The Sales Evangelist: Sales Training|Speaking|Business Marketing|Donald Kelly

Sales leaders who can solve the most common sales problems will increase their productivity and improve their performance. Today, Charles Bernard explains how a disciplined system for selling and managing can remove barriers to performance for sales leaders. Bernard founded ‘Criteria for Success,' an organization that develops online sales playbooks and provides leadership and sales management training. Charles was a top performer in his division with General Electric and has run several businesses as well. Caught in the middle Charles believes that the number one issue facing sales managers today is the feeling of being caught in the middle between the CEO/Management and the sales team. Sales managers must bring in the numbers, on one hand, while acting as a micromanager on the other.  He compares it to having a target on his front side with another on his back. Charles finds that pressure from above is unfiltered and passed directly down onto the sales teams, whether it's justified or not. And, he says, the

If you paint a picture for your customers of where they are now versus where they want to go, you can help them make a buying decision.  Show them how the positive change will happen, or what might happen if they don’t change. It will allow them to logically justify an emotional decision. Jeffrey Gitomer was my first ever guest and he taught us something interesting on that very first podcast: People love to buy but they hate to be sold. Think about that.  Nobody wants to feel tricked or manipulated. That is the last thing that you want to do as a sales rep. You want to help them to buy. Your job is to guide clients through a process that educates them. Become an artist The key is to paint amazing pictures that feel so real and so vivid that your clients can see the value being offered. Imagine we have presented our business case and the prospect is loving it. They know it is amazing but they will naturally start to compare it to their current situation. What are we doing? What are our sales reps doing? How m

  Saying goodbye to a legend is difficult, but we can move forward living by the principles they teach us and the lessons we learn. One of the best selling business books of all times is Think and Grow Rich; it changed my life. It transformed the way I think about money and about the opportunities I could create. The person I received the book from is also important to me. It was from someone who was like a father to me. He came into my life when I was 14 years old and helped mold me into the person I am today. Dennis Rosebrough Dennis, Denny, Dad...I learned a lot from him. He was a true hustler, a real entrepreneur - always looking for something.  He grew up the youngest of five kids in a poor family but always had a determination to make something of himself and for his family. As an X-ray technician, Denny went into the business of providing mobile x-ray machines. The company grew from scratch into a multi-million dollar organization, employing and helping hundreds of people.   His son, Andrew, currently

Sales differentiation helps salespeople win more deals at the price point they want, and today Lee Salz talks about building a framework that will allow you to personalize your sales. Sales reps in every industry must differentiate themselves in today's market. It's crucial for sellers to have room to "color" the sales process. Origins When Lee was a kid, he had a job as a pickup and delivery driver for dry cleaning. The guy he worked for didn't own a dry cleaning business; he simply knew it was a hassle to drop off and pick up your clothes. He developed a contract with a couple of different dry cleaning firms and he charged a premium for the service. The idea took off, and Lee was intrigued by the idea that he was able to add a 40 percentage point premium by differentiating the service. He didn't actually put the idea into play until his 50th birthday after he had learned a lot about the industry. Philosophy of differentiation Lee said the philosophy translates for every possible seller. No matter what indu

Sometimes sales professionals get it backward, and they fail to understand the need to worry more about your champion than your decision maker. Today Garrett Mehrguth talks to us about the importance of your champion in your sales deals, and why we shouldn't lose sight of his importance. Sometimes there's great value in changing the defaults we learn as salespeople. We tend to become so obsessed with the decision makers that we overlook the champions, who are arguably the most important person in the whole scenario. How decisions are made Salespeople sometimes focus so greatly on getting a close that we neglect the fundamental truths involved in selling. In fact, we alienate people and we become our own worst enemy. It isn't price; it's me. Most often, we are the reason that deals don't close. It's a direct result of who we speak to, who we don't speak to, the way we end a conversation, the way we treat people, how well we prepare. We must have transparency and honesty to admit that often we're the reason we

