In order to have a consistent presence in front of your target audience, you have to be able to generate enough quality information, that’s relevant to your audience in a sustainable and affordable way, so that when a triggering event occurs in your prospects life that they think of you first and feel best about you first. Classic long-term branding. This can be exceptionally difficult when building branding campaigns for products or services with long sales cycles, like homes, cars, white goods and home services like roofing or HVAC. Check out the complete video library here.
The Mentally Strong Leader by Scott Mautz
Over time I’ve come to appreciate learning from people much smarter than me. My dad taught me to understand that great leaders often surround themselves with people smarter than themselves and let them do their job. Then lead and manage as necessary so that everyone stays on the same page towards growth and innovation.
Along the way I learned about the blog Scott Mautz was delivering on a consistent basis. He’s an experience leadership guru and author. In todays blog he writes about Warren Buffet and his teaching that discipline is one critical aspect of being a great leader.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s blog by Scott Mautz.
“Warren Buffett has shared, more than once, the key to achieving – in investing, leadership, or life. And it might not be what you expect. Buffett:
“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest. We have to be more disciplined than the rest.”
That’s a tall, far-reaching order. But I can help you get maximum “bang for the buck” when it comes to being more disciplined (and thus achieving more).
Become mentally stronger. I’ll explain.
I asked 3,000 executives in organizations around the world, this question:
“Thinking of the highest-achieving organizations you’ve ever been part of, that overcame the most obstacles, what attributes/behaviors did the key leader embody?”
An astonishing 91% described the same profile; a leader with tremendous mental discipline; that is, they show great resilience, confidence, boldness, they excel at decision-making and keeping everyone focused on the goal, while exuding positivity and having a quality to their presence/intent.
When I followed up and asked respondents to describe that leader in one or two words, choosing from a long pick list of options I provided, 95% chose the words, “mentally strong.”
I believe mental strength is the achievement superpower of our times; an incredibly efficient way to become more disciplined. After all, think about when you’re acting without discipline; odds are your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors aren’t helping. Mental strength is learning to productively regulate all of that, even in adversity (when discipline can easily fall by the wayside). It’s about strengthening six mental muscles: fortitude, confidence, boldness, goal-focus, decision-making, and messaging (staying positive-minded and having a quality to your presence/intent).
Begging your pardon for the commercial that follows, but I can assure you, many 5-star reviews, praise from famous executives, and now, even an inventory run on Amazon over the holidays, has shown what many are discovering. My latest release, The Mentally Strong Leader, helps you become dramatically more disciplined. Be disciplined and pick up a copy!”
Keeping Your Blog Current
WOW I just checked my website blog and discovered I have not posted any new blogs since August 4th, 2021. Maybe it’s because I’ve been writing blog posts for my clients every week instead of managing my own page. Maybe it’s because that’s when I started writing my book, Be A Standup Leader: The ABC’s of Doing Things Right. Maybe it’s because I launched a new VLOG(Video Blog)/Podcast last year and have been concentrating my energy and focus on videos.
Either way, today is the day I’m coming back around to provide a fresh post on my website. Websites are interesting. Everyone including website designers and developers has a different take on how they should look, function and be laid out. Everyone has an opinion.
And everyone is right. It’s a personal preference. How do I want the public to see me and my business? What information am I communicating and with what goal in mind.
In all my work over the past 4 decades, one aspect of my work I’ve enjoyed at a very high level is website design and development. Every website project takes a team. Every website needs a good writer to generate the written content. Every website needs a great designer to layout the branding elements, the look, feel and functionality of the design. And every website needs a skilled web developer that can build out what others design and desire.
I look at my website periodically and if I feel that there are outdated or non-relevant aspects I make changes. It’s these periodic updates that make website perform better.
If your website hasn’t been reviewed recently, give me a call and let’s meet and I’ll share with you my observations through the lens of your customer. I’m good at that. No charge. Let’s talk. And don’t forget to post a fresh blog post every now and then.
How To Get The Appointment
HOW TO GET THE APPOINTMENT
There’s 3 main considerations to begin the process to get the appointment with the decision maker.
- Prequalify through research to establish an understanding of the client situation and problem you can solve.
- Open the relationship and begin to establish trust with the gatekeeper and the decision maker.
- Earn the opportunity to set up an executive briefing where you can ask preliminary questions to determine if there’s a natural fit between your prospects business opportunity and your consulting specialty.
Answer your own pre-qualifying questions:
Does this prospect have problems that my consulting can solve?
Is this company in a growth pattern?
Are there multiple locations in my territory?
