do you know the sales secrets used by

The sales secrets are 3 Simple rules that can have a massive impact on your results. Many successful sales people, and managers, use them to guide every action they take. Known as the sales secrets because they are the selling guide that top professionals use with unconscious competence, but they are rarely talked about in open forum.This is how successful sales managers assess the performance of individuals, and forecast where their selling activity should be focused. When looking at the skills training needs of their team they use the sales secrets to plan future training and target coaching so they get the best return on their investments.In an attempt to market their services trainingcompanies are forever bringing out new and more complicated selling techniques. They preach the latest acronyms, that don't work in real practice and are particular pet hate of mine.There is a growing difference between the sales skills and practices of a seasoned professional, and the selling skills training offered to many new people and managers. The great thing about sales is that the results of all actions are there for all to see. In my experience as a working sales manager and trainer I regularly see successful people that stick to sound basics and learn sales skills through trial and error. In every company I have worked with the top performing people fit the above picture. Their success is based on what many of us call the sales secrets.With all the fast changing hype and marketing of new techniques and ideas, it's easy to lose site of the basic fundamentals that successful sales operations should use. There is more money to be made from flashy new ideas, and those terrible acronyms, than there is from presenting training based on solid principles that have stood the test of time.That is how the simple sales truths, that used to be part of the basic skills training for all sales people, became sales secrets.So what are these ancient pearls of wisdom? Read the following statements and take a moment to consider them. There are only 3 actions you can take that will increase your sales results.
Put yourself in front of more potential buyers. Convert more of the buyers you see into customers Sell more to each buyer and increase your average order value.
Take a moment and think if there are any other actions you can take, that don't fit into any of the above statements, that will increase your results.If you are taking any other actions they are not directly impacting your results.When you are planning skills training and activity for yourself, or your team, refer to the above statements and assess where the actions should be targeted. Look at how many prospects you get in front of, use your average sales conversion rate, and calculate if you are making enough appointments to achieve your targets or personal goals.If you are making a high number of appointments then look at your selling and closing skills. How many prospects do you convert to customers? Calculate the percentage increase in closing sales that you need to achieve to hit your sales targets or personal goals. Then look at the actions you could take. Compare your average order value to what others have achieved. If you have a good conversion rate, and you are seeing the right number of prospects, then increased activity, or sales training, to increase order values could be the key to more success.Start by using the sales secrets to assess the areas of your role that you need to focus on. That's just the beginning. The next step is to look for proven ideas and training on how to turn your assessment into actions.

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how to delegate to a sales assistant

The ability to delegate effectively is one of the keys to successful leadership.� Whether you are trying to manage�a multi-million dollar company or a family, the degree to which you can effectively engage others to carry out tasks is a good indicator of how successful you'll be.�One of the biggest obstacles to delegating isn't necessarily motivating others, though, it's communicating accurately what needs to�be done.� Anytime you have a project in your head that needs to be�shared�with someone else, there is�a chance that either you won't explain it well or that they won't understand it.� Fear of this miscommunication, and its attendant headaches, prevents�many of us from�attepting to delegate in the first place.� This is why so many people try to do everything themselves, or simply�don't take action on their ideas which would require outside help.�One simple and powerful tool to prevent miscommunication when delegating is to have�the delegatee�repeat back the task.��After you assign the�work�to someone, ask�the person (or persons) to repeat what they think they are supposed to do - the activity, the result, the deadline,�the reasoning.� It can be as simple as:"I just want to make sure that I did a good job of communicating what the task is.� Could you run through what you think needs to be done - and what results we want to see."That's it.� Very simple, but very powerful.� In the above example, you are not asking them to repeat the information because you don't trust them (which avoids the "I think you are an idiot, so repeat what I want you to do and I'll point out your mistakes" mentality).���You are taking responsibility up front for the integrity of the communication.�Doing this in the beginning of the process takes a little extra time, but it prevents time- and energy-consuming mistakes down the line.� It also heads off the negative feelings that come up when mistakes are made through miscommunication.� It allows everyone to be on�the proverbial "same page".� This way, you can expand your influence without having to do more work yourself - and that's the definition of a great leader.Happy delegating!

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asking all the right questions

