Get In The Door Podcast | Sales Prospecting Strategies & Tactics Brought To You By Steve Kloyda, The Prospecting Expert

What you believe about yourself and your ability to succeed resides deep down in your psyche. It is the accumulation of your personal experiences and also what you have been taught by family, teachers, coaches and other important influencers in your life. But experience can teach us the wrong lessons and many of the aphorisms drilled into us in our youth might keep us from achieving the success we desire. It's time to examine what you think you know as Scott and I discuss Dangerous Lessons on episode 576 of the Winning at Selling podcast

How many times during the day – in a sales call, prospecting for new clients, conducting a presentation, or leading a meeting – is it vital for you to ask for something you want to achieve your goals? Yet many of us don’t…we don't ask for what we want. Rather, we sabotage ourselves through bad communications habits that act as roadblocks to achieving our goals.  Asking is a simple skill, but it is not easy to master and there is no exaggerating its benefit. Stay tuned as Bill and I welcome best-selling author and selling expert, John Baker, author of The Asking Formula to episode 575 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Some employees are fortunate to have their organizations provide a comprehensive and ongoing development program in which they can participate. But for many salespeople and those of you who are solopreneurs, these is no comprehensive program. So, what do you do? If your smart, you’ll pay special attention as Scott and I discuss Take Control of Your Own Development on episode 574 of the Winning at Selling podcast.

How are decisions really made? We know people love to buy but hate to be sold. With every decision there is a criteria, process, and motivation, and a person involved. What else do we need to know? What are their priorities, beliefs, preferences and in what situations do they thrive, and others they want to cry. Let’s gather around and talk about how we can approach everyone differently and still achieve the same goal as Bill and I discuss DiSC Selling on episode 573 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

There are many issues which cause us to be fearful. Darkness, loud sounds, heights and closed in spaces can all cause this feeling. In sales we might suffer from a fear of rejection or failure or crazy enough, success. I doubt if anyone is completely fearless and could have survived past the age of 12. Fear and caution are very good at keeping us alive. But an over abundance of caution can keep us locked in to mediocrity. So get out from under your bed and tune in to episode 572 of the Winning at Selling podcast as Scott and I welcome David Cornell founder of Cultivate Courage.

What do you concentrate on during the day? What do you dwell on? What is your motivation? We all have an internal operating system built on a set of beliefs and powered by our true motivation. Let's get motivated and get into alignment as Bill and I consider Uncovering Motivation on episode 571 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Are you unhappy with your company or your sales position? Do you feel that there are better opportunities out there for the taking? Is your company not treating you right? You are not alone in these feelings. Many sales professionals wonder what they should do. So examine with Scott and I if you’re in a good or bad position as we discuss Should I Stay or Should I Go? and other cool stuff on episode 570 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Creating influential conversations is the goal of every salesperson.  The outcome is a collaboration between the prospect and salesperson, agreeing on the exchange of value for a price.  Sometimes salespeople need to negotiate to create and define what’s most valuable in the exchange.  Let’s spend some time together and crack the collaboration code as Bill and I welcome Nan Gesche to episode 569 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Achieving and maintaining the right mindset is crucial to your success in sales. It gets you up before you can get down and sustains you when the process gets hard. But what is the right mindset and how can I get myself to that position? So “clear the mechanism” as Scott and I discuss The Mindset of a Sales Professional and other interesting tidbits on episode 568 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Persuasion and influence is not always a prepared presentation, it’s an overall process — a process of learning about your criteria, audience, building their trust, and building a case that addresses their interests.  Today, we will address six techniques you can apply to persuade a prospect, customer or client to invest their funds when budgets are tight.  In the words of Zig Ziglar, get out your talking pad - as Bill and I discuss 6 Pitching Techniques to Use When Budgets Are Tight and other interesting topics on episode 567 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

We are all a combination of strengths and weaknesses. Our strengths allow us to get tasks done quickly with a feeling of competence while our weaknesses can cause us frustration, procrastination and consternation. The question is, what do we do about this conundrum and how do improve our performance?    Let’s start by pulling out your strength assessment as Scott and I welcome our guest, Rebecca Gebhardt to episode 566 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.   

Conversations have a sequence with different directions. General questions at the beginning and detailed ones near the end. Based on the information acquired the duration and outcome of the conversation will vary. During this time, are you having a discussion or a dialogue with another person?  What is the difference?  Are you ready to get into it as Bill and I discuss Creating the Course of a Conversation and other interesting topics on episode 565 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.  

Networking can be a great way to meet new prospects, but many salespeople find it intimidating, frustrating or without value. If that’s the case for you, perhaps you don’t know how or where to do it correctly.   So let’s get focused on making small talk as Scott and I discuss, Get the Most Out of Networking and other stimulating topics on episode 564 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Peter Drucker once said – “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” The common topics of blogs and podcasts are often focused on retention, recruiting, and defining the overall culture. “I heard a quote, “Culture is defined by what leadership is willing to tolerate.” Are you ready to create some options of transforming your culture, or do you want to settle for the same old status quo?   Don’t change the channel, as Bill and I welcome John Christensen, film maker and founder of the FiSH! philosophy on episode 563 of the Winning at Selling Podcast

Sales is a difficult and often lonely business. Despite all of those meetings, lunches and golf dates each salesperson, at the end of the day or week or month, is left alone with their quota and their commission check. If we didn’t do so good, we can turn to our sales manager for help, if we dare. But this might show weakness and hurt our career. Perhaps we can try to get our coaching from podcasts but we all know those can be spotty at best! So, what should we do?   Maybe we should consider investing in ourselves, so listen up as Scott and I discuss, Do I Need a Sales Coach? And other stimulating topics on episode 562 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Stress is caused when you don’t feel in control of your life, your normal routine is disrupted, you don’t feel productive, and you have no idea when the recovery from the disruption will appear. Resilience is a choice based on being prepared, adaptable and optimistic. How can you prepare? What is holding you back from adapting? What can you control? How can you maintain an optimistic outlook? Let’s review those questions and more as Bill, and I discuss Mastering Resilience and other fascinating topics on episode 561 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

What percentage of leaders in your career would you work for again?  The typical response is less than 27% or “none of them!"  And then there are those memorable leaders who have inspired us and moved us to want to work with them again. They leave footprints of success we can all learn from. What makes these leaders memorable?  Find out as Scott and I meet with Sales Leadership Expert, Floyd Carlson on episode 560 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Often when salespeople concentrate on the sales process versus the customer experience, they increase customer dissatisfaction. People love to buy, they hate to be sold. How you communicate and deliver value in today's marketplace is based on the customer's experience when making a purchase. Learn how to create valuable experiences when engaging and converting prospects to customers, as Bill, and I discuss Stop Focusing on the Customer Funnel and other great topics on episode 559 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

In Glengarry Glen Ross, sales motivator, Blake, tells the sales team to “ABC – Always Be Closing. It’s close or hit the bricks.” And he represents what many people envision when they think of salespeople. But in his own belligerent way he is correct. At some point we need to close the deal, to get the contract signed, to get the check.  But is there a way to do so without being such an unmitigated jerk? Well, pull out that set of steak knives you won in that last sales contest as Scott and I discuss the Secrets to Closing the Sale and other innovative issues on episode 558 of the Winning at Selling Podcast.

Your mobile phone has an operating system.  Your automobile runs on multiple circuits making up the operating system. Our belief system makes up our personal operating system. AND your sales role and business runs on an operating system. Learn how your operating systems can contribute to an improved P&L, as Bill, and I welcome our Guest: Anne Schoolcraft to discuss Getting a GRIP on Sales on episode 557 of the Winning at Selling Podcast