In this episode of 'Love Your Sales', hosted by Leighann we explores the common pitfalls in sales and how to overcome them. Special guest, Laura Lorenz from Top Floor Mentoring, shares her 35-year journey in supporting entrepreneurs and provides deep insights into the importance of understanding the 'why' behind business goals. Laura highlights the significance of building detailed roadmaps, time management, and the need for external mentorship to achieve business success. She emphasizes that success is a marathon, not a sprint, and advocates for focusing on revenue-generating tasks. The episode concludes with Laura offering a complimentary consultation to help business owners create effective strategies and solutions tailored to their unique needs.
 
Contact Laura - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralorenz/
 
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Leighann Lovely: Welcome to another episode of Love Your Sales. Today I am joined by Laura Lorenz with Top Floor Mentor Ring Laura Lorenz. She is the trusted advisor for small businesses with an incredible 35 year journey supporting entrepreneurs. Laura isn't just a business counselor. She is a true champion for dream chasers and business builders.
I love that. Her passion, helping passionate people [00:02:00] transform their business ideas into thriving realities. Having walked the entrepreneurial path herself as a business owner, Laura brings this wonderful blend of professional expertise and heartfelt understanding to everything she does. Why don't you, um, share with me anything that I didn't include to lovely bio.
Yes, yes. So, you know, uh. Tell me, you know, tell me a little bit more about what Top Floor mentoring is.
Laura Lorenz: Sure. So, um, what I do is I work with solopreneurs, small business owners, um, and, and actually helping them get to be where they wanna be. I find that, um, when you have help, which I have always had somebody in my corner that wasn't an employee or anything, when you get help and people can see from the outside.
Looking in, it is amazing the things that you can accomplish and someone to help you [00:03:00] actually, um, step over the, the hurdles that you go through in business and in life. Um, someone there cheering you on when things are good. It's just, that's pretty much in a nutshell what I do. But I do build these very big roadmaps.
So a lot of people will set goals, right? Mm-hmm. And that's what they are. And even some of 'em are smart goals, but they never seem to get to be where they wanna go. And it's, uh, there a lot of reasons for it. The biggest one is they don't dig deep enough into the why of their goals. So that on hard days when you are stumbling or a client that you loved quits or something like that, you go back to, but this is why I am doing what I'm doing and why I love it.
Right. Right. So that's the beginning of the roadmap is really understanding that why. 'cause a lot of times people will set goals that they think they should be achieving, right? [00:04:00] And when they get into the why, they can't figure out why they think that. So then don't make it be a goal, right? Let's, let's look at ones that are important to you.
You know, what is your why in life or your why in business? And then go from there.
Leighann Lovely: That's, that is really very interesting because you are absolutely, absolutely correct. Um, and that I think, gets lost sometimes, you know, from, from the, I'm gonna start my own business mm-hmm. To the, okay, now I'm in the thick of it and I'm stressed out and we lose.
You know, speaking, obviously as an entrepreneur, we lose sight of why we began it. Mm-hmm. And when you lose sight of that, all of a sudden all of that overwhelm creeps in.
Laura Lorenz: It does.
Leighann Lovely: And you're like, oh my what? What am I doing? [00:05:00] Why am I doing this?
Laura Lorenz: Yep. You know, everybody thinks it's so cool to build a business.
You know, people coming from the corporate world are like, oh, I'm just gonna go out and start my own business. Well. There's a lot of heartache in owning your own business. There's a lot of hours, there's a lot of just, ugh. But if you have that why, and you really understand why you're doing what you're doing, it helps you get a better mindset looking back at it and go from, I'm overwhelmed and I can't stand it, and I have too many hats and I don't know what to do to, okay.
You know what? Here's my big why. You know, whether it's your children or trips or you know, just whatever you're doing. If you can have even a picture of that on your desk after a bad colleague, you can look at it and go, oh yeah, here we are.
Leighann Lovely: Yeah, that, that makes a a lot of sense. So when you start working with somebody, um.
Do they often [00:06:00] know or remember? And I, well, first, let's start, let's, let's back up a little bit. When do you typically engage with somebody? Are they brand new entrepreneurs? Are they into their business? A year, five years, 20 years, where usually
Laura Lorenz: about two years. You know, I, I, I love brand new ENT entrepreneurs, but they need to work through all the things they wanna try first.
