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Where Will You Stop Yourself?

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:44:02 +0000

When I look back at my life as an Entrepreneur, I get a little choked up. You might think that I get choked up from the disappointments that I have faced or the challenges I have overcome.
But that’s not it. I get choked up when I think about the support I have received from countless clients, mentors, strategic partners, friends and family members. Without their support, I never would have kept going, I would have given up long ago. I would have stopped.

Where do you stop?

I really want you to answer that question for yourself, right now, in this moment. Recently I was listening to a training series taught by a well-known success expert. One of the questions he asked over and over again is, “Where will you stop yourself”? What he meant was, “Where will you stop yourself on your way to achieving your goals?”

He really made me think about my own business. Where do I stop myself? The truth is, there are many times I want to stop, especially when something is out of my comfort zone.
When I look back over my entrepreneurial career, I can see that my biggest breakthroughs came when I was outside of my comfort zone; when I didn’t stop myself.

There are three main places that I see Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals stop themselves regarding their sales goals. You don’t have to stop, you can train yourself to push through so that you can reach your goals on the other side. The exact place where you stop yourself is the sweet spot that can change everything for you when you retrain your brain. See if the following three areas are places where you stop yourself and then make the decision that you will not let these things stop you.

ONE: You stop yourself before you even begin.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, writes, “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.”

Great ideas are always popping into our minds. The question is, what do we do with those ideas? Most people do nothing. They get a great idea, excitement builds, and then they figure that someone else is already doing it, or they let something else stop them. I’m not saying that every good idea is worth pursuing, but many are! Thomas Edison had 1,000 failed attempts before he created the light bulb. When a reporter asked him what it felt like to fail 1,000 times, he replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” Are you willing to keep going even in the face of perceived failure? Just take the first step and see where it leads.

TWO: You stop yourself before you follow up.

You know what I am talking about! You might even be laughing! How many times have you picked up the phone to call a prospect back and then set it down again simply because you didn’t want to be rejected? Hundreds? Thousands? Humans fear rejection. We take things personally. The truth is, as I’ve said many times before, “It isn’t about you. Or me.” It’s about the clients that we can help when we get out of the way. Every prospect isn’t going to become your client but how will you know if you don’t give them the opportunity to say, “Yes”?

THREE: You stop yourself before you ask for the sale.

Recently, I was teaching a networking group the principles of Selling with Intention. We were discussing the fact that most people never ask for the sale. One attendee, let’s call her Sally, shared that she was recently in a meeting and someone was “trying to sell her something”. Sally said that the conversation went on and on and on. Along the way, Sally kept hoping that the salesperson would ask for the sale, but they never did. Sally left the meeting without buying anything. Do you want to know the worst part? Sally said she would have purchased the product over and over again, but the salesperson never asked. Ask early and ask often, you just might be surprised how many times you receive a yes!

Let’s face it, fear and doubt will creep in when we least expect it, but you don’t have to let it be the thing that comes between you and your sales goals. Once you have awareness (like you do in this moment) you can decide that you will never stop again. Whenever you notice yourself stopping, you can choose to push through instead.

When you start to master this on a moment by moment basis, you WILL reach your sales goals! Finally, it is important to develop a circle of clients, mentors, strategic partners, friends and family members who can remind you to keep going even when you want to stop.

Don’t stop. Keep going.

Surrender or Achievement: Which Will You Choose?

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:18:03 +0000

What is it about the holiday season that allows us to reflect on our lives? It pushes us to think about how we are living, why we are living that way, and what we really need to change. That usually translates into a New Year’s resolution or two and a promise to ourselves that we won’t keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them (insanity, right)?

Spending time with my sister, Anna, on the farm over Christmas reminded me of the importance of the simple things in our lives. There is something special-and spiritual-about the farm that forces you to slow down for a moment and evaluate your life. The farm invites you into its peace. It’s quiet. Begging you to let go of the trappings of a modern society that have pulled you away from your center.

As we were walking, I asked myself one simple question. Why? Why am I doing all of this? Why am I working so hard? Why do I strive to achieve, achieve, and then achieve again? When is it ever enough?

At first, I heard nothing. Just crickets in my head. The truth was, I didn’t know who I was really asking. Who was going to answer me?

Then an answer seemed to pop into my head out of nowhere. The voice was unfamiliar. I heard it say, “Let go. Just let go.”

