The Sales Evangelist

On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, we’re joined by David Goings, self-professed sales nerd and current SMB team lead at LogicGate.  David believes in making an impact in the prospect’s sales journey. Sales, at its core, should bring a positive impact to your customer’s lives. You might do that through your products and services. But also, sometimes it's just in the experience that you have with the customer. From an inbound perspective, you need to consider where the customer may be in the buying process. With an inbound conversation, the prospect may have already identified that problem internally.  In an outbound conversation, you may have just pique someone's interest. But the prospect is still identifying the problem.  David’s Three Tips to Avoid Conversations Feeling Like an Interrogation Change your mindset. You need to come in and understand that your job is to help the other person, not to make a sale. You morally can't pitch products and solutions until you know the prospect’s current situation and goals. Set expectations for both you and your prospect. It all starts from humans wanting to know what's next. For any kind of business setting, especially a first conversation, ease the customer’s mind and let them know what will happen in the conversation. Bring a perspective. Young professionals have a hard time feeling they belong in the room. They're not an expert. But while they may not be an expert in their industry, they’re experts in buying technology, in their customers, and their customer’s stories on how we've impacted them. Here’s a bonus tip: ask layered questions to understand your customer’s needs. David uses the TED acronym: tell me, explain to me, describe to me. David’s advice for the sales professional: The way we do things as sales professionals in the sales process can be the differentiator for us. Unpack and understand your “why” as a sales professional. If you can get behind your “why,” it positively impacts the customer. Read “Selling with Noble Purpose” by Lisa McLeod. Want to get ahold of David? Reach out on LinkedIn (and be sure to congratulate him on his recent job change.)Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Sometimes we have in our minds that we ask stupid questions. This mentality creates roadblocks, and these roadblocks stop us from getting the information we need to help our clients in a way they need to be helped. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald shares with you what you can do to overcome this thought and how you can prepare to ask the right questions. The American Dream is Dead Donald asked everyday people a question: do they believe the American Dream is dead? Those initial nerves that come with asking strangers big questions turned to excitement when those strangers animatedly responded, “no, the dream isn’t dead!” (just more difficult to achieve.) What did Donald learn from the experience? Questions we might be nervous to ask often come lead to the most success.  Some of the reasons you don’t ask meaningful questions:  You are self-conscious. You focus back on yourself because you think it might sound bad. You think the question might be too rude, against social norms, or that you don't want to come off as pushy. You think you should already know the answer to the question. The person is an executive, so you don't want to bother them. How should you ask the question, even if it’s “stupid?” Ask any attorney; you don't ask a question if you don't know where the answer will lead. In a sales scenario, you need to figure out where you want the conversation to go. The more confident you are in the topic, the less stupid a question will be in your mind. To ask the right questions, you must understand the problems your prospects face. The takeaway here is that you should study and understand your client’s industry and business to understand the intricacies they face. Our parting thoughts? Know where your question will lead, make sure your questions are simple and don't ever think it's stupidMentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly gives us the scoop on one major closing question you’re neglecting to ask. But first, let’s picture this scenario. Dave is a salesperson who has been working with his lead, Bob, for three months.  His sale is in the bag; he gave a fantastic presentation, his sales engineer answered every question the prospect had, and Dave sent them a proposal. Despite going through every step in the process, Dave didn’t get the result he wanted; he got hit with the “we’re going to need some more time to think about it” conversation. Where did he go wrong? It’s simple - there’s one question he forgot to ask. The ultimate question: Would I make this purchase based on the same information I know if I were the buyer? Sales is shortsighted - we’re focused on our pipeline. Dave was focused on meeting his quota, impressing his manager, and making sales rather than his prospect’s needs.  How can you ask this question to improve your sales strategy? Habit #5 of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” - Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood.  Consider the context of the buyer. What business problem are you solving for them? Look at the industry they’re in and their relationship with the software to make informed decisions. Did you give the buyer a parachute in case things go south? Did you give them an out? Not every deal will close - that’s just a given. But asking this question will provide you with more predictability with closings.  If we are more diligent in asking questions and analyze the deal from the buyer’s standpoint, your sales will increase.  Donald’s ultimate takeaway? Start the conversion process earlier. Ask your prospects, “based on what you know, do you feel confident moving forward?” If you fix any problems early, the prospect will have a higher degree of confidence at the end of the sales process. Connect with Donald on LinkedIn and let him know if this helped close more deals.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

