You're Dead and Don't Even Know It
This year has been tough on everyone.
Chances are, you can tell a pretty good story about how this year has kicked your ass in one way or another.
(I know you. You’re a good storyteller!)
Here’s the thing. Life and business don’t give a shit about your tough year. Neither do your prospects.
No matter if you're working remotely or not or whether your prospects are working remotely or not, someone in your business is going to figure out how to sell a bunch of stuff to the people on your customer and prospect lists.
If you aren’t figuring out how to sell in this environment, you're already dead but may not even know it.
Here are (drum roll....)
5 things you should be doing right now (and through the end of the year) to crush your goals and make the money you were hoping to make.
#1 - Call on your Ideal Prospects.
Sounds kind of obvious, right? Ideal prospects are the ones right in your sweet spot that are profitable and not too much trouble. The ones who, if you had between 25 and 100 of them, your business would be booming!
(Check out Squirrels, Deer, Elephants explanation video on YouTube).
What are the things they’re struggling with right now? What’s changed since “the virus?” What do they need to take care of between now and year end?
When you talk to your prospects, don’t assume you know the answer to these and other questions… Ask them, then listen.
#2 - Ask your current ideal clients for referrals to others like them.
20% of your clients and customers are already talking to other people about you. 20% aren’t and won’t.
Your opportunity is in the other 60%. Almost 2/3 of your current clients and customers want to help you and will, if you ask them to and tell them how. Click here to get a copy of my NO BS Referral Process if you want to know more.
#3 - Go through your “dead files”.
You probably have a file or a list in your CRM of deals you worked on in the last year or so that went nowhere. Maybe they bought from someone else, maybe they just disappeared. My clients tell me sometimes they find over $100k in new business just by going back to those deals that went away.
Reach back out to see what happened and if there's a way to help them now. Don’t assume you know. If they went to a competitor, get some live up to date opposition research done and find out what your competitor is doing well, and maybe where she’s dropping the ball…
#4 - Build your influencer network.
Successful people rarely get that way alone. Reach out to other people who may call on the same people you do. Could be other salespeople who sell another product or service. Might be an advisor to people like your prospects. Maybe it’s people who are solid connectors in your marketplace.
Differentiate yourself from everyone else who's trying to do the same thing...Be a giver! Work to refer her business or to make an introduction. Don’t expect a 1-for-1 payback, however, especially in the short-term. Just know that if you're helping other people reach their goals, that will come back to you many times over.
#5 - Work on your sales skills.
As you have certainly seen this year, shit changes all the time. Things that always “worked” before aren’t working so well anymore. Many of the people you used to “get face-to-face with,” are no longer willing or able to meet you IRL.
Please don’t confuse this with “getting some motivation.” If you aren’t already motivated to grow your business, you are probably already dead and just don’t know it yet.
I'm talking about skills like:
How to set and hold meetings over video.
How to close business in 1 or 2 meetings. (Yes, that can happen in your business. Chances are, I've worked with one of your competitors who's doing that now with your former customers, and maybe your current ones.)
How to get paid for your proposals and stop doing free consulting.
How to quickly disqualify “opportunities” that aren’t going to work out for you.
You want help for yourself and your sales team with these kind of skills so you can compete in today’s marketplace and earn a little more than your “fair share” of the business out there.
Bringing Honesty, Transparency, and Selflessness to Business & Sales.
Want to find out how I can help?
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