SalesLife Magazine November 2016 Edition #3

The Magazine for Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs on the move

SALESL IFE www.saleslife.co.za

Social Media Strategy3 ways to Showcase testimonials

Issue #3 November 2016

iNFOGRAPHIC

Is Cold Calling Dead?

Creating Irresistable Content

In this months issue.

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34 JO IN U S >

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A defining moment indeed!

Astounded! The year has literally flown by my very own eyes and I cannot believe that we stand on the cusp of another Christmas in South Africa.

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I’ve been recently reflecting on defining moments in my life and how exactly does one know when it arrives…? Do you just know or do you need a tad more emotional intelligence than usual to really acknowledge that this is a moment that is golden and breathe it in for all that it is and enjoy the present moment as if it was all that existed, because technically that can be validated by quantum physicists!

I cannot say exactly what the answer is.

Perhaps a pinch here and a tablespoonful there…but I do know for certain that there are enchanted moments in our lives which will weigh up the measure of a person. They may appear magically, either in the form of an epiphany of chance where a veil is lifted and all seems crystal clear moving forward or a mighty blow which sends you reeling and just about knocks your breath out of your stomach.

I can simply state unequivocally that being part of SalesLife Magazine is such a defining moment. Having the honour of your time and a a slice of your attention is such a privilege and I can assure that I don’t take that lightly. I believe wholeheartedly now and forevermore that mankind was meant to serve one another and we all know this intrinsically deep down inside. Yet we fight it and in doing so flit in and out of self awareness and deny ourselves our true destinies…either by harming ourselves by not believing in ourselves enough or by not empowering others when they have a chance at completing their circle of destiny.

In a post-apartheid South Africa-(and I write the word-’apartheid’ in lowercase), we have a country of such promise that if only we could but serve one another in mutuality and utter reciprocity…and every man, woman and child could be accountable for their choices and try to make the right ones in accord with one another in social networking, sustainable development and community building, we could be a powerful example to the world. A rainbow nation once embittered and torn apart by racism but now united in serving one another and together as one, serving the world. All done selflessly mind you.

I know I ask a lot, but if a man can conceive it…so can he achieve it.

I have planted a seed in your mind and my intention is that it grows roots down to your heart and perhaps we will all meet halfway in service to one another. There it is that green grass grows.

I hope that you totally enjoy this months November edition of SalesLife Magazine. Next months December issue is a bumper edition and will leave you all saying mantras for a white South African Christmas wrapped in a blanket of snow and a Happier New Year…in service to all.

youshaa@saleslife.co.za

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Feedback

letter of the month

Connect with us.

Your chance to share your thoughts and ideas with other SalesLife Magazine readers.

We would love to hear from you and share your stories with the world regarding your life in Sales, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Remember to keep it concise and we will publish your winning letter covering your experiences in terms of successes and challenges in your sales life.

Connect with us. Tell us what you think of our magazine and just how our articles have helped you in your sales life!

Remember that SalesLife Magazine fosters a ‘mind-body-spirit’ combined with a ‘sales-marketing-entrepreneurship’ approach to your sales life, so we would love to hear from you in that regard. 200 words max. We reserve the right to edit.

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Write & Win! T

In 2008, Paco Robanne first presented the masculine fragrance,1 Million that soon became extremely popular. It has since been worn by successful executives and entrepreneurs the world over.

Smell like a million bucks with the perfume which was inspired by Paco Robanne's metallic fashion and created in cooperation with three famous noses for perfumes, Christophe Raynaud, Olivier Pescheux and Michel Girard, who mixed this year's edition from the notes of sparkling grapefruit, red orange, mint, rose, cinnamon, spices, blond leather, blond wood, patchouli and amber. Divine!

The opinions expressed in these letters are not necessarily those of SalesLife Magazine.

We reserve the right to edit letters. While we respect the wishes of writers who wish to remain anonymous, we will not publish any letter unless we have the full name, address and contact details of the writer.

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We ask the question- “Is Cold Calling dead…?”

And the answer is not entirely surprising!

J U S T A L K IN

Cold Calling has a negative image with many sales professionals across the globe. Yet it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Cold Calling brings out the best in a sales force and its a challenge that many rise to…

By SalesLife Magazine

ITS AN AGE OLD QUESTION...

Is Cold Calling Dead? That’s what you hear. No one likes making cold calls. No one likes receiving cold calls. The Internet and email has replaced the telephone. Cold calling is old-fashioned. It’s not cool. It doesn’t work. Or does it?

