Tag: Business Coaching

Word Of Mouth Tactics – Part 1

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA
Word of Mouth Marketing
One Tells The Other!

Word of Mouth Tactics – Part 1

Today we’ll start a new series talking all about Word of Mouth and how it can make or break your business in an extremely short amount of time. In this first lesson we’ll get a feel for what exactly word of mouth is.

Word of Mouth is easily the most powerful form of marketing and is absolutely free. People talk about ads they see, experiences they have and the products they purchase. If you treat people right and spread the word about your new products/services in a positive way, you’ll attract the right customers and client who will sustain your business for a long time.

Now, as positive as word of mouth can be for your business, the other side of the coin is how negative it can be as well. Bad news seems invariably to travel faster than good news and if you have a less than high-quality product or weak customer service system, then your customers will tell everyone they know to not buy your products and services.

The age of technology has proved to be an amazing benefit in the world of word on mouth. With blogs, podcasts, online marketing, forums, social networking and all the other online mediums available and making it easier and easier for consumers to share their experiences. And, remember this is all free advertising for you.

Let’s take a minute to talk about the importance of shortening the customer decision cycle to help customers/client choose more quickly and easily. There are three great ways to increase sales by shortening the decision cycle. They are:

Increase the overall dollar amount customers spend on each purchase

Increase your number of customers

Increase frequency of purchases

Let’s take a deeper look at decision speed. Offer simplicity, ease and a fun purchasing atmosphere and you’ll help your customers make their decisions quicker and more confidently. When this happens, your customers will buy more frequently, spend more money than usual, refer friends and make the decision to purchase more quickly. This can raise your market share by over 100 times.

The time it takes your customer to decide and purchase far outweighs any other component of marketing. When you focus on customer decision speed it forces you to take a hard look at your company and brand image, positioning, value, customer service, guarantees and product quality.

The next area I want to talk about quickly is how to minimize the friction, or stress, involved with decision making. No matter how easily people find decision making there is a certain amount of anxiety we all experience when making a purchase, especially from a new source or for a large amount of money. When you help to minimize this emotional response, you will soothe your customers’ anxiety and they will make their decision quicker and more confidently.

There are a few secrets to accelerate the customers decision making progress:

Your benefits, features, claims and promises must be obvious, clear and concise.

The information you offer must be complete, easy to understand, credible and balanced.

Use comparisons that show a marked difference.

Your guarantees must be rock solid, and more than the customer expects.

Make trial periods easy.

You must have simple evaluations of your products or services.

Testimonials need to be relevant and positive.

Your support, delivery and other operational systems must be perfect.

Your website can be as good as you make it. You can offer more than information; you can offer an experience that guides your customers gently through the decision making process to make it easy for them to buy. Take it a step beyond by offering toll-free support numbers, software downloads to help with the process or other classy and informative ways to reassure your customers that you are there with them every step of the way and have nothing to hide.

This wraps up the first post in our series on word of mouth.

Next time we’ll move forward with word of mouth and talk about the power of word of mouth and what exactly this powerful tool is and can be used for.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Maximize Your Resources – Part 2

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

Maximize Your Resources

Maximize Your Resources – Part 2

Last time we talked about the first three areas to work through in maximizing your current resources. They were:

  • Recognize the obvious
  • Unconventional breakthroughs
  • Face the facts

Today we’ll cover the next three, which are:

  • Reveal your business’ soul
  • From breaking even to breaking the bank
  • Stand up and stand out

Reveal Your Business’ Soul

Every business has a soul and you likely felt it the strongest when your business was just starting. It’s that passion, newness and momentum you had at the very beginning. Sometimes that can get lost along the way as your business gets stagnant and set in its ways. You have to break out of that rut and get back to your business’ true soul.

The philosophy of putting your client’s needs above your own is the true key to success. You need to serve your clients not sell to them. They want to build a relationship based on trust, not a used car. Add to these responsibilities your ability to solve problems, handle special situations, be a friend to your clients and focus on offering valuable, high quality products/services. Only then will you get back to the basics and find you have more resources than you thought.

