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In the Arena

Author: Anthony Iannarino

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If you want to learn the most current and powerful sales techniques and mindsets from the top professionals in the business, In The Arena is the place to find them. Host Anthony Iannarino is himself a successful and consummate sales professional with the know-how and experience to coach you on your way. But more than that he interviews the top authors, salesmen, sales managers, and experts in the fields of B2B and B2C sales to give you the edge you need to move your numbers and profit to the next level. In the Arena is for you. Find out more at http://thesalesblog.com
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Anthony:  All right. So here we are, in the arena, different kind of in the arena, now not interviewing a guest but being interviewed by Beth, who's going to ask me some questions that we get frequently about Eat Their Lunch and Level Four Value Creation and my general approach to sales, which is different and does cause people to question what I'm saying and what we think they should be doing. So, let's go ahead and get started talking about some of the questions and how we can help people think about this so that they can sell in a what I would call, the 21st century way of selling. It's a new time and the evolution of sales means that things just keep getting trickier, so you got to keep pace here. Beth:  Yeah, it's really true. We get a lot of questions. The one I think you get a lot is about your approach you recommended at Eat Their Lunch. We talk a lot about the creating value and the four levels, so maybe the best place to start just everyone has context is what are the four levels of value and really why should people even care about this idea?Win customers away from your competition. Check out Eat Their Lunch Anthony: Well, they should care because I wrote it in a book but, no, the thing about the four levels that was interesting to me as I was trying to find some way to explain to people how you approach sales tends to fall into one of four categories. And some people who over index on results, they just produce better results, they tend to start from one side of the conversation and somebody else starts from the other side. So the four levels generally fall into categories like this. Level one means, I'm an account on my company's history and my product. That's what's going to do the selling for me. I'm not the value proposition, I'm not the value creator, you've got to trust that my good company that's been around for all these years is what's going to create value for you and our products and services are going to create value for you and look at this proof. Anthony: I can even show you logos and big companies just like yours. And level one ultimately means you're going to be perceived as a commodity because of it's just the product and there's nothing more to it. Then I'm going to look for price because there's nothing else to look at and evaluate. Level two means you have a good experience, which means great support, great service. You sold me your product and you also gave me a whole bunch of problems when I have that and I need somebody to help me with that, and I may even have a contract to have certain support, and it's a level up from level one. So you're at level two, but level two includes level one. So you can't be like, "We're really good at support but our product's still terrible and it won't work for you." You need both of those together to get to level two. Anthony: Level three is where we've been commoditized for, I'm going to say probably 30 years. So I can create a tangible result for you and my competitors can. And I have an ROI calculator and you have an ROI calculator and we both can turn it into a spreadsheet. And what I would call level three now is reactives. You tell me you have a problem, I'll solve it for you. That's different. It's not like level four at all because you're assuming that I can go in and say, "What's keeping you up at night?" And get your dissatisfaction and solve that for you. But everybody does that. So now that level of value, even though it's the third highest level of value that we can see right now, is still commoditized. So it's still not enough for you to be differentiated. Not Easily anyway. Anthony: Level four is strategic and it means that you're going to enter into a conversation about what's the strategic outcome. And I love this quote from Theodore Levitt from Harvard Business School. He was a marketing professor there and he said, "People don't buy drills, they buy holes. And if we could have the hole without having to buy your drill,
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:06 — 47.4MB) Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | RSS There's a reason that Anthony and Mike have been friends for almost a decade, co-founded the OutBound Conference together, and have written the foreward for 3 of each other's 6 books. They share a passion for helping salespeople learn the truths about selling, even when those truths may be unpopular or require more work. On this episode of In the Arena, Anthony and Mike debunk myths and present truth in the areas of social selling, sales motivation, prospecting, and time management, and discuss how the principles in Mike's latest book, #SalesTruth, can help you win more new sales. What compelled Mike Weinberg to write his new book, #SalesTruth, was that what he was reading online about how to succeed in sales did not align with what he saw in real companies across the globe. Hear more on this episode of In the Arena.Click To Tweet Kylie Jenner Didn't Cold Call Her Way to a Billion Dollars in Net Worth The chief sales officer of a well known social selling firm took a selfie, standing in front of a Forbes magazine with Kyle Jenner on the front cover, and declared that social selling leads to real sales. These are the kind of myths that are being sold to weaker, more gullible salespeople looking for a quick fix. It's easy to believe that you can get deals without having to pick up the phone, but it's just not the truth. Drawing from his many years' of experience in B2B sales, Mike talks to Anthony about what salespeople can do to connect with their dream clients beginning with the first sales call. In this conversation, Mike recalls the sales fundamentals that have proven to be successful whether he was selling envelopes and prints or plastic parts. Be sure to listen to see if your sales strategy includes any of his powerful principles. Prospecting is Not Optional Top salespeople are always prospecting, but Anthony and Mike discuss how some salespeople are under the impression that they don't have to prospect. They think they can leave the work of prospecting and qualifying to account managers, but the job of a sales executive is to sell, and you cannot sell without prospecting. The truth is, when your funnel is full, you sell smarter. Mike tells about how he trains his sales teams to reach out to dream clients before they are zero percent through the buying process. He suggests practical ways to make sure you are constantly adding to your funnel, and how you can avoid the distractions to which many salespeople fall prey. This conversation is full of practical questions you can ask yourself to make sure you are being productive when it comes to prospecting. Be sure you listen and take notes. 'The only thing that will inoculate you from a bad outcome is a pipeline.' Anthony talks with Mike Weinberg about his new book, #SalesTruth on this episode of In the Arena. Listen now!Click To Tweet Ignore Your Hot Deals Many times, salespeople can be so anxious to close deals, they default to service work, but in Mike's book, #SalesTruth, he flips that idea on it's head. His advice? Ignore your hot deals, at least at the beginning of the day. Beginning the work day with the hardest work - opportunity creation, prospecting, cold-targeting - frees up the rest of the day to do the service work that needs to be done, and play with warmer opportunities. Mike believes you should turn the funnel upside down and work on the coldest items at the top of your funnel first. In this conversation, Anthony talks about the importance of spending the first 90 minutes of your day prospecting, and Mike says that the most effective leaders and the most productive salespeople extricate themselves from participating in things that are of low-value. 'You'll never be opportunity starved if your best selling time, early in the morning, is spent trying to create opportunities.
