To succeed in sales, one must know how to listen. I mean to really listen what your client is telling you. And along with that comes asking the right questions, using the right tools, and having the right process in place.
Today’s guest is Shauna McGee Kinney and she shares with us how she took some of our podcast episodes and how this was able to help change the way she did her business and how sales has increased. Shauna is a writer, particularly in the software manufacturing and construction industries.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Shauna:
Shauna’s major challenge:
Not getting any business from the clients who were taking work overseas because of the cost
How she fixed her problem:
1. Learning from past TSE episodes and applying them
Feb. 21, 2017 – Shauna listened to a previous TSE episode on Sell Me What I Need, Not What You Want and it struck home with her. She realized she was wasting her client’s time.
Mar. 11, 2017 – She listened to another episode on the TSE Hustler’s League about Questions Your Customers Want You to Ask – Part 1. After listening to the episode, she realized her clients were going out to do a presentation or trying to get a proposal ready over the weekend to make a Monday deadline for the proposal.
2. Creating awesome proposals through PandaDoc
Another thing she picked up from TSE previous episodes was the use of PandaDoc. She had a client who didn’t have the time to pay her by the hour to sit there and interview the client to get the proposal done. So she made sure to listen to the client and ask the questions they wanted him to ask.
3.
She also offered them the office manager’s type of service where she offered to find a local printer, get their files over to them, and all they had to do was walk in and pick them up or the printer will deliver the finished materials to them. This marked the end of transactional sales and the beginning of a good relationship.
Results Shauna has seen from her strategies:
Shauna is now working with clients over the long term and she now has a team of four writers working on a project with her. Trust has been built between her and her clients.
Shauna’s Major Takeaway:
Think about the client first and what they want. Think about what they want you to ask them. Look beyond just your product especially in the beginning of that conversation. Work backwards from there. Build that trust.
Episode Resources:
Connect with Shauna on Twitter @shaunamkinney and check out her website www.smk-writer.com.
TSE 512: Sell Me What I Need, Not What You Want
TSE 525: Questions Your Customers Want You to Ask – Part 1
Maximum Influence by Kurt Mortensen
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