Is this a market leader or prestige client who will help me sell others in the category?
Are they doing business with other consultants?
Can I reach the ultimate decision maker?
Is this prospect business cost-effective to pursue?
Do I have a referral?
Is there a chance for a long term relationship?
Do your research.
Can you find someone who can introduce you or that you can reference as a referral?
Learn about the person who is the economic buyer. Start at the top and work down.
Get to know and build a relationship with the gatekeeper to the decision maker.
Confirm who the decision maker is. It can change.
Send letter #1: The first letter of introduction about you, your company, your purpose and who you help.
Include why you’re contacting them?
What’s your purpose for the letter? Why are you interested in speaking with me?
What’s your reason for contacting the company?
What are you hoping to communicate?
What problem does your service solve?
How is your solution different than the others?
What’s the benefit to meeting with you?
What is your prospects company passionate about?
What are your prospects competitors doing to solve the same problem?
Send letter #2(within 3 days of letter #1): Noting a recent article about the prospects company, their competitor or their industry. Demonstrate you have insight into the prospects issues.
Send letter #3(within 3 days of letter #2): Note a recent story about a triggering event in the industry that could have implications for your prospects company, which you determined through your pre-meeting research.
Send letter #4(within 3 days of letter #3): Research your prospects customer. Demonstrate you are a critical thinker in touch with their industry, company and challenges.
Prepare your follow up voice mail scripts. Call after each letter politely to ask if they’ve received it and if you can meet with them for 15 minutes to exchange information to see if their might be a fit between your two companies. Your only goal is to get the meeting, not to sell. It’s not about you at this point.
Don’t email.
Can you physically walk into the business to meet just the gatekeeper?
“GOOD MORNING SUSAN, MY NAME IS JOHN RUSSELL. IS MARY JONES THE PERSON I SHOULD SPEAK WITH ABOUT SALES TRAINING? I WOULD LIKE TO SCHEDULE A SHORT MEETING WITH HER. CAN YOU SHARE WITH ME THE BEST TIME TO REACH MARY DURING THE WEEK?
MY PLAN IS TO FOLLOW UP WITH A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION. SHOULD I SEND IT TO THIS OFFICE?
I’LL BE SENDING OUT MY LETTER OF INTRODUCTION ON FRIDAY. THEN I’LL FOLLOW UP WITH A PHONE CALL AFTER THAT TO ASK IF I CAN SCHEDULE A SHORT MEETING WITH MARY TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
From Jill Konrath – Selling To Big Companies
Getting meetings with
C-level execs or their senior designate isn’t hard. In fact, it’s often much,
much quicker to get an appointment with (or referral from) the CEO than getting
a meeting with a mid-ranking exec who is vested in the status quo. This applies
in all B2B sales – even if the CEO isn’t the main buyer for the product,
service, or solution you sell.
#1: Make sure your value proposition focuses
on the outcomes and impact your client can expect – and that other clients get
– because of working with you. Rather than saying, “We help companies to…” (which is how most
value props start, and why they sound the same) demonstrate immediate
credibility and social proof by saying, “Clients like ABC and XYZ say they get
(results/outcome/impact) because they choose to work with [name of your
company].” “Choose to work with [name of your company]” is actually an embedded
suggestion that pre-conditions your potential customer to choose to work with
you.
#2: Go high! Once your messaging is more client
focused, just switching your attention on getting meetings with more senior
executives will mean you get meetings with more senior executives – as senior
executives are always on the lookout for new initiatives that will accelerate
time to market, increase revenue, decrease costs, improve efficiencies, and
more. They’re wired that way. And research shows they appreciate salespeople
who bring new ideas to them.
#3: Write several different opening scripts. Try each repeatedly and identify which emails/letters that generate the most meetings. Tweak them to appeal to senior execs’ motivations.
9 Tips to Get Prospects to Call You Back
- Get down to business right away.
- Reference any referrals up front and state your referrals name.
- Show you’ve done your homework and prepared for the meeting.
- Mention a recent newsworthy event related to your prospects industry or business.
- Can you share a strong value proposition?
- Share a fresh perspective.
- Eliminate any self-serving language.
- Sound like a trusted partner.
- Use a series of scripts for voice mails.
One you get the appointment, prepare, send and follow up with a pre-meeting agenda.
When you confirm your meeting via phone say, “In preparation for this meeting, I’ve sent you a pre-meeting agenda. Is there anything you’d like to add to the agenda or questions you have that we can prepare for in advance?”
This demonstrates that the meeting time will be used efficiently and will be focused on the prospects situation.