Category: Sales & Marketing

Interviews can be a great way to understand and share the expertise of authority figures within your industry. To your readers, you give them access to the knowledge and know-how of veterans that have plenty to share which can be used in their efforts. As a site owner, you too gain a benefit because it helps build a working relationship with the individuals and, in many ways, allow you to create a sense of authority within your niche because of the association with said person.

Step 1: Choose the right service

There are many, many services at your disposal if you’re conducting interviews. Programs such as Skype can be a great starting point. Google+ hangouts, too, are a great alternative. If you’re trying to do a group interview and need to make an international conference call then you may want to seek professional hardware that can handle the load.

The best service is the one that works for your purpose.

Make sure it can handle the call and that you’re able to record the conversation.

But, before you can begin, make sure every individual in the interview knows that their voice may be used within your business which may have products, services, or offers. Putting this information on the table, figuratively, will prevent any hassle and let everyone know what’s to happen.

Step 2: Identify the key players

Spend the next day weeding through your list of contacts, top ranking websites for your industry, known authorities, published authors, and anyone you feel would be an ideal candidate for an interview. The goal, here, is to go after the ‘big guns’; they’re the ones that command a huge audience (you’ll want to get in front of these individuals).

Then do the following:

·  Begin lurking on their website and keep track of their projects and insights

·  Slowly integrate yourself into their community by joining conversations & providing feedback

·  Send over an email (or call them) with your idea for an interview

Yes, this takes just three steps but each is vital.

The first two, joining the community, will allow you to understand the individual so you can make an accurate guess as how to approach them. The latter is simply getting in touch. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find many individuals completely open to the idea of an interview because they’re easy to conduct, quick to produce, and can quickly grow their brand because it extends their reach.

Step 3: Ask the hard-hitting questions

Now is the time to ask the hard-hitting, difficult questions (depending on your interview-type, of course).

Traditionally, you’ll see many interviewers dodge a lot of the tough questions because they have a fear they may anger the interviewee but the problem, with this, is that you end up getting the same interview they’ve already done because it often involves the same questions.

Instead, let go of the ego and status and begin asking the questions you want to hear. Better yet, let your community know you’ll be holding an interview and have them submit the hard questions. The point is to get the most out of the interview which is often buried beneath the fluff.

Step 4: Edit and package the recording

Once the interview part is said and done it’s time to move onto editing.

Editing, contrary to your gut reaction, is actually quite easy using tools like Audacity (free) or premium programs like Adobe Audition. Whatever your choice it just comes down to cutting off the pauses in the front and back of the recording; you may also want to remove certain sections if the conversation goes off the rails.

To add some extra “oompf” you can purchase stock audio and create an introduction for the recording which will add a layer of branding (which is always helpful for your projects and efforts).

Export the piece in a format such as .MP3 and you’ll now be ready to begin sharing it!

Step 5: Publish and share to your network

Lastly, it’s time to push the interview live to your community (and the rest of the Web).

Some of the actions you may want to take include:

·  Writing a blog post with the interview (along with show notes and a transcript)

·  Reworking the audio into a video format for sites like YouTube or Vimeo

·  Taking the best quotes and information and sharing them through a slideshow on SlideShare

·  Updating all of your social media accounts with the new recording

·  Contacting your close network to encourage the initial sharing

There are many different platforms to share your interview and plenty of options to change the format and media so take full advantage of these options if you wish to have it distributed as far as you can.

Bonus: Do a follow up

Go back and thank the individual, see if they have anything else to add, and leave a passing note before you write off the interview and put it into the archives. The goal is not just to have some content to publish but to build a relationship with this individual which may sprout into a profitable opportunity whether it’s working with them, directly, or simply gaining advice and feedback that will allow your projects to flourish.

As you can see – doing interviews isn’t entirely difficult. All you need to do is make the leap to audio and you’ll unlock an entire world of fresh opportunity to reach your audience (and the people that are movers and shakers in the industry).

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

I’ve recently read a book title “The Most Important Thing”written by Howard Marks, aimed at stock traders and investors the book is designed to help the reader think like the major players in the world of investing.

One of the key aspects of the book is to adopt the second level thinking methodology which requires you to dig deeper and think differently to everyone else. I realised that the second level thinking mantra can in fact be implemented into a sales strategy too.

Sales qualification is about understanding the deep underlying problems and aspects of the customers’ needs and business, a lot of sales people tend to drop the ball at this point. Whilst the majority of sales professionals asks the mediocre questions that really offer no information, the exceptional sales people have realised that this is when you ask the deep questions to dig deeper.

The exceptional sales person will zero in on the questions which may seem awkward at first, but are designed to fully understand if the person has authority, money or time to carry on with the negotiation process. At this point the sales person should consider the answers and if in fact the negotiations should be saved for another time or carried on with.

First level thinkers – “Can you pass on what we’ve just spoken about to whoever is in charge?”

Second level thinkers would ask – “Do we need to have a conversation or include anyone else at this stage that will have decision making power?”

First level thinker – “What’s the potential of getting the decision maker to sign this off?”

Second level thinkers – “Are you in the position right now to make this a commitment?”

First level thinking is superficial and every sales person does it, chances are you’ll see the customers eyes glaze over due to the same questions being asking over and over again. The problem starts with the mentality of the sales person as they believe the questions they are asking are of relevance, in reality these answers can all be obtained further down the cycle.

