Category: sales tools example

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The Top 10 Sales and Marketing Tools for 2016 #92

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neil and pat sales and marketing toolsThe  Top 10 Sales and Marketing Tools for 2016 with Neil Kristianson

In this end-of-year holiday special, Neil Kristianson returns to share a beer and conversation about the top 10 sales and marketing tools for 2016 we recommend you consider.

 

Top 10 Sales and Marketing Tools

  1. Crystal Knows – tool that provides the personality of a prospective person and the best way to communicate.
  2. Insightly  is a full featured FREE sales CRM to manage accounts, funnels, todo lists and notes.
  3. Ontraport Basic – full featured email CRM autoresponder, designed for the small business owner.
  4. YouCanBookMe   a FREE booking tool that provides a personalized scheduling page so your clients can be placed automatically on your calendar
  5. Boomerang is a email tool that allows you to schedule an email to be sent later.
  6. BossJock is a  recording studio  tool for publishing rich audio productions on location with iOS
  7. Rapportive is a gmail tool that allows you to see LinkedIn profiles in the gmail app. Also provides the ability to search on emails and other contact information for prospects
  8. Blab    is a livestreaming platform that enables a public video chat among four participants at a time, unlimited people can join the audience.
  9. Simpleology  a tool and process for improving personal productivity and success
  10. Calm  and iOS and Android app for meditation. 5 minutes provides a terrific productivity boost.

How to find Neil Kristianson

This is Neil’s email business Email Splat

This is the Facebook Forum he hosts Beyond the Opt-in

Find More Sales Resources and Advice

Go  here to find  Sales Babble resources:

  • How to prospect for new clients
  • How to qualify clients
  • How to ask great questions
  • How to give a presentation the persuades
  • How to close a deal
  • How to stay organized
  • How to overcome your fear of sales

Go here for free advice from our Sales Babble guests!

 

 

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Mobile CRM and BYOD Sales Tools For 2015 with Will Kelly #41

Will Kelly

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Our guest today is Will Kelly, a respected journalist, writer and expert in mobile enterWill Kellyprise and BYOD systems. Today we discuss the tools and emerging technologies ALL sales professionals should consider in 2015.  Will and I chat about mobile apps, the value of cloud based software and how you should decide what is a best match for you.

Click Here To Download This Episode

 

Emerging Trends

There is a move from BYOD to CYOD.  What does that mean?

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device .  In this case it’s YOUR smart phone, employers installs software on YOUR phone.
CYOD – Choose Your Own Device. In this case it’s the EMPLOYERS smart phone, fully provisioned.

Some people will balk at this blurring of private/public lines.  Some sellers would prefer to keep their contacts as their private list. Nevertheless employers will desire to provide tools because anything they can do to help sales people out in the field,  the better.

Apps of Note

Sellegy – 3rd party mobile app for splitting contacts that are private vs prospects/customers.

Huddle  – a challenger to Sharepoint that provides secure workspaces for sharing and working in the cloud.

Colligo Engage  – a brand new approach to enterprise collaboration. Colligo Engage  unites existing enterprise information systems together.

Predictions for 2015

  1. GoogleDocs market will shrink as MS Office 365 will grow. However this will not be the case for small businesses who will continual to cobble together technology that is free or low cost. SalesForce will not break into that market soon.
  2. The iPad will grow as a presentation tool.  Some sales presentation apps for the iPad mentioned:

    Story Desk – presentation app

    Showpad for sales media based presentations

    Kaon Interactive – 3D Interactive tools

  3. The Surface is not key to Microsoft’s success.
  4. Google and Microsoft subsume the lower end of mobile management
  5. The future is custom apps for specific organizations. Apps that provide secure access to the

I also mentioned Mike Muhney’s Vipor CRM in episode 35.  Check it out!

 Get Organized

If you’re new to sales or just starting your own business, you should be using  a CRM to keep track of your prospective clients. I’ve created a  brief guide that explains the benefits of adopting this type of system as well as a few links where you can find a zero or low cost CRM solution.

You can find and download the CRM Starter Guide here as a pdf file. Get ready for 2015 and download it now.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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Top 10 Tips on Sales and Marketing from 2014 a Fireside Chat With Neil Kristianson #38

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In this episode I gather around the fireplace with Neil Kristianson of EmailSplat  to discuss what we’ve learned in 2014.

