SBT Sales & Marketing

ADAPTING YOUR STYLE FOR THE NEW WAY OF SELLING

BY THE PITCH COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESS’

A WIN FOR 67 DEGREES

CELEBRATING WIN AT NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AWARDS

SBT SALES & MARKETING SPONSORED BY:

Adapting your style for the

new way of selling

2020 has been a

Sales & difficult year for Marketing business. From having to pivot your offering overnight to thinking of new ways to live and work. Taking stock for just a few minutes of what has been achieved; we see some pretty amazing stories to celebrate. However, not everyone has been as successful through the summer as they would like to be and thanks to the lockdown, we’re all back to being virtual sellers.

Across the country, many businesses have had little choice but to adapt their products and the way they work, whether it be Zoom meetings with clients or staff, or in my case, delivering training and development programmes remotely. While this has undoubtedly caused all kinds of unknown problems for businesses who relied on face-to-face meetings to sell their products and services, many are starting to see benefits. Some people have adapted well, and others are still finding it hard to move to a new way of working. Building virtual relationships is an efficient, scalable and effective way to continue to grow your business. We have been speaking to as many businesses as we can to look at their new ways of selling. We don’t just talk about how to sell virtually; mostly we talk about how we like to buy. Taking time to understand you customers, what has changed for them and how they would like to be sold to is key to being successful. Some of things that we found easy in face-to-face meetings are no longer available to us. Such as the way we build rapport and understand body language. Now more than ever it is important to understand the customers natural characteristics and be able to adapt your style to suit their needs.

Your customers deserve much more than a one size fits all approach, there is no way of knowing what excellent sales and service is because every customer is unique. You may think you know what makes your customers happy but if you were to dig a little deeper you might just find that the way they like to be sold to isn’t quite hitting the mark in the way that you like to sell.

This is why we developed Pitch. Community. Pitch has been designed to support small businesses, independent sole traders and creatives. The programme is for those that do not fall into a full-time salesperson role but are rather the subject matter experts; the creatives that deliver amazing business to business projects for their

clients. The consultants that support businesses, and brokers that get amazing deals in place for clients. The community is for those that may not have had formal sales training but would like to up-skill in this area and generate more business, closing more deals and delighting more clients with the work they do.

The programme consists of six, 3-hour Sales Training workshops. After these the Pitch Community will meet once per month. There will be the opportunity to learn tried and tested techniques to enhance your selling skills and then go put them in to practice. You will network with likeminded group members and hold each other to account to implement the learning, and generate more business moving forward.

In the first workshop on the Pitch Community Foundation in Selling Programme, we help individuals understand themselves and their customers, helping them build more successful relationships. We do this using Insights Discovery, an innovative psychometric tool that’s helps individuals understand their own personal preferences and communication style, and how this might be perceived by their customers and colleagues. It is this that supports not only selling to customers face-to-face but also how to sell and be confident in a virtual environment.

If you are Fiery Red, who likes a fast-paced action-oriented meeting, and you are dealing with Earth Green, who likes a calm meeting where they have some time to think, this could mean that these two styles may clash. It is here that as the person leading the meeting you get the opportunity to adjust your style to the needs of your customer and build a better, stronger relationship.

Virtual selling is here to stay and is an effective way to sell - providing you work at the skills required. Seven months ago, having your video on when you’re on a call would have been odd, yet now my phone is redundant, and I seem to be a Zoom expert. Before the lockdown, most people would have their video off, but now most are happy to show themselves on screen. This makes it a lot easier to build rapport and also easier to get more than one stakeholder into a discussion. This makes your conversations more productive.

Finally, and I don’t know about you, but I’m also finding people are more open about their situations at the moment. So, if you are ready to talk about your selling skills and want to grow your business, get in touch and we can have a chat about how best we can support you.

www.pitch.community www.learningcog.com hello@pitch.community

Shoreham Based 67 Degrees Celebrates Win At National Automotive Industry Awards

Automotive website design and marketing specialists, 67 Degrees, is celebrating after winning the coveted Website Provider for Independent Dealers award at the industry’s Car Dealer Power Awards 2020.

Held virtually this

Sales & year due to the Marketing COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were broadcast via YouTube and Car Dealer Magazine’s website on Wednesday 30 September at 6pm. The Car Dealer Power Awards recognises the best suppliers and car manufacturers, and are the only awards in the automotive industry which are voted for by the dealers themselves.

