A coaching session with Business/ ActionCOACH Rick Crain. Rick walks us through on how to close a sale.

A meditation on thriving in this economy and beyond.

Produced by Blank Stage Productions, ThriveAMERICA attracts top business leaders willing to share their experience, strength and hope so that others may learn. We brought Brent’s personal business coach RICK CRAIN in for another session, this time on we wanted to know how to close a deal. Many of us have lost deals, not gotten the work, not because we are any less talented but because we are not doing some basic fundamentals. Apply a few of these tactics to your game and improve your close ratio by 50%.

LEAVE a COMMENT: Do you have any tips you can share with us, particularly about closing sales? Please, let us know by leaving a comment! Do so by pressing the comment icon next to the video player above.

Show Notes

1. The Draft. Speak their language. Do research on the company you are going to do business with. Understand their culture. Understand their style.

2. NO Pain NO Gain. You have GOT to learn how to ask great questions. This is not the time to talk about all the great things you can do for your client. You have to find the PAIN of your client , listen and listen more. This will build trust and your potential customer will be more open to the solutions you are about to offer.

3. Building Value. This is going separate you from your competition. This going to prove to the client that YOU have the solution and then why they should do business with you. Build value to the solution you are going to provide. It is about getting desire from your client. Remember, the client is going to buy from you for two reasons. They need what you have or buying your solution makes them feel good.

4. Visualize the Victory. See the close, just like a top athlete will visualize the game victory, sensing how that will feel. Do the same. Make it so. Imagine how it is going to be for you and your client when you do close the deal.

5. Game Day. This is the closing table. This is where it all comes together. As a business owner, this is what we look forward to. This is where the fun begins. This should be the easiest part of the close, of the sales process.  Be prepared to negotiate by having packages and offers, but never discount. Discounting is the death of all business.

Powerful Online Resource to Help grow Your Business:

American Express Open Business Forum – A Place Where Business Owners Share Ideas and a great place to build alliances
http://www.openforum.com/

Incredible resources to be found at the Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov/

Free Coaching Session With Rick Crain. Mention ThriveAMERICA.
http://www.actioncoach.com/rickcrain/contact.php

Mashable – The best source for social media news and tips
http://mashable.com/

Starts with a plan. Before you go to market or if you have a new product or service – Generate a powerful business plan
http://www.bplans.com/

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Rick’s Bio:

Rick Crain’s experience and knowledge for building successful businesses and leaders began with a 32 year career with the World’s largest financial services company, ADP. Starting with ADP in St. Louis , MO in 1974, his career includes leadership responsibility for the startup operations for regional offices in San Antonio Texas (1982) and Princeton New Jersey (1986). In Philadelphia (1997), Rick was selected to save a regional center that was in critical danger of closing its doors due to lack of sales and organizational performance.

In 2002, just five years later, the Philadelphia Region won the exclusive ADP worldwide award as Region of the Year which was weighed heavily on sales, profits, quality and customer and employee retention. In that same year, Philadelphia was selected for expansion through merger initiatives which Rick also led to success, doubling the region’s revenue from $50 to $100 million annually.

In 2003, Rick accepted Vice President responsibility for the Southeast operations for ADP Major Accounts division spanning 14 locations in seven states with $280 million in revenue. Throughout his career Rick has developed high performing leaders and teams to replace him before moving on to the next organizational development and personally challenging initiative.

In 2005, Rick left ADP to pursue his career and passion. Rick is a certified and licensed business and executive coach with the World’s #1 business coaching and consulting firm, ActionCOACH Business Coaching. He owns his own company, Breakthrough Business Solutions, and is also an entrepreneurial partner with DrawSuccess, a company with an innovative and fun solution for team transformation. Through his coaching and team transformational programs, Rick has a successful history of organizational leadership and development while driving bottom line results.

He has been recognized as a Top 100 Coach in the World by the International Business Coaching Institute in 2008, Georgia ’s Most Inspirational Coach for 2008, North America Network Coach of the Year for 2008 for his prominence in the community he serves and the 2008 Action Coach of the Year Global Award. Rick’s mission is to accelerate the advancement of inspiring leaders and teams above and beyond bottom line results.

