Suzanne Chadwick
Hey there, and welcome back. So great to have you here. Today, we're going to be talking about how you can create an active sales strategy. Now, if you don't know, I come from 20 odd years in sales where I was in recruitment. And then I was also in OPS, I was in brand, agency land. And then I've been in my business as well for the last seven, eight years. So I have always been in a sales role, I actually really enjoy sales. And so it is a topic that I love to work with my clients on as well as talk about on the podcast on YouTube, as well. So that's what we're going to be talking about today. And there are four key things that I want to go through with you today. The first one is sales goals, we're going to be talking about generating leads, we're also going to be talking about having active sales conversations, and then the sales close. So sales is a great topic for us to be diving into when we're talking about getting paid. And I do want to just say I think that, you know, the market is always evolving, we're evolving, our clients are evolving. And so it's really important to stay on top of your sales strategy, and be able to measure what's working and what's not. So that you can keep the sales coming in, which is obviously the lifeblood of any business. So let's start with sales goals. I actually think that this is obviously where most businesses should start, which is with your sales strategies. So how much do you want to earn? What are your products and services? How much do you charge? Therefore, how many do you need to sell in order to make your revenue goals, and just really understanding what your sales conversion and your sales process looks like? So that you also know how long it can take for you to make those sales? Are they fast sales is your lead time with clients, especially if you're sometimes in the corporate or bigger project, well can be anything from three 612 months depending on who you work with, and the size of those projects and the budgets. But maybe if you're an online business owner, then those sales can be a lot faster, which is fantastic. So just knowing what your sales cycle length of time is, is really important when you're looking at your business strategy as well. The other thing to understand when you're in the sales goals stage is your conversion rates. So how many people do you need to speak to in order for a sale to convert in order for somebody to sign on the dotted line, pay you money and start working with you. So you can take a look at things like when somebody joins your email list to the time that they bought, if you take a look at that over a 12 month, six month period, then you might be able to see well on average, it can take somebody five to six months from the time that they join my email list or find me to the time that they buy. And that's your sales cycle length of time. Otherwise, you can take a look at the number of people that might come to a sales page if you're selling something online, and then take a look at how many people bought in that period of time. So if you had 300 people that came to the sales page in a month, and 30 people bought, then your conversion rate would be 10%. So just understanding some of the different numbers in your business can also help you to understand whether you're going to make the sales that you want in the period of time that you've allocated. Now, having your sales goal, your business strategy planned out at the beginning of the year, or whenever it is that you start then allows you to reverse engineer it so that you can take a look and say okay, well, if we want to make X amount of dollars in 12 months, what does that look like on a quarterly basis? And also, is there seasonality in the business? And what that means is that do you sell more over Christmas than you do in February? You know, is the new year if you're like a health coach or you're busy doing business staff or goal setting, maybe January and February are your biggest month because people are coming into the new year and they're thinking oh, this is something that I want to get sorted. So really understanding what your goal is and then taking a look at when do we need to be going harder when it comes to our sales in specific months then we might do in other months because our business has seasonality Eat. And so really looking at your sales goals from a more holistic point of view, I think is really important. Also taking into account when you're away on a holiday, if you've got, you know, school holidays, if you've got other things coming up, where you're taking periods of time off, how is that going to affect your sales goals as well. The second thing is just around lead generation. And so obviously, a lead is somebody who is interested in what you do and a potential buyer as well. And so once you know what your goals are, then you need to think about where your clients are coming from. So I think when it comes to leads, one of the first thing you can do is take a look at the source of purchase. So what I mean by that is, and I've mentioned it before, when we look at our data, usually it's around about fairly even Stephens at 30%, from speaking 30% from podcasts, 30% of socials, that we get our clients and then say 10% referral. And so we know where our clients are coming from. So a really simple thing that you can do is on every checkout through every sales conversation, you ask the person where they found you, where did they find you? Where did they hear about you, so that you can understand where you're getting the majority of your sales. And the reason that you want to know that is because if you're getting a certain number of sales from one particular channel, you don't want to be spending money or spending loads of time on other channels