Increase Sales

Importance of Customer Relationship Management to Sales

2010-05-05T05:20:00.003-07:00

Sales in a simple and concise definition is an act of selling. A person that sells or carries out sales activities is a sales man. A sales person is key in sales because goods and products will not sell themselves. Someone is expected to serve as the brain behind the selling force.

The sales Person who without mincing words is the brain behind the sales is expected to exemplify some distinct characters and aptitude towards buyers and customers in order to drive home more order. In view of these, this article have decided to consider the importance of human relationship management in sales. Aside from PRICING which is a key factor in any activity that involves selling, human relationship is also another important drive in sales.

Human relationship management can be explained as the way a sales man relates with his customers putting in mind the saying that 'the customer is a king' and should be treated as one. The level of intimacy of a sales man with his customer can help sky rocket sales not withstanding the price because when confidence and trust is built buying from such sales man becomes inevitable. From my experience as a salesman, i have discovered that most people buy out of emotion and the love they have for me as a sales person.

Even when the price is bad, most of them could not resist placing their orders. Human relationship management is so key to sales because its a very useful mean of retaining customers. That birthday gift, the Christmas message e.t.c can make a lot of sense to some of your customers, thereby increasing your sales and building a long lasting business relationship between you as the sales man and your customer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Babatunde_Abimbola

6 Secrets to Becoming a Great Sales Manager

2010-05-05T05:20:00.001-07:00

#1. Great Sales Managers Set Goals:

They are also masters at goal setting. Like top producers, they see an outcome and focus on it daily until it's been reached. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, nearly all-great sales are a result of having a great system, and working it consistently to hit targets. They know that small targets can turn into bigger targets, and that the only way to hit bigger goals is to hit all the smaller ones along the way. By manipulating their daily and weekly goals, they can guide producers to healthy and increasing annual figures.

#2. Great Sales Managers Know The Process:

Great managers understand the sales process, and know that each step is useful. Ask any of them, and they'll tell you that you can't skip any steps on route to a sale, and that to try means wasting time and energy. Without prospecting, you have no one to sell to. If the qualifying stage is rushed, you'll meet resistance when you close, and might experience problems after the sale. Closing itself must be done patiently, working with the client to overcome any fears or objections. For a sale to be made, all the pieces must fit. A strong manager will help his or her producers to keep this in mind, so that they aren't tempted to try to shortcut the selling process.

#3. Great Product Knowledge:

Another trait of top managers is that they understand the market for their products. They know where what they're selling fits in terms of price and quality, and use that knowledge to show clients the best options for a given situation. They can tell you anything you'd need to know about a product in their catalog, along with its price and perceived strengths and weaknesses compared to the competition. This sort of thorough knowledge gives them the ability to coach their producers through presentations, as well as preparing them to counter objections.

#4. Great Sales Managers See Training Is An Investment:

Great managers know the value of expanding sales skills. They are always advising those under them to read another book or go to another seminar. They understand that training is never finished. Whatever you're selling today, somebody else is out there training to sell it better and to more people. You can't rely tomorrow on the same skills you used today. You have to keep learning or you will become stale. A strong supervisor will remind producers to keep training their minds and always be improving.

#5. Great Sales Managers Have Clarity & Focus:

Another trait they have in common is focus. Have you ever noticed how sales managers are always focused on their quarterly numbers? That's not an accident. Simply put, great supervisors don't get distracted by what's going on around them. They know that they have a job to do - usually to help you hit a certain production goal - and will do whatever they can to help advance you to that point. Everything else should point toward that aim, and they'll try to be sure that your activities reflect that.

#6. Great Sales Managers Have Patience:

And finally, they have patience. Most of them have been in sales long enough to know that there are going to be ups and downs. Being on top today doesn't mean that you'll necessarily be in the same place tomorrow. Likewise, a bad week, a bad month, or even a bad quarter can happen to anyone. Like coaches, they've seen the wins and losses, and know that quality work will succeed over time, and that the lazy and noncommittal will eventually wash out. They emphasize doing the right things every day, because they know that over time, you'll be successful that way.

Carl Henry is a management consultant. He specializes in helping companies in the selection of top sales and customer service talent. Carl is also a Certified Speaking Professional and the author of several books and articles related to sales, sales management, and customer service. He conducts seminar and webinar for clients worldwide.

Get your mini e-Book (free download) 18 pages. "Are You Recovery Ready" at http://www.carlhenryblog.com

You can contact Carl at 704-847-7390
chenry@carlhenry.com
http://www.carlhenry.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_C._Henry

Hyundai may extend car return program: U.S. CEO

2009-10-22T06:42:00.001-07:00

Hyundai Motor Co Ltd (005380.KS) is considering extending its successful U.S. incentive program that allows consumers to return vehicles if they lose their jobs, its U.S. chief executive said on Wednesday.

The "Hyundai Assurance Program," which began in January and was widely copied by rivals including General Motors Co GM.UL and Ford Motor Co (F.N) contributed to the South Korean automaker increasing sales and expanding market share in a slumping U.S. market.

Hyundai North America Chief Executive John Krafcik told Reuters that the automaker will keep the car return program through the end of 2009, adding, "We're thinking now about how much further we should take it."

Fewer than 50 consumers have returned their vehicles under the program, Krafcik said.

Hyundai's U.S. sales rose 2 percent to 342,217 vehicles in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, while overall U.S. auto sales fell almost 30 percent.

Hyundai, whose U.S. market share topped 4 percent this year, aims to increase its share further and in 2009 will be one of the few manufacturers to increase sales over last year, Krafcik said. He declined to give a target for increasing the market share.

Industry-wide U.S. auto sales are expected to be in the range of 10 million to 10.5 million units in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis, Krafcik forecast, adding that the market will improve to 11 million to 11.5 million units next year.

"We are being conservative for next year in our expectations," Krafcik said.

He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting on U.S. fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for 2012 to 2016 model year vehicles hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"We desire to be the No. 1 fuel economy brand in the United States, we are No. 3 right now. As quickly as possible," Krafcik said.

Hyundai has a fuel economy rating for its fleet of vehicles of about 28 to 29 miles per gallon, trailing Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co (7267.T).

In improving its fuel economy average, Hyundai will rely mainly on four-cylinder cars and "hundreds of incremental changes" that will make the fleet more efficient, from turbocharged engines to improved aerodynamics to fuel injection improvements. Tweaking the systems to make them more efficient is a constant at Hyundai, he said.

For Hyundai, "Hybrids will play a role, but they're not going to play a significant role," he said. "They are very expensive. And Americans have shown, at least in the current gasoline price regime, that they are not able to make that cost-benefit trade-off."

Hyundai has about 785 U.S. dealers that sell its brands, a number he expects to hold flat in the coming year at a time when others are cutting dealerships.

Mayor gives property tax increase 50/50 chance

2009-10-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Mayor Lionel Rivera was cautiously optimistic yesterday when asked whether he thought Colorado Springs voters would approve measure 2C, a property tax increase on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Rivera said “most of the people” he talks to support 2C.

They believe the city government is underfunded and “imbalanced because of the reliance on sales tax, and the request for a moderate increase in the mill levy is responsible, and it’s something that they can afford,” he said.

“I’m going to support it, and it’s going to impact my pocketbook, but I can’t judge the entire community by the people I run into on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

“If I just judge it based on the people I talk to, I’d say, ‘Hey, it’s going to win 75 (percent) to 25 (percent.)’ But I know that’s not realistic. I know there’s plenty of people (among the city’s) 400,000 citizens that have different views than I do and a different view of the people I run into or associate with on a daily basis, so that’s why I say 50/50,” he said.

http://citydesk.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/21/mayor-gives-property-tax-increase-5050-chance/513/

Use Video Streaming to Increase Sales

2009-10-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

Video streaming is definitely the internet's future. Presently, the internet would be the growing marketplace where video is considered as the most effective means of communication in the information super highway.

There are some people who have included images and pictures so that they would be able to add impact and appeal to their website. However, sometimes these are just not enough. People who do their business online would require facilities with fully integrated video streaming that they could use for their online communication. This technology is available in Video Instant Messaging, Video Email and Webcasting, as well as Streaming Web TV.

We are not longer limited to just text and pictures. We have the ability of generating more visitors and amazing them with the use of video streaming on our websites. In a way, video streaming has become an essential part in web building and design that would keep us on the forefront of the future communication revolution.

For web marketing specialists, videos are great and powerful selling tools. Placing videos on your website is a great way to create and establish a personal connection with customers which would appeal to their senses, which would ultimately result to more visitors-turned-customers.

Additionally, websites that have video streaming such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube offer interactivity to online users, thus increasing visitors to their websites.

Some live video would certainly be able to motivate customers to take some action now instead of skimming through the text and end up just clicking away to another website. Video streaming provides a way for the visitors of your website to appreciate whatever you are offering without having to go through a lot of effort reading and reading.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Pratt

Creating A Sales And Marketing Strategy

2009-09-05T02:43:00.001-07:00

Small business owners who are concerned about their sales and marketing capabilities could begin to see improvement by breaking down the term "sales and marketing" into discrete, manageable elements. You end up with a checklist that can be reviewed in order to prioritize areas needing improvement - a checklist that will serve as the groundwork for an effective marketing strategy.

In the suggested list below, I will use examples from a retail florist business to make some points clear.

1) MARKETS. How much do you really know about your current markets or future market? Why do your customers buy from you? What could you offer that would attract more non-customers? How can you sell to more of the profitable customers? If you add features or services, will people pay more for them or will they attract more customers? Are there bulk, institutional, industrial, or corporate markets beyond normal retail that you are ignoring?

Florist: Have you thought about selling regular weekly arrangements to area businesses, especially car dealers, law firms, real estate firms, etc. at a reduced rate, but with a one year contract for 50 arrangements?

2) COMPETITION. Who are they and why are they after you? What is the overall market trend and how are you holding up in terms of market share and profit position? How do you really rank against competitors? What substitutes are there to your products and how much of a threat are they?

Florist: If your funeral business is dwindling, what cultural trends ("no flowers" announcements for example) are important here and how can you counter them (such as sending flowers or a fruit basket to the home of survivors, for example)?

3) DISTRIBUTION. How can you get your products/services out to new outlets profitably? Are there unbranded opportunities? Can you bundle in your products with someone else's?

Florist: Can you partner with service providers for high school proms in the area (photographers, limo services) and offer a one-stop package for young people? This could become a good new sales channel for you.

4) SUPPLY CHAIN: Are you at the mercy of wholesalers for your raw materials or product components? How can you manage suppliers and gain more buying power over them? Can you simplify your products and reduce your supply needs? Can you buy in bulk and store them somewhere in a cost effective manner? Can you buy some things pre-fabricated cheaper than doing it yourself (or vice versa)?

Florist: Use the Internet to locate California-based rose growers who will air freight roses in volume for you and a loose consortium of other florists in your area. They'll give you greater variety at the standard market rate, versus reduced availability and price gouging during holidays from local wholesalers. Be prepared for friction from them, however.

5) POSITIONING. Where do your products/services fall in relation to the total market? Is this truly the position you want? Are you "all things to all people," or should you move more toward a high-end position (charging a premium for a differentiated service), or a low-cost position (undercutting others' prices but at a profit, due to high efficiency)? If you are truly "in the middle," you should examine how well you're doing regularly (with the help of a good accounting system).

Florist: Should you consider exiting no-growth "traditional lines" such as church flowers and move toward faster-growth lines such as silk flowers for weddings? Does your shop portray the position you want to be in?

Continue on to the next page to read more about the elements of sales and marketing that you need to consider as you build an effective marketing strategy.

6 Sure Ways to Increase Sales

2009-09-05T02:42:00.000-07:00

Want to increase sales dramatically? Then shift your sales focus from attracting new customers to enticing your proven customers to buy again. The best sales prospect is a prospect that’s already converted – in other words, one of your current customers.

Think of it this way; if your business is located in a small town with a population of 1000 people and you sell a sprocket to everyone in that town, man, woman, and child, you’ve sold 1000 sprockets – and saturated your market. Your sprocket selling days are over. Is it time to pack up and move on?

No! If you start focusing your sales efforts on your proven customers, you’ll be able to increase your sprocket sales dramatically. And these sure ways to increase sales will help build customer loyalty, too. Try some or all of these ideas to increase your sales:

1. Set up a sales incentive program.

Give your sales staff a reason to get out there and sell, sell, sell. Why do so many businesses that rely on their sales staff to drive sales have incentive programs in place? Because offering their sales staff the trips and/or TVs for x amount of sales works. See Paul Shearstone’s Creating Sales Incentive Programs That Work for how to make your sales incentive program “sweet and simple and attainable”.

2. Encourage your sales staff to upsell.

Essentially, upselling involves adding related products and/or services to your line and making it convenient and necessary for customer to buy them. Just placing more products near your usual products isn’t going to increase your sales much. To upsell successfully, the customer has to be persuaded of the benefit. For instance, when I last had my carpets cleaned, the cleaner noticed a pet stain. Instead of just cleaning it up, he drew my attention to it, and showed me how easily and effectively the spot cleaning solution removed all trace of the stain. Did I buy the spot cleaning solution? You bet. He persuaded me that buying it was beneficial to me and made it convenient to purchase it. Result: increased sales for the carpet cleaning company.

3. Give your customers the inside scoop.

Recently I was shopping at a retail housewares store. I had picked out an item and was mulling over whether to buy it or not when a salesperson came up to me and said, “I see you’re interested in that blender. We’re having a sale next week and all our blenders will be 20 percent off. You might want to come back then.” Guess what? I did – and bought two other items as well. Lesson: if you have a promotion or sale coming up, tell your customers about it. They’ll come back – and probably bring some friends with them too. (And don't forget - you can give your customers the inside scoop by emailing or calling them, too.)

4. Tier your customers.

There should be a clear and obvious difference between regular customers and other customers – a difference that your regular customers perceive as showing that you value them. How can you expect customer loyalty if all customers are treated as “someone off the street”? There are all kinds of ways that you can show your regular customers that you value them, from small things such as greeting them by name through larger benefits such as giving regulars extended credit or discounts.

5. Set up a customer rewards program.

We’re all familiar with the customer rewards programs that so many large businesses have in place. But there’s no reason that a small business can’t have a customer rewards program, too. It can be as simple as a discount on a customer’s birthday or as complex as a points system that earns various rewards such as discounts on merchandise. Done right, rewards programs can really help build customer loyalty and increase sales.

6. Distribute free samples to customers.

Why do so many businesses include free samples of other products when you buy something from them? Because it can increase sales in so many ways. As the customer who bought the original product, I might try and like the sample of the new product and buy some of it, too. Or I might pass on the sample to someone else, who might try the product, like it, and buy that and other products from the company. At the very least, the original customer will be thinking warm thoughts about your company, and hopefully telling other people about your products.

Attracting new customers is a good thing. But attracting new customers is not the only way to increase your sales, and is, in fact, the hard way of going about it. Shifting your sales focus to enticing your current customers can make increasing your sales easier – and best of all, build the customer loyalty that results in repeat sales.

What the Eiffel Tower Teaches Us About Process

2009-08-10T07:01:00.001-07:00

In redecorating my home office, I began looking for images for the walls that would inspire and motivate me. This needed to be more than pretty pictures of flowers and landscapes. One day I was in a book store and started sifting through a bin of art prints. Voila! There it was: a series of images of the Eiffel Tower, spanning one year of construction from foundation to finished tower. I'd never had any real interest in the Eiffel Tower and didn't know much beyond that it was built for the World's Fair. Yet, the image spoke to me, and I couldn't wait to get it home and hang it up.

It's really an image to contemplate. For me, it symbolizes the journey and stages of becoming tall, strong and even iconic. I see powerful connections between the Eiffel Tower and process:

The Eiffel Tower didn't spring fully formed out of the ground and instantly become a classic symbol of a city. Sometimes, when I'm feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, I forget that everyone started somewhere. It's easy to think that certain people were just born with their PhD and expert status, in demand on several continents. In reality, they started from the ground and built up. There are no "overnight" successes.

The most important growth period happens when it appears that there is little outside progress. In the case of the Eiffel Tower, the longest period of time between two major points of construction was four months, yet that period exhibits the least amount of change. From the photos, it looks as though that's when critical infrastructure was added that created stability and strength for the remaining upward build. I see this same process with clients. While they are being coached, they are doing a lot of internal building of self-esteem and positive self-talk "infrastructure." They are making huge shifts and changes, ones that form the solid foundation for all future growth.

It takes a village to build something that lasts. The Eiffel Tower had 300+ people involved in its construction. It also has 2.5 million rivets holding it together! Just as the tower needed people who believed in it and solid reinforcements to keep it standing, so do we as individuals on our personal journeys. It's not just about networking; it's about forming relationships of mutual support and trust that will stand the test of time. Just as there's no "overnight success," there are no "self-made millionaires" either. Every successful person has a team of supporters, friends, colleagues and mentors. And when one prospers, they all prosper.

People didn't like the Eiffel Tower at first; they may not like you either. Harsh, I know. When the tower was first constructed, it was assailed with criticism from prominent members of the community as well as the general citizenry. People were actually angry and thought it was an eyesore.

Today, of course, we cannot imagine the Parisian skyline without the Eiffel Tower. Attitudes shifted, and its aesthetic and practical significance (as a communication tower) saved it from the plan to demolish it after 20 years. Paris is now celebrating the tower's 120th birthday.

People who succeed in any endeavor often have to persevere through naysayers and wet blankets. They may not like you or your idea. Does that matter? NO. There is plenty of room in your process for people to offer constructive criticism and feedback if it supports your growth. There is no room for those who want to keep you small or who feel threatened. Surround yourself with people who will build you up, not tear you down. Those who built the tower had to withstand insult and injury. They stood by their vision, and c'est magnifique!

About Beth Buelow: As a Personal Coach, Beth's purpose is to partner with people who are seeking to live a more intentional life. She offers coaching, programs and services for individuals and teams, using an inside-out process to expand clarity and choice, leading to stronger relationships, self-expression and focus. http://www.intentionaltalk.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beth_Buelow

Do You Have Double Vision?

2009-08-10T07:00:00.004-07:00

No I am not talking about the album by Foreigner and I'm not talking about the physical condition that can be repaired with eye drops or contacts. I am talking about the inability to focus on what it is in life you want to accomplish.

A lot of people walk through life with what I call mental double vision, bumping along and hoping to arrive somewhere, someday. The fact is that you can't accidentally accomplish your goals. It is impossible to accidentally become great, accidentally lose weight, or accidentally start that business. These things have to be done on purpose with a single vision in mind.

When you wake up and begin your day, do you head out the door with a shotgun or rifle? The shotgun approach to life is sloppy, careless and guaranteed to be unsuccessful. The shotgun says whatever happens happens and I might hit or might not.

But with the rifle approach your aim is precise, focused and exact. You know your target, you know your goal, and you focus, aim and pull the trigger. Your vision is clear and now attainable.

Mental double vision, just like the physical, will keep you from accomplishing and achieving your goals. Don't be satisfied with bumping along in life and accepting what ever happens.

Get clear, get focused and get going! There is a lot more to see and be when you get focused! Oh yeah, Double Vision by Foreigner is a great album, especially on vinyl!

Living Life On Purpose!

James
Life Coach
http://www.jamescarnaghi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Carnaghi

Fools Jump In? Let's Think About That One

2009-08-10T07:00:00.003-07:00

Everyone has heard the phrase "fools jump in" at one time or another. I have no idea when it was first said or by whom, but it sounds like something everyone's Dad has said to their children doesn't it? I'm pretty sure I heard it from mine. I suppose that in some ways its reasonable advice too. On the other hand, history is littered with individuals, groups and companies who waited, waited, waited...and waited before adopting something new or different. More often than not, that waiting or not recognizing that an opportunity to be seized upon was at hand produced unwanted consequences. There are many examples, but here's a famous one:

Remember the telegraph? Probably not, but maybe you've seen them in the movies. Let's go back in time to 1876 for just a moment shall we? At that particular time, W.U. Telegraph Company had a monopoly on the telegraph, which was then the world's most advanced communications technology. If you were getting a telegram at that time, it was the W.U. network transmitting it, receiving it and then delivering it to you. This company was rich and powerful and didn't really have any competition at all, so when the president of W.U., William Orton was offered the opportunity to buy the patent for a new and really cool communications invention, he sat back in his big padded chair and had himself a big laugh. These nuts were asking for $100,000! Full of amused indignation, Orton wrote a letter to the inventor.

"Mr. Bell, after careful consideration of your invention, while it is a very interesting novelty, we have come to the conclusion that it has no commercial possibilities... What use could this company make of an electrical toy?"

You know how this story turns out don't you? The young inventor was Alexander Graham Bell. When his proposal was rejected by W.U.'s's William Orton, he decided to keep the patent and find investors to help bring it to the market. Within a few short years, his American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) had become the largest corporation in the United States. The Bell patent that was offered to Orton for a measly $100,000 became the single most valuable patent in history. Orton realized his mistake almost immediately, as he watched Bell and his investors begin to develop and expand the technology. He attempted to block Bell's patent over the next few years, and play catch up at the same time, but the game was already lost. He'd simply missed the opportunity.

Sometimes people simply miss the clues that signal a coming change. It happens.Change can be upon us in an instant. More often than that though, people just find reasons to wait, to delay, to stall, to explain why it would be foolish to jump in! Even if something seems beneficial or will clearly improve on an outdated method or product, careful cautiousness often rules the day. Its fear of change, not being comfortable with a new process, anything that gets that old advice kicking in: "Let's just wait and see how this pans out before doing anything hasty."

I submit to you that this is no decent way to live! While we must exercise common sense, we need not be locked behind the door of "caution." Seize the opportunities that show up in your life. Always maintain an open mind. Be curious about new things, not fearful. Life is ever changing, always flowing. The only variable is your ability to accept change or to resist change. Why not float downstream and enjoy the ride instead of paddling against the current? Jump In!

Grant Criddle
http://www.grantcriddle.com/

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Desire - Make a Plan and Take Action

2009-08-10T07:00:00.001-07:00

You can have the things you want in life, if you set your mind on them and develop a plan to achieve your dreams. It's true, It's so true. These words contain the secret to limitless success and endless streams of cash, yet unfortunately most will go through this life never even scratching the surface in terms of what they could be experiencing.

What do you want from life? How do you define a good quality of life? Have you develop a plan to take you there? Perhaps you're not shore about the kind of life you want for yourself and for your family. It's possible your sort of stuck somewhere between survival and limited beliefs, listen your mind is an incredible powerful tool. It can propel you forward or pull you backwards! It works a lot like a computer.

Computers are very powerful, they can do amazing things, however they can't do anything unless they are told what to do. Once they understand what you want them to do, then they can complete the task very well. Your mind works the same way.

Your mind does what you tell it to do. Here's an example; Have you ever gotten yourself in the situation where you just couldn't remember a friends name and because of that it bugs you? In fact it bugs you so much that you begin to think so hard that suddenly it pops out in your head as if by magic. Isn't that a great feeling when this happens? Just like the computer are brain is programmed to give answers to complex equation or even simple tasks such as this one. Here's the key, you are what you allow yourself to dwell on. Tony Robbins says it best; Your life is nothing more then a mirror of your consistent thoughts and actions. So with this in mind let me ask you a very important question, what do you dwell on? Is it the lack of money your making? Is it the economy or the doom and gloom media coverage? Perhaps you are dwelling on something that is harmful to you and that will never propel you forward. These things may have a firm grip on keeping you where you are.

Are you happy with where you are in life? Imagine yourself for a moment in a very different life. Imagine a life where you can let go of the stress. A life where you aren't constantly worried about money. A life where you can truly enjoy yourself. you know being able perhaps for the very first time or perhaps for the very first time in a very long time. Being able to take a deep breath and exhale slowly as every trouble and stressful event fade away. And these things get replaced with good things like more money, better relationship and a overall quality of life that grabs hold of you that that perhaps you've never felt before.

Its a defining moment where you finally realized what you have reached the level of success that you've been working towards. That does a few things, first you get that adrenalin rush that you've made it, this is followed by relief. Next you are greatly humble to be where only few are and that in it of it self is an amazing feeling. I saw on CNN a program that was talking about the 5% of Americans in terms of income.

As I listened I realized that how many people are there that is not in the 5% and that they can truly change their way of life if they commit to themselves to doing so. So here is where you choice comes in, shore you could keep on doing what your doing, I'll bet you got working hard down to a science. I'll bet your really good at working hard, in fact your so good at working hard that it may be all you know in terms of how to make money.

Here is what else i know. I know you're working to hard for a lot less money. You aren't making as much as your worth either. Not by a long shot. So you are working harder for less money, what's the solution?

Well, you need to discover how to work smarter and in the process you will make more money. Listen! My mentor and a friend of mine taught me this; You can make money or you can make excuses, but you can't make both effectively at the same time! So yes you can have the things you want in life, if you set your mind on them and develop a plan to achieve your dreams. I'll make a deal with you! If you bring the desire, i'll give you the plan to make it happen. Do you think this is fair? How do you think desire and plan stack up in balance? Is your desire more important then having a plan? They are both important, in fact they are both critical to your success. Without desire it doesn't matter how good the plan is and without a plan all the desire in the world will not take you anywhere.

Hey, I hope I've given you some things to think about. Remember of what i've sad that success is a direct result of what you dwell on. I know for a fact that you can have the thing in life that you want but its only possible if you have the desire and a plan. Dream on because that is when you're alive. Early on one of my friends and family member would say Renald you're a dreamer or your eyes are big, they sad these things because they always saw that i wanted more from life and expected more etc. My response was always the same, one day i will show you but just give me the time to do so. You have to dream, you have to set goals, you have to initiate your desire in order to execute your plan so you can have more out of life.

I would be honored to help you realize your dreams. You'll receive guidance from one of the all time top earner in the industry by just visiting my website here under. We are here to help you and that is what we want to do. Its time to get exited about your life. Life is an incredible journey so let me help you make the discovery of a lifetime.

Renald Croes is a young entrepreneur who started from humble beginnings to having his own online home based business opportunity with Coastal Vacations and is the CEO of Dream Vacations Network For more information about him and his business visit http://www.cashconsistency.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renald_Croes

Simple Steps to Making Changes and Creating Dreams!

2009-08-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

Are your habits and beliefs pulling you down? Is your inner voice shouting words of hopelessness and despair? Would you like to improve your life? Your beliefs and habits are what represents who you are inside, changing the ones which are no longer useful, and discovering new ones, which will bring those dreams.

Steps to making changes and creating dreams:

1. Purpose: State your dreams and goals: What is it you really want in life?

2. Discovery: Finding which old beliefs and habits hold you back. Begin creating new ones, such as thinking positive, being optimistic, and no longer believing you are a victim, but a doer.

3. Desire:This is what pushes you forward, desire is the passion and drive, needed to reach the top. When we crave for something, our strongest emotions are let out, and we will do what ever it takes to get it. The more you desire what you want, faster it comes.

4. Repetition: Repeating, every morning and night your desires. In Japan there is a saying, "Keep it simple, keep it repetitive," Soon your thoughts will change.

5. Visualization: Imagine you have achieved your goals, and are living the life you want. Make it real, and it will come.

6. Action: This is the last step is to bring your desires to reality. You are now aware of what you really want, take action, bring your wants to reality. Makes it happen.

Here is a little rhyme I wrote, reminding you to never stop believing.

When day has turned to night,
And there is no more light;
Just close you eyes,
And visualize,
The life you so desire;
And soon one special day,
That dream, will come your way.

Patty Okawa
BA/Psychology, Cert. L/B Coaching, Masters Clinical Hypnotherapist
Please feel free to email me at achangingday@gmail.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patty_Okawa

The 5 Skills of Great Sales Leaders Building a High Performance Sales-Team

2009-06-10T22:57:00.001-07:00

Anyone can sell in the good times!

As a sales manager you need a road-map to help navigate and drive results in a tough market economy. The fact is, it doesn't really take a great a salesperson (or manager) to achieve quota in times of double digit market returns. But what should you as a sales-leader do when the economy hits the skids?

What are you going to do to ensure your team achieves their targets when the market is flat?

Most managers are promoted into their roles because they were "good salespeople". Managing a team is very different! Managing a sales team in tough times is very stressful. Many struggle!

How do you as the leader plan to achieve your budget when there is so much indecision and fear in the market? Think about it, do you really know how each of your salespeople are going perform in these troubled times?

For most sales-managers it takes years of trial and error to master the art of managing a team.

The 5 critical skills of Sales-Leaders:

There are 5 critical skills that Leaders must master if they are to effectively move beyond their current limitations and drive increased results, whilst at the same time engaging their entire team preventing them from being poached by the competition.

Sales-Performance Coaching has been proven to deliver the fastest and most effective sales creation vehicle to drive your growth. One-to-one performance coaching is a powerful and time tested sales acceleration strategy. When mastered, it will maximise your growth whilst at the same time help to build a foundation of permanent growth in your business.

Sales-Optimisation Planning when done effectively, is a powerful yet simple tool which rapidly generates measurable results and is easy to introduce, control and monitor for quick wins. Whilst there are many strategy and planning methodologies around, the object of the exercise must be 'execution'.If the planning process is too complicated or it lacks simple and tactical objectives, implementation gets put into the 'too hard basket'. Each territory and individual Representative should have an effective plan that focuses on execution and delivery of outcomes.

Streamlined-Sales Process - A Sales-Process Map is a powerful sales consistency creation tool which captures the science for the best way to sell your products/services in your specific market. A well designed Process includes a series of pre-determined customer-focused steps that will enable your salespeople to substantively increase win rates, build customer retention and increase revenue production on a consistent basis. Each step consists of several key activities and must have predictable and measurable performance outcomes.

Sales Skill and Capability Development - For Sales capability training to be effective it must be tailored to suit your selling environment and market. Effective skill development should be based on the principle that 70% of all workplace learning happens on the job and not in the classroom. Whilst your Team may have all been trained in a specific selling methodology, many still fail to implement the elected training methodology to extract its full value. The most effective way to boost the capabilities of each salesperson is to tailor specific selling skills based on their individual needs.