Really? But there was so much truth in the voice that I had to exhale. Then one more word, “Surrender“.

Random House dictionary defines surrender as “to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.” Looking back, I realized that I had allowed myself to be influenced by our society’s ideas of achievement. That to be successful, things had to look a certain way or be a certain way, but standing on the farm that day, I realized that none of that really mattered. Yes, I still have goals that I want to achieve, but whether or not I achieve them does not define who I am. It also doesn’t define the goals that I might achieve in the future. In that moment of recognition I realized that I could let go. A peaceful feeling washed over me and I knew the truth. The truth was that everything can come easily, magically at times, when we just let go.

I have often gone through this process of surrendering and letting go, but, as humans, we easily forget what we know and get pulled back into our old ways. The reminders always come though. The feelings of frustration, emptiness, and even depression can remind us to focus on what’s most important in our lives and it’s never the goals that we want to achieve.

I’m not saying to not focus on the goals. What I am saying is that when you know who you are and you are clear on your values and priorities, the goal-achievement process begins to flow again. Choosing surrender over achievement is the key to the magic that makes it all look so effortless!

Do you need to let go and surrender? Test yourself with the following 5 questions to find out:

1. Do you often compare your success to the success of others?

2. Are you disappointed in your lack of goal achievement?

3. Do you often think that if you could, “just accomplish that“, you’d feel better?

4. Do you have feelings of frustration when you think about the goals you’ve set for yourself?

5. Do you procrastinate on your goals?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above it’s possible that you are focused so much on achievement that it is taking the joy out of your life. Over the upcoming days and weeks, notice when you are getting pulled into the old “achievement” or “compare and contrast” trap. Remind yourself of your priorities and give yourself time to rejuvenate. Sometimes just taking a walk outside and being in nature is enough to pull you out of the funk. Keeping a gratitude journal every day is another excellent way to stay in that place of surrender and flow.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Do that thing, but give yourself the gift of surrender along the way.

Think Bigger! 50 Goals for 2012!

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:41:01 +0000

What if you could have anything you desired in 2012? What would you ask for?

Since I was in my early twenties, I have been researching the topic of goal achievement incessantly. I have read hundreds of books (my book shelf and Kindle are overflowing!) on the topic so that I could more easily achieve my goals and help my clients do the same. My hunger to find books on the topic is insatiable. Used bookstores, new bookstores, Kindle – they are all like a magical land to me! Some say that you just need to read ten books on any topic to be considered an expert. What does it means when you’ve read one hundred or more?

For me, it means that I can now help my clients answer this question, “What is the fastest and easiest way to reach my goal?” That is the question that I tell all of my clients to ask themselves when they get clarity on what they want. But sometimes the hardest thing is for them to figure out what they want.

Why is it so hard for humans to figure out what they want? It’s difficult because our belief system gets in the way. Just as an idea pops into our heads regarding what we want, our ego pops up and says, “Really? You can’t have that! You’re not _______ !” Our ego is there to keep us safe by creating fearful thoughts to stop us in our tracks, but it’s only a problem if we believe what it tells us.

The truth is, you don’t have to believe your ego. You don’t even have to listen to it. You can simply say, “Thanks for sharing–next!” Training your ego to take a back seat is an ongoing commitment. You have to be committed to stopping your thoughts in their tracks, listening to them, and then being conscious of what you want to do with that thought. For example, if you want to create a seven-figure business but your ego says, “That’s great, but you don’t know how to do that!” You can stop the thought in that moment and say, “Is that really true? Do I not know how to do it?” The answer is that perhaps you don’t have enough information, but it’s not true to say that you don’t know. Through my research I have discovered that when I get out of the “how”, the answers and next steps show up.

A fun exercise to figure out what you want is to create a list of fifty goals. Yes, fifty! It might seem like a stretch, but the more goals you have, the more easily it will be for them to show up. I recently read, “Happy Pocket of Money: Infinite Wealth and Abundance in the Here and Now” by David Cameron Gikandi and Bob Doyle. In that book, David shared that having hundreds, if not thousands, of goals is the key to manifesting what you really want. At first that seemed overwhelming to me, but then I understood what he was saying. By having so many goals you can strengthen your manifestation muscle. Having the list is the first step, but then you get to watch the goals begin to show up, or at least the next step will show up!

