Asher Strategies Radio

It’s given that personalities matter in business and that personalities differ. We all know these truths. And yet, in the moment of seller to buyer engagement we tend to forget and focus on the what we are selling rather than to whom we are selling. And not only that, we forget to adjust our communication styles to their personality styles. How good are you at knowing your personality traits and identifying your blind spots, your extremes? What if you could modify your extremes by stretching and turning your communication limitations into communication advantages?

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This Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “Personality Stretch Strategies to Reach Optimal Performance” - features host Kyla O’Connell, Senior Partner and Sales Facilitator at Asher Strategies. Kyla explains the techniques and power of personality stretching as taught in Asher Strategies “Close Deals Faster” sales seminars.

Once you are aware of your personality extremes and blind spots, is personality stretching easy to learn? What is at stake if you are not stretching your extreme personality traits? Is personality stretching considered emotional intelligence (EQ)? Can you reach the highest levels of EQ without learning how to stretch your personality extremes? How critical is EQ in business today? Listen in to hear the answers to these questions (and more) so you can stretch like a sales pro and convert more leads into orders.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

The telephone has reemerged as a vital sales communication channel. Now more than ever, people now want to talk with each other. And we are “Zoomed Out.” Salespeople no longer need to feel they might be intruding. Prospects are answering their phones knowing that you might be a stranger and you might want to sell them something. When they answer, they allow you to interrupt their lives. The key is not whether you should make the call- it’s what are you going to say after they say hello?

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How should people be engaged when they answer the phone? Is it better to leave a voicemail or not? When should salespeople use the phone? Where in the sales funnel is the phone most important? What is the math for a good sales phone call? And what are two big ideas about phones that will make you a better salesperson and increase your success rate? Listen in to learn the answers to these questions so you can pick up that phone and close deals faster.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

How’s your sales network? Good? Are you satisfied with it? Are you sure there’s nothing you could do to improve it? Then don’t listen to this podcast. This podcast is for salespeople and business leaders who want to get better at what they do and become more successful. Have you noticed there are similar features in sports and sales? Teamwork. Goal orientation. The pursuit of excellence. Training for success. And the importance of building networks of friends, colleagues, mentors, and people you can work with to achieve success.

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About Kyla's Guest: Jake Kelfer is a lifestyle entrepreneur, life elevator, and coach to rising entrepreneurs and freedom seekers. He is the bestselling author of Elevate Beyond and Elevate Your Network, a high-energy motivational speaker on a mission to inspire millions of people to achieve personal success and happiness. Jake is the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which helps NBA draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured in Forbes, Sports Illustrated, and on ESPN, NBC Sports, USA Today, the Bleacher Report and many other major media outlets. Connect with Jake on social @jakekelfer!

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

You are a super-prepared salesperson.  You’ve acquired deep knowledge of your products, your markets, your customers – even your competition. In doing so, you’ve placed yourself well ahead of many salespeople who don’t put in the time to be a knowledge giant. Now comes the moment when you launch toward new sales. Will you be able to shift into performance mode like the sales athlete you could be? Or will you settle  for so-so results and waste all that preparation?

This Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “Shift Your Mind” - features host John Asher with guest Brian Levenson, founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching and consulting to elite organizations, performers and leaders He has worked with CEOs, professional athletes and teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, Department of Homeland Security, and many other organizations.

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How are sales and sports similar? What characteristics do successful sales leaders and athletes share? What qualities lead to performance success? What are intentional performers? How can we nurture nature and develop human potential? Tune in and learn the answers to these and other questions so you can shift into sales overdrive and leave your competitors in the dust.

 About our Guest Brian Levenson

Brian Levenson is the founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking, and consulting to elite organizations, performers, and leaders. He has been fortunate to work with CEO’s, professional athletes, and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, Hilton, Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and many other organizations.

He also has a weekly podcast, Intentional Performers, where he interviews a diverse group of elite high performers. His new book, Shift Your Mind, is scheduled to be released in October of 2020.

Brian currently lives in Bethesda, MD, with his wife and two kids.  

Specialties: Shift Your Mind, Framework, Focused Habits, Resilience, Positive Psychology, Teamwork, Leadership, Mental Performance

Education: BA, Syracuse University (Major in Sociology, Minor in African American Studies). MA, John F. Kennedy University in Sport Psychology

Certifications: Leadership Coaching Certificate at Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership, PCC Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Hogan Leadership Assessment, Leadership Circle 360 Assessment

Philanthropy: Board Member at PeacePlayers International, National Young Leadership Cabinet at Jewish Federation of North America, Supporter of DC Scores, Children Deserve a Chance, DC Soul, and others. 

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

eCommerce revenues have grown remarkably over the last decade and in the current environment, online purchases are accelerating exponentially.  According to eCommerce experts, shoppers are spending at least a third of their budgets online.  There are expected to be over two billion digital buyers by the end of next year.  What is your company doing about this?  Do you think eCommerce is too difficult?  Too expensive?  Not a good fit for your products and services?

