From HOPE to HOW!!

Soon, I will again be in the throes of my twice yearly “serving hours”… This is where I coach people from all over the world on business success. It’s my way of both giving back AND staying at the top of my game, so I charge nothing. (P.S. If you ARE a coach or consultant, this is a great way to grow your own practice, but you can contact me directly about that. It is FAR different than those thinly veiled sales sessions most coaches call “complimentary coaching sessions”… UGGG!!!)

Anyway, I always start with finding out (before our call) what this person’s top challenge is in business… in other words – why do they think their business income isn’t where they think it should – or could- be. Often, there isn’t a really direct answer to this question. I mean, if we KNEW why we were underperforming, we’d just fix it, right? (P.S. We do know why…and this blog post – and the free call I am promoting with it WILL help you fix it, so please keep reading!)

But, far too often, the responses I hear can be described as business cliche’s (I just need to get my name out there… or I don’t have enough money to get my name out there.) or a diversion from the real issue. (This usually includes listing some certifications, or “awards”, or number of Twitter followers, or other reasons they feel they SHOULD be doing well financially but aren’t.)

What I quickly discover is that while their expertise may be (and usually is) superb… and their product may be better than the alternatives out there, and that a LOT of time, attention and investment has gone into crafting or “tweaking” WHAT they will sell, very little thought has gone into HOW they will sell.

So, they HOPE. Many will POST…. tweet, blog, facebook, and email. And they will HOPE. They are hoping that they will get sales, gain momentum, and see an increase in their personal income. What they need to do is to transform their HOPE into HOW.

First, let’s get really, really clear about what you’re hoping for. If you want more sales, how many more? How many sales of each product or service do you want to see? PLEASE don’t laugh this off with an “I’ll take all I can get” response. Business is really simple because it is NUMBERS IN, NUMBERS OUT. So, I want to get a NUMBER from you… Either a dollar amount or a finite number of new customers or clients you need to acquire.

Next, let’s get specific about WHAT you will DO to get more sales…. and drill down the HOW. First, your sales are up to you. You must DO something DIFFERENT than you are doing now to get more sales than you are currently getting. Start with where you have had success before. What did you DO to cultivate that sale? Let’s repeat whatever that was.

Then, we must take a look at how you are spending your time. If you are really committed to making MORE MONEY in your business, I will see that your time is spent evaluating, tweaking, and boldly increasing your marketing and sales efforts. Is there any other way???? Hoping that your clients don’t need to be “sold” because you or your product are sooooooooo good is a bit like hoping you win the lottery. More money comes down to Mastering the Marketing and Sales process of your business. But only every time.

So, evaluating what you are currently doing is a great step. As an example, how much time are you spending on twitter? Or how much money did you spend on that print or radio ad? Or how much time (and money) are you spending in networking meetings? Now… how effective are each of these activities? How did they contribute to your bottom- line?

Next, how can you TWEAK what you are doing? Maybe you see that you’ve gotten three new clients who found you via your blog or email newsletter. If so, it makes sense to invest MORE in that blog or newsletter. Maybe you could learn from social media gurus who can teach you how to get more “mileage” out of each post or article. (Jennifer Abernathy will be rocking the house at www.sparkandhustle.com and I have a super deep discount code you can have if you NEED to be there!!) Maybe you see that your BEST clients have come from speaking engagements. If so, stop reading now and get on the horn lining up some great new speaking gigs!

Finally, you must increase your sales efforts. There is no money made in business without making the sale…. Yet, there are many business owners who shun sales… hate them… and resist the idea that they ARE sales people.

Just Saturday, I was approached – while in the chair getting a pedicure, mind you – by a woman with a colorful binder and business cards. She wanted to do a makeover on me…. with Mary Kay Cosmetics. Of course, she was quick to point out that she doesn’t “Sssseeeellllll” (enunciated slowly as a creepy, dirty, distasteful word) the products. She just “loves them”. Mmmhmmm.

With my daughters looking on in horror – knowing I wasn’t going to let this one go, I said, “Oh.. great. Well, if I wanted to buy the products because I too loved them, who would you send me to?” Her response, “Oh – well I sell them. You can get them from me.” My response: “So you do sell them?” Sheepishly, she says, “well, you know… I mean – you know what I mean… I mean I dont Ssseeellllll them, you know? Like a lot of pressure type of sales?” Yes, I do know what you mean… and P.S. approaching a complete stranger while she is paying for a relaxing spa treatment to pitch the products you “don’t sell” is super smooth…I mean, totally natural and authentic and NO PRESSURE whatsoever. 🙂 (And, in case you are wondering, YES… I did give her my business card and encouraged her to read my blog on Monday afternoon… )

Anyway, as an entrepreneur, you are CHIEF salesman and CHIEF marketer of your business. Period. So, you can either be GOOD at sales and make money … or you can suck at it… complain (or in some cases, BRAG) about how you are just NOT GOOD at sales and then, NOT make money. Bottom line: If you are in business for yourself, you don’t get to choose whether or not you are now IN SALES. But you do get to choose how you’ll perform as a sales person.

On that note, I want to invite you to join me and Tory Johnson on a totally free call – that will give you the the specific strategies you MUST master if you are committed to making more money in your business. If you are GREAT at what you do, but having a hard time converting leads and contacts into clients or sales, this call is for you!
And, you might even learn to love sales along the way…. =) On this call, we’ll cover:

$  The TOP Sales “Secret” Shared by EVERY truly profitable Business Owner  – and the exact steps you need to take to be in THEIR shoes.
$  What you can do to NEVER Compete for Business Again – by essentially creating a Category of ONE.
$  Exactly How to BEST position yourself to make infinitely MORE sales happen

$  How to reduce, prepare for and overcome SALES objections!

To register, send me an email to michelle@womenwhowow.com with SALES CALL in the subject line.