Growing Your B2B Small Business with Robert Poole

Hiring top salespeople is one of the most difficult things small business owners do. In this episode, we are going to talk about the top 5 things that superstar salespeople have that mediocre salespeople don't. Then we are going to talk about how to use these attributes to hire the right people.

So what’s one of the biggest problems with generating revenue? Consistency. How would you like to create a recurring revenue stream, regardless of your product or service? In this episode, we are going to let you in on the secret to making money while you sleep.

You  can also view the video version on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/3fw1gVflr3M

Have you as a consumer ever bought something even though you didn't feel great about it, didn’t like the salesperson, but you felt you needed it so you bought it in spite of the salesperson? The reason you didn’t enjoy it is because the salesperson didn’t sell you the correct way. 

Check out this episode on how to get your customers to enjoy buying from your company so much that they start referring their friends before they even use your product or service!

You can also watch the video version here: 

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In this podcast episode i'm teach you how to effectively close deals and get those sweet, sweet conversions. Below are the key topics I talk about in this episode.

1. “I'll Think About It…”

Have you ever heard the classic objection in sales, “I’ll think about it”? That is a sign the prospect is nervous to move forward.

2. Sales Gurus

Maybe you can relate to what I was experiencing. Maybe you have listened to all the sales gurus and all their slick techniques, but it still isn’t working.

When I started out in B2B sales as a young man in my 20s, I learned all I could about selling techniques. I learned all the classic sales techniques, even things like the “Ben Franklin” close.

For many years I struggled as I tried to implement a lot of techniques that sales trainers taught. I memorized scripts, learned about how to close people with techniques like scarcity and urgency, but it was an uphill battle. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the prospect’s whole demeanor change in front of me as I asked...

Understanding what Marketing and Sales actually are and how to use them allows you to minimize mistakes and the squandering of resources. It’s simple, easy to understand and implement, yet powerful in drastically increasing your sales.

When you understand the difference then you can apply it to knowing which one to use at what stage in customer acquisition. By knowing what tactic to use at what time, gives you clarity, consistency and will skyrocket your sales with minimal mistake costs.

How does this affect you as an entrepreneur?

When you are correctly us...

If you are like me, then you understand the importance of revenue and sales to a business. Without sales, businesses fail. I struggled for a long time to increase sales and close deals. However, by learning about the three critical components that are essential for any sale, I was able to successfully sell anything. When you use these 3 critical components in your business you will be able to…

Did you know that there are listeners an...

Business challenges are expected and we can deal with them. What about the more serious, catastrophic, or even just “bad things” we encounter? How do we keep from getting totally derailed in our business?

Have you ever implemented a new tactic that seemed like it was really paying off well, but then you wake up a year later and realize it’s not coming close to what you thought it would? Or even worse, you are actually losing money? I know I have. 

It comes down to effectively evaluating return on investment, both with hard dollars and the not so easy to quantify use of resources. 

Listen to this episode to find out how to keep this from slowing you down and vastly increase the speed of your company’s grow...

Have you ever thought, “If I could only get through the gatekeeper, I know I could sell the decision maker?”

Getting through to decision makers is the Holy Grail of marketing and sales. It’s critical, but it also happens to be difficult.

Let’s talk about some techniques to get through gatekeepers, particularly when you are selling high ticket items that aren’t an online click a button type of sale.

What is the number one problem small business owners and salespeople face when it comes to getting sales and generating revenue?

It’s not how competitive our product or service is, and it’s not our marketing or sales presentations. 

It comes down to the most critical but most difficult part of the marketing and sales process - getting in front of decision makers who have the need, resources to afford our product or service, and the authority to make a decision. Without this, we will be getting nowhere.

Let’s talk about some me...

Have you ever had someone tell you or thought, “you know, I need to go back to school to learn more. That way I will make more money? That might be true for an employee in corporate America. For us business owners, however, there is only one degree that matters and will make us money in the long run. Unfortunately, it can cost us a lot more than the cost of a Harvard PhD if we are not careful.  Check out this episode to find out how to earn this degree without going broke.

Have you ever bought something and then said to yourself shortly after, “why did I buy that?” Then you returned it or felt duped you bought it? This is classic buyer’s remorse. We’ve all experienced it in our personal lives. Buyer’s remorse can cause us to lose a lot of money in the short term, but the long term damage is much worse. Listen to find out how we can prevent buyer’s remorse.

We all do drugs. Yes, even you. A lot of drugs are bad for you. The ones you manufacture in your brain are natural and even more effective than illicit drugs. If you want your customers to love buying from you and get an actual physical high during the process, you need to help them trigger the release of the drugs in their brain that all humans love.