2014 was the inaugural year of Sales Babble.   With the year drawing to a close it’s a great opportunity to reflect.

Click Here To Download this Episode

 

Top 10 Sales and Marketing Discoveries

This is the list

  1. Emerging technology of conditional content on websites and email
  2. The necessity of having a formal email list to market prospective clients
  3. SPIN Selling
  4. The fear of picking up a phone and calling prospects is wide and deep
  5. The availability of inexpensive tools to improve productivity and effieciency
  6. Make a decision and stick with it
  7. Be a leader/matchmaker
  8. It’s harder to be an entrepreneur than it looks
  9. The use of native advertising(retargeting, integrated ads, etc…)
  10. Building a network of colleagues is one of the best things you can do for your career.

Resources Mentioned

 

What Did You Learn in 2014?

Reflect back on your own experience this year. What did you learn that worked? What did you learn  didn’t’ work this year?  Why not build your network and share some of your wisdom with others?

Go to www.facebook.com/SalesBabble and post a couple  items to the Sales Babble audience. Let’s create a conversation and make connections with like minded folks.

Grow Your Confidence in Sales

Want to grow your confidence in sales? Here are 20 Sales Secrets For Success that will help you build your own Sales Training program.

Do you have a need for Marketing Automation Services?

You have a  desire to find the lost profits hidden in your email list.  So why does your email marketing consistently fall short of your dream?

Take a moment and learn a bit about EmailSplat and answer the question: Is Your Marketing Living Up To Your Expectations?

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SB035 – How to Build Relationships using CRMS, an Interview with Mike Muhney

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Mike MuhneyMike Muhney is a the co-inventor of the famous ACT! Contact Management tool. In this episode we talk about the capabilities of CRMs,  the value they bring for  day-to-day sales,  and how sales professionals can use them to build relationships.

Since all client vendor relationships are permission based, it’s critical to manage each opportunity wisely. A CRM allows you to control the details, schedule and manage the sale.  Mike shares stories illustrating this concept.

Click Here to Download this Episode

 

Building  Relationships using CRMS

Throughout the conversation we speak of CRMs – Customer Relationship Management Systems.

These systems are commonly used by  large organizations to manage customers and prospective client  relationships.  But they can add value to small companies too.

Mike believes it’s well worth the effort to put energy in collecting information on your customers.

CRM Critical Reputation Management

Mike likes to think of  CRMs  in these terms: Critical Reputation Management.

  • You manage you.
  • You  manage your ability to advance opportunities.
  • Not managing clients, but managing you.

It’s all about proving  reliability,  credibility and an  attention to details.  It’s an opportunity to show you’re on time and  on target.  Using a CRM allows you to remember the details and be the kind of person who does what they say , and say what they do.

Throughout the conversation Mike repeats that  relationships are permission based.  You must create trust to allow a prospective client to open up to you.  A CRM allows you to control the  sale.  If you are professional in the sales process, you’re more likely to win the deal.

CRM Resources

Mike has graciously offered free use of his Vipor CRM.

Type in “VIPorbit” on the App store to download on your smart phone.

This is the link to the VIPorbit CRM Tool      The  iPhone and iPad versions are free. Mac $50.  Android is coming.

This is Mike’s LinkedIN account   You are welcomed to reach out to him.

This is Mike’s email   mike@viporbit.com

Again when it comes to CRMS, the focus needs to be on you, not the customer.     CRMS can help you get organized.

Its all about using your 24×7 to maximize your success. When implementing  Sales Training in your Small Business, you would be wise to consider adding  CRM training to the mix.  They’re a must for the organized seller!

 

Review Sales Babble on iTunes

Do you love Sales Babble?  Show us some love.   Click here to submit a review in iTunes.    We really appreciate it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Non-Sellers Blueprint, Email Marketing Tips with Neil Kristianson #11

We train coach consult and teach a selling style that fits your personality and works.

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iTunes Art WorkV2Email Marketing Tips

In this episode we  interview Neil Kristianson who shares the journey he made from being an order taker, to a salesman. When the  home remodeling market crashed,  the rise in competition motivated Neil to create new processes that build trust with prospective clients via email auto-responders. Today we learn the blueprint he used to grow his business.

Neil is an email marketing specialist, certified business coach, music marketing producer and entrepreneur. This is the first time we have a guest join us in the Sales Babble Studio and you’ll find it unusually relaxed and fun.

