Business Coach | Social Media & Sales

This business coach post is about social media and sales.

My friends, the internet has given more and more power to the people for building a business, procuring sales, being a business coach, or just communicating via social media. Some people in San Francisco did not agree with the way that their subway system was being managed, so they hacked into the system and published the personal information for members of the law enforcement community. The people of America got upset with President George Bush, so they used social media in HUGE numbers that had never been seen before to help get President Barack Obama elected. Social Media is massive and it is growing. Recent studies are now showing time and time again that people are staying connected to their Facebook all day. When they are awake, they are connected via their smart phones. Now more than ever, your company has to “stay in conversation” with your clients. They will post comments on your Facebook “Wall.”  They will Tweet you a complaint. They will post comments on your “YouTube” videos. Your clients want to stay in this “conversation” with your company.

Today, people want a company to showcase their personalities. If you only talk at your clients and potential clients, you will irritate your clients and they will move on to a company that is more willing to converse with them. Does this sound fun? I don’t think so. It drives me nuts, personally. If it were up to me, we would only have landlines again. But, it is not up to me and because this is the case: We are going to have to converse with our clients starting now. However, to keep your brain from exploding you must focus only on the big three. Sure there are tons of Social Media sites out there, but you are going to be Tweeting about your homelessness if all you do is post on your Social Media every day. Find the balance, my friend. If social media is overwhelming to you and you have no idea what I am talking about because you are too busy making money to mess with this stuff, give our team a call today at 918-878-0216 and we can recommend America’s top Social Media service providers for you. Don’t get stuck with an unreliable service provider.

Now let’s talk about The Business Coach Top 3 of Social Media:

1) YouTube – Your company really needs to post YouTube content on a weekly basis at minimum. This footage does not have to be great, but it does have to fit in with your company’s brand and identity. One great way to leverage your time here is to record 52 (1 minute) videos all at one time. Change your shirt, change your topic, but record it all on 1 day. This will help you leverage your time better. Just upload the videos once per week and you are good. Make sure to title your videos after something that people actually search for and you are good to go. Your company must have a dedicated YouTube Channel. Your company must have a fully-filled out YouTube profile and your company must post videos every week.

2) Facebook – Your company needs a business page. You simply have to have one. If you don’t, you run the risk of looking like the 90 year-old guy at a sorority pool party. It is just weird. For examples of what your company’s Facebook page should look like, simply do a “Google Search” for Terrell Owens. Terrell is a former NFL star player and he makes his living and stays relevant by Tweeting, and constantly posting on Facebook. Your company must post to its “Facebook Wall” at least once per week. It must respond to comments diligently. You must have a fully filled out profile.

3) Twitter – Your company needs a fully-filled out Twitter profile page and you must post at least once per week. Great brands post everyday. Posting everyday is great, but only if your team is willing to converse with people that want to interact with your company.

All other social media platforms will just make your brain explode. Make sure you implement Social Media marketing as a part of your company’s overall marketing strategy. You must stay in touch with your clients while building your brand and your company’s loyalists.

If you need help with your Social Media Management, you can also contact our team through our website at www.thrive15.com. The best book ever written about social media marketing is “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Now that you’re savvy on Social Media, let’s talk Sales.

“A great idea sells itself” – Someone Stupid

Whether it is fair or not, every successful entrepreneur really has 2 professions. They are a salesman and an accountant. They are a salesman and an engineer. They are a salesman and the President. They are a salesman and a bakery owner. They are a salesman and a realtor. They are a salesman and an insurance agent, or they are an employee only. My friend, here is a business coach truth: If you are serious about succeeding as an entrepreneur, you must become passionate about learning to persuade others.

The best leaders in business, religion, politics, and music are usually the best sales people around. Our Presidential debates are hilarious. More than half of Americans no longer have any idea of where they stand on any core issues and we sit there on our couches watching and judging each candidate to see who is the best at persuasion. We want to see which candidate is the best salesman, and then we call them, “the most Presidential.” Why don’t we just look at their records and vote based on that? Their records are statements of fact right? Either they voted for this or they didn’t. Either they did this or not. However, as humans we aren’t interested in facts alone, we are interested in one’s ability to influence others. On occasion, we are so fascinated with one’s ability to “sell” and “persuade” that we will actually ignore all logic, all truth, actual information, and our moral values simply to fill the emotional need created by a skilled persuader or talented salesperson.

