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March 1, 2023
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May 1, 2023
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3 Ways Business Leaders Leave Massive Money on the Table
I hear it time and time again….”Holly, what am I missing or doing wrong?”.
My cash flow isn’t flowing. I feel stuck. I don’t have enough leads.
My calendar is empty. I don’t know how to survive this recession.
I’m scared my business won’t survive this new market...
The list of worries and fears is endless.
What it boils down to is simple...
You haven’t built solid systems and processes that work. Every business can reach peak performance.
But it takes dedication to success. Stop doing the time sinking activities that don’t generate revenue. Track what works and do more of that. It’s that simple.
So where do most business owners and leaders leave MASSIVE and I mean massive amounts of money on the table?
#1 Wrong Focus: Focused on Getting, Not Giving
Sales is about being of service. It’s about helping your potential customer or prospect uncover what they really need. Most don’t have a clue what they need.
If you are trying to fill your calendar with cold calls or outreach emphasizing traditional sales tactics, you are wasting leads. Today, marketing and sales are much more sophisticated.
Buyers know when you’re trying to sell them.
Why not reach out to your prospects offering them something of value?
Is there someone you can introduce them to in your network? Can you bring them on your podcast to help them gain exposure?
Add value early on. Build the relationship. Genuinely listen.
Show up. Be present.
Sales is about being of service which requires active listening. It requires a curious mind. Ask questions. Get them talking, sharing, and telling stories.
Prospecting should start with the goal of building a relationship. This will help you stop burning through ideal prospects.
Start with the right intention. Otherwise, you’ll burn through loads of money. And miss out on massive opportunities.
#2: An Obsession with Leads
When I ask business owners what they need, the answer is almost always the same… “Holly, I need more leads.”
Here’s what’s really interesting to me...
If you are burning through 100 leads a month on sales calls, you don’t have a lead problem. You have a sales conversion problem. Or you have a product alignment to market fit problem.
My business partner and I like to play a game. We say, if we were to take over your business for the next six months, how would we run things differently?
When it comes to this particular problem, we would start by split testing lead sources. Let’s dial in and see if there’s a lead qualifying process failure. If we are targeting the wrong market, industry or type of person.
Once we confirm these aren’t a problem, it’s time to look at your sales process. Most of the time, the lead problem is at the heart a sales problem.
When we pull back the curtain, we find that there is no formal sales process. The owner doesn’t even have a clue what their sales conversion percentage is.
So if you’re obsessed with leads, pause. Read this. Sit with it.
What’s the root of this problem?
Consider the following:
- Does the product you're selling fit the leads you are reaching out to?
- Is the problem big enough for the market to pay the price point you are charging?
- Are there other industries, companies, or roles that would be a better prospect to target?
- How many calls are you booking per week with prospects?
- How frequently do your prospects book in for a sales call?
- What’s your sales conversion?
Reflecting on these questions will help you begin to uncover the core of the problem.
Stop blindly saying “I need more leads.”
Take a hard look in the mirror. If you have a sales problem, take steps to fix it.
If you are going after the wrong market segment, hit pause and test a new one.
If you have no idea where to even begin, hire a professional. This is something that will cause your business to suffer. You need to plug this profit leak...today.
#3: Sales Process Doesn’t Exist or is Lacking
We could do an entire year of training on this topic alone. But at a high level, I am going to share some of the biggest gaps I find when working with business leaders.
You aren’t clear on the problem you solve.
Sales is all about change. It’s about showing your prospect how painful where they are today is.
In your first call, you need to be excellent at asking questions that dig into potential problems they may have around a problem you or your company solves. Be curious. And don’t allow them to leave short or open ended responses.
Follow up with additional questions. Your job is to diagnose. To get to the root problem.
You haven’t built the pain high enough.
I like to describe this as poking the bear. If you aren’t painting a picture of how painful the problem is to your prospect, why would they ever change?
Change is scary, overwhelming, and painful. No one wants to change…. UNLESS we show them that it’s crazy not to change. Because the problem is BIG.
How does the problem impact their health, family, business? What emotional impacts is the problem creating?
Selling is emotional. The more you can pull out the emotional pain, the better.
The gap from current to future state isn’t big enough.
Now that you’ve painted a picture of pain, it’s time to paint a future picture. What will life and business look like AFTER they buy your product or service?
What positive emotions, experiences and outcomes can they expect to experience?
Paint a very clear picture using detailed descriptions. The more they can visualize this future, the more excited they will be to work with you.
The gap between the pain and future state must be big enough for them to not feel like they can solve it alone. And big enough that they know they need to solve it today.
The gap creates urgency. It promotes action.
Build the gap...and I guarantee, your sales conversions will sore!
You don’t ask for the sale.
I can’t believe this even needs to be said. But you’d be shocked to hear how many clients I’ve coached who don’t ask for the sale.
They send over their sales call recordings and ask, “Holly what am I doing wrong?”.
Well, you never actually asked for the sale. You have to ask for the sale.
The whole point of the sales call is to get your prospect to a hell yes or a hell no.
That’s it.
And if you don’t ask them for the sale, you have wasted everyone’s time.
Also, keep in mind there are timing issues. Sometimes they aren’t ready. Sometimes they don’t have the cash to invest.
So you may have to ask for the sale 10 times before they say yes.
In fact, 80% of sales occur after you’ve asked at least 8 times!
So get used to asking...and asking again and again and again.
You don’t onboard the client when you get a yes.
As soon as the prospect says yes, get them to pay on the spot. Get them scheduled for their first call. Walk through and complete the contract.
Whatever you need to do to get them settled, do it on the call.
As soon as they get off the call, their monkey mind will go crazy. They will think…”I don’t know if I can afford this.” or “Can she/he really help me?” or “Am I ready for this?”...
The list of thoughts is endless. And it’s normal. It’s part of being human.
It’s also part of buyers or potential buyers remorse.
Avoid this! Get them on-boarded ON the call.
This will double or even triple your sales close rates...guaranteed.
Stop chasing potential clients. Close them on the call.
You’ve got this!
Need Help?
I get it. This is really hard to do alone.
This is why I work with a coach. And this is why my clients hire me as a consultant.
When I work with companies and nonprofits as a consultant, I bring an objective, external voice to help you:
- Reach peak performance
- Find your profit leaks
- Turn shiny objects into revenue
- Build repeatable success processes
- Discover based on metrics where success lies
- Show you what you need to STOP doing
- Design a state of the art employee experience
- Create a customer experience that results in referrals and raving fans for life
If you’re ready to...
- Take BIG and bold action in your business
- Help your employees reach their full potential
- Grow as a business leader and commit to continuous learning
- Try things outside of your comfort zone
- Reach more dream clients
- Have more impact in your business, community and the world
- Build more revenue
- Improve your lead generation and sale process
- Invest in yourself and your business
