Sales and Productivity Tips for Women in Small Business | Grow My Business

37. How to Grow Your Business Without Posting Constantly on Social Media - Listener Question

Hello & welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for BUSY Entrepreneurs. I am your resident sales and business nerd Lindsay Fletcher, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn how to make more sales, have more time, and grow your business.
 
I’ve launched a FREE tool on my website that you can download that we have used to figure out which sales and marketing activities actually create revenue. My SALES GROWTH TRACKER is now available for download on my website - go to LindsayFletcher.co/free-resources. Click on Sales Growth Tracker and drop your email and I will send it over to you immediately, along with steps on how to use it. It has been THE TOOL that we’ve used in our service-based local business and I’m using it to track my sales activities in my consulting business. So go to my website LindsayFletcher.co and click on the free resources tab and you’ll see Sales Growth Tracker at the top of the page! Download it and use it, and be on your way to Sales Success!!!
 
Today, I’m featuring a listener question:   
How do you grow a business without posting all the time about your whole life?
 
Thanks for this question, Melissa.  It’s one that I’m so freaking passionate about because I think we’ve been bamboozled into believing that we have to live our whole lives on social media for our businesses to grow, and I know that just isn’t true. The business that my husband and I run together is proof, and I have several business friends that agree with me. I’m hardly on social media where the public can see me.  I do go into my women in business facebook community often and I’m trying out instagram again for my consulting business, but here’s the cold hard truth: At the end of the day, follower counts do NOT equal dollars. Let me say that again for the people in the back: Followers don’t equal dollars.  So, while social media might be one part of your sales and marketing plan, it should be just that: one part of your sales and marketing strategy. 
 
Oh my gosh, I’m fired up…I could literally talk about this for hours and hours if not days and days.
 
Here’s how we approach social media in our service based local business:  Social media is a place for customers and potential customers to learn a little more about us as service providers.  Our business pages, meaning Facebook for us…we have an instagram but we don’t really use it much, is a place for us to funnel customer reviews, pictures of our work, and updates about our company.  Then we share those posts into local facebook groups and that’s where the real social media magic happens for us. We do show our faces every now and again in posts because it’s important for our local community to know we live here, work here, and are raising our family here.  But, we do not live on social media by any stretch and we certainly don’t share everything in our lives…and I probably could with 4 kids - they’d keep y’all entertained for hours. HAHA!  We use it for more of a portfolio-type of thing.  
 
In my consulting business, I’m using social media a little differently.  I’m growing this business more online than in person - meaning my sales and marketing funnels are mostly from online platforms - my podcast, my online community, my email list. Again, it is only ONE part of my sales and marketing strategy, so I am doing other things to market my business, but the online space is where I’m building for now.  Here’s what I’ve learned about the online space: it’s harder to build trust.  People may watch you for a long time, like years, before they buy from you.The sales cycle is going to be longer from awareness to purchase. So, you have to “toot your own horn” so to speak more often than you do if you meet people in person to build trust. Tell them why they should trust you - what your background and experience is, and you’ll have to prove yourself with your content.   
 
Now, here’s where I think online businesses miss it, especially for a new online business. Even if your business is online, I suggest still having some grass-roots style components to your sales and marketing approach and network a bit. You can still build your business locally because local people know other local people and they also know other non-local people. So, share your content in local facebook groups, invite your online friends to like your page(s), network in local business groups. Literally everywhere you go is a networking opportunity and I don’t mean be slimy and salesy.  But literally, the grocery store line, the PTO, the places you volunteer.  I say this all the time and I’ll say it again here - if you aren’t talking about your business, no one else is either.
Ok literally, I could go on and on about this. I just really think people are still craving human connection, so while I do think that using social media as one part of our sales and marketing strategy is a good idea, network and expand your circles in your communities.  Think about how to reach more people in person and online because awareness is sometimes half the battle in business. 
 
