SalesGiants interviews Phil Jones

Phil Jones
Helping Your Business Achieve New Heights

Phil has accomplished more than most in his fast-moving life. His vast experience in a variety of sectors has resulted in him being recognised as an authority of sales psychology and negotiation, for increasing corporate turnover and profitability, and business development.

With a track record of developing opportunities for organisations at all levels, Phil is acknowledged for his strategic intellect and has been instrumental in turning around underperforming businesses by developing new opportunities. In this interview he shares with our readers how he got started and some recommendations to improve your results.

About your work

1) How did you get started in this area?

I have worked in sales all my working life. Keen to generate revenue from an early age at 13 I developed a local car washing round and very quickly learnt the power of asking. Simply knocking on doors in my neighborhood and politely asking homeowners if they would be interested in having their vehicles cleaned bought me huge success. This then took me to corporate life were I have worked in and managed sales teams for major UK retailers like DFS and Debenhams before seeking further experience in getting involved in the commercial world of professional football and held senior management positions in 2 large football clubs. Having a passion for doing things my way I then get involved with a property business and built a sales process and team that very quickly made us a major player in our field. Throughout these experiences I developed an incredible array of knowledge and skill and when combined with my passion for helping people decided I would make the remainder of my life work focused on educating the business community.


2) What kind of customers do you usually work with and how do you help them exactly? 

My work is typically in the area of salesmanship and I help business owners and sales professionals to find more customers, who shop more often and spend more when they shop. To do this our work ranges from developing a unique sales process that teaches non sales people to achieve incredible results through following simple tried and tested processes. We teach these lessons in workshops and seminars and have a team of coaches that work with people to re-enforce our lessons and ensure people achieve their potential. Through coaching we offer support, motivation, direction and inspiration to follow through on the countless great ideas that businesses have and turn them into actions and more importantly, Results.


3) In a short sentence, what companies should be interested in your services? 

Companies that are looking for their prospects to say “Yes” more often.


4) On the other hand, who shouldn’t? What will companies NOT find in your work (for example, what kind of problems/situations are you not best qualified for or do you prefer to refer to other consultants)? 

Our work is based on exactly what to say and exactly what to do. We are practitioners and not theorists so if businesses are looking for scientific evaluation then stay away. If you are looking for results, we have the answers.


5) How are you different from your competitors? 

Our main difference is that we are current. Because we practice what we preach our lessons are taught on experience that worked yesterday and will work tomorrow. We are not experienced trainers but real people with real lessons. We specialize on the area of sales because recognize that selling skills are essential in life and business and any business that fails to find new customers will eventually die. Unlike many others we do not let ego get in the way. Our clients are our stars and we choose to let their results massage their egos and not ours.


References

6) Besides your own, what other websites in the small business/development area would you recommend? 

 To be fair the best website is www.youtube.com but independently check out www.gitomer.com and then www.mashable.com for cool techie stuff

7) How about your preferred meetings/training/business books? 

How to win friends and influence people – Dale Carnegie. Oh and of course my own Accelerator publication (http://www.philmjones.com/accelerator).


About business meetings

8) Most disastrous meeting (or funny situation)? 

 One that stands towards the front of my mind was a meeting I was chairing not so long ago with a large audience. The highlight to the meeting was a great guest speaker called Richard Wilkins and he was due to speak mid-way through the meeting. Throughout the agenda, awards and a number of other key events I was continually building up our speaker and letting them know he was coming and a little about the story he had to share with us. The trouble was, I kept calling him Jeff which is highly embarrassing when I then had to deliver his introduction.

9) What is the biggest mistake you see in unproductive meetings?

The biggest mistake is always lack of preparation. So many people attend meetings and rely on experience and individual brilliance to see them through. They turn up with no agenda, no goals and little knowledge of their audience and then get mixed results. For me it is vital that prior to every meeting you consider 3 simple areas .

· Who are you speaking with? – Find out common interests, goals and ambitions, consider competitors and length of time people have been in the business. This information is readily available just by looking and asking. However be certain that if you don’t look then you won’t find and if you don’t ask then you won’t get!

· What is your goal? – Start with the end in mind. Designing your desired outcome for each meeting gives you direction and a road map. Even better is planning different levels of success as opposed to just success or failure.

· How do you present yourself? – People judge books by their covers and you are in complete control of yours. Consider dress, hairstyle, vehicle and all business stationary if you want to give off the very best first impression.

10) Why do you think so many business meetings or training sessions are boring and what do you think can be done to improve this?

I think many are boring because it is already pre-decided what the audience need to hear. Whether a scripted sales presentation, being talked at by a facilitator or death by powerpoint they all assume that they have already addressed the needs of the audience and do not engage. The key is to deliver 2 way meetings that engage with the audience and as such you should be able to plan structure and desired outcome but have the required skill level to adapt to your audience.

11) How do you usually start the meetings that you lead? 

I will often start meetings by agreeing objectives. I talked earlier about starting with the end in mind and in both a sales presentation or training seminar I will always start with the objectives of the audience. It is crucial for me that I deliver value and by understanding what an audience is expecting and wants to take away I can ensure that I deliver value every time.

