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Over twenty years, Beverley Price has worked with some of
the world’s leading organisations including Yellow Pages, Cable
Tel (NTL) and Freecom.net. Giving clients a clear objective,
Beverley’s philosophy is founded on the basic principles of...
COMMON SENSE
AND ELBOW GREASE
Why did you set up Clear Objective?
Small businesses often can’t afford
someone to direct their sales operation
or manage their sales staff and some
companies don’t need a full time rep.
So I set up Clear Objective to offer
them the chance to have someone on
their team as much or as little as is
needed.
What sets Clear Objective apart
from other sales & marketing
consultancies?
Once we have agreed on a strategy to
get the company where the client
wants it to be, I get really excited and I
don’t just provide advice, I actually roll
up my sleeves and get results.
What are the benefits of using a
freelance consultant such as you?
Flexibility is probably the main thing.
A company could use me for anything
from helping to develop a new strategy
to a basic telesales campaign. The
second reason has to be cost. Using a
freelancer means less of a commitment
and greater control of monthly
outgoings.
What does the process involve?
Usually I spend about an hour with a
potential client and ask them all about
the current state of their business
followed by their plans for future
development. I then create an initial
proposal outlining my
recommendations and costs.
What kind of projects do you get
involved in?
I visit potential customers on behalf of
companies, carry out telesales and
appointment making campaigns, create
sales training courses, and basically get
myself involved in anything that
generates business.
Who are your typical customers?
There is no typical market sector. I
work with anyone who needs a sales
and marketing solution.
How long have you been doing
what you do?
Oh wow what a question! When I was
twenty one I sold encyclopaedias to
American families in West Germany.
What motivates you?
I’m really passionate about getting
results and I love it when a client is
enthusiastic. One particular
independent financial adviser (IFA) I
make appointments for tells me how
each appointment went. Obviously he
doesn’t go into confidential details but
we discuss the business potential for
each meeting and I find that level of
involvement brilliant and I’m passionate
about the success of his business.
My philosophy is...
Honesty is the best policy. If you muck
up, just admit it, everything can be
fixed.
Best advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, no one
expects you to be perfect.
Describe your perfect day.
Get up to fabulous sunshine. Long walk
down the beach with a really good
friend and her dog. Afternoon spent
gardening with neighbour chatting
away through the hedge. Evening spent
catching up with other friends over
delicious food and wine at Cardiff Bay.
I’m sooooooo lucky. I had one of these
a couple of weeks ago.
Sum yourself up in three words.
Strong. Warm. Fun.
“Selling isn’t rocket science, it’s just plain common sense and elbow grease if you have the right product or service.”
I recently took my mother to the
airport for her twice yearly visit
to her sister in Ontario.
There was I, desperately trying to
negotiate the new lane system at
Cardiff International Airport when
Mum said, “Oh yes love, remember to
go to the house while I’m away
because there might be an envelope
from the BBC in the post for you.” “What is it?” I asked.
“It’s your application form for ‘The
Apprentice’.”
At this point, I think I should tell you
that I’m forty two.
“Mum, I don’t want to go on ‘The
Apprentice”, I replied.
“Yes you do,” she said firmly, “you’d
jump over their heads.” (Such high
praise, only a mother could give).
But I was adamant, “Mum, even if I
did get into the final twelve, I don’t
want to go on reality TV. And if I
won, I don’t want to work in London
for Suralan.”
You know what she said?
“We’ll cross that bridge when we
come to it.”
As I drove away from the airport,
pondering what to write for this first
edition of City Life, the conversation
with my mum kept creeping in to my
thoughts. She had made me think
about something (though not about
going on the telly, you understand).
What makes The Apprentice so
watchable is that every single person
has an opinion about how they should
run each task and my friend’s
teenagers are confused about the fact
that the twelve candidates have been
chosen from 22,000. My friends try
frantically to persuade their kids that
the academic bar isn’t really that low.
Anyway the point that I’m getting to is
this - selling really isn’t rocket science.
It’s just, in the words of Suralan,
“common bloody sense!”
Over the years I’ve had the best
training, given by some of the worlds
leading companies, but sophisticated
techniques and flash terminology don’t
mean a jot if you haven’t put the basics
in place. Today, I work with regular
everyday companies who want to grow
and I use a technique that’s called
‘plain common sense’.
If you’ve got a product or service,
firstly you need to establish who your
target market is (the people most likely
to buy). Then you need to tell them
what you are offering. They’ll either
buy it, or they won’t!
There is a very basic technique that
will help you to tell people in a nutshell
all about your offer. It is based on
Rudyard Kipling’s ‘six honest serving
men’. Why, Who, Where, When, What,
and How.
This is how it works:
■ Why should they buy?
■ Who you are
■ Where can they buy it?
■ When can they have it?
■ What’s in it for them?
■ How do they go about getting it?
For example, City Life is a brilliant new
lifestyle magazine for Cardiff. It’s full of
really useful information and interesting
articles. It comes to you from the
people who created the tremendously
successful Vale Life. People can pick up
a copy of City Life in many places
across Cardiff. If you’d like your
company to appear in the next edition
of City Life which will enable you to
reach thousands of potential customers
then just call 0845 180 2345.
It’s just a simple paragraph and it
sounds really natural, doesn’t it?
If you put a bit of thought into this, it
will tell everyone you speak to
everything they need to know to buy,
or want to find out more. Also, if you
memorise your ‘six honest serving
men’, then you will experience a much
greater confidence when you are asked
about your business. If you get stuck,
just think of a ‘W’ word or ‘How’ and
that will prompt you. It’s really simple
and effective. Try it!
The other essential element for sales
success are the two words our
grandparents called elbow and grease.
I regularly meet people who have spent
days, weeks and months planning their
strategy, researching their target
market, rewriting their business plan
and ‘talking the talk’ about what they
are going to do. I have to break it to
them that after twenty years of selling I
know that the secret to success is plain
and simple elbow grease. Just get out
there and scream about your offer from
the roof tops!
There are far too many (flash
terminology alert) ‘routes to market’ to
discuss here (hundreds probably) but
just remember, the bottom line is
elbow grease. Tell people, phone
people, visit target customers, join
networking groups, ask people you
know, who do they know? Do this
every day. I was in a meeting recently
with Deborah Meredith of City PA. As
we were chatting she said, “I have no
idea how City PA has achieved the
profile it has. Its just really good luck I
suppose.” She then went on to say,
“When we started, every single day we
networked morning, noon and night.
Every day for over a year we were out
somewhere, promoting the business.”
I have a quote on my website which
says ‘The harder I work, the luckier
I get.’
So I’ll say it again, selling isn’t rocket
science, it’s just plain common sense
and elbow grease.
If you have the right product and you
tell the right people about it in the
right way, the right amount of times,
you are on to a sure thing. Eventually
you’ll get there. If you do all that and
orders aren’t flooding in, then you’ve
got one of those components wrong,
so take another look at it and use
your common sense.
There you have it. How to sell using
only common sense and elbow grease.
I’m off to my mum’s now, to see if my
application form has arrived!
“Honesty is the
best policy.
If you muck
just admit it,
everything can
be fixed.”
Clear Objective
Sales and Marketing Solutions
The Business Centre, Cardiff House
Cardiff Road CF63 2AW
0845 686 5757
Mobile 07828 633408
www.clearobjective.co.uk |
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