Think about some of the purchases we make. If you bought a $150,000 house, did you really make money? Did you really come out ahead? Sure the talented “persuasion technique rich” realtor probably told you various half truths and outright lies (now before you go into some vast conspiracy theory thinking, just know that I am half owner of a real estate company) such as:

“A house is the best investment you can make.”
“Your interest on your loan is 100% tax deductable”
“A home is truly the biggest investment you can ever make in your future.”
“The value of your home rises every year.”
“There has never been a better time to buy.”
“You’re going to be living the American dream.”
“It’s a good deal.”

But upon closer examination, let’s just see if you actually made money on this “good deal” that was the “best investment you could ever make.”

Purchase Price = $150,000.00
Commission To Realtor (Realtors) = $9,000.00
Closing Costs = $4,500.00
Down Payment = $15,000.00
Years You Pay Nearly 100% Interest Only Payments Before You Actually Begin Paying Towards the Principle On A 30 Year Loan = 15
Years the Average America Lives In A Home = Less Than 5
Commission To Realtor (Realtors) When You Sell the House 5 Years Later = $9,000.00

Did you actually make money? No. How much did you lose? I will let you do the math.

Unless you bought this house without a realtor and unless you bought this house as a foreclosure, and unless you used a 15 year loan and unless you lived in the house for a long time, you did not make money. But at least you felt “emotionally good” about it before I told you this stuff.

My friend, nearly all major purchases and decisions are made by people for emotional reasons. Your goal as an honest salesperson is to prove how your product or service can help your clients feel the way they want to feel because your product or service can deliver the results for them that they need to solve their problems now. The idea that great ideas will simply sell themselves is bogus. Even if you had a real and unbelievable product, service, or educational training system that actually solved many of the Earth’s problems, you would not be able to impact the world if you could not “persuade” Americans of its attributes, its believability, and problem solving abilities. I recently spoke at a University that had assembled an all-star lineup of speakers who were millionaires and had great business coach tips and information that every college student on the campus needed to hear. If millionaire alumni are teaching you specifically how they became millionaires and what you can do to become a millionaire as well, shouldn’t all college students attend this event? However and sadly enough, less than 50 students attended the event because it was so poorly “sold” to the students of the campus as being the “place to be.” I recently worked with another University whose enrollment struggles to grow year after year simply because their enrollment team consists of bureaucrats, paper pushers, and people who couldn’t influence a starving person to take a free meal.

America had to be attacked by the Japanese before our country could be “persuaded” that the Jewish people were really being slaughtered in mass. However, Hitler was able to use his masterfully evil “skills of persuasion” to motivate an entire country to exterminate an entire race of people. Hitler convinced an entire people group that hyper-inflation and the devaluation of their money supply and the destruction of their economy was the entire fault of the Jewish people. He needed the help of propaganda expert and film maker Joseph Gobles, but he pulled off the great evil known as the “Holocaust” based solely on his power to “influence” others.

Ray Croc had to work tirelessly to convince business owners that buying a duplicatable and scalable restaurant was a good idea. Walt Disney lost everything he had once and almost lost it all again trying to convince the world that his “Magical Kingdom” was not just some delusional dream. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple (the company he started), because he struggled to convince the world that they needed his company’s products and services. My friend, if you cannot show the world what problem your product solves, you are going to fail. If you cannot show people time and time again how your product makes their life easier, better, simpler, more fun, more exciting, safer, etc… You will fail. My friend, the business coach truth of the matter is this: you must be able to sell or your business will go to hell.

Thus, I ask you this question passionately. What are 50 ways that your company’s product or service solves problems? If you can’t come with 50, I encourage you to quit or to find someone else to sell your product for you. Bill Gates hired Paul Allen to do this selling for him. Maybe you too need to hire someone? However, if selling is not one of your companies core competencies, you are doomed, unless you are willing to learn this skill. This is not a gifting, this is skill. “Persuasion” (sales) is something that I have taught to hundreds of people at a time. I have taught insurance salesman, appliance store owners, accountants, aspiring ministers, web developers, and people from all walks of life how to use the “power of persuasion.” Just like JEDI powers, this “power of persuasion” can be used for good or evil, so you must be careful how you use it, when you use it, and who you share it with.