that aren't really working for you. Instead, double down on what is working. I've mentioned before that the podcast, I get a lot of clients from my podcast. And so we're doing more episodes, I'm talking about the podcast more on reels, the podcast has now got its own Instagram that we need to update and you know, make sure that we're sharing it. And the reason that we're doing that is because it's been a deliberate goal and focus to double down on sales channels that are working. Now, obviously, I love to share free content with my podcast audience. But I also think that it's important to know well, that's where people might find you, they might bend you, they might get to know love and trust you. And then they're like, Okay, Suze, I'm ready to work with you now. And so just knowing that means that I can focus in on that and have that as part of my sales strategy as well. And so really taking a look at your source of client is an important one. And I think if you don't already have that on your checkouts that question, where did you find us, then I

think that that's definitely something that is worth adding. The other thing when it comes to lead generation is for some of my clients, depending on what it is that they do, we set activity targets and goals for them as well. So when I used to work in recruitment, one of the basic rules of sales, or equations is the more people you speak to the more people you build relationships with, the more sales you make. And I still think that that is true today. So really thinking about what activity do I need to commit to on a regular basis in order to build more relationships in order to have more conversations. And I do think that having professional practices, which I talk about all the time, is really key to this. So for example, with one of my clients, were talking about if a digital marketing agency manager is a decision maker, then how about every week, you connect with five new digital marketing managers on LinkedIn, just by having that professional practice where she's like, Hey, they're just wanting to connect, I'm in this city, and I'm wanting to connect with other people who do X. And I wanted to say, Hi. So just start that conversation. And then you can go back, and you can work out whether you can support them in whatever it is that you do. But I think it's just about having those casual conversations, what are the things that I'm really going to advise against, because it drives me crazy, is going in cold before you've built a relationship with somebody and doing a whole sales pitch. I get them on LinkedIn all the time I delete them immediately. I am not interested. But if you go in and say, Hey, I'm looking to build my network, I wanted to say hi, if there's anything that you know, you're interested in around what I do, feel free to let me know. And then I might share something with them or just through the content that I am sharing that could catch their attention to but really ask yourself, What are you actively doing that is a professional practice on a regular basis. That means it's just something you do every week. It's accumulative. So if you connect with five people away, you know that's like 20 people a month. So really think about the fact that within 23456 months, you've now connected with all of these people and just making sure that you've got a strategy around either going back and connecting with them or catching up with them, again, sharing content that's relevant to them, etc. So just think about how you can do that a little bit more. For those of you who are on social media, then if you're on Instagram, Facebook, etc, then you can also take a look at, you know, with the people that are engaging with me, how am I connecting with them? How am I having conversations, I sharing content, where I'm asking them to engage with me, I sending them DM saying, hey, thanks so much for following just wanted to, you know, say hi, and say, I appreciate you. And if you're interested in anything that I talk about, let me know, like, once again, just come at it from a really genuine and chilled perspective, rather than being really hardcore in the way that you sell. I think that the online space has made us a little bit lazy. And so I do really want you to ask yourself, What am I doing that is actively helping me to attract more clients? You know, I you do you have goals and targets that you're setting for yourself that you're doing on a regular basis? are you connecting with people who are engaging with you, and who are showing interest in what it is you do on your social media channels? And really think about, you know, networking events, things like that, now that we're open, and we can go wherever? are you connecting with people, and are you making an effort, and it could just be going to one networking event a month or something like that, once again, where you're really looking at how you're building relationships, but having that active sales strategy where you're connecting building relationships, having conversations is so important. The other thing around lead gen is obviously for online businesses list building, and something that I called memo's, which is monthly energized marketing offers. And so we're always looking to build our lists, because then we can build relationships with people we can make offers to them, we can also share really valuable content with them, you know, when we're creating it elsewhere. And so being really focused on not only growing your list, but engaging with your list on a regular basis, giving them a variety of content that you share, making offers to them, and also being aware. So for example, when you make an offer, do you go and take a look at the people that clicked? Can you potentially then go and have a DM