Sometimes the logical approach doesn't make sense, just as in the story of David and Goliath it seemed impossible to believe that the shepherd boy could beat the giant. In sales, we sometimes have to be a bit irrational. We must think outside the box. Today we'll discuss how unorthodox thinking can help us take down some pretty significant giants. It can also help us win some pretty decent accounts. Logical approach When the giant Goliath demanded that the Israelites send out their best warrior, it didn't make sense for them to send David. He wasn't the fastest or the biggest. He was a little farm guy tending sheep, and he wasn't the typical warrior type. Too often in sales we default to the same logical approach that sales reps have been using for years. Instead of thinking outside the box, we choose the most rational solution to the problem. Imagine you're selling TVs and you're meeting with a client that has a good idea of what they need and what they want. It's possible, though, that the client's percepti

It's impossible to overstate the importance of being a great leader when you're working to build a team or an organization into something that will change the world and make things better for people. Today's guest Andrei Mincov founded Trademark Factory in 2013 to help entrepreneurs secure the legacy of their brands and preserve their hard work. Teams As you grow your team, as you grow your business, as you grow your dream, as you grow your vision, there comes a time when the leader can't come up with all the ideas. In order for the organization to grow, leaders need team members who help generate ideas and who provide initiative to improve things. You'll likely have some team members who simply have marching orders or tasks. Others will be responsible to help you move the organization forward. Those team members will have to have vision. They'll operate from your inspiration. Hiring Finding those visionary team members is different than hiring task-based team members. Andrei uses small, unique tasks to help

When you're scaling an organization, it's important that you're able to measure the quality of your leads, pipeline, and sales talent. It important for business owners as well as sales reps, because simply adding people to the organization won't necessarily result in more sales. Today Rob Kall talks about the numbers that we might not be measuring and the importance of that data in helping your organization grow and improve. Although they aren't commonly measured, these data are the true drivers of your organization's success. Soft things Many sales leaders believe that the solution to any sales struggle is to throw more bodies at it. Though that option may work sometimes, it comes at a cost. Eventually, you'll find that you aren't getting that much more out of the machine despite the added personnel. In response to that problem, Rob and his company spent a lot of time looking at how you can move to tangible measurements instead of making decisions based upon gut feelings. They have identified 5 metrics to im

Very often, sales reps find themselves frustrated and hemmed in by the mistakes small company sales leaders make. I had a conversation last week with a sales rep who was frustrated because his company had no real plan or guidance for how it would achieve the owner’s vision. The owner expected Herculean efforts by the rep, but eventually the rep stopped performing and left the company to escape the pressure. In many cases, unless the owner corrects the mistakes, the cycle starts all over again when a new rep joins the team. HONEYMOON Many of us in small organizations understand the excitement of entering a new role only to discover that the reality was different than the idea you bought into. The sales rep I mentioned was never good enough to accomplish what the boss was hoping for, because there was no plan in place to help him succeed. Because the rep wasn’t as successful as the boss expected, he was moved into a different role. The rep continued in a sales support role, but his demeanor changed. His excitem

Salespeople don’t like to hear the word “no” but Andrea Waltz is going to help you change the way you look at that response so that you’ll find yourself trying to go for no. Andrea and her husband struck out on their own about 19 years ago. They did sales workshops and trainings for big companies, and they found that their rejection piece was the thing everyone loved. This was a problem and a solution that affected everyone no matter what business they were in. In this replay of a 2017 episode of The Sales Evangelist, Andrea offers the following advice to those dealing with rejection. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. Although it’s true that the rejection isn’t personal, it’s hard to avoid internalizing that rejection. It’s normal to respond emotionally when someone tells you no. If, however, you allow rejection to take control of your sales process, you end up with mediocre results because you’re little more than an order-taker. GO FOR THE NO. Eventually you’re going to have a conversation with someone, so rejection is al

