small business sales tips 3 reasons why

You offer a great product or service, have created a fantastic website with helpful content, and are networking to build relationships, but you still aren't making much money. You are doing all the things you are "supposed" to do, but no one seems interested enough to buy. What's wrong?When it comes to selling, many people believe you were either born a salesman or you weren't. All those negative stereotypes about pushy used car salesmen don't help. People tell themselves, "I would never want to be like that!" and continue to hold the erroneous belief that if they offer a superior product or service, business will just come.Unfortunately, business doesn't work that way. Your prospects aretoo busy worrying about their day-to-day problems and to-do lists to figure out what, exactly, you do and why it is better than your competitors. If you don't provide clear reasons why they should buy from you, they won't take the time to figure it out themselves. Here are three reasons why no one is buying from you - and what to do about it.1. They don't want what you offer. This can be the hardest pill to swallow but sometimes what we offer isn't what prospects want. For instance, if you are an inventor or author, you have invested countless hours into creating your product, so you are obviously quite passionate and proud of it. It can be heartbreaking when no one buys it.Sometimes, we get so passionate about our own products and services that we believe everyone needs them when the truth is, we are the only ones who find the idea interesting. If this is your problem, unfortunately, there is no magic bullet solution that can fix it.If you suspect this might be the case, do some market research. Ask prospects what they think about your product or service. Do prospects understand the benefits? Does it sound like something your prospects might want? Would they pay for it? If so, how much? What other options do prospects see as potential solutions? What makes these other options better choices?If you find that prospects don't want what you offer, you have two choices: (1) offer something else that people do want or (2) find a way to explain your product or service in a way that bridges it with what your prospects do want. It is far easier to sell someone what they want than to convince them to buy something they find irrelevant or just aren't interested in.2. They don't understand why your offerings are the best choice for them.Another potential reason why they aren't buying is because they are confused. Every day we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages from companies that want our attention. We have too many choices and suffer from information overload.If we can't see what the next step is or why one choice is clearly better, we put our purchasing decision on hold until we have more time to process all the information we have collected. Unfortunately, that time never comes unless we have a firm deadline in place and we have no choice but to make a decision.To solve this, clearly explain the benefits and reasons why prospects should do business with you. What does the end result look like? What emotional benefits will they receive after they use your product or hired you to work with them? Paint a detailed picture about what they can expect and what the next step in the buying process is. How can they purchase your product or service? What action step do they need to take next? Why should they do it right now?3. They don't believe you. Your prospects may want your product or service, clearly understand how it will enhance their lives, and know what the next step is to complete their purchase, but if they don't believe you can do what you say or your product is as good as it sounds, they will hesitate.To overcome this, work at building great relationships and providing testimonials and case studies of happy clients. Show how your product or service has helped people just like them. If possible, give them a free sample or trial offer to let them test it out before they buy.Sales isn't rocket science. It is simply a way of educating and communicating the benefits of your products and services in ways your prospects can relate to. The good news is its a skill you can learn and master with a little practice.

Original :: small business sales tips 3 reasons why

handling fear and rejection in sales

Fear is self inducedYes really. Stop and think about that for a moment. Fear is something that we learn as we grow, after all have you ever seen a young child afraid? Probably not as young children do not know what fear is, they learn fear from their parents and other adults that they are around. Try this experiment next time you see a young child. Observe the child and its parents, when the child attempts to do some thing that the parents are afraid of you will note that the parents will shout or scream at the child to stop or be careful, the child will invariably turn and look at its parents wondering what all the fuss is about.As fear is learned and reinforced at school, it is here thafear takes on a whole new persona. For example, when some one that we like does not like us in return or your efforts to achieve are graded, where else do we find grading for levels of failure?Fear becomes insidious as you enter the business world, it is here that fear shackles you from attaining your true potential. I have seen this time and again where some one with great talent is fearful of making mistakes or taking a perceived risk and tragically they opt for, in their words, "my comfort zone". In the selling profession this can affect your income considerably, particularly if you are fearful of speaking to cold prospects. Have you experienced this yourself where you know you must go out and speak to the customer but are afraid that they may 1. Not like you 2. Say no, or 3.Ask you a difficult question about the product.Fear lives in your mind, and keeps you where you are, therefore fear is low impact and takes away your control over your income, life style, and success. To handle fear you have to make rules that you will adhere to no matter what.These rules and their implementation have helped many of my students overcome their fear.1. No Exceptions. The 'no exception' rule takes away your excuses for not wanting to do certain tacks. For example you have avoided making sales phone calls, this rule will ensure that you make the calls necessary to 50 new prospects a day, no matter what.2. Audit your Belief system. Your beliefs determine what you have and what you will achieve. Change your beliefs about failure or screw ups. Every one screws up, as my kids say "Build a Bridge and get over it". Simple, yes, but hard to implement. The problem is that we or well meaning friends, family or colleagues help you to keep revisiting your screw ups.3. Don't be hard on your self. Unfortunately we as humans have developed a knack of being to hard on ourselves and taking things far to seriously. This leads to problems both for individuals and society as a whole.To overcome fear we legislate, regulate and create greater barriers to hold our selves in, too afraid of trying some thing new and untried. This is a mental game. This is what sales, relationships and business is.4. Learn the rules of engagement. Never avoid problems, most people try and avoid their problems for fear of confrontation, or they fear being branded a confrontationist. By avoiding your problems you are compounding the issue, if your problem is asking for the sale and you haven't for fear of being considered pushy, confront it and learn to ask or you will lose the sale.5. Get Smarter. There are no quick fixes. If you are in sales and don't like people, you are in the wrong business. Sales of any description is a business of self confidence, so start learning ways of developing your own self confidence, start watching and learning what other successful people do in your business world. Read books, observe what separates the high income earners in your industry from the rest. Use the information you have gathered and act on it. Take one step at a time.6. Ask and you will get. Money rules are that that simple. If you do not ask you will not get. Speak to 100 new people a week about your product and you will get ahead. In Real Estate, for example, if you speak to 100 people a day you will have 6 new listings, which equates to income.There are no limits, only the ones that you impose on your self. Stop limiting your self with fear and believing that the competition is better than you. What if there was no competition, but only the competition in your own mind? In 99% of cases you only have to be less than 1% better to win the greater market share, so what is holding you back?

Original :: handling fear and rejection in sales

a sales coach can increase performance

Are you running a sales company and would like to increase the income of the company? Would you like the staff to perform better on a daily basis? Then you might want to read this since you will be able to find all the necessary information about how to increase performance within your business.Sales coaching are most likely exactly what you need in order to succeed with your business. You will get information about what you can do to increase performance and you will have someone who can guide you through the entire procedure.An experienced sales coach will be able to give you great advice regarding systems that should be used for the business and which strategies you should use to reachthe goal. You will find ways to reach success that you didn't even know existed. It will be a great experience for you as a boss but also for all your employees since you will be able to help them become better at what they're doing.When you're planning to try sales coaching you should make sure to choose a company with plenty of experience and a very good reputation. You will be much more satisfied with the results if you choose a really good sales coach.A sales coach will increase performance as well as profit and he or she will use various techniques to help your business. You will learn how to motivate your employees and you will learn a lot about positive thinking.Everyone who would like to become a successful salesman should learn how to use the body language and a lot of enthusiasm to increase profit and that's exactly what you will learn from sales coaching. You will also learn how to act when you meet a price shopper and many other things.If you would like to find out how successful you and your company can become you should definitely try sales coaching. Everyone has something left to learn and that goes for you as well. You can always have use for some great advice and that's exactly what you will get from an experienced sales coach.Start looking for the best sales coach today and start the way to a more successful business as soon as possible. You will soon discover that it's worth every penny you spend on this and you will start earning a lot more money as soon as you've learned everything about the best strategies out there.