I'm praying for you and your business!
My best,
Lindsay
 
LINKS:
Have a question? >>> Leave me a voice message here: https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher
Email >>> hello@lindsayfletcher.co
Free Resources >>> https://lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources 
Need a community?  Join Women in Business >>> https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 

36. 5 reasons you need to learn how to sell | Small Business Sales

Welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for BUSY Entrepreneurs. I’m your host and resident sales and business nerd Lindsay, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to squeeze more out of your day. 
HAPPY OCTOBER!!!  I'm hope Texas gets the memo that it is fall y'all! 
I’ve launched a FREE tool on my website that you can download that we have used to figure out which sales and marketing activities actually create revenue. My SALES GROWTH TRACKER is now available for download on my website - go to LindsayFletcher.co/free-resources. Click on Sales Growth Tracker and drop your email and I will send it over to you immediately, along with steps on how to use it. It has been THE TOOL that we’ve used in our service-based local business and I’m using it to track my sales activities in my consulting business. So go to my website LindsayFletcher.co and click on the free resources tab and you’ll see Sales Growth Tracker at the top of the page! Download it and use it, and be on your way to Sales Success!!!
 
Ok let’s dive in to today’s topic: learning how to sell as a small business owner and why it’s important.
 
Here’s the short answer: sales generates revenue, and revenue pays your bills. 
 
Thanks for listening to the show. Haha! Just kidding. Seriously though, sales generates revenue and revenue means your business is bringing in dollars, and that’s how you are going to pay your bills.
 
You know from listening to this podcast that I love sales, it’s really fun for me to teach, and that I believe everyone should learn how to sell. But I do understand that many of you, maybe even the majority of small business owners and entrepreneurs, start businesses with passion and a really great product or service but they don’t know how to sell it. For many, many entrepreneurs, sales conversations are uncomfortable and avoided, and then they struggle to get to the place where their business pays their bills.  Friends, if this is you, you are not alone, and I’m here to help you! 
 
Here are a 5 reasons that you should learn sales skills, and then continue building your sales muscles, as an entrepreneur:
 
You’ll learn how to be confident in presenting your offer. You’ll learn how to prepare for sales conversations and ultimately how to present your offer in a way that makes sense for your customer. Part of buyer psychology includes how confident you are in selling your offer, and you’ll learn how to craft your pitch with confidence.
Sales skills will improve your customer relationships. When you learn how to ask effective, great questions, you will learn more and more about your customer. If you ask the right questions, you will learn how to get and keep customers, attract more, and how to continue serving them with new products and services. You’ll learn how to position your product or service with messaging that converts inquiries into sales.
You will learn to anticipate and identify objections and how to handle them in real time. Often times, the reasons people give for not purchasing are smokescreens. They don’t want to lie to you, but more importantly they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Learning how to properly identify, anticipate, and  handle objections will allow you to overcome objections, create better relationships through building trust, and close more sales.
You’ll learn to identify opportunities for your offer and your business. By learning how to prepare for 
Sales skills will increase your productivity. Once you learn how to sell, you will learn how to close more sales in a shorter amount of time. You know how I feel about time management as a busy business owner…it’s of upmost importance. Otherwise you’d be working 24/7…and none of us want that. Sales training provides tools and techniques so you stop spinning your wheels wondering why no one is buying and start selling! 
These are 5 reasons to learn how to sell, and I could probably add about 15 more to this list! Learning how to sell your product or service will ultimately make you more productive, generate more revenue for your business, and allow you to get new customers and retain existing ones. You’ll learn how to anticipate needs and objections, identify new opportunities, and grow your business. 
 
Sales skills are vital to generating revenue. Revenue and profit are vital to you being able to pay your bills. 
 
You’ll want to join my email list because I have been working on creating an affordable sales course just for small business owners. It will be affordable, and presale and deals will be offered to my email subscribers only! 
 
If you aren’t sure what sales and marketing activities work for your business, you should definitely download my Sales Growth Tracker. Go to Lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources and click on “sales growth tracker” to download so you can be on your way to figuring out what’s working.  I promise that this will save you SO MUCH TIME in the long run!
 
With that, I send you on your way wishing you more sales, more time and lots and lots of business growth! I'm praying for you and your business!
 
