When You Open Your Heart, the Clients Will Come

In a teleseries I led one of the topics that made the biggest impact for the group was how to powerfully share their personal story with their audience.

As I thought about this topic, I realized sharing your personal story is not only for when you speak to an audience, it has the same powerful impact when you're meeting with a prospect or a client. When you're willing to open up your heart and reveal who you really are to people, they feel instantly connected to you.

We all have a personal story to tell about our journey through life. Many of us had to deal with challenges at different times in our lives. Your personal story has made you who you are today. The people who inspire me the most are the ones who freely share their personal story of struggle and victory with us.

Oprah Winfrey has openly shared about the struggles and abuse she overcame growing up to become one of the most powerful women in the world. We listen to her story and what she’s accomplished, and we’re inspired to follow our dreams.

Sometimes we cover up our story because we want others to think we have it all handled. But most of us have had to overcome something along the way. In fact, the challenges we’ve had to deal with make us the person we are today.

When you’re willing to share the struggles and challenges you’ve faced, people are quickly drawn to you because you’re being authentic. They can easily relate to you because they see you’ve had similar challenges.

One of the most powerful assets you can use to attract more clients is sharing your personal story. When you share your personal story about how you overcame your challenges, you provide them with inspiration that THEY can do it too!

The easiest and fastest way to draw people to you is when you authentically share yourself. Start your talk by sharing a personal story of how you became who you are today. When you share something personal about yourself, they feel more connected to you. You’re showing them you’re no different than they are. They can relate to you more quickly through your story and that’s going to draw them to you.

Show your vulnerability by speaking about your struggles, how you overcame your challenges, and the life lessons you learned. We’ve all had to deal with personal and professional challenges in the course of our lives. When we hear true stories of courage and victory, we’re inspired and believe we can go after the things we want too.

They listen to your story and what you’ve overcome, and say to themselves “If she or he did that, so can I!” I’ve had many people come up to me after I’ve shared my personal story of overcoming breast cancer and how it changed my life, and tell me how it’s inspired them.

Tell your story vividly and specifically. As you tell your story, speak in the present tense. Share your story as if it’s happening right now in the present moment. Convey excitement and enthusiasm using gestures, facial expressions, and inflection as you describe your story. What leaves the strongest impression is how you look and sound. People will walk away remembering what they’ve seen and heard.

I saw Suze Orman, the financial guru, speak at a conference. As soon as she walked on stage, she connected with the audience. She was down to earth, funny, and knowledgeable. She shared how she grew up in a poor Chicago neighborhood, worked as a waitress for several years making only $400 a month. She shared her personal story with such authenticity. She had everyone sitting on the edge of the seats listening to every word she said. And, after she spoke, there was a long line of people waiting to buy her products.

I invite you to start writing your personal story now, and start sharing it with others.

Remember it is...Your Story!

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

Let’s Beat Out the Competition Once and For All

Have you ever lost the sale because the prospect decided to go with your competitor? In the world of business, there will always be other businesses competing with you for your customers.

Is there a way to decrease losing business to the competitor and increase the chances of them choosing you? Absolutely! It starts with knowing, understanding, researching, and learning from your competitors.

Here are 8 steps to help you learn more about your competitors:

1. Identify who your top competitors are.
2. What services they offer.
3. What services they do not offer.
4. How much they charge.
5. Who they target their marketing to.
6. How they find clients.
7. How they position themselves in the marketplace.
8. What their strengths and weaknesses are.

Invest some time in studying and learning from your top competitors, especially the successful ones.

After completing Steps 1-8, you can now identify, create, and offer new ways to present your product that your competitor isn’t doing.

This includes offering services they're not offering, creatively packaging your fees and services, providing benefits they don’t, finding ways to better market your services, and positioning your services against their strengths and weaknesses.

Let me say a little bit more about “strengths and weaknesses.” An effective way to learn about your competition in depth, and position yourself against them, is to do what is called a ‘SWOT” analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

There are many ways to uncover information about your competition for their SWOT analysis. Here are a just a few:

• Search the company website. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn about them.
• Walk into their place of business, or have a friend walk in, and be a potential customer. Observe how they help you and ask questions.
• Ask them to send you their marketing or media kit.
• Sign up for their newsletter or ezine.
• Use Internet search engines to find out information (google.com).
• Look in local newspapers or trade magazines.
• Interview their past clients.
• Use a business website (hoovers.com) to learn about the financial state of the company.

