Leadership

Make it a priority to gather testimonials

As you may know, I have over a dozen information products under my belt. I’ve also shared the stage with Robert Kiyosaki.

That means that I’ve amassed quite a potent track record of impacting individuals and companies. I’ve worked with people in over 75 countries in the last 30 years.

And despite all this time, I always make it a priority to gather testimonials.

But, how do you do it in a way that sounds natural and not pushy?

You may have different ways to get testimonials already. But, here’s how I do it:

First, take the top 10 customers for your business. If you’re new in business and don’t have any customers yet, five people work, too. Make sure that you know them really well.

Next, you’ll take them out for coffee or lunch. It’s up to you. Bring a notebook so you can take some notes.

Thank your customer for meeting you for lunch or coffee. Let them know that you’re trying to get a little feedback to build your business. Also, mention that you just want to ask a few questions.

At this point, if you did what I asked you to do and they’re a favorite customer, they’ll be happy with that.

Start with asking about the backstory. Say something like:

“What was it like before we started doing business with you?”

Listen to your customer and take some notes.

Ask more questions to establish a baseline for the “before” and “after” of doing business with you. Make sure to include questions like:

“What are your numbers like? Give me a ballpark percentage.”

“What was that like before?”

These types of questions generally lead to your client’s story. Write down everything they say and get their feedback.

At the end of it, let them know that you think this is awesome and get their permission to use what they said as a testimonial.

When you receive their permission, let the client know that you’ll write it up and give it to them. From there, they can review it or edit it as they please.

Most clients are happy to do this for you. And, even if you only get half of them to say yes, that’s five more testimonials than you had before.

Sometimes, you get a bonus from these meetings, too!

Often, in telling their stories, the conversation may lead to other business opportunities. Maybe it’s the new products or services that you offer. Or, maybe it’s a referral.

Either way, it’s a great way to enhance your business.

#blairsinger #salesdogs #TeamCodeofHonor #RichDadAdvisors #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Sales #PersonalDevelopment #Management

Take control of your attitude and moods

This may surprise you to know, but even I go through times when I’m not at my highest energy. After all, I’m only human and I experience ups and downs just like everyone else.

The difference is that I do something about it when I feel my energy start to dip. Especially when I’m helping people.

Mood and attitude can have a huge impact on your success.

Maybe you’ve heard me say this before:

When two people come together in a selling situation, the one with the highest energy generally wins.

Why?

They’re attracted to the energy and confidence level in you. And, they have a level of confidence in you because of the confidence you have in yourself.

Now, we all have bad days. We experience days and situations where our energy isn’t at its highest level. That’s perfectly normal.

But, there are things we can do to elevate our mood levels and change our attitude. The next time you feel your energy dipping, consider these tips:

#1 – Be Careful Who You Hang Around With

You know the phrase “birds of a feather flock together.” The people that you surround yourself with can affect your energy.

If you’re trying to build a business and accomplish all the things you want, you can’t afford to have negative people around you. They bring you down.

I’m not saying that you have to get rid of your friends and family. You can still love them, but love them from a distance.

You have big ideas.

People are naturally skeptical. They may want to shoot you down and then you say, “That’s just the way they are.” Be careful about surrounding yourself with people who bring negative energy into your space.

You need to surround yourself with people who are positive and support you. There’s a difference between healthy, positive feedback and being negative and pessimistic. If you know people who take cheap shots around you, remove those people from your midst.

#2 – Have a Daily Routine

Start each day with a gratitude exercise. Listing what you’re grateful for helps you to begin each day focused in the right direction.

At the end of the day, write down all your wins. You should have at least 15 of them on there – big or small. Writing down a list of wins helps you anchor those wins inside of you all the time.

Take control of your attitude and moods. Use these tips to boost your positive energy levels.

#blairsinger #salesdogs #TeamCodeofHonor #RichDadAdvisors #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Sales #PersonalDevelopment #Management

When is the end of your selling cycle?

