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Happiness at Work Leads to Better, More Profitable Sales Teams

Happiness at work. While that may sound silly to those who keep their noses to the grindstone for their careers, it is a goal worth chasing: happy employees are engaged, contributing, working harder, and making your team that much more effective.

In today’s hyper-competitive workplace, you might expect employers to focus on the acquisition phase of hiring and employees to focus on the retention phase. However, it has been shown that tremendous success lies with employers who expend energy recruiting motivated salespeople – not just finding anyone eager to work. 

When your sales team is happy, they’ll be more productive and profitable than ever. Here’s how:

They’ll have more energy – When you’re happy at work, it feels like you can do anything! That feeling will spill over onto your team, who will feel energized and excited about their work. This helps them focus on their tasks instead of worrying about how much time is left in the day or what else needs to get done before they can go for the day.

They’ll be better listeners – Happy employees listen better than unhappy ones do because they’re focused on what their customers are saying instead of thinking about how many emails they need to respond to or if there’s any food left in the break room fridge that needs eating before tomorrow morning rolls around again (if there even is any left). This leads to higher customer satisfaction rates overall which help keep customers coming back for more!

To retain those new hires longer, a little more emphasis might be needed from both sides of the fence to create a more positive work environment where everyone can work well together – and therefore be genuinely productive.

How to Promote Happiness at Work

How to Promote Happiness at Work

Show Acts of Appreciation

Salespeople need to be motivated for their success, but also the success of their organization. Many organizations focus on compensation and bonuses, but this is not enough. When managed well, appreciation is a cornerstone of any organizational strategy to encourage motivation. Some may feel that appreciation is foreign to today’s culture, but there are numerous reasons why companies should implement it.

Let Your Sellers Own Their Work!

Let Your Sellers Own Their Work!

Giving your employees some ownership over the projects they work on creates a sense of belonging and connection. This can help encourage people to work harder and make them feel more confident in their abilities.

It also helps with employee retention because you’ll have less turnover when people feel like they have a stake in what’s happening around them. In addition, they’ll be more likely to stay with your company for longer if they think what they do matters and contributes to improving things.

Share the Workload

We’re all about building teams that work together, and we believe that one way to do this is by taking turns. In other words, no one person should always be doing the same thing. Instead, everyone should have the opportunity to take on different roles and responsibilities—so that each team member feels invested in the group’s success.

Break the Monotony

Break the Monotony

Are your sellers in a job that feels like a drag?

It’s hard to have fun at work when your days are full of the same tasks over and over. But there are ways to make even the most monotonous jobs more meaningful, challenging, and engaging! 

Here are some tips for making work more interesting:

  • Figure out what you can do to make the work better. For example, can you improve processes or procedures to make them more efficient? Can you help people who need assistance?
  • Find ways to engage with coworkers. Is there a way to work together on projects that will benefit everyone? If not, see if there are any ways you can help out other departments in your company by sharing resources or expertise.
  • Figure out ways to make everyone feel like part of the team by getting involved in different aspects of operations or meetings with clients and customers.
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Prospecting Videos: 5 Proven Strategies To Increase Turnover

If your job was to prospect for potential clients looking to buy from your company, what strategies can you use to help close more deals? 

Ten years ago, just about any business owner that possessed a camcorder, a tripod, and the ability to turn on the recorder could film a commercial. These days, video marketing needs a little more creativity and professionalism. Video offers a personal touch when communicating with prospects and lets them know that you care enough to put in extra effort for them.

How To Prospect Using Video: Our Top Tips

How To Prospect Using Video: Keep ‘Em Short, Simple, Sweet.

#1: Keep ‘Em Short, Simple, Sweet.

A sales prospecting video is the first impression, so it must be top-notch.

If you’re looking to create a video that will truly stand out, then it’s essential to follow these guidelines:

Keep it short and sweet. Keep your sales prospecting videos under two minutes. This ensures you can get your point across without overwhelming your customer.

Make sure your script is on point and tight. A poorly written script for a sales prospecting video can lead to even worse results than no video. You want to make sure you’re saying what you need to say to get those prospects on board with your brand message and sales pitch.

Keep it simple and easy to understand. Don’t overcomplicate things by being fancy or clever — it won’t work in this situation! Everything about this video makes sense for your audience, from start to finish.

How To Prospect Using Video: Always Leave a CTA.

#2: Always Leave a CTA.

A call to action (CTA) is simply an instruction that encourages people to take some kind of action. This could be signing up for something, buying a product, or even sharing the video with their friends.

It can be anything from signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, sharing, subscribing, or following you on social media.

