How to Close More Sales and Three Ways to Get More Referrals
In this week’s blog, I’m super excited to be joined by Chip Doyle of Sandler Sales. Having successfully trained hundreds of people to be great salespeople, what Chip talks about is a proven approach for effective prospecting that results in closing more sales.
In my interview Chip shared some best practices around sales and prospecting that are simple to implement, and don’t require you to be “salesy.”
“To create fruitful prospecting (i.e. be attracting the RIGHT customers), you need to control the lead source,” Chip shares in this interview.
I especially love when Chip explained how “every opportunity you have to connect with customers and prospects is an opportunity to prospect for more customers, thus an opportunity to close more sales.”
Here are three ways to get more referrals:
- Talk with current clients – make the ask
- Call past clients – capitalize on this gold mine
- Public speaking – be seen as an expert
I asked Chip how those of us who are super busy (that’s everyone I talk with), can find the time to maintain active prospecting. Here are Chip’s top three practices to help you be more purposeful in your prospecting:
- Be intentional about it – make a plan for WHAT you’ll be doing to prospect – it’s just like identifying project scope.
- Make time for prospecting – put it in your calendar – it’s just like having a project schedule with milestones.
- Put a reminder on your desk of WHY you’re prospecting and working to generate leads. If you’re doing it for your family, put a photo of them on your desk and add a note that says “prospecting” on it to remind you to be proactive!
Here is a pro tip Chip shared in our time together:
When asking for referrals, be sure you are clear about what you’re looking for and be able to clearly articulate that to someone who wants to refer business to you.
I’d love to hear how this interview resonates for you and how you see you can implement improved proactive prospecting in your business. Feel free to leave a comment below to share any tips you have on prospecting and closing more sales.
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. To receive Chip’s newsletter, send him an email at [email protected] Connect with Chip on Twitter and get his latest updates and tips @chipsell. And you can grab a copy of Chip’s book, “Selling to Homeowners The Sandler Way” here.
p.p.s If you’d like to get more tools to help you close more sales, check out my Sales Process Toolkit – a step by step guide to controlling the sales process, and allow you to close more sales.
How to Charge for Pre-Construction Services
As he sat down across from me, I asked Josh “how have things been going this past month?”
“Last week I submitted the fourth bid to a client who has an incomplete set of plans and is not clear on exactly what they want. This whole thing of helping people figure out what they want to design, and what it will take to build it, while simultaneously asking me to bid and re-bid, and NOT getting paid for it is making us crazy!”
“What about instituting pre-construction agreements as part of your process of project development?” I asked. “Easier said than done!” he exclaimed.
While I can completely appreciate that making a change like this in your business can take time, it’s one that I’ve seen can make a HUGE difference in the overall success of your projects AND profitability of your company.
It was about a week after Josh and I’d had that conversation that I met my blog guest, David Davison of Realty Restoration, Inc. David has a completely different perspective on doing pre-construction agreements and has been HUGELY successful in implementing them in his design build firm.
In this video, David shares how he navigates this conversation with the client, and how he justifies the costs in a practical and grounded way.
To help you implement pre-construction services, David was generous enough to share with us the Pre-Construction Agreement Realty Restoration, Inc. uses in their business. A super generous offer – thank you David!
I hope you’ve found this video to be helpful in your leadership journey. If so, please share it with a friend?
If you have other thoughts on the topic, I’d love for you to share them below.
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. In this week’s blog, my guest David Davidson with Realty Restoration, Inc., shares with you how to charge for pre-construction services so you can start making projects run more smoothly and be more profitable too!
p.p.s. David generously shared with us the Pre-Construction Agreement they use so you can implement this into your business too!
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
De-Mystifying Online Marketing – And the ONE thing you can easily do create a stronger online presence
If you’re like me, the whole world of online marketing can often feel very confusing and daunting. This week in my interview with my friend and colleague Joleen Emery she de-mystified social media marketing in a really lovely way. In the process, she also helped me understand some key areas where we could improve our “digital footprint” as she calls it (this is explained in the video).
Joleen talked about how to get more people calling us, and how to get our business to show up on the first three pages when someone does a Google search – without paying for ad space!
No cost and no confusion marketing – who doesn’t love that?
As we talked, she made a clear distinction of the difference between outbound and inbound marketing, and how and when you’d want to do each. I found her simple and clear distinctions refreshing and it helped me better understand how to approach both.
At the end, Joleen shared the exact steps to take (using her guide) to create a stronger online presence for our business.
If you want to increase your visibility with prospects, and de-mystify social media marketing for yourself, then give the video a watch.
It’s my sincere hope that this content helps you to grow, thrive and prosper in your business and in your life!
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. Get Joleen’s “10x Your Lead Generation” step by step guide to getting you on the first three pages when someone does a Google search, without having to pay for ad-space.
p.p.s If you found this content is helpful, would you please share it? Thanks!
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
Project Schedules that Make You Money!
When three different clients told me about Robin and his brilliance around making money in scheduling, I knew I needed to interview him for my blog. And I’m so glad I did.
For over 30 years Robin Beauchamp has been increasing profitability on his projects by employing an approach to scheduling that has been key to getting teams to stray focused, subs to show up when needed, clients to make decisions quicker, and design teams to stay on track.