Have you ever pondered and asked yourself "what is the meaning of life?" How far have you got with that question? I remember as a kid, climbing up on to a grassy hill, lying flat on my back and looking up into the sky, watching the cloud formations drift slowly by... I gave up "pondering" the question a long time ago, becasue I realized the futility of asking such a question. Is there really an answer?Did you ever think that maybe there is no answer?Did you ever think that maybe it's the wrong question?How about if you rephrased your question and asked, "What would give my life meaning"?Ah ha! Puts a different perspective on things doesn't it? Now we've have taken a seemingly unanswerablequestion and given it a multitude of answers! Now instead of being "stuck", searching for an answer that seems to alude us, we now have freedom, the freedom to let our imagination and dreams take us where ever we want to go!So, you are probably asking yourself, "Kevin, how does this apply to me closing more sales and building my business?"Have you ever been "stuck" with a prospect or a customer? Maybe you are asking the wrong kinds of questions...when I sit down with a prospect or a client he or she may not realize the impact his or her problems are having on their business. We want to explore the implications of our prospects or clients in not taking any actions to solve their problems.There is a process for doing this. I call it layering questions.For instance, my main question I always begin my presentation with is: "I'm just curious, Bob--what do you see as being some of the biggest challenges for your sales team right now?"His response might be, "Being proactive in getting new business."What then?With our client we need to explore the implications of his or her sales staff's not being proactive enough in getting new business.In order to create even more value in our client's mind, we need to thoroughly understand the impact this will have on his or her business and build on the original question by layering. The way I do this is to ask further questions about what effect that (not being proactive or cold calling) has on their business right now in terms of sales.* By the way, how fast is your industry growing right now?
* How proactive are your competitors in soliciting new business?
* How is this affecting your market share?This makes the client think. If my people are not being proactive, my competitors' salespeople are. That means my competitor is getting my business!When you ask the right questions and layer them, it gives you an opportunity to really give your clients a different perspective on what the cost of doing nothing to solve their problem really is.Would you like to read more blog articles on improving your sales and marketing techniques?

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how to overcome price objections easily

One of the most common topics that people ask me about is, how do I overcome price objections?In fact, do you know that in every single company that I work with most of the sales reps say they have trouble with price objections? I have worked with companies in the same industries, in the same cities and their sales reps are saying the same things - our customers complain that our prices/rates are too high. So how can everyone's prices and/or rates be too high?The fact is it's all a matter of perception and belief. One of my clients who has a very large and successful business with about 50 account managers was having the same problem. About half of his salespeople were having trouble withpricing objections. The reality was that his sales team was forgetting about the 5,000 clients who were using his service right now! During the training, I urged each and every sales rep to pick up their cell phones and call their clients and customers and ask them, do you feel you are paying too much? Puts things into a different perspective doesn't it? My advice to you is, don't ever forget the people who believe in you. If they haven't stopped believing in you and your product or service why have you? For one, we live in a price conscious society. As a consumer it is the easiest way for me to compare products or services. There are also some who live by the creed "you don't get what you don't ask for" so for them it's normal to ask for a better deal. They're fishing, and their hoping you will take the bait.Lastly, every purchase decision we make involves the risk of making a bad decision. I work hard for my money as I am sure you do. So as you can see, someone saying your price is too high doesn't mean your price is too high. What they are really saying is PROVE to me that buying from you is a good decision.So taking things one step further, my belief is for someone to even mention price as an objection, means that you have a an interested buyer!Stated another way - Price objections are in fact buying signals. If someone is so concerned about not being able to afford your product or service, or that your price is not in line with other suppliers - does it not make sense that what they are really saying is - if your price was lower, or "I would expect to pay for something like this" - then indeed you do have someone giving you a "buying signal". Now that you understand that you have a buyer, we need to position our prospect so that he or she "feels" that they are getting a "good deal." I always present my products or services as worth more than they are - it's a mindset that I have before I even enter into the presentation. I look at it as me being solidly planted on "my rock" - you have to have an unshakable belief in the value of the product or the service you are selling.This is where market research will really pay off for you - you need to know what your competitors are offering - what their competitive advantages are and their weaknesses.Other tools to have in your "tool box":1) Be up front, "Yes John, we can be perceived as being high by a person who hasn't experienced the results of our program... (show them results). Could you see yourself benefiting from these kinds of results?2) Show them testimonials from current and past clients who are happy with your service.3) Show them value, take a piece of paper and write down how the results outweigh the costs.4) Reduce price objections to the smallest number ie: If you spend $200.00 more that works out to about $16.00 per month.5) Tell them you don't want to lose a deal over a few dollars. Where else can I move that can help us put this deal together?6) Make it easy for them to buy. Get creative in your billing/financing/terms - We can bill you 25% now and the rest in 30 days. (or you can offer financing).And the best reason of all... "When you purchase this item, you also get me!"And the best reason of all... "When you purchase this item, you also get me!" Can you think of a better reason than that? I honestly don't believe in price objections. Studies show that the vast majority of all purchases are made for other reasons other than price. I know myself I am almost always willing to pay a little bit more if I know that I will get the results that I want. In fact, price rarely stops me from buying something if I think it will do what I need it to do.So you have to ask yourself, maybe I just didn't sell my product or service properly... maybe the price objection is a smoke screen because I didn't sell my prospect on value. And ultimately that's the bottom line, until you can show value, your product or service will always be over priced.

