RainToday's Sales Tips & Techniques Podcast
325 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 8 years ago - ★★★★ - 9 ratingsTips and techniques to help you unleash your sales potential.
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Episodes
The Right Way to Market Technology Services
June 30, 2010 14:30 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBMarketing technology services effectively requires a systematic approach. Unfortunately, however, many companies go about it in an erratic and tactical way that doesn't allow them to demonstrate the value of their services. And as a result, few buy their services. Listen as Laurie Young, author of Marketing Technology as a Service: Proven Techniques that Create Value, explains what successful companies have done to market their services and mistakes to avoid.
Employee Happiness Key to Driving Profit and Growth
June 23, 2010 14:30 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBHappiness as a business model--you might doubt its effectiveness, but Zappos is proving that it helps drive profit and growth. Listen as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos and author of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, talks about how a strong company culture that centers on employee happiness leads to better customer and client service, which leads to more sales.
What You Must Do to Keep Your Sales Pipeline Full
June 16, 2010 14:30 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIf you've ever been trapped in the cycle of having a lot of client work and then having none, more than likely, it's because your marketing efforts weren't continuous. You have one marketing push followed by all-out work only to lift your head at the end and discover you don't have any leads. You can avoid such trials of feast or famine when you make marketing part of your everyday life. Never stop marketing, and you'll never have to worry about filling your sales pipeline.
Are Your Sales Lagging? Poor Leadership Principles May Be the Cause
June 09, 2010 14:30 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBEven when you have a sales organization that has the right processes and does things perfectly, you can still get low returns. That's because core leadership principles within a company can have a negative effect. Listen as Danita Bye, author of Leadership Shift: Paradoxical Wisdom for Transformational Leaders in These Times of Change, discusses leadership paradoxes that can significantly impact sales force effectiveness and should be evaluated if sales efforts are lagging.
What Firms Must Do to Achieve Sustainable Growth
June 02, 2010 14:30 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBIn the past all you needed was a pulse and few clients and your firm could survive. With the "new normal," however, that isn't enough. The CEO can no longer be the sole rainmaker and top sales person, and you must have a plan for running your firm. Fail to change your approach and you limit how much your firm can grow and run the risk of watching it fail.
You Might Be a Trust Killer—and Not Even Know It
May 26, 2010 14:30 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBOften service professionals kill any trust that might be developed with prospects with their sales and marketing tactics--and not even know that they're doing it.
Why You Must Invest in Existing Clients
May 19, 2010 14:30 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBOften firms spend a lot time and money wooing perfect strangers to become clients only to stop paying attention to them after the project is complete. But it is through existing clients that firms can generate more business, says Joseph Jaffe, author of Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones. Instead of following the traditional marketing funnel, flip it so that you build on existing client relationships and use those to draw new clients to you.
The Best Way to Generate Referrals and Get More Leads
May 12, 2010 14:30 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBIf referrals are the best way to generate leads and grow business, then why don't more firms do this well? It all starts with being referable and trustworthy, says John Jantsch, author of the new book The Referral Engine. When you establish trust and provide a great client experience, you set the stage for building a powerful referral system that generates leads and often eliminates the sales cycle.
Preferred Lead Generation Tactics for Professional Services
May 05, 2010 14:30 - 9 minutes - 8.74 MBWith all of the marketing tactics available for professional services, five have risen to the top in terms of preference, including email marketing and thought leadership, according to recent studies by The Shattuck Group. Listen as Randy Shattuck, senior marketing executive and founder of The Shattuck Group, reveals some of the findings of those reports and give a preview of his upcoming webinar.
Social Media Marketing Better than SEO for Web Traffic
April 28, 2010 14:30 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBIf you're not doing social media, you need to rethink that. Not only are millions of people using social media networks, but using those networks to market your firm can create greater awareness and generate more web traffic faster than SEO tactics, says Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.
Economy Recovering: What Firms Must Do Now
April 21, 2010 14:30 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBMike Schultz, President of Wellesley Hills Group, talks about the state of the professional services market and what leaders must do to navigate their firms through the recovering economy.
How a Strong Brand Helped Accenture Withstand the Tiger Woods Scandal
April 14, 2010 14:30 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBTeresa Poggenpohl, Executive Director of Advertising and Brand Management at Accenture, explains how Accenture built its strong brand, how it handled the Tiger Woods incident, and what firms of all sizes must do to build a strong brand.
Turn Your Firm into a High-Performance Machine
April 07, 2010 14:30 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIf your firm isn't performing at high levels, it may need an alignment. Start with your vision and then determine if your culture matches your vision, if your strategies advance your vision, and if your client experience advance those strategies. Only when all of those are working in concert will your firm achieve high performance levels, says Joe Calloway in this interview with RainToday Publisher Mike Schultz.