From Breaking Even to Breaking the Bank

One of the classic and most used ways to attract clients is to offer them a ridiculously low price on their initial purchase and lock them in for future purchases. You see this approach with movie or book clubs and even credit card companies who offer lower interest rates for the first six months.

Essentially, you are offering them a deal on their first purchase and then you offer them back-end and add-on products along the way. These are naturally higher prices and will bring them in to more of an intimate relationship with you and your company.

Stand Up and Stand Out

You need to stand out from the pack among your competitors. They only way you can do this through consistency and value. You do this by discovering what your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is and perfecting it. Here are some tips to help you find and develop your USP:

  1. Look for unfilled needs in your industry.
  2. Use preemptive marketing.
  3. Use a technique that is clear and to the point.

This wraps up this post.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Maximize Your Resources – Part 1

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

Maximize Your Resources

Maximize Your Resources – Part 1

Over the next few posts, we’re going to talk about how to take a hard look at your current resources and get the most out of them. This can help your capital go further and increase your profit margin.

Today we’ll cover three different ways to maximize what you already have. These include:

  • Recognize the obvious
  • Unconventional breakthroughs
  • Face the facts

Recognize the Obvious

Sometimes when you are too close to something, you can’t make out the big picture. You need to step back and really take a hard look at the resources you currently have in front of you. You are surrounded by opportunities that can boost your career and help your business become more successful.

Unconventional Breakthroughs

Don’t sit around waiting for breakthroughs you need to create them yourself. A breakthrough is merely a new way of doing things or finding a new thing to do for the same or better results. You should be having regular brainstorming sessions and encouraging your team to come forward with breakthroughs or ideas any time they have them.

Some great examples of breakthroughs are:

  • A health and beauty company discovers a side effect of a product that can be re-marketed and sold.
  • A company creates a roll-on deodorant inspired by the shape and size of a ball point pen.
  • The founder of Nike poured rubber onto a waffle iron and created the most innovative and successful running shoe ever.

When attracting or strategizing for a breakthrough there are some key objectives you need to keep in mind. They are:

  1. Look for the hidden opportunity in every situation.
  2. Look for at least on cash windfall for your business every three months.
  3. The more value for your client, the better your breakthrough.
  4. Create multiple streams of idea to find the best breakthroughs.
  5. Effective breakthroughs remove all risk or resistance.

Face the Facts

Before you can put your breakthroughs to work you need to face the facts of the processes and systems that are not working for you and work to correct or get rid of them. System analysis is a good way to do this. Once you have a listing of your strengths and weaknesses, you need to compare those to the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

There are some great questions you can present to you and your team to get a handle on where your business is right now. They are:

  1. Why did I first start this business? Why am I in this industry?
  2. What products/services did I offer then? Which were the most popular?
  3. Why are my customers/clients buying from me right now?
  4. How did I generate new customers/clients then?
  5. Which of my marketing efforts were bringing in the best results?

Once you’ve got some answers to these questions, you’ll know better how to approach your weaknesses.

These three areas we’ve gone over give you a jumping off point for how to utilize your current resources to their fullest potential. If you need any help with your strategic or systems analysis, try our FREE test drive to work with one of our amazing business coaches.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

5 Killer Mistakes That Kill The Deal – Part 2

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

5 Mistakes To Killing A Deal

5 Killer Mistakes – Part 2

In the last post we covered the first two of the 5 biggest mistakes you can make in dealing with big fish clients. Today we’ll cover the third and fourth ones: Taking on More Than You Can Handle.

When you take on too much, your business can’t keep up and therefore you can easily lose control of everything and find yourself barely functioning. You want your business to be successful, no doubt, but you need to have a plan for how you will handle the growth. Your clients expect great customer service and highly quality products/services, they don’t know or care about your behind-the-scenes operations to get those things done.

  • Look for these signs that you are taking on more than you can handle:
  • Clients’ needs aren’t being met.
  • Employee morale is low, clients are upset and you’re in a panic.
  • You have to react in emergency mode to save accounts.
  • Your current clients are suffering from trying to keep up with new business.
  • Profits are going down.
  • You are just trying to pick up the pieces of your business.
  • Your clients/customers leave.
  • Resources are being reallocated.

