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About Colleen Francis: Colleen Francis is an award-winning speaker, consultant and bestselling author who helps leading businesses achieve dramatic increases in their sales results. A successful sales leader for over 20 years, she understands the particular challenges of selling in today's competitive market, and that business leaders can no longer rely on approaches to sales based on techniques from decades ago—or even last year. Colleen doesn't believe in the old-school mentality that only 20% of a sales team hit their sales targets. She says, that in today's modern selling era, we should expect 100% of the sales teams to hit 100% of the quota. Colleen works with business and sales leaders to synergize the sales DNA of the organization to seize market opportunities. Whether designing a strategy to target a new market or working with a team to improve its productivity, Colleen's results have attracted clients such as Merck, Abbott, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank, Dow, Adecco, Trend Micro, NCR, Chevron, and thousands of other global organizations. Her latest book, Right on the Money: New Principles for Bold Growth, provides readers with a proven, realistic game plan to redraw maps for sales and marketing in a topsy-turvy world. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Colleen.In this episode, Nancy and Colleen discuss the following:Challenges of selling in today's marketImportance of organizational structure and flexibility in sales processesEffective sales questions: Open-ended and closed-ended questions The evolution of selling practices due to technological advancementsThe impact of COVID-19 on selling practicesThe evolution of prospecting methods and the importance of utilizing different marketing channels to reach prospectsKey Takeaways: We need to be open, we have to be easy to buy from and talk to.it's not a question of whether you do virtual or whether you like it, it's how your clients are operating and how can you best have a conversation with them in the mode of communication that they want.Prospecting is much easier as well than it ever used to be because we have so many other sources."I think one of the biggest challenges that we are facing in today's market is this massive demographic shift and lack of workers. So, reductions in workforce because there aren't people, we just aren't as populous as we used to be, have two or three major effects on us as salespeople. One, it's going to force companies to keep increasing their quotas because they're going to have to grow and they're not going to be able to find salespeople. So, we're going to have to learn how to be more effective at what we do by combining, you know, virtual and in-person and all those kinds of things. Two, it puts pressure on our buyers because there are fewer of them, right? And they're doing more work. They're doing, they have more jobs. And so we're gonna continue in this buying environment where it's risky, people are scared to make decisions, they lack experience making decisions, they have 18 other jobs to do so they don't have time to make decisions. So, I think that those, that one challenge in the marketplace is going to drive a bunch of challenges that we have as salespeople." – COLLEEN"So critical mass influence in my belief in selling is that we build the best client relationships when we have a very broad reach, high, low, you know, East-West, right? Critical mass influence is about building that so that people, so you're easy to find, you're easy to buy from, and everybody feels like they know you. So, it's about using multiple types of media. So, whether it be social media, if we want to call it that, LinkedIn, your email, blogs, all those kinds of media, and reaching out to everybody that is related or potentially related to your customer. You know, Nancy, years ago, there was an ad on TV, if you remember, and I think it was for Clarell, and it was that I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on and so on and so on and so on. Yeah, right. This is sort of the modern version of that because people are so important to the sales process, including people you will never meet. And so we have to get to our buyers, our influencers, our stakeholders. We must figure out a way to get our message to the people whom our buyers, influencers, and stakeholders might be listening to onto the platforms that they might be reading. And we also need to get everyone in our organization to do that. It's not just a sales responsibility. It's a marketing responsibility. It's customer service, its operations, it's finance.” – COLLEEN“First of all, we have to have a combination of open-ended and closed-ended questions because that's how a conversation flows naturally. I encourage salespeople to not be afraid of a closed-ended question because it will help you direct the conversation one way or the other depending on where it needs to be. We also must be comfortable being curious, asking the question, why? Why do you feel that way? Why are you saying that? What do you mean? Those kinds of questions so that we can get people talking about the real reason why they're making those statements. The third thing is, from a tactical perspective, we have to ask short questions. So, I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but salespeople will often fall into the habit, and I think this is a conversation breaker, where they ask the question, explain the question, answer the question, and then ask a whole entirely different question without taking a breath. And the poor prospect is, it is, it's terrible. Multi-pronged questions, I call them. Whereas if you ask a short question, you're going to get a long answer. And so, I think that's another way to ask effective questions." – COLLEENConnect with Colleen Francis:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenfrancis/Engage Selling Solutions: https://www.engageselling.com/Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/ Connect with Nancy Calabrese: Twitter:https://twitter.com/oneofakindsalesFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/Website:https://oneofakindsales.comPhone: 908-879-2911 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/Email: leads@oneofakindsales.com
Cold calling is dead, this according to Colleen Francis, a #1 LinkedIn Sales Influencer, renowned author and sales consultant. In this interview, we explore just how much prospecting has changed post-crisis, and what your sellers need to do in order to have better reach-outs, engagements and performance. We touch on specific techniques such as the Tempo Triad, how to build a trusted personal brand on social media, and how to be sure you and your sales reps transcend the gerbil wheel of selling. https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenfrancis/ https://www.engageselling.com/ #b2b #sales #Nonstopsalesboom #salesleadership #salesenablement #salesoptimization #salestransformation #leadgen #prospecting #salesperformance #socialselling #personalization #personalbrand #trust #coldcalling #salesintelligence
