Sales for Nerds

Sales may feel "icky", but serving others feels good, and leads to great results. In this episode, Steve Ramona, host of the Doing Business with a Servant's Heart podcast and the Together We Serve TV show discusses how he learned that his network was his net worth, and how you can do the same, even (especially?) if you're an introvert who doesn't like selling. Brought to you by Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for solo consultants who love serving clients but hate selling, with networking features to make Steve's advice easier to implement.

A lot of people hate public speaking. But whether you're officially a "speaker", or just someone who needs to talk to a "Zoom room" now and again, speaking effectively is critical to your business. Speaking coach Meridith Grundei shares how she went from shy kid who didn't want to answer questions in class to helping others overcome their fears of speaking, and how you can communicate more effectively.

Alistair McDermott sits down with some whiskey to talk about becoming the Recognized Authority in your consulting niche. This leads to easier marketing and sales and less wasted time and effort. Alistair shares his 5 step process for niching down and becoming that Recognized Authority. (An approach that dovetails nicely with the Mission & Positioning screen in Mimiran CRM.

It's easy to make sales overly complicated. (I've been guilty of that many times.) So here's the simple, 2-step sales process for consultants that doesn't require fancy sales skills or any of the hard selling at all. You can implement it when you're busy with clients or don't have any client work. And it's fun, sustainable, and effective (Naturally, Mimiran, the fun CRM for solo consultants, makes this all easy.)

To perform at our best, we need to fuel and nourish our bodies properly. But most fitness advice has everything backwards. In this episode, learn how personal fitness coach Rachel Nigro flips the conventional wisdom on its head, so you can feel better, look better, and perform better, without crash diets and/or self-loathing.

While publishing a book is a great way for experts to gain (and broadcast) authority, you don't need to write a whole book to benefit from publishing. Erica Holthausen shares how you can get published in magazines and journals to boost your profile and attract ideal clients. Brought to you by Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants who love serving clients, but hate selling (with follow-up features that help you implement Erica's strategies, and lead magnets to help you turn them into conversations and clients).

Rochelle Moulton has made a career within a career of helping introverted consultants become effective sales people. She has done this with Arthur Anderson (back in the day) and now helps other solo consultants grow their practices without working more. This comes from growing authority, so more people seek you out. Unfortunately, some people try to build their authority to avoid talking to people, but having conversations is the best way to get clientsa and build your authority. In this episode, Rochelle helps us understand how we can build our authority and have conversations, even if we're introverted. (And of course, nothing like having Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM", specifically made for independent consultants, to help you both build your authority and have lots of great conversations with the right people.)

"As entrepreneurs we're typically in relationship with our thoughts about people, versus people themselves", says Bridget Hom, mindset coach and author of Stuck on Ready. In this episode, Bridget discusses how to hire (and fire) the right mental team inside our own head, so we can have real relationships with people outside our heads, and move our business (and life) forward. Find Bridget at https://www.bridgetofreedomcoaching.com/ or connect with her on LinkedIn. Listen to more episodes at www.salesfornerds.io. And check out Mimiran, the fun, anti-CRM for independent consultants who love serving clients, but hate selling.

If you want to make more money with less stress as a consultant, it helps to move from implementor to advisor. Philosophy major and accidental "consultant to consultants" Kevin Whelan steps through his journey from building inexpensive websites to advising firms on their digital marketing projects, to advising other marketing agencies on moving up the value chain. Don't miss it. Brought to you by Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants, helping you create and nurture relationships with your ideal clients and partners, without being "sales-y'. Start a free trial here.

Taking good notes is essential for effective meetings, but most of us never learn how to do it well. In this episode, Richard White, founder and CEO of Fathom.video, a Zoom note-taking tool, explains how challenges with note-taking at his previous company led him to create this solution. Reuben wanted to do this episode because he uses Fathom every day (see the show notes for a view of Reuben's custom bookmarks). Get your free Fathom account. And of course, Fathom pairs nicely with Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants, letting you enjoy great notes with less effort, so your flawless follow up is easy. Start a free trial here.