There a trick called the Mock Fish Plan. This plan can help you react positively when you are facing some or all of these things and help you get your business back on track. This plan will:

  • Help increase sales in a short period of time.
  • Alter your products/services for the better.
  • Fulfill promises you made to your clients.

There are six steps to this plan:

  1. Bring in your best team and have them all help to meet the fish needs.
  2. Review your operational system.
  3. Anticipate future problems better.
  4. Communicate better.
  5. Include costs in your quotes.
  6. Always have a back-up plan.

All Your Eggs in One Basket

You can allow your company to become dependent on any one fish. Eventually or for certain periods there is going to be a slowing down period with your fish. In order to stay in the game, you need to diversify.

If you’ve ever mishandled a fish, you could drive away potential fish as well. In order to keep balance and prepare for a strong future, there are a few things you can do.

  • These things include:
  • Stay in the loop and try to know what’s going on inside your fish company.
  • Constantly reinvent yourself and stay at the top of your industry.
  • Stay exclusive.
  • Try to secure multi-year commitments and contracts.
  • Spread your contracts out.
  • Price your products/services correctly.

You also need to work to reduce your dependency on your fish. This can generally be measures in sales or profits. Take a look back at the process we’ve used thus far to snag more fish to keep this all in balance.

These are the ways you can help avoid the killer mistakes that can make you lose it all. If you need help with any of these tips or tricks, try our GUIDED TOUR to get the help you need fast.

Next time we’ll talk about the last of the killer mistakes and how to combat it from hitting your business hard.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

5 Killer Mistakes That Kill A Deal – Part 1

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

5 Mistakes To Killing A Deal

5 Killer Mistakes – Part 1

There are 5 big mistakes you can do that will kill a deal with a big fish. They are:

    1. Not meeting the client’s expectations
    2. Mishandling a client crisis
    3. Taking on more than you can handle
    4. Putting all your eggs in one basket
    5. Up cash creek without a paddle

Any one or combination of these can not only kill the partnership, but have the ability to take down your company as well. We’re going to take a bit of time to talk about each one of these, in this lesson we’ll cover the first two.

Not Meeting Client’s Expectations

It’s essential you give your client’s exactly what you promised during the negotiation portion of your relationship. If an event does happen where there is no way to meet the client’s expectations, not only do you have to find a way to fix the situation, but you also have to find out where it all went wrong.

A couple of things could have contributed to this problem:

  1. Bad salesmanship. This could mean the salesperson was trying too hard to seal the deal and didn’t listen to the client’s needs.
  2. Lack of communication. This breakdown occurs between the salesperson and your operations department.

In order to avoid these mistakes, you need to put a clear plan of action into place that all of your sales staff needs to follow:

        • Think before you speak.
        • Give yourself a break.
        • Perfect your process.
        • Pre-format over-deliverables.
        • Stay hands-on throughout the entire process.
        • Define success.

      Mishandling a Client Crisis

      Crisis’ will happen, but how you respond and fix them will define your company and interaction with your clients’. You need to respond quickly and effectively. This will help you gain even more trust and confidence from your client.

      Some simple tips can help you deal with any client crisis:

          • Take responsibility and apologize no matter who is at fault.
          • Act swiftly and effectively.
          • Step in and take control of the situation.
          • Never point fingers or place blame.
          • Stay in constant communication with your client.
          • Stay calm throughout the situation.
          • Keep your eye on the ball.

      Now, that you know the top two mistakes you can make to kill a big fish deal, you’ll know better how to avoid making these mistakes in the first place and know how to put a plan of action into place in case of a crisis.

      If you need help with any of this, try our FREE test drive to get all the help you could ever need.

      Next time we’ll talk about the 3rd and 4th killer mistake you can make in working with big fish clients.

