Sales tips for Entrepreneurs

SALES SEMINAR JANUARY 25, 2010

Jerry R. Mitchell 1-25-2010

1

Never before in the history of the world has the potential to
do extraordinary things been this big for the smallest of
teams.


2

The reach of the net, the low/no-cost of infrastructure,
and rise of fiercely-productive environments have
empowered those with passion near superhuman
strength in business, by last century standards.


3

It's no longer necessary to be big to do big. It's optional.


4

World changing and big are not necessarily synonymous,
it's definitely possible for a small team and even a small
product to change the world. But there is still actually value
to complex software.


5

I see an irrevocably altered economic landscape, but one
that small businesses may be better suited to manage
than their mega-competitors because of the very essence
of what constitutes a small business.


6

There is usually a different mind-set at small companies.
Unlike many large companies, small firms tend to have
structures that encourage agility and communication.
This is vital if you want to innovate and respond to new
opportunities


7

Did you know it takes approximately eight contacts or more with
a single prospect before the average sale is closed? That's
because prospects normally move through the sales cycle from
cold to warm, and then finally hot where they're ready to "close"
and become clients or customers.
clients or customers.


8

Q: I'm new to business. Is it a good idea to offer a lower
price than the "going rate" when first starting out to attract
new customers?


9

A: Yikes! Don't even think about using low prices to attract
customers. Remember why you went into business to
make money!


10

As a small-business owner, you just can't compete on
price.
Forget it! Actually, the market is much less price-sensitive
than you think it is.


11

The market bears all kinds of prices.
Can you believe people pay $50,000 for a watch?
Three dollars for a bottle of water?
Hundreds of dollars for pro music tickets?
Consumers will buy just about anything if they can see
the value or benefit.


12

So how much should you charge?
As much as it takes to get what you want from your
business, regardless of what your competitors are
charging.
Create a selling price that covers all your costs, plus
profit, then figure out how to sell your product.


13

Here's a sure-fire, make-your-dreams-come-true formula for
making money in your business:
First, determine how much money you want to make.
How much money will it take to make all the headaches of
small-business ownership worth it?
It's up to you. Pick a number. You can make any salary you
want-but you have to build it into your selling price.


14

Next, figure out what you're selling. What's your "widget"?
If you sell your services, knowledge and expertise, you sell
time.
If it takes skilled labor hours to create your product, you're
selling time.
When you sell time, you can only deliver so many" billable
hours" per day, per week, per year.


15

Learn to market yourself and eliminate price competition
forever.
The market doesn't set prices…marketers do!
What makes you special? Here's a clue: Look at what the
low-price providers may sacrifice…service, good manners,
convenience, quality, a sense of humor.
Substitute "I'll do it for you" instead of "Do it yourself." Get
the idea? To charge more, you must be different.


16

Two shoe salespeople were sent to Africa to open up new
markets.
Three days after arriving, one salesperson called the office
and said, "I'm returning on the next flight. Can't sell shoes
here. Everybody goes barefoot."


17

At the same time the other salesperson sent an email to
the factory, telling "The prospects are unlimited. Nobody
wears shoes here!"


18

“What makes a “Winner?”


19

Do they call on twice as many prospects?
Maybe, but they probably don’t have to.
Are they better at handling stalls and objections?
Possibly, but the probably don’t get as many.
Are they better at qualifying their prospects?
Most likely.


20

Do they always remember to close?
Some don’t have to. Their customers buy before they get
to that magical event.
Are their customers pre-sold because of a strong referral?
Could be, but it probably wouldn’t make a tremendous
difference if they weren’t.
Do they make better presentations?
I doubt it.


21

Are they better at building rapport?
No question about it, but that’s not the reason either.
You see there is no one reason.


22

Like the sales call itself, there is no one thing that will
make every prospect buy.
It's always different.
It’s your job to find out what it is.
The top 5% do all of those good selling things better


23

However, there is nothing more important than avoiding
a “think it over.”


24

The 5% won’t take one.
The problem with most sales people is that they would
rather take a “think it over" then hear the prospect say no.
To them it’s a lower risk.


25

It takes discipline, understanding and special skills to
leave every call with a decision.
Most sales people will never get there because there
is too much risk.
Most will never invest the time and money to learn how
to do this and there is a lot to learn both technically and
conceptually.


