Month: May 2020

S01 E02 | Revamp and Reload Your Sales Referrals

SHOWNOTES: 
In each episode of The Smarter Sales Show, you will get tech and technique to sell more and stress less. Here are the highlights of this episode on growing your business through referrals:

Technique Tips from Merit:
The Who-What-When-How Technique of growing your business through referrals is this: 

Who will you ask for referrals

Clients: people who can speak to the work you do

Influencers: people you won’t directly sell to but have influence with prospects

What to say to them

Clients: I can’t guarantee you will get the same results I did working with Merit, but I can guarantee it will be a worthwhile conversation. Can I introduce you?

Influencers: I don’t know if it will make sense to do business with Merit, but if you’re open to it, I believe it makes a lot of sense to talk with her about (issue).

When to ask

Clients: When you’ve solved their problem and they thank you

Influencers: Ask one a day

How can I thank you for referring me

Business-gifts-referral fee-donation to cause-reciprocal referrals

Technology Tips from Julie:
The first step is to cultivate referrals from clients by starting with testimonials. Use technology to keep track of your testimonials from emails, LinkedIn, Google company page, Website, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

When someone sends you an email, for example, with a nice compliment, send back a response asking them to post that on LinkedIn. Get your testimonials spread on all your possible social media channels.

The second step is about tracking referrals. Ideally, you have the ability to keep track of your referrals in your CRM, but Julie talks about two other systems you can use to track projects including who you have asked for referrals which are Asana and Trello. You can also track your email follow-ups by putting a trigger on that email. If the person being referred didn’t respond, your tech can alert you to go back to your referrer to ask them what you should do since you haven’t heard from the person they referred to you.

Finally, both experts agree, it is important to thank people for referring people to you. One way tech can make that easier is with an app called Ink which allows you to send a personalized card right from your digital device… even if you don’t have a stamp. Other thank you gift apps include SugarWish which allows the recipient to pick their favorite candy.

Smarter Sales Soundbites: 

“I’m not looking for you to introduce me to my next new client, I’m just looking to be introduced to someone who is open to hearing about my offer.”

“Introduction is better than a referral.”

“Reward the behavior you want to be repeated, not the result.”

“Thank people for making introductions whether or not they turn into business.”

“People who refer you want to know that it mattered.”

“They are giving you trusted contacts. They deserve to know the results on that.”

“The ability to track data about sales makes all the difference in your ability to know where to focus your efforts so that you aren’t wasting time and that you are really capitalizing and cultivating on the things that work best for you, for your clients and for your marketplace and your industry.”

“f you use technology properly, it enables you to scale and to truly personalize what you’re giving them. And that is the way to everyone’s heart. Everybody wants to feel special.”

Referenced in This Episode: 

www.asana.com – Project management with a GREAT free version
www.trello.com – Project management with a GREAT free version
www.activecampaign.com – Julie’s preferred email marketing platform
INK Cards for iOS – Create and send custom photo cards straight from your iPhone or iPad.
INK Cards for Android – Create and send custom photo cards straight from your Android device.
www.sugarwish.com – Candy gifts

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S01 E01 | Tune Up and Tech Up Your Follow Up

 
On this episode of The Smarter Sales Show, Merit and Julie share their best techniques and tech for SALES FOLLOW-UP.
In response to a listener question about following-up with sales prospects, the hosts discuss four strategies for when a client says the timing isn’t right. Merit and Julie provide techniques—including asking questions and securing a date—as well as specific tech that is helpful.
Asking the client about their interest directly can help you move forward. And even if they do say they’re not interested, you can still test that to see if you can turn it around by asking what they would have liked to hear. They explain that 80% of prospects can be crowding your sales pipeline because they’re apprehensive, and you can capitalize on that. This will allow sales managers to make better sales forecasts with more reliable, realistic pipelines. After gaining a confident yes, scheduling can confirm. But don’t make the mistake of waiting or sending a scheduling link, despite how helpful that tech is. You want to schedule it immediately.
Julie talks about some tech that can move the sale forward, too. SyncGene is an app that will synchronize your work and personal calendars to consolidate into a single to-do list. This can solve the problem of missing dates across multiple calendars. Another tool called Zapier allows you to create “if/then” logical rules that automates some of your tasks, allowing you to chain tasks together and streamline your workflow.
Another technique Merit mentions is called the Qualifier’s Mindset, which helps you to sell your solution, even when your confidence is low and your empathy is high. Even if they’re not interested in hearing about it, it helps to believe in the value of your solution and how it brings value to your clients.
Big Brother tech, or sales document tracking tech, is the final piece of tech Julie discusses. This allows you to get notifications and updates on changes to the status of documents you send out. DocSend, for example, can inform you when a document has been opened, as well as how much time a client has spent on individual pages, giving you evidence that they’re actually interested.
Send in your questions to be answered on the air at hello@thesmartersalesshow.com and sign up for our email list at www.thesmartersalesshow.com.
 
Hot Spots:
01:45 — Keys to the sales follow-up
04:30 — The Qualifying Question
06:20 — The 80/20 rule for confirming prospects
08:00 — If you get a yes, get out your calendar
10:30 — Everything plus a sync (sync’ing apps, that is)
14:40 — The Qualifier’s Mindset
17:00 — How Value Changes Your Mindset.
19:00 — Big Brother Tech for Sales.
22:45 — Next week: How to Get More Referrals!
 
Key Quotes:
 — “Set the stage for the great qualifying question.”
 — “They are hoping you are so unorganized that you won’t call them back.”
 — “Every CEO of every company wants a realistic pipeline.”
 — “If you’ve got someone in a conversation, schedule it live.”
 — “If it doesn’t get you to the next step, you’re probably not using the right tech.”
— “You may not follow up with a prospect if you think it’s a waste of time.”
— “Just like that, a document I thought was dead had resurfaced alive!”
— “Data and analytics can be our most powerful tool.”
— “Correctly using tech can shift your mindset.”

Referenced in this Episode:
www.docsend.com – Sales Document Tracking
www.syncgene.com – Gmail and Outlook Synchronization
www.zapier.com – Integrations and Automation Tool
www.booklikeaboss.com – Online Calendar Booking Application (it’s what Merit and Julie use!) 

Find Us:
www.thesmartersalesshow.com
 
Contact Us:
hello@thesmartersalesshow.com
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