Individual Performance Motivation - There is an enormous body of research out there which points to the fact that we are all motivated and driven by different needs and wants. The most effective salesperson motivation method lies in focusing on the individual.Most sales incentives and motivational drives are generally directed at the Sales Team, whereas an individually based performance strategy delivers far superior results. An individual performance management strategy should be specifically tailored to suit each of the members of your Team with a view to drive their sales development and growth, as well as ensuring the execution of their exclusive growth plan. A programme like this will also have the added benefit of enhancing the retention of your top performers.

As one of Australia's leading authorities and coaches in sales management, Ian Segail has been involved in the coaching, training and development of sales managers and salespeople for over two decades.

Drawing on 25 years of experience in sales, sales management and leading an HR and training team, Ian brings a strong dose of fiscal reality and practicality to his works as a Sales Performance Coach.

Engaging directly with business owners and both novice and experienced sales managers alike, across a wide variety of industries and selling disciplines, the focus of Ian's work is to transform sales results for companies by improving sales management practices.

Ian is the author of "Bulletproof Your Sales Team - The 5 Keys To Turbo-Boosting Your Sales Team's Results" and a number of business articles, business reports and white papers including "The fish stinks from the head!" and "Why Sales Training Doesn't Work."

Ian has an insatiable hunger for studying selling and people management and has passionately pursued answers to the question "How come some people can sell and most can't?"

Find out why sales training doesn't work by downloading Ian's whitepaper from http://www.salestutor.com.au/Content_Common/pg-Salestutor-Tools-and-Resources-Articles-and-Whitepapers.seo

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Segail

Newsletter Marketing - An Inexpensive But Effective Way To Increase Sales

2009-06-10T22:56:00.001-07:00

Want to increase your company's equipment and service sales through marketing and promotional programs but don't have the big ticket budget for advertising or promotion?

Try using an inexpensive but effective Newsletter E-mail Marketing program.

What is Newsletter E-Mail Marketing?

The purpose behind newsletter marketing would be to promote your company's products and services, and to enhance its image and reputation as a professional, dependable, and knowledgeable entity.

Newsletter marketing offers some of the benefits typically gained from On-Hold Promotions, in that it informs the customer about promotional specials or new items and services offered by your company. But an added advantage to you is that your promotional message is delivered to your customers or prospects on a regular basis, rather than your waiting for your customers to hear your promo message only when they call your company and are put on hold. In addition, your newsletter's content gives your prospect motivation to open your newsletter and read it when he receives it.

How is all this accomplished?

A weekly--or monthly--newsletter with your company name, logo, and promotional information is created, along with news, tips, articles, advice, and information which are all selected on the basis of their potential interest to your customers. After your newsletter is approved by you, it is then E-mailed to a list of customers or prospects of your choosing.

Newsletter Format and Content

Your newsletter format is designed with these factors in mind.

* Contents of each issue includes current and of particular interest to business people
* New information, tips, news, advice, include articles and announcements about services, products, and new technology (excluding items which might promote your competitors, their services, or products), is chosen from professional articles and news releases, and replaces old copy from previous newsletter issues.
* Your company name and logo are displayed in a prominent location on each newsletter intended to project the impression that the newsletter is created and published by your company, or at least that your company is an expert in this field.
* Advertisements (except for your company promotions) from other vendors are not published in the newsletter.
* Your Company Promotions

Each newsletter will feature a special column or space designed to promote your company, its products, and its services, such as:

* Monthly equipment or services pricing discounts
* Promotional information about your company, such as new equipment and services you are adding to your line
* Special recognition, awards, or achievements of your company's executives or employees
* Personnel or management changes at your company
* Changes in company policies and services

Newsletter Service

A Newsletter service is one that is in business to help create and mail newsletters. In addition to mailing your newsletter, these services typically include reports that tell you which recipients actually open E-mails containing your newsletter.

How does this newsletter process work?

A simple four-step procedure allows you to choose your newsletter content and send it to selected prospects or customers, without printing costs or postage. All you pay for is a small fee for using the newsletter service (usually $.01 to $.02 per E-mail recipient). Or, if you work with a service that designs your newsletter and writes copy for you, there will typically be a small fee for that.

Step 1: You choose the template and format which you think will be of greatest interest to your prospects who receive your newsletter, along with a format which best represents your company, its services, products, and its policies.

Step 2: You create (and submit to your newsletter design service, if you have one) monthly specials, promotions, or news about your company (such as new products and service, upgrades, monthly pricing specials, etc.) which you'll want inserted into your newsletter template.

Step 3: Your template (if you use a design service) with your inserted company information is submitted to you for your approval.

Step 4: You E-mail your final template to a list of customers and/or prospects you have added to your E-mail list. (You can also print the one-page template to be used as a stuffer, hand out, or prospecting piece)

Using your newsletter for promotion in prospecting or in presentations to prospective customers

By including prospective customers in your Newsletter E-mail list, you keep your company name information in front of prospective customers, so that when they decide to purchase systems or service you can provide, your company will be one which the prospect contacts for quotes or information.

In following these simple steps, even a manager with little or no experience in newsletter marketing will be able to easily create an effective tool in marketing his products and services.

Garry Steck is publisher of Telcom Today, a newsletter for managers of telephone sales and service companies across the U.S., in addition to his 30 years as an independent telecom consultant. Among his most successful marketing programs, he lists newsletters as being near the top. He says a large portion of his new clients came to him as a result of his company's newsletters.

You will find reprints from his newsletter articles on telecommunications on his website: http://www.telcommgtassociates.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Garry_Steck

Grab Cheaper Contractor Prospects Online

2009-05-27T02:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt that you have done every thing to ensure your company's success? Have you often wondered why despite pouring blood, sweat and tears in order to make your business come alive, it has remained comatose? Are you on the verge of giving up due to these seemingly endless woes?

Hold on! There is still hope. Maybe the reason why you couldn't get any customer is because you have been looking at all the wrong places. It is a must that cheap contractor prospects are available to you to land your ideal clients and ultimately, dream jobs. So where do you think is the best place to do that? Ask no more because it will be revealed to help you out.

The world wide web, or more fondly known as the internet, is the greatest way to obtain cheaper contractor prospects. It is an immense resource area that has helped people learn new skills, improve their craft, and do business with partners even if they are separated by a thousand miles.

Use this, too, to study your clients. Learn what their wants are and how to make your services more affordable. Create a standard business template that you can use for every customer but at the same time, allow room for individual variations and differences. You may even recognize threats from other competitors by utilizing the internet. If you can do that, you can overcome that threat and convert it into an opportunity to market your company's strengths.

The net will also act as your face in the virtual world. Therefore, it is a must that you make an interesting website filled with pertinent details regarding your company. Give a rundown of the items that you are selling as well as the services you are offering. A price range is not really necessary but it can help viewers decide if they can afford what you are hawking. Leaving a message box may also prove to be helpful because clients may have concerns you need to answer and doubts that you must clarify. Lastly, your contact information will prove to be an invaluable tool to for clients to reach you without leaving the comforts of their rooms.

Having former patrons to speak about you candidly in a testimonial forum will also add to your chances of grabbing cheap contractor leads online. You can tell them to just speak their mind on what they liked best about your company, whether it is your friendly public relations personnel, your value for money services, your pioneering products or all of the above. Nothing beats the personal experiences of these former clients in terms of advertising.

Now, instead of moping around like a depressed loser, raise your head up high and focus your attention on these tips in catching cheaper contractor prospects online. You will surprise even yourself with the endless possibilities that are available once you have taken the initial step. If this business offers you a challenge, do everything to overcome it.

May the force be with you.

Thomas Johnsen is the Author and Leading Expert on High quality contractor leads and the creator of the publication How to Find Contractor Leads. Visit the site now to find easy-to-understand step-by-step guides on locating contractor leads available online today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Johnsen

Direct Sales - The Latest 3 Exciting Secrets to Boost Your Sales

2009-05-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

Before I share you with my secrets, let me explain first what direct selling means. This is the process of selling products and services to clients without using middlemen. That means, sellers and buyers are the only persons involve in the transaction.

Here's how you can boost your direct sales:

1. Use telemarketing. I am well aware that there are quite a lot of buyers who despise getting calls from marketers that they do not know. However, research and studies confirm that telemarketing is still one of the best ways to connect with your target market and to sell your products and services. The key here is mastering phone etiquettes (when to call, what to say and not to say, etc.) and knowing the best ways on how you can excite and later on, involve your customers in the selling process.

2. Direct mail. Write a compelling letter that talks about the problems or needs of your target market. Make it sound personal by empathizing when needed. It's important that you make these people feel that you do understand where they are coming from. Then, talk about your products and services. Highlight their features and benefits and present them as the best solution to the problems of your prospects. Sign the letter and if possible, include your most friendly-looking photo to add personal touch.

3. Do face-to-face selling. Although this is one of the most difficult and time-consuming ways to sell your products and services, this is definitely one of the best. Consider paying your prospects a visit and bring along your products. Aside from telling your clients how your products were made, their selling points, and their competitive advantage, you can also do demonstrations so these people will see how your offerings really work.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide. Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site? Click here: Article Writing Guide

Keep Your Own Profits Satisfied and Your Customer Satisfied, in That Order

2009-04-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

When it comes to genuine profit, it is a law of pure persistence. Persistence so pure, it has to be combined fully with patience. Sales comes down to a law of persistence and averages. The more you call, the more you will get, even if you have to repeat some, sort of like how George Herman "Babe" Ruth got his home run record while striking out the most in baseball. So, this article is about keeping the customer and your own profits rationally satisfied. In life, the best you can do is fail forward and succeed back. Now, what do I mean by "fail forward and succeed back"? Well, I mean this: Failing forward is to practice the law of persistence and adjustment until you do succeed. And succeeding back is simply doing what works and honing it consistently until you get consistently successful results.

Indeed, genuine profit comes through genuine persistence and rational adjustment. So, in this case, the only way to genuinely succeed consistently is to "succeed back". If "beginners luck" were the rule all the time, then we would have a sickeningly perfect world with no room for growth. Growth is the key to real wisdom and necessary, otherwise there would be no need for natural law or even time or even learning of any sort. In short, it would be an uninteresting world and a genuinely unprofitable world with this sort of certainty. Sure, this sort of certainty sounds desirable until put into practice, then you do see what I am writing about.

Integration and rational living is the key, along with persistence. A genuine quitter is a person who in many ways quits before they do succeed. A genuine quitter does believe in "beginners luck" and not success after persistence.

To define a winner, a consistent winner is a person with a genuine ability to assimilate, learn, "fail forward" and "succeed back", as I defined it in the first and second paragraphs. A genuine loser is a traditional quitter that does not persist no matter what to ultimate success. Like the man who lost the patent to the telephone because of the turn of a screw on the telephone to create a device to talk over long distances with and not sing over long distances with. My point is simple, success can happen at any time, all you have to do is persist well and honestly adjust your approach. This is not just the reality of the situation as I see it, this is how existence, success and the universe work. So, although I have keep the customer satisfied second, and keep your own profits satisfied first in my title, they both go equally hand in hand. You cannot have profits without good customers and you cannot have good profits without being willing to consistently do business honestly and persistently. Both things require bringing out the best in yourself and people, no matter what.

Sure, what I am saying has been said many ways and many times, but, what genuinely works is what genuinely works. As a law that never changes, but, it can always be indeed honed and bettered, always. When considering genuine winning, there is no mission that is impossible without genuine persistence. Anything rational can be genuinely done if a way is found to do it. That is the fact. In fact quitting is a mystical unreali6ty as proven by the body of this article, unless "genuinely" considering "beginners luck" and silly games like that. Sure the rational definition of luck could be preparation meeting opportunity. But the idea of "beginners luck" is the real irrationality, for it happens rarely because it violates natural law for the most part. Right down to winning a lottery instead of earning the equivalent money. Earned money always has more value no matter what could be said for "not putting out the effort". After all most unearned money drains away and is quickly spent like water through a drain running without being used when considering the history of most people that do win lotteries. What is earned is generally taken care of better. It is as simple as that.

So, to end this article to keep your profits and the customer satisfied, persistence and effort is always required. Without exception we see this in all successful businesses, even those that do "have beginners luck" in conducting. Because there are no exceptions to what invariably works.

The Importance of Pre-Sell Preparation

2009-04-14T00:35:00.003-07:00

You will find it is not sufficient to sell yourself on the value of your product just once. For a time at least, you should sell yourself every time before you approach a customer, whether it is on the internet or in person. The large number of objections that will be made to your goods by customers will have a tendency to put your mind in a negative state about the quality of your product. So before ever speaking to a customer, review everything positive about your product and make sure YOU are sold on it.You must sell yourself over and over again, until you have a reservoir of positive facts about your product that is inexhaustible; until you have at least two or three answers to every objection a customer can make.

Constant study of your product will bring new points to mind. Jot these points down and use them in outlining your sales talk or webpage copy.

It will require all your ability to keep your mind positive. It will require all your memory-power to retain the positive facts concerning your goods. It will require all your imagination to generate the enthusiasm which is so necessary in selling a customer.

Think right thoughts and you will soon be a confident, aggressive, optimistic salesperson that no customer can withstand. As a matter of fact, no customer will want to turn you down if you are a high-grade salesperson, because everybody likes to add to the success of an already successful person by doing business with that person.

The biggest thing in the world is not financial success. It is in being a "real person" in every sense of the word. Although you may not fully realize the great importance of character and personality and education to success, you will find in your actual work that, other things being equal, the "real person" earns the biggest income.

When you think of selling a particular customer you should mentally go through the sale, and decide just what you intend to say and do during the sales talk. You should decide just how you are going to approach this particular customer, in view of what you know about them. You should select the points that will give this type of customer the best understanding of your goods. You should work out the appeals that you are going to make and use only those that will convince him he needs your product.

You should outline the suggestions and reasons why that will bring him to the decision. You should give most careful consideration to what you are going to say, and the particular thing or things you can do to close him on the spot.

Now you are wondering how you get information about the contact. That is really beyond the scope of this article, however when searching for leads, even on the internet, get as much information as possible and then use that to develop a picture of who you are dealing with. Obviously they are looking for something you are selling or they would not have submitted their information in the first place.

It is good to have a script, but do not read from it. Use it to practice what you will say until you have it cold. There is nothing worse for sales than a stuttering, bumbling sales person who appears clueless about the product. Remember that those highly successful infomercial people have scripts they have rehearsed over and over again just like an actor. Why? Because you ARE an actor/actress and you are trying to sell your product with your performance and knowledge.

Positive Thinking As an Aid in Creating Confidence During a Sale

2009-04-14T00:35:00.002-07:00

Think you are going to win in every sale. The fact that you do not close each sale does not mean that you are a failure in that line, as it may only be necessary to close one or two sales a day in order that you may earn a good living. There are some high end stores where 1 sale a MONTH is considered a success.

But you are surely a lazy and inefficient salesperson if you do not work your line for all it is worth. A positive attitude of mind will keep you from becoming discouraged when business is apparently poor; and it will whet your appetite for more and still more business, when business is good.

When you think of a prospective customer as being willing to listen to what you have to say, your mental attitude and the radiation from your personality will be positive; and the customer will feel the influence when you go into his presence.

Remember this, however, that this attitude of mind must be reached during the pre-approach. It is largely the result of your investigation of the conditions that surround a customer and the facts that you have been able to learn about the customer himself.

Salespeople, as a class, have to work harder mentally to succeed than do many other classes of workers. It is right that this should be so. The reason is that salespeople deal with ideas, people, and things; while mechanical and inside employees deal mainly with things. It is much harder to handle people than things.

You may rightly estimate that the average working person uses about 20% of his/her energy in thinking and the balance in working. The salesperson, on the other hand, uses 20% of his/her energy in working and the balance in thinking. The average worker or mechanic soon becomes accustomed to handling his tools and very little creative thinking is required to do work in a creditable manner.

The salesperson, in order to do the most creditable work, must be educated in salesmanship, progressive, courageous; in fact, she/he must be able to overcome conditions where the average person would fail. It is not surprising then, that the salesperson must have some way to keep himself positive in mind, body and will. Regardless of conditions YOU CAN MAINTAIN A PROPER MENTAL ATTITUDE. You can master yourself and make sales even on off days. You can sell every customer you make up your mind to sell. It is even a good idea to take extra time in selling a hard customer, when you have it to spare, to convince yourself that any customer can be sold when the salesman wants to make the sale.

Think success thoughts. If you think of making sales, you will make them. You cannot think of making good and fail. You must succeed if you think success. If you believe in yourself, others must believe in you. If you believe in your own ability, you will prove you have it. You will perhaps try new tasks, and increase your power to do and to achieve.

Five Steps to Being Assertive So You Get Things Done Without Being Aggressive

2009-04-14T00:35:00.001-07:00

She looked at me and said, "I'll do whatever it takes to make it right. What do you want me to do?" The right words but her hands were on her hips, her legs were spread apart and she was looking down her nose at me. Everything screamed, "Lady, you really are the problem. Just tell me what it takes to get rid of you." And everything in my body tightened for battle.

There is a distinct difference between being assertive and being aggressive. One can move you up the corporate ladder while the other can alienate you. Let's start by defining the two words. Assertive is putting forward positively and with confidence even in the face of adversity. Aggressive is putting forward in a combative readiness. Both are forceful only one does it by breaking you the other by working with you.

In the example above, the sales women's words were positive but her body language was combative and aggressive. Aggressive behavior will push people away or cause people to be defensive with you. You only want to resort to this behavior when you are pushed to the brink and you are willing to handle the consequences for that behavior.

The difficulty becomes in learning how to say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean. There will be times you will need to buck heads with people and times your point will not be the most favorable opinion in town. But it doesn't mean that those times need to be full armored confrontations. Instead you just need to learn how to assertively speak so people WANT to listen to you.

Follow these five quick steps to ensure that you get your point across without pain:

Know the outcome/result you want from this communication. This is the framework you want the listener to think in and it sets the tone for how you will phrase questions and present your ideas. This tells the other person exactly what you want from them and what they need to focus on during your discussion. Are you looking for an answer? Ideas? For them to buy? Think deeper. In a memo, this should be your headline. 90% of all people I work with never stop to think about what they really want from a discussion, they just assume the other person will think the same way they do.
Think about what objections or concerns others might have and address those upfront. You had better address these upfront. Trying to ignore them or breeze over them causes the other person to think, "yeah, but..." and you never get 100% of their attention. On top of that, their energy gets spent on refuting what you are saying instead of on helping you discover solutions. If you don't shatter those objections you will not shatter their resistance.
State the bottom line and address the concerns/objections you think might come up. What is the outcome you want? Give it straight out. This again helps them focus their attention.
Give supporting data/facts. You need to be able to support what you are saying with the whys.
Summary/call to action. Rephrase your original question and drive toward the outcome desired.

Here's is how it looks in action:

Situation: You have a new idea of how to turn call-in requests for bank CD rates into new customers. You believe this new system; although it will take extra time can generate 30% of new business for the bank.

Taking the situation through all five steps:

Outcome you want from this communication: You want the bank to take action on your idea of how to generate new business from call-ins.
What objections/concerns might they have? It is too difficult, it requires us to have more face to face appointments, it might cost us too much in people's time while it gets up and going, we have too much change already.
State the bottom line and answer objections: You say: "I have an idea of how we can generate some new business from our call in requests for CD pricing. My question is, what is the best way to get this idea implemented so people are excited about it? As you listen to this business idea you may be thinking, "we all have a lot on our plates right now, it sounds like work, will it really drive new business or how will it fit with all the change we have going on. I will address all of these issues and show how it can add an additional 30% to our bottom line."
Give supporting facts/data. Here you would explain the procedure that is followed right now for a call in, what you propose happens instead and how that will generate new business. For example, you might say, "Right now when a person calls in for a CD we quote them the rate, thank them for the call or maybe, ask if they want to talk with a bank officer. I recommend we have them immediately transfer the person to a loan officer who will say, "in order to make sure that we recommend the best option for you, can you please share with me the following information." And he/she will ask the following three questions...
Summary/call to action. So based on what you heard, what is the best way for us to implement this new strategy and get everyone on board?

Pay attention to your last question because it sets the tone for the next discussion. If I had ended the presentation with "based on what you heard, can we get this up and going?" I would be openly asking for people to agree or disagree with what I said and I would have moved myself to a defensive position rather than an offensive position.

Science Before Art - The Science and Art of Selling and Sales

2009-04-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."

- Henry Ward Beecher

Do you know someone who has made an art out of cooking? Do you know someone who conjures up the most magnificent dishes by tossing together "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that"?

My grandmother would bake exquisitely by touch. No recipe required, just a taste and touch here and there. Yet even without a formal process her baked goodies were always consistent, down to the last crumb. Her chocolate chiffon and baked cheese cake were works of art.

There was a time however, when she was taught to bake by following a recipe. As a young girl learning to bake with her mother, she would have followed the same recipe over and over again, without changing anything. Then over time she would have experimented.

"What if I threw in a touch of cinnamon? What if I added less sugar and more eggs? What if I baked at 120° for 20 minutes versus ½ an hour at 140°?" and slowly baking her had become "art".

First however, came the science (recipe), and then came the art. The same is true when it comes to developing the "art" of persuasion. First you must learn the science and then you can begin to sculpt the tactics and techniques you learn from others. First practice the skills you learn, see and hear to perfect your form and then the material will have become yours to "play" with.

Think back to when you learned how to drive. Remember the concentration it took to become a competent driver? Now think about the last time you drove to work and when you reflected back could remember little or nothing about the trip. Where were you whilst driving? You were on autopilot. What did it take for you to get to the point of unconscious competence? Practice.

Practice, practice and more practice. Research has shown that for any skill to develop requires a process of continuing and ongoing repetition over time. Only through regular practice the new neural pathways and patterns in your brain are established and thereby enable the new skill. It is whilst learning the "new skill" that the neural pathway is immature and underdeveloped, making one feel unnatural with the new desired routine and the skill feels weak.

Just like developing a muscle the new skill must be worked on over and over again until it it has become a part of your persuasion repertoire. So train.

Keep on learning and practicing because as the 1st century roman slave and writer Publilius Syrus once said, "Practice is the best of all instructors."

Practice, drill and rehearse until you become competitive. Hone your sales skills to the point of "art" and you will leave your competition in your dust!

As one of Australia's leading authorities and coaches in sales management, Ian Segail has been involved in the coaching, training and development of sales managers and salespeople for over two decades.

Drawing on 25 years of experience in sales, sales management and leading an HR and training team, Ian brings a strong dose of fiscal reality and practicality to his works as a Sales Performance Coach.

Engaging directly with business owners and both novice and experienced sales managers alike, across a wide variety of industries and selling disciplines, the focus of Ian's work is to transform sales results for companies by improving sales management practices.

Ian is the author of "Bulletproof Your Sales Team "The 5 Keys To Turbo-Boosting Your Sales Team's Results" and a number of business articles, business reports and white papers including "The fish stinks from the head!" and "Why Sales Training Doesn't Work."

Ian has an insatiable hunger for studying selling and people management and has passionately pursued answers to the question "How come some people can sell and most can't?"

Sales Team Make it Through the Current Economic Turmoil

2009-04-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

After all these years of searching for the elixir, the cure all, the silver bullet... I have come to discover that for you to grow revenues you want to focus your energies on understanding & implementing the key code combination that i am about to share with you.

What if I told you that there's 4 key codes that must be in place if you want to unlock the power of your sales team & navigate your way through this current economic turmoil & beyond?

These 4 codes are the recipe that will unlock the power of your sales team to deliver their sales results ...consistently!

However, because there is far much information to dump on you in two sitting, I have decided to send you this newsletter over a quantity of installments which will

Before I share them with you, let me establish a context for the information I intend to divulge. Come into my common sense corner for a fast moment & let's understand a principle truth that you as a sales leader must first to come to grips with. Whilst this core principle may sound basic & "un-sexy" it is the fundamental ingredient of any highly functional team.

a) give you time to digest the material and
b) more importantly, execute the ideas contained herein.

You can teach a pig to climb a tree but you're better off to use a monkey.

In a recent podcast with Paul Macklin, the principal & founder of Amazing People a highly sought after Organizational Development Company, Paul & I discussed the impact of leadership, coaching & other methods of improving people performance.

PAUL MACKLIN: Let's say I'm a luthier - a person that makes violins. & let's also say this was way back in the old days before you went to the hardware store to buy your lumber. You would go to the forest to find a tree to make the violin from. You would look for a certain quality of timber. You would want something that was straight & fine grained, free of knots. & you would cut the tree & then you would season the lumber for a period of time. Only then would you have the right piece of wood. This, in an organizational metaphor context is recruitment. The first query I ask a team leader when I'm working with them on improving team performance is, "Who have you got on the team?"

In our discussion Paul used the metaphor which I would like to reiterate for the purposes of understanding the key principle when it comes to developing a sales team that is capable of developing consistent sales results, no matter what the prevailing market conditions. So let's listen in on the dialogue ..

IAN SEGAIL: Do you have the right people on the team?

PAUL MACKLIN: "Do we have the right people on the bus", right. So recruitment & selection gets you the right people & if you had asked me, "What is the most significant factor in developing a high performance team?" I've got to always say, it's selection. There's a friend of mine Fred Hull who says, "You can teach a pig to climb a tree but you're better off to use a monkey." This principle of, "the right team first", is powerfully expressed in the business classic book good to Great. Here, author Jim Collins says, "...to build a successful organization & team you must get the right people on the bus." Jim's research shows that great companies & great organizations make sure that, whatever it takes, they get the right people on the bus & then make sure that they put them in the right seats.

Typically salespeople will tend to fall into two of the seven categories below:

Right now, do you have the right people in your sales team to over your company through the rapids of economic turmoil the world is currently experiencing? Currently your team would be made up of combination of seven types of salespeople.

The naturally talented rainmaker has an innate gift for selling. These gifted salespeople will make sales whatever, wherever, & for whomever they sell. These make up between only seven to seven percent of the sales population.

Firstly, the Rainmaker.

The rainmaker is recognized as that rare bird that is exceptionally successful in bringing in profitable business to his or her organization.

Oh, how we wish we had seven or seven of them! How we struggle to find & keep them! How much pressure is relieved when we have a rainmaker on the team! These people are the naturals. They are the gifted & talented salespeople. These rainmakers can sell in any economic climate!

"Natural born" salespeople are like this . That's why we call them rainmakers.

These are the Roger Federers, the Mohamed Alis, & the Tiger Woods of selling. When you watch Roger Federer on the tennis court, you know that you are in the presence of a "natural." The media describes Roger's tennis using words such as clinical, mastery, finesse, artistry, graceful, & so on. Similar things are said about Tiger Woods & other individual sporting greats. What makes these players so great are not basically their well honed & practiced skills, but their awesome natural talents. These abilities when combined are harnessed to deliver greatness.

* We watch in awe as they build rapport with the "un-rapport-build-able."
* we're amazed at their ability to read the state of play, asking the right questions at the right time.
* we're "gob-smacked" at their ability to make things happen, & to pull last minute rabbits out of seemingly empty hats.
* We look back at what they do, & how they do it, & are struck with wonder.

Yes they have skills, yes they have knowledge, but most importantly, underpinning all of that is pure, natural talent. If you've ever had the good fortune to work with a rainmaker, then you have, most likely, at some time, had the desire to clone them. Rainmakers have an innate talent, a natural ability & insight that enables them to "sell intuitively."

Also if you are fortunate to have a rainmaker on your team you know how precious & demanding they can be. there's no doubt also times where you feel held to ransom by these talented individuals & wonder if they are worth it!

Unfortunately however, the universal problem that all business owners, entrepreneurs & sales managers face is that whilst there's plenty of pretenders & try-hards about, there's basically few real rainmakers to go around. So whilst it's wonderful for you if you should be so lucky as to have a rain maker on your team, the query that probably haunts you constantly though is, what if they leave? What if they are poached by your competition?

The second group are those experienced salespeople with plenty of years of knowledge, education & street smarts behind them. Typically they would have been around a particular industry sector for a quantity of years. Through years of dogged persistence they have advanced their sales careers. These savvy sales people are often regarded as experts in a particular field. Years of experience have honed their knowledge of how to apply their solutions to their customer's problems. Their knowledge & skills, which have evolved & developed over time, help them to establish credibility quickly & easily with the customer. they have sharpened their instincts over time & have learned through trial & error how & when to generate sales. Unfortunately, it takes years to grow & create these sales producers. If only you could "put an old head on young shoulders!" These experienced salespeople only make up between twelve & twenty percent of salespeople.

Secondly, experienced salespeople

Thirdly, well-trained scheme driven salespeople

there is a small group of salespeople who have been fortunate to either currently work for, or they have had the opportunity to work for, a sales organization that invested in them with effective sales training. they have also learned to follow a pre-tested specifically engineered sales scheme that consistently delivers results. These well-trained, motivated & scheme directed sales people utilise their proven knowledge & processes to significantly outperform their competitors. Their training includes product knowledge application training which allows them to clearly understand the problems that their product/service solves. People persuasion skills & how to follow a pre-tested specifically engineered sales scheme are also part of their ongoing training & coaching regime.

The forth group, the ordinaries

However, unfortunately because of the investment required to train & up-skill these salespeople, they are few & far between. In fact this small, well-trained, motivated & scheme directed group of salespeople make up only around ten to fifteen percent of the sales populace.

Actions

Finally there is the group that the large bulk of the sales population fall into, this is the category of pedestrian or mediocre salespeople. This class of the sales population have managed to maintain a career in selling by scraping by, often basically by stumbling across "ready-made sales." In the majority of cases, these salespeople have been fortunate to come across situations where the customer is already in the market ready to buy or alter suppliers. Often they are the right person at the right time. it is more often than not that the customer chooses to buy, than the salesperson actually making the sale. With limited training & no clear sales scheme to follow, this group of salespeople often move from job to job, industry to industry, falling dismally short of their selling potential & sales results. During good economic times this group of mediocre sellers somehow fly below the radar & get by. However when things toughen up & sales have to be made, this is when this group come unglued. Depending on the industry, this majority group of salespeople make up anywhere between fifty to sixty percent of all salespeople.