My best,
Lindsay Fletcher
 
LINKS:
Have a question? >>> Leave me a voice message here: https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher
Email >>> hello@lindsayfletcher.co
Free Resources >>> https://lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources 
Need community?  Join Women in Business >>> https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 

35. Cold Calling in Small Business Sales - Listener Question

Hello & welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for BUSY Entrepreneurs. I am your resident sales and business nerd Lindsay Fletcher, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to squeeze more out of your day. 
I’ve launched a FREE tool on my website that you can download that we have used to figure out which sales and marketing activities actually create revenue. My SALES GROWTH TRACKER is now available for download on my website - go to LindsayFletcher.co/free-resources. Click on Sales Growth Tracker and drop your email and I will send it over to you immediately, along with steps on how to use it.
Today, I’m featuring a listener question about the best way to approach cold calling.  If you'd like for me to answer a question on the podcast, leave me a voice message at https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher - I'd love to hear from you and answer your questions!
Felisha, your question is a really great one because this is something that most business owners and sales people avoid like the plague in small and large businesses. Warm leads, even if they are only lukewarm, are so much easier than cold leads.  So, I’ll give you my best advice. Rather than treating cold calls like sales calls, I’d treat cold calls like market research calls. I would go into these conversations with as much curiosity as I can so that I learn as much about this person/family as I can and I’d have a list of questions prepared before I even talk to them. Also, try to identify their buying style while you are talking as well so that if it gets far enough along that you can pitch yourself, then you’ll know a little bit about how to discuss what you can do for them. 
You mentioned real estate in your message, so I’ll use the example of cold calling FSBO…
I’d want to learn as much as possible about why they decided to list their home or property on their own. I’d want to understand their circumstances, what led them to put the home/property on the market, what they are expecting to get out of the property, etc. Ask all of the real estate questions that you can - how much interest they’ve had, how many showings, how they are marketing the property, how long they plan to keep it FSBO.  Gather info and help them as much as you can throughout the phone call.  I don’t mean market the property for them because you aren’t getting paid to do that, but help them identify gaps in their knowledge about the market, why they aren’t getting traction, why they should use a real estate agent, namely the new crazy processes that y’all are having to go through now just to show a property. If the time comes, I’d ask if you can share some things about you, how you market properties, housing market data, etc. and what all of that info that means to them - again in their buying style if you can start to identify it.
If you are doing in-person cold calls, I’d approach it very similarly like market research.  These should be a little easier because you are face to face. They will be getting to know you and you can visually show your interest and sincerity in learning about them, and their situations and circumstances. 
I think it’s better to open up lines of communication than to hard sell your services right out of the gate.  Learn about them, show a genuine interest in helping them, and see where that takes you.  If you gain nothing else, it will give you marketing content to use.  
Thank you for submitting your question!
If you'd like to have your question answered on the podcast, send me a voice message at https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher or email me at hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
 
As always, I'm praying for you and I'm praying for your business!  Thank you for listening!
My best,
Lindsay
 
Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
I’m excited to hear from you!  Please send questions, comments, and feedback to hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
 
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34. Grow your small business by finding growth gaps

Hey Sales Squad!  Welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for BUSY Entrepreneurs. I’m your host and resident sales and business nerd Lindsay, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to squeeze more out of your day. 
 
I’ve launched a FREE tool on my website that you can download that we have used to figure out which sales and marketing activities actually create revenue. My SALES GROWTH TRACKER is now available for download on my website - go to LindsayFletcher.co/free-resources. Click on Sales Growth Tracker and drop your email and I will send it over to you immediately, along with steps on how to use it. It has been THE TOOL that we’ve used in our service-based local business and I’m using it to track my sales activities in my consulting business. So go to my website LindsayFletcher.co and click on the free resources tab and you’ll see Sales Growth Tracker at the top of the page! Download it and use it, and be on your way to Sales Success!!!
 
If you haven’t already, be sure to hit the “follow” button on your podcast app so that you don’t miss anything! 
 
Today we are talking about finding what I call growth gaps.  These are areas of opportunity for your business and areas that you might be able to grow your revenue through. 
 
Have you ever done a SWOT analysis of your business?  If you haven’t, I highly recommend you do!  It’s listing out your business’ Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - SWOT.  SWOT analysis is a tool that will help you define areas of opportunity for your business as well as your strengths, weaknesses and threats, of course. We do this in our business at least once per quarter, and I get bonus points here because I discuss our SWOT with business owner friends of ours, which is also very helpful! I actually like to do this once a month if possible because it keeps us on track and aware as business owners.
 
Bonus tip: if you’ve never done one, google “SWOT analysis for ______ business”.  For example, you’ll google “SWOT analysis for electrician business” or  “coaching business”, just insert your type of business. There will be examples online of businesses just like yours that will help you complete your first one. I just urge you to do some thinking on this tool.  It’s only helpful if you use it. 
 
