Episode 129: Reshaping the sales mindset with Anthony Iannarino

Build a Better Agency Podcast

A healthy agency, on average, loses about 10-15% of their AGI every year through client attrition. That means that just to stay even, you have to sell. If you want to grow – you have to sell. If you want more money to give raises, bonuses or take a little for yourself – you have to sell.

Unfortunately, 95% of agency owners hate to sell. You hire sales people so you don't have to do it. Sadly – they rarely pay for themselves. If you have one that does, do what you have to do to keep them! But in most agencies, the best salesperson is the owner. You can have very different conversations with prospects than anyone else in your shop and based on the research we’ve done with CMOs – those are the conversations that move them through your sales funnel.

That’s why this topic is so vital. You can’t get or keep any momentum in your agency if you’re afraid of sales. Which is why I invited Anthony Iannarino onto the show. He’s a highly respected international speaker, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and sales leader. He specializes in complex B2B sales, which is the world that we are all living in. He’s also a founder and managing partner of two closely-held, family-owned businesses in the staffing industry, and he leads both entities in strategic planning while growing sales.

Anthony is best known for his work on The Sales Blog, which has helped him gain recognition as a top thought leader in sales strategy. He’s also designed what he calls the Level 4 Value Creation and Building Consensus methodologies that help sales organizations achieve transformational, breakthrough results.

A well-known author, Anthony recently released "The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the Ten Commitments That Drive Sales," and man, is that book brilliant. A few years ago he wrote "The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need." I highly recommend them both.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Why most entrepreneurs go into sales with the wrong mindset that makes selling an unpleasant experience
• Why the sales process isn’t linear and how to shift the conversation with a prospect based on where they are in the process
• The Ten Commitments: the agreements that you need from your prospects along the sale’s path in order for a sale to happen
• How giving a prospect the price too early can blow the sale
• Why it’s so important to slow down and build trust
• Talking to people with genuine interest in them and what they need
• Consistently providing a ton of value to your prospects so that you stay top-of-mind when something changes in their business and they have a need
• Why getting to the point where you get to have a conversation with a prospect is the most difficult part of sales (and how to actually reach that point)
• Why you should never let a prospect sit alone with a proposal and the specific language you should use so that it doesn’t happen

Ways to contact Anthony Iannarino:

• Website: thesalesblog.com

We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!