What Sales Method is Best?

The most common request for help in a business that I get is 'help me get more sales'

It might even beat the request of 'do you know a good bookkeeper' or 'a good CPA that actually communicates'...

The two biggest gaps that I see in this 'get me more sales' area are:

There is no passive online marketing machine (i.e. getting the phone to ring without having to spend time on social media)
The sales method that is used is not based in science

Let's talk about the last one: How do you sell, and what sales method is the best?

I have given sales trainings at many workshops, it is always a popular topic. And for a long time the materials that I used were a collection of techniques taught by the big names: Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Brad Sugars, and so on. Results were decent although mixed. What works well for one company does not seem to work as well with another, and of course, individual results varied per sales rep.

Nothing unusual right? Some sales reps want it more than others they say. Selling is an art...

Ho. Stop there.

Turns out sales has been researched using the actual scientific method. And it his been worked out why sometimes the high and soft pressure techniques advocated by the sales gurus works really well, and sometimes not at all.

The answer is, the only scientifically proven sales method is 'SPIN' selling. And that is what I now implement at my clients.

Darn, it works!

If you don't know what SPIN selling is, contact me...

Rene

Is your business in the State of AcRetTo?

What is 'acretto' you might ask?

We have been hearing the word Acretto lately, and surprise surprise, it is such an aspiring word for a business to be in, that we are actually talking with a group of entrepreneurs to become part of the Acretto Nation or something. more on that later.

AcRetTo

Accelerated
Returns
Time Off

your business is in the state of Acretto when profits are growing, and the owner is actually on a trajectory of having more time for him or herself.

Therefore, Acretto describes the journey of business success, not the outcome.

Is your business in Acretto?

‘This Site is recovering from a Chinese Hacking attempt’

Bear with us while we try to rebuild the site…

Yes you have found the site of Mid Atlantic Strategic Services - we still offer Business Coaching, Business Consulting, and other services such as Bookkeeping

A far east hacker had cloaked our website and was directing all traffic to a gambling site in China

Lessons learned

So, what to do after rebuilding your site? Well we have done the following:
- installed wordfence plugin
- put in site backup plugin
- changed passwords
- put up an SSL certificate (turns the site into an https connection)

Turns out the first three are easy to do yourself, your hosting provider can help you with the SSL certificate

The cost of commuting is underestimated

A local job or working over the mountain?

Several of my clients mentioned that they found a potentially good employee but they could not offer the level of wages paid ‘over the mountain’ (which stands for Northern Virginia wages). Or they have a good employee that is considering to leave because of the better salaries offered in Northern Virginia.

That the wages over there are higher is certainly true. But there is a price to pay. Cost of living in Northern Virginia is significantly higher, and if you are considering the grueling commute, consider this as well:

The added Fuel + wear and tear + more expensive insurance (not to mention risks of being in traffic) will cost you more than you think… For example:

Gas, at $3.50 per 35 miles (assuming 35MPG), is 10 cents/mile
Tires, at $300 per 50,000 miles are 0.6 cents
Oil, at $25 per 5,000 miles is 0.5 cents
Miscellaneous things like wipers and occasional maintenance visits: $200 per 20,000 miles = 1 cent

Thus it is estimated that it costs for each mile you live from work about $795 per year from you in commuting costs. So adding 40 miles in commute is close to adding $30,000 in expenses. And that is ignoring the fact that those who commute will often drive a more expensive car, for the added comfort and safety.

That was only the financial side, now the aspect of time:

If you do not commute, you save about 2 hours a day, that is 25% more personal time during the workweek!

sleep 7 hours, work and travel is 9+ hours, so the remaining personal hours are either 8 (not commuting) or 6 (commuting)

Another way of looking at it: Being away from home for the 10 hours of extra commute a week, is like having a 6 day workweek…

That leads to the crucial question:

Is the added income worth more than the over $30,000 in extra expenses, and losing 25% of your personal time during the workweek?

Ask this to your (potential) employee the next time you are confronted with this situation.

Useful success tool for one’s employees

Are you ‘above or below the line’ is probably the most powerful statement you can give when you try to give someone the keys to their own future success.

The ‘line’ is the line of response. Something happened, and you have to respond. You can act below the line, or above. You can be a loser, or fight to be a winner.

What does all of this really mean?

Whitepaper | Mid Atlantic Strategic Services

‘Are you above or below the line’ is actually a question that asks ‘are you a powerless victim that gives reasons why he or she cannot change a situation, or are you a victor that explains a situation from the context of how they can change the response to a situation for the better?’

When you take a closer look at this question of are you a Victim that gives Reasons versus a Victor that looks for Results, you can actually see that there is a ladder of increasing involvement with a situation. At the bottom of this ‘ladder of response’ we find:

DENIAL

Ever had a situation where you said “I had no clue it was that bad”? That must have been a situation where you were suddenly taken out of Denial.

