Sales can seem difficult and out of control unless you know the keys to making the sales process easy. Always be in control. Here are the 3 keys: 1. On every sales call, before the call is over, you must agree on next steps. You can never assume your prospect will follow up. You must discuss…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there anything I need to do if I have my bank and credit card data automatically downloaded into QuickBooks? Does all the information just get recorded? Answer: That sounds lovely, but it does not work that way, unfortunately. It is just a big dump of information into your QuickBooks, and…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: When I enter my credit card charges or bank entries, I don’t always know where to put them in QuickBooks. Do I have to wait until I know before entering them? Answer: QuickBooks has an expense account that allows you to “park” an entry until you can figure out where it…
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I have had the wonderful opportunity to personally get to know thousands of people in our industry. Truth is that most of them never became all they could be because of fear. Fear of making sales calls. Fear of learning new product lines. Fear of asking for referrals. Fear of introducing yourself at a networking…
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Recently, I spent 10 days on a cruise that featured Esther Hicks, who has written many books about the law of attraction and appeared in the original version of the 2006 film, “The Secret.” Over the course of my next few blogs, I will share some of my learnings. First lesson: The law of attraction…
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Recently I had a great conversation with a very successful distributor owner. He is only in his 50s, but is ready to sell his business. He has made great money in his years in the business. No doubt he could make much more. When I asked why he does not keep growing the business and…
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As a distributor, you are looking to be a problem-solver for your clients. If you can come up with a solution, you become the hero and deepen your relationship with the account. Since we know that a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to 25% to 95% increase in profitability (Bain & Co.), these…
Read MoreA while back I asked if it was time to re-think the structure of your sales and client facing teams. Maybe you’ve had some reservations about how to make the transition. If you’re like many company owners, you’ve got an experienced group of sales folks who’ve been selling for years and have some great accounts. They undoubtedly have been with you for years and are great people. They provide the service your clients expect and that has helped to build your company to what it is today. Your frustration though…
Read MoreIn her best-selling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” author Marie Kondo identifies high levels of clarity and focus that result from eliminating unnecessary items from our personal and professional lives. Removing “clutter” brings with it an almost overwhelming sense of relief and an ability to spend more time and attention on the things that matter most. The same principal can be applied to our quest to make more efficient use of our time. To “de-clutter,” we must first identify and yes, write down how we spend our time…
Read MoreImagine working on a big, big, big order.* *By “big,” I am talking about income equal to six months of what you earn now. We’re. Talking. BIG. That is what I was working on. A large printer wanted their inside sales team trained. I’d flown thousands of miles from home to meet the client, the team he wanted me to train, and the other players involved. I’d come up with a plan for how I was going to turn the inside sales reps into sales monsters. It was typed into…
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