Harnessing the Power of Testimonials

Harnessing the Power of Testimonials

by | Apr 15, 2021 | Sales

Harnessing the Power of Testimonials

At least once a month at my place, on a Friday night, my family will have to make a major decision:  ‘What takeaways are we going to have tonight’?

A third world problem right?

An old ritual from days gone by.

I am sure the Friday takeaway ritual came from my own family when all of us would pile down to the fish and chip shop, and get to choose between a sausage, hot dog and fish with a few chips thrown in, then wait in the car eating them, while Mum and Dad nipped off to the pub for a quick drink.

New experience

In our family now  we might want to try something different and go out to a café or restaurant.

When that happens the question always comes up ‘what’s new in town’ or ‘, what was the name of that place that my mate Dave was talking about last week’?

Following this, we’ll call or text Dave to ask him what the restaurant was called because we know he’s pretty reliable when it comes to good food!

Why we need assurance – Power of Testimonials

What people say about you is 10 times more powerful and believable than what you say about yourself.

Deep down you know that Dave would not recommend that restaurant unless he enjoyed it.  He is telling you from his own experience and that is very, very powerful.

You have your own interests at heart

It’s a lot harder to sell something to someone because naturally you have your own interests at heart.

What your clients may want is another way to make a decision. This is why an opinion from a third-party could be very influential, just like Dave influenced my decision on a restaurant.

The point is that getting someone to recommend you helps a lot. If it does not work out you can always blame Dave- no just kidding!

 Create and use testimonials

There are a few tips I’ve come across in my time about receiving great testimonials, but one stands out as pretty crucial; be specific.

The more specific you are about the outcome you want, the more targeted your endorsement will be.

Let me give you an example. If you ask a client for a testimonial ask this way.

‘Hi John, can you describe the one or two most important benefits you’ve gotten the most from working with us… please explain specifically what you’ve gained from the experience:

The second one I often ask is:  ‘Describe in Detail What Part of Your Experience with us made you the happiest?’

This question taps into the emotional side of the experience, and that is where you will understand what drove your clients to use you in the first place.

In summary, be specific, and don’t forget to ask for their thoughts around the emotional experience..

Have a great week, see you soon.

Mike.

What the top 10% do

What the top 10% do

by | Apr 8, 2021 | Sales, Strategy

80%……….Of all sales are made after the fifth call
48%……….Of all sales people call once and quit
25%……….Call twice and quit
10%……….Keep on calling

These statistics is pretty close to the mark in all forms of selling be it a service or product sell.

I think that we all know…

SALES DON’T JUST HAPPEN.

I have created a diagram to illustrate the real time that your buyer is actually available to sell to.

Just email me at mikebrunel.com for a copy.

Why do many some sales people thrive when others do not, here are some ongoing practices I observe every day.

1. Always add to your pipeline.

Not continuously adding to your pipeline is often a mistake that salespeople make once they have established a strong ongoing sales funnel. If you continue to add to your sales pipeline then if that long established client decides that this month they will not buy, then it does not matter because you have more potential opportunities in your pipeline.

If you are always taking the position of helping and assisting your client then your pipeline will increase. If you are only filling up your pipeline when you are desperate then many clients will sense that and you will come across as desperate.

2. Never assume they need you.

I have noticed that many salespeople leave a message with a client or a voicemail and they think it ends there. They think that they have done what they had to do and then move on. Depending on the relationship you have with that client they may or may not call you back. If you do want to do business with them then you have to plan that call and decide the ongoing strategy to get the person to respond.  Create a proactive message for them to call you back.

3. Sales potty training.

For those that may have had young children there was a time when you had to train them to go to the toilet. In my experience (a while ago) I always used to say “Pee or get off the pot”. In other words, make a decision.

There will be times when you have to make a decision to get off the pot. Some clients need to be let go. You need to figure out if a prospect is serious about working with you or not. A good pipeline is full of qualified prospects and not “tyre kickers”

pipeliines

All pipeline activities have to support your key messages and understanding actually who your client is and where they play is vital to successful sales.

Good selling

Mike

Preparing for the Journey

Preparing for the Journey

by | Mar 31, 2021 | Sales, Strategy

Part of the reason people panic when they think about sales is that selling seems like a mysterious process.

We might just be able solve that mystery.

It’s our belief that selling is like any other journey: the territory you are covering may be new to you, but it has been travelled before, and there are certain steps you can take to clear the way. Each step you take along the way matters.

Let’s look more closely at the selling journey.

Building Up by Planning

Selling a product or service is, in many ways, like a building project.

I have been involved in two major renovations for both a home and a commercial building.