Client Objections: No Doesn't Have to Mean No
March 31, 2010 14:30 - 14 minutes - 13 MBBelieve it or not, it's often a good thing when a client or prospect voices objections. It gives you an opportunity to ask questions and understand what the true issue is. Then you can explain and perhaps offer another solution and get them to say yes. As John Doerr, founder of RainToday.com, explains in this interview, no doesn't have to mean no.
The Best Path to Profitability for Professional Services Firms
March 24, 2010 14:00 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBAcquiring new clients doesn't necessarily lead to profitability. Often it's better to sell new services to existing clients than it is to sell existing services to new clients. But getting clients to buy additional services means signing on ideal clients who believe you offer great value. Listen as Randy Shattuck, senior marketing executive and founder of The Shattuck Group, explains the importance of building your value proposition and your brand and what you must do to attract ideal clients.
Why Clients Leave and What You Can Do About It
March 17, 2010 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBBecause a client bought from you once, it doesn't mean they will continue to buy from you. You must nurture that relationship and build trust. Listen as Colleen Francis, President of Engage Selling Solutions, explains the two essential pieces of a client retention strategy, the most common reason why clients leave, and the best thing you can do right now to start successful relationships with clients.
So, You Want to Become a Thought Leader?
March 10, 2010 15:00 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBListen as Tom Davenport, 13-time author of books such as Thinking for a Living and What's the Big Idea and Babson College professor, talks about the benefits of thought leadership, what it takes to become a leading expert, and how to set yourself apart from others trying to do the same thing.
Is the Traditional Website Dead?
March 03, 2010 15:00 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBFor professional services firms, blog websites work better than traditional websites for cultivating client relationships and selling services, says Ian Brodie, owner of The Rainmaker Academy.
Do You Have What it Takes to Compete?
February 24, 2010 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBThe competition for clients is fierce—even more so these days as a growing number of firms vie for fewer budget dollars. You need to differentiate yourself and give prospects a reason to choose you. How can you do that? With competitive analysis, say Sean Campbell and Scott Swigart, principals at Cascade Insights.
Using Case Studies to Build Trust and Facilitate Sales
February 17, 2010 15:00 - 21 minutes - 20 MBCase studies are fantastic tools to facilitate professional services sales, as well as share with the world client success stories. But like anything, their success requires following certain best practices. In this week's podcast, Casey Hibbard, founder and president of Compelling Cases and author of Stories that Sell, reveals some of the best practices of creating case studies and how to use them to build trust with prospects and win clients.
How Search Engine Marketing Can Improve the Sales Cycle
February 10, 2010 13:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBProfessional services firms traditionally have done business by developing relationships and networking. While that's still an important part of how you develop business, more and more people are turning to the Internet to find and research service providers. And firms that know how to take advantage of the power of the Internet and search engine marketing definitely have a leg up on the competition. Mike Cooch, founder and CEO of Everon Technology Services, explains in this week's podcast.
Get Prospects to Notice You: What Every Marketing Campaign Must Have
February 03, 2010 15:00 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBYou may not think it, but when you deal with your public—your prospects and clients—you're doing PR. You are developing relationships with them via traditional and social media. That's why it's important to include a PR strategy in your marketing campaign. Listen as Drew Gerber, CEO and founder of Publicity Results, discusses the types of media outlets professional services firms should reach out to, what's required for a good PR campaign, and the success firms can see as a result.
Want to Attract New Clients? Think Like a Publisher
January 27, 2010 15:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBIf traditional marketing methods no longer get clients' attention, then it's time to consider content marketing. You want to think like a publisher and create compelling information that's educational, not sales-related. Listen as Joe Pulizzi, founder and chief content officer of Junta42 and co-author of Get Content Get Customers, explains what content marketing is, describes how to develop a content marketing strategy, talks about how to measure content marketing efforts, and gives an exampl...
The Number 1 Sales Mistake People Make
January 20, 2010 15:00 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBWhen selling professional services, you're bound to make a mistake at some point in your career. The biggest mistake, however, is selecting or going after poor prospects, says Dan Seidman, sales coach and author of Sales Autopsy. Listen as Dan talks about how to find the perfect client, explains the importance of the "dairy queen", and shares some sales horror stories.
Don't Let Bad Presentation Skills Cost You Clients
January 13, 2010 15:00 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBIt doesn't matter if you're giving a keynote, talking in a meeting, proposing ideas to a client, or talking one-on-one with someone, you must have good presentation skills. Listen as Tim Wackel, founder and president of The Wackel Group, explains how good presentation skills help prospects and clients trust you, outlines the two-step process for giving good presentations, and reveals the worst thing he's seen happen as the result of a bad client presentation.