      If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

      I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

      Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

      Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

      You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

      https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
      ​
      ​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Multiply on Your Maximizing Resources – Part 4

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

Multiply On Your Resources

Multiply on Your Maximizing Resources – Part 4

The last few posts have talked about how to multiply the resources that you’ve worked hard to maximize. So far we’ve covered:

  1. Call in the Troops
  2. Bring ‘Em Out of the Woodwork
  3. Black Sheep Clients
  4. Olympic-Size Sales Staff
  5. Open Water Fishing
  6. Call for Back-Up
  7. Go Big Online
  8. Bartering with the Best
  9. Give Away the Farm

Today we’ll finish up this series with the last three ways to multiply your maximized resources. We’ll cover:

  1. Finding Your Pot of Gold
  2. Stay at the Top of Your Game
  3. Wealth from the Inside Out

These areas are all key to keep up the momentum you’ve found in making what you have work harder for you.

Finding Your Pot of Gold

You must always have a goal you’re working toward in order to stay on course. Your goal needs to be something you can attain and utilize your full potential. Don’t be afraid to aim high, just make sure you are clear on what your goal is and exactly what you need to do to get there. You need to continue to hold yourself accountable to your goal and raise the bar as you accomplish the steps to your goal.

Stay at the Top of Your Game

Once you’ve mastered these areas, you need to make sure you are staying competitive and constantly coming up with new ways to use your new tools. Don’t rest on one success when there are more on the horizon. To continue to be successful your business must continue to learn and revolve.

Wealth from the Inside Out

Wealth and riches are defined within yourself, not by your profits or the world beyond. You can use all these strategies in both your business and life to find a greater level of success. When you naturally reflect who you are and what you mean, you will automatically attract the right people to you. This will happen in life and in business.

You are capable of reaching your goals as long as they are well-defined and a solid road is built to them.

Throughout the last seven lessons we’ve talked about how to take a hard look at the resources you currently have right in front of you and maximize them to get the most out of what you already have. Then turning around and multiplying those maximized resources to take them to the next level.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Multiply On Your Maximizing Resources – Part 3

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

Multiply On Your Resources

Multiply on Your Maximizing Resources – Part 3

Over the last few posts, we talked about how to multiply the resources that you’ve worked hard to maximize. So far, we’ve covered:

  1. Call in the Troops
  2. Bring ‘Em Out of the Woodwork
  3. Black Sheep Clients
  4. Olympic-Size Sales Staff
  5. Open Water Fishing
  6. Call for Back-Up

Today we’ll cover the next three:

  1. Go Big Online
  2. Bartering with the Best
  3. Give Away the Farm

Go Big Online

There are businesses who solely operate online, there are those with only physical addresses and there are those who do both. Those who do both are by far more successful than the previous two. When you take the time to establish an online presence you open up your business to the entire world, through a few clicks of the mouse.

To successfully sell products online, you need to:

  1. Offer high-quality products/services that people want.
  2. Build an attractive, effective website that’s user-friendly.
  3. Generate high-quality traffic at a low cost.
  4. With all these things in place you can find success with you online exposure.

Bartering with the Best

If you’ve ever gone to a yard sale and paid the sticker price, then you need to up your bartering game. Everything is negotiable and you need to take the time to barter with your suppliers. Companies are always open to bartering and when all is said and done you could find yourself saving significantly on the things your business needs to operate smoothly.

Give Away the Farm

Ok, so not literally, but you have to be willing to stay in contact with prospective clients and offer them products and services they are going to need. You don’t know what they need until you offer them everything you’ve got then work with them to put together the perfect package the fit their needs.

When you take the time to put yourself at the front of their minds, they are more likely to work with you going forward. You can do this by offering free newsletters, a free consulting session or other valuable tool.

This wraps up these three areas of multiplying on the resources you’ve maximized. If you’re not sure where to start or are feeling a bit overwhelmed, try our GUIDED TOUR to work with one of our amazing business coaches who can help you navigate these peaceful waters.

