The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies

WHAT´s ABOUT & IMHO

The author covers the 12 areas to focus to run a business with some principles for each one.

Despite the book´s headline is about focus , the 12 areas are too broad so some of the points are a bit generalist. However all of them worth to know and observe and some are a must for sales

if you have not identified and mastered every single aspect of the sales process, you are not going to maximize your results

This book holds some timeless principles for sales and every business

WHY IT MATTERS to Sales -

The best buyers buy more, and faster, and more often than everybody else. it sounds and it is simplistic but I believe with profound implications. Instead of endless struggles to convince medium or low prospects , spend more time uncovering groups of Best buyers . So How to get the best ones?

• The key points that are still very alive today are ; have a plan to get the best prospects, use affiliates / agents / channel and have a referral strategy
• His advise of a plan for the Best customers is dated for me. But we can keep the idea of nurturing not with gifts but with something of professional value to their jobs -content etc. Also the idea of creating sequences is good.
• Corporate literature: anything that gets handed out by sales reps should have a consistent look and feel. [ a plus point to create Sales arguments for you or the team ]
• Personal contact: as Holmes points out, personal contact always has been, and always will be, your most impactful channel.
• The tips for presenting are flawless ( see point 8 )
• The Sales Stages or sales skills are timeless sales fundamentals , that you need to be aware of ( point 10)
• Point 11. Follow-up and Client Bonding Skills . This part is gold . Is very uncommon for sales to focus on the post sale , the followup and maintenance of the relationships , but indeed is the network that will feed your future sales . Note - some points are too much ( inviting them home¡) or difficult to scale , but the idea is to aim at this and use tech to make it possible

KEY POINT/s

• 1. Time Management Secrets of Billionaires ; [Nothing much new here]

There are three things you can do to accomplish this.

• First, identify the most important impact areas of your company. That might include inside sales, outside sales, marketing, HR, special projects, etc. You get the idea.
• Second, set a meeting for each of those areas every single week, and demand that any issues that are not "hair-on-fire" emergencies get dealt with at that weekly meeting.
• Third, make sure that every meeting has a tightly controlled agenda that addresses all of the major issues that need to get resolved.
• 2. Institute Higher Standards and Regular Training - [ My take away ; Do force yourself / your team to get into training or it will not happen)
• Harvard Business Review points out, only 10 percent of the population has what's called "the learning mindset." The other 90 percent? We need to work hard to save them from themselves.
• 3. Executing Effective Meetings [ Always a good reminder]
• hold workshops where there is laser-like focus on solving just one small part of the business.
• Use them to get the "three Ps" - planning, procedures and policies.
• 4. Becoming a Brilliant Strategist [ here it goes a bit generic and unfocused ]
• Gives a bit of a simple approach to Goals, strategies and tactics- A brilliant strategist is able to combine tactics together to form a strategy with the long-term goals of the company in mind
• Then it talks about a great tactic ; Education Based Marketing - so Content marketing . Why is great ? Because it allows you to speak directly to the people who are in the market for your products and services, today. But it also lets you talk to the people who will be in the market for your products and services tomorrow.

• 5. Hiring Superstars [ this part has little to add and I actually disagree with it ]
• Superstars are better and remember to pay them well - yeap
• It goes about to how to hire them
• 6. The High Art of Getting the Best Buyers [ Indeed a critical part , although it does not go deep enough here . The key points that are still very alive today are ; have a plan to get the best prospects, use affiliates / agents / channel and have a referral strategy ]
• Holmes created the Dream 100 effort to find and close these types of clients
• A way to target your very best prospects is through Dream Affiliates
• Lastly, the business that doesn't have a referral strategy in place simply isn't going after the low hanging fruit.
• 7. The Seven Musts of Marketing [Here he just pass by some key areas ...all is right but.. not much to dig]
1. Advertising: to do advertising well, it must be distinctive, capture attention with the headline, have body copy that keeps them reading, and include a call-to-action.
2. Direct (e)mail: even though this has fallen out of favour lately, it still leads to massive results when done well. Your success in this arena is all about the list.
3. Corporate literature: anything that gets handed out by sales reps should have a consistent look and feel.
4. Public relations: getting other people to write about you - whether it's the press or a trade association - is worth its weight in gold.
5. Personal contact: as Holmes points out, personal contact always has been, and always will be, your most impactful channel.
6. Market education: if you are going to do trade shows and market education, it has to be bold and exciting.
7. Internet: mastering selling through your website is a must. [ indeed he saw that coming ¡]
• 8. The Eyes Have It ; About presenting your points [ This is a very good / valid list of must ]

1. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Your presentation needs to be simple and easy to understand.
2. K.I.F.P. (Keep It Fast Paced). Don't stick on one point or topic too long. Keep the momentum going throughout.
3. Use “Wow” Facts and Statistics. You want your client to learn something they didn't know, which builds credibility for the "sales" part of the presentation.
4. Build in Opportunities for Stories. People connect with and remember stories.
5. Your Presentation Should Be Curiosity Driven. Present the information in a way that keeps your audience curious about what will happen next.
6. Think of Each Headline as Valuable Real Estate. Work hard writing headlines they'll remember.
7. Be Confident but Not Obnoxious. Enough said.
8. Focus on Them, Not on You. Remember, there's only one thing on your prospect's mind - themselves. Keep the presentation focussed on them.

• 9. The Nitty Gritty of Getting The Best Buyers [ This is dated for me. but we can keep the idea of nurturing not with gifts but with something of professional value to their jobs -content etc. Also the idea of creating sequences ]

He list six simple steps to help you get your dream clients:

1. Choose Your Dream 100. Look at your top lists of clients and affiliates. This is your starting point.
2. Choose the Gifts. The core of this strategy is a gifting program where you send them a small gift every two weeks.
3. Create Your Dream 100 Letters. Every gift should come with a short letter that should tie into the gift in some clever way. Make sure to include a call-to-action in each.
4. Create Your Dream 100 Calendar. Make sure you put your schedule into a calendar so it never gets missed.
5. Conduct Dream 100 Follow-up Phone Calls. After every gift and letter should come a phone call, where your goal is to set an appointment.
6. Present the Executive Briefing. When you do finally get through to the Dream Client, it's your time to present your "Executive Briefing", where you educate them on something they didn't know could impact their business.
• 10. Sales Skills [ This is times-less sales fundamentals , that you need to be aware of ]

if you have not identified and mastered every single aspect of the sales process, you are not going to maximize your results

1. Establish Rapport. Some of the best ways to do this include asking great questions, having a sense of humour, care about your prospects, and find common ground.
2. Qualify the Buyer. Develop a list of 6-10 questions you would like to know about every buyer and ask them religiously to every prospect. You should walk away understanding exactly what they need and how they'll buy it.
3. Build value. Present your core story or executive briefing.
4. Create desire. Move your prospects with questions that motivate their desire to solve their pain points.
5. Overcome objections. An objection is an opportunity to close. Asking them "is (insert objection here) the only thing preventing you from moving forward?" will give you an opportunity to close, or move to the next objection.
6. Close the sale. Sometimes you need to use a little pressure.
7. Follow up. Making sure they have a great experience is key in getting future referrals.
• 11. Follow-up and Client Bonding Skills [ This part is gold . Is very uncommon for sales to focus on the post sale , the followup and maintenance of the relationships , but indeed is the network that will feed your future sales . Note - some points ( inviting them home) are too much or difficult to scale , but the idea is to aim at this and use tech to make it possible )
• There are 10 steps to great follow up. Do them in order, every time you close a sale, and you'll build a network that feeds your sales machine forever
1. Send the first follow-up letter. Do it within hours of the sale to make the biggest impression.
2. Make the first follow-up call. Do this right after the letter, and offer something new of value to your customer - further free education is a good choice.
3. Share something of personal interest.
4. Bond like crazy. Share a meal with your customer, throw a party, anything you can to get you closer to them.
5. Send another follow up. Always stay top of mind.
6. Plan something fun that can include the family. Take them to see a play or go to a sporting event together.
7. Offer something to help their business. Refer your customer to another contact you know can help them. If you are constantly providing value to your customers, they will always take your call.
8. Follow up again.
9. Offer more help to succeed. Take them to a seminar, or offer to do one at their location.
10. The ultimate follow up - invite them to your home (or be invited to theirs). Top producers almost always have their best clients to their home.
• 12. All Systems Go [ Good reminder about tracking KPI and good point about having it in your mind]

Goal setting and measuring effectiveness is the 12th and final core skill area in building your Ultimate Sales Machine.

The power in goal setting is it's power to focus your attention. For instance, when you buy a car, all of a sudden you notice the model you bought everywhere, because now you are looking for it.

In conclusion

A bit dated but good reference material