conversation saying, hey, you know, just wanted to check in if there's anything you want to ask me about this particular offer, feel free to. And I just think that being a bit more connected to the data being a bit more connected to what you're doing, and how you can follow up with people just makes this process so much easier. And I always say to clients is about the intention that you're setting, you will not come across salesy. If you're like, Hey, I just wanted to check and see if you had any questions, I saw that you clicked on that link. And so I just wanted to touch base with you. There's no hard sell, there's no like book a call now, which you can do as well. But you're just being observant, you're being aware, and you're following the breadcrumbs as we say. And so when it comes to lead generation, source of client, where are they coming from setting activity targets and goals for yourself so that you've got great professional practices that accumulate. And then also taking a look at not only list building, but also reading the data, seeing who's engaging, seeing what else you could do with those people. And then monthly energize marketing offers are things that you will do on a monthly basis that might be a little bit different, that take people who might be warm through to a sales decision. And so really thinking about what you are actively doing, because we are talking about active sales strategies today, I think can really help you to boost your sales. And the last point that we're going to talk about today is the close, which is obviously the most important thing as well. So when somebody is ready to buy, what's the process that you have in place. So I used to have a CRM, when I was doing a bit more consulting work where basically, I would be having a conversation with somebody, I would then send them a quote, I could send them actually two quotes and they could accept whichever one that they wanted. And as soon as they accepted that quote, It sent them the contract it sent them, the invoice it sent them all of the onboarding information. And it was just seamless and perfect. And such a great onboarding experience. Like I used to get clients that sent me messages saying, oh my gosh, that felt so slick. I'm so excited to be working with you when I see how you work. And so just know that when you are closing a client and when you are onboarding them, that is actually part of the sales process. Because when it's really good, you reinforce and you instill confidence in them that they have made the right decision working with you. So really think about what is my sales process to close somebody off? You know, what am I do? weighing around objection handling, this is something I did a training on in my amplify mastermind the other day was all of the different objections that you can get from clients. And some of the things that you can do to have that conversation. A lot of it is a mindset. A lot of times people have got objections because they're still trying to understand more information, or you've not shared the whole value with them, or you've not made it clear. And so they can't make a decision. And I always say until somebody is a no, they're still a potential. Yes. And so until somebody has said, Listen, I'm not interested, I'm a no for this, they are still a potential. Yes. So I think that's a really important thing to know when you're in the close as well. So for example, now, I don't have that CRM anymore, but I use Kajabi. And so when I have one on one clients that are wanting to work with me, I can send them the checkout information, they can go and purchase it. And then they get all the automations, they get the contract, they get the email welcoming them, they get all of their login information, they also get the link to go and book like coaching for the next three months. Like it's all packaged in a nice little bow once again, giving them a great experience, that they feel like yeah, this was a good decision that I've just made. So really think about what is the conversation that you're having when you're closing a client off, making sure that you are getting them over the line. And then once you get them over the line, making the purchase really, really seamless and easy, as well as then the onboarding, making that a really great experience for them as well. And so obviously, delivering to the client, making sure that you're able to help them and get the result for them is all part of that sales strategy too. And making sure that it's a really great sales experience for your client. So those are just some things I really want you to think about when it comes to having an active sales strategy in your business. Think about how you can make sure that you're really clear on what your goals are, both annually quarterly so that you can adjust them as you go. Really looking at lead generation, what's your source of what's your source of client?

What are the activities you're doing on a regular basis? What's your list building look like? What's your memos monthly, energize marketing offers to turn warm leads into potential clients, and then also the close and having those sales conversations too. So think about what you could be doing that could make your active sales strategy even better? Let me know in the comments or DM me on Instagram at Suzanne Chadwick. If you've got any questions about these, we go through sales in the bold Business Academy as well where we talk about money. And you know, all of this in detail like how you can really take a look at your sales strategy, and be getting more sales into your business and have those deliberate professional practices that make it more likely that you will have success at the end of the day.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai