This week on SalesTV.live we welcome Leighann Lovely, Co-Founder and COO at Sales Rescue. Most professionals today understand the importance of sales, but are they truly prepared to represent their brand in the digital world? joins us to explore what it means to have a “sales-ready” presence that wins trust and generates growth.

In this episode, we'll ask:

* What do we mean by a “sales-ready” presence?

* Why does a “sales-ready” profile make a difference in winning clients?

* What are the common digital missteps in sales that turn prospects away?

* What does it take to turn a profile into a trust-building asset?

Leighann draws on years of experience guiding businesses to create authentic, growth-driven digital presences. Her approach integrates the critical skills of relationship-building with sales strategy, positioning professionals and companies to reach their next growth milestones.

Facts, the latest thinking, chat, and banter about the world of sales.

Come and join us for some lively discussion and debate.

This week's Guest was -

• Leighann Lovely, Co-Founder and COO at Sales Rescue LLC

This week's Host was -

• Rob Durant, Founder of Flywheel Results

This week's Panelist was -

• Adam Gray, Co-founder of DLA Ignite

Transcript of SalesTV.live Mid-Day Edition 2024-11-06

Rob Durant [00:00:03]:

Good morning, good afternoon, and good day wherever you may be joining us from. Welcome to another edition of Sales TV Live. Today we're asking, are you sales ready? We're joined by Leanne Lovely. She is the cofounder and COO at Sales Rescue LLC, where she leads a team of experienced sales and marketing professionals dedicated to helping businesses grow. Her approach integrates the critical skills of relationship building with sales strategy, promoting professionals and companies to reach their next growth milestone. Leighann, welcome.

Leighann Lovely [00:00:44]:

Thank you for having me, Rob. I'm so excited to be here.

Rob Durant [00:00:48]:

Excited to have you here. This is going to be a fun conversation. Leighann, let's kick it off by having you tell us a little bit more about you, your background, and what led you to where you are today.

Leighann Lovely [00:00:59]:

Yeah. Well, sales was not something that I, thought that I would, be in, actually. I, sought after a career in human resource, in human resources. Really, corporate human resources is where I thought I was going to be. But, you know, I I find more and more frequently that people's journeys are not just a straight line. And, after, getting my bachelor's in business and, with an emphasis in human resource management, the economy was just not going to, support that career back in, you know, the 2006, 7, 8 time period, and, I was looking for something different. Spent the bulk of my time, you know, during that time period doing consulting work, in the HR realm, and eventually made my way to, back to staffing and made a push to become, the salesperson at a staffing company, but nobody really wants to hire an HR person to do sales. So I had to take a little little, veer off into, actually selling makeup and cleaning products at a Sam's Club, where I was quickly plucked out of there, by an owner of of a company that said, hey.

Leighann Lovely [00:02:27]:

You wanna come in and do sales at my company? And I was like, yeah. Yes. I do. And that's really where I cut my teeth, at a at a pretty decent sized organization selling time clocks and completely loved it, moved on to selling, staffing solutions, and eventually, found my way into and to try to keep it a little bit brief without going into ton of details, found my way into entrepreneurship, 2 years ago. I haven't looked back. Absolutely love it. But throughout that journey, have found, you know, what it takes to build a community around me to be, a great salesperson, and I I love it and love passing on some of those tips and tricks to other people.

Rob Durant [00:03:23]:

I love how you talk about building a community around you. That that's fantastic. Thank you for that. Mhmm. So, Leighann, I wanna jump into the topic for today. What do you mean exactly by a sales ready presence?

Leighann Lovely [00:03:37]:

Yeah. You know, and this this term just came up one day when I was talking to somebody who said, you know, can you help me sell? Can you help me will you be my fractional salesperson? And I said, yeah. Absolutely. And, and and that's part of where my business started was being, you know, an appointment setter, you know, for a easier terminology for people to understand is really getting on the phone, scheduling appointments for other people. It's where my business really launched. And when I went and I looked at the person who was asking me to do that for them, I looked at their social presence. I kinda sat back and went, oh, I don't know if I can sell this person. I don't know if I can make phone calls and have people say, absolutely, I'll meet with, let's just call it, John Smith.

Leighann Lovely [00:04:32]:

Because when you looked at John Smith online, he was all over the place. His LinkedIn wasn't, you know, consistent with the product that I was trying to talk about. Facebook, Instagram, all of those different social platforms weren't singing the same song. And so I called him back, and I said, you know, there's a couple of things that we need to do in order to make you sales ready. He's like, well, what what do you mean? And all of a sudden, that term started to stick because sales ready, whether or not you are a business owner or you are a salesperson, you have to be presenting yourself to the world in a way that people and we always go back to the know, like, and trust. They're going to start you're gonna start to build that know, like, trust factor on a social platform. We live in a world where people want instant gratification. So if I say, hi.