On today’s episode, we welcomed Michael Reddington, a certified forensic interviewer and President of InQuasive, Inc. His company integrates components of effective interview techniques with current business research to show others how to use the truth to their advantage. The topic for today? Why listening is critical to sales. Why is listening important? Humans aren’t meant to be good listeners. It’s difficult for us to sideline our egos and focus on the goal instead of the people while in conversation. Because it can be a rarity, actively listening while in the sales environment (or any environment) can be the differentiator between you and your competitors. Key steps to listening: Limit variables during an interaction. There can be distractions in your mind and environment that prevent you from listening. Have a good plan going into the conversation. This can limit distractions and result in more efficient and positive discussions. Michael’s three points to enhance listening: Have a plan - Focus on what you have instead of what you don’t. Limit your own internal monologue to focus on the conversation at hand. Be patient and let the conversation come to you - When people are stressed, they tend to fall back on what they know. For sales situations, this is likely your product or service. Dominating the conversation in this manner can result in turning a prospect off the sale. Listen for intelligence, not information - The traditional sales methodology was to listen for specific pain points and use those points to place a prospect in a particular box. However, this method ignores the nuances of the sales situation. The reasoning behind a motivation is just as, if not more, important than the motivation itself. How can you use listening to differentiate yourself in the market? Research shows that only about 14% of the factors we believe to be differentiated are actually different in the market. So, how can you stand out? Prospects often expect a salesperson to sell their product, not provide value. When interacting with a prospect, think about how you can provide a clear value to them. Not only will this surprise them, but the unsolicited nature of the value opens the door for more robust communication. Teaching is the most essential part of selling.  Michael’s main takeaway? Let the conversation come to you. Learn more about the programs and services Micahel offers at InQuasive, or find him on LinkedIn.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

In this episode, Donald Kelly shares ten questions to ask the prospects when you are meeting them for the first time.  What problems are you trying to solve today? Your goal is to get deeper and to figure out the problem the prospect is trying to solve.  Why is that a particular problem right now? This allows the prospects to vocalize what they think the problem is.  What’s the source of that problem? This will help the prospects think of the source of their problem if there is any.  What would happen if you don’t do anything today? Ask them this question to put the decision back. Don’t use this question right off the bat. Only use it when you’ve already established some rapport. Why is it a priority today? It allows you to figure out why there’s an urge to solve the problem.  Why hasn’t it been addressed before? This question allows you to probe deeper into the problem of the prospects.  What would a successful outcome look like in, say, for example, six months from now if we work together? It paints the bigger picture that you are both on the same page and that you’re already visualizing the partnership.  If you don’t choose our services today, do you have another plan in place?  What have you done in the past, and what were your primary roadblocks from that? Have you purchased a product/service similar to what we’re offering before? This gives you an insight into the solutions that they’ve entertained and used before. What are the potential challenges you can foresee when it comes to getting a solution like this? Allow them to visualize the potential roadblocks along the way. Some prospects are scared of roadblocks, but when they can visualize it, they can see where the error lies and what actions they can take to address the error.  These are all simple and great discovery questions. They might be basic questions, but these will allow you to dig deeper into the root cause to address the real problem.  “10 Powerful Sales Questions BDRs Can Use in a Discovery Meeting” episode resources Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real.  85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to.  You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial.  Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

In this episode, Jose Quiroz joins Donald Kelly to talk about the easy ways to make new LinkedIn connections without sounding spammy.  Jose Quiroz is an immigrant, an entrepreneur, and a business guy. His mentality is always veered into finding opportunities and creating opportunities. For Jose, it’s more about creation than consumption.  He has a lot of experience with the family business and regional operations as his dad started a janitorial company.  After college, he got into the corporate world and fell under the Director of Digital Marketing sphere.  Jose’s unique selling proposition is adapting the digital strategy and the digital language to the overall brand strategy. He helps business owners understand how they can leverage digital strategies to scale up their operations.  Building connections Businesses can find a third party who can do their massive lead generation for them. At that point, connecting isn’t about building relationships. Connecting then becomes a numbers game.  This means that you’re not creating rapport, and you probably won’t see the long same long-term benefits as well, and you’d probably tend to see the quality drop and diminish a little.  This approach is effective if there’s a need for an immediate lead in the business.  The first mistake that salespeople make on LinkedIn is that they try to figuratively get to the wedding chapel right away without doing the first dates and the video calls.  