You’ve now done your research and have enough information about the competitor to create their SWOT analysis.

Every company and person has strengths and weaknesses, including you. It’s just as important to know your strengths and weaknesses as it is to know your competitors. You’re in a better position to sell against the competition if you have a clear picture of how you compare to them.

The next step is to create your S.W.O.T analysis for your business. Now take both S.W.O.T. analyses and compare them, survey the similarities and differences, and think of new ways to market your business. For example, you may have noticed they offer lower prices. Look for creative ways to repackage your pricing. You could offer a payment plan, lower your prices by removing a service, or offer a special discount for a limited time.

With all the knowledge you’ve gathered, you now have all the confidence you need to powerfully differentiate yourself and win over the business.

ASSIGNMENT:

• Create a S.W.O.T. analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for a competitor and do the same for yourself.
• List 3-5 ways you could market your services that would take full advantage of your competitor’s weaknesses.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

The Sales are in the Follow-Up

One of the most effective ways in getting more business is following up with the prospect. Sadly, 80% of sales opportunities are missed because people do not follow up consistently. Studies have shown that most prospects, who do not buy short-term, usually make a purchase within 12 months. When they make the purchase, it's going to be with the person who stays in touch with them on a consistent basis. Prospects do business with people they know, trust, and who understand their needs.
Some of the reasons salespeople don't follow up are:

• There is no organized system in place.
• They're afraid they'll appear too pushy.
• They're afraid they'll be rejected.
• They don't know what to say.
• They call once or twice, and move on to the next thing.

Here's the good news—although for some of you it may seem like bad news! It takes 7-10 follow-ups to close the sale. Yes, that's the truth. So if you're routinely giving up after 2-3 tries, you're giving up way too soon. They may not be ready to buy from you now, but if you remain fresh in their minds you'll be the one they'll buy from when they are ready.
Here are 6 easy and simple ways for turning follow-up into sales:

1. Create Follow-Up Systems
   Select a follow-up system for tracking your accounts that works for you. There are several systems that help you track your accounts efficiently and effectively.

• A personal computer. There are contact management programs designed for organizing and tracking your accounts. ACT, Goldmine and Outlook have contact management programs.
• A notebook. Use a single sheet in your notebook for each client and enter the dates of your calls along with notes. Keep your top 10-20 hot prospects in the front of your notebook, alphabetized by client name.
• The old-fashion tickler system. Set up your folders numerically by dates starting with 1-31. Use a single sheet for each new prospect, and write down the name, phone numbers, address, email address, and any pertinent notes about the account. Then file it in your tickler file system by date of your next contact with them.
• A business card file. Although the space is limited, you can write tiny notes on the card. The card file can be used before information is entered on computer.

2. Follow-Up Sales Tools
   It's pretty standard to use the telephone and e-mail for those 7-10 follow-ups with a prospect. Begin to embrace other ways of staying visible to the prospect over a period of time.
   
   Some other tools that work are sending letters, faxes, brochures and literature. Be creative and use testimonial letters from satisfied clients, invite them to a seminar or to lunch, send them a small item with your company name printed on it, or if appropriate, give tickets to a sports event, the theater or a seminar.
3. Touch Base Email
   It may take 7-10 touches to close the business, so don’t give up. Writing a “soft” touch base email is a non-pressure way of letting prospects know you’re thinking of them.
   
   Email the prospect you are thinking of them. Remind them they did express interest in your product or service. Let them now you’d be happy to meet and specify a time you’re available to talk. Let them know if they’re not ready that it’s perfectly fine with you, and you’re there for them when they are.
4. Personalize Your Follow Up
   There are numerous ways to personalize your follow-up contact with the prospect. You can write a hand-written note thanking them for the meeting, or inviting them to meet for coffee or lunch. A hand-written note is a personal touch the prospect will appreciate in a world that’s becoming more and more electronic.
5. Develop the Habit of Persistence
   The key ingredient to effective follow-up is persistence. Persistence with the right attitude leads to more business. With persistence, obstacles and problems can't stop you and most importantly, other people can't stop you.
   