Ever had a time when things were just clicking, you were kicking butt at work, and you felt on top of the world? What about the opposite? You woke up grumpy, everything was going wrong, you didn’t want to go to work, or you felt like giving up. How effective are you at work on those “bad days”? More importantly, how do you make sure you don’t have too many of those “bad days” to start off with?

B2B sales is all about logical, dollars and cents analysis of options, right? All selling is emotionally based. It doesn’t matter if it is selling to consumers or to sophisticated business owners and executives. Listen to this episode and I’ll prove this to be true.

Ever feel like you are playing ping pong going back and forth trying to convince a customer to buy your product or service? The reason for this is rooted in objections and how sometimes we almost ask for prospects to question us. Let’s talk about the three major types of objections or reasons people resist buying and how to overcome them and make the sale.

Have you ever found yourself chasing too many ideas, businesses, or strategies, and realized later that you are spread too thin and accomplished none of them? This is called Shiny Object Syndrome. The question is how do we avoid this pitfall and keep our focus on the things that really matter. Let's talk about some ideas to mitigate distraction.

As entrepreneurs and salespeople, we tend to focus on closing the big deal, getting the sale, and going after the “low hanging fruit.” While this is important, we are ignoring where most of the money is actually made if we focus just on this. Listen to find out where that money is.

Have you ever looked at a business’s website and thought, “...what do they actually do?” Often, we assume our prospects speak the same language we do, and we overcomplicate both our communication and our solution, turning off a lot of prospects before we even have a chance to sell them. Listen to find out how to remedy and use communication to grow your business.

Do you sometimes feel like you are running 24/7 without coming up for air in your business? This is a dangerous place to be which will eventually put you out of business. How do you prevent this from destroying your business and continually grow?

What happens when Covid-20 hits (or the next economic crisis)? Why have so many businesses failed in the last year and why did some of us survive? Most importantly, how do we prepare for the next crisis? It’s not an if, it’s a when.

What’s one of the biggest reasons clients and customers are dissatisfied? They have totally different expectations and perceptions of your products or service than you do. How do we bridge this gap and turn disgruntled clients into raving fans? Listen to this episode to find out more. 

So you got the appointment with the prospect. What now? How do you turn this appointment into a sale? How do you maximize your time and process to take advantage of your appointment and grow your business. This is part two on how to do this. Take a listen.

When it comes to B2B, we are all focused on getting in front of our prospects. If you are successful, that’s only the first step. What do you do after setting an appointment, and how do you maximize your effectiveness? This is part one of what and how to do this. Take a listen.

Ever had someone call your office and go off on your team or you? Or maybe bravely post a really nasty review or social media post? These people are a fact of business and life, but the question is how do we deal with them. Listen to find out how.

Ever been nervous to reach out to a client and ask them what they think of your service or product? Sometimes, it’s easier to stick our heads in the sand. Why? It’s tough to hear both haters nasty and loud opinions, and sometimes it’s equally tough to hear the truth.  Hater or truther, you can’t ignore feedback as it’s one of the best tools we have. So HOW do we get constructive feedback from our clients that we can implement to grow our B2B small business? 

So you don’t like some of your clients, and would like to fire them? What do you do? If you realize you have some(or all) of the wrong clients, how do you get rid of them, and how do you actually attract the right clients? Listen to find out how you can rid your business of the wrong clients and replace them with the ones that will be a pleasure to work with and reduce the stress in your life.

Do you hate some of your clients (or at least dislike them)? That means you are attracting and selling to the wrong people. Yes, it’s simple as that. One of the biggest stresses in our business is dealing with clients who we don’t like and don’t share the same values with. Listen to find out how you can wake up and look forward to interacting with your clients.

Highlights

Have you ever been asked by a salesperson after a sale, “Hey, who do you know who would be interested in my product?”. That has to be one of the most annoying and ineffective ways of getting referrals. Let’s talk about how to do it right.

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Is company “Culture” a fluff statement? I used to think so. We all have a culture in our company, whether we realize it or not. The real question is, is that culture intentional and has your team bought in to it? Culture can either sink your business or turn on the afterburners of growth in your company.

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I’m not that smart. Neither are you. Most of us have heard of modeling as a way to shortcut success by learning from those more successful than us. What if there was a way to hyper accelerate this modeling to go even faster and achieve success quicker?

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Story telling is a critical strategy in the sales process. In this episode we outline a 4 step process to building stories and give examples of ways that good and bad stories can influence a prospect.

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There are 5 traits that separate a poor or average salesperson from a top producer. In this episode we go through each trait offering explanations and examples.

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In this episode, we talk about the critical nature of understanding the identity of the prospects that you are selling to and how to think about shifting their identity in a way that aligns with your offer.

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Hollywood uses marketing techniques to promote projects far in advance of the release date and this is a great strategy for businesses to use to grow awareness and create a strong launch.

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