To think on a second level basis you need to consider and take on board the following:

– What us the likely outcome in terms of pricing?

– Which price is most likely to be agreed upon?

– What are the chances I’m right?

– What are my competitors doing differently?

– Are my expectations different from my competitor?

These are just some general considerations to think of in your next cycle, the idea being that once you’ve understood and practicing going through these thoughts you can create a long term habit.

As the customer shops around with your competitors they’ll be inadvertently asked the same questions over and over again, think of the old style of insurance quote process before the comparison websites, which will make them loath the questions and the person asking them.

Asking the thought provoking questions tends to ignite the thought processes of a customer, second level thinking gives you the chance to ask the deep questions which provide you with answers that can be followed up with a new set of questions.

Article Contributed by Marius Fermi

That phrase ‘I’m touching base’ is like the awkward moment you try to engage in a conversation with someone on a night out. You know why you’re there but the other person doesn’t care.

It’s down to you to have a reason, be confident about that reason and make sure everything is clear as to why you have just decided to ‘touch base’.

So here’s  a run-down of what to say instead of generic phrases;

• “Hi Mr/Mrs X, (general chit chat). When we last spoke we discussed your need to have our service going ASAP but obviously wanted to determine the benefits for you. So let’s set up a time and date that suits you to have a meeting and we can start saving you money right away.” – Remind your client that what you are offering is something of true benefit to the company. If it greatly reduces the price or improves on efficiency then most people are willing to listen. As always prepare with some research to identify key features only a market expert in their industry would know.
• “ Mr/Mrs X, it’s always hard to leave the comforts of something you have used over and over, but I’m sure switching over to this would be of huge use for you. The best thing to do is have a look at this (blog, slideshow, ebook, podcast etc). If we can set up a time and date to meet that would be great.” – Many small businesses will fall into fear of leaving something they are used to simply because it’s a scary world out there with the big players. Education is essential so explain how it will work and make sure you have case studies at hand, even provide a means of communication with previous customers.
• “Mr/Mrs X, we have just had a trial run of this (product/service) and it went great. (Case Study) has seen a huge improvement and they have a heap of similarities to your company. Is there any chance you have a few minutes to discuss it?” – The standard phrases ‘you are the first to try it’ are boring and we all know they are usually not true, but having a case study that shows a resemblance to the clients company is a great way to build a relationship and more importantly it makes your client aware of the fact you are actually looking to help them rather then drain them of all their money.

An important aspect of any call is that you have reason for this contact, rehearse what you need to say before the call or just go with the flow – when going with the flow you’re much less likely to include buzzwords and structured sentences that turns the whole conversation into an automated machine.

Some other pointers to consider:

• People in business generally have no time or at least they’ll tell you so. Within the first sentence of your reason for calling tell them you’ll only be on the phone for X minutes (5, 10, 15 but no more) and have a stop watch.

Sticking to the short amount of time you mention may seem to go against all rules of sales but essentially this is a follow up call, one that has to resemble as little intrusion as possible into the world of this very busy person.

• We all love emails because they offer us freedom of expression, editing and time to answer without the pressures of phonecalls. With your 10 minute follow up call, you’re going to have a reason for the call – details, new products, and general ideas – so mention these but say that you’ll email everything over right away.

Once you’ve got this trust with your customers that a 10 minute call is going to be a 10 minute call, an email of information is actually going to be just that your future phone calls won’t be treated with hostility. The last thing you need is a follow up to be cut short or ignored because of your inability to be quick and concise.

Follow up calls come at awkwardly inappropriate times and many people find it difficult to chit-chat with a sales professional – in order to turn all of these issues around you need to make sure you leave the customers wanting more of your time, but always being there when they call or contact you.

Less intrusion, more structure.

About the Author: Marius Fermi, director of online communications at Tactical Sales Training – B2B focused sales training and courses. We teach the subtle art of sales with next day results.

It is important to identify the prospects that will have the highest need for your product or service.  These are your best prospects—the ones who are most likely to buy, use, and recommend you and your services.

When you have identified your best prospects and know where to find them, you can use your marketing skills to generate leads that will most likely result in profitable sales. Qualified lead generation is the fuel that drives the engine of your sales success.  The techniques discussed here can keep you supplied with highly qualified leads.

How can you identify those prospects that are most likely to want to hear your message? And, once you’ve identified the profile of those most likely to buy—your TOP 20%—where can you find prospects in large numbers who fit that profile?

Begin with an analysis of your sales over the last year or two.

In your analysis, you look at three things:

1.            Who bought what?

2.            How did you find and sell those customers?

3.            Why did they buy what they bought?

Possessing the right marketing skills is crucial in properly identifying the right kinds of prospects for a company. Smart companies accomplish this responsibility by profiling the top twenty percent of their current customers who typically provide eighty percent of their profits.

Looking for new business is very expensive. Therefore, companies need to avoid the wrong kinds of prospects for them.  Just as it is critical in distinguishing the attributes of the right prospects, a company needs to outline the characteristics that make-up the bottom twenty percent of their customer base. Anybody in business can easily recognize who the complainers, price-grinders, and transaction-oriented clients are. By clearly understanding the bad traits of those bottom twenty-percent, companies can much easier avoid the wrong prospects.