Connect with People who Need what You Offer
- 1. Growing your Small Business By Connecting with People who Need what you have to Offer Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 2. "When a career counselor first recommended I consider a job in sales, I looked down at my tailored suit and mentally reviewed my make-up and jewelry, trying to pinpoint what made him think I was sleazy.” • Sales people are viciously stereotyped and we carry that stereotype inside our hearts. • The result is a feeling of being disrespected and mistrusted, producing severe stress. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 3. The Importance of Small Business Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Stasticis. Selling with Soul U.S. Small Business Adminstration Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 4. • Everyone sells, regardless of title • No one likes to be sold • No one wants to seem “salesy” • For entrepeneurs, failing to sell is often the fatal flaw that brings down a valuable and important business idea. • “Low Sales” consistently appears on the U.S. Small Business Administration list, “The Top 10 Reasons for Small Business Failure.” • Overcoming sales-phobia is a prerequisite to business success. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 5. REMEMBER: • Nobody benefits, nothing can happen, until something is sold. • Your great idea, excellent product, and outstanding customer service can and should be sold. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 6. It all starts with your WHY • Why do you want to offer this product or service? • If your first answer is “to make money,” dig deeper to understand what that money means to you: • An emergency or college fund? • A family vacation? • Recognition? • If you dream of being self-employed, why? • Freedom from corporate pressure? • More time to spend with your family? Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 7. THEN Write your Mission Statement, including your commitment to: • represent only quality products and services; • deliver the best possible service to your customers, • and to do your work with integrity. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 8. Next, Understand Your Customer’s WHY: What are they hoping to achieve? Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 9. Don’t look at your product or service as features and benefits. Understand how it is actually used. As Harvard Marketing Guru Ted Levitt said, “No one wants to buy a ¾ inch drill. They want a ¾ inch hole!” Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 10. Examples: • Do you sell jewelry? Why do people buy jewelry? Are they buying confidence? Prestige? Can your expertise in accessorizing help your customer feel great about that big presentation, job interview, or first date? • Why do people buy health care products?Are they buying energy to keep up with their kids or job demands? A sense of well-being? Can your products help your customer have the energy and stamina to pursue their dreams? • Why do people buy coaching or training? Are they buying confidence and motivation to help them achieve their own personal best? Do you help your clients achieve their goals? Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 11. The Steps of Selling • The basics of selling are a series of steps executed in the correct order to build and maintain an understanding between ourselves and our customers. • Skipping steps feels pushy. • Each step plays a role in the emotional buying process our customers experience. • We buy because we want, not because we need. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 12. • Getting the first appointment and establishing the human connection. • Finding the why, need or goal. • Developing a mutual vision of a solution or a plan. • Negotiating based on the value you bring. • Following-up to ensure your customer is satisfied. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 13. • Getting the first appointment means picking up the phone and having your 15 second introduction ready—and practice! “As a coach I’ve helped people advance in their career, bring their work and home lives into harmony, and achieve their financial goals. Are any of those things you’re concerned about?” Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 14. Making a Human Connection • Share your story with your customers, why you do this, how you have helped someone. Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. Indian Proverb Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 15. Statements invite contradiction; Questions invite conversation. Help the client put the pieces of the puzzle together, not by telling, but by asking. Seliing with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 16. Forget about “closes,” overcoming obstacles, or persuasion. Don’t give away your power or try to take away theirs. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 17. Quid Pro Quo Negotiate with confidence in the value you bring. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 18. Reach out! • Join LinkedIn, Facebook, and groups and social media. • Develop an email list for announcements, events, promotions. • Ask for referrals, “likes,” and introductions and use “quid pro quo.” For example, please like my Facebook business page and I’ll like yours. • Ask people to pass your newsletter, website link, and articles or blogs on to one other person. • Make “shameless requests” for endorsements. Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 19. As Stephen Covey says, “Don’t prioritize your schedule. Schedule your priorities.” Make sacred space and time or it won’t get done. Seliing with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company
- 20. For the rest of the story… Selling with Soul Sparker, The Coaching Company