Episode Details

Today's episode is packed with tips and advice on solving some of the most common obstacles in agency new business sales. My guest, Tim Sanders, covers everything from getting in front of the right prospects to establishing authority, speeding up your sales cycle and getting the contract signed.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• How to improve agency sales.
• How to increase your close rate by 300%.
• The 4 stages to every agency new business sale.

With over two decades in the marketing arena today's guest, Tim Sanders, is here to share of TON of information about agency new business sales. Tim is considered a technology-pioneer, as well as a speaker, author and the founder of Deeper Media. Tim draws on his extensive experience - working with Mark Cuban in internet TV, working as a top Yahoo executive, and as an agency owner himself - to bring some great insight on agency new business sales.

Tim says Sales is a lot like Creative Design. That's why agencies are (or should be) absolutely crushing it with their new business sales.

He describes Design as "the constant act of problem-solving." In Design, you keep trying until you get it right. The same is true for Sales. When you're selling to a prospect, you are problem-solving for them. And, you keep at it until you get it right. (Remember, the goal of sales is NOT getting them to buy what you sell. Instead, sell them the SOLUTION needed for their existing problem.)

In the agency space, the greatest competitive advantage is rapid problem-solving. So, when you rethink your approach to sales using Tim's definition, your agency wins.

In Tim's fifth and most recent book, Dealstorming, he covers the importance of collaboration across the various agency disciplines. It's no longer just the salesperson that closes a deal. You can increase your new business close rate by 300% when you involve different types of people with different areas of experience and expertise.

Tim says it's "the myth of the expert" that kills a sale. The old mentality of "leave it to me - you don't know what you're talking about" does not promote rapid problem solving.

"We must champion the thought that great ideas can come from anywhere." ~ Tim Sanders

The problem with going solo at sales is that problem solving is limited to just that person's experience. Tim says everyone has their own series of constraints (things that won't work) and their set of greatest hits (things that always work). When you bring 3 different perspectives together, problems are solved 3X quicker. So when creative, sales and finance collaborate, the result is rapid problem solving and a speedier close rate.

The other benefit -- no one goes down alone! No lone wolves. When your team collaborates, everyone owns the successes and the failures.

Generally speaking, every sale goes through the same four stages. Each stage comes with it's own problems and issues. The key is understanding how to work through the issues and come out on top by getting a contract signed. The best way to handle those issues is by wearing the hat or playing the right role.

Tim has identified 3 personas that every sales team needs:

• The Hacker - someone who uses unique tricks or clever solution (aka "a hack") in order to get the desired result.
• The Chef - someone who acquires the right ingredients and knows how to use them to create a successful fini