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It’s a bit presumptuous to claim a book is one of the best books on habits that exist. There are lots of great books on the subject out there, including Charles Duhigg's seminal work, “The Power of Habit.” But Anthony is not shy about saying that his guest, James Clear has penned exactly that. James and Anthony share a common story: a debilitating brain injury that forced them to discover a new way of living. For James, his recovery took him to a new understanding of habits and the power of stacking simple, easy habits one on top of the other to create momentum and change. Bear that in mind, these are lessons James learned for himself rather than just information he consumed and regurgitated from the research of others. Maybe it’s not so presumptuous to say James’ work is one of the best books on habits. After all, he’s lived the story that has made it possible. Listen to hear his story, learn about the aggregation of habits, and how he recommends you apply what he’s learned to your own life. .@JamesClear describes the powerful story behind one of the best books on #habits, his own. It’s on this episode of #InTheArena with Anthony @Iannarino. #salesClick To Tweet One Of The Best Books On Habits Was Penned Because of a Tragic Circumstance As is the case with many of the significant things that are created in this world, James Clear’s book, “Atomic Habits” was birthed in the forge of suffering. A freak baseball accident put James in a desperate place, fighting to recover from brain damage. His journey out of that debilitating place led him to the realization that small, simple habits can be stacked one on top of the other to bring about incremental but powerful change. This is not a conversation with a theorist. James knows what he’s talking about - not only because he’s researched the topic, but because he’s lived it. Be sure you listen to hear his incredible story. Why Systems Trump Goals Every Time Anthony is the first to say that goals are important. But with the help of James’ book (and other resources) he’s come to see that they are not the most important thing. As James explains, goals are important because we have to know where we are headed but to focus on the destination to the exclusion of the actions that get us there is folly. James encourages those who are trying to accomplish goals to focus instead on building systems into their lives that naturally lead to the desired outcome or goal. That puts the focus where it rightly belongs - on doing rather than hoping. This conversation clarifies so many things when it comes to building habits - and it flows directly out of James’ book on the subject. Be sure you listen. Listen to learn why #systems trump #goals every time. @JamesClear speaks about the power of #habit on this episode of #InTheArena with Anthony @Iannarino. #salesClick To Tweet Transform Your Life By Casting Votes For Your Identity Every Day Habits are not formed by self-discipline or self-control alone. They have to be birthed from a deeper, more fundamental place. James Clear insists that if you don’t have a sense of identity tied to a habit, it will fall by the wayside sooner rather than later. For example, going to the gym for 5 minutes a day provides the basis for the reality that you are a person who goes to the gym. That’s the first baby step toward being the kind of person who makes use of the gym in productive ways. It’s an identity issue that you can take control of and master. In this conversation, James shares a handful of other examples to help you get your mind around why identity is foundational to establishing good habits. Get Rid of the Cues That Prompt Bad Habits and You Get Rid of the Habits Case in point: If you want to cut back on a habit of stopping into Dairy Queen for a soft-serve cone on your way home from work, you don’t do it through a daily study of the DQ menu so you are clear about what you need to avoid.