Leighann Lovely [00:05:35]:

I'm Leanne Lovely. One of the first things that people do when they walk away from that conversation is they look me up. They'll Google me if your platform is LinkedIn, if your platform is Facebook, and it it all it's all relevant to what industry you're in, right, is where they're going to go and find this information. They're gonna look you up. They're gonna wanna know that you have some credibility out there to prove that you are who you say you are, and you're selling the product you say you're selling. So that came the rise of talking to my clients about whether or not your sales ready. So what is your LinkedIn page look like? Are the links the, your email, your phone number, all of that updated, or is your email address from 2 jobs ago or a job ago? Does your, you know, the job that you have right now, has that been updated? Does that have the proper information? Is it outdated information? Does that connect with the company that you're representing? Same with Facebook, if you're utilizing that for business, and it's different if you're not utilizing it for business. But TikTok if if I go to TikTok and I look at a clip, you talking about your business or how you serve your clients, but it's a dead end, it goes nowhere, I can't click on a link to find more information, or it's just doesn't have anything else, what is the purpose? What is that for? It it at that point, you're just looking for pop it's just a popularity contest, and there's no there's there's no end game.

Leighann Lovely [00:07:19]:

So

Adam Gray [00:07:20]:

It can be even worse than that, can't it? So one of the things, you know, obviously, given what's happened today, in in America and I know we're not gonna talk about that, but but, but it's it's really interesting, isn't it, that that some people present themselves on the professional platforms or the platforms on which they believe they're visible in in a way which is appropriate

Leighann Lovely [00:07:45]:

Mhmm.

Adam Gray [00:07:45]:

And very inappropriately or very militant in their views or very obnoxious in their views about certain things on other platforms, which can be not just not connecting the dots for the viewer, but can be positively damaging. And I think one of the things that that is amazing is that people, in many instances, it it has the penny hasn't dropped with them, that, they can they're accessible on every single platform. Every platform on which you have a presence, I can find you. And if if you appear to be professional, polished, kind, nice, intelligent on one platform, and then you're a nasty, spiteful individual on another platform, actually, that that disingenuousness, can be incredibly damaging to to the message you're trying to promote, can't it?

Leighann Lovely [00:08:37]:

Absolutely. And that's another thing. Like, I talk to people about, you know, the business presence that you're putting out there. Now if you are you have one persona on LinkedIn and then you have your personal Facebook, and I understand that people have wanna have this outlet, but that's another thing is that if you have a personal Facebook or you have a personal TikTok or whatever it might be, and you're going to go and you're gonna talk about and I know we're not talking about this right now.

Rob Durant [00:09:11]:

Let's just say extreme topics.

Leighann Lovely [00:09:13]:

Extreme topics. Right? You have to remember that there might be people who don't wanna do business with you because they may be on the other side of the extreme beliefs that you may have. And so those are conversations that I bring up with people as well. That if you are going to be, say, a business owner, you are going to be and when I think of salespeople, I think of them as mini business owners regardless of what position they hold. They're running a little mini business even if they have a boss that they're reporting to because that's that's the role that you have as a salesperson. Now I'm very open about supporting mental health, being mental health awareness. I talk about my own journey with mental health aware I knew when I decided to start talking about that stuff, there may be people who are uncomfortable with it, who choose not to work with me. I'm okay with that.

Leighann Lovely [00:10:17]:

It's alright. If somebody says, I'm not comfortable with that topic. I'm not comfortable with working. I'm okay with it. But if you think that you can go and talk about something extreme and then get upset that people say, I don't wanna work with you because, that's something that you need to be aware of, that there are going to be people who choose not to work with you if you're choosing to take a hard line approach or decision or position on a certain or on specific topics. We all know what those topics are.

Adam Gray [00:10:55]:

But I think I think it's quite interesting, though, isn't it, that as a as an individual, if you just talk about your product or service, you are incredibly bland. And bland is instantly forgettable, and it offers nothing to the so you you are at your most attractive when you talk about the things that define who you are, those things that are personal to you. Mhmm. So you might be an artist in your spare time. You know, you might you might keep dogs. You might, have a dozen children, and you love to to do sports with your dozen children. What whatever those those things are that define who you are as an individual, those are the things that that, a, make you relatable, and, b, make you attractive for me to do business with.

Leighann Lovely [00:11:43]:

Right.

Adam Gray [00:11:44]:

But I I guess for many people, the the problem is, you know, I'm I have a a a very set view on this particular thing that helps to define who I am. How do I position how much of that I share with people? And how do I how do I, how do I reign that back on the platforms where that's my main persona?