Rick Crain received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from Peirce College and Master Certifications in Project Management and Strategic Organizational Leadership from Villanova University . Rick is the father of Rick, Jr., a teacher and basketball coach in Philadelphia , and Maria, a Nurse Practitioner specializing in pediatric food allergies and residing in Dallas , TX . Rick is also a proud grandfather to William, also in Dallas . Rick still loves to play baseball and has a burning desire to participate in a major league baseball fantasy camp. Rick is currently co-authoring a leadership book scheduled for a 2010 spring release.

Contact Rick and be sure to mention that you him on ThriveAMERICA for a COMPLIMENTARY business evaluation:
404-799-1020

Rick’s Website: http://www.actioncoach.com/rickcrain/
Rick’s LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-crain/2/928/322
Rick’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1278236742
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These past guests, in order of standings, are getting the most views for their past appearances on ThriveAMERICA. Click on their picture and see why!

About the Host:

Brent Brooks | Brent owns and operates Blank Stage Productions, an independent film production company.  Blank Stage is home to “The Blank Page” a screenwriting group and “Under Budget” a producer’s network. Brent has directed three indie films to date, THE GALLON CHALLENGE, ART OF SUICIDE and BETWEEN LOVE & A HARD PLACE.

Visit: http://www.blankstageproductions.com

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Just a wicked cool video.

A meditation on thriving in this economy and beyond.

Produced by Blank Stage Productions, ThriveAMERICA attracts top business leaders willing to share their experience, strength and hope so that we may all learn how to thrive in this economy. We recently asked thriving business leader Gail Dunn, founder of the Woman’s Automotive Connection to visit the set and share her secrets to success. Gail spends her days saving people money, saving people time and here, she shares with us her Five To Thrive, 5 ways to thrive in today’s ever changing economy.

Show Notes

1. Don’t be one of the Sheep. Get away from the flock. Look for something different and go for it. Look for something that fits you and your style. Sometimes you need to be the rebel!

2. Get up & Get out. Go meet people.  Go and do the one on one meetings, network and spend that time meeting that person. Understand the other person, get to know them. Sit down and talk to them. You never know who they may know, and its also about what you can do for them.

3. Be Creative. Find different ways to do things. In my business, for me its finding that one place, that one person who can get me a great deal, is fun to work with and a better way of treating me and my customers.

4. Stay Grounded. Be real – stay true – keep your integrity. Also this is about yourself – be sincere to yourself. Show the world the REAL you!

5. Cherish The People Around You. We are all interested in making more money. But this is not everything. Everyone that comes into your sphere – learn to cherish them!

Visit Gail’s YouTube Channel! (click image below)

IT’S A DUNN DEAL

Visit Gail Dunn’s website!

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Doing It!

Check out a great little video produced by Blank Stage Productions!

Dunn Right!

See what others are saying about Gail…

“Simply put, Gail gives great advice! I needed recommendations for a body shop and a mechanic. Have already used the body shop she suggested and they did a great job at a reasonable price…and nice to deal with as well. Soon I’ll be using the mechanic and am confident that they too will be super. Strongly recommend Gail!”

- James Cummins

“Gail has saved me on numerous occasions! My VW has had multiple problems in the last year and she has helped recommend an excellent towing company and repair shop. She even walked me through a troubleshooting exercise remotely when my car died in Savannah. When I finally replace my VW, I will be sure to enlist Gail’s help on the buying side as well. I highly recommend using Gail’s services for anyone who has the sneaking suspicion that they might be getting taken advantage of in the auto industry.”

- Jennifer Heal

“I was schedlued to travel out of town on a road trip & procastinated on getting tires until days before. I had called around to the dealer & one tire shop to get a quote & was flabbergasted at the cost & the turn around time. Having met Gail out networking, I decided to give her a shot. Well not only was she able to get my tires the next day, but was able to secure about half the cost that I was getting quoted elsewhere. Any future automotive needs I have, I am going right to Gail. I highly recommend her services”

- Jim Somers

About the Host:

Brent Brooks | Brent owns and operates Blank Stage Productions, an independent film production company. Blank Stage is home to “The Blank Page” a screenwriting group and “Under Budget” a producer’s network. Brent has directed three indie films to date, THE GALLON CHALLENGE, ART OF SUICIDE and BETWEEN LOVE & A HARD PLACE.

