Have you ever thought about supercharging your sales by using sponsorship?

Sponsorship is one of the oldest and very effective automatic sales tools, but many newer businesses consider it unattainable due to its connections with big global events such as Olympics, Formula 1, or NFL. In this Expert Insight Interview, John Golden talks with Ken Ungar, about supercharging sales through the power of sponsorship.

This interview discusses:

Creating relationships between two organizations and the audience
Difference between sponsorship and advertisement in making sales

Creating relationships

The charm of sponsorship is in creating relationships with other businesses, customers, and even with the communities. It is a little “old school” because it relies more on creating those relationships rather than the digitalization which if used wrongly can have the dehumanizing effect. This works for different types of businesses. One B2B aerospace company involved in auto racing managed to achieve a great return on investment by sponsoring the auto racing events and by being part of the action. In B2C business there is a term called “image transfer”. A great example of this is that a person will emotionally connect with the company sponsoring sport or a team that he or she likes. Sponsoring non-profit organizations gives the feeling of the company’s care and engagement within its community. Thus, business needs to determine who is its audience and based on it to find a suitable property to sponsor. The key is in knowing customer demographics and psychographics, scaling the sponsorship budget, and setting clear goals. Companies of all sizes can

Two approaches

Nowadays, social media and digital advertisements enabled us to know basically everything in real-time. One of those things is profit as well. Companies have the ability to instantly know their returns. In commercial advertising, the message is communicated to the customers and the next step is for the customers to connect to it and bring the returns to the company. This clear transactionality might create a certain guard from the customers. Sponsorship strategy focuses on breaking down the barriers between the company and consumers by creating compelling relationships between them. Thus, it takes longer to harvest the investment due to its need for creating and maintaining relationships. It is important to keep in mind that sponsorship is not a short-term plan and it requires a clear strategy With sponsorship comes greater risk, but also greater reward if done right. However, due to globalization, sponsorship combined with digital creates a very powerful synergy of sales tools.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Amazon has been blooming for a decade yet given the world situation we are in today, it became even more popular and attracted more brands that are now transacting through Amazon. It started off as a simple product search platform and gradually became a complex instrument for generating sales that not everyone can use successfully ad hoc anymore. More and more professional agencies explore possibilities and ways to optimize the conversion rate using this great engine. The reason for this is that the biggest drivers for successful Amazon retail stories have become more accessible than ever before.

John Ghiorso discusses How to sell more on Amazon in this expert sales interview, hosted by John Golden.

This expert sales interview explores:

• What are the main characteristics that affect overall business potential on Amazon
• How customers should be approached

Retail Readiness and Importance of Content

Practically, what is highlighted as the prime principle is something people in Amazon business call – Retail readiness. This is basically having all the important questions regarding the product covered in the most efficient way. Some of the most valuable questions are: “Is the product available to ship prime?”, “Is the price right?”, “Do we have products in stock?”, “Do we have a full page of details set up?”

After that is covered, we need to focus on Organic reach. Making sure that content is updated and set up in the most prominent way to be found gives an essential advantage. Maximizing the conversion this way helps businesses in both the short and long run simply because it means that customers get all information needed. In summary – this usually means that we managed to evoke the most important feeling with customers – satisfaction with making a good purchase

The biggest driver

Advertising traffic matters. We need to focus on search. Think in terms of Google Adwords, relevant keyword targeting, positioning ads. Even though paid media can be a double-sided sword, it can still maximize the volume and target your customers with great precision. Retailers should also keep in mind that there are interesting third party technology options for advertising and optimizing content too. Although it is similar to SEO set up, on Amazon, we need to pay attention not to sound too unnatural as SEO wording sometimes tends to sound.
In summary, it is useful to know that Amazon has 3 main roles that are creating the drive:

1. Role of a large and serious retailer
2. Activities of the fastest growing advertising platform
3. Countries’ most important products search engine.

In order to maximize the potentials, these three should never fall apart.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

For years, we have been taught that we need to swim fast if we don’t want to get eaten by big fish. Quick reactions were encouraged and stimulated in business literature and courses yet not everyone was made aware of how stressful and unfavorable it can get in emergency times and extraordinary situations. Alien environments such as the one the world is currently in, switched all business styles to virtual offices. But how are people coping with this new online design and how prepared they were? As the process needed to be transmuted very quickly many business professionals were found in challenging and confusing situations left alone with big worries.

Bill Kurzeja, CEO of Professional Success Sales agency discusses how individuals and groups can make their communication more effective and help people overcome the current circumstances.