Original :: a sales coach can increase performance

cold calling 4 key steps to success

Most people, even seasoned salespeople are uncomfortable when it comes to cold calling. As with all anxiety, it's due to the unknown. Your reception inside the store is unknown. Will you be welcomed? Will you be rudely rejected before you can say your name? You have no way to know.Really, cold calling success is all in your approach -- your angle, so to speak. And your angle is to not have an angle but more of a goal -- the goal of becoming a valued supporter of your prospect's business. If you enter that store with the sincere intent of being a support and asset to your prospect, you'll increase your odds of success dramatically. It's a given that you plan on making money from a relationhip with the prospect, but overtly advertising that is a turn-off to your prospect. A sales posture of "how can I help you" is far more appealing to your prospect than the often-sensed "what can I get out of dealing with you" approach.In order to be more successful as a cold-caller, you must understand what your potential customers are likely looking for in a supplier. That's easy. Your prospect is looking for the same thing you are looking for in a supplier -- honesty, reliability, an ability to keep them competitive, and an understanding of the problems and issues they face on a regular basis.You can remove much of the anxiety of the cold call and endear yourself to your customer by using a few simple strategies.1. Use proper sales etiquette. Never park in the nearest parking spots to the store's entrance. Also, while waiting to speak to the owner/manager, allow their customers to be taken care of first. Standing in line at the checkout ahead of paying customers in a no-no. Always show complete respect of the owner's business. After all, you are there with a purpose of being a supportive asset.2. Develop a standard greeting for all cold calls. Take a little time and develop a standard greeting. It is so important to have a couple of sentences you can rattle off smoothly which lay out the features of doing business with you and the benefits the prospect could gain by giving you a little of their time. Keep in mind how important first impressions are. You don't want to stutter and stammer your way through you first 15 seconds of face time -- you'll lose the prospect's interest and will be likely turned away.An example may be "Hello, I'm John from LMO Distributing, we're wholesalers out of Vendor City expanding in this area. We carry a wide variety of products as well as several exclusive items at discount prices. We have Zig Zags for $XX.XX, Slim Jim's for $XX.XX..."From my experience, giving quick examples of some of your most attractively priced products goes a long way toward gaining interest and more face time.3. Be prepared for objections. Rarely will the customer immediately want to place an order after completing steps 1 and 2 -- although I have had it happen many times. Usually, you're still going to have to jump a few hurdles on you way to your first order. As you travel cold call to cold call, keep track of the objections you hear and spend a little time coming up with reasonable, respectful responses. As in politics, being able to spin objections in your favor is the most valuable trait you'll be able to attain.You'll find most cold calls will share the same objections -- so, you likely only have to come up with a few responses.4. Keep going back. Statistics show it takes an averages of six sales calls to open an account. Keep in mind you're asking this prospect to change how they currently do business. For example, in order to buy from you, they have to not order from someone else. Obviously, they are not going to want to take a chance of running out of product by betting you'll show up again. Prove you're reliable by showing up consistently and on the same day every time.As with anything else, the more prepared you are, the more comfortable and confident you'll be. This alone will calm your anxieties.

Original :: cold calling 4 key steps to success

10 ways to increase your sales

Driving a sale can be a pretty difficult task. Rather than selling a product you have to sell an idea. This requires sales motivation. For this reason, the champion salesperson of any organization is among the most highly respected people in the corporate rung and looked up for sales motivation. Well! Sale and finance may never see head to head but finance team knows that each structural planning may turn out to be a farce if there is not the right kind of sale push driven by motivation.As a sales person, if you want your company to do well, then ensure that your motivation is on a high. Motivated salesmen do a far better job of selling products. Let's take up a few ways of enhancing motiation.Always look to learn- never be shy of the learning process, the more you become aware, the more you become confident and determined, it will give fillip to the sale process and add to motivation.Improvise- do not always follow the herd mentality. Look to improvise on certain occasions. Think beyond the box for sales motivationCarry burdens on your shoulder- try taking more onus than being expected of you. Once you feel responsibility, you will automatically feel like being part of the system and will be driven by motivation.Try making meaningful contributions- if you contribute in real essence, your self esteem will rise. This will motivate you towards more sales providing you sales motivation.Do not look for reward, they will come - though rewards are always attached to labor, you look to the labor part of the job. Unselfish labor reaps the biggest rewards in regards to motivation.Look for a sense of purpose to drive sales motivation - if you have a direction and a focus, if you know which way to make the leap, then you will stand a better chance of doing well through sales motivation.Make short term goals for sales motivation- short-term goals are higher on perspective; you can concentrate more and create more planned avenues. Once there is method, there will have motivation and you will make a decent job of the sale process.Be a team person driven by motivation - if you are part of the team dynamics you learn to assume collective responsibilities. This helps in feeling like a person with some task on hand. Of course, such a feeling is a great for motivation.For motivation look at the macro idea of a plan- look for the bigger picture. Your vision will drive you towards sales motivation.Don't shy away from risks- if you be a rabbit, the cat will jump from behind. Be a tiger on the prowl. Take your risks; the feeling of adventure will provide you with sales motivation.

Original :: 10 ways to increase your sales

sales force training one of the biggest

Even with the Internet and the various high tech gadgets available to help businesses remain constantly in contact with their clients, there is one aspect of business that has not changed. What is that? The majority of sales must be made face to face and that requires a sales staff. And not just any kind of sales staff, but a sales staff of professionally trained sales people who are consultants as well as sales people.Today's sales market is extremely competitive and it is essential each company expecting to successfully participate in that market possess a sales staff which realize the importance of setting high standards of sales performance. Today's sales staff must be information gaterers, capable to probing into the questions and solutions their prospects want addressed before they ever come face to face with them. The ability to conduct online searches and use databases as well as other information tracking resources to create a better understanding of the prospect's needs and priorities must become second nature to them.Systematizing the sales process helps the companies create a somewhat homogenized operation which benefits the weak links within in the sales force (this will always exist) without penalizing the super achievers. Using the advice and suggestions of the best sales people regarding what works for them and sharing this information internally with the rest of the sales team make creating a successful sales system easier and one which is more likely to be accepted and implemented.People make their decision based on either facts or feelings. It does not matter whether they are a CEO of a large multi-national corporation or a low level company clerk. It is important for the sales person to be capable of comprehending which of these decision making styles the prospect which is sitting in front of them are motivated by. Once discerned, they must be able to adapt immediately and customize their sales approach to be more fact based or more empathetic as the case may be. This ability will make them more effective and result in more successfully closed sales.Sales are the lifeblood of every organization. The ability to be flexible and creative is what it takes to successfully close a deal. Once the right decision maker within the organization has been pinpointed and approached the real selling begins. The combination of product, service, payment and financing terms, along with training and customer support must be mashed up in the correct manner so that it creates an agreement which meets both the prospects' and the company's needs. When this has been done correctly, a sell has been made.Is your sales staff following this approach?

Original :: sales force training one of the biggest

5step consultative selling model for

This five-step model, based on a consultative sales approach,provides a tool for responding to objections and questions in your face to face sales calls. It's not intended as a rigid formula; rather, it's a framework, a kind of mental map, for staying on-target as you handle the objections and questions you encounter in sales calls.As with other aspects of the consultative sales approach, it's based on a mind-set of asking good questions, listening well to what the prospect is saying both in the actual response and in the deeper meaning, then adapting to show how your product or service can counter those objections or concerns, and fill the prospect's need better, more efficiently, at lescost, or with greater assurance than any competitive approaches.1. Explore. Ask questions to get the person talking about what they really mean by the objection, and why it's important to them. (Even a simple, "Why do you feel that way?" will often be all it takes.)2. Listen well to their response. You may have heard this objection a dozen times already this week, but this person may put a different twist on it. Don't be too quick in cutting off the Prospect's response in order to interject your response. The more you know about the Prospect's needs and mindset the better you can target your response. Sometimes, the Prospect will actually respond to her own concern, and say something like, Never mind, I think I've answered myself. That's really not so important, after all.3. Restate, if appropriate. In many cases, it can be helpful to both yourself and the Prospect to paraphrase your understanding of the core of the Prospect's response. For one thing, it forces you to listen closely, so you can restate it clearly. Second, it forces the Prospect to listen to you in turn, to ensure that your restatement is accurate. Further, in some cases, by restating, you may be able to defuse, or take the edge off, the customer's concern.4. Respond to what they have actually said. There may be a deeper meaning behind the objection, so focus on that. Example: "You say that your firm has already tried using consultants, and isn't interested. But I'm picking up a deeper message that your dissatisfaction was with the work of one particular consulting firm that didn't work out for you. I'd like to explain how..."5. Move on from there; don't get bogged down in your response. Respond to the objection, then go on with your sales call.If you say too much in response to an objection, you may blow it up into something larger and more significant than the Prospect originally had in mind. If you bog down on it, repeating and elaborating your reaction, the Prospect will think this really must be a major concern, and take that as a reason not to buy.Conversely, if you treat the objection as a relatively minor issue, you are sending the subliminal message that it is just that- minor, not a significant concern, not an issue that could possibly stop the sale.This content adapted from my book, How to Sell Face to Face: Survival Guide.

