by Alice Myerhoff | Dec 19, 2014 | Blog
Sales is a roller coaster and one of the signs of a great salesperson is that they are able manage their moods through the highs and the lows that face all salespeople. Every one of us had had those days when we’re “on fire” and the less fun ones when it seems like no matter what we do, we can’t seem to get business to close. Here are a few of the things that I do when I go into a slow period. Perhaps you’d like to try some of them when you’re in a slump. 1. Review your account list Go back and review your account list to remind yourself of all the people that you haven’t talked to a while. This is a great thing to do once once a quarter but it’s especially helpful in the slow times. It can help you remember that person who was interested but slipped off your radar while you were focusing on lower hanging fruit. 2. Time blocking Pick a 30-minute time slot to plug through making a bunch of calls. I don’t know a single salesperson who enjoys cold calls but in this day and age phone calls don’t have to be totally cold. You can even go through your existing account list and call people one by one until you get a hit. Even if that doesn’t turn into a closed deal at least you’re getting a conversation in motion with a client and that can shift your thinking. 3. Talk to one of your favorite clients This is more of a mood-managing tactic but you never know where...
by Alice Myerhoff | Oct 8, 2014 | Blog
LinkedIn is the most important platform for salespeople to master. I can’t even describe how huge my crush is on LinkedIn. There are a number of ways that salespeople can make great use of LinkedIn on a daily basis. Here are several strategies and tactics that you can put to use right away: 1. Research on prospective clients. Before I call or email someone, I like to check that person out on LinkedIn. This allows me to: See their title (is this the right person for me to be reaching out to about a certain opportunity or not?) Know a bit about their background (perhaps we have something in common around past work or education) Look for their Twitter handle and follow them on Twitter, etc. See if they posted anything in their status update. This can give you insight into what they are working on and thinking about right now. If you have one of the upgraded accounts, you can have access to enhanced search, which is very helpful if you’re calling on larger organizations and you need some help sifting through the employee roster. 2. InMail. If you’ve identified the person you want to reach out to and you don’t have their email address, you can email them through LinkedIn using the InMail system. Depending upon what type of account you have (and I hope you have a paid account with a number of InMails at your disposal), you can send an email to someone you don’t actually know. Below are some quick tips and you can see more in my “Why Salespeople Should Stop Cold Calling”...
by Alice Myerhoff | Jul 23, 2014 | Blog
Note: This post is a lightly modified excerpt from my book “Social Media for Salespeople“ If you are a salesperson or sales manager, like me, you are always on the prowl for ways to work more efficiently and thus generate more business. Below are 5 of my favorite tech tools that help me work smarter and close more deals. 1. DocuSign – www.docusign.com The best e-signature solution that not only lets you and your clients sign agreements on the go, but also lets you know when they open the agreement, and when they’ve signed. You can also set it up to automatically send copies of the final agreement to anyone that needs a one, like your finance department for example. If you have a client who is traveling, using DocuSign can be the thing that saves the day! DocuSign lets you go paperless and is also a fantastic efficiency tool! Who wants to be messing around with a contract that has been signed when you can be focusing on the next deal? 2. Yesware – www.yesware.com A gmail add-on. This has a ton of cool features of which my favorite is the ability to see when someone is opening or has opened an email you had sent them. I love seeing that someone is opening an email of mine several times. It’s a great indicator of interest. Yesware also allows you to create email templates, see which of your email templates are the most successful, and you can even create pipelines. It’s free with limited usage. I recommend paying the $5/mo. to have no limit on how many emails...
by Alice Myerhoff | Apr 18, 2014 | Blog
I accomplished a major life goal last month. I published a book: Social Media for Salespeople. This accomplishment not only allows me to check off “write a book” from my bucket list; it has also taught me 3 important life lessons. First a little background on how I was led to writing this book. Although I have always loved reading and have imagined myself writing a book someday, I had not been in the practice of writing anything that someone else might read other than emails, proposals and tweets. In spite of this lack of any evidence that I might be able to write something of merit, I was fortunate enough to be invited to contribute to the salesforce blog. I began to tentatively contribute a post here and there about sales techniques and social media. I got some encouraging feedback from people who said that the information I was sharing was helpful to them. This got me thinking that perhaps I could help other salespeople navigate the unwieldy world of social media. I began to research what was available on Amazon and what was available for free online and found pricey business books about social media marketing and a ton of free e-books that had the true purpose of promoting social media training consulting or software products. There wasn’t a straightforward step-by-step guide that walked a salesperson through how to use Facebook, twitter, etc. to build their pipeline. There was a need. I had a solution. Salespeople love these types of situations. So I decided that I would write the book. Here are some life lessons that...
by Alice Myerhoff | Jan 30, 2014 | Blog
Trade shows and conferences are an important part of business because they allow you to see way more prospective customers and partners in a short amount of time than you could possibly talk to face-to-face otherwise. Learn to love the trade show. Working a trade show can consist of working your company’s booth or simply attending the show. Either situation can result in you leaving the event with a ton of leads. You can be the master of your success at the trade show if you approach it the right way. Here are some keys to success: 1. Preparation Spend time researching who will be at the event. If your company is sponsoring, you may have an attendee list to review. If that isn’t available, you can look at the other exhibitors and speakers. Make a list of targets you want to connect with onsite. Look up the names of specific people that work at a prospect company. Set up as many meetings as you can in advance. 2. Pack Smart Wear comfortable, sensible yet professional shoes. You’ll be on your feet a bunch. Bring lots of business cards and don’t plan to lug a heavy bag around the trade show. These tips should be obvious but you’d be surprised. 3. Working the Booth Stand and look available for a conversation. Engage folks that are walking by. Ask them a leading question to entice them into talking with you: “Are you looking for a product that does X?” Do NOT: Sit down Mess around with your phone or computer Let the booth get messy Leave your coffee cups or...
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