Review the players that make up your sales team. How plenty of of them are:

* Rainmakers
* Highly experienced
* scheme directed
* Ordinaries

Looking at the your numbers above, on average, if you are like most sales teams out there in the marketplace, then the majority of the salespeople that make up your sales team are not likely to be rainmakers, highly experienced or scheme directed salespeople. The bulk of your sales team will be made up of ordinaries.

Now, I can hear you wailing, not me! Not my team! Well let me challenge you to re-read the definitions of the seven types of sales people. Seriously, if your life depended on it would you back the players on your team? Look again at the salespeople on your team that you may have credited with being scheme driven. Do they consistently deliver their required sales results month in, month out?

What about those salespeople who you have ascribed to fall into the category of "highly experienced"? Are they a match with the definition above, or have they been around forever? Do they build credibility quickly & easily with customers & prospects? Are their sales instincts sharp or have they been blunted by years of neglect & lack of renewal? Do they truly know how & when to generate sales?

If you were the manager of a world class sports team, would you be happy to take your team onto the field as they stand right now? Well it may not be life or death & you may not be the manager of a world class sports team, but why would you settle for a second rate sales team who deliver sub standard results? Forget about the fact that you are working in a tough economic marketplace. someone, somewhere is currently still achieving their sales quota in your space! Therefore for you to manage & drive a sales team that delivers consistent sales results, as a sales leader you only have seven options, either...

In other words if you currently don't have a champion team, you will want to either go on a recruitment drive or implement the strategies & processes required to unlock the potential of your sales team. The fact is that finding & hiring rainmakers, highly experienced or scheme directed salespeople may be expensive or take long. Also, due to a quantity of variables, replacing your current team may not be an option right now. The great news is that you can create your own team of highly scheme directed & motivated sellers.

1. Work hard to find & keep rainmakers, highly experienced or scheme directed salespeople. If they are hard to find & maybe cost much to hire & retain, then your second option is to...
2. create your own team of motivated scheme directed salespeople.

Over the next few articles it is my purpose to unpack the 4 key codes that make up the combination which will free your sales people from their current limitations & ensure that you create a team of champions!

Because whilst finding rain makers & experienced sellers may want an element of good fortune, training & developing scheme directed salespeople is well within your locus of control. there's some specific things that you can implement that I will show you the over the next few weeks to help make this happen.

As two of Australia's leading authorities & coaches in sales management, Ian Segail has been involved in the coaching, training & development of sales managers & salespeople for over seven decades.

Drawing on 25 years of experience in sales, sales management & leading an HR & training team, Ian brings a strong dose of fiscal reality & practicality to his works as a Sales Performance Coach.

Ian is the author of "Bulletproof Your Sales Team - The 5 Keys To Turbo-Boosting Your Sales Team's Results" & a quantity of business articles, business reports & white papers including "The fish stinks from the head!" & "Why Sales Training Doesn't Work."

Engaging directly with business owners & both novice & experienced sales managers alike, across a wide variety of industries & selling disciplines, the focus of Ian's work is to transform sales results for companies by improving sales management practices.

Selling Teleseminars Online - Latest 4 Secrets to Multiply Teleseminar Sales

2009-01-28T10:07:00.002-08:00

Not all experts or gurus have great writing skills but that doesn't mean that they are unable to monetize on their knowledge or expertise. If you are one of these people, you can make money online by sharing your knowledge through teleseminars. At this time, these information base products are selling like hotcakes online as they are more convenient and more powerful compare to ebooks and audio products.

Here's how you can multiply your teleseminar sales:

1. Cold call. Doing cold calling is not exactly the most enjoyable task that you need to do in growing your sales and revenue. Your prospects might hung up on you before you even finish your first sentence, they might turn their answering machine on making it impossible for you to talk to them personally, or worst, they'll pick up just to tell you to get a life! No matter how difficult it may sound, you will need to do this to generate sales. It would help if you can research your prospects and make sure that they are interested to buy your product and if you prepare a powerful opening statement that your prospects would be delighted to hear about.

2. Follow up on your leads. If you have done cold calling yesterday and you've got some leads, call them today to make a follow up. Avoid sounding like a marketer who's desperate to make a sale. You can keep your conversation "low-key" by focusing on their needs and demands and by giving them all the time to talk about their needs and demands. The secret here is getting these people to speak up so you'll know how to present your teleseminars in such a way that they will become more valuable to their eyes.

3. Find new qualified clients. Getting too many prospects isn't really a problem when doing internet marketing. Do not stop visiting forums and blogs where you will usually meet people who might get interested on what you offer. Also, continuously host free short seminars that will attract those people who might need your assistance and expertise. By doing these, you'll connect to more people who might be able to give you business in the long run.

4. Get an internet marketing coach. If you haven't learned the ropes of internet marketing just yet, now is the time to hire an expert who can teach you the best ways on how to promote your teleseminars online. This step might cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars but I can guarantee you that it will worth it.

Selling High Ticket Classes - 4 Ways to Breakthrough With Selling High Ticket Classes

2009-01-28T10:07:00.001-08:00

If you have recently designed a high ticket class and you can't wait to convert it to instant cash, this article is for you. In here, I will share the ways on how you can easily sell your information based products without breaking a sweat and without burning your pockets.

Here's how you can breakthrough with selling high ticket classes:

1. Make it easier for people to find you. Think of the time when you hit rock bottom and you were in desperate need of help. Did you find some people to help you out? Did you look at the yellow pages and made some call? Perhaps, you went online, keyed in some keywords, and did business with the first person who came up on the search page result. Now that the table has been turned and you are the one offering help and information, make it easier for your prospects to find you to increase your sales leads and revenue. Strive to improve your page ranking, promote your website, yourself, and your products on search engines, and make your domain name easy to remember.

2. Be prepared to get rejected. As an online entrepreneur and as a marketer, you need to prepare yourself for rejection as not all your prospects will become your buying customers. What I am saying is, don't be in despair if you fail to get some people to buy from you. Instead, learn from it and "fail forward". Learn from your failures and make sure that they will not cost you a single prospect in the future.

3. Help your prospects. This is the most effective way to get people to buy from you. Instead of bombarding your prospects with ads and sales pitches, be there for them to help them out. Offer them a slice of your expertise to help them resolve their problems and share some insider tips that can help them to advance in their chosen careers. When you help these people, they are most likely to return the favor by being loyal to you and by doing business with you in the long run.

4. Build personal relationship with your prospects. It is much easier to convince people to buy from you if they already know you, like you, and trust you. So, before you pitch your products, care to build personal relationship with your prospects first. Be a friend to them and always be there when they need you. Once you earn their trust, you can literally get them to swipe their credit cards anytime you want.

Coaching Sales - 4 Secrets to Excel at Coaching Sales

2009-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

Life with its inevitable problems is good for your business. You can share your expertise and make a very nice online income. If you have a program that can completely solve somebody's serious problem, you can easily start making thousands of dollars online as a problem solver. Each of us is an expert at something. What you know may seem obvious and ordinary to you. However, I assure you, there are a lot of people that will pay thousands of dollars to you to completely solve their problem. I do it and have been doing it for a while. I invite you to do the same thing. I will show you 4 secrets to excel at coaching sales.

1. What's the first thing you've got to do to excel at coaching? It's building your list. Once you build your list then you have someone to work with. You've got to interact with your market and help them completely solve those problems by sharing lots of good information. You just give it to them in article marketing and in an e-mail campaign. So, first and foremost, build that list. It is gold to your business.

2. So, as you're building your list and sharing lots of good information, do you know what else you are doing? You are developing trust and rapport with your niche. People can't know you until they can relate to you. They can know you once they know you are really interested in helping them completely solve their problems. Get that? Completely solve somebody's life altering problem. When you help them solve their problems, they will remember you for life and refer others to you. It's all good, then, isn't it?

3. Your class or consulting package or 8 to 12 week class, the one that has to completely solve their problem, will prove invaluable to your clients. When you are no longer grieving over a distracting and disappointing life problem, you feel much better. Have you ever wanted something so much you just didn't know what to do? Well, that's what your coaching does. It does what nobody else has done for your client. You're the only one who has know how to help your client and he or she feels so grateful that he or she has consented to complete your entire coaching program.

4. So, have you identified what your real expertise is? If so, remember, that it is very valuable. Some people call that life experience. I call it self-training. You've read up on some techniques and put them into action. You've developed skills nobody else knows how to do the same way you know how to do it. That's worth a lot of money. Accept the idea that people will pay maybe $2000 to $5000 or more to learn from you how they can solve their problem. It's already a fact. Go show people how to completely solve their most pressing life challenges. Lots of people are already doing it. Now it's your turn.

Take a Well-Worn Path to Clean Communication

2008-09-26T22:37:00.003-07:00

While spending the week with family in Colorado, my brother-in-law, Jason, and I spent one morning traveling the mountainous back country on my father's ATVs. Thrilled by both scenery and speed, we took the hills with that wonderful combination of confidence and naiveté that men on 4-wheelers have.

After about an hour of maneuvering through the well-worn paths of Westcliffe, Jason looked at me and pointed to the mountain in front of us, indicating that we should ride to the top of it. Excited at the challenge, and armed with all the confidence an hour of experience brings, I raced ahead of him onto the base of the mountain.

Shifting into 4-wheel drive, we climbed the steep mountainside. As we reached the rolling flat summit, I threw my arms up like I was Rocky reaching the top of the stairs. A few seconds later, I realized that getting down from the mountain wasn't going to be as easy as getting up had been.

I turned to Jason and asked, "So... how do we get down?" He replied, "Easy, we go this way." As we began to retrace our path, it became apparent we were going to have some trouble getting down safely. The mountainside was too steep and we could feel the ATVs starting to tip over. Throwing them into reverse, we backed up, trying to find a safer path down. With his military experience, I trusted Jason's instincts over my own. Following him to another path, my heart jumped as the back two tires began lifting off of the ground, about to tumble. Looking at the quarter mile downward, I froze.

I dismounted the ATV and pushed it back to safer ground. We repeated the process no less than a dozen times. Jason's confidence and my belief in it had me following him blindly. Finally, I had to ask him straight out, "Do you seriously know how to get down from here?" He replied, "Yes, it's right over there, it's the safest way." Having just spent 45 minutes following him, I asked again in a non-accusatory tone, "Are you sure that's the way?" Jason paused, "No, I have no idea."

Admitting that he had no idea how to get down, we were able to make some progress. We dismounted, sat down, and evaluated the situation. Pooling together our thoughts and scouting out paths on foot, we found the most effective way to resolve the situation we were in.

In business, we encounter situations like this everyday. However, basic business training encourages seeking out "yes" answers and avoiding the word "no" at all costs. Truthfully, we should seek to establish clean communication with our customers, the type that allows the salesperson, and the customer, to evaluate the situation, using all of the information available in order to make the right decision.

Too often we lead our customers down the path of "yes" when the right answer is actually "no." We try so hard to close a sale that we fail to establish a clean understanding of the situation. In the absence of this clean understanding we can drag out the sales process with no acceptable conclusion, or we convince our customer to take a path that is wholly inappropriate. You may get a sale, but you will kill the long-term relationship as you and your customer tumble down in the wrong direction like a top-heavy ATV.

In every sales relationship, you must try to understand where you are at from a communication standpoint. There is great value in taking some time to have a simple conversation about whether you and your customer feel you are on the right course. To receive an honest, productive answer, creating an environment that allows your customer to feel comfortable enough to tell you "no" can sometimes be the fastest way to the sale and the only way into a long-term relationship.

Selling Countdown

2008-09-26T22:37:00.002-07:00

What's your selling style?

Ready aim fire . . .

Ready fire aim . . .

Ready aim, aim, aim . . .

Are you ready to sell?

How do you know you're ready?

10 . . .
9 . . .
8 . . .
7 . . .
6 . . .
5 . . .
4 . . .
3 . . .
2 . . .
1 . . .

Lift-off!

Imagine you're the pilot of the space shuttle.

Months of preparation . . .

Months of planning . . .

Months of training . . .

Your goal is nothing short of excellence - 100% mission accomplished.

Finally, launch day, anticipation and the final countdown to the launch.

Ya know salespeople can learn a thing or two from the Space Shuttle Program.

Too many salespeople show up unprepared for sales calls to prospects and customers. It's an easy trap to fall into. Too many voicemails, too many e-mails, too many distractions, and way too many interruptions.

Who in the sales world has time to prepare, plan, and train?

How much better would your selling results be if you had a final countdown before every sales call?

It's your system for getting ready for every sales call and could look like this:

(6-10 on done before the sales call)

10 . . . homework and research completed.
9 . . . written sales call objective.
8 . . . review and rehearse six open-ended sales questions.
7 . . . review product features and benefits.
6 . . . rehearse how you'll ask for the next appointment.
(1-5 on done during the sales call)
5 . . . flip the switch - "Smile on!"
4 . . . attitude check - "Yes I can."
3 . . . establish rapport with a solid introduction.
2 . . . deliver your elevator speech.
1 . . . ask your questions.

How much better would your sales calls be, if you had a system and/or checklist to keep you focused?

How would you feel - probably more confident!

How would your sales prospects perceive you - extremely professional!

How would this impact your sales - like the shuttle, your sales would take off!

Don't follow the herd if you want to achieve unlimited selling success.

The herd is filled with mediocrity.

Become a raging bull!

Remember - the sky's your limit, not the sales quota you're given.

You have the potential to become exceptional in your business.

You get to choose between becoming exceptional or having permanent potential!

Make every day a Masterpiece.

Persuasive Sales Versus Manipulative Closes

2008-09-26T22:37:00.001-07:00

On a recent call, one of my protégé students had posted to our forum something that illustrated yet again one of the most important points in selling and that's the difference between persuasive sales versus the manipulative close.

When I was about 19 or 20 years old I owned a health spa which I started from scratch. I was sitting at my desk one day with older gentleman who had asked for an appointment. He wanted to come and talk to me about radio advertising and I agreed because I thought it was an interesting idea with some opportunity. He started off with the typical manipulative, shtick, "If I could show you in 30 minutes time how you can make a lot of money and cut some of your costs you would be interested in this, wouldn't you?"

Ugh. It was already starting badly. Then he pulled out a thick book and began to go page by page telling me about where the company began, who he was, et cetera. It was light on content and heavy on pictures. It was a very slow process where only 10 minutes had passed, it felt like hours.

Finally I said, "Stop. I see how thick this book is and I see that you've already been going for 10 minutes. I'm surprised I've let you talk this long, but if we've got to get through that entire book, you aren't going to be here 30 minutes, you're going to be here for hours, and that simply isn't going to happen. Can you summarize for me what you can do for me? Yes or no?"

He stammered and mutter, "I'm going to show you back here if you'll just give me the opportunity to get there."

I said, "I'm not going to. That's the point. I'm not going to give you the opportunity if you can't give me a yes or no."

He tried to argue, "Well, I asked you for 30 minutes."

I said, "I'm asking you, can you summarize what you can do for me, yes or no?"

At this point, he was unable to come up with anything and I had to ask him to leave. I wasn't trying to be a jerk. Initially, I really did want to hear if he had something I could benefit from, but if he couldn't get to the value of his service, how was it going to benefit me if I only had 30 second radio ads in which to get to the point about my business.

There was no persuasion involved at all in his presentation. By belaboring me, by not being able to come up with anything for me to hang my hat on, and not even bothering to look for what my criteria was, he was the epitome of manipulative sales.

In the vein of the old fashioned, features and benefits kind of selling, Zig Ziglar once said, "This I do know beyond any reasonable doubt. Regardless of what you are doing, if you pump long enough, hard enough and enthusiastically enough, sooner or later the effort will bring forth the reward."

Simple Solutions For Making Sales When You Hate Selling

2008-09-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Do you hate selling?

Maybe you're even one of the many people who hates sales, salespeople and everything that goes along with it. Honestly, these days I don't blame you.

From telemarketers to used car salesmen, we're bombarded with people trying to force us to buy things we don't really want or need. And these rude, non-listening, aggressive types have given sales a very bad name.

However, it's almost impossible to be a successful entrepreneur if you hate selling Because the one thing you have to be able to do in business is sell.

You've got to sell your partner on your ideas...Your employees on doing it your way...Your clients on the value of your products or services...
The list goes on.

The good part is, most of us are already master salespeople. And have been since we were little kids.

Think about it...

Remember campaigning for weeks (or even months) to get that one particular toy for your birthday?

Or hounding your folks until they let you drive, or stay out late?

And at some point you've probably persuaded a friend to go to a certain restaurant, buy a particular item, or wear a different outfit...

Or convinced your child to do their homework, go to bed, or eat their green beans...

In each of these examples, you had to sell someone on something. And I bet at the time you had no issue whatsoever with trying to make the sale. Probably because you felt confident you were persuading each of them to do what you thought was best.

Now let's fast forward to today...

You've got a service and/or product to sell that you really believe in. But maybe you feel uncomfortable telling people why it's so great. Or with actually asking people to part with their hard-earned dough.

That's understandable, but it's also a big problem. Because if you want to grow your business, at some point you are going to have to get clients or make sales.

Thankfully, there are much better, easier, ways to sell than the old used car salesman stereotype implies.

What you really want to do is simply get people to want to buy from you. Because everyone likes to buy, but no one likes to be sold.

Here are 5 of my favorite ways to get people to want to buy from you:

1) Be a problem solver. If you show someone you can solve one of their most pressing problems, you are well on your way to landing a new client (Testimonials and case studies are a powerful way to do this). And if you deliver, you're likely to have a long-term client and a raving fan for life!

2) Be an educator. Anytime you can teach effectively-whether formally as a speaker or writer, or informally to clients and customers-you are automatically seen as a expert. And if the information you give away is helpful people are going to want more of your expertise.

3) Be an expert. People seek out experts, and are willing to pay them more. The easiest way to become an expert is by speaking and/or writing. Nothing says expert like your own book or you standing behind a podium.

4) Be a resource. Giving someone a quality referral to a solution or provider builds your reputation as someone who cares and is helpful. And it shows you have a lot more to offer than just your products or services.

5) Be someone who cares. Always be on the lookout for ways to make a difference for others. This could be as simple as offering a free tips sheet or report, or even helping someone carry a stack of boxes. Or it could be as complicated as volunteering with your local non-profit or networking group.

The common thread here...?

Not once did I use the words sales, sell or selling. Instead I've given you 5 ways to pay attention and find ways to help other people.

Because selling is all about you and your needs. But if you want people to buy from you, it's got to be about helping them get what they need. They need to know, and believe, you truly have their best interests at heart.

My guess is you already do. You may have just been so focused on making (or avoiding making) sales you forgot to show others you care about them, their happiness, and their success.

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't focus on making sales and growing your business. Just that this should come in a close second to helping other people.

How to Recession Proof Your Packaging

2008-09-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

The news says everyone is worried about the economy and consumers are spending less. Is this causing your product sales to decline? Typically consumers cut back spending during hard economic times. So how can you counteract product doldrums when the economy is in a recession or a slowdown?

The first thing to understand is that consumer still "buy" things. For example 70% of all packaging is food related and people still have to eat. They just buy in different ways. They may cut out fast food or restaurant purchases in favor of home prepared meals. But they still want to purchase the same conditions. In the case of fast food easy to prepare, reheat or ready to eat. Wal-Mart's fresh take home pizza is a good example of fulfilling a need. In my case in place of a restaurant trip its rotisserie chicken that is ready to go with dozens of applications for meal prep. But I still want convenience too and limited meal prep.

To understand how to recession proof your packaging you need to learn to recognize what buying signals will motivate your customer to purchase your products. They still want to spend money they just want to do it cost effectively and to reap some value for their purchases. Or they just may want to treat themselves to something special as a way of feeling better.

Here are a few ways you can influence the consumer purchasing decision though product packaging.

Even though overall purchasing might be down people are still willing to experiment. As a good example they might cancel a planned vacation. Can you products be used to simulate a "vacation" at home? Products could be oriented toward having a lifestyle experience without ever leaving home. You could package that experience as an alternative to a vacation. Words like have a luxurious spa experience in your own home or vacation at home with our X. It's all in how you connect the experience with the desired outcome on your product packaging.

Despite the economy luxury product sales are increasing too. People are willing to spend money to treat themselves or to make a personal statement. What do you package that can be considered
luxurious and a special treat for someone? Is your product packaging glitzy and unique? A good example is the number of companies incorporating Swavorksi crystals into their product packaging or using ultra sophisticated, elegant glass bottles instead of plastic. Other products include people purchasing something unique, different and expensive to make their own branding statement. In this case price is not an object its the "feeling good" outcome that counts.

On the other side of the coin is the switch from branded products to private label usually with considerable cost savings. Almost every retailer now has its own private label line of products.
Can you private label your product for an untapped market opportunity? Literally anything can be private labeled. It's one of the fastest growing market sectors. As consumers look for ways of saving money they are willing to experiment with new brands. private label packaging is now as sophisticated an branded goods.The interesting fact is once they switch and are satisfied they are generally never go back to the branded counterpart. So what can you private label with your packaging?

Another way to capture the consumer is to provide more value. Numerous articles have recently been written about the "shrinking package" on products yet selling at the same price. As I have said when asked, smart marketers would figure out how to offer more value not less. So in McDonald's lingo supersize me. Give me more for my money not less. Call this out on your packaging 10% more for the same price, value pack or even our packaging is NOT smaller. Your customer will be watching what you do and might be buying from someone who is.

I'd like to got back to rotisserie chicken again. This week I bought a chicken at Publix. I was shocked how much smaller it was as a usually much larger chicken but still selling at the same
price ( just like the packaging shrink). I was an unhappy customer for two reasons. I like the chicken from Kroger much better (the store is equally close). Krogers' chicken comes in a resealable ziplock bag that makes it incredibly easy to store while Publics chicken comes in a paper bag which tears easily and isn't airtight making me take an extra step to repackage. Even better Kroger runs the member special with rotisserie chicken at a lower price frequently. That's what I mean about connecting with your core customer: On the same packaged product Kroger is offering value and convenience Publix is not.

Lastly think about repurposing your packaging. This is somewhat similar to "value" in packaging but in this case people will retain your packaging, refill it or use it for something else. Think about how you can give double the reasons for purchasing something by letting your consumer know. You get twice the bang for your buck as you can capture the environmental movement too. Words like our product is reusable, refillable or collectible, or even don't throw it away.

To recession proof your product packaging its all about listening to the consumer. They WILL buy, if you package the right message at the right price with the right value, recession or not.

I'm JoAnn Hines The Packaging Diva. I'm tapped in to the latest packaging news. I can help you assess why or not you should consider changing your product packaging. At the very least I can tell you what your competition is doing.

If you are just chumming the "packaging" waters then be sure and visit and one of my web sites for lots of information and advice or to get your free packaging report "Why Packaging Fails".

Considering that the cost of designing an average retail package is $7,000, what's a few dollars to get it right the first time (or risk spending thousands more to fix it later)! It pays to do your homework!

How Much Traffic Do I Need to Make Sales Online?

2008-09-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

This is the question a lot of new marketers online want to know the answer too, I did as well when I first got started online but unfortunately I found out that the answer was not that simple. I am assuming that you want to make more sales with less traffic, in order to do this you need to focus more on the quality of traffic coming to your website.

The average traffic to sales ratio of any website online is anywhere from 1-5%, for a product that sells for less than $50.00. This means that for every 100 visitors you receive to your website, you will make 1-5 sales provided all the other factors are optimized properly. The primary and main factor you want to consider is the quality of the traffic coming to your website. You want to make sure that you are receiving traffic that is targeted. I cannot stress this enough!

The traffic coming to your website has to be traffic that is pre-qualified for what you are offering online. In other words, to be closer to the 5% in this example you want the traffic to already want what you are offering or be interested in what you are offering. Let me give you an example,

You are selling Home Owners Insurance on your website, if it were possible that visitors to your website were interested in buying a home, this would make them more likely to want or need your product or services which would increase the number of sales you would make.

This is the reason why quality traffic is so important to your online business, and can increase the number of sales you make while reducing the number of visitors.

I wasted 17months trying to drive profitable traffic to my website, but you should not do the same. Instead click here to get a copy of my "Quality Traffic Report". In it I will show you my results after testing Content Marketing vs. Google pay per click, you can use the results to start driving profitable traffic to your website and also increase your opt-in rate. visit http://www.qualitytrafficbuilder.com/traffic

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tayo_Binuyo

Increase Sales

2008-09-19T20:48:00.003-07:00

Every company's main goal is to increase sales. This is because the rise in sales translates into more revenue which is profitability in a company. Sales are the parameters which are used to figure out the levels of development in many organizations. Due to the importance of sales, the sales departments are put under close scrutiny so as to increase sales and ensure customer satisfaction.

Sales managers are always developing new strategies to increase sales levels. These include actions like advertising, giving discounts, branding and sales promotions. Research is also carried out in a bid to find out if the products they offer meet customer requirements and meet their needs. This is very important in sales increase and management. The sales strategies should always be agreed upon and backed up by facts from market research.

At times, the company may not be in a position to carry out the research on its own. In such situations, it is advisable that the contract a market research company that has been in the research industry for a considerable period of time. This is advantageous since a research company will give the required feedback and give the recommendations that can increase sales as well. These reports are based on the research done and on the experience the company has had from previous researches. More often than not, when the recommendations are applied the sales increase.

Application of marketing strategies that are intended to increase sales should be done in a very systematic manner. This includes identification of the target consumers and their preferences. It also involves regular updates on the market trends and learning about seasonal preferences. Introduction of a new product in the company should be followed up by frequent advertising and reviews. It should also be done when there is high demand for the product. This strategic approach requires one to be very keen on decision making. This is because a new product's main aim is to increase sales. When a sales team is aware of all these tips, they are in a position to apply sales strategies that will increase sales in every season and this will result in great profits for the company.

It is important to keep consulting research companies when an organization wants to apply new ideas to ensure an increase in sales. This consultancy should be from a company that follows the market trends.

Increase Profit

2008-09-19T20:48:00.002-07:00

For a business to grow, one is required to derive ways to increase the profit. Planning is the most important thing before any strategy can be set in motion. One must plan the whole profit making exercise, how it will be accomplished, and the necessary steps to take to achieve the plan. The best way to do this is by improving the services offered to the clients. However, there are measures that need considering to increase profit. The changes are vital for the business to improve since if no changes are made then the business will not change, sales won't grow and profits won't increase. Begin by increasing the price of the products slightly but make sure to reduce the production cost and the difference will increase profit.

The company will have to find ways to stay above the competition. This will mean finding ways to differentiate the product or service provided. Enhance effectiveness of the business' systems and methods greatly and this will increase profit. Some changes in business operations might be necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the workers for example time management. Other service improvements like using cheaper raw materials without affecting quality may also need to be made to meet the overall goal of the business, which is to increase profit.

Reduction of cost will increase profit. Saving time will reduce the labor cost reducing the overall business operation cost. Identify any leaks in the business budget. Slight adjustments to the business budget and overall business plan will lead to better sales thus an increase in profits.

Marketing strategies and advertising are important, as they will create awareness of the product in the general public opening up the market for the business. The more the people are aware of the existence of the business and the services offered the better. Making use the online marketing strategies will attract potential clients as well. If the target audience like the produce or service provided there would be more demand, thus increase profit.

Keep in contact with regular customers. To entice clients to purchase more, one must talk to the customer often. In addition to that, promotions and various discounts will encourage bulk buying of products. Find out about the clients needs this shows that one is interested in their business and individual success. The customer will build up trust and loyalty and will increase business.

If the above strategies are followed properly and implemented then the business will improve, the business will prosper and one will begin to see increased profit.

Sales Productivity

2008-09-19T20:48:00.001-07:00

Not getting the bang for the buck from your sales efforts? Crank up the sales productivity the sales activity the energy and the pace. What you will need is first a commitment that this sales productivity program your about to introduce to your sales team is sustainable, a program or an idea de jour will not work.

What are the activities that you expect the sales group to perform on a daily weekly, monthly basis. List them.

What are the quantities of these activities they are currently doing, current sales productivity?

What tools do they have now, what tools do they need to increase sales productivity.

What information do they have now, what do they need.

Where is the low hanging fruit? Where is there room for improvement over current sales productivity?

Now that you have a benchmark you can now work on what you really need to improve your sales productivity.

Set activity targets and collect metrics on performance.

Consider sales productivity tools that will boost your efforts. CRM tools, data collection and reporting tools, most of these should be found in your CRM program, mine the information, re gig the territories consider vertical markets. What is all this information telling you and remember "You get what you inspect not what you expect."

What training do they need ,what are they good at ,what are they lacking in.

Caution: never take you eye off the ball the ultimate sales productivity activity is sales face time or if in a telemarketing group voice time. Time in a selling situation with prospects. See my note on my blog on Suspect, Prospect? That is the question.

Everything that you do from here on should be focused on face time or voice time and if successful with this the sales productivity numbers will sky rocket.

Since sales productivity translates to increased sales then what one must do is close off all active prospects in the sales pipeline and find a source of new leads to keep the pipeline fresh.

In a recent study on sales effectiveness conducted by Accenture, out of 178 senior Executives polled the most-often cited sales performance issues were related to leads.

According to Accenture,"Along with problems with qualifying and managing leads effectively, the lack of performance metrics, inadequate customer data, and lack of capabilities for analyzing customer data rounded out the list of top performance challenges."The study reported that a total of 55% of respondents found it difficult to asess which leads were qualified.

Now what is needed is an accurate sales forecast and this you must inspect with care. If the forecast is not accurate it will trigger certain behaviors and actions that will surely de rail some of your sales productivity activities. As a manager this will be your most challenging task, question everything, from every angle until you get it right. Once that has been accomplished you are well on your way to increased sales productivity.

Strengthen Your Bond With Your Community

2008-09-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

In a world filled with massive corporations that span across the globe, their stores in every single country, there is something appealing about the idea of a local business.

Too often companies become so large there is no connection with them anymore. I feel like I am going into a store run by a faceless machine as opposed to real people. There is no sense of the hardships faced by the company and the people who run it.

This is why so many people are drawn to smaller companies, to those owned by people in the community. You can get to know them in a way you never will with the large companies. You know that when you give them business you are helping out the community as well, and that is a very nice thing to know.

I think it also gives people a taste of what can be accomplished. There is a reason why even the large companies make references to their smaller town roots. People like to see what they can accomplish, using these companies as an example.

But local businesses cannot just expect that people are going to come in because of that. You need to market just as much as the larger companies because fewer people know who you are, and you need to promote yourself as a locally owned business that is helping out the community.

Rather than just being a locally owned business, make yourself one with your community. Find events you can sponsor or join up with. Use poster printing to not only boost up your own business but increase public awareness about other local concerns.

If anything is going on in your community try to be apart of it. If there is trouble, lend a helping hand in anyway you can. Offer to donate whatever money you can to notable charities who help out the people in your area.

More on the business side of things find some great locations or local hangouts that you can help promote, and also put up your posters at as well. Poster printing is a good way to get your name all around town for an affordable price.

You need to use your small stature in the business world to your advantage. Sure you are not as big, but that just means you have a better understanding of what people are going through. You feel the pain of economic downturns along with the joy of booming sales.

Put a human face on the front of your marketing, the face of someone who is just as much a part of the community as those shopping at the stores. If you lend your helping hand to your community I think you will find your community being more than willing to give that support right back. Being small is not always such a bad thing.

Sales Volume - Truth Or Myth?

2008-09-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

As brokers, managers, and Agents we become caught up in the myth of sales volume. This myth does some of the greatest damage in this industry. We glorify the Agents with high sales volume and promote and encourage other Agents to be more like them. We award Agents and offices based on the sales volume with little regard to the other factors that make up success in life. New Agents look on in reverence thinking the person who has the most production in sales volume is the example to follow. I would like to take an objective look at the true value of sales volume and point out some other factors to consider when evaluating your business and your Agents' business.

Is sales volume the most important number to determine success in sales?

1. Is the better sales person the one with the higher sales volume or the one with more sale units sold and closed?

2. Where does profitability enter the picture? Does it have any importance?

3. Should the amount of time actually worked be considered to compare an Agent's ability?

4. What is the true quality of life for the Agent, i.e. health, time worked vs. time off?

5. How does quality of service to clients factor in?

6. Are we taking the steps to achieve financial independence based on the individual definition?

Let's take a look at the value of these questions; I believe you will have a different perspective of sales volume when you look clearly at these questions.

Is the better sales person the one with the higher sales volume or the one with more sale units sold and closed?

My position is they both possess merit for what they do. The one with the highest sales volume has a tendency to be placed on a pedestal, and the one with the most units sold is about halfway up. In some cases, sales volume can reflect the value of the market, not the value of the Agent. For example, one Agent's average price range is $100,000, so his average commission check is $3,000. That Agent closes 65 deals a year and earns a gross commission of $195,000. Across town there is another Agent whose average price is $300,000, so the average commission check is $9,000. This Agent closes 25 transactions a year and earns a gross commission of $225,000. Who has more options in his business and may be a better salesperson? I think there are strengths to both. Agent A who does 65 deals only needs to raise his sales price because he already knows how to achieve 65 closed sales per year. He has the skills to close 65 transactions. He understands the process, and if he has set up his business properly, he only needs to apply his philosophy and business in a higher sales price range to earn more income. He also did almost three times as many transactions. Usually Agent B, with the higher commission earned, receives all the rewards from peers, brokers, owners, and the company. Agent B is held in high esteem and reverence because he was the high producer in the office. Agent B has a good business but only sold two homes per month. (By most sales standards this is not an earth shattering mark.) Agent B will also need to learn to do more transactions to increase his business, a far harder proposition. Which one really has a business that is posed to go to the next level?

Where does profitability enter the picture? Does it have any importance?

In my career of selling real estate, coaching, and speaking, I have known many Agents who make a tremendous gross income but have little net income. They spend it all back into their business through gimmicks, marketing, gifts, mailings, advertising, overpaying staff, etc. They make decisions based on the idea that, "If I get one more transactions per month, it will pay for this new gimmick." The unfortunate thing is that they evaluate many parts of their business that way. They have five to ten items they evaluate that way. Suddenly, they need about what they make monthly to cover those gimmicks. Every new idea must pay for itself plus generate a return or profit. I wanted at least ten times return for any investments, so if I spent $1,000 on a new idea, I wanted to receive $10,000 in return from it. Most Agents do not factor their time or the staff's time into the cost of this new idea. That is a legitimate cost that must be added to the cost. For example, the cost to mail something is not just the cost of the stamp, like most Agents would factor. It's the cost of the letterhead, envelope, stamp, label, and staff time to prepare it and your time to oversee the process. That's the overall cost. Then you want a ten times return on the whole cost. This is the only way to evaluate to ensure you make a profit. We all work too hard to only earn wages and not profits.

Many Agents have bought themselves a job and never make a profit. A wise man once said, "Profits are better than wages." Profits continue on; they are the extra you have after you pay your wages and all your bills. Profits, if invested, beget more profits, which create financial independence. Wages merely cover the monthly bills.

Agents need to view the whole picture, the gross and the net. If you want the true reality after all the hype and fluff of sales volume, gross commission earned, and all the other ego stroking we do, look at line 31 on your federal tax return. That is reality. That is what you truly made for your labor last year. Do not kid yourself! What you are taxed on is what you made.

Should the amount of time actually worked be considered to compare an Agents' ability?

I know many Agents who work six to seven days a week to produce their income. If they factored the actual time versus what they earned, they would be sick. Their actual per hour wage is nothing to get excited about. In fact, if you asked them if they would work and do what they do for that wage, they would say, "No." If you want real truth, divide your time by line 31 on your federal income tax form. That is what you truly make per hour. That is after all your expenses to run the business and your personal employee taxes. That is what you would earn if you worked for an actual company. For some people, this exercise is too scary to even imagine.

I think we all can do more in less time. As a personal example, I switched over four years ago to a four-day workweek, Monday through Thursday. My production increased over 30% each year compared to the previous year. I reduced my time working by at least one full day, and I was rewarded with a financial increase. My skills improved exponentially, and my focus and concentration intensified. I also re-claimed my life for my family and myself. I was able to spend three days a week with my family. I also increased my time investment in personal development, which leads me to my next question:

What is the true quality of life for the Agent, i.e. health, time worked vs. time off?

You cannot be a seven days a week wonder forever. At some point, you need to reclaim your life. You have to control your clients and the other Agents. My philosophy is that earning large sums of money is the easiest area of your life to improve. Working to improve your spiritual, mental, physical, family, and financial areas are far more difficult.

When you schedule your time off and place the same value on it as you do your work time, you will have the opportunity to reclaim your life. Once you do that, your productivity will increase dramatically during your work time. The value of my time with my family is worth more than my work time. If you have that philosophy, you will focus on your family when away from work and focus on work when at work. It is clearly a philosophy you need to implant in your mind. While many Agents are at work, they think they should be at home. When they are at home, they are mentally reviewing their work rather than focusing on their spouse and children. Wherever you are, be there!

How does quality of service to clients factor in?

To create a sustainable business, you need to take care of your clients. The Agent who continually works with new clients and rarely gets referral or repeat business is lacking in service. We all need to spend some of our day finding new clients. Long-term success comes from repeat and referral business from clients who are already sold on our service. Are you doing the job you were hired to do? Do you provide the best service you can utilize in the market place?

Part of providing better customer service is improving your product. The product you are selling is you. If you are not spending significant amounts of time improving yourself, your competitors will eventually pass you. Jim Rohn says that you need to work as hard on yourself as you do on your job. I believe that doing so will lead you to greatness, both personally and professionally. If you are not investing at least half an hour daily in personal development, you will be left behind.

Are we taking the steps to achieve financial independence based on the individual definition?

Everyone has his own definition of what constitutes financial independence. Spend the time to clearly define yours. Invest the time to plan out how you are going to get from where you are today to where you want to be. Too many people fail to plan their future. It has occurred to me that, often, the Agents with the highest gross commission save and invest little or no money. They believe there is always tomorrow, and if they could earn more, they could save more. Develop the discipline to save right now, today. Saving does not get easier when the numbers or amounts get bigger. Instead, the want list gets longer because you think you deserve and can afford it. That is what your mind is telling you. Only you control the destiny of your money. You must create a savings plan today.

When other areas in our lives are out of balance, we spend to reward ourselves. We spend to make up for shortcomings in our unbalanced lives. We must create a savings and balance plan, so we can achieve financial independence. Our goal in life should be to be financially independent. We should all have the desire to amass enough assets to retire comfortably by living off the income or interest they generate. When we get the financial issue out of the way, we can really begin to live life to the fullest.

These are the true measures of success in the real estate business. These are the measures of success in any business. Why should we as REALTORS® be any different? Do not be fooled by the sales volume myth. More Agents have gone down in flames chasing their sales volume tail than from any other myth in real estate.

How to Generate New Clients - A Process Approach

2008-09-14T22:20:00.002-07:00

I have been thinking lately about the idea of a "process" in the lead generation world. As sales training folks, we see most sales organizations struggle with prospecting. One problem is I believe they prospect ONLY when they need business, rather than ALL THE TIME. I sometimes feel like we all make prospecting really hard. So here's my advice, if you're feeling like prospecting is difficult:

The First Step

Think Engagement. Not Selling.

Do you have a "process for engagement?" Let's say you meet someone on a trip that might make sense to have more conversation with. Do they go into a process of any kind? Well, they should. Yet most of us don't think about prospecting as a process. We mistakenly think of it as an action.

Creating Prospect Engagement After the First Conversation

As the threshold of free goes up in the marketing world, you must have something that engages the prospect after that initial conversation. Calling them for an appointment might be too much. So instead, write down all the things that you could use to engage them further prior to the next call.

-Do you have a report that you could send them that educates them?

-Do you have an article that addresses the most common problems people similar to him have?

-What about an audio recording of a speech that you made where you discussed trends in the industry?

Creating Your "Sequence of Events"

Think of the process engaging prospects as a "sequence of events" that happens so that when you do call, they're ready. (Or, they call you first--Even better!) And even better, if you have someone in you office that is good with "systems thinking," then have them help you flow chart an engagement process. You'll be surprised at how a prospecting system will help you meet your goals.

Here are some other resources that will help as you learn the content in this article:

http://www.caskeyone.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=B_Caskey

Sales Training For Service Businesses - Why Should I Use You? - Part 1 of 3

2008-09-14T22:20:00.001-07:00

It's not always about sales training. The most common mistake I see with Services marketing is the 'it's all about me syndrome'. All of a company's letters, web site, and networking interactions are all about the company and what you can do. Without being too brutal here, most people do not care! They are not too interested in knowing what you HAVE, DO, or KNOW. They want to know what is in for the them.

In the simplest scenario they have a problem and they are looking for a solution. The company that can clearly articulate -

"I understand you, I know what your frustrations are and I know how to solve them." - will be the one that is the most successful. This sounds simple, I know, however the majority of my prospective clients still have an inward way of thinking and say: "this is what we have got and this is what we can do - do you want some?"

At the other extreme many prospective service clients do not always realise they have a need for a service. In this case, only a clear articulation of the beneficial outcomes, and not the process used will spark that magic moment when someone says "we need to meet".

How can service businesses effectively do this?

By focusing on solutions and benefits - in every communication you have with a prospective client.

Specific Targeting:
Much has been written about this and many people pay lip service to it yet most companies I work with can't clearly answer the following questions:

* Target Message: Who exactly are you talking to?
* Problem/Solution: What is the concern of your prospective clients and what is the solution?
* Benefits: What are all of the ways your services help your clients?
* Unique Competitive Advantage: What makes you stand out in a way that makes a difference to your clients?
* Risk Reversal: What are you promising to deliver that reduces the perceived risk of your clients?

I do not underestimate the difficulty in clearly defining these things. Yet if they can be achieved they will make the difference between a good and a truly great business.

A well used example of a service business that used this to catapult them from nowhere to a major worldwide organisation was Dominoes Pizza. Their whole marketing was based around their slogan:

"Hot, fresh pizza in 30 minutes or less, or it's free"

They knew their uniqueness, they invented it!

Note that not once does Dominoes say the Pizza will be tasty. It probably isn't the best pizza available but to their prospective clients it was unique. They knew it would be with them in 30 minutes or it would be free. Their needs have been met. Unlike the competition who would say:

"It could be 90 minutes. I just don't have the drivers and when you get them you can't trust them. And besides I just can't forecast my demand. Any way it'll be with you tonight sometime."

You don't always need sales training but if you do need sales consultancy then I would be glad to help. Look out for part 2 and 3 on this site

Why not sign Up for '21st Century Selling' - The Bi-weekly Sales and Marketing Newsletter. Its's free and easy and it's jam packed with Information to help you make more sales. Use the Easy Sign Up box at Sales Training Also - Have a look at the latest Sales Videos, Techniques and Ideas at the Sales DNA Blog - Sales Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_O'Donoghue

Sales Training Ideas - Do You Remember That Big Sale You Made?

2008-09-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

Remember that big, or critical sale that you made? It may have been a huge dollar amount or it may have been that account that you finally broke into. Either way, it was a highlight in your selling career and it made you feel great. Question: What are you doing to keep it fresh in your mind to stay positively motivated?

Here's a simple, uncomplicated idea:

Have a memento around to remember it by. It doesn't have to be a major item, it can be a magnet, a stuffed animal, anything, but it should have something on it specific to that sale, even if you have to stick something on, and it needs to be somewhere where you'll see it, A LOT, like on your desk or somewhere in your car. That way, every time you look at it, you'll be reminded of that great sale.

Here are the keys, again, they're simple:

1) When you make a big sale, get a memento of some kind.

2) Make sure it is personalized to that sale. Again, if you need to stick something on it or write something on it, that will work.

3) Have it in front of you in your work environment. If you're in telephone sales, it should be on your desk or in a prominent place in your office where you will see it constantly. If you're on the road, have it in your car, perhaps hanging from your mirror.

4) To take it a step further, if you can put yourself back in that sales situation and remember what it felt like, it will help to keep you positively motivated. In the best case scenario, you will remember what you heard, saw, felt, smelled, etc. The more senses you can involve, the better.

Bonus tip - Set your next target by asking yourself what would be a big sale, dollar amount or a certain account, or figure out what else you could do that would have a major impact on your career. Whatever the answer, set that as your next goal. When you get there, you got it, get a memento to remind yourself of it. And now I would like to offer you free access to a monthly newsletter that will give you great tips to use instantly to improve your sales. You can get your access at http://www.completeselling.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Chapin

Be Impressed, Grasshopper, Not Impressive

2008-08-29T11:21:00.001-07:00

"Master," the Young Professional addressed his mentor, "You have told us that in order to hire us, a client must Like us and Trust us."

"That is correct, Grasshopper," the Master replied.

"I understand how I can earn a client's Trust," continued the Young Professional, "But how do I get him to Like me in the short time I might be in his presence?"

The other professionals snickered at this simple question, but they were secretly glad their classmate was so bold as to ask it, because they did not know the answer either.

The Master smiled gently and explained, "To be liked, you must try to stop being liked."

A look of confusion passed across the students' faces, and although he was blind, the Master could see it.

"We want to talk about our education, our skills and our accomplishments. We want our clients to see how well we dress, and the fine vehicles and homes we have acquired through our efforts. We want them to warm to our smiles and our conversation," the Master explained, "but what our clients want is for us to like them."

"To be Liked by a client, Grasshopper," the Master continued, "the client must perceive that you like him--that you are impressed with his accomplishments, however small they might be, and that you care about him."

"Ah," exclaimed the younger man, "I must be impressed, rather than impressive."

"Good, Grasshopper," the Master said gently smiling. "But it's more than being impressed," he continued, "You must Listen deeply and ask questions with Childlike Curiosity-not just about the problem you were trained to solve, but about his family, his hopes and his dreams."

A light began to grow in the younger man's eyes and, once again, the blind Master could see it.

"What you seem to be saying, Master," he began with excitement in his voice, "is that clients don't care how much we know, until they know how much we care. Is that it?"

"Yes, Grasshopper," the Master replied warmly, "You have learned well."

The younger man bowed, and the blind Master acknowledged it.

Turn Good News Into a Sales Pitch

2008-08-29T11:20:00.002-07:00

I recently read an online article by Eric Chabrow on CIO Insight titled "Computer Jobs Hit Record High". While there can be negative news about employment readily available, I thought I'd share with you some signs of a sector with strong economic numbers that might bode well for you and your sales.

The article states "unemployment among computer-related jobs hovers near historic lows as the U.S. information technology workforce tops 4 million for the first time."

It also says that "the number of workers employed by IT services firms rose by 56,100 this past year to 1,414,400, a 4.1 percent increase, according to last month's BLS establishment survey of some 160,000 businesses and government agencies covering about 400,000 worksites."

So what does all this mean?

Chabrow writes: "Why would IT employment remain robust as unemployment rises in most other job categories? IT performs a critical role in business productivity, and the efficiencies it brings are crucial for employers looking to trim costs -- including payrolls -- as fuel and related expenditures soar and the economy and dollar weakens. In addition, companies today cannot operate without functioning IT systems, so certain business technology skills cannot be eliminated if a company wants to remain competitive."

Furthermore, "The increase in IT services employment reflects the continuing need by companies for outsourcers to manage corporate IT infrastructures as well as provide hard-to-find but needed skills to develop and support new applications and systems."

Again, the quote is -- reflects the *continuing need by companies for outsourcers* to manage corporate IT infrastructures.

Besides this good news there are at least a couple of take-aways:

* First, look at ways you can further increase business productivity. Chances are some of your clients are going to trim costs. Help them by making sure there is a technology solution that is going to help them stay efficient.

* Second, it is a good sign that payrolls at IT service firms are growing. It's a sign that many of your customers are looking to save on cost by outsourcing to companies like yours.

From a marketing standpoint I would suggest having your sales reps use the data I've quoted to ask questions about future plans, cost cutting measures, etc. Help them plan by being part of the solution.

The other item from a marketing standpoint is that you can create topics around these data points having to do with saving money, cutting cost, and staying ultra productive and efficient.

Limiting Factor Analysis

2008-08-29T11:20:00.001-07:00

Limiting factor is any factor which limits the activities of the organization. The most common limiting factor is the sales volume because a company can not sell the entire product it manufactures.

Limiting factor analysis help companies to identify bottleneck resources and use best combination of available resources to maximize profit. Limiting factor in an organization or a company might be raw material, labour time, machine time. Limiting factor analysis can be applied where there is only one limiting factor involved. In case where there are more than one limiting factor, we have to use Linear programming or Simplex method.

Linear programming involves mathematical model which is solved using mathematical equations. The common area on the graph paper is called Feasible Region. The simplex method can only be solved using spread sheet software such as Microsoft Excel. In limiting factor analysis we calculate each product contribution (sales less variable cost) and then divide the contribution by per unit of limiting factor. Let's suppose raw material N is in short supply (that is it is a limiting factor) For example (Data is based on per unit of each product):

Product A Sales Price : 100$ ; Product B Sales Price : 200$

Variable Costs A : 50$ Product B : Variable Cost 135$

Contribution Per Unit A .......... 50$

Contribution Per Unit B .......... 50$

N used per unit of A 10 Kg

N used per unit of B 20 Kg

Therefore:

Contribution per Kg A ..........50/10 = 5

Contribution per Kg B .......... 65/20 = 3.25

As you can see Product A Contribution per Kg is greater than that of Product B, so every effort should be made to produce as much units of Product A as possible. After producing all units of product if company still has some kg of raw material N, then it should utilize N to produce Product B. In short the Products are ranked according to Contribution per Kg in order to maximize profitability.

Creating Urgency

2008-08-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." --Jim Rohn

Let me repeat that because it's a building block of persuasion: without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value. That's an incredibly powerful statement and is absolutely spot on. In persuasion, once you've created trust and a feeling of rapport with your prospects and clients, and once you've removed all doubt about you and your product and service, what then? Are you going to make the sale if there's no sense of urgency on the part of your prospective client? Are you going to get ahead? No, you won't.

Some sales people and commercials create a false sense of urgency-- you know the ones, 'act now, only available to the first 100 callers'. . . We all know as a result of our advanced B.S. detectors that this is simply not true. We know that there are more than 100 Thighmasters or Magic Bullets available for purchase and even if you were caller 100,000, you would still have one in the mail to you before the call was over.

Now if it's true, if you only have 12 seats left in your seminar or 12 condominiums left to sell in a particular building, then by all means, use it. Then it's fantastic. There is actual scarcity involved in that case, but for example if you're selling insurance or if you're in real estate, what are you going to say, 'I've only got 12 houses left' or 'There are only 12 more insurance policies available'? I seriously doubt anyone would bite at that.

It depends on your industry as to how many places are left. If you're selling seminars you could genuinely only have a room that seats 50 or 100 or 10. A good friend of mine ran a seminar a couple of years ago, he sold it for $25,000 or $30,000 a head. They sold out. They had 10 spaces, 10 people, that's it. They put an arbitrary limit on the amount of space available because they did not want to give it to very many people. It was a very, very high end, hush, hush marketing strategy and they did not want the world to know about it because it would blow it, but they also wanted to get paid heavily for being able to give that skill that they had proven results with, so they limited it to ten.

How many of you have been on e-mail lists and you see subject lines that after a while they just look like all the other marketing subject lines? They're like, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the best thing since sliced banana bread, the best thing since sliced cream cheese banana bread. It's like they're always one upping. It's the best this or that, or the most powerful this or that. I'm guilty of some of that myself, thought I try my best not to. When people do this they are trying to use urgency, they're trying to develop urgency.

We have to create urgency because without it, there's no movement. In other words, they have to believe that their needs are going to be met, that there's some compelling reason to do it now and that's called 'the offer' in sales or in marketing. You've got to come up, what's the offer that would move people that connects to their dreams and values and that moves them off of center.

Creating Urgency

2008-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." --Jim Rohn

Now, if you have trust and you've removed doubt and you've created urgency, we need to continue to build desire.

Painting Business - Why You Should Sell Benefits Instead Of Features

2008-08-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Benefits are what sell.

What is a benefit?

A benefit is what the buyer will gain or expect to realize about the service.

What our clients care about is what the painting job will do for them.

Like the benefit of using this Super-Fantastic Paint is that this paint will last for 75 years without fading, peeling or chipping.

So what is the difference? The benefit of a painting service is what is of interest to a customer.

Selling the feature first, is like telling your customer that Benjamin Franklin Paint is the best paint because of the old world way it is made. Like such and such a super-fantastic paint is the best paint in the whole world. Sort of like the name of the color, or maybe the spreadibility of the paint
Benefits are how this service will make the clients life better. No one cares about features. Customers care about what they will gain by using your service.

Painting your exterior of your house with Benjamin Franklin Paint or that it was made in their own home town, is not as interesting to a home owner as the benefit of not having to paint again for a long time, that the paint is protecting the house from the deterioration of the sun, and not having to paint again for 75 years.

If you want to be successful selling paint jobs, always think of ways that the client will see their gain, or their upside. Benefits.

It used to make me laugh when the kids would come around selling newspapers and they would say that if you bought a subscription from them they would get a new bike. Granted they probably got a sympathy order on that line because they were a kid, but you and I won't get many paint jobs with that feature.

The First Factor of Successful Selling

2008-08-19T09:40:00.002-07:00

The first Instant Success Factor of successful selling is BEING AVAILABLE.

It was our Monday afternoon sales meeting and one of our top salesmen commented that he had been making many sales calls by phone without reaching anyone and no one was returning the voice mail messages he had left.

He said that he was very frustrated with each call because all he heard was a voice mail on the other end. The question I asked him was: 'Are you BEING available when you are making the calls?' He considered the question and then said, 'No, I don't believe I am!'

Often, when we are not getting the results that we want, the tendency can be to look outside of ourselves. We may justify the situation by saying that 'it was a bad time of day to call'. We can console ourselves by saying the other person 'does not have the courtesy to return a call.' Or we can state a 'sales rule' that when you make calls you never get more than 30% answering.

However, if you are being radically personally responsible for your own results in life or in business, you know that looking outside of yourself will not change the circumstances.

If you notice that your customers are not returning your calls or you are not connecting with others, where to place your gaze is on yourself...and consider that perhaps you are the one that is NOT being available.

Increase Sales by Taking Advantage of Your Thoughts

2008-08-19T09:40:00.001-07:00

During the last week, actually the last 5 days, I have been working on site in a different state. This has mandated me going to dinner at unfamiliar restaurants and not knowing anyone. Yet, I have received 4 leads and one of which wants to start some executive coaching upon my return to my office in the Chicago area.

My first opportunity happened when speaking at a local chamber event. Even though the attendance was under 20 small business owners, I had exceeded the expectations of at least one of them because he wanted to talk more with me.

The second incredible opportunity happened at a local bar and grill. My colleague and I were enjoying some adult beverages along with two delicious dinners when a gentleman sat down next to me as the bar was fairly crowded. Upon sitting down I made a comment about him actually looking old enough given that the previous individual who had occupied the seat had looked so young. This happens when you age, everyone looks way too young.

When he spoke, I noticed an English accent. Being the curious person, I asked where in England he was from. He shared his hometown and we just started talking. Within several minutes, I learned that he was the new operations manager for a large company that my colleague had been trying to meet with without much success. Further conversation revealed some internal challenges and we exchanged cards and I will follow up. Sales Coaching Tip: Most sales professionals fail to follow-up on leads.

My third opportunity to increase sales happened the next night in the same eating establishment as the food was so incredibly good and reasonably priced. I sat one bar stool away from a woman. Something came on the news and she made some remark to me and I responded. Again, we started sharing and I learned that her brother had a significant medical practice within the area and he was facing some human capital and organizational challenges. Securing a large size health care provider was one of my desired prospects.

During the next day during a training and development session (my reason for being in the area), one of the participants came up to me after the training was over and asked if she could speak with me. Over our lunches, she shared that she was looking for an executive coach. We scheduled a free strategy session to better understand each other and if I could truly help her. Sales Coaching Tip: When you are authentic, you will attract potential clients. You do not need to sell yourself or your products and services.

Who would think in a city over 1,500 miles away from where I live, not knowing anyone, that I would find 3 fairly solid leads and one individual who had expressed a bona fide need for executive coaching? Life truly is just opportunity after opportunity waiting for you to unlock them. All you must do is to have those genuine positive thoughts that are aligned to your goals, your sales skills and your sales action plan.

What I believe has created all of these opportunities are my thoughts of wanting to secure at least 5 more clients within this area during the next 3 months. Tonight I am off to meet with another colleague who had provided me with several leads of which two I have appointments before I leave town. With all of these opportunities, I cannot wait to meet with her. As my executive coach tells me: "Life is great!"

Acquiring Business With Persuasion

2008-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

So, what's the deal with the power of persuasion? Is it just a good business skill or is it manipulation?

Let's talk about manipulation first. A typical sales pitch involves the motive to manipulate. It will look like a set up, and the one being set up will feel like a caged animal. The seller begins zeroing in on the potential customer's pain. It starts as an introduction and a handshake. Then you pick up an on accent as your target begins speaking, or a ring he is sporting on his right pinkie - something that moves the conversation to a more personal nature. This probing leads to what city the target is from, what he likes to do for fun, and what he wishes he had more time to do...until before you know it, the poor slob is bearing his vulnerabilities to the vulture. And then of course, the manipulator goes in for the kill.

The persuader works differently. His appearance is less slick. You feel comfortable in his presence because, even though you are caught off guard by his inherent confidence, there is something familiar about him. Where the manipulator has a desperate quality that seems to motivate him, the persuader has no hidden agenda, so he is relaxed. The persuader does not have a goal to "find your pain." Instead, a professional presentation is made based upon the persuader's ability to exude success. The persuader is always cordial and professional, and if compliments are given they are sincere. Again, no ulterior motives. The persuader's contact is drawn to him because he knows success follows the persuader. Because of this, the contact wants to give him his business without the persuader having to convince him.

Get the difference? If you have leaned toward manipulation to get the client or deal that you were after, seriously consider reevaluating your approach. To be truly powerful and successful you must always be willing to walk away - not because you are playing a game of Chicken, but because you have integrity. No job or client is worth having to trench through muddy waters.

Many successful business people have degrees in Psychology, or at least make it a point to know the field. When you understand what draws people in, and makes them act or behave in a certain way, it is much easier to get what you want from them. The art of practicing this type of persuasion is to do it in an honorable way. A finesse is required which taps into the best part of who you are.

"The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity."

Zig Ziglar quotes (American motivational Speaker and Author. )

A large portion of the population want what they can't have. Taking the example in this article about the business person who is willing to walk out the door, the potential customer will feel even more inclined to come after him. If they do succeed in retaining the persuader, and he is as good as he has demonstrated, then that customer will very likely be his for life.

Canadian Psychologists did a study in which they followed people at a race track. The study revealed that the people making bets on their horses were much more confident after they placed their bets then before. The circumstances hadn't changed, and no new information about the horses had been announced, the people involved in the study simply had taken the act of placing their bets.

The conclusions based on this study revealed that humans are inclined to take a stand once they make a decision and carry through with it. Another mitigating condition is that human beings are influenced by social and internal pressures. This condition points to people wanting to be winners, and wanting to be associated with winners.

And, it just so happens, that winners are masters at the art of persuasion. For this reason it is imperative to start each day with the winner's frame of mind. Start your days off with confidence. If you are not feeling it, fake it. Believe you are the best at what you do, and behave accordingly.

There is no substitute for being branded as an executive or as a company with class. Become an expert in your field, and treat everyone you meet with respect. Persuasion will become less something you do to another person, and more of a way of being. From there, everything will fall into place. Easier said than done, I know. But, the journey will be a whole lot more pleasant when you take the high road.

Cost V Value Arguments in Business to Business Sales

2008-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

The single most common reason sales people give for losing a sale is that they were too expensive compared to the competition. Strangely this is never the reasons customers give for choosing a supplier. In survey after survey customers give as their primary reason for choosing a supplier is that the supplier met their requirements and/or showed them a return on their investment. Customers in B2B sales almost never give price as the main or even secondary factor. Even given that there will be some reticence to say they bought the lowest priced bidder (excluding the public sector), there is still a huge gulf between sales people and their customers as to why a customer didn't buy their solution which was clearly the best, most functional etc..

