the ultimate sales machine

20 Inspirational Sales & Marketing Quotes to Honor Chet Holmes

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Today marks the three-year anniversary of the passing of our founder, my father, Chet Holmes. I could have written a lengthy blog post in his honor for the occasion, but it occurred to me that in life my father was never the longwinded type. Certainly there were events where he spoke on stage for upwards of ten hours, but he did so only because he had so much knowledge to share-there wasn’t a wasted breath. “Straight to the point” was truly his modus operandi. So Instead I’ve decided to keep it short and to the point. Today we celebrate Chet Holmes’ life, his work, and his pithy wisdom by collecting his very BEST quotes.

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In celebration of my father’s life, here are a couple of free videos for you to enjoy:

The Exact Sales Script Chet Used to Get to the Most Successful People in the World

Now that I’ve shared these with you, I’d love to know, what’s your favorite inspiring quote? Leave it in the comments section below.

With love,

Amanda Holmes

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International
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At CHI, we’ve never been shy about sharing the strategies our own company has used to achieve success. Since you purchased LeadPages, I wanted to show you something really cool:

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International

A few weeks ago, our friends at LeadPages asked if they could profile our company in a case study. I didn’t just say yes—I told them:

“I’m going to be the best case study you’ve ever had.”

Businesses routinely see impressive conversion results when they start using LeadPages’ landing pages and other tools, but I’m not sure anyone would have predicted we could take our sales conversion rate up by 1,100%.

I want to share with you exactly what I did to grow our business while taking our operations into the digital age. In this post, we cover:

  • How Content Can Build Excitement: This sequence of emails and lead magnets kept people highly interested from opt-in to purchase.
  • My Exact Campaign Flow: Step by step, you’ll see how I turned tons of people from cold leads into members of Chet Holmes International.
  • The Four Templates I Used to Build My Campaign: You’ll even get a direct link to download them yourself when you read the post.

I’m still a little wowed by the results we’ve seen, and I think you will be too! The post is full of strategies you can apply to your own business. You might get some good ideas about what you can do with your LeadPages tool, check it out here.
Enjoy!

Amanda Holmes
Chet Holmes International

80+ Leading Business Experts Share Secrets on Sales Acceleration

inside sales event
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A group of fish is called a school. A group of lions is called a pride. So what would you call a group of the sales and marketing industries’ top authors, speakers, trainers, and thought leaders? You’d call it the Sales Acceleration Summit.

The brightest minds in sales and marketing will share their secrets in a rapid-fire series of online presentations all on one day, Thursday, May 7th. The first summit in June of 2013 attracted more than 16,000 sales leaders from all over the world. 2014’s summit boasted over 20,000 attendees, and the upcoming event promises to be bigger, better and even more exhilarating.

This event is really about what’s trending, what’s working, what’s not working in today’s business landscape.

What would you be willing to pay for the chance to hear and see 15-minute TED-like talks from 80+ esteemed guests like Steven Young, Grant Cardone, and Jim Steele?

And what if those talks were made available for you to listen to at any time? Go ahead and put that money back in your pocket. This virtual event is free of charge for anyone to attend. Registrants can listen live, pop in and out of sessions and access recordings at any time throughout the day.

It’s guaranteed that there will be something for everyone. Click here to register and see full agenda details.

In all, more than 80 sales experts, authors and business leaders will serve up their secrets in 15 minutes or less per session. The opening and closing keynotes will last 30 minutes each.

Confirmed speakers for 2015 include:

  • Steve Young, Co-Founder, HGGC and Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback
  • Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Training Technologies
  • Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling
  • Jim Steele, InsideSales.com President of Worldwide Sales and Chief Customer Officer
  • Art Sobczak, author of the best-selling book Smart Calling
  • David Elkington, CEO and founder of InsideSales.com
  • Anthony Iannarino Author, President & CSO at Solutions Staffing
  • Stan Slap, Author of Under The Hood
  • Ken Krogue, President, Founder of InsideSales.com
  • Michael Pedone, Founder Sales Buzz
  • Bryan Kreuzberger, Founder Breakthrough Email
  • Aaron Ross, Author Predictable Revenue
  • Mike Bosworth, Author What Great Salespeople Do and Solution Selling
  • Elay Cohen, CEO, Founder of Saleshood.com
  • Steve Richard, Co-founder and Chief Content Officer Vorsight
  • Craig Elias, Founder Shift Selling
  • Brynne Tillman, CEO Social Sales Link
  • Kraig Kleeman, Author, Speaker, Global Strategist
  • Lori Richardson, B2B Midmarket Sales Expert
  • Jim Keenan, Founder A Sales Guy Inc.