Next time we’ll finish up this series with the last three ways to multiply your maximized resources. We’ll cover:

  1. Finding Your Pot of Gold
  2. Stay at the Top of Your Game
  3. Wealth from the Inside Out
  4. If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.
  5. I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.
  6. Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:
  7. Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 
  8. You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

    https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
    ​
    ​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Multiply On Your Maximizing Resources – Part 2

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA

Multiply On Your Resources

Multiply on Your Maximizing Resources – Part 2

Last time we talked about how to start multiplying on the resources you worked on maximizing. We covered the following areas:

  1. Call in the Troops
  2. Bring ‘Em Out of the Woodwork
  3. Black Sheep Clients

Today we’ll talk about the next three:

  1. Olympic-Size Sales Staff
  2. Open Water Fishing
  3. Call for Back-Up

Olympic-Size Sales Staff

Now we all know you can’t have a sales staff of 10,000 who work around the clock for free, but there is a tool that will do exactly that-direct mail marketing.

Direct mail is a written piece of sales and informative copy that offers information about your company and your products/services to potential customers/clients. You can sales letters, brochures or proposals that can be mailed out to a list of leads.

This approach can not only open your door to thousands of new customers/clients, it can save you thousands of dollars in advertising.

Open Water Fishing

You have to be careful not to waste your time on clients who are simply not interested. You have to focus on bigger fish. Remember, the lessons we talked previously about how you should always be targeting higher-quality prospects.

To do this you have to take the time to research and learn about your potential clients to make sure you are targeting the right companies to work with. Make sure they are companies who will benefit from your products/services over a long period of time.

If you’re not sure where to start in finding big fish clients, go back over our previous lessons or look into purchasing a direct mailing list that specifically targets the clients you need. You can purchase or rent lists with name, title, job specs and contact information. This gives you a jumping off point in finding high-quality clients.

Call for Back-Up

Don’t be afraid of telemarketing. It’s a powerful tool than can be done tastefully and be highly effective. However, keep in mind, when not handled correctly can bring about negative reactions. To be successful with telemarketing you need to use these tips:

  1. Your first line of defense should be mail marketing.
  2. Test before you start a telemarketing campaign.
  3. Set the price for your offer.
  4. Use a progressive approach with your campaign.

Progressive contact helps build trust and allow the potential customer/client to establish a positive relationship with you. These are the progressive steps you should take:

  1. Put your prospect at ease.
  2. Present your offer in a natural, conversational way.
  3. Avoid being argumentative or pushy.
  4. Always be honest.
  5. Perfect your 30-second elevator speech.
  6. Clearly state your name, business name, reason you’re calling and where you got their information.
  7. Offer the benefits of your products and services.
  8. Mention one of the features that back up the benefits.
  9. Ask preliminary questions that gives you information about the prospect.

These step-by-step methods can help you be successful with a telemarketing campaign and avoid a negative response which could stigmatize your business forever.

This wraps up these three areas of multiplying your resources. We’ll continue with this series for the next two posts to give you all the resources you need to get the most out of your current resources.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Who’s Your MVP?

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA
Who's Your MVP?
              

Who’s Your MVP?

In the last post we talked about making first contact with your prospective big fish and how to make a positive first impression.

Today we’re going to talk about feeling out the personality of your prospective big fish to match the right salesperson to the fish.

You need to do this in two steps:

  1. Profile your salespeople’s personalities.
  2. Match the right salesperson to your target fish.

There are essentially three different selling personalities:

  • Sage
  • Pal
  • Pit Bull

The Sage

This salesperson offers knowledge, experience, comfort, and trust. They can make a concerned customer feel at ease. In order to be successful, they need plenty of information, a demo of the product/service, references and case studies, if possible.

The Pal

Much like it sounds this is a salesperson that shines at building relationships. They can instantly relate to the prospective client and make them seem like old friends in no time. They work best with clients who are looking for friendship, information and in a similar peer group as the salesperson. This can include anything from age and culture to hobbies and nightlife.

While, sharing experiences can be beneficial to creating a new relationship, your salesperson must always keep it professional and dignified.

The resource’s this personality type needs is help pairing with the right client, entertainment (or schmoozing) budget and the right information to meet the client’s needs.