The reason most customers give for not buying a particular solution as against another is complex but boils down to a couple of major factors. Customers first of all can see little differentiation between competing brands and therefore choose the one they are most familiar and comfortable with, or one they trust the most. Second, if a B2B customer is to choose a particular product or service then they will choose the one that gives them the best return on investment.

For those of us involved in sales for longer than a couple of years, nothing much has changed. Companies have always bought based on criteria of familiarity, trust and payback. What is different nowadays is the formality with which this is measured by the pragmatic buyer. It would be a great service if Marketers therefore turned their attention to Return on Investment (ROI) messages in their marketing strategies.

There is no hiding place for the organisation that proposes products and services based purely on features. Firstly there are too many messages assailing companies, too many competing claims and far too many broken promises, for any customer to make decisions based on claim and counterclaim.

In the most recent example we have some experience of, a company had four bids for a software infrastructure project. The bids were, £400K, £500K, £800K and £1.3M. The company chose the £1.3M bid because the supplier was the only one who provided them with a Return on Investment argument. We could have expected the customer to choose the middle bids, especially since one of those bids was their incumbent supplier!

Marketing strategies need to be developed to take account of value, not simply cost or product features, and marketing programmes need to support this. Sales people need to be furnished with the tools to help them to put forward strong ROI arguments, otherwise suppliers will find their customers moving to the competition who do.

The message is clear and unequivocal. Business to business suppliers must focus on the value their products and services bring. Remember, customers only buy for three reasons to make money, save money or fulfil some intangible need.

One last point - for those of you who base your sales strategy on a compliance argument then beware if customers have to comply with a law or regulations, then they are likely to buy the cheapest option available look no farther than car insurance for proof. Companies who sell on the basis of compliance therefore still need to focus on value rather than price, if they are too avoid the trap of downward spiralling price negotiations.

What Are You Offering?

2008-08-17T22:11:00.003-07:00

It's all about the offer. It doesn't matter what kind of advertising you're talking about. If you don't have a good enough offer people aren't going to care about you.

So what are you offering people?

The exact nature of the offer is likely to change quite a bit depending on what type of industry you're in, but it will always depend on the customer base. You're offer needs to be centered completely around what their needs are and what you can do to best provide for them.

The form of color printing you use will also have an impact on your advertising. Take for instance a postcard. By nature a postcard is small and has to have a very short, to the point message. You simply don't have much room to tell people more.

That means your offer is likely going to be a discount of some kind. If you're sending out postcards to generate more sale leads, tell them that they'll get a discount on the first purchase or first service they buy.

For the longer styles of color printing you'll likely go with something a little different. Take a brochure as an example. Often the thing you're offering a person with brochures is information rather than a discount on something.

A good example of this is a tax service. You can give people an offer that is two fold in order to promote your services.

Send a brochure explaining some of the more complicated tax laws to them. Taxes are something that everyone has to deal with, so you'll grab their attention by giving them some simple, easy to understand details about them.

But what this also does is gives them reason why they should use your services. By laying out what all those different tax laws are like, you're informing them while also saying this is why you need to hire an accountant, because this stuff is complicated.

The best offers are going to be the ones that work twofold by providing both you and the customers with something helpful.

Every kind of advertisement you print needs to have a worthwhile offer. And you can be creative with what that offer is. You might give away some free items or if you sell a popular kind of clothing you're offering to give them a great new style that will appeal to them.

Take the time to do the research into your customers to know what kind of offer will resonate the most with them. You need to know plenty about your customers before you'll be able to give them anything they'll need.

If your offer is good enough, people won't be able to help but give you some business. You just need to be sure that the situation is a win for everyone involved.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaye_Marks

5 Essential Ingredients That Make Straight Commission Compensation Appealing

2008-08-17T22:11:00.002-07:00

In a recent piece I outlined 5 tip-offs that reveal when straight commission jobs are rip-offs, or at least "opportunities" you should decline.

But that article left me feeling I created a vacuum. I didn't disclose the five ingredients we should look for, so here they are:

(1) There needs to be a SUBSTANTIAL payoff for success. You're taking on a lot of risk, and of course the primary one is that you'll invest your time, talent, effort, and ego in an utter loser and emerge with zilch. There is a simple balancing formula that investors use for evaluating an opportunity: Does the reward substantially outweigh the risk? If not, then pass.

(2) The ultimate compensation must be greater than that being offered for a safe, no-risk sales job. Imagine at Company A they're offering a commission-only job that has the potential of yielding $100,000 per year. At Company B, they'll stake you to a guarantee, to a draw or a salary of $100,000. It's a no brainer; you'd have to go with B. The realistic earning potential of A has to add up to, minimally, 150% to 200% of what is being tendered by B.

(3) Management at the commission-only outfit has to be seasoned and trustworthy. Have they met a payroll, before, or are they in a seat-of-the-pants, gee-golly-gosh start-up mode with no financing? Are you working with a Fortune 1000 company, which is image conscious and aspires to earn a berth on one of those "Best Places to Work" lists, or is it a firm run by a lone wolf or by a partnership that couldn't care if it is sued right and left for unpaid wages and for stiffing vendors? The burden of proof is on novices to demonstrate that they are NOT flakes.

(4) There needs to be a short sales cycle, preferably measured in days or a few weeks. If you're self-financing, which is what a straight-commission arrangement requires, you need to see cash flow and fast. You can't go out on a limb and invest months in the hope that you'll make your first sale.

(5) Ideally, others are on board, making a steady, big income doing exactly what you're going to do. I spoke to the head of a company who asserted that he had a USC college student selling deal after deal, making about $4,000 a week. Why did this sales master leave? Where is he now? What were his methods? This sounds a lot like that big fish tale about "the one that got away."

Keep these five criteria in mind as you screen sales jobs or any pay-for-performance situation.

Commission-only deals can be lucrative, but you need to turn the tables and to qualify those that are offering them. You should hitch your wagon to them only if they can pass a stringent test.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a portfolio careerist: An attorney, real estate broker, college professor, best-selling author, TV commentator, professional speaker, and management consultant. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com and his profile can be read at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/a91/833

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman

7 Essentials For MASSIVE Success!

2008-08-17T22:11:00.001-07:00

Mind: We all know that we produce great results when our thinking is in the right place. It isn't hard to see when things are "headed" south. Flip-it-up and keep your head in the game!

Action: Some people like to "think on things." Mull it over before getting started. It's the top-producers that get moving quickly. Champions master the art of thinking while in motion. Sure... some mistakes will happen in the beginning, but in time, it becomes an inevitable force of forward progress!

Strategy: When our mind is in the right place, and we are moving ahead with positive forward action, we quickly begin to understand what works and what doesn't. Combine the things that work with the right resources and build a plan to keep everyone on track.

Season: Develop a belief that you are always "in season." While others base their success on the time of year, you come up with reasons why you can be successful year round. Use your strategic plan to stay ahead, and find yourself at the top month after month... year over year. Remember, your future success depends on what you are doing right now!

Intentional: Everything you do is for a purpose. As you think through your daily activities, your sales process, your follow-up strategies, recognize reasons for why you do it "that way." You will create principles for success that will shape your behaviors and decisions for life.

Vigorous: So much of our success comes from an ability to remain strong through adversity. Ironically, it is also important to remain strong through our victories. In other words, don't lose focus just because you are winning. Impose your will and achieve your goals.

Endurance: True greatness is the ability to succeed over a long period of time. Durability comes with the strength to overcome pain and fatigue. When other people think that your success is temporary... Show them that your MASSIVE success is permanent!

How do you create MASSIVE success?

Doyle Slayton, Executive Director & Sales Strategist at http://www.SalesBlogcast.com

Join the community where sales professionals network, share best-practices, and just get better! Receive new articles and interviews throughout the week. Participate in sales, leadership, and business discussions. Subscribe today... it's FREE! http://www.SalesBlogcast.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Doyle_Slayton

The Five Words That Could (and Should!) Kill Your Sales Career

2008-08-12T09:19:00.001-07:00

Now I'm a pretty reasonable guy: I understand that trucks sometimes get delayed or orders get misplaced or a warehouse is out of stock. No problem. The problem was that everyone I talked to (the customer service clerk, the salesman I had purchased the set from, and even the store manager) responded to my dilemma with what I consider to be the five lamest words in the English language: "There's nothing I can do." A couple of them went so far as to add an "I'm sorry" to the beginning of the statement, but somehow that didn't make me feel any better. I was given a long list of reasons why no one could do anything, but this, too, failed to improve my mood.

My options were to come back in a couple of days to pick the units up or to wait for the store to deliver them the following week for an additional charge. Since my old unit was broken and the laundry was piling up, I opted to make another trip to pick them up myself. I left the store frustrated, annoyed and certain that my next appliance need would be met elsewhere.

I share this story with you because it highlights a growing problem in the fields of sales and customer service: failure to recognize the importance of the customer. I've said before that the customer is the most important person in any transaction, but I'd like to take that a step further and say that the customer is the only important person in a transaction. After all, no customer, no transaction.

You see, I did have a third option: I could have asked Home Depot for a refund and taken my business somewhere else. The only reason I didn't was that it would have created a greater inconvenience for me at the time; however, you can be sure next time I will probably opt for one of their competitors. Remember that your customers have this same option available to them, as well. No matter how good you or your products or services are, your customers can always get similar or better products or services from one of your competitors, and probably for a lower price. If you resort to the use of the five lamest words in the English language, you can be sure they'll exercise this option. So what if there really is little or nothing you can do to resolve a customer's complaint?

First, realize there is always at least one thing you can do and that is to empathize. To empathize means to identify with another person's feelings or difficulties. A simple statement like, "Mr. Kennedy, I understand how you feel, and I can assure you I will do everything in my power to resolve this situation to your satisfaction," would have gone a long way toward making me feel better about my experience. At least I would have known that someone cared. You can always do at least that for your customers: let them know you care and that you will exhaust all your options to rectify the situation.

Of course, you have to follow that up with actually doing everything in your power to resolve the problem. In other words, you should be an advocate for your customer. If he or she has a problem, take ownership of that problem and see it through to resolution. Fight for your customers, argue for them, bend or even break the rules for them, but never, I mean never, be caught telling them "There's nothing I can do!"

The Painting Business - Tough Economy, What Do You Do?

2008-08-12T09:18:00.002-07:00

The first thing so many painting businesses do is to run around and low ball every estimate. Why?

Because they firmly believe that painting customers buy exclusively on price. But, studies show that for the most part that is not true. Painting customers want the best value.

Best value and that is? Think about what reasons you buy for. Try to get into the mind of the customer. If you have a really nice home in an upscale community, and you want your home to look good, the finish to last (good paint jobs are not cheap, even the cheap ones are not cheap) and actually sometimes cheap things cost more, the first time that you buy, and you pay the second time to do it the right way first. And they want the painting contractor to start and stay until done, not to take the deposit and leave only to work in dribs and drabs, until the owner finally throws the bum out. They want value, and this means a good job relatively priced, from someone they perceive to be honest, hardworking, going to do a good job and is not going to kick the dog, drink on the job and smoke in their house.

People buy for the most part on their emotions; people buy because they like you. Or they trust you. If you take a $5000 paint job, one guy quotes $5000; the other guy quotes $5050. And the client needs to pick one. The first guy looks sloppy, he was late for the appointment, and when he got out of his truck a beer can fell on the ground. The other guy is clean, came on time, and his truck looks like it was just washed. Which will they pick? The low ball painter only thinks the one who is low bidder will get the job. But if you were buying something this big, and you had doubts, would you buy from the low ball or the painter that you were confident in?

What if the prices were $5000, and $5051? Is that enough of a difference? This is supposed to be a 10 year paint job. Spread $51 over 10 years, does it matter then?

What if the prices were $5000, and $5100, at that point what is another $49? What about $5000 and $5200? $5300? Maybe if they need to buy that job badly enough, and they could not feel good about the low ball painter no matter what the price difference, they might even pay a few thousand more.
I have heard the catcalls, at a PDCA dinner that was for getting new members, from the cash painting contractors were sitting at the table all the way in the back. When the speaker was telling the audience about his hourly rate. It was (4 years ago) $65/hour. The goons in the last table were hooting and laughing, the last thing I heard was them saying he was "full of it", and he would never get that price here. And here was Princeton, NJ. If anyone knows the Ivy League Schools and the towns and communities around them. They know that this area has some of the highest paid people in the states. What was funny to me was that I had been talking to this painting company owner, for a few months prior to this dinner and, I was then charging $65 per hour in that exact area.

It is all in the mind. What do you perceive? What does the client perceive? What is their perception of you? If you want to win more jobs at a higher price than your competitors, then think Value, not low price.

By the way just today, I quoted on a new porch and deck that a decorator referred me to. She also referred 2 other respectable painters. I talked for a while about the benefits of the job, (keeping my estimate hidden), never mentioning price. Talked about the benefits of a quality job, from the primer on the new cedar rail, and what to use on the new mahogany deck, mostly emphasizing quality. I felt that they liked me. Finally they asked me for the price, at which time I told them verbally, without the estimate. I said $2196 for the porch work, and $850 to bleach and rinse the house to clean the mildew off. They said, "how do you explain that Harold quoted $1400 and $450 to bleach the house"? Saying nothing negative about Harold, (actually he is a pretty good guy), I just explained what we would do and how much time it would take. Then they said Steve quoted $1800, after that I just said I don't understand their prices.

Long story short, he said can you do both the porch and the wash job for $3000?

I walked out of there with a $1000 deposit. And this happens a lot to me.

Last year in another part of town, I took a $10,000 exterior paint job, my competition was $6000, but I got the job. And hey, we are good.

Having Trouble Finding Customers For Your Staffing Agency

2008-08-12T09:18:00.001-07:00

Your competition has a big affect in your ability to find and secure new accounts with Hospitals or Medical Centers. Each staffing agency spends a lot of time in business development with the purpose of finding business. The problem with new staffing agencies is they often approach a Hospital without really knowing the internal culture or what makes the facility tick.

Lets look at some of the key factors that prevent many staffing agencies from finding new business or the first contract with a Hospital.

1. Are you familiar with the competition and how they are approaching the Hospitals?
2. Are you sure you are approaching the decision makers in the facility?
3. Have you identified your market challenge regionally?
4. Have you identified the accurate pay rates your competition is charging?
5. Have you identified the top accounts in the Hospital?
6. Have you identified the weaknesses your competition is experiencing?

These are just a few of the many variables that new staffing agencies need to identify before they begin walking into a facility and trying to secure accounts.

These variables will help you form a strategy to secure new accounts. Each strategy must be detailed with the goal of entering the marketplace, but not eliminating the competition. Don't approach the marketplace with the idea that you want to eliminate the competition.

Work with the competition and align yourself with the decision maker to enter the staffing arena as a backup. This technique has many opportunities that will be seen as time passes.

This is just one of many techniques you should use to secure clients and begin making money from your staffing agency. Too many staffing agencies make mistakes at the beginning that prevents them from surviving past the first year.

Many staffing agencies never actually make it past the first year, the problem is that they don't know the barriers to finding clients, and given enough time and money you will find the answers. The problem is again: how much time do you have and how much money do you have?

Five Tips For Beginning Sales People

2008-08-12T09:17:00.002-07:00

1. Educate Yourself
Don't wait for managers or anyone else to give you the sales education you need. Unfortunately, the automobile industry has been stuck for years in a, "Throw them in and see if they can swim mentality." Some dealerships take new recruits to a meeting room and have them watch training tapes for a day and expect them to be trained. Neither of these options will increase your odds for success.

Begin a massive self-education program that will continue your whole career. Combine visual, auditory and experiential learning. Listen to sales and motivational material every day on the way to and from work. Read, watch DVDs and then put it all together by role-playing with a manager or fellow sales person. Education Creates Motivation - Motivation Breeds Perspiration - Perspiration Creates Elevation.

2. Avoid Cancer
Attitude is everything in sales and life. All companies are full of people with negative attitudes and limiting beliefs. These beliefs and attitudes begin to perpetuate into a culture that is counterproductive to all sales people and potentially deadly to the new sales person. You can insulate yourself from the cancerous attitudes by taking the following steps. 1. Avoid smoke-and-joke circles. There has never been a positive conversation in one of these pity party circles, and there never will. Avoid them like the plaque. 2. Utilize motivational material daily. Nobody can be fully self-motivated all the time. You need tools to assist you. CDs, DVDs, pictures, music, books, quotes, spiritual material, mentors and mastermind circles are all tools that you should use.

3. Utilize a Follow-Up System Religiously
Pick a manual or software system that you will use from day one. Every customer, every prospect, every time. When you start with an organized system, you will be focused on the fundamentals that will make you successful both short- and long-term. Collect as much data as you can on each prospect and customer and organize your follow-up by using post cards, letters, gifts, newsletters, e-mail auto-responders and sequential auto-responders. Persistent = consistent.

In sales and marketing, you must always remember the order of importance of potential sales. Your current customers will always provide you the most return on investment. So often, new sales people are in a constant mad dash for new customers and forget to maximize the potential of the ones they just sold. It's easier to maintain a good system that was created from the beginning than it is to start a new one later on.

4. Take Massive Action
It's all about action management, not time management. You have 1,440 minutes in everyday. Success is determined by the actions you take in those minutes. Avoid the time trap of getting caught up in the stuff. Stuff are the things that are minor in nature that we spend most of our day in that create little results. Don't major in the minor. Continually ask yourself if what you are doing will contribute to a sale either now or in the future. Keep the main thing, the main thing. Each day you must evaluate your actions and create a stop-doing list. After reviewing your day, determine what actions you should lessen or eliminate. Start your day with major actions so it sets a trend for the day. Jump in, don't wade in.

5. Be Your Own Marketing Manager
Don't expect any business or anyone to bring you customers. You must take the mindset from day one that you will provide 100 percent of your own customers and anything your company provides is extra. Start by creating your own brand. What will your slogan be that defines you? Utilize your picture, caricature and slogan on all marketing materials and business cards. Create your own Web site as a benefit to the customer that can be integrated with all marketing material.

Next, determine your ideal customer base that buys your product. You can purchase lists of people who drive your brand of product from one of many different list providers. Begin a multi-step marketing approach to these potential customers. Read as many books on copy writing as possible to learn the secrets of getting people to take action from your words. Educating yourself on marketing and copywriting will pay you more dividends than any other single thing you can do.

Sales people are made, not born. It's the people who do the work, who learn to market themselves, follow-up, handle rejection, persist and maintain a winning attitude that win in the sales profession.

Sales Techniques That Assist in Selling to Generation Y

2008-08-12T09:17:00.001-07:00

For many selling professionals and sales managers selling effectively has become a cumbersome task. The proliferation of the electronic media and instant availability of products and services allows more power into the hands of clients. However, there is one area where the selling professional can achieve more effectiveness by trends and social issues. One of the largest yet daunting areas of research today relates to the Millennials or aptly called Generation Y.

To achieve greater selling effectiveness, professionals must realize that we operate in a multi-cultural, multi-gendered and multi-generational workforce. For purposes of this article, our focus relates to generational issues. Many selling professionals, consultants and employers have not taken into consideration that four generations exist in the workforce. There exists:

-Veterans = 20 Million/ages 65 and above

-Baby Boomer = 65 Million /ages 47 - 60

-Generation X = 50 Million /ages 38 - 45

-Generation Y = 78 Million /21 - 40

The manner which each purchases is based on behavior and values. To achieve selling excellence it is imperative to quickly comprehend the value differentiation of each.

Veterans

Veterans have important buying power and been doing so for well over 50 years. These groups because of many socially historical issues usurp brand value. This group tends to remain very loyal to products, services, and do not like change. More importantly, their age creates a need for physical relationship and they find instant communication frustrating.

Boomers

The 78 million Americans who were 50 or older approximately 5 years ago controlled $28 trillion, or 67% of the country's wealth. This group has tremendous buying power. However, this group ages by the moment as many Boomers worry about retirement and savings. This group resists spending during economic uncertainty since they pay with cash not credit. To achieve sales excellence it is imperative for selling professionals to create a bond with Boomers.

Generation X

Generation X makes up about 17% of the U.S. population and range in age from 38 to approximately 45 years of age. This generation is very open to technology yet is also well educated. If they need information they know where to get it so selling professionals need to illustrate differentiation. Generation X wants issues resolved expediently and deplore lengthy "sales pitches" in favor of solutions. Coincidentally, the dearth of email has Generation X desirous of personal interaction and paper correspondence. Selling effectiveness is uncompromised using more traditional marketing means.

Generation Y/Millennials

The largest and clearly the most influential group of purchasers since the Baby Boomers, Generation Y is on the minds of many selling and marketing professionals. With 78 million potential buyers, it is impossible to avoid this large group. They are influential, have the money to spend and there are many of them. Generation Y are very well educated. As a group, they believe in real time connection with the Internet a Must medium. Generation Y is all about instant connectivity and most importantly instant gratification.

Our research in this area finds these influential areas pivotal for effectively selling to Generation Y.

Cool. Online and print medium require change. Generation Y desires importance and self-actualization. They buy the now and the hottest item on the market. Those that follow this trend will thrive. Avatars such as Apple are very proactive in this area. Sales of iPods and iPhones flourish. Generation Y desires to be part of the experience. Selling to them requires a value proposition focused on current trends and social issues.

Brand. Generation Y differs from all prior generations. They are not brand loyal. Due to the increased connectivity, Generation Y follows social trends. Millennials have acute attention spans as they await the next trend. A recent Wall Street Journal article illustrates how Six Flags is aligning with Disney (movies and television shows) simply to capture the attention of the Millennials. Do not build a brand for them; rather, build a brand with them. Apple, Southwest, FedEx, Facebook, Google all build products with advice from this influential group.

Content. Content is king. This is true for Millennials. The proliferation of Internet technology allows Generation Y instant access to information. Sellers must provide uniqueness with content not found through regular Internet channels. Further, since content travels at the speed of light selling effectiveness can increase with viral marketing.

Language. Generation Y uses different lexicon. Whereas the other generations use complete articulate sentences, Millennials speak in a language encrypted with message similar to the DaVinci code. Sellers must speak and connect to Millennials in their language.

Risk. The increase of viral marketing and information enable Millennials to take more risks then preceding generations. In fact, due mostly to youth, Millennials are riskier, they have less to lose. Sellers and marketers must challenge Millennials. Buyers represent three purchase groups' a) early adopters, b) followers c) not a chance. Generation Y devour risk by adopting the "cool" trends. Sellers must understand the trends to advise the consumer to be a recognized leader.

C-Level Selling is the Path to Cross Selling

2008-08-11T22:11:00.003-07:00

The biggest handicap to increasing market share is the inordinate amount of time that sales people spend cold calling trying to get into new accounts. This is tough duty. It's tough because there are no relationships to leverage for information and upward introductions. Precious time is wasted calling or pounding doors to leave advertisements to generate interest. Sales people cost too much to do that. They should not be used as an advertising arm of marketing.

Answering RFP's is another time sink and waste of valuable selling time unless you have relationships with people that count for that project. If you haven't been involved in the development of the RFP and you haven't gotten to the P/L leader to understand the business issues, you don't know how to present your solution so that you stand out as more valuable than the rest. Even if you submit the lowest price, you may not win over the ultimate decision maker because price is usually not his issue - even though everyone always says it is.

I'm in sales. I sell my consulting, my books and my training programs. My focus is on my existing customers. 90% of my time is spent with existing customers trying to develop selling relationships - meaning - learning, observing, interviewing, integrating and showing how I can deliver their results. I use and develop my network. As for new accounts, I've hired a marketing company to generate qualified leads. Once they've got a prospect to a point where I can interview an interested leader, I'll invest to see if I can fit into his solution image. I don't chase windmills. Unless I have an opportunity to develop a relationship -- credibility with someone on the inside -- I will let it pass. I invest my valued asset, time, to develop my valued asset: relationships. Relationship selling is how I can make the most sales.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus Tip: FREE E-Book "Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers". Just click this C-Level Relationship Selling Link Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to be effective and feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_ManferStrategic planning is the exercise that organizations struggle with in defining their sales strategies plans and the future direction of the company. This article addresses a few ideas to assist you in the sales part of the overall sales strategies plan.

A great series of starter questions should be answered right at the start.

What do you want to do?

Run the business
Or

Grow the business

Or

Transform the business

Run the business: Status quoi, business as usual, just like before, keep the lights on. No big
changes.

Grow the business: Increase revenues/sales, grow markets, and add resources, facilities and people, expand.

Transform the business: Big changes, risk, new stuff, different markets, products, channels, skills and resources.

Now keep these three questions in mind through the process, write them out on a flip chart or white board.

1 What is it that we do?
2 Who is our target, who do we do it for?
3 How do we do it better, how do we excel over others that we compete with?

Where to start:

If you have recently had a detailed assessment of the sales group done great if not I suggest you get one done to establish a true baseline for all of your decisions. The sales strategies plan should be done by the senior management team and within reason should be completed without consideration of the ability to execute. (I will explain later) It is important to get buy in with the entire team for all parts of the sales strategies plan. Start by establishing a time frame for the sales strategies plan. There is a ton of information on the web regarding details that will help you through this sales strategies process. Outline the sales strategies plan, establish strategic objectives and goals identify key strategic projects and stack rank them in order of importance to the overall sales strategies plan and then for each ask yourself the following two questions about each.

1 How important is this to the business
2 What is our ability as an organization to execute?

If it's very important to the business and you can execute with ease then it should go to the top of the list. If it is not so important and very difficult to execute on then it should go to the bottom of the list ..

Now what can you expect from the current sales group to do their part. There will probability be a gap between what you need and what they can deliver.

The model is simple and if you spend a few minutes understanding its power it will explain what you have to do. It goes on to explain the steps required to complete a sales strategies plan
Dealing with the gap: You will recall that I asked you to develop the sales strategies plan without constrengths. That is because I believe that you should be able to dream, vision what the future should hold without always being concerned that the sales group may not be capable of delivering. We can fix that; you can fix that...close the gap and manage the business towards those goals without being weighted down by doubt and uncertainty.

Keep it simple; check out Google see strategic planning and good luck!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gordon_Petten

The Five Words That Could (and Should!) Kill Your Sales Career

2008-08-11T22:11:00.002-07:00

There I was, the proud owner of a beautiful new washer and dryer set. Cherry red, front-loading, state-of-the-art; they were everything my wife and I wanted. There was just one problem: the units were nowhere to be found. I had blocked out a portion of my Saturday to make the 45-minute drive to the Home Depot where we had purchased the set, excited to get them set up and running. To my disappointment the units hadn't been delivered to the store yet; worse, no one from the store had even bothered to call and save me the trip down. In fact, when I had called the store earlier in the day to check whether the units had arrived, I was assured they had. You can imagine my frustration.

Now I'm a pretty reasonable guy: I understand that trucks sometimes get delayed or orders get misplaced or a warehouse is out of stock. No problem. The problem was that everyone I talked to (the customer service clerk, the salesman I had purchased the set from, and even the store manager) responded to my dilemma with what I consider to be the five lamest words in the English language: "There's nothing I can do." A couple of them went so far as to add an "I'm sorry" to the beginning of the statement, but somehow that didn't make me feel any better. I was given a long list of reasons why no one could do anything, but this, too, failed to improve my mood.

My options were to come back in a couple of days to pick the units up or to wait for the store to deliver them the following week for an additional charge. Since my old unit was broken and the laundry was piling up, I opted to make another trip to pick them up myself. I left the store frustrated, annoyed and certain that my next appliance need would be met elsewhere.

I share this story with you because it highlights a growing problem in the fields of sales and customer service: failure to recognize the importance of the customer. I've said before that the customer is the most important person in any transaction, but I'd like to take that a step further and say that the customer is the only important person in a transaction. After all, no customer, no transaction.

You see, I did have a third option: I could have asked Home Depot for a refund and taken my business somewhere else. The only reason I didn't was that it would have created a greater inconvenience for me at the time; however, you can be sure next time I will probably opt for one of their competitors. Remember that your customers have this same option available to them, as well. No matter how good you or your products or services are, your customers can always get similar or better products or services from one of your competitors, and probably for a lower price. If you resort to the use of the five lamest words in the English language, you can be sure they'll exercise this option. So what if there really is little or nothing you can do to resolve a customer's complaint?

First, realize there is always at least one thing you can do and that is to empathize. To empathize means to identify with another person's feelings or difficulties. A simple statement like, "Mr. Kennedy, I understand how you feel, and I can assure you I will do everything in my power to resolve this situation to your satisfaction," would have gone a long way toward making me feel better about my experience. At least I would have known that someone cared. You can always do at least that for your customers: let them know you care and that you will exhaust all your options to rectify the situation.

Of course, you have to follow that up with actually doing everything in your power to resolve the problem. In other words, you should be an advocate for your customer. If he or she has a problem, take ownership of that problem and see it through to resolution. Fight for your customers, argue for them, bend or even break the rules for them, but never, I mean never, be caught telling them "There's nothing I can do!"

Jerry Kennedy is the owner of Inside Out Business Solutions, a sales and customer service training provider based in Northern California. With a lengthy background in petroleum sales, Jerry has been on the front lines and knows the challenges sales people face every day. You can learn more about Jerry and Inside Out Business Solutions by visiting http://www.inside-out-solutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Kennedy

The Painting Business - Tough Economy, What Do You Do?

2008-08-11T22:11:00.001-07:00

The first thing so many painting businesses do is to run around and low ball every estimate. Why?

Because they firmly believe that painting customers buy exclusively on price. But, studies show that for the most part that is not true. Painting customers want the best value.

Best value and that is? Think about what reasons you buy for. Try to get into the mind of the customer. If you have a really nice home in an upscale community, and you want your home to look good, the finish to last (good paint jobs are not cheap, even the cheap ones are not cheap) and actually sometimes cheap things cost more, the first time that you buy, and you pay the second time to do it the right way first. And they want the painting contractor to start and stay until done, not to take the deposit and leave only to work in dribs and drabs, until the owner finally throws the bum out. They want value, and this means a good job relatively priced, from someone they perceive to be honest, hardworking, going to do a good job and is not going to kick the dog, drink on the job and smoke in their house.