So usually people come to me when they're stuck like they're trying to scale or they, they just want to do this one thing that they haven't been able to attain. And that's where we'll start.
Leighann Lovely: Interesting. Okay. So at that, at that point, do they remember the why?
Laura Lorenz: Uh, no. Um, not their deep why. There's, there's always like the, well, I hated working for this company and I wanted to [00:07:00] do it on my own, or I could do it better than the boss.
All of those kinds of things are the superficial why. Right? Yep. But you have to dig really, really deep to understand what is keep getting you up out of bed every day to come and do this. 'cause it's not an easy thing.
Leighann Lovely: And so where do you start, you know, working with somebody on bringing them back down. I mean, and I'm gonna use this back down to earth really on and, and helping them really ground themselves in that why.
Laura Lorenz: Well, you know, you start with, we talk about their original why and, and I'll the one that they have superficially and I keep going, but why did you think you could do that? But why did you, but why? Nobody ever digs. Much past the third. Why? You know? 'cause it's like, this is, this is really hard. I can't figure [00:08:00] it out.
But if you ask it enough and you, you know, how does this impact you? All of those kinds of things, you will get back. Two, the real reason, you know, for me, I have a beautiful life. I love helping people. Um, I have a passion for that, but my real why, to be honest with you was, um, my husband has Parkinson's and he loves F1 racing, and so I'm working on.
Earning enough money to spend a year traveling the circuit with him before he can't. So, and you know, and that's a huge why, because I adore my husband. I've been married 34 years, and I want to make him happy, right. As along with the rest of the world. But that's my real why. That's what keeps me going. So what I'm hearing is that the why can change.
Absolutely, absolutely. When you start a business, there's so many reasons you started, you know, part of it is you wanna prove to yourself that you can do it so you, [00:09:00] you know, you're proud of yourself and those kinds of things. But as you go, I. That starts to kind of leave a little in your head. Mm-hmm. And you're like, okay, I'm here.
And now I'm in the thick of things. What is making me get up every day for this business? And it's got to come back for the passion of, of what you do. Right. Why, right. Why do you do this?
Leighann Lovely: Does, why does this make you happy? Very interesting. So now I'm going to, I'm gonna hit you with some hard ones here because Oh, good.
So obviously this is a sales podcast, and so business owners start their business. Mm-hmm. Usually because they have a unique superpower or skill in what they understand. Right. I'm gonna go and sell this widget 'cause I really understand this industry. I know how to get this brand new product widget, whatever it might be out to market.
Laura Lorenz: Mm-hmm.
Leighann Lovely: Where we [00:10:00] have a tendency to struggle fall short or even get overwhelmed. Is doing the thing. Well, I know that I get overwhelmed when I try to do my accounting. I get that. I agree.
Laura Lorenz: And I hate it.
Leighann Lovely: I, I hate my, uh, so that's, that's the point of contention for me in my business is I don't know how to do this.
When I try to do it, I become overwhelmed. That's where. Business owners don't realize when they start their business, you are now your salesperson, you are your accountant, you are your admin, you are your everything. Yep,
Laura Lorenz: yep. All those hats and more the marketing person, and I mean, that's all of it.
Leighann Lovely: Sometimes I wanna take those hats and just throw 'em in a closet and be like, okay, no more. I just wanna do this. So do you help business owners on figuring out. How do we, how do we do [00:11:00] this? Mm-hmm. Like how do we do the sales part? How do we do this? What is the answer to that? Especially in the sales, like right.
No sales, no business. Well,
Laura Lorenz: right. I mean, you have to really look at, because I, I, I know from my own self and other people that I work with, we, when we find ourselves doing all of those kinds of things, you do get overwhelmed. And what you need to do is look at what is it that you love? What is it that you hate but have to do, right?
Like the accounting, um, and then what are things that you're doing that are just a huge time waster? Right, right. So a lot of times what I'll have people do is track their time in half an hour increments to see what is it that they are doing and putting the most time into. Right? And then look at the love, you know, the love, the I gotta do it, and what can I get rid of?
Then we [00:12:00] start looking at putting together a time management, like for me, Mondays and Fridays usually are my day to work on my business instead of in my business. So, you know, that's when I would say, okay, knuckle down, do your accounting, send out your invoices. Let's work. And then, you know, part of it can be, what, what am I doing for my marketing this week?