In terms of direct marketing, cold calling is actually one of the most targeted, efficient and effective ways to reach potential customers. Nothing beats having a real conversation with a prospect. Here are some studies that back this up: In 6 Lead Generation Insights for 2007, a research report by Mike Schultz, publisher of RainToday.com; Andrea Meachan Rosal, Chief Content Officer of Rain Today.com and John Doerr, Principal of the Wellesley Hills Group concluded that: Cold calling is second only to referrals as the number one lead generation tactic.” And from the Marketing Sherpa Business Technology Marketing Presentation 2007: So, yes, that's absolutely an endorsement of good old-fashioned cold calling, especially when it's targeted and appropriate.” Stefan Tornquist, Research Director MarketingSherpa.com. Cold calling does work. The issue is that most people do it poorly, which is why it does not work for them. An important point here is that cold calling must be “targeted and appropriate.”

Here are some prevalent misconceptions about cold calling: ● Cold calling is a numbers game: Make 100 dials/day and someone will eventually say, “yes”. ● Cold calling is a numbers game: Go through the “no’s” and hang ups until you finally get a “yes”. ● Anyone is a prospect: Open the phone book and start making calls. ● Practice rebuttals to ensure that you can corner the prospect. ● Manipulate the prospect into agreeing. ● ABC: Always Be Closing!

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Taking Control ‘Builder of great sales and marketing character”.

I doubt these tactics were ever truly effective. Ten years ago, maybe--or even five years ago, however, it was easier to get people on the telephone. It probably was possible to simply keep making calls until someone said “yes.” Today one can make calls for long periods of time without ever reaching a prospect directly. That is why the “numbers game” idea is a myth. So is the idea that “anyone is a prospect.”

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old calling today is direct, targeted and above all it’s a communication skill.

Those who disparage cold calling are totally missing the point. The bottom line is that no matter where you find a lead, whether from networking or a referral (or even if someone calls you) at some point you will need to speak with that prospect on the telephone and if you are not able to communicate the value of the product or service that you represent, you won't get the customer. In today’s business environment, however, it is imperative to understand the rules, what has changed, what works today and what will simply waste your time.

Here are the Cold Calling Rules for the 21st Century: 12 www.saleslife.co.za November

Priority no 1 1. Have a targeted list Before starting a cold calling campaign create a profile of the ideal prospects you are trying to reach. What that means is that out of everyone in the entire world who might buy what you sell, who is most likely to? And who is most likely to buy a lot of what you sell and then keep returning to buy more?

Describe this ideal customer in specific detail. Use criteria like: What industry? Where are they located? What is the title of the decision-maker? Does this market have challenges or issues that your product or service can solve? If you are calling in the consumer market, what are the demographics of your ideal prospects? Where do they live? Work? Go to school? These are your “qualifying parameters,” the parameters that describe your ideal prospect who is likely to buy, buy a lot and come back to buy more. Then, only call the leads that fit your “ideal customer profile.” If a prospect does not meet your parameters, they are not a qualified prospect.

You will spin your wheels and waste your time trying to reach them and they will not buy or not buy very much.

In business-to-business calls make sure to only call the highest-level person you believe is the decision-maker.

If that person is not the decision-maker, they’ll be able to tell you who is. Far too many sales professionals and business owners waste their time calling too low. They do this with the idea that somehow the calls will be easier. They won’t. This will simply waste your time and extend your sales cycle. If you are not speaking with a decision-maker, you are not speaking with a qualified prospect. If you are not speaking with a qualified prospect, they will never buy from you.

Ouch!

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Priority 2.

Answer your prospect’s question: Why should they be interested?

In addition to having a targeted list, your approach must be targeted to the market and the individual that you are calling. It must be relevant. There is no generic approach that will work. Preparation counts, big time. Ask yourself these questions: What are your prospects’ challenges?

What is their history?

What’s happening now?

What problems do you solve for your customers?

What problems can you potentially solve for your prospects?

How do you help your customers?

In order to create an approach that will resonate with prospects you must dig deeply to understand them. Do your homework and do the research. They will not tell you; they’ll expect you to know. Prospects today are busy; they are bombarded from all sides. If you want to get their attention on a prospecting call you need to have something compelling to say. It must be relevant. Truly understanding your prospects and their situations will help you craft an approach that will enable you to have a productive conversation with them.

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Priority 3.

Understand the goal of your call.

Many people confuse the idea of cold calling with the idea of closing a sale. Every sale goes through a cycle from the introduction to information gathering to offering a solution to closing.

Cold calling is not closing a sale. That comes later. Most sales professionals and/or business owners are making calls to set face-to-face meetings or have some type of introductory conversation. The cold call is not the sale--it is the introduction.

This concept frames your entire approach. On most cold calls you are not asking the prospect to buy from you over the telephone or to agree to let you replace their current vendor. You are only asking to have a productive conversation.

