Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business 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

Some of us have been in the sales business long enough to remember having our leads and contacts listed in a Rolodex that sat on our desks. While the Rolodex has evolved into an online address book or the address book on our smartphone, the idea behind how to leverage your Rolodex remains the same. We invest a great deal of time and energy into obtaining contacts information. We have their phone numbers, their email addresses; their Twitter handles and are friends with them on Facebook. We may have all of this valuable information, but how many of us let our hard earned list sit and collect dust? We need to leverage our contacts and here are a few ways to do just that.

Organize Your List
Sales professionals can have hundreds or even thousands of leads and contacts on their list. If these leads are not organized in some fashion, these leads will be of little use. When you are networking, online and offline, have some type of system when you enter in their information. A great way to organize is to have specific subjects and place the leads in the appropriate section. Keep your sales leads separate from your possible joint venture contacts. Keep a list of current customers under one heading and keep a list of individuals your current customers referred to you under a different topic. Sometimes it helps to have your contact list entered into a spreadsheet. This allows you to move your contacts around, find your contacts easily and keep track of any notes that pertain to a specific individual. Organizing your leads will save you a great deal of time.

Start Contacting People
The main function of a list of contacts and leads is to actually pick up the phone or click ‘compose email’ and start a conversation. Business rapport and relationships do not happen overnight. Reach out to your list and begin engaging. This could mean that you utilizing email marketing or that you are following up on potential sales. Find out where your list members spend their time and take the time to get to know them. As you continue to build your rapport with your list of leads, you will quickly determine who should stay on your list and who should be removed. This is a great way to narrow down your contacts to those that you can build a great business relationship with.

Track Your List
This goes hand-in-hand with organizing your list. You should keep very detailed notes on each conversation and interaction that you have with the members of your list. If you reached out to them via a phone call, make a note in your spreadsheet indicating the date and the gist of the conversation. If Jane Smith is interested in a joint venture, make note of this so that you can get in touch and see if this would be a successful venture.

Your contact list can be your lifeline. Take the time to organize and start engaging with the contacts and leads on your list.

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

As marketing and sales professionals, it is important to go back and review the tips that help build a solid foundation that promotes success. Many sales tips and advice regarding how to be an excellent sales professional are tried and true. Many of these tips are things we already know or have perfected. Even if we think we have perfected the basics, it’s always important to go back and have a refresher course. Let’s take a look at a few sales tips that have worked for you in the past, and that will continue to work for you in the future.

Presentation
Does your presentation, sometimes called your deck, show your product/service at its very best? You need to practice and even memorize what you are selling. Be prepared at any given moment to shift to the specific selling point that will woo the person you are talking with. Does your presentation have a natural flow? This all comes with time. The worst thing in the world is to sound rehearsed. Your belief in your product is what will close every sale.

Sales Is An Art
There is always room for improvement. As a sales professional, you must continually learn and adapt. Subscribe to blogs and news outlets that deal with your area of expertise and that relay information about your target demographic. Reading and staying up to date on your field will always serve you. Information is never a bad thing.

Clear Communication
Your clientele will evolve and you need to evolve as well. Know what is trending, learn how to speak to different types of personalities and remember that you need to be able to answer any and all questions. If you are asked a question that you don’t know the answer to, make sure that you communicate to your customer that you will find the answer to their question. Honesty is key. You can always throw humor into the mix. Being sincere will always be appreciated by your potential customers.

As sales professionals, it is so important to continually strengthen your foundation. Go back to the basics. Take the time to remember why you are so passionate about the product or service that you are selling. Every individual that you engage with may not end up being your direct customer, but they will refer you and remember that you were sincere. In the end, you can always be better. Set aside a few hours each week to work on your professional development. This will serve you well.

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

As single business owners we often find ourselves stretched beyond our means. Our list of leads has dried up and your email inbox is empty. What can you do what you are at the end of your niche market? How can you find new customers to breath life back into your business? The answer is to consider a joint venture.

Joint ventures are arrangements between two business owners who have products and services that compliment each other. Compliment is the important word to remember. You do not want to strike up an alliance with someone who offers the exact same product or service. Nor do you wish to join forces with someone who can potentially turn joint customers into primarily their customers instead. How is this balance achieved? There are three simple steps to help make sure that your joint venture is a successful one. The all familiar “know, like and trust” apply in this situation.

Know Who You Are Working With
Do you honestly know this individual? Have you done business with them? You should be aware of their professional and personal reputation. Both of these elements will let you know if this is a good match. Understand how they do business and their methods of operation. If you know them, you can begin to trust them.

Trust Is Non-Negotiable
Trust is a factor that I cannot stress enough. If you cannot or won’t trust the person you are engaging in this joint venture with, you need to choose someone else. Joint ventures only work when both parties trust that both businesses offer above par products and services. A great tip is to have a sit-down with the individual you want to partner with and discuss your goals, values and overall mission. If both parties are in alignment, then you should proceed. Once you know whom you are working with and you trust them, you may end up liking them.

Liking Your Partner Is Helpful
Once the foundation has been built between two businesses and they have decided to join forces, the question of whether or not you like each other will come up. The truth is, you do not have to be bosom buddies. If you trust them and know that their business is a good fit with your business, liking each other is simply the icing on the cake. While being civil is necessary, becoming best of friends is not.

Successful joint ventures can improve the bottom line for both parties. If two businesses are a “fit”, such as an SEO expert and a website designer, the potential for financial success are endless. The key is to know, like and trust the individual you are choosing to be your joint venture partner.

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