empowering your sales team with endless

I have been in the sales game for over 25 years and my very first sales job was, you guessed it, a newspaper boy at the age of 12. One thing I learned, if I was going to add to my small but necessary income I had to obtain more subscribers on my route. Well I learned early on that cold calling was not very much fun, and it was even colder in winter time in Philadelphia.However, I did endure, and at 12 years old I won a contest for most new subscribers and received an all-expense-paid trip for the weekend to New York City. What an awesome trip for a 12-year-old. I was sold on selling and the rest of my life I have been in sales. I remember going into the insurance business and my manager othe first day on the job said, "Here is your desk, a phone and a phone book. Start making cold calls, and I expect 10 appointments for next week." Needless to say, the sales game has changed and cold calling is not only worthless, it could be very costly today with the FTC and the do-not-call list.I am going to share with you five steps to having more leads in your pipeline than you can handle. It all starts in the mind. You have to break through a few of your fears and look at the sales profession in a different way. We must start looking to ourselves as servants to our customers. We have to use different terms and build relationships and trust with our clients. Selling is simply helping people, something we do with people, not to them.Here are the five steps to start building your referral base:1. Adopt a Referral Mindset. You must build referrals into your sales and marketing plans. I had an old boss who was a master at getting referrals and he always said, "Remember, referrals are the life blood of your business."
2. WOW Your Customers. Customers want to say thank you, so let them.
3. Ask For Referrals. You must become a master prospector and learn to leverage your client base. But give first.
4. Have a Strategic Networking Plan: Who, where, when and how.
5. Learn to Target Market. This will increase your income with less work.In today's world of economic crisis, and increased global competition it is imperative that sales teams learn the art of referral-based selling. One must remember that it is based on trust, time and the law of reciprocity. That is to say that we always give first before we ask. Look for ways to listen at your network meetings. As Stephen Covey says, "Seek first to understand, then be understood." Look for connecting points of interest and be the first one to send an e-mail or note with something of interest that you may have found out in your exchange. People want to help, but they also want to be respected and valued just as we all do. A few tips for better connections:o Maintain Eye Contact. Show intent interest in the person you are talking with
o Manage Interruptions. Introduce your guest to your friend.
o Find a Networking Friend. Overcome fear with the buddy system. Introduce each other.
o Always Meet The Speaker beforehand and sit up front.
o Follow Up, Follow Up if you can at end of meeting. Maybe you have an idea for them. Get their business card and follow up with nice e-mail.Hopefully, these few tips will help you break through your barriers and fill your pipeline with new prospects and future friends.

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