Seth Godin’s latest book “This is Marketing” is filled with industry truths that you simply can’t afford to miss hearing. On this episode of In The Arena, Anthony and Seth dig into the book’s brand-new insights and talk about the differences between being market-driven and being driven by marketing. You’ll hear how you can make a bigger difference in the world while changing the lives of those around you, and why truly ethical marketing encompasses layers of empathy and compassion. It’s a stellar episode not to be missed - listen now! The latest book from @ThisIsSethsBlog, #ThisIsMarketing is filled with #marketing and #sales truths that you simply can’t afford to miss. Get an insider’s look into the book on this episode of #InTheArena. @iannarinoClick To Tweet Marketing shouldn’t be about one to MANY, but it can be about one to many Years ago, marketers could succeed if they simply got their message in front of as many people as possible. However, that’s not the case in today's world. Seth explains that “Marketing shouldn’t be about one to MANY, but it can be about one to many.” By pursuing your smallest viable audience and adding value to their lives, you can avoid hiding behind the masses and actually make a difference in your organization and the world. Marketing should be done WITH people, not TO them. Seth exclaims, “Modern marketing is the generous act of helping others become who they seek to become,” and that cannot happen if you’re simply sharing a message with millions of people. “This is Marketing” teaches you to approach marketing as a teacher seeking enrollment In “This is Marketing,” Seth uses the analogy of teachers and students to explain how modern marketers should operate. It’s 100x easier to teach a person if they come to the teacher already interested in the subject. Ethical marketing should be about pursuing new enrollment audiences for your company, not just securing new sales leads. By approaching an interested person as a teaching opportunity and not just a sales statistic, you’ll be able to add value to their life while preserving their dignity. “#Marketing shouldn’t be about one to MANY, but it can be about one to many.” What does @ThisIsSethsBlog mean by this? Find out the answer - and so much more - on this episode of #InTheArena hosted by @iannarino. #marketing #sales #ThisIsMarketingClick To Tweet There’s a difference between being market-driven and being marketing-driven Seth tells Anthony about one of the greatest pieces of advice he had ever received. As a young professional, Seth exclaimed to a mentor that he was “marketing driven.” His mentor thoughtfully explained that unless Seth was driven by departmental deadlines and to-do lists, Seth was actually “market-driven.” When a marketer is market-driven, their main focus becomes answering the question, “How can I serve my audience better?” Seth believes, “Our contributions are the only things we leave behind. And if you focus on leaving a better contribution, you earn trust and attention, which gives you the platform to make more change happen.” His insights are best heard straight from the source, so be sure to give this episode your full attention. Truly great marketing cannot be about differentiation - it must be about positioning Far too many marketers become caught up in the differentiation game - eliminating competition simply because they’re afraid of losing business. However, Seth and Anthony discuss why truly great marketing is actually focused on honest positioning. If a marketer can outline the key differences between their company and the competition, as well as make the decision easier for the buyer by eliminating confusion, they’ve positioned their company well. Then, they can seek out “enrollment” students that are interested in the company’s culture and products. Seth’s book “This is Marketing,” is a must-read for all marketers. Not only will you get the full story behind this interview,
Amy Franko is an author, speaker, and expert in modern selling and sales skills. She’s put her most recent observations and lessons-learned as a sales consultant and trainer into print in her new book, “The Modern Seller.” In this conversation, Amy and I discuss the top 5 skills every modern seller needs to have in their arsenal as well as why sales professionals need to think like an entrepreneur these days - and why it’s not always glamorous. In Amy’s words, modern sales skills must be applied holistically - a concept that surprised me in both its simplicity and its impact. This is a conversation you don’t want to miss - listen now! Learn the top 5 #sales skills of modern #sellers from this conversation with @AmyFranko. Join @Iannarino #InTheArenaClick To Tweet What has changed that requires that we make the delineation of “modern seller?” It should be no secret to sales professionals that prospects and clients have changed the way they want to interact with your business. These days they come to you with all the information they need about your service or product. That means we are no longer educating clients on our products, we’re in a position to serve as a consultant to help them discover how our product can be applied best to their situation. In Amy’s new book she takes a look into what she calls the “skills behind the skills” - the things that enable us to effectively handle the needs of the modern buyer. It’s only with these kinds of modern sales skills that we will be able to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers. Listen to hear it explained as only Amy can explain it. Modern sales skills must be applied in a values-based way We all know what it feels like to be overwhelmed. The amount of correspondence and data I personally deal with on a daily basis is only one example of the type of things that contribute to those feelings. Amy points out that all of us have finite resources of time, energy, motivation, and discipline. As modern sellers, we must recognize that fact and identify where we want to spend those finite resources. It’s not your typical decision - it’s a values-based decision that we’ve got to learn how to make. If we can do it successfully, we’ve just learned the most important sales skill we could ever learn - and our effectiveness at serving customers and providing them with the value of an ongoing consultative relationship will only increase over time. .@AmyFranko says that modern #sales skills must be applied in a values-based way. Learn what she means on this episode of #InTheArena with @IannarinoClick To Tweet The quality of your relationships will dictate the quality of your sales results There’s simply no way we can have even elementary level relationships with the 1500 people we are connected with on LinkedIn. We’ve got to be selective, choosing to invest our time in the relationships that will serve our goals and our customers best. It's knowing how to best use our social capital, which Amy likes to think of this way: Social capital is the collective value people create when they are in a strategic relationship. People who get this understand that the quality of their relationships determines the quality of their sales results. For that reason, they make intentional decisions about the relationships they build and the goals they set for themselves. Amy explains it so much better than this short paragraph can do, so be sure you listen. Sales ambassadors earn the right to be a trusted advisor to their customers One of the concepts Amy introduces in her book - which is similar to my phrase “Combative Diplomat,” but much more elegant - is that modern sellers are ambassadors. The concept is simple and once you get it, it changes the way you view your role in your sales and prospecting process. An ambassador is a bridge - a person who brings things and people together. An ambassador is an owner - a person invested in their company and their results.
