Keeping track of activity is a common challenge for small business owners. We wear many hats and are responsible for many things. One of the places where we fall down is with our sales process. I am a huge fan of systems because I believe systems keep us on track and focused.

Systems To Build Business

There are three areas where I see these systems having a lot of value. They are:

• Prospecting
• Selling
• Follow up

Prospecting Systems

Who and where?

The question here is, “Who is your target market?” You can have more than one. However, pick one at a time to work on. Ask yourself which industry or demographic makes the best client for you. Now, go find the prospects within that target. Once you have the list, determine how you are going to pursue them.

Having a specific, structured system for how you are going to connect with the prospects within a target market will help you schedule those steps and implement them.

Monitoring

How are you going to monitor your interactions with those prospects? Having a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system makes the most sense to me. There are a number of small business CRM programs out there. Explore a handful of them with an eye toward what information you want to be able to capture.

You should use a CRM system that integrates with your calendar so you can set reminders and tasks. A couple of systems to take a look at are: Salesforce, Insightly, and Base.

Selling System

I consider selling to be what you do when you are in front of a prospect. So, think sales appointment. The key to a successful sales appointment is gaining information – not giving it. This is your chance to learn as much as you can about the prospect. What is their issue, urgency, budget, decision making process, ability to pay, etc.?

Create a list of questions you can ask the prospect. As you listen to their answers and write them down, pay attention to how they are sharing. You want to do business with clients who value you, are forthcoming with information and openly discuss their situation. You have the chance to determine if they are a prospect you really want to do business with.

Having this list of questions, will help you gain all of the information you need to successfully quote. Which brings me to the next step of the selling system. Create a quote that speaks directly to what they’ve told you. You can even repeat what you heard them say. This is confirmation that you heard them and are responding to what they told you. This will diminish objections as well.

Follow up System

One of the most critical parts of sales success is the follow up. This is also one of the places that we fall down the most. We get busy and are prone to focus on the task at hand. However, follow up is a key ingredient in the health of a business. Using a CRM program to monitor when and how to contact your connections, prospects and clients can be invaluable.

Determine what information you need to keep track of when it comes to follow up. Then look at the tools you already have in your business; tools like an Outlook calendar. You can set reminders and alarms with Outlook that will remind you of when you need to make a call or send a letter.

Setting agreements with the other person is an interesting part of a follow up plan. This entails suggesting to the contact when you will call them or when you should meet again. When they agree, put it on your calendar. You can email them a confirmation as well.

When you keep these activities on your calendar and treat them as appointments, you are more likely to see them through. This will help you maintain your activity and progress.

You can see how setting up systems can help you maintain your forward progress and business growth. Don’t leave these important areas of your business to chance – the chance of having time and remembering to do them. Rather, create your systems and then implement them.

You’ll find your business growing steadily.

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Last week I spoke to a business group about the power of Facebook. During the conversation, someone asked me about reputation management and dealing with negative comments. My belief is that we should embrace negative comments and be glad people are sharing.

When they tell us about their experiences, they give us a chance to appreciate the good ones and fix the bad ones. Negative comments aren’t bad when we are aware of them. They’re only bad when we don’t hear them. When someone has a bad experience, chances are they are going to tell someone. If the experience is really bad, or they are really upset, they will probably tell a lot of people.

If they aren’t telling us too, we are giving them the upper hand. They now have influence over what people believe about our company.

When they share their thoughts with us as well, we now have the chance to address the situation and fix it. And, when they share on social media, we have the chance to show everyone else how we handle adversity. We can increase the loyalty of our clients, including that person, when we openly address difficult situations.

People want to be heard, and they want to be validated. Acknowledge their experience, apologize and repair the problem. They will thank you and everyone else will see how much you value your clients and connections.

So you see, how we deal with negativity can make the difference.

After my presentation, one of the audience members asked to speak with me about this subject. She works for a nonprofit and they were disparaged on their Facebook Fan Page by someone who was very upset. She was wondering what to do about it. After talking with her for a little while, I came to understand that she had tried several times to address the situation and get resolution.

Unfortunately, the individual could not be satisfied. This woman was concerned about the impact that thread could have on others. She really felt that the organization was being slandered.

What would you do in this circumstance?

Reputation Management

I told her that in this case, I would call the individual to try talking to them. And then, I’d remove the thread from my Fan Page. There is a point beyond which you can’t positively impact an outcome. If you hit that point, don’t be afraid to remove the situation from public view. You don’t want to say anything bad about the person who complains. Just remove the discussion.