You know, let's work on that. Those kinds of things. So if you time block 'em, and it doesn't have to be at full days, it can be hours in the day, it just, however your flow works for you mm-hmm. It becomes more manageable. And as you look at that list of what can I get rid of and stop doing, if you catch yourself doing it, stop.
I mean, my, my problem in life is I love to read people's stuff on LinkedIn. So I'm sucked in for hours. I'm like, wait, wait, wait. I'm supposed to be responding to comments. Um,
right. [00:13:00] Anyways. Um, but yeah, I, I, and I even color code my calendar, which is ridiculous, but then it's tracking how much time I'm spending all, all week on each particular thing. But it, it's, part of it is a discipline. And you've got to, you know, on those Mondays and Fridays. That I do. If someone calls and says they absolutely wanna talk to me, if they're a prospect, I will find a way to speak to them.
But if it's just a networking call or somebody wants to chitchat, I'm like, no, here's the times that I have set aside for that. Let's put you there. So that, that was a long-winded answer to your
Leighann Lovely: question. No, but it's a, it's a really good answer because, um, we as human beings have a tendency to. To migrate to what we'd like to do.
Mm-hmm. And fail, I don't wanna say fail, um, that's not the right word. Um, kind of forget or push aside the things that we [00:14:00] don't necessarily like to do and not everybody likes to do sales.
Laura Lorenz: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Leighann Lovely: But the, the problem with that is that if you're not selling at some point, now, I'm not speaking well, if you're a business that's been in in business for about two years, then you're probably not at a point yet where you're able to rely on a hundred percent referrals or a hundred percent organic or a hundred percent.
You still have to be actively selling. Yes. And that means having the discipline. To pick up the phone and make those cold calls.
Laura Lorenz: Yep.
Leighann Lovely: To pick up the phone and tap into some of those referral sources that you have that of people who are like, yeah, I definitely will refer somebody if I know somebody.
They're not always thinking about you. No. So you still have to do that networking, cultivate those relationships, go on LinkedIn, reply to those comments, not get sucked into that next video of [00:15:00] Thank you. I won't
Laura Lorenz: anymore.
Leighann Lovely: No, and I'm, everybody is guilt. Social media is the, I mean, it's so easy to get sucked in is
Laura Lorenz: it?
Leighann Lovely: Is. On. Every time I go on Facebook, I get sucked into some like, oh, watch this hack video. And then it's like 20 minutes later I'm like, what am I doing?
Laura Lorenz: You know, I have found, and, and I recommend this for all of my clients and you who are listening, get a timer, right? And if, if you have blocked your time out, it's like, okay, I have an hour to do this.
And if I find myself at the end of the hour, it goes ding. And you're still there messing around. You're like, oh God, I gotta get back to what I was doing right. If I, at social media, it's like I put on a 15 minute timer if I think about it, and I really should do it more often because if I'm spending more than 15 minutes not commenting and just reading and checking [00:16:00] things out, then it's a waste of my time.
And, and as a business owner and a solopreneur, you can't afford to not do the one thing that is gonna make you money. I mean, it's, you
Leighann Lovely: just, yeah. Absolutely. I have a timer. You know, especially it is it, it's too easy to get so hyper-focused on something and comp have everything else around you just wash away.
Um, to the point I've missed my daughter at the bus stop because I'm like, I'll look at the clock and be like, okay, I've got five minutes, then I've gotta go get my daughter. And then all of a sudden my daughter's standing at the front door like, mommy, why didn't you meet me at the bus stop? And I'm like, oh my God.
I now have a timer every day that goes off. Say, saying. Get up, get your butt outta your chair and go get your daughter. There you go. Yep. And because
Laura Lorenz: it's not wrong that you need that because we, we do get sucked into things. Mm-hmm. And we have to remember, I, I'll definitely do that when I'm writing, um, my content for [00:17:00] marketing.
I get into it and I'll of a sudden I'll look up and I'm like. Oh my God. I, you know, it, I missed a call that I was supposed to make. Right. Then I'm calling apologizing and everything starts going, you know, so Right. Is having a time or an important thing.
Leighann Lovely: Yeah. Abs and I have, um, I'm afraid to say her name.