There are many ways of including a call to action in your video. Here are some ideas:

  • At the beginning of your video – If you want people to take action at the end of your video (for example, subscribe or share), then it’s best to include the CTA in the beginning. This way, viewers will remember what they’re supposed to do when they reach the end of your video.
  • In the end – This is probably how most people include CTAs in their videos. You can either ask directly for viewers to take action (for example, “please subscribe”) or use a subtle hint – for instance, by saying something like “make sure you don’t miss out on our next video.” You can also leave it up to the viewer’s imagination by asking, “what should we talk about next?”
How To Prospect Using Video: Be Prepared. Have a Script Ready.

#3: Be Prepared. Have a Script Ready.

We’ve all been there. You’re recording a video, and you realize that you don’t know what you’re going to say.

It’s not a good feeling, and it can make the difference between a successful video and one that flops.

To avoid this scenario in your videos, write down your talking points before recording. When it comes time to record, you’ll be prepared with ideas for what to say next.

This can be as simple as writing down bullet points on paper or in a word processor — whatever works best for you.

It’s common for people to get nervous about being on camera and forget what they want to say, so you must have everything written down ahead of time.

You can use bullet points or complete sentences, but it’s best if the notes are short and concise. Don’t worry about the length of the talking points — just get the main points out there.

Once you’ve written down your talking points, you’ll need to memorize them. Practice saying them out loud until they feel natural. If you’re not sure how to practice, try reciting them while driving or doing chores around your house.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask someone else for help if they notice something that needs fixing or improving in your presentation style. You’ll be surprised at how better people will react when they see that you’re trying hard — not just winging it!

How To Prospect Using Video: Connect with Your Audience.

#4: Connect with Your Audience.

When speaking to someone on camera, your eyes are the most essential part of your body. When you talk to your audience on camera, make sure that you look at them as they watch what’s happening in front of them with interest and focus.

When we speak to someone, there’s an unconscious connection between our eyes and theirs. To make it work in a video, simply turn the camera toward yourself to capture your face from the side while you’re talking. Then, turn the camera back toward whoever is listening to you so they can see what you see onscreen.

The viewer will be able to see that connection between their eyes and yours through this process — making it easier for them to feel like they know who you are and what you’re experiencing together in real-time. 

Because video is an emotional medium, it’s important that your viewers feel connected to you through their feelings about what’s happening onscreen — rather than just watching passively from an outsider’s perspective.

How To Prospect Using Video: Add Some Personality To Your Videos!

#5: Add Some Personality To Your Videos!

A sales prospecting video is one of the best ways to get your message to your target audience in a way that they can relate to. It’s a great way to show off your personality, and it offers you an opportunity to be yourself.

For example, if you’re a consultant, you might want to show how easy it is for people to reach out and ask you questions. Maybe you want to explain why you do what you do, or perhaps you just want to give some tips on how they can get started on their businesses.

If you’re a freelancer or contractor, your prospecting videos should focus on why clients should hire you instead of everyone else offering similar services. Show them why they should choose you over all the other options!

When producing a sales prospecting video, it’s tempting to use stock images and generic music. You may think that having a generic look will help as many people hear your message as possible.

That might be true, but it also means that your prospects will be less likely to pay attention. If they’ve seen a million videos just like yours, they’ll tune out before you get started.

The best way to promote yourself is to show off who you are through the videos you create. Don’t hide behind the camera or pretend that you’re someone else — let your personality shine through so that prospects can see who they’re dealing with.

Here are some tips to achieve this:

Show off your office space. 

This is a great way to give prospects a chance to see what working at your company would look like, but it also gives them a chance to see where the work they do every day happens. If you have any cool features like slide shows or other office amenities, definitely include those!

Have fun with it! 

This is an opportunity for you and your team members to be themselves—show off their personalities and let people get to know them better. This can help build trust with viewers since they’ll be able to see that they’re dealing with real people who care about what they do.

Use humor whenever possible!

It goes without saying: people love humor, especially when it’s used effectively—and the best part is that there’s no wrong way to do it! Just make sure that whatever jokes or puns you use are appropriate for the audience you’re reaching out to

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4 Storytelling Techniques That Will Rock Your Sales

Sales professionals have always used storytelling to persuade and inspire. Abraham Lincoln used advertising stories to speak out against slavery with the help of the newspaper. Mary Kay Ash took part in personal development classes through storytelling. 

Today, salespeople and other professionals rely on marketing stories for different purposes such as sharing tips, inspiring, or even persuading customers. Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that Facebook was initially built because he wanted people to share their stories. 

Have you ever had a salesperson tell you how good a product or service was, and it just left you cold? You’ve heard the story before from another seller — the same features, the same benefits, the same story — and decided to buy from someone else. 

I’m not interested in telling you that my product will save your business $10,000 per month. I’d rather show you. This is the mindset you should always have when making your pitch.

How To Craft Stories That Sell

#1: Create a connection powered by relevance

Create a connection powered by relevance

Stories have the ability to create a connection between your audience and what you are trying to sell. It should be based on real-life experiences and not be theoretical or too much in the future.

