In today’s world people/businesses will watch every penny.   Business owners and the C-Level will be more cautious and responsible with every decision.   They will be judging you and trying to determine if your company is worth buying from.  People now have the opportunity and power to match their desires and needs to exactly what they want.  In addition, if you do not blow them away, they can simply call 3-4 other vendors that offer the same services/products. What do you do?   You prepare better!  Remember, people buy from who they like and trust.  If you use technology (social media/CRM/Linkedin) correctly you can know your audience quicker than your competition.  Trust me, it works!  Make sure you ask the right questions?  Forget your products/services.  Remember, asking questions will get you to the gate quicker.  The smarter owner/sales person in the sales process will ask the most questions.   Give the person what they want!  DO NOT give them what your PPT or brochure……….your prospect does not care.  BANT - Bant stands for Budget, Authority, Needs and Timing.  Remember all 4 during your sales process.  If you understand your prospects needs, budget and timing you will probably win the business.  Of course, always talk to the person that can make the decision (authority).   I believe that money is spent more judiciously, however, I hope this information above can help you win more deals.  Good luck!

Brian O’Neil, President of Sales Empowerment Group

Hi everyone.  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.  I recently had the opportunity to have an article published in Sales and Marketing Management Magazine.  If you haven’t had the change to read it, it’s copied below.  I’d love to get your feedback on this.

The Power of LinkedIn

By Brian O’Neil

As the founder and president/CEO of Sales Empowerment Group, I have had many opportunities to provide sales training to business owners and salespeople working in organizations of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies and mom-and-pop businesses. A portion of the training my group offers is dedicated to teaching business owners and salespeople the skills that are necessary to take advantage of free, readily available resources. These resources can easily be used to access tools, and people will increase the sales organization’s activity and future revenue.

As an entrepreneur, I realized that by using LinkedIn, my company quickly could double its activity, connections, and research of products and services. I also was able to eliminate cold calls, and no longer had to go through the gatekeeper. Every call became a warm call, due to my connections on LinkedIn.

I find it surprising that only 5 percent of the people we have trained understand how to use social media to increase business opportunities. The statistics are very high when it comes to the number of people who are connected on LinkedIn. However, there are only a few people who actually are using this tool to develop business relationships, connections, and accessibility to people who may be interested in their services.

I predict that in two years there will be two categories of business owners and salespeople. One category will contain the sales organizations that will be trying to play catch-up, and the other will be made up of business owners and salespeople who currently are using LinkedIn, and, because of their foresight, will be consistently beating their competition in the future.

I plan to be in the latter category. What about you?

Use LinkedIn/Social Media tools to know your prospect/client – Today, we have the ability to get to know a person before meeting them.  For example, go to Brian O’Neil on LinkedIn.  Now, highlight my interests, hobbies, college, read my blogs, and view my Facebook Fan Page (www.facebook.com/SalesEmpowermentGroup).  Now, you know everything about my business and more importantly about ME.  Get the point?

Remember, your services are probably a commodity.  The first person/company that builds trust and likability will win the deal.  Question – Do you think your competitors do this?  Probably not.

#2 Rule to follow next week.  Enjoy your week!

I hope you enjoyed rule #1 last week.   Ok, now for rule #2!  WORK TOWARDS BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP, NOT MAKING $$$.   You can tell the difference, TRUST ME.  Remember, when you meet someone for the first time, build rapport and ask questions.   Always, always, build a relationship first!  In addition, it goes back to Rule #1 (Use LinkedIn/Social Media tools to know your customer).    Do not get caught up in selling until the timing is right (you will naturally feel it).    The MONEY will follow!  Good luck and happy holidays.

When people start researching you, you’d better have a great company website, LinkedIn Profile Page, Facebook Fan Page…..etc.  If your audience doesn’t understand how you can help them, they will not buy from you. Very simple, do you want to look like a PORSCHE OR A GREMLIN? I had a GREMLIN in high school…..not going back. Hire the best!

I ask myself the same question every day – “Why Social Media?”  It is answered every single morning (6am) by a simple click of my mouse.

