For prospectors, referrals are important. When you’re a business developer, it’s helpful if you can engage clients to the point that they’re willing to refer another business to you.

Today’s guest is Brandon Bruce, the COO and Co-founder of Cirrus Insight. In today’s episode, Bruce will be talking about the top of the funnel. Listen to the episode to hear what Brandon has to say about referrals and about the tips, techniques, and strategies that he’s using in his own company that may also be useful for you.

Episode Highlights:

• Brandon’s unusual height
• Brandon’s company, Cirrus Insight, and what they do
• What Brandon has found does and doesn’t work when it comes to prospecting
• When is the best time to bring up the topic of referrals with a client
• Incentives that can encourage clients to make referrals
• How making a job fun can help build energy and get people excited
• How customer feedback can lead to great ideas for improvements
• How to use personalization in prospecting
• The small batch approach, and how new technologies have improved it

Resources:

Brandon Bruce

Cirrus Insight

brandon@cirrusinsight.com

There are a lot of different things that you can try when you need to make more sales. But one of the most effective things that you can do to become a great salesperson is work on your leadership skills.

Today’s guest is Deb Calvert, President of People First Productivity Solutions. In today’s episode, she’ll be talking about her new book, Stop Selling and Start Leading: How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen. Listen to the episode to hear what she has to say about what buyers really want and how sellers can make sure that they deliver, and stay tuned for a special offer at the end.

Episode Highlights:

• Deb’s interest in doing real research into what buyers really want, and how that led to her new book
• The surprises that Deb found in the course of researching her book
• The importance of sellers establishing credibility with buyers by doing what they say they will do
• The backstory on the co-authors that Deb worked with when writing her new book
• The 30 behaviors that buyers respond to when sellers adopt them
• How the behaviors Deb describes in her book apply in different stages of the funnel
• Deb’s Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership that sellers can apply in their relationships with buyers
• How leadership behaviors can help sellers stand out from the crowd
• Deb’s online e-learning course, and a special offer for podcast listeners 

Resources:

Deb Calvert

People First Productivity Solutions

Stop Selling and Start Leading

For free access to Deb’s online e-learning training course, Workplace Conversations, email a receipt for Stop Selling and Start Leading to Deb at deb.calvert@peoplefirstps.com

You may not think of yourself a performer, but prospecting and performing have some important things in common. In both cases, it’s important to get yourself noticed and stand out from the crowd. Today’s guest is an expert in the art of getting yourself noticed.

Tsufit is a former lawyer who left the legal profession in order to become a performer. She has performed as a singer and a comedian, in the theater and on television. Now she is an author, speaker, and PR and marketing coach. Listen to the episode to hear what Tsufit has to say about getting noticed, attracting people, and the importance of a good story.

Episode Highlights: 

• Tsufit’s legal background and how it informed her work as a performer
• Where to start with getting noticed
• How communicating one-on-one differs from communicating with a room full of people
• The importance of being able to tell a story that interests people
• How to catch people’s interest during the first 30 seconds of speaking to them
• Why you should start in the middle of a story, rather than the beginning
• How Tsufit’s methods can work for enterprise sales
• The power of an authentic voice
• How you can create dramatic moments by doing the unexpected
• Why tone matters, especially when speaking over the phone
• Tsufit’s free tip series
• How a well-crafted email can make a big difference

Resources:

 Tsufit

Tsufit’s Website

Step into the Spotlight

Spotlight Secrets: Free Tip Series

Step into the Spotlight: LinkedIn Group

My guest today is Matt Benati, the CEO, and co-founder of LeadGnome. As salespeople, we tend to focus on the perfect pitch, the hottest leads, and the smartest marketing strategies. With all this noise and bustle we forget that there is an existing client base that needs just as much attention as a new client. The best way to keep the lines of communication open with an existing client is to use automated systems.

LeadGnome is an automated email system that collects data from email replies. The information it provides allows companies to clean out contact lists and remind clients of changing contact information. Matt gives us an in-the-trenches look at automated systems. He also shares why he started LeadGnome and why automation is an important component of  the future of sales.

Episode highlights:

• How LeadGnome came to be.
• How automated messages help a business keep clients informed.
• The useful information automated messages provide.
• Automation’s role in bringing marketing and sales together.
• Building an influence map and how automation makes that easier.
• The service LeadGnome provides to their clients.
• When to implement an automated system in your business.

Resources:

LeadGnome

Matt Benati’s email