She's gonna start talking to me. Um, I have Alexa at my, at my desk. Okay. Shouldn't talk. Um, that where I can easily say, put a 10 minute timer on and then sh and then it goes off. And it, and again, the AI world makes it really, really easy for us to quickly do a variety of things. And I've been talking to other people where all of a sudden they're like, oh, that's my Alexa timer going off.
And I'm like, see how much? I mean, and again, if people are not users of that, if they're users of Google or whatever it might be, it's really simple. Nowadays to just quickly put a, you got your cell phone sitting, put a timer on. [00:18:00] Yep. Allowing you to time block. In today's world with all the boops and blings and everything else that's going off the hacker videos, the, you know, the, OR hack life hack videos.
That's, that's, those are the ones that get me sucked in where I'm like, oh, wow. I could make an egg like that that much easier. Wow. That's really cool. Some people it's the cat videos or the dog videos or whatever it is. I always, I, I, when I work with a client, I always talk about revenue generating tasks.
Mm-hmm. You can't do it for eight hours a day. No. But doing it for an hour a day, and then in the morning, an hour a day in the afternoon, on the days that you have chosen for your sales activities, if you can get hyper-focused and break those hours up, even if you're. Even if it's those hard ones where you're like, okay, I'm only gonna do this for a half an hour a day.
Mm-hmm. Or a half an hour in the morning. A half an hour in the afternoon. Because it's [00:19:00] just those things that are really hard for you. Mm-hmm. If you can stay focused on those revenue generating tasks for a half an hour at a time, fine. Do
Laura Lorenz: it for a half an hour. Huge, huge. And, and we put that kind of thing in the roadmap, right.
That I build. It's like we start with, here's my big. Fat hairy goal that I really wanna achieve. Well, now let's walk our way back to what kinds of things do you need to be doing to actually achieve this on a monthly basis, on a weekly basis, and on a daily basis? Great. Let's plug that into the calendar, right?
So all of what we're talking about, if you. Break your goals down into those small bite-sized pieces for the week. But you can attain crazy things as long as you've time blocked what you're gonna do.
Leighann Lovely: I love that. So starting with that big gigantic [00:20:00] goal mm-hmm. And then you, you help people break that down.
Yep. Into those
Laura Lorenz: add all bites. So. 'cause nobody can eat an elephant all at once. Right. Well,
Leighann Lovely: I've seen plenty of people try and fail
Laura Lorenz: and then be so di disappointed. The other thing that I always tell people is when we're putting milestones into this, this is just. For us to like, keep working at it. But if you don't get it and you're 80% there, don't beat yourself up, right?
You're, you made 80% of it and now let's just move the milestone out a little bit and get to where you wanted to be. 'cause I find people, if you don't hit that goal on the day that you're gonna supposed to hit the goal. Um, get, then it's not important anymore and I'm gonna do something else 'cause I failed and I don't wanna look at it.
It's like, but no, the date that we set wasn't achievable. We thought it was, but based on what's been [00:21:00] going on every day it wasn't. So let's move it a little more, you know, and keep working. Right.
Leighann Lovely: Very interesting. And you're right, it's. I've done that where it's like, okay, by this date I'm gonna do this.
And then when that passes, it's like, oh, okay, well guess that's over. Yeah,
Laura Lorenz: because I didn't meet myself.
Leighann Lovely: But success is not, it's not a destination.
Laura Lorenz: No, no. And, and we are not running, you know, the one mile dash, this is a marathon running a business, right? Yeah. I mean, it's a forever thing. So you can't, it's hard, I think, sometimes for salespeople who work for corporations that have deadlines and quotas and things like that.
I mean, I, I get that. Then they did not achieve the goal that their bus set out for them. Right. But, you know, then you gotta start looking at, if I'm consistently not hitting my [00:22:00] targets, am I doing the right thing? Right. Right.
Leighann Lovely: Yes. And as a sales professional who has coached and worked with other sales professionals, um, throughout my entire career, um, there are clear, clear.
Or flags that go off mm-hmm. In, in salespeople when you go, okay, this person is not gonna hit their quota, their goals, especially, and, and especially when I was mentoring younger salespeople, I could see the writing on the wall far. Far before they could even see the writing on the wall that they were not gonna meet, you know, the expectations that were set for them.
Mm-hmm. And, and sometimes you're even too close to it, especially being a newer salesperson. You'll be so close, you're too close to it being that it's yourself, that you're not gonna meet it. And trying to explain to them like, Hey, [00:23:00] I, I understand that you feel that you're, that you're, you're busy. You're busy all the time, but being busy is not the same as being productive.