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sales training tip how to respond to im

I'm Happy You're Happy!!WHAT barrier? How do you break that barrier?Here is a question for everyone to think about, and I am not being sarcastic.I want you seriously to think about this: When the prospect says, "I'm happy with my supplier." What barrier, what objection, what problem are we talking about?A few seconds into a cold call the prospect says he or she is happy with their current supplier.OkSo?What's the problem?OF COURSE he or she is happy with their current supplier. What kind of a decent business person would NOT be happy with whom they are doing business with?Think about it: A business manager is doing business with a company that he is unhappy or unsatisfied in doing busineswith. WHY on earth would he continue doing business with that company even for a minute?Is he stupid?If he was unhappy, then why did he or she not rectify the situation before?
Was he waiting for you to call, while in the mean time his company was losing money or service by continuing to work with a substandard vendor?As sales people, we too often fall into the trap of looking for the prospect that is sitting there waiting for us to call. This is a mistake. Frankly, I don't want to do business with the manager or director who has been doing business with a supplier that they do not want to do business with. This person is could be incompetent or at best, a lousy manager.Of course they are happy and I am happy that they are happy!Now, again, what is the barrier that we talking about?Are you asking this person, after only a few seconds on the telephone, to drop their current supplier and do business with you? Of course not.All you are seeking is a meeting, right? Ok. Then what does the fact that they are happy have to do with the price of tea in China?Too often we try to skip over the steps in the sales process. When calling for an appointment-just sell the appointment-just sell the meeting. They are happy, so what? You are not asking them to drop their supplier and give you the business. All you are looking for is a meeting.That's all-just a meeting.Prospect:
"I'm sorry but I am very happy with my current supplier. I have been doing business with them for 14 years now, and I am not thinking about changing."Sales Person:
"Great! I'm glad to hear that Mr. Prospect and if you were NOT happy with your supplier, then I would have to wonder how you were running your business. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not asking you to change suppliers or to even THINK about doing something like that. In fact, I have not yet EARNED the right even to ask you. The purpose of my call is to introduce myself and ABC Company and simply to update you of the options, which I am certain that as a savvy business man, you always want to stay informed of."Mr. Prospect, over a cup of coffee, I'll update you on the options available and provide you with some very valuable information that will be beneficial to you whether we ever do any business or not. If our relationship goes any further than this one meeting, it will only be because YOU want it to. I can see you on Tuesday at 4:15?"Now you know me, and you know that the above example is in no way meant to be a script.That example represents the way of THINKING; the mentality you have to have.Don't skip steps in the sales process. First get the appointment. Then make the presentation, then the proposal. Don't look for the lay downs.Sell ONLY the meeting.Happy Selling!

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training hotel front desk agents to

Hotel Management should always make sure that their staff is properly trained. A properly trained Front Desk Agent is key to the success of the hotel.A customer may deal with a hair in the bathroom or bad food in the restaurant, but if the service is friendly, attentive and courteous, then they will continue to stay at your hotel. Apologize for the hair, do turn down service and leave them a fruit basket or something nice, and comp the food that they didn't like. "Put him/her on your hot sheet and check for upcoming reservations with this guest. If you don't see any return visits, get someone to call to see what's up. Can you imagine the impact of that?I guarantee that they will be back ad with less complaints. Guests hate their complaints being ignored. Sometimes you will have to give money back but in the long run, it will make more profit. Now of course there are abusers out there so use your best judgment. But always remember - Service is very important.Front Desk Agents should be fully trained on how to take a reservation. Just think how much revenue is lost because the Agent did not know how to SELL the reservation. If they are taking the time to call you to inquire, book those babies no matter what. The caller will hang up and book the next hotel who was smarter and got the sale.Take this week and take 5 or 10 minutes with each Agent. Tell them what you do and why you do it. Talk to them about your accounts and upcoming groups that are coming in. Give them a story or two. I know it will help.Ask if they have seen the rooms and banquet space. Take them into the Sales Office and introduce them to everyone and tell them their purpose.Give them the tools and knowledge to do a good job.My recommendation .....take a good look at your Front Desk Agents. Talk to them and find out what they need, and more importantly, what they know about the hotels practices and procedures. Take the time and your hotel will reap the benefits.

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sales mistakes how to avoid them

Business people are among some of the most confident folks in the world. Not only do most business leaders have egos that can be seen from space, they often surround themselves with like minded individuals who refuse to refute anything that comes from their superiors. This, of course, leads to sales mistakes that qualify as epic in scale. While it is always important to take chances where others fear, it is also recommended that you get a second opinion on your choice from someone who isn't afraid of you. Let's take a look at a few common sales mistakes.Misjudging your audienceOften times, when your company offers a product or service that is so good, you tend to forget that without the poper marketing technique, even the best product is doomed to fail. For instance, during the 1980's Coca Cola's market share was slipping significantly against competitor Pepsi. Coke believed that the solution to their problem was to reformulate their product to more closely resemble Pepsi. In doing so, they alienated most of the American population, and "New Coke" has gone down in history as one of the worst marketing decisions ever. What most Americans don't realize is that "New Coke" was a huge hit around the world and is still sold all throughout Europe. The Coke company completely misjudged their audience at home, but they hit a home run abroad. Make sure you understand what your customer base really wants before you radically change your product or offer a new service. Otherwise, you may be left wondering what went wrong.Learn how to niche marketOne of the biggest challenges in today's business world is cracking through the force field that many people have when it comes to advertising. We see so many ads every day in newspapers, magazines, television, outdoor advertising and online that most of them simply bounce off our cerebral cortex and fail to make any impression at all. While the initial investment is likely to be staggering in cost, coming up with several niche sales campaign instead of one blanket campaign is one sure way to break through that force field. If you can market your product or service to several niche areas instead of simply tossing a billboard ad out there, you are significantly increasing your chances of having the demographic you want not just see your ad but understand it and have it motivate them to action. Any other sales strategy is simply screaming at windmills.The Internet isn't just for kids, anymoreAt the dawn of this century, the Internet was still mostly the playground of the young and the middle class and occasionally a middle aged Christmas shopper. Today, grandmothers and inner city school kids use the Internet on a daily basis. If you have been reluctant to jump on the Internet bandwagon with your product or service, now is the time. You'll reach a larger audience than you ever thought possible, and that audience is growing each and every day.