Right-click here to download the MP3

In This Episode

… we talk about :

  • How to use email  marketing to generate leads for sales
  • The importance of being honest with problems and how it adds credibility
  • The power of using a series of emails  to nurture trust
  • How Neil used a Sales Warming Kit to engage clients and prepare them for the sales call.

Items of Interest

This episode mentioned  the following resources:

Breakthrough

Neil recommended three pieces of advise:

  1. Build an email list!  Nurture leads over a long time.
  2. Get clear about what you’re selling – Ask the question “Are you sure what you  think is important is the same thing your prospective customers think is important?”
  3. Be yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses.  Don’t be something you’re not. Be you.

Announcing the Selling Secrets for Non-Sellers Workshop!

We’re  offering a live workshop to teach selling secrets to non-sellers on on Thursday,  June 26 at the IIT Rice Campus in Wheaton IL… Just west of Chicago.  It’s all about learning  a selling style that fits your personality and works.

The Sales Babble Workshop  is  a terrific  opportunity for sales professionals  to learn strategic selling styles in an interactive forum. Thid in-person  workshop  promises to provide actionable scripts, processes and practice that can be applied  the very next day –   or your money back!

Your resistance to selling  will be directly addressed. You will learn that sales is not about pushing customers to buy,  but instead a process of discovering and serving the customer’s needs and desires.

Click here to register  on Eventbrite

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Goal Planning with Two Simple Tools

 

MH900422950Without a clear destination in mind it’s easy to get lost when visiting a large city. With a clear goal and  map in hand,  a frustrating episode of wrong turns quickly becomes a fun adventure . The same is true when it comes to business. In sales it’s important to have a map of your goals and objectives. With a set of goals and metrics it’s easy to see your progress and the likelihood of meeting those objectives. But sometimes,  it’s easy to get buried by the paperwork.  And often times, people never get around to it.  What’s a savvy sales manager to do?

Consider a simple two-step process that’s half online and half good old fashioned paper. Other than GoogleDocs, there are no fancy apps to learn or download.

Drawing the Goal Line

All of us should have at least five major goals you plan  to achieve by years end. But the goals shouldn’t be ephemeral hopes and wishes; they should be complete, concise and achievable. These goals are commonly known as SMART goals:

  • Specific  – I want this problem solved and it will look like “this”
  • Measurable – tied to some number: increase, decrease, percentage, etc
  • Attainable – doable with the resources you have access
  • Realistic – laws of physics honored
  • Timely – completed by some date: e.g. 3 days, 6 months, EOY, etc..

So for example: Selling a lot of widgets, is NOT a SMART Goal. Selling 10 widgets in the next 4 months is a SMART goal. Posting a video on YouTube that will go viral is NOT a SMART goal;  this isn’t realistic,  you can’t control it. But you can control posting one video on some topic in two weeks. That’s a SMART goal.

 A Project Plan Per Goal

Each goal will get a project plan, a list of steps and milestones needed to complete the goal. Place the project plan in a GoogleDoc. What’s great about a GoogleDoc is it’s free, safe and accessible anywhere on the web.

Create a numbered list and write the things you need to do, in order. Sometimes it’s best to work backwards from the end goal.   Once written, strike out steps as you progress. It’s important to review the project plan every few days. If other people are delegated a step on the project list, it’s your job to keep on top of them.

If you work the project plan, you’ll work the goals. 

 Each morning make a “to-do” list. I do this on paper but you could do it online. Make sure items on the list address tasks on the project plan. My goal is to do 90% of the items on the list by the end of the day. Often times it’s 100%.  Items not completed get moved over to a new list the next morning.

 If you work the items on the to-do list,

you’ll work the project plan.

 This process is a simple way to keep focused and stop thrashing. By breaking a job down into small doable tasks, projects that at first look overwhelming, become achievable.  Steady progress wins the race.

Time For Action

Make a list of goals now, five of them. Rank them in importance. Take the top three and build project plans for each.  Build a to-do list and make sure items on the project plan are addressed.  We have a Sales Babble Project Plan Template available for download.

Click here for the template

 We all dream about the things we would like to accomplish. The best way to achieve those dreams is to set goals. But sometimes we need a little help meeting our goals. The first step is to track your progress. Watching your progress is an encouraging experience.

How do you manage your projects?  Take a moment and share in the comments how YOU manage your goals now.