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SALES PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSIGHTS FROM AMY FRANKO
The Woodard Report Podcast: Why Don’t Accountants Love Selling
Why don't accountants love selling? The Woodard Report™️ Podcast is a weekly conversation that's all about empowering business advisors to advance their practices and have a transformative impact on their clients. I joined host Heather Satterley to share business development tips so accountants can effectively attract and retain clients, ensuring the growth and sustainability of their firms. Some highlights: Accounting Added to STEM: Accounting has been recently added as a STEM discipline, emphasizing its evolving relationship with technology. (03:30-04:00) Selling Skills for Accountants: The need for accounting professionals to develop selling skills and step out of their comfort zones to be successful. (06:00-06:50) Five Critical Selling Skills: Five capabilities for effective selling: being an ambassador, agile, and entrepreneurial are highlighted. (07:00-08:20) Mindset Shift in Sales: The importance...
Closing the Sale: Sales Closing Strategies That Work
Developing your skills with sales closing keeps opportunities from getting stuck in your sales pipeline, and it maximizes your sales results. Read this article for 9 sales closing strategies to incorporate throughout your sales process. ******* Sales closing is one of the most critical sales skills to master. We tend to build it up in our minds as extremely complex, intimidating, and even as something to avoid. Or we take the view that sales closing strategies need to be aggressive to be effective. I’ve also seen situations where we treat closing as a linear action; where it’s not built into the overall strategy. For example, it only becomes part of the conversation after a big presentation has taken place. 9 Strategies to Incorporate Sales Closing Throughout Your Sales Process Did you know that the average sales close rate is 29%? (HubSpot, 2024) Incorporating your sales strategies with closing keeps...
Video: The Smart Sales Closing Technique You’ve Been Overlooking
Are your win rates not meeting your expectations? If so, it's time to rethink your approach to smart sales closing techniques. While it's common to focus solely on the end of the sales process, the real key to success lies at the beginning. In this video I explore the significance of refining your sales closing technique from the outset. Rather than waiting until the end to seal the deal, concentrate on creating the right opportunities, qualifying leads effectively, and having impactful conversations right from the start. Key Points: Create the right opportunities: Target the right prospects and identify opportunities within your current client base. Qualify leads effectively: Pursue high-quality opportunities that align with your business goals. Have impactful conversations: Engage with individuals who have the influence and decision-making capacity to buy your products. By mastering your sales closing...
Video: Who is Your Competition
A question to think about: who is your competition... really? Is it just the firms you're used to running into, or is it something more? Consider these three different types of competition. 1. Marketplace Competition: The first type of competition is what we're most familiar with—marketplace competition. These are the organizations we encounter daily. They are the players we're used to competing against for market share, customers, and contracts. 2. Left-field Competition: The second type of competition is what we might call "left-field competition." These are the unexpected competitors, the organizations we don't run into as often. This could include startups that have emerged in recent years and are now taking a share of the market. It might even include companies from entirely different industries that are venturing into our arena and causing disruption. 3. Internal Competition: This isn't about...
135x: The Final Four and Hidden Lessons on Sales Growth Strategy
There are a lot of lessons on sales growth strategy from the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Quality, deal structure, understanding buying patterns, and consistency are key. **** I became a fan of women’s college basketball when the Final Four came to Columbus in 2018. These games made history even then. 7.62 million television viewers. Three sold-out games. Two overtime wins. And a championship game that came down the wire (Notre Dame beat Mississippi State by a three-point margin.) Fast forward to 2024. This time, Cleveland played a fantastic host to an even greater event. Ticket prices were triple that of 2018, into the thousands of dollars. 18.9 million viewers (only 14.8 million for the men’s tourney). Sold out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Big names, including superstar Caitlin Clark. The most watched and most successful Women’s Final Four of all time. After the tournament ended and the nets were...
Video: Sales Strategy: Mastering the Language of Money in Sales
One of the most powerful tools you possess as a sales pro, especially when delving into budget and financial conversations with prospects and clients, is the language you use. The right language is a sales strategy that can be the difference between an opportunity stagnating in the sales pipeline and it moving smoothly towards a win. Here are three key areas where paying attention to your language around finances can significantly enhance your sales strategy: Put Yourself in Your Buyer's Shoes: Take a moment to consider what goes through your mind when you're the one making a buying decision. By understanding your own buying behavior, you gain valuable insight that can be applied to your sales conversations. Mind Your Words: The words you choose matter. Terms like cost, fee, price, value, return, and investment all carry different connotations. While each has its place, being mindful of when and...
Uplevel Your Sales Training Programs to Include this Skill
Top Sales Questions You Can Encounter During the Sales Process During a recent meeting with a prospective client to review options in a sales training proposal, the discussion turned to the possible next steps in working together. Towards the end of the meeting, one of the leaders asked a thoughtful and strategic question: “What sales objections do you think we might hear in the firm and how should we address them?” This one of the best questions you can encounter during the sales process. It shows the client actively thinking how we can work together to bring our sales training solution to their firm. It shows collaboration and a forward-thinking mindset. That leader wants to make sure they have what they need should they encounter concerns in other business segments. What’s Really Behind that Client Sales Objection? There are typically a few key mindsets behind a client’s objection and any sales...
How Sales Training Can Help You Ignite More Sales
Right now your competition is sales training. Are you? Consider these 2024 sales training trends from Qwilr: Companies that prioritize training are 57% more effective than their competitors. Sales training is a critical differentiator, with 70% of salespeople lacking formal training. 47% of AEs have left a sales job due to a lack of training or a poor onboarding experience. Continuous training leads to a 50% increase in net sales per employee, highlighting the direct link between ongoing learning and sales outcomes. Sales training will be integral for successful sales organizations as we move forward. Here are five reasons why. 5 Reasons Why You Need Sales Training 1. Skill Development Needs to Be On-Going Businesses with successful sales teams make sure sales training isn’t “one and done.” It must be a continual part of your sales growth plan, just like your sales strategy is. When your organization...
Video: Non-profit Board Service as a Sales Growth Strategy
There's a hidden sales growth strategy many leaders overlook: non-profit board service . It's a sales strategy I urge leaders to seriously consider integrating into their growth plans. Why? Because it's a powerful way to not only benefit your community and team members, but also fuel your organization's growth. When your team members serve on non-profit boards, they're not just doing community work; they're also showcasing your organization. They become your brand ambassadors out there in the community. Plus, they're honing vital skills like business savvy and leadership, which only makes them more valuable assets to your organization. One of the best things about non-profit board service is how it expands networks. By rubbing shoulders with other community leaders, your team members open doors to new opportunities. And you never know—these connections might just lead to growth opportunities for...
Rev Up Your Sales with This Sales Conversation Makeover
You can elevate your sales strategy with impactful sales conversations. This article shares a proven 5-point framework to include in sales training for mastering sales conversations. ******* When it comes down to it, sales is a conversation. In this article, I will share a framework that will help you rethink your sales conversations as part of your sales training. I consider sales conversations as earning time with our high-impact relationships. What are High-Impact Relationships? First, let’s review what high-impact relationships are. There are four major relationship types that it pays dividends to nurture in modern selling: Decision Makers - those who holds the budget authority for the type of work that you are looking to do with your clients, the types of problems that you're helping them to solve. Centers of Influence - a person that’s well-connected and really understands the value of what it means...
Our Strategic Selling signature sales training program is now available online. This online sales learning program is ideal for professional services and B2B sales. Get started with 2 free lessons.