People buy for the most part on their emotions; people buy because they like you. Or they trust you. If you take a $5000 paint job, one guy quotes $5000; the other guy quotes $5050. And the client needs to pick one. The first guy looks sloppy, he was late for the appointment, and when he got out of his truck a beer can fell on the ground. The other guy is clean, came on time, and his truck looks like it was just washed. Which will they pick? The low ball painter only thinks the one who is low bidder will get the job. But if you were buying something this big, and you had doubts, would you buy from the low ball or the painter that you were confident in?

What if the prices were $5000, and $5051? Is that enough of a difference? This is supposed to be a 10 year paint job. Spread $51 over 10 years, does it matter then?

What if the prices were $5000, and $5100, at that point what is another $49? What about $5000 and $5200? $5300? Maybe if they need to buy that job badly enough, and they could not feel good about the low ball painter no matter what the price difference, they might even pay a few thousand more.
I have heard the catcalls, at a PDCA dinner that was for getting new members, from the cash painting contractors were sitting at the table all the way in the back. When the speaker was telling the audience about his hourly rate. It was (4 years ago) $65/hour. The goons in the last table were hooting and laughing, the last thing I heard was them saying he was "full of it", and he would never get that price here. And here was Princeton, NJ. If anyone knows the Ivy League Schools and the towns and communities around them. They know that this area has some of the highest paid people in the states. What was funny to me was that I had been talking to this painting company owner, for a few months prior to this dinner and, I was then charging $65 per hour in that exact area.

It is all in the mind. What do you perceive? What does the client perceive? What is their perception of you? If you want to win more jobs at a higher price than your competitors, then think Value, not low price.

By the way just today, I quoted on a new porch and deck that a decorator referred me to. She also referred 2 other respectable painters. I talked for a while about the benefits of the job, (keeping my estimate hidden), never mentioning price. Talked about the benefits of a quality job, from the primer on the new cedar rail, and what to use on the new mahogany deck, mostly emphasizing quality. I felt that they liked me. Finally they asked me for the price, at which time I told them verbally, without the estimate. I said $2196 for the porch work, and $850 to bleach and rinse the house to clean the mildew off. They said, "how do you explain that Harold quoted $1400 and $450 to bleach the house"? Saying nothing negative about Harold, (actually he is a pretty good guy), I just explained what we would do and how much time it would take. Then they said Steve quoted $1800, after that I just said I don't understand their prices.

Long story short, he said can you do both the porch and the wash job for $3000?

I walked out of there with a $1000 deposit. And this happens a lot to me.

Last year in another part of town, I took a $10,000 exterior paint job, my competition was $6000, but I got the job. And hey, we are good.

So quit dropping your price because nobody cares.

By the way, I bet Harold is thinking that his price was too high.

Click here to find out more about Getting Higher Prices than your competitors, for your Paint Jobs.

Patrick Cavanaugh has 30 years+ running a successful painting business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=P_E_Cavanaugh

Periscope Down

2008-08-09T06:59:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been working with a number of creative people. When I say creative they range from coaches to salespeople to web designers; from artists to store owners. They are all creative in their own way and they all struggle with the same challenges. Among those challenges is planning. Planning, or lack thereof, can dramatically impact a company or organization.

It isn't enough to be good at what you do; you must be able to clearly define details and plans in order to successfully communicate with, sell to, and maintain a client base. Remember it's that client base that equates to income.

So, we are going to take the periscope down and focus on four areas: defining scope of work, identifying the target market, developing the sales plan, and implementing a client retention program. These are the nuts and bolts of a successful business. They need to be established, monitored, and modified as needed. Without clear planning in these areas you will find yourself floundering instead of sailing.

Scope of Work

This is one of those key areas that many entrepreneurs fail to address effectively. Before you ever make a single sale, you must define what it is you will do for how much money. It may sound obvious but too many people fail to address this topic at the outset. Imagine wanting to contract someone who couldn't tell you exactly what they were going to do, roughly how long it would take, what the process was, and how much it was going to cost you. Would that instill confidence? I don't think so!

In addition, if there is gray space, it's open to interpretation by the client. They may believe that you are going to do more than you intended. Without a clearly defined scope you have no way of combating that belief. You will end up doing more work without receiving more money. Not a great idea.

So take the time to define the work. You can and should have different packages. You can even keep it a la carte if you wish. The point is to make sure you have a clear definition of work you offer along with the corresponding cost to the client. Once defined, put it in writing. You'll be amazed at how much easier it will be to sell your service or product. Moreover, now you and your prospect will know exactly what to expect. No surprises.

Target Market

Do you believe your product or service is good for everyone? Well maybe. I submit to you that this may not be true. And at the same time, it's terribly difficult to sell to everyone. Target marketing keeps things clean and clear. It helps you focus - and that focus will help you market your product or service more effectively.

Whether you sell something that everyone can and should buy is not the issue. The issue is to break down the possibilities into workable pieces. Select a section of the market that you can focus on. It's easier to set up a sales plan when you aren't all over the place.

Focus your time and energy on that one market and go deep. Try to penetrate it as far as you can. Once you've established yourself in that market you can always pick another segment and repeat the process. Now you have a focused, clear road to go down.

You may have noticed that we've been going in order through natural business growth steps. You can't pick a target market until you've clearly defined what it is you offer. Once you have your target market your next step is to structure and implement your sales plan.

Sales Process

You now know what you are offering and who you are offering it to. So, how are you going to sell it? Whatever you decide to do, you have to do it consistently. The worst thing to do in the sales process is to stop contacting people once you've started. Having a plan of action will help you avoid that problem.

There are many ways to develop a sales plan. The most successful will be the one that you'll feel comfortable doing. For example, if you don't like the idea of cold calling (and most people don't), then you have to find other ways of getting your information to your market. It may be an introductory letter; you may decide networking is the way to go; maybe you offer workshops or seminars to share information and become known to your market. Perhaps you hire a telemarketer or try direct mail marketing.

Whatever path you choose, remember that there are always more steps. You can't just send out a direct mail piece and wait for people to knock on your door. You can't send an introductory letter and expect people to call you. You have to craft a plan of action - several steps - that you are going to implement and maintain. Once you've sent out the introductory letter, follow up with a phone call. Create a process for follow up calls. How often, at what time of day, for how long.

Creating a sales plan will help you keep focused on the process. Without a plan, you'll struggle to realize sales and therefore your business will suffer. Keeping your focus on the process and tackling each step will keep the momentum going and the sales coming in.

Client Retention

Now you've acquired clients - congratulations! So, how do you keep them? Too often salespeople and business owners are so focused on the acquisition process that they fail to nurture the clients they already have. Keeping current clients is far less costly than gaining new ones so there is real value in retention.

Having said that, it can be hard to put your energy here when you think you should be working on gaining more clients. That's where planning comes in. Take some time to consider and establish a clear, workable system for nurturing your client relationships. Once that system is in place - stick to it!

When you are clear about where you want to go and how you are going to get there, it becomes much easier to proceed. Planning provides you with the road map and the directions. The most successful businesses are the ones where the people have taken the time to periscope down and think about, investigate, and create the processes necessary to move ahead. Take the time to work with the details at the beginning. It will free you up to be able to effectively head down your road toward success.

Staying Committed

2008-08-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

We've all been there. . . that perfect moment in the business life of a sales professional when we've made the sale and turned that prospect into a client. It feels good. We've done our job well. But maybe something seems a little off.

This feeling is something to pay attention to. Commitment is a tricky thing, a loaded word with connotations of "being stuck" and these days it seems many people are terrified of commitment in all arenas.

What should you be watching out for? When a person gives you a commitment the biggest thing to look for is, are they congruent. Is the person hemming and hawing? Do they say things like, "I can probably swing that." The word 'probably' is a dead giveaway. So is the word 'try'. If someone's trying to buy or make a commitment, they're not actually buying or making a commitment.

Were they really congruent when they gave you the 'yes' answer? Or were they less than specific? "Yeah, I reckon so," they might say. Well, 'reckon so' doesn't mean they fully agree to it necessarily.

You might be able to hear it tone of their voice (which is a hard one to describe in writing, but you know . . . they stop and start and um and uh). Does their tone, when they agree, make you feel that they are really not committed?

You need to really evaluate if you've gotten a commitment from somebody, are they congruent? Do they mean it? If you spot any of the things like I just mentioned, the wisest thing to do is to stop and find out what the issue is. It's easier to fix an objection or a problem right then than it will be later on when you gloss over it (and letting the little nagging doubt grow into something larger) and just assuming or trying to convince yourself, well they must have been telling me the truth. After all, all prospects tell the truth, right? Just like all sales people do.

The thing is, we are truth tellers. We tell the truth for all the obvious reasons, not the least of which is, that we want our unconscious mind to believe us.

It's really important if you see any issues of congruency that you stop and say, "Listen, you know, you told me this answer but I'm just wondering if there's anything else going on there that we need to explore." And then at that point, you'll be able to deal with it and it won't become a festering sore that will eventually erupt and lose you the deal.

Baby Steps With Commitment

2008-08-09T06:57:00.002-07:00

None of us start out knowing how to crawl, walk, talk, chew, understand language, read or control our bladders. . . but we all learned (hopefully) and we all learned one step at a time. We learned to communicate, we learned to be mobile, we learned to send e-mails, we learned to cook microwave popcorn. . . there's no end to what we've learned in our years on this planet.

And it all started out with baby steps.

The good news is, we continue to learn. We can learn anything that we set our minds to. By parsing anything into small chunks, we can do absolutely anything -- learning a new language (which, incidentally, is something that I'm experiencing at my ripe age and through techniques such as the light and sound machine where I achieve the brainwaves associated with early childhood, I'm excelling in Spanish at an incredible rate), learning a musical instrument, learning a computer program, even learning how to have total congruity and living honestly with ourselves and everyone around us.

Here's what I want you to do. Pick something that you can absolutely be 100 percent in control of and commit to doing it. Let me give you an example. Let's say today, and this is one I like because I can be in control of doing it, I'm going to go out at 3:00 today to the mailbox. So let's say that 3:00 is 10 minutes away from now. I'm going to go check the mailbox and come back. No matter what, I'm going to keep that commitment to myself.

You can do that, can't you?

Here's another one: Tell yourself you're going to go home from work today on a particular route. Let's say it's slightly different than normal, and then force yourself, be vigilant and alert because your normal reflexes will take over and you'll do it the same way you always did unless you pay close attention.
Or maybe you decide you're going to clean up your desk by 5:00 o'clock. Then at 5:00 o'clock, you simply clean your desk. Do it.

I don't care how little it is, but whatever it is, pick something little and do it.

Then when you want to go a little further, extend the time frame. Tell yourself, I'm going to check the mail today at 4:00, so that's three hours from now. The key is that you do not allow anything, no matter what, to get in your way of doing what you committed to do.

The next extension is to enlarge the magnitude of the task. Maybe it is something you don't really want to do -- yard work, exercise, or making an appointment for the dentist -- once you've established within yourself that you can go get the mail, you will be primed to conquer the larger tasks.

What you might find in doing this exercise is that you make all kinds of commitments to yourself and others that you have no intention of keeping. Is it any wonder you're not getting ahead faster than you are right now?

Again, to see how fast you are or are not getting ahead, look into your environment because that will show you really quickly how powerful your will is.

Increase Sales by 25 Percent

2008-08-09T06:57:00.001-07:00

All sales people need to have a monthly sales goal for themselves. They also need to know how they arrived at that specific goal. Many times, these goals are based upon their past sales performance, but past results may not be indicative of performance.

You can increase your sales by 25 percent or more. Identify what causes mental barriers that produce limited results and how to overcome them. Many barriers are caused by conditioning, circumstance and emotions. Many people associate money with the following phrases: "Do you think money is grown on trees?" "Do you think we are rich?" "You can't afford that." "Money is the root of all evil." This is why many people have limited and negative beliefs about money.

Examples of the three limiting factors are:

Conditioning.

The US is the richest country in the world. Money is printed every day here. So in reality, what's the difference between it growing on trees or on a printing press?

Circumstance.

All people have negative experiences and setbacks in their lives, these experiences can lead you to let circumstances limit your beliefs about success or money. When you anchor your future to the past, that's exactly what you get. History is meant to be a rudder not an anchor.

Emotions.

Emotions are some of the most powerful sources of energy in nature. Negative emotions are also caused when your conscious mind and subconscious are in conflict with one another. Example: If you set a goal to lose five pounds, it is done in your conscious mind. If later that day, you walk by a bakery and smell cookies and walk in and eat a half-dozen, that action was controlled by your subconscious mind. Can you see the conflict? Your subconscious reacts to information and emotions given to it without regard to your goals. If not properly directed, negative emotions limit actions, habits and results. If rejection dominates your emotions, you have lost the war before the battles began.

What you can do to explode your results. First of all, you must change your questions. Your life and your results are a direct reflection of the questions you ask yourself. Don't ask what you want based upon what you have or what you have done. Ask bigger and better questions. Many trainers who teach goal setting say to make your goals believable. All goals are simply choice. You can make almost any goal believable if you change your questions.

Use this exercise to help you get your conscious and subconscious mind going in the same direction. Write down your goal in a positive present tense paragraph without any limiting beliefs.

Example: I am happily and easily selling 20 cars or more a month without struggle or conflict. My sales and other resources are creating an abundance of money for my family and me.

It's easy to dismiss exercises like this. However, one trait found among massively successful people is their open-mindedness in pursuit of success. Skeptics rarely are successful, let alone happy people. Ask yourself, "What have I got to lose?"

Three things determine your path in life: philosophy, free will and choice. Your own personal philosophy is determined by your questions. Everything is determined by your free will and choice. Ask the right question, and they will lead to the right thoughts. Have the right thoughts, and they will create the right emotions. Feel the right emotions, and they will lead to the right actions. Take the right actions, and they will create the right habits. Having the right habits will create the right results. Your results will form your destiny, and yes, you can increase your sales by 25 percent or more.

You Must Like Your Customer Types If You Are in Sales

2008-08-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

If you are in sales, you have to like the types of customers you will be doing business with on a regular basis. This sounds easy enough, but many people who get into sales do not realize the types of customers or prospects they will need to forge relationships with to steady their ship towards a path of success.

I'll explain further. If you enjoy wearing a suit and tie, an industrial sales job will be a poor fit for you (unless you enjoy having to buy suits on a regular basis). If you have a general dislike for doctors and nurses, how in the world will you be able to forge relationships with them? If you don't like dealing with the general public, why in the world would you go into retail sales? If cars don't excite you, how are you going to be able to excite a prospect that shows up on the lot?

Many of your customers should be people that you can be friends with outside of work. Building these types of relationships can take your sales to a whole new level. Friends will always readily help with referrals that turn into new business, and everyone enjoys helping someone they like succeed.

Remember, no amount of money will make you happy if you are continually having to deal with a group of people you don't enjoy being around. Before you accept that next sales position that comes along, think hard about whether or not you will enjoy being around the types of customers for that particular industry.

The Rise of the "Latte" and "Black Coffee" Sales Authors

2008-08-08T08:20:00.002-07:00

One thing that I am really concerned about these days is some of the latest sales authors I've seen out there on the net. These authors may write some great material, but come from a position of being out of touch with their audience. They seem to be older or have the slicked back Wall Street hair look, and just present an overall image of someone who has not been in sales for a long time.

I've coined a new term here for these authors - the "Latte" Sales Authors. I'm reminded of someone sipping on a Starbucks's cup looking at his latest art piece. Somebody that turns his head when his hands get dirty or despises having to deal with anyone considered "entry" level (unless a five or six figure contract is attached). Someone who generally looks down on other people, especially the ones who get up every morning to go to work (by the way, these are the people who make America the greatest country in the world!).

It really burns me up at times that the minority of salespeople (the ones that seek out additional education) are handing their money over to these people who are out of touch with the 21st century sales world. Salespeople who seek out continuing education at their own expense have worked really hard for the money that is being wasted. Salespeople simply deserve better than what they are getting, especially at book stores.

On the plus side, the rise of sales authors (both young and old) in blogs gives everyone in the sales community hope. For these straight-shooting authors, I have also coined a new term - the "Black Coffee" Sales Authors. These are the authors that stay in touch with the selling community and have a very engaging personality. This by no means is limited to young or start-up sales authors, as I would include Jeffrey Gitomer (for example) in this group.

I certainly mean no disrespect to anyone who drinks a latte now and then, as you can be a latte drinker and still be a "Black Coffee" Sales Author. Black coffee simply comes to represent someone who pulls no punches, and throws the ball right down the middle of the plate. Whatever you do, think twice about handing your money over to a "Latte" author when a "Black Coffee" author is readily available.

Increase Sales by Staying on the Grid

2008-08-08T08:20:00.001-07:00

In light of the current credit crisis and general nervousness about the economy, business owners can't help be concerned about their companies' future. Of course, there are always businesses that do well in do well in down markets, and I know my bankruptcy attorney friends are busier than ever. But most entrepreneurs I speak with have their eyes fixed on the latest economic indicator reports.

And while business may slow for some of us, if you are creative, a down economy creates opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses. For example, down economies create price sensitivity. Prospective clients who have been loyal to their existing service providers may reconsider working with an entrepreneurial company or small firm that has better rates.

It was exactly this type of economy that propelled me into my own law practice six years ago and, like in the last down market, I have recently seen opportunities open up to me that weren't available a year ago.

According to sales expert, Adrian Miller, keeping your name at the top of your new and existing contacts' minds is the best way to make sure you don't miss out on any of these new opportunities. According to Miller, "marketing is all about staying on the grid."

Most rainmakers, and especially professionals, are guilty of making a new contact, either through a networking event, golf or lunch, and then have no follow up system in place to stay in touch. And while it's great that you are "out there" having meetings, without a follow up strategy in place, your return on the time, effort and possibly expense you invested in taking that meeting is limited. The people you meet with may not know of (or need themselves) the services you provide at the time that you meet them. You want to make sure that you stay at the top of their mind so when the need arises, you're the person who wins the referral.

For her own business, Miller says that for her to keep a pipeline of prospective clients large enough to generate the revenues she aspires to achieve, she needs to make a minimum of 50 touches a day, which includes people she meets networking, at speaking events, and communications with clients and prospects.

But according to Adrian, your point of contact should never be a "hey, just touching base" email or call. Miller says that these types of correspondence are self serving, add no value to your clients and you become the annoying guy or gal whose email and calls get ignored. Says Miller, "you win business because you equate to an improvement to a situation the prospective client is dealing with." "To do this your communications must offer value to your prospect or referral source."

Adrian had 8 easy tips to stay in front of your prospects with value-add communications:

1. Be a Connector. You can be valuable to your contacts and business prospects by connecting them to people who can help solve their problems or increase their business. These can be introductions between clients, prospects, vendors and referral sources. Adrian suggests making a commitment to connecting five people a day. Miller uses her subway commutation time to make these connections via her PDA. If you are known for making connections that lead to new business or other opportunities, then you can be sure your emails will get opened.

2. Send an Article. A touch point can be as simple as cutting out or photocopying an article that may be of interest to one or more of your contacts. Adrian says she walks around with a stack of her business envelopes and if she's in a waiting room, she'll take an article out of a magazine and send it to a client or prospect that's of interest.

3. Send a Link. If you've just spoken to a client and found out he or she is going on a vacation to a special destination, or that they have a particular interest, Miller suggests using Google to find an article or something of interest to your contact and sending the link to the article in your follow up message.

4. Newsletters. Not much to say here, most everyone knows the drill. The key is to make the commitment to getting the newsletter out consistently. Miller suggests hiring a freelance writer to write the copy for your newsletter. You can have a sit-down with a freelance writer, give them five bullet points about an article idea, which they will then turn into a 1,500 word article in less than a week. Do this for three topics once per quarter and you have your newsletter copy for a year. I have colleagues who have successfully used Elance (www.elance.com) to find affordable copy writers.

5. Take Them to Lunch. Don't just plan a lunch with one person, schedule a lunch for two or three people (plus you) who have synergies. Same concept as being a connector, except you are sharing a meal together. Miller sets her lunches up a few weeks in advance, and if you're lucky enough to be invited, you don't miss it. This is something you can train your assistant do for you. All you need to do is provide your assistant with names, and she can schedule dates a few weeks in advance. A good time saving tip is to pick steady venues located in different strategic areas.

6. Invite Them to an Event. Like the lunches, invite two or three people who will have synergies. Miller suggests that this is a good opportunity to be creative and connect with your clients on a personal level. Adrian is a member of MoMA and gets invites to exhibit openings. She regularly invites her clients and referrers. Recently, one of my clients invited me and a colleague to go to the pre-opening event at the New York International Car Show. It was an awesome experience that we are still talking about. Also, Miller suggests not being afraid to take your prospects and clients to places where your competition is. According to Miller, your clients will meet your competition anyway; many clients will actually be impressed that you're not afraid of your competition.

7. Get Digital. Yes, websites are important and unless you've been living in a cave, you know this. But web marketing has gone to a new level, and Miller suggests building your online profile through professional social networking sites like Linked-In or Corporate Facebook. I know many professionals who are using these sites to effectively find staff, investors and clients.

8. Keep Clients Happy. Miller suggests that your clients are your biggest (and least expensive) sales force and, in fact, promoted her elder law attorney and IP attorney at our seminar without us even realizing it. Do whatever you can to keep your clients in your fan club.

In Party Plan Selling - How Not to Be Pushy

2008-08-08T08:19:00.002-07:00

I was in the market for a new couch and saw one I really liked. The saleswoman came over and told me all the reasons I wanted THIS couch. She went on to tell me why I needed the matching chair. I didn't want the matching chair. I wanted the couch.

She told me how shabby my room would look if I didn't get the end tables, coffee table, and matching lamps. I didn't want them. I wanted the couch.

She assured me I'd be the envy of the neighborhood. All I want is the couch, Lady!

She told me to think about the beautiful new room I'd have and payments would be only -------

I walked out of the store. Instead of selling me the couch I wanted, her pushy style of selling drove me out of the store. Are you getting the drift here?

She wasn't listening to me. She wasn't filling my needs. She was telling me what she wanted me to buy instead of listening to what I wanted and could afford. She had dollar signs in her eyes.

So often I hear consultants say, "But I don't want to appear pushy." So how do we avoid being pushy and still increase our sales, bookings, and recruits? By asking questions and respecting the answers.

At a show I did, a woman purchased a $100 stock item that complemented an expensive set. I pointed out to her that she could get the set by booking a show. She didn't want to have a show and stated, "I don't do these sort of things." So I asked if she thought she'd be purchasing more of these items in the future. She told me if she liked the item she was buying as much as she thought she would, she probably would be calling me. I made sure she had my catalog, business card, and the special flier about those items.

A few weeks later I called to see how she liked her purchase. She loved it. A few weeks after that some of the stock items went on sale. I called and let her know. She ordered those and thanked me for letting her know about the sale. Again I did a customer care call when she got the products and she assured me she'd be calling me to order the rest of the stock items.

A few months later she did call and ordered the rest. She's now purchased well over $300 in products from me. A few weeks later I called again to see if her new items were doing what she wanted and if she had any questions. During that call she said she absolutely loved everything and really wanted the set. She asked if the set ever went on sale. I told her no - because that was the truth - and reminded her that she could get the set for half price if she had a few friends in. "Well, let's do it then!" she replied.

How did that happen? Simple. I listened to her. I respected her "no." I did customer care calls. I let her know when items she liked and wanted went on sale. I wasn't pushing. I was filling her needs. Do you see the difference?

Oh, by the way, I went to a different store and saw the most awesome couch and matching chair. The salesman was so nice and even gave me a discount if I bought both pieces. They look great in my living room. I'm thinking seriously about going back for the lamps I saw there ......

Regain Control of the Sale

2008-08-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like you're losing control of the conversation with a potential customer that keeps going off on tangents? You quickly realize that you better regain control of the conversation quickly... or you are going to lose the sale! You might find yourself in this situation when you have a potential customer that bombards you with questions, stories, and off the wall scenarios. At first, you think "Wow" this person is extremely interested! Thirty minutes later you realize... wait a minute... we are nowhere close to getting this deal. Here is a technique that you can master and never face the above scenario again!

I call it the Statement, Benefit, Probe technique.

Statement - This is simply your next statement in the course of a conversation, or your response to the latest question. (transition quickly to apply the "benefit" step)

Benefit - You build upon your "statement" with a reason why your product has worked well before... or reasons why other clients have enjoyed the product. (Make it quick... two to three sentences... and immediately follow with the "probe")

Probe - Ask a question where the client is prompted to verbalize their own reasons for how your product is going to help them achieve their goal.

BAM... Just like that... you are back in control!

Putting it into practice:

Now... Let's pick a scenario. How about something like... You are working with a client who is interested in your employee training and development programs. The conversation is running off track, and it's time to regain control of the conversation. Choose your direction based on a "high value interest point" for that specific client. In this case, you know you can build value around the concept of talent management. The client says, "We're looking for ways to help our employees build a career path. How can you help us do that?"

Statement

"One of the best things about our program is that we can help you work with each manager to develop a specific development plan for each employee."

Benefit

"The thing managers appreciate most is that it helps them better understand each employee's motivation, goals, and aspirations. Not only is the employee inspired with a new plan to impact their future, but they develop a strong working relationship with their manager!"

Probe

"If we come in and help you develop that type of culture... How do you think you could use this program to help your employees build a career path?" (Stay quiet, listen, and let the client sell themselves!)

This technique might not come easy at first. You've got to be quick on your feet and make sure the client doesn't feel like you are cutting them off. With practice, it works like a charm!

What techniques do you use to keep your conversations moving in the right direction?

Why Are Some Salespeople More Successful Than Others?

2008-08-08T08:18:00.001-07:00

Over the years I've observed not only my own sales behavior but that of hundreds of salespeople who worked for my clients and I can tell you that the line between super sales success and mediocrity is a very thin one.

Let me explain.

There are several vital factors that will determine your success they include but are not limited to;

-your self-esteem

-your work ethic

-your attitudes during both good and bad times

-the condition of the economy

-your competitors

-your life outlook

-your attitudes about time

-your belief and confidence in your products and services

-your willingness to continue to learn and grow

Each of these will have varying impact on your overall success. None, in my opinion are more or less important than any of the others because they are all linked together. For example;
If you have low self-esteem you will tend to feel you have little value and will therefore tend to waste more time. If your life outlook is positive and optimistic in general your response to a challenging economy will to get more creative and work smarter. If your work ethic lacks passion your belief and confidence in your products and serves won't really matter.

So what is the difference between sales super-stars and everyone else?

Sales super-stars understand the connections between each of the elements of the sales process and their sales career and they work on each of them and all of them all of the time. The salespeople who consistently perform below expectations, never hit their sales targets or seem to excel always have reasons other than themselves - it's the price... it's the lack of corporate support... It's the competition lowering prices... It's the weather... It's Monday... It's Summer... Get it? Salespeople who never break records always have a reason.

How to Become a Better Sales Person

2008-08-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

All of us have done sales at one point in our lives. If you have to go on a job interview, it means you have to sell yourself to get the job since there are so many competitors. You have to market your skills, have experience, know how to negotiate salary and be likable. You have to prove to your prospective employer that you are the person for the job and so you have to have a certain kind of confidence and belief in yourself. You have to be grounded, mature and eager to learn.

It is the same attitude that is associated with a person who is actually in sales. If you are in the field of sales and want to become a better salesman or saleswoman, you have to first learn from those who have had more experience than you have had over the years. A good sales person must know the product or services of the company so that they can provide adequate and correct information to the client. Knowing the product or services may, in some cases, mean using it yourself because once you have a personal experience with something; you can recommend it honestly to others. This is why in the network marketing industry, sales representatives are asked to have their own monthly volume of the same products they are promoting so that their sales pitch can be more convincing and real.

Be confident about your skills and your ability to sell. You don't want your customer or client to see any sign of insecurity because they will see that as not believing in the company and its products or services. This is not a good representation of the company. Learn as much as you can about the company, their vision and their mission statement. Let that be a part of your vision. If you cannot identify with the company's vision or accept it, you might as well not be there.

Keep sharpening your skill set. Take classes, workshop or training that will help you to be a better sales person. Buy books, CDs or DVDs that are geared towards better salesmanship. A good author on that subject is Zig Ziglar. You also want to have your own goals of where you want to be as a salesperson in five years, ten years or twenty years. You will then use those goals as a buffer to propel you in the right direction and to make you better year after year.

Believe in yourself and in your abilities. If you don't believe you can do it, no one else will do it for you. You have to encourage yourself and stay motivated. Be around positive people that will help you to see things in a new light. Never be too hard on yourself. If you make a sale, go out and treat yourself to a movie, dinner or something momentous. Accept any moment of failure because it is through your failures that you will learn to become a better sales person. It will give you enough tenacity to do better the next time around.

Use These Ten Sales Copy Approaches To Beef Up Your Online Sales

2008-04-09T01:31:00.000-07:00

Utilize these ten approaches to energize your online sales copy.

1. The "Blast From The Past" Approach

The "if you order today, you will also receive all the past (bonuses or products) that I've previously removed..." approach tells potential customers that in the past you removed some things from your offer that they would never have had the chance to get until now. It could be older products, articles, reports, software, courses, content, etc.

2. The "Bought Everything" Approach

The "like you, I've bought products from everywhere imaginable and they still didn't work..." approach tells potential customers that you know that they have likely bought a lot of products from all sorts of places which never lived up to their claims. You could mention they may have bought them from infomercials, catalogs, the Internet, seminars, etc. You can say that after all those horrible experiences, you finally decided to develop a product that actually works.

3. The "A Bonus Date" Approach

The "special bonus just added! (date) (time)..." approach tells potential customers that you recently added a new bonus to your offer. It may excite them that it has just been added because they will be one of the first to get it. You could even tell them the date your next new bonus will be added. They will assume they will keep getting new bonuses as a paid customer.

4. The "Buyer Advantage" Approach

The "all my paid customers get told about my new product releases before my regular prospects...." approach tells potential customers that if they become a paid customer, they will get a chance to benefit from your new product releases before everyone else. You could give your paid customers another perk, like being the first to join your new affiliate program for the new products you release.