Following up means reconnecting with the prospect, and it's crucial that you understand why and how to follow up. Many of us dread the follow-up portion of our job because we fear being a nuisance. When we do it effectively, though, it can be the key to more deals and more success. Follow up Follow up builds trust with your prospects. When you tell them that you're going to follow up with them, they expect to hear from you. Failure to follow up suggests that you're not dependable or perhaps you found another prospect that is more valuable. You must keep your promises because trust leads to success. People do business with people they know, like, and trust. [Tweet "At the end of every single interaction with your prospect, you should have some form of follow-up in mind. #FollowUp"] Next steps Create a meaningful process that will help move your prospects forward. Decide what you need to do next and establish a clear next step for every single appointment. When you meet for the first time, schedule a next step

If you struggle with sales and the challenges that go along with it, you aren’t alone, and today Ted Ryce shares how he overcame his own struggles and how you can overcome sales plateaus. Ted has been a health and fitness professional for the past 17 years in Miami Beach. He has worked with tons of celebrities, CEOs, multi-million dollar companies and personalities like Richard Branson and Robert Downey, Jr. He now has a health, fitness, and personal development podcast called Legendary Life Podcast. Ted figured out early on that he actually is a salesperson. Sales never came easy for him and so today, he shares with us the challenges he faced and how he overcame them so you can learn from his experience. Don’t undersell yourself Ted poured a lot of effort and resources into the fitness industry, and though it helped, he hit a plateau where he wasn’t getting more clients. For the money he invested, he expected to have a mile-long waiting list. He was in desperate need of new clients when a guy expressed inte

One of the biggest challenges in business is keeping that constant flow of new customers in the pipeline.  How you brand yourself and your company is imperative in producing growth and recurrent revenue.    Johanne Wilson is co-founder of a Florida-based design agency called COOL Creative. COOL stands for Create Out of Love. Their branding comes from a creative and design standpoint.   Challenges in sales Every company experiences challenges when it comes to sales. Understanding those challenges and learning effective ways to overcome them can increase your sales. It can also clarify your target audience and reveal how to best go about reaching them.   Find effective ways to pitch so you can have a healthy flow of clients and client work. When you do, you’ll create active, recurrent clients that return again and again.      From a fashion standpoint, offer enough product and keep it updated and fresh. The customer will keep coming in to purchase product and will create recurrent revenue.   Change produc

Stories provide a powerful opportunity to connect with your prospects, and story selling can push you across the line and even make you more successful than the competition. They can even help you overcome a less superior product because people respond to good stories. Stories as a lifeline Good stories can separate you from your competition. I'm putting together a workshop right designed to help business owners understand the power of stories in the selling process. Many of them are trying to land big contracts without great stories. I call this process edutaining, and it differentiates those who do it well. After all, anyone can talk about their product or service. Not everyone can explain how it solve problems for clients. Not everyone can give specific examples of the difference their product or service made. Your prospect wants to hear why it matters. He doesn't care about your software or widget; he cares about what it can do for him. [Tweet "When you share the story of your widget and the problems it h

Salespeople often adopt a commodity selling mindset instead of a value-based mindset, which leaves them making less money than they could have made. They find themselves asking, “how low can you go?” Jonathan Dale works with RS&I, a nationwide company with nine branches throughout the United States. They have become the largest distributor and sales agent of dish networks. Anyone wanting the ability to resell dish networks must go through RS&I to do so. They also own HughesNet, one of the largest satellite internet providers. Jonathan manages the Vivint portfolio. As a sales leader, he teaches sales reps how to keep the sales process simple by breaking it down. Jonathan has had so many different experiences with both sellers and partners. It brings a whole other level of complexity to his role as a sales leader. Focus on value He remembers knocking on doors to sell home security systems for a company called Pinnacle. It is where he learned the ‘Art of the Sale.’ Although he didn’t particularly love it