Original :: 5step consultative selling model for

how to close the sale tips and

The questions that many sales professionals ask are, "When to close a sale? How to close? How not to be pushy?" I still remember my first customers - a sweet young couple on a honeymoon in San Francisco. I was so enthusiastic and spent a lot of time presenting the beautiful photo they liked, telling an inspirational story about when and how it was taken and about the famous photographer Peter Lik. They loved it. They asked a lot of questions. They talked to each other about this picture. Did they buy it at the end? No, they did not. Why? Because I didn't close the sale. I presented the product and stopped. I didn't lead them to buy it and didn't finish the sale. I just dropped them in themiddle of the sale.What would I do now in this situation? I would ask the simple question "Would you like to have a beautiful and very special memory about the most romantic time of your life?" I could also add, "Imagine that after 10 or 20 years you will be still looking at this picture remembering your wonderful honeymoon in San Francisco. You will show this picture of the Golden Gate Bridge to your friends, relatives and maybe your future children. The memory is priceless."Does it sound like closing and pushing to buy? No way. I see myself more as a friend who gives helpful recommendation or good advise. I really care about my customers and show it to them. Yes, I am using one of my closing strategies, but they would never know it.Closing techniques:1. Close from the beginning.
No, it doesn't mean you should ask, "Would you like to buy it?" from the first moment you meet the person. It means that you have to earn customer's trust, build relationship, find out their needs, ask questions, listen to him (her).2. Learn to recognize when a customer is ready to buy. A customer might indicate they're ready by asking questions about the product, your service or about the buying process, or they may show their willingness to buy non-verbally.3. Do not push or rush your customer.
Nobody likes to be pushed or hurried, especially in a situation when they are spending their own money.4. Respect their decision not to buy.
Not every customer buys and it is OK. Do not show that you are upset or angry. "I spent so much time with you, why don't you want to buy it?" I know one sales professional who was not only calculating her commission in her mind but also what she is going to buy with it while she was selling! Every time she didn't make a sale she was so unhappy because she felt like she lost real money.5. Offer free trials, specific terms, discount, and freebees.
People like to feel that they get a special treat and everyone loves free stuff. Find out from your manager what you can offer with each item/product to your customer. It is amazing, but I sold many $500-1000 pictures only because I offered an autographed book by the artist as a present.6. Ask the manger
This popular closing technique works very well in cases of discussing discounts or special offers. You could say, "I would like to give you this discount, but I need to ask my manager about it (get a special permission)." Then go and talk to your manager. Some sales professionals pretend they have this conversation. They go to the back room and come back in couple minutes with good news. If you are natural in playing it and it is working, use it. In a case of very big purchases I would recommend to bring a manger and ask him (her) about the discount in the front of a client.How does this technique work? You show your customer that you really want him (her) to have the desired item, you are making an extra effort, you are helping and supporting them, you are "fighting" with the system to get a better deal. You will see that they respect you for it.7. Give a customer time and space to think and talk about purchasing the product,
especially if you are dealing with a couple. They do need private time to discuss financial aspects of the purchase, where to put/hang a carpet/picture, about colour, size, model, etc. For example, we had a demo room in San Francisco Gallery where our clients could spend some time alone looking at the picture they want to buy and talk about it. It worked so well that we built another room!8. Give them an opportunity to come back
This technique will work only if you already know the customer and built a good relationship with them. For example, you may see and feel that after spending considerable amount of time the customer is still not convinced to buy. In this case you can say, "I understand that this is important decision for you to make and you need some time to think about it. When would you like to come back to discuss it further?"Offer them specific date and time, "Would like to come Tuesday or Friday? What time is the best for you?" You can also add, "The reason I am asking it because I am off on Thursday and Saturday, but I really want to help you." Again you are offering service here and it is totally normal to discuss all possible options. If you have their phone number and have their permission to call - call and talk more on the phone. But please do not call every day. It is very irritating.9. Let them know that now is the best time to buy"We have this incredible 50 % off discount because of an extra stock"
"We have this deal only one time a year"
"It is a great buy because of a Christmas sale"
"The sale will only last for 1 week"
"It is the best time to buy because the prices are going up"
"Summer is coming. Would you like to get a fan (or patio furniture) now because it could be out of stock during the peak of the season"10. Summarize the product description in just three words:
"It is better, cheaper, cleaner than... old model/competition offers/what you have"
"Faster, more modern, more reliable"
"Better build, more convenient, improved"
"Healthier, enhanced, organic"This could be a good exercise for you. Write down 3 main words describing the product you are selling. They should be really meaningful and great words about this specific product. Does it remind you of the situation when an HR person asks you about your three main characteristics during a job interview? Well, it is the same process but instead of product you are "selling yourself".With high-end customers you can use words like "sophisticated, stylish, fancy, urban, chic, classy, refined, polished, elegant" to describe the product you are trying to sell.Don't forget about green words like "environmentally friendly, ecological, well-being, organic, natural, whole, macrobiotic, health." Many people are into it, support the idea, and love to know more. If they are not into this yet, it will be a great chance for you to provide your customer with information and educate them.11. Act like your customer already bought the product you are sellingThis technique is based on the principle of ownership. If people start thinking that they already have it, it is harder not to buy. Most of us like to be owners. It also opens an opportunity for future discussion."Where will you put the table?" you can ask. "I was thinking of putting it in the dinning room," your customer may answer. He (she) is drawing a picture in their mind thinking how it will fit to the room.
"Who will use the computer - you or your children?"There are dozens of other closing sales techniques. How and when to use them? Every situation and each customer are different. Most importantly, practice, practice, practice. Use different approaches, experiment. The more you apply techniques the more skilled sales professional you will become, the more natural the process of closing will be.

Original :: how to close the sale tips and

7 crtical steps in developing a sales

Are you about to get serious about your sales training program? Maybe in the past you simply relied on hiring sales people with proven track records but now you see the value of having a unified professional approach that assures that your company is being represented the way you want. But before you race out and buy the first course you come across, think about using these steps to really evaluate what you want.1. What will the sales training achieve?Meet with the various stakeholders whose operations are directly affected by sales and get their input on what they would like to see as a result of sales training. Decide how the training will look like and what format is best. Establish fim objectives that can be measured and have a tool to determine if the objectives have been met.2. Get Input From OthersSpecifically from the trainees. What do they expect to get out of sales training? Other stakeholders outside of sales should be consulted for what they think training should include. Run time frames by all regarding total time for each phase of training.3. Establish a budgetYour program will only be a serious as the budget is. Determine a provisional budget for cost of instruction, accommodations venues and other expenses. It's important to have an approved amount before negotiating with training providers.4. Agree on Evaluation ProcessFor the minimalist, this could simply be a comparison of gross sales before training compared to results after training. However, agreeing on what will be used to measure results should be more complex to improve the process in the future. The Kirkpatrick System is viewed as one of the easiest and least expensive models and measures reaction to training, evaluates actual learning, measures sustainability of new sales behavior as well as bottom line results.5. What Characteristics should your training provider have? Find out what style of training the trainees feel most comfortable with and include that in your evaluation of providers. Consider the sales philosophy of a provider and determine if their materials, presentation style, follow up and expectations match those of your own organizations. How will the provider measure success and how will they communicate that to you. Lastly what are their credentials and certifications?6. How Do You Find Providers?Probably the best answer to this challenge is to work your network with competitors, vendors and community resources. Ask your existing sales force for ideas. You may have someone who had great training before joining your organization. If you have a university in your community ask them for referrals. Don't dismiss the idea of online training particularly as an ongoing training tool.7. The Evaluation processWhen you solicit proposals, be sure to include a requirement for case studies or other demonstrations of a guaranteed ROI. Don't accept references at face value, check them thoroughly and determine the satisfaction level of previous clients. Run their names through your network and see what you get back. Ask if they are willing to spend time before award to meet your sales force and then get the opinions of your people. If you can get a short list of qualified firms then it's pretty much a coin flip.