   Your ability to follow up will determine your success in sales.
6. Don't Get Stopped by NO
   You have to be willing to do what it takes to move past the seventh "no" or "I'm not ready yet" to get the sale. A "no" is nothing personal. The prospect is saying "no" to the product, not to you. Think about the fact that when you really want something important to you, nothing stands in the way. Why not bring those same qualities to your business? How many "No's" are you willing to take before you give up the sale?

ASSIGNMENT:

• Make a list of prospects you’ve met with, who expressed interest but did not buy from you. They may have told you they weren’t ready or maybe didn’t even tell you why.
• Select one of the follow-up systems to track your prospects. Then set up a schedule of dates when you'll be following up with them and enter those dates in your system.
• Select any of the sales tools listed and decide when you'll use these tools.
• Send “soft touch base” emails to these prospects. Make sure the email you write is friendly, brief and non-pressuring.
• Write a personal hand-written note to several prospects letting them know you enjoyed meeting them and invite them to meet for coffee or tea.
• Be organized, creative, and persistent and don't get stopped by "No." Remember it takes 7-10 follow-ups to close the sale!

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

6 Simple Ways to Make Your Clients Feel Special and Have Them Wanting More

I recently spoke to an entrepreneur who told me she had signed up for a program and soon after she signed up she received a phone call from one of the people leading the program to thank her for signing up. She was so impressed they took the time to call and personally thank her.

Now she’s feeling confident she made the right decision and excited to get started. She’s going to get a lot more value from the program because she’s feeling taken care of. And, if she continues to have the same positive experience throughout the program, she’ll purchase another program or product from them. They now have a long-term client. All of these wonderful results from one short phone call thanking her for signing up for their program.

How does exceptional customer service affect a business? You gain a long-term client who will buy more, a happy client will tell other people (just as she told me), and those people may become clients too.

So what are you doing differently to take care of your clients? During these times, people are spending but they’re more cautious about where they’re putting their money. There’s a lot of competition out there. If you want to retain your clients and have them buying more, you have to stand out from the crowd by doing things differently.

Here are 6 simple ways to make your clients feel special and have them buying more:

1. Pick up the phone, call your clients, and thank them for their business. This personal touch is easy to do and shows you genuinely appreciate their business.
2. If you’re having an event, invite them to come “free,” or if you’re attending an event that you think they might be interested in attending, invite them to come as your guest.
3. Send them a token of appreciation, for no reason, other than that you appreciate having them as a client. You could send a book, something yummy, or some small gift.
4. Call them during the year to see how they’re doing and how you can help them. Calling for no other reason than to let them know you’re thinking about them will set you apart from many of your competitors.
5. Invite your clients to a “Client Appreciation” luncheon or tea. Choose a restaurant or café and invite your favorite clients. You're going the extra mile and they'll appreciate you for doing this.
6. Send them a short note, letting them know you value and appreciate their business. It doesn’t take much to write a short note of appreciation and the rewards you’ll get back from your clients are priceless.

I received a magnet with a beautiful quote engraved on it from a colleague. I was so touched that she took the time to send this to me. This small gift made my day. It wasn’t expensive or extravagant, yet it was the perfect gift.

I’m sure you can come up with other extra special ways to make your clients feel special. But are you making the time to do it? The point is that by going the extra mile, you’re creating clients who will feel taken care of. They, in turn, will tell other people who will tell other people. Just as I’m telling you. Before you know it, your clients will be buying more from you and you’ll be attracting new clients too. These simple steps can keep your clients forever and attract even more.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

What Makes a Great Speaker?

One of the fastest ways to attract clients is to become known as the expert by speaking to groups. Yet, most people would rather be pushed from an airplane than get up in front of a group and speak. No one was ever born a natural speaker. When you watch dynamic speakers, it may seem as if they deliver their speech effortlessly. The ease with which they deliver their speech is the result of many hours of preparing and rehearsing.

I love speaking to groups, sharing my sales and marketing strategies to help them grow their businesses. Believe me; it wasn't always this way for me. It wasn't too long ago that the thought of getting up in front of a group paralyzed me. I laid awake many nights worried about how I'd come across. What would they think of me? What if they're not interested in what I have to say? What if I forget what to say? After years of practice, preparation, and training, my confidence increased and I became an effective speaker.

Let's take a look at the world of speaking and what the benefits are to you.

