Communication Skills Archives | Page 36 of 40

Marissa Is At The Top Of Her Game. So How Does She Do It?

September 2, 2015/5 Comments/in Communication Skills, Expert Positioning, Prospecting-Business Development /by Bill Caskey

I met Marissa last month at an event I was asked to speak at. She was 27 years old and, while attractive, she didn’t turn heads when she walked in the room.

And, she was assertive, but in a serene, comfortable way.

As high achievers usually do, she approached me after my speech and wanted to ask me a few questions about my topic-“How To Be A High Sales Achiever In An Ultra-Competitive Market.”

She asked the question, and scribbled down some of my input. But I could tell something was different about her. So, I asked her how she had climbed to be the top ranked sales person at her software company (a company that has over 100 sales people.)

Here was her formula of how she rose to the top:

1. “I have a web page that offers a free download of a checklist I wrote about how you know if you’re ready for software.” She maintained this was THE thing that was the difference maker. Now, when she’s networking, all she does is meet people, collect their card, and send them a nice email that links to her web page.

NOTE: She spent her own money on the site, the email software behind it, and paid to have the checklist written. This total cost was about $500/year, a pittance when you see her earnings. Read more

Are you trading statements or making conversations?

June 3, 2015/in Communication Skills, Personal Productivity /by Bill Caskey

The other night I was at a dinner party with a handful of people and noticed an interesting dynamic. There was one gentleman there who was dominating the discussion. He would never ask anybody else a question – but would always have comments and opinions on what others said.

As I’ve said before these kinds of people are what I call “reporters.” They aren’t really curious about what you think or what’s going on in your life or what your goals are. They are only wanting to comment on the world. They report to us.

What I noticed is that after 30 minutes, everyone else stopped making true conversation at the table. This was a group of business executives who typically ask each other questions and are curious about how to do things better.

But this one person had so poisoned the well that everyone at the table was doing nothing but reporting, bragging, and one-upsmanship.

I’ve also seen this happen in one-to-one discussions I’ve had with people where others really aren’t curious about knowing who you are and what you’re up to They are more focused on their own pains, strife and suffering – and want to make sure you know all about it.

That is not a conversation.

When you get into dialogue with these people you realize quickly that your thoughts don’t matter. That your goals don’t matter. In a way, your life doesn’t matter. What matters to them is that they’re getting their point across.

These people suck your energy. Unless they’re family members, they aren’t worth being around. If I want to be at my best, I need to surround myself with people who inspire me to be at my best – and who I inspire to be at theirs.

So the next time you’re having a “conversation” with someone, test to see if it’s really a conversation or if you’re just trading statements with them. Seek out those people who you can have intelligent two-way dialogue with. If you find yourself asking all the questions about them and they’re asking nothing about you, run quickly.

A Quick Tip On Presenting Internally

February 4, 2015/1 Comment/in Communication Skills /by Bill Caskey

Sales people often say, correctly, that their toughest sale is not the one to the customer – but the one that happens inside their company.

In my coaching practice I work with a young lady who is the VP Business Development. She had an occasion to pitch her owner a re-branding initiative that was to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. But, it was much-needed.

Since I know this President well, I told her I didn’t think he’d go for it, especially if she expressed the costs as she was expressing them to me. He needed something more.

This is where most people make their mistake. They load the proposal up with all of the details of the deliverable. But, that’s not what your executive wants to hear. They want to hear three things:

1. What problem does this solve?

Make sure that when you’re pitching a solution that costs money, you begin with the problem(s) the solution solves. A solution should never be in search of a problem. It should appear as the result of the problem. Keep the focus on the pain/problem that you’re solving.

2. What is the back end?

If we purchased this solution, how much will we save or earn directly because of it? Don’t be too aggressive here. Don’t promise the world. Be realistic, but moreover, walk him/her through the numbers. Your President will always ask the question (to himself), “Do the numbers work?”

3. Step By Step Implementation

I read a stat once that suggested over 70% of implementations fail due to poor planning. He knows this. You know this. The rule is that it always takes 30% longer and costs 30% more than budgeted. Consequently, you had better be specific about EXACTLY how this will be implemented to assure/guarantee success.

Finally, the internal sale must be no different than I would recommend to a client. Be honest. Be authentic. Recognize there are many options your owner/constituent has for where they invest their resources. Therefore, don’t be ‘pitchy’ when making the pitch.

