Archive for March, 2008

March 20th, 2008
How To Sell In A Slowing Economy. March 27 Teleseminar

 The economy is slowing. If you haven't seen it yet, you will. And what will you do about it to get ready? Afterall, your quota doesn't ...READ MORE

How To Sell In A Slowing Economy. March 27 Teleseminar

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

 The economy is slowing. If you haven’t seen it yet, you will. And what will you do about it to get ready?

Afterall, your quota doesn’t get reset. Your income needs don’t go down. And your desire to grow personally and financially doesn’t either. So what’s a high performer to do?

5 Strategies For Growing When The Economy Isn’t

We’re hosting a teleseminar on March 27 from 12:00-1:30 EST (Tuition: $79). The intent of this is to give you 5 Strategies that you can use to continue to grow your business during a slowdown. 

We’ve also  enlisted the help of Alan Beaulieu, an economist for EcoTrends (www.ecotrends.org). Alan has a unique perspective since a) he’s been predicting this slowdown for some time and b) he works every day with businesses helping them prepare for this slowdown.

Watch this 5 minute video. It takes a few seconds to begin so be patient.

Tags: Presidents, video
Posted in Bill Caskey, Teleseminars, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

March 20th, 2008
Sales Podcast: Selling to the Large Account

Everyone wants to sell to large accounts. Is there any magic to it? Do you need a whale net to catch them? Well, there is ...READ MORE

Sales Podcast: Selling to the Large Account

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Everyone wants to sell to large accounts. Is there any magic to it? Do you need a whale net to catch them? Well, there is some magic, and while we don’t review ALL the steps in this podcast, this is a start of how to begin thinking about your pursuit of the large account. Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale talk about pursuing the large account. You can also go to google video and search on Advanced Selling Podcast to see the video version of this.

 

 Selling to the Large Account (10:14): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

March 15th, 2008
Call it What You Will, Accountants Do Sell

Just finished a two year engagement with a group of CPAs here in Indy. The goal was to teach them how to sell services at ...READ MORE

Call it What You Will, Accountants Do Sell

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Just finished a two year engagement with a group of CPAs here in Indy. The goal was to teach them how to sell services at a higher fee than other CPAs in their market.

Here are some lessons I learned in my work with them:
1. Accountants are a lot of fun to work with. Each meeting–even the ones in which we role played–were full of energy and stories of ways they had tried to implement the strategies.

2. They need content that doesn’t turn them into sales people. As a trainer, the worst thing for me to do was to “convert” them to sellers. They’re fine the way they are. In fact, they’re better-than-fine. They are great problem solvers so they need to lead with that.

3. They are very coachable. I had peers who said not to take on work for CPA firms because they’re not teachable. I found the opposite. The truth is that if you teach someone to do something that works–and he gets the results he wants–everyone is trainable.

4. CPAs need to find other services to sell. If you’re in a large firm, you had better be abel to sell strategic planning, business planning, business analysis, etc., You can’t survive doing taxes and audits.

I can tell you this: they were so coachable that their business/revenue grew double digits for three years under our engagement. Now, granted, this wasn’t a one day motivational-fest. It was thoughtful, planned, strategic and practical.

And there were plenty of meetings with senior partners to make sure we were on track.

Strategic. Planned. Cerebral.  

But for you CPA’s who want to lear how to sell, find a trainer who won’t turn you into a sales person. Find a trainer who has a strategic way to look at what it means to develop new business. Find a trainer who is there to coach you when you get into deep waters. All will be well.

Tags: accountants who sell, business development for professional services, sales training, technical sales
Posted in Bill Caskey, Professional Services, The Technical Sale | No Comments »

March 6th, 2008
Occam’s Razor (Part Deux)

by Bryan Neale We got a lot of response to our blog about Occam's Razor and how to apply it in developing a referral system for ...READ MORE

Occam’s Razor (Part Deux)

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

by Bryan Neale

We got a lot of response to our blog about Occam’s Razor and how to apply it in developing a referral system for salespeople. I thought I’d continue the conversation and give you some more ideas for establishing a referral network that actually feeds you good, qualified leads. (Remember, William of Occam said “don’t make things too complicated” and “the simplest solution is usually the best. ”

Step #1: Develop a Demographic and Psychographic Profile of Your Ideal Client
Demographic is the objective info about your ideal client.

• 5-50 salespeople
• 4-100 million in sales
• HQ’d in the Midwest
• Privately held

Psychographic explains the “touchy/feely” elements of an ideal client.

• Forward-thinking and progressive
• Frequently uses outsourced resources
• People-centered culture

Step #2: Create a “How to Refer People to Us” Sheet
Type on less than one page the method you’d like your referrals to use to introduce you. You can tell them to just pass along your business card or go as far as introducing you on a 3-way call.

My favorite method I call the “Three Headed e-mail” TM. Here you simply ask the referral source to e-mail you and the prospect. Have the referral include a short introductory paragraph about you and one about the prospect. Ask him to include cell phone numbers or direct dial numbers in the introductions. Then you have an intro, a direct phone contact and an e-mail. What more could you want?

Step #3: Find a Way to Compensate People for Referrals
This can be uncomfortable. Keep in mind that some companies aren’t allowed to receive gifts or kickbacks for things like referrals. The compensation can range from a thank you note to a small gift to a large monetary share in the deal. Whatever it is, just make it clear what you give to people for introducing you to referrals who become clients.

Think like William of Occam and you will do more with less. You’ll be the envy of your sales team and perhaps someday find yourself in wikipedia.org with your own entry.

Posted in Basic Sales Strategy, Bryan Neale | No Comments »

March 5th, 2008
Sales Chick Podcast Coming!

Well, if you're looking for the Ultimate Sales Chick podcast, you've come to the right place, however, we're still working on uploading the first episode. ...READ MORE

Sales Chick Podcast Coming!

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

Well, if you’re looking for the Ultimate Sales Chick podcast, you’ve come to the right place, however, we’re still working on uploading the first episode. At any rate, it will be up by Monday of next week (March 9, 2008).

Brooke Green will be your host and will be addressing issues related to gender for sales women.

Once Per Month
Brooke will release a new podcast on a monthly basis. Each one will be approximately 15 minutes in length and will be a combination of Brooke’s thoughts and interviews with subject matter experts.

Posted in The Ultimate Sales Chick Podcast | No Comments »