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how do i use arts and crafts in training

Have you considered using arts and crafts as a technique to liven up your training sessions? Here as a training resource for you, under the headings of Description, This Activity Can Be Used To, Facilitator's Process, Guidelines for Facilitators, Guidelines for Participants, Pitfalls, Hot Tricks and Variations.Description
Arts and crafts are works produced by participants using imagination and skill.This Activity Can Be Used To:Make a spiritual or emotional connection.
Address a topic from a new perspective.
Stimulate the right brain.
Demonstrate a skill.
Produce solutions to problems.
Relax or reflect.
Communicate feelings.
Visualize an idea or concept.
Explore aubject in a creative or interpretative way.
Produce various outputs: sculpture, music, models, camp crafts, food, dance, etc.
Facilitator's ProcessOrganize the materials the group will need to complete the project.
Pre-assess the group to determine what participants already know about the subject.
Share the purpose and objectives of the activity with the group.
Choose a theme or topic for people to focus on, if desired.
Explain the procedure:
Obtain the supplies.
Work on the project.
Debrief the activity.

Announce the duration of the session, if applicable.
Ask for and answer any questions regarding the procedure.
Distribute the supplies.
Start the activity.
Circulate and monitor.
Tell the participants when there is one or two minutes left in the activity and remind them to choose a presenter, if necessary.
End the activity.
Debrief the session.
Summarize the session by recapping the main points.
Wrap up with a review of the learning objectives, if appropriate.
Conduct a post-assessment to determine what learning occurred.
Guidelines for Facilitators
Ensure there are adequate supplies.
If the medium is messy, advise the participants ahead of time to wear old clothes. * Allow enough time to complete the project.
Invite participants to enjoy themselves.
Set flexible guidelines to encourage participants to be as creative as possible.
Encourage participants who have not completed the project to do so afterwards.
Guidelines for Participants
Have fun!
Let your imagination run wild.
Don't get hung up on technical perfection.
Get messy.
Pitfalls
Some people do not think they are "artistic" and resist getting creative.
Individuals work at different speeds, so timing may become a challenge.
The facilities may not be suitable for the medium you are using.
Hot Tricks
Schedule arts and crafts at the end of the day, so those who finish early may go and those who are more into it may work longer.
Include things such as music, aromas, food, and drinks to stimulate the senses.
Work outdoors or in a different environment than usual.
Use unusual media combinations such as sculpting with food.
Variations
Set up various stations around the room with activities that relate to the learning objectives through different media. Ask participants to select the art form that most appeals to them and move to that station.
When the participants have finished their projects, put them on display and create a gallery for viewing the works. Ask participants to write an artist's statement about what the piece means to them or ask the other participants how they interpret a piece.
Have participants create 3D mock-ups or models of larger projects they are working on to help visualize the end result (i.e., landscape, sweat lodge, fashion design, bridge, architecture, boat, totem poles, camp set-up, machinery, etc).
We hope you find this article useful and we look forward to hearing of your successes as you weave arts and crafts into your training sessions.

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blossoming to maturity

A Poppin' Fresh roll sits in the refrigerated section of the food store, waiting for you. It blossoms to maturity in about 8 minutes once it is in the oven. If you use the same oven temperature, Poppin' Fresh rolls always take about the same amount of time to cook. For those who like consistency, that is a big relief.What does a Poppin' Fresh roll have to do with sales? More than you'd think!We use sales systems to create consistent results. We tend to use the same pain darts with the same decision makers. We use the same sales call note sheets to ensure we gather the information we need. We ask the same qualifying questions to qualify the sale, the process, and the decision maker.Using sstems reduces errors and improves performance. Even ineffective use of a selling system will most likely produce better results than not using a system at all.So, why doesn't it always work? The answer to that question isn't found with the system. The answer is found in the prospect.Prospects are people. People are like paper towels in that they have different "absorption" rates. People absorb and process new ideas at different rates. Some people process quickly. Some take time.Ever have a "no-brainer" sale not come to fruition because the prospect didn't "get it"? Ever sit and scratch your head after a sales call wondering why all of a sudden the prospect is now hot after an idea he shot down twice before? It boils down to processing time. Not your processing time, the prospects processing time. Some people do it faster than others.Size of the idea doesn't matter. Some people will jump on big, expensive ideas quickly and sometimes little ones take a ton of time and thought. So, it isn't idea size that is the culprit.
It is simply how quickly the prospect deals with change.Asking the right questions helps. And it may speed up the process by several weeks. But you may still get frustrated waiting for the light bulb to shine over the prospect's head, especially if the idea is truly a "no brainer."So how do you deal with this issue? Here are 6 things that can help.
1. Use the same pain points (or pain darts) several times over a couple of contacts.
2. Add some different pain points to your mix if the others aren't getting attention.
3. Remain focused on identifying problems, not creating solutions until the prospect states they have a problem worth solving.
4. Quit without quitting. You can appear to the prospect that you've quit, but you can simply take another path to the same place.
5. Change media. If you have been talking, put your pain points in writing and send along an article that illustrates the topic.
6. Don't give up. Keep pinging them with information they can use. If you add value first, and then worry about the sale, the sales process will be shorter for those prospects when it is there time to buy.Remember, a Poppin' Fresh dinner roll blossoms to maturity in 8 minutes in the toaster oven. A nine pound prime rib roast takes longer. Keep your sales cooking. Don't give up too quickly. Just change the recipe.