As sales reps, we all want to know how to turn a ‘No,’ to a ‘Maybe,’ to a ‘Yes!’ Tamara Thompson is the owner of a creative video production company that brings compelling stories and brands to life; from events to influencers to business owners. It is for those who need marketing assistance or who seek to broadcast their authority across different social media platforms. Video is her forte’. She is very passionate about it and has directed several documentaries. Tamara started using a video camera at the age of 7 and followed her dream into film school before launching her own business, Serious Take Productions, in 2012. She is now focused on building her sub-brand, Broadcast your Authority, to help empower more female business owners – from taking the stage, to gaining media exposure, to implementing video that will attract and keep attention. Tamara knows full well that receiving a ‘No’ in sales is inevitable. She used to take it personally until she read The Four Agreements, a book which she credits with

On today's episode, I share why sellers must stay focused on their customers, and why AT&T customer service caused me to switch providers. My phone was disconnected. I couldn’t receive calls from my clients or from my family. This episode goes beyond sales and is more than just another episode. People matter Salespeople sometimes forget that people matter, so let my experience with a disconnected phone serve as a direct reminder about the need for quality customer service. Too often, large companies don’t seem to care about small individuals. As such, I feel a moral obligation to use my platform to share this incident so that others may benefit from my experience. Brand loyalty I remember back in 6th grade when my mom got me a pager from BellSouth. I felt like the coolest kid on campus. My friends could reach out to me and I could send messages to them; it was all very exciting. I got my first prepaid cell phone in 7th grade, also from BellSouth. I became an AT&T customer when they acquired BellSouth

As sales reps, we often forget that we can show our customers love through effective onboarding. We invest so much of our focus on getting new customers that we don’t necessarily think about how we can deliver an awesome experience once they’ve committed. Jamie Masters has been a business coach for over 10 years. She has interviewed close to 500 millionaires and billionaires in business in order to learn what they actually do, as opposed to what is written about them in books. As a result, she has extensive knowledge about how successful people run their businesses. THE NITTY-GRITTY DETAILS She says business is never pretty and certainly never perfect. But there are many cool ways, she has learned, to make the nitty-gritty details easier, better, and less stressful. Many entrepreneurs and salespersons are visionary, big-idea thinkers who sometimes find themselves frustrated when they try to implement their ideas. It is imperative that they find someone who can help accomplish all the minor details; to help wi

As entrepreneurs, many of us run into difficulty, especially when we are just starting out. The key is tobe bold and take action. Dr. Tye Caldwell is the CEO, co-founder, and visionary behind the success of ShearShare. Realizing what the future could hold for both the beauty and barber industries, he created a platform for licensed professionals to move from working in their homes to working in salons, barber shops, and spas. This created not only opportunities to work in places where they could be classically trained, but created an opportunity for increased income as well. Dr. Caldwell has been in the industry for 25 years. He’s an instructor with a doctorate degree in professional barbering and cosmetology and co-owner of an award-winning salon. Dr. Caldwell is also the author of Mentored by Failure, a best-selling book about how to be successful in the industry. CHANGING DYNAMICS When he approached his wife, Courtney, with the idea for ShearShare, she admits to being hesitant. He reminded her how they use

Emotional connections are an important part of life but sometimes sales professionals forget that those emotional experiences can help us make genuine connections with our prospects. In some cases, those emotional connections can help us close more deals. On Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing some ideas for ways that you can build emotional connections with your prospects. TSE CERTIFIED SALES TRAINING PROGRAM The TSE Certified Sales Training Program began as a result of my inexperience as a seller. I wasn’t a great sales rep, but I went through training that transformed me. I created TSE Hustler’s League, which was my own version of a sales training program. Since then, that program has evolved into the TSECSP. You can take the course alone or with a group to gain from group coaching. The new semester will begin in April. CONNECTING WITH BUYERS Salespeople often overlook the importance of connecting with buyers on an emotional level.   People make decisions emotionally, but they justify them logically. #Emotiona