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This Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “Developing an eCommerce Strategy is Easier than Ever – features host John Asher with guests Hube Hopkins, President of WSI B2B Marketing in Charleston South Carolina and Chris Schofield, Company Director at IMUK Ltd in Yorkshire, England – two practitioners of the art and technology of eCommerce. 

Does every company need an eCommerce site today?  Is eCommerce difficult and expensive to create and maintain?  What are the most difficult parts of setting up an eCommerce system?  Are there advantages of Cloud eCommerce compared to traditional eCommerce?  How secure is eCommerce?  And how do you create trust on an eCommerce site?  Tune in and learn the answers to these questions so your company won’t be left behind in the digital dust.

About Chris Schofield

In 2002 Chris Schofield saw the potential of the Internet and invested in forming a new company dedicated to providing technical solutions and Internet Marketing services to businesses. An engineer at heart, Chris loves the technical challenges that the Internet presents and project manages all of our high-level technical solutions from start to finish. Having a background in Operations/General management Chris understands the complex business processes required to deliver online success.

Hube Hopkins, President WSI B2B Marketing in Charleston South Carolina

Hubert (Hube) Hopkins has been owner of WSI B2B Marketing for over 15 years. His digital marketing agency focuses on B2B clients in marine, manufacturing, oil & gas, and engineering verticals. Their focus is delivering qualified leads or direct sales via eCommerce for his clients. Building new websites, working website optimization, eCommerce, email marketing, SEO, paid online advertising, marketing automation, inbound marketing, and virtual event execution are some of the key tools Hube and his team excel at.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

If your closing results are soft, maybe it’s something you’ve forgotten how to do. There are three types of sales posturing and only one leads to more closed sales: equal sales posturing.  Stop being a weak apologist or arrogant, buy now or I’m done with you approach. If you don’t appear to be equal to the buyer, you will lose.

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Guest host Debb Borchardt, Vice President of Asher Client services, interviews Kyla O’Connell Senior Partner and Sales Facilitator at Asher Strategies about what she’s learned during years of successful sales coaching. 

• Why is proper posturing language so important?
• Why don't salespeople close for the next step 48% of the time? 
• Why does a salesperson get timid?
• What happens to a sales person's assertiveness in the sales process? 
• How inferior posturing helps a salesperson lose traction and control of the sale!
• Why does a salesperson act like a prospect is doing them a favor? 

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

Orders are down. Margins are down. Morale is down. It’s difficult being a field salesperson right now, but it might be even more difficult being a sales leader. Temporary measures are running out and the front office is calling for help. As a sales leader, it’s time to take action to meet your mid-term challenges and position your sales pipeline for the post-Covid environment. What tactics and behaviors should you be considering? And whose advice should you listen to? How about a successful CEO with a proven record of outside sale excellence?

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This episode of the Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “How to Lead a Sales Team in an Economic Downturn” – features host Kyla O’Connell with guest Steve Benson, CEO of Badger Maps, the number one route planner for field salespeople. Before founding Badger Maps in 2012, Steve was Google Enterprise’s Top Sales Executive Globally. He hosts his own podcast, “Outside Sales Talk”, where he interviews industry experts on their top sales tips. Steve is also the President of the “Sales Hall of Fame.”

What changes do sales leaders need to make in their behaviors in a time of crisis to keep revenue flowing? What can a sales leader do to keep margins from compressing? What coaching do field sales reps need? How should sales leaders respond to internal pressures to reduce costs? What about recruiting in a down economy? What trends are already evident for the post-Covid economy? How should sales leaders be communicating and what message adjustments need to be made? Tune in to learn the answers to these questions so you can keep your sales team on top of a down economy.

About Kyla's guest:

Steve Benson is the Founder and CEO of Badger Maps, the #1 route planner for field salespeople. After receiving his MBA from Stanford, Steve joined Google, where he became Google Enterprise's Top Sales Executive Globally in 2009.

In 2012 Steve founded Badger Maps to help field salespeople be more successful with multi-stop route planning. He also hosts the Outside Sales Talk podcast where he interviews industry experts on their top sales tips. Steve is also the President of the Sales Hall of Fame.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

In 2019 the Business Roundtable, with the support of nearly 200 CEOs, redefined the purpose of a corporation from serving shareholders to promoting an economy that serves all Americans.

The goal was to encourage businesses to reflect the way corporations can and should operate. Because without sales there is no business, this should be affecting how we view salespeople and how they view themselves. Yet if someone was asked how a salesperson should operate to achieve their purpose, the answer most likely would simply be: “Sell.”

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The July 2nd Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “The Purpose of a Salesperson” – features host John Asher with guest Jeffrey Wolinsky discussing why we need to think more clearly about sales and salespeople. Jeffrey is Director of Federal and National Sales for WTOP and the Federal News Network. WTOP is a commercial all-news radio station licensed to serve the Washington DC area and the Federal News Network covers the latest issues and breaking stories within the U.S. government.

