Brexit is happening! This means its time to AWAKEN yourself and team to new opportunities and grow globally. But success will mean SELLING globally. That’s not just making odd marketing efforts, it’s about true sales skills. However change is happening in sales and, in this #SellGlobal video #MalcolmGallagher says you may need a Sales 2020 Strategy. Watch the video to see how to start this working for you.
Podcasting is growing fast
Here at BizVision, we are avid podcasters with our ever-growing collection of titles and shows. But did you know how fast podcasting is growing? Recent research (though it is US-based) has highlighted who, where and how listeners come from. have a look through the infographic link below for some great podcasting insights. Contact Malcolm Gallagher if you want help with your podcast or want to be a guest on any of ours.
Infographic by: MusicOomph.com
Are you listening to your business and its own goals?
How are you helping your business achieve its goals?
by Malcolm Gallagher FCIM
You’ll likely have set your personal goals for this new year, perhaps even the decade. But if your business could talk to you what would its personal goals be? After all, especially if it is a limited company, your business is a “living thing” – an entity.
And if you were to give your business guidance on setting its goals (tongue-in-cheek!?) what would be your advice to it?
Let me give you some suggestions to may like to make!
5 worthy and better business goals.
You could advise your business to aim for the following
- Be Caring.
- Be Productive
- Be Ethical
- Be Alive
- Be Feared
Let’s consider each of them
- Be Caring. Your business wants to play its part in the community, after all it lives there even if you don’t! It wants to “do good” for the community, its people and the environment. A good start is to implement a Living Social Value (LSV) policy. This is not just something to achieve third-party compliance but a truly embedded and enthusiastic activity. Let me know if you need help on understand and creating your LSV.
- Be Productive. Your business is not daft. It wants to be around for a long time and knows that productivity feeds profitability. It wants to keep working and relies on you to have a Productivity Improvement Plan in active use. What’s one of those? Well, it starts with a simple but thorough “enterprise audit” to identify loss and opportunity. It wants you to be agile in 2020, adaptable and ready to embrace change.
- Be Ethical. Your business’s people are important, along with its customers, suppliers and influencers so it wants to trade ethically and with integrity. If you haven’t yet helped it develop a Business Culture then it’s time to do so. A Business Culture goes beyond the typical employee handbook and, properly done, it sets your business soundly apart from others.
- Be Alive. Too many businesses have become gloomy. Possibly as a result of global uncertainty and indecision. Possibly as a result of inactive leadership. Your business wants to “be alive” and buzzing. It wants you out there proactively telling its story and giving confidence with a solid communications plan.
- Be Feared. Your business knows that if it can achieve the previous four it will not only be resilient but will make competitors tremble when they hear its name. That’s something that will make your business proud!
So there you have it. Your business is likely saying to you “If I could…”. How are you helping it achieve its goals?
Why you lose customers
In these uncertain times, you can’t afford to lose customers so here’s what you can do about it says Malcolm Gallagher of the BizVision Network.
But first, some research that I recently also chatted about from the BrexFit Bunker on the Get BrexFit podcast episode 75.
The research is from the US Chambers of Commerce and Brooks Group. It’s about customer loyalty. You know how expensive it is to get new customers so you obviously want to retain as many of your existing customers as possible. That may be hard with all the flux caused by uncertainty and the economy.
Here are the figures (see the Brooks Group graphic) why customers may leave you:
68% are upset with the treatment given to them by one of your team
14 % are dissatisfied with your product or service
9% just simply switch to one of your competitors
5% actively seek other alternatives or other relationships – It’s their nature!
3% move away
1% die or close down
Okay, those figures may not be new to some of you but I like what Brooks Group says. And it’s this that is the “nugget of learning” for you!
Based on those average percentages YOU, yes YOU, control 96% of the reasons customers will stop doing business with you. Now that means, likely with some skills training, you can remove most of the risk of customer loss.
And that’s one of the big worries of to-day out of the way for you. Probably not for your competitors because they will likely just follow the usual; bland coaching and training that is around for free.
Tackling the emotional issues around why customers leave is paramount.
So don’t forget you control at least 96% of the reasons why customers will stop doing business with you. Look at the research breakdown and tackle them. If you need any help with this then book one of my 2020 strategy sessions.
7 tactics to boost sales
By Malcolm Gallagher
Hello and welcome to 7 tactics to boost sales. Sales are the lifeblood of your business. Nothing happens until something is sold. However – often the approach to sales and selling becomes languid. So I am asking you to plan ahead with urgency and to ensure you take action to boost sales. How to do it?
Watch the video or read below for 7 tactics to boost sales.
- Be clear on the BIG results you deliver for your customers. It’s not what you do that they buy, but the result they get from what they buy from you.
- Know your audience or customer. Make sure you have profiled your ideal customer. A good way to target them clearly is to segment them by their need.
- Now position your product or your service to deliver that BIG result you are delivering in step 1 above. Be careful that you are not fixated on what you do – remember they want results.
- Make it easy or them to buy from you or do business with you. How often have you been frustrated in dealing with a business, especially say a large utility company with complicated processes and systems? Many times I have had to bluntly say to a business leader how hard it was to buy from them – -they often say they didn’t know about it! The higher up the ladder they are the more removed they often become from what’s happening at the sharp end of sales.
- Add value to your customers by teaching them. Use your knowledge, expertise, and connections to help them be more successful. Use video, webinars, white papers, blogs. I often prepare for my clients what I call Go Kits which are digital learning packs.
- Keep your message relevant to your prospective customer. Remember it’s not about you, or what you do, it’s about them and how they will benefit.
- Execute a World Class sales set-up. You may need a little outside help here but an essential element is …….Ensure salespeople know how the BIG RESULT is delivered and how they fit into the process
REFLECTION
I trust you want to boost your sales so how will to make sure you take action on all this?