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cartoon drawing play with your creative

Cartoon drawing is considered to be a great form of art that artists use not only to express their creative ideas, but also to address some serious issues with a lighter outlook. If you become more talented in this art you will be able to find some interesting career openings for yourself and will be able to take up cartoon drawing as your profession. There are some suggestions that eminent cartoon artists try to share with those who are new to cartoon drawing, so that the newer people can develop their skills. I have tried to share some tips that will help you in becoming more knowledgeable about cartoon drawing.1. To become an expert in any art form that you take up, you have to put inlot of dedication. Without proper dedication you would not be able to get the desired level of expertise in any art form of your choice. Thus it is crucial that if you are interested in cartoon drawing, you should try to practice as much as you can. With the right mix of practice and dedication, you will be able to develop your cartoon drawing skills more and more with time.2. You can make your cartoon drawing more attractive by adding a lot of color to your cartoons. While making cartoon sketches you should try to improve by looking around you and gathering inspiration from what you see around you. You should use lighter strokes of a pencil for making your cartoons, and gradually make them deeper with time. Doing this enables you to correct your mistakes up without making the paper on which you are doing the sketches untidy. With practice you will be able to make cartoons even using pens, which allows very little scope for corrections as in comparison to the sketches that are made using pencils. You will be able to make better cartoons by following the video tutorials of famous cartoon artists that are found at the major stores.3. With cartoon drawing, you need to keep your sketches limited to a bare minimum. Adding too many details will spoil the overall feel of the sketches and make them appear tacky. You will be able to create finer art with time. There are a large number of places from which you will be able to draw inspiration while drawing cartoons. Though it is generally thought by people that cartoons are very easy to draw, the truth it is not as easy as it seems to be. For getting the best results people have to practice a lot, and many times it may take hours to create some cartoon sketches. Cartoon drawing for comic strips is much harder, as your sketches have to be such that they will be able to portray stories along with the sketches.You need to have a very good imagination power if you desire to go to places with cartoon drawing. With lots of practice and dedication, you will find that, cartoon drawing is a very profitable profession, and you will face no trouble in making money. The work is also very enjoyable and this definitely adds to its positives. I suggest that you start by studying the works of other artists and with gradual improvement come up with a style of your own.

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acrylic paintingsome great tips about

I have tried my hand at several types of painting like oil painting, watercolor painting and acrylic painting, and I found that acrylic painting was the best of the lot. Acrylic painting helps you to get the same effect as oil painting and water painting, thus making it a favorite among those who have experimented with this particular type of painting. However, there are some important tips that I would like to share with you readers to help you understand the finer aspects of acrylic painting.o One thing that you should keep in mind regarding acrylic painting is that you should not use the cheap type of colors for making your painting. If you use cheap colors the quality of your paintng will not be good, and that is why you should try to use materials that are good and should not mind parting with a little money, if you have to.o The colors that are used in acrylic painting are found to dry up very quickly. Sometimes, it may seem to be an advantage, but it can very well be a big disadvantage at other times. There are a number of ways by which you can ensure that the acrylic colors do not dry up fast.o You can use retarding agents to ensure that the acrylic colors do not dry very fast. It is suggested that you should buy the agents of the same company as your colors. By adding a bit of these agents to the colors, you will be able to keep them moist for a longer time than what you usually do. There is however a disadvantage of using retarding agents in acrylic painting, and it is that the paint that has been treated with the retarding agent will become wet every time a new layer is added.o Another method that you can use for acrylic painting without facing the trouble of drying up of the colors is the use of wet palettes while mixing your colors. These can be made quite easily using simple things like paper towels and grease-proof paper. They are found to help the acrylic colors retain more moisture than what they normally do. One disadvantage of mixing colors using a wet palette is that the colors may become more watery than is desired.In acrylic painting you need to be careful to see that your painting does not dry up too quickly. While you can get the desired results using the above mentioned methods, with time you will be able to come up with more effective methods for keeping acrylic colors dry for more time. You should try to take the tips of other people who have more experience in this type of painting and try to follow their tips in your style of painting. Buying the best variety of acrylic colors from the market will help you a lot in getting the results that you want without facing many troubles. I hope that you found the tips to be useful and help in increasing your knowledge about acrylic painting.

