ImagesMagUK_October_2020

www.images-magazine.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT KB Win sales by doing it better Nobody pays the juggler to toss one ball. Are you doing things better than most? I’m lucky in that I get to talk to many different business owners all day. I hear everything, and I ask a lot of questions. The ones that seem to be rebounding the best and actually increasing their sales are the ones that are focused more on the customer than themselves. You can tell it in simply how they talk. The ones that are struggling always seem to be offering excuses as to why something isn’t working for them. The successful group solves the problem rather than lamenting about it. ‘Doing it better’ is about doing what’s right for the customer, not yourself. It is adopting a no-excuses mentality and owning the answer your customer is looking for constantly. Top 10 ways to adopt a no-excuses mentality 1. Show up. Even when you don’t want to. Put in the work. 2. Own it. You are in charge. See it through. Even if this means that you are doing it yourself. 3. Find a way. If going left doesn’t work, make three rights. 4. Ask for help. It’s okay. People won’t think less of you. 5. Be early. My dad used to always say, “If you aren’t early, you are running late.” He was right. Being early creates opportunities for other things. Being late never does. 6. Train and practise to get it right. Seek first to understand before you can be understood. Often people don’t know what they don’t know. 7. Change your people or change your people. Either you elevate performance or get new folks that can be on the same train. 8. Be open to new ideas. They are all around you. Some might cost you money. Remember, it’s not what something costs that is important, but how much money you can make instead. 9. Learn. Failure is a lesson. What was the price of your education today? 10. Try to adopt the habit of getting 1% better every day. Small wins stack up. Be cognisant of yours. Win sales by being more human People want to do business with other people. And as people, we are always looking out for people that we can identify with somehow. But what happens if you hide behind that ‘professional’ facade? We’ll never get to know you. The more human you are these days, the better. I want to know more about you. What makes you tick? Where are you struggling or vulnerable? Can I help with that? Are we in alignment? That is what is driving more sales these days. It’s the reason virtual sales meetings are rampant and are working better than a lifeless email. To which, I like the idea of using more video in an email. Which to some is simply too scary to consider. But it isn’t that bad once you get past the early and awkward ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ stage. Top 10 ways to sell using video 1. Be yourself. You don’t have to be perfect, and neither does your video. 2. Have a ‘call to action’. What do you want them to do? Schedule a call? Pay an Marshall Atkinson is a production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting and co-founder of Shirt Lab, a sales and marketing education company, with Tom Rauen. He focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. www.atkinsontshirt.com invoice? Talk about that and include a button or link. 3. Send an explainer video with the proposal. Instead of writing an email, film what you would write and show the proposal and go over it. 4. Look at the camera lens. When filming, if you look at the camera lens while you speak, the viewer will feel like you are looking directly at them when they view it. It’s like being in the same room as them! 5. Smile at the beginning and at the end. No frowny faces! 6. Use the viewer’s name at least twice. 7. Keep it short. Two or three minutes is best. 8. Have good audio. Use a lapel microphone or a better way to capture the sound. 9. Before filming, clean your desk and area. Your mother was right. You are a slob. 10. Practice makes perfect. Don’t want to send something to your clients just yet? Fire one off to me and I’ll critique it for you. Seriously. Nobody wants to be sold to, but everyone wants to buy. Becoming a real person in the mind’s eye of your customer instead of a name on an email is how you develop relationships that last. Video is a great stepping stone to start that out because people are used to building trust with strangers because we learned that through television. Why else does having a famous athlete selling us pizza work? How come they don’t use food experts or chefs instead? Wrapping up You can win more sales this year if you put yourself out there and are proactive about making the changes necessary to adapt to the business market we’re living in now. Every day another shop is closing its doors because they didn’t do what it takes to change. It’s sad, and I feel for them and their families. Don’t let that be you.