Original :: 7 crtical steps in developing a sales

how to increase your sales how to close

In this post I want to explore some fundamental basics of sales and how to increase your sales success. This method is best used in software or technology, it has not bee used with product sales so I don't know how that works. However, I've been using this method in software for the past 7 years with great success. This method is not a new type of rocket�science, it is not something you are not familiar with, if you have been in sales for some time with success.Who am I?I am an MBA sales manager at a software company who focuses on creating software for the gaming industry, mostly Lotteries and Casinos but also in Sports betting. I have been using this method to create new clients, gatheleads, make the most of my time by selecting which leads to follow and which not and increasing my closing rate. A usual sales cycle in this company I am working in now is about 1 year or more so this sales method is useful for long term sales. This is perhaps not the best method in sales that take place many times a day, such as retail.The sales processFirst of all let me say that I view the sales activity as a process. If you follow some fundamental steps you increase the�likelihood�of closing the sale. In sales nothing is guaranteed but I am sure that if you follow these fundamental steps you will increase the likelihood of closing a sale.Sales activity is a process - it is bets run with some project management skills. You need to set out a plan of action that may take a long time to execute and some of the steps you need to repeat until a desire result has been�achieved, but it is a process in my mind - not some genetically�inherited�skill of either you can sell or not! Everybody can sell - with great success - they just need to follow a simple process that�logically�moves the prospect from a mild interest in you solution to a state of desire to give you money for the service. If prospects are not willing to part with their money in return for your solution, then you are not selling anything. The process here show you how to take the prospect to this stage where they want to give you the money.The basics - finding the prospectsGathering potential clients is a task every sales person needs to master. If you cannot get the attention of potential customers you are not going to have any success of selling anything. So the first step is to find customers. How do you do this? Depending on your market, you should do some research here trying to find the actual companies that you would like to sell your products or services.Make a list of dream customers
Make a list of second best customers
Study your competitor's customers - make a listWhen I say a list of customer I mean names of people, contacts - both e-mails and telephone numbers. It is not a good policy to send e-mails to e-mail addresses like "info@abc.com" or anything like that. This is going to get you nowhere. You need to come up with a good list of 100 companies and their contacts. In my experience, I always target the Marketing executives and Sales people -�preferably�C level - or as high up as possible. In the�software�industry or when selling a technology, I have never called the technical department. This is of course not applicable to every situation but it is my experience that the technical department will usually�turn�you down to begin with. Why?�because�they will view every new piece of�technology�or software as additional work - and therefore more problems - and from an operational standpoint that is�probably�true. So they will turn you down but the sales and marketing people will always want to hear how they can increase sales or solve some other problem that they may have.Getting the leadsIdentifying the problem your solution or product solves is crucial in this method of sales. Put a lot of work into finding out what problems this product solves for your existing clients. If you don't have any, figure out why this product or solution was made in the first place. Use this information to create a letter (e-mail) to sent to your potential customers. This letter is supposed to generate interest in your product or solution.Formulate the letter in the following manner:
Introduction
List the problem some of your customers had (similar companies) - 3 items
Explain how you solved this problem
Offer them to have the same problems solved in their companyComing up with problems to solve is a work of creation - you need to be creative here. Find a few customers who are willing to give you a statement of why they bought from you in the first place. What problems did you solve for them? My guess is that similar companies have similar problems that they need solving. Get this information into your letter.Qualifying the sales leadMake sure that the companies on your list are within your marketing criteria. Don't waste time following some hot leads that you are never going to sell to because of legal, environmental, political, financial or whatever other reason you need to have to be able to become your customer. If the reasons are financial, then the�prospect�needs to have a certain turnover per year etc. Make sure you know the company in question, study it's website, read their newsletter - become an expert in their products/services, try an understand how they function. This is what I call qualifying the prospect. I make some harsh cuts here to my list just to make sure I am putting my time into valuable prospects.When this is done, get your letter out the door in reasonable�chunks - 10 or 15 at a time. And make sure you follow up with a phone call to EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM! Just call them. The letter itself will not drive the prospects to you - you have to call them or visit them or whatever. You must get to that person one way or the other.Making sure you understand the problemNow you have sent your letter and you have made the call and the prospect is on the line or you have a meeting. Do me a favor - leave PowerPoint at home. People who use power point to sell never sell anything. The sales process begins with a conversation. The point of this conversation is to find out as much as you can about your client. You can perhaps begin with a short description of your company and it services - in general terms (PowerPoint if the client seems worried) - but make sure you do not use the 1 hour you get with him/her in talking. You want to make the prospect talk. There is one fireproof way to do that - ask questions! This is where your study of the company kicks in - you should make a list of questions related to the company or the situation and make sure you understand the problem they have perfectly - this is not the time to sell - don't sell here! Just listen and ask questions. One man said to me once "Do you know why sales�people�have one mouth but two ears?"I am sure you got the sales job because you have the gift of the gap - but in this step you should just listen - learn. Prospects will tell you a lot nd they will even tell you how to sell to their company. Sales and marketing people are always very helpful.Make sure the solution fits the problemNow this stage is a�rinse�and repeat. You should ask all the questions you can about their business and specifically about their problem. At some point you are expected to solve this problem. But you have to make sure you get their problem identified and agreed upon. The prospect ahs to accept this problem he has. Once he has done that or even a list of a few problems - you can start using you solution to solve each and everyone of them. The conversation should be along the lines of "... if I can show you how this problem can be solved will you take seriously look at our solution". The point here is to make him say "go" to exploring your solution further and giving you a chance of proving that his problem is solved with your solution. This step could take a few meetings.And get it in writing. After the first meeting make sure you do meeting minutes where you state everything decided in the meeting or conversation, especially that the prospect has admitted his problem and accepted to explore your solution further. Depending on the level of complexity, this could be a few meetings and conversations on the phone as well. I've had prospect that took months in defining the problem and making sure the solution fits.Now you go back to your team and get them involved in showing proof that your solution can solve the prospects problem. Here is a good idea to do a schedule - like an evaluation�period. Get this�schedule�worked out with the prospect and get him to agree to it - he will if he made it with you.OK so now we are here:
the problem is identified
the solution to the problem has been foundNow he wants to know how much it costs. Sure, this stage is always a little tricky but I have found a great way to get around the�embarrassing�"offer and pray" situation that I used to fall into. But before you give them the numbers..... you need one more thing from them: access to decision makers.Getting to decision makersThey are not going to get the price unless you get to present it yourself to the guy or the�committee�that takes the final decision. This is crucial to keep in control of the sales process. As soon as you give them the numbers you lose control of the process - remember that. How do you get to the actual decision makers? Again you ask " are you the guy who decides on this?" If no, it is not�unreasonable�to ask if you could deliver the offer yourself, you are the best in explaining the offer etc.Once you get to the actual decision makers make sure they identify with the problem and accept it. If they do not, your solution is not solving anything for them = no sale.How to make an offer they cannot refuseIn making the offer itself I always use the same trick I learned for the book Solution Selling - sit down with your prospect - in a pre-proposal meeting and create the offer with him. Show him the numbers and how you make the offer. Tell him that you are going over the offer and you want his opinion on some things. Then you sit down together and you show him the draft version of the offer and you go over some items. Often, almost always he will make changes to the offer - either take this thing out or lower this number or whatever. Here you need to stand your ground on sensitive issues - don't sell out.Closing the saleNow you deliver the offer. It is an offer that is bullet proof. It is a solution solving the company's biggest problem and it is going to help them earn more money. If you can do a return on investment plan that would be dynamite but the reality is that you cannot always do that. Now you meet the decision makers, present you case and the offer they have helped creating. Chances are they will accept it since they helped you to create it.Now you get that signature and hand over to legal for contracting.This is more or less how I sell every sale I make. I am sure that if you follow these steps you are going to turn your dead end no sale job into a winning streak of nothing but closing every month - guaranteeing you that sales commission. I also suggest that if you are interested in thsi topci you should read more on it on Entrepreneur.com

Original :: how to increase your sales how to close

the truth behind doortodoor vacuum sales

No Soliciting.This sign was invented just for the door to door salesman. Once they get their way into your door, they often try and sell you something of questionable quality you never knew you needed. In the case of Kirby however, the pretty much unquestionable leader in vacuum cleaner technology only sells through door-to-door in-home demonstrations. The company does not allow anyone else to sell their vacuums, which usually cost over 1,000 US dollars. These top of the line vacuums out-perform their competition in almost every category... except maybe price and sales tactics.Unfortunately these salesmen use a variety of unscrupulous tactics to push their Kirby vacuums. One thing they dois promise financing with only a dollar down. What the customer does not realize is that they are actually entering into a potentially credit-damaging loan agreement. I have friends that have been ripped off by the Kirby company while trying to work for them. The managers use similar tactics to lure in salesmen that they do to sell vacuums. They promise work at high monthly wages for those without experience, when the job actually turns out to be commission only door-to-door selling. Usually the only employees who will stay on these jobs are ex-felons.It is funny that the Kirby company chooses to sell this way when their vacuums are actually some of the most reliable out there. After working in a Denver vacuum repair company, I almost never saw a customer needing a Denver Kirby vacuum repair. And when they did come in, usually the job was simple and the vacuum was back to new working order. Of course at that price you would expect them to last a long time. Many Americans buy vacuums for less than $100, but these cheap plastic things often fall apart within a few years. This may be good for college students moving around the dorms, but most consumers cannot afford a new Vacuum motor, or to be sending their vacuum off to a Denver Kirby repair company. When the price to repair the appliance is more than the appliance itself, you know you have a lemon.There are many stories about these and other door-to-door salesmen who make verbal contracts, but have something else written in the final ink. Because these salesmen know that they will probably not be working long, and that they will not get paid if they don't make a sale, they will do pretty much anything to stay longer and try and convince you. The best advice: do not let any salesman into your home, and call the police if they refuse to leave.