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watercolor paintingcreate art with water

If you are interested in producing a good piece of art, you should try your hand at watercolor painting. By following some simple instructions and tricks, you will be able to create some good paintings that will impress those who see them. An important quality that all kinds of watercolor painting should have is transparency. By having a good transparency in your paintings you will be able to get a better feel on your watercolor painting.A trick that will surely help you to get the most out of your watercolor painting is trying to create an effect that would make it seem that there is life in your painting. You should make the paintings in such a manner that the onlookers will get the feeing that the painting is more of an illusion.Moreover, there are a large variety of papers that can be used for making a watercolor painting. Choosing the appropriate paper will help you in getting a better effect for your painting. You can either use hot pressed, rough pressed or cold pressed paper for making your watercolor painting. Other important factors that you should pay attention to while choosing the paper for making your paintings are the weight and size of the paper. While using a light paper for your watercolor painting, you should take care to stretch it before making your painting. Failing to do so would result in the paper getting wrinkled with every stroke of your brush.Besides, one needs to decide on the quality of colors for making their watercolor painting depending on their personal capacity. If you are a novice you should stick with the most basic form of water colors for making your painting. As you gather more experience and become more confident about your capability, you can graduate to a more professional quality of water colors. You will find the water colors quite easily from the market in the form of cakes or in tubes. If you are using the watercolor cakes you should take great care to see that the brush you use for applying a certain color is rinsed well before using them to take any other color. This will ensure that you can get a better quality of watercolor painting.However, a different matter that you should keep in mind is that there is no need to buy all the colors for creating your watercolor painting; you just need to buy the more primary forms of water colors. By just mixing the primary colors you will be able to quite easily obtain the secondary colors. Thus you will not only be able to save money for yourself, but also will be able to come up with better shades of different colors. In case you cannot avail the secondary colors, you can always make use of the prepared colors that are available in the market.Thus keeping all these information in mind, you will be able to come up with better quality of water colors and become an expert in watercolor painting.

Original :: watercolor paintingcreate art with water

art exhibition how to hold your own

If you have been painting for some time, and you feel that you are ready to make the step from amateur to professional status, then congratulations, you are about to enter a most exciting time of your life. Holding your own art exhibition is really wonderful, if not daunting feeling as all of your work to date can be exhibited for all to see. It is a culmination of a long artistic journey as in order to exhibit, you must feel confident of your own abilities.* First, find the gallery where you can exhibit. Be warned there can be a very long waiting list before you finally get your paintings to adorn the walls. Collate every unframed work that you have done and build your portfolio as you wll need to take this when you are arranging a showing date with the gallery in question. Provided they are happy with the standard of your work, you will then need to start planning the contents of your art exhibition and producing more work.* Check you have enough work to display in the Gallery. There is nothing worse than finding that your pictures are too small or look too insignificant whilst on display.* Some artists like to have a theme and will include their most saleable work in the hopes of recouping the costs of the exhibition, others will produce work which may have a shock- ability factor and get exposure from the local press who may wish to run a story.* How much exposure the exhibition gets is up to you. Whilst the gallery may advertise the event locally, ideally, you should not just rely on their marketing to get people to your event. Advertising in the local press will get people along for viewing as will do leaflet drops. If you can tie in a story along with your exhibition i.e. some human interest angle, this may do a lot to increase the volumes of visitors.* It is always worth checking out other exhibitions to look at painting prices, styles and frames etc. Make a note as to what is selling and then take a look at your own work. Are your paintings commercial?* Frame your paintings and organise a bio with a picture if possible. You may as well create some publicity for yourself for future exhibitions. Leaving business cards and brochures is also advisable.Most of all enjoy the whole process and arrange other viewing so that people do get to know your name. An art exhibition is your way of reaching out to the masses so that your art becomes well known, reviewed and respected.

