Archive for January, 2008

January 31st, 2008
Sales Podcast: How to Maintain Momentum

You make calls all the time—interact with prospects constantly. And if you're like us, you have things that you face each and everyday that are ...READ MORE

Sales Podcast: How to Maintain Momentum

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

You make calls all the time—interact with prospects constantly. And if you’re like us, you have things that you face each and everyday that are unique, unusual, and which sometimes stump you.

On this podcast we take one of the most common sales problems—how to keep the prospect excited—and keep things moving. And also we give our podcast listeners a preview of a One-Hour Teleseminar we’re doing on February 7 at 12:00PM EST.

Go to www.askcaskey.com to find out more. And listen to this podcast so you’ll get the answer to the question—and get a sample of how this teleseminar can help you.

Oh, by the way, the telseminar is free.
 

 

 How to Maintain Momentum (14:58): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: podcast
Posted in The Advanced Selling Podcast | No Comments »

January 31st, 2008
One Question. One Answer. $250,000.

I sent an email to my list recently promoting a Free Teleseminar called AskCaskey. It's on February 7 (Thursday at 12:00 EST). You can get ...READ MORE

One Question. One Answer. $250,000.

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

I sent an email to my list recently promoting a Free Teleseminar called AskCaskey. It’s on February 7 (Thursday at 12:00 EST). You can get more information at www.askcaskey.com).

I tell about a call I had last year that had about 100 people on it. One guy asked a question about how to handle a certain client situation. I answered it but never heard back from him.

Until three weeks ago.

That’s when he called me to tell me that he used exactly what I coached him to use–and it worked. In fact, it worked better than he thought–it resulted in $250,000 forecasted new revenue this year!

So in essence, one question that he asked–and one answer that I gave–resulted in a quarter of a million dollars in new business. Pretty cool, huh?

That’s why we’re doing another free teleseminar on February 7.

The key is in order to be on the call, you MUST ask me a question–anonymously of course. I’ll tell you upfront I can’t promise that I’ll get to all questions. Chances are, many of the questions will fit into categories. In fact, we’re already seeing that.

Here are some we’ve received so far:

–How do I maintain high enthusiasm at all times?
–How do I get people to return phone calls?
–How do I cold call better?
–People lose interest after the first meeting; what can I do to stop that?
–How do I communicate how I’m different?

Well, you get the hint. So register now at www.askcaskey.com. Talk to you on the 7th.

Posted in Training and development | No Comments »

January 26th, 2008
Ask Me a Question–February 7 @ 12:00 EST

On February 7, I'm doing a little something different. Rather than blog and podcast (www.advancedsellingpodcast.com), we're going to do a FREE Teleseminar at 12:00 EST ...READ MORE

Ask Me a Question–February 7 @ 12:00 EST

Saturday, January 26th, 2008

On February 7, I’m doing a little something different. Rather than blog and podcast (www.advancedsellingpodcast.com), we’re going to do a FREE Teleseminar at 12:00 EST that will field sales questions from our audience.

What Is Your Biggest Sales Problem Facing You Right Now?

That’s the basic question that will govern the Seminar.

It could be something like a) can’t get to the right person, b) can’t get my price in the market, c) not always motivated, d) afraid of the talk of recession, e) or anything else.  

Simple to Sign Up
Although you will need to ask your question in order to register (www.askcaskey.com). You’ll get a brief audio there and it’ll walk you through it.

Go there and you’ll see how it works. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the teleconference! 

Posted in Teleseminars | No Comments »

January 24th, 2008
O-Bla-Di, EBITDA, Life Goes On…

We’ve recently started talking to venture capital firms.  We weren’t really sure, when we started, if we had much to offer. But there's one thing ...READ MORE

O-Bla-Di, EBITDA, Life Goes On…

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

We’ve recently started talking to venture capital firms.  We weren’t really sure, when we started, if we had much to offer. But there’s one thing nice about venture capital firms:

They are always searching for an objective viewpoint to help them decide on how to grow their businesses—both within their own companies and those that they are looking to purchase.

As you may or may not know, most venture capital firms operate around EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization). EBITDA is calculated by taking operating income and adding back to it depreciation and amortization expenses.

EBITDA is used to analyze a company’s operating profitability before non-operating expenses (such as interest and “other” non-core expenses) and non-cash charges (depreciation and amortization). 

While a lot of this may be out of the control of a sales team, what’s not is the revenue and profit that goes into the earnings portion of the EBITDA equation.  I know, without a doubt, that what we do can positively affect that!

So, what are the biggest problems that cost companies money?  We have found that the biggest offender is not having a sound, comprehensive sales strategy. 

The sales strategy is made up of 3 things:

1. Your company’s Philosophy
2. Your company’s Orientation
3. Your team’s skills in the Sales Process

What is Your Company’s Philosophy? 

If you set out to sell to any warm body, and not with high intent (operating in the best interest of your prospect, regardless of outcome), you are wasting money.   You should be working with people that have identified a problem that they believe can/should be fixed, they have the money to fix it, and they want YOU to help them fix it. If any of these things don’t exist, walk away.