26

The 5% will know the secret of a good night’s sleep;
which comes from not having proposals on the street;
wondering , will I get that order.
Hey boss I “THINK” I’ve got one coming in that should
be worth $$$$$$$.


27

example Buick


28

Winning in sales comes from failure.
We all make mistakes once in awhile.


29

Now and then that little voice in our head whispers,
“It’s o.k. this time…the prospect is being straight…
he will let me know Tuesday.”


30

Every time we make an exception, we learn one more
valuable lesson---never make an exception!
Ah, but we are all human and after three months of
being" good,” we will slip up again and learn the hard
way.
Why the next time we might even go four months
before we slip up.


31

Keep in mind that knowing about not taking a
“think it over” and knowing how not to take a “think it over"
are as different as writing an order and not writing an order.


32

If you want to reach the top and take the stress out of
selling, DON'T THINK IT OVER. Make a commitment to
gain personal and professional growth.


33

If you are targeting selling software to businesses, you
will have to sell to three different buying influences within
each company:


34

Senior management – CEO’s, CFO’s, COOs, CIO’s and
other vice presidents.
End users – This can be every employee within the
company often represented by middle managers or
administrative staff during the selection process.
IS – Information Systems professionals ranging from
CIO’s, to the entire information services department.


35

The first two audiences consist primarily of people who are
not technical but are aware of the computer and the
applications being used within their corporations. These
business leaders care about different things, and respond
differently, than the traditional IS technology buyer.


36

Senior management are results-oriented, interested in the
ends rather than the means, the bottom line rather than the
process.
They lack interest in the details, preferring to focus on the
“big picture.”
Most managers simply want to resolve problems; engineers,
scientists, and programmers enjoy actually working on
problems.


37

The result is that the senior managers are more interested in
benefits, business results, and the reputation and credibility
of the vendor.


38

The information services department. by comparison,
tends to focus on technical issues including platforms,
scalability, interoperability with existing systems,
reliability, specifications, limitations, and ease of
implementation, operation, and maintenance


39

Demonstrate, if it exists, the rapid return on investment.
One example is a mailing you could send that would inform
the recipient that the license fee of a few dollars per user
would be a small price to pay based on the cost savings
your product would generate.


40

For high-end software representing a major corporate
investment, your goal should be to get an appointment with
the decision-maker.
Your goal is not to sell your software at this initial meeting
but rather sell your self as an expert in assisting similar
companies in the implementation of your software solution.


41

At this meeting you should be prepared to establish an action
plan starting with the decision makers commitment to allow
your firm access to company employees in order for your firm
to start a needs analysis.
Of course your goal is to gain the information required which
will allow you to provide a quote or proposal, or a
demonstration, which the client will accept.


42

Unfortunately, many salespeople don't know how to present
focused, needs-oriented demonstrations. The most successful
salespeople have refined their skills and deliver persuasive yet
simple demonstrations.
A demonstration can either be a very powerful selling tool or it
can add confusion, delay, and even jeopardize the close.


43

Many average prospects can be improved and moved to a
close more quickly with a good demo, while too many good
prospects are lost because of a poor one.


44

Selling to Big Companies
Getting in to see senior executives can be tough, but by
following these guidelines you'll be welcomed with open arms:


45

1. Target 5-10 companies that fit your ideal customer profile.
On a macro level this means things like industry, size, and
geography. Other considerations may include current system in
place, corporate culture, industry trends and industry position


46

2. Spend a minimum of 2-3 hours conducting research on each
company. This includes a thorough website review, reading of
annual report, goals/objectives, key initiatives, any news from
past 12 months, markets, primary offerings, info on the
, competitors and financial trends.


47

3. After reading it all, search for the alignment between your business
and the targeted companies. Determine the value proposition your
company can bring to the prospect. Ask yourself what business results
this targeted firm will get from using your offering. Executives could care
less about your products or services. All they want to know is how it
contributes to their desired business outcomes.


48

•4. Prepare a loose script for making an executive-level call. Be

prepared for voicemail, actually reaching a live body or talking to
the executive's administrative assistant. In your script make sure
you state that you've conducted significant research on their
company and would like to share an idea about how they can
(insert customer goal/objective). Then ask for a brief meeting to
share the concept.


49

5. When calling an executive - make sure you get the
administrative assistant's name. After you've tried several
times to reach him/her - enlist the assistant's help in setting
a meeting.