So, I decided to take my own advice and make a list of fifty goals to see how quickly they would manifest. What was interesting is that it was a stretch to come up with fifty. I’m used to setting ten or twenty at a time because I always thought that less was
somehow better. But what I found was that fifty allowed me to really dream. Fifty got to the bottom of those things that I had been afraid to ask for or that I was telling my ego I didn’t need or maybe didn’t deserve. Fifty goals unleashed some possibilities that I hadn’t thought about in a long time. Fifty allowed me to get really excited about what is possible
in 2012!

Intentional Action:
Make a list of your fifty goals for 2012 (or more!). Make sure to focus on all of the areas of your life: Financial, Career/Business, Health, Spiritual, etc. Then, prioritize them. Post them somewhere you can see them regularly. Watch what starts to show up for you!

Now that you’ve created your list of what you want to show up in 2012, it’s also important to think about what you want to leave behind in 2011.

What do you want to let go of? What do you want to release? Make a list of those things as well and then shred them or get rid of them in some way before 2012 arrives.

The simple act of letting go makes room for your fifty goals to manifest! 2012 can truly be your best year yet!

Ursula

7 Ways to Significantly Increase Your Sales by Being in Service and On Purpose!

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:13:27 +0000

Significantly increasing your sales does not have to be painful. You don’t have to work harder. In fact, if you would just relax more and go with the flow, you’d probably close more sales!

Let me give you an example. I was recently referred to meet with someone new by a strategic partner who thought we might be able to support each other in business. So I went into the conversation thinking that was the purpose.

The second I sat down, however, I knew I was in trouble. Within two minutes flat, they were doing a “hard sell” on me. Yes, a hard sell! He hadn’t asked me any questions about my business to even know if I had a reason to care about what he was pitching. It goes against everything that I teach, so I was in complete shock as I sat there for 30 minutes and let him speak. I hadn’t been sold to like that in years!

If he hadn’t been a referral, I probably would have stopped him. But all I kept thinking was how great of an example it was of what not to do that I let him keep going! And my next thought was, “I will have to write about this in my next ezine”! (By the way, I have changed many of the details to protect the innocent!)

Eventually, he stopped talking. I sat there for a second to make sure he was done. He was. He took a deep breath, looked at me and said, “So, what do you think?”

Really?

I think he talked too much. He didn’t ask me any questions. He didn’t appear to want to get to know me or even understand if I was a fit for his services or products. I don’t think his ears work. And, long term, I don’t think he’s going to make it in his business unless he changes some things. I wasn’t able to share all of those things with him, though, because it
wasn’t my place and he wasn’t paying me for coaching (and I don’t think he would have listened, anyway). So instead, I’d love to share with you what I wanted to share with him. I hope it helps!

7 Ways to Significantly Increase Your Sales by Being in Service and On Purpose:

Remember, it’s not about you: First and foremost, focus on the other person and whether or not you can help them.
Ask great questions to see if there is a match-if not, let them know that you can refer them to someone else if you can’t help. You can even start the conversation by saying, “My goal is to get to know more about you today. I’m not sure if I can help you, but if I can great, and if not, I will be happy to refer you to someone else.” That question is disarming and will allow the other person to be fully present because they aren’t worried that you are going to try to “sell them something.”!
Connect with Intention: Connecting with Intention is all about getting to know someone. After all, you cannot offer
someone a product or service if you don’t know anything about them or their business. Be present and don’t let your mind wander.
Practice active listening: Not letting your mind wander is key in making the connection. By being fully present
and in the “now”, you will not miss the important things that this person is trying to convey to you. The best way to practice active listening is to repeat back to the person what they just said to you. That way they will know that you are listening. Nodding at them and keeping full eye contact also indicates that you are actively listening to what they are saying.
Be the Problem Solver: Your product or service solves an important problem for your prospects and clients. Your job
is to solve as many problems as you can because the more you solve, the more people you will help and the more your sales will grow. Your prospects will be grateful that you showed up to solve their problem. Remember, selling is not telling. Selling is solving problems!
Offer to help first: Show up in the spirit of giving and you will have people buying your products and services
simply because they like you! Have you ever had the experience of buying something and not even knowing why? That’s what I am talking about! New York Times Bestselling author,Dr. Ivan Misner, teaches us through BNI that “Givers gain”. Begin with a spirit of giving.
Be empathetic: Sympathy means that you feel pity for someone. Being empathetic means that you can stand in another person’s shoes and imagine what it might be like to be them. Others will appreciate your empathetic and caring ways (it must be genuine) and want to connect with you even more!
Set another time to meet: Finally, after you connected with intention, offer to schedule a meeting with them to see
if there are additional ways that you can help. This allows you to have more time to explore whether or not you can serve
them.