Exactly.
Laura Lorenz: Exactly. And you know, this society, we're also prone to, I'm busy all the time. Right, right. Well, 'cause you can fill your day with whatever you want and you're busy, but that doesn't. Again, it goes back to what's revenue generating for an entrepreneur, for a salesperson that works at a company, and it's all the same thing, right?
What's making the money? And if you're, if it's not, don't do it. Right. Just stop doing what you're doing. I'm such a huge fan of the one thing. I, I, I got a lot of what I work with is, it's a book called The One Thing, and that that's your big goal. And that's where every day you look and you say, what three things can I do today to move myself forward to achieve that goal?
Right. Do those things first, [00:24:00] then look at all of the other hats that you're wearing and go, God, I hate this accounting, but it's gotta be done. Right. Right.
Leighann Lovely: Yeah, absolutely. And as long as you're. Ticking off those boxes of what has to be done. Mm-hmm. In order to move. You'll continue to inch forward understanding.
Um, just for the audience here, understanding that while you may be taking great strides forward, there will always be a time where you may take a step or two back. Mm-hmm. Because that is the nature of the beast.
Laura Lorenz: Oh yes. Oh yes. I.
Leighann Lovely: And, and then I've seen that in my own business. I've been in business now two and a half years, and I have seen huge strides forward, and I actually made the strategic decision to take a gigantic step back because I didn't like where the ship was, was sailing off to.
In fact, I felt like I was in the dinghy, you know, following behind the ship. And I was going, wait a second. Why is my, why is [00:25:00] my business leaving without me? I'm, I'm supposed to be running it. Why is it running me?
Laura Lorenz: Yep. That's the nice thing being about being an entrepreneur is when you can start seeing those kind of things.
You're flexible enough that you can go, this was a great idea at the time, but now that I'm in it and I'm doing it, I don't really like the way it's working out, so let's stop and, and, and look at where the boat really is supposed to be going. And that goes back to the why's and all of that. So, yeah. Yes,
Leighann Lovely: yes.
I've, I've been there. I've, I've absolutely been there.
Laura Lorenz: You all have, right? There's no doubt. You, you have this brilliant idea of how you're gonna sell your business, right? And sell, sell who you are in your business and why people should work with you. And what we forgot to do is actually go out there and do some audience research, even anything they want, right?
Leighann Lovely: Well. Yeah, I, I got to a point where, you know, [00:26:00] I was selling it all, but, you know, going, wait, wait, how am I executing on all of this? Mm-hmm. Like, yeah. So yeah.
Laura Lorenz: But that's also a good place to be in because if you're really getting the sales and you can't execute on all of it, that's the time to start looking for somebody to take the crap that you hate doing off of your plate.
Right. So time for a va, time to get a bookkeeper something. Right,
Leighann Lovely: right, right. And I, and I had, I actually just recently when I, I had a whole bunch of contractors. I just recently ended all of their assignment and it's, and reverted back to just me and I am so much more free.
Laura Lorenz: It's hard, you know, I, um, my first business that I built, I built with a partner.
It was a marketing consultancy when we started, right? So we were just guiding people on how to do their strategy and what kinds of things [00:27:00] they should be doing to sell their business or to sell whatever they have, not sell the business. Um, and now it was great except for we'd build these great plans for them and hand them over.
Nobody would do any of it. Right. Because we've got so many hats on that we can, right. And marketing seems like the last thing you care about, right? Mm-hmm. So as we looked in our business, it's, we said, it's time to pivot this business. We can still be doing all with strategic work with our clients. We need to also be able to do the work for our clients.
So we, after 10 years, we had 10 employees. You know, we had website builders and bloggers and the whole thing. So you can grow a business and pivot. And we, we, we used to, I laughed 'cause we said every six months we'd blow the business up and try something different. So it, it's, there's a lot of that stuff.
And, and when it. That brings me back, however, to the point that I said in the beginning is it's so much easier when you have [00:28:00] a mentor or a coach or a consultant that's looking at your business and helping you see that it's time to pivot. Right.
Leighann Lovely: And, and to your point, um, going back to you are so close to your own business.
Whether you are a single solopreneur or you are a 20 person, 50 person company, and you are still privately owned
Laura Lorenz: mm-hmm.
