Sindel Tech Engagement Ends. Lessons Learned.

My engagement with Sindel Tech ended today.  They are taking a different direction and I wish them the best of luck.  The primary lesson learned through this experience is that developing new business for a technology company specializing in managed services requires special talent.  The good news is small and mid-size companies need and want technology consulting, infrastructure, help desk, planning, back up and disaster recovery, and security in a big way.  Bad news is all companies either have internal resources or an existing, outsourced relationship.

So what does this mean?  It means the lead time in the industry is longer than I expected.  While my commitment to all clients is that I can virtually always impact a pipeline for the better within 90 days, it doesn’t always translate to new business and cash flow.  As with all sales and marketing, good business people test, learn and adapt to impact results.  If the pipeline is growing and sales aren’t converting, smart business people and marketing experts adjust to convert new business.

I have learned an inordinate amount in a short six months about the IT industry and specifically companies in the managed services industry.  I now have an incredible sales and marketing campaign for my next “partner” specializing in IT managed services.  I will soon add a new partner in IT to the WealthNet mix.  Stay tuned.

Simple CRM Audit. How Effective Is Your CRM?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is part art and part science of technology and human relations.  How effective is your CRM in terms of growing your business?  I will share more insights on CRM disciplines in later posts.  For now, ask yourself these simple questions.

1. Do you use your current CRM system every day?

2. Do you feel it is an effective tool?

3. Is your list big enough today and growing?

4. Is your list segmented and prioritized?

5. Is your list a quality list or is there a bunch of junk in it?

6. Do you regularly track comments, updates notes when using the system?

7. Do you track activities to hold yourself and your team accountable?

8. Is your system generating a positive return on investment?

Take a few minutes now to think about these questions and be honest.  If you are serious about generating more leads and closing more sales, your CRM system should be the primary tool for organizing progress, tracking results, and measuring ROI.  If it’s not, let us or a professional advisor help you leverage your current system better or implement one that works well.

If you want to know what the WealthNet team uses for CRM, the answer is Infusionsoft.  We are Certified Automated Marketing Consultants and when there’s a need for a new system we recommend you evaluate Infusionsoft.  Is it for everyone?  No.  Can it help you?  Find out more about closing more sales here.

CRM Systems Should Be About Relationships With People

As much as I talk about the discipline of growing and managing a clean contact management system, aka Customer Relationship Management (CRM), it’s important to tell you that any system, software or tool for managing contacts should be all about the relationships.  I say this because we can’t let the technology allow us to forget that all business is built on some level of relationship with people.

We embrace education-based marketing that is shared within a community of like minded entrepreneurs.  People who believe in creating wealth by starting, funding and growing successful businesses.

We embrace permission-based marketing.  Our community wants the information and services we offer.  This is one reason we don’t buy email lists and blast our noise to people who may not give a hoot about websites that generate leads.

Business success has a lot to do with people.  So building and managing relationships is essential.  Building relationships calls for highly personal interactions that evolve through communication.  Leveraging technology is just leverage.  The communication is the key.  The right positioning.  The right touch.  The right frequency.  The right level of personalization.  High touch based on how the relationship impacts your life and business.

Grow your relationships with people.  Grow your business.

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona
Follow up on twitter http://twitter.com/WealthNetTeam
Get LinkedIn with us at http://linkedin.com/wealthnetpartners

Planning, Marketing and Selling Are Essential Disciplines for Growing Successful Businesses

“Everyone lives by selling something.”- Robert Louis Stevenson

If we as entrepreneurs buy into this, why don’t more of us embrace being in a regular sales training program?  Why don’t we ensure that our entire sales organization is enrolled in a sales force training program?  Why don’t we believe that training our sales managers is essential considering it’s a completely different skill set when compared to selling itself.  (Ever see a top producer get promoted to sales manager?  How’d that work out?)  Why don’t we all have highly successful coaches coaching us?  Bigger yet, why don’t most entrepreneurs do all the important things they need to do to win the game?  We know it can be done.  We see other companies do it.  But most don’t.

When I read this quote I just had to share it with our growing community of entrepreneurs.  I meet business owners and professionals all the time who tell us what they want.  They want more business.  They want more sales.  When I ask them what’s going on in terms of their planning, marketing and sales disciplines, I often get a lot of song and dance.

