Sales Engagement to Enable the Buyer = Buyer Enablement

What have you learned about Buyer Enablement, beyond the evolution of Sales Enablement?

The sales people need to see how the buyers are responding to what they are doing.

What do buyers really want from salespeople? Well, we're not doing a very good job of getting them what they truly want.

If we're going to enable our salespeople, we need to ENABLE them to help the buyer. If they can't, we are failing at Sales Enablement.

The old sales training techniques no longer work. The role of the sales person has shifted over the past two years. Sales people are an information conduit to allow the buyer to preview what they may need. They almost become a concierge. It becomes a service role. Sales people have to evolve.

Do Sales & Marketing need to be aligned? You'll have to listen to find out. 

Susan's guests today are Orrin Broberg, CEO/President, Modus and Alice Heiman of Alice Heiman, LLC and co-founder of Tradeshow Makeover.

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About Modus:

Modus-built applications are intuitive because salespeople don’t have the time to be trained. Salespeople can customize their presentations and you can create strategies which govern the content users see. Your salespeople in France will only see collateral in French.

Modus Provides Companies a Complete Digital 
Transformation of their Sales Distribution Channel Strategy

What is The Modern Seller and Why You Need to Become One.

Today's guest is Amy Franko, author of The Modern Seller. (available on Kindle or hardcopy). Some of the points we cover in this interview include big points taken directly from her book. 

• The big five skills that modern sellers need to become successful.
• What it means to be agile in sales and why that’s critical.
• How an entrepreneurial mindset can boost sales.
• Why being “holistic” is an important trait.
• How an energy routine can help build motivation and discipline.
• The proven approach to take in creating your network.
• What makes an ambassador unique.What characteristics make a great sales person?
• How would you define modern selling? What's changed in the past 5, 10, 20 years?
• What are some of the biggest trends influencing buyers in today's market?
• What advice would you give to someone struggling to stay motivated in their sales role?
• How can sales people continue to develop and keep sales strategies "modern?"

People are saying about the book:

“Amy has nailed it with The Modern Seller. This is exactly the mindset, skills, and agility sales professionals need to succeed and thrive in this fast-evolving selling environment. Our team is striving to make this transition right now. We see it as critical to our growth—and survival.”
Pete McChrystal - President & CEO, Accent Technologies

“The Modern Seller is an insightful, must-read book. If you don’t know what a modern seller is and how to get there, you will be left in the dust. This book is a critical guide for paving the way to becoming a modern seller.”
Andy Quintana - SVP Business Development, Partnerships & Alliances, Accent Technologies

“The Modern Seller is filled with actionable insights and practical strategies to set you apart from competitors, make you irresistible to today’s buyers and ultimately, drive more revenue. In short, YOU become the differentiator.”
Jill Konrath - Author of More Sales Less Time & SNAP Selling

The Seller’s Challenge - Gatekeepers, concerns vs. objections.

If things get in the way of closing sales, it affects revenue. Duh. This is the second half of our discussion about the book by Tom Williams and Tom Saine - a must read and MUST HIGHLIGHT, The Seller's Challenge: How Top Sellers Master 10 Deal Killing Obstacles (concerns) in B2B Sales. 

Points covered include:

1. Procurement (or Purchasing) can be a challenging obstacle for many sellers. How would you advise a seller to deal with Procurement?
2. I noticed that you use the term “concerns” in lieu of “objections”. Why was that?
3. You describe Gatekeepers in a novel way. Tell our listeners about that.
4. You have a chapter on managing price demands. What are 1-2 takeaways for our listeners in that chapter.
5. Will you be offering any training or keynotes on the topics in the book?
6. Are there any other tools available to be used in conjunction with the book?

Get the book on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2LJ057j and in bookstores

Reach Tom Williams:

[email protected], LinkedIn
www.strategicdynamicsfirm.com  

and Thomas Saine:

[email protected]

The Seller’s Challenge

This is a two part interview about the book by Tom Willliams and Tom Saine - a must read and MUST HIGHLIGHT, The Seller's Challenge: How Top Sellers Master 10 Deal Killing Obstacles (concerns) in B2B Sales. 

