I have been wrestling with the issue, not wanting to appear too ‘old school†and an ‘irrelevant dinosaur†(which seems to be the immediate cry from the latest gurus should anyone dare question their new wisdom), but at the same time not getting too carried away with the euphoria that seems to have come with the introduction of recent enabling technologies.

I am actually a big fan of new technology and am always keen to try things out and see what works, but I have to say that on many occasions the reality has not lived up to the hype. I dare say that having been a sales person selling technology based solutions for a number of years, I have also been guilty at times of over-hyping the solution.

There is much to be said for the new technologies, but I feel there is a huge danger if we reject the telephone as a channel – in effect throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The case against cold-calling is that it is inefficient and ineffective, with so many prospects putting a barrier of voicemail or the so called ‘gatekeeper†keeping pesky salespeople at bay. In short, the claim is that it no longer gets results. It is easy to see why sales people might jump at this new paradigm, who wants to cold call anyway!

If we go back a little way, in previous times all the salesperson could do was make calls, send letters and perhaps man the stand occasional at trade shows. Most other forms of communication were the domain of marketing. In my experience, most marketing people (and I was one for quite a few years, before coming over to the ‘dark sideâ€) were not particularly interested in running campaigns for individual sales people – with the tools at our disposal it was all too much of a hassle really.

It is very different today though – there are so many tools around (many of them low cost or even free) that require very little specialist knowledge to operate and enable the individual sales person to put their own ‘micro†campaigns and communication plans together. Much emphasis is now placed on using social networking (web 2.0) tools, such as Linked-in (and the various other similar services), Facebook, Twitter, blogging etc. These tools allow the individual sales person to build up their own personal network and communicate with that network in a highly interactive manner (ahhhh….so that is what Sales 2.0 is about)

Highly functional free email automation is also now available and platforms such as WordPress enable an individual to set up their own blog for free in just seconds (by the way, if you want a list of all the low-cost/no-cost tools that I use, just drop me an email).

This kind of power, for an individual salesperson to communicate with the customer base, is probably striking fear into the heart of many a marketing manager – the loss of control over messages emanating from the organisation being a real concern. In some cases this concern might be valid, in many others though the concern is unfounded, the sales person being more in touch with the needs of the market and knowing what messages are most appropriate.

So there is now a real blur between sales and marketing, with the savvy sales people making full use of the new technologies to their advantage. But if you listen to latest crop of Sales 2.0/Cold Calling is Dead gurus, many seem to advocate dropping the use of the telephone entirely.

I think this is a big mistake. As Liz Jackson commented in Episode 2, “only a bozo would say cold calling is dead – its like saying conversation is dead”. I do get the distinct impression however that taking such a strong stance against cold calling is as much about selling books as anything else.

Personally, I use a number of the new tools and techniques in order to ply my trade – I write articles, I tweet, I use linked-in, industry forums etc. However, I must say the bulk of my business originates from cold calls and personal face to face networking (although the other activity can very helpful in communicating key messages to my target audience). This is perhaps due in part though to operating in quite a tightly defined market sector which does seem to be a great adopter of many of the new channels.

We should also be clear that even if we reject cold calling, this does not mean we can stop using the telephone altogether. In many cases I find it is only a personal telephone call that tips someone from being merely interested to agreeing to a meeting. Effective use of the telephone really does help accelerate sales cycles and also helps to clear out the junk from the pipeline – often a brief telephone call asking the right questions will lead to a prospect being ‘qualified-outâ€, thereby saving wasted effort that could be spent on better qualified prospects.

So I would advocate we take a multi-channel, multi-tool approach, making use of the best tool for the job according to circumstance – with the telephone being very much part of this mix. We just need know to when each tool is appropriate and how best to use it; and that includes the telephone.

What do you think – do you think cold calling is dead?

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Show Notes

Summary

Intro:

● Uncle Spats welcomes existing and new listeners to the third episode of the SmallBizPod Sales edition.

● Don’t forget, if you’d like a copy of the excellent pricing handout from this episode of SmallBizPod Sales, just sign up to our mailing list using the box on the right hand sidebar and you’ll receive it straight away.

Features:

● Interview an inspiring interview with Neil Thackray on pricing and the radical impact small changes could have on the profitability of your business. Neil is a serial CEO for a number of media companies who began life at Reed Elsevier and is currently a consultant.  Includes discussion about pricing strategies to help you make more money in a downturn, the most useful business maths you’ll never forget and managing price changes with your sales staff and your customers. A highly entertaining discussion, with a lot of not-to-be-missed practical advice for all small business owners.