This is some of what my team and I hear too often.  For real.  “We’re doing okay for now.”  “I’m too busy making my widgets to worry about that stuff.”  “Got it covered.”  “Sales guy’s handling that.”  “We don’t believe in marketing.”  “We don’t have a budget right now.”  “I’m waiting for the economy to turn around.”  “I don’t need sales training.”  “I can’t afford a coach.” And so on.  Excuses.  Stories.  And all very real belief systems that retard the growth of enterprise.

Planning, marketing and selling are core disciplines for every successful business.  And there are plenty of companies that get it. The results are there to prove it. If you want a perfect example of this fly to Las Vegas and take a tour of the Zappos.com HQ.  Yeah, Amazon.com just bought them because Zappos.com was kicking their butts selling shoes online.  $1 billion in sales in about eight years.  Why?  Disciplined planning, marketing, sales and customer service.  They also have incredible leadership and management.  For example, the CEO, Tony Hsieh, sits in a cubicle too.  He returns emails and phone calls.  He’s really nice to people.  He talks to customers.  Yikes.  Imagine that.

In fact, I honestly believe everyone in every business ought to be deeply committed to learning and applying marketing and selling disciplines such as those of Zappos.com and other highly successful companies.  I mean this in the sense that we need to focus on answering the phones really well.  We need to have the products people want to buy when they’re ready to buy them.  We need to care what’s going on in other departments.  We need to focus on providing service that builds loyalty.  We need to really like what we do.  We need a defined sales process.  We need to market well.  We need to care more.  We need technology and systems that leverage time.  We need to offer killer return policies.  This stuff shows.  This stuff works if you work it.  And it pays off in a big way for companies that embrace discipline and customer-centric practices as part of their culture.

There are certainly many more exceptions to this.  People who get it.  Companies that prove it by their results.  Entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses despite the economic news.  They plan.  They market.  They sell.  They learn.  They grow.

WealthNet is growing thanks to the many referrals we continue to get from so many of you.  Thank you very much.  Because we are working with some incredible people, I plan to interview some of our clients so you can learn from what they’re doing that’s working well.  And from what’s not working well.  That counts for something.  So keep checking back here as I get these interviews and other content addes to the WealthNet blog.  Share your comments.  Ask us questions.  Keep spreading the WealthNet!

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona
Follow up on twitter http://twitter.com/WealthNetTeam
Get LinkedIn with us at http://linkedin.com/wealthnetpartners

Making Sales Calls. How Many Calls Did You Make Today?

I just finished a great day. And I ended the day making sales calls. In fact, I started the day making sales calls. And during the day I made sales call. It was a great day to begin with. But ending the day, and looking back on the activities of the day, I feel really good about the effort made to make sales calls.

How many sales calls did you make today? How did they work out? How did you feel about the progress you made? If you’re a CEO, president, company owner or professional, I’m wondering if you make sales calls on a regular basis. If so, congratulations because it’s important that even the leader of an organization makes sales calls on a regular basis.

If you didn’t make sales calls today, why not? If you don’t make sales calls on a regular basis, why don’t you? Too busy? Too scary? Too proud? If you need a kick in the pants and some motivation to make more calls to grow your business and lead by example then connect with us about getting some sales coaching.

For me, even though business is great, I am always working to grow the company. We have capacity. We can add new talent when we run low on capacity. And by making sales calls I remain very close to the client. Feet on the street so to speak. Ear to the ground. I get to listen to clients and prospects and learn what matters most to them. And learning is a key to staying young and connected.

What are your thoughts about making sales calls every day? What’s working for you? What’s not working for you? Let us know and post your comments.

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona

WealthNet Can Help You Increase Sales

WealthNet Partners, LLC has a history of enhancing marketing for the specific purpose of driving new revenue. When we meet with new prospective clients to determine what they want from our relationship, almost everyone tells us that they want better sales results. When we ask to review the client’s business, marketing and sales action plans it’s often the case that we need to first fine tune the planning aspects of driving new business.

WealthNet works with clients to enhance overall marketing and sales results. This includes Website Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Social Networking, Blogging, Lead Generation and Conversion, Automated Email Marketing and Follow Up, Sales Force Development, and many other aspects of driving cash flow and sustained profitability.

For more information regarding how we can help you affect better top line results call us today at (480) 451-6963 or send an email to info@wealthnetcoaching.com.