Rod Fraser’s Post

I have found my most successful years in sales have been when I truly focus on slowing down the conversation and building authentic rapport. Here are a few helpful tips: 🔥 😃Be authentic 🫶🏻 Be friendly 👂Practice active listening 😎Find common ground 🙏🏼Give genuine compliments 🗣️Calibrate the rapport 💻Read the culture

Let's face it, no one enjoys making cold calls. But if you're in sales, it's probably an important part of your job that's going to help you build self-sourced pipeline. Here are some great tips to help you turn those cold calls into warm ones! 🙅♂️ First, set personal feelings aside. Understand that you're interrupting someone's day, and rejection is inevitable. But don't remove all feeling - customers are smart and can tell if you're just trying to make a sale. Remember the first 'no' is really an "I don't know" 🎁 Next, lead with an offer or solution, not a question. If you provide something the customer needs, they're more likely to remain loyal to you. 👓 Have a long-term vision. Cold calls can be time-consuming, but keeping your focus on successfully helping customers will pay off in the end. 🥅 Set realistic, reachable goals. Don't set your sights too high and risk burnout. Keep your goals realistic and talk to your managers about their expectations. 🎶 Add a personal touch. Familiarity with the customer can lead to a better business relationship. Take notes and remember names or past conversations. 🔁 Finally, practice makes perfect. Rehearse your pitch before making calls and maintain a positive attitude. Remember, your goal is to build a lasting business relationship. #coldcalling #salesmotivation

💥 5 Tips to build fast rapport 💥 Establishing a fast and solid rapport during a sales conversation with a prospect is crucial, we need them to trust us so we can ask the right questions to learn more about them, the company and their visions. Here's 5 things you can do to build fast rapport with a prospect! 1. Be Genuine and Authentic: It is hard to miss out on authenticity. Show sincere interest in the person next to you. Ask questions that lead to an interaction to get to know their needs and expectations. Listen actively and think before making comments in relation to what they saying. 2. Mirror and Match: Mirroring the other person's body language, tone of voice, and energy level can create a sense of familiarity and comfort. Be subtle and natural in your approach. This technique can help establish a sense of connection and understanding. 3. Find Common Ground: Identify the things that you are both interested in and have experienced. These are the things that you can talk about. This includes more than just a common hobby or mutual friends, it may be same experiences or even similar hardships. Emphasizing these similar scenarios help to build a connection. 4. Show Empathy and Understanding: Recognize the customer views and get sympathy by putting yourself in their shoes in regard their problems. Phrases such as "I understand" or "It must be challenging" can be useful to indicate that you listen carefully and have empathy for clients. 5. Be Positive and Enthusiastic: Positivity just infects people all around. Keep on smiling and being energetic to last for the whole conversation. Highlight positive language and talk in terms of how your product or service will help them. By your energy, it is possible to create an atmosphere that supports an engaging conversation. By incorporating these tips into your sales conversations, you'll be able to establish rapport quickly and create a strong foundation for building trust and fostering a positive relationship with your potential customers. #sales #salesdevelopment #rapport #salescommunication #salestechnique

Dating and sales have a lot more in common than you think! Perhaps that explains why I’ve had success in sales 😅 All jokes aside, there really are quite a few overlaps in both of these activities and it’s really all about building a meaningful connection! 1️⃣ First Impressions Matter: Just like on a first date, the initial interaction in sales sets the tone. You want to put your best foot forward, listen carefully, and understand their needs before jumping into a pitch. 2️⃣ Building Trust: After that first interaction, it’s about nurturing the relationship. Constant follow-ups won’t help, but thoughtful communication that adds value will. You need to build trust, just like in dating. 3️⃣ The Mutual Decision: When both parties feel there’s a connection and a shared goal, that’s when you start talking about commitment. It’s not about pushing for the “yes” but ensuring it’s the right fit for both sides. 4️⃣ Long-Term Relationship: Closing the deal is like a second date—it’s just the beginning! Maintaining the relationship, checking in, and continuing to provide value over time leads to lasting success. At the end of the day, both sales and dating are about trust, patience, and genuine connections. Focus on the relationship and ensuring mutual alignment, and the success will follow! #sales #management #businessdevelopment

I don’t client please, I just love to serve! Stumbled upon this sales philosophy, and what is SALES as an acronym: S - Service A - Asking L - Listen E - Empathise S - Summarise For the longest time, I asked myself why do I not like selling, but at the same time like the process of sales. I shared how I like helping clients solve problems, to tell their stories, and get paid in the process. And finally I understand why, it anchored down to the first S - Service. And Service, to me, is about serving others, and not being self-serving. And this was hard for me to balance, as I had been criticised for being a client pleaser in the process. As a business, we assume we need to be self-serving for ourselves, but I find that to be a really short term mindset. When serving others, you build a relationship that goes beyond the now. Even if it means that the client doesn't need a solution from me, I'm glad that I can help listen and be of a service. It goes a long way, and clients come back when they are ready. And when you are serving others, how you ask questions and listen changes as well. You empathise with their world. And maybe that's why I become a sucker for the problems/challenges and also fall in love with the product/brand and what they are achieving to solve! [The universe works in amazing way as I was talking about active listening and asking good questions in my previous posts on LinkedIn. Did not plan this at all, but the next 2 - ASK and LISTEN - are key components of the sales process.] Sales is not just selling a product to customers, and it can be about problem solving with someone else - to our kids, family, to our bosses, colleagues, to our communities etc. How do you think being of SERVICE to others can help you in your process of 'selling'? #sales #selling #service