The Pit Bull

Obviously, this personality type is a little more aggressive than the others. They are all about business and the bottom line.

While this may seem harsh to a lot of people, there is a set of businesspeople out there that want the same thing and respect someone who can get down to business and the benefits of a partnership.

This salesperson will need to be trusted with a little authority as they will likely be closing deals on the spot. They’ll need plenty of resources and access to products and services. They are best placed in environments where they can work independently, exercise their authoritative discretion and seal deals quickly.

These can all be successful when each is used in the right selling environment. You can easily see how matching the right salesperson for the client can secure more big fish and for a longer period of time.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!

Use The Perfect Bait To Get The Big Fish!

Posted on by Tom Kavanaugh, MA
Use the right bait!
Use The Perfect Bait To Get The Big Fish!

The Perfect Bait

In the last post we talked about how to learn about your big fish and prepare for the first contact you’ll make with them. This first contact is essential to your success. You need to instill confidence in them. They need to know you can fulfill exactly what you are offering on time, at a good price and at the quality you promise.

Today we’ll actually go through the big approach and how to make that perfect first impression. Before you put together your approach plan, you need to choose with big fish you’re going after. Take a look at your notes and the research you’ve done about prospective fish. Then decide which one will be the easiest approach to start out with.

There are a series of things to go through in choosing which fish to start with. They are:

  • Position Your Business
  • Compile Your Hit List
  • Select the Best Target

Position Your Business

You need to position your business to make the first move by listing your revenue streams, id and list your operational procedures, where your fish is initially positioned, your big-customer research, and putting it all together.

Compile Your Hit List

Start with a list of all the companies you’ve been considering. Then narrow it down to the ones who know could use your products or services. Don’t overlook obvious choices, whether they are big or small. Even small companies could be big fish in the future.

Select the Best Target

Once you’ve got your list narrowed down, you need to decide which one is the best fish to start with. You need to consider a couple of things:

  • Which have the most purchasing resources to spend?
  • Does their company vision compliment yours?
  • What are their employee incentive programs as they relate to your products/services?
  • What’s the company’s real need for you?
  • Will the partnership lead you off-course?

Now you should have a target in mind to start with. It’s time to plan your approach and execute that plan.

Here’s the step-by-step plan to help you make a good first impression:

  1. Build and analyze your database. Divide your leads into three different categories: hot leads, great fits and secondary leads.
  2. Send out introductory mailings to your target to introduce yourself, your company, services, products, and vision. They need to be short, clean and concise.
  3. Follow up with your first phone call 2-3 days after they would have received the mailings. During the phone call find out whom you need to be speaking with in the future and try to set up a meet with the right person.
  4. Follow up your phone call with another mailing that thanks them for taking the time to speak with you and offer more details about your products/services. Use this letter and opportunity to set up a meeting to do a presentation.
  5. Follow up the letter with another phone call a couple of days after they would have received the letter. This phone call is to help you further develop your relationship with the prospective client. You should also be able to set up a presentation meeting with them.
  6. Call again a week later if they haven’t agreed to a meeting or presentation. Ask if they received your creative letter (the second one) and if they have a minute when you can stop by and introduce yourself in person.

Now, don’t be upset if you don’t seal the deal right away. Some people simply take a little longer to woo. This can all be a little intimidating at first, but when you know you are offering a quality product/service, you can’t go wrong.

Once you’ve gone through this process and make first contact (and hopefully a good first impression) it’s time to put your best face forward, which means sending the right salesperson to seal the deal.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in the GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

I can help you work through all these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.

Feel free to visit https://newcoachingstrategies.com for your GUIDED TOUR and a complimentary copy of my first book in the five-book series:

Business Breakthrough Secrets, Volume I, The Secret Formula To Discovering $10K Hidden Inside Your Business In 45 Minutes Or Less… Guaranteed! 

You can also invest a few minutes of your time to watch this revealing video presentation on the best marketing secrets for your business as my gift to you:

https://newcoachingstrategies.com/thetruth
​
​If you have further questions about this article, please leave me a message and I’ll respond as soon as possible!