September 15, 2013

The sales pitch everyone misses [it makes you look dumb if you’re doing it]

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, New business, Sales, Selling | No Comments

Make the easiest sales pitch of your life

Yes, this is the sales pitch everyone misses. FAIL!

And, to make matters worse it is one prospect that’s probably your easiest sales to close. The prospect will become one of your most loyal clients and they’ll be in the relationship for the long haul. They’ll even sell for you too without you having to ask or incentivize them. And, no, it's not your mum!

Bet you’re desperate to find out who they are, aren’t you?

Ok. I’ll put you out of your misery as I can't bear to see you make this mistake. Your easiest sales pitch you're ever going to make is to your internal prospect i.e. those who work alongside you, but who aren’t involved in active business development or selling.

Think about it. Other than you, who can define the features, benefits and values of your product or service?

They may not have “sales” in their title or be paid commission, but this group should definitely be encouraged to promote your business, recognize opportunities and position the organization for growth.

And that’s why I teach all my students, who come through my sales program to view this group of prospects as ambassadors for their company. These people are your stealth sellers. They’ve the power to be an extension of your sales team and deserve the opportunity to buy into the company’s future and success.

Equally, their actions, attitudes, comments, or lack thereof have the potential to threaten a sale or lose a client.

So keep them happy, keep them motivated and train them up!

Story time

I remember the first event my business ever did. It was 2002 and my third child had just been born. She was actually 5 months old. The event was at one of the largest shows in Europe for our industry sector. Anyway, as we wanted and needed to make an impact we had the whole company actively selling. They all knew our vision and our mission as we’d (or more accurately I’d) indoctrinated them at their induction. I wanted to get their buy in from the get-go. They knew exactly how to approach prospects as I’d given them training before. They were hyped about it too and did so well. The team united and as a result the clients we brought on board from that event stayed with us for over a decade. The revenue generated accounted for millions. The team’s efforts and commitment to what we were trying to achieve were exemplary. They pulled together and made me proud.

And this is how it should work for you – even if you're a team of one! By selling yourself and your product or service to your internal client or team or even to your suppliers you’ll:

Increase your revenue more quickly
Increase your repeat business
Generate more leads or referrals
Leverage time and resources

Think about it. Who does the following?

Carries out the promise of the sale i.e. the deliverables?
Answers general inquiries?
Creates the product or completes the service?
Checks on the order status?
Handles complaints?
Delivers the products?
Explains the features?
Handles the billing questions?
Markets or packages the goods?
Collects the invoices?
Follows up on the procedures?

Throughout each day your consultants, and those staff in accounts, admin, human resources, operations, production, logistics and marketing all have countless interactions with your clients and prospects. Regardless of whether you own your business, run the department or sell a particular product line, you have the power to impact your own revenue growth by selling your value to the internal client.

Examine your current operating culture and assess the following:

Do all your employees know your vision and mission?
Do all your employees know exactly what you’re offering?
Are all your employees actively engaged in selling and promoting the product?
Have you defined what the organizational philosophy is that drives the employee/customer interaction?
Have you communicated that to everyone too?
Have you created an environment in which each and every connection brings value to your clients?
Do all your employees know what the value proposition is?
Do all your employees know why your market needs what you’re selling?
What benefits are received from your offering (savings, efficiencies etc)?
What makes your offering special and differentiates it from the rest?
Do all your employees know what opportunities look like?
Do you know what they do when they recognize opportunities?
Do all employees have the training and tools to convey your offerings (features, benefits and value)?

Figure out how you can impact each and every person in your organization. Do this at an individual and department level. Make the effort to include all staff as having a stake in the sales results and business success really helps to increase sales. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, and a team of one, think about your suppliers – those you outsource to. Treat them as an extension to your team. Get them buzzing about what you do.

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me your stories. Have you ever tried to do a sales pitch to your internal team or even to one of your suppliers? If you've done or still do it, do you offer any rewards or incentives? Share your stories and experience here.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

Finally, if you know someone who'd LOVE the insight from this post, please send them a link. You’ll find solo entrepreneurs, consultants and yes, even sales and marketing managers who manage people who'll be interested to hear about this.

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September 7, 2013

If you’re converting 8:10 of your prospects don’t read this

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, Sales | No Comments

Speed prospecting

Speed prospecting is much like speed dating. It's fast, it's effective and as time is a prized commodity it's worth a look at. So tell me, are you practising it?

Ok let me explain. Let's establish this one thing – we're living in a digital era and when it comes to selling, you'd have to be a dumb wit if you weren't interested in social media to enable your sales. Am I right or am I right?! Anyway, this is where speed prospecting through social media comes into its own.

I call this social selling and I can't fluff this topic up any longer – sorry to offend!