This expert sales interview explores:

• The importance of confidence for communication quality
• The most overlooked communication factors

Fear vs Knowledge

The most important factor when it comes to the quality of communication is self-confidence. Lack of confidence comes from our fears, it can be overcome with knowledge. When we say knowledge, in this case, we mean continuous practice. Companies are encouraged to teach their sales managers the importance of never-ending advancement. The most recommended scenario would be Sales team’s daily practice. Managers should be let to have fun but never lose focus on the goal – Advancing applied communication and generating more leads.

Pause and Listen

Rule number one for overcoming stressful situations in Business is to press PAUSE.

Slowing down doesn’t mean losing time, it actually helps us speed up the process in the long run. This means that we need to give the client time to think about it and talk about it as much needed. Slowing down also means that we are allowed to have silent moments during the meeting and that silence should not get uncomfortable as it is important for decision making. In order to help the client to understand all that, communicators need to be flexible and emphatic in communication. This means that the person needs to identify the worries and make the client feel safe. The best way to ensure this is by leading a caring dialogue and listen with both your ears and eyes.

Listen with your eyes

Bill mentioned that 93% of communication is not verbal therefore sales managers really don’t have to stress it all on words. People are able to feel what you think and an honest smile with a friendly approach is always well rewarded. He also highlighted that we should always ask for video meetings as personal connection this way becomes far stronger.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Do you want to go back to normal? Well, think twice, because normal may be gone.

Performance-wise, if we actually start getting back to normal that would simply be a regression. A lot of things that can be done in the same way as before the crisis, they could actually be done more poorly after the crisis.

We experienced a new way of working – creating new ways of communicating, new approaches, settings, and just creating different but great value. When restrictions are lifted, we end up ending these innovative processes and structures and just going back in time.

Who wants to go back in time, really?

This expert sales interview explores:

• What did we learn workwise during the crisis?
• How can we reach the best work-life balance?

Being productive

It’s all about finding innovative ways to be efficient. We do have a temptation when this is over.

We can forget all the great stuff we learned and go back the way things were.

So, what should we adopt that we learned during this major crisis? For example, say video conferences, we do have practice in it, and we can adjust our travel habits and our carbon footprint. This can be a relationship and a collaborative tool rather than a functional tool. You can build deeper relationships with people you don’t actually see – especially when we work from home, you get to know the people you work with, they get interrupted with kids, you see their personal space, etc.

Well, that’s a great way to build trust. We can still be productive without physically being at the office. We don’t need 9-5 hours, we can still deliver value. It should be the thing of the past.

Is there happiness in flexibility?

Employees are happier now and the quality of life is the key as well as the work-life balance.

Flexibility – moving away from a traditional, from everything we knew. It’s all about serving the needs of the global economy – the customers will be more satisfied when employees are. Being away from the workplace doesn’t mean you can’t solve problems you had onsite. Communicating through video rather than email has a great impact, and it’s more likely that people will listen and have a positive image of leadership management presents.

The most important thing that affects effective communication is trust. When we know that we can clearly communicate our expectations, those can be met.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Sales Experts Advice and Tips

MUST WATCH PANEL DISCUSSION[icon name=”binoculars” class=”” unprefixed_class=””]

Remote working is not just the future but is the present reality for many workers and will continue to grow. Roles that are not dependent on a physical location or being part of a physical team will now have to justify working in an office which is a 180-degree change.

The challenge is to ensure that you can operate efficiently and effectively with virtual teams. This is something that needs a defined strategy and well-planned implementation. If done properly the rewards are huge in productivity as well as employee satisfaction.

This expert panel brings practical advice on how to achieve both.

Watch our live recorded event from 2th July 2020

Sally Duby Sally is CSO – Partner at The Bridge Group. Passionate about transforming SDR & AE functions. Most Influential Women in Sales. Sally is a veteran in the field of technology inside sales, and one of the early pioneers of the Inside Sales and Sales Development movement.

Eric Bloom Eric Bloom is the Executive Director of the IT Management and Leadership Institute. He is also a TEDx speaker, the past president of National Speakers Association New England, a Certified Public Speaker (CSP), a former nationally syndicated columnist, a contributing writer to CIO.com, a technologist, and a research advisor for International Data Corporation (IDC).

Ann Zaslow-Rethaber A recruiter since 1996, president of International Search Consultants, a global executive recruiting firm launched in 1999. ISC has become one of the country’s most reputable search firms, earning more recommendations on Linked In than any other 3rd party recruiting agency in the entire country.

Is having a structured sales team in the digital marketing world really a must?

Sales in digital marketing have constant challenges. The more you deliver as a marketing agency the more you understand the sales aspects and its specifications. Carolyn Lowe discusses structure and processes in sales concerning digital marketing agencies in this expert sales interview, hosted by John Golden.