In this first half I asked them about several chapters and key points of the book.

1. What was the genesis for the book? How did it evolve?
2. What is stakeholder mapping and why is it important?
3. You wrote an entire chapter on status quo. Why?
4. What role in sales training should insight-selling play?
5. For sellers that handle RFPs that chapter is a must read. What are 1-2 takeaways that are important for our readers to know?

Get the book on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2LJ057j and in bookstores

Reach Tom Williams:

[email protected], LinkedIn
www.strategicdynamicsfirm.com  

and Thomas Saine:

[email protected]

Our next episode will cover Gatekeepers and their changing role and value, Price Demands and Procurement.

You asked for their email, now what?

I find this common with smaller B2C businesses where you create a way to subscribe and never do anything beyond collecting the information.

A subscriber is someone who has already shown an interest in your company, products or services. They trusted you with their email address and possibly other personal information such as a name, country or more. You have their interest, NOW. So what happens after they subscribe? You need to be able to answer these questions:

1. What does their confirmation email look like?
2. What does the first email they will receive after that look like?
3. What is the call to action? Is it still relevant from the time you created it?
4. When was the last time you tested EVERY drip in your campaign and every step of subscribing?
5. How many automated drips do you have to go out them, and at what regular intervals after they subscribe?
6. Do each of those have a link back to a landing page on your website and a call to action relevant to the email message that went out to them?

Remember: One message, one ask in an email. Keep them focused.

When you create your drips to you try to save time by duplicating the previous one and editing it slightly? Nothing wrong with being efficient, but don't be sloppy. Make sure your call to action link, AND the image in the email go to the same landing page that continues that topic. Don't just take them to your home page where they are left to wonder around "the lobby" of your website. Keep them focused and moving forward toward conversion. You want them to either do another thing or give you the order or set an appointment. You also want it interesting and helpful enough they'd be inclined to forward your email or share it out to their people.

I HIGHLY recommend enlisting someone NOT working for your company to subscribe and go through the journey. You want a detail-oriented person who will click on the image and the call to action. Ask them to give you feedback about the email - content, links working, landing page. PAY THEM to do this or give them a gift card or something, if it's a friend. OR return the favor for them. My husband is my tester. He's caught images that the link didn't match the call to action, typos. We get in a rush sometimes and need another set of eyes. Our websites also change in structure every few years so they links need to be updated.

Want help creating or testing your subscriber journey? Email me: [email protected] and we'll set a time to meet.

B2C: Simple ways to build credibility - maps, reviews and top 10 lists.

There are a couple of free, simple tools you can use to stand out to your local market and potential clients. If you are a business that relies heavily on local traffic and customers, you need to take advantage of some free tools to build good will, establish yourself as a trusted resource provider and get points for being a good business neighbor.

1. Custom Google Maps:

Create a general map with your own custom pin icon, make it public. Add a great description, mention your own company name and URL. Then, add layers by topics: favorite restaurants, nightlife, best vendors and the ADD the businesses you want to support.

I will caution you, if you want to add a business that is perhaps not very active online or you are a rare customer who had a good experience with them, don't list them. Make sure they have good reviews because your recommendations of these businesses directly reflects on your business.

Be sure to be logged into Google AS YOUR BUSINESS persona. You want your business to stand out when you create this map. Create a custom pin with your mark. If you need help, email me. Shouldn't take me more than 15 minutes of billable time to get this done for you - just need your logo. 

When you add a business, be sure to describe WHY you are adding them. Something only locals would know or your favorite dish, service they offer, a stand out employee.

SHARE your map out everywhere, add it embedded on a webpage - not your home page, but an inside page and share out that page to drive people to your site.

2. Google Reviews:

Find these same favorite businesses, places, events and create reviews for them on Google. Do not post anything negative. This is to be an UPBEAT, local business supporting thing that you do. 4 star and 5 star only as your business. As you personally, you can get a bit more gritty, but even then, be careful about negative reviews. People can retalliate and it can become a review war.

Tell people WHY you like the business - specifics. Add a photo. When you go to your favorite places, take a photo and use it for reviews, maps and posts later. Try to post 2 reviews a week AS YOUR BUSINESS persona on Google. This builds authority and the businesses will start to notice you and may return the favor or at least recommend you.