So ask yourself are you ready to lead, follow or get left behind?

If it's the first, stay tuned. You know my rule – I only work with smart winners!

From my research and analysis of thousands of prospecting calls, I’ve found that the three biggest factors that super-charge your chances of getting into a busy prospect’s office are the:

Prospect's profile (who to call)
Triggers events (when to call)
Relationships (how to use your relationships to get in by referral)

Now I'm not sure about you but if I could take only one of these factors to a desert island I'd take relationships. BTW I'd have my laptop, phone and an Internet connection on the desert island, along with my man servant! 😉

Why? Well the answer is obvious (forget the man servant for a mo). When it comes to selling, relationships are the biggest factor of all. They equate to social capital and nothing beats this AND the fact that someone wants to help you. You can do the most bang up job of positioning your company and profiling your market down to the exact companies and individuals that should want to buy your product or service, but if those prospects don’t know you, or know someone who knows you, or can vouch for you, they don’t trust you. And when they don’t trust you you're in a pickle! The relationship will take months and years to nurture and so will your sales. Bummer!

So what's the solution? Easy – it's time to leverage off your connections. And, the good news is that in the digital era this is a synch!

[box]Studies show that the average conversion rate on a website shoots from 7% up to 71% when you're recommended via a social network. TWEET THIS[/box]

The first thing you can do is to prioritize and categorize your prospects in a different way. Instead of doing a pure profiling and target market exercise that includes what size companies (employees and turnover), what sectors, what locations etc. you need to refine things.

You need to review your prospect list with a much broader definition of target companies and then go straight to an overlay of your social graph – aka who do you know and who do they know. You can use many social tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to do this and use all of the insight gained from them to develop further rapport when you're speaking to them.

You then need to make your prioritized prospect companies only the ones you can get into via referral or with some kind of common link.

Whilst it may seem awkward and somewhat ill-defined at first this is the fastest way to build your sales pipeline, convert your prospects into long-term clients and ultimately sell.

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me your story. Are you using social media to prioritize your prospect list and to sell? If so, please share your stories and experience here and let us know what's working and what's not.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

Finally, if you know someone who'd LOVE the insight from this post, please send them a link. You’ll find solo entrepreneurs, consultants and yes, even sales and marketing managers and directors from 8-figure corporations who'll be interested to hear about this.

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August 10, 2013

Six tips for increasing your social capital

By JaneFrankland | New business, Sales, Selling | No Comments

Social capital – game on!

In my last blog I wrote about having a social media detox. It was time. It was well needed. Now I'm clearer in thought than ever about its value when it comes to selling. Social selling and social capital is what it's all about!

I don't need to tell you that the game of sales has got harder….but I'm going to!

It has! We're living in a digital era now. Technology and social media have changed everything.

We like, we follow, we subscribe and we link up. We post, we tweet and share – day in day out! We're oblivious to what life was like pre social – before. We're all inundated with messages and distractions. We're more busy than ever and never have there been fewer hours in the day to get our jobs done.

Urgh!

We're being told to “listen” and to share content so we can know our prospects and clients better and improve the relationships. We're being told to get friendlier and to express our vulnerabilities – to aid connection. We're online telling our stories and the world is taking note.

Much has changed, but also … much has not.

So, I’ve got a CRAZY question for you…and it relates to social selling.

How often do you go on social media for prospecting and selling? I'm talking about the 3 biggies for social selling – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – not quite the full Monty, but not too far off.

I know you're active on there, and I'm guessing that you're on certain platforms more than others (as they're fun) for quite a lot of your day. Obviously you're on them to drive your business forward. I know you wouldn't dream of being on there just to see what everyone else's doing. Or, even to”socialize” in the hope that your connections might buy from you. That would be plain silly!

So give it a moment, and think about it…

How often do you go on your social platforms? My guess is that you're on there at least 3 times a day if not more, for about 30 minutes, right?

Social Capital

Now I'm going to tell you something that quite frankly blew my mind. IBM reported that each additional relationship to your network is worth $948 to you (i.e. 100 relationships are worth $95,000! Now that's not quite enough for an Aston (my favourite car) but that's enough to buy a Porche!)

This is your social capital. The value of your network. It's a bigger asset than it ever was!

So if this interests you, watch my latest video where I reveal 6 tips to help you build your social capital and put your social media efforts into a social selling context – even if you're selling B2B.

It's time to delight your prospects, clients and customers, but I'll reveal more in a mo.

Cue video

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me your story. Are you using social media to sell? If so, please share your stories and experience here and let us know what's working and what's not.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

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July 21, 2013

Social media addiction: ready for a detox?