If anyone asks about it, you can politely explain that resolution wasn’t realized through the online exchange so you moved it to a private conversation. Then emphasize how much your company values it’s clients and feedback. They know you well so they will understand.

When you are providing a valuable service and customer care, the majority of your contacts will respect and value you. They will understand that sometimes a problem occurs. And when you deal with it head on, their respect will increase.

At the same time, if you have an untenable situation, they will understand that too. We all know there are people who you just can’t please. Most people are reasonable and understanding. So, don’t avoid the negative; embrace it.

You can actually increase loyalty and connection through negativity.

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Sales is about relationship building. Gone are the days of explaining, cajoling and persuading people to buy what you have to sell.

With competition greater than it’s ever been, salespeople are well served to pay attention to themselves, how they are feeling, what they need and how they interact in order to succeed.

This awareness will help them in their relationship building.

Self-Awareness Sales Techniques: Positively Impact Sales

Emotional Awareness

There are a couple of aspects of self-awareness to consider. The first is emotional awareness. Emotional awareness is understanding how you are feeling and how those feelings are translating into actions.

An example of this is how you feel as you prepare to cold call. If you are uncomfortable with the process, that discomfort can be relayed to the prospect on the other end of the phone.

Having an awareness of that discomfort helps you reset your emotional state so your performance isn’t impacted negatively.

Self-Assessment

This is where self-assessment comes in. It’s important to do a gut check before any interactions with prospects or clients.

How are you feeling? What can you do with those feelings?

Self-assessment also includes understanding your strengths and challenges. Dr. Phil says we can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.

Knowing where you are is the first step in adjusting and educating yourself.

Self-Confidence

Another part of self-awareness is self-confidence. Self-confidence is when you have a certainty about your worth and capabilities. You can see how awareness and assessment help you get to this state.

Having self-confidence in sales allows you to make those cold calls and go on those sales appointments. You are sure of what you know and how you conduct yourself, so you are comfortable with the prospect.

Self-confidence is critically important in sales for two reasons:

• First, those people who aren’t self-confident tend to overcompensate and appear aggressive and obnoxious. No one likes them or wants to do business with them.
• Second, the other danger is coming across as unsure. While you may know you are just feeling unsure, the prospect may read it as disbelief in the product or service.

Remember that they don’t know you yet. They don’t know that your self-confidence is in question. All they see is discomfort. Their translation of that can be very dangerous to your goals.

Self-Talk

Self-talk is a key element of self-awareness. Going through the process of self-talk before a sales call or before picking up the phone can mean the difference between winning or losing the sale. This is the place where you reconfirm your confidence—not only in yourself but in your product or service.

Doing some self-talk after an appointment can be equally valuable. In this case you walk yourself through the call and assess how you did, what you learned, and where you ended up.

This awareness before, during and after your interactions with prospects and clients will help you stay on top of your game.

Your success will increase because you will be present and engaged at every step.

Self-Awareness Photo via Shutterstock

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So how can you focus your social media marketing?

The first step is to identify what really matters and make sure you are participating. From what I can tell, relevant content and participation are the most important aspects of social media marketing:

1. Relevant Content

One of the best ways to utilize social media is to share content. It can be something you have created or something you have read or watched. When you share information that you created, you are positioning yourself as an expert. It’s an opportunity to show your level of knowledge. Moreover, giving away information is a great way to build a following.

When you share someone else’s article, podcast or video, you are increasing your value to your connections. You are making sure they are getting what they need. At the same time, you are helping the content creators expand their audience.

No matter what, you are establishing yourself as a thought leader, connector and professional. People know you mean business. They gain awareness of you and are provided a window into your business practices and values.

2. Participation

It’s not enough to post. You have to engage in conversations. One of the most significant exercises is to start a conversation with your clients and contacts. You can ask a question on one of your profiles, start a discussion in a group, start a Google+ hangout or launch a tweet chat. These are all ways to engage with people.

Carve out some time and read what others are saying and talking about. Then weigh in. In this way, you remind people that you are there and have knowledge that is of value. This kind of relationship building is invaluable.

3. Quality Time

It may sound counterintuitive but I’m going to suggest that you not spend a lot of time keeping up with the changes that occur almost daily on the social platforms. You can get lost in the upkeep and never make an impact. Instead, spend your time participating in quality conversations. Provide interesting, valuable information that others can use. This means finding the most consistent way to engage.