Get ready for May 7th we will be presenting our own session on the 3 Ways to Get Past the Gatekeeper. (A combined video between Chet and Amanda Holmes)

Because sometimes the only thing stopping you from getting to the most important people on the planet… Is a secretary.

Don’t tell me that you’re traveling that day or you have important sales calls to make. That’s no excuse not to register. Remember, registering gets you access to the recordings even if you can’t make the actual event. I’ve registered and there are at least 20 sessions I’ll be sure to listen to. Along with the sessions I’ve already mentioned.

Don’t pick up the phone, don’t send another email, and don’t get another cup of coffee until you get yourself signed up for the event. This one’s too good to miss.

It’s shaping up to be the biggest online event of the year for the sales industry. And you can attend all of the value-packed sessions at no cost thanks to our sponsors; Salesforce, Microsoft, Marketo, MarketStar, Apttus, LinkedIn, DocuSign, InsightSquared, Quosal, Gainsight and Domo.

Follow #salessummit on Twitter and Google+ to join in on the live conversation. We’ll see you there.

Leaders and Bosses are Not the Same

Be a Leader
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Be a Leader

Understanding the difference between a boss and a leader can mean all the difference in achieving small business success.

Achieving business success will take a lot of effort on the part of the entrepreneur and any individuals he or she hires to see to it that the organization not only survives, but also thrives. Much of this effort will occur with respect to the types of workers who are brought in. Ensuring that everyone has the same goals and collaborates well within a team environment is one part of the process that must not be overlooked. However, of even greater importance are the leadership characteristics being displayed by the owner of the enterprise.

Many people who start their own companies are likely talented individuals who are skilled in a specific craft or trade. However, in order for a business to grow beyond mom-and-pop status into a marketplace leader, entrepreneurs will have to employ help and guide these individuals in a way that ensures the success of the organization. This isn’t a task that comes easy to most people. One of the ways to address this issue for owners is to work closely with a business consultant to help him or her obtain the skills needed in order to be successful in this area.

However, it’s important for those with their own enterprises to understand the subtle differences between being a boss and a leader. Failure to grasp the distinguishing characteristics between the two can be harmful and cause the business to not reach its full potential.

The difference between leaders and bosses
On the surface, to the uninitiated, these two words may have the same meaning. However, they couldn’t be more different, especially when it comes to running a successful operation. A recent article from Inc. Magazine offered a perspective that entrepreneurs can gain from when working to drive their companies to small business success.

It’s important to remember that true leadership is inspiring. Getting people to work together in harmony isn’t easy and wielding a heavy handed approach that instills fear, such as tactics employed by bosses, will oftentimes yield negative results, Inc. wrote.

Additionally, the best leaders are those who don’t look down on others, including the staff that they may have assembled. Instead, owners with successful enterprises understand the concept of teamwork and get everyone in his or her employ to understand that one person won’t contribute to a company thriving. Success will come from the combined efforts of everyone in the group.

How to lead effectively
Being a good leader doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process, one that must be realized through trial and error. However, it is unmistakable part of business success that must not be overlooked. A separate article from Inc. highlights how an entrepreneur can be the type of person that gets others to buy into his or her vision and help the enterprise stand out in what has become an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The first step in this process is to be someone who empowers others. Micromanagement never works and in many cases, is counterproductive. Giving staff members ground to make certain decisions without your input as the company owner, will build a deeper level of trust and will inspire workers to give their all. It is also important to recognize staff members for their efforts on a job well done. Not only is the acknowledgement appreciated, but it also lets workers know that you are keeping a watchful eye on their performance. This will encourage them to strive for excellence at all times.

By understanding the difference between leaders and bosses and mastering the former as opposed to the latter, small business success can be easily realized and a company can reach great heights in the process.

Business Success Begins with Productive, Positive Habits

Maintain a positive and motivated attitude
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Maintain a positive and motivated attitude

For small business owners, having a positive and motivated attitude can go a long way.

