Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Losing focus happens to us all. The field of sales and marketing is fast paced. With the benefit of being on social media networks, networking in person, contacting new leads and following up with current customers can quickly become overwhelming. There are times that a whole week will fly by and you have been caught up in everything but your overall objective. With all of these moving parts, how can you stay focused?

Make A List
Do you have a list of the specific goals that you want to accomplish in a certain amount of time? If you have clear cut objectives for the month, the quarter or the year, you need to have those written down. Keep this list of goals in a place that is easily accessible. For some, it’s a hand written note. For others, this list is kept online for easy access. Regardless of how you keep track of your goals, keep them written down. This allows you to reflect on the goals that you have achieved. This also allows you to evaluate what strategies and methods are working and which ones need to be changed up to see optimal results. Make a list and check it twice.

Keep A Tight Schedule
It is impossible to keep your schedule or calendar organized in your mind. If you are depending on your memory alone to keep your details straight, you can guarantee that things will slip through the cracks. Therefore, you must have a system for your schedule. Google calendar is a great way to keep track of everything on your daily to-do list. Google calendar also sends you a reminder to let you know when an appointment or deadline is approaching. If you prefer to keep your calendar in a hard copy format, make sure the system works for you. Before you call it a day, make a note of the first few things that are on your agenda for the next day. This will mentally prepare you for the day, giving your brain a chance to get a jump start on being focused and productive.

Third Party Objective
When we are immersed in our business, our viewpoint becomes similar to that of being in a fishbowl. We don’t always see things in an objective manner. By asking someone outside of our business to give us their observations, we are given a well-rounded view of our business. This shows us what is working and what is not working. We may not see our marketing efforts as being too aggressive, but an outside view may show that we are being too aggressive. This is a great way to see your business as a whole.

Maintaining focus is critical for all sales professionals. By keeping a list of our goals/objectives, having a great calendar system and getting outside observations, we will be able to remain focused.

Happy Marketing!
Sean
(Image Creative Commons)
Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Have you told yourself that you must be humble in order to be a great sales professional? It is important to show your authentic self and to be honest, but all too often in our attempt to be transparent we neglect to show off our achievements. You have worked hard to achieve success and there is nothing wrong with bragging, as long as you keep your feet on the ground. How can you brag about your business and your achievements without appearing as if you have a large ego to your audience?

Give Credit
Have you written an article or a blog post that was featured on a prominent blog or website? Being featured on respected outlets is a great reason to let your customers know that you were given that honor. You want to be thought of as the authority and the expert in your field. Nothing validates your statement of being an expert more than being respected by blogs and websites that are considered great resources in your industry. When you are published online, take the time to let your customers know by posting links to your article or blog via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They do not want to search to read what you have written, so make it easy for them to find.

Testimonials
Asking satisfied customers to provide a testimonial is a must. You may find it intrusive to ask them to give a testimony but the majority of satisfied customers will gladly take a few minutes to provide positive feedback for your business. You should have these testimonies on your website. Potential customers will have an easier time trust your business if they see that prior customers have been happy with your work.

Awards
Have you won awards of received acclaim, either due to professional or personal achievements? If you have been given an award of achieved special accolades, you will want to have those on your website as well. Most industries have some form of achievement that one can be awarded. It is a good idea to see what awards exist in your niche business and strive to win them.

Showing off your achievements is a good form of bragging. You are showing your current customers and your potential customers that you are taken seriously in your field. You should not hesitate to broadcast when your content has been published on well -respected sites. Your customers can’t read what you have written if they don’t know where to look. The same applies to any awards and testimonies you have received. If you want to be taken seriously as an expert in your field, it is in your best interest to acquire these elements and have them visible on your website.

Happy Marketing!
Sean
(Image Creative Commons)
Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert – Motivational Speaker

We spend a great deal of time learning strategies and working long hours to achieve a measure of success as a professional in the sales and marketing industry. When you take the time to think of how many hours, in any given week, are devoted to ROI and a nice paycheck, how much of your time is devoted to your work? It is so easy to get caught up in the routine of getting leads, calling numbers, creating content and finding how to make various marketing methods work for you. We quickly get caught up in this routine and before we know it, it’s been years since we have had a vacation. Has this happened to you? When was the last time you had some quality time to sit and reflect and reap the benefits of your hard work?

We all need to take moments to celebrate and enjoy the efforts of our hard work. There are many ways to accomplish this task. The thing to remember is that you should never feel guilty for celebrating. If we don’t celebrate and take time to spoil ourselves, we will never realize why we are working so hard. If you can’t remember the last time you took a weekend off, you need to schedule the first open weekend off. Get off the grid. Unplug your computer, shut off your phone and get out of the house. Trust me, you won’t miss a ‘golden opportunity’ simply because you are taking 48 hours to get in touch with the world that is surrounding you.

If you are able, take a vacation to a place you have never visited. Take a weekend at a day spa or a retreat. You will be amazed at how refreshed and revitalized you feel when you plug back into the world Monday morning. You will have newfound energy and a clear head. In truth, you will do better with your sales and marketing after you have had some down time. We don’t realize it, but we do not always do our best work when we continually push through walls. We let things slip through the cracks, we aren’t at the top of our game and our potential customers and leads are aware of this when we talk to them.

We spend so much time devoted to our jobs that we get caught up in the hours and rarely take time to relax and enjoy the benefits of our hard work. As soon as you can, take a weekend for yourself. Spend time with your family and loved ones and give your brain a rest.

Thank You!
Sean
(Image Creative Commons)
Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert – Motivational Speaker

One of the hardest things about being in the sales profession is converting your leads into actual buying customers. We learn about selling techniques and strategies and try out many of these tactics and sometimes we are left with less than stellar results. Have you found yourself in this position? Do you find yourself pushing harder and harder for a sale the longer you go without a closing? If this is the case, you need to sit back, relax and re-evaluate your methods. Converting leads into sales takes time, practice and energy. Here are a few things that will assist you.

Form A Relationship
If your mind is centered only on making the sale, you are missing out on the big picture. While closing the sale is a goal, it is only part of the goal. Your goal should be to form a long lasting relationship with your customers. Getting that first sale is great but forming a rapport that leads into repeat business and referrals is much better.

Be Authentic
Don’t be afraid to be you. We all have different personality types and it is important to remember that you are not going to be the perfect fit for every lead that you have. You need to have open communication and see if your product truly is the ideal fit for your potential customer. Your customer will appreciate your upfront honesty and authenticity more than you pushing your product down their throat. In many cases, if a lead isn’t the right fit to be a buying customer, they will have friends or family members that are. When you are authentic, you almost guarantee a positive referral.

Give Them Value
In order to form a great relationship with your customer in today’s market, you must provide value. Social media provides great platforms where you can offer your potential customers information. You can also use these platforms to engage and interact with your current and potential customers. Give your potential customers a reason to trust and like you by providing a stead stream of great content that helps them.

Numbers Matter
The core of turning leads into buying customers is all a matter of numbers. Get leads wherever you can, the more the better. If you are only working with a list of 100, you may end up with 10 buying customers. If you are working with a list of 1000, your odds increase to a potential 100 buying customers or more. A large part of sales is a numbers game. The more leads you have, the more no’s you can plow through to get to those yes’.

One of the most challenging and frustrating part of the sales profession can be turning your list of leads into actual sales. Take the time to implement the above strategies and you will be pleased with the results.

Happy Marketing!
Sean
(Image Creative Commons)
Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert – Motivational Speaker