Firms Must Break Down Marketing and Business Development Silos
January 06, 2010 16:10 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBProfessional services firms must break down marketing and business development silos if they want to be effective and productive. They must shift from doing a craft to running a business, and that requires making cultural and structural changes. Listen as Suzanne Lowe, author of The Integration Imperative: Erasing Marketing and Business Development Silos – Once and For All – in Professional Service Firms, explains what executives must do to break down barriers and grow their firms.
Modern Marketing Strategies for Professional Services
December 09, 2009 13:00 - 17 minutes - 16 MBTraditional outbound marketing methods are becoming less and less effective. Society is tired of being marketed to, and people are better at blocking such things as email and cold calls. So, what's a marketer to do? Pull people toward you with inbound marketing tactics, says Brian Halligan, co-author of Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs. Take advantage of the modern way in which people learn and shop.
How to Become a Marketing Success on Twitter
December 02, 2009 15:30 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBDemonstrating your thought leadership is one of the best marketing techniques for service professionals, and Twitter has quickly become one of the tops platforms for doing so. It's a great way to do lightweight marketing, says Sarah Milstein, author of The Twitter Book, as well as to network with prospects and clients. Listen as Sarah reviews how to get started using Twitter, what you must do to get people following you, and the business benefit of using Twitter.
How a CRM System Can Improve Your Sales Efforts
November 18, 2009 15:00 - 17 minutes - 16 MBYou can throw a sale off track is by starting an inappropriate conversation with a client. Prevent such conversations by keeping records on clients and prospects in a CRM system. Listen as David Taber, author of Salesforce.com Secrets of Success: Best Practices for Growth and Profitability, explains the benefits of various CRM systems, how to implement such systems, and tricks to getting people to use the systems.
Embrace New Emarketing Strategies or Lose Sales
November 11, 2009 14:30 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBThe B2B buying process has changed, and that means your marketing and sales tactics must also change. No longer can you simply say you're the leading provider. Buyers want you to prove it. Listen as Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, explains why traditional sales prospecting and marketing methods no longer work and discusses tactics firms must use instead.
Acquire the Ideal Client, Not Just Any Client
November 04, 2009 15:50 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBAcquiring new clients is a top priority among services firms, but you want to make sure you acquire ideal clients. Do not take every and any client no matter how difficult things for your firm might be, says Randy Shattuck, President of The Shattuck Group. Determine who your ideal client is and then decide the best pull marketing strategy to attract them. Firms that do so will see greater revenue and profits.
Stop Pitching Your Services and Facilitate the Buying Decision
October 28, 2009 14:30 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBSelling your services involves more than getting prospects to like what you have to offer. It also involves the buyer getting agreement from all parties and agreeing to change. To overcome this roadblock, Sharon Drew Morgan, author of the new book Dirty Little Secrets, says salespeople need to learn how to facilitate the buying decision. Do so and you can dramatically shorten the sales cycle.
Improve Your Value Proposition with Performance Benchmarking
October 21, 2009 14:30 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBProfessional services firms that have strong unique value propositions (UVP) grow faster, produce higher margins, and sell at higher prices. One way to offer such a strong UVP is to include performance benchmarking, says Paul Collins, founder and managing partner of Equiteq LLP. Listen as Collins explains how a value proposition that includes performance benchmarking helps you stand out among competitors and leads to greater sales.
Cold Calling: 7 Tips to Help You Get Meetings with Prospects
October 14, 2009 15:30 - 13 minutes - 12 MBCold calling--the phrase strikes fear in many sales professionals. It is challenging, but it isn't impossible. With these tips from Colleen Francis, Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, you'll learn how to prepare for cold calls, as well as techniques to engage prospects and get them wanting to hear more.
Using Pictures to Solve Problems and Engage Clients
October 07, 2009 11:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBThe moment someone picks up a pen to illustrate a point, the people around him pay attention. So, why not use pictures to solve problems and engage clients? Listen as Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin, explains how services professionals can do just that.
Tap Into the Power of Social Media
September 30, 2009 16:15 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBBy using Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and other forms of social media, you can build your credibility and have people, including journalists in traditional media, seek you out for your expertise, says Dan Janal, Founder and President of PR Leads Expert Resource Network..
Marketing Tactics that Grab People's Attention
September 23, 2009 14:30 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MB<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNorm...
What Makes People Buy?