To “persuade” anyone to do anything, you must begin with the end in mind. Before you interact with your client, you must clearly know your objective. Your object should be to get them to take action and to make a commitment to either meet again at an agreed upon time or to buy something. The business coach system that I have developed for this is the best system available today. This post is designed to get right to the point, but if you need more information, I highly recommend you purchase, “Soft Selling In A Hard World” by Jerry Vass. His system works and my system is derived from his and other top level sales people such as Jeffrey Gittomer, Brian Tracy, Chet Holmes, Shane Harwell, Paul Arnold and others.

Without any further ado, here is the system:

Step 1: Establish Rapport
The Goal of Establishing Rapport: Get the client to like & trust you.
Rule #1: Let the client talk 70% of the time.
Rule #2: Control the conversation and get them talking by asking skilled questions.
Rule #3: Demonstrate your mastery by asking thought-provoking questions that expose the buyer’s lack of knowledge on your subject.
Rule #4: Establish yourself as the expert through the way you dress, look, and carry yourself.
Rule #5: Never spend more than 5 minutes building rapport.
Rule #6: Use humor throughout.
Rule #7: Script out your entire presentation and use it every time.

Step 2: Help the Client to Discover Their Own Needs
Rule #1: Ask the client questions to discover what their 1 year and 5 year goals are.
Rule #2: Ask the client questions that expose areas of weakness in your competition.
Rule #3: Ask the client questions that showcase your knowledge of your product/service and your client’s lack of understanding of your product/service.
Rule #4: Ask questions that inspire confidence in your business in contrast to the competition.
Rule #5: Assume nothing; ask questions so that you truly know who are dealing with.
Rule #6: Never spend more than 7 minutes determining your client’s needs.
Rule #7: Use humor throughout.
Rule #8: Script out your entire presentation and use it every time.

Step 3: Benefits (Problem Solving) Backed by Statements of Fact
Rule #1: Know, memorize, and become passionate about 4 benefits that differentiate your company from the competition.
Rule #2: Follow every benefit and every problem you solve for the client with a statement of fact.
Rule #3: Never say something that you cannot prove.
Rule #4: Every benefit you give should explain to client both the “gain aspects of using your company” and the “pain aspects of not using your company.”
Rule #5: Nuance the delivery of each benefit you give to client in a way that meets the unique needs we learned they have during the discovery portion of your     presentation.
Rule #6: Always present your benefits (backed by provable facts) in writing via a sales book or brochure. People find everything to be more believable when it     is in print.
Rule #7: Never spend more than 3 minutes presenting how your company can solve the client’s problems (benefits).
Rule #8: Use humor throughout.
Rule #9: Script out your entire benefits (problem solving) portion of your presentation and use it every time.

Step 4: Call to Action
Rule #1: Assume that every client wants to “take the next step.”
Rule #2: Never ask the client directly if they want to buy from you.
Rule #3: Never ask the client a yes or no question; always give them an A or B option.
Rule #4: Your goal as a salesman is to get a commitment to either meet again or to “take the next step” during every appointment.
Rule #5: Always sound confident when going for the call to action, never begin talking softly and awkwardly before you ask for a commitment.
Rule #6: Every appointment is a waste of time and is completely meaningless if it does not result in a commitment to “take the next step.”
Rule #7: Always work via appointment only, because “my day time is so slammed right now.” Get in the habit of saying, “because my day timer is so                 slammed right now and I know that you stay busy,when is the best time to connect with you? At ______ or     ______?”
Rule #8: Every call to action should occur within 72 hours from the time you got the commitment.
Rule #9: Never spend more than 1 minute calling the client to take action.
Rule #10: Use humor throughout.
Rule #11: Script out your entire call to action portion of your sales presentation and use it every time.

Are you thinking this system just might not work for you? Well here is a little faith booster for you. Over the years I have trained countless companies on how to implement the sales system described above. And every time this sales system has actually been implemented with pig-headed determination by the  leadership team, they have witnessed amazing results. In fact, we have trained and implemented this system for major college fund-raising, ministry fund-raising, appliance sales, retail sales, apparel sales, photography sales, bakery sales, video production sales, lending, commercial real estate, supplement sales, and nearly any sector of the market place can you can think of. This system produces near “magic” results.

My friend, the system cannot work unless you do. Remember, you get paid based on the results you produce, not the results you intend on producing.

Napoleon Hill once said, “Action is the real measure of intelligence.”

So the question is ultimately about how intelligent you are.

To get a copy of a quality sales script, to get help writing an effective sales script, or for more information about effective sales scripting systems, contact our team through our contact form or purchase “Soft Selling In A Hard World” by Jerry Vass. This book explains to you the step-by-step process of creating a sales system that works.