Anyway, using the SWOT tool will help you in finding opportunities for your business. You’ll want to look for ways to differentiate your business - pricing, packages, customization of service or products.  You can differentiate your business with better communication or exceptional after-sale service.  You can differentiate your business with breaking into an area of the market that isn’t served yet.   There is a really great example in a very popular brand that we all know and probably many of us use…DoorDash.  
 
DoorDash realized that there was an underserved population in the food delivery industry.  While their competitors were going after dense-population with apartment buildings, they decided to go after suburbia with larger family homes AND a significantly higher average order value (AOV) than urban regions. By prioritizing and claiming these wealthier areas, they also won out restaurant delivery services…those restaurants had pre-existing customer bases.  They effectively expanded their market instead of throwing elbows to block out enough space for themselves in the existing urban markets.  
 
DoorDash then took it a step further - they started providing insights through data collected to these restaurants…things like popular dishes in the area, customer demographics, and local delivery times. They also offered advertising spots on their app for promotions and sponsored listings.
 
They’ve become absolutely GENIUS in their recent marketing efforts - they market to hungry videogame players with the “Stay in your game” campaign.  
 
Now, I know that we as small business owners don’t have the capital behind us that DoorDash does, but the moral of this DoorDash story is that your business doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.  Look for opportunities, like DoorDash did, to serve a different population, a different area, a different type of client.  Get creative, think outside the box.  Start local and market local.  Think about who you could serve, who you could serve differently, how you can serve them, what you have to offer, and how you might differentiate your business.  And commit some of your sales and marketing efforts toward this type of growth!
 
If you aren’t sure what sales and marketing activities work for your business, you should definitely download my Sales Growth Tracker. Go to Lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources and click on “sales growth tracker” to download so you can be on your way to figuring out what’s working.  I promise that this will save you SO MUCH TIME in the long run!
 
With that, I send you on your way wishing you more sales, more time and lots and lots of business growth! Talk to you next time!
 
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
 
Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
Website: https://lindsayfletcher.co
Email: hello@lindsayfletcher.co
Voicemail: https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher
Online Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
Sales Growth Tracker | Sales Training for Entrepreneurs | Business Growth Strategies | Sales Skills Development | Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs | Women in Business | Sales Confidence | Entrepreneurship Tips | How to Grow My Business | Sales Growth for Small Business Owners | Business Growth | Sales Growth | Revenue Growth | Scaling Your Business | Business Strategy | Market Expansion

33. Quick Sales Tip - How to simplify Closing The Sale for Small Business

5-Minute Sales Tip: Simplify Closing & Follow-up
 
What’s up Sales Squad!  Welcome to Sales & Business Strategy for Women where we talk all things Business Growth! If you are wanting to learn or uplevel your sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to manage your time while doing it, you are in the right place!  
 
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I’m Lindsay Fletcher, your host for Sales & Business Strategy for Women. Thank you for joining me for another episode.  If you haven’t already, be sure to hit that follow button on your podcast app so that you don’t miss an episode!
 
Today, my quick Friday sales tip is how to simplify closing the sale and follow-up process.  Lots of people think of closing as “closing the big sale” as in signing the contract and they pay for the thing.  I’d like to reframe closing for you so that it’s easier and more digestible.  
 
Think of “closing” as “closing the conversation” or a “call to action” (or CTA) rather than “closing the sale”.  When you close the conversation, you are asking them to move to the next steps and setting expectations for follow-up, meaning who will follow-up and when.  When you ask them to move to the next steps, you are getting their agreement along the way. 
 
Closing the conversation ensures that customers are comfortable moving forward, know expectations of both sides, and it also makes them feel better about asking questions and presenting objections, obstacles, or potential roadblocks that might come up along the way. 
 
Let me give you some examples of closing the conversation: Things like the client agreeing for you to follow-up in 2 weeks, asking them to complete a form and return it to you, or follow-ing up with info that you requested of them or info that they requested from you.  
 
When you close each conversation, you are making it easier on yourself to close the sale so you can make money and grow your business. You’ve gained agreement at each step along the way to move the sales train forward to the next stop.  This will open the door for more conversation allowing you to get to know them better - which is a win-win for everyone involved!
 
I hope this tip was helpful and that you think through how you can use this in your next sales or business conversation.
 