This approach has two advantages: Your prospect feels far less pressure (you never want a prospect to feel pressure because they will run) and you also feel less pressure (you don’t have to close on the phone.)

Conclusion There you have it…we beg to differ that cold-calling is only as alive and well as the sales practitioners drive and determination.

Mature and focused staff are always an asset to any sales force…and we at SalesLife Magazine salute the cold-calling heros who bring home the bread to the table for their families…call after call after call.

Long Live the Cold-Caller!

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Creating Irresistable content.

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What Is Compelling?

First, we have to deal with the idea of “compelling content,” and this is the difficult part. Compelling to whom?

Compelling how? Here’s the thing, compelling is in the eye of the beholder. If you want to be compelling, you have to know what is already compelling to your prospective clients or customers–or what should be compelling to them.

If you are going to create content as part of your “above the funnel” marketing or nurturing efforts, you need to decide who should be compelled and why. There is no better lens with which to answer this question than your buyer’s journey.

“I Hate Everything Right Now” Most buyers beginning their buying journey are compelled by some recognized gap in their performance. They realize that the status quo is no longer serving them, and they are motivated to change. When they start typing their query into Google, they search for content that speaks to that dissatisfaction.

The gap might be something as simple as not knowing where to eat dinner in a city you have never visited. It might something more personal, like how to lose weight or get back in shape. But it’s a little more complicated for sales organizations that sell business-to-business where the outcomes are more complicated. The best of your time and energy is spent thinking about the challenges your prospective clients face and how they talk about those challenges.

What are the challenges your clients face right now? What are the areas where they struggle to perform as well as they need to? What words do they use to describe those challenges? Writing content that speaks to these challenges is compelling because it is aligned to what your buyers need right now. It serves them by helping them to understand their dissatisfaction, and it puts them on the path to finding answers.

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“I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know” Buyers need help uncovering their real needs. They have their own ideas about what needs to change and how they might need to do things differently. But they don’t know what they don’t know. When they search for help, they look for help discovering their real needs. They also search for people and companies that can help them understand their needs.

One of the strongest benefits of creating compelling content is that you can give your prospective client some idea of how you view their challenges and how they might think about what they need.

What do your prospective clients need to do to overcome their challenges? What do they need to change, why do they need to change it, and how does that change make a difference? Your answers here give your prospective buyers the insight as to how they might think about their needs while providing clues about what you believe and how you might help.

“What Are My Options?”

Once your prospective buyers understand what they need, they want to know what their choices are to effectively deal with that need. At this stage of their journey, you have a lot of great options for producing content.

What are the range of choices available to your prospective clients? What can they do? What are the tradeoffs they may need to consider? Would you recommend one course of action over another?

But there is a second set of questions here that can guide you towards compelling content. How are you different?

And more importantly, why do you do what you do in a way that is different than your competitors? How does that difference make a difference for your clients?

Some of the content you create should help you position yourself in your market. It should differentiate you by explaining what you believe makes a difference in producing the results your buyer needs.

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“Prove It�

The final stage buyers march through on their journey is avoiding risk and ensuring execution. Stories are compelling, and so is data. What stories can you tell about where your clients were when you found each other, what you discovered together, and how you produced better results? What measurements can you use to speak about the impact of the changes you made?

Content that tells the story of how you helped your client get to the better results they were seeking give your prospective clients the vision of what they can look forward to. It helps them to see their future results. That vision can be seriously compelling.

Compelling How? You create content to help your prospective buyer through their journey, but you need to compel them to take some action. Your content needs to leave them with a call to action. If you can help them better understand the source of their dissatisfaction, your content needs to compel them to connect with you in whatever way best serves both of you in exploring ways you might help.

How do you make it easy for your prospective buyer to connect with you? How do you assure them that by connecting you that you are going to be helpful instead of desperately trying to prematurely push them for a deal? What is the first commitment you need them to make and what is the value proposition for them when they agree to that commitment? Is it signing up for more information? Is it scheduling a call?

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A Final Thought The biggest mistake you can make in designing a content strategy is to withhold. Your content will never be compelling if you don’t tell your prospective client the what, why, and the how. If you aren’t willing to share how they can improve what they are doing now, your content will fall short of the mark. It won’t be compelling because it doesn’t provide any answers and it leaves your prospective buyer even more dissatisfied. You can’t create content that leaves your prospective client in the same stage as where you found them.