Leighann Lovely: You're so close to it that you often cannot see the holes. You know,
Laura Lorenz: I, go ahead. Sorry. And, and I was
Leighann Lovely: gonna say that having, having somebody from the outside come in and do that true analysis, not only just, not only of you, of why you're, why are you doing this?
Mm-hmm. Why are you, you know, why do you want to continue to go [00:29:00] down this path? Are you happy? Um, how's it working for you? Right. How's it working for? Right. Um, but to, to do, you know, really have somebody, and then some, have somebody really do an assessment and look under the hood of your business. Mm-hmm.
You know, how is it going? Are you, are you getting out of it what you wanted? To get out of it. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think that people are finally starting to understand that, 'cause we've had what since I've been in, in the professional industry, and I'm not gonna tell you how long 'cause that dates me.
Laura Lorenz: I, I trust I've been in longer.
But anyway,
Leighann Lovely: no, I, and I, I, what I've, you know, my 20 years, um, 20 plus years now, um. You know, when I started we didn't have coaches, we didn't have advisors, we didn't have, you know, consultants who were there to assist you along the path. Mm-hmm. You know? And over the last 10 years, has it been 10 [00:30:00] now?
Laura Lorenz: Yes, it has.
It's been about, yeah. Time flies.
Leighann Lovely: It's, so over the last 10 years we've had the rise of, you know, the coaches, we've had the rise of the advisors who. You are experienced. They come from, you know, the world of either entrepreneurship or they come from working at very large corporations where they've been in the thick of it, they've seen the errors of other businesses, um, they've seen the success of other businesses and, and just understand to anybody who's listening to this.
These are things that you need to make sure that when you're hiring an advisor or a coach, you're vetting them. Because unfortunately, in today's world, a lot of people are popping up saying that they are advisors or coaches.
Laura Lorenz: Yeah. You know, I have to laugh when I look at a 20-year-old who's saying I'm a life coach, I'm.
How can you be a life [00:31:00] coach? You haven't lived even a third of your life. You're a baby. Exactly. Anyways, I
Leighann Lovely: digress on that. Um, no, no. And I agree you, you may that life coach, that 20-year-old. Could maybe be, or that 25-year-old could maybe be a life coach to those who are younger.
Laura Lorenz: Mm-hmm.
Leighann Lovely: But don't tell me that you're gonna come and be a life coach to my 44-year-old, you know, to the, to me who's 44.
I've got over 20 years on you.
Laura Lorenz: Yep.
Leighann Lovely: Yep. I,
Laura Lorenz: that's, I I think, I always tell people, look, look for the gray haired people that are offering you advice. 'cause they've been there, they've done that. They've seen it. I mean, I, this is my third business, so I've definitely seen, seen that and I've been helping businesses for.
I got you 35 or 30 plus. Yeah. But Laura,
Leighann Lovely: you, but you don't understand my, you know, you don't understand me. You don't talk like me. I'm 20. I want [00:32:00] somebody who's, you know, gonna, it's like, well, yeah, but who's gonna, you know, who's gonna help you in the, the political realm that exists right now in the corporate world.
Mm-hmm. Not a 25-year-old. No. Mm-hmm. So, and so when I'm, when I. You know, to the audience, make sure that you're vetting the person. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Highly recommend that. Right?
Laura Lorenz: And, and you, you have to go with somebody that you feel good. Working with, because that person is going to tell you a lot of things about you that you're not gonna like to hear.
Right. Right. And so, and, and you're
Leighann Lovely: gonna pay them for it.
Laura Lorenz: They're going, they're gonna
No, but, but it's the truth. And that goes back to what you were saying about we're so tunneled. My best analogy there is you're in a jar and you can't read the outside label. Right. Right. You just, you can't. Right. Yourself [00:33:00] absolute. Because you're mature.
Leighann Lovely: And, and I, and speaking from, you know, being a, a sales consultant, I've had some of the most brilliant people in the world, you know, come to me with products and say, I just can't, like, this is a really good product.
I just can't seem to get people to understand. What it is, and, and they won't buy. And I'm like, okay, let's, let's talk about this and then gimme your 32nd pitch. Gimme your, you know, present a proposal to me. And I go, oh, I know why. And they're like, well, what do you mean? And I'm like, you're explaining this as if I'm already, as if I already know who you are and what you do.