Salespeople cannot pull the trigger way too soon without building the needed rapport first.  Avoid the spammy approach For Jose, it may not be a matter of time but rather a matter of communication.  Based on a stat that Jose read in the past, there’s an average of 10 exchanged messages for most Tinder matches. The messages may have been sent within a day period, a week period, or within an ‘X’ amount of period. The same philosophy can be applied on LinkedIn.  It’s not about waiting for a time frame before you feel the need to nurture the prospects. It’s more of the need to engage the prospects and connect with them as individuals.  You need to build that qualitative feeling and see the communication build-up.  If you sense that the prospect is starting to get a little cold, then back off a little bit. Use the time to research materials and sources that are beneficial for the prospects.  Your goal is to build rapport so that the prospects would trust you, buy into your confidence, your expertise, and eventually do business with you.  LinkedIn today isn’t just about hearing new job openings and other career moves. LinkedIn is now a platform for personal development, identifying concepts, taking in the best practices, and others.  People are now on LinkedIn to consume information that is valuable to them. Salespeople can use this to their advantage so that they can use that intent and give the prospects what they’re looking for.  Determine your goals  People go into LinkedIn to generate sales but aside from that, you need to be specific with your goals - is it to increase connections or is it to move on to direct messaging.  It’s also important to determine the value of direct messaging because that’s what everything is leading towards. If you can get people engaged in your LinkedIn messages then you can bypass the different funnels and you’re able to get them where you need them.  Salespeople are missing the direct message feature because of the shiny syndrome object. Everyone wants to find that funnel that they can automatically turn on and will already do the heavy lifting for them.  They are focused on finding solutions that they miss the opportunity, that is the direct messaging.  Another effective approach is by engaging with prospects first.  Identify your prospects and see what their activities are on LinkedIn. Figure out if they’re posting original content, curate content, and other habits they have on the platform.  Use the available information you gathered in starting a conversation with them and building rapport with them. Send a connection request once you’ve engaged with them.  There’s a lot of targeting that you can do but to reach out individually is another story. The rule of the thumb is: engage before sending a connection, send a connection, keep the engagement going, and carry on the conversation.  A video attached in the conversation is effective but in a certain timing of the conversation. Get to a comfortable level with the person you’re speaking with first before you send an audio or video.    “Easy Ways to Make New LinkedIn Connections Without Sounding Spammy” episode resources Follow Jose Quiroz on LinkedIn. You can also check out his podcast here. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real.  85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse   This course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to.  You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial.  Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Join us in today’s episode as Doug C. Brown and Donald Kelly talk about the best practices for finding hot B2B prospects on LinkedIn. What are salespeople doing wrong on LinkedIn? Doug Brown often sees a lot of people on LinkedIn who are making prospecting a complex process.  The other mistake is that they’re not clear on their target audience.  Sometimes, it’s not the sales reps fault because they’re trained to prospect in a certain way. On LinkedIn, however, one has to think differently. Instead of targeting many people at once, it’s better to start narrowing at the top of the funnel and getting more focused going down.  Narrowing down prospects means that you’re able to pick 25-30 ideal target customers from your list of 100 people to prospect.  Think of the ultra-high quality prospects that you would love to do business with because the challenge on LinkedIn and other prospecting methods is the follow-up.  The power of follow-up is huge and impactful and this process has to start from the first conversation or from the first connection.  Prospecting today The prospecting game has changed because of the birth of the Internet but the basics of prospecting is no different then as it is now.  The basic concept of prospecting is still building relationships.  The difference in today’s sellers and buyers is the information. Sellers then had all the information. Today, buyers can access the information with a few clicks of their mouse or scrolls of their phones. Sometimes, they even have more knowledge than the sellers.  In terms of selling and prospecting, the buyers don’t care about what the sellers know. Rather, the buyers care about what they need, what they want, and what they have to have.  Sellers need to build the relationship and we need to make the prospects feel valued in the relationship. If you don’t build the relationship then you won’t get as high a conversion rate or a closing rate.  The goal is to sell based on value, and by value, it means what your prospects value.  Building the right way Sales is very much like wooing a person you like. You give them flowers, you do your best to impress them, and more.  The same is true for your prospects. You want to build a business relationship with them so you also need to let them know that you care about them and you want to help them solve their problems.  Asking permission will get you a long way. Before you start asking questions and digging information on LinkedIn, try to ask permission first. You will have higher chances of getting answered and replied to if you get their permission first.  Join the groups where the people you’ve reached out to are frequenting. Start answering questions in the group and position yourself as an expert.  You also have to use offline methods as well when following up and engaging with your prospects.  “LinkedIn: Best Practices for Finding Hot B2B Prospects on LinkedIn” episode resources Follow Doug C. Brown on LinkedIn. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real.  85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to.  You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial.  Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