For example, if you’re selling advertising space for a website, don’t talk about how great it would be to have an unlimited supply of targeted traffic. Tell them what happened when your client ran out of targeted traffic and couldn’t afford to pay their bills.

If you sell medical insurance, tell them about a client who lost her job due to an illness and had no way to pay her medical bills.

If you sell financial services, tell them how you were able to help someone get out of debt or plan for retirement by using those products.

#2: Compel through concrete storytelling

Compel through concrete storytelling

When we tell stories, we’re not just recounting events — we’re building connections. A story is a way of showing the kind of person you are and the values you hold.

When you tell a story, you’re doing more than just sharing an experience — you’re creating an emotional connection with the other person. And when they connect with you, they see themselves in your story and realize that they can relate to it as well.

To make your stories memorable, use concrete details.

In order to make your stories more powerful and compelling, you need to be able to tell them from different angles. That’s why most people have a hard time telling good stories. They can only think about one angle at a time.

But when you understand how stories work on multiple levels, you can change your perspective on any given story and see it from many different angles. This will help you make your stories better and more engaging for your audience.

#3: Honesty is still the best policy

Honesty is still the best policy

Storytelling is an art form that can be used to connect with your audience, create a sense of community, and prompt them to take action.

The best sales stories are simple, authentic, and memorable. They’re told in a way that feels natural and relatable to the listener.

Stories help you connect with your customers on a deeper level by getting inside their heads and making them feel something genuine — empathy, excitement, or even fear.

But too many salespeople fall into the trap of using canned or trite phrases when they try to tell a story. This makes it harder for listeners to relate to what you’re saying because it doesn’t sound like something they would actually say.

A great way to illustrate concepts or processes is by using examples from your own life or from other people’s lives. For example, if you’re selling software that helps businesses track their inventory, talk about how this software has helped other businesses reduce costs because they didn’t have to ship out extra inventory when they sold out of a particular item. Or if you’re selling an online course on personal finance management, share stories about how people have been able to pay down debt by setting up savings accounts for emergencies and sticking to their budgets.

#4: Tell your story with flair

Tell your story with flair

Storytelling is about more than just telling a tale; it’s about sharing an experience that connects with the audience. And this is how you get customers to buy from you: by making them feel something.

So if you want to be an effective salesman, be an effective storyteller first!

Here are some storytelling techniques that will help you sell like a pro:

  • Use vivid details
  • Tell stories that reflect your audience’s concerns (and not yours)
  • Create characters with whom people can empathize
  • Focus on what matters most to your audience

Storytelling is an art form that engages people at an emotional level — it’s not just about facts and figures. It’s about connecting with people as human beings who have problems they want to be solved or desires they want to be fulfilled. When you tell stories in your presentations, you make yourself approachable as a person instead of just another vendor trying to sell something.

Alternatively, use analogies and metaphors to explain complex concepts more clearly.

Conclusion

Storytelling is an ancient art form.

It’s been around for thousands of years and has been used to tell all kinds of stories. The Bible, for example, is full of stories about people’s lives, struggles, and triumphs. Ancient Greek mythology is full of tales about gods and goddesses. And today, we are still telling stories through books, movies, television shows, and more.

But storytelling isn’t just for entertainment purposes — it can be a powerful tool in business as well. If you haven’t already realized this, then you need to start incorporating storytelling into your sales process immediately!

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How Focusing on Clients’ Success Can Pave the Path to Your Own Success

Customer success is critical to every company’s progress in modern selling. This strategy is intended to ensure that the client successfully uses the company’s products and services. As a result, customer loyalty and retention improve, churn decreases, renewal sales remain consistent, and the business owner can upsell these accounts.

The distinction between customer service and customer success has recently aroused much debate. Although the two require similar skill sets and objectives, they take distinct methods.

What’s the difference between customer success and customer service?

difference between customer success and customer service

Reactive vs. Proactive Management

Customer service is often “reactive,” meaning that it responds to a customer’s request for assistance or when they contact them with an issue or query. Customer success, meanwhile, is “proactive,” concentrating on assisting clients in identifying and achieving their objectives.

Relationship-Oriented vs. Transactional

The majority of customer service and support contacts are transactional. It starts when a client contacts you and terminates to respond to their request. Customer success, on the other hand, does not have an endpoint. It’s a continuous, dynamic, and persistent focus on enhancing current connections to strengthen the tie between the client and your business.

Key Performance Indicators and Metrics

Customer service metrics are focused on monitoring and improving both the speed and quality of assistance interactions. This level of assessment usually ignores events that occur before or after the support engagement.

On the other hand, customer success is concerned with the beneficial effects that those interactions may have on a happy client, such as improved retention rates, rising repeat purchases, higher lifetime value, and higher upsell or cross-sell rates.