Right? And they're like, well, what do you mean? And I'm like, you are so close to it that you assume that people know. This piece, this piece, and this piece. I'm like, you're completely breezing over the, you know, the base of what this is. And then they go, oh. And it's like, again, [00:34:00] you're so close to it because you built it right.
Laura Lorenz: And they're like, yeah. I find so many pe If you're on LinkedIn enough, you're getting pitched every day by people. Right. And, and I have to laugh. I, I will actually connect with people whose sales pitches I think are good, even if I don't intend to buy from them. Right. Because I, they get it, you know? Yep.
These other people, they sell on features, they sell on benefits. They don't understand why I need to have them, why my life will be so much better if I just. By the widget or the service. Right. So what are you in it for? I mean, you have to understand people are looking for what's the value? What's in it for me?
Right. Not how great the product is because it has
Leighann Lovely: this be and this whistle, right? I, I have people who sell me on. You know, Hey, we can schedule 10 appointments [00:35:00] for you a month and get you, and I'm like, that's what I do.
Laura Lorenz: No. I'm like, hello? Did you not notice that this is what I do. We used to laugh about that 'cause I, we'd have people, when I had my marketing agency pick up the phone and say, you know, I've been looking at your website and I, I think that I can help you.
I'm like. We build websites. Right, right.
Leighann Lovely: Oh, I've had people say, no, I've, I've had people, I've actually had people go, you know, that your website, you know, could really use some help. And I'm like, oh, so you're gonna start by insulting me. Yeah. Before you try to,
Laura Lorenz: yeah. And I, I even love it, you know, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, the big thing was to sell and market on the pains that people have.
Right. And again, it starts, you're, then you're starting out. The person's upset and they're hurting. You gotta start with painting a picture of this is the world that could, is what it could be like if you did X, Y, Z. Right? Not [00:36:00] I can solve your pain,
Leighann Lovely: right? That, that's, that's ultimately the, the final closing of here's how we're gonna solve the pain points that you have, but you start on relationship.
Yep. Yep. Let's get to know each other and figure out, and then through that discovery, you're, you're uncovering what pains. Mm-hmm. And then through that you're figuring out, okay, so here's how I might be able to solve some of these pain points and problems if you are the right solution. Because I am, I am so over that everybody thinks that their solution is the perfect.
Solution for everybody.
Laura Lorenz: Oh yeah. It, it's not, what I do is not perfect for everyone. Right. And what I do is not the same as what another mentor would do either. 'cause we all just come from our own place of. Of gift. But anyways, um, and yeah, we, I'm sure we could go on for [00:37:00] hours about silly Yeah. Um, silly things that salespeople have done.
Leighann Lovely: Oh, I know. I could, I, I, absolutely. Mm-hmm. I, I've got stories that would last forever. But Laura, before we wrap up, I wanna give you your, your, um, shameless 32nd pitch.
Laura Lorenz: Hooray. I would love to help build your roadmap out there in podcast land. Um, I would be very happy to give you an hour of my time for complimentary free whatever we're saying these days that that works.
Um, but to sit and listen to what you've tried and where, where you are and where you wanna go, and maybe give you some really great tips on how to help with that. And. You know, and I won't sell to you if at the end of the call you go, thanks for your tips. See you later. That's good. So awesome. That's me.
Leighann Lovely: Yep. And you can reach, um, or you can find Laura at her website at top floor mentoring, uh, dot com or on LinkedIn. [00:38:00] Um, those two, um, places. And would you like to provide your email? Sure it's Laura at Top
Laura Lorenz: Floor Mentoring.
Leighann Lovely: Excellent. So you can reach out to Laura. Um, the, those links will be, or those different avenues to reaching out to her will be listed on the show notes.
You can find those on the show notes there. But Laura, I really appreciate this conversation. It's been amazing.
Laura Lorenz: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Thank you so much, Lee, and I appreciate it. Yes.
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Robb Conlon: Thanks for [00:39:00] joining us for Love Your Sales. For More, connect with Leanne on LinkedIn and be sure to subscribe to the show and leave us a rating in review. We'd love to hear what you think, looking for a way to take your sales process to the next level. Visit [email protected] to find out more about how Leanne can take your organization to new Revenue Heights.
And be sure to join us next time for more great ways to love your customers so they love your [00:40:00] sales.

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