Read more in this post: Make Money Online with these High-Income Skills
Category: Sales
What’s a Sales Presentation? (Video)
Video
What’s a Sales Presentation?
Watch this video to find out.
As promised, here’s a link to the 15-Day Online Business Challenge.
If you’re a digital entrepreneur or would like to become one I’d encourage you to do the Challenge. It’s AMAZING!
On Day 11 you’ll get to see Dave interviewing Kevin Harrington (former Shark) about those 3 steps to the Perfect Pitch I mentioned in the video: Please, Tease and Seize.
* If you purchase anything through a link in this video, you should assume that I have an affiliate relationship with the company providing the product or service that you purchase, and that I’ll be compensated in some small way at no extra cost to you.
What is Email Marketing About? (Video)
What is Email Marketing About?
Find out in this video.
Download the PDF Presentation below
What is Email Marketing About? from Lauren Kinghorn
Read more in the following posts: What’s an Email List For? and What’s the Value Ladder
Would you like to become a Digital Entrepreneur? Start Here
Are you a Fempreneur? I would luuurve to have YOU join us on LinkedIn at Fempreneurs Unite
If you’re a Mom Entrepreneur, please join us at Mompreneurs Unite
* If you purchase anything through a link in this description, you should assume that I have an affiliate relationship with the company providing the product or service that you purchase, and that I’ll be compensated in some small way at no extra cost to you.
Next up, What’s a Sales Presentation?
Rich Dad Poor Dad (A Book that Changed My Life)
Are you a reader? Do you have a thirst for knowledge?
I’m an avid reader and have been ever since I learned to read. Because I love learning new ideas and skills that can help me get ahead in life.
Since High School, I’ve been reading mostly non-fiction books. Self-help or motivational books, books about business, about sales, about entrepreneurship… life-changing books.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, is one of those books that changed my life. It’s the story of the lessons two young boys learned about wealth creation from a rich man who took them under his wing.
Here are the lessons in Rich Dad, Poor Dad that changed my life.
Lessons in Rich Dad Poor Dad that changed my life
Lesson 1: Getting a job will not make you rich
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“Financial struggle is often the direct result of people working all their lives for someone else.”– Robert Kiyosaki
“The moment I pay you, you think like an employee.” — Robert Kiyosaki
We think that if we go to school and get good grades, we will get a good job. And once we have a good job we’ll be golden.
But the Schooling system is flawed. It teaches us literacy but it doesn’t teach us about financial literacy. It doesn’t teach us how to make money and keep it.
- How many people do you know who have jobs and are wealthy?
- How many pensioners do you know who are wealthy?
Most wealthy people I know have their own businesses. Or are living on their investments.
If you want to take control of your destiny, you need to forge your own path, not follow the crowd.
If you want freedom, don’t lock yourself away in an office and chain yourself to a desk.
“The more a person seeks security, the more that person gives up control over his life.” — Robert Kiyosaki
“When I started my last business, I didn’t receive a paycheck for 13 months. The average person can’t handle that pressure.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I followed this advice and became an Entrepreneur.
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Lesson 2: Making mistakes is essential to business success
“In school, we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. Yet, if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk.” — Robert Kiyosaki
“The trouble with school is they give you the answer, then they give you the exam. That’s not life.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I remember the day I went off School.
Up until this point, I loved school and had always been a diligent student, top of the class. In the second last year of High School, I went to the school library and took out a couple of books on History. I did my research and wrote what I thought were brilliant essays for my History exam. I eagerly awaiting my results. I was in for a huge disappointment.
My results were terrible. I asked the Teacher why I got such a low score and he said,
“You didn’t give us the answers that were in your textbook.”
That’s when I realised that School was not designed to teach me to think. School was designed to teach me to regurgitate what the textbooks say, not to teach critical thinking.
That’s when I became less interested in my School work and more interested in learning.
