Using Video In Sales As A Sales Tool

Two women using video as a sales tool

Have you started using video in sales as a sales tool? Maybe you’re shooting Facebook Lives, uploading videos to YouTube, and/or putting on live webinars as a way for people to be exposed to you and your work. However, you’re using video to grow your business, congratulations. It can be uncomfortable and scary to put…

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Business Unveiled Podcast

Creating An Authentic & Effective Selling Process Do you consider yourself a creative? And, as a creative, do you struggle with being seen as a “salesperson” in your client interactions? Today we are going to talk about creating an authentic and effective selling process. If I had a dollar for every time an entrepreneur started…

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Biz Women Rock Podcast

how to not suck at sales

How To Not Suck At Sales With These Tips Have you ever said to yourself or someone else, “I suck at sales”? This is one of the most common things women say to Katie Krimitsos, the host of Biz Women Rock Podcast. So, she asked me to come on and walk listeners through the steps…

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The Tech of Business Podcast: Product Launch Strategy

product launch strategy

Product Launch Strategy: Why You Should Have One When you put new products/services out into the marketplace, do you put a product launch strategy in place? Have you ever gathered a team together to assist you in launching something? These past few weeks I have been asked questions about how I put together the product launch…

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Little Efforts Make A Difference – The Compound Effect

Little Efforts Make A Difference - The Compound Effect

Have you read or heard about the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy? Years ago someone suggested I read it. The message about little efforts made so much sense that I continue to refer to the concept over and over again in my personal and professional life. Here’s how Mr. Hardy describes the concept…

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Productivity Straight Talk Podcast

the selling staircase

Escalate Your Sales With The Selling Staircase It was my great honor to be asked to come on to Amber De La Garza’s Podcast, Productivity Straight Talk and discuss how to sell in a more productive and meaningful way. In this episode, we break down The Selling Staircase and how to seamlessly move your clients through…

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One Tip to Make Prospecting Easier

prospecting made easy

When you read the word “prospecting” do you groan or whimper a little? Most entrepreneurs dread prospecting. Even when you schedule it on your calendar, you might find a million and one other things that require your attention. You’ll do just about anything else so you don’t have to do it. Reasons We Dread Prospecting There are…

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She Thinks Big Podcast

she thinks big

She Thinks Big Podcast: The Structure Of Sales Conversations People struggle so much more than they should on how to have effective sales conversations. This struggle often arises when you don’t know where you are in the process. Getting clear on the structure is absolutely imperative to up-leveling your sales. Today we will be discussing the…

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When To Kick ‘Em To The Curb

kick em to the curb, sales maven, sales help, sales coach

When’s the last time you wanted to fire someone in your life? Maybe it was a client, a friend or even an employee. Having to release people from your life can be hard for everyone involved. However, there are certain people that will take advantage and you’ve just got to kick em to the curb.…

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One Way To Improve Your Sales Presentation

When was the last time you found yourself listening to a sales presentation where the person was talking so fast, you couldn’t even follow along? Maybe you tried to stay engaged but ended up feeling frustrated. At some point, you shut down completely and just waited for it to be over. A common misstep people make when giving a…

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Why Pricing Shakes Your Confidence & How To Fix It

pricing, sales maven, confidence

What shakes your confidence when selling? Is there a particular thing that happens between you and a prospective client that causes you to question your offer(s)? Do you know how to fix it? Is it pricing? One of the most common things that shakes people’s confidence in the selling process is receiving any kind of…

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How To Get Paid For Your Client’s Results

results

Are your clients getting exceptional results from the work you do/what you offer? How important are the results your clients receive? For many entrepreneurs, the results their clients receive are the driving force behind what they do. Results are also something you should be getting paid for without being made to feel guilty about what…

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Closing Bigger Deals – Things To Consider

closing bigger deals, sales help, sales maven, sales coach

Are you ready to start closing bigger deals? Have you, up until now, sold one product/service per customer? No, this is not one of those cheesy “buy now” articles so you can make $100,000 in the next 5 hours and buy your dream house on the beach. I don’t use that type of language anywhere in…

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How To Prioritize & What To Focus On

How To Prioritize

When it comes to sales-related activities do you ever struggle with how to prioritize? How about what to focus on, ever feel overwhelmed and confused because there’s just so much to do? These are two of the topics that are frequently asked about and discussed with my clients. Frankly, who doesn’t want or need more…

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Is It Lack Of Interest Or Is It Your Sales Approach?

sales approach

Do you know how you’re perceived by others? When’s the last time you spent time and money promoting a product/service and nobody bought from you? Did you blame the lack of interest on the product/service? Did you ever wonder if it was your overall sales approach?  Lack of Interest Or A Bad Sales Approach A…

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Don’t Be Fooled, This Isn’t Just “Off The Cuff”

Athletic woman doing planks

Do you admire people who can do things, “off the cuff?” When someone makes something look easy, many of us assume the person is just naturally talented. We don’t often get a peek behind the curtain to know how much time and effort someone has put into honing their particular skill. I had the very…

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Trading Services: How To Respond When Asked To

