Find My Catalyst Podcast

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

In this episode, Mike talks with Dan Cockerell about his new book, What's The Culture In Your Kingdom? Key Takeaways: The book is broken into 4 sections: Leading Yourself, Leading Your Team, Leading Your Organization and Leading Change. Studies have shown that CEO's who have emotional intelligence have better results. It doesn't take a lot to be good at connecting with people. Growth mindset is key. You never know the door that you open, what door will open after that. Don't sell a product, invest in a relationship. Ask your team, how many people did you introduce yourself to? Ask your team, what are you putting into place now that will pay off in 6 months? You need to reward individual performance and you need to reward team performance. If you want to know what your customers want, go talk to your customers. If you adjust your behavior and make your team more successful, it will come back to you. Show Links: www.cockerellconsulting.com How's The Culture In Your Kingdom on Amazon 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. The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike and Jody talk about ways to start the year off right even if you have already abandoned your New Year's Resolution. Questions Answered: How do we start the year off right? What do we do to get back on track? Key Takeaways: People cannot disrupt the attitude that you take, the effort you put forth, the attention you use when doing work. Go back to the why behind the decision and start executing again. There is no shortage of good things you can do. You have to do the work and build a daily practice. Get the work done that you can control. Things will get tough, there will be challenges. Listen to or read information from Simon Sinek If your why remains the same, get back to it again tomorrow. Move forward Reflect on what things got in the way. Feel comfortable cutting goals short if they are not actually helping you solve the problem. Show Links: Steve Anderson podcast episode - The Bezos Letters The Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan Root Cause Analysis Ending 10K Steps 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 The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course

In this episode, Mike and Jody talk about why it is a good idea to break down a problem in order to execute and solve. Key Takeaways: You aren't going to know where your blindspots are until something or someone helps reveal those things. If you can break a problem down enough, then you can get it done. Establish time, understand risk, and then make a decision. Be specific about what you want to solve and why you want to solve it. Limit it down to the things that you can achieve, that you can execute against. In order to execute on the exciting things, you have to do the early things really well. This Episode of The Catalyst Sale Podcast was brought to you by the Catalyst Sale G.A.M.E. Plan - www.catalystsale.com/gameplan 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 The G.A.M.E. Plan - a Catalyst Sale course Seven Traps

In this episode, Mike talks to Liston Witherill. Liston is the Author of Serve Don't Sell, the Chief of Sales Insights at Serve Don't Sell and is the host of The Modern Sales Podcast. Questions Answered: What is the connection between environmental science and sales? Why do sales folks struggle with systems thinking concepts? Do you believe people struggle with practice? Why is it important to discuss ethics in sales? What challenges our ethics when it comes to sales? How can we create better alignment between business and personal ethics? Key Takeaways: Environmental Science and Sales both need systems thinking What are the variables and factors that influence how the system works? How can we picture our business as a system that has inputs and outputs? The only way to make sales a science is to have really large data points and the reality is, that is tough to get. We can apply the scientific method to sales - hypothesis, test, ask questions, isolate for certain variables. Science is about finding cause and effect. You must have a methodical approach and some repetition. People don't know how or what to practice or what practice would even look like. Not having a process contributes to how a discovery call goes. Write out questions. The value of practice is it frees you up to be in the moment to ask really good follow-up questions. If you don't have your team present in the same way, there is no way to optimize the process. We can't pinpoint what causes success or failure when there is too much variability. It is important to sell ethically if you want to sustain being effective at sales and live in a way that is compatible with your values. It is important because the bottom line is, it is the right thing to do. Serve Don't Sell - sometimes it means to give advice that's counter to my own personal incentive. We need to understand what our boundaries are and then we need to honor them once we have reached them. Challenges to ethics - loss aversion, mindset and faith. If you have a bigger pipeline and you have more financial security, then it's going to be a lot easier to honor your ethics. Have a clear understanding of what values your company has that you don't want to honor. What you have control over always is your behavior. Show Links: Liston on LinkedIn Serve Don't Sell Liston on YouTube The Modern Sales Podcast This episode is brought to you by The Seven Traps To Goal Setting 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. 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

Jeff Noel is back for a special episode of the Catalyst Sale Podcast. We talk about a number of things, with a specific focus on Home. Make sure to take the 72 hour challenge that we mention at the end of the podcast. I'm going to keep the show notes short - your can learn more about Jeff Noel by following his podcast "If Disney Ran Your Life" or following him at junglejeff.com Jeff's Podcast - If Disney Ran Your Life Jeff's Blogs Mind Body Spirit Family Health Work Health Jeff's Twitter Jeff's first episode on the Catalyst Sale podcast 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