“Being an entrepreneur is simply going from one mistake to the next. You must have the fortitude to continue on.” — Robert Kiyosaki
“You will make some mistakes but, if you learn from those mistakes, those mistakes will become wisdom and wisdom is essential to becoming wealthy.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I followed this advice and started learning from the school of hard knocks.
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Lesson 3: Questions open the mind
“The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They’re always learning. They’re always growing. They’re always pushing.” — Robert Kiyosaki
The poor say, “I can’t” and the rich say, “How can I?”
Find out how to ask the questions that change your money blueprint in this post.
“The power of “can’t”: The word “can’t” makes strong people weak, blinds people who can see, saddens happy people, turns brave people into cowards, robs a genius of their brilliance, causes rich people to think poorly, and limits the achievements of that great person living inside us all.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I followed this advice, asked questions, got answers and learned I can do anything I set my mind to.
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Lesson 4: Entrepreneurs need to learn how to sell
“The ability to sell is the number one skill in business. If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.” — Robert Kiyosaki
Children are born with natural sales skills. They sell you on their wants and needs all the time. Some get so good at it that parents have a tough time saying no to their children’s every whim.
Yet, many adults develop resistance to selling. They say things like, “I can’t sell” or “I hate selling” or “I’m not a salesperson.”
Really, I think most people have a block about selling because they hate being “sold to”. Usually, it’s because of a bad experience with a pushy salesperson.
But if you want to become wealthy, you’ll have to let go of all your preconceived about salespeople and become one.
Selling and networking are crucial skills to master as an entrepreneur.
“If you want to be financially free, you need to become a different person than you are today and let go of whatever has held you back in the past.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I followed this advice and learned to sell.
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Lesson 5: You are the solution to your problems
“You’ll often find that it’s not mom or dad, husband or wife, or the kids that’s stopping you. It’s you. Get out of your own way.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I’ve always noticed that the most successful people in life are those that are out there doing it. They are in action.
People who waste all their time and energy complaining about their parents, their childhood, the government, society, everything they don’t have, all the opportunities that never came their way, never get anywhere.
“The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time” — Robert Kiyosaki
“If you realize that you’re the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Don’t blame other people for your problems.” — Robert Kiyosaki
I followed this advice and became a problem-solver.
These are just a few lessons and some quotes from Rich Dad, Poor Dad. You’ll get so much more from reading the whole book. Get it Now on Amazon *This is an affiliate link.
Oh, and there was one more golden piece of advice that made a huge impact on me.
“If you want to be rich the rule of thumb is to teach others how to be rich.” — Robert Kiyosaki
So I took his advice and started teaching what I know.
Find my most popular course here: How to Earn Money from Blogs BEFORE You have Significant Traffic
* If you purchase anything through a link in this article, you should assume that I have an affiliate relationship with the company providing the product or service that you purchase, and that I’ll be compensated in some small way at no extra cost to you.
How to Get More Sales of Your Services
I recently delivered my Business Networking Talk at The Sales Summit in Cape Town. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the room with a group of Salespeople and the energy was amazing. It was much more interactive than when I delivered the same talk at Entrepreneurs Indaba the week before.
Perhaps because Entrepreneurs aren’t always Salespeople. Although Entrepreneurs and small business owners have to wear many hats, not all hats fit them.
That’s why it’s really worth considering hiring professional salespeople to close your deals or outsourcing some of your sales processes to companies who specialise in parts of the sales process.
As a small business owner, you have 3 options:
- Upskill – go for Sales Training
- Hire Salespeople
- Outsource to Specialists or Specialist Companies
But how do you identify which option is best? Here’s where I would start.
Identify Your Weak Spots
If you’re still a one-woman-band, this means being honest with yourself. Ever done a SWOT analysis on yourself? Your PERSONAL strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats?
I’ve been working with a Health Coach for the last 11 weeks and I’m doing my second SWOT analysis now, just before my final session. It’s illuminating.
The trick is not to let your ego get in the way. This is not the time to criticise or berate yourself for things that don’t come naturally to you.