Two women trade services with a handshake

Do you ever struggle with how to respond when asked about trading services? Is trading services a normal business practice for you? Many people absolutely refuse to trade services. They even feel offended when people ask. Whereas others find it to be beneficial for their business and are happy to do it. Regardless of your…

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When Being Right Is Oh, So Wrong

being right

How much do you enjoy being right? Does being right bring you a huge sense of satisfaction? Do you know when being right is actually wrong?  When being right costs you clients, it’s wrong. To be completely transparent, I LOVE to be right. Being right brings me a huge sense of satisfaction. If you were…

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Condescending Clients: How To Handle Them

Condescending clients sitting on a throne

Do you ever wish you had a strategy on how to handle condescending clients? Every once in a while when selling, you’re bound to come across condescending clients who don’t treat you with much respect. When you run your own business you may decide to fire these types of clients. However, there are times when…

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When It’s Time To Raise Your Prices

raising prices, indicators, price increase, sales training, Sales Maven, Nikki Rausch

Do you ever wonder if and when it’s time to raise your prices? Many people make price increases around the first of the year. How about you? Is it standard practice for you? Or, has it been years since you did a price increase? When to raise prices is a topic many of my clients…

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How To Ask For A Review Or Testimonial

How to ask for a review, sales maven, sales coach, sales strategies

Reviews & testimonials – do you feel confident in how and when to ask for them? It can be a crucial part of business building so being prepared with when and how to ask for a review is beneficial. Asking for reviews and testimonials sits high on the list of things many of my clients…

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Following Up vs. Chasing Clients – The Difference

following up

Do you know the difference between following up vs. chasing clients? For those who answered, “Not sure,” you’re not alone. This is one of the questions frequently asked when talking about sales. People struggle with when and how many times they should be following up with prospects and clients. About a year ago I published an…

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Bringing Intensity To Relationship Selling

Woman exhibiting relationship selling over a cup of coffee

When’s the last time you wondered if you should bring more intensity into your selling process? Maybe you suspect that your sales would increase if you were more aggressive. Yet bringing intensity may not be your style and therefore is too far outside of your comfort zone to be effective for you. Maybe you should…

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Successful Prospecting

prospecting, sales tip, mis-steps, sales training, business building

Successful prospecting is something we all want, and yet most of us are terrified of it. The idea of reaching out to people to earn their business can be scary. It’s also one of the things most of us avoid doing at all costs. How successful are you at prospecting? How often do you actually…

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Clear The Field: What It Means In Sales

clear the field

Do you ever get fed up with people who act as if they might buy from you and then never do? Not only is it mildly annoying, but it is wasting your valuable time. This is time you could be spending on potential clients that are actually interested in your product or service.  It may be…

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Are You Maximizing Business Referrals?

business referrals

Do you ever wonder if you’re maximizing your business referrals?  When’s the last time someone sent you a referral? And how long did it take you to follow up with the referral? Check out this week’s tip on how to maximize referrals in your business. You may be diminishing your chances of getting another referral…

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Knee-Jerk Response: The Knee-Jerk “No” in Sales

knee jerk response

When’s the last time you had a really great idea, and when you presented it to someone, they gave you the knee-jerk “no?” A knee-jerk response is when someone gives you an immediate emotional response, and often in sales it’s a “no.” Maybe you’re familiar with this type of response in your personal life, and certainly,…

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Success Leaves Clues: Here’s How

success leaves clues

Success Leaves Clues. When’s the last time you thought about what success means to you? Is this something you focus on regularly? Years ago when learning Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) we learned that success leaves clues. Learning how to pay exquisite attention to the people who are having success in certain areas of their life/business will give…

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Assumptions In Sales: Is Your Bias Costing You Clients?

assumptions in sales

Assumptions in Sales: Have you ever been in a situation where someone says to you, “I have something to tell you, and you’re not going to like it?” Do you instantly go on the defensive or maybe brace yourself for bad news. In certain situations, the person might be right in their assumptions about whether…

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Diffusing An Angry Customer By Pacing & Leading

woman diffusing an angry customer

Diffusing An Angry Customer: When’s the last time you lost your cool at a company for mistreating you as a client? Unfortunately, too often the way companies train their employees to handle angry customers is what escalates the situation vs. calming them down. A few weeks back, after multiple attempts of working with my bank…

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Little Missed Opportunities Adding Up To Hefty Losses

Sales Maven, Sales Tip, Sales Maven Blog

Missed Opportunities: When’s the last time you stopped and evaluated the materials you’re putting out in the world to build your business? For those of you like me, you complete something, and then you move on to the next thing. You might rarely evaluate your brochures, your business cards, your photos, etc. They become background…

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Pique Interest: How To Entice Prospects

chef tasting cake mix

When’s the last time you got a taste of something so delicious you just had to have more? Or maybe you learned something so interesting you were enticed to find out more? One of the struggles I hear from clients over and over again is being unsure of how to pique the interest of prospects. Yet, when…