They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s not always true, especially when it applies to the skillsets used for sales. Techniques that once had great success not too long ago may not work today. So how does your chest of sales tools look? Is there anything in there that may need some sharpening, or even throwing away? In this episode of INSIDE Inside Sales, Darryl is joined by renowned Sales Leader and owner of Engage Selling Solutions, Colleen Francis. Darryl and Colleen go over some great steps to help turn your cold calls warm, as well as offer up tips on using your social selling platform to deliver value to your community. They also discuss strategies such as winning over the staff below the C-Suite, and exactly who you should be targeting for referrals. Get some great tool sharpening advice on this episode of INSIDE Inside Sales! About Darryl's Guest: Colleen is driven by a passion for sales - and results. A successful sales leader for over 20 years, she understands the particular challenges of selling in today's crowded, confusing market, and that business leaders can no longer rely on approaches to sales based on techniques from decades ago—or even last year. Colleen works with business and sales leaders to synergize the sales DNA of the organization to seize market opportunities. Whether designing a strategy to target a new market or working with a team to improve its productivity, Colleen's results have attracted clients such as Merck, Abbott, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank, Dow, Adecco, Trend Micro, NCR, Chevron, and hundreds of other global organizations. Colleen is an award-winning writer and consultant, bestselling author, and member of the Speaking Hall of Fame. She is recognized as one of the foremost thought leaders on the future of selling by leading publications worldwide, including being named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Sales. INSIDE Inside Sales is hosted by Darryl Praill, CMO of VanillaSoft which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel. VanillaSoft is the sponsor for INSIDE Inside Sales.
Colleen Francis is President and Founder of Engage Selling Solutions. Selected as a 2013 Top Sales Influencer by Openview Sales Lab, Colleen is known for delivering results. Her clients include Merck, Hilton, Chevron, Royal Bank of Canada, Dow AgroSciences, Adecco, Trend Micro, and countless other leading organizations.
This episode I speak with Colleen Francis, Owner of Engage Selling Solutions. Colleen is a hall of fame keynote speaker, award-winning sales strategist, best-selling author, and named as one of Linkedin's Top Voices. She works with organizations and executives to create strong, consistent, and lasting sales results. In our conversation we discuss: What one thing you can do to break down the silos between Sales and Marketing How Amazon.com has influenced the modern b2b buyer What sales leaders should be asking for from their head of marketing How increased empathy can help sales and marketing colleagues drive better results together Additional Resources: Nonstop Sales Boom and Honesty Sales (Colleen's books) Engage with Colleen on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcast | Stitcher | RSS | Spotify
Best-selling author Colleen Francis joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her most recent book, Nonstop Sales Boom, and offer a strategy for driving consistent sales growth in your company and putting an end to boom-and-bust sales cycles. You'll discover: ■ What causes boom-and-bust sales cycles—and why we tolerate them ■ How to attract the best leads for your sales pipeline ■ Why qualifying an opportunity is the responsibility of both the buyer and the seller ■ Why not all clients deserve your priority ■ How to get clients to sell to your best leads ■ And . . . what sales leaders should be Talking Business Now about with their sales teams in 2019! Colleen Francis is the founder and president of Engage Selling Solutions and has a 20-year history of delivering sales results. She is Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and an inductee into the Speaking Hall of Fame. Connect with her on: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
So you’ve finally kicked the door open on the account and it’s presentation time. Are you sure you’re ready for that? Or are you "sweatin’ bullets?" Don’t worry, we’re gonna talk you off the ledge. Busy sales consultant, speaker, and founder of Engage Selling Solutions and author of the new book, Nonstop Sales Boom, Colleen Francis joins host Dan Walker to take us through some do’s and don’ts of effective, successful presentations in this 10-minute podcast.
This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald is interviewing Colleen Francis. The original live interview was 09/09/11. In Honesty Sells, How To Make More Money and Increase Business Profits, author Colleen Francis details how to arm your team with honest sales techniques, proven to generate results. Colleen Francis is an award-winning sales strategist and founder and president of Engage Selling Solutions. For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com
Because a client bought from you once, it doesn't mean they will continue to buy from you. You must nurture that relationship and build trust. Listen as Colleen Francis, President of Engage Selling Solutions, explains the two essential pieces of a client retention strategy, the most common reason why clients leave, and the best thing you can do right now to start successful relationships with clients.
Cold calling--the phrase strikes fear in many sales professionals. It is challenging, but it isn't impossible. With these tips from Colleen Francis, Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, you'll learn how to prepare for cold calls, as well as techniques to engage prospects and get them wanting to hear more.
In this day and age, when the Do-Not-Call list is so often put into action, you might think phone sales are things of the past. Not so, says Colleen Francis, Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions. In fact, she says the phone is still the most effective sales tool. To succeed at cold calling, however, you need to have a different mindset and you need to follow certain best practices. Think about cold calling as new business development or opening a relationship. Listen as Francis offers advice for leading successful conversations and points out statements that will kill relationships before they even have a chance to get started. (Time: 11:56)