As you can see, by Connecting with Intention and taking someone through this process, you can ease them through the sales process. Plus, you are coming from a place of integrity and by asking meaningful questions and being empathetic, you can truly
determine whether or not you can help serve.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE? You can use this article in your e-zine or web-site as long as you include the following complete statement: Ursula Mentjes, M.S., ACC is the founder of Sales Coach Now, and the author of Selling with Intention and One
Great Goal. Ms. Mentjes has helped clients double and triple their sales revenue in as short as two months! If you want to do the same, then visit her web-site at www.salescoachnow.com and subscribe to her e-zine by clicking on the sign up box and typing in your email address. You will receive a FREE downloadable MP3 recording, “7 Ways to Sell More in a Doom and Gloom Economy”.

Proven Strategies to Build Powerful Business Relationships

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:04:03 +0000

Building strong business relationships is an important aspect of any successful business. Yet, it is usually an area that is overlooked or doesn’t receive a lot of attention due to busy schedules. But business relationships can make or break your business, especially in a down or “different” economy. One of my business colleagues recently pointed out that those businesses that survived the recession tended to have deep and committed relationships with their clients and colleagues.

When I think about my business today, I am grateful for the business relationships that I have, and many of them have grown into friendships. When I was working in the corporate world, we were taught to keep a high-level “professional relationship” with clients and colleagues. We didn’t talk about being authentic or really connecting with our clients, we were just taught to close the sale. When I started my own business, I quickly realized that the corporate attitude wasn’t going to sustain me. Plus, being in business can be lonely, so I quickly reached out to others and started to build long-term business relationships.

Recently a business colleague reached out to me through LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social networking tool that allows you to build your network of business relationships online. I’ve been building my LinkedIn account for years and have just recently passed 500 connections. When this new colleague reached out to me, he pointed out that he was impressed with my 500 connections. While the number was great, I was even more excited about the fact that those 500 connections represent business connections with individuals that I value at a deep level. Unlike Facebook where I have some contacts that I barely know, LinkedIn holds my treasured group of business relationships that have helped me grow my business to where it is today.

Those relationships have lead to incredible synchronicities and opportunities that I only dreamed of when I first started my business. Your relationships are like an invaluable asset that just keeps growing as you invest your time and energy. I have found that there are five key strategies to easily and effortlessly build strong business relationships-with intention.

One: Connect with Intention. Connecting with intention requires active listening skills and being present in the moment. It is easy to be preoccupied with other things that are going on in our lives, but if you are always thinking about the past or the future, then it is impossible to be present. Others can feel whether or not you are present , and if they feel that you are disconnected, they pull back, stopping a relationship in its tracks. Be present, ask great questions and take the time to get to know someone.
Two: Be Authentic. Mike Robbins once said, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” In business, there is a lot of pressure to “act a certain way” or model other’s behavior. However, I was listening to a speaker recently and she said that the more authentic she is on stage, the more her sales increase. I have found the same to be true. The more authentic I am, the more “me” that I allow to show up, the more clients and speaking engagements I receive. People sense when we are “faking it” and over time those relationships will fizzle away.
Three: Deepen the Relationship. Once you have connected with intention and started to get to know someone, what should you do next? Unfortunately, we have short memories, and we can quickly forget about that “great person” we met at our last networking event. The truth is, they probably won’t follow up with you, even if they want to. Why? Because they are really busy and have been swept back into their business the next day. It’s your job to follow up and build the relationship, don’t rely on them to do it. Lead the way and set the next time you will meet. My guess is they will be really grateful that you took the lead. The more that you take the lead to cultivate your business relationships, the faster you will build your network.
Four: Go Beyond Expectations. These days it’s not enough to just keep your word; that’s a given. The key to building long and lasting business relationships is to go above and beyond expectations. For example, you could invite someone to be a guest at your table for your favorite charity’s annual event. Or, you could offer to assist them with a challenge they are having in their business. There are many ways that you can go beyond expectations, just choose one and deliver!
Five: Be Committed and Available. In a sea of emails and voice-mails, it can be difficult to stay in touch with new business colleagues. However, the beginning of the relationship is when you really need to stay in touch. If they reach out to you, respond immediately or at least within twenty-four hours (this is a great rule, anyway). Make sure that they know they are a priority to you. The more committed and available you are, the more they will trust you and you will be building a long-term, fruitful business relationship.