By JaneFrankland | Marketing, Mindset, Sales | One Comment

Social media is the answer

Social media addiction and detoxing. I hope you're ready!

I'm going to start at the beginning and this means dealing with the statement ‘social media is the answer.'

Poppycock!

It's time to bust this myth wide open.

Social media is not the answer. [I bet you're thinking the answer to what.]

Social media is not the answer to growing your business. What's more … it's actually a threat to it. Why do I say this?

Well before I go into this, I want to ask you something. Do you refresh Facebook 10-15 times an hour to track likes, messages and general interaction? Do you check Twitter and do the same? I'm expecting a yes. Some of you may even go further and check YouTube, Pinterest Instagram and Linkedin! Some of you may even be having more interaction with fans and followers online than with those immediately around you.

Hands up if that's you?

I know I've been guilty of doing this. Yes, I'm fessing up!

Now I bet you've been told that social media is essential for your business. Well there's truth to this but only if it's used strategically. This is not my bug bear. This is what is….social media addiction!

Social media addiction

In some way or another many of you (including me) have become slightly obsessed with social media and the interaction and engagement it demands. Unlike email it's a tool that expects a very instant response. If you've implemented the advice of the “experts” that's what you'll have been taught along the way.

However, it's wrong.

What's happened is that many of you have become dependent on it, and habits (including bad habits) have formed. While it may seem like an innocent and essential tool to market your business, unintentionally it's reinforcing some deep rooted fears. You see there's a dark side to social media. Used incorrectly it nurtures insecurity – feelings of being liked and good enough.

Think about it. The more likes and interaction you get, the better you feel. Right?

Yes, and stroke that ego whilst you're at it!

Social media as a threat to your business

So what happens when you don't get the Likes, ReTweets or interaction? What happens when you're not feeling the social love? For most of you you'll genuinely feel unloved, unheard and rejected. Some of you may become depressed. Then you'll pick yourself up and work harder to obtain the “love” through subsequent posts, Tweets and so on.

And this is where the threat actually lies.

It's the feeling of inadequacy it brings up. And the feeling of dependency. A co dependent relationship with a tool – nice!

But there's more….

A recent study by Harvard University on social media addiction shows evidence as to why social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are so popular and highly addictive for many people. The study aimed to dig into the psyche of why people are eager to self disclose i.e. post their thoughts and actions on social media.

Through a series of experiments, the study revealed that the act of disclosing personal or opinionated information activates the same part of the brain that's associated with the sensation of pleasure – the same pleasure that you get from eating food, getting money or even having sex!

Oh la la!

Story time…

Ok so where's this all going. Well here's my story to illustrate the point I'm making. As you know by now, I too have struggled with the social media “love” loop. In all honesty I didn't actually realise I had a problem with it until the other day.

I became aware when I decided to get super focused and complete an online course. I knew it was time to get this course to you. 18 years worth of complex sales experience coupled with growing a 7-figure business had to be turned into IP and transferred into course format if I was going to help you.

I could also hear my mentor's words ringing in my head, “Jane if you don't have a product, then you don't have a business.”

Anyway, to do this meant hours of work and I knew that the only way I could achieve this was through mega discipline. I knew I had to switch off my social media networks for the bulk of the day. I had to get targeted and even more strategic with it.

I had to go on a social media detox!

I was a little scared. That sounds silly but I'm being honest.

I knew social media was the most powerful way to get exposure, increase my leads and deliver my message to the world. I'd worked hard on it and was seeing results. What if my likes, fans and followers didn't grow as much? What if my engagement levels fell? My business would surely suffer and all the hard work I'd done would be to no avail.

Well surprisingly none of this happened! My social media likes, re-tweets, fans and followers kept on growing. And what's more, I felt a lot better.

Result!

What's the alternative to social media?

There's no alternative to social media if you want to grow your business. You need to do it. However, you need to protect yourself and reduce your risk exposure to the threat of social media addiction. When it comes to entrepreneurship, mindset and mental health is so important.

So the only way you're going to crack this is not through avoidance, but by having a social media strategy devised and implemented. You need to know how it fits in to your overall marketing and sales plan and therefore what you want to achieve from it from the get-go. You need to be able to measure results. You need a schedule in place for posting, tweeting and interacting. And as if that's not enough, you're going to have to be disciplined. Super discipline in fact. You need to decide how much time you're going to spend on it. 30 minutes each day should do the trick.

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me your story. Have you gone on a social media detox at any point in your business? If you did, what results did you see? Are you concerned about social media addiction or the feelings it brings up when you're on it? Share your stories and experience here.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

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July 12, 2013

How to use color as a sales tool

By JaneFrankland | Sales, Selling | No Comments

Color psychology marketing

Call me weird (I'd argue smart) but when it comes to selling and business development, I love using color psychology or more accurately, color psychology marketing. Apologies once again to the Brits. You can see, a week on, I'm still sinning (that's a British joke that's related to spelling) 😉

Tomatoes – Tom-ate-oes…

Ah let's call the whole thing off!