Join Donald Kelly and Jon James in this episode as they talk about how to use the ‘Ask me Anything’ strategy to land more LinkedIn appointments. Jon James is the CEO of Ignited Results, a digital agency specializing in leveraging LinkedIn to get more sales opportunities. They work with their clients and help them with their LinkedIn marketing to get more meetings with prospects. The challenges on LinkedInPart of the challenge is the failure of not identifying who they’re connecting to, which is the driver in terms of who you end up on a call with or having the opportunity to ask someone for a call.  Salespeople need to start with good targeting.  Jon James recommends having a Sales Navigator to target the types of people who can be your ideal prospects. With Sales Navigator, you can target teams or companies with a certain employee count of revenue mark.  The LinkedIn outreach process Before you begin the outreach, you first need to look at your profile and make sure that it’s good to go. Check out the significant areas you need to focus on - the headline message, your headshot, and your background image.  A great headline is critical since it’s one of the top reasons that help people decide whether they’d accept your connecting request, and if they’re already connected, it will help them decide if they turn into a meeting.  Include in your headline your professional credentials/job title, put a client-facing solution statement. A one-liner that would explain how you help clients. Then, follow it up with something personal. Your statement in your headline is your way of building rapport with the prospects before you even met them for a meeting. Structure your LinkedIn messages There are four things to remember when it comes to LinkedIn messaging - hook, relate, bridge, and call to action.  Hook - mention their name and their industry. Relate - mention the issues they’re possibly dealing with. Don’t throw your pitch. Just relate to their problem.  Bridge - mention your solution to them.  The number one metric you want to judge on LinkedIn is conversation, and the conversation comes from engagement. The Ask Me Anything videos are a great way to start a conversation.  “How to use the ‘Ask Me Anything’ Strategy to Laned More LinkedIn Appointments” episode resourcesCheck out Jon James and follow him on LinkedIn. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns. This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio. Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM.NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched.NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan. Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tseThis course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to. You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial. Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

LinkedIn is a platform that opens many opportunities. In this episode, Daniel Disney joins Donald Kelly as they talk about how you can use social selling to turn LinkedIn into a lead, sales, and revenue-generating machine.  Daniel Disney released his second book called, The Ultimate LinkedIn Sales Guide: How to Use Digital and Social Selling to Turn LinkedIn into a Lead, Sales, and Revenue Generating Machine.  The book is a comprehensive guide on LinkedIn for salespeople, sales teams, and businesses that want to get the most out of LinkedIn.  Generating leads on LinkedIn Everyone can play the social selling game on LinkedIn. You can create viral content, grow your audience, grow your brand, and you can end up with a ton of leads.  The downside is that not all of these leads are good leads, they’re not your target customers, and they’re not likely going to convert.  Common mistakes salespeople make on LinkedIn #1: Keeping a weak profile. At least 80% of teams that Daniel has trained with have profiles that aren’t optimized. Their profiles are not customer-focused and are just poorly written CVs.  #2: Not sharing good content. Instead of sharing valuable content, they reshare company blogs that don’t add a contribution. They are sharing weak content with their audiences.  #3: Sending bad messages. Salespeople make the mistake of sending out terribly written sales pitches and spam messages en masse, in high quantities, in hopes that something comes back.  Common mistakes:    Bad profile Bad content Bad messaging   Today, the way buyers now buy has changed and the information they now have before making a purchase has changed significantly.  Rewind 15 years ago and decision-makers didn’t have access to the internet and didn’t have access to all the information that we now have. There were no media reviews, no Google, and all these other things.  Buyers were then at the mercy of their salesperson to provide them with the necessary information.  Buyers today have standards and what they need from salespeople has changed significantly as well.  Salespeople have to step up their game if they want to stay above the prospect or their customers.  Generating leads on LinkedIn Make your profile more customer-focused. The customers and prospects don’t want to hear about your accolades and other achievements. What they want to hear is how you’re going to help them and how you can be an agent to help them get to their goals. Make your profile fully-focused on your target audience.  