We all have them… CRMs (Customer Relationship Manager). They can be as simple as an address book and as complex as a custom database system. The bottom line is they all have one thing in common… DATA! Names, address, emails, addresses, and some include the ability to track conversations, transactions and more. Have you ever…
As a healthcare provider and business professional with more than 40 years experience, Dr. Pavlik has “walked the walk” and understands the daily and long-term responsibilities involved in running a business. Paul is an author and Business Life Cycle Management coach. He helps business professionals, wherever they happen to be in their business life cycles, achieve success in that stage and future stages of their businesses. His goal is to have these professionals be comfortable with the business of their business, predictable with their cash flows, to have money in their bank accounts, and ultimately, to be able to sell their businesses to the right persons for the most they possibly can. Paul established Tracker Enterprises, Inc. to help other business professionals achieve financial success with unique concepts and tools that do not replace, but significantly augment, information received from an accountant, bookkeeper, financial consultant, and/or software management programs. He enjoys helping business owners and their teams discover how their decisions affect them both now and into the future. His services include coaching leadership skills, preparing business plans, valuations, entrance and exit strategies, and building and then interpreting forecasting, budgeting, and “what if” scenarios. Paul has earned the reputation of being a part-time, off-site, or virtual CFO to these businesses.
Most 12 step programs start with this… “Do you realize you have a problem?” When it comes to the sales process, most people seel to needs, but customers buy to wants. Ultimately, you have to get to the root cause of the problem the client is having, and help them find the optimum solution to it. You do this by helping them to explore issues surrounding the cause of the problem, and help them navigate to a successful, profitable, and satisfying solution!
Here are some things to ponder as you start to develop your sales conversations and marketing messages with potential customers:
Have you ever found something not working only to find you never turned the power on? In the world of electronics and troubleshooting, you start at the end first and work your way back to the source.
When it comes to success, I would like to offer you a similar solution. Most of the time people focus on tasks, then milestones, then goals, but I suggest that you go in rever order (reverse engineer). Start with the goal, build the milestones, and then outline the tasks.
I like to view success as a bridge between action and acquisition. Many people measure success by the acquisition of money, while others measure it differently…
Happy Customers?
Happy Team Members?
Happy Life? Lifestyle? Self?
In this episode, I will discuss how I use my goal of running a 5K race and how I use goals, milestones, and tasks to achieve success.
I was having a conversation with a friend and client where we started to dig into his sales team and the different takes on the sales process in general… he defined them as “Hunters” and “Gatherers.”
Hunters tend to be young, ambitious and energetic. The love the thrill of finding and closing new business clients. They love the thrill of the hunt and can’t wait to close and move on to the next deal.
Gatherers tend to be older, more experienced and love the steadiness and predictability of maintaining a client base. They tend to focus on building and maintaining current client relationships.
These two have a lot of difference, but also have a lot in common
They Work On A Schedule
They Communicate Regularly
They Measure Results
In this episode, we will discuss how you and/or your sales organization can be best served by a blend or mix of both Hunting and Gathering. Remember… What gets measured, gets done!
Have you ever had a client or project that just did not go as planned? Business is filled with learning lessons and If it was easy, that client may not have chosen you! You possess a level of expertise, knowledge and an ability to solve client problems. Sometimes what starts out as an outstanding and amicable relationship can take a turn for the worse and head south!
Sometimes it can be your fault, while other times it is the clients, but it’s usually not that cut and dry. Often it’s a combination of all of the above. So what can you do to get the project back on track?
There was a National Lampoon Magazine issue entitled “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine We Will Kill This Dog”. It was a very effective cover, but did it guilt people into buying the magazine? Probably not!
People don’t want to be guilted into buying something, but you can motivate them if you can empathize with them about being a victim…
HVAC – Not Maintaining vs Bad Quality
Food – Not Eating Healthy vs Hidden Ingredients
Money – Not Working Hard Enough – Not Knowing The Secrets
Mark S A Smith: Working in the world of technology since 1982, Mark uses systems thinking to help organizations successfully bring new, disruptive technology to market by orchestrating compelling, strategic conversations with executives.
Mark’s authored many books including include his latest Pivot to Profit from IT Disruption, Security in the Boardroom, Linux in the Boardroom, Guerrilla Negotiating, Guerrilla TeleSelling, & Guerrilla Trade Show Selling. Forthcoming: Selling Disruption & Executive Strategy Skills.
Part of the Perfect Marketing Strategy is looking forward to how you can grow your business through obtaining new sales with new customers. Hopefully, you have explored your past sales and found some trends that can help you see the opportunities ahead.
People tend to buy from an emotional perspective. Those emotions are tied to benefits, not features. You have to map out a strategy that helps people feel that you will make them feel better (more so than just getting the best deal).
As you start to plan out your Perfect Marketing Strategy, it always a good idea to look back before moving forward. Most all of this data can be found in your accounting system (Quickbooks or other). It should be reviewed monthly, quarterly, and annually. By mapping out your most recent sales, you have a good overview of the current state of your market segments.
This is part two of an 8 part podcast series. In this episode, we will cover how to map out that data and how it can give you analytics that will help you map out future sales.