Do You Recognize These 5 Warning Signs of a Bad Prospect?

October 29, 2014/3 Comments/in Communication Skills, Lead Generation /by Bill Caskey

There is trouble ahead for you. I bet that right now you have prospects in your sales pipeline that are bad prospects. And it’s time for you to get rid of them.

Bad Prospect Warning Signs

In my sales training and coaching practice, I get clients who call me to strategize on how to close deals. One such client called me this morning. I won’t go into the verbatim of our discussion, but it got me thinking about how we ignore warning signs.

We get so enthusiastic and “needy” that we refuse to look at the truth.

Here are Five Warning Signs that indicate you’re in trouble: Read more

Your Buyer Is Motivated By The Simplest of Things

October 15, 2014/12 Comments/in Communication Skills, Sales Process /by Bill Caskey

My eyes glaze over when I read psychology texts about motivation. There is rational v. irrational. Intrinsic v. extrinsic. Natural v. organic. Throw in some “incentive theory” and you have a bowl of sh** soup. All very confusing (to my simple mind).

How To Make Selling Simple

Since most of us are in the business world where we are on a daily mission to share ideas, solutions and plans, it makes sense to go back to the simplest of elements that your audience is really motivated by: Pain & Pleasure.

As a sales trainer and leadership coach, my role in life is to bring clarity to people so they can excel at their careers. I have found this simple pair of words to be monumentally important. Read more

How Does Your Self-concept Influence Who You Call On?

February 13, 2014/in Communication Skills, Sales Process /by Bill Caskey

The following article addresses some of the points that will be contained in an upcoming webinar called how to call the right person.

If you’re interested in seeing the video about the webinar click this link.

Self-concept is defined by Webster as: the set of beliefs or ideals one has about oneself.

Even though most sales trainers teach techniques and strategies of how to get to the right person inside the company parentheses see calling on the VIP and parentheses, I believe it has more to do with who you believe you deserve the call on which gets back to your self-concept.

When Do You Review Your Sales Call?

July 12, 2013/in Communication Skills /by Bill Caskey

How many times have you been on a sales call and neglected to review the call right after it happened? Actually, a better way to ask that is, “Have you EVER stopped right after a sales call to review the results – either with yourself or with someone who accompanied you?” I wouldn’t say it’s difficult but I would say it’s seldom done.

One of my favorite authors right now is Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code, and he talks about the best time to review your performance. You guessed it, it’s right after the performance.

jack-nicklaus He tells the story of Jack Nicklaus, the famous pro golfer, who said the best time for learning how to improve his game was in the hour right after day’s tournament round.

He felt like it was at that time, that everything was fresh in his mind. Even though he was tired, he made himself do it.

It gets back to the attributes of the high achiever:

They are willing to do the things that few do – even when they don’t feel like it.

So the next time you have a sales call, regardless of whether it goes well or not, take 15 minutes and review exactly what happened. You’ll be amazed at that moment of insight.

Caskey and Friends Debut

June 19, 2013/in Communication Skills, Leadership /by Bill Caskey

On June 27, we’ll be hosting a program called Caskey and Friends. It’s really a time for us to share some of the strategies that are working for our clients in helping them grow their business.

Yes, I know if you’re not in Indianapolis there is no way to get access to this, although we will be recording the sessions. But if you are close to Indy, tickets are free and I encourage you to click on the link below which takes you to the sign-up page.

We selected four speakers, Chip McLean, Brooke Green, Bryan Neale and myself to tell a little of our story that might help others to use lessons in growing their business.

Just to be clear, this is not actually a training session where we’ll be doing role-playing or discussion. There will be some audience interaction, but this is mostly a time for you to sit back and take in personal growth.

It’ll give you a chance to hear from four people who do this work full-time. If you’re interested in coming or in merely seeing what some of the topics are click here and it will take you to the sign-up page.

Don’t Call on Them Until You Know How To Talk to Them

June 5, 2013/in Communication Skills /by Bill Caskey

Not a day goes by in our sales training and coaching business that a client doesn’t approach us with this question, “How do I get to the CEO?” I heard that very question yesterday from a brand new client who sells technology services – traditionally calling on IT managers and CIOs.

Five years ago my advice would have been to craft the message that you wanted to communicate, network to that person, then make a cold call. But I think now all of that is premature.

Because unless you are speaking the language of the CEO – CIO – CMO – C00 – then you will waste your time – and theirs – in making that call.