Blogging, status updates and groups seem to be mainstays. Applications and new stuff seems to have a shelf life, so only spend time there if it is contained. For quite a while, I spent a good amount of time on LinkedIn Answers. It made sense to share my expertise and the exposure was great. Now it’s gone. The collateral I built up no longer exists. My time might have been better spent blogging about those topics.

Carve out a small space, about once a month, in your calendar to visit your social media platforms and review any changes that may have occurred. It is this structured approach that will help you invest your time where it matters most.

When you are providing content and conversation, it won’t really matter what changes occur or what is added or removed. Your exposure and credibility will remain. That’s the goal.

Target Social Media Photo via Shutterstock

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The other interesting part is that he gathers people from diverse industries and backgrounds, puts them in a room, and has them bring their own viewpoints to problem solving.

While it was a fascinating segment it got me thinking. How well do we use empathy in our businesses? When it comes to the products we offer and the services we provide do we look at things from the client’s point of view? Do we take time to look for ways we might be able to make it easier or better for them?

I was talking with a business owner the other day about a new service they are offering. When I asked what the value of the service was, he told me the value to his company. It never crossed his mind to think about the value it brings to the client. I realized that this kind of thinking happens all the time. After all, when we try to innovate, to create products and services to sell, we think about them in terms of how they will help us be profitable. And yes, we think about them as salable.

I’m only saying that often times our thoughts are more on our company than on our client’s.

I submit that while it is critical that we make sure we are making good business decisions, we would be better off thinking first about how our products and services benefit others. When we provide value and help others solve problems we will find that we are realizing our goals. It may take a new or different way of thinking:

1. List your products/services in one column and then list the value to the client in the next column.

2. Think about ways you could enhance that value. What would it take to offer even a little bit more? And what would you gain by doing so?

3. Consider how you work with your clients and how you could improve that:

•             How often do you meet with them?
•             How much do you know about what they are experiencing? What they need?
•             How involved are you in helping them problem solve?

Bring in other people to design think. Don’t limit yourself to people in your industry or people who use your product or service. As Ideo can teach us, the more diverse the more interesting the solutions.

This simple exercise conducted even twice a year can bring big results for you and your bottom line. When you can empathize with your clients you can find new solutions you hadn’t thought about before. When you work with them on this level, you deepen your value to your current clients. Their loyalty increases.  Not only are they more likely to keep you around, but they are more likely to refer you to others.

Give it a whirl and see how it works for you. I’ve already started my list.

Diverse Business Meeting Photo via Shutterstock

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1. Plan for Change

Nothing in business remains constant. Business owners need to keep an eye on changes occurring in their industry, as well as opportunities for change. It seem like the Postal Service either wasn’t paying attention to, or didn’t notice the rise of UPS and Federal Express. It seems they were looking the other way when email and online invitation and card services arose.

Moreover, once these things became mainstream, the Postal Service didn’t adapt and take advantage. One example is the rise of online ordering. We were warned for years about the coming groundswell of people shopping online. UPS and Federal Express made arrangements with those merchants while the Post Office stood by and watched. They lost market share and allowed the courier services to develop brand awareness.

It’s a prime example of the old guard being rigid and inflexible.

If they had been watching the tides of change they could have addressed them earlier on and maximized their value to their customers. Instead, they held the door open for the competition.

2. Continuously Create Efficiencies

All businesses need to take stock of how they operate to make sure they are as lean as possible. They also should be implementing checks and balances so that money isn’t spent needlessly. A WSOCTV.com story on December 3, 2012 explains that an audit of the Post Office showed how employees were falsifying expense records to pocket money that wasn’t due them.

This is one example of a problem that many companies experience. When you don’t have safeguards in place you run the risk of money walking out the door.

Get the staff involved in brainstorming ideas for becoming more efficient and structured. They will not only have some great ideas but you will get their buy-in if they are part of the problem solving.

3. Create an Experience

I should say – create a good experience! Have you ever gone into your local post office to find 1 or 2 people behind the counter while a line of customers waits? In my town it happens all the time. And there is no sense of urgency on the part of the staff. It doesn’t make people want to do business there. As a matter of fact, this is one of the things that drives people to the competition like The UPS Store.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about what you would like to experience when visiting your business. Now implement policies to be sure you are always providing that level of service. This is how you keep your clients.

