NLP Practitioner Training Courses | Experts Forum - Business Development, Sales and Cold Calling

The Secret of Business Development

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:14:36 GMT

I've clarified some of my thoughts on business development over the past couple of months and I thought I'd share them. Feel free to agree, disagree or something between.......

This is particularly for anyone starting an NLP related business, but I suspect is relevant to most business development.

Firstly being able to develop business is probably the key skill in developing an NLP and coaching business. It's my view that it's so important for anyone who wants to start an NLP business to start at the same time they invest in any training. You don't need to wait until you have the certificate!

And training and (coaching) isn't something to invest in just at the start, it's something to invest in throughout your career. The better and more experienced you get the more you'll get out of good training and coaching. When you're experienced you'll even learn stuff from bad training and coaching!

If you coach you'll learn as much, if not more from your clients as from your training, therefore the sooner you get clients the sooner your skills will improve. And the higher calibre clients you have the more more important stuff you'll learn from them.

In a way it's as important to select good clients as it is to select a good trainer and coach!

Your vision

If you're an NLP'er you're already good at this. Create you're own vision of what you can see, hear, feel, taste and smell when you've really succeeded in all this. How does it really benefit you and those around you?

If it's not motivating, change it.

Where to start

Its useful to answer these (sometimes very difficult, but empowering whenyou've done it) questions as specifically as possible:

Any answer is better than no answer,

1) Who specifically are your ideal customers?
2) What are you offering them?
3) How do they benefit from what you're offering
4) How can you reach them effectively?
5) What will all this do for me

if you can't answer all five questions you have a bit of a challenge on your hands. However remember to you can ask all those around you for help. Just make sure in the the answers you come up with in the end are yours.

To add a bit of confusion to this process answering one question may change your answer to the others. For example if you can't 'reach' your ideal customer, should you go for different customers who you are easy to reach?

(I'm not answering this question for you)

How to generate business

On observing the successful people around me I've noticed they tend to get business in four different ways.

All require skill, consistent action and time (if you know differently please tell me). Very few people are really good at more than one, although they may employ people to help them on the ones they are less good at.

Neither is 'right' or 'wrong'

1) Attraction

Create content (articles, blogs, pr, video, podcast, white papers etc etc) that will attract the people you want and post / publish it in the appropriate places. Includes SEO and Social Media etc,

Disadvantage: You may have have to be noticed by 10,000's of people to attract 1. Takes time.

Advantage: When potential clients approach you they have already nearly always qualified themselves as good prospects

2) Hunting

Decide who you want as a customer and contact them, includes cold calling and much of traditional selling

Disadvantage: Many people simply don't like doing it

Advantage: The results are much more under your control than the other approaches

3) Nurturing

Getting to know people with influence and budget and investing the time to develop trust and understand their map of the world. Only selling when you have something that is genuinely to their benefit.

Disadvantage: You have to know people with influence and budget, who are happy to get to know you!

Advantage: Requires less speculative work than the other approaches

4) Partnering

This is normally in addition to 1), 2) and 3) above, where you agree to mutually support a colleague (or organisation) it could be as simple as working with someone and agreeing you will promote each other at every opportunity. It's much more believable saying someone else is 'brilliant' than saying it about yourself.

Disadvantage: At least one of you has to be already good at 1) 2) or 3)

Advantage: Two (or more) people that work together are more effective than working on your own

How to get better at business development

Take action

1) Ruthlessly stop wasting time on any activity that does not measurably (or at least plausible - sometimes you need faith) generate business
2) Develop a basic system to follow and follow it
3) Keep asking yourself and those around you A) How can I increase my output (be more efficient) B) How can I be better at what I do (be more effective)
4) Get a coach

Mindset

I'm quoting Marshall Goldsmith on some beliefs successful people have:

1) I have succeeded
2) I can succeed
3) I will succeed
4) I choose to succeed

Very useful if you're doing business development....

Where to Start

The secret?

If you're going to run a successful NLP related business you're going to developing business for a long time. Choose an approach that you'll enjoy and have the potential of becoming really, really good at.