Ok, back to business!

My last post was all about using color to categorize your prospects and communicate in “their language” but this week's post is all about using color psychology marketing or color as a sales tool to influence buyers. So, I'm going to be delving into its use from a brand and presentation perspective.

And I can tell you something… this is powerful, and it's going to be good.

The reason why…

Color is your silent sales tool. How? Well it's the language of our subconscious. We make decisions based on color all the time and by using it correctly you can literally get the edge on your competition at a very intuitive level.

You see, you need prospects, clients and customers to connect with you in order to grow your business. That's obvious, right? Well, color connects you to a person, brand, place or product. It sparks initial interest and draws you towards making a purchase.

Color psychology & consumer buying behavior

To illustrate this point quickly, I'd like you to think of the last time you bought some clothes. Were you not drawn initially to the colors of the clothes?

Yes?

I rest my case.

Whatever your business proposition, your prospects need to like, believe and feel your authenticity in order to respond to you. And that's why all of your promotional material needs to have a consistent message that resonates with your offering. Having an awareness of, and choosing to use the most appropriate colors will not only enhance the overall look of your brand but it will also help to communicate your message. I wrote about this a while ago: how to find your perfect brand color.

Research on consumer buying behavior, color psychology marketing and color consistently informs us of its importance in the way that we understand and interact with the world around us. Color really does matter. Color evokes a mood that affects an emotion, which in turn creates a reaction or response.

For example, did you know that we make a decision about how we feel about someone within 15 seconds based on color alone? That could be a decision on whether your customer picks up your product or not! Or, whether they stay on your website or not. Or, whether you come across as someone who's approachable at a networking event. It could be the difference between making a connection with you or leaving your product or service on the shelf.

Now to someone who's built a 7-figure multi-million dollar business from scratch before, and sold and bought in order to achieve this, this is profound for I had no “conscious” clue! However, their are reasons why I got it right and was able to instinctively build my business successfully using the power of color, but that's for another post.

Anyway, now that I understand the principles of using color as a sales tool this new found knowledge makes me smile. When you understand that color is emotive and that buying is an emotional decision then it's vital to use color in a way that appeals and communicates what you're offering.

Why would you want to get it wrong?

When you're selling and growing your business you need everything to line up. Color can help you do that. It's a powerful persuader; a visual communication aid. Through the design of your brand or the products that you sell, you have an opportunity to speak to your clients and customers at another level – at the subconscious.

Color at it's core, is a signalling system that influences mood and behavior. It works on our feelings and sends messages to the brain faster than words or shapes. It's a non-verbal language that persuades, and you can use this to influence your prospects, customers and clients to buy subconsciously. Get it right and your brand or product will look authentic, you'll build trust, increase loyalty and grow your sales. Get it wrong and you'll drive business away.

The creation of attractive packaging, branding or any graphic communication is the design alchemy between style, form, font and color. The aim of which is ultimately to appeal to our senses. Of all the different design elements, color is the ‘sensorial ingredient’ which we perceive as visual and yet it has the ability to alter mood.

Increasing our awareness of the effects of color and how we react and respond to it visually and emotionally, means we can then understand how to use it to influence the way we want others to feel and think about our product or brand.

As your ‘silent sales tool’ color offers you the opportunity to speak directly to the heart of your audience. If you get the colors right, you promote the most positive perception of your ‘proposition’ – and then the rest falls in to place!

So here are 3 tips to help you do that.

3 tips for using color in your brand

1. What do your brand colors tell your customer about your product? Select the 1 –3 key colours that best capture the core values of your business. These are your primary colors. Select secondary colors to support them. They may be either lighter or darker versions of your primary colors, or complementary to them (e.g. blue and orange). This can have the effect of intensifying the core colors and bringing a palette to life.

2. Don’t confuse your customer. So often I notice that brands may keep the same design style but change the colors across different media. Remember – using the same colors consistently in all of your communications will increase customer recognition and build trust.

3. Maintain the visual harmony. Select colors that belong in the same tonal group and so share the same characteristics. This will maintain the integrity of the brand and its message. Your designs will be more fluid and have a creative edge!

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me do you use color psychology marketing in your brand? If you do, what impact have you seen on sales and business growth? Just share your wisdom here and let's help one another. If you don't use color psychology, let me know if you're interested to learn more on this by dropping me an email.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

Finally, if you know someone who'd LOVE the insight from this post, please send them a link. You’ll find web designers, interior designers, consultants and yes, even sales and marketing managers who manage people who'll be interested to hear about this.