If your business is experiencing financial losses like the Post Office is, think about these three things and ask yourself how well you deal with each of them. If you find that you are creating some of the problems you are experiencing – change!

Fixing the experience can lead to greater business which can help your financial situation. Efficiencies can help free up time to be able to provide that good experience. Pay attention to what’s going on and be on the leading edge of confronting change.

These, in my opinion, are the lessons we can learn from the U. S. Postal Service that will keep us from going postal.

Don’t Go Postal Photo via Shutterstock

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Let’s start by taking a look at what happened.

On November 6^th Americans cast their votes for who they wanted as President and Vice-President of the United States. All of the information available at the time showed that 49% of the population was going to vote for the Democrat and 49% of the population was going to vote for the Republican. That left only 2% up for grabs. That 2% was the Independents and it became a target market.

When we decide to prospect we should start with understanding the value of our product or service. What is it about our offering that is of value to our clients? Why do people buy what we have to sell? What problem does it solve? It is this understanding that helps us identify appropriate target markets. “Appropriate target markets” is the key here. You can’t sell something to someone who doesn’t see value in it.

At the same time, if you don’t deliver your message effectively, even the “appropriate target market” won’t hear it. So, you can see that there is a lot to selling effectively.

When we look at the 2012 election we see the following:  The Democrats understood the target market better than the Republicans. They developed a message that the Independents heard and understood. The Independents ‘bought’ the value the Democrats were ‘selling.’ And so, the Democrats won. Get it?

It’s not a political statement. I’m not talking about whether one side has more value than the other. I’m talking about how they each went about the process of prospecting to that target market and what the results were. It may be that the 2% wasn’t a viable target market for the Republicans.

If we assume that they understood their value and messaged it, well then the results indicate the target market didn’t need what they had to sell; the Independents, therefore, were not an “appropriate target market” for the Republicans.

If we assume that the Republicans were thinking first about winning over the target market and not about their value, then we can conclude that they proceeded with a message that wasn’t based in value as the target market would see it. They decided that they were going to share their message and convince people that it was valuable.

They weren’t, in this case, thinking about solving the problem of the target market. They were thinking that their message was compelling and people would hear it. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

So, what can you do with this information? Learn the lesson and create a sales strategy that works:

1. Understand Your Value

Know why it is that people need what you have to sell. Don’t get caught up in what you want them to know. Think about things from their viewpoint – what they want to know. What do they need to solve their problem? Do you have that thing?

2. Identify Appropriate Target Markets

You can’t sell to people who don’t need or want what you have to sell. And you will waste your time if you decide to pursue the wrong markets. Once you understand your value, identify the target markets that will see it.

3. Message To The Market Directly

Make sure your message is pointed to a specific target market. In order to be heard, you should pick one target at a time to prospect to. Your message should speak directly to them so they hear it.

When you realize that the only people/companies that will buy what you have to sell are those who need it, you’ll spend your time prospecting to them. And once you identify who they are, help them solve a problem. Then, and only then, will they want to do business with you.

Learn the lessons from the 2012 election. Don’t sell to inappropriate target markets. Do message effectively to appropriate target markets.

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My children and I started experiencing call and text interruptions over a couple of days. These breaks in service were happening in my house. We’ve had this service for many years and have never had a problem like this.

Over a two day period I texted, visited and called the provider about this situation. Apparently they were working on a tower in my area and this was causing the problem. I mentioned to several people what I thought was a common sense customer service tactic that would have helped:

“Since you have all of our cell numbers, why not text us when you are going to be working on a tower? Then we’d know what was going on in the event we had reception issues.”

No one I spoke with thought it was a good idea. Frankly, I don’t think they understood what I was trying to tell them.

Guess what happened a day later?

I received a text message telling me I’d be receiving a text survey about the customer service I received.

Seriously?

They could use the text messaging feature to find out how my experience was with their customer service department but they couldn’t use it to keep me informed about the use of the product I was paying them for?

We Can Learn A Lot From This Experience

It shows that companies often spend more time thinking about what THEY need instead of what their CLIENTS need. That’s backwards. I know it may seem like they care when they want to be sure the customer service experience was good.

However, if they would focus on how their clients are experiencing the product or service they’d have fewer problems to handle.

