Our prospects and customers receive thousands of marketing messages every day, and ignore most of them. The ONLY chance we have of getting attention is by being relevant. Today's guest, Bill Cates, is an expert at the messaging to use to help you grab attention by personalizing your messaging so that prospects feel it is all about them and has value. You'll hear a simple process to use right now to create messaging you can use in your voice mails, emails, and call openings.
Feb 24, 2020•44 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast You can make claims and statements about how great you, your company, and your products/services are. But, they can be viewed with skepticism. Or, you can use these techniques that people place credibility in, which is the key to helping them trust you, and ultimately buy from you. You'll hear exactly what to say in your own sales situations.
Feb 20, 2020•8 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast Technology has provided amazing tools to us as salespeople. It also hinders people who hide behind it. No tool can ever replace a human when it comes to the two-way communication that people need.
Feb 17, 2020•9 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone knows how to listen. Yet, most of us do it very poorly. The highest performing sales professionals do it at an extreme level. You'll hear how to do that in this episode.
Feb 13, 2020•9 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast Art shares a prospecting call he received, and points out the numerous mistakes the caller made in just a few seconds. And you'll hear what he could have said to grab interest and attention and have success on the call. You can easily do the same with Art's free Cold Call Fill-in-the-Blanks template (and free video) at http://SalesByPhone.com.
Feb 10, 2020•8 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast Most people would like to do better, and have more than where they are right now. Yet, most also continue to get the same results. A few however, are already getting what you want. They have taken the Quantum Leaps to get there. You can too. You'll hear nine brief tips from the book, "The Quantum Leap," by Price Pritchett, to help you on your way to achieving great things.
Feb 06, 2020•6 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast Salespeople, and businesses in general, often make two huge mistakes with the inquiries they receive, causing them to miss out on sales. You'll hear the mistakes to avoid, and what TO do to turn more more of the inquiries you get into sales, both now, and in the future.
Feb 03, 2020•6 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast A communication mistake many people make is assuming others know what we know. This is especially dangerous in sales. You'll hear how the airline gate agent thought Art asked a stupid question, but his perception was from his own world of aviation. You'll also hear other mistakes to avoid, and what to do to be clear and specific, and help your prospects and customers to be as well.
Jan 30, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Salespeople often leave a lot of money on the table because they are uncomfortable recommending a higher-priced option. That's a huge mistake, as you'll hear with the example of the Best Buy sales rep that Art shares. You'll hear mistakes to avoid, and what to do to easily increase your average order size.
Jan 27, 2020•5 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone would like the "Easy" button for most things. And like with most things, real success requires more than the easy route. However, there are some simple steps we can take in sales to indeed avoid mistakes, and get some quick wins. Hear a simple way to put together an interest-creating message you can use in voice mails, emails, and call openings to grab instant interest and get replies.
Jan 23, 2020•7 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast There are many people who treat what they do as just a job. The highest earners are true professionals. Like Leo, the limo driver. Hear Art's experience with the ultimate in professionalism, from a driver his group had in Chicago. And, you'll hear the common characteristics that all true sales PROfessionals have as well.
Jan 20, 2020•15 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Most things that salespeople hear from prospects regarding price are not real objections. Just statements or comments. The danger is when the reps don't know how to respond, and end up giving away profits. Here's an example of how the golf pro did this with Art, and sold his golf balls at a much higher price than they sell for online. And you'll hear what you can do, too.
Jan 16, 2020•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Closing is not, and should not be about techniques or hard sell manipulative tactics. When done professionally, it is a natural next step in a natural conversation. James Muir has developed two simple questions that have been proven to be the most effective steps to take to get prospects to move forward in the sales process, and buy. You'll hear the exact words, and how to use them.
Jan 13, 2020•21 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast The people who directly interact with prospects and customers ARE the company to those buyers. One screw up by one person can cause them to never buy there again. And most of these people who interact with buyers don't realize the true lifetime value of a customer. Such was the case of the pizza shop owner Art had tried to order from. This will get you thinking about the real value of your customers, how important every interaction is, and what you can do to maximize them.