Learn how Tom Jackobs went from almost going broke because he didn't know how to sell to hitting a 90% close rate by selling through stories. Tom's storytelling approach is authentic and doesn't require fancy sales techniques, just being attuned to the prospect and caring about their success.

How do you show appreciation for your best clients and partners? In this episode, Steve Buzogany from The Appreciation Advocate discusses how to turned around his real estate sales career and turned his gift for gifting into a whole new business, and how you can apply those same techniques to build deeper relationships, get more referrals, and better clients. Find Steve at AppreciationAdvocate.com. For a system to track referrals, and the business you get from them, plus lead magnets, proposal automation, e-signature, and more, without the complexity of enterprise CRMs, check out Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants.

Wayne Mullins, founder of Ugly Mug Marketing and author of Full Circle Marketing: Tranform Your Marketing & Turn Customers Into Evangelists stops by Sales for Nerds to help you focus marketing on what gets results, not what's prettiest or shiniest. Learn how he grew a landscaping business with donuts (and other marketing tricks), why sales and marketing have to work together, how to get more referrals, and more. Brought to you by Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants who love serving clients, but hate selling, which will help you implement a lot of Wayne's advice, but can't deliver donuts.

In this episode, former management consultant turned referrability expert Jay Kingley explains why he doesn't like referrals (seriously), and how to get the right kind of referrals. Jay shares how he became the partner with the best sales results, despite hating sales and the usual client entertainment song and dance. Plus, learn why 98% of people have the wrong format for their elevator pitch, and what to do instead. Sales for Nerds-- see show notes for all episodes. Track referrals, including how much business you get from them with Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM".

You don't want "word-of-mouth", you want to put words in people's mouths, so they say the right things about you when you're not around. Michael Roderick shares how he went from high school english teacher to Broadway producer in 2 years, by getting people to say (good) things about him when he wasn't in the room. Michael shares his A.I.M. principles for referrability and how the L.E.S.S. pneumonic helps you be more memorable.

If you feel stuck at a job, or even in your own business, wondering why you don't have the passion for it anymore, Franklin Taggart, host of the "Your Own Best Company" podcast, can help you find the right path to create a business (and life) that's engaging and fulfilling (and profitable). More info and full show notes at www.salesfornerds.io. Want a system to help you create and nurture business relationships and have fun doing it? Check out www.mimiran.com, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants.

Join guest Mark Firth as he shares his journey in digital marketing (and around the globe, from London to Bogota to Florida), and how he realized that posting on social media didn't give long last results. But YouTube's algorithm is different, and can help you connect with an audience. Find out more at www.salesfornerds.io. And check out Mimiran, the fun, anti-CRM for independent consultants at www.mimiran.com.

Doubling your revenue seems like a big task, but in this episode, Michael Buzinksi, author of The Rule of 26, shows you how you can improve 3 key metrics by 26%, to double your business. He also discusses the order to address the different metrics, and how to handle common problems. Of course, this advice pairs well with Mimiran CRM for independent consultants. Get the show notes and other links at SalesForNerds.io.

Hourly billing is the industry standard, but it creates perverse incentives for consultant and client. Jonathan Stark is a former software developer turned consultant, and host of the Ditching Hourly podcast. He shares his journey from realizing how hourly billing was hurting his firm to making more money with better clients and more success with value-based fees. He covers how to get more money upfront, how to set the prospect's mind at ease, even at higher price points, and much more. Catch this episode and more at https://www.salesfornerds.io. To implement some of the ideas in this episode, including offering multiple choices for prospects in one proposal, check out Mimiran, the fun, "anti-CRM" for independent consultants: https://www.mimiran.com.

Corrie Loguidice was set to inherit the family business, but a series of traumatic events led her to change course and strike out on her own. Applying the lessons she had learned as an art major (you read that right) and a marketer, she built her own consulting practice and now helps other professionals leave the corporate world to start their own consulting businesses. Learn how to do this the right way, straight from Corrie.