Leighann Lovely [00:12:07]:

So that we're that's getting that gets into personal branding. Right? And that is different for each person. For some people, personal branding is really scary for them. It gets because you are starting to and and I will tell you that people who are out there more and more these days, which is something that we didn't do in the past. It was LinkedIn is for business. You talk about business. You you put out your little one pager, and you talk about, you know, here's the business I work for, and that's all you talk about. That's not the way the world is working anymore.

Leighann Lovely [00:12:45]:

People wanna know you. And because of because of COVID, and I know we've beaten this topic to death, you know, over and over and over again, but we were all stuck at home, and we all wanted a peek behind the curtain of, like, well, what is happening in your world? What's going on with you? What's I wanna know you, but I can't know you if I'm not sitting next to you. So somebody went, well, yeah. Technically, you can. Like, here's my dog. Here's my here's my child who's just walked into the room and is interrupting this meeting, and people are going, well, I'll say hi to your your child. You know, like, I hey. Hey.

Leighann Lovely [00:13:18]:

Here's mine. Here's my baby. Oh, we all of the sudden became, like, more willing to give personal information about ourselves, and that changed how we started to post. And the information that we were providing to people about who we are as human beings. Because who we are as human beings defines the know, like, and trust factor. Like, I wanna know you, but in order for me to do that from a social standpoint, I actually have to start to share some of the stuff about me. And you've seen that the the rise of that exponentially over the last couple of years where people are telling their stories. People are sharing true, true real stories that have happened to them, that are important to them, that tie into what they do, why they do what they do.

Leighann Lovely [00:14:15]:

And those those are the things that set apart the greats and the okays, I guess, is is you know, you you can be a good salesperson and never share any detail about yourself. But if you wanna be a great salesperson, the authenticity is what's going to to really truly shine through. And as an example, I I'll make a post out there talking about what's happening, the the struggles of being an entrepreneur, the painstaking long hours of how there's been times where I'm like, I'm gonna give up today. Like, I just can't, like, I just can't do it anymore. It's really hard. Why is that important for me to share? Because there are other entrepreneurs out there who think that they're completely and totally alone and that they're the only ones that are going through it. Mhmm. The reality of it is they're not.

Leighann Lovely [00:15:21]:

Every entrepreneur, every person at one time or another has gone through that. Every salesperson has been in a slump, and they think, I'm never I'm never gonna make it. Like, I'm not gonna meet quota. I'm not gonna do it. Reading a story how somebody is feeling that way, all of a sudden you go, oh, it's not just me.

Rob Durant [00:15:41]:

I wanna pick up on something you said really early on. You were approached to do fractional sales development.

Leighann Lovely [00:15:50]:

Yep.

Rob Durant [00:15:51]:

And you said, I don't know if I can sell you. You didn't say I don't know if I can sell your widgets. That was interesting to me. So how can I make my digital profile look approachable and credible without being too salesy and and maybe worse, too cringey?

Leighann Lovely [00:16:15]:

Yeah. Right. And and that's it. Okay. And it comes down to, 1, the platform. Right? So because I can't answer that as a blanket statement without understanding the platform. Each platform is different. And I and I help people either do a quick audit of their of their LinkedIn, for instance.

Leighann Lovely [00:16:32]:

So let's just talk about LinkedIn because on a professional standpoint for, you know, the majority of us, if you're a salesperson, you're probably gonna be on LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile should not only have like, there's an about me section. There is you know, you have a featured section. You you should in that about me section, it shouldn't be your company. It it shouldn't be just a a section on here's about me and then having it be, like, what your company does. I wanna know who you are, not who your company is. So if I'm calling on behalf of of Adam, hey. You know, I'm now I am calling on behalf of Adam to schedule an appointment for Adam, but I'm also calling and say let's this widget.

Leighann Lovely [00:17:18]:

So, yes, I'm going to represent this widget, but I'm scheduling an appointment for Adam. You're gonna be meeting with Adam. They're not gonna look me up. They're gonna look Adam up. They're gonna look at his profile. Who is he? They're gonna look really quickly. Well, why should I meet with Adam? Does he have 1 year of experience? Does he have 10 years of experience? There that's when I say I can't sell you. Well, because that's who they're looking at.

Leighann Lovely [00:17:43]:

They're not gonna immediately go to the company page. They wanna know who they're meeting with. So, there's different sections on there. You should be talking about yourself And not some people are like, well, I don't wanna boast about myself. You don't boast about yourself. You put the true information about who you are. Hey. I'm Leanne Lovely.

Leighann Lovely [00:18:03]:

I have 20 years of experience. I have a bachelor's degree, but more importantly, I'm a human being. I have a 6 year old child. I have a dog. I love to hang out with my child and do some art, and I enjoy singing and dancing in the rain. Not really. But understanding, you know, the point. And and when people read like, oh, she's a real human.