The path to customer success

The path to customer success

Make the client, not your product, the focus.

There’s a reason it’s called customer success. Make it such that you assist clients in achieving their objectives and your product benefits as a result, rather than the other way around. 

You must also be aware of your clients’ journeys. To do so, lead them through their journey from awareness to retention. You must be familiar with your product, including what it can and cannot accomplish. Always make sure that your reaction is in line with their cultural beliefs. Never make a promise you can’t keep. Make sure they know how much you respect their time.

Clients’ perspectives must be taken into account when speaking with them. Avoid sounding excessively professional or bombarding them with jargon. Use their degree of comprehension to communicate. You could think that using templates and prepared replies is a good idea, but clients will notice. As a result, you must leave such replies to automated communications. Also, pay attention to what they’re trying to say. Make your replies and background on your inquiries as precise as possible. You must make every effort to please them.

Keep expectations in check.

The requirement to manage client expectations is inextricably linked to creating an Ideal Customer Profile. Success should not be defined by closing a sale; instead, it should be determined by resolving your clients’ problems. Accounts don’t buy your product; they buy a solution. When they get the result they want, their problem is solved. The question is, what problems are you tackling specifically?

Clients with different issues will demand varying levels of solutions from your product if you don’t narrow down the value proposition. You’ll wind up with many unhappy and furious clients whose issues your product isn’t addressing, and they’ll tell your genuine clients about their bad experiences.

So, how do you keep track of your accounts’ expectations? Of course, by being precise about your value offerings. Don’t be an all-in-one bargain for your clients. Instead, choose your product’s finest qualities and advantages and promote them in your communications.

Ask regularly.

Requesting feedback is standard corporate practice. What’s to stop you? It aids in the development of a clear image of how real people use your product. This is the foundation for making product changes and enhancements before they become serious problems. It also aids in the development of client loyalty.

Customer success, as previously said, takes a proactive approach. You may also apply this to your clients. Inquire about their work and feelings towards your product or service. Maintain an open line of communication and various communication channels so that people may contact you at any time and via their chosen mode.

Assign the right people to the job.

Assign the right people to the job

To increase your bottom line, success management is essential. As a result, it should go without saying that the individuals in charge should be outstanding. They must be able to deal with various situations and communicate effectively with consumers.

At the absolute least, your customer success team members should possess the following characteristics. 

  • Experienced

They must have extensive knowledge and experience in the industry they work in. They’ll provide guidance, answers, and directions, among other things.

  • Great listener

When clients take the time to come to you with a concern, the least you can do is listen. Good customer success people, on the other hand, go beyond that. They pay attention to the issue at hand and recognize the issue they’re experiencing, no matter how minor. This is the most effective technique to deal with their technical and emotional problems.

  • Patient

Early consumers demand a lot of hand-holding and assistance. In addition, they have great expectations. As a result, successful sales teams must be competent in dealing with this. They must be able to lead their clients through the entire process, including the ups and downs, and answer any questions they may have, all the while retaining a calm and polite approach. 

Conclusion

Producing a high-quality product and marketing it to your target market is no longer enough. Clients are more demanding than they have ever been. They won’t settle for anything unless they’re confident the solution they’re investing their money in will work for them. To keep your clients loyal to your business and generate sales, you must be the best match for them. Ensure this by implementing customer success in your business.

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Account Planning: Competitive Intelligence & “Seeking out Poison Pills” in key accounts

knowledge is power

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Do’s and Don’ts for your 2019 Sales Kickoff

Having participated in 100’s of tech company Sales Kickoffs (SKO) and witnessing the thousands of dollars to the multi-million dollar events, I thought it would be timely to share my observations, tips, do’s and don’ts in a blog.

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How Do I get Started with my 2019 Sales Plan?

Calling all sales leaders! 2019 is right around the corner and that means your 2019 revenue number is probably bouncing around your head right about now. Questions like:

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8 Social Selling Tactics That Hurt Rather Than Help

I really love the power that social media contains regarding the sales process. It’s such an impactful way to engage your prospects and clients. But there’s something about social selling that I think a lot of people seem to forget these days…

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Sales Leaders: You Don’t Need Permission To Use Social Selling

sales-leaders-no-permission.jpg

If you believe that technology is changing the world faster than ever before in our civilization, you’re not wrong. It is. And it’s not stopping.

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10 Presentation Skills to Crush Your Next Sales Meeting

As a sales professional, presentations are no doubt a big part of your job. However, many sales pros think about the what, but not the how of presentations. They know what they want to talk about in a sales presentation, but they don’t think about how to most effectively present to their audience. While you may know your topic and the solutions you’re trying to sell, are you also thinking about building rapport, establishing a connection with your audience, and conveying your ideas successfully so you can win business or at least pique interest to move towards next steps?