5. The "Buy A Bio" Approach

The "I'll reveal more about my past with you when you become a customer..." approach tells potential customers that they can learn more personal and professional things about you when they purchase your product. You could have a partial bio on your web site and a full bio sent with their product package or on your thank you page. Many people become curious about your whole life and history when they decide to purchase something from you.

6. The "Inside The Mind" Approach

The "go inside the mind of successful people that have (your product's benefit)..." approach tells potential customers that you will give them the mental instructions for using and gaining their desired benefit with your product. You could mention they will learn the habits, attitudes, beliefs, mindsets, emotions, etc. of other people that have been successful with your product. You could just interview these people and compile it into an information product.

7. The "Bed Of Nails" Approach

The "I'd rather lie on a bed of nails than not have (your product's benefit)..." approach tells potential customers now that you know what it's like to have your desired benefit with your own product or one from someone else, you would do almost anything not to go back to the way it was. You could explain the emotions you used to have, the problems that you experienced, the way if affected people around you, etc. Other descriptions of torture are: walking over glass, needles shoved under your finger nails, lying on hot coals, etc.

8. The "Back You Up" Approach

The "bonus: you'll get a back up copy shipped to you..." approach tells potential customers that you will give them a physical back up copy of your digital product that they normally just download. Tell them it will save them the time and frustration of re-downloading it if their computer crashes, if they get a destructive virus, if they accidentally delete it, etc. Tell them to hurry because you only produced so many copies.

9. The "My Favorite" Approach

The "my favorite food is..." approach tells potential customers that you are revealing some fun, personal information about yourself that is unrelated to your product. It will lighten up your sales letter or pitch so people might rest their buying defenses for a few minutes. It could be your favorite color, TV show, movie, music, joke, heroes, drink, place to vacation, quotes, vehicle, book, dream item, etc.

10. The "Normal Than Usual" Approach

The "the normal commission is $(no.) per sale but if you join the affiliate program through this link, you'll get ($) per sale..." approach tells potential customers that you made a deal with the product owner to give your audience a higher commission than normal on his affiliate program. Of course, the owner could give you second tier commissions for telling your prospects about it. It's a win/win deal for everyone involved.

How to Boost Your Online Book Sales with Effective Web Copy

2008-04-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

As a published author, your web site should become the clearinghouse of your marketing efforts. Every ad you place online, every article you publish in electronic publications, and even every e-mail you send should link back to your web site, where a visitor can read about your book-possibly even a sample of your book-read about you, find additional information, and buy your book. And every print ad or article that mentions you, should mention your web site, as well.

Your web site can be as simple as a blog, which is an often free, easy way to get online. If you already have a business web site, just add book sales pages and information about your book to what you already have - if your current web site gets traffic, you have a readily available pool of potential book buyers. Or you can build a web site specifically to market your book.

Realize that building a web site can be a big project, and not only does it possibly require help from an expert, but it also requires plenty of writing. When it comes to the writing, the following strategies will help.

How is writing for the web different?

When writing for the web, many of the same effective writing strategies you used in your book hold true. You should know the goal of your web copy, and use active, engaging language to keep your readers interested. You want your web content to be clear and error free. And it must appeal to the audience you're trying to target. But online, something called keyword density also plays a role in search engine relevance and driving traffic to your site.

What are keywords?

Keywords are phrases and terms that people enter into search engines to find what they need, so you need to think like your audience. For example, if your book is about how to reenter the dating field after a divorce, you must think of what your target Internet user might search to find the information you have to offer.

Knowing your audience has a lot to do with this-you have to know what search terms they'll use as they browse the web. So you might choose "dating after divorce," "divorcee dating," "dating help," and any variation of those phrases as your keywords. For more keyword ideas, try playing around with the Google Adwords keyword selection tool.

How can you write keyword-dense copy?

Once you determine a list of keywords, you must write keyword-dense web copy to boost your site's relevancy on the search results. This is a little trickier than it sounds because search engines are designed to flag sites as spam when they don't use keywords effectively. The key to writing successful keyword-dense copy is to find a middle ground between making it appealing to search engine robots and to actual human visitors. In other words, you don't want to overload your web copy with keywords and risk readability or clarity.

One effective way to achieve this is to create resourceful web copy that gives users information and use keywords as often as possible within the content you write. Write a first draft with your keyword list handy. Then when you go back and edit, make sure you look for places where additional keywords make sense. Again, resist the temptation to go overboard-the search engines don't like keyword-overloaded copy.

How can you keep your web copy fresh?

Frequent updates to your site encourage your audience to come back, and new material makes search engine robots crawl your site more often too. So every press release and article you write, post them on your web site. You can also create a blog and write tips and other industry news as often as you have time for. Frequent updates to your site can boost search engine rankings. So keep writing to keep your content fresh and appealing to your target audience.

Taking Your Book Sales Online

Marketing your book online is a multifaceted endeavor-and you'll have to keep yourself up-to-date on internet marketing strategies. You can't expect people to find your web site because it can easily become buried in the enormous amount of content on the web. It takes work to get to the front page of search engine listings.

With your online efforts, as well as any marketing efforts, you'll have to stick with it. And writing plays a big role in your success. Because as soon as you stop posting to your blog, and as soon as you stop driving traffic to your web site, potential readers will stop coming and your book will stop selling. Using these web writing tips will help you get started marketing and driving traffic to your web site, and boost your book sales and generate interest as a result.

SHERIFF'S SALE

2008-03-10T02:07:00.000-07:00

(SS74962J)
NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE
CJ-96-6243-63 Notice is given that on the 13th day of May, 1997, at 2:00 PM at the Oklahoma County Courthouse, the Sheriff of Oklahoma County, will offer for sale, and sell for cash at public Auction, to the highest and best bidder: Lot One (1), of Block Seven (7), in BLUFF CREEK ADDITION to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, according to the recorded plat thereof. The property has been appraised for $98,000.00, and will be sold for a sum that is not less than two-thirds thereof. Sale is to be made pursuant to a Special Execution and Order of Sale issued in Case No. CJ-96-6243-63 in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, against the following defendants: Fredrick James Catton, a/k/a Fredrick J. Catton and Peggy Lorraine Catton, a/k/a Peggy L. Catton, or the unknown successors thereof; Oklahoma County Treasurer; Board of County Commissioners, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma; Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company. JOHN WHETSEL, Sheriff of Oklahoma County LAW ASSOCIATES, INC. Rex Livingston, OBA #11906 5800 South Lewis Avenue Suite 199 Tulsa, OK 74105-7109 (918) 748-8998 Attorney for Plaintiff (4-10, 4-17-97)

SHERIFF'S SALE

2008-03-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

ALIAS NOTICE

OF SHERIFF'S SALE

CJ-95-5834

Notice is given that on the 27th day of August, 1996, at 2:00 PM at the Oklahoma County Courthouse, the Sheriff of Oklahoma County, will offer for sale, and sell for cash at public Auction, to the highest and best bidder:

Lot Twenty-two (22) in Block Nine (9) in WALNUT CREEK ESTATES SECTION TWO, an addition to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, as shown by the recorded plat thereof.
The property has been appraised for $50,000.00, and will be sold for a sum that is not less than two-thirds thereof. Sale is to be made pursuant to a Special Execution and Order of Sale issued in Case No. CJ-95-5834 in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, against the following defendants: Gene R. Shedrick and Denise K. Shedrick, or the unknown successors thereof.

J.D. SHARP,

Sheriff of Oklahoma County

LAW ASSOCIATES, INC.

Matthew J. Nowinski, 12151

5800 South Lewis Avenue

Suite 199

Tulsa, OK 74105-7109

(918) 748-8998
Attorney for Plaintiff

(7-25, 8-1-96)

Can You Afford To Employ A Dual Agent In A Business Sale?

2008-02-26T01:34:00.001-08:00

The pitfalls of hiring a dual agent in a business sale transaction

Most people have heard of dual agency in the context of a real estate transaction and have some awareness of the issues surrounding dual agency. In spite of the inherent conflict of interest, many people do not mind transacting residential or commercial property using a dual agent. The reason is pretty straight forward - while there is risk of not getting good representation, the downside is typically small. Property values are driven by comps and cap rates and in most cases, the amount of money left on the table is a small percent of the transaction value. The commodity nature and relative liquidity of real estate also helps make buyers and sellers comfortable with the risk level.

But does this logic apply to business sale transactions? Businesses, compared to real estate, are illiquid and the valuations and the ultimate closing prices vary dramatically from business to business. The deal amount can also change dramatically through the duration of a deal. In Business sale transactions, not having a fiduciary agent working for you can cost you plenty.

Let us start with an explanation of "fiduciary duty". An agent used to represent a buyer or seller in a business transaction has a fiduciary duty. A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care imposed at either equity or law. A fiduciary is expected to be extremely loyal to the principal. Among other responsibilities, a fiduciary must not put their personal interests before the duty and a fiduciary must not profit from the fiduciary position without express knowledge and consent of the principal. A fiduciary also has a duty to be in a situation where there is no personal conflict of interest and where there is no conflict of interest with another fiduciary duty.

In light of large sums of money at stake in a business transaction and these fiduciary responsibilities, let's look at the three key issues faced by a dual agent in a business sale.

1. Conflict of Interest

This is by far the most obvious and most damning part of being on both sides of a business sale transaction. A business intermediary is obligated to serve the best interests of his or her principal. Buyers and sellers by definition have conflicting interests. Who should the intermediary be loyal to? Is the agent looking after your best interests? Some agencies will tell customers that they will assign separate individuals to the buying side and selling side and create a Chinese wall.

In practice, the wall between the two sides in the same company, even in a large company with processes to cover this type of conflict of interest, let alone a typical small to mid market intermediary, is more akin to a sieve than Chinese wall. An agency in this situation is in violation of the standards of being a fiduciary.

2. Advocacy

Any competent agent will tell you that, when two principles' interests are in direct conflict, the agent cannot advise, advocate, or give allegiance to either party if such counsel gives one party an advantage over the other. Not remaining neutral or showing favoritism would be illegal and can make the agent liable to potential damages. A careful dual agent would shun the risk of advocacy and will tell you that they will be extremely careful to represent both parties equally and fairly. In other words, both parties lose "advocacy" for their best interests! Is this what you pay your agent for? Wouldn't you rather pay an agent that advocates your interests?

In practice, providing equal service to two parties is difficult and, even if the agent is highly ethical, agent's biases and self interests may tip the scales in difficult situations.

3. Sensitive Information

A business sale can take an extended amount of time and the seller or buyer may experience one or more personal events which, while not affecting the performance of the business being transacted, may have substantial impact on the negotiations. The agent may become aware of this sensitive information which, if disclosed to the other party, could harm one party and benefit the other. If the agent has one principal, clearly the agent will develop a strategy to minimize the impact to the principal. How does a dual agent handle this type of information about a client? Would you trust your sensitive information with a dual agent?

In practice, the agent ends up playing favorites or in a worst case scenario, one or both of the parties' interests are sacrificed in the interest of "getting the deal done".

Summary: Business sellers and buyers need to carefully pick their agent in a business sale transaction. Providing equal service to both clients is practically impossible in most deals. In the best case scenario, neither the seller nor the buyer is getting an advocate. In the worst case scenario, one or both of the parties are being sacrificed. For this reason some states do not permit dual agency. Much can be lost by employing agents who put themselves in the position of being dual agents and thus not living up to the fiduciary standards.

How To Make Selling More Really Simple

2008-02-26T01:32:00.000-08:00

How many friends, family and associates do you know who have been employed in sales at some time in the past? How many of them weren't very good at it?

The answer to the first question is easy, probably quite a few. At some point or other in their lives many people have had a go at selling even if only as a student or in their first job. You may not know the answer to the second one... it's probably most of them!

Probably most of them.

Oh, for sure, they'll tell you that they did well. They'll tell you that they sold bucket loads! They'll tell you that they were a top sales performer. They'll even talk knowledgeably about how to sell. It's amazing what a good game people who only sold for a few weeks and never had any sales training can talk! They'll talk about open questions and wants and needs like they know what they're talking about but... seriously... most of them failed!

Not all, but most!

Top salespeople lead an enviable life. They earn great money. They win promotions. They have job security. They have respect, opportunity and friends. They have freedom, career choices and financial independence. They have fun, challenge and variety.

So if you had all of that, why would you leave? Mostly only if you weren't getting those things at all! I met a friend of a friend in the pub the other night and he looked scathingly at me when I said that I was a sales training expert and told me that he left sales for "more security" and opportunity. He earns in a month what I earn in a day. I recently heard that his company are looking to "cut back" in his department. Nuff said!

But why this tirade? And why today?

Simple. This week I worked with a really great team of salespeople. They were enthusiastic, interested, open and up for it. They embraced the fact that selling is simple and they wanted to master those simple skills. Sales is so simple in fact that nearly anyone could be very successful in sales. Selling is straight forward enough that everybody in the training room could achieve phenomenal success if they commit and take action...

So if selling is so simple why can't everyone do it?

Because selling is about attitude. Selling is an attitude. Selling is an attitude that leaves behind a trail of techniques. Now don't get me wrong here... sales skills are very important, very important indeed. Anyone who has been through a sales training programme with me or who has attended one of my sales seminars will know just how important I believe sales skills are...

But they're not the key factor in this equation. They're only a part of the equation. And on the other side of that equation is attitude. Without the right attitude you won't be able to access your skills. Frankly, without the right attitude, you're in trouble. If you can get and maintain the right attitude then you will make a success of yourself in sales and selling. Period. If you can't, you won't. It's goodnight sweetheart!

I would far rather hire someone with all of the right attitudes and potential and train them on the skills side than I would wrestle with someone with all of the skills and experiences who cannot be bothered any more! The former salesperson I can train because they want to learn, the latter I have to re-motivate and re-educate. Possible but much harder...

You've probably worked with or recruited a salesperson who had all of the right attitudes but was light on skills. They probably did pretty well. It usually gets put down to "beginner's luck" but it's not "beginner's luck", its "beginner's attitude".

And it's at this point that many people not in sales might be tempted to conclude that sales and selling is easy. Something for thickos, something that anyone can do.

Just so wrong!

The hardest thing in the world is getting, keeping, maintaining and improving the right attitude. In sales you never know when you might run into someone who is going to be your best ever client. You never know if the next sales call is going to win you a multi-million account. You never know which meetings are going to convert and which aren't...

And this makes it hard because you have to be on top sales form for every call. Top sales form for every presentation. Top sales form for every meeting. Top sales form for every negotiation. Top sales form for every conversation. Top sales form for every communication. Top sales form. Top sales form. Top sales form.

Not for you the mindless "going through the motions" that some non-salespeople can get away with for periods of time. You have to be switched on, tuned in, fully focused, up for it, raring to go, playing from a 10, on the ball...

Salespeople often say to me that cold calling (for example) is repetitive and boring...

Wrong attitude! You have to be on top sales form for every call. It could be your umpteenth call of the day but it is the initial contact with you for your potential clients. You have to be on top form, you have no safety net!

To make matters worse, salespeople get faced with problems and challenges every day. Problems, complaints, rejections and client objections are something we have to deal with every day and we must stay on top sales form.

So if selling is so simple, why can't everyone do it?

Because selling is about taking personal responsibility for your own attitude, your own behaviours and your own results. Selling is about smiling when you don't feel like smiling. Listening when you don't feel like listening, Caring when you don't want to care. Standing up when you feel like lying down. Pushing on when you feel like giving up. Firing on all cylinders when you feel like throttling down. Taking responsibility when you want to pass the buck.

Selling provides virtually unrivaled opportunities for anyone who is prepared to commit themselves. Your degree won't help you. Your qualifications and exams won't help you. Your CV won't help you. The only person who can help you is you. And that's too much of a leveller for most people.

What To Say When Your Prospect Only Has 10 Minutes

2008-02-24T23:08:00.001-08:00

Have you ever had a prospect say to you "Tell me about your products and I only have 10 minutes"? What have you done in this situation? What was the response you received?

Before we look at three ways to respond, let's look at the "I only have 10 minutes" statement.

The "I only have 10 minutes" statement could be true and/or it could be being used as a protection mechanism. Your prospects want to protect themselves from salespeople and this statement is ideal for this. If they've told you they only have 10 minutes then they are not being rude when they leave the conversation in 10 minutes. Bear this in mind as you read on.

There are three options for how to respond when your prospect says "Tell me about your products and I only have 10 minutes."

Option One

You fall into the trap and tell them about your products. You talk non-stop for 10 minutes bombarding them about your products. You hope that something relevant is going to jump out at them as you talk, talk, talk and talk.

If you take this option you've acted like a salesperson. If you're acting like a salesperson your prospect will be counting the seconds until the 10 minutes are up so they can say "thanks very much, I've got to go."

By talking nonstop about yourself and your products you've committed 6 out of the 10 top sales mistakes and you will have more than likely repelled your prospect.

Option Two

You ask to schedule a time when they have longer than 10 minutes to talk.

On the surface this sounds like a sensible option but if they are using the 10-minutes as a protection barrier, it'll be difficult to get more time with them. Prospects don't want to let this protection mechanism against salespeople go.

If they really only have 10 minutes then think of it from their perspective. They are busy and their time is valuable. In the 10 minutes they've given you they really want you to show them why they should talk to you. So can you see that even if they don't have a real 10 minutes deadline, they'll probably still only want to give you 10 minutes?

Option Three

This option is the complete opposite of Option One where you talk, talk and talk. With this option you get them to talk, ideally for about 8 out of the 10 minutes.

With this option, instead of hearing "Tell me about your products and services." you hear "What's in it for me to talk to you?" You know you have 10 minutes for them to feel there is value in them spending their limited time having a conversation with you.

If they can see the value in talking to you, then when the 10 minutes is up they'll probably keep talking and you might find the 10 minutes extends to 30 minutes to an hour, etc. Also, if the 10 minute limit was real, then probably at the end of the 10 minutes they'll be the ones asking you to come back to continue the great conversation.

So how do you show them what's in it for them to talk to you? There are essentially two parts. Part one is where you set the context for asking questions and the second part is where you ask them highly relevant, targeted and short questions which get them to talk so you can listen.

Here's a very brief example of setting up the context for asking questions:

"There is so much I could l tell you but rather than waste your time talking about products that may or may not be relevant or of any value to you, I'd really like to spend the next 10 minutes talking about your own specific issues. That way when I do talk about our products, I'll be able to show you exactly where the value is for you. You never know we may even find that my products are of no value to you. If it's okay with you I'd like to ask you a few questions..."

If you take this approach, you're not acting like a salesperson trying to sell them something and consequently the salesperson protection barrier will come down. People are interested in people who are sincerely interested in them and want to help them solve their problems. They will want to continue the conversation as they will see it to be of value to them.

So in summary whenever a prospect says "Tell me all about your products and I only have 10 minutes" don't fall into the trap of talking and get them to talk instead. Ask meaningful, relevant and short questions and your prospects will want to talk to you - for much longer than 10 minutes.

Effective Selling - How Do You Dig Holes To Draw Water?

2008-02-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

If a geologist told you that in order to draw water from a parcel of land, you would have to dig down 10 feet. The obvious best course of action is to dig one, 10 foot hole. The task would not be difficult and once you dug the hole, you would draw water. This is not a trick question and it certainly does not require a complex answer.

But too often, the ineffective sales executive over complicates their situation and strays from the salesmanship basics: building relationships, exploring customer needs, overcoming rejections, etc. The ineffective sales executive loses focus on the corporate strategy. They keep reinventing new things to do versus executing the tasks at hand. To the dismay of the geologist, the ineffective sales executive digs ten, 1 foot holes. Hence, they never draw water!

In our current internet age business environment, it is easy to become distracted. You are juggling an overflowing e-mail inbox, your customers are demanding more and more for less, and you may be experiencing sales management pressure to just "do something". It is easy to fall prey to the sales management fallacy of believing that hyper-activity will lead to immediate results. Unfortunately "busyness" does not close deals, persistent execution does.

As a sales manager, it is easy for me to spot out the "hole diggers". They are ones that show up every week on the sales call with some new close strategy or master plan to make a quick sale. This in itself is not the problem. The problem is that they are not persistent in executing all of the other strategies they were pursuing from the previous weeks, i.e. they did not finish digging their holes. This is one recipe for lack of sales execution.

My Direct Sales Experiences

2008-02-19T01:30:00.002-08:00

Direct sales is a challenging job. Patience and persistence are the main factors that lead to success in direct sales. I was doing direct sales, promoting children educational materials for few years, the experiences helped me in my present job. Due to inexperience, I needed to follow my team supervisor on the job training. After one week, I had to do it on my own.

Initially, I was very nervous when talking to clients. I was unable to close any sales because of poor presentation skills and inadequate product knowledge.

me that I was capable. He told me that he could not close any sales in the first week. With passion and undaunted spirit, he finally closed six sales in the third week. He told me that success needed persistence and determination. He gave me few motivation books to read.

After that, I kept on learning the product knowledge and improving my selling skills. I finally closed four sales in the third week, it boosted my confidence.

Since then, I worked extremely hard and was promoted to sales supervisor after few months. I started to lead the new team and taught them whatever I had learned about direct sales. I remembered that I had won a camera during the team competition and a free trip to Bali as well.

Personality Traits - 7 Key Traits That Measure Sales Success

2008-02-19T01:30:00.001-08:00

After 40 years of testing over 2,000,000 people Winslow Research Institute can isolate a personal profile that will identify a successful salesperson. The Personal Assessment measures 24 different areas of personal attitudes emotional reactions and mental capabilities and all of these areas are important and need to be evaluated. Areas of concern in these other traits may override the 7 key areas. So a total assessment is necessary to select a top not applicant however there are 7 key traits that we see time and time aging that produce a Star Sales employee.

These traits are

1) Sociability
2) Self-confidence
3) Composure
4) Tough-minded
5) Endurance
6) Ambition
7) Control

Sociability

Extroverted, outgoing, friendly, gregarious, neighborly, congenial. Warm hearted individuals who enjoy interacting and participating with others. They greet strangers openly, are quick to form friendships, and enjoy careers dealing with people rather than things. They are rarely content in solitary work. People that are highly rated in Sociability are happier people overall in life.

Self-confidence - #1 Reason for Sales Success -

Self-assured, certain, secure, brave, fulfilled, poised, self-reliant. Believe they have the knowledge and ability to be successful at whatever they attempt. Cope successfully with challenges and are not easily discouraged. Handle unexpected situations well, make decisions with assurance, and are quick to express ideas and opinions.

Composure

Calm, emotionally mature, tranquil, peaceful, serene, unperturbed, placid, composed. Can control their emotions and function effectively in stressful situations. Have the capability to maintain composure and deal with stress in a calm, objective manner. Rarely allow their feelings to negatively effect performance, and are not easily discouraged or frustrated by problems. Will not become upset over mistakes or misfortune.

Tough-minded

Resilient, realistic, unsentimental, tough-minded, durable, hard, possibly insensitive and callous. Can function normally in difficult and unpleasant situations. Not deterred by obstacles, disappointments or setbacks. Can accept strong criticism, do not become easily upset, and recover quickly when things go wrong. Do not need excessive praise or encouragement from others.

Endurance

Industrious, energetic, determined, vigorous, diligent, enduring, persevering. Willing to put forth the physical effort necessary to be successful. Will exert sustained effort and persistence to accomplish their tasks and goals. Unrelenting in work habits, will practice long and hard, and will not give up easily on problems.

Ambition

Competitive, aspiring, enthusiastic, enterprising, industrious, goal-oriented, eager, striving. Strong desire to reach higher levels of achievement and to respond positively to competitive situations. Aspire to accomplish difficult tasks and set and maintain high goals. Tend to approach most situations competitively

Control

Deliberate, calculating, analytical, designing, possibly indecisive and prone to procrastinate. Highly disciplined, maintain control over their behavior and do not act impulsively. It would be unusual for them to speak or act without considering the consequences. May be slow to act or hesitant to make decisions in some situations.

Employees that are stars in sales will measure an 8 out of 10 or higher in each of the areas above. Again it is necessary to evaluate all of the personality traits, if there are more then 5 concerns in the other 17 personal traits it may be a reason not to hire some one that excels 7 key areas. It is important to work with Winslow Research Institute until you have an understanding of the reports and how to measure Star applicants and employees

Trying Too Hard To Make The Sale When Cold Calling

2008-02-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

Frequently when cold calling we make the assumption that if the prospect shows the slightest bit of interest in the product or service they will buy. We push hard to get the sale. This technique is a traditional sales method. We are often taught from the start to use this form.

If they person says "No" change it to a "Yes"; if they hang up you simply move to the next prospect. The numbers game of cold calling and is no longer needed to effectively cold call. With the new mind-set you will not have to feel stressed or bad for pushing the prospect for the sale...because the sale is not the main goal or objective in the new mind-set.

When you try too hard to make the sale you:

Create stress in the prospect and in you
Cause sales pressure in the call
Cause the prospect to put up their "defensive wall"
Send red-flags to the prospects

This tactic in cold calling is still used however there is a better way. The new mind-set will teach you that it is important to find out if they are a fit...before you try to incorporate your product or service into the conversation.

Remember that pushing the sale on the prospect should not be your main goal or objective. You should first find out if your product or service can help them with their current issues...and treat them like a person and not another sale.

Understanding that red-flags cause tension between you and your prospect and this type of pressure will only bring on negative tension. Positive responses are what you will need to achieve a strong and trust building connection to those you are contacting. This positive attitude will also give you and your company respect in the eyes of your prospects improving the future of your company.

Use of old techniques will bring stereo-typing and bad publicity for yourself and your company which will affect your success in a negative way. Once you have learned to re-program your mind to feel comfortable talking with the prospects and not pushing the sales you will see the difference in how your prospects are responding to your calls. You will also see a positive response to your voicemails-emails-and any other ways you contact your prospects. Remember that cold calling doesn't have to be painful or uncomfortable.

The Use of Scapegoats In Persuasion

2008-02-18T02:50:00.000-08:00

"United We Stand". For a while there nearly every other car in the country had a bumper sticker appealing to us to stand united, implicitly suggesting that this was our only salvation, because what happens when we don't stand united? That's right. We fall divided.

Is this really true? If we buy into the idea at the core of the current political agenda (standing united, defeating terrorists, spreading democracy) will we all be just fine? Or in doing this do we blindly agree with an entire world of presuppositions?

With scapegoating, the best way to get us all on board-to unite-is to have a common enemy, a boogie man, a Satan, Saddam Hussein or a terrorist to rage against.

Christianity uses scapegoating: Satan. The government uses scapegoating: 1950's = Commies; 2000's = Terrorists. Most recently we have Scooter Libby. (Though the distinction has been made that he's more of a "fall guy" than a "scapegoat" because scapegoat implies using an innocent to pin the blame on while fall guy's usually share the blame.)

It was popular in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. By diverting attention away from the state and church as the cause for difficulties in people's lives, witches (read: women) were burned at the stake as the core cause of societies ills.

Religion is great for scapegoating. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. The Baptists show how the Mormons miss the point and lead people astray and visa versa. In order for Christianity to exist, Satan is the 'necessary evil', so to speak. Without Satan there is nothing to save humanity from. The concept of Satan has single-handedly maintained Christianity throughout the years.

Again, I'm not debating the existence of Satan or pushing my religious or political beliefs, I am simply showing how this strategy is used.

There are multiple layers of scapegoating at play currently in politics. Focusing on gay marriage and stem cell research as scapegoats diverts attention from the body count in Iraq.

We saw scapegoating rise to the status of national phenomenon during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It even got a new name: The Blame Game. The mayor blamed the governor and the president. The governor blamed the president and the mayor. The president congratulated his FEMA appointee and suggested things were going swell until he realized no one was buying it and then proceeded to blame the governor and the mayor. Some folks in the government even suggested that no one was to blame, it was a natural disaster.

How to Increase Momentum in Your Sales Process

2008-02-14T01:15:00.000-08:00

I recently was traveling through an airport and came across a kiosk selling customized music CD's. I approach the booth and was met with a warm, confident outstretched hand and a big "Hello, how's your day going?"

After we exchanged pleasantries I asked the guy "so what's this all about?" I expected to ask the question and then sit back and listen to the "spiel". He said, "We make customized music CD's for kids that includes the name of your child in the various songs over 40 times throughout the entire CD - do you have kids?" I nodded and he asked for one of their names. Thinking I was on a slippery slope to a lengthy demonstration I qualified my time by saying that I had a flight in a short while and didn't have a lot of time. He said, "no problem, you can go when you have to, it's easier and quicker to show you then it is to explain it, it'll only take a minute". I gave him one of my boy's names and true to his word he had a live presentation for me in less than 15 seconds.

While he was doing the demo he asked about my other kids names, their ages and if the music would be appropriate for the older boy. I said it wouldn't be. He asked if the other two boys were familiar with the two different kid's musicians he was playing and whether or not they liked the music. I said they were and they did. When the demo was over he said, "What do you think of that?" I mentioned it was very cool and that my boys would love to hear their name incorporated in their favorite music CD's. I then asked "how much?" He told me the price and then simply asked, "It takes 3 minutes to burn a customized CD, should I do one up for each boy with each of the different groups you just heard?"

Done deal. I'm happy because I got an early birthday present out of the way and my boys will love it.

There were a number of things this guy did right - let's have a look:

- Engage immediately. As soon as he saw me looking he approached me. Friendly, inviting and smiling are hard to resist.

- Excitement. He had a good response to my question, "what's this all about?" Why? Oh maybe because he hears it 1000 times a day! Prepare good answers to common questions that grab attention and create some excitement. Don't try to wing it all the time.

- Optimism. He was not deterred by my comment about having to go soon. He understands that catching your flight is on everyone's mind in an airport. He understands that it doesn't mean the person won't stay and listen, but that it is just the customers' escape route they are setting up in advance should they need it. Imagine how successful he would be if when someone said they only had a short while and he rushed them off with an informational brochure? Again, he had a good logical response. He alleviated my concerns by saying I could go any time and educated me as to how long it would take and what the benefit was to my hearing the presentation.