50

6. When you meet with the "C"-level executive, be prepared to
share your idea. Do NOT talk about your products or service or
this whole exercise is a waste of time. Talk about how you can
help their business be more profitable, get a jump on competitors
reduce costs, maximize use of existing technologies, drive sales
through the channel - or whatever other business result you can
deliver. Results. Outcomes. Stated in business terms and tied to
their organization's needs. That's the way to capture a "C"-level
executive's attention and get your foot in the door.


51

Example Minster Machine


52

But you'll never get there unless you target appropriate
accounts, invest time researching them, and develop a strong
value proposition. Then you need to package this into a
concise and compelling message that aligns their business
needs with your company's capabilities.
In truth, it's not hard to get in to see senior executives if you
do your homework!


53

My first year at General Electric Computer Division


54

How does "Selling" really happen?
"‘Selling’ isn’t happening when your talking; ‘selling’
happens when your targeted prospect is talking."


55

Why you should Avoid Low-Hanging Fruit!
It's easy to be seduced by low-hanging fruit.


56

I define low-hanging fruit as companies that have decided to
make a change and are actively looking at options.
They are companies that are ripe to buy. They call you and want
to know all the details. They'll ask for a request for proposal.


57

So why not pursue this company and the so-called easy
sale? Pursuing these companies often can be a futile effort
because these prospects have made their decision and are
only comparison shopping. They usually have a favorite; but
need to cover their bases. In most cases, you can't go into a
sales process late and expect to win.


58

In other cases, when companies don't have a favorite, they're
just looking for the best deal. They usually aren't loyal and
believe what you bring to the market is a commodity. Whether
it is or isn't, they don't want to pay more for it."


59

This plump, ripe fruit can be hard to resist, however. So
what's a salesperson to do? I recommend you get
qualification up front by asking tough questions. Ask: Who
are your current suppliers and why would you consider
switching? Who else are you looking at? Has your company
done business with any of these companies before? How are
you making this decision?


60

If your prospects express strong dissatisfaction with a
competitor, you might have an opportunity. But if they're just
looking around or give you vague answers to your questions,
you have to make a qualified judgment if it's worth your time.


61

Many salespeople jump through hoops to get the business
when they should ask themselves if the company is a good
fit. Ask the company to tell you about themselves and some
of the challenges they are facing looking more closely.


62

Do you know your end-user?


63

Do you know your end-user? While this seems to be one
of the most fundamental and obvious questions, it's
surprising how many companies can't give a good
answer. They either haven't addressed the question, or
their answer lacks depth.


64

All of us are able to describe the product or service that
we are trying to sell, including its features and
technologies, because we focus on that. But, who's
going to buy it, and why, and how? Maybe
understanding the buyer and his needs is more difficult,
but it requires a similarly dedicated effort.


65

Recently I met with a good friend of mine, an individual
who was just starting his marketing consulting business.
Over the course of lunch, he described in some detail
the services he was going to provide to his future clients.


66

When he had finished, I asked him, "Well, who's going to
buy these services? And how will they benefit, so they
can justify your fees?" With a slightly embarrassed look
on his face, he admitted he hadn't given those questions
much thought.


67

You would think that marketing consultants would know
better! To this individual's credit, he set about answering
them through informational interviews and a dialog with
his initial clients. And through this process, he upgraded
and refined his service offering.


68

A company should have a long list of potential buyer
type questions, such as:
Who specifically is the end user?
Where does he fit within the organization?
How does he satisfy the need now?
What benefits will your solution provide?


69

What are the negatives of your solution?
What's the value of those benefits?
What are the costs and risks of the negatives?
How does he buy (or initiate the buying process)?
What's the timing and urgency?


70

So how does a company address these questions? How
will it obtain all this information? One alternative is to
learn this information as it does "business as usual".
With this alternative, normally the information is obtained
lowly over a long period of time, and sometimes at the
expense of small or perhaps large mistakes.


71

Experience is a very thorough teacher, but it should be
used to refine the market understanding, and not to
obtain initial market knowledge.


72

A better alternative is to execute a structured qualitative
market research project. Structured, because the
company will want to assimilate data from multiple
sources and yield actionable information.


73

Qualitative, because the company wants to know, as in
the case of a new product, if the end-user will buy the
product at all. Once the company has determined there
is a base of willing end-users/buyers, then they can
scale that number to estimate the size of the market.