Making better decisions - in business and in life - is one of the top goals for many people. On this episode of In The Arena, Anthony interviews author and professor Steven E. Landsburg, a global expert in economics, philosophy, and the science behind rational decision making. Steven and Anthony dig into why people make poor decisions and rationalize them afterward, as well as seek out the answer to why people are irrational in predictable ways. You’ll hear insider information behind the thought experiments in Steven’s latest book, “Can You Outsmart an Economist?” and it’s an episode not to be missed. Listen now! Author @StevenLandsburg & @iannarino dig into why people make poor decisions & rationalize them afterward, as well as seek out the answer to why people are irrational in predictable ways, all on this ep of #InTheArena. Listen now!Click To Tweet Thought experiments such as this one demonstrate how people make rational, or irrational, decisions Steven’s newest book is full of logic puzzles that are sure to entertain and educate. He and Anthony walk through one on this episode. Let’s say you have 2 urns, each filled with black and white balls. The first urn is filled with 70% white and 30% black balls. The second is filled with 30% white and 70% black balls. You pick one of the urns at random, pull out 12 balls, and 4 of them are white while 8 are black. Which urn did you select from? Most people decide that they were 40% likely to pull from the predominately white urn and 60% likely to pull from the predominately black urn. However, the most rational conclusion is that you had a 98% chance of pulling from the predominately black urn. Why? Be sure to listen to this episode for the full explanation. The key to making better decisions lies in understanding our own biases and downfalls Steven has learned through decades of research that most people are irrational, but that they’re irrational in predictable ways. People have a habit of simply “going with their gut” and not evaluating all of the options. Steven encourages people to think smarter about their decisions, and by starting with this question, you can be well on your way to becoming a more rational thinker. Ask yourself, “Do I have any reason to trust my own opinion more than the opinion of someone else, who has been thinking about this problem as hard as I have?” This question can shed valuable light on questions you’re asking about real estate, finances, sales, marketing, and more. If you always suspect that people think differently than you do when it comes to big decisions, you can be better prepared to consider the viewpoints you might have otherwise overlooked. People have a habit of simply “going with their gut” when making decisions & not evaluating all of the options. Learn how to combat this tendency on this ep of #InTheArena featuring author & economist @StevenLandsburg, hosted by @iannarino. Check it out!Click To Tweet The obvious answer to a problem isn’t always the best answer So many people revert to the most obvious answer to a statement. They fall into a trap of going with the first explanation that comes to mind, but Steven and Anthony counter this tendency on this episode. Steven outlines an example scenario, based on systems that allow students to rate their professors on their ability to teach well. Studies have shown that good-looking professors almost always score higher than average-looking professors. Many people would conclude that it’s because students are simply shallow and that they only notice looks. However, Steven offers the idea of good-looking people who choose to be professors are inherently better at teaching than average-looking counterparts. This could be because of the multitude of additional career opportunities for good-looking individuals (acting, modeling, etc.). Thus, great-looking people who choose to teach may be exceptionally interested in the craft of teaching,
On Tuesday, November 6th, I am releasing my third book in three years. If you read this newsletter each week (or even most weeks), you know the book is titled “Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition.” It’s a book about competitive displacement, or put more directly, “stealing your dream clients from your competition.” Eat Their Lunch is a book about living, thriving, and surviving in the red ocean, where there is fierce competition, where clients want to commoditize what you sell, and where you are necessarily a large part of the value proposition (and in many cases, the largest). When someone writes a book, they have something they absolutely must share, some question they must answer, some problem they need to solve, or some complicated knot they are attempting to unravel. When you think about sales, there aren’t too many things more difficult than taking your dream client away from a competitor they believe is satisfying their needs. It’s not that they don’t have a compelling reason to change, but rather they don’t think they have a compelling reason to change. Unless and until you help them believe they need to do something different, you are not going to have an opportunity to win your dream client away. You also can’t wait to win your dream clients. In the past, it was customary to wait patiently for your dream client to become dissatisfied enough to let an RFP or rummage through a box business cards to invite different companies in to present to them. This behavior, waiting passively and being reactive, is how you become a commodity. Here’s the terrible truth about commoditization: If you act like a commodity, your dream client will treat you accordingly. The right approach for both of these problems is to get on your front foot, to be proactive, to dictate the tempo, to control the narrative. Is Eat Their Lunch for You? When you write a book proposal, you are supposed to include a section to describe the audience for your book to the publisher. The wrong answer is “everyone.” The right answer is a small niche that is large enough to publish a book profitably. It's Not For You If . . . If you want to know how to speak poorly about your competitor, this book is not for you. I offer the opposite advice. The best way to “eat their lunch” is to say nice things about your competitor and then differentiate yourself and your approach. If you want tricks and shortcuts that will provide you with a result without any effort on your part, I am afraid I am going to disappoint you. Eat Their Lunch is practical and tactical, and the frameworks require disciplined effort on your part. It's For You, For Sure However, if you are the kind of person who wants to know how to create so much greater value than their competitors that their dream clients will switch providers, Eat Their Lunch will show you how to do so. If you want to make ideas like Challenger and selling with insights actionable, the chapter on capturing mind share will provide you with a framework and exercises that will allow you to do so. Prospecting isn’t an event. Prospecting is now a campaign, where you professional persist and pursue your dream client over time. If you want to know how to professionally persist effectively and use your greater value creation to capture mind share and gain appointments with your dream clients, you’ll find the strategy in Eat Their Lunch. For me, discovery is now about helping the client discover something about themselves. If you want the newest and sharpest lens for understanding your client’s real challenges, Eat Their Lunch will stretch you, and in doing so, give you a much clearer view, one that opens up opportunities and creates an advantage. It will help you see what is invisible to your competitor. You know how there seem to be more people involved in every deal and how it is getting more difficult to manage this process? If you want a framework for understanding who these people a...
