3 Sales Essentials for Thought Leaders

As thought leaders who make their living from their personal intellectual property - speakers, authors, coaches, consultants, advisors, trainers, you name it - oftentimes the function of sales is relegated to the bottom of the priority list.?

As someone who has been in the business for the last 16+ years and has coached over 100 thought leaders, I can attest that the business development function is often not a strong suit for those who otherwise are incredibly confident about their core competencies.

These people love what they do and often HATE talking about what they do, especially in intense, high-stakes, negotiation-driven conversations.

As the former Head of Thought Leadership and Business Development Partner for a global executive network, I've learned the keys to optimizing the sales process in the most economical, effective, and painless way possible.

If you make your living on your brain power and great ideas but struggle with making consistent revenue, consider these three essential keys to sales success:?

Clarity. ??

If we don’t understand our brand to such a degree that we can draw it on a cocktail napkin , we run the risk of drowning our prospects in words. Not only do we need clarity about our brand, our differentiating factors, and our target markets, we also need clarity on the strategies we will use to market and sell our Brilliance. The answer to noisy distraction is less words, more insight.

Systems. ??

In order to sufficiently scale one’s leadership practice beyond chasing the next gig, a thoughtful approach to systems implementation and integration is needed. I'm a big fan of SpeakerFlow , the premier CRM suite for thought leaders, Asana for project management, and the omnipresent Google suite of products for general business communications. Shout out to Kara Barnes and Backstage Ops for being incredible Fractional Integrators who helped me put it all together!

These technology solutions are only as good as the documented, standardized processes and the right people in place to execute them. Our goal is to create consistent, meaningful communications and connections with our target prospects and leads via robust systems that support accountability and volume. In order to scale a business to 7-figures and beyond, reliable, revenue-generating systems are imperative. What we focus on grows.

Love. ??

Once you’re clear about who you are, what you do, how you serve, and what makes you different and marry that with your systems in order to streamline your operations and enhance your operations, now's the time to put fuel on the fire of your business development efforts.?

It starts in the heart.

When we put aside all of the noise around features, benefits, formats,?and fees, we can land fully in our hearts and remind ourselves about how we help others. We open ourselves up to the joy that comes from serving another in a way that's meaningful to their success. By unabashedly showing loving kindness and care for another human being in the hopes that they will realize their visions, you get out of your head of comparing yourself to others, stop worrying about what you may or may not say in a sales conversation, and give you the motivation you need to do what many others won’t do in this competitive environment: CALL.

Pick up the phone.

Having synchronous connections -- face-to-face, video conferencing, or phone calls -- with our prospective clients is our best opportunity for revenue generation. No landing page, email, or social post can compare to the power of the human connection.

By bringing your awareness to these three essential elements of business development for thought leadership – Clarity, Systems, and Love – on a daily basis, you will save more time, run a smarter business, help others create bigger impacts, and of course, close more deals.?

If you would like to learn more about my work as a Crystallizer and how we can partner together to Crystallize your Brilliance, drop me a line!

When we have cocktail napkin clarity, we have the power.