- Involvement. His odds of making a sale go up if he can get to a presentation so he asked for it right away. He had a smooth transition and a logical reason/benefit for me to hear the actual product not just hear him talk about it. Selling is leading. Are you taking the lead in your sales conversations?

- Professional presentation. The guy new what he was doing; he was practiced. He was quick and to the point and new exactly the best way to show value in his product. Can we say the same about the way we explain our products to people?

- Polite and not presumptuous. He got my input on what I thought about the product before moving to the next step of the sale. Do we get the clients involvement during the sales process? Are we asking confirmation questions to check our progress?

- Solid conclusion. He knew time was an issue. Why prolong the process? I saw the product and answered all the questions in a way that suggested this might be something I'd consider buying - what else is there? It's not complicated. He asked for the sale. He brought it to a logical conclusion by riding the momentum he had gained through a good interview and presentation. Standard sales practice: ask questions, demonstrate product, get feedback from the prospective buyer and, if positive, ask them to buy. Are you asking for the sale every time you present a product?

How often is the sales process all herky-jerky and unorganized because the sales person isn't leading? Make sure you have a plan for the more common questions and products you deal in. Don't complicate the process with unnecessary points and steps. Create momentum with a planned approach that leads the client to a buying decision.

1. Be optimistic

2. Interview and get acknowledgement of a need.

3. Present your product professionally and efficiently

4. Get feedback from the buyer.

5. Ask for the sale.

How To Rise Above Your Competition

2008-02-14T01:12:00.000-08:00

I sell aircraft for a living, but I didn't get to that level of sales by accident. I paid my dues by selling various products, taking part in many, many sales training processes, owning a retail business, and finally becoming a master of promoting myself. Promoting yourself is another subject I'll be writing about soon. Currently, I sell jets by day and have an online business. Follow the steps below and you'll reach a new level of selling.

1. RESEARCH: If you remember nothing else, remember this: Always bring something of value to your prospect. He/she will appreciate your knowledge and be more apt to take your call again. Research your prospects competition, prepare a market report surveying the current trends, compare your prospects product/service to his/her competition. Give an analysis of past market trends and where you think the market is heading or why you feel the market is down trending/up trending. If you are selling something non tangible such as advertising, then prepare a report of how your advertising medium reaches more subscribers than the competition. Draw graphs and use concrete numbers in your report. Decision makers are usually very numbers oriented, they'll be interested to learn that 30% of their target audience doesn't listen to the country music radio station they are advertising on.

2. PRESENT: When you call to make your appointment, tell your prospect you have interesting information he'll want to know. I will use terms like, "The market is on-fire or holding steady" then give a brief description of why. Of course, save the real interesting info for your meeting. If you have to leave a message, get an email address from the receptionist or executive assistant, then send a follow up email with the same information you've left on his/her voice mail. This may seem a bit redundant, but it works and you'll be remembered. Once you are in front of your prospect or have phone contact, present your information. You'll want to present this information in a conversational manner, leaving him/her plenty of opportunity to comment. Be prepared to expound upon your findings.

3. DISCOVERY: As you present your research findings, ask questions about the company, the product/service. If you are speaking with the owner, ask about his/hers short term goals, long term goals for the business. If you make this a very relaxed conversational meeting, your prospect will be at ease and more willing to contribute to the conversation. Stay away from any questions which ask your prospect to disclose financial or otherwise private information. If you stumble and blurt out something that triggers a negative reaction, back pedal as quick as you can. Apologize and quickly move onto another subject. You'll be able to tell when and if he/she begins to relax again.

4. If you have a product which constitutes a short selling cycle then ask for the sale. I don't like to ask " How can I earn your business?" because it usually brings a stiff reply which gets you absolutely nowhere. My theory is you are the expert and you know how to earn their business. A good question might be " What is important to you?" Then fill the need he/she has described. If you have a product which constitutes a long sales cycle, I don't usually ask for the sale at this point. I offer to provide more information and to keep in touch.

5. Follow up with an email, letter, note card whatever you prefer. Just be sure to follow up. If they are close to making a decision of using your company/service then, start an email campaign making contact every few days. Again, remember to try to bring something of value. If you have absolutely nothing to offer, then ask if they have any further questions regarding the information you presented. You are developing a rapport and becoming a trusted source. If this is a long sales cycle, set them up on your calendar to receive more info in a month, six weeks, 3 months whatever is appropriate.

Sales Coaching - 3 Skills to Focus On

2008-02-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

A sales professional's success is determined by your willingness to invest in yourself. There are two areas for personal development that most will invest in, and one area only Top Producers invest in. Those who aren't Top Producers never even think to invest in themselves in this way.

That's not to say you shouldn't invest in all three areas because you should. The two areas you're familiar with are self-improvement and sales process training. The area you may not be so familiar with is customer focus.

Self-improvement development is designed to help you to increase your personal productivity, enthusiasm, and energy level. Yes, you need to be focused on doing the things that directly lead to business with enthusiasm for what you have to offer and with an energy level that reflects your commitment. Salespeople who are lacking in these areas tend to be very busy doing lots of "things", but have little production to show for their efforts.

Sales training development is essential. There's no question you need the skills to prospect, present, overcome stalls and objections, and close the sale. Without proficiency in these key sales skills you struggle only landing the occasional easy sale.

Client focus development is the critical difference between the average salesperson and the Top Producer. When you've developed your client focus skills you're able to: clearly understand the clients goals and get the client to openly share those goals with you, you're able to work with the client to develop a plan for the accomplishment of those goals in a mutually engaging on-going conversation, and you're able to develop a relationship with the client based on integrity and accountability leading to repeat business and referrals.

Sales Coaching - Outcome or Opportunity

2008-02-13T01:44:00.000-08:00

Do you view prospecting as an outcome or an opportunity? Do you think of prospecting in terms of a process or an event? The way you answer those questions makes a big difference in the results you experience.

Many people view getting the attention of a prospect as the outcome. That's not a good thing, and it causes you to miss many opportunities. Getting the attention of a prospect is simply an opportunity for you to develop and continue a relationship with that prospect.

Most people who treat getting the attention of a prospect as an outcome aren't able to capitalize on that attention. That's because to them the appointment was what they wanted and what they got. They weren't necessarily able to convert that appointment into a client and they didn't have anywhere meaningful to go with the prospect once the appointment ended.

Oops, big mistake. You get yourself in these dead end situations because you think of prospecting and the appointment as an event when you should be thinking of them in terms of a process. Getting the attention of a prospect is the first step in a process that builds a relationship with the prospect leading to a meaningful sales conversation where you're both there for the same reason.

You're both agreeing to the appointment to determine if there is a reason for you to do business together. To have a process for prospecting you need a multi-step, perhaps even multi-media, plan to continue to connect with the prospect adding value to the prospect so the prospect wants to continue the relationship and know more. Throughout the process you're conditioning the prospect to hear from you and to respond to you. And that gives you the power to turn opportunities into business.

Here's How To Stop Giving Profits Away

2008-02-11T01:38:00.002-08:00

At a home accessories and furniture store I saw a couple of large metal wall pieces I liked for my office. This place looked like a family-run operation. The owner saw my obvious interest in one, came over, and asked if I liked it.

I tried not showing too much emotion and asked how much better he could do. His reply was brilliant:

"These are almost double this amount at Robb & Stucky's (a high-end furniture store in Scottsdale). You can have it for only $295."

Great answer!

I'm always prepared to pay full price, but I also like to ask for the sport of it, and, well, because it works. So I then said,

"How much better can you do if I also get that one over there," pointing to a similar piece on the wall.

I expected something solid like, "Same thing with that one. Together, you'll double your savings from anywhere else."

Suddenly, though, he turned into a different person. He caved in, saying,

"Ah, well, OK, I can give you $75 off if you get both."

He gave away pure profit.

Here's something that's not too profound at first glance:

"A dollar in cash money or credit that you give away is always a dollar of lost profit."

However, this has enormous implications when you put it in the context of price objections, negotiations, and concessions, and also special offers, discounts, and incentives to purchase.

And with that context in mind, here's another piece of wisdom:

"The perception of the value of what you give away- in the mind of the receiver-can be greater than its price tag."

OK, so what does all this mean?

Here's an example. A printer had missed a deadline date for an order. It caused me inconvenience. In the past I've had printers who knocked something off the price when they screwed up. Instead, she apologized profusely, and recovered with this:

"Here's what I'm going to do for you. I've run 20% more than what you ordered, no charge. And the next time you do a black and white printing job like this, I'll throw in a second basic color at no charge."

If she would have knocked $100 off the bill, that would have cost her $100. I imagine she probably has to do at least $400 worth of business to make $100 net profit. Instead, she offered to give me 20% more than what I ordered, which cost her very little, since she probably ran 10% more than what I ordered anyway and would have just wasted it, and her additional cost was essentially just for the paper.

As for the second color on the next job, not only is that a clever way to ensure future business (kind of like having a gift certificate-who hasn't made a shopping trip to redeem it even if we didn't need anything?) but it also had a high perceived value to me because it's something I normally pay for.

Her only cost is to run the job through the press a second time, and for the colored ink (which she'd likely have on the press for another job anyway); again much less than the perceived dollar value.

Think of how you might be able to use these ideas to avoid giving away dollars in cash, and persuade people to buy, or buy more quickly.

Here are some ideas.

Understand what's important to them. Of course, all selling gets back to this. Money often takes a back seat to other priorities. For example, if you're in a price negotiation and you also know the buyer is under a time crunch, you could offer quicker delivery instead.

Give product instead of dollars. Instead of dropping price, throw in some additional products. Give them something they're not buying from you now. It gives them the opportunity to test something out, which could lead to future sales of that product. This also works great if they are a reseller. They can then make a profit from what you give them. Also, the actual retail price of the product could be much greater than the concession or discount they want, but your actual cost is lower.

Soft Sales Techniques for Specialty Law Firms

2008-02-11T01:38:00.001-08:00

Lock Horns and Hobnob

Make use of past opponents for long-term business development and network development.

The world of specialty law is a small one. Throughout your career, you will encounter the same attorneys you have once argued against. By using the proper techniques, you can maintain good relationships with other lawyers in your field, whether they are your allies or your opponents. Take advantage of prime opportunities to get on friendly terms with an attorney you observed to be a good advocate for his or her client.

Also, note which executives participated in the case; they can also be very good sources of future legal business and networking opportunities.

Don't Lose Touch

After an acceptable time has passed and your opponent has had a chance to lick his or her wounds (or vise versa), reach out to them. Congratulate the fellow attorney for a stellar representation of his or her client, them invite them out for coffee or lunch.

Keep in touch by email. Send the acquaintance copies of articles that you think they might be interested in. Inquire about upcoming conferences or seminars you might both attend.

Keep in mind that future new business opportunities may come from referrals, even referrals from former opponents.

As I mentioned, business executives are also good contacts for networking. Try a more subtle approach to continual law firm marketing. If you service a company on a project basis, such as a merger, invite the inside counsel and executives in direct contact with you out for social events or to a conferences to deepen (and perhaps solidify) the business relationship.

Sales Coaching - 9 Mistakes That Will Cause You to Fail

2008-02-08T01:22:00.000-08:00

I work with and am friends with a number of financial advisors. In a recent conversation with a veteran in the business we discussed the main reasons new advisors don't make it. Truthfully your odds of making it in the business are pretty slim if you just do what they tell you do to, but your actions determine your results and your future.

Lots of people enter the industry and only are rare few are still in the business after five years, and even fewer are successful. As we spoke we shared our experiences as to why so many people with so much potential fail from the perspective of the veteran who has seen people come and go like a revolving door, and the coach who works with the elite few who are committed to making it. By the end of our conversation we had a list of 9 mistakes those new to the business make that lead to their failure:

1. you still have a wage earner mind-set and lack the entrepreneurial drive to make it work no matter what

2. you think you're selling products

3. you don't understand that it's all about the relationships you're able to start and build

4. you lack focus, direction, and commitment causing you to get off track going in the wrong direction changing directions to chase the next great idea

5. you think you're different that you're a super star, but you're actions don't back up your bravado

6. you have a scarcity mentality and you're afraid to invest in yourself to develop the skills you need to succeed

7. you think you know what to do, but you don't know how to do it

8. you don't know what you don't know and you aren't trying to figure out what you don't know or how to know it

9. you confuse activity with results and burn out with little to show for your tremendous efforts.

Did you recognize any of those fatal mistakes in yourself, or are you thinking you aren't making those mistakes but you know others who are? I know the list is pretty harsh, but review it again and be harshly honest with yourself. If you aren't headed where you want to be it's pretty likely that one or more of those mistakes are getting in your way.

3 Key Elements For Cold Calling Effectiveness

2008-02-08T01:21:00.000-08:00

When most people hear the words "cold calling" a wide range of emotions typically flood the mind and body, and most of which are less than pleasant. It is true that there are some drawbacks to cold calling, and it is certainly not the most glamorous and sexy tool for growing a business, however cold calling effectiveness, from a financial standpoint is the best way to put the most amount of people in front of what you have for the least amount of coin.

So you have decided to give cold calling a try despite what you may have heard about it. I think that you are making a very wise choice. Cold calling effectiveness takes a lot of work and dedication but the payoffs are astounding once you get into a rhythm and master the trade.

The 3 Key Elements Of Cold Calling Effectiveness:

1. You must have a Prospecting Script

This is a must. Some people say that you should go into the prospecting process flying blind and that a script will make you sound mechanical and will decrease your ability to be personable. I couldn't disagree more with that statement. Having a prospecting script actually allows you more flexibility by allowing you to be more personable. You need to have your script memorized, because it allows your words to flow from you naturally, rather than appearing to be forced off of the paper you are reading. It allows you to be more prepared, targeted, consistent and professional when you have a script. So don't go without one or you will not be maximizing your cold calling effectiveness.

2. You must have a system in place for tracking and analyzing your cold calling data.

I recommend using excel for tracking your data. What I mean by having an effective cold calling system, is to track and analyze your most pertinent pieces of data. I have assembled a list of what I track for you here:

-Name

-Number

-Time Zone

-Contact

-Disconnect

-Invite (Invited to a Presentation Call)

-Confirm (Confirmed that they would go)

-Call Back (Did they call you back)

-Attempt to Close

-Close

The first block of every column should have one of these titles representing the columns contents. Once they are in place you can easily sort your names and numbers by time zone and track your disconnects, wrong numbers, people you contacted etc. by simply putting an "x" in the box next to their name, that describes that particular lead the best.

3. Dial Prudently And Consistently

If you want to have cold calling effectiveness then you need to have a work hard mentality. I personally don't know a better way of getting a massive number of prospects that have a need want or a desire in front of your products and services, without breaking the bank, than cold calling. To maximize your cold calling effectiveness I recommend you dial between 150-200 leads per day for a total of about 800-1,000 per week. If you will make a commitment to yourself to do at least that number every week you will without a doubt become effective at cold calling.

Sales Campaign 101

2008-02-07T00:57:00.000-08:00

When it is found necessary to sell a product there must be some definite series of plans by which sales are to be made. These plans make up what is commonly termed a sales campaign. Such plans may be made in outline; they may be worked out to the smallest detail. Obviously, where every possible means is to be used in making sales it will usually be preferable to make an outline of the scheme and fill in the details as far as possible. How far this will be possible will depend greatly upon the size and certainty of the plan which is to be pushed. A dealer with limited capital who wishes to exploit a new product will necessarily be unable to do much more than make a broad outline of the things he expects to do, and the general means by which he helps to accomplish them.

On the other hand, take the case of a large industrial in the jobbing trade. Suppose this to be a leading wholesaler of all kinds and grades of tobaccos. This huge industrial, having ample capital and far-reaching trade relations, decides to go into the retailing business. It is possible for such a concern to plan a campaign in detail for a year ahead. This campaign they can carry out as planned, for they have the trade experience from which to draw in making trade plans and the funds to put these plans in execution.

Trying Out. Business is uncertain. This uncertainty has brought about the use of methods the object of which is to determine whether or not a plan under consideration will pay. This is known as "trying out." The general scheme of try-outs is simplicity itself. Instead of risking a large sum on a venture of any kind, as small an amount as possible will be hazarded for the purpose of trying how the "paper plans" materialize. IT this test results favorably it is probable that the entire scheme may be made to go. If it fails it means that the plan must be remodeled.

Try-outs may be applied to schemes in general, but more commonly are used to determine the relative pulling powers of circulars, letters and advertisements.

Trying Out a Scheme. The ordinary method of trying out a scheme is as follows: A manufacturer may have a line of goods which he has never pushed, but for which he thinks there is a sale. He will make up enough of these goods to supply a small territory and then proceed to work that territory with the means that he has at hand. He is not able, of course, to do extensive publicity advertising or advertising for anything but direct sales in this territory, but he can use every other method of trade-getting that there is known. He may circularize the place, distributing samples, send out letters, co-operate with the dealer and use every means possible to work up a demand except conducting a general publicity campaign. Experience in the marketing of his regular product will help him in determining whether the results are such as to put his new product on a profitable basis.

Sure Schemes. This method of trying out a scheme is the opposite of that used by a large manufacturer or jobber, who has the money and who knows that his product will succeed. When the promoters of Uneeda Biscuit started out they did not need to make any try out, for they were satisfied that the scheme was all right and that it would pay. To quote a later example, when the same firm which had made such a success of a certain well known breakfast food decided to put out another similar product they did not need to make any try-out in a limited territory, for the experience of the promoters and the field for the product made it sure that the marketing would be a success.

For a large manufacturer or jobber there is one thing to be remembered, that the try-out does not get the impetus that a campaign does. As a general thing, a sales campaign will not reach its "gait" until everything has gotten to running smoothly. In a try-out campaign the employees who are handling it cannot become thoroughly accustomed to their work; then each may not have the faith in the product that the promoter does; finally, unforeseen obstacles are all the while coming up. This explains the reason why in marketing a product that so many times it is necessary to put a great deal more money and energy into a campaign than was originally planned.

Prejudging Your Customer

2008-02-07T00:55:00.000-08:00

Yes I know this is something you never do & you've read it all before.

However when its blatant & it happens to me "to right" I'm going to share it...

Ive just spend the weekend in the Capital, here in New Zealand that is Wellington. My kids for the last few years have been hounding me to buy them a motor-bike to burn up and down the beach on. So we have sort of made a bit of a habit of stopping & browsing in motorbike shops & this weekend was no exception.

I had just started to gather a bit of speed after going thru an intersection when the voice from the back seat shouts bike shop - believe me it's better to stop than listen to the moaning for the rest of the day. So that's what we did.

With Harley's, Buell's & a number of others lined up on the street it created quite a first impression - When we walked thru the doors the place was bulging at the seams with stock - as you can imagine the kids were excited pulling me from one bike to the next.

In total we spend about 15 minutes in the store & in that time not one sales person approached us - I did a quick tally up & staff out numbered us 2-1. I guess we didn't look like bikers as while we were there a couple walked in dress in their leathers & were hit on before they time to catch a breath.

The opening line was so lame - CAN I HELP - the answer was always going to be no - I couldn't believe what happened next they were asked if they wanted a coffee - nice gesture however lousy timing as no relationship had been build.

I know what you are thinking we were not buyers & that is true on the occasion - as it turns out nor were the couple in leathers.

What was the difference between us & them? Only appearance & the salespersons perception - However the only thing they got right on this occasion is that we weren't buyers - but alas if we were buying the stage had been set & we would be spending elsewhere. The secondary damage that comes with the lack of customer service is my how fast word of mouth travels. This is something I will not do intentionally but I'm sure will come up in conversation from time to time.

I guess what I am alluring to is how many lost opportunities this firm & thousands of others miss out on each year due to prejudging their potential customers with poor customer service .

Six Tips For Effective Selling In A Tough Economy

2008-02-06T00:02:00.001-08:00

1). Begin your day in pursuit of written goals. Many people feel that they don't need to write out their goals. Taking the time to hand-write your goals is an exercise in purpose and intent. It is a physical transmission from your conscious mind to a piece of paper. When you read your written goals daily (at the beginning and the end of each day, and as many times as you wish throughout the day), you are imprinting them upon your subconscious mind. Doing so empowers you to achieve them. When you simply "commit your goals to memory," you are at the mercy of every doubt and distraction and setback you face each day.

2). Choose your traveling companions wisely. It is said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Do you surround yourself with positive, optimistic people? Once again, the conscious mind is the gateway to the subconscious mind. Positive people and positive thoughts result in positive reinforcement of what you hold in your subconscious mind.

3). Limit your exposure to newspapers, cable news, and Internet news. It is good to be up to date on current events. It provides you with a means to converse with friends, family, and business associates in a relaxed manner. However, when you immerse yourself in negative stories about where the economy might be headed, you are surrendering to the opinion of the person who wrote that story. The economy is in a constant state of flux. News stories on the state of the economy in a year, a month, or a week are nothing more than projections and educated guesses. Do not surrender your energy and enthusiasm to someone's opinion. Deal with the facts that you see before you, today, right now in this very minute. Stay focused on what you want to accomplish.

4). Spend a minimum of 30 minutes each day in "quiet time." Find a place where you can remove yourself from noise and distractions. Visualize the successful completion of each of your written goals. Refuse to allow any mental picture that does not energize you to keep moving forward.

5). Contact your current customers on a regular basis, even if they're not buying. Be respectful of their time. If you find an article that might be of interest to them, print a copy, attach a hand written note, and drop it in the mail. Find a "value-added" way to remind them on a regular basis that your relationship with them is a priority.

6). Read about men and women who achieved great success in the worst of times. In his book How To Sell Your Way Through Life, Napoleon Hill tells the story of how he secured newspaper advertising space for his talks at a time when he had no money. It was during the Great Depression, and Hill remained focused on his goals and decided that he was not going to wait for his situation to change. He changed it himself by taking purposeful, confident action.

By following each of these steps on a daily basis, you will distance yourself from the majority of your competitors. You will not refrain from taking action because of external circumstances. You will continue to move toward your goals in spite of the things you see on television and read in the newspapers or on the Web. Throughout history, success-driven men and women have prospered in tough economic times. Make the decision to become one of them.

Spare Parts - Segmenting Personality for Sales Persuasion

2008-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

What is a part? If I say, a part of me wants this and a part of me wants that, what am I talking about? What are those things? Well, for one thing, it's a way of talking about our experience.

However, consider from here on out that words are things, they are real, they exist, as surely as the computer I'm looking at right now and the keyboard I am typing on and the books I can see in my peripheral vision.

Words are things and when someone says, 'A part of me. . . ' this or that, they are fragmenting/segmenting themselves, making a part, in other words, a fractionalized subsection of themselves, that has responsibilities for and energy to accomplish certain things, not the least of which is to tell you no, or object to you and the products or services you are selling.

Whenever I hear a person saying they have a 'part', I pretty well darn near jump for joy because I know that they are fractionated inside and I can seize control of one or many of those parts and make it do whatever I want for the most part.

The minute I hear part, or any reference to another name, an alternate name, my unconscious, a deeper part of who I am, my psyche, my ego, id, any words that indicate a part, I'm thrilled because immediately in my mind, I'm thinking, that part and I are going to be really good friends.

One of the nice things about parts is, they are very outside of people's awareness. When they do surface, it's only a bit of a surface of that part you can extend it, elaborate upon it, and give it more power, power that the person never intended for it to have, and maneuver it to your advantage.

To the same end, you must be careful that you don't split yourself into lots and lots of parts or you risk running the same things on yourself.

A part is really a frame, a frame that lives autonomously to the individual who calls it, who says it. So how can you create a part in someone? Well, by naming it and identifying it, you create it. Naming and identifying is key here. If we name a part, we give that part power. And if we frame that part through the way in which we talk about it, we're in control of that part to a large extent.

Parts give us leverage. We can assign an objection to a part and then we can assign another part to overcome it. We can assign a part that overcomes an objection with a part that objects, and we can blend the parts, watering down the part that has the objection.

We can pit parts against each other. We can have senior parts, we can have junior parts, we have an all knowing part, a part that connects directly to God, we can have parts that resolve things, we can have negotiator parts, we can have all kinds of parts, we can have persuader parts.

How to Make the Fee of Your Care Seem Cheap - Even If It's Not

2008-02-04T23:56:00.001-08:00

One of the several great educational experiences I've had was studying sales and marketing in a wide range of industries and one industry that I studied was the aluminum-siding business. Today, I'm going to tell you something I learned from this industry --a secret you should be using every time you deliver your Results of Test Consultation.

The typical aluminum-siding "package" sold in the sixties, retailed at $2,600. That was a lot of money back in 1967, especially in the working-class neighborhoods that were targeted. Like all good selling pitches, the focus was on the benefits first. Salesmen did a very good job helping their prospex imagine how much better, easier, and fuller their lives would be once the asbestos shingles that covered their homes were hidden beneath a fine, shiny facade of bright, white aluminum.

It's what happened after they made those big promises that I want to talk about today -- what they used to do after the sale was made. By that, I mean after the prospect had emotionally committed to owning the aluminum siding but before he found out how expensive it was.

This is a critical part of any sales presentation, but it's especially sensitive when the potential customer has little or no idea of the product's price. The challenge: Now that you've lodged a hook deep into your prospex heart, how do you get his brain to interpret your price as a good deal?

An inexperienced salesperson might want to break the price to the prospect slowly -- by, for example, quoting first the cost of the gutters and leaders (say, $400), then the cost of the underhangs and fascia (another $400), then the windows and doors ($800), and finally the siding itself ($1,000). But, though logical, this method doesn't work very well.

"If you want to make a liverwurst look cheap," a sales trainer told me, "say it's pâté."

If I didn't understand what he meant when he first said that, the principle became clear when I saw the concept in action. After getting some young couple to "imagine" how much nicer their house would look clad in aluminum, how much the neighbors would admire them, and how generally happy they'd be, the salesman would ask them, "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, tell me this --- how much would you guess it would cost you to cover your house in solid oak?"

"Oak?" they would ask. "But we thought..."

"I'm serious," the salesman would insist. "How much would it cost?"

It was the husbands who always ventured the first guess. "I don't know. Maybe $5,000?"

"$5,000?" The salesman would look at the wife. "Do you think you could do it for $5,000?"

"Gee, I don't know. Probably not."

The number would go up. $6,000. $7,000. $8,000. To each new estimate, the salesman would shake his head sadly and say, "You should be so lucky."

Then, the salesman would pause for a good while, giving the frazzled customers a chance to imagine how they were going to come up with the $10,000 this was bound to cost, and then "hit them with the zinger" (as they liked to call it back then): "Let me give you 10 good reasons why aluminum siding is better than solid oak!"

It wasn't logical, but it was effective. By the time the salesman finished enumerating the 10 reasons aluminum was better than oak, they were mentally prepared to spend $10,000. When they were told they'd have to fork out only $2,800, they practically jumped with joy.

This trick has a long history in the business of selling. It's been a mainstay of many of the best salespeople I know. Yes, it's very powerful. It's also very effective and surprisingly adaptable. In fact, it should probably be a key part of every patient consultation that is made by you or your Associates.

In his book "The Psychology of Influence," Robert Cialdini puts a label to this technique. He calls it "the principal of contrast" and illustrates it with a story he heard from Leo Rosten about the Drubeck brothers, Sid and Harry, who owned a men's tailor shop in Rosten's neighborhood while he was growing up in the 1930s:

"Whenever the salesman, Sid, had a new customer trying on suits in front of the shop's three-sided mirror, he would admit to a hearing problem, and, as they talked, he would repeatedly request that the man speak more loudly to him. Once the customer had found a suit he liked and asked for the price, Sid would call to his brother, the head tailor, at the back of the room: 'Harry, how much for this suit?' Looking up from his work -- and greatly exaggerating the suit's true price -- Harry would call back: 'For that beautiful all-wool suit, $42.' Pretending not to have heard and cupping his hand to his ear, Sid would ask again. Once more, Harry would reply '$42.' At this point, Sid would turn to the customer and report: 'He says $22.' Many a man would hurry to buy the suit and scramble out of the shop with his 'bargain' before Poor Sid discovered the 'mistake.'"

It's not always true, but most people --- most of the time --- like a bargain. We not only want what we want and what we hope it will give us, we also want to pay the "right" price for it. The best way to make the price of your brand of chiropractic seem "right" is to contrast it to something similar that costs more. If you happen to sell inexpensive CZ diamonds, this isn't difficult. The stones you can sell for $5 or $10 apiece look every bit as good as the authentic ones going for 1,000 times that price.

But if the price you are asking isn't such an obvious bargain, you need to be more creative. Instead of comparing your brand of chiropractic to similar ones that cost the same, find (or create) something special about your brand that makes it unique. Focus on that unique selling proposition and you will be able to come up with a script allowing you to contrast your product or service with something much more valuable.

I did that early in my career when I compared subscribing to a $100 newsletter I was marketing to joining an expensive marketing club (which sounded as if it should cost $1,000). I've done it hundreds of times since in all sorts of creative ways. You can too.

The principle of contrast is sometimes used to create additional sales. It's done in direct marketing all the time by selling the main item first at one price and then additional similar items at a discount.

When I go to buy a new wardrobe at Armani every year, Carole, my "personal consultant", uses the principle of contrast to get me to spend a ton of money on "accessories." Here's how she does it:

First, she sells me on the suit. That is usually expensive -- sometimes $1,000 or more. After that's done, I'm feeling finished -- but Carole's not finished with me. She takes me over to the shirt counter to show me some shirts that "will go sensationally" with the suit I just bought. These shirts are expensive --- usually more than $200 each. I don't normally pay that much for shirts, but after laying out so much on the suit, they seem cheap. When Carole is done selling me two or three overpriced (but, by contrast, seemingly cheap) shirts, she hits me with the $170 ties. I'm lucky to get out of Carole's grasp at twice the price of the suit.

A real-estate broker I know, uses the principle of contrast to get his clients to buy more real estate. If I tell him I'm in the market for a two-bedroom house off Atlantic Avenue for about $250,000, he'll be sure to first show me at least one or two of the same size and description that are overpriced. After being disappointed to see a couple of so-so houses priced at $300,000 and $325,000, I'll be thrilled to find one at a mere $275,000 -- $25,000 more than I was prepared to pay, but a bargain in contrast to what I had just seen.