Being positive can have an impact on nearly every aspect of life. For business owners, having a motivated attitude can go a long way. This behavior is likely to rub off on employees and customers, resulting in a happier workplace and higher satisfaction.

Bringing about this kind of change starts with you as an owner. Introducing positive and productive habits not only benefits your daily life, but your company operations as well. Once you’ve adopted these strategies, you can then encourage your staff members to take on the same methods.

A positive attitude requires you to make small and big changes, but they will create a happier working environment for you, your employees and your valuable customers.

Big steps to a positive attitude
Certain habits can be hard to break, especially those that you have been practicing for many years. But knowing that adopting a positive attitude can positively impact your small business should be incentive enough to get the ball rolling on picking up those kinds of habits.

Fox Business writes that small enterprise owners should start with tackling their fears. Any worries and concerns you may have with company operations or your leadership abilities can be diminished simply by taking them head on. For example, the source highlights one owner who had a fear of public speaking. To get stronger in this area, she decided to teach a large class as a volunteer, reducing her fear of public speaking.

Additionally, business owners should not be afraid to fail. Failure is inevitable for any organization and things are not going to be perfect every day. Fox Business suggests that you take the time to learn from your failures, accept them and move forward. This strategy gives you a more positive outlook as you use the lessons you learned from failures to improve your business processes and procedures, leading to greater efficiency.

Smaller changes for a positive attitude
While the above strategies require a bigger change in terms of thinking and acting, there are also smaller habits you can adopt to encourage more optimism for yourself and your business.

Entrepreneur Magazine offers some tips for owners who want to instill a positive outlook. For one, focus on following your own business growth plan and stop comparing yourself to other companies. Only you are aware of your struggles, strengths and motivation, so spending time worrying about other enterprises s a waste of time.

Additionally, you can schedule activities that boost happiness, Entrepreneur states. This can be done with both personal and professional events. Having lunch during the workday with friends or hosting an after work party with your employees fosters optimism among you and your staff.

Perhaps one of the best methods to follow is to take the time to think about your accomplishments, Entrepreneur recommends. This will put everything in perspective and will give you the chance to see that you are working hard toward your goals, giving you motivation to achieve more business success.

Good hiring practices can lead to small business success

Hire the Right Employee
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Hire the Right Employee

Making the right employee hires is critical to small business success.

Of all the challenges business owners face as they work toward achieving business success, hiring the right employees may one of the biggest. With the right staff in place, a company can rapidly ascend to being a leader in the marketplace. However, bad hires can cost time, money and keep a company from reaching its goals.

There is no way fool-proof way to prevent bad hires from occurring. It’s one the realities associated with running any company, no matter how large or small. Employee personality tests are designed to identify the characteristics you would like to see in a potential worker and help you make hiring decisions based on how they answer questions after taking the assessment.

Employee assessment tools are helpful, but in no way do they completely eliminate bad hires. Sometimes people test well and still don’t work out, and good employees can often be overlooked because they didn’t do as well on the assessment. All told, there is no real science to making the right hires and sometimes it has a quite a bit to do with luck.

However, there are some ways to increase your chances of making hiring decisions than aid in company growth and steering clear of those that can set your company back.

Hire for tomorrow, not today
Most business owners make hires based on an immediate need, but foresight can be a very useful tool as well. Understanding where your company is now and where you’d like to see it go in the future can help greatly in the search for new employees.

Bankrate lists a number of good hiring tips for small-business owners and for those immediate needs, the website suggests employing a temporary staffing agency help.

On the front end, the cost associated with using temps may seem high. However, the website lists several advantages of this, including not locking yourself into the commitment of making someone a full-time employee. If he or she doesn’t work out, you can easily replace the worker with phone call to the agency.

However, temps also allow you to assess whether or not the person is a potential fit in the long term. If so, you can negotiate the conversion fee with the agency and hire the employee outright, or wait until he or she has worked a certain number of hours through the staffing company that allows you to hire the candidate without paying a fee.

Don’t forget about the passive job seeker
Many times, the person you want to hire already has a job, isn’t looking but is always open to hearing about new opportunities. In this situation, the thrill is in the chase. Entrepreneur magazine offers a number of good tips for attracting the passive candidate, but the best piece of advice is to try and meet him or her in person.

