Entrepreneurs Britt and Mick Arnold take a dive deep into the sales funnel and reveal their top strategies for closing deals in this not-to-be-missed episode of their “Love ‘n Business” podcast.
No matter if you’re a newbie to sales or an experienced profession, there are takeaways here for everyone!
Highlights include:
- The five-step sales funnel Mick has adopted in his 30 years of sales experience at Arnold Packaging: Identify, Penetrate, Present, Propose, Close.
- The penetrate stage can be the most difficult. Marketing can help you skip directly to penetrate by capturing a lead.
- Sales leads to transaction/a close… Business development identifies prospects and hands off to Sales.
- Typically, business development “BD” takes the prospect through steps one and two (identify, penetrate). They then hand off the prospect to a subject-matter expert for present, propose and close (traditional sales rep).
- The importance of asking for the order and following up after a quote. It may seem obvious, but you may be missing some of these opportunities.
- CRM activities can show where a salesperson may have weaknesses and require additional training. A few examples… a sales rep easily identifies prospects but can’t seem to get a foot in the door. Or perhaps they get plenty of chances to present, but don’t capture the business.
- The importance of giving your customers your full attention – with a sense of urgency. Show them they matter to you and your business.
- Emotional vs. non-emotional sales defined.
- The easier you make the process for the customer, the more sales you’ll get. Don’t overcomplicate things and be honest – aim for frictionless!
- The importance of face-to-face contact with customers.
- Qualify your prospects!
- Referrals are ideal, but here’s when cold calling makes sense.
- The value of selective networking – and having an end goal in mind and be ready to inspire.
- Pleasant persistence outperforms passiveness – every time.
Watch it below. Leave a comment with your thoughts or any topics you’d like them to discuss in future episodes.
About “Love ‘n Business”
Mick Arnold runs his 90+ year old family business, Arnold Packaging as well as his latest venture, Arnold Automation. His wife, Britt Tegeler Arnold, founded Tegeler Construction & Supply in 2016.
In their “Love ‘n Business” podcast, you have a front row seat as they speak openly about navigating their businesses, entrepreneurship, relationships, and life, with their unusual dynamic.
You can view past episodes right here.
