It doesn’t matter where you turn these days everyone is talking about how the business environment is changing and challenging.

A recent survey conducted by SOHO (Small Office Home Office), revealed that 42% of businesses believe that Growing Revenue will be their biggest challenge in 2011.

This survey result reminded me of a similar statistic I wrote about several years ago.

In a recent poll conducted by the Canadian Professional Sales Association, CPSA members identified one of their top challenges as “Sustaining sales momentum throughout the year” 32% said this was their toughest challenge.    Published May 2008

Many of the entrepreneurs and business I meet attend trade shows and association meetings as a business development strategy to prospect for new sales. As a result they collect piles of business cards. (Look around, do you have a pile of business cards on your desk?) Often we only follow up and connect after the meeting with the people we believe are ready to buy today.

Did You Know? Only about 1/3 of the people you meet while networking are ready to buy at the time you meet them? As a result, the remaining 2/3 of the potential contacts, end up as a pile of business cards sitting on the desk.  (Or maybe you invested extra time to enter theses business cards into a database where they languish as contacts which never hear from your business again.)

Some things change. This process may have worked when prospects were plentiful, times less challenging and the internet less social. Times have changed. New sales automation and social internet tools are now available to help your business stay in conversation with prospects after that first contact conversation. But .. this requires preparation and a planned process.

And some things never change.
Prospects need to hear from your business over time because the know you, like you, trust you factor is only built through repeated contact. Getting your expert information out to prospects on a regular basis is directly linked to the increase in sales volume you are working towards in your business.

If your business is similar to the businesses in both of the surveys, who identified sales volume as a top priority, maybe revisiting and updating the process you use for prospecting is timely.

Did you Know? 80% of sales are won on the 5th to 12th contact – yet 48% of all business managers never follow up beyond that first contact conversation.

Here are some startling stats about Follow Up:

* 25% make a 2nd contact and stop
* 12% make a 3rd contacts and stop

Follow Up is VERY important for your business because:

* only 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
* 3% on the 2nd contact
* 5% on the 3rd contact

Ask yourself this question. Does your business have a specific process in place to continue the conversation with prospects to the 3rd contact and beyond to the 12th were 80% of sales are made?

If not, consider attending the next session of Set The Stage For Follow Up, or consider bringing this sales follow up business training to your office. This interactive training is 2.5 hours of hands on, skills based business training, presented in a straight forward easy to understand format.

The training outlines a simple systematic strategy for prospecting that you can use right away. You will learn a foundational step by step process that makes sure EVERY prospect you met finds their way into your sales funnel and is followed up. As a result, you will maximize your business development investment and utilize proactive marketing to raise the visibility of your business in your community. Putting a business process in place which lays the foundation for sales automation, just makes cents.

Enterprise Toronto and The Learning Enrichment Foundation have chosen this training for their sessions in Toronto, Ontario as have Investors Group and Verico Designer Mortgages in Burlington ON.

Hear what other attendees have to say;

Then progress to Automate Your Follow Up Process – Advanced Training

Recently I met Randi Goodman of The Canadian Networker Peel Region and attended the 3rd Ultimate Networking Event she organized in Mississauga, Ontario. 

The Canadian Networker represents the individual entrepreneur, small business owner, whose goal is to seek Education, Inspiration and Connections. Through their Online Resource Centers, Events and Newsletters, they reach thousands of entrepreneurs each month. TCNW is not a networking group, though they hold Ultimate Networking Events to bring together members from all groups for fresh connections and to give groups a chance to gain new members.

Luckily for the attendees, Randy Chin of Foglight Search was right there at the front door shooting video and caught Cheryl Scoffield discussing upcoming expansion plans for Executive Sales Support. Thanks for the video Randy.

The purpose of this video is to let you know Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist, Trainer and Coach, will be making changes at Executive Sales Support in 2011 as she translates her expertise in helping companies manage growth, into specific client requested services.

This video is the first in a series that outlines how Cheryl’s systematic approach to managing growth applies to 2 areas of your business;

1. Business Operations, essential document  management and data tracking
2. Business Development/Follow Up Specialist, proactive business networking, lead/prospect management and proactive marketing 

These changes include the launch of 2 new websites in the latter part of 2011; 

1. Growth Positioning System.com for Business Operations and
2. Turn Leads To Sales Growth.com for Follow Up Specialist.

There is no doubt when you are in the throes of growth, things can happen very quickly! When a new system is developing on the fly in a fast paced environment, it is easy for all the loose ends to start to unravel and become overwhelming. The lack of structure and process in this ad hoc system directly impacts your business success and the resulting lost information can lead to confusion and wasted time. Both of these can undermine your efforts and the successful growth of your business.

Rather than simply put a bandaid over systematic problems, Cheryl’s approach clarifies where you currently are with your systems and identifies gaps. The first part of the process reveals the underlying root causes that result in confusion and make growth elusive. The second part of the process begins the process of developing a map for your path to success. The resulting systematic approach lays the foundation and enables your employees to work smarter and achieve your vision of growth sooner. 

Stay tuned for further developments.