Action Item: Reach out to five new business contacts this week and schedule a time to meet with them. Determine who you would like to have long-term business relationships with. Then, take the lead and schedule the next time to meet!

As you are meeting new people, it’s important to recognize and filter those individuals to build a business relationship with. Not everyone is a good fit for you, but you will recognize those individuals who are willing to receive support from you and also willing to give as well. Excellent business relationships are built over time. Invest in them just like you would a 401K – knowing that they take time to build and you might not reap any rewards for a long time. However, there will be those people who will really surprise you. They will invest a lot in you and the growth of your business. And, you might just become great friends!

Ursula

Effective Pricing Strategies to Close More Sales

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:58:37 +0000

Lately a lot of my clients and colleagues have been talking about pricing. How much should I charge? Am I charging too much? Am I charging too little? This can be a nagging question for Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals alike. It certainly has been an area that I have struggled with over the years as well. But it doesn’t have to be.

I heard a recent statistic that 20% of our clients will only purchase our most expensive package. And if you own your own company, you might not have even created that product or service yet.

When I heard that statistic, I was shocked. Really? 20% of my clients want a high-end package? After hearing that, my creative mind went crazy and I created a new (high-end) program for clients who want it. And I cannot wait to begin offering it! (I’m selling it for the first time in a couple of weeks, so it will be fun to test the 20% theory!)

A lot of time can be wasted thinking about how much to charge, when to discount, etc.

However, the more confident you are about your pricing, the easier it will be to sell.

I am going to share three mistakes that entrepreneurs and sales professionals make when it comes to pricing and what you can do to change it. Hopefully the ideas presented will allow your sales conversations to flow more freely and make it easier to ask your clients to pay full price.

Mistake #1: Discounting: I was recently talking with one of the MasterMind groups that I participate in and one of the members was trying to decide which company she should choose for a particular service. She was comparing four companies. Three of them were the same price and one of them as 1% lower. After discussing it with the group, she immediately discarded the company that had the lowest price because she figured they weren’t as good as the other three! Your prospects will judge you (often negatively) if you are the lowest price!
- Change it: If someone is asking you to discount your products and services, let them know they can receive a lower price, but it will be in the form of a lesser package. by having two or three packages, and starting with the most costly package first, you can always work your way backwards to a smaller package rather than discounting.
Mistake #2: Only Having One Solution: One of my clients recently shared with me that they weren’t closing as many sales as they would like to. As we walked through their sales process, it became clear that when they came to the end of their sales conversation, they only had one package to offer. Instead of having options, the prospect would just say, “No” and that was the end of the conversation. I worked with my clients and helped them develop three strong packages that they could offer. By having options, they were able to offer real solutions to their clients and close more sales!
- Change it: As I mentioned in the example above, when you are meeting with a client it’s best to give them two or three packages to chose from. That way you can also customize a package for them if they need it. If they are still asking for a lower price (even after you’ve offered a smaller package), you can still give them a payment plan without lowering the price. That way, you still retain the value of what you are offering.
Mistake #3: Lack of Confidence: The biggest challenge that entrepreneurs and sales professionals have regarding closing sales is their lack of confidence. Let’s be clear, confidence sells! Think back to the last high-ticket item you purchased. did the sales person who sold it to you have confidence? If they would have been meek about their approach, do you think you would have still made the purchase? Sometimes a service or product’s brand is so strong that it sells itself, but if it’s not and the salesperson isn’t confident, most people won’t buy. We want to be convinced!
- Change it: Believing in yourself and your products and services is key to getting the sale. If you need help in this area, connect with a coach or mentor who can help you release your limiting beliefs about yourself that are preventing you from being the strong, confident person you were born to be!

Action Item: Follow through on the strategies above and commit to evaluating your pricing successes and challenges at least once per quarter!

One of my favorite quotes is by an unknown author, “To my customer: I may not have the answer, but I’ll find it. I may not have the time, but I’ll make it. I may not be the biggest, but I’ll be the most committed to your success.” Your clients want YOU to be the solution and they don’t want to have to shop around. Believe in yourself and your product so that they don’t have to look for someone else!

Ursula

Get to Yes – And Close the Sale!

