply to using it, and requiring immediate compliance from current reps.

[22:54] If senior management doesn’t use the CRM, the reps notice. Reps should see them using it!

[25:29] Suzanne suggests taking the best notes in the system, and publishing them as the standard. Not all notes are clear. The more relevant information they provide, the better.

The post #421. How to Solve Common Sales Problems. With Suzanne Paling. appeared first on Andy Paul | Strategies to Power Growth.