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July 4, 2013

What’s the first rule of sales? [my brother mustn’t answer this]

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, Sales | No Comments

Know me, like me, trust me…

Bless me father for I have sinned. I'm English and I'm using the American spelling for colour (color) throughout this post!

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest and before I even get into color personality types (or colour personality types if you're in the UK), I'm going to have to start with the basics: when it comes to sales and selling, people buy from people.

So I'm going to put it bluntly here. I know you wouldn't expect anything less of me.

If people don't like you when they meet you, you're not going to sell Jack diddly squat! FACT!

That's why your job, as a salesperson or someone who's heading up a sale, is to get your prospects to like you, and to keep on liking you! When they like you they feel safe. When you're seen as “friend” as oppose to “enemy” you're trusted, and when you're trusted they're more likely to buy.

You see we all buy from people we trust, and we keep on buying from those we keep on trusting. We buy from credible people and we make reference to those we find trustworthy. We also hang out with people who engage us and see them as leaders. They make us feel good.

And, this is key. For the first rule of sales is… people buy feelings not things.

Every step your prospects take along the sales path – every interaction they experience – gives them feelings and that is how you or your product, service or brand is judged. Make no mistake about this. Every single one of your buyers keeps a mental check-list of positive and negative feelings, and adjusts the scores as he or she goes.

Unfortunately we're not actually conscious of doing this. We're just wired that way. It's how our reptilian brains work.

So, how do you know whether to trust anyone as a credible leader or not?

Well I teach this in my coaching programmes but as you're being a good sport I'll tell you the answer now. It all boils down to how you communicate.

Story time

Example 1. Years ago, when I owned my IT company and we sold products, I used to have to deal with many suppliers. As an experienced buyer I soon realised that not only could I make a great profit in a sale, but I could also make double the profit if I bought well before. Now I vividly remember one meeting that I organised with a supplier. I happened to bring a member of my team into this and yes, you guessed it – he was male. The irony of this meeting was that the supplier decided to direct it (the sale) to my colleague. Big, rookie mistake. He didn't communicate with me – let alone in my language, and I was the buyer! Needless to say, he didn't make me feel great so he didn't get any more business from me or my company. That cost him millions.

Example 2. Recently I attended an event. A programme was being sold and a considerable investment was at stake. I was interested in the ROI. When I asked for this information, the answer I was given was that taking the course made you “feel good.” Now that's all well and good, but unfortunately I couldn't give a damn if it made you feel good. I was only interested in the tangible value it delivered to my bottom line. Once again the supplier hadn't communicated effectively so I walked away not buying.

Example 3. I was at another event a few months ago. Unfortunately I happened to sit next to a woman who decided she was going to snort back her snot (instead of blow her nose) throughout the whole presentation. I was naturally quite repulsed and couldn't wait to get away from her at the end of it. However, she approached me and asked for a meeting. She was interested in what I was selling. Now my initial thoughts were: was it a nervous twitch she had, had her mother not brought her up to blow her nose when she had a cold, and how the heck could I do business with someone like this? So I weighed it all up, made my excuses and walked away from the opportunity.

Always remember that sales is a two-way engagement. When you own your company you have the choice as to whether you work with someone or not.

Communicate according to color personality types

If you want the sale, you have to be able to communicate with your prospect in a language that resonates with them. How you interact determines whether you'll convert them into clients and customers.

You need them to understand what you're saying – to hear AND to listen. The only way you can do this is by speaking to them in a language that they understand. You need to speak “their language.” When you speak their language you can be more influential; you can build rapport more quickly, which in turn builds the trust.

And, yes you guessed it… when you build trust, the sales follow as a matter of course.

Whilst language is a highly complex matter as there are many forms of communication – verbal and non verbal, I'm only going to give you a guide on the words, sounds and body gestures that your prospect may use in order for you to be able to craft your sales message [communication] in a way that will be received and understood.

So, here are some tips to help you quickly identify your prospect's personality types. I've grouped them into color personality types as it's easier to remember.

Four color personality types

There are four color personality types and whilst we all have components of them, generally one dominant personality shows through.

Yellows – they make up 35% of the population and one of the best words to describe them is nurturing. ‘Yellows' are always looking out for others; they like to help. They're open, indirect in conversation, very sensitive and aren't particularly concerned about money. Instead they prefer relationships and teamwork. Often they don't have time for themselves as they give it to everyone else. They usually talk about how they like to help others and for them it's all about the cause. They're earthy and mellow; softly spoken, relaxed and casually dressed. Things that will turn them off are money, partying and material possessions. When you're interacting with a yellow be aware that these are color personality types that don't want to be sold to. They make decisions based on emotion, and very slowly. So, when you talk to a ‘yellow' color personality type talk about how you can help others (save money, spend time with their family) and make sure to lower the volume. Yellows don't like sudden change either so they often need assurance from another party. The good news is that once you've won them over they're loyal to the person they buy from and the brand.