Word of mouth marketing is essential to the success of any business. Why is it then, that so many marketers don’t have a specific word of mouth marketing strategy? Jay Baer, the author of the new book “Talk Triggers,” joins Anthony on this episode of In The Arena to answer that exact question. He’ll walk you through 4 criteria to keep in mind when creating a talk trigger for your business, as well as share stories of how talk triggers have led to immense success for some of the top businesses in the United States. It’s an episode not to be missed - listen now! The persuasive power of offline #WordOfMouth #marketing is 43% higher than stand-alone posts on social media. Learn how to leverage WOM through #TalkTriggers on this episode of #InTheArena with @JayBaer, hosted by @iannarino.Click To Tweet What are talk triggers and why are they important in word of mouth marketing? Jay explains talk triggers as, “something that you choose to do differently that creates conversation.” They’re not to be confused with marketing tactics. Rather, they’re operational choices that are designed to specifically generate discussions about your business. The single greatest way to grow any business is for your customers to do the growing for you through storytelling. You story arises from your talk trigger - are you giving your audience a story to tell? There is persuasive power in both online and offline conversations about your organization Recent studies have shown that verbal marketing occurs equally online and offline. However, the persuasive power of offline word of mouth marketing is 43% higher than stand-alone posts on social media. The conversations that occur online and offline typically remain separate, and they are triggered by different things. Jay explains how a stellar talk trigger can be powerful both online and in person on this episode, and you don’t want to miss his insights. Creating a great #TalkTrigger to incorporate in your word of mouth #marketing strategy isn’t easy. Luckily, @JayBaer shares his top 4 criteria to follow when brainstorming ideas on this episode of #InTheArena hosted by @iannarino. Listen now!Click To Tweet Follow these 4 criteria to craft a great talk trigger Creating a great talk trigger to incorporate into your word of mouth marketing strategy isn’t easy. Luckily, Jay shares his top 4 criteria to follow when brainstorming trigger ideas, and they’re all featured on this episode of In The Arena. But don’t miss the full story - be sure to check out his book on Amazon and wherever you buy books. Remarkable - it needs to be worthy of remarks - people don’t share mediocre stories Relevant - it cannot simply be about gathering attention, because chatter only lasts for a short period of time Reasonable - different enough to attract attention, but not so “out there” that people are wary of the offer Repeatable - a talk trigger isn’t just a one-time stunt Learn from their success - both The Cheesecake Factory and Doubletree have stellar talk triggers Two of the best examples of profitable talk triggers come from The Cheesecake Factory and Doubletree. At 5,940 words, the Factory’s menu is impressively long. But the menu is so much more than an expansive offering of entrees - it’s a specific marketing strategy. Their menu has become so infamous that when Jay and his team polled hundreds of Cheesecake Factory customers, they discovered that 38% had told someone else about the menu in the past 30 days, without being asked or prompted. This allows the Factory to spend $276 million less per year on marketing than the Olive Garden or Outback Steakhouse. Consider also Doubletree’s goal to give hotel guests the warmest welcome in the hotel industry, complete with a fresh, warm chocolate chip cookie upon arrival. Their cookies fit within the context of what they do, and they’ve been doing it for over 30 years. They sustainably delight their customers time after time,
The recognition that there is a beginning and an end means that you can do what you want with the time you have here. I have seen this idea described as “the dash,” the little mark between the day of your birth and the day of your departure. You get to decide what you do with your “dash.” You are free from having to worry about all the inconsequential things that happen from day-to-day, as they are meaningless in the big scheme of things. Nor do you have to consider what other people think about you, since almost none of them will be standing up to provide the eulogy Covey recommends you write as a way to live in line with your values.
