Who Is Your Prospect?

Do you truly know your prospect?

I’m not talking about their role or demographic. I mean, do you know who they are – at a deep level?

Most of the time we know who our customer is but we rarely write it down. On this week’s episode of The 2X Podcast, I’ll tell you how really knowing your customer will pay off big time and I’ll also give you a framework on how to get clear on your ideal prospect.

Send Bill a voice memo with a question to [email protected] to have him answer it in an upcoming episode.

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Episode #504: What are you really motivated by?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, veteran sales trainers and podcast hosts Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss a question that came in that has rarely been discussed on the podcast, “How Can I Motivate My Team?” The guys walk through several different areas of motivation that can either inspire or hold back your sales team.

For you sales leader listeners this is a good opportunity for you to think about your team in a slightly different way and what truly motivates them.

If you’re interested in getting some more information about how you can assess your team’s motivational tendencies, send us a email to [email protected] with the word FEEDBACK in the subject line and we’ll get in touch!

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Episode #503: When is Persistence a Deficit and not an Attribute?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address a deeper subject of persistence. Often times we can become overly persistent, and it will cost us big money in the sale cycle.

The guys also realized they’ve been calling on the same prospect and they both lost the deal, which adds material for this topic. They discuss some ways to handle the rejection and possibly even learn from the experience.

If you’d like to get your question answered on the podcast, send us an email to [email protected] with a voice memo attached, and we will get it on the air.

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Episode #501: Generating Leads When Your Customer Isn’t Online

On this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale take a letter from listener Greg who’s in the Agricultural industry and is struggling to generate a funnel full of leads.

He’s tried radio and newspaper advertising but nothing seems to be working. So, Bryan and Bill give him a handful of ideas and suggestions on how he can go about changing the way he thinks about lead generation and changing the results as well.

Are you interested in having your question answered on the podcast? Email Bill and Bryan your recorded question to [email protected].

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How Jason Doubled His Income

“We can easily forgive a child when they’re afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” -Plato Share on X

I started my sales career in living in constant fear.

Why would anyone buy something from me ?

How was I to communicate properly to get people to buy?

How was I to create personal wealth in a profession I knew little about?

What if I failed? Then what?

Relate?

I find most sales professionals do.

The problem is never “what” we sell. Or, “who our market is.” Or, “What the price is.”

It’s deeper than that.

And in this article, I will share with you how one of my clients doubled his income in a matter of 120 days.

I share this not to exert my will on you. Whether you follow this process is your call, not mine.

I share it because I find that when a framework appears, it’s a helluva lot easier to make changes and get results.

I’ve read blogs like this before where the author never gives up the gold. That will NOT happen here. My aim is to help you see what is possible in your world, even if you might not.

I’ve been training sales teams for over 30 years…7500 training session…over 2000 coaching sessions…900 podcasts…and a book, Same Game New Rules, one that many companies use as their text book for new and counter-intuitive training.

And one thing I always find…we all want more.

It’s just the way we humans are built. If we are fully human, we express it by wanting to realize our potential on this planet.

But while we all want more…often, it feels out of our reach.

We find ourselves saying, “Well yes, Bill can do that, but I can’t.” Or, “Well, easy for Jason…he has a (built in advantage) but I don’t have that.”

Yes you do. And we’ll get to that.

Today, I will share with you the story of Jason and how he used our sales philosophy and methodology to significantly grow his business quickly.

He came to me struggling in his sales territory. No, he wasn’t about to get fired – but he was the classic underachiever. On the surface he looked like he could be a killer. But the results were never there. And he was becoming frustrated.

Sales philosophy jason case studyJason was 35 years old with a new wife and a new house. He’d been in his current position for 5 years. He was a pretty good sales person -always in the middle of the pack. But…he knew he could do better.

His manager was always telling him, “Hey Jason, you can crush this thing. You have tons of opportunity in your territory. What’s going on?”

Ever have someone tell you that?

Or have you ever told yourself that? (That might be more painful).

Those conversations shamed him – they certainly didn’t inspire him. He needed a plan and a way of thinking – a philosophy – which he wasn’t getting. He was not a real ambitious bloak – not a trained killer. He’d always been average – earning about $80,000/year. BUT, he knew there was more.

One thing you should know about Jason: A born sales person he was not. Not sure anyone is – but there is a worldview that there IS such a thing.

There is NOT.

And, worse, he started to question himself if sales was even the right profession. Not a good place to be.

As I said at the top, I questioned myself almost every day when I began in sales.

“Is this what I really want to do?”

“Will this get me to my goals?”

“Am I cut out for this?”

Just like me, Jason began to doubt himself and his skills. He lost confidence in his ability and his natural talent.

We call this the “doubt spiral.” And it’s ugly.

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Share on X

As a coach, if I can’t get the “doubt” turned around, there is almost no hope for high achievement. It will continue to be the same, day after day, year after year.

I want to share how we turned it around. I say “we” because it was both of us.

RESULTS

So in the 6 months I worked with him, here were his results:

  • Tripled his average monthly appointment count.
  • Went from a closing rate of 10% to 65%.
  • Monthly income went up 3x.
  • And the biggest result was his confidence level – hard to measure, but hard to be without.

Finding Help To Tame The Demons

The Process: Sales Philosophy, Methodology, & Process.

As he got down on himself, a friend suggested he find someone to help him…a coach…a peer group…somewhere to acquire the right skills and the right attitudes.

He began to research online. He found a mastermind / learning group I run and set up an appointment with me where he shared his plight.

He was very specific and very open, the first step to getting help and creating change.
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Episode #482: Should I Quote First or Last?

On this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey & Bryan Neale answer a listener question from John in Washington DC. He’s new in the SAaS space and has figured out where his problem is but not yet what to do about it. The issue is, “Should he be first or last to propose?”

As you might guess, Bill & Bryan take the question and bend it all sorts of ways to come up with some good suggestions for John. This is really less about the SAas space, and more about how to handle the ever-occurring stall of “not now.”

Contact us at [email protected]. Send a clever question in and if we play it, we’ll send you a treat. Make sure you put your mailing address in your email.

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Episode #474: Client wants to go out for a bid?

In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale relate stories from their client base about this very issue, what do you do when a longtime buyer feels compelled to interview other vendors?

As Bill and Bryan have done in the past, they break this topic down into prevention and remedy:

Prevention is what can you do to prevent this from happening again, and the guys give ten points of learning around that. Remedy is what do you do about it if somebody just, “Serves you the papers.” They’ve got a couple of thoughts on that as well.

We’d love to hear your feedback on this topic by going to the Facebook fan page and sharing your thoughts!

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Episode #471: Commitment & Energy

What vibe do you give off when you’re around others?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale talk about two words, commitment and energy, that will influence your success in professional selling.

The guys break down each of these words and talk about what they see when they go into companies and work with high achievers in these two areas.

We’d love to hear your feedback on this topic by going to the Facebook fan page and sharing your thoughts!

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Episode #470: From Prospect to Client

Does it really take 8 to 12 contacts to turn a prospect into a customer?

Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address this very idea in today’s episode. We had an awesome question from a listener in our co-video mailbag segment. She is a wardrobe and fashion expert, and is trying to figure out how to generate more clients.

Bill and Bryan give her some ideas that really anyone who’s in sales and trying to generate more engagement with prospects can use.

We’d love to hear your feedback on their answers by going to the Facebook fan page and sharing your thoughts!

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