Unless they’re unhappy in their present jobs, it’ll likely take more than a cool job description to entice them. By sitting down and meeting with them, a feeling out process can occur. If a good connection is made, it increases the chances of a passive candidate making a switch to come and work for your company.

Avoid a business disaster with proper planning

A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.
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A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.

A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.

When starting your business, you mapped out everything you wanted to achieve and the steps to take to get where you wanted to go. Now that your company is up and running, you most likely still have a plan in place to deal with your organization’s growth. But what about if disaster strikes? It doesn’t happen to every enterprise, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen to yours.

A solid disaster recovery strategy is part of any effective business growth plan. Even if a disaster never occurs, it will give you, as an owner, peace of mind knowing that you have something in place to keep your operations running. Even though developing a disaster plan may sound daunting, all it takes is some research and preparation to create a strategy that will stand throughout any possible disaster.

Business disasters can range from natural occurrences, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or floods, to more technical issues, such as a cyber attack or data center loss. Whatever the case, getting a plan in place now means your business can recover more quickly and efficiently should an emergency happen.

- Assess the various risks: Businesses that are located in the Southeast United States may not have to worry about extremely cold weather conditions possibly disrupting their operations every year, but they do have to worry about tornadoes. Companies in every region of the country have to deal with various weather-related disasters that happen in their areas, so figuring out what could potentially throw off your enterprise for a few days is the first step to determining how you can handle them, suggests the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants.

You should also take the time to assess any technical dangers, such as information loss due to hackers, the source recommends. This will help you lay out the proper protocols for recovery.

- Create a business continuity plan: Crain’s Detroit Business states that small companies need to develop a strong business continuity plan that outlines what steps will be taken in case of an emergency. The source also recommends that you determine which staff members will be in charge of which responsibilities so that employees know who to reach out to.

- Take a look at your systems: Looking at the systems you have in place can help you poke holes in anything that could be severely impacted by a disaster, writes the Minnesota Society of CPA’s. Do your employees have a way to work if your company’s Internet is down for an extended period? What if your facilities are damaged? Is there somewhere else you can operate out of while recovering? These questions can give you more insight into improvements that can be made to your disaster recovery plan.

Whatever the disaster, whether it’s weather-related or tech-based, you need a plan to get your operations back in line should something occur. Also, having your employees provide their advice and input on the strategy ensures everyone is onboard and prepared for anything that happens.

Career tips to help your business connect with employees

Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.
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Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.

Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.

Professional consulting services help businesses on the cusp of reaching new levels of profitability, efficiency and output attain their goals. Such services also help employers better connect with employees and learn best practices for worker interaction and leadership.

One of the best ways to make sense of what drives workers is to look at things from their perspective. Some overarching career advice from Business 2 Community can help managers and owners understand the motivations of many of their workers, as well as know how they can adapt their offices to better accommodate staff. Some of the advice will apply to you and your managers as well.

Personal branding

Employers and employees should both have an idea of how they want to be viewed by others and make changes to that effect. For workers, those differences may involve extra effort in certain business behaviors and a focus on learning new skills. Reputation is a factor that can be controlled by both individuals and businesses if they put in the work.

The corollary to managing perception is that everyone needs to be honest about who they are. Making positive changes is entirely possible for employees, but they likely can’t become totally new people or go against instinct. Instead of enforcing a too-rigid corporate culture, supervisors should find out what their employees are deeply interested in and see if they can fit those passions into new work opportunities.

Management should offer to help employees who want to learn and do more and be proactive about letting their workforce know that mentoring and counseling for professional growth is available.

When companies bring in a corporate consulting service, they should involve employees as much as possible. Asking for and acting on feedback is a great potential source of growth for employees and supervisors. And when an employee is successful, management should make note of a job well done as well as subtly encourage others to offer congratulations for good work.

Employee-to-employee interaction

Workers often care the most about their relationships with colleagues, according to research by TinyPulse reported on industry website Employee​ Benefits. The happiness of staff often has more to do with co-workers and less to do with managers, especially with businesses becoming less hierarchical and more focused on collaboration.

Employers can foster positive relationships though non-traditional benefits like catering lunch or offering out-of-work activities in a low-pressure fashion to help develop those horizontal bonds between employees on the same level.