Thank you again for joining me for this episode of Sales & Business Strategy for Women!  Please follow this show where you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode!
 
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
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I’d love to connect with you!  Here are 2 ways to do so:
 
Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
I’m excited to hear from you!  Please send questions, comments, and feedback to hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
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32. Defining your business DNA for sales growth

Defining Your Business DNA
 
Hey Sales Squad!  Welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for BUSY Entrepreneurs. I’m your host, and resident sales and business nerd, Lindsay Fletcher, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to squeeze more out of your day. 
 
I have a FREE new-to-you tool on my website that you can download that we have used to figure out which sales and marketing activities create revenue. My SALES GROWTH TRACKER is now available for download on my website - go to LindsayFletcher.co/free-resources. Click on Sales Growth Tracker and drop your email and I will send it over to you immediately, along with steps on how to use it. It has been THE TOOL that we’ve used in our service-based local business and I’m using it to track my sales activities in my consulting business. So go to my website LindsayFletcher.co and click on the free resources tab and you’ll see sales Growth Tracker at the top of the page! Download it and use it, and be on your way to Sales Success!!!
 
If you haven’t already, be sure to hit the “follow” button on your podcast app so that you don’t miss anything! 
 
In today's episode, we are talking about Defining what I call your "business DNA". This is the who, what, how and why of your business. 
 
The who is your customer. 
Who are they? 
What is their income? 
What are their ages? 
Married or single? 
Reasons for buying? 
Where are they located? 
Where else do they shop? 
 
Let’s talk about how your generation tells a lot about your buying habits.
 
Gen Z - ages 12-27 are focused on price and are on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. They read reviews and rely on social proof for purchases. 
 
Millennials are ages 28-43 and mostly use Facebook and Instagram. Looks at price and quality, and want to buy from brands that align with their values. Their experience and convenience as a consumer is important. 
 
Gen X-ers are aged 44-59. They use Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, and want value, practicality, and durability. They also appreciate time savings, safety and security. 
 
Boomers are ages 60-78 and use Facebook. They rely on online news sources and TV, and value brand longevity and quality over price.they look for brands that align with their values - think “Made in the USA”. 
 
Think about who your customer is and where they hang out, and you can save yourself a whole lot of time. If you are marketing to boomers and you are on TikTok, your people aren’t there. Save yourself some time, energy and sanity and go where your people are!!! Boomers are on Facebook. 
 
Next, let’s talk about how you serve them. In the “what and how” category we have your services, packages, building customer relationships, and differentiating your business. This category is where we under promise and over deliver! The how category should be delivered well consistently. FYI, this category might take some adjusting and time to get nailed down really well if you are newly in business. Give yourself some grace. No one gets it right right out of the gate and 100% of the time. We are constantly tweeting things in our business to serve our customers better than before! 
 
Last up we have the “why” category. We all want to do good things for our customers, but on the why of your business, I want you to take a look inward. Why do YOU do what you do? What is your reason for your business? Why will you continue when thing get hard? What’s YOUR why???  
 
If you haven’t read the book “The No B.S. Small Business Book” by Casey Graham, I highly recommend it! In his book he talks about creating a statement, a sentence or two, about your why and it should be a filter that you run decisions through. He calls it an “owner’s intent”.  It is not selfish to build a business for wealth, or time, or whatever your reason is. Casey talks about his own Owner’s Intent: to build a business that his kids will want to work for if they choose to. Yours could be to support a certain lifestyle, or get out of debt, or pay for 3 vacations a year, or build wealth. Whatever your reason is, it is a good one.  Your why is what will keep you motivated and consistent. Wrote it down, put it on a post-it on your computer, tell your business friends.
 
If you haven’t figured out your Business DNA, take some time to figure out these things. Do market research. Get to know your customers better. They will tell you what you need to know! 
 
Defining your business DNA will set you on a clear path forward. It should make your sales and marketing pillars clear. It should help you make decisions because you have a clear vision of what you want out of your business.
 
With that, I send you on your way wishing you more sales, more time and lots and lots of business growth! Talk to you next time!
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
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I’d love to connect with you! 
 
