Find My Catalyst Podcast

In this episode, Mike talks with Chris Walker about marketing, sales, and revenue operations. Chris is the Founder and CEO of Refine Labs. Key Takeaways: It’s the mindset of the executives at the highest level that drive everything down.  The first tree to plant is a ridiculously intimate understanding of your customers. It’s often marketing on the hook for continued growth. Figure out your logical benchmark conversion rate that you should be aiming for. Is there a gap? Focus long-term on brand, not sales. The failure of marketing comes in 2 buckets: The CMO doesn’t know what they are doing The metrics created force the CMO to operate in a certain way. Strategy: Capture existing demand. Do they find you when they are looking? Create new demand. Do this in a targeted way that drives product consideration and product awareness. Focus on organic brand marketing. People don’t set-up the environment to tell you the truth. Go into it objectively. Center everything around customer intimacy. Show Links:  Chris on LinkedIn Refine Labs website State of Demand Gen Podcast  Episode 206 of The Catalyst Sale Podcast with Chris Walker Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Hire us as a consultant/advisor within your team or organization  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

Generating Revenue - Common Mistakes In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss four common mistakes Sales Reps make when it comes to generating revenue. Common Mistakes: Believing that people care about the problem you solve for enough to pay for your product or service. If they aren’t interested enough to pay for your product or service, you won’t generate revenue. If they aren’t solving for the problem today, they either haven’t been able to find a solution or they don’t care. Not enough pain behind the problem to solve for it. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.  Forgetting to go back and ask existing customers core questions. Why did you do business with us? Why do you continue to do business with us? Are there other people like you that you think should be doing business with us? We over think the process or approach.  We focus on feature functionality rather than the challenge that exists inside an organization. What common mistakes have you seen made when it comes to revenue generation? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram or email us at podcast@catalystsale.com. Want More Catalyst Sale Content? Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Sign-up for our newsletter  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter  or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike and Jody continue their discussion on the topic of mindset and discuss internal versus external locus of control. Key Takeaways: Internal locus of control - you are able to look at situations and say “I understand what happened and I can go accomplish what I need to accomplish.” External locus of control - things tend to happen to you There are things we can control and things that are outside of our control. When we understand the difference between the two, we can go forward and make a positive impact on the things we can drive directly. Look for the specific things you can do to influence a positive outcome. Lean on your network.  Episode Links: Ray Edwards - Copywriting, Sales and Coffee Episode Ask For Help Episode Queen Bee Syndrome Want More Catalyst Sale Content? Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Sign-up for our newsletter  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike and Jody talk about the different ways that music can affect your mindset.   Key Takeaways: Music can have a visceral impact.  Range helps. Music is powerful. Music can help to shift a mindset. Mindset is an important aspect of Sales. Find something that inspires you - don’t be embarrassed by the music that works for you. Tag us on Twitter and let us know what your go to song or soundtrack is.  Episode Links: Mindset with Jeff Noel - A Practical Discussion Mindset Blog Post Want More Catalyst Sale Content? Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Sign-up for our newsletter  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike and Jody talk about their experiences so far on Clubhouse.   Key Takeaways: You need to go in knowing value you want to get out of it. Currently an iOS device is needed for access. In order to join, you need to be invited. The level of intention you put toward it is extremely important.  You need to be really deliberate about listening. Be selective about the rooms you decide to enter. Find rooms that have fewer people. This allows you the chance to be heard and to ask questions. Clubhouse provides access to people you might not have otherwise. It can be a quick road to procrastination - be careful. Leave it as a better place than when you arrived. Don’t just pitch.  Do you want an invite to join Clubhouse? Send your sales process, sales skills, sales leadership and sales coaching questions to podcast@catalystsale.com. We will draw at random 5 people to invite to Clubhouse.  Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss negotiation and why it isn’t as hard as you think. Questions Answered: If negotiation doesn’t happen at the end, when does it happen? What is negotiation? What questions can you ask to determine what your customer values? Key Takeaways: Common mistake - thinking negotiation is something that happens at the end. You are always in a negotiation. You are always trading pieces of information with folks. Negotiation happens throughout the entire journey with your customer. People are making decisions as you engage with them. Do I like this person? Can I trust this person? Am I interested in the information they are sharing? Negotiation is a series of trades where you are interested in getting something in return for a value you are delivering. Exchange for value. If you ask the right questions, you start to get the sense of what people really value.  What’s important to you? Why is it important? Are there other things that we haven’t considered? You don’t determine the perception of value on the other end. Your confidence will improve as you develop rapport with your customer. Never Split The Difference - by Chris Voss This episode was brought to you by: The Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss project management and what it has to do with Sales Skills. Questions Answered: What does project management have to do with Sales Skills? How do you break project management down? How does it change if we are a small organization? What are the elements of project management? Key Takeaways: Planning - can I put together a plan that will help me execute? Assess risks, identify gaps. Resources - what resources are required? Accountability Interactions that we have with our customers - managing an account Deals that we have with customers - opportunities we might be working on. Objectives - ex: putting together a plan to execute on Q1 objectives Someone needs to be responsible for managing these aspects Be deliberate about the focus of the project at any given time If you are a smaller organization, you can use project management to identify gaps where you may want to lean on others. Freelancers can be a good option for smaller organizations Many small organizations utilize tools such as Trello boards or individual blocks of data on a spreadsheet or in a calendar. Elements involved in project management: Planning Resource Identification - people, time, money, things (tech, etc..) Time table for execution Associate each task in the plan to the resources you have available. This helps to identify risk. Don’t overcomplicate it! Use project management concepts as a way to create clarity and focus. This episode was brought to you by: The Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Hire us as a consultant/advisor within your team or organization  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

