Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Smart
Business Growth Podcast with
Nikki and.
Ness.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
We would like to
acknowledge the traditional
custodians of country, theTurrbal and Bunurong people of
Brisbane and Melbournerespectively, where Nikki and I
both work and live both work andlive.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Healthy hustle is
where it's at and today we're
going to break healthy hustledown into the filter of sales in
business.
I'll tell you what is nothealthy hustle 67% of business
development and salespeoplebeing close to burnout 67% and
this is due to long hours, hugeworkload, this need, this
feeling of having to always beon.
(00:52):
This studies from our book.
We also found some otherresearch that showed 54% of
salespeople believe that salesis harder this year than it was
last year.
So when we look at this conceptof healthy hustle and
salespeople, I mean that wouldbe broadened as well.
I'm sure the stats are similarfor leadership and all sorts of
people, but today, lookingspecifically at sales,
(01:15):
absolutely there's this feelingof constantly chasing, always
need to be on, always need to beavailable, and there's some key
challenges in the market at themoment that are really feeding
into that.
So, Ness, what are some of thechallenges?
Because I know we're going totalk today about the four ways
to keep the sales hustle healthy.
We've got four great tips toshare with everybody.
(01:37):
But why?
Why is it so challenging andhard right now?
You?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
know it's interesting
, nikki, this is now I missed
the anniversary, but probably amonth ago it was nine years in
business, right, and I thinkabout pre-COVID times,
post-covid times it's all thedifferent, various situations
we've been through.
But from my personal experience, from my peers and from what I
hear clients talk about, is thatright now there are much longer
(02:03):
lead times into convertingsales.
So I think there's a fewreasons for that out there.
One is what we notice isbudgets are tighter.
So it's not that money has gone, but it's that people are
having to really carefullyconsider where they spend that
budget, and I think that withinthat, the process then becomes
(02:25):
there are more hoops to jumpthrough because there are more
decision makers.
When budgets get tight, morepeople need to get involved in
determining whether we're goingto spend that money or not, and
I think with that comes you knowthe frustration perhaps that it
used to feel a lot easier backin the day and now it just feels
harder.
I also think that there's beensuch a lift up in AI in spammy
(02:51):
stuff.
You only have to be on LinkedInfor a day and you get something
spammy in your inbox, right.
There's less trust out there.
Part of the reason I thinkpeople take longer is because
they need to be able to buildtrust with somebody before
they're ready to work with themand engage with them.
So I think there's a few littlefactors going on in relation to
this sense of I used to feellike really confident about
(03:13):
myself, but if I get knockbacksnow more often than what I have
in the past, it probably youstart to, as a salesperson,
potentially think is theresomething wrong with me and the
way that I do sales?
I don't know, does thatresonate with you?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, and I think the
motivation can drop and also
sales can be quite high energyand you know it can be really
hard to sustain that.
I also think about the amountof spam phone calls we get.
I mean, people just don't Idon't really even answer my
phone anymore and I think, oh,maybe I should, because I am
running a business and we putour phone up.
(03:49):
So if you do ring us I willanswer but I'm quite hesitant to
answer.
This is how this is the reality.
Absolutely.
That trust factor is huge.
It's harder for salespeople tobuild that rapport.
It takes longer to build thatrapport.
We know that the success insales is in the follow-up and so
if people aren't beingconsistent and diligent and
(04:12):
whether it's an impact toconfidence, impatience, not
focusing on the right kind ofareas, not focusing on the right
clients, not pivoting I use theP word to what is my service
offering, is it right for themarket?
Not changing the serviceoffering too much you can do
that as well All these thingsare absolutely going to affect
(04:32):
that sales person, the leader,and feed into this feeling of
always on, always going, thehuge workload, because it's also
really easy to be at the whimof the prospect or the lead or
the potential client.
You know we still need to beable to have boundaries in place
and work effectively, which iswhy today's episode really,
(04:52):
really matters, because we wantyour sales force, your sales
leaders, your sales people tonot feel like they're always
having to be on and close toburnout.
You know, we want them to feellike, yes, perhaps the market is
tougher, and it's not tougherin all areas.
You know it's 54%, not 100%, ofpeople said it's tougher, so
we've also got to be aware thatsometimes I'm just going to say
(05:14):
it salespeople can be lazy andalways looking for the shortcut,
I mean we're humans, right, soeverybody can.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, what I think is
really cool about what we're
talking about today.