Green – they too make up 35% of the population. ‘Green' color personality types are similar to the ‘yellow.' They too don't like to be sold to. They're self contained and indirect in conversation. They're quietly spoken, reserved and often pessimistic. They're conservative, formal and use minimal body gestures and facial expressions. They're the analysts; the data miners. They want all the facts and all the questions answered. They want to feel secure. They're risk averse and when it comes to making a decision they take their time and want to make informed decisions. When you're selling to a ‘green' color personality type stay away from emotional information – they just want the facts. Invite them to take a look.

Blue – they make up 15% of the population. They're easy to recognise as they stick out. ‘Blue' color personality types are flamboyant, gregarious, fun-loving, fast-paced and sociable. They're often the life and soul of the party, tell a good story and are enthusiastic. They smile and laugh a lot. This color personality type is a group that's loved by all. As they like to attract attention and are born entertainers, when you're interacting with a ‘blue' color personality type you may need to raise the volume. Motivate them by talking about recognition and incentives. They're risk takers so they don't want or need to see all the detail. They like succinct and they'll act more on feeling rather than logic. This is good news for you in terms of the sale as they'll make decisions fast.

Reds – make up 15% of the population. They're independent, dominant and risk takers. They're goal orientated, focused on results and fast thinkers. They're usually easy to spot as they wear power colours and designer clothes. They walk fast, talk fast and don't do chit chat. They're not interested in talking about their families; instead they're money motivated and focused on ROI. ‘Red' color personality types are driven by success and control. They're energetic, action taking, high powered performers. When you're interacting with them talk about the challenge of the success and get straight to the point. This is a color personality type with limited time or patience. Note too, that you can't close them. They'll make up their own minds.

So talk the language they understand.

Now I want to hear from you…

What methods do you use when it comes to selling in person or over the phone? Do you use a method such as color personality types to help you establish how to speak to your prospects? And, have you ever walked away from a sale? Share your stories and tell me all about it in the comments below.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

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June 27, 2013

Don’t lose out! Seven core habits to create wealth in business

By JaneFrankland | Established business, Mindset, New business | No Comments

How to create wealth longterm

Last week I wrote about how to create wealth, attract money and be a money magnet. I referenced money affirmations and mindset mainly. This week's post is more practical. It's more strategic too. I'm getting specific and as a result you'll be getting the 7 core habits I've been using forever-and-a-day to grow large, profitable businesses, including my own!

You lucky, lucky things! 😉

My 7-core habit create wealth formula

Habit #1. Learn about money and success from wealthy people. Yes it's really quite simple. Go and make friends with the bling-bling crowd. Hang out with them. Watch how they operate. Listen to the way they deal with things.

If you've not read Rich Dad Poor Dad give it a skim. It illustrates the point I'm making well. You see, the truth of the matter is this – most of us learn about money from our parents. No one teaches us about money and success in school and it's a big failing in my opinion.

So, consider who you've been taking money advice from. Is it from your friends and family who've struggled to make ends meet, or is it from successful mentors who've proven they know how to make and maintain money and wealth?

Now I've hung out with a lot of wealthy people over the years and I can tell you this – wealthy people regularly take advice from people who've more money than they have. They employ the smartest accountants who make their money work for them i.e. they make it go further. They also continue learning about money and about investing all the time.

So take time to learn from those who know. Let their knowledge rub off on you.

Habit #2. Take good care of your money and become a good money manager. I used to dread logging into my bank account online or going to the ATM and requesting a balance. I used to have to psych myself up each time. No joke! It's ridiculous I know, but it's true. However, it dawned on me slowly. How could I hope to get more money if I couldn't deal with these basics? So if this is resonating with you, do as I did: start to treat your money like it's of real value. Doh! And, the easiest way to do this is to imagine it is!

Watch your bank account too. Look at the interest you're being charged and manage your cashflow daily. You need to have your eye on your P&L (profit and loss) and review it regularly. Management accounting is about as sexy as selling. Sorry. It's a pretty dry subject but it's so important.

So, you need to know exactly how much money you've got coming in (both for your business and for your personal accounts) and how much money is going out. You don't need to be a whizz at maths to do this either. You can do this with a simple spreadsheet but if you've got accounting software then that's even better. Look at your cashflow, sales order book and invoicing DAILY. It will focus your mind! Cash is always king.

