The human brain analyzes 11 million information inputs every second hence, why every moment of attention is a gift. We’ve all heard that the human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish (total BS, by the way, and here is the proof). Still, the truth is that humans today are overwhelmed with information, inputs, …
Embarking on negotiations is akin to stepping onto the dance floor. It requires finesse, intuition, and a deep understanding of the steps that lead to a dancing-with-the-stars quality performance. Welcome to Part II of my contract negotiation tactics and strategies series. If you missed Part I, Contract Negotiation Strategies: The Science Of Getting What You …
The Importance of Effective Networking Strategies You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: networking is crucial. But have you ever taken a minute to ask yourself why? Simply put, if you’re not constantly networking, you’re limiting your reach, your opportunities, and your potential growth.People who fail to “keep in touch” often find themselves feeling like they’re …
I recently listened to Barbara Winters, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, to discuss how Gen Z and Millennial B2B Buyers are reshaping the buying process and what companies should do to succeed with these buyers.And what she had to say, kind of blew me away. Honestly. Here’s why.When I wrote The Invisible Sale, I …
Today’s post is the final installment of our three-part series — LinkedIn Sales Prospecting for Introverts. If you missed the first post, Building Connections That Matter, or the second post, How To Leverage Content Marketing Strategies On LinkedIn To Attract Qualified Prospects, feel free to read those before continuing on to today’s post, Introvert-Friendly LinkedIn …
Today’s post is the second part of our three-part series — LinkedIn Sales Prospecting for Introverts. If you missed the first post, Building Connections That Matter, feel free to read it before continuing on to today’s post, LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategies for Introverts. It’s ok, I’ll wait . As an introverted business development professional, you may …
Introverts, rejoice! Sales prospecting doesn’t have to be a daunting task, and LinkedIn, like other social media sites, offers the perfect platform to help you build meaningful connections and leverage your introverted strengths. As a fellow introvert, I’m here to share a few practical tips that have worked for me and others in the business …
As a business development professional, your PowerPoint presentations should communicate more than just information. They should aid your efforts to build a trust-based relationship with your prospects. Only some salespeople have ever been taught how to design a PowerPoint pitch deck that not only delivers information but also fosters a genuine connection with their audience. …
Networking has always been essential to growing your personal and professional brand. But for introverts like me, networking, especially the sales prospecting and nurturing variety, doesn’t sound fun. Luckily, the digital landscape offers many networking opportunities for introverts that want to connect with qualified prospects by curating and sharing high-quality digital content that your prospects …
In business development pitches, the right messaging combined with an effectively designed PowerPoint deck can make all the difference in closing a deal. But with so much competition and noise in the market, it can be challenging to differentiate yourself from the competition and connect with your best prospects. However, a recent Corporate Vision report titled …
My sons love to fish. I like to fish. The problem is, we don’t know how to fish — or better stated, we don’t know how to FIND where the fish are hanging out. And we’re not alone. There is an entire industry devoted to helping folks like us find and catch fish — charter …
At a minimum, social media, email, and texting are the new phone. They’re both inbound and outbound marketing tools to contact and communicate with sales prospects. Are they always the best phone to use for all contacts? Certainly not, but they do allow you to call more prospects in a day than you’d likely be …
Getting and maintaining a sales prospect’s attention is often the single hardest yet most important step in any sales process — but especially a virtual selling process. Traditionally, salespeople have simply bought prospects’ attention with free lunches, dinners, or drinks. Or maybe an invite to a ballgame or other event helped them achieve access. But in …
Competitive differentiation is crucial to delivering compelling sales pitches that close quickly and generate higher margins. When sales prospects view you, your organization, and your product or service as something extraordinary—and not just a commodity — you can avoid price concessions as your primary tool to win more business. Suppose you’re lucky enough to have a …