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How To Minimize Misunderstanding Communication

woman minimizing misunderstanding communication by not speaking

Is there anything more frustrating than someone misinterpreting what you’ve said and taking offense to your comments? In this day and age, it’s so easy for this to happen. We communicate so much over social media, email, and text messages that we have little chance of correcting a situation before it can get blown out of…

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A Big Mistake In Your Speech Pattern

a big mistake

When you think about what you offer to your clients, do you consider yourself different from your competitors? Chances are your experience, your style and/or your approach makes you stand out from the crowd. How do you talk about your uniqueness? Do you end up having to explain yourself multiple times because people don’t get it…

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Customer Sales: Are You Causing Indecision?

customer sales

When’s the last time you thought a client was ready to buy and then they didn’t? You got the dreaded response, “I’m going to wait and think about it some more.” Did you feel frustrated and maybe a little confused. Do you know what happened, what caused them to back away from the purchase? And…

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Price List: Should You Include It On Your Website?

price list

Price List: When you visit a website looking for pricing, and it’s not listed, what do you do next? Do you fill out a request form asking for pricing or do you go back to Google and click on the next option in your search? At a speaking gig recently, a participant in the audience…

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Suggestions For Improvement Might Help You Close Deals

Suggestions For Improvement

Suggestions For Improvement: When’s the last time you had a huge ah-ha moment? And when’s the last time that ah-ha moment was realizing you had a huge blind spot hindering your business? My big ah-ha moment of realizing my blind spot happened recently. The frustrating part of this “big” realization was people had been telling…

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How To Effectively Deliver New Information To A Prospect

Delivering Information, Delivering a proposal, sales training, sales tip, savvy sale tip

Do you ever wish it was easier to share information with a prospect when they think they already know everything you’re going to say? Maybe they’ve seen or heard about your product/service and have already started to form an opinion.  Yet, after asking a few questions, you find out there is much they don’t yet…

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A Business Strategy For Making Decisions

business strategy, ROI, return on investment

There’s a lot of talk about ROI, especially if you’re in sales or marketing. Managers, bosses and business coaches want to know what’s the Return On Investment for your activities and spending. Understanding ROI is crucial to your business success. And if you base every decision on ROI alone, you may be missing out on amazing…

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Technology In Business Isn’t Always The Answer

Have you ever felt like a business was so in love with their cool new technology they forgot to connect with you as a customer? A new trend that comes to mind is the restaurants where you walk up and place your order on an iPad and pay without having to talk to the person…

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Not interested. Or could it be something else?

not interested

Have you ever had a client who’s expressed interest in your product/service, and then they drop off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again as if they’re not interested? Do you assume they’re not interested? How many times do you follow up before you make the decision to move on? Recently…

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Delivering On Client’s Expectations

Client's Expectations

Recently, while having a discussion with a client, she mentioned her favorite color was red. As soon as she said “red,” I imagined fire engine red. Then she said, “Not candy apple red, blood red.”  If she had not clarified the shade of red, I would have gone on thinking my version of red was…

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You’ve Got The Look: It’s All In The Eyes

eyes

When’s the last time you heard, “The eyes are the window to the soul?” What would be your guess as to how many songs have been sung about the eyes?  Here’s just a few that come to mind:  “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”  – Franke Valle “I Only Have Eyes For You,” –…

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What’s The Value Of Doing Favors For Clients

doing favors for clients

How many times this month have you found yourself doing favors for a client? Doing favors could be making an exception to your normal policies/procedures, offering a discount, tailoring a program, or doing something extra for the client. Did you specifically let your client know they received a favor? Notice, the question is “Did you…

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When A Client Asks For A Discount

When a client asks for a discount

Discounts, Savings, Special Offers Are you a fan of a good bargain? I am, I love a good deal! Now, flip it around. When your client asks for a discount, do you dread responding? For those thinking, “Oh, I hate when a client asks me for a discount” or “Dang it, now if I don’t offer a…

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Client Preference: Take What’s Offered

client preference sales maven

Have you ever had an interaction with someone where you felt compelled to share the story with others afterward? Last week, I was contacted by a salesperson, and the communication between us was so interesting that I’m sharing it in hopes you find some useful tips to apply to your client interactions. It’s such a…

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“Just Kidding”: Is It A Rapport Breaker?

When someone makes a negative comment to you and then follows up with, “Just Kidding,” do you believe them? Do you ever wonder if some part of what they said when they said “just kidding,” they actually meant? I was in the audience at an event recently, and the speaker singled out a person in…

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What Goes Around… Comes Around

what goes around... comes around

How long has it been since you either said or heard said: “What goes around… comes around?” Consider this phrase “what goes around…comes around,” and how you might use it to impact your business/sales in a positive way. For instance, let’s take referrals.  Have you ever given a referral to someone only to have them…

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Slinging Mud: Are You Muddying The Water?

Muddying The Water

Are you muddying the water in sales? Many salespeople are. Here is what Nikki Rausch, your sales maven has to say about it. Imagine you’re thirsty. All you can think about is a nice refreshing glass of water.  You’re craving it; you know how good it’s going taste when you get your first sip.  Now…

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