Examples of Denial are the refusal to look at the scales, or not looking at the Profit and Loss. Not asking for something that you know might confirm that there is something wrong.

Excuses

At the second rank of the ladder of response we find Excuses. With Excuses we usually put a very mild blame on things, as if what happened was unavoidable, and therefore nothing you should really even put any energy in to address.

“Sorry, the market is down so there were just less people to buy” is such an excuse. Or, “yeah, that seems to happen to all of us.” Or “Sorry, didn’t have the time to do that. Next time I will…”

Blame

Once we hit the rank of ‘Blame’ the game starts to change. There is now an elevated amount of emotion involved on the issue. Just like excuses, the problem is acknowledged. But, this time with passion and even anger, the finger is pointed somewhere else.

Therefore, when anger is involved, be on your guard for the Blame Game!

Responsibility

When we reach the rank of taking responsibility, something important has happened. Not only have we acknowledged that we have played a role in the event we are not happy about, we are also acknowledging that we need to at least participate if things need to be different next time.

We are now ‘Above the Line’– no longer just a powerless victim. This means that there is now a chance that things can change for the good.

Learn more about enabling your employees to take hold of their own success.

Rene Hollebrandse joins Mid Atlantic Strategic Services as CEO

Rene Hollebrandse has accepted the CEO position at Mid Atlantic Strategic Services (MASS). MASS is located in the historic Post Office building at 200 North Braddock Street in the center of Old Town Winchester business district.

Mid-Atlantic Strategic Services was Initially born as a company that would provide complementary services to clients of local business coaches such as bookkeeping and social media marketing. Today MASS has expanded into a full service business coaching enterprise.Although primarily working with large local business firms with assets of a minimum million plus, MASS also offers the “Mom and Pop” shops an opportunity to begin in the Street Smart Academy and then move into individual counseling as the business grows.

Hollebrandse is from the Netherlands where he received his masters in business economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Hollenbrandse comes to MASS with seven years experience working with the largest business coach franchise in the world, Action Coach. Prior to joining Action Coach, Hollenbrandse had a global career in business and IT. His work ranged from managing massive implementations of Enterprise Resource Planning software to product management and driving the development of huge end to end software suites that would manage everything in a company. It was during this career that he was asked to move to Herndon, Virginia in 2002.

For seven years he worked as a franchisee out of his Winchester office where he became recognized as the number one business coach in Virginia. Many of his clients have become recognized winners in the “Greater Goods awards” as run by the local Chamber of Commerce. This award centers on rapid growth in both profit and number of employees, a better lifestyle for the business owners, as well as actively giving back to the community. He has also assisted in clients such as Nibblins of Ruttherford Crossing to earn the Best Small Business Award form the Top of Virginia Chamber of Commerce in 2013.

Testimonials:

“There are truly no words to describe the impact that Rene’s coaching had upon me and my business. Without Rene’s insight I dare say MPR would not be where it is today. With his guidance, Rene challenge me to examine some of my long-standing beliefs and business practices. I could never enumerate the vast changes that we’ve made at our firm but I can share the most meaningful.,” said Angela Duncan.

“Through Rene’s coaching, MarketPlace REALTY has established Mission, Vision and Core Value statements that guide our every decision and which our Team has embraced. As a result, we are a culture-rich environment with a strong sense of purpose and direction. I can only describe the vibe at MPR as magic and it has everything to do with the expert coaching that I, as Leader of MarketPlace REALTY, realizes through working with Rene Hollebrandse,” said Duncan.

“Like many, when I originally consulted with Rene I was hoping to make more money, in less time by expanding my business. I stopped, thinking I had learned all that I needed. Upon returning to Rene’s guidance I have seen my company and my goals grow exponentially.” Jim Ogletree, A+ Handyman, Inc

Hollebrandse working as the CEO is responsible for the development of business systems which MASS will implement in the upcoming year. “My goal is to take an owner who is still involved in the day to day operations of his business and have him run the business by himself” f you need to spend a day or less a month – that business runs itself,” said Hollebrandse.

Working with the business coaches at MASS, Hollebrandse will expand on their market offering business coaching to two percent of the businesses here in Loudoun and the Shenandoah Valley. MASS’s mission is to create 1000 new jobs every year by assisting in the growth of area businesses. “My mission is to develop the finest group of business coaches in the region using the strategies found in Compound Coaching, an eight tier business coaching methodology I have developed,” said Hollebrandse.

If you are struggling with your business or your business has your personal life out of control, then consider hiring a business coach. Business coaching as an industry is growing about 5% a year making it one of the fastest growing industries. Just as a an athlete will not rely on only himself to become great but searches for the best coach one can find, so a successful business owner recognizes the need for a good business coach.