74

Selling in 2010 - Put Away Your Shotgun


75

Back in the roaring 2000s, selling and marketing
strategies counted on the law of "big numbers." Spend a
lot of money, blanket the market with advertisements or
direct mail, get your brand in front of a lot of prospects
and you would do well. You might only convert a tiny
fraction of the total...but the law of big numbers would
rescue you.


76

In today's market, the law of big numbers works against
you. First, nobody, not even any of the big boys in
technology, is has a lot of money to spend on outbound
marketing.


77

Second, and perhaps more importantly, your prospective
customer is inundated with many more demands on their
time and attention, and have fewer resources to respond
with. The law of big numbers suggests that thousands of
offers and pitches and brands dumped on your prospect
daily and you have little chance to break through the
clutter.


78

Or do you?
More than a few of your peers and competitors don't
believe that you do. They've closed shop, gone home,
gone back to B School or the corporate world, or simply
stopped marketing. Blamed the economy on their
results, blamed their poor luck and timing on their
failures.


79

A few companies, though, continue to grow. Why?
They've put away their shotgun. They've stopped trying
to win the battle with the law of big numbers, and instead
are aiming at individual customers with well-placed
shots. These companies are investing more time and
effort in understanding the following:


80

· Their core competencies
· Their customer's pain
· The identity (title, name, contact information, bio, etc) of
the economic buyer at the customer level
· The identity of the end user at the customer level
· The decision making process at the customer level
· Effective methods of getting their message through to
the right decision maker


81

These companies then take the time to contact the
economic buyer with an individualized message spelling
out the benefits of partnership between the two
companies.


82

An effective initial message, whether it's a phone call,
post card, letter, or dimensional direct mail piece, will
reflect the company's prior expertise in the prospect's
market, and the business benefits the prospect will
receive if they adopt the company's solution.


83

Some will use effective negative selling stating that their
solution isn't for everyone, and that they will need to
qualify the prospect to make sure there's a good fit.
Others will use case studies to demonstrate the benefits
that similar companies have received.


84

The successful companies today have turned the law of
big numbers around now they're targeting very few
prospects, ensuring that they have an effective and
compelling value proposition, and that they pay attention
to the entire selling and marketing process. They enjoy
the law of big returns seeing twenty, thirty or even fifty
percent rates of closure on their sales activities.


85

Afraid your business will suffer with fewer prospects?
How are you doing now with lots of prospects that never
close? If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep
getting the results you're getting. And that's not working!


86

A Salesman for All Seasons


87

As leaders, we are asked to direct, decide, and plan
every day. We're also expected to sell. No, we may not
be making cold calls and driving across the state making
sales calls, but we are constantly selling the current
strategy and future ideas of our company.


88

CEOs and presidents are selling to their boards,
important customers, bankers, investors, and
employees. Mindful of this perpetual selling process, it's
important to understand today's sales challenges-both
for the highest-level leaders and the front line
salespeople.


89

Some employees may think of dedicated sales people as
a slippery, gregarious group that works to trick a
customer into buying something they may not want.
Some in the organization may view sales people as
"special" employees with large expense accounts-kind of
a like rock stars cloaked in suits.


90

Perhaps some of these descriptions are true. Sales
people, CEOs included, often do have large expense
accounts and perks. But their job can be an onerous
one. They are trying to convince (yes, some might use a
word like "trick," accurate or not) customers that the
organization's product or service is worth buying
because it solves the customer's problem.


91

From low-level sales associates right to the top,
sellers are continually met with rejection and
proceed with determination and persistence.
Most sales professionals are like you and me,
learning all the technical skills of their job and
doing the best professional job they can-perhaps
with a bigger expense count than we have, but
the differences are far fewer than the similarities.


92

Today, more than ever, a sales presentation is the
process of explaining our product or service offering. In
this increasingly complex global economy, sales is much
like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.


93

There are many pieces to that puzzle; the job of the
sales individual is to figure out all the variously shaped
pieces and put them together in a coherent fashion.


94

He or she needs to do this in concert with the customer.
The number one priority of the good, well-trained sales
person is to learn the concerns of the customer-and their
pain. If our product or service truly alleviates their pain,
then we have a good shot at getting the business.


95

Long gone are the days when a slick salesperson can
rattle off a few benefits and close the deal. Today, there
are more individuals involved in the buying decision and
the salesperson's ultimate responsibility is to find out as
much about the inner workings of the customer as
possible.


