Raintoday's Sales Tips & Techniques Podcast

Telling customers you do something better than your competitor will only fall on deaf ears. They don't want to hear it. What they do want to hear is how you can make life better for them, says Ron Karr, author of Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way. And that means creating new alternatives that are going to produce better results for your customers.

When you ask about how to get referrals, most people say all it takes is good work and a willingness to ask. But that's not enough. Your client is doing more than giving you a name and number. They're putting their reputation on the line, and they need to feel comfortable with you before they give you any information about a potential client. You cannot put them on the spot, and expect them to come up with a high-quality prospect for you, says Paul McCord, a leading authority on lead generation.

Over the past few years a perfect storm of customer service has formed. Customers are given self-service features that frustrate them, they are demanding value in ways they've never done before, and they have incredible reach and power via social media. Buyers are "wired and dangerous," and professional services firms need to keep them satisfied. Listen as Chip Bell and John Patterson, authors of the new book Wired and Dangerous, discuss how B2B customers have changed and how firms should handle this "perfect storm."

When it comes to marketing, most service professionals shy away from it unclear how to create a system. But without a clear marketing strategy and system, you limit your firm's growth. Flitting from one marketing tactic to the next simply won't work. You need a strategy that gets buyers to "know, like, and trust" you and to then "try, buy, repeat, and refer" your services. Listen as John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine, discusses how to get started creating a marketing strategy and system that drives sales and produces long-lasting results.

Many companies are struggling to get their messages heard and to grow, and that's because they're using outdated marketing techniques. Instead of promoting their services, they need to build a following. And you do that through content marketing says, Michael Stelzner, author of the new book Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. Listen as Stelzner explains how content marketing benefits businesses and his formula for rapid growth.

Anyone can become an executive at their firm, but to be a true leader—one that motivates and inspires staff—you need more. You need executive presence, says Sally Williamson, author of the forthcoming book The Hidden Factor: Executive Presence … How to Find It, Keep It and Leverage It. Listen as Williamson explains what executive presence is and how it contributes to one's personal success, as well as a business's success.

When firms are equally competent in the services they provide, two things compel a buyer to choose one firm over another: comfort and passion. When someone feels comfortable with you and sees you are passionate about what you do, they will want to work with you. Listen as Harry Beckwith, author of Selling the Invisible and Unthinking: The Surprising Forces Behind What We Buy, discusses how firms can use those forces to increase sales.

Don't make the mistake of thinking all buyers are the same. Each has their own buying preferences. But if you take the time to understand their persona and adjust your sales process so that they're comfortable, they'll be more inclined to buy from you, says Mike Schultz, co-author of Rainmaking Conversations.

Look at a company that's struggling to make sales, and chances are three things are holding it back. One of those things is selfishness. Focus less on what you can get from buyers and more on what you can do for them, and success is inevitable, says sales trainer Dan Waldschmidt.

Oren Klaff, author of Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal, explains the six rules for communicating with buyers' crocodile brains, how to take control of sales meetings, and how to attract buyers to you.

Chasing after prospects is hard work, not to mention miserable as you try to get through their gatekeepers. But when you produce podcasts, interviewing people in your target market, something changes—prospects come to you.  Listen as Todd Schnick, founder of The Intrepid Group, discusses how businesses of any size can—and should—use podcasts to develop new business.

You might have all the skills needed to develop new business for your firm—excellent conversational skills, fantastic follow-up strategies, and the right way to do proposals–but unless you apply those skills your pipeline will remain dry. Applying those skills is just one thing rainmakers do that set them apart. Listen as John Doerr, co-author of Rainmaking Conversations, explains what you must do to be a top rainmaker.

Many service professionals have an abundance of value to offer, yet often their conversations with buyers prevent them from ever achieving great success. Listen as Mike Schultz, co-author of Rainmaking Conversations, discusses how to conduct sales conversations so you get more wins and the biggest deals.

With more than 100 million users, LinkedIn is becoming a larger force in marketing B2B services. But using this social network means more than simply putting up your resume or a list of your services and hoping people find you and call you up. Listen as Kristina Jaramillo, founder of GetLinkedInHelp.com, explains what you need to do if you want to get new clients via LinkedIn.

Selling professional services can be tricky. Services are purchased based on emotion and how well a prospect likes and trusts you. Plus, prospects don't always have an immediate need for your services. You need to do something over time that keeps you top of mind AND develops trust and likeability, which means ditching any semblance of a sales pitch. Learn from Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid, what to do so that prospects turn to you in their time of need.

When dealing with client objections, there are many dos and don'ts for how to respond. But the biggest mistake that can block a sale is not addressing the objection. The worst thing you could do is leave it on the table and not respond. Listen as Mike Schultz, President of RAIN Group and author of Turning No into Yes:  How to Handle the Most Common Client Objections, discusses the importance of unearthing all objections, outlines the five steps for overcoming objections, and gives examples for how to respond to common objections.

If you're a marketer, has your CEO asked you what you're going to do about revenue? If not, get ready for it. Thanks to changing buyer behavior and the new economic climate, CEOs are taking a harder look at marketing's involvement in generating revenue. Traditional marketing is giving way to revenue marketing where marketers play a larger role in bringing in new business—and are able to clearly state how they did so, says Debbie Qaqish, author of the upcoming book The Rise of the Revenue Marketer.

Marketing automation tools are becoming increasingly important to today's lead generation efforts, but firms cannot abandon the human element of working with prospects. It's that human touch that shows prospects you care about them and leads to greater sales success, says Dan McDade, author of the book The Truth About Leads.

Paul Gillin, co-author of Social Marketing to the Business Customer, discusses why content publishing is the key to business success and how firms are benefitting from this approach.

Don't count email out as a marketing tool. In fact, lead generation expert Kendra Lee says email is now the number one tool for prospecting, surpassing cold calling. But email is effective only if it's written with your prospect in mind. Listen as Lee discusses what should go into the body of an email, gives tips for effective email subject lines, and explains how to best manage an email lead nurturing campaign.