Original :: art exhibition how to hold your own

13 ways to enrich your presentations

As a sales trainer, I'm often shocked at the incompetence of presentations I see my clients make in front of prospects. While I've never believed that the "presentation" is where the sale is made, I'm beginning to change my tune a little bit. While the sale isn't officially "made" there, the stage can be set for further discussion. Recently, I was asked by a client to sit through one of their prospect presentations and critique it. From that I came up with 13 suggestions/tips that I share with you today. Remember, I'm not coming from the place of "impressing people" with your presentation. I come from the angle of "can this presentation lead to further, more meaningful discussioin the sales process?" Which is why I feel everyone should include these points in there presentations, so they can be the best possible.Don't boreNo reading the Powerpoint. Involve people. Be clear. Tell stories. If you need to remind yourself of story, put an initial of the story on the actual slide. If you put out a profound statement, ask the audience what they think of that. Get involvement.Numeric chunking"There are three things that are relevant here...one is... two is...three is..." keeps people knowing where they are on the list. Even if you have 10 points that's OK although we prefer 3-5.Graphics (or pictures) are more memorable than wordsGo to images.Google.com and see if there are any images that fit your presentation. Or, if you have a few dollars to invest, go to any of the royalty-free websites and purchase some from them. Apply the "so what" test to each slide/major point. Don't assume the prospect is able to connect the dots (but at the same time, don't patronize).Acknowledge any relevant issuesFor example, "I'm trying to put this together, I realized that we have a lot of points we'd like to communicate. I also realize we have only 30 minutes. So my effort today will be to hit on the major points"-and include the rest on the handout. The more transparent you can be with this, the better. Tell them some of your thinking that went into building the PowerPoint.Testimonial ArchitectureUse testimonials or case studies in your presentation. But you must use the correct architecture:a) what problem did they seek us out to solve?b) what did we do to solve it?c) what is life like now for them?No platitudes, claims or opinionsDeal in facts.If you're the largest in the state, then give the numbers. But never ever say, "We're the best." That's an opinion and it discounts everything else you say. If you're going to make a claim (we reduce costs), then back it up with facts or case studies.Tell the audience what the flow of the presentation will look like"First, I'm going to do this...then do that...then at the end, I'll do this." If you are going to ask them for a decision or an action step at the end, tell them that upfront so you don't blow them away with it at the end.Put this all in context (make it relevant)Ask or state the problems you believe you solve for the constituents. You bring more value to the planet when you are a problem-solver. Start with this in the first 10 minutes.What are the BIG IDEAS of this?I find that usually people try to blend big ideas with little ideas and come up with something that no one remembers. Come up with no more than 3-5 BIG IDEAS that you MUST get across in the presentation. I like the 3 Ideas that make you unique. Lesson: Don't bury the lead.Opening StoryIs there an opening story that depicts the real essence of your firm? Perhaps how you got started-or a significant event in your cycle-or a letter you recently received from an ecstatic client-or a comment on a survey that captures the essence of your company mission and meaning? Stories sell.Some bullets are big enough to deserve their own pagesRarely is it the other way around. We usually line list things in bullet format. They can't all be the same importance-yet in the list, they appear that way.If one bullet is more important, bold face it, highlight it or change font size and color. If one is REALLY important it gets it's own page.There's always a story behind the storyA pain behind the pain. There is a known pain that customers come to you to solve-but once they start working with you, there are other problems they didn't even know they had that you fixed. Those are the big ones. You need to list those pains and the pains behind the pains. You can even call it that. Every presentation should be passed through this 13-point filter. Good luck.

Original :: 13 ways to enrich your presentations

listening how can you sell someone your

Listening is the most important aspect of communication. Why do you think that we were given two ears and one mouth? The unfortunate thing is that most of us prefer to do the talking. It is a crying shame that they did not teach us this vital skill at school.Think for a second, if you are really listening to your prospect with real empathy then you would find it pretty easy to tailor your presentation with the key points that you picked up from listening to them.Some things to note:If you are listening carefully to someone you can learn key characteristics about their organisation or themselves which will enable you to manoeuvre more efficiently to the sale.

Beware that you filterthoughts and emotions so you interpret what people say falsely based on your experiences. Just like wearing sunglasses the longer you wear the filtered lens, the more it becomes normal.

Listening and hearing are two different things. Listening involves interpreting, understanding and deriving meaning from what has been heard. Hearing is the act of hearing the words. You can hear a song but not know what it was about.
We think four times faster than we talk so it is easy to lose concentration.
Tips for listening: Neutral listening: remind yourself to listen with an open mind suspending your filters and emotion so that you are listening to someones pure thought, not your version of their thought
Ask questions, keeping your focus and concentration on the matter at hand
Maintain eye contact, this increases your attention and focus. Ever wondered why many people crash into lamp posts or trees? It is because that's what they focused on
Remove barriers to listening, TV, radio, the Internet and email, posters and desks with stacks of memos and distracting information
Don't interrupt as it signals that you are not listening
Don't finish people's sentences for them. Not only is it rude and irritating for the speaker if done too often. It may look as though you are trying to claim their thoughts as your own. Other times you may guess completely wrong which may be embarrassing or may put you at a disadvantage without you realising as the speaker may not be bothered to correct you
Summarise in your own words to confirm understanding and display that you fully understand
Use these tips in your future interactions and your will find that the listening skills you have just learned will make you the most persuasive person you can possibly be.

Original :: listening how can you sell someone your

the most important selling tip

Whenever I tell people I'm a sales force development expert, they ask me, "What's the Most Important Selling Tip?" Over the years I have given my answer. But However, as the person is listening, I can tell they are getting antsy. What they really want to know is if I have an easy button or a magic spell to stun the person to buy on the spot. When they realize I don't, they tune-out, but then they want to tell me their approach. If I don't agree or if I suggest another path for them to follow, they become annoyed and we end up going nowhere together.So I now have a different strategy, but it ties to my Most Important Selling Tip. But I first ask the person, "What do you think the Most Impotant Selling Tip is?" and let them talk while I listen. In this way they get to tell me how astute they feel they are and unload what is pressing and anxious to get out of their minds.So my answer to the Most Important Selling Tip is to "turn a phrase" and go right back at them. Get the person to tell you his or her thoughts. It doesn't matter what someone asks you. You must let them vent, unravel, let go, unload, reveal, etc. before you offer anything. If they get their thoughts out of their heads first, you'll find them far more receptive to listen to you, and what you'll say will be received with more of an open mind. Even if someone seems timid, confused, wants to pick your brain, whatever, "turn a phrase" to get them to do the talking.So if someone says to you, "Tell me about your software, or your engineering services, or your topic at hand," you can respond, "I'd be happy to but let me ask you a question or two first." Right back at him or her. If they ask something very specific such as, "What color is this?" or "What's the price?" You should answer, and tag-along a question to open them up. For example, "It's green. What color were you hoping it would be?" or "It's $395 without options? What where you expecting to pay? What did you want it to accomplish?" This brings it right back at her.It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyhow. Once you learn what s/he wants be sure your responses tie-into what the person said. It's OK to probe with more questions if you're not satisfied or unsure what the person wants. You need clarity and you need to see if the person is open to different ideas. So go right back at them. But again, be sure to always listen first (with an ear to understand), before you offer your valuable information.And now I invite you to learn more.