• When you become a speaker, you immediately elevate yourself in the eyes of the audience. They see you as the expert and this establishes instant credibility.
• You're reaching more than one person and that increases the chances of more people interested in your service or product.
• Your confidence increases. As your speaking improves, the most powerful benefit is the improvement in your general confidence and self-image.
• Research shows that in selling, a speech demonstrating your services is 50% more effective than the most glowing testimonial. You're showing the audience first hand how you think and work.
• When you're speaking, the audience has come to you rather than you having to find them.

What makes a great speaker?

I saw Suze Orman, the financial guru, speak at a conference. As soon as she walked on stage, she connected with us. She was down-to-earth, funny, and knowledgeable. She shared her own personal story of growing up in Chicago, working as a waitress for several years making only $400 a month. Although she has achieved great success and fame, she had her ups and downs just like you and me. Because she shared authentically from her heart, she had us all sitting on the edge of our seats listening to every word she said.

Here's 10 valuable tips to draw the audience to you from the beginning to end of your talk.

1. Know who's in your audience before you speak. Call the event or program planner to find out the profile of the people attending.
2. Arrive early before you speak and walk around introducing yourself to some of the people. This helps to relax you and get you related to them.
3. If you're speaking for a half-hour to an hour, your talk should cover only 3-4 points. The audience can only retain a limited amount of information in a short period of time.
4. Let the audience know at the beginning what you'll be talking about and how long you'll be speaking.
5. Speak to only one person at a time for about 4-5 seconds. Don't look over their heads. Speak to them. This helps to reduce nervousness, increase confidence, and connect with the audience.
6. Create a compelling memorable story. People are interested in "you." By sharing a memorable story, you're connecting with the audience at a more personal level. They now will feel more related to you and what you have to say.
7. Engage the audience throughout your presentation and make it interactive. Check in with them by asking questions. It's much more fun when you include them.
8. Throughout your talk, share other stories about people who you helped and the results. People love to hear real-life stories of triumph and success.
9. End your talk with a "call to action." What do you want as an outcome for your talk? Do you want the audience to take an action step? Do you want them to buy your product or service?
10. Capture your audience. If you want to keep in touch with them, offer to send them notes from your talk or give a gift if they give you their business cards.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

What’s Your Authentic Selling Style?

When we think about selling, for some of us the image of the stereotype pushy salesperson comes to mind. The first thought we have is someone is trying to get me to buy something. None of us likes to be sold. We become distrustful and will quickly say, “I’m not interested.” Do you have to be like the pushy used car salesman to be successful in Sales? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

We all have different selling styles.

Have you ever watched someone speak and find yourself listening to every word they say? You don’t know the person, yet there’s something about them that draws you to them. It happens because they’re being genuine and real. They’re being themselves.

Before I identified my authentic sales style, I wondered what other successful salespeople were doing that I wasn’t? I was working really hard and producing average results while they seemed to be bringing in the sales effortlessly.

Then, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I had no choice but to slow down and let go of trying so hard. When I slowed down, I became connected to my true self. The more natural, spontaneous, authentic, and from the heart I was with people, the more I began to notice things starting to come to me with ease.

It was almost magical. I became genuinely interested in people and started listening to what they said. I created a relationship with them based on trust and they responded to this. I began to attract more clients and close more sales. I had found my authentic selling style!

Being successful in sales doesn’t come from being slick or pushy, or copying someone else’s selling style. That never works because people can sense you’re not yourself. The key is to let go of trying to be what you’re not and trust yourself.

As you begin to trust yourself and let go, you’ll feel more confident, relaxed, and have fun! You’ll see how attractive this is to the people you meet.

A client came to me because she felt she had lost her focus in her business. She wasn’t closing as many sales as she had the year before and wasn't feeling confident. Unsure of what steps to take, I had her narrow down her focus to three goals, clarify who her ideal client was, and identify her authentic selling style. As she began applying these steps, she felt less overwhelmed, had clarity on who she wanted to work with, and increased confidence selling her services. This came across in her interactions with prospects, and in less than a month she closed 2 big sales.

Sales success begins with being yourself. It really is as simple as that. The prospect will come to you because they’re attracted to your authenticity. When you’re being real, your honesty and trust shines through, and people are drawn to you.