What is Your Company’s Orientation?

If you think you can sell on the great “features and benefits” of your product, you’re wrong.  You need to be excellent at identifying and communicating the value of what you do and who you are.

What are the specific problems that you solve for your clients and what is the impact of solving them? That is what brings you value. Only then can you relate your value to the “pain” that exists within your client’s world. 

When you have an orientation that is focused on you (the selling company), then there is no space for the prospect’s pain to come forward.  We have a saying. It’s not very clever but it works: Solve big pain, make big $$.

Is Your Team Skilled in the Sales Process?  

I guess I should ask, first of all, if you have a sales process?  Our experience is that most sales people “wing it.”  They don’t have a consistent method that they follow to lead their client from opening dialogue to implementation. 

This is the root of many evils.  Without a consistent method, we tend to use too many resources to chase deals—deals that will never happen.  Without a consistent method, your salespeople often feel the pressure of not knowing what’s next or how to handle pressure situations. 

If your sales team is confident in their process, they operate with confidence, they communicate the value message better, they call higher, and they sell at a premium.

If you are a business owner, don’t fall into the trap of thinking your sales team is “broken.”  It might not be that they need to call on more people, have more appointments. 

The problem might be that they are not effective in the calls and appointments that they have.  What are you arming them with?  Our belief is that arming them with a comprehensive sales strategy directly affects your bottom line and will exponentially increase your business.

Tags: President
Posted in Basic Sales Strategy, Brooke Green | 1 Comment »

January 23rd, 2008
Wrong Mindset. Poor Results. Is There a Link?

Last week I was consulting a client who uses free seminars as a prospecting tool. They really do give a lot of information at the ...READ MORE

Wrong Mindset. Poor Results. Is There a Link?

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Last week I was consulting a client who uses free seminars as a prospecting tool. They really do give a lot of information at the program–so even if no sale is made, goodwill is created. But they were having trouble getting people there. They were cold calling–mailing-emailing. With not much to show for it. So they did what every company does–create a brainstorming session to devise new techniques.

Sales Tactics. The Wrong Discussion. 

As I sat in the room listening to their ideas on mailing vs. calling first v. emailing, I thought to myself (and actually said it), “You’re working on the wrong thing!” (Sometimes you just have the be the ‘bringer’ of bad news.)

The right thing to work on is “what is my thinking?” Their thinking was all wrapped around: how do I get someone in to the free seminar?

Their thinking should have been: how can I bring value to this person by him attending?

The Key To Great Sales Results Is Great INTENT.

I see this a lot in sales orgs—their “intent” is out of whack. Think about how their new intent (of helping the prospect get value) will color their words, their tonality, the discussion etc., It will radically change their interaction with their customer. The customer will no longer feel sold to–and their will be less resistance.

As they all realized what they had missed, heads started nodding. They didn’t like my exposing this fallacy in thought–but they can now to their prospecting with their head on straight.

Are Your Filling Your Sales Pipeline With The Right Mindset?

Maybe. Maybe not. But before you make another cold call (or prospecting call), make sure your attitude is in the right place. And the best method for that is checking out “your intent.” Is it about YOU? Or is it about THEM? You know the answer.

Posted in Bill Caskey, Lead Generation, Speeches/Appearances, Uncategorized, VP of Sales | 1 Comment »

January 22nd, 2008
When the Prospect’s Mental Budget Is Lower than the Real Cost

Last week, one of my clients called and said that his price had slipped out during a conversation with the prospect, and he realized, after ...READ MORE

When the Prospect’s Mental Budget Is Lower than the Real Cost

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Last week, one of my clients called and said that his price had slipped out during a conversation with the prospect, and he realized, after he left, that it was much higher than what the prospect thought it was going to cost to do this work.

How should he go back in and have a further conversation about it? While I gave an answer for him to use, the real issue here is “how to navigate around the prospect’s mental budget.”

We all seem to have budgetary categories that we put things in, especially those things that we are familiar with. If you’re selling a product that people are familiar with, regardless of the actual price, they will put you in to a budget category. If you’re going to be much higher than that category, you’ve got to bring that up upfront, but do it in the context of “the cost of the pain,” not the cost of the solution.

In our sales philosophy, we are oriented to solving problems. In order to know whether problems are worth solving, we have to denominate those problems in some way. That’s the cost of the pain.

If you’re not finding /discovering/leading the prospect through a diagnostic where you determine what the cost of the pain is, then your price will always be compared to “doing nothing.” That’s not a good position for you or for your prospect.

So, as you go through your sales cycle, and you become aware of the types of mental budgets your prospect has, make sure that those budgets are compared to the actual pain – which will be much higher. Then you can talk about your value/price from a position of confidence, not a position of defensiveness.