Original :: the most important selling tip

how to handle objections

What sales training course have you been to where they DON'T teach you how to handle stalls and objections? But is this the real problem?What an Objection Really IsWhen a prospect objects to something you have put out there, it simply means that you have missed the mark. By 'overcoming/handling' these objections, you actually do more harm.I've seen sales people get into armwrestling matches over the wrong things because they were too eager to handle objections.Seeking ClarificationThe best thing you can do is "seek clarification." Ask the prospect to help you understand his objection/stall. We have a rule: What people say is not what they mean. So following that rule, even though they say"your price is too high" that many not mean what they're thinking.You Should Object to ThemThe fact is that in a selling process that's run the right way, you should be obecting to them because they have not earned their way onto your prospect list.They either don't have enough pain to make a change. Or they lack the funds. Or they lack the commitment. If they don't have one of those three then they aren't a prospect and you must move on.We try to keep these articles short and to the point, but if you would like futher clarification on any of the information or strategies discussed in our articles feel free to check out our website, http://www.caskeyone.com. Also, for more quick sales advice and training check out and subscribe to our free podcast, The Advanced Selling Podcast on iTunes.

Original :: how to handle objections

close faster by wearing your prospects

There are many skills salespeople need to learn to be successful. In teaching these skills I have found that there are two words in the English language that most salespeople fail to clearly understand in meaning and application: "sympathy" and "empathy." Not knowing the difference, and not knowing which will help you earn sales success, can cause significant delays in deals or may break them.Many believe the words sympathy and empathy are synonyms. They are not. The difference is significant in meaning and can have a dramatic affect on sales performance. Sympathy means that someone "shares" the feelings of another person or group of people. Empathy means a person "understands" the feelins of another but leaves themselves in a position of objectivity. In other words, as a salesperson, if you share their feelings you are weakened in position, but if you are empathetic you can still help them.In order to illustrate my point, let's take a real-life scenario. A salesperson named Mike from ABC Company is given a lead for George, the owner of XYZ Company that wants his services. Mike meets with George to discuss the company's needs. After 2 hours of fact-finding they are able to mutually agree on company goals and the assistance Mike's firm can provide. However, what George contacted Mike for was only a small part of ABC's services and would not help them fully achieve their goals. To really achieve the outcome XYZ wanted, it would take $80K. George explains to Mike, "I like what you have told me, but I have never bought this type of product and service before. This is a lot of money. Give me some references. I probably will not do anything until next month anyway, so let me think about it." If Mike is sympathetic, he would say, "Sure, I would feel the same way if I were you. I will get those references and call you next month." By being sympathetic, research tells us Mike probably lost his deal. George, who was probably very close to signing a deal, will find many reasons never to meet with Mike again. For example, George will talk to friends or other nonexperts who were not in the meeting, have never purchased such services, will hear the price tag, and will tell George it is unreasonable.An empathetic salesperson would have responded, "I understand, but let's be honest here, what will be different between now and next month? If my references were to tell you that this is going to work, then can we move forward?"Sympathy rarely has a place in sales. Certainly, sympathy is appropriate in dealing with matters involving the death of a client or family member. However, you need to be very careful when you want to share someone's feeling. In most cases, however, there is no place for sympathy in sales. It is usually death for the salesman.Buying is an emotional experience. If you do not understand how your prospect feels, you cannot help them buy. It has been said over and over again, "people like to buy, not to be sold." You can only do this if you master the skill of empathy. So next time you look at your prospect closing ratio and think it should be better, ask yourself how well have you mastered the skill of empathy!

Original :: close faster by wearing your prospects

make your sales team the best with

When you are looking to build a sales team that continually meet targets and go that extra mile you need to make sure that they receive quality training, otherwise you will have a team that occasional hit their targets and rarely get above this. Some organisations have in-house training teams who cater for all the training needs within that organisation but for smaller businesses training courses which are delivered by outside agencies are normally required. Often these training agencies have a fixed set of training courses which they will alter slightly to make it relevant to the business they are training in. This is not a useful or productive method of training as the training of salesteams is a highly specialised area due to the nature of the role.If you have a sales team that is in need of training or if you have an established team that would benefit from a refresher course Premier Training can help you. Premier Training will work with you to create a sales training course that will not only meet your expectations but exceed them by creating a sales training course that is target driven and maximises the potential of each of the your team. After your initial contact you will be assigned a dedicated training advisor who is not a salesperson but a professional trainer who will run through your objectives and aims of the course to make sure nothing is missed ?here you will also have the opportunity to make any suggestions for areas you would like to include in the training course.Next you will be shown the outline of