September 16, 2009 16:35 - 13 minutes - 12 MBWhen people buy professional services, their purchasing decisions are made at an emotional level. Something in a firm's presentation or values strikes them on a subconscious level. That is why it's imperative that services firms not only present themselves well with their websites and marketing materials, but they also differentiate themselves from others in the field. In this podcast Martin Lindstrom, CEO and Chairman of LINDSTROM Company, Chairman of Buyology Inc., and author of Buyolog...
Speaking Engagements: How to Get Big-League Gigs
September 09, 2009 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.75 MBIf you've been speaking at local events and getting rave reviews from attendees, you might be thinking about joining the circuit of big-name speakers. Before you take your speaking material to that level, however, listen to what Vickie Sullivan has to say. Speaking in the big leagues is very different, and you need to step up your game. In this podcast, Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, explains the important aspects of a speaker's platform—and what should be included in tha...
Achieve Marketing Success with Social Media Networks
September 02, 2009 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBSocial media networks are excellent tools for marketing your services, but it isn't enough to simply sign up to use those tools. It takes work. You can't confuse the tool with doing something meaningful with the tool, stresses Paul Gillin, writer and content marketing specialist and author of the book Secrets of Social Media Marketing. You have to have something interesting to say, and you have to be willing to respond to people who want to comment on what you say. Listen as Gillin advises ...
Use a Universal Lead Definition to Find Ideal Clients
August 26, 2009 13:40 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBToo often professional services firms practice "random acts of marketing." They don't have a real strategy for marketing the firm or for generating leads, and as a result leads get lost or are discarded. To successfully generate leads, service firms have to do three things: identify the companies they should be working with, identify the right people within the companies, and nurture an ongoing dialogue with them and build trust. Before you can do that, however, you need to identify what is...
Cold Calling Dos and Don'ts
August 19, 2009 15:27 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBIn this day and age, when the Do-Not-Call list is so often put into action, you might think phone sales are things of the past. Not so, says Colleen Francis, Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions. In fact, she says the phone is still the most effective sales tool. To succeed at cold calling, however, you need to have a different mindset and you need to follow certain best practices. Think about cold calling as new business development or opening a relationship. Listen as Francis...
Don't Let Your Sales Proposal Turn into a Horror Story
August 12, 2009 17:00 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MB<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNorm...
Best Practices for Making Cold Calls
August 05, 2009 16:00 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBIf your referrals run dry, chances are you're going to have to turn to cold calling to bring in new business. That may seem daunting, and you might consider hiring an agency to make the calls for you, but it's better if you do it yourself. John Doerr, Founder of RainToday.com and President of the Wellesley Hills Group, offers tips to ease the cold-calling process and help you establish good practices that will lead to sales. Advice John offers: • Whether presidents of companies should m...
The Reality of Selling Professional Services
July 29, 2009 14:00 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBServices professionals know everything they need to sell their services. It's how they organize that information and how they approach prospective clients that determine whether or not they make the sale. Michael McLaughlin, author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, talks about how services professionals can convert a sales lead into a paying client.
How to Turn Your Marketing into Internet Sensations
July 22, 2009 18:12 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MB<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style D...
How to Save a Difficult Client Relationship
July 15, 2009 16:12 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBChances are you've had difficult client relationships. Communication stops, the client doesn't give you what you need, and you don't get the results you want. Before you throw in the towel, you should make every effort to resolve the problems and get the relationship back on track. In this podcast, Andrea Howe, founder of BossaNova Consulting Group, talks with Mike Schultz, President of Wellesley Hills Group and Publisher of RainToday.com, about how to identify a relationship that's falling ...
How to Expand Your Consulting Services into Global Markets
July 08, 2009 14:30 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MB<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions *...
Use Triggering Events to Improve Your Chance of Making the Sale – With Jill Konrath
July 01, 2009 19:35 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBChanges to a prospect's internal or external business environment could be just the thing to get you in their door and gain their business. Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, explains the importance of tracking such triggering events, how to use them to engage prospects in conversation, and techniques for contacting prospects. Questions Jill answers: * How much time should you spend researching companies and trigger events? * How can you use trigger events to move a sale along...
Strategies that Stick: What it Takes for Firms to Embrace and Execute a Marketing Plan - An Interview with John Doerr
June 24, 2009 14:00 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBService firms oftentimes have no problem creating marketing plans. They have problems implementing them. John Doerr explains what it takes to get things done. Service firms oftentimes have no problem creating marketing plans. They have problems implementing them. And, even when they do implement them, they often stop prematurely, before the results have a chance to materialize, and declare, "Marketing doesn't work!" John Doerr, president of Wellesley Hills Group, founder of RainToday.com,...