Let’s define what selling really is. Once you begin to uncover your own authentic selling style, you’ll start closing more business faster and with ease. Here are 9 ways to get you started:

1. Selling is no longer being the slick, aggressive, and pushy salesperson.
2. Selling is being more interested in the prospect than in what you have to say.
3. Selling is creating a trusting and honest relationship with the prospect.
4. Selling is being a keen listener and listening for what’s most important to the prospect.
5. Selling is thinking of ways of helping the prospect.
6. Selling is going the extra mile and doing the unexpected for the prospect.
7. Selling is showing you genuinely want to help them get to where they want to go.
8. Selling is making yourself easily accessible to your clients either by phone or email.
9. Selling is trusting who you are and being yourself. Remember, you are unique and special just as you are, so let that shine through!

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Connect with the Right People

Early on in my business, I was networking with everyone with no special focus. When I first started my business, I was a “Jill of all trades.” My business was new and I was open to coaching anyone who asked. I was doing this because I was eager to help people, grow my business, and hone my coaching skills
.
As time went by, I realized I was spreading myself too thin and instead of my business growing, it was starting to decline. I knew if I was going to grow my business, I had to get out there and connect with the right people. It wasn’t going to happen by sitting in front of my computer in my sweats thinking about it.

If I intended to network with the right people, I needed a clear and specific plan to follow. In the past, I would push myself to go to an event without much preparation. I was flying by the seat of my pants, hoping for the best. It was no surprise I dreaded networking and didn’t accomplish very much.

So, I asked myself “What could I be doing differently?” To begin with, I needed to know:

• Who do I want to meet?
• Where do they gather?
• What do I want to accomplish from networking?
• Where are the best places to network?
• What do I say to grab their attention?
• What happens after I leave the event?

From answering these questions, I created a 7-step networking plan that works every time.
With this plan, you now know what to do before, during, and after attending a networking event. You’ll be prepared and confident that you’ll walk away having connected with the right people. And, when you connect with the right people who need your product, an abundance of business will start coming your way. Here are the 7 steps to follow:

1. Your Networking Pie
   There are many different places to network. Open up your local business journal and see all the places there are to network. Draw a circle and divide the circle into pieces of a pie. For each slice, write a place where you can network. Some examples are weekly networking groups, business associations, the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, special interest groups.
2. Be a Detective
   Contact the person in charge of the event and find out who’s attending. Then go on the Internet and research them. Maybe they’re launching a new product or have achieved a great sales year. With the information you find, you now have something to say that will grab their attention.
3. Set Your Intention
   Put your attention on your intention. Create specific goals of what you intend to accomplish. Schedule in your planner the number of networking events you will attend monthly and how many people you will meet. And, no matter what, do what you say you’re going to do.
4. Grab Their Attention Immediately
   First impressions happen in the first 30 seconds. Create a compelling 30-second statement that will have the person sitting up and listening. It should clearly state a benefit for the person you are meeting. Write it out and practice with several different introductions until you feel comfortable.
5. Ask Them for Help
   After I ask them questions about their business. If I determine they’re not the decision maker, I ask the person a couple of questions. “Who’s in charge of sales,” followed by, “I’m wondering if you can help me?” It removes any pressure when you ask for their help and people do want to help. I recently attended a networking event and asked these questions. I was given the name of the president, called him and we have an appointment to meet. That was easy and simple to do!
6. Build Relationships
   People do business with people they know, like and trust, and that takes time. Take the time to ask them questions about their business. Show you’re genuinely interested in them. The most rewarding business relationships evolve over time so be willing to keep in touch. Find various ways to keep in touch other than the phone.
7. Follow Up
   Any substantial business I’ve received from networking didn’t happen overnight. It happened because I was persistent and didn’t give up. Make contact with the person you’ve met within 24 hours of meeting them. Expect that it will take at least 6 encounters or more to move the prospect to the next step. Send a personal follow-up note, a thank you, a congratulations note, or a relevant article of information.

ASSIGNMENT:

• Select at least 2 networking events you will attend this month and write the dates in your planner. Most networking groups allow you come as a visitor a couple of times.
• Make a decision to join at least (1) networking group that meets weekly. I recommend a weekly networking group because they’ll get to know you faster on a weekly basis, and start giving you business more quickly.
• Write down clear and measurable goals of what you intend to accomplish at your next networking event.
• Create your compelling 30-second statement. It should include who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique. Write it out and practice saying it until you can say it with confidence and enthusiasm.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.