Heather visits Sapporo

This week I attended my second networking event for Approach. Unfortunately, Rachel wasn't feeling too well so couldn't make it. However, Amanda from Koogar was nice enough to come along with me.

This time I didn't feel too nervous as I now have have a much better understanding of what Approach does. I would even go as far as to say that I was looking forward to the event. When I arrived I noticed a few familiar faces, but also realized that there were plenty of new people (guinea pigs) to test my modified and frequently practiced networking speach upon. I was lucky enough to speak with a varied number of individuals, from all different sectors. I was able to find out about companies that I never even knew existed.

Food!!!!!!!!!
After an hour networking we were split into two large tables and asked to sit next to someone that we had not spoken to before. We were entertained by the chefs and was truelly amazed by their egg flipping and general food tossing. After a vegetable tempura and salmon terriaki lunch (which was delicious by the way) the event slowly came to an end. All in all a lovely networkig event that I would recommend to all.

Productivity

Managers are expected to enhance productivity with fewer people. Increased global competition is demanding that people move faster and produce greater results in less time. With long work hours, keeping up with gruelling deadlines and balancing personal responsibilities, it's difficult to do it all without sacrificing something; namely our health, our personal life or family.

If you are:

Lacking clearly defined, measurable goals and a step-by-step strategy and path to achieve them?

Looking to dramatically increase your level and/or your sales team's level of income, performance and achievement?

Trying to sell without any formal training on the essential selling skills and competencies?

Losing potential customers on price?

Sounding like everyone else who is trying to "sell"?

Frustrated with the money you're making and feel stuck at a certain level of performance?

Lacking an effective, systemised sales approach that either you or your sales team use to generate extraordinary results?

Trying new and inconsistent approaches during each sales call?

Overwhelmed, overloaded and spending more time solving problems rather than uncovering new ways to generate new business?

Wishing you had more time to do the things you really want to be doing, desperately needing to organize your time and life more effectively?

Call 0844 375 4316 you can have some time with a competent, proven, reputable consultant that will work through until you can see clearly your 'next steps'.

Midnight Oil

The STORY:
Jenny got back to the office at 3:00pm on Wednesday with every intention of putting together the preliminary proposal for what could be one of the biggest clients she'd ever have. A two-hour job at most. She had promised to have a preliminary proposal to them first thing in the morning.

There, in her inbox, were one after another of 24/7 "While You Were Out" messages. Working through the list of call back messages, Jenny decided that they could all be called and dealt with within an hour. Some of them could be pushed off until the next day.

No problem, she thought, I'll run right through these. Take maybe an hour. That will leave me at least two hours to do the preliminary quote. I've got all the time in the world.

As she dialed the first return call, Jenny felt good. If I land this account, it will mean we have a really profitable client.

"Ah, yes, this is Jenny; I'm returning a phone call from..."

An in a very methodical fashion, the "While You Were Out" messages disappeared.

Returning the last phone message, Jenny wondered why no one was answering. Guess he's not in, she thought. Never going to succeed by keeping banker's hours.

Putting down the phone, she finally looked at the little clock in the corner of the pc screen. 6:10PM. No, thought Jenny, this must be wrong. The clock on the iPhone perched neatly on the desk confirmed the time. With a loud sigh, Jenny spent about 10 seconds wondering if she'd ever get home before 9 or 10 o'clock at night. She realized she could not remember the last time she'd cooked a meal at home.

"That's the price you pay to succeed," she said aloud to an empty office, "that's the price."

The RESULT:
Jenny spent another night working at the office. Perhaps the preliminary quotation would be accurate. Perhaps, with lack of proper rest, she'd still be able to make a good presentation the following morning, but none of this had to happen.

DISCUSSION:
One of the great, and usually destructive, tales of business handed down from one business owner to another, and from older salespeople to younger salespeople, is the burning of the midnight oil. "The only way to succeed is to burn the midnight oil."
"The sooner you start burning the midnight oil, the sooner you will have success."

This tale, this myth, is so powerful that many burners of the oil truly believe that long hours are really a sign of success.

So it is obvious Jenny has pledged allegiance to the miraculous effects of burning that oil. She will arrange her day to make sure that the oil will be burned.

Which of the following do you think Jenny would see as a sign of hard work leading to greater success:

1. Leave the office at 6:00 pm.

2. Leave the office at 10:00 pm.

Time's up. Make your choice.

If you picked number two, you are a true believer in the curative effects of midnight oil.

APPROACH:
How could Jenny have dealt with her phone calls and need to produce a preliminary quotation by 6:00 pm? It's as simple as a three-minute egg timer. Here's how it works. Jenny had 28 phone calls to return. Of those, at least half would result in voice mail, an answering machine, or the person would not be in. That left, at most, 14 contacts.

At the beginning of the conversation, all she had to do was state, "I've got three minutes to talk. Can we take care of your concerns in that time or should we schedule a phone call for tomorrow when I'm not limited?" Flip the egg timer over.