In this episode, Mike is joined by Ray Edwards. Ray is a communications strategist and author of How To Write Copy That Sells. Ray is also the host of the Ray Edwards Show.  Questions Answered: How do we create the same type of sales experience when we are not in the room? What can we learn from movies about writing copy? Does it make sense to be deliberate about the copy you write for videos? What can folks do to get better at writing copy? Key Takeaways: It is better to think it through than shoot from the hip. If you know your customers well enough, you can write to that avatar. You can write copy to speak to the issues you believe affects all of your clients. Think of your 5 best customers, are they exactly alike? Likely not. Answer enough in the Sales page to cover the questions and objections they may have. Through technology, we can deliver a different sales page to everyone that visits the website. Intent has everything to do with whether what you’re doing is manipulative and exploitative or whether it’s service. Trailers are super short version of long form art. The best movies always have an intriguing open and expectations are set that there is a problem to be solved and throughout the movie, we are going to solve it. Movies leave a lot of open loops/questions. Well made movies close the loop at the end. When doing video, have bullet points, key phrases. Do practice runs. If you are going to write anything down for a video, write the beginning and the end. Goal - be finished speaking before they are finished listening. Find a good process for writing copy. Record yourself giving the presentation and have it transcribed. Show Links:  www.rayedwards.com  How To Write Copy That Sells on Amazon This episode was brought to you by The Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan. The G.A.M.E. Plan for goal-setting and execution is a proven system for clarifying goals and breaking them up in a way you can finally accomplish them. Click here to learn more. Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Hire us as a consultant/advisor within your team or organization  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss the importance of saying “I don’t know” when talking with prospects or customers. Key Takeaways: It is shocking how many people are uncomfortable saying “I don’t know.” It is important to follow-up with “I will find out,” “I will get an answer,” or “I’ll get back to you.” Don’t be dismissive when using “I don’t know.” You come across as more confident saying “I don’t know,” followed by one of the phrases than to fill in the gaps with random information. Saying “I don’t know” can lead to customer confidence that you aren’t just trying to see them a bill of goods or make things up as you go along. It’s important to take notes throughout your call. Find a note taking system that works for you. It’s critical to follow-up with the prospect/customer after saying “I don’t know.” Decide to take some type of action. If you follow-up after saying “I don’t know,” you will build a reputation as someone who solves problems. Leverage “I don’t know,” follow-up with an answer, execute and deliver a solution. Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Hire us as a consultant/advisor within your team or organization  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss how to prepare for your initial conversation with a prospect and why the preparation piece is important.  Questions Answered: How do you prepare for the initial conversation with a prospect? Key Takeaways: Determine how you found out about the person you will be talking to. Did they contact you or did you identify them as a prospect? I want to gather as much information as I can about the person based on the data we have collected from our website, etc.. Identify some of the things you would like to know about them. Realize that some information you will be able to get only by speaking directly with them. Validate that they have a problem and validate that they care about solving the problem. Your initial call should be about discovering things about them and their company. Deliver some sort of value back to the prospect. Have a clear understanding of the design of the call. Have desired next steps defined prior to your call. If you take the combination of the research that you’re doing, the design work that you’re doing and the documentation in the call plan, you will have better calls with your customers and prospects. Don’t overcomplicate it! Show Links: Call Planning - A Tactical Discussion This episode was brought to you by: The Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Hire us as a consultant/advisor within your team or organization  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit