Tuesday, June 24, 2014

June Update - Rahm, Rooftops, Solar Roadways, & Sales!

Good Evening, Happy Tuesday!


As I was told, parenting has brought on an array of emotions; some being polar opposites...the greatest joy to the most crippling exhaustion.  Sprinkled among the semi-controlled chaos are other funny opposites, such as our sweet little Marleigh next to...Rahm Emanuel.  He was actually the nicer one while she gave him the stiff-arm!  

At ten months she's turning into a toddler before our eyes - it's wild!  Tip of the hat to all the parents out there and happy belated Fathers Day.  
 

I am fortunate to be out every day with an eclectic group of people and businesses.  This monthly digest reflects the things I've discovered lately - new sales ideas, music, Chicagoland happenings, and other things that get me in the groove.

I hope these snippets are of interest to you or someone you know, and offer a quick breather from the driving force of everyday life.  I always appreciate your recommendations, thoughts, and ideas  - as well as taking time out to enjoy it.


Featured Business

Based out of 1871, MortgageHippo is a new species of mortgage company. They are not a lender or a bank.  But they could become the future of mortgages and the answer to everything that’s been wrong with them for far too long.  They are the first and only online home buying tool built with the consumer's best interest at its core. The sole purpose is to protect home-buyers and help them get the perfect mortgage.

Sales Best Practices

As I learned from my Brian Tracy (tapes), "Selling isn't telling. Selling is asking questions."  Certain questions are good for taking the temperature of the situation, aka 'trial closes'.  Here is a question-filled article that discusses a few that help the process along and make sure you and your potential new customer are on the same page.  

Two Sales Emails that Warm-Up Cold-Calling.  Thanks to Kevin @ Hireology for the guest post! Check out his great blog too,Sales for Start-Ups.  

What I'm Up To

I enjoyed opportunities to guest blog this past month.  First for Robert Terson's Selling Fearlessly blog ("How NOT to Blow a Meeting in the First 3 Minutes") and also for SAVO Group ("Five Sales Onboarding Tips to Lower Turnover").  As I continue to pursue my writing, I'd love to hear from you on any sales challenges, questions, trends, or thoughts to discuss in a future blog post.  Thanks for your ideas! 

Random Joy


The internet was abuzz recently about the development of 'solar roadways'.  Pretty amazing stuff and applicable on so many levels (and surfaces).  While their vision is a noble one and worth watching in this video, I'm sure they'll have plenty of naysayers blocking their futuristic path.  

I appropriately found this post to be very interesting, as it shares tactics on how to be so.  It made me take a personal inventory of my interesting-ness (such as...can I tell three really good stories?).   It also led me to this great article on karma (& a sales lesson). 

Chicagoland

A few weeks ago I enjoyed the views from the Rooftop at the Wit.  It reminded me that enjoying rooftop decks is something I have slacked on from a Chicago experience perspective.  If the same goes for you, here is an updated list of the best rooftops to check out.  Next on my list - Drumbar!

I'm sure you could share a story or two about random things you've seen while riding the El.  The Greenhouse Theatre (2257 N Lincoln) is running the third season of "El Stories", which reenacts true stories of those memorable and hilarious moments.  Go check it out through Aug 30th.  

Music

Here is one of the most interesting takes of the classic song "Hallelujah" I have ever heard (at minute 2:40 the performer absolutely blows my mind).  For a more traditional version, I also enjoy this take by Rufus Wainwright.

St Paul & The Broken Bones - everyone I have shared this band with has loved them.  Click, Listen, & Enjoy!

Bonus Musical Post (30 seconds) - I can't wait to turn Marleigh into a human beat box machine - Ha!  So cool.  

Quotes

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death. - Harold Wilson (1916 - 1995)  

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis. - Margaret Bonnano

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. - Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. - Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

I hope you enjoyed the newsletter and found something of value for yourself or someone you know.  Again, I appreciate your recommendations, thoughts, and introductions that so many of you have shared with me.   


Tony Lenhart | tony@salesempowermentgroup.com | 773.991.4236

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Two Sales Emails that WARM-Up COLD-Calling


Thanks to Kevin Baumgart for guest-blogging this week! 


Decision makers are busy. They don’t typically answer their phones or return their calls. So, how do you get in touch with them? They receive hundreds of calls and emails every day. They have all received emails from salespeople reviewing how great their product or services are and they have gotten really good at deleting them as fast as possible.

Here are two email templates that are helping organizations get responses and land meetings. 

1.  Bryan Kreuzberger, creator of Breakthrough Email built the below template that has helped him land meetings with decision makers at a number of Fortune 500 companies:

The below is a sample template that helped him land a deal with McDonalds.  This was sent to four people in separate emails.
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Subject: Appropriate person
I am writing in hopes of finding the appropriate person who handles multicultural media? I also wrote to Person x, Person Y and Person Z in that pursuit. If it makes sense to talk, let me know how your calendar looks.
VoodooVox helps increase the revenues of Fortune 500 companies by marketing to Hispanics. Each month we reach 25 million Spanish speakers with an audio message they must hear. We insert 30 second audio and SMS advertisements into phone calls made on calling cards. The benefit to users is they make their call free. The benefit for our clients is they can increase store revenue by providing text message coupons. Typical redemption is 3%. You can measure results online and with store sales. Advertisements can target specific ethnic groups and geographies. Some clients include Burger King, P&G and Chili’s.
If you are the appropriate person to speak with, what does your calendar look like? If not whom do you recommend I talk to?
Thanks,
Signature
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The key of this approach is to send the exact same email to four people in the organization (only the names will change in the first paragraph.)  For example, if I were selling to the Director of Media,
I would write the VP of Media (boss), the Chief Marketing Officer (boss’s boss) and the VP of Marketing (lateral role to the boss).
What Bryan has found is that he doesn't get a response from the person he is trying to meet, however that persons boss does often responds.

2. Aaron Ross, Author of Predictable Revenue has created a very simple email process he calls CC2.0.

This process revolves around sending a targeted email to the decision maker for your product or service, asking them who is in charge of that function (even though you probably already know the answer to it.)  Here is an example of a CC2.0 email:
---------------------------
Subject: Aaron, Quick Question

Hello Aaron,
Sorry to trouble you, but can you please let me know who handles (something that is relevant to your product or service) at ABC Company?

Thank you,
Kevin
-----------------------------
What we have found is that if you ask someone about a responsibility that falls within his or her job description they usually want to take credit for it and will reply.  Here are some typical responses:
  • “That’s my responsibility, why do you ask”
  • “I do”
  • “X person does”
Aaron’s research shows that open rates are much higher than typical sales focused emails.
The real benefit of this approach is the cold call now turns into a warmer call.  The phone call is now, “Hi Aaron, I just got your email, sorry I should have put more context into my original email.  We are helping…..”

Also, Hubspot published a slideshare presentation that has some great takeaways on best practice email templates; worth the three minutes to review:

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Kevin Baumgart is VP of Sales at Hireology.  Check out his excellent blog too, Sales for Start-Ups.