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:04:21 +0000

Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937 and his teachings and wisdom ring as true today as they did back then. Hill talked about the idea that people often give up on their goals “three feet from gold”. Hill told the story about a Mr. Darby who was mining for gold but then quit, without knowing, that he was just three feet away from the gold he was searching for. Hill wrote, “More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known, told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.”

Working with Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs for the past fifteen years, I’ve learned that their biggest challenge has been getting to “yes” when they have already heard “no”. But there is a way. Often, in the words of Napoleon Hill, their “yes” is “three feet ” away.

So what does it really mean to be “three feet” from a yes? During the sales process, most Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs never ask for the sale. They might talk a lot. They might assume that their prospect knows what they are asking. They might even ask what their prospect wants to buy. However, they never really ask for the sale, or if they do and hear a “no”, they immediately give up.

Giving up too soon is an epidemic in our country-not only in the world of selling, but really in every aspect of our lives. We give up when things get tough. My husband, Tim and I, have been on a new workout regime for the past nine months. I have always been active, but this new plan has really pushed us to new levels of physical fitness. There were many times I wanted to give up, but I knew that I was getting healthier and stronger, so I continued to push myself.

It is the same in sales-you have to build strong muscles so that are you willing to keep going even when your prospect seems to be leaning toward no. Remember, if you have a strong belief that your product or service solves a major problem for your clients, then it is your duty to ask for the sale.

A few weeks ago, I was delivering a 45-minute workshop at a local venue in Orange County, California on Selling with Intention. After the seminar, I received a Facebook message from one of the attendees. He shared with me that he had used one of the questions that I had taught during the seminar and easily closed a sale the following morning with a prospect that had said, “no” initially.

The question is so simple that you might say, “But I already know that”. My response would be, “Great, but are you asking it?“ The question to ask your prospect is simply, “What would it take for this product or service to be a fit for you?” I love this question because it quickly roots out all of the objections so you can then move into asking for the sale. Once they answer you, you know exactly what they really want and can then solve their problem by offering them a customized solution. After you have the solution, just say, “Great, so which package would you like” or, “Great, which day would you like to begin” and then ask them to sign your contract or ask for their method of payment. It’s really that simple.

Action Item: Find someone to role play with and ask them to give you a “no”. Then, ask the magical question, “What would it take for this product or service to be a fit for you?” Once they tell you, ask them to take the next step and close the sale!

Closing the sale isn’t difficult when you are willing to keep asking your prospect questions and figuring out how to solve their problem. Find out what it will take to serve them-you might just be surprised at their answer!

Ursula Mentjes

How Many Sales Calls do I Really Need to Make?

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:00:45 +0000

Do you love cold calling? I don’t. Most people I know, including my clients, don’t even like picking up the phone to make a follow up call – forget about a cold call! While the telephone can be one of the most vital tools to growing your sales, it is often one of the most feared tools.

Can you relate?

You are not alone. Sadly, sales professionals and entrepreneurs will find thousands of other things they’d rather do than pick up the phone to call a prospect. In reality, though, you might need to make fewer calls than you think.

Really!

During our Selling with Intention courses, the last half of the class is dedicated to writing scripts and making real prospecting calls to clients. During just 30 minutes of telephone calls, my clients are amazed at how easy it can be to not only make an appointment, but make several appointments in such a short time span. Yes, just 30 minutes!

Now, let’s get into the numbers. By the way, you HAVE to know and understand your specific Sales Formula (your numbers). In other words, how many new clients do you want each month? What is your closing ratio (the amount of prospects you need to meet with to make a sale)? For the ease of numbers, let’s say that you want 20 new clients every month. Each client is worth $1,000.00 to you, so your goal is $20,000.00 per month. Your closing ratio is 50%, meaning that you close 50% of the prospects that you meet with. Based on that scenario, how many prospects would you need to meet with to reach that goal?

If you guessed 40, you are correct! If you need to set 40 appointments, how many follow up or cold calls do need to make? Again, let’s say that your closing ratio for appointments (warm and cold) is 50%. Then you would need to only make 80 calls to get the 40 appointments you need to close 20 sales this month. If there are 20 working days in a month, and you want to focus on calling the first 10 days of the month to ensure you have enough time to close your sales, then you would need to make just 8 calls per day-for 10 days!