Jan 09, 2020•10 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Old school, cheesy sales advice suggests you should always assume the sale, and use "assumptive" closing techniques. Part of that is partially true, and the other part can either make the sales rep look like a fool, or be the exact thing to do. It depends on the situation. All of this is explained in this episode so you will have a clear plan as to when to assume and what to do, and when to never to do it.
Jan 06, 2020•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Too many sales are lost because the salesperson uses weak language. They wish for the business or next step, instead of directly asking for it. And, this is NOT being pushy when used correctly. You'll hear lots of tips and word-for-word closes and commitment questions you can use right now.
Dec 30, 2019•8 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast If the title of this episode got your attention, you will be listening for the word "wine" when you hit "play." And you will hear it. The sales point of this episode is that we look for what we expect. And you should do the same thing when you send anything to a prospect or customer after a sales call. Then, there's a greater chance they will actually pay attention to what you send. You'll hear Art's wine story, and how he got what he expected at a wine tasting.
Dec 23, 2019•7 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast Some sales training goes overboard on its insistence that you use or don't use certain words. The words we use in sales CAN make all of the difference. But WHERE they are used is much more important. You'll hear this explained using the "feel" vs. "thinking" example.
Dec 19, 2019•6 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast Almost all of the locals are salespeople in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as Art observed on vacation this week. Beach vendors, kids working in jewelry stores, and more all provided valuable sales lessons--including how to deal with rejection--that we all can use.
Dec 09, 2019•6 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast Often, using the most simple, conversational replies are the best ways to deal with mild resistance. If someone doesn't have a good reason for their resistance, simply asking them to repeat it can help them to open up more to your offer. You'll hear how to do that in this very brief episode.
Dec 09, 2019•3 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast One of the best sales questions Art has ever heard was from the old TV show, Ally McBeal. You can use this simple question to get people off of the fence, and either tell you they are not a prospect, or get them to move forward. Both of which are better than a "maybe."
Dec 09, 2019•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes prospects ask salespeople extremely technical, or outrageous questions that catch them off-guard, and cause them to respond with a long string of nonsense. We can avoid that, and it involves actually NOT answering the question immediately. You'll hear how to respond, and why.
Dec 05, 2019•6 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast Do you tend to put things off? How does that work out for you? Procrastination rarely leads to anything positive, especially in sales. Here are a few brief tips to help you take action on things you have been putting off--now!
Dec 02, 2019•5 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast It should be obvious that inquiries are your best source of new business. Yet sales reps mishandle them every day, and lose opportunities, and cash. Here are examples of how many reps made mistakes when Art wanted to buy now, and what one person did to get the business.
Nov 24, 2019•7 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast Salespeople waste a lot of time needlessly by easily giving in to something like, "Give me a call back next month." You'll hear what to say to learn if they even are a good prospect, and if so, why waiting is even necessary. You'll save time, and sell more.
Nov 21, 2019•5 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone who prospects for new business has heard, "We're satisfied with who we're using now," or some variation of that. There's a lot of nonsense that has been taught about how to respond, such as, "What do you like best about them?" That actually gets them to reinforce their decision to work with their vendor. You'll hear what TO say instead, to get them talking, which then opens up the chance they will work with you.
Nov 18, 2019•7 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast On the popular medical drama TV series from a few years ago, the surgeons would always ask one question with their new patients during the initial consultation. This is a question that revealed very important things about them. It's the same type of question we should use with prospects and customers to learn about them, and which will help them buy from us.
Nov 14, 2019•5 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Art found an online article suggesting many lies and deceitful tactics that salespeople should use if they want to be successful. He takes each of these, points out how absurd they are for ethical salespeople, and what we should do to really be successful.
Nov 11, 2019•10 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast Many times salespeople end up dropping their price, and it is a direct result of how they quote their price. There are a number of words and phrases you should avoid when stating your price so that you don't give the impression that you are willing to negotiate it. And, you'll hear precisely how to state your price, and respond if they still ask for a better price, so you still sell at your full price.
Nov 06, 2019•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Here are three subtle, but powerful persuasion techniques--that likely have been used with you--that you can adapt to be more persuasive and influential with prospects, customers... friends, family... anyone really!
Nov 04, 2019•6 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast 