After spending a lifetime in the industry, Jen Gluckow knows a thing or two about how to make better sales. She talks with Anthony on this episode of In the Arena about how you can own your career as a salesperson and how to connect better with your peers and leaders. She also answers 5 main questions that will help you become a better salesperson and ignite your career. All of these insights and more are included in Jen’s upcoming book, “Sales in a New York Minute,” available for pre-order now on Amazon and everywhere January 1. Be sure to check it out, and catch the full story on this podcast episode. After spending a lifetime in the #sales industry, @JENinaNYminute knows a thing or two about how to make better sales. She shares her invaluable insights on this episode of #InTheArena, and it’s a conversation you don’t want to miss. Listen now! @Iannarino Click To Tweet #1 - Why do you need to pursue your own leads as a sales leader? Most salespeople enter into the business wanting to make a difference, either in their own life or in the lives of others. Why is it, then, that so many salespeople sit back and seemingly wait for marketing to send them quality leads? You cannot afford to rely on others to make your career happen, and you have to be diligently working on securing your own top leads. Start talking with everyone you meet, and don’t hesitate to act because you’re waiting for the “perfect lead” to appear that simply doesn’t exist. #2 - What can you do to become a better networker? Networking can change your life if you let it, but great networking is not about quantity. The ultimate goal of networking should always be about making quality connections with people who can either send you business referrals or add value to your life. How can you make those types of connections? Start by being specific and targeted in the meetings and groups you pursue. Then, become a value-provider for the people you meet. You can’t expect quality results from new connections if you don’t first convince them you’re worth building a relationship with. Why do you need to pursue your own leads as a #SalesLeader? @JENinaNYminute shares her answer to this critical question, and so much more, on this episode of #InTheArena. Listen now! @IannarinoClick To Tweet #3 - How can you combat the temptation to make excuses for your work? No matter what market you’re involved in, the temptation to make excuses for poor performance is always present. Making better sales starts with taking responsibility for your action - and inaction. Both Jen and Anthony believe in the power of a great mindset and attitude when striving for selling success. Take 10 minutes and identify your top excuses that you tell yourself and your boss. Then, figure out ways to crush those excuses. The minute you stop making excuses is the minute you start making better sales. #4 - How can you become the CEO of your territory? If you aspire to become the CEO of your sales territory, you can’t spend all your time analyzing every decision. Company CEOs take action and implement strategies daily - they don’t overthink everything. Becoming a top sales leader is all about identifying your own style of leadership, committing to that method, and owning it. Excuses get you nowhere in #sales. Learn how to combat the temptation to become stagnant by listening to this episode of #InTheArena featuring @JENinaNYminute. You won’t be disappointed. @IannarinoClick To Tweet #5 - What’s the key to effectively following up with prospects and making better sales? No one enjoys getting those calls from salespeople that say, “Hey, I’m just checking in!” What that message actually conveys is a nagging need to know how the sale is coming along - not a desire to help the prospect make a good decision for their business. Jen encourages sales leaders to add value to their prospects’ lives instead. Send them interesting and relevant articles, connect them to professionals they need to know...
Napoleon Hill’s keys to success are sought after by salespeople around the globe. On this episode of In the Arena, Anthony interviews the King of Sales, Jeffrey Gitomer, and asks him how he earned the opportunity to annotate a special new book of Hill’s earliest works, entitled “Truthful Living.” You’ll hear about 3 main keys to success that Hill refined over his years of teaching, as well as why sales advice can be applied to every aspect of your life. You won’t want to miss this sneak peek look at the upcoming book, so be sure to listen. Focusing on THESE steps every day will make the difference between a good #salesperson and #leader and a phenomenal one. Hear the full story on this episode of #InTheArena featuring the King of #Sales, @Gitomer. @Iannarino Click To Tweet Jeffrey’s journey towards annotating the upcoming “Truthful Living” book and uncovering Napoleon Hill’s keys to success Jeffrey is an expert in sales. Since his early days of writing columns for the Charlotte Business Journal, to being one of the first to create digital marketing content for an internet that didn’t quite exist yet, Jeffrey has become an authority in the sales world. A lifelong fan of Napoleon Hill, he has written for the Napoleon Hill Foundation for over 15 years. So when Don Green gave Jeffrey a collection of Hill’s greatest, unpublished, personal notes and asked about an annotation project, Jeffrey jumped on the opportunity. This two-year endeavor has culminated in the “Truthful Living: The First Writings of Napoleon Hill” (available for pre-order on Amazon and available everywhere October 30). Jeffrey explains that the longer something lasts, the longer something will continue to last, and Hill’s advice on sales, business, and life are invaluable lessons to be learned. Key #1 - Maintaining an attitude of success makes all the difference Napoleon Hill’s keys to success start with mindset and attitude. Going far beyond feel-good thinking, maintaining an attitude of success allows you to achieve greatness by giving you confidence in your product, business, and career. This confidence then allows you to focus on developing 5 main characteristics outlined by Hill. Here they are. Imagination Desire Enthusiasm Self-confidence Concentration You’ll notice these 5 characteristics have nothing to do with sales specifically. A success mindset is transferable to every aspect of your life, and it starts with positivity and always keeping your end-goal in mind. Discover @Gitomer’s journey towards annotating the upcoming #Truthful Living book and uncovering #NapoleonHill’s keys to #success. Catch the full story on this episode of #InTheArena! @IannarinoClick To Tweet Key #2 - Understand the difference between managing TIME and managing YOU Very few people have a time management problem - most people have a self-management problem. Jeffrey explains the key difference between managing your time and managing yourself, all on this episode. Narrowing down your timewaster activities, avoiding distractions, and leveraging spare minutes throughout your day are all great ways to increase productivity and stay focused. That’s why Jeffrey poses the question, “Can you manage YOU?” Key #3 - Identify and claim a chief aim in life Finally, one of Napoleon Hill’s keys to success lies in having a chief aim in life. Without it, you’ll wander aimlessly through life without making much progress. Start with identifying your chief aim. This could be tied to your passions, skill sets, interests, etc. Then, create a plan of how to achieve this aim. Finally, develop the 5 characteristics that allow you to maintain a healthy mindset and self-control. Focusing on these few steps every day will make the difference between a good salesperson and leader and a phenomenal one. For the full story, be sure to listen to this great episode. A #success mindset is transferable to every aspect of your life, and it starts with positivity and always keepi...