A few months ago, we published, How To Sell Your Agency’s Services Even When You Hate Selling, where I shared a 5-Step process to enable any advertising, public relations or digital agency owner or business development director to immediately sell more effectively AND actually enjoy it. Over the last few months I have had a ton …
Let’s face it. When you’re a solopreneur, every minute you spend chasing a new client, customer, or sale that doesn’t convert is wasted. You’ll never get that minute back, you can’t use it to chase down another sales prospect that will convert and you can’t sell that time to any existing customers or clients. I’ve spent …
The Problem: Research shows that worldwide B2B buyers are increasingly moving towards DIY buying processes that eliminate the salesperson entirely. In a Gartner Research pre-pandemic survey of 750 B2B customer stakeholders involved in complex “solutions” purchases within their organization, customers reported spending only 17% of their total buying time interacting directly with supplier sales teams. …
With virtual selling becoming the norm vs the exception, it’s never been more important to understand how to leverage digital channels like email to nurture at scale. However, a quick Google search for “best sales nurturing email templates” quickly reveals a glaring issue in every nurturing template you’ll find — none of them are truly …
Do you long for the old days — where all of your major pitch meetings were held face-to-face vs being forced to present your team’s pitch deck via a Zoom Call? I don’t blame you, since we all know research shows it’s easier to make a good first impression via a face-to-face presentation than a …
They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. And in the world of virtual sales prospecting, the punishment for failing to make a good first impression could just end up eliminating your ability to communicate with the person you’re trying to connect with forever. So, let’s talk about how to make …
If you’re a solopreneur, freelancer, or independent consultant, every minute of every day that you spend chasing business that doesn’t convert is wasted. Regardless of how you actually bill for your services, at the end of the day, you sell your time. And those minutes you spent chasing business that didn’t convert into a new …
Every day I hear B2B Marketers, B2B Sales Directors, and a host of C-Level folks repeating the same old undisputed law of B2B Social Media Marketing — LinkedIn is THE B2B social media platform. 🤦♂️In some cases, their opinions are based on a simple fact: LinkedIn is the business social media platform, therefore, it’s the …
What’s Happening: the Covid-19 Pandemic has fundamentally changed the world of sales prospecting — likely forever. A McKinsey survey found 70-80% of B2B decision-makers say they prefer remote interactions to in-person. Hence, video calls, emails, chats, and social media conversations are replacing lunches, dinners, drinks, and other forms of in-person entertainment as a salesperson’s primary relationship …
Is there anything worse than a boring PowerPoint presentation? Actually, yes, a poorly designed one. And according to Microsoft, it’s costing companies big.
...B2B Sales leaders need to rethink how they manage their sales organizations in terms of content, data, technology, processes and people to effectively compete in today’s social distanced, hybrid work; self-servicing world. Today and in the future, the best informed bird wins the sale. Why?70% or more of buyers are conducting pre-purchase research online50% or more …
Effective PowerPoint presentation deck design isn’t just about making your slides look great—you need to engage your buyers, hold their attention, and deliver a clear message they’ll remember and that motivates them to take action.Look over the last dozen presentation decks you’ve created or sat through and ask yourself: are your presentations up to the …
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the public’s outlook on many aspects of life. More specifically, the outlook on remote work and the future of the workplace in general was altered dramatically. Employees alternating between working remotely and working in the office isn’t just a temporary pandemic blip, but according to most research, a cultural shift that …
Love it or hate it, virtual presenting is here for the long haul and YOU need to be good at it. That’s what the smart folks over at Gartner Research think. And honestly, after looking at all of the various data I’ve seen published since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I think they’re right. But don’t take my …
Have you ever been at a networking event and met someone you really hit it off with, but there was just something off-putting about them that made you hesitant to work together? They had the connections, the skills, the product, the charisma…but man, their breath just stank? Now, the nice, reasonable guy in me would …
“What are the best ways to build rapport with customers or prospects during a virtual sales call or meeting?” – a great question answered in this post.
...