Knowing your numbers can make reaching your monthly and annual sales goals so much easier! Everyone is going to have different numbers, so it’s up to you to figure out your own formula. However, my guess is that the amount of calls you really need to make will be less than you thought!

Action Item: Following the formula above, calculate how many calls you need to make each month. Is it less than you thought?

Reaching your sales goals can happen in just 30 minutes per day of calling. For some it will be more and others it might be less time, but when you know your numbers, and create a plan to get there, it can be easier than you think! Decide how many days of the month you will be making calls and schedule your calling time on your calendar.

Are You Visible or Invisible?

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:48:53 +0000

Growing your business or sales career can be very exciting, but can also bring up a lot of limiting beliefs and fear. I was speaking with a client recently and she shared that she was really ready to go to the next level, but felt like something was in her way. After we chatted for a while and I asked her a series of questions, it became clear that she was afraid of becoming more visible-for people to really see her.
Can you relate?

The more visible you become, the more likely it is that you might develop critics, and no one wants to be criticized. One of my coaches recently shared that when people become famous, 30% of the population will not only dislike you, they will actually believe they “hate” you.

I was shocked by that statistic but if you think about it, it’s true. People in the public eye are constantly criticized, whether or not it is deserved or even anyone’s business. Plus, when envy comes into play, emotions can run wild and people may become even more vocal about their dislike of another human being.

Knowing that, I understand why it can be frightening to become more visible. However, if you don’t become more visible, you may be holding yourself back from experiencing the success you desire and helping the clients who truly need your product or service. Imagine a world where everyone was invisible-the world would just shut down! Now, imagine a world where everyone is visible and sharing their gifts, products and services with the world! What a great place that would be to live!

In spite of your fears, I would like to encourage you to take a few steps and become more visible so that you are no longer the best kept secret in what you do.

Step Number One: Identify and acknowledge your fears. What are you really afraid of? What’s the worst thing that can happen. Often when you look at what your fears really are, they begin to lose their power over you. Give yourself permission to release that fear.

Step Number Two: Make a list of 10 ways that you could become more visible. Examples could include: Blogging, creating videos to send to prospects and clients, public speaking, writing an ezine, writing articles to be published, joining a new networking group, offering a new product or service, etc.

Step Number Three: From your list of 10, choose your top 3-5 that you would really like to implement. Next to each one, list your completion date.

Action Step: Take the three steps listed above!

Visibility can lead to greater profitability and prosperity. Enlist a coach or accountability partner who can help support you on this journey!

The more visible you become, the greater impact you will make on the world.

Solve the Problem – And Grow Your Sales!

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:27:15 +0000

….

Inspirational and intentional ideas can take your business to a new level-even help you take a quantum leap. I’m embarrassed to say that for the past year I have had a couple of ideas that kept popping into my mind, but I didn’t do anything with them. And then time passed.

And more time passed.

And then one day an opportunity smacked me in the face, but I wasn’t ready because I hadn’t implemented my ideas.

And so I left money on the table, and my business couldn’t grow the way “it” wanted to. You know, when we get out of the way, our businesses actually grow! It’s up to us to take the time out of our busy schedules so that we can plan and implement those new business ideas.

So, I finally did that. I put time on my Intentional Schedule and I planned the next step. And then, of course, the next step showed up, and the next step and so on. In the month of March we will have launched two new programs; the Virtual MasterMind and Intentional Appointment Setting.

The initial interest in our new offerings was overwhelming and I now know that those new services are going to work for one main reason: They solve a problem for our clients. In Selling with Intention, one of the main ideas in the book is that you must figure out how to solve your client’s problems. If you can do that, you will have loyal clients for life-clients who will continue to want more of whatever the products and services might be that you offer. If you are ready to grow your business, then figure out what your client’s challenges are. Where do they get stuck? What do they complain about most that relates to your offerings? Then, look at what you are already doing and figure out how you can expand on that.

Intentional Action: Ask yourself these two questions and then write down at least 10 answers. Of those 10, prioritize them and figure out how you might be able to run with your number 1 and number 2 ideas. 1. What are the “pain points” that your clients complain about the most? In other words, what are their biggest challenges? 2. What are the main problems that you solve for your clients? What are 10 new problems that you could potentially solve?

Your clients work with you because they appreciate the products and services you offer. Happy clients usually want more of whatever you have been delivering for them, so figure out the other challenges they might be having and then decide how you can solve that problem too…and watch your sales grow!

Ursula