3. Top 10 Lists:

I know I search in a city and then for: Best live music, best desserts, etc. Make your own lists. Have it related to your industry so that you are recommending possible strategic partners that could do the same for you. Think about a stylist -- having them make a list of top pampering places - massage, nails, boutiques, personal trainers, etc. could start to build a nice network of businesses cross promoting each other. Be sure you have added these same businesses to your list and your reviews AS THE BUSINESS. When you post as the business, you can still add your name if you want to add warmth to it and so that business would know who to recommend.

Need help with these strategies? Contact me - [email protected] so we can come up with a plan for you or your business. I can teach you how to do all of this and more.

Let your past podcast episodes do the heavy lifting.

Your past podcast content can do a lot more work for you to drive traffic, build credibility, open doors to prospects. I'm counting on the fact that you have a site for your podcast episodes and that you are connected in all the usual spots: iTunes, Stitcher, Libsyn, Blubrry, GooglePlay, etc. But you've had your show a long time. Why not put a new spin on past great episodes - new title, graphics and cover different points in the post, possibly edit the file a smidge or add commentary to the file? This can give you more content, easier and breath new life into your feed. 

Most of the time, after 20 episodes, your past doesn't show on your iTunes channel. If you bring back a show going back further, you not only can revisit a topic, but you can reach out again to that guest and let them know you still find their episode valuable and want to give it more exposure. Send them the embed code, new graphics, new link and see what happens. 

For more tips, or if your team is stretched already, come up with a monthly budget to schedule out 2-4 of these "best of" episodes each month and let me help you. [email protected]

Is Your Exhibit Booth Boring - answer - YES IT IS.

Let's talk about what used to work, sort of: 6 foot table, skirt - branded or not, logo behind, business cards, two chairs, fishbowl for cards, bad candy to give away. (YAWN!) A total waste of resources. You must be memorable. You must be a destination booth at the event. If you don't have a booth, you need to do SOMETHING to stand out.

Listen to this episode for ideas for ideal give aways, engaging activities, treats, swag and more. 

After the break we'll also tell you what to avoid doing, hint: Buzzers, bells, anchor drops, puppies. The ideas range in budget - something for everyone.

6 Easy Event Attendee Tips to Maximize the Value

If you attend any type of networking event, seminars, workshops, tradeshows; listen to find out how you are wasting your time. There are six tips in this short episode on ways you can maximize the value from the events you attend, especially those you pay for.  There is even a tip for those of you hosting events with sponsors - how to keep them coming back for more!  Have more tips? Let me know. I'd love to hear how you generate revenue from attending events. I'm sure Lany would be interested, too.

Testimonials - the glow of the moment: make the most of it.

After you close the deal on a house for a client - be there for the moment when you hand them the keys or do it in your office when you hand them the keys - while it’s fresh and the emotion is sincere and spontaneous,

1. Get their permission respectfully. No one wants to feel used or like a poster child to build your client base. Tell them how YOU felt helping them complete the transaction.
2. Get the permission in writing - tell them how you’ll use it.

How about after you receive notification of a glowing recommendation on Google or LinkedIn or Facebook, Yelp and the like? Reach out to that client immediately, thank them and thank them publicly. At that point ask them if they’d be willing to give you an audio or video testimonial. Video is ALWAYS better because you can extract the audio for other purposes, to mix with a loop of recordings and more.

In the case of a written compliment or testimonial, create a branded graphic with it so it looks special and send them that as a thank you with a link where it will appear.THis holds true for books - printed or digital. If they gave you a review that you are using in the book, SEND THEM A COMPLIMENTARY COPY with the graphic and tell them which page it appears on - even if it’s at the back, jacket cover or somewhere else. People appreciate being appreciated.

After your event or workshop. Same ideas apply. An exit interview is perfect. AND if it’s not as complimentary as you’d like, it’s great feedback to address. Be brave and have your interviewer ask for the positives AND where you can improve. Follow up. You will continue to build your advocate network this way and generate longtail revenue.