The last couple of weeks have been really busy with Small Business Week, Enterprise Toronto and the Toronto SOHO SME event!

Excellent Follow Up

As a new initiative here at Executive Sales Support, I have decided to begin recognizing those people whom I met while networking, who follow up with me after that 1st contact.

They were probably busy also but took the time to maximize their business development investment in business networking by following up and setting the stage to grow sales in their business.

Congratulations to these people in my community who followed up with me, they beat the odds of 48% of people never followed up past that 1st contact

after linking with me on Linkedin

Amina Mohamed Canadian Certified Staging Professional at Flair 4 Home Staging, sent me a Thank you

after Enterprise Toronto Small Business Forum

Promod Sharma, Marketing Actuary at Taxevity

after a Small Business Week Seminar at the Oakville Chamber of Commerce

Nigel Southway of Nexus Consulting – offered a 1st Follow Up Step of a Free Business Productivity Improvement Profile

after my Follow Up Training session for Enterprise Toronto

Preciosa Leal, Alliance Business Solutions, invited me to connect on Linkedin

after Toronto SOHO SME Expo

Amanda Bickle, Marketing & Web Co-ordinator at the National Speakers Bureau, invited me to connect on Linkedin

Congratulations to these people who followed up, they are on their way to the 5 – 12th contact were 80% of sales are made.

My hope is that by highlighting some of the people who have followed up with me, you will be inspired to follow up with the people you meet at business networking events. You can repurpose these ideas and techniques to build your own First Follow Up Steps and grow sales in your business.  

Good Luck.

December 6, 6 - 9 pm in Oakville ON

 This is the last Follow Up Training date for 2010! 

If you attend trade shows, networking events or association meetings and end up with piles of business cards on your desk, this business training will help you put business processes in place enabling you to stay in conversation with prospects to the 5th -12th contact where 80% of sales are made.

Automate Your Follow Up Process - 
December 6, 6 – 9 pm in Oakville, ON   $89.00

2.5 hours of hands on, skills based business training introduces the concept of automation and covers templates and a business system that maximizes your efforts.  

Presented by Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist, Trainer & Coach

Discover a 10 Step Follow Up System that manages and maximizes your follow up activities.

Here are some interesting and startling stats about follow up:

* 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
* 25% make a second contact and stop
* 12% only make 3 contacts and stop

Follow Up is VERY important for your business because:

* Only 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
* 3% on the 2nd contact
* 5% on the 3rd contact

and a whopping 80% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact.

Register early, seating is limited to 10 people. This hands on business training is geared to ensure that everyone gets the information they need so they can implement the techniques into their business.

There will be time dedicated to Questions and Answers. 
My clients tell me that they are no longer interested in attending general information sessions, they want hands on specific instructions to GROW not only their expertise but techniques they can implement to GROW their sales!

This training offers just that. Learn tips and techniques that will help you learn to build and automate an ongoing communication strategy that savea you time, keepa you organized and drivea more traffic to your business! 

Discover how to:

• Develop a set of templates so you are not reinventing the wheel every time you take a prospect through your follow up sequence
• Overview and basic training on using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system (ACT is demonstrated)
• Overview and basic training on automation for ongoing communications (Swiftpage is demonstrated)

Register early as seating is limited to 10 people. The training will be held at Hampton’s Restaurant on the SW corner of Bronte Rd and the QEW in Oakville ON.

Mobile Office – e-Spot Complimentary Seminar valued at $125

Date: Monday July 19, 2010       Time: 10-11:30am   
Location: e-Spot™ Community Space, 200-353 Iroquois Shore Road,  Oakville Ontario, above Artisano’s Bakery    Sign up HERE
Tools: Yourself, pen and pad, all your mobile office tech questions and concerns
Another great reason to check out e-Spot in Oakville Ontario!

MOBILE OFFICE SEMINAR
Presented by Marco Hernandez, founder and owner of  Tek It Up Computer Services

Do you have a plan to follow up the people you meet?  Need to get your business in front of more prospects?
Learn How To Maximize Follow Up & Grow Your Business Building The Know You – Like You -  Trust You Factor

Join me and a small group of Entrepreneurs, Professional Service Providers and Business Owners for 2.5 hours of hands on training at Set The Stage Follow Up Training - Learn strategies guaranteed to connect you with your prospects beyond the 5th contact where 80% of sales are made.  Follow Up – The Bridge Connecting Prospects To Sales.

Check out what others are saying about Follow Up

Set The Stage For Follow Up  -  2.5 hours of hands on training includes an overview of the 10 Step Follow Up System. 

Training will be in Oakville ON. Reserve your seat early, this training is limited to 10 participates in each session. Email Cheryl at ExecutiveSalesSupport.com

2 sessions for  ’Set The Stage For Follow Up’          Cost  $89.00

Session #1        Saturday  April 10,      9 am – 12 Noon  
Session #2       Monday    April 26,       6 pm -  9 pm

Join me and a small group of Entrepreneurs, Professional Service Providers and Business Owners.
Reserve early – Seating is limited.

Justin Roff-Marsh is the global thought leader in Sales Process Engineering, a radical new approach to the management of the sales function. I heard Justin speak in the fall of 2008 and thought his presentation was really thought provoking.