If you are a woman in small business, I'd love to have you in my *FREE* online community! Click here to join! https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
Have questions, comments, or feedback?  Leave me a voice message at https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher or email me at hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
 
Business Growth | Sales Growth | Revenue Growth | Scaling Your Business | Business Strategy | Market Expansion | Customer Retention | Sales Planning | Sales Strategy

31. Tracking Sales Growth - The way to figure out what's growing your small business

Sales Growth Tool - A way to track what’s actually growing your business (BONUS EPISODE)
 
Hey Sales Squad!  Welcome back to Sales & Business Growth for Entrepreneurs Podcast. I’m your host Lindsay Fletcher, and this podcast is the place for small business owners to learn and implement sales skills, business growth strategies, and figure out how to better manage your time!
 
If you haven’t already, be sure to hit the “follow” button on your podcast app so that you don’t miss anything!
 
I’m so excited to share a tool with you that has helped us grow our business from $0 to multiple six figures (like inching toward our first $1M in revenue) in 2 years. It’s my Sales Growth Tracker!
 
To get my Sales Growth Tracker, go to my website lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources.  Or Lindsayfletcher.co and click on the free resources tab. Enter your email address and I’ll send you the link to download my Sales Growth Tracker.  
So here’s the deal.  You don’t know what works and what doesn’t work if you don’t track what you are doing and what revenue you are bringing in.  It’s Pearson’s Law.
 
Pearson’s law states this:
When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, performance improves exponentially.
 
I know it’s true. I did this as a part of my corporate america sales career as a rep and as a manager, and I’m giving you the exact tool that we use in our small business and what I’m using now in my Sales Consulting Business to know what works.  
 
I use this tool as a game for myself too - to see if I can beat my score from last month and increase my revenue even more.
 
So here’s how you use it:
Go to https://lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources and enter your email to get the link to download it. Then download the Sales Growth Tracker and save to an easy to find location on your computer or cloud. Mine is saved on my google drive.  Hit pause on this podcast right now, and go do this. I’m that serious about this.  Go do it now. I’ll wait.
Open it up and take a look at the list of activities on the left hand side. Each month has it's own tab along the bottom and all of the data you enter will be compiled into the "Stats" tab. This is a sample or example list of sales and marketing activities that you can do to set up your business for Sales Success.  You can change this list to whatever suits your business, but definitely look to see what you are doing that’s already on there.  There might be items you could or should be doing and then there might be some items that don’t apply to your business. Take a look at the list. You can also change the number of points that you get for each activity. For example, going to networking meetings is something that drives revenue for both of our businesses.  So I give myself more points for doing that activity…because I know it works, so I incentivize myself to do more of those activities.
Go back through your calendar or your task list from this week to find what sales and marketing activities you completed. If you are listening to this episode at the beginning of the week you can start with last week or you can just start with today, and give yourself points for the sales and marketing activities that you did. 
The Sales Growth Tracker will add up your points for each week. That total will be in the darker yellow box at the bottom of each week.  Then, at the end of the week or beginning of the next week, put in your revenue from that week.  The tracker will then add up the totals of activities completed AND your revenue from each week, and those totals will be in the “STATS” tab of the tracker.
You can use this tracker in 3 ways:
I like to track weekly revenue and weekly activities so that I can see if something new that I’m doing or not doing is quickly impacting my business (both negatively and positively). 
 I like to track month to month to see if consistency in marketing efforts is paying off. Did I do a whole lot of activities and get a bunch of points in June and I’m seeing increased revenue into July?
Then I like to look at the whole year to see where my biggest months in activities and revenue are - you’ll start to see some trends. For example, maybe you hit 50 pts in activities in July and you saw a big jump in revenue in August.  Or maybe you only did 20 points of activities in July and you saw it immediately impact your revenue in July.  
You have to use the tracker for it to help you.  Don’t let this be another file on your computer or in your Google Drive that sits there and never gets opened. Block 5 minutes at the end of your week to fill this out!  I promise it will help you hone in on what’s actually working.
 
Again, if you haven’t already - go to Lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources to download your free tracker to figure out what’s working so you can do more of those things and save yourself time!
 
--> Have sales, business growth or time management questions?  Leave me a voice message at https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher. 
 
With that, I send you on your way wishing you more sales, more time and lots and lots of of business growth! Talk to you next time!
 