Story time…

I learnt the “cash is king' lesson the hard way when my first 7-figure business nearly failed. Picture the scene. I'd just had my third child (the other two were 10 years and 19 months) and the business was set to storm the year. My business partner and I had adopted an even more intense ‘all or nothing' growth attitude. We'd decided at the start of the year to stop playing it safe and to take some measured risks so we could grow. For example, risk #1 was investing in one of our industry's largest shows as an exhibitor. Risk #2 was taking on a very expensive consultant in preparation for a contract that we'd just been given a verbal order on. Risk #3 was signing off on larger office premises. Now we had a strong order book at the time, but when several of our clients went into receivership out of the blue, owing us money, it nearly wiped out our business. Having a strong order book was about as useful as a chocolate fire guard. The bank wasn't able to extend any credit or able to increase our overdraft. Unless we could find a way to pay our suppliers, we were out of business too. However, we fought hard to hang on to the business, and thankfully we managed to turn it around. The lesson was learnt!

Video break

Ok back to the habits….

I'm going to bring up debts whilst we're on the subject of money management. Make sure to pay your debts on time but also use debt to grow your business. What do I mean when I say this? Well, as an entrepreneur you're going to have to use debt occasionally to grow your business. I call this ‘good debt' as it leads to you making more money. It's an investment. It delivers a return (ROI) and it generates cash! Examples of good debt include investing in a course, some coaching, equipment and so on. It may be through a credit card, a lease or hire purchase. Bad debt on the other hand is when you put things on credit cards and it doesn't generate you any money. I'd use a company car as an example.

One of the best books I've read on money management and how to create wealth is The Richest Man in Babylon.The book dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. It teaches you through the characters in the parables who learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. Interestingly, it was first produced as a series of separate informational pamphlets and was distributed by banks and insurance companies.^.It's a classic and an enjoyable quick read.

Habit #3. Look for opportunities and avoid being comfortable at all times. As an entrepreneur you've got to do things that others won't do. You've got to think, be, and act differently. And if you're after success you need to see opportunities where other people just see risk. I'm going to use companies that started in recessions as examples – Disney, IBM, Apple, Microsoft, General Motors, General Electric, Burger King, FedEx, Revlon, CNN, and in the UK, our very own M&S!

Habit #4. Play to win and make sure you're playing to win BIG. Decide now. How much money do you want to make? This is the time when you really can pluck a number from the air. However, once you've done this you need to plan for it and test it out. This means you've got to work out intelligently and strategically how you're going to achieve it. NEVER settle for an ambiguous amount without doing this. Otherwise that would be plain dumb!

Habit #5. Get used to being uncomfortable and decide if you're playing to win or loose. Avoid thinking and using the word ‘comfortable' at all times. Being comfortable will keep you stuck in survival mode. In order to get out of your current money zone you've got to get out of your comfort zone. Your business is only ever going to grow as much as you do and you're only growing when you're uncomfortable. Ironically when you're used to discomfort you're going to end up with wealth and success that makes you very comfortable.

[box]”Small thinking and small actions lead to small bank accounts. Big thinking and big actions lead to big money” – Jane Frankland TWEET THIS[/box]

Habit #6. Learn to love receiving. This can be so hard for many of you I know. It was for me, until fairly recently. I cured it by becoming aware of it and learning to respond in a different manner. For example, whenever someone used to say that they liked my outfit I'd be quite embarrassed and say something like, “oh this? I've had it ages.” Now, I just smile and thank them. It's a win-win for both of us. When you don't accept a gift you're actually denying someone else the joy of giving. So if you're guilty of doing this, work on it as soon as you can.

Getting this sorted can go a long way to sorting out those “I'm not charging enough” or “Am I worth it” money issues I blogged about the other week. It enables you to feel comfortable charging appropriately for your products and services. Make sure to always charge well for your services and don't apologise for your rates or success. Get paid on time or ahead of time. Become good at asking for and receiving payment because you're worth it.

Habit #7. Enjoy giving.This is often referred to as ‘playing it forward' and I love it. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to do it and it's one of the reasons so many entrepreneurs are in business. You want to give to the charities and causes you believe in as you've a social conscience. So donate or give a percentage to charity and remember to leave a tip after a meal or for the maid if you've stayed at a hotel.

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me which of these tips will you use? What tips do you use to create wealth and manage your money. Please share them here.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

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June 22, 2013

The secret to creating wealth and how to be a money magnet

By JaneFrankland | Mindset | No Comments

Creating wealth: show me the money!

Creating wealth and attracting the money. Yes or No? Well, here's the thing. No matter how hard you try to deny it, money has a very important place in the world. Comments like ‘money won't make you happy,' ‘money is the route of all evil', bla bla bla are a load of toss! We all need money. It makes life easier, more comfortable and you can do great things with it.