So, number one people, this isNikki's wheelhouse, this is
where she shines when it comesto sales training and sales
leadership, and you know like,although I am a salesperson as
well, this is where I just loveto default across to you, Nick,
because you have so muchknowledge to share in this, and
(05:42):
you have promised us four waysto keep sales hustle healthy.
And so just wanted to say, topick up on your point there,
that even if you're in asituation at the moment where
sales are coming in and it'sgoing well for you and it's
probably you know, part of thereason why you've been hustling
is to get to that level you willstill gain gold, and there is
(06:03):
something you will be able totake away from this conversation
.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
So with that, all
said let's go, that is such a
good point because the hustle iseither it ain't coming in, so
we're going out to get it, orthe hustle is it is coming in
fast and I cannot keep up withthat.
So, regardless of what spectrumyou are on, these four key
strategies will help.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Amazing, let's jump
into it.
What's number one?
Okay, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
All right.
So number one is make sure thatyour sales and marketing are
working together.
Now we recorded a whole podcastepisode on this.
We're going to put the link inthe show notes for you, but just
a little reminder, top of mind.
Also, by the way, you can findmore detail about these
strategies and effective andevergreen sales in our book.
(06:49):
Okay, I was just showing it onthe YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
HealthyHustlecomau.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Oh yeah, Healthy
Great, also in the show notes.
So when our sales and marketingare working together, there's
some stats that show thatthere's an increase in revenue
38% increase in conversion, 36%increase in customer retention
and, in some cases, overall 200%revenue growth.
Ah hello, who wouldn't wantmore of that?
Maybe the people that arehustling too hard on the other
(07:15):
spectrum.
But here's the thing aboutsales and marketing working
together it's making sure thatyou are attracting your ideal
client, marketing, and you'requalifying that it's the right
person to work with sales.
That's one example where havingourselves and marketing work
together is actually going tomake it easier for your
(07:35):
salespeople.
So, yes, the revenue, the statsare amazing.
That's what we want and thatmeans it will be much easier for
your salespeople to convert.
If we talk about shorteningconversion time, we know that
it's getting longer and longer.
That's one way to do it.
Make sure that yourconversation to convert matches
the promise that you're puttingout there and even if you don't
have a full-on marketing team,that you're putting out there,
(07:55):
and even if you don't have afull-on marketing team,
everything you're putting out interms of your message, what you
offer, is marketing, even ifit's not an elaborate big
marketing campaign.
So make sure that sales andmarketing talk to each other,
work together.
The message is streamlinedacross from putting marketing
content out there to theconversation.
That's going to be really greatto help keep the hustle healthy
(08:18):
and really support yoursalespeople and sales leaders.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I really love that
and I remember back to that
episode where we talked aboutthe difference between, you know
, having them separate and thenhaving them together and how
important it is to bring that,but you've got to be singing the
same song because if you'rebringing in all these leads that
aren't a match, you've got togive that feedback in between.
And then if you're bringing inamazing leads but you don't have
(08:42):
great qualifying, you areprobably missing out on some
potential.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And it's surprising
how often it is really
completely siloed in businesses.
So I know this is somethingthat myself and Beck Beck Chapel
we get on the soapbox aroundthis as often as possible.
Yes, amazing.
Okay, so that's number onesales and marketing working
together, being besties.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Have you heard?
Our book Healthy Hustle the newblueprint to thrive in business
and life is available right nowto purchase.
In Healthy Hustle, we take youthrough real world, practical
and achievable steps to move youaway from unhealthy hustle to a
place of happiness and living,whilst continuing to achieve
incredible business results.
(09:25):
Order your copy now athealthyhustlecomau.
Okay, hit us with number two.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Okay so number two,
this is well, they're all my
favorite.
It's like choosing children,which I would never do.
So we want to move from atraditional sales process to an
active sales process.
What I mean by traditional istypically what I find in a lot
of businesses.
Is their sales process is I'mgoing to wait for an email to
come or a phone call.
(09:51):
I'm going to wait for the phoneto ring or for an email to come
.
I'm going to wait for the phoneto ring or for an email to come
.
I'm going to set a meeting,have the meeting, then email
them a proposal and I'll becomea proposal chaser.
So they ghost you.
You're constantly chasing andthen you probably give up.
Your confidence is hit, all ofthat kind of thing.
What we want to do is turn thatinto an active sales process.
