Top Sales Tips (and a Freebie!)
Owler interviews Amy Franko, a LinkedIn Top Sales Voice, a strategic sales expert, and keynote speaker.
After an extremely successful sales career, she built Amy Franko Associates, a company with a specific focus on sales training and leadership excellence. She has shared her tips on sales excellence and sales enablement
Amy Franko, Sales Leader
What are the challenges of selling during the pandemic, and how do you overcome those?
The arrival of COVID-19 changed the way we live, work, and sell. The resulting challenges for modern sellers include locating decision-makers, who may still be working remotely and not answering their phone, “reading the room” while presenting virtually, and dealing with reductions in spending by prospects and customers who are feeling a pinch from the pandemic, staffing shortages, and supply chain issues.
Overcoming these challenges will require agility. If you don’t consider yourself to be agile now, the good news is that it’s a skill you can build. I put together three ideas that can help you practice agility for yourself and as you are working with your prospects and your clients.
Reduce the noise. There is no shortage of noise out there. In the context of sales and client conversations, limit your source of news to the thought leaders and sources you trust. Then distill that info and provide unique ideas, advice, and counsel to your prospects and clients.
Ruthlessly review your pipeline. I categorize mine into two buckets, current clients and prospects. During the pandemic, I reached out to each of them, and I asked, “What information will be most useful to you right now? What’s the most immediate thing that you’re trying and to solve for?” That gave me the chance to come back with specific ideas and resources rather than trying to boil the ocean. If they know what they’re dealing with, then I can be a better service to them.
Get away from your desk and get in some physical activity. It will clear your head and make you ready to receive more information that you can, in turn, share with your prospects and clients.
What are your top tips for a salesperson to develop lasting relationships with clients?
Gallup found that only 29% of our clients are genuinely engaged with us. Loyal.
That leaves up to 71 percent of clients that range anywhere from very satisfied to completely disengaged. These are the clients that can be swayed to move elsewhere…even the satisfied ones.
Modern Sellers are what I call Ambassadors. They’re skilled at cultivating loyalty and building long-term value. Because they take this long view, it’s a game-changer for sales growth. The likelihood of expanding your sales into an existing loyal client is between 60 to 70 percent. The likelihood of selling to a net-new prospect is only five to 20 percent.
To cultivate greater selling power, three common loyalty traits are worth building in your best clients.
Loyal clients see you as a proactive and strategic advisor because you reach out to them with ideas and insights for their business.
Loyal clients refer business to you. Eighty-four percent of B2B decision-makers start the buying process with a referral.
Loyal clients buy on value and the overall experience.
Name the top three qualities that got you where you are today
Optimism. Coming from a place of optimism has helped me to see situations as opportunities. Even the ones that don’t turn out as planned. I see myself as a blend of possibility and practicality, which balance one another out. I always believe I can help my clients find solutions, and I always believe that I can win.
Lifelong learning. I love learning new things. I’m the person reading multiple books at once (never enough time!), listening to podcasts, and attending events to build a skill or grow as a person. This helps me stay well-read, share what I’m learning with others, and connect the dots to topics top of mind for my clients.
Ambition. Simply put, I’m ambitious, and I take action. I tend toward taking imperfect action and adjusting as needed over standing still. I tend toward smart forward progress. As a recovering perfectionist, this is something I’ve had to work on… still a work in progress!
Tell us your sales story - that one sale that made you who you are today and/or broke through norms/expectations?
One sales story that was a significant growth point in my firm is a story about social capital. It began with an online connection through LinkedIn. Over time, I nurtured that relationship. I was sharing ideas and insights with the contact. This lasted years.
She eventually moved to a new position and became responsible for hiring an outside consultant. This was a project that was perfect for my team and me. We were able to respond to the RFP and participate in the interview process. I requested interviews with the decision-makers and influencers. I was granted those interviews. My competitors never thought to make that request, and consequently, I was better able to position outcomes and value – and win.
What are your top tips for our Owler community to prepare for your first conversation with a client?
When it comes down to it, sales is a conversation.
Conversations will look different depending on your scenario, but the idea here is that any interaction is an opportunity to be intentional and plan for the right outcomes. The framework I use is meant to provide guard rails, and it can be flexed to meet specific situations.
The elements of the Sales Conversation Framework include:
Pre-Plan - Pre-Planning is the first stage of the framework. This is where you plan for success.
Lead the Open – Schedule the meeting, create the agenda, lead the discussion.
Dialogue - The goal with dialogue is to create a balanced exchange in the overall conversation.
Summarize & Close - This piece of the in-meeting framework is all about momentum for next.
Follow Up - Follow up is the follow-through piece of the sales conversation that usually gets forgotten in the confusion.
Amy Franko has given you Owler readers a few freebies to help up your sales strategy:
Strategic Selling Program at learn.amyfranko.com -- Free Preview Lessons for Owler readers:
I’ve packaged my best sales skills and mindsets into an easy digital platform for B2B sales professionals and teams. This is ideal for you if you’re in professional services or selling complex solutions into B2B environments. The vision is to provide a platform and experience where sellers can learn modern selling skills anytime, anywhere.
Owler readers can access two free preview lessons on aligning to your buyer’s decision cycle and the presentation skills that work in today’s client environments. You’ll take something away just in the preview that you can apply today!
Visit learn.amyfranko.com to get more details and start your free preview.
Catch more essential sales tips on Amy Franko’s channel here.
If you would like to be interviewed by Owler, or contribute to our sales blog, drop us an email at social@owler-inc.com
©Owler