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
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I'd love to connect with you and give you more FREE RESOURCES!  
*Check out my website - https://lindsayfletcher.co/free-resources
*Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780
*Please send questions, comments, and feedback to hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
*Leave me a voice message at https://speakpipe.com/lindsayfletcher 
Sales Growth Tracker | Sales Training for Entrepreneurs | Business Growth Strategies | Sales Skills Development | Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs | Women in Business | Sales Confidence | Entrepreneurship Tips | How to Grow My Business | Sales Growth for Small Business Owners

30. Sales Tips: How to sell without being "Salesy"

6 Tips on Selling without feeling “Salesy”
 
Hello and welcome back to Sales & Business Strategy for Women Podcast. This is the place for female entrepreneurs to learn and implement sales skills, business growth strategies, and figure out how to better manage your time!. 
I’m Lindsay Fletcher, your host for Sales & Business Strategy for Women. Thank you for joining me for another episode THIRTY.  If you haven’t already, be sure to hit the “follow” button on your podcast app so that you don’t miss anything!
Today we are going to talk about selling without feeling “salesy”.  We’ve all experienced it…being pressured to buy something, or feeling like you are letting someone down because their product doesn’t fit your needs or wants.  That’s when the “ick factor” shows up in sales.
 
It is human nature to want to be liked and accepted…and that applies to both sides of the sales transaction.  Buyers don’t want to disappoint or offend you and you don’t want to use high pressure sales tactics to get someone to buy because it feels pretty terrible.
 
Trying to avoid being “salesy” is something we should all do and what the vast majority of us want, right?!? I believe in selling with integrity - being kind, helpful and respectful…just like I tell my kids: “Kind. Helpful. Respectful.” when they go to a friend’s house.
 
So how do we keep that from happening?  Here are 6 tips to avoid being “salesy”: 
Ask yourself about your product - do you believe in what you are selling?  Is there evidence that your product or service does what you say it will do?  If there is a disconnect in what we have to sell versus how it performs, that can cause you to feel icky and like you are taking advantage of people.  Believing in what you are selling is a big deal.
Qualify your leads. Know your ideal client or customer.  Their problems, needs, wants, and wishes - will keep you from wasting your time or your prospect’s or customer’s time. So, Who is your ideal customer?  What problems do they have? What price range can they afford? Where do they shop? What level of service do they expect? What are their needs and wants?  What is on their wishlist?
Listen more often.  If you are an OG listener of this podcast, you probably know what I’m going to say.  A&L - Ask questions and then listen. Ask and listen.  So, what do you need to know about your person to make sure they need or want what you are selling?  Can you identify or start to identify their buying style so you can start to develop how to ask better questions and how to present information.  Ask open ended questions and then shut your mouth. Let them talk. Then ask clarifying questions on anything you aren’t 100% on. 
Build credibility for yourself and your offer by showing social proof. Talk about outcomes others have experiences, share reviews, discuss how you’ve supported those successes.
Sell with integrity and be of service. Don’t oversell or promise something you can’t deliver.  Be truthful.  Be helpful. Be respectful. Your reputation is on the line, so make sure you are giving to give and not giving so you can take.  Serve your customers. Remember that they are spending their hard earned money with you.  Deliver an excellent product or service.
Don’t bash your competition. There is enough room in the market for all of us and every one of us is in a different part of our journey. We don’t need to compare ours to theirs. Know their product or service the best that you can, so that you know what they do well and what they don’t do well.  And know where your offer shines and where it lacks.  You can compare and contrast but don’t bash their product. 
 
Trying to avoid being “salesy” is something we should all do and what the vast majority of us want, right?!? I believe in selling with integrity - being kind, helpful and respectful…just like I tell my kids: “Kind. Helpful. Respectful.” when they go to a friend’s house.
 
I hope these tips are helpful to you as you grow and improve your sales skills. 
 
Thank you again for joining me for this episode of Sales & Business Strategy for Women!  Please follow this show where you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode!
 