Is the salesperson’s job more than a solution-for-money transaction? How can salespeople improve on how they interact with prospects and clients? What are some of the most important things salespeople should be focusing on? How can sales leaders help their salespeople improve their performance for the benefit of both the company and the customers? What are three important things you should remember to stay happy in sales and in life? Tune in on July 2nd to learn the answers to these questions and gain a new perspective on the purpose of a salesperson.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

Years ago, John Asher identified a major problem in the shift from prospecting to selling: insufficient research. Many salespeople try to make the first contact with potential buyers without doing the homework necessary to even get a meeting, let alone build rapport. It's frustrating to Google someone or some company and get sent to sites that don't quickly give you what you need. It's especially troublesome when you want to get a contract with a publicly-traded enterprise. So much data, so little help. What if there was a search engine specifically designed for salespeople?

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The June 18th Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “How to Spend Less Time Researching and More Time Selling” – features host Kyla O’Connell with guest Joe Benjamin, CEO and Co-Founder of CheetahIQ. After years of leading sales development and automated research processes for leading companies, he co-founded the CheetahIQ computer software company, where he’s also a Founder in Residence of the Antler Venture Capital Program in the New York City area. In Joe’s words: “Information sources are fragmented and the amount of info to sort through can be overwhelming. We’ve aggregated news, podcasts, and more, so you can find the most relevant and interesting info to leverage for outreach and meeting preparation.”

What research sources should enterprise salespeople look at? What are the most overlooked research sources for enterprise salespeople? What makes 10-K annual reports and corporate earnings calls valuable to salespeople? How can salespeople use job postings to gain communication insights? What can you learn from a podcast by a business leader? Tune in on June 18th to learn the answers to these questions so you can spend more time doing what you do best: selling.

About Kyla's guest:

Joe has wide experience in sales and business development for consumer insights and marketplace companies. He was most recently Head of Sales for Storefront, the AirBNB of commercial real estate, and also worked as Director of Sales for Upfront Analytics, using mobile games to collect consumer insights for F500 brands. As general manager and head of sales of Trybe where he assisted enterprise companies with automated consumer research processes. Joe was a Founder in Residence of the Antler Venture Capital Program in the New York City area, helping entrepreneurs find co-founders and funding.

In January of 2020 he co-founded the CheetahIQ computer software company in New York:

“CheetahIQ is the fastest way to research your sales prospects. Information sources are fragmented and the amount of info to sort through can be overwhelming. We're solving that with the first research platform built for salespeople. We’ve aggregated news, podcasts, and more, so you can find the most relevant and interesting info to leverage for outreach and meeting prep. Your research can be done up to 10X faster than before, which means you'll have more time for quality touches, you can book more meetings, and neglect fewer accounts.

Joe holds BA in Finance and Juris Doctor, Law degrees from Florida State University.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense. 

As a small business owner or leader, you’ve got your hands full. You’ve built the company up to where it’s successful, but you’re having trouble breaking through to the next level. You’re spending so much time on budget and personnel issues that your long-range plan is just to try to the end of the week. You feel all alone because you can’t talk to anyone about it. And you’re not sleeping. Wouldn’t it be great to hear advice from business leaders who were in the same place you are and now have billion-dollar enterprises?

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The June 4th Asher Sales Sense Podcast – “What Small Business Leaders Can Learn from Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurs” – features host John Asher with guest Ron Wills, President of CEO Focus Maryland/DC and President and Founder of the National Association of Business Owners & Entrepreneurs in the Washington DC Metro Area. Ron recently interviewed four billion-dollar entrepreneurs and will share the lessons he’s learned of their success that directly apply to small business owners and leaders.

What challenges did these billion-dollar entrepreneurs face? How did they meet those challenges? What typical mistakes hold small businesses back? Do business coaches really help? What kinds of adjustments and new thinking are necessary for gaining break-through growth? Tune in on June 4th to learn the answers to these questions and start getting some sleep and enjoy going to work again.

About John's guest:

President of CEO Focus Maryland/DC, a peer advisory mastermind group of CEOs and Business Owners who work together and help each other move past issues holding their companies back.  With 29 regional offices across the country, CEO Focus business advisory groups include up to fourteen like-minded business owners with hundreds of years collective wisdom, thousands of experiences and case studies, and countless best practices.

President and Founder of the National Association of Business Owners & Entrepreneurs (NABOE) in the Washington DC Metro Area.  Ron founded NABOE with the belief that the mid-market business community was undeserved in the Washington/Baltimore region. Startups and the largest multi-billion companies are served by many state and local agencies, but no one focuses on the owners of companies with $1MM to $200MM in revenue. That's NABOE's audience!

Ron has career experience in banking operations, large client acquisition strategies, sales force development, and performance tracking.  He has served on the Boards of the Maryland India Business Roundtable, the Catholic Business Network, and the National Philharmonic.  Ron is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a BS in Marketing (Economics Minor) and an MA in Business in Administration.

Asher Sales Sense is hosted by John Asher and Kyla O’Connell of ASHER Strategies which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.  ASHER Strategies is the sponsor of ASHER Sales Sense.