There are two kinds of leads: the outbound and the inbound leads. There are things that you can do that will have people come to you and there are things you can do that will create opportunities for you to go to them.  Start by connecting with relevant decision-makers in the industry on a regular basis, ideally about 10-20 connections everyday. You also need to begin sharing relevant value-giving content to your audience to grow your network. Share some thought leadership pieces, share the stories of your journey, share your knowledge and experiences, and more.  You don’t need to be an expert to be successful on Linkedin. What you need to do is be authentic and share your journey with your audience. Your goal is to give as much value to your content as much as possible.  The Key to LinkedIn Messaging The key to LinkedIn messaging is hyper-personalization. It’s not enough that their names are there nor is it enough to mention their company. If you want to get more responses on LinkedIn, you need to make the message about them.  Do your research, read through their profile, look for their pain points, find something relevant to include in your message.  Use video messaging to show that you really want to speak to them as well.  “LinkedIn: How to Use Social Selling to Turn your LinkedIn into a Lead, Sale, and Revenue Generating Machine!” episode resources Follow Daniel Disney on LinkedIn. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real.  85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to.  You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial.  Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

LinkedIn is a powerful platform and you can use its features to your advantage. In this episode, Ollie Whitfield talks about how to use LinkedIn voice messages and videos to schedule more appointments.  Using LinkedIn voice message for effective appointments The LinkedIn voice message is something new and not many people have seen it before. That’s why many are prompted to open it and listen to it.  LinkedIn voice messages show that you’re giving effort; it’s a slightly elevated way of showing your desire to build a connection with others.  Showing your face or letting other people hear your voice improves your outreach. A mere text cannot convey your body language or your tone.  A video message allows the prospects to see your mannerisms and that helps in building trust between people and implores them to do business with you.  Improving your video messages or voice messages on LinkedIn Think of it as a very targeted approach. You can’t send video messages or voice messages to everyone. Pick the right people to send the messages to.  Instead of going through all the other channels, take it directly to the decision-makers and have a great chat with them.  Make it a seamless conversation. Make sure not to send a voice message right off the bat. Set the expectation first. You can send a written message first, a heads up that you’re sending a voice note on a certain subject.  Lay the foundation first before sending the voice or video message so that they know what’s coming their way.  Ollie also curates content and posts it on LinkedIn. He takes note of the people who engage with his posts, lists the name of the people who engaged that fall under this ideal client profile, and then connects with them. Following up these people with a video makes the outreach personalized.  Research the people you’re going to send videos to. Don’t jump into doing videos right away. Do your research and think of what you’re going to say before you make the video.  “LinkedIn: How to Use LinkedIn Voice Message and Videos to Schedule More Appointments” episode resources Follow Ollie Whitfield on LinkedIn. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, about any sales concerns.  This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.  Are you sick of crickets? The pain of sales reps continually reaching out with phone calls and emails and not receiving a response is real.  85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation. All text messaging is not equal. Customers respond to people, NOT BOTS. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in conversions. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com. This episode is brought to you in part by NetHunt CRM. NetHunt CRM is a sales automation tool that lives inside Gmail. It covers a full set of features to manage leads, nurture customer relations, monitor sales progress, and automate sales and marketing workflows. With native-like Gmail and G Suite integration, you can access all the CRM data, launch bulk email campaigns, and set up automated sequences right from your inbox. NetHunt helps to move your leads down your sales funnel and never let the valuable prospects go untouched. NetHunt CRM offers TSE listeners a 40% discount for the first 3 months along with free user training and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with any pricing plan.  Try NetHunt CRM today →  https://nethunt.com/tse This course is brought to you in part by TSE Certified Sales Training Program. It’s a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. It will help them elevate their sales game. Sign up now and get the first two modules free! You can go and visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals also call us at (561) 570-5077. "We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our 2 mins survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.  We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes so tune in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also leave comments, suggestions, and ratings to every episode you listen to.  You can also read more about sales or listen to audiobooks on Audible and explore this huge online library. Register now to get a free book and a 30-day free trial.  Audio provided by Free SFX. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder, written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.Mentioned in this episode:HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOSHubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com