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
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I’d love to connect with you!  Here are 2 ways to do so:
 
Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
I’m excited to hear from you!  Please send questions, comments, and feedback to hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
How to build rapport | How to sell without being salesy | Ways to avoid being salesy | Sales Training for Women | Business Growth Strategies | Sales Skills Development | Business Coaching for Women | Women in Business | Sales Confidence | Entrepreneurship Tips | Client Relationship Management | How to Sell Services | How to Sell Products | How to Grow My Business | Sales for Small Business Owners

29. 5-minute Sales Tip - Using Role Play to Improve Sales Skills

Hello & welcome back to Sales & Strategy for Women Podcast!  If you want to learn sales skills, sales strategy, and time management so you can focus on what matters, you are in the right place! 
Today, my 5 minute sales tip is to role play and do it regularly! Role playing
 
How to improve sales skills | How to increase sales | How to grow business Role Play to Improve Sales | Role Playing | Role Play for Sales Growth | Sales Training for Women | Sales Skills Development | Business Coaching for Women | Women in Business | Sales Confidence | Entrepreneurship Tips | How to Sell Services | How to Sell Products

28. How to Identify Objections in Sales Conversations | Sales Tips for Small Business

Episode 28 - How to Identify Objections in Sales Conversations
Hello and welcome back to Sales & Business Strategy for Women Podcast where we talk all things Business Growth! If you are wanting to learn or uplevel sales skills, business growth strategies, and how to manage your time while doing it, you are in the right place!  
 
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I’m Lindsay Fletcher, your host for Sales & Business Strategy for Women.  I’m a mom, wife of 4, dog mom, Jesus follower and multiple six figure small business owner.  If you haven’t already, please follow this show so that you don’t miss an episode!  
 
In today’s episode, I discuss what sales objections are and how to identify them.  
 
Many people view objections as points in the sales process where the prospect or customer says no.  I hope to widen your view of objections. Objections are really anything that stalls or halts the sales process from closing. This could be the prospect’s or customer’s timeline, budget, their inability to make a decision, or their inability to move forward. They can also be hurdles that you will need to overcome.  Many times the things that I just mentioned are actually smokescreens that people use to avoid high pressure salespeople.
 
Just a friendly reminder, that objections are buying signals, and they are signs that you have built trust with this prospect or customer.  Until this person says no to you and or purchases from someone else, they are still in your pipeline.  Objections are also not personal.
 
I was recently in a sales coaching session with a client where I identified that he wasn’t properly labeling objections in his mind during his sales conversations.  He was categorizing actual objections from the customers as “just facts” about them.  When we started the session, he told me that when a customer says that they have a timeline to purchase his product in 1.5 to 2 years, he was taking that as fact rather than an objection or an obstacle or smokescreen.  I want you to start thinking of these types of “facts” as “objections”, because they are simply hurdles that might be able to be overcome rather than just facts.  
 
Now, I understand that this could actually be their timeline and that their sale won’t actually close for 1.5 to 2 years. However, there is so much to be done in the meantime, and an excited buyer will often speed up their timeline if they are excited about the purchase, if they really really want it. Buyers will actually look for information that goes along with their want or need for your product or service so that they can convince themselves they should move up the timeline.  Timeline is just one example of an objection or hurdle.
 
In my client’s industry, there is a significant timeline that they need to follow from the time the customer signs the contract until the time that they actually receive the product - somewhere between 10-12 months.  And in his case, there is a lot to be discussed, choices to be made, and customization that takes place. So the particular customer that has a 1.5-2 year timeline isn’t actually too far off.  There is a lot of selling and closing that can happen between now and the time of signing the contract and closing the sale.  There is a lot of time to build a relationship.  There is also pricing to lock-in.  Again, don’t let something like a timeline detour you from going after the sale.  Everything is changeable. Is that even a word?  And when a customer wants something bad enough, I mean everything is changeable.  
 
So now that you know what objections are and how to identify them in your conversations, I want you to go back through your recent sales conversations and identify the objections that you might have missed. This might give you a reason to follow up with this prospect or customer to learn more about their situation and objection(s).  Use this to help you identify them better in the future so that you are prepared to handle these objections and move your sales process forward.  
 
Thank you again for joining me for this episode of Sales & Business Strategy for Women!  Please follow this show where you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode!
 
XO,
Lindsay Fletcher
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I’d love to connect with you!  Here are 2 ways to do so:
 
Join our FREE community of like-minded women who are stepping into their full potential and going BIG in their businesses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367731782244780 
 
I’m excited to hear from you!  Please send questions, comments, and feedback to hello@lindsayfletcher.co.
Objection Handling | Sales Objection Identification | How to identify sales objections | Overcoming Objections | Sales Training for Women | Business Growth Strategies | Sales Skills Development | Business Coaching for Women | Women in Business | Sales Confidence | Entrepreneurship Tips | Client Relationship Management | How to Sell Services | How to Sell Products | How to Grow My Business