Jenny would have spent, at most an hour on the phone. That would have brought her to four o'clock instead of six o'clock.

The egg timer solution is not high tech; it's not fancy; it's not even expensive. But it works. And Jenny could have been out of the office by six.

THOUGHT:
Burning the midnight oil produces no light and ho heat. Why do it?

Know these answers...

If you are uncomfortable with sales calls or maybe you've just realised that you do need to make them in order to build on your pipeline of work.

Do not build a script! This is probably the best advice I can offer and there is a simple explanation behind me saying this and it is purely because you should never prepare what the person on the end of the phone will reply with because when they don't reply with what you're expecting you will be thrown and panic.

Take time to answer the following nine hidden buyer questions. You need to have these answered before you even consider picking up the phone...

Your prospective customers may not ask these questions but they do need them answering in order to make a positive decision.

1. Why should I take your call you?

2. Why should I take time to listen to you?

3. What’s my problem?

4. What benefits have you to offer my business?

5. How will you support these benefits?

6. Why should I trust you?

7. Why should I trust your company?

8. Why should I make a decision to proceed?

9. Why should I proceed today?

Heather's First Networking Event for Approach

Networking

On my second day at Approach I was invited to my very first networking event for the company. I was certainly nervous about going since I was still getting to grips with job, but I thought I'd be brave and pop along.

Upon arriving at Coffee Republic I was extremely happy to find out that it would be a very informal event. I had already thought up my thirty second sales piece so off I went. The more people I spoke to the more relaxed I felt about the whole thing. I got more and more confident each time I told my willing listeners about Approach Sales, what we do and how I thought we would be able to help each company. I had previously been told that the event would last two hours which worried me slightly. However, the time flew by and as the event drew to a close I realised that I had been chatting to certain people for a long time (maybe too long lol). I felt that I made some great contacts and came out of the event feeling really positive. Everyone that I met were really friendly and super sympathetic that I had been thrown in the deep end.

I am planning on attending a speed networking event (not to be confused with speed dating) next, which I am really looking forward to. I am up for the challenge, it should be lots of fun. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

Rachel's New Marketing Manager

Hi I'm Heather and I am Rachel's new marketing manager for Approach Sales. I thought I would write a little introduction about myself.



Well........ I'm a History Graduate from Liverpool Uni with a background in sales and marketing. I have just returned from New York where I worked as personal assistant to five lawyers. Since returning to Liverpool I was lucky enough to meet Rachel through a training scheme at Blue Orchid. After having a brief chat at the end of the day she quickly snapped me up by asking me to work with her.



A few more little facts about me



I am obsessed with travelling and visiting new places. In the past few years I've backpacked around Southeast Asia, parts of Europe and spent six weeks visiting various states in America. I love to shop, especially at little vintage shops, and have a special weakness for buying dresses. I've recently bought tickets for this years V festival. I'm very excited about that despite the fact I'm not the best camper. I just hope it doesn't rain so I don't have to spend the entire four days covered in mud.



If you are organizing any networking events or if you want to know how Approach Sales can help you then just shoot me an email heather@approach-uk.com

Training budget down the drain...

This package was initially designed by my client for a pub/restaurant that had a higher than normal turnover of staff. It is now with companies in similar sectors that are already making savings by using the on-line training programs. This obviously ticks the compliance box as far as regulations go but doesn’t incur massive training and development costs for staff that probably wouldn’t be around in a months’ time. Also all records are held on-line centrally so when audits come around you are no longer scrabbling around tying training records up with employees as everything can be printed off in one report. It even has capabilities to highlight those that haven’t gone through the training and when updates are due. There is much more it can do and it can even be branded as a bespoke package for your business.

Taking a look at the link and give me a call if you want to discuss further? http://www.synergisedsolutions.co.uk/online-learning.php
Tel Rachel: 0844 375 4316

$2b Savings in 21 months - From the head of a consulting oil and gas leader

From the head of a consulting oil and gas leader

I soon realized that our original efforts would never work in the time we had. We had to win over business unit leaders and their 65,000 staff to take on procurement as a fundamental way of doing business rather than a back office function.

We were targeted to achieve $1b of savings in just 18 months. We called in them to work with us on three critical areas – enlisting the hearts and minds of our people to a new way of working, creating the strategic imperatives that would meet our numbers and implementing these imperatives in the face of initiative overload and scepticism.

What was most striking was how they helped us marshal our staff around these new precepts and ways of working. We ran a series of roll out sessions and introduced their breakthrough principles. During these sessions wave after wave of our people created their view of the future direction and imperatives once we had outlined the challenge. Once people got clear that we trusted them and we believed they could contribute, they went way beyond what we expected. In the end we produced $2b in savings in 21 months.

If this is relevant to your business and to find out who 'they' are then please call Rachel on:
0844 375 4316

Rachel's Xeesm

Rachel's Xeesm

A handy little tool... Just thought I'd share it!