Visit: http://www.blankstageproductions.com

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ThriveAMERICA

A meditation on thriving in this economy and beyond.

“Networking in Atlanta“ Presents: ThriveAMERICA.

Produced by Blank Stage Productions, ThriveAMERICA attracts top business leaders willing to share their experience, strength and hope so that we may all learn how to thrive in this economy. We recently asked business leader Brandon Miltsch of Firewolf and Networking in Atlanta to visit the set and discuss ways a business leader can thrive in this economy and beyond. Here, he shares with us his Five To Thrive , 5 ways to thrive in today’s ever changing economy:

1. Have fun. Have fun. Enjoy your job and your life.  Live everyday to the fullest and you will attract like minded people.

2. Networking. Go to networking events. Meet new people and branch out. You will build new relationships as well as a great database and you will consistently find more and more people that you can help.

3. Follow Up. After a meeting, follow up and add a personal touch. Send an email; check out a website. This will allow people to see that you care and are willing to take the time to learn more about them. It is a great start to a business relationship.

4. Be adventurous. Don’t stay in your comfort zone.  Be adventurous and take risks because it will change everything for you and that’s when the best things will happen.

5. Helping others. Reach out to your community. Don’t become too busy. You will meet incredible people and show a great example of strong leadership.

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Brandon Miltsch (dot) com

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More About Networking in Atlanta:
Networking In Atlanta gathers prominent business professionals within the Atlanta area. There are twelve networking events in a year: one every first Wednesday of each month. These venues are created to maximize the business potential in Atlanta, while building a solid sense of community.

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First Wednesday of Every Month

Networking In Atlanta is an Atlanta based business that throws several networking events each year in Atlanta. These events are not your typical “Networking Events.” The energy is high and the goal is to generate as much new business as possible. These events are only for qualified guests that are serious about helping others locally. To be added to our guest list please e-mail Brandon Miltsch (e-mail below) with a short description of yourself and your business. Describe the “Perfect Lead” for you and your business in this e-mail. Stay Tuned For Our Next Event In Atlanta!

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Brandon’s Full Bio:

Brandon’s unusual gift for sales, the Internet and entrepreneurship was honed at an early age. During high school, he started and ran two businesses simultaneously —a car valet and a car detailing operation — while also earning a prestigious first-place DECA State Award for Business Excellence. Later he gained business and management skills at Northwood University. In class after class, he heard how important the Internet is to businesses of all sizes, even more so in a down economy. But little did he know back then that he would be doing a lot more than just learning about the Internet. That’s because Brandon wasn’t satisfied with just learning about it he wanted to live and breathe the new world of the Internet all by himself in the real world of a day-in, day-out business.

So, Brandon found time to become a top selling sales consultant for a few of today’s fastest growing online companies. He started selling for Ameritech and learned what businesses really needed to get onto the Internet. It all started to make sense and soon Brandon wanted to go deeper by offering broad-based Internet solutions that could literally run a business of any size and generate revenues from around the world.

That’s when he joined Verio – an NTT Communications Company. They’re one of those quiet industry leaders — most people have never heard of them. In fact, Verio is the country’s largest provider of website hosting and high-speed Internet access for business. At first Brandon was a little surprised at just how rigorous Verio’s training wastotally on par with the coursework at Northwood. But the thing he really didn’t expect was Verio’s approach. He was expecting to learn tips and tricks to selling web hosting, but what he got was an education in how to help a customer’s business grow. No theory at all — just a lot of business problem-solving from an Internet perspective.

The best part, though, was the reaction he got from the people he called. Since he didn’t act like a salesman, they didn’t feel like they were being sold to. Instead, he served as a personal Internet expert and consultant that had this incredibly vast array of technology and expertise at his disposal. He found out where they want their business to go and then showed them what Verio could do to help them get there faster.