So really briefly, what thatmeans is adding a qualifying
(10:15):
component at the beginning.
Well, first of all I said itbefore and I'll say it again if
it ain't coming in, go out andget it.
That's the other spectrum ofhustle.
But once you have somebody, alead, a prospect before the
meeting qualify, make sure thatthere's a process to actually
ask a few questions.
It could be a 15-minute phonecall to connect with them, to
(10:37):
ask them some key questions tomake sure you're the right fit
together If they are set up themeeting and in between that
qualifying process and themeeting, reach out on LinkedIn
and connect or send them amessage to say hey, really
looking forward to connectingwith you and meeting with you.
Maybe there's somepre-information you can send
them so that it's warming themup.
Do something so that when youget that first meeting it's not
(11:00):
a cold meeting in that you knowa little bit about them, you
know they're the right fit andthey know a little bit about you
.
If you do that, you willabsolutely shorten the
conversion time, that rapportthat we talked about.
That's really challenging tobuild.
You're already building thatrapport instead of not knowing
anything about each other in thefirst meeting.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Amazing.
And is this where the BAMFAMcomes in?
Oh yeah, bamfam, so BAMFAMeverywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Bamfam means book a
meeting from a meeting.
A shout out to MC Carter fromPractice Paradox.
I learned this from him manyyears ago and it's one of my
favorite things Book a meetingfrom a meeting.
A shout out to MC Carter fromPractice Paradox.
I learned this from him manyyears ago and it's one of my
favorite things Book a meetingfrom a meeting.
So at all stages, you know, sothat way you're in the calendar,
you're in there, you're top ofmind.
I was also going to say, when Isay qualify, think about the
(11:49):
three most important thingsabout your ideal client or
customer, create a question outof that and there's your
qualifying questions done.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yeah, amazing, yeah,
certainly everything that you're
saying, I'll go.
Yes, I remember learning thatfrom you.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yes, we have it in
place, thank goodness.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Awesome, all right,
so we've hit number one and
number two.
What's number three?
To keep from having hustlehustling.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Number three to keep
from having hustle, healthy,
hustle Ness.
I think this is one of yourfavorites and it's don't only
rely on emails.
Too many people just rely onemails.
Now, this is when we're talkingabout establishing
relationships and nurturingrelationships.
So when we look at leads, welook at cold, warm, hot.
You know the first start cool,they don't know much about you.
(12:36):
Then they get to know you.
They're warm and hot, they'reready to buy.
So we want to look at how we'rebuilding relationships from the
point of view we'reestablishing new relationships
and we're nurturing existingrelationships.
So many people rely on sendingemails and I know we all know it
because we all have thoseemails in our inboxes and then
(12:57):
that's it.
They're only rolling oh, but Isent all these emails.
Think about it.
There's no cut through.
If you're going to do an emailand I'm not saying don't do
emails, but don't rely only onemails to establish connections
and relationships and to nurture, Get creative.
Get creative.
Five touch points is what wetalk about all the time.
So if it's an email, do a loomin the email.
(13:18):
Get them to see your face.
Connect on LinkedIn.
Do a voice note.
Karen Tisdale is going to lovethat.
We're sharing this LinkedInexpert profile.
Writer, trainer.
Oh my gosh, extraordinaire.
Do a voice note on LinkedIn Ifyour platform isn't LinkedIn.
Send a text message.
If relevant and appropriate,send a voice note on text
message messenger like look atyour different platforms
(13:41):
handwritten thank you notes,handwritten notes.
Get creative, don't only relyon emails, and actually there's
a list of interesting andcreative touch points in our
book as well that you can referto.
For those of you who have acopy.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
I think that this was
a big one for me, because when
I was in my first business, Ihad this sense of I didn't want
to be annoying and I felt likeif I kept on reaching out to
people, they would find thatreally annoying.
And yet, on the flip of that,sometimes I just love it when a
salesperson follows me upbecause I've got it in the back
of my mind I've got to dosomething, I've got to ring them
(14:14):
, but I'm busy, you know.
So I really think in thisenvironment to like a minimum of
five and be creative.
That is also really helpfulbecause, like you said, a
LinkedIn connection or a voicenote is another touch point.
So this is one that reallyresonated with me and I had to
shift from that belief setaround I don't want to be
annoying.
I'll send two emails.
(14:35):
Obviously they don't want towork with me.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And even that that
they don't want to work with me.