Here’s how the process unfolds:

  1. You speak with an architect who presents you with some plans, drawings, or visual examples of what your home or building might look like.
  2. Once you approve your plan, you seek a builder to do the construction.
  3. If you want to approach the build with confidence, you’ll also want to be involved in the builder’s plans and timelines. Using excellent project management tools is key.
  4. Still, even the best-laid plans sometimes change. You might go back and forth and change a few parts of the
  5. Even when you get started, you need to keep in mind the need to be flexible, adjust to shifting timelines, accommodate last-minute decisions, and possibly suffer some setbacks.
  6. You need to be nimble, but it’s hard, because there is a lot at stake, financially and emotionally.
  7. Soon enough, though you start to visualise the final product and then watch your home or building take shape. Finally, you see your completed project in front of your eyes. All of that planning has paid off.

Following a plan and actually building that home requires discipline and principles.

It’s the same with sales, which unfolds in similar stages.

With both types of projects, it is important to begin with the right mindset, so why don’t we do that when it comes to constructing a sale? Why don’t we plan the process that will let us get a result we want?

Most business owners jump in too quickly, assuming that their product is so magnificent that people should just buy it. Or, they don’t bother to plan.

leads

Usually salespeople do not follow any particular steps or process on the way to the sale of that product. If you look at sales the way you look at building your home, though, you will see that there are certain processes you have to follow to get a good result.

It does not have to be a complicated process, but you do need a plan.

Knowing a few simple steps in the journey to your sales is all that is required. In my book Selling is not optional we have a 7 step process to help you understand the selling journey better.

If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?

Good selling

Mike

Here is an audio introduction on the preparing for the journey when it comes to selling.

Recognising Mindset

by | Oct 28, 2020 | Sales

Clearly, mindset can make all the difference in problem solving.

Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, a leading expert in motivation and psychology, and author of the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, discovered that everyone has one of two mindsets—fixed or growth.

Her work confirms what I have seen in sales over the years: people do tend to have either a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset. Why is this an interesting finding? Which mindset do you think leads to more success in sales?

Is Your Sales Mindset Set in Stone?

Consider the fixed, or closed, mindset as it applies to sales. If you have a fixed mindset, you might say certain things to yourself that freeze your thinking in one position.

Some of these things I have heard repeatedly throughout my sales career. Do you ever hear yourself saying these things to yourself?

  1. Sales is hard.
  2. Salespeople are born.
  3. I can’t sell!
  4. I tried sales once and it never worked.
  5. I will look stupid if a client says no.
  6. I have to win or lose.
  7. Will I succeed? Probably not.
  8. I hate sales, and will never be any good at it.

Chances are you have thought more than one of these things in the course of your career. With a fixed mindset, you see things only in black and white. In your mind, you hear words like “win or lose,” “right or wrong.” You assume things have always been done one way and nothing will ever change. This mindset, while understandable, may not work well for you if you sell a product or service.

Growing your Business

If you have a growth mindset, on the other hand, you may find yourself thinking differently. More and more often, you will catch yourself saying things like:

  1. Sales is easy.
  2. Salespeople are made, not born.
  3. I can’t sell . . . until the next opportunity.
  4. I tried sales once and while it was challenging, what did I learn?
  5. I need to make some more mistakes to learn.
  6. I win, lose, or get the opportunity to go back again.
  7. If I succeed—great! If I fail, what did I learn?

What if you could adopt this way of thinking, what Carol Dweck calls the “growth mindset” or “potential mindset”? It might help you push through limiting attitudes toward many things in your life or business. It might dramatically change your life. If you can catch yourself in your fixed mindset, you will start to get results much quicker. I promise.

It may be daunting to think about changing the very way you think about things. How can you do that?

  1. Look for opportunities to grow every day. When you begin to take up a growth mindset, you will find that if you are not learning new things you are actually failing. Challenging yourself to learn just one or two new things a day will build a growth mindset.
  2. Deal with failure and setbacks. Planning is an important part of growing. However, we do not always achieve all of our goals. Instead of beating ourselves up, look in a different direction and start again.
  3. Grow by doing. Ask yourself, what can I do differently? Apply a different approach to a problem and see what happens.

Download our free test- How’s my Mindset around Sales?

You will discover instantly how you rate in the sales and influencing department in your business.

Good Selling.

Here is an audio extract from my book

PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.

1. Join my free Facebook group – Sales Mindset Inner Circle

My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.

2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation

Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.

3. Work with me one-on-one

If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.

4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’

Click the link: https://www.salesblueprintbook.com/book

Cheers,
Mike

Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media.  He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.