In the realm of sales, cold calling often gets a bad rap, but it’s a crucial skill that can yield incredible results when approached with the right mindset. Here are some key takeaways to consider: 1️⃣ Understand that not every call will be met with enthusiasm, and that’s okay. Rejection is part of the journey to success. 2️⃣ Remember that even the most accomplished sales professionals started from square one. Every call is an opportunity for growth and learning. 3️⃣ Each interaction hones your skills and adds to your expertise. Treat every call as a chance to refine your craft. 4️⃣ Never underestimate the potential impact of a single call. You could be making a difference in someone’s life or business. 5️⃣ While many may shy away from making calls, remember that proactive outreach sets you apart from the crowd. 6️⃣ Stay resilient in the face of rejection. Every “no” brings you one step closer to a “yes.” 7️⃣ Focus on serving your prospects’ needs rather than just making a sale. Authenticity breeds trust and fosters long-term relationships. 8️⃣ Your call could be the assistance someone desperately needs to excel in their role or overcome a challenge. 9️⃣ Be prepared for a high volume of unanswered calls. Persistence and consistency are key. 🔟 Your tone and demeanor speak volumes. Let your personality shine through and maintain professionalism at all times. Above all, remember: Your call could be the solution someone has been searching for. Approach each interaction with empathy, enthusiasm, and a genuine desire to help. Keep dialing, keep refining, and keep making a difference! #Sales #ColdCalling #ProfessionalGrowth 📞💼

Sellers: Your “prospects” don’t trust you. Why? Because you are trying to sell them something! So many salespeople approach every conversation looking for what they can GET. They are talking to “prospects”, not people. This makes PEOPLE not trust you. It makes the relationship transactional. It feels wrong. Salespeople earn trust by entering conversations looking to GIVE. They look to build relationships and get to know the PEOPLE on the other end of the conversation. They don’t see people as “prospects” to start. They build a relationship, and THEN they will see if what they are selling could be helpful. The same goes for networking. If you go into conversations looking to get a job or a referral it will have the opposite effect. But if you go in looking to build relationships you will find jobs, sales, etc. The point is that genuine connections can lead to other things. But you can’t fake your way into a real connection. And you can’t build one overnight. → People > “Prospects” → Get to know people for who they are. → Focus on the long term. → Start with relationships, not with selling. If you focus on those 4 things, everything will work out just fine. And if things aren’t working out, it probably means you aren’t focusing on those 4 things 🙃 Happy Monday! 📍 Back in Prague for just a minute: 28/4/24 Love, Your Javi (”Say hello to all your secret light inside. Build up your fire, take a ride”- Heart, 1977)

Stay Curious. What’s one of the most important qualities for building relationships? In sales? In finding the right solution to meet a need? Curiosity. Studies show that 4-year-olds ask around 200-300 questions a day! In fact, kids between the ages of 2 and 5 ask an average of 40,000 questions. But as we get older, that number drastically drops. We often stop asking questions out of fear of seeming like we don’t know something, or simply because we think we already have the answers. Last weekend, I had my nieces and nephew over for an outdoor movie night with some friends. As we watched Hook (a 1991 classic!), my niece Mia asked so many questions—probably at least 300! My favorite was when she saw Robin Williams pour a drink and asked, "Is that juice?" to which I quickly responded, "yes." Even though the questions kept coming, I tried my best to answer them because I didn’t want to squash her curiosity. I want her to stay curious—to be someone who asks great questions, cares deeply about others, and engages in meaningful conversations. Curiosity is a gift. In life, in sales, in relationships—it’s the key to unlocking deeper understanding and finding creative solutions for our clients. So, what are you curious about today? How can you keep asking questions?

Pausing is an integral part of the sales process, it provides that you value what your clients have to say. This is very important in any conversation. Best to you

Did you know that detaching from the outcome could actually increase your sales? It sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. In sales, we often get so focused on closing the deal that we forget the most important part of the process - building a genuine connection with the client. When we're too attached to the outcome, it can come across as pushy or desperate, and that's a surefire way to turn a potential client off. Instead, try approaching each interaction with a mindset of service. Focus on understanding the client's needs and providing them with the best possible solution, without the pressure of making the sale. This shift in perspective can lead to more authentic conversations, stronger relationships, and ultimately, better results. I've seen this approach work wonders in my own career. By letting go of the need to close every deal, I've been able to build a network of loyal clients who trust me and my recommendations. And the funny thing is, the less I worry about the sale, the more sales I seem to make. So, next time you're in a sales meeting, try detaching from the outcome. You might be surprised at how much more effective you become. What are your thoughts on this approach? Have you tried it before? Share your experiences in the comments below. If you found this insight helpful, feel free to repost this LinkedIn post to spread the word. #SalesStrategy #ClientRelationships #BusinessGrowth