In my interview, Robin shared how he keeps project teams aligned on goals, delivering on promises, and working as a cohesive team. And he does it without having to cajole, threaten or throw anyone under the bus.
Listen to today’s video blog and learn how you can make your projects flow more smoothly, and have your schedule make you more money!
It’s my sincere hope that this content helps you to grow, thrive and prosper in your business and in your life!
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. If you haven’t already gotten your copy of my book, The Profit Bleed, check it out here. It’s now also available on Kindle.
p.p.s. I’m committed to helping contractors to grow, thrive and prosper, so if you found this content to be useful, would you please share it with a friend or associate you think could value from it too?
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
Hiring The Best / Maximizing Margins
If you ever hired someone who didn’t work out in the job, and not sure where you went wrong, you’ll want to watch this week’s video.
If you want to know the secret to increasing your profit margins, then you want to watch this week’s video.
Jared Gossett has been a successful builder for many years, and a while back started a radio podcast that is all about helping Builders and Remodelers take their businesses to the next level. When Jared asked me to be a guest on his Building Optimal Radio show and talk about best practices around hiring and managing profit margins, I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with someone else passionate about helping contractors build successful businesses.
It’s my sincere hope that this content has helped you be better at interviewing and gave you some ideas for ways to increase your margins.
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. As I mention in the video, if you’d like to get a copy of my book, The Profit Bleed, for FREE (you just pay shipping and handling) then make sure to check out this limited time offer.
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
8 Strategies to help you find great employees
The one thing every manager and leader I know can agree on is that it’s tough to find good people to hire these days. Particularly in construction – an industry that doesn’t seem to hold much interest for younger people.
In this weeks video blog I share with you 8 ways to find qualified candidates, and tips that can help you “think outside of the box.” At the end of the video I even share with you a special resource that will help you get other people to help you find great candidates too – at no cost to you.
Do you have other creative strategies you’re employing to find great candidates? If so, share them below.
It’s my sincere hope that this content helps you to in finding great people for your team, and helps you to grow, thrive and prosper in your business and in your life!
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. Here is a link to a resource I mention at the end of the video that can help you get others to recruit on your behalf – at no cost!
p.p.s. In addition to the tools I’ve offered in today’s video, you may also be interested in my course titled “Managers Hiring Toolkit” – feel free to check it out.
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
Managing Emotional or Challenging Clients
Often while doing an initial check-in with clients as our meetings begin, I hear tales of challenging projects. Almost always they involve an emotional or indecisive homeowner, or a demanding client. It usually comes down to the contractor wishing the client would just trust them, let them do their job, and for heaven’s sake, just pick out what tile you want – otherwise this kitchen will never get finished!
While talking with my friend Ed Earl (affectionately known as the Zen Builder) about his approach to managing clients, I instantly thought – “gosh, my clients and followers could get huge value from hearing Ed’s approach to managing client relationships.”
That day he shared with me his approach to circumventing those challenges. That conversation is what inspired me to interview Ed for this blog post.
In the video Ed shares with us his strategies for understanding and managing the client relationship. He provides some powerful insights that will help you AND your client have a better experience in the construction process. At the end of the video, Ed also shares a resource that will definitely help you create a better “win-win” on your next project!
It’s my sincere hope that this content helps you to grow, thrive and prosper in your business and in your life!
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. If you’d like a copy of Ed’s helpful resource for helping you manage those challenging clients, get your copy of his article here.
p.p.s. I’m committed to helping contractors to grow, thrive and prosper, so if you found this content to be useful, would you please share it with a friend or associate you think could value from it too? Thank you.
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
2 Simple ways to get staff to take more ownership
One of the key complaints I hear from managers and leaders is that their staff don’t take ownership. This challenge seems to be universal as evidence in a survey I did recently where 72% of respondents said they struggled with this very issue.
In this week’s blog, my guest Sonja Stetzler shared with me two simple things managers and leaders can do to get their teams to take more ownership. At the end of the blog, she even provides a simple “cheat sheet” you can use.
Hope you find this 20-minute video helpful in supporting you on your leadership journey.
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. Get the tool Sonja shared about in this video blog – it’s a great little tool for helping you to get your team to take more ownership!
p.p.s. If you found this content to be useful, please share it with a friend?
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
What Stops You?
This week I caught myself in the mental loop of “ya-buts”. You know, the little voice in our head that paralyzes us from taking action. That voice that runs through the litany of things that make us second guess, not trust ourselves, and then . . . hesitate.
And stop.
In today’s video, I share with you the question I asked myself that helped me get back into action.
Maybe it will help you too the next time you feel stuck in inaction.
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.
The real reason employees lack ownership…
Some of the most common complaints I hear from business owners and managers is, “It’s tough to find good people to work for me!” and, “people just don’t take ownership of their job!”
You may think the problem is all because of a labor shortage, or that people lack motivation or a good work ethic, but it may be something else.
This is what I talk about in today’s video blog. Enjoy!
Do you have a practice that helps you hold your team accountable? Share it in the comments below or reach out to me on LinkedIn or Facebook and tell me.
Make it a great day!
Warmest,
Vicki
p.s. Get your free resource “6 Steps to Writing Great Position Agreements” and start building a team that takes more ownership.
p.p.s. If you found this blog useful, please share it? Thanks!
Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently. Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.