It all began with a “sob story of events” when Phil was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, an intestinal disorder with an array of symptoms that prevent him from doing business the usual way.
He had to figure out how to get the most out of his time before fatigue set in; how to get maximum results from the least amount of work.
Phil calls it the ‘opposite of hustle.’
The Opposite of Hustle
Phil had to drop the tasks that weren’t moving his business forward so he could focus on the more productive areas: his areas of expertise that would bring in the results.
He outsourced the day-to-day minutia of the business. He streamlined.
Phil learned that trying to do everything, carrying the weight of every department and trying to know everything are the very things that keep top-performing sellers or top performing business owners from having the time to develop and use their own “sense of genius.”
The Sales Exclusion Department: Who do I NOT want to work with?
Phil used to help “anyone with a pulse” but in the end, no one benefitted.
The problem was that they weren’t the right people for the business and he ended up creating more problems in all areas of the business: refund rates increased, customer service issues increased, etc.
He had to decide: Who do I not want to work with? How do I not get them through the front door?
Instead of trying to generate new leads or new business with the shotgun approach of searching aimlessly among 1000’s of profiles, he focused on the 3-5 people with the most potential and nurtured those relationships.
Begin by deciding who your Ideal Clients are. Then drill down even further in the group to find who among them would be the Best Clients. Continue sorting until you have a handful of the Dream-Come-True Clients rather than just ideal ones.
Filter prospects
Establish your own personal brand and filter your network of prospects through it instead of sending them to the company website or the official sales page.
“If you are a sale professional, read on…..”
“If you are a business owner, read on….”
Short punchy messages like these will prequalify the person before you are on the phone with them or before they send you a message. It’s just a way to exclude the people who are not ready today.
Then, when they are ready tomorrow, or even if you go to another company or another department, they will know how to find you. You become the point of contact for whatever it is you sell, regardless of where you work.
Growing your Network
Achieving your personal best should be your focus rather than looking at the top of the sales leaderboard or worrying about who has the best sales. The top performers are not any better than you, they just have a bigger network.
So work smarter.
Grow your network by targeting the right people instead of just more people.
Focus on the people who are ready to listen instead of trying to talk to everyone.
Put systems and processes into place to keep in contact with your network.
Then, when the people are ready, you are the first person they think of — the first person they contact.
There is a self-imposed pressure to hit the sales targets but if you don’t hit it, don’t worry about it. Instead, think about what system you can put into place so that you get it next time, and then maintain it.
Tap into your Existing Network
It is easier to build a relationship with someone you already know.
Have a conversation with the goal of building a foundation for doing business together and to establish a network of referrals rather than with the expectation of making a sale; as if you bumped into them in a coffee shop.
Then replicate that conversation.
The Golden Tickets
Customers who have said ‘Yes’ before are the ones to stay in contact with.
Phil likes to give them “Golden Tickets” or “freebies” — a 30-minute consultation, for example — that they can give to a friend.
Once Phil realized that his clients were referring business to him because it made them feel good to pass a deal on to their friends, rather than doing so just as a favor to him, it became easier to ask for referrals.
They feel fabulous for sharing, their friends benefit from the Golden Ticket, and Phil benefits from the referral. The network grows.
“Work Smart” episode resources
Phil believes knowledge should be free and he is happy to share! You can connect with him at his website, Unhustled.com, or check out his goodie bag for listeners of TheSalesEvangelist.com.
This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach and it allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.
We’ll use prospect.io in the upcoming semester of TSE Hustler’s League to focus on prospecting. We’ll give you insights and tools that will help you gain new customers. In addition, we’ll provide training and strategies that you can implement today to ensure constant flow in your pipeline.
Check out our new semester of The Sales Evangelist Hustler’s League. We’re taking applications for the semester beginning in January, and we can only take a limited number of people.
This episode is also brought to you in part by Maximizer CRM, personalized CRM that gives you the confidence to improve your business and increase profits. To get a demonstration of maximizer, go to the sales evangelists.com/maximizer.
Click on the link to get a free demo of what Maximizer CRM can do for you. It integrates your marketing campaign as well as your CRM, and it works whether you’re a small organization or a large one.
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