●Music Tinsley Ellis
“Speak No Evil”
from “Speak No Evil”
(Alligator Records)

Buy at Alligator Records
Buy at Amazon.com
More On This Album

Right click here to download the podcast for start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Click on the play button below to listen now

If you’d like to subscribe using an RSS feed click on the orange feed button at the very top right of this page or better still subscribe to the podcast on iTunes it’s free and you’ll never miss an episode of SmallBizPod Sales.

For those who’d like to download SmallBizPod Sales edition or listen to it now, right click on the download link or left click on the grey arrow button above to play now.

Show Notes

Summary

Intro:

● Uncle Spats welcomes existing and new listeners to the third episode of the SmallBizPod Sales edition.

Features:

● Interview with the tidal wave of energy that is Brad Burton, founder and MD of 4Networking on sales, networking and lead generation. But this is no ordinary interview and Brad’s no ordinary personality. Uncles Spats and Brad talk about standing out in business, how to cut through the bullshit and make the most of networking to create more opportunities for your business, the importance of being yourself and finding motivation. Lots of practical advice, outrageous anecdotes and more.

● Don’t forget we’d love to have your feedback on what topics you’d like us to cover in the SmallBizPod Sales podcast. If you have five minutes, please let us know in this quick survey on sales.

●Music Ana Popovic
“Get Back Home to You”
from “Blind for Love”
(Eclecto Groove Records)

Buy at Amazon MP3
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

However, no matter how good you are, no matter how good you business is, without sales revenue, itâ€s nothing.  As Brad Burton, founder and MD of 4Networking said – if youâ€ve got no sales or low sales, itâ€s not a business, itâ€s a hobby.

One thing that mystifies me, is when I hear people whose business is struggling a bit, talk about the need to ‘do some more marketingâ€. Surely isn’t it more selling that needs to be done? After all, marketing costs money, but sales makes money.

There also seems to be perception that if we ‘do a bit of marketingâ€, weâ€ll hopefully get some leads, some of which will somehow convert themselves to orders.

So why is it that sales (which makes money) is seen as the poor relation to marketing (which costs money)? This doesnâ€t only apply to small businesses though – many large organisations will treat marketing as a strategic activity, perhaps having a VP Marketing etc.– whilst sales has no place on the board.

Beth Rogers addresses this in the opening section of her book ‘Rethinking Sales Managementâ€. She also points out that when sales is bad, it can be horrid. I imagine we have all been victim to sharp sales practice at some time – and it leaves a very bad taste once we realise the transaction doesnâ€t live up to our expectations.

There are however, thousands upon thousands of decent, honest people who make their living out of selling products and services that people want, and doing so in an ethical manner.

We shouldnâ€t be embarrassed or afraid to sell. If we believe in our business, in our ability to deliver fantastic products or services – then we owe it to ourselves to be good at selling – to connect with those people who have a need or a desire for our offerings and to fulfil that need or desire.

The ability to sell is one of the most important skills any business just has to have. It is as important as whatever you deliver as your core business. This doesnâ€t mean being one of those stereotypical pushy salespeople – you know the sort, the ones where you feel you have to count your fingers after you have shaken hands with them.

So, all you need to do is to make up your mind to be one of the good, ethical, sales people. Anybody can sell, itâ€s just a matter of finding a way that suits you, to find a process and methodology that suits your business and your personality – then to develop certain essential skills.

At the heart of this, is to have enthusiasm for what your business is offering, and the ability to communicate that belief in your product to those potential customers who have a real need for your proposition. Finding out what your prospective customers need and being able to provide it for them, is the foundation of any business, small or large.

For your business to succeed, itâ€s important to make sure it contains some real selling talent, whether you develop your own skills or those of the people are around you. And if there really is no one internally who is up to the job, you need to find someone who is.

The Sales Edition of Smallbizpod has been created to help you with exactly these issues. I hope you enjoy reading, listening, watching the content we will be bringing to you. So, please get involved! Being better at selling will absolutely help you build a better business – you owe it to yourself.

Action: what are your biggest sales issues? http://bit.ly/2uH8jj Click here and tell us.

Or please leave a comment below, let us know your thoughts.

.

Right click here to download the podcast for start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Click on the play button below to listen now

If you’d like to subscribe using an RSS feed click on the orange feed button at the very top right of this page or better still subscribe to the podcast on iTunes it’s free and you’ll never miss an episode of SmallBizPod Sales.

For those who’d like to download SmallBizPod Sales edition or listen to it now, right click on the download link or left click on the grey arrow button above to play now.

Show Notes

Summary

Intro:

● Uncle Spats welcomes you back to SmallBizPod Sales and lets you know what’s coming up in the show.