I work with people and companies across different industries and from all walks of life. And one of the things I notice is that they all have a different answer for this question:

When is the end of your selling cycle?

Some people say that it’s pretty much complete once you close the deal. Others go one step further and say it’s when we delivered the goods and got paid.

That’s all really good.

But I’m going to tell you one thing that has served me and my customers for many years. This part is the end of the selling cycle that I live for. It’s what our team lives for.

Are you ready for it?

The final piece of the selling cycle that puts the big bow on it and ensures long-lasting income is the testimony.

As you probably understand, a testimonial is somebody else saying something good about you, your product, or service. In many cases, we love to get testimonials. When we get a good one, we write it down.

When you make it part of your selling cycle, it does magical things for you.

  1. Creates Focus

You’re going to create a habit of making sure that you deliver on what you promised. You’ll focus on that customer and make sure everything is okay.

That spells an exceptional customer experience for you and your business.

I know there are some people who don’t really want to go back to the customer. You may not want to know what’s going on over there.

What if they’re unhappy with their product or service? What if they have complaints?

If you never touch base with them again, you don’t need to hear it, right?

But, if your little voice is telling you all this, you have a problem that’s affecting your income right now. So, if that’s what you’re hearing, you need to fix that problem quickly.

  1. Gives You an Amazing Marketing Piece

Another reason you need to make testimonials a part of your selling cycle is marketing opportunities. This is social proof that you’re doing something right because your clients tell the stories. Not you.

So, make sure you add testimonials to the end of your selling cycle. It can boost your marketing efforts, credibility, and income.

Fear of Rejection

I’ve been doing this for a long time. And if there’s one thing I’ve noticed it’s that the word “sales” tends to freeze people up.

I hear a lot of people say that they don’t like sales.

They say stuff like, “I don’t like to sell” or “ You know, Blair, I’m not made for sales.”

The main reason why people say all these crazy things is…

That’s right. Fear of rejection.

But in reality, it’s not so much “rejection” that you get in sales. It’s “objection.”

In sales, you may get people who object to certain things. But, your mind turns those objections into rejections.

It’s what the little voice in your head thinks.

The real issue in rejection, objections, and all that stuff has very little to do with the content of what you’re trying to sell. Or what they’re objecting to…

The real issue is what’s going on between your right ear and left ear.

If you can get past those little voices, you can turn those “nos” into “yeses.”

Imagine if you could just turn 20% more. That’s 20% more income without doing any extra work.

But you’re like many businesses, you’re leaving a lot of money sitting right on the table.

Why?

Your conversions aren’t where they need to be.

Whether you’re going from call to appointment or presentation to close, you’re leaving money behind.

It’s the same thing online.

The only difference with handling objections online is that you have to anticipate what the objection would be. Then you can address it upfront in your marketing copy or your video.

But, the game starts with you.

If you’re afraid that you can’t deliver. Or, you have reservations about overpromising, you have a couple of big problems.

The first involves you going back to your business. Fix whatever it is that bothers you and gives you reservations so it’s not a problem anymore. You need confidence in your business.

More importantly, though, you have to get rid of that little voice, because the objection starts with you. And, you project it onto your customers.

It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Your fear is something of your own making. And, one of the main ways to combat that fear is to address that little voice in your head.

Build Confidence and Ask Questions

You know that I’m a big advocate for quieting that little voice in your head. It stands in the way of so many things in life.

And, that includes your sales deals.

So, I have two words for you: role play.

You need to role-play. One of the ways to get over it, is through it.

I’ve worked with seasoned veterans. I got them to role-play handling the toughest objections until they have it down cold.

And, then I watched their conversions go up by 30% to 40%.

Why?

Not because they had snappy answers, because it’s not about the answers. It’s because their confidence level was so high, the person at the other end had a level of confidence in them as well.

Nobody’s going to give you $100,000 if they think you’re a shaky individual. So, you need to build up that confidence with role-playing.

It’s essential that you cover these components in your role-play:

  • Build Confidence

First, the old rule of thumb is, the person who asks the question is always in control. So, when you hear the objection, the first thing you do is acknowledge it.

