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Articles from Colleen Francis | Selfgrowth.com
- Tending Your Client Garden By Colleen Francis - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2011 from Colleen FrancisA business is like a garden: it needs consistent attention if it’s going to grow. And if you want your business to thrive, your clients need to be nurtured. Have you ever wondered why a relationship with a client who loved buying your product or service falls through the cracks? Do ...
Views: 667 - Pipeline reviews: asking tough questions to close more business - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2011 from Colleen FrancisMusic teaches us valuable lessons we can apply to a sales organization. An accomplished musician will tell you that one of the most important skills they need to have in their profession is the ability to listen to the music. It’s not enough to just play your instrument. You need to ...
Views: 742 - Don't Just Sit There: 5 Strategies for Proactively Getting Testimonials - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2011 from Colleen FrancisDon't Just Sit There: 5 Strategies for Proactively Getting Testimonials Chris and I try to stay pretty active – running and hitting the gym regularly. I have to admit I chuckle every time I see one of those infomercials on T.V. You know the ones, promoting an exotic piece of exercise ...
Views: 932 - Who Needs Video? 5 Strategies for Making Text Testimonials Sell - by Submitted on Sep 07, 2011 from Colleen FrancisWho Needs Video? 5 Strategies for Making Text Testimonials Sell Chris and I often speak to customers about what type of testimonials are being used. And more often than not, we get a very embarrassed response saying something like we're only using text testimonials currently. In fact, in our ...
Views: 870 - The Trust Return on Investment, Part 2 - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2011 from Colleen FrancisIn our previous article, we looked at the extremely interesting study by Nielsen who measured Consumer Trust in Advertising Channels. Essentially, they looked at the various ways that a business delivers its message to prospects, and determined the degree to which that prospect trusted that ...
Views: 756 - The Trust Return on Investment, Part 1 - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2011 from Colleen FrancisIf you are like most organizations, your marketing budget has been squeezed and squeezed as customers become tighter with their spending and competitors become more and more fierce. This means that more and more, the return on marketing investment needs to be measured and maximized. As ...
Views: 845 - Socially-focused selling: spread the word and grow your market - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisSocially-focused selling: spread the word and grow your market Success in sales doesn’t just happen. It’s the product of a lot of hard work. However, this entails more than adopting time-honored ways of finding new prospects and closing more deals (although, to be clear, ...
Views: 599 - Getting things done without giving up what matters: how I balance my professional and personal life. - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisGetting things done without giving up what matters: how I balance my professional and personal life. “How can you be so productive in your business and still have time to enjoy a robust personal life?” That’s a question I’m asked often, and in this ...
Views: 549 - Be a stealth fighter: what to do when your prospect or customer goes silent - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisBe a stealth fighter: what to do when your prospect or customer goes silent It can feel like a soul destroying experience. You leave phone message after phone message with a prospect or an existing customer, and seemingly for no reason at all, your calls go unanswered and ...
Views: 684(1 vote) - When it Comes to Testimonials, Looks Count! - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisSo you've gone through the effort... collecting testimonials and putting them onto every web page, right next to your page copy to provide that critical social proof. You're all done, right? Not so fast. Ask yourself: how do the testimonials look? I don't mean if they are compelling ...
Views: 733 - Three Must-Have Testimonial Types! - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisWith written testimonials there are three versions you want to include in your materials. The good news is that you don't have to get three testimonials from each client. You just need to know how to chop up a letter effectively to create the format you need. Here are some examples you ...
Views: 871 - Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Be interesting and show interest in others. - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisIn sales, it can be tempting to think about your existing customers as loyal and satisfied, simply by virtue of the fact that they’re doing business with you more than once. Don’t trick yourself into that kind of thinking! Loyalty and satisfaction find their roots in something ...
Views: 1162 - 53 Ways to Use Testimonials - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisUnsure how to use rave reviews in your business? Here are 53 ideas every business can implement to help your customers sell for you! In the biographies of all your team members. “Clients say the following about Colleen......” In the biographies of your management ...
Views: 821 - The draft approach: the secret to closing more proposals in less time - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen Francis“Never let the final proposal be the first proposal they see.” This is advice that I have given many times in Engage webinars and at sales training sessions to salespeople in organizations both large and small, and I’m often asked to explain in more detail what I mean by ...
Views: 715 - One step ahead: taking control of every sales relationships so you are closing on every conversation - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Colleen FrancisIt has often been said that among the many musical talents of renowned jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was his skill for blending harmony with the unexpected. He himself summed it up best by saying: “It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.” Dizzy knew it was ...
Views: 759 - Make Your Testimonials Come Alive with Video! Part 1 - Options that Won't Break the Bank - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2010 from Colleen FrancisMake Your Testimonials Come Alive with Video! Part 1 - Options that Won't Break the Bank By Colleen Francis In all my discussions with clients, there are two basic principles of improving your conversion rates that I've never had a single person dare debate: 1. Testimonials increase ...
Views: 649 - Building on the “social” in social media - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2010 from Colleen FrancisBuilding on the “social” in social media “The more I use social media the less social I become.” That’s a quote from a conversation I overheard recently at the U.S. National Speakers’ Association…and it’s been on my mind a lot since then. It’s understandable that some business ...