Features:

● Interview with the inspiring Liz Jackson MBE, award-winning business woman and founder of b2b telemarketing and lead generation company, Great Guns Marketing. Liz talks about how she set up her own business, what she looks for in a sales person and how Great Guns wins and retains business. Uncle Spats and Liz also talk about proposition development, understanding customers and the importance of charisma, enthusiasm and energy. There’s also plenty of advice on cold calling, building rapport with gatekeepers, CRM systems, the importance of data, social media and tips for first time cold callers.

● Uncle Spats introduces the Sales Clinic to help you with your sales problems and share ideas and tips. The first case study is from Andy Burrows of Charis FD who want to increase qualified leads and is seeking advice. If you can help Andy, head over to the Sales Clinic section of the site.

●Music Big James and the Chicago Playboys
“A Little Attention”
from “Right Here Right Now”
(Blind Pig Records)

Buy at Puretracks
More On This Album

.

Right click here to download the podcast for start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Click on the play button below to listen now

If you’d like to subscribe using an RSS feed click on the orange feed button at the very top right of this page or better still subscribe to the podcast on iTunes it’s free and you’ll never miss an episode of SmallBizPod Sales.

For those who’d like to download SmallBizPod Sales edition or listen to it now, right click on the download link or left click on the grey arrow button above to play now.

Show Notes

Summary

Intro:

● Uncle Spats introduces the shiny new SmallBizPod Sales edition podcast and what you can expect from upcoming shows.

Features:

● Interview with Beth Rogers, Program Manager, Sales & Management at the Portsmouth University Business School on small business sales management and the challenges of sales in a recession. Uncle Spats and Beth talk about her role and the sales program at Portsmouth University, the strategic role of sales, the professional nature of sales roles and the respect sales now has in businesses large and small. There’s also plenty of practical advice on sales techniques, learning sales skills, the benefits of sales training, managing customer relationships proactively, understanding the purchasing profession and the challenges small businesses face in dealing with large customers, share of purse, cash flow and dealing with the recession.

● Uncle Spats outlines what you can expect from future episodes including an interview on lead generation with Liz Jackson of Great Guns Marketing. Do give us your feedback on what you’d like to see covered in future podcasts. Do also let us know what you’d like to see reviewed in terms of products, services or books in our Sales Lab.

●Music The Martin Harley Band
“Money Don’t Matter”
from “Money Don’t Matter”
(Villainous Records)

Buy at Napster
Buy at Puretracks
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

We’ve put together a short survey to collect the views of our listeners, it should only take about 5 minutes to complete – may we have your input?

Just click here to go to the survey  http://bit.ly/2uH8jj

Thanking you in advance.

Uncle Spats

Andrew Burrows started Charis FD in June 2009 after 15 years in senior Finance roles is a variety of businesses, large and small. He felt that his breadth of experience could be of benefit to small businesses that could not afford a full time Finance Director. Having someone experienced part-time (one day a month up to two days a week) would give small businesses the benefit of big company financial management experience at a fraction of the cost of a full-time senior salary.

At the same time, for him, having a small number of regular clients could offer the buzz of helping a variety of businesses with different issues, whilst at the same time enabling him to build long-term relationships.

So Charis FD was set up to target Managing Directors and owners of small businesses, turning over in the region of £1m to £20m a year, who know that their business is at risk because of lack of discipline around managing the finances.

Andrew is clearly expert in a key area of business management – i.e. financial management. But in order to build Charis FD as a business he needed to get into something he had never really done before – marketing and sales.

Fortunately, someone recommended Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Robert aims specifically at independent service professionals, such as trainers, coaches and consultants, with learning and coaching programmes for novices as well as those who are already successful and established. Andrew enrolled on the Fast Track to More Clients online programme, and found exactly what he needed to get several marketing strategies mapped out.

The strategies and plans Andrew has managed to set up are:

Website – to build familiarity with prospects and provide more information.

Email newsletter (or eZine) – Creative Finance & Management – to offer to prospects to build more familiarity and provide more information. It also establishes Andrew’s credentials as an expert with a contribution to make in small business financial management.

Blog – online archive of eZine articles and other useful tips – to attract attention of those looking for help in the subject are, and to give potential eZine subscribers confidence in the quality of content before subscribing.

Other online avenues – LinkedIn, twitter, facebook (including fan page), and others – to attract attention of those in target market, mainly from within existing network.

Networking – to get attention of potential clients in target market and build relationships that may lead to referrals. To date this has been with organisations such as 4Networking and Business Link, and some chamber of commerce events.

Article writing – to offer to prospects to give them more information, and to encourage subscription to eZine.

Article marketing – placing articles on online article directories in order to attract attention of target market and establish expert credentials.

In the future Andrew is trying to get speaking engagements, may write a book and is considering some direct email marketing.