So we assume too often and Ilove this perspective you're
sharing You're a business owner,you're busy, we are busy, the
decision makers for yourprospects and potential clients
they're really busy, and that'swhat I would also put on as a
biggest challenge is that thepeople we're wanting to work
(14:58):
with reach out to sell.
They're busy.
Let me tell you, we are nottheir priority which is exactly
why they got their things Like.
If you think about what yourpriority is, so until like, they
desperately need us, then webecome a priority, and this
transcends across all differenttypes of products and services.
So get in the mindset of them.
(15:19):
And the other thing I would sayis I saw your eyes lit up a
little bit when you were talkingabout it.
When we're more creative withhow we're reaching out to people
, it's more enjoyable.
It might not be fun, it'll befun for some, but it is more
enjoyable, and then that energycomes across as well.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Absolutely Love.
It All right, let's wrap thisup.
That energy comes across aswell.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Absolutely Love it.
All right, let's wrap this up.
What's the fourth?
The fourth one is understandyour sales team's sales
archetypes.
So we all fall into fourdifferent behavioral styles and
we can also bring that across tosales.
So the four sales archetypesthat we all fall into, we're
usually a combination of one ortwo.
The initiator so they're reallydriven, action takers.
The influencer they're the onesthat are really charismatic.
(16:03):
The entertainers, but maybe notthe best at the detail and the
consistency and following up.
Supporter very nurturing,caring, will take care of the
potential leads and clients, butmaybe not as confident in
reaching out to establishconnections, might hide behind
emails a little bit more.
And the specialists, who arereally technical experts.
(16:24):
They can really simplifycomplex problems, but also more
introvert type of energy, so itmight not be as action-taking.
I actually wrote an articlewhich we'll put the link in the
show notes as well that goesinto more detail about the four
different sales archetypes andthe reason that this matters is
that when we know our and ourteam's natural strengths, we can
(16:45):
help them work to their naturalstrengths.
What time of day is best forthem to do cold calling or
outbounding or cold reach outsrather than cold calling what
time of day is best to do thenurturing the more one-on-one
conversations because differentarchetypes will actually lean
into different strengths aroundall of the requirements that are
needed as an effectivesalesperson and sales leader.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for sharingthose four different ways and
there is, I feel like we couldhave a podcast on every single
one of them because they likelike the, your knowledge base
and your skill and expertisegoes very deep in each of these
areas.
So we've just kind of you knowwhat's that, what's that saying?
We've just touched the surfaceor something on this topic.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Tip of the iceberg?
I'm not.
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
You get it, you guys
get it so, as we wrap up, nick,
given all of that and there's somany different options in there
and I'm sure that some peoplewill really resonate with many
of them, but some will reallystand out what would be a great
actionable action for ourlisteners to take in the next 24
hours to ensure that they'regetting out of that unhealthy
(17:54):
hustle and really keeping thatsales into the healthy hustle
aspect?
Well, I'm going to do two.
One is Because you're anoverachiever, exactly Well,
thank you.
No, that's not good.
That's not a good belief tohave.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
I really want people
to first of all look at are you
qualifying your clients?
Do you have a process in yoursales process that you really
clearly qualify?
It could be a form on thewebsite, like I said, a
15-minute call but do you knowwhat your qualifying questions
are and how do you qualifybefore your salespeople are
spending time with them?
So that's the first thing, andthe second thing I would say is
(18:31):
do you actually know the naturalstrengths and ways of working
of your team?
Check out the article, becausethere'll be clues in there.
When you know the naturalstrengths and the development
opportunities and stretch areasof your team, you really can
help them succeed.
So one around the sales processand one around the people in
your business.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Love it so, so much.
Thank you, Nick.
I get so excited when I seeyour energy around sales and I
trust that our listeners andviewers have also picked up on
that and learned something newtoday.
So thanks everyone for tuningin for another week and we will
see you next time.
Let's go sell.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to today'sep.
(19:11):
If you loved what you heard,connect with us over on LinkedIn
and let's continue theconversation over there.
Connect with us over onLinkedIn and let's continue the
conversation over there.
Did you hear you can now buyour book Healthy Hustle the New
Blueprint to Thrive in Businessand Life, at healthyhustlecomau.
Want us to speak to your teamor run a workshop on healthy
hustle in your workplace?
(19:32):
Send us an email, or go oldschool and give us a call to
discuss.
Until next time, happylistening and here's to thriving
in business and life.