Colleen’s Blog

Always be prospecting. Why do I say that? I can tell you that in 25 years of selling, I have never met a sales problem that can’t be solved without good prospecting skills.

Thinking back to my post on Monday, another lesson we can learn from Mykonos is the value of adding value. Adding value, especially when it is not expected, creates a lasting impression in your customers minds and keeps them coming back. Even more, it converts your customers into evangelists bringing you more customers at little advertising costs. For example:

After a week in Mykonos, Greece, I’ve determined that Myconians are the most hospitable people in the world. And, I believe that the best investment any hospitality business can make is to send their people to Mykonos for observational training. The way locals interact with their customers is outstanding. It's memorable. And, it's definitely profitable.  Here are 4 general observations:

I’m a big fan of using your best to mentor the rest. One of the other things that I’m a huge fan of is learning by doing. So, what exactly does this mean and how can you harness its power in your organization?

We are now in the second quarter of the year! Didn't we just ring in the new year? By now, either you're making steady progress towards your sales goals for 2017, or you may have already forgotten about the goals you set. Whether you're behind, ahead or whether reading these words is serving as a reminder to actually set important goals, there is a fundamental mistake that salespeople make when setting and working towards their objectives. What's the mistake you ask?

Chris and I are working on an interesting project helping a client provide transformation technology to the hospitality industry. We recently spent a week in Japan, a country known for their hospitality. Our week abroad has provided us insights about where North American businesses can improve their customer experiences. Here are my top 3 tips for you:

The best salespeople are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are not staying static for extended periods of time because, let’s face it, if you’re not moving forward - you’re moving backwards! There’s almost nothing better than reaching (or exceeding) all of your sales goals for the year. A certain feeling of accomplishment is natural, and should be embraced! However, will you be satisfied if your numbers stay the same next year? Are you doing anything to improve upon your past accomplishments? The answer for many salespeople is no. They often work hard to create temporary success and soon after end up in a worse situation than they were before because they allow temporary accomplishments to hinder their work ethic. Here are two things you can do to improve upon your current success:

Is your business experiencing wild swings in revenue? This may surprise you, but putting too much emphasis on closing business is actually counterproductive to increasing your revenues. What?! Let me explain. Every time you close a sale you should be adding three to four more leads to your pipeline. When you’re concentrating too much on closing business it detracts focus from gaining new leads. Before long, you will have no new leads to close business with, and this is what causes swings in revenue or sales whiplash...as I like to call it! Don't worry, dear sellers, there are ways to avoid this. Are you wondering how you can attain consistent sales?

Is your sales team actively seeking out referrals from your current client base? According to recent studies, 78% of happy clients want to give out referrals. Yet only 8% of salespeople actually ask for them. Can you see the disconnect? It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that many salespeople are missing out on key opportunities to increase their sales and grow their businesses. How many of these opportunities are slipping through the fingers of your sales team?