Put Yourself In The Client’s Shoes

At the beginning, not at the problem stage:

• What might they want to know?
• What might they need to know?
• What information do you have that if shared with them, would make their experience better or not bad?

I think we are trained to offer our product or service in its most basic form. Then we establish a system for dealing with issues when and if they arise. We consider ourselves stellar if we then add in a follow up to that customer service experience. See, we really care!

Hold the phone! If you really cared you’d make sure my experience with the product or service was stellar; not the follow up to the complaint.

You can work on this backwards and implement a strategy that will prevent the reverse customer service experience described above. Think about your own business. Think about any and all situations when clients called or emailed your customer service department:

• What was their issue?
• Was it something you were aware of?
• Could you have avoided the call by sharing information?

If so, implement a communication strategy for reaching out to your clients. Don’t be afraid to tell them something if that knowledge will help them understand their experience. In all honesty, they’ll love you for thinking about them instead of yourself.

That is true customer service.

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Well, I submit that spending time concerned over your flaws is time lost. Let’s face it, we are all flawed. No one is perfect.  We all make mistakes, fail to get things done, and let things slip. I believe it is all a part of life, especially in this fast paced world we are living in.

There are so many influences vying for our attention that the plate spinning can easily get out of control. Do you know why those plate spinners were on the Ed Sullivan show? Because it was a unique talent. If everyone could spin a lot of plates, there’d be no act.

If we could, for a moment, cut ourselves some slack we could focus not only on how to better manage our worlds but how we could harness our flaws to our advantage.

How can we use our imperfection to our advantage?

1. Own Your Uniqueness

We all need a differentiator. It’s a competitive world and there are many businesses doing what we do. So, why would someone buy from us? Take a look at your unique being and then ask yourself that question. What is it about you that is of value?

2. Market Your Value

Once you’ve embraced the power of your flaws, craft a marketing message that highlights them. Remember, you want to point out your differentiator. What better differentiator than your uniqueness?

3. Forgive Your Imperfections

When it comes to the things that aren’t getting done, you know where you fall down. Acknowledge what doesn’t get done or what gets lost and cut yourself some slack.  Set up a system to prevent the loss. It’s like using a safety net. You look realistically at your business and then put steps in place to change the landscape. Beating yourself up isn’t going to get you anywhere, and can actually get in the way.

Dr. Phil says:

“You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge.”

In the same vein you cannot embrace what you don’t acknowledge. So, own your flaws, embrace and harness your flaws, and forgive yourself.

Flaws can actually benefit your business when you use them to your advantage.

Plate Spinning Photo via Shutterstock

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If you are a business owner who also wears the sales hat, you probably don’t have a reporting system. After all, you’d be reporting to yourself.  Have you ever looked at this reporting differently?

The other day I spoke to a Chamber of Commerce group. After the talk one of the attendees brought up the sales reporting issue. As we talked about it, she realized that those reports can be a valuable tool if used properly. Yep, that’s right, a tool.

Here’s what I mean. You can use a sales report to identify what is working and what isn’t. You can gather data on prospects who turn into clients and those who don’t. This information can help you refine your sales system moving forward.

For example, you decide to conduct a direct mail campaign. You determine the target market and send out oversized postcards. These postcards have a call to action. How do you determine whether the campaign worked? Without sales reports you have to rely on anecdotal evidence. While interesting, anecdotal evidence isn’t really enough information to build decisions around.

In every phase of the sales cycle you want to be able to divine information you can use to improve your results. Filling out sales reports and then reviewing them is a great way to do this. To make sure the reports are valuable, decide what information you’d like to gain from them. What do you want to know?

If it were me, I’d want to know:

• Closing rate
• Marketing effectiveness
• Who my clients are and where they came from
• Why prospects don’t buy
• Why prospects buy

This is just a start. Depending on your business and where you are in its life cycle will determine what you want to know. The point is to start from the end. Decide what you want to know and then craft the sales reporting system to provide you with that information. Implement the sales reporting system and decide how often you will review it.

Put that schedule on the calendar. This way it will really become a process that you stick to. It’s one thing to fill out the report. It’s a whole other thing to create a system for reviewing the report to learn what it’s telling you. Making it part of your routine is the best way to gain the most value from it.

Robin Morgan once said:

“Knowledge is power. Information is power.”

That is so true. When you have solid information you can make better decisions. So, consider setting up a sales reporting system in your business today. The things you’ll learn will be invaluable to your future.

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