His clients seemed to love having someone who could cut through the technical stuff and explain exactly how their business would benefit from the services that seemed to fit them best. He tuned the service mix to answer every issue the client put on the table, and then adjusted the tuning as the client grew. And grew and grew.

Here’s where his career got really interesting and rewarding. Anyone can start a site. And a lot of companies can host your site. But how the site makes money for you and how you create the traffic to the site is what his career goal was all about. He set out to expand his expertise and did just that when he launched his own successful Internet brand, which became the culmination of his hard work and dedication when it was acquired by FireWolf http://firewolf.com/ , today’s leader in Revolutionary Marketing.

As a result, Brandon now has the collective alliance of all his former employers and colleagues to offer more powerful Internet solutions. As you can probably imagine, Brandon’s favorite aspect is dealing with people who are willing to launch an idea, develop it into a website and generate income from around the world. For Brandon it’s exciting to have an opportunity to dive right in and help turn things around, one business at a time. For his clients, it’s a proven Internet expert delivering proven results.

If you’ve ever participated in one of his workshops, you’ve gotten a real good idea how Brandon helps identify hidden sale opportunities and builds a plan that can find new customers to drive new profitable revenues. You come out of those sessions with a new perspective: how to increase powerful sales, how to structure your sales plan and how to tap into powerful Internet opportunities.

Brandon has the rare combination of professionalism, enthusiasm, sales and Internet skills needed to expand any firm’s natural and geographic limitations. He understands sales, and he understands what’s needed to become successful in today’s new world of the Internet. His most impressive asset might just be his can-do attitude and he’s a hands-on — never shy about making a sales call for one of his clients.

And that is just the overview. Brandon’s welcomes the opportunity to discuss your needs in greater detail and to propose a best-fit solution for building your business without busting your budget.
B@BrandonMiltsch.com
1.877.FIREWOLF ext.712
585.267.6122

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Brent Brooks | Brent owns and operates Blank Stage Productions, an independent film production company. Blank Stage is home to “The Blank Page” a screenwriting group and “Under Budget” a producer’s network. Brent has directed three indie films to date, THE GALLON CHALLENGE, ART OF SUICIDE and BETWEEN LOVE & A HARD PLACE.

Visit: http://www.blankstageproductions.com

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P : Placement
O : Offer
A : Aggressive
N : New
E : Exceptional

A meditation on thriving in this economy and beyond.

Produced by Blank Stage Productions, ThriveAMERICA attracts top business leaders willing to share their experience, strength and hope so that others may learn. We recently asked thriving artist/ photographer POANE to visit the set and share a few of his secrets to success

The ART of POANE

Show Notes

1. Placement. You have to know what you can do or can’t do. You have to figure out where to “place” yourself. Discover where you belong in whatever industry you are in.

2. Offer. Make incredible offers. Always have an offer ready to go. Offer your clients something you have that no one else can offer. Always stay on top  of the client’s questions.

3.  Aggressive. Not being obnoxious – but be agggresive, be confident. Go to the internet, make phone calls, be creative on  how you get business.

4. Now. Nothing like right now. Act NOW. DOn’t loose momentum. real – stay true – keep your integrity. Also this is about yourself – be sincere to yourself. Show the world the REAL you!

5. Exceptional. You want to come across exceptional to people. Give yourself a certain look. Take an acting class.

Visit Poane’s website @ Poane.com

Follow Poane in TWITTER

Become a friend with Poane on Facebook

Top Views on ThriveAMERICA | Click on Thumbnail to View the Interview

These past guests, in order of standings, are getting the most views for their past appearances on ThriveAMERICA. Click on their picture and see why!

Contact POANE: poane@poane.com | 678-508-3421

About the Host:

Brent Brooks | Brent owns and operates Blank Stage Productions, an independent film production company.  Blank Stage is home to “The Blank Page” a screenwriting group and “Under Budget” a producer’s network. Brent has directed three indie films to date, THE GALLON CHALLENGE, ART OF SUICIDE and BETWEEN LOVE & A HARD PLACE.

Visit: http://www.blankstageproductions.com

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