No woman is an island
The only way you’ll find your flow and scale your business is to focus on the areas that need improving and find ways to improve on them.
Though constant self-improvement is the name of the game, sometimes personal growth requires letting go of the reins in certain areas and handing them over to experts in their field.
Let’s look at one example.
Lead Handling
Consider using a specialist company like Pronexis for appointment setting and lead handling.
Pronexis has proven they increase sales conversions.
Doesn’t this short video instil tremendous confidence in the company?
Closing the Sale
And then there’s that all important part of the sales process – the close.
Some salespeople thrive on closing. They can sell ice to an Eskimo. The can convert any prospect into a client. Close any deal, any time. If that’s you, fantastic. This is one part of the sales process you should not outsource.
But maybe, like me, you prefer networking and relationship building, the happy, fluffy, friendly parts of the sales process. Where nobody gets hurt. 😉
This is particularly true of the services industry. People who love to serve their customers seldom like to sell to customers. Right?
If you know you struggle to ask for the order, it’s time to move aside and let the professionals do it.
It’s really worth hiring someone (or a sales team) who specialises in closing deals. And the amazing thing is, top sales closers are happy to work on a commission basis because they know they can deliver the goods.
Salespeople and sales systems don’t cost you money, they make you money.
What’s Your Next Step?
So… how are you going to up your game? How will you get more sales of your services?
How To Become A Better Salesperson
Want to improve your selling skills? There are lots of elements that go into being a good salesperson.
Here are just a few tips that could help you to become better at selling.
Learn to get over rejection
Rejection is something to be expected when selling. Even the greatest salespeople aren’t able to talk everyone around.
When something doesn’t work out, learn to move on from it quickly rather than taking it personally. See it as a positive learning opportunity to improve your selling strategy rather than a negative.
Meanwhile, when it comes to contacts who you may have built up a rapport with, don’t break off contact with them completely after rejection – they may still prove to be a lead in the future.
Work on your negotiation skills
Negotiating is the key to securing sales. You may be able to hook people in, but if you can’t close those deals then you’re not going to get anywhere.
This skill itself involves honing many other skills such as the ability to empathise, problem solve and build trust. It could be worth taking a negotiation skills training course to develop these skills.
There are also lots of YouTube videos on negotiation skills that you can watch in your own time.
Stay knowledgeable in your field
Being knowledgeable will help your clients to trust you. You’ll also feel more prepared and more confident, which will help you to stay positive.
The most dedicated salespeople do their own private research so that they’re experts in their field. It’s impossible to know everything – but you can come close to being a know-it-all.
Always show enthusiasm
If you’re not passionate about your product, the people you’re selling to certainly aren’t going to be enthusiastic either. Always remain positive and learn to use your tone of voice (and bodily gestures if you’re selling in person) to get people energised and captivated.
Nerves can sometimes prevent people from truly being enthusiastic – especially if it’s a presentation or an important high-stakes interaction – however, you can harness this nervous energy and turn it into enthusiasm.
Of course, it is possible to come across to enthusiastic to the point of being annoying, however, most people will suffer from the opposite problem.
Be honest
Lying to secure a sale is risky – it could do more damage than good if they find out you’re lying to them – and even if it works you won’t feel proud about it after. It’s best to always stay truthful.
This means not making promises that you can’t keep and not plucking facts and figures out of thin air just to give an answer.
There will be some truths that you don’t want to admit to such as product weaknesses – the trick is to be honest about these truths, but not to dwell on them.
Follow up negatives with lots of positives and always stay enthusiastic.
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Editors note:
Do you love selling or does it feel like the most difficult job in the world to you?
I’ve been in sales for most of my life and I think I have a love-hate relationship with it. I’ve done plenty of cold calling and I actually prefer it to selling to friends and family. But I don’t like high pressure sales, with deadlines and targets. I prefer soft sales, where you build relationships with customers over time. I like doing my deals face-to-face rather than over the phone.
What’s your sales style?