Buying great shoes is one of the first things that comes to mind. Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo….ahhhh 😉

No seriously…

You're a socially conscious entrepreneur, who's driven to make a difference in the world, so with money you can give back to the causes you believe in and help others.

Now when it comes to money, I tend to think of it a bit like WD-40, the lubricant. Yes I can be a geeza gal at times. It's hard to believe I know, especially when I get on to the subject of shoes! Anyway, money makes life a lot smoother!

However, here's the NOTE TO SELF.

How you think and feel about money and success is actually more important than how you achieve the two. The reason I say this is because I can teach you all the tips and tricks in the world on how to make money; how to grow your business using business development tips and strategies. However, if you don't adjust your mindset so that you're thinking and feeling the success and wealth that you're trying to achieve, then you're on a fast train to nowhere. This is why I always teach my students in my coaching programmes to expect success and to plan for it.

I know what I'm saying is resonating with you as so many of you have approached me about it recently. Questions like ‘How do I know what to charge,' ‘Am I charging too low' and then seeing you at seminar after seminar and webinar after webinar are classic tell-tell signs. You also join everyone's programmes and you're not moving forward. Yes?

Now the reason I'm banging on about this is because I've gone through this process myself. So I'll cut you some slack here as I'm no smarty pants. Granted it could be on account of a block or procrastination, which is ok. I wrote recently about procrastination – increase productivity vs life gets in the way and other excuses, which is relevant for creating wealth. I talked about how it could actually be quite a positive thing if identified and acted upon. However, chances are this is not the case. Rather it's because you need to fix your mindset. You need to get your money story right.

In my experience there are several ways to solve this. You can either do money mantras and money affirmations or you can simply step into your true identity. The choice is yours. Both will work as it all boils down to what you believe, but one will actually work faster.

So let's start off with the fastest route. Speed is good!

Stepping in to your true identity

Ready for the tough love? Ok. You alone are responsible for your own financial success and no one else. If you blame other people for your financial circumstances you'll be stuck where you are forever. You are where you are because of you!

Now, the good news is that you've got everything within you to change things right now. You just have to be willing to do this. All you need to do is to step into this identity. Think of it a bit like putting on clothes. You just pick what you want to wear, pop it on and off you go. You've now got complete permission and the power to do this.

You create this.

It's really that simple. You decide what you want and then you just go out and get it.

When I built my first 7-figure multi-million dollar business I did just this. I didn't just sit and do mantras, or create a vision board. I just got got off my ass and stepped into gear! I set goals and targets and then worked hard to achieve them. I knew I could do it. I had determination.

Babies who are learning to walk do the same thing. They don't do vision boards or mantras. They just get up, fall down and keep on trying until they do it. They too are determined.

So…

[box]”If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.” TWEET THIS[/box]

Money mantras and money affirmations

If you're not convinced then that's ok. As I said, money affirmations and money mantras can work and just like the method above using positive money affirmations it's pretty simple.

It takes 40 days to impress upon the subconscious ‘reacting' mind all that you desire and dream. It then becomes automatic behaviour in the conscious ‘acting' mind. Affirmations and mantras are just like doing any other form of repetitive exercise to change behaviour.

Here's the technique I use.

Have the money affirmations on your smart phone or iPhone. I do 5 and I go through them 10 times in one go. I then do them another 3 times at different points during the day. Often it's when I'm on the school run but it's up to you where you do them. The ideal place is somewhere you won't be distracted i.e. a quiet room in your house or when you're out walking, cycling etc. I live in the countryside so the roads are very quiet.

5 money affirmations

I always have more than enough money to meet my needs.
I attract money effortlessly and continually.
Money is good and keeps me safe.
I am open to receive the abundance of the universe.
I am worthy of living an abundant life.

Go through the money affirmations and say them out loud and slowly. Feel the money affirmations in your body as you're saying each one and if possible meditate on the money affirmation. As you're saying them imagine yourself for a moment enjoying the freedom to be and have whatever you wish. Feel the power of being able to choose anything you want and allow yourself to dream. Know that this can be your life. Now if you want to use the money affirmations correctly you have to get into that state where you feel like you can do anything.

If you get side-tracked or miss a day, then you'll have to go back to day 1 and start the money affirmations all over again.

A word of warming. Repeating the money affirmations 40 times daily for 40 days is not going to get you all the money you desire. It's not a spell or some mumbo jumbo woo-woo magic potion! The secret to attracting money using affirmations is about tapping into the emotional essence of success and abundance. To do this you need to be able to communicate with your inner emotional self.

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me how you're creating wealth. Do money affirmations and mantras work for you? Or, do you just get on with things ? Share your wisdom here and let's help one another.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

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