Leighann Lovely [00:18:26]:

And, yes, she sells sales, you know, sales and marketing services. Go work with you know, I I'd love to meet with her. I'd love to to possibly, you know, work with her because she's a human being. And then you go down and here's a feature, you know, feature section of, oh, okay. So here's some of the service that she does. Here's the history of her company. It shouldn't just be like, everything business. Now, historically, companies were like, that's what we want.

Leighann Lovely [00:18:54]:

It's all business. And some industries are heavily regulated, and they're gonna dictate. But who are they buying?

Rob Durant [00:19:03]:

Right.

Adam Gray [00:19:04]:

So so this is in in my experience, this is really scary for people. Yes. So they they and and I think part of that is because, when you talk about your business, actually, you don't have any personal investment in in how you feel about that. When you talk about yourself, you do. You know? I'm clearly quite into the guitar. So when you say guitar's the worst instrument in the world, I go away and cry. Whereas when you say, you know, your business selling pensions or whatever, oh, I I I hate pensions, I don't cry. You know? I just move on to the next prospect.

Adam Gray [00:19:40]:

So how how do we move people from this position that people are only interested in my work and, into the scary area of people need to be interested in me?

Leighann Lovely [00:19:53]:

It's yes. And every salesperson is the number one struggle when you especially as a young green salesperson, understand that not everybody's gonna buy from you. Not everybody needs what you have. They're not saying, no. I don't like you. They're saying, I don't necessarily need your product. That's okay. It's totally fine.

Leighann Lovely [00:20:21]:

In fact, the majority of the people you talk to, especially if you're doing cold calling and trust me, I could go on for 3 hours about cold calling. Not everybody is going to need your service, product, or widget, or whatever it is. The goal and this is ridiculously important to remember as a new salesperson. The goal in the beginning, especially if you're cold calling, you're meeting new people, the goal is to make relationships, meet people, and build a community around you. Here's what happens when everybody understands who you are, what you do, and you become authentic with them. They get to know you. They like you. They trust you, and you've just built an entire sales force of people who are gonna refer to you.

Leighann Lovely [00:21:19]:

When you become the salesperson who actually will say something like, hey, Adam. I know that, you know, you came to me. You were interested in my product, but I may not be the right person for you. But let me refer you to somebody who does have the right product. That is when you know you've reached the point of being amazing, that you've reached the point of really being the trusted adviser. When you can actually look at it and go, I'm gonna lose money by telling trusted adviser. When you can actually look at it and go, I'm gonna lose money by telling you me that my product isn't right, but I'm going to solidify that I am the trusted adviser. That person will respect you.

Leighann Lovely [00:22:00]:

That person will refer to you, and they will remember. You're building a community who literally can become your salespeople for you, your referral partners in essence.

Rob Durant [00:22:15]:

But community doesn't retire my quota, and I have till the end of the month to hit a number. What do I do, Leighann?

Leighann Lovely [00:22:22]:

Yes. And and I I I get that. I hear that. And this takes time. It takes a long time, and I've been at this for of I've been at it for a really long time, and and I hear that numbers matter. And here's what here's what may what you do today will not affect you for 30 days. And in some businesses, 60, 90, Some life cycles of sales are are years. Some, you know, take a long time to but the the the secret sauce comes down to making sure that you are filling each bucket the proper way for your industry.

Leighann Lovely [00:23:12]:

And when I say buckets, you've got your networking, you've got your cold calling, and you've got your social. And you just have to make sure that each one of those buckets are being filled properly to to make sure that you're reaching the audience that you need. And in the beginning, you're gonna spend a heck of a lot of time filling the cold calling bucket. And as time goes, you'll spend more time in the networking. You'll and you'll spend a lot of time in the marketing as well. And when I say marketing, you're gonna be sent you know, sending out emails. You're gonna be spending time on social, and it evolves as to where you're spending that time. But you can't you can't do that until you are truly sales ready, until you look proper on social media.

Rob Durant [00:24:03]:

I'm reminded of the old adage. The best time to plant an apple tree was 10 years ago. The second best time is today.

Leighann Lovely [00:24:14]:

Yep.

Rob Durant [00:24:15]:

Leanne, this has been great. How can people learn more about you and your organization? Where can they get in touch with you?

Leighann Lovely [00:24:22]:

Yeah. I mean, you can email me direct, which is Leanne, at rescue my sales dot com. You can, give us a call. Our, business number is 414-973-2798. You can also check us check us out at our website, which is, rescue my sales dot com.

Rob Durant [00:24:42]:

Fantastic. We now have a newsletter. Sign up for show highlights, beyond the show insights, and reminders of upcoming episodes. Scan the QR code on screen or visit salestv.live and click on newsletter. This has been another edition of Sales TV Live. On behalf of the panelists and everyone here at Sales TV Live, to our guest, Leanne, and to our audience, thank you all for being a part of today's conversation, and we'll see you next time.

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