Original :: the truth behind doortodoor vacuum sales

smm 23 proven sales management

On this week's episode of Sales Management Mastery we're going to talk about what's in it for you to placing deposits in the trust account, plus three proven methods to establish trust with your salespeople so that you can drive your company's sales revenues.Today we're going to talk to you about the shear importance of why this is such a critical part of your overall sales management strategy. Whether or not you are a new sales manager, a tenured sales manager, a business owner listening to this, who has a bunch of sales managers that report to you, VP of Sales, CEO, establishing trust with your front line salespeople is important with your front line sales people is a part of good salesleadership but also great sales motivation, and everything sort of flows from it. And it's the first thing that you need to do is establish that trust or re-establish it. On this show we are going to give you three proven techniques that will allow you not only to re-establish or establish trust so that you can drive your company's sales revenue.And our real goal here is to give you some honest, straight forward techniques and strategies that really do work. Everything that we're really going to be talking about on this show really comes back to this basic foundation of trust. And think about it as you are building a house. Trust is the foundation. You can't really build the house, and start putting up walls, or doing any other work on the house, unless you have a strong foundation first. So you have to dig it out, pour the foundation, and that's really what the trust account is all about.Today we're going to give you 3 tactics to use in order to establishing that trust.
Whether you're an old sales manager or a new sales manager or any other person involved in a sales organization, it's extremely critical for you to establish that trust so that they don't tune you out, and tune into your sales message.You've probably been asking yourself, "What are these trust accounts going to do for me?" at least for right now. And that's quite alright because when I first learned this concept, and then refined it through years of being a sales manager is that it was a relatively new concept because I had I thought that as soon as I became a Sales Manager that all I'd need to do start dictating and telling people would do. And I failed miserably, and it was the worst six months of my life because I realized that people don't listen to because of what you tell them, they listen to you because of how it resonates with them.That message that you're given to your sales reps whether it is a leadership message, a motivational message, a management message; only resonates with them if they trust you enough to tune into you.And we're going to talk about tuning into the right frequency with your sales people and those sorts of things in later shows. But it turns out that producing great sales results has everything to do with trust.What stands out to you most when you mention "trust account"? It's that first word: trust. And trust is that one sole element that just can't be absent in a relationship between anyone, whether in your personal or professional life.But especially between a sales manager and a sales rep because sales reps, if you've been a sales rep, and have worked your way through the ranks, you know that you wanted to do things on your own, in your own way. And you always felt like you had the best answers to most of the questions. The best sales reps are open to suggestions, but in order to be open to those suggestions, they have to come from a credible and trustworthy source and that's what we're trying to establish.As the saying goes: trust is the glue that binds people together in groups because it's that thing that holds us together. If you ever had friends, or business associates that you couldn't trust or they breached your trust you either didn't want to do business with them, or you started to tune them out.So it's sort of a fragile balance as a sales manager, and as a management professional to make sure that you are always putting deposits in the trust account.Because trust is hard to earn, it's easy to lose, and when it's lost it's nearly impossible to regain. And that's the reality of human interaction. So we have to be careful not to make large withdrawals from that trust account, and constantly make steady deposits instead.Forming a relationship built on trust allows your sales reps to act so that the rules of the game aren't constantly changing.Then they know that your message is going to be consistent and that they trust what you're saying then they know that there's some stability in what you're saying and what you're doing. They know that your actions are consistent and congruent to what your words are. And if those to things are off, if your actions are different from what you're saying, then you end up losing trust.And when you have consistent actions with consistent words that you are dictating to your sales people, it encourages peace of mind. And when your sales reps have peace of mind, they become willing to exert extra effort and place themselves on the line for you, and the team, and the organization in general. Peace of mind is very, very important and that's why establishing trust is so critical.First establish trust then reinforce that trust by looking for the smallest opportunities to make deposits into those trust accounts. There are lots of ways to do it such as praising them for job well done is one way to do it. But there are many, many ways that you can do this.
And the beauty of it is that when you are making deposits in the trust account you are also motivating. We are going to talk a lot about motivating in this pod cast, but specifically trust has a foundation of motivation. If your sales reps don't trust you, and you are constantly taking withdrawals from the trust account, then your motivational powers are significantly reduced.If you are consistently enhancing that trust, then your motivational powers as a leader are greatly enhanced. So it really is a parallel concept in motivation.Another thing to keep in mind when you're talking about establishing trust is to always treat your sales rep as the end unto themselves. And what this is separates the men from the boys. Never treat them as a means to an end. They are not just a tool for you to get what you want. They are the journey; they are not the end point or the destination. So treat them as an end unto themselves. When you start to use your sales reps, then the sales reps will start tuning those sales managers out. So creating trust is very important, it encourages peace of mind, and it is a very critical way to motivate and lead your team to where you need them to be.Let's get into 3 proven methods to establishing trust with your sales team.The first is to evoke the law of reciprocity. The law of reciprocity is a rule that states this:If you do something nice for someone, then human nature dictates that the recipient will feel compelled to do something nice for you in return. It is in essence, you reap what you sow. And this is an irrefutable law that you should teach your sales people as a sales technique. It's particularly effective because human nature dictates that at the precise moment that you do something nice for someone, the other person feels compelled to return the favor. This is just a law of human nature,If you do something for them, then they do something nice for you in return.
I had a neighbor the other day take in my trash barrels because I was late getting home. And you know what I am going to do next week? I am going to take in his trash barrels. That's the law of reciprocity. We are using this principal in order to establish trust, with the goal of driving sales.So, we aren't manipulating this rule, we are just using it to our advantage. And that's really what this whole show is about, it's talking about the laws of human psychology and how we can use them to get what we want which is success for your organization.So be careful on this one, however, not to call this out as soon as you do it. There's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. You can't say, now that I've done this for you, what are you going to do for me! I know people that do that, unfortunately, and it's really annoying. And it makes you not want to do anything for them again because it isn't a win-win situation, you just keep giving.You will eventually get more in return. Don't keep tabs, don't keep score because its really important not to do that because when the time is right they will repay you, you don't have to ask for it or keep score, this is what the law of reciprocity is all about.So the idea is to do something that allows them to feel that they must do something for you in return, so be subtle and don't dictate. You can do this all the time with your sales people. The most important part of this law is to remember that reciprocity is implicit, meaning that it is implied, it's not something you should call out on.If my neighbor said, "Gee, I brought in your barrels they other day, what are you going to do for me?", then that's not reciprocity, that is negotiation. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about doing things for people that will help them, because usually it comes back to you and usually it comes back even more than what you've given.If you've ever read the book the "The Go Giver", I highly recommend you picking it up, by Bob Berg and John David Mann, it is a tremendous book about the Law of Reciprocity in essence. In this particular case we are using this law to get the best out of our sales people or for your sales managers to use this law to get the best out of their sales reps.So number 2 in our proven methods to establishing trust is:Let the Sales Rep take all of the credit for all of the good stuff.Harry Truman said, "People always perform well if you don't worry about who takes the credit". You as a sales manager, have to make sure your sales managers understand this, if a sales rep goes out and makes a sale and the sales manager is out on the call, and comes back to the office and tells everyone how HE made the sale, how great do you think the initiative and motivation will be for that sales rep to go out and do the same? If he's a very good sales person he'll continue to go out and do the same.But, is he really motivated to start telling people and makes himself feel good about what he's done when he knows that the sales manager is trying to take the credit?So don't worry about who takes the credit. Your sales managers get paid for how well the sales people do. In most organizations there is a tie in to bonuses and incentive compensation.Never take the credit for the good work of the sales people. Remember, one time in your career, you were probably a pretty good sales person, maybe you're an entrepreneur and your built your business, you got promoted into management, you brought in new business, maybe you won a bunch of awards, and you had lots of individual glory. But they way to get the best out of as a sales manager, is not to put yourself in the spotlight. It is to put the sales person in the spotlight, and even give them undue credit for things. We will talk about how to lead and coach.The time for individual glory really has passed. Your role is to look good by helping others get results for themselves.Your job, getting results through others, is not getting direct results on your own. Unless your structure is completely different, but in 99% of the cases, and the members to our Academy Program, the sales managers lead, and the pay and compensation and bonus is tied into how effective the sales person is.The glory for you comes as the proud manager or the proud business owner, who watches from the sidelines when sales people go out and do it on their own. Sales people need a lot of ego gratification, because there's a lot of crap that they are dealing with out there, so give them the credit for the good stuff, it will just help establish more trust in that trust account, and it also motivates them at the same time. Motivating and trust account depositing are very much intertwined.The better your sales people perform, and the more they do it own their own, the better you and your company look. If you're a new sales manager this is probably really hard to change. I really do think that sales is an ego driven vocation, without question. Have confidence in your own competence to perform as a great sales manager on your own, don't feel insecure or threatened by the work of your people, because the better they look, you are going to look more and more brilliant because they are bringing in more business under your tutelage.Let them take all the glory, and when you do you're putting more deposits in the trust account. In the end your trust account balance will be overflowing. The biggest balance at the end of the day wins because that's the sales manager with the biggest balance has the most motivated sales people.Number 3 in our proven methods to establish trust with your sales people:No one likes to be told what to do, but suggest instead.I've never known anyone, and personally for myself I hate to be told what to do, that's why I started my own business, and became an entrepreneur is because I couldn't take direction very well. I was a sales person for many years and didn't like to be told what to do. My wife is in sales too and she doesn't like to be told what to do, especially by me. People love to thing that they are in control, they love to think that are in control at all times.If they are being told what to do all the time;They'll be plenty of times that you'll have to tell your sales people, no question about it in not uncertain terms, what they need to do in a give situation. There will be times for it. How you say it, is the most important part, and it's not the fact that you have to tell them what to do, because you are going to have to tell them sometimes, but How are you going to do it? That's how you can put more in the trust account and motivate them at the same time.Ben Franklin once said, he's one of the greatest statesmen of the modern era, and proven sales man, having built many business and retired a very wealthy man, would advocate, "When at all possible, avoid giving direct orders."If you're a new sales manager, this is going to be tough to do, because you going to want to tell everybody what to do, but avoid giving direct orders when at all possible.
Never dictate, or decree, instead imply or make suggestions. This is a great way to put more deposits in trust account, and motivate and empower your sales people too. Remember, one of the things that we want to do is create a high performance, low maintenance sales team.You want to be off doing other things; planning strategy, helping yourself get promoted, you want to be looking at the thirty thousand foot view; you don't want to have to do the job of your sales people especially if you're running a big company and all of those sales people report to you.Instead of telling them what to do, request, imply or make suggestions.Instead of saying, I want you to go to the O'Neil account and tell them x,y, z."Change that slightly and say, "It might be a good idea if you went to the O'Neil account and..."Or maybe say something like this, "If I were you I would do this at the O'Neil account..."Or another one, "You may want to consider talking to the O'Neil account and saying this..."The sales rep listens to that and says, okay, he's not dictating to me what to do, but he's giving me a suggestion and I'm going to decide whether it is the right thing to do.You want to empower these people, and motivate them and lead them, and coach them and establish trust with them by doing little things like this. It's not in what you say; it's in how you say it.Here's another great suggestion, if circumstances call for you to absolutely make a suggestion instead of telling them what to do, or correcting them immediately, replace your normal response with just an answer to, "okay, can I make a suggestion?" or "May I make a suggestion", this just softens them up the dictating part of telling them what to do part of your job.This method is far more effective, and less dictatorial than saying, "No no no...what you need to do is this..."Now if the sales rep is brand new, and they don't know what they don't know, they just came out of training, yes, you have to tell them what to do. But gradually over time, you're going to wean them off of that, your not going to tell them as much. Remember high performance, low maintenance sales people is what you want to have. Then you as a sales manager, you as a GM, sales become more and more on auto pilot because your sales people are doing things automatically.Once you actually make a suggestion, then if they don't do it, then you could always come back to that after and say, "hey I thought we agreed that you would do this". So the key word in the sentence is "we" decision instead of a "you" did this decision, the sales person memory is refreshed with that interaction that you have come to this point together, not just you as their boss. So they feel far more empowered, and they've taken ownership of the decision. Taking ownership is a very, very powerful technique in producing high performance low maintenance sales people.So just as a review.1. Evoke the law of reciprocity
2. Let the sales rep take all the credit for the good stuff
3. No one likes to be told what to do, suggest instead