Posted in Expression of Value | No Comments »

January 21st, 2008
Sales Podcast: What To Do When A New Buyer Takes Over

Ever had a buyer change at the most inopportune time? Actually, it seems like that’s the only times buyers change—right when you’re in the middle ...READ MORE

Sales Podcast: What To Do When A New Buyer Takes Over

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Ever had a buyer change at the most inopportune time? Actually, it seems like that’s the only times buyers change—right when you’re in the middle of a sale. But what should you do about that? Most sales training doesn’t really address the seriousness of the issue. But Caskey and Neale do on today’s episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast.

 

 New Buyer In: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: podcast
Posted in The Advanced Selling Podcast | No Comments »

January 15th, 2008
One Hour a Week, Be a Detail Person

Okay, full disclosure. I'm not a detail person. In fact, on any personality chart, my "attention to detail" quotient is off the chart - on the ...READ MORE

One Hour a Week, Be a Detail Person

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Okay, full disclosure. I’m not a detail person. In fact, on any personality chart, my “attention to detail” quotient is off the chart - on the low end.

But there are times that every sales professional needs to be a “detail person” in how they approach the prospect and the message.

I recently assigned one of my clients the task of writing a 300- to 500- word article about a case study of a solution they recently implemented. Now, I know that writing an article is not what you hire a sales professional for, however, I find that if a person cannot put in words their thinking and their methodology, they’re going to be hard pressed to verbalize it to the client.

As I started getting these articles back, I realized that I had missed a key instruction (okay, another detail) in the assignment, and that instruction was to “Be Specific.” Most articles were written from the standpoint of “we sold ‘em some stuff, they liked it, so you should buy from us.”

Not nearly enough detail. When writing a case study or article (or communicating your message), you have to lead the customer step-by-step through the sequence of events that happened between the time they felt pain, explored the solution, and are ecstatic with the results of that solution.

Every good copywriter will tell you that “the value is in the specifics” not the generalities. So, when you’re writing a message, a letter or an article, be as specific as you can. You can always go back and cut out what is irrelevant, but I find that’s seldom the problem. Usually the problem is we just don’t pay enough attention to the details.

And that hurts your customer, because they fail to understand the value that you bring to them.

Posted in Communication Skills | No Comments »

January 15th, 2008
Sales Podcast: To Quote Or Not To Quote

Have you ever felt like you were obligated to quote? It happens usually when you have a client who is “going out to bid” and ...READ MORE

Sales Podcast: To Quote Or Not To Quote

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Have you ever felt like you were obligated to quote? It happens usually when you have a client who is “going out to bid” and you’re invited to play. While we don’t like the whole ‘blind bid’ process, we do realize that sometimes you must play the game that way.

“To quote or not to quote” that is the question. Bill and Bryan deal with this at length in this podcast. There are a variety of circumstances that dictate your reaction—and they give you some guidelines during this cast.

 

 To Quote Or Not To Quote (Run Time: 13:00): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: podcast
Posted in Mechanics of Selling, The Advanced Selling Podcast | No Comments »

January 13th, 2008
How Facebook is Affecting Your Sales Approach …

As a sales trainer, I find most of our work over the years to be skill related. You know...sales strategies...selling skills...closing skills etc., But a ...READ MORE

How Facebook is Affecting Your Sales Approach …

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

As a sales trainer, I find most of our work over the years to be skill related. You know…sales strategies…selling skills…closing skills etc., But a few years ago, that started to change. Clients were bringing us in to deal with “revenue problems” not just sales problems. These are not just semantic differences–and stuff of another post.

But there is seismic shift happening in the world of B2B selling that we’re seeing. And it has to do with how people find information. And it may not affect your selling skills–but it will affect your revenue skills.

Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook), was on CBS’ 60 Minutes last night and talked about how social media was changing the face of the web–and how information is disseminated. He’s right. And I sense that not too many companies are on to this–I know our company isn’t.

Google recently offerred a preposterous sum of money for Facebook (in the billions). It was rebuffed.

And Bill Gates just sent a check to Facebook for $240,000,000, which represented 1.6% of Facebook’s market value (which puts the value at tens of billions). So why are these guys so into ‘facebook?’

Do They Know Something You Don’t?
Because they know the web is becoming a social media phenomena. When you Google things these days, are you noticing how many more entries are from social media sites (Squidoo, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, others)? What that means is that more and more of your reputation is being built on social media sites.

That means that when someone Googles your keywords, it won’t be your site coming up. It’ll be someone talking about you and your products. Are you ready for that?

An Assignment From Someone Who Doesn’t Even Know You
It might be useful for you to spend a couple of hours in the next few weeks researching the social media phenomena. I’d been thinking about it–but when I saw the Diane Sawyer interview, it jolted me out of my oblivion. Some things that are hard to understand really need to be understood. And if you’re going to play in the B2B game, then this might be worth a few hours of your time.

In fact, go to Stompernet and watch their video. It’s about 50 minutes. I have nothing to do with that company other than I trust them for insight on the web. It’s quite eye opening.

Tags: President, VP Sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Lead Generation | No Comments »

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