Start noticing what others that are already successful are actually doing (or were doing when their business was at the stage yours is now), which may be different from what they say they're doing. See what you can do that's better.

And if don't like this stuff maybe business development is not for you, for the moment anyway. If you like it you'll be really good.

Have fun!

All thoughts appreciated,

Trevor Wilkins on Sales and Influence

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:30:44 GMT

Trevor Wilkins, the Principal of Holis Associates, discusses sales and influence with NLP Trainer Michael Beale.

You can listen to the discussion from:

http://nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/trevor.mp3

Please alllow up to two minutes for the file to download

Dan Ariely at Google Talks

liam — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:25:10 GMT

Professor Dan Ariely visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions."

Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our decisions?

liam — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:59:16 GMT

A very interesting talk from Dan Ariely on the statistical sway in consumer choices caused by the wording of questions and the information given alongside them.

Paul Jarvis on Selling

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:09:23 GMT

Sales and selling for ICT Companies. Paul is an NLP Master Practitioner and independent specialist in the area of sales for ICT companies. Discussion with NLP Trainer Michael Beale.

Paul Jarvis ia key member of the 'Executive and Business Coaching Network'

http://www.nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/paul.mp3

Please allow up to two minutes for the MP3 file to download when you want to listen to the discussion.

Seth Godin on the tribes we lead

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:05:22 GMT

Seth Godin: Sliced bread and other marketing delights

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:21:57 GMT

Business Development - Building a Cold Calling / Telemarketing Campaign

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:09:01 GMT

Business Development with Cold Calling - NLP Trainer Michael Beale talks to Telemarketing expert, David Regler

David Regler is a key member of the 'Executive and Business Coaching Network'

David is Managing Director of Maine Associates. Maine Associates Ltd was formed in 2005 to provide results-focused telemarketing & new business development services.

Please allow 2 minutes for the MP3 file to download if you want to listen to the discussion)

http://nlp-expert.co.uk/business-dev...evelopment.mp3

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Boiler Room - ABC

Liam Beale — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:16:07 GMT

Boiler Room First Sale

Liam Beale — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:12:22 GMT

Boiler Room - Telemarketing Scene

Liam Beale — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:01:46 GMT

Rory Woolridge on Sales

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:06:52 GMT

Sales and selling, discussion between Rory Woolridge and NLP Trainer Michael Beale

Please allow up to 2 minutes for the MP3 file to download when you want to listen to the discussion.

http://nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/Rory_Woolridge.mp3

Transcript coming soon!

Shaun Gisbourne - Cold Calling

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:30:48 GMT

Cold Calling - NLP Trainer Michael Beale talks to Telemarketing expert, Shaun Gisbourne

Shaun helps people in companies by making calls that make their businesses grow. He also helps them to "Take the Phone In Small Steps" if they want to do their own telemarketing

(Please allow 2 minutes for the MP3 file to download if you want to listen to the discussion)

http://www.nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/shaun_gisbourne.mp3

Podcast Transcript Below:

Catherine Chambers on Selling

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:56:22 GMT

Sales and selling, discussion with Cathering Chambers

Sales and selling, disussion between Catherine Chambers, MD of Easilife Cleaning Ltd and NLP trainer Michael Beale.

(Please allow up to two minutes for the MP3 file to download if you would like to listen to the podcast)

http://nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/catherine_chambers.mp3

Podcast transcript: TBA

Andy Preston - Cold calling discussion

michaelbeale@ppimk.com — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:00:47 GMT

Sales, Cold Calling discussion with Andy Preston

Sales and cold calling, discussion between cold calling trainer Andy Preston and NLP trainer Michael Beale, June 2008.

Andy is an International Expert in Cold Call Techniques, Objection Handling, Getting Past Gatekeepers, Making More Appointments, and Sales Motivation.

(Please allow up to 2 minutes to allow the MP3 file to download if you would like to listen to discussion.)

http://nlp-expert.co.uk/sales/Andy.mp3

Podcast transcript follows below