This expert sales interview explores:

• Finding the right fit/hire for sales in the digital marketing world
• Fine lines between sales and digital marketing

Representing a brand

In a digital agency, you need much more of someone who is a hunter, not a farmer. A variety of tools are used in the digital world, and Carolyn’s agency is starting the complimentary webinars about Amazon, Facebook, Google Advertising to help people bring them closer to those techniques. The sales aspect determines who you want to work with and how to find your target market. An agency should develop the right formula for hiring and afterward, training. Sales training and sales assessment make quality hire because digital agencies usually have a sales team of one or two people. These people should be micro marketers. They should know the brand they represent.

Sales is a team you need to own internally because a salesperson needs to be passionate and strongly believe in the brand they present. This way you can find the right customers. In rare cases, sales can be outsourced.

Blurred lines

Lines between sales and marketing are blurred, so the answer lies in collaboration and synergy between those two. Marketing and sales could have different ideas but the agencies should work on that. Awareness about the target audience, messages shared across, mission, and vision, is something that everybody involved needs to have and know that. It’s the core. Transparency across the organization is of the utmost importance. Sales should not be trying to sell but to help someone, and that right there needs to be a mentality you go forward with.

To build trust and long term relationships with the customers is a challenge but a necessity. 7-8 years ago marketing and sales were entirely different islands. But today marketers become salespeople and vice versa. E.g. When a marketer runs a Facebook ad, receives a sales call and jumps on it, having the right answers is better than having to tell “oh, let me find someone to answer you that.” It speaks more about your business. That way, when synergy happens, conversion rates are higher, and the saying “quality over quantity” is a true statement.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Today’s marketplace is ”a sea of sameness”. Due to too many options available, everything looks and sounds the same.  John Golden’s new interview guest is Charlie Tombazian, the president of the innovative strategies at a management consulting firm in Arizona. He will use his broad experience to tell you more about the importance of differentiation for growth and different ways to achieve it.

This interview explores:

• What is differentiation for growth, and why is it crucial for success?
• How to choose the right strategy for your company?
• How will this process change in the future?

What is differentiation for growth, and why is it crucial for success?

In today’s economy, it takes differentiation to grow. ‘’You must go down the path far enough to where your competitors either can’t follow you or won’t follow you. When you are truly differentiated, you’ve gone down that path far enough.” Our brains pick up differences faster and better than sameness, and because of it, smart marketers always use it in their campaigns. The key is to find a differentiating way of expressing who you are as a company or a brand. It is a risky process, and to be successful, it must be a whole company’s effort, because mistakes or failed deliveries are also differentiating and will catch people’s attention. Your team needs to be ready for continuous improvement that it takes, and you need to do things that others will not.

How to choose the right strategy for your company?

The first step is to choose the area where you want to implement differentiation strategies. It can be operational excellence, products, and services leadership, or relationship with customers. To pick the right area, you need to assess what is it that makes your company unique, how good you are at that right now, and what can you and your team do in addition to what you are already doing. Whichever path you choose, the other two need to have value as well, or your competition will defeat you.

How will this process change in the future?

The current situation and changes in the world brought a more humanistic point of view at everything. Even though authenticity and humanness were already very important aspects of marketing and image, in the future it will gain even more meaning.

So, the main question that every company will need to answer is: Are we making the world a better place by what we do?

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

When we think about inside sales or telesales, we immediately think about talking and often forget how listening is just as important factor in successful communication of any kind.

In today’s interview hosted by John Golden, the inside sales expert and founder of upyourtelesales.com, Lynn Hidy, talks about the skill of listening and how becoming a better listener can improve your performance as a salesperson and your relationship with your clients.

This expert sales interview explores:

• The importance of listening
• Why do we struggle with listening
• Useful tips for becoming a better listener and communicator

The Importance Of Listening

”The sooner you can ask the question and stop talking, the better your meeting is gonna go.” If you want your customer to share anything, you have to stop speaking. Then you need to pay attention. Don’t listen to what you want to hear, but to what is truly going on.

Why Do We Struggle With Listening

Listening is hard work, you have to be mentally present, and it takes effort. It is natural for our minds to start wandering during a conversation. We are already thinking about the reply before we can hear the whole question. It is because listening, as a function, comes naturally and intuitively to us, so we take it for granted and usually don’t have the habit of practicing.
We are the most distracted we have ever been because the devices that we use are designed in a way where everything is competing for our attention.

Become A Better Listener And Communicator

Call planning is an essential part of the routine. Preparing the questions before the call and creating a form of the framework allows better communication and control of the situation. Elimination of distractions is crucial to listening. So look at yourself, be honest, and eliminate anything that you think could take your mind off of the conversation.

The next big step is determining who is your target audience because your approach shouldn’t be the same towards everybody. Use what you know about people to orchestrate the conversation and engage different people differently.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.