No matter what area of business you are in, there is a good chance you need sales to keep your business afloat.
When it comes to this area of business, Kevin Boyle has had plenty of experience and seen what it takes. Besides coaching individuals in the world of sales, he has also written a book that specializes in this category called The Secrets To Sales Mastery.
No matter what industry you may be in, you need sales to keep your business running. So we have teamed up with Kevin and we’re offering a signed copy of his book to one of you.
Would you like to win the book pictured here? Send us an email at bizop.giveaway@gmail.com with the subject “SalesMasteryBook“. In the email tell me:
Why would this book help you?
The giveaway starts now and will run until October 30th, 2008 at 11:59pm.
All giveaway rules apply. Only qualifying entries will be counted.
Kevin has also been kind enough to offer an extra special bonus to any of our readers who sign up for his newsletter. Go to his website and email him using the information he has listed. If you let him know you would like to join his newsletter and mention the Business Opportunities Weblog within the email, you will receive his Audio Sales Primer (in MP3 format) for free! You have to email him first for this offer to be valid.
How long have you been a sales coach? What do you enjoy most about helping individuals and businesses reach better sales?
I have been helping business owners, sales people, entrepreneurs, network marketers and sales managers increase their sales and build their businesses for the past 10 years. The most gratifying part of it for me is simply the relationships I have built up with my clients over the years. I simply love what I do, which is helping others not only reach their goals but surpass them, people are capable of much more than they give themselves credit for!
When did you publish your book, The Secrets To Sales Mastery, and what inspired you to write it in the first place?
About 3 months ago. I vowed I would never write a book on sales unless I had something useful to contribute (I mean there are literally thousands of books on the subject, why write another one?) It has always amazed me when my clients and customers continually tell me that they find my material so refreshingly new and innovative, that no one has ever been able to explain sales to them the way I have. At first this took me by surprise, but after hearing this over and over I decided I had to write a book and share my experiences and insights into what has made me so successful with selling.
When you are approached by an individual or business, what question do you find yourself being asked most often?
Help me with cold calling and prospecting! There are even programs out there right now trying to sell people on the fact that they don’t have to cold call or prospect to get business. This is simply false. The fact is show me a struggling company or sales person and I will show you a sales person or sales force who has poor cold calling skills. Successful people exude confidence, and they don’t have any problems picking up the phone and calling a prospect. I also believe statistics back me up. Did you know that 50% of all new businesses fail within the first year, and that 95% of all new businesses fail within the first 5 years? Did you also know that 80% of all salespeople fail in their first year because of cold calling reluctance?
In what aspect of sales do you coach people? How much do you charge for each program?
I have programs at various price points for almost every aspect of sales and marketing you can think of. Where I find myself working with both business owners and sales people the most is in their cold calling and prospecting skills. I have become a master cold caller after having developed an opener that you can simply and easily start a conversation with anyone, anywhere, without fear of rejection. It’s so incredibly effective it will stop your prospect from what they are doing, get their full undivided attention and instantly build rapport with you. This technique is both phenomenal and powerful, and my clients rave about it!As far as what I charge, I hate having money being a barrier for someone who needs my help, so I have developed a program where if someone can give me a solid credible sales lead I can and will give them a discount off of my coaching package pricing.
What do you enjoy most about sales coaching?
My follow up calls to see how my clients are doing. It is so gratifying for me to see the positive impact I have on others and their businesses. I have a binder chock block full of testimonial letters I have collected over the years and if ever I’m having a bad day, I just start reading them. Seriously, my clients words move me, you have no idea.
Do you have any plans to write another book? What goals have you set for yourself over the next couple of years?
Right now I am totally focused on The secrets to Sales Mastery, it is my baby, it has been my life’s work. It is a huge undertaking writing a book and bringing it up to bestseller status. It’s funny you should ask this question though, my mentor, Peggy McColl, while we chat on the phone she will be reading my blog articles and she will say, Kevin, your blogs are amazing you’ve got another 6 books in you! I have to laugh. I tell her one project at a time *wink*.
Before your book and before you started offering your services as a sales coach, what were you doing? Why did you decide to take this route in business?
There is a very long answer to this but I will try and keep it short. One of the sales principles that I teach is the power of your questions, In fact I was speaking to a client yesterday and he told me that when he needs a coach I’m the guy he goes to because of the questions I ask. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Take the question, “What is the meaning of life?” Can you answer this? I don’t think I can, I’ve tried and not got very far. How about if we rephrased the question and asked, “What would give my life meaning?” For most people, when they read that question, they notice an immediate shift, it’s like everything all of a sudden makes sense. Well what if you could do this when you sat down with your client or had a conversation with them over the phone through the power of asking different questions? You will have greater impact with your clients, which leads to deeper relationships and bigger business deals.By the way, my answer? Helping others and having impact in their lives. That’s what gives my life meaning.
The short answer, I have been in sales all of my life, I’ve sold everything from T.V.s and stereos to meat packages door to door to $10,000 signature partnership programs for large corporations.
I noticed that you offer a newsletter from your website. What information do you send out in each newsletter? How often are they sent?
I strongly believe in having your “systems” in place and educational marketing. Every interaction with your prospect and/or customer should leave them with a strong impression that you are the expert. When you can demonstrate your expertise, you establish trust. Trust in my opinion is the foundation of a successful relationship, to that end my newsletter is published daily with expert sales and marketing advice that people can actually use, no filler, or fluffy articles about my summer vacation.
Do you think it’s possible to teach anyone to sell effectively or do you think sales is an area of business that is limited to those of a certain personality type?
You are probably not going to like what I have to say, but here it goes. Have you ever heard of the saying, “You can lead a horse to water…” when I work with people who are struggling in their business or in sales it’s because they simply don’t want it bad enough. I wrote an excellent article on this that you can read here. Anyone regardless of personality type can be successful in sales and business. You just have to have the proper mind set, have a plan and know how to get customers, and then lastly and most importantly do those things (yes even the distasteful things like cold calling and prospecting) to have success.3 things for success in sales; Your mindset, learn how to do it the right way, and then do it consistently.
If you were to retire tomorrow, do you think you would have accomplished everything that you were hoping to have finished by now?
Yes.When you go back to my original question about what “would give my life meaning” you have to understand, I am doing that everyday. I am having impact with my clients, it’s what makes me happy. It’s not about having or making a kigillion dollars, I have balance in my life. I have friends who work 16, 18 hour days. I think they hate me. (lol). But when is the last time they had time for a dance class? To take flying lessons? To go paragliding?
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