Sales… even reading that word made you think (maybe even feel!) something didn’t it!? The love or hate of sales is so frequently discussed, but what you hear much less frequently is practical tactics on how to make selling easier and even enjoyable. As marketing agency owners we need to be able to sell; regardless of how good the ‘marketing’ part is done, at some point you need to pitch your proposition and ask for fair exchange of value in the form of a fee. Like it or not, sales makes the world go round… so we’d better get better, right!
We talk to Matt King and get an insight into his very unique views and beliefs on what it takes to sell. How do you increase your chances to make sales, why does Matt have an ethos of being an ethical salesman and how can growing social following and social proof improving your selling ability. Matt is the Founder of Sales Change which is a sales coaching service. So if you as a company or an individual are struggling in terms of building your sales, then Matt is the man you need. Matt helps people work on everything from overcoming objections, all the way through to full business sales planning for multi-million pound companies.
We cover so much in this episode including:
- How people in sales should view themselves
- What it takes to create sales
- Why selling is becoming a solution provider
- How to set a “go-to market” strategy
- How Matt taught himself to gain followers
- Mistakes Matt made along his journey
- Tips to grow an Instagram following which is a powerful social proof tool
- Going deeper in your pitch conversations
Links & References
Katie Street: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiestreet/
Connect with Matt King: https://www.linkedin.com/in/immattking/
Sales Change: https://www.saleschange.co.uk/
Get in touch: [email protected]
Episode Highlight:
“I think people are scared of that word “sales” for some reason which, probably in my past I have been, I’m certainly not now, but it’s almost looked upon as a dirty word” – Katie Street [06:32]
“Sales can be a dirty word if you’re trying to sell to people who don’t need what you’re selling” – Matt King [06:52]
“Sales people are solution providers, that’s it…” – Matt King [07:52]
“Sales is a very niche’ word, sales doesn’t take into account that you also need to be an excellent networker, you have to know how to build relationships with people.” – Matt King [08:34]
“There’s 3 main areas: your existing client base, your ideal client profile and your dream clients” – Matt King [11:58]
“I know people don’t want to hear this, you don’t want to think ‘I’ve got to keep going at this for 6 months/9 months/a year before to see results’ – Katie Street [13:03]
“Having a separate sales team, to a client relations team. Pays dividends like you wouldn’t believe.” – Matt King [16:17]
“Focusing on the channel that gives you the most joy, but also where your current and prospective clients are gonna be, is where you should be focusing most of your efforts.” – Matt King [19:27]
“People try to do too much sometimes and I’ve had that, where you have pressure from the MD or CEO and you become diluted.” – Katie Street [21:15]
“It’s a lot easier to try and sell yourself if you’ve already done it.” – Matt King [22:00]
“Having the correct mindset when you go into a prospect meeting or pick up a call, having that confidence you can do it yourself and you’ve proved you can do it for hundreds of clients, having that when you go into a call is massively, massively important.” – Matt King [26:57]
“New business people suffer rejection and understand what they have to do to get to the next stage” – Matt King [29:41]
“Go 3 levels deep, ask the first question like ‘have you tried this before? What were the results? Would you consider trying it again?’. So asking 3 specific questions about the same subject matters.” – Matt King [32:42]
“In the old days of agency you walk straight into a pitch or presentation and you go in telling them about yourself… You must, must, must listen first!” – Katie Street [33:51]
“Focus on one channel, use that content to test it, see if it works on other channels. If it works on other channels then it’s less work for greater exposure.” – Matt King [41:44]
“Show up consistently and have a value based post” – Matt King [42:45]
“This isn’t a quick win, new business, sales, you’ve got to keep going, you’ve got to keep showing up everyday.” – Katie Street [47:14]
“You need to put yourself at the top of your funnel, because ultimately if you’re trying to funnel people to your business, you want to be ever present at the top.” – Matt King [50:02]
“I hate the word cold calling, because you should pre-qualify the clients” – Matt King [52:21]