Focus on these ideas when hiring sales people and other employees

A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.
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A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.

A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.

Attracting high-quality employees is a major part of any business growth plan. By bringing in great sales people, administrative workers and support staff, companies have a much better chance of meeting and exceeding their goals.

Whether your organization is adding a few workers as part of a steady increase in activity or onboarding lots of new employees due to drastically increased demand for your services, advice from industry source Small Business Trends can help you emphasize the unique benefits of your business and attract the best employees.

Make benefits attractive

It sounds simple, but a high-end benefits package will bring in plenty of top talent. What you can do to differentiate your offerings when it comes to insurance, bonuses and other perks not related to salaries is the more complicated proposition.

Companies that are the best at bringing in top talent put a strong emphasis on benefits - 70 percent of top talent attractors versus 28 percent of other businesses, according to Small Business Trends. Asking current employees which insurance company they would like to use and researching the results is one way to develop a strong offering. Linking bonuses to individually attainable goals, instead of company-wide metrics, is another way to attract high performers.

Besides health care and extra cash provided for a good performance, other incentives like providing employees with flex​ time or allowing them to work at home when feasible, as well as wellness offerings, can make your company stand out in a competitive hiring market.

Flip the perspective

One easy question can help you better understand your hiring process, according to The Business Journals: Would you apply to the position your company is offering, given the salary, benefits and duties included in the package?

Bringing in great employees is one answer to the question of how to grow sales. So if your job descriptions aren’t exciting, informative and giving potential workers a positive glimpse at the career they could embark on, they need to change.

Instead of exclusively focusing on new employees, successful companies need to also attract and analyze internal candidates for open positions. If your business performs well, it means your current workers are doing a lot of things right. A focus on inside-the-organization advancement means happier employees, less time spent training and onboarding and a higher level of trust. Keep records of employees who want to try different positions across the company and notify them when openings arise.

Business growth plan needs customer engagement strategies

While each company has different methods that it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each small enterprise can employ in order to boost customer engagement.
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While each company has different methods that it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each small enterprise can employ in order to boost customer engagement.

While each company has different methods that it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each enterprise can employ in order to boost customer engagement.

It’s no surprise that customers are an essential part of any business operation. Business owners spend a large amount of time and put in great effort to ensure they are making connections with potential patrons and keeping their current customers satisfied. While each company has different methods it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each organization can employ in order to boost customer engagement.

Keeping patrons engaged is key for business success. By focusing on this aspect, you, as an owner, can increase revenue, boost your organization’s reputation and draw in potential customers. Engagement is not only for employees, but should become part of your client retention strategy as well.

The following methods will help ensure that your customers will be engaged, happy and will keep coming back to do business with your company:

Start by asking questions: Taking the time to get to know your patrons will go a long way in boosting engagement. You can ask questions while customers are shopping in the store, or, as Business 2 Community suggests, you can go online and to gather feedback from your clients. These questions can range from what kinds of products and services are preferred to what changes customers would like to see.

Put customers in the spotlight: B2C recommends acknowledging your most loyal patrons. This can be accomplished by featuring them on your company’s website, social media pages or even in your brick-and-mortar locations. This will give consumers more reason to return to your business.

Improving your company website and customer experience: Customers expect great service when they are in your store. The same rules should apply when they are on your business website. Business News Daily suggests that your website should meet the needs of patrons’ expectations by allowing them to complete transactions quickly and efficiently. Also, to improve customer service, your website should have the most up-to-date information about the company, products, services and other important details. Having a strong online presence that your clients can easily access should be a key part of any business growth plan.

Contests bring customers in: Holding contests with the chance to win products and services not only boosts existing customer engagement, but this strategy can also help bring in new clientele. B2C recommends hosting frequent contests, both online and in stores, to garner higher patron engagement as well as get the word out about your business. Business News Daily states that holding contests on your social media pages helps to increase your marketing reach as well.

Take the time to celebrate your customers: Not all customer engagement strategies need to happen online. B2C writes that having parties and small celebrations at your brick-and-mortar location lets your patrons know their business is appreciated. When your company reaches a certain milestone, or you just feel like celebrating your business success, consider having a party as a way to share your enthusiasm with your customers.