Original :: smm 23 proven sales management

smm 4 a simple way to lead your sales

On this episode of Sales Management Mastery we are going to teach you how to lead you sales team to sales stardom using our "lead by being led" sales leadership strategy.So let me ask you this...you probably have a whole lot more faith in the ideas that you come up with rather than the ideas that other people come up with. Chances are that you probably do. You typically think from an egotistical standpoint, we as humans are egotistical by nature. We think of ourselves first. Even those who are extremely humble and generous they think of themselves first, and you have to in order to survive in the world. Most people have more faith in the ideas that they come up with, rather than ones thatour thrust to them.From a sales manager perspective, wouldn't it be wiser to ask leading questions to make suggestions and let your sales people think out the conclusions?And this is really what we call "leading isn't dictating" way of leading your sales people, in the fact that you really aren't dictating to them. In our last show we talked about a more dictatorial type of message that you want to set expectations. When it comes to setting expectations, there is no "lead by being led" or any other type of sales leadership style. It is really "this is the expectations, this is what we need to do, now we have to go out and execute on it".So unless you are setting those expectations, your sales district is a modified democracy.
Please notice that I didn't say that it is an anarchy or dictatorship. You are not the guy/gal dictating orders and/or telling them what they should do.Unless you are in a melt down type of crisis, that absolutely needs quick decision making and lightening fast responses, sales people don't typically like to be led in the traditional sense. Do they follow a leader? Absolutely they do. But, do they like being dictated to? They like to feel like they are more in control. And this is another thing that we talk about: Releasing a certain amount of control so that you can gain more control in the reverse. It's a counter-intuitive way in which to lead.Typically, sales people don't like to be led in the traditional sense. It's probably because of a few things. The job sales itself is a maverick kind of position. Sales people feel that they are independent, free spirited, paradigm-busting, lone wolves, and they do things their own way, especially the really good ones. The better they are, the more maverick type personality they exude. The real point is the top performing sales reps typically feel disrespected when their managers assume that they have all of the answers and that they have the right to tell them what to think and what to do.You as the supervisor do have to tell people what to do, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't, but what I am saying is that it is all about how effectively you do it so that people will ultimately do what you want them to do. And it is not typically done by being a dictator or the Joseph Stalin of sales management.They hate it and feel like if you do dictate to them it is a sign of disrespect and that lack of belief that is implied is something that they take offense to. If you come across like you know all of the answers, you are going to alienate and disenfranchise your salespeople while making hefty withdrawals out of the trust account.This creates a lot of issues. There is a great trick, how to use these laws of human nature to lead people in the right direction even though you probably want to tell them what to do, and you want to dictate to them, and you want to say this is what I want you to do, you want to do it in a different way.Here's how we do it: It doesn't take a whole lot, but it does take for you to release some control so that these people can feel like they are on the business end of this policy change. And when people feel like they are in control, you have then empowered them. What you want is a high performing, low maintenance, auto-pilot, sales team. Not that you are going to be kicking back and playing golf five days a week while your sales people are there humping it selling to customers. That's not what we are talking about. We are talking about people that are fairly autonomous, that are producing on their own, and that you don't have to micromanage each and every step of the way. Yes, you need to get involved, and lead and motivate and coach, yes most definitely you do. But what you want a low maintenance, high performing sales team that produces results like an annuity.This technique goes a long way in getting tremendous results from even the toughest of sales people, and it does wonders for newbie's as well who don't know anything, who don't know what they don't know. If you clue them in on the decision making process you'll start to lead more effectively in all aspects of your position.Once you start leading this way, you'll see that your sales people will be more engaged and tuned in to whatever initiative or blitz you have spearheaded. God knows you probably get bombarded with new initiatives and blitzes and stuff coming down the line that you have to go out and attend to and some of them don't make any sense, but a lot of them do. And that's the reason that they have initiatives and blitzes, for you to supercharge you sales team, push them in the right direction, and increase sales results, which is what we are all after here, because when we do that we all make more money.Whatever you do, you don't want to try this technique until you make sure that you are prepared for the eventual outcomes. Once you start giving power away, it is very hard to get power back. The bottom line is this: Sales people love to be included in on decision making and they like to be thought of as important instead of just anonymous cogs in the machinery.And really who wouldn't? We all want to feel that we are making impact and that we have influence, and that what we are doing is worth while. And if you respect your sales people's opinions in this way, then they will respect yours. This is how you lead by being led. If you can empower them whenever possible and whenever appropriate, and you shouldn't do it haphazardly, you will reinforce you own leadership.You need to allow others to feel like they are leading you, even though they are really not. Use these laws of human nature to get them to think that they are leading you when you are actually leading them.Is this for faint of heart sales managers and the ones lacking self confidence? Probably not. Is it very effective? It absolutely is.Let me give you an example of what we are talking about in "lead by being led", and then you can understand better.My first sales meeting at a company I started working at 7 or 8 years ago, which I have since left, I suddenly found myself confronted with the prospect of taking over a sales team. I had been hired from the outside to take over a sales team that was discouraged, de-motivated, and highly confrontational. These people just hated the company. They were doing very poorly. It was an absolute mess of a situation. The problems were multiple. Operations side was rejecting every idea that they ever presented to them. They had service issues. They were selling product and then the products would fail. Customers were leaving them, customer attrition was extremely high. Customer service department was in disarray. Nobody gave a crap about supporting the sales people, and the sales force was at the bottom of the barrel.Maybe you can identify with this in your organization, because it does happen, and it is a tough thing to turn around. None the less, it can be turned around. I knew that there were a lot of these issues. In the first sales meeting, I thought that I had made a huge error in accepting this position. It seemed like a hell hole to step into. I knew that there were a lot of problems. The sales meeting was looming, and I knew that I would have to come up with a novel way to approach these people, because if I didn't, then I would have anarchy on my hands.On the day of my first sales meeting, I thought to myself, "If I were one of them, what would I want to hear?" I had a strategy as to what I wanted to do, but I didn't know quite know until I got up there and I saw them all glaring at me thinking who is this new guy taking over the sales team. I decided that I would turn conventional reason on its head. My boss had said go out set your expectation and tell them what you expect of them. That was the mandate for the sales meeting. I thought better of it, and instead I took out the chalkboard and said, "I am the new boss, I am the new guy in charge, but I am not going to tell what it is I want from you". Instead I urged my sales people to tell me what they expecting of me, instead of what I expected of them. To their widespread shock and amazement, they were fully expecting me to lay this out with expectations, 24 colorful power-point slides, do your business plan, and all of the stuff that I need you to do, what your call reporting is going to be. And instead of doing that, I pulled out the flip chart and said, "You tell me what you want, you tell me what it is that you need from me." They were all stunned, and they didn't really want to tell me. I had turned the tables without them ever suspecting it. I was going to start this relationship off differently than they had probably ever experienced.I had done my homework on the previous guy. I knew that he was a self-absorbed narcissist who only really cared about himself. I knew that they had all kinds of issues. As they talked, I wrote down every one of their ideas on the flip chart. I kept the flip chart, and I think that I still have it to this very day. And their comments were this:1. Fight for us
2. Ask for our side of the story before you accuse us
3. Be our advocate to the other departments
4. Help us win new business
5. Tell the truth
6. Get your ideas across to upper management and then get them approved
7. Help improve service
8. Call us back when we call youThey had about 10 or 15, but those were the biggies.After finally exhausting all of their demands, I said, "alright, here's the deal, I'll give you all of those things you expect from me, now I'd like you to tell me what I have a right to expect from you. I am not even telling them how I am going to lead them yet. I've got this long list. But then I ask them, here's the other side of the equation, "Tell me what I should expect of you". And they were all mature salespeople. Their responses came slowly at first, but they picked up pace as they grew, and they said:Put in a hard days work
Exceed quota
Do our paperwork on time and our call reporting on time
Provide fast responses on request for information
Be honest at all times.They went on and on, but those are the top 5, which are very good things for them to tell me. I couldn't have said it any better. If you do this to your sales team, you're going to be surprised at what you hear. So let me pose this to you? What would have happened if I had laid down the law and dictated what I wanted? Do you think that I would have gotten any buy-in to my message? I doubt that I would have.We made sort of a morale bargain between us. I felt that as long as I lived up to my end of the bargain, they would be determined to live up to theirs. We made this morale contract together. This started our relationship off on the right foot. There was no power point, no list of expectations. I added a few to the expectations because of company policy. But here's the thing; this team was in the cellar. The results for the coming year were phenomenal. Our district ended up #2 out of 82 in the country, and they were ranked in the low 70's the year before. Did the opening speech cause that to happen? Not necessarily, I didn't really even do a speech. In combination with other messages, this is talking about a sales team that was the most disgruntled, and turning them around in a year that they achieve and taste success. This is the essence of sales management and this is very satisfying sales management.Was it just that speech, probably not, it was a combination of things, but it did set the tone for the rest of the year.And here's why this works, sales people prefer to feel that they are doing things not because they have been told to do it, but because they have decided to do it upon their own. When you let your sales managers do this for their sales people, the sales people feel that since the decisions are theirs, they are now vested in that eventual outcome of that decisions, and they are part of the decision making process. This is what we call "lead by being led". So I would highly encourage you to start rethinking about how you lead your sales team right now. This doesn't necessarily have to be done in a sales meeting. It can be done in one on one conversation. But turning the tables on leadership is a great way to tell people what you should expect of them. And by doing that you create this morale compact or contract between you and them, and that is the essence of great leadership and it is called "lead by being led". Do this in your next sales meeting, or your next ride-a-long, or your short strategy sessions, or highly encourage your sales managers to listen to this show and implement this the next time they feel that their leadership isn't up to snuff. It will tremendously impact their sales leadership ability as well as increase sales revenue which is ultimately our goal.