Sales optimization is the soup du jour in the sales world - every company is working hard to streamline processes and bring in revenue faster. While it’s important to optimize every bell and whistle you can, it’s also important to understand that growth is not only about getting more leads into the pipeline or more customers to sign on the dotted line. You’ve got things like the buyer’s journey to consider, the importance of decreasing churn, and a whole lot more if you really want your company to grow. Tiffani Bova writes about these topics and more in her new book, “Growth I.Q.” and she’s Anthony’s guest to talk about them, on this episode of In The Arena. Hear .@Tiffani_Bova speak about #sales optimization, the buyer’s journey, and expanding into new markets on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino.Click To Tweet Churn can actually be leveraged as an offensive strategy Most of the time when sales organizations address the issue of churn, they approach it defensively, like there’s a problem to be fixed or someone to blame. While it’s true that you may have adjustments to make that can decrease the churn rate in your sales process, it's is often an indication that rather than being defensive you need to go on the offense when it comes to existing customer relationships. Tiffani Bova explains how you can use churn to reveal ways you can keep the gold you already have, in this conversation. When is expansion into new markets a good idea? One of the ways large companies attempt growth is through the expansion of the company into new or foreign markets. But Tiffani Bova doesn’t think that’s always the best idea. In her mind, you have to ask yourself a vital question before proceeding. What’s the question? “Can what you’re doing successfully in your existing market(s) be replicated EXACTLY in the new one?” In other words, you need to analyze whether the things you’re doing so successfully in your present market are easily transferable to the potential opportunities you see elsewhere. If you don’t take the time to figure this one out you could spend months and lots of money only to discover that your efforts in the new market are not going to gain anything. When is expansion into new markets a good idea? @Tiffani_Bova explain the key question to ask yourself before expanding on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino. #salesClick To Tweet Sales optimization and the buyer’s journey are very different things Sales optimization is about processes and procedures. It might include the way things are done as well as the successful integration of a tech stack that makes the process itself smooth and quick. It’s a linear process: this happens, then this, then this. The buyer’s journey is not linear at all - it’s a very circuitous route that customers travel according to their unique biases, needs, and fears. Tiffani Bova points out that too many sales organizations try to stuff their customer’s journeys into their sales optimization efforts like square pegs into round holes. It simply won’t work and the customer winds up being served poorly. You can hear Tiffani’s insights nad recommendations on this episode. Your invitation to the very best sales conference you’ve ever attended The Outbound Conference is like no other sales conference you’ve attended…. and for two days of stellar content that moves your sales success forward, the ticket price is ridiculously low. The conference addresses something no other event does - how to keep your pipeline full of high-value prospects. Four giants in the sales world, Anthony Iannarino, Mark Hunter, Mike Weinberg, and Jeb Blount bring you the sessions and you’ll also be led through your choice of sixteen high-impact training tracks delivered by today’s top speakers, authors, and experts. Join Anthony and his friends in Atlanta, April 23-26, 2019. Get your tickets here: Click Here Here is your personal invitation to the very best #sales conference you’ve ever attended.