96

Only with that knowledge are salespeople able to put
together a presentation for all seasons-one that satisfies
all the constituents' needs. Arguably, the president and
CEO must know the most about customer needs as they
direct development and sell concepts to customers,
investors, and vendors


97

As we reassess the characteristics of a successful
salesperson, we must recognize the most important
skills such individuals should have: asking the right
questions, listening to the answers, and disseminating
the information and clues that the buyer is
communicating.


98

Sales start at the top and filter down. Remember that as
leaders, you set the tone for the salespeople in your
organization-the people on the front lines of your
business. Model the keys to sales success by learning
about your customers, educating your customer, and
ensuring each sale is a win-win situation-for you and the
customer.


99

You would think getting the first customer for your
business would be an easy task. You set up the
business, someone comes in and you have your first
sale. In real life it doesn't always work that way. People
tend to be creatures of habit and they continue to
patronize the places they know.


100

There’s a logical sequence to building a business,
whether it’s online or offline. There are certain things that
must be done in order to see your business grow.


101

Step One: Get Clear On Who You’re Targeting
Before you begin any marketing, you must find your
target audience. Do your research and discover who
your products or services can help the most. Without a
clear understanding of exactly who you’re targeting, your
marketing can’t be effective.


102

Specializing your approach will definitely help your
conversion rate. It may make you nervous to think of
narrowing your options, but it’s the first step in attracting
more long-term clients. Here’s one more benefit to
narrowing down your focus: each time you specialize a
little more, you’re able to charge more for your services.


103

Step Two: Understand What They Really Want
Emotionally and Logically
Once you’ve identified your best target audience, it’s time
to learn what they really, really want. What do they
dream of accomplishing? What keeps them awake at
night?


104

There’s no point in marketing your products if you aren’t
sure what your target market wants. Here’s a key
concept: people buy what they want, not what you think
they need. Get to know your market and you’ll find
making sales much easier.


105

Step Three: Package What You’re Offering Toward
Desired End Results
Because you understand your market so well, you know
the desired end result they’d like to achieve. The closer
you get to that desired end result, the better you’ll do in
business. Package your products toward that result, so
that you’re always meeting the needs of your clients.


106

When you’re really tuned into the needs of your target
market, you’ll experience the rush of business running
smoothly. You’ll stop having to push and shove to make
sales and see how it all flows together—the needs of a
group of people, and products packaged to meet those
needs. What’s the takeaway? People don’t buy because
they understand something, they buy because they feel
understood.


107

Step Four: Create an Irresistible Offer
What, exactly, are you delivering with your products, and
what must the client give in return? To be effective in
marketing, you need to be able to answer that question
in one sentence. Here’s an example: “Give me ten
minutes per day and I’ll give you the body you’ve always
wanted.”


108

You want to state your offer in a compelling way that has
people raising their hands to say “I want that!” Work on
developing your one-sentence offer; it will form the basis
of all your other marketing.


109

Step Five: Go Find Your Target Audience
Where do the people most likely to buy your
products hang out? Do they congregate on
online discussion forums? What publications do
they read? Which organizations do they join?
If you’ve done good market research in the
previous steps, you’ll already know the answers.
Now, go out there and make your irresistible
offer to them in ads, talks, comments on forums
and whatever way you can that makes them
affordably reachable.

110

Step Six: Practice Great Follow-up
You’ve done your research, created great products,
packaged them to meet the needs of your target
audience, and made your offer where they congregate.
To maximize all the hard work you’ve already done, you
must follow-up consistently.


111

What’s the best way to make sure that happens? By
automating and systematizing as much of your follow-up
as possible. Here’s the rule: Always follow up, and find
ways to make it automatic.


112

Step Seven: Close the Sale
This one gets stepped around so often, and that’s a
shame, because it’s essential if you want to succeed.
Learn how to ask for their business. For some
companies, that might mean a face-to-face meeting, and
for many others, the entire sales process can be
automated. Unless money changes hands, you’re not
really in business.


113

Whichever way you chose to close, you must give your
prospects enough information that they can buy with
confidence. Automate that information-sharing as much
as you can, with web pages, sales letters and brochures,
so that you can expand your impact in less time.


114

Step Eight: Make Additional Offers
The bulk of your profits are going to be made from
additional sales to satisfied customers. You’ve already
built a relationship with them and they know you can be
trusted. Create products you can offer them as you
continue to listen and hear what solutions they need.


115

Sales tips for Entrepreneurs

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