Original :: smm 4 a simple way to lead your sales

7 reasons why increasing your emotional

As a sales professional, how many times have you had a gut feeling about a deal or a prospect? How many times did you follow that feeling? Did it work out for you? Would you be surprised that those gut feelings now have a scientific name and a whole new industry has sprung up to teach you how to take advantage of them? The new name is emotional intelligence or EI and the emotional intelligence training is designed to allow you to recognize emotions in yourself and others and to use that knowledge to leverage a sales position. In sales, your EI score can be more important than your IQ. Here are a few reasons why:1. Increased self awarenessIncreasing your ability to identify your own emotios is critical as that's the key to identifying and understanding the emotions of others. EI training can help you define what those gut instincts really are and then help explain how those emotions are perceived by others. Understanding your own emotions is the first step in becoming a more effective and influential personality.2. More effective problem solving skills Understanding what you are feeling when facing a problem will lead to better problem resolutions. Knowing if you are at the root frustrated, angry, afraid, indifferent or acting on rational data will assist you in coming up with solutions that make sense. Consider this advantage when facing an apparently impossible demand from a client.3. Increased ability to read a client or prospectWhen you can fully understand your own emotions, picking up on how others feel is far easier. And it's not just verbal it body positioning, gestures and as corny as it sounds, the look in their eyes. Understanding the emotional state of others gives you an enormous advantage when engaging in a sales activity.4. More accurate evaluation of a prospect's needsYou've probably had some training in effective listening or at least read a book on it. But if you have a high EI you can better evaluate what your prospect is saying by understanding what his emotions are when he says it. When a prospect tells you something and you detect a powerful emotion like anger, fear or happiness, then that's a sign of a true "need" as perceived by the prospect. If what you are hearing is associated with the emotion of indifference, then you have to dig deeper to find the real need.5. Spot on solutionsImagine the advantage you have over the competition if you know exactly what your prospect perceives as his needs. How much easier is it to design a solution hitting all the hot buttons in just the right place? Would a solution that solves all the perceived needs be worth more? Actually that would be determined by the emotions you recognized when asking about budget. However, delivering perfect solutions can only increase your close rate.6. Increased credibility and personal brand buildingDon't mistake all that we've listed so far as means to manipulate the emotions of others for your own benefit. If you truly do increase your EI you will become a person who is more in tune with others and will develop an ability to sincerely empathize with them. As a result, your work and all of your interaction will lend you credibility as an expert in your field who can be trusted. You are after all delivering what they want and not trying to cram a pre-packaged solution down their throats. This can only lead to improving your personal brand.7. Becoming an unintentional leaderA side effect of strong emotional intelligence is the irresistible urge of others to follow you. After all, you understand them and you have demonstrated success in your own business efforts. Initially you will become the "go to" person in sales but then it will expand into other departments. This may sound great but understand accepting the role involves taking on new responsibilities as well.Maybe it's time to explore the emotional intelligence workshops that are available. Quite possibly they could provide you with the means to greater success in sales as well as making you a far better communicator in all aspects of your life.

Original :: 7 reasons why increasing your emotional

sales pitch for your cleaning business

When you own your very own house cleaning business, how to run it isn't the only thing that you should be learning and developing skills at. You should also be able to sell your products and services to your target market very well. That is how things work in your cleaning business marketing schemes. Since you are in the house cleaning business, what you are selling are services, thus using results as the proof of your effectiveness and efficiency. So in order to show to your prospective clients the so-called results, you have to show them pictures and even explain to them a bit on how you managed to achieve such. However, what if you don't have the luxury of time? Can you still do a salepitch? The answer is YES. You absolutely can.The "Elevator Pitch"
Making a sales pitch that takes only seconds is not only possible, but also effective. This is what many would like to call "the elevator pitch". Notice how quick an elevator ride is? That is how quick your pitch will be too, thus the name given to it. Of course, noting that it is merely the length of the pitch that gained it its name, you don't have to do this in an elevator exclusively.So how do you do this? Basically, you prepare this spill beforehand and practice it at home as often as you could. Eventually, you can practice this with family or close friends, and ask them for feedback on it. Consider this as one of the most valuable cleaning business marketing tools you possess for your small business. As time goes, you will have this pitch tattooed on your mind that you can even recite it in your sleep. And that is basically a good thing - for your business, especially.One-on-One Sales Pitch and Group Pitch
This is quite the easier of the two (compared to the group sales pitch) because you are focusing your pitch only on one person. When going about it, always build rapport first, subtly tell the person what you do, and then you can say your spill. You spill should be beneficial to what the person needs, so beforehand be very observant. Tailor your sales pitch to what you think that person needs because that is how you can make a sale.Just remember that in making a sales pitch you are offering a solution to the person's problem. That is how you open for your cleaning business, opportunities. Cleaning business opportunities can come with groups too. However, be very observant and focus on the common thing that the group may have. Just remember that perfecting things comes with time.