“Thank you. I appreciate what you’re saying.”

Do this to create a point of agreement before you handle the objection.

  • Ask Questions

Next, it’s time for you to ask a question:

“Why do you think it’s too expensive?”

“What are you comparing it to?”

Of course, you can ask any question you want. But, the point is to ask a series of intelligent questions to get to the truth. Many times, the first objection is not the real objection.

It’s a bit like the first volley to get you out of the way or put you off. Practice countering it with your own questions.

  • Bring the Little Voice in Your Head Down and Confidence Up

Lastly, when role-playing, focus on getting past that little voice between your ears. When faced with an objection, you can’t falter. If you do, stop the role-play and start again.

Why isn’t it okay to hesitate? We hesitate in real life, right?

But remember, this drill isn’t about you handling a prospect. It’s about you killing that damaging, debilitating little voice. So, you need to learn to override it.

Business Skills 2021 The Importance of Sales

Are you up to date with how to sell in 2021? Last time, you gained insight about sales, building a team and how to teach your team how to sell. We are going to start with sales! Why? Because sales equals income. This is not just for you, this is also about teaching those who sell for you or your team. There are three key things to look at for sales. The first is who is your customer. Then, what is the psychology of your market or your sales team.  Thirdly, it is about your mindset.  What does your “little voice” tell you about what you can or can’t do? Your results will never exceed your mindset.  After 2020, all three of these things have changed significantly.

Let’s look at the customer. Your customers are changing and you have to be vigilant. The days of securely knowing your customers is over. It is important to continually take a poll of who are your best customers. Who are they? What do they want? Those who had ideals before, may now just be wondering how to survive. Understanding what they want will change your language with them because their wants are different. Why are customers different? The psychology is different.

Fear is a major thing in the market right now. Fear of shut downs and losing sales. You need to understand and access the space. This is why the language in sales is changing. People are not just looking for value anymore, they are looking for safety. A customer needs to feel that you are their best insurance possible. People want to feel safe in a time when nearly everything is a greater risk. You have to be able to put yourself in a position to secure them. There are many little voices going on talking about fear and worry.  And, you need to be able to assess these things without going in as a doom and gloom person. Everyone is struggling, but you have to remember that when things collapse, something new will emerge. We know that we are going through a cycle and acknowledge that to your customer and tell them to stick with you for the next cycle that is coming.

The process breaks down into a selling cycle. There are three areas, we want to attract, convert and we want to retain. This has not changed, but how we do it has changed. We have to be able to attract clients one to many. This is a given part of the entire idea. You have to learn, adapt and change to where your clients are now. You have to be vigilant because things are picking up speed. The flow of money may slow down, but the speed of things happen faster at lower prices. So, what do you do? Who are the people that you are going to attract? What is the process there? There are many different processes in which you can attract new customers. You have to know where you need to be to find them. You have to build the right team that understands how the new psychology works. If you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur, you need a team that supports you.

When it comes to conversion, that has changed too. Based on psychology, we have to promote safety as a part of what we are doing. There needs to be deep value involved in what you are selling. The old ways of selling are not relevant anymore. People want straight information. Your job is to give value to the customer that the customer is not even thinking about. What is the deep value that you provide that even the customer is not thinking about? This needs to be part of your conversation.

Let’s take a look at retention and how that has changed. Maintaining your customers requires more communication with them. Talking to existing customers is always easier than bringing in new clients. Give your current customers more value and a higher level of communication. My team started meeting every single week during covid, checking in with one another. Now, we are at once a month, but frequency is a big part of retention. Value also has to go up, give them more. The big secret is that your customers become your team. You have a code of honor with them, you meet with them and support them. You create more than just customers, you create a movement. Do you provide a level of service that you provide to your own team and to your customers as well? You need awareness, direction and effort.

Your number one asset is your community. In order to succeed in sales, it’s the process, the customer and the psychology. Until then, remember sales equals income. Income equals your team. Be awesome.