1) LinkedIn – Two people responded to my post last night for sales training

2) Blogging – someone reached out to ask me more questions about the article I had published in Sales and Marketing Magazine

3) Facebook – late last night a VP of Sales searched my company on Facebook and sent the following message – “Brian, I would like to learn more about how you can help our company increase activity/sales?”

Lastly, my mom saw the new picture of my son Mason and it made her week (social media can have its perks personally too).

Why social media?  If used right, it makes your professional and personal life much easier.  To drive that type of traffic (above) 5-10 years ago through glossy marketing slicks, cold calls (professional stalking) and emails would have been impossible!  Today, we have the ability and tools to receive 3 potential opportunities as we drink that first cup of coffee. Plus, it’s fun!

What do you think?

Remember, build relationships and worry about selling later.  Become friends with your prospects/clients………the rest will take care of itself.   Enjoy the video and let me know your thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYodjQIcnhc

My wife and I walked onto the car lot with our budget in mind.   We knew how much we could afford, and were determined to stay within our limits.

Then the salesperson approached us.  After the usual, friendly introductions, we told him the type of vehicle we were looking for and how much we wanted to spend.  Unfortunately, he insisted on showing us a variety of options, in price ranges that we knew we couldn’t afford.  Two hours later, we were finally looking at cars that were within our budget.  However, by then, the frustration we had experienced, as well as the time we had wasted, had become factors in our decision of whether or not to purchase a vehicle from him.

What’s my point?  As business owners and salespeople, we need to respect our client’s time and budget restrictions.  Within the first 30 minutes of an analysis, an understanding of the client’s budget needs to be established.  Knowing how much the client can spend gives us a realistic indication of the services that can be presented.

Also, staying within the client’s budget increases our credibility.  Clients frequently have a perceived price point, and if we sticker shock them they will feel that we have not done our job.   Discussing budgets early on keeps the sales process easy for us, and also for our potential buyers.

What do you think?

·         What if you were able to market you/your organization on Linkedin, and had the cheat sheet on how/why?

·         What if you were able to set up a Facebook fan page?

·         What if you were able to blog properly?

·         What if you were able to post a short video to promote yourself and/or your organization?

·         What if you were able to use video technology to look for new jobs?

·         What if you were able walk through doors that you had never dreamed of?

I’m sure that the first question you’re going to ask is going to be, “How much would I have to pay, per month, for this type of access?”

My reply would be, “How much would this type of access be worth to you and your organization?”  (Please keep in mind that the upgraded version of Linkedin is $100+).

After you determine an amount that you and your organization would be willing to spend, per month, on this type of access, please let me know how much that would be.

I will compile your answers and send the results out next week.

Thank you.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

According to the dictionary, a relationship is, “a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection)”.  I believe that being connected with my peers is essential to success in the business world, because it is healthy business relationships and positive emotional connections that make it possible for me to build an extensive networking system.   However, the challenge is to find ways to ensure that my business relationships will be able to survive the test of time.  For this reason, I have developed the following guidelines:

1)     See if I can help.  If peers have helped me, I need to reciprocate.  It’s very simple.  I check in on a regular basis, by calling or meeting with them.  First, I express my appreciation for all of the help that they given to me.  Then I ask, “How can I help you?  Is there something that I can do, outside of what I am doing now?”  Many times, they will respond with two or three items, and I can either provide the assistance that is needed or refer them to someone who can.

2)    Make a financial contribution.  If peers have referred clients to me on four or five deals, and I haven’t referred anyone to them, I’m not contributing to their success.  That’s taking advantage of our business relationship, and more likely than not, creating negative feelings.   When peers have helped me, I need to spend a few hours making calls that will result in opportunities for them, as well.

3)     Get to know my peers.   I ask questions, look people up on social media, and take an interest in their lives, on a personal level.   In this way, I am able to understand what is going on in their world, and empathize with their joys and sorrows.  I believe that knowing my peers, on a personal level, helps me to maintain positive, long term, business relationships.

Let me know your thoughts.  Have a wonderful week!

Thanks,

Brian O’Neil