12) Any special offer for our readers?

Grab a free audio programme worth £19 by visiting http://philmjones.com


Contact information: 

Website : http://philmjones.com

Facebook: facebook.com/RNHInternational

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/philmjones

Twitter: @philmjonesuk

Youtube:phillipmjones1

E-mail: phil@philmjones.com

SalesGiants Interviews Marcus Sheridan, From TheSalesLion blog

Marcus Sheridan teaches businesses how to create awesome web content that leads to traffic, sales, and growth. For the last 10 years, he’s owned his own business in the swimming pool and hot tub industry and his SalesLion blog is a reflection of his thoughts about Sales/Marketing/Web 2.0, Blogging, Self-Improvement, Motivation, and of course, the roller coaster that is owning a business. 

1) Let's begin by talking about your website. In a short sentence, Marcus, who should visit www.thesaleslion.com? 

The Sales Lion is a mosh-pit of sales, marketing, and self-improvement advice. What makes it unique is that I simply don’t write about something unless I’ve personally ‘been there, done that’. Everything is real, frank, and applicable to just about anyone or any business looking to get better.

2) On the other hand, who shouldn’t? What will readers NOT find in your website?

I’m not a Tech Nerd. In other words, I’m like the 99% of the world that doesn’t know HTML, code, and every new piece of technology that comes out. Notwithstanding, I teach people, many of which are average Joes, how to blow-up their business—be it sales, marketing, website tips, you name it.

3) Besides yours, what other sales websites would you recommend? 

Dang, there are a bunch out there. To me, sales and marketing are the same thing in the information age. They’re inseparable. But in terms of straight ‘sales’, I’d strongly recommend Paul Castain’s : http://yoursalesplaybook.com/ -- The guy is a tremendous writer and motivator, and he is freaking hilarious to boot…In terms of marketing and thought leadership, I’d urge anyone to check out Seth Godin’s (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/) or Chris Brogan’s (http://www.chrisbrogan.com/) blog.

4) How about your preferred sales/business books?

Every book out there right now, at least in my opinion, is simply a follow-up to Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. Fact is, if every sales person had that one book alone and mastered its principles, they’d be the best in their chosen field. I’m not exaggerating here at all. Carnegie was a genius.

5)      What's the first thing someone should do after visiting your website?

See my photos at the bottom right of the page. I want viewers to feel like they know me, my family, and that I’m just like them. Relationships are what I’m after, so let’s get to know each other. I learn more from my readership than they do from me, which is why I love being a part of the blogosphere community.

About you:

6) How did you get started in sales?

I started a swimming pool company right out of college. This position forced me as a 23 year old kid to sell $50k plus pools to people who were my parent’s age. But it was through this process of owning a business that consisted of retail and in-home sales that I was able to refine my systems and become great at what I do.

7) Most memorable sale? 

My system of building trust and selling is unique in many ways. In fact, I always tell clients that upon our first meeting, I expect to earn their business at that time. In other words, I’m there to sell. (To me, SELL is not a bad word. [Sorry Tom Hopkins] The only thing bad about it can be the sales person’s approach.) But the word itself is what makes the world go round.

For example: I once was in a meeting with a couple regarding their swimming pool purchase. At the end the presentation the husband looked at me and said, “Thanks for all this information Marcus. We like what we see. Can we let you know something tomorrow?”

To which his wife looked over and replied to him, “Honey, Marcus didn’t come here tonight so you’d let him know something tomorrow.”

Needless to say, I walked out of their home that evening with a check, and it was all made possible because I told them both beforehand the purpose of my visit was to sell them a pool at that time.

About your blog work:

8) What is the biggest mistake you see as a sales expert? 

There is a huge lack of education-based sales and marketing in this world. With the internet, the ‘sale’ starts long before the first meeting with a client. Sales professionals must be great teachers. They must learn to think exactly like their customers. By so doing, they can truly answer the needs and concerns their customers have regarding their products. Sadly, too many ‘sales experts’ suffer from The Curse of Knowledge and therefore relate very poorly to their client base.

9) What is the best sales advice you have ever received?

See the world as a question. This simple statement taught me to ask questions…all the time…without stop. I want to hear from clients. I reality, they don’t want so much to hear about me until I’ve fully heard from them. Great questions are the only way to make this a reality.

10)  What are you working on right now that makes you feel energized? What's your next big project?

I’m doing more and more public speaking. In fact, I see myself as a very average writer, but I’m a pretty darn good vocal communicator. My blog is the platform for my voice, but it’s also the means by which businesses learn about the way I see the world and then invite me to share my thoughts and ideas with them.

11)  What is the best testimonial/comment you have ever received? 

Gosh, this one is tough. I’ve been blessed to receive some tremendous comments. The ones that tend to bring me the most happiness have to do with an individual or company that has embraced a new way of thinking or doing and now feels completely empowered to reach their goals. People so often know they want to be successful but just don’t know how they’ll get there. I teach them how to get there. Once they see this vision, everything about them, whether it be temporal, physical, or spiritual; changes for the better. It’s an amazing process.

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You can learn more about Marcus Sheridan and his work here: www.TheSalesLion.com