He is coming to our area once in 2010. In February, I will be part of a small group of business people who are bringing Justin Roff-Marsh to Mississauga – to give an exclusive briefing to a select few executives. I would like to invite you to attend and I will pay some of the price of your admission! I believe it is that important for you to attend.

At this executive briefing business owners and senior executives will learn how to transform the way their company executes the sales revenue generating process. Justin’s strategy is revolutionary.

Justin’s presentations are provocative and often controversial so if you are looking for sales training, or another warm and fuzzy relationship-building workshop, do not attend this briefing. But if you want to attend a business transforming event, be present at the February 24^th Executive Briefing, 8:30 – 11 am. Justin is going to change the way you look at growing your business, while also giving you a proven strategy to scale it up and rapidly grow your revenue!

Cheryl Scoffield of Executive Sales Support  is excited to partner with   Sales Performanceto bring Justin Roff-Marsh to Mississauga, Ontario on February 24, 2010.

To learn more about this Justin Roff-Marsh event  click here.

Tickets for this Executive Briefing are $495 per company (allowing you two seats).
I am so convinced of the benefits you will reap by attending, that I am willing to pay $100 of it for you. I can also reduce the cost further, for the first 12 of you who email me today.

See you at the  Executive Briefing, February 24^th, 8:30 – 11 am, in Mississauga, Ontario.

By Jeremy Miller

Our world is changing. Global warming is causing polar bears and killer whales numbers to decline. Human sprawl is knocking out major sections of natural habitat, which impact species like the gorillas and pandas. And now rising fuel prices and the growth of the Internet are killing off outside sales professionals.

Who would have thought we could ever see the end of the outside sales professional? They have been helping companies grow for over 100 years. They have introduced products, educated markets and grown companies through their efforts. They have been the driving reason for some of our greatest companies like IBM, Xerox and American Express. Many of our most successful business leaders started their careers in sales. Today outside sales professionals are in jeopardy.

Google has had a profound impact on sales. In just a few short years Google has taken control away from the sales professionals and given it to the customers. In a few keystrokes a customer can identify all of their buying options. They can read product reviews, get competitive pricing, find vendors and choose the best option without ever speaking to a sales person.

Google has replaced much of the front-end work sales people do. Customers aren’t waiting for a sales person to cold call them. When they have a business challenge they go to Google to find the answer. When they want to compare their options and see which companies offer the best value, again they go to Google. Try this on yourself. When you buy your next car will you A, head to a dealership and ask a sales person what they have for you, or B, search Google and build your own shortlist. If you are like most, you will know exactly which car you want to buy long before you speak to a sales person.

The second major influencer for the extinction of outside sales professionals is the rising price of fuel. In less than two years gas prices have soared by more than 30%. The annual cost of a sales person who drives an average of 500 kilometers per week has increased by $9,620 per year. This may not seem like much, but imagine you had 100 sales reps on the road. That is close to a million dollar increase in the sales force’s budget! Imagine if you directed that investment to more productive marketing efforts? Imagine you put that money into Internet marketing programs? Would you be better off? Most likely.

At a $1.40 a liter even sales professionals are monitoring their driving habits. In June 2008, LEAPJob, a Toronto-based sales recruiting firm, polled sales professionals on the impact of rising fuel costs ontheir driving habits. Over 50% said they have reduced the number of trips they are taking. This is a remarkable thing for a sales person to do, because it is their job to visit customers. If they are making fewer trips then they are seeing fewer customers. This will directly impact how they sell. They will have to be much more strategic in their sales efforts if they hope to hit quota.

The outside sales professional is being squeezed at both ends. Customers are circumventing the sales process by getting information on their own, and the cost to travel is forcing sales people to think twice about trekking across the city. Sales forces must become much more strategic about how they engage, support and sell to their customers.

Sales forces need to master the same web tools their customers have embraced. The obvious statement for any company is “be where your customers are.” If the first place a customer looks for products and services is Google, well you better be in their search results if you want a shot at selling to them. If a customer’s first impression of your company is your website, well it better be remarkable. The reliance on an outside sales force is a clear sign that a company’s sales and marketing efforts are too dependent on very expensive sales resources. The increasing costs of an outside sales force means companies have to focus these expensive resources to where they will have the most impact such as product demonstrations, negotiations and strategic account management. Conducting business as usual is suicide.

It is safe to say that the cost of gas isn’t going to suddenly fall, and that innovation on the Internet is going to suddenly stop. The forces killing off outside sales professionals are here to stay. Companies have a choice. They can embrace their new realities, or they can become conservationists and try to save another endangered species.

Jeremy Miller is a Partner with LEAPJob, a sales recruiting firm in Toronto, Canada. LEAPJob recruits sales professionals and sales leaders for many of Canada’s most recognized companies. Their clients range from the Top 50 Employers to smaller organizations building their first sales force. You can reach Jeremy at Jeremy.Miller@LEAPJob.com or 905.281.3090, Ext. 22. For more information on LEAPJob please visit http://www.LEAPJob.com.