Many sales organizations are too fearful about sharing content that answers their buyer’s questions with actionable information. They believe that their answers are their intellectual property, and sharing deprives them of the ability to capture some of the value they create. There is some truth to this, and there is some risk. But the greatest risk for most sales organizations now is that they share content that isn’t compelling, doesn’t help their prospective client with their buying journey, and doesn’t give them the experience of what it might be like to work with them. The greater risk is irrelevance.

Create compelling content by looking at what your prospective clients or buyers need as they work their way through their buying journey. The more helpful you are in serving their needs here, the more your content will be compelling. And the more likely you are to create new clients.

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pro series

Social Media Strategy.

3 ways to showcase testimonials

Social Media is the future of Sales‌

“

In our digital age, consumers are just as likely to trust the opinions they find in online reviews as they are to trust those of their friends.

The numbers prove it: recent polls show that close to 92% of consumers make a purchase decision based on online reviews of products and services. Most are coming from social media.

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We are social creatures…

There’s also the “I’ll have what they’re having” principle, which explains why companies often highlight their best sellers. And let’s not forget about “implicit egotism,” the psychological phenomenon that explains why we gravitate toward the choices made by people who resemble us. This one is key to understanding why you should always highlight testimonials from people who are most representative of your target audience.

When it comes to your social media marketing strategy, make sure to highlight your testimonials in ways and places where your target audience will be most likely to see them. This should involve finding out which online social channels your target audience uses most - such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter - and displaying your testimonials there. This will expose your target audience to your testimonials without requiring them to leave their comfortable ‘watering holes’.

Here are some ways to incorporate testimonials into your social media marketing strategy:

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1. Address your target audiences pain points Defining your target audience is key when you’re putting together your social media marketing strategy. Indeed, what you determine about your target audience will guide most of your marketing and social media activities. This process involves gaining close familiarity with your target’s pain points - what problems they’re trying to solve, what challenges they’re facing, what goals are they aiming to achieve, etc.

Incorporate your testimonials in your social media marketing strategy by using the knowledge you have about your target audience’s pain points. Listen and participate in online conversations in groups where your target audience hangs out. Based on these conversations and on your buyer personas, you can understand what it is that you can offer them that your competition can’t (or hasn’t).

Within the relevant social media groups, you should answer questions, make comments, and share testimonials and client stories that speak to those pain points and show how you solved their problems - so potential clients can imagine how you can solve their problems, too.

Think about implicit egotism - any testimonial you have from a person experiencing the same issue as your target audience is a powerful tool to help you generate new business.

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2. Include in Testimonials You need a social media marketing strategy because social media is so powerful, right? So, why not pull an “Inception”, and incorporate social media into your testimonials, themselves?

Social media, with testimonials, with social media….

Let me explain…Displaying testimonials that include links to the reviewers’ social media profiles, alongside their profile pictures, gives you the best chances at having your potential clients connect with the testimonials and your brand. This means that the odds of the testimonials positively impacting their buying decisions will be greatly improved.

If your prospects can click on your testimonials to see the reviewers’ profiles and discover what their jobs, locations, ages, etc. are, then they can quickly identify reviewers who are like them (remember implicit egotism?), making it easier for them to imagine that your product, service or solution can work for them, too.

In addition to helping your target audience relate to the stories in your testimonials (which already goes a long way toward creating lead conversions), featuring photos and links to social media profiles makes your testimonials 100% trustworthy and legitimate.

Testimonials are social proof that your company or your brand is doing what it’s supposed to efficiently.

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3. Content is KING! As a marketer, you’re surely familiar with the phrase “content is king”, and you most likely understand the validity of the statement. Content and social media marketing constantly intersect. In fact, 64% of marketers consider social media to be one of the top 3 tactics for content marketing, making this junction an ideal place to incorporate testimonials for greater visibility and lead generation.

One way to use testimonials with your content is to create a new content piece, such as a blog post, video or case study, around one or more of your testimonials. This is a great way to highlight a testimonial that specifically discusses a pain point your target audience typically has. It also provides you with a great opportunity to use the powerful tool of storytelling.

Neuro-economics master Paul Zak has found that storytelling can elicit powerful empathetic responses: “Stories are powerful because they transport us into other people’s worlds,” he says, and this type of empathetic reaction triggers the release of Oxytocin - the “trust hormone.” Thus, when people get emotionally involved, they're more connected to your brand and more likely to buy from you. Because storytelling gets your prospects emotionally involved, highlighting testimonials in dedicated content pieces and circulating them on social media channels will do wonders for helping you generate more leads.

This is an activity you can schedule to do on a regular basis, or whenever you have a new testimonial that merits a dedicated content piece.

Testimonials have never been more effective at helping businesses grow than they are now, and giving them a spot in your social media marketing strategy. will make them even more successful in their efforts to bring you traffic.

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