In spite of all this good work, Andrew still struggles to find prospects, and does not know what the problems are.

• Is he just not getting in the right places to get the attention of prospects?
• Should be adjust his message to attract the attention of potential referrers?
• Is his message not catchy enough or not differentiated?
• Or is he doing all the right things and just needs to persevere?

Have a look at www.charisfd.com to find out more about Andrew’s business.

Can you help Andy? Please comment on this entry to leave your advice.

• Territory planning and segmentation
• Target setting
• Compensation plans
• Managing performance
• Opportunity qualification
• Recruiting
• Skills development and training
• Motivation
• Handling conflicts
• Turn-arounds
• Running sales meetings

More to come later!

Iâ€ve started off with a fairly generic sales process which I am hoping will be sufficient to hang things on. The basic steps in the process are:

• Territory planning (who are we going to target our activities at)
• Propostion development (how do we pitch the value of our product/service to our potential customers)
• Prospecting and lead generation (finding the people to talk to)
• First meetings
• Understanding need
• Qualification (how likely are they to buy?)
• Demonstrating value (why is it worth them making an investment in our product/service)
• Proposal
• Negotiation
• Closing (getting the ink on the paper, everything agreed)

I recognise that there are numerous variants on this and it isnâ€t suitable for all sectors/products/services and it will vary according to complexity of the proposition etc. Iâ€m happy to engage in debate in this area – in fact, I would positively welcome input as to the sales process you use in your business. The more information you can provide about your proposition and the market you operate in would be really useful.

A couple of other points Iâ€ll raise before someone else does – qualification isnâ€t just a one off process, it is something that happens (or should happen) throughout the sales process. Similarly one could make the case that negotiation is a process as well as an event and that we are effectively negotiating right from the early stages in the sales process.

We will get into seeing things from the buyers perspective a bit later.

Selling can be difficult at any time, in fact it is rarely easy. But as everyone knows, it is especially difficult right now. The motivation behind this site and accompanying podcast is to help SMEâ€s sell more effectively in these troubled times. We will do this by highlighting common issues, sharing best practice and successful tips and trying to provide some inspiration and motivation.

I spent some time looking at how to best structure this site and decided to use the following themes:

• Sales and buying process steps
• Sales management
• Sales skills

In addition to these themes, I also thought it might be useful to have sections for:

• Sales Lab – a place where you can get independent reviews and advice on the plethora of sales related materials, products, services, courses etc that are out there.
• Sales Clinic – a forum for bringing your sales related issues to the community

With the podcast, Iâ€m aiming to produce two episodes a month – I already have a great emerging list of people to interview, but also open to ideas and suggestions.

Now, you may be wondering, just who is this Uncle Spats character and what is he all about? Am I sales expert? My personal view is that I am wary of anyone who describes them self using that term – it is how other people view you that counts. What I can say with certainty, is that I have deep interest in the subject and finding out what works for other people in their particular situation, then seeing what I can apply to mine. I also have developed over the years a passion for life-long learning – I still remember the day I heard the expression ‘everydayâ€s a school day†– it really resonated with me.

I do think I know a thing or two about the subject and I have been working in the discipline for several years. This, I believe, does give me an ability to judge what is perhaps important and what might, or might not, work in practice. Prior to a full time in career in sales, I spent a number of years in marketing, so I have seen things from two quite different perspectives. It is amazing how oneâ€s attitudes can change depending on which camp you find yourself in!

To close this entry, a word about the name Uncle Spats. There are a couple of reasons why I use it.

Firstly, I have a regular day job working for an SME and have responsibility for sales i.e. I probably face exactly the same challenges that you do. I wanted to avoid any potential conflict of interest between my day job and my activities here and I also wanted the option from time to time to use examples from my working life without compromising anyone – so a pseudo name seemed appropriate.

Secondly, I discovered a benefit of using this name after doing an audio book review for Alex a little while ago. In the show notes for that particular podcast, it mentions a book review by Uncle Spats. That one mention alone was enough to propel the term Uncle Spats to number two on the Google ranking. I thought that has to be something worth developing.

The name itself has been my stage name for the last 27 years during my career with my band The Normal Hawaiians and there are more than a few people who actually donâ€t know my real name anyway!

My belief is that this site and related activities can only fulfil its potential if we really engage with each other and address the issues that you find important. So here is my plea – please do get involved by commenting on the blogs, articles, surveys and podcasts – or just tell us what you would like us to address.

You can reach me by the following means:

Email: unclespats@smallbizpod.co.uk

Twitter: @unclespats

Skype: unclespats

The choice is yours!

Looking forward to learning together with you.

Uncle Spats