The Power of Selling

by | Oct 21, 2020 | Sales

The ability to sell is a skill that can be learned. 

Even if you consider an “Oh I can’t sell,” the key is to get your message across by being yourself.

Over the last few articles we have talked about the structure of a sale, and by learning this simple system made up of emotions, benefits, promise, proof and offers you can feel more confident and better prepared to go and sell what you love. 

If you just learn that you are pretty much there.

 

God-given Gift

The fact is that selling is not a God-given gift or a natural trait held by a chosen few.

And it’s not a secret hidden from view, in the corridors of the sales secret vault.  

The ability to sell your product can be learned.

In this next series of “You Can Sell Anything,” we are going to introduce you to two new ways to sell and increase your results along the way.

 

The Secret of Selling Like You Talk

By now if you have read my previous article you should know your client or prospect.

In most cases, you do know how to talk to them. What language to use, what emphasis to put on certain benefits of your product, and by now what promises to make. 

The secret to selling them these aspects of your product require you to have a conversation, in other words, sell like you talk.

 

I am no do it yourselfer!

An example I often use is a hardware store.

Most people that know me, know that fixing things and building things is not my strong point.  

However, if I do need advice on doing something around the house, I go to the local hardware store.

I usually go and ask for advice.

99% of the time that advice is given from the salesperson (I am not sure if they even see themselves as salespeople) who is relaxed and easy to understand. 

The style is conversational, they ask a few questions, listen, and then direct me or advise me.

Why can’t we do that with our clients?

I bet you that the clients that keep buying off you have a great conversation with you, weekly or every other day. 

As you talk you also want to sell your prospect with passion.

 

The Secret of Selling with Passion

If there is no passion there is no momentum, speed. That’s the second tip.

When you sell with passion, you come across as a believer in your product or service. 

Your presentation and voice are stronger, more persuasive.

Even more importantly your energy around your product comes through, passion is the glue that sticks the sales together.

But, there is often a BUT…

You actually have to feel the passion for your product, and the secret to that is to study your product.

What are its strengths? Product knowledge rules when it comes to passion.

If you are selling a product that does amazing things get excited about it, tell lots of people why you love it. 

Try and develop an internal passion for your product. It all gets back to your own voice, yourself. 

The one true you. 

Do the exercise on one of your own products. 

Or even think of your favourite movie and go and sell it to your friends using all that you have learnt in these articles. 

In the next article, I dive into exploring benefits. 

 

PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.

1. Join my free Facebook group – Sales Mindset Inner Circle

My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.

2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation

Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.

3. Work with me one-on-one

If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.

4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’

Click the link: https://www.salesblueprintbook.com/book

Cheers,
Mike

Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media.  He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.

The Secret Structure of a Sale. Close and Offer – Part Five

by | Oct 14, 2020 | Sales

Over the last five weeks we have explored the secret structure of a sale.

Feel free to check out the past blogs to find out more.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

These secrets I have learned from my experience as a copywriter, marketer, and salesperson.

I study these processes so I can give you help and support to sell more of your product.

As we move into the close and the offer, I want you to think about how you can now apply these secrets to construct a sale.

Where do we go from here?

It’s time to close the sale. You do that by offering them something.

Here is an example of a close and offer.

This close and offer might be based off an in-house promotion or a blend of what might have been discovered during the discovery process.

Whatever way you think, you can apply an offer to the situation.

Offer:

“Right now, for a limited time I’m making a special promotional offer for this bike. We want to get this electric bike to as many riders as we can.

We know that this suits everything that you are looking for in a bike and the advantages do stack up. Yes?

We talked about the price and you indicated that you would be open to a payment plan, we can do that.

But, please, you will have to approve that now to get all the benefits.

I cannot promise to hold that price for long.

If you can give me a decision now you can take the bike with you NOW!”

That an example of a close and offer. It’s to the point and may open up another conversation. Our job however is to ask for the business.

If we have followed the process, honestly this is a slam dunk.

Let’s see what we have learned.

Let summarise.

In every sale there are 6 parts.

  1. The Sales Promise
  2. The Sales Picture
  3. The Sales Proof
  4. The USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
  5. The Close
  6. The Offer.

My offer.

With all this knowledge, why not jump on a free call to talk about your offer.

I am opening this up to 5 clients who want to work through their sales offer.

Click here to select your date and time. 

Nothing more than that.

As always.

Have a great week and talk soon.

 

PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.

1. Join my free Facebook group – Sales Mindset Inner Circle

My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.

2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation

Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.

3. Work with me one-on-one

If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.

4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’

Click the link: https://www.salesblueprintbook.com/book

Cheers,
Mike

Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media.  He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.