Thousands of car dealers cast their vote this year and a shortlist was drawn up by a judging panel, followed by feedback and testimonials being analysed to determine the winner of each category.

For the third year in a row, 67 Degrees has been presented with a Car Dealer Power

Award - adding to their 13 industry awards in total since the company was founded in 2016. In the last two years, 67 Degrees has been the recipient of the Website Provider for Independent Dealers award and in 2018, were also bestowed with the prestigious Extra Mile Award, which recognises a company that has gone over and above to support its customers.

During what has been a difficult six months for the automotive industry, 67 Degrees has continued to dig deep and provide unrivalled support to its customers. The company is run by co-directors Laura Coleby and Justin Woodford, who manage a team of 10 staff.

It’s been a testing time for the company, having moved into new offices on the Shoreham Airport site at the beginning of the year. This move was shortly followed by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the UK enter a period of strict lockdown. Being a digital-based company, the 67 Degrees team were able to work remotely and effectively create and deliver online buying solutions to meet their customers demands.

In a relatively short space of time, the small company has made a big name for itself in the automotive industry, having moved into the franchise dealer market and working with some high profile businesses.

Introducing the award, James Baggott, Founder of Car Dealer Magazine, commented: “With physical showrooms closed, dealers up and down the country turned to their websites to keep their businesses running.

“It was the website designers that burned the midnight oil to get them up-and-running when they needed it most. Our winner is a small firm with big ambitions and a fantastic reputation; their clients couldn’t praise them highly enough. Our winner is 67 Degrees.”

67 Degrees Director, Laura Coleby, explains why winning the Website Provider for Independent Dealers award means so much to the team. She says: “We’ve been fortunate enough to win this award for three consecutive years now, however, this year’s win feels particularly special, given the global situation we’ve found ourselves in.

“When Justin and I started the business, we pledged to offer fantastic customer service, teamed with handson support and guidance. Winning the award reaffirms our approach and it’s testament to the hard work of our team - alongside the support of our customers - to be announced as winners once again.”

Co-director, Justin Woodford, adds to the excitement. He says: “The team has worked tirelessly throughout lockdown to support our customers and we’re all genuinely thrilled to win the award. It’s a huge pat on the back for us and what makes it even more special, is that the award is voted for by our customers.

“We are extremely passionate about what we do here at 67 Degrees. A lot of us have worked in the automotive industry for many years now and we have a real desire to see our customers and the wider sector performing well.”

67 Degrees is looking positively towards the future and has invested heavily in its offering by developing an e-Commerce product, which is being rolled out to customers as of now.

Speaking of plans in the pipeline, Laura says: “The UK automotive industry is resilient and we’re very optimistic about what the future holds for us. We’re working on a number of big projects with some high profile industry names which will see the light of day over the coming months.

“We’re also excited to announce that we’re moving into the main dealer franchise space, with our first franchise customer going live before the end of the year, so there’s lots for us to look forward to!”

You can stay up-to-date with all the latest news from 67 Degrees via their social media platforms, or visit www.67degrees.co.uk for more information.

Your people as your biggest asset

The Coronavirus pandemic is continuing to cost lives and livelihoods across the world. Many professional services firms have adapted to new restrictions, changing client demands and ongoing economic uncertainty.

In our October

Sales & conference, we Marketing looked at ideas and practices that professional services firms can implement to adapt to and even seize the new normal. But what about the people in the business? Your people are the backbone of your organisation and have played their part in keeping the business going through the pandemic. Added pressures – be they physical, mental or financial – affect their wellbeing, and the impact on your business should not be underestimated.

In the December edition of PSMC, we explore ways that professional services firms can effectively look after their people, and in the process create an engaged, motivated and resilient workforce.

Attendees will learn: 1. How a law firm has implemented a successful cultural change programme 2. Techniques and tips on how to increase motivation in an increasingly remote world 3. How to spot signs of burnout and why you need to engage with it now 4. How to increase senior partner and stakeholder buy in

And if that isn’t enough, you will also receive a refreshing Gin & Tonic in the post to enjoy during the networking element of the conference. When registering, please ensure that you include a postal address where you are able to receive the delivery in the lead up to the event.

The event will be run virtually via Remo and is supported by Network my Club.

You can find out more about the event here.

• Consortium clients will receive 1 free ticket

• Early bird £30 + VAT and booking fees (until 25th Nov 2020) • General admission £40 + VAT and booking fees (from 25th Nov 2020)