Original :: sales pitch for your cleaning business

three proven methods to turn around your

You got 'em. We all have 'em.They're the reps who no matter how hard they try, they just can't make quota.Something's got to be done - and fast. These guys are killing your company's sales performance. When dealing with underperforming sales people, you can't delay.When it comes to sales underachievers, your sales managers need to stop fighting the war and focus on the battle.In this sales training we give you three ways to take the first steps to turning around your sales underachievers:1. Focus on rewarding the "smaller" things. Highlight the small steps that might lead to a sale. If the sales manager waits until the actual sale is in the door before they start acknowledging any positivefforts, then this is a missed opportunity.For example, the sales manager could praise the sales person for showing good probing techniques, for preparing a commendable opening statement, maintaining a solid rapport with other office staff, making good use of sales data, etc.2. Praise specifically. With an underperforming sales rep, praise all the basic stuff at first. A simple "Good job" is okay...but the more specific, the better.The sales manager should tell them: "I really loved the say you started that last sales call - you asked very specific, non-threatening probing questions and they just opened right up and told you what their issues are - excellent job".3. "Approximately right" is alright. The sales rep may not have reached the real goal yet, but by praising them all along the way to "exactly right" by praising them for doing things "approximately right", this works wonders in enhancing confidence and instilling optimism in a sales rep who being an underacheiver, may be lacking both.If the sales manager withholds praise for only when they do things exactly right, then the opportunity is lost. The point is to simply get the underperforming salesperson moving in the direction of success. And the sales manager can do this byGetting underperforming salespeople on the track to success sometimes is just that simple - when small techniques like this are used consistently, the results will start to come.Focus on the small everyday battles and your sales managers will start to win the war.

Original :: three proven methods to turn around your

savvy sales service trainers make

I was reading a comment made by Ernest Hemingway about novelists.If they know their subjects, their prose can be lean, leaving out certain details that the audience will imagine as vividly as if they were on the page.But if writers are themselves uninformed, when they leave out details there will be holes.Aristotle made much the same observation about public speakers, who use casual logic when making their points, counting on audiences to supply missing premises.Formal logic says:All men are mortal.Socrates is a man.Therefore, Socrates is mortal.For economy, a contemporary speaker could be expected to say:: "We all know Socrates will die, because he's only a man."The missing premise is "Al men are mortal." Aristotle gave a name to this informal syllogism: The "enthymeme."Smart teachers, and I include in this category savvy sales & service trainers, do something similar, and this endears them to their recruits, who come to feel empowered. They encourage listeners to apply their experiences and perspectives to the lessons they're learning.For example, to teach the so-called KISS Method of selling, which stands for Keep It Simple, they'll finish this acronym with either the word, "Seller" or more commonly, "Stupid." It becomes: "Keep It Simple, Seller!" or "Keep It Simple, Stupid!"Take your pick: Either way it spells KISS.But the lesson that follows the word, "Stupid" will portray salespeople as folks that simply cannot shut-up, whose loose lips don't sink ships, but deals.Trainees hear this and feel they're equally dumb, undisciplined, and impulsive. Feeling inadequate does nothing for their self-esteem, and it is no mood to be in to learn new job skills, or anything else.The savvy sales trainer appeals to intelligence, building-up the virtues of brevity, demonstrating how the shortest path to an order is usually the best, and there is no good reason to make a proposal seem more complicated, and therefore more threatening, than it is.They'll follow this precept with a question, tapping the vivid memories of those present: "When was the last time you talked your way out of an opportunity, personally or professionally?And not wanting to leave the discussion on a negative note they'll follow-up with this query: "When did you want to say something, but instead you bit your lip, and it saved the day?"By following this protocol, sales trainers make the same point as they would by calling sellers "stupid," but they don't fall into a negativity trap.Plus, they remind trainees that they've curtailed their talking before, with positive results, so they're smart enough to do so, again.Additionally, savvy sales trainers downplay their own godliness, for lack of a better term. They don't posture as being infallible, sending a signal that trainees need to be equally perfect to succeed.By coming down from a pedestal, trainers elevate the importance of their team, and this helps to make far more winners than losers.

Original :: savvy sales service trainers make

effective preparation for selling online

One: Know the Properties
First and foremost, you must understand what you are selling. If you are selling a single site, you must understand (and, to the degree possible, use and/or subscribe to) that site. If you are selling a network, that means you must know the various sites you represent. If you don't understand the content, you can't expect to sell it effectively. It's that simple.Two: Know the Targeting Possibilities
How can you help advertisers target the users who visit your site(s)? You can provide advertisers with the ability to display ads across the length and breadth of your site. If you sell a network, you also have the capacity to allow advertisers to show their ads acrossthe entire network. You may also be able to give advertisers the option of pointing their messages at users who have context-specific interests that connect to a certain channel within a web site or a group of web sites. You may also be able to offer Behavioral Targeting (targeting based on past click history) or retargeting, which means focusing on people who have visited a certain site or pursued a certain offer in the past, who may have purchased - or abandoned the site during the conversion process. In those cases, it is imperative that you can describe to potential advertiser's your property (or network's) methodology for achieving success with these targeting filters.Three: Know The Ad Units
Which ad units does your property support? Which size? GIF? Flash? Do you run video? Rich Media? If yes, which formats? What are your editorial rules about Rich Media formats? Although your company may only accept certain formats, you may be interested in knowing all the formats available. For the best answer to that question, consult the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), which comprises "more than 375 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. (iab.net)." Which standard ad sizes does your firm accept?Four: Know What Account Management Can and Can't Do
Once you sell an ad to an advertiser, you will "hand off" the account to the Account Management team. When you do, the advertiser will have certain expectations about what is going to happen, how often it is going to happen, and how quickly the campaign as a whole is going to achieve success. It is your job to make sure that those client expectations are realistic especially as the move through the process to the AM team!Five: Know the Pricing
How does your company charge advertisers? There are three popular pricing formats which you are certain to encounter. But what's more you need to know which formats your company provides:? CPM: Cost per Thousand - the advertiser pays a set fee for the serving of 1,000 ad "impressions" regardless of whether anyone clicks on them or not.
? CPC: Cost per Click - The advertiser only pays for when someone clicks on an ad.
? CPA: Cost per Action or Cost per Acquisition (of a new customer/conversion; if the conversion is a lead, then this pricing is sometimes referred to as CPL - Cost per Lead) - The advertiser only pays when the click results in a conversion.Advertisers may "speak" in CPA and you may only accept CPM. In that case, you will need
to learn to become fluent in Internet Math (if you are not familiar with this you need to learn it!) in order to help guide the customer through the conversion of one into the other.Six: Know Who You Are Calling Today
The most important knowledge any salesperson has is who they are going to call today. This includes knowing your target's name, their direct phone number and email address. It also means knowing how many people you are going to call. For this you need to do a little reverse engineering - starting with determining your personal goals and your company's sales goals. How much money are you trying to make? How many sales will you need to close each month to make that much? What is your average sale worth?Seven: Know What You Are Going To Say and Ask
And finally, and most importantly, you are ready to call. You need to know the two most important questions which you will pose to every advertiser you will ever speak to:1. Who are you trying to reach?
2. What are you trying to accomplish?As you consider their answers think about the first 5 "Knows" above.Are they trying to reach a target that is possible given your properties and targeting?
Can you support their advertising goals with the ad units they desire?
Will your Account Management team be able to reach these goals?
Did they/can you boil their goals down to metric goals (that is, the amount of marketing budget they are willing to pay for each ad or conversion; sometimes called a CPA Metric?).
Can you translate their CPA metric into CPM pricing (assuming you prefer to accept advertisers on this basis)?Once you know those 7 "Knows," you will be ready for a successful sales career. Until then, review them, learn what you don't know and put them into practice!

Original :: effective preparation for selling online