Sales optimization is the soup du jour in the sales world - every company is working hard to streamline processes and bring in revenue faster. While it’s important to optimize every bell and whistle you can, it’s also important to understand that growth is not only about getting more leads into the pipeline or more customers to sign on the dotted line. You’ve got things like the buyer’s journey to consider, the importance of decreasing churn, and a whole lot more if you really want your company to grow. Tiffani Bova writes about these topics and more in her new book, “Growth I.Q.” and she’s Anthony’s guest to talk about them, on this episode of In The Arena. Hear .@Tiffani_Bova speak about #sales optimization, the buyer’s journey, and expanding into new markets on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino.Click To Tweet Churn can actually be leveraged as an offensive strategy Most of the time when sales organizations address the issue of churn, they approach it defensively, like there’s a problem to be fixed or someone to blame. While it’s true that you may have adjustments to make that can decrease the churn rate in your sales process, it's is often an indication that rather than being defensive you need to go on the offense when it comes to existing customer relationships. Tiffani Bova explains how you can use churn to reveal ways you can keep the gold you already have, in this conversation. When is expansion into new markets a good idea? One of the ways large companies attempt growth is through the expansion of the company into new or foreign markets. But Tiffani Bova doesn’t think that’s always the best idea. In her mind, you have to ask yourself a vital question before proceeding. What’s the question? “Can what you’re doing successfully in your existing market(s) be replicated EXACTLY in the new one?” In other words, you need to analyze whether the things you’re doing so successfully in your present market are easily transferable to the potential opportunities you see elsewhere. If you don’t take the time to figure this one out you could spend months and lots of money only to discover that your efforts in the new market are not going to gain anything. When is expansion into new markets a good idea? @Tiffani_Bova explain the key question to ask yourself before expanding on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino. #salesClick To Tweet Sales optimization and the buyer’s journey are very different things Sales optimization is about processes and procedures. It might include the way things are done as well as the successful integration of a tech stack that makes the process itself smooth and quick. It’s a linear process: this happens, then this, then this. The buyer’s journey is not linear at all - it’s a very circuitous route that customers travel according to their unique biases, needs, and fears. Tiffani Bova points out that too many sales organizations try to stuff their customer’s journeys into their sales optimization efforts like square pegs into round holes. It simply won’t work and the customer winds up being served poorly. You can hear Tiffani’s insights nad recommendations on this episode. Your invitation to the very best sales conference you’ve ever attended The Outbound Conference is like no other sales conference you’ve attended…. and for two days of stellar content that moves your sales success forward, the ticket price is ridiculously low. The conference addresses something no other event does - how to keep your pipeline full of high-value prospects. Four giants in the sales world, Anthony Iannarino, Mark Hunter, Mike Weinberg, and Jeb Blount bring you the sessions and you’ll also be led through your choice of sixteen high-impact training tracks delivered by today’s top speakers, authors, and experts. Join Anthony and his friends in Atlanta, April 23-26, 2019. Get your tickets here: http://outbound.ticketspice.com/outbound-2019 Here is your personal invitation to the very best #sales con...
There are systemic challenges, in some ways greater than earlier times. That said, a scrappy go-getter always bends the system to their will.
All of the decisions you’ve made—or refused to make—up until this point produced your BEFORE picture. The decisions you make today are what will produce the AFTER picture.
Leading from a distance is a thing these days - because remote teams and distributed workforces are becoming more and more common. With that reality come a number of difficulties, all the leader’s responsibility to solve. In order to bring some insight to the issues involved, Anthony invited Kevin Eikenberry to be his guest. Kevin has given a good deal of his life to thinking about leadership and has made it his mission to learn all he can about the way leaders need to modify and improve their leadership when it comes to dealing with remote teams. This conversation is intriguing - but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Be sure you listen and be sure you grab Kevin’s new book, “Long Distance Leader.” .@KevinEikenberry shares how to effectively #lead from a distance on this episode of #InTheArena with @iannarino. #leadership #remoteworkClick To Tweet Management and leadership are not the same things It’s entirely possible to be a great manager and a terrible leader. The reverse is true as well. Kevin Eikenberry points out this difference because so many people are placed in a management position and may even excel at the organizational part of their role, then mistakenly think that makes them a leader. In this conversation, Anthony and Kevin dig into the distinctions between managers and leaders, outline why leadership requires clear communication and great connection with individuals, and how accountability works in a healthier manner when it is based on good leadership. When teams don’t “go to work” anymore, how can leaders trust them? There are still many places in the world where team members assemble in the same geographic location every day to get work done together. But more and more companies are allowing their employees to operate from a home office at least part of the week while still other teams intentionally build an entirely remote workforce. What are the things leaders need to do in order to ensure that their team is actually working when they are not under their direct, in-person supervision? Here are a few clues: it has to do with culture, hiring the right people, and trust - and the leader is responsible for all of those. Listen as Kevin Eikenberry explains. When #teams don’t “go to work” anymore, how can #leaders trust them? Find out how @KevinEikenberry sees it on this episode of #InTheArena with @iannarino. #leadership #remoteworkClick To Tweet Cultures will exist. It’s up to the leader to create one that empowers and executes on its goals Kevin Eikenberry points out that many people these days are talking about culture as if it’s something that’s missing and needs to be created. The reality is that your team already has a culture - it just may not be the one you want. In this conversation, you’ll receive Kevin’s insights about the type of culture that empowers effective distributed teams, what leaders need to do in order to foster that kind of culture, and hear a few anecdotes about how Kevin has seen a shift in culture make all the difference. You won’t want to miss it. Communication nightmares in your team? Turn off your email and turn on your webcam We have no shortage of communication tools these days, so leaders have no excuse for establishing effective communication within their teams. However, teams can often find themselves running in circles and belaboring problems when a switch from one communication tool to another could help them clearly define problems and get to solutions quickly. Kevin explains how he encourages his team to avoid that kind of thing by simply turning on their webcams. Not only is it possible to communicate more efficiently through video, it’s also possible to build culture and a sense of deeper intimacy as a team at the same time. Learn why face to face communication is still the gold standard for communication in our technological age, on this episode of In The Arena. #Communication nightmares in your team? Turn off your email and turn on your #webcam.
There are two kinds of problems or challenges in business. The first category are problems that, while coming with a bit of conflict, they are resolved with a single decision. The second category are problems and challenges are systemic and can't easily be solved, least of all with a single decision
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Mary Haire

Such great content for sales motivation. Interesting interviews.

Mar 29th
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