Views: 763 - Get the Power of Word-of-Mouth Working for You: Build a Referral Program for Long-Term Sales Success - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2010 from Colleen FrancisBuilding great relationships with clients is a cornerstone of a successful career in sales. Achieving this means more than just a benefit for your customers in knowing that they can count on you for the very best in product knowledge and advice, plus after-sales support. You stand to gain as ...
Views: 1490 - Six Big Myths About Testimonials - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2010 from Colleen FrancisSix Big Myths About Testimonials In a competitive marketplace it's important to use every tool in your sales toolbox to help drive more revenue into your business. Testimonials are, by far, one of the most cost-effective tools at your disposal in that regard. Think about all the great ways ...
Views: 1021(1 vote) - Leveraging Social Media as part of a Referrals Program in Sales - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2010 from Colleen FrancisLeveraging Social Media as part of a Referrals Program in Sales "Now, we trust strangers." That's how New York-based Universal McCann sums up their 2008 study on the impact of online social media on society. They note that there has been a real explosion the number of ways in ...
Views: 777 - Before You Complain About the Economy - by Submitted on Jun 04, 2010 from Colleen FrancisBy Colleen Francis I think we can agree that the economy is still unstable. While some companies are flourishing others are suffering. Likewise some sales professionals are exceeding their goals and others. I would say about 75% are crying about their poor results blaming the economy. ...
Views: 1398(1 vote) - #4. Engage your sales math - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2010 from Colleen FrancisFive great ways to send your sales skyrocketing in 2010 So far in this five-article series, I’ve focused on what you can do at the front-end of your sales cycle to help generate the great results that you’re looking for in your organization. This entails fine-tuning your prospecting and ...
Views: 1473(2 votes) - #3. Unleash your secret sales force by obtaining great testimonials - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2010 from Colleen FrancisFive great ways to send your sales skyrocketing in 2010 It’s a challenge that even the most accomplished sales professionals have to tackle regularly: how to attract more of the targeted customers who are best suited to help your business thrive. After all, it’s not enough to know who it ...
Views: 1581(2 votes) - “Top 10 ways to increase sales in 2010” – Part 2 - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2010 from Colleen FrancisIt’s time to finish building our “Top 10 List” for 2010. This time we look at items 6 though 10. If you missed the first 5 ways to increase sales in 2010 be sure to visit the article archive (http://www.engageselling.com/articles/article-top-ways-to-increase-sales-in-the-new-year.shtml). ...
Views: 973(1 vote) - “Top 10 ways to increase sales in 2010” – Part 1 - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2010 from Colleen FrancisIt’s 2010! And in honor of the new decade I thought we could start of the year with a top 10 list. We look at the first 5 on our top 10 list. You might notice that the entire list is focused on the front end of the sales cycle. Specifically targeting, prospecting and calling net-new ...
Views: 1182(1 vote) - Will Your Ship Come in Today? - by Submitted on Nov 19, 2009 from Colleen FrancisWhen I am working with private coaching clients I note that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a lack of consistent revenues is caused by a lack of consistent prospecting. A failure to prospect on a regular basis will inevitably result in irregular revenues, and inconsistent commissions. ...
Views: 865(1 vote) - Don’t overdo it! - by Submitted on Nov 19, 2009 from Colleen FrancisAvoid the trap of overselling It’s every salesperson’s nightmare: the sale that unravels just before the deal has been closed. It happens more often than it should, and overselling is quite often the cause. As sales professionals, it’s important to recognize that this is a trap that we all ...
Views: 888(1 vote) - Build a client-retention system - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2009 from Colleen FrancisSelling more in less time includes making sure you look after existing clientsIn an earlier article, I spoke about how important it is for sales professionals to fine-tune the way they attract new clients. The same is true of client retentions. To become a top-ranked sales professional ...
Views: 1203(2 votes) - Networking in the new economy - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2009 from Colleen FrancisThe art of branching out, without forgetting your roots“How can I do a better job of gathering new business and new prospects in today’s market?” That’s a question that I get asked quite often as a sales trainer. Indeed, the simplest answer is that you need to build and sustain a network. In ...
Views: 778(2 votes) - Build a client-attraction system - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2009 from Colleen FrancisA vital component in your selling arsenal in today’s economy Nineteenth-century Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted gave the world a legacy of discoveries, including one that all of us in sales today can appreciate. Hear me out here, I promise this will be worth it! Oersted discovered ...
Views: 810(2 votes) - “While you see a chance, take it.” - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2009 from Colleen FrancisOpportunities and how to create them for yourself One of the biggest difficulties I have with recessions is that the bad news it generates tends to become like junk food: we know it’s bad for us and yet we eat it up anyways. It is far too easy to get caught up in who is on the losing end of ...
Views: 744(1 vote) - Technology Can Bring Us Together and Increase Sales - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Colleen FrancisAll too often, businesses look at using technology as a way of putting barriers between customers and employees. In fact, terms like call avoidance are often used as justification to purchase information technology systems that up serve customer information to ensure a live, expensive call ...
Views: 907(2 votes) - Voicemail Basics - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Colleen FrancisMore and more sales reps are complaining to me that they are getting stuck, can’t get through, can’t make direct contact and can’t get a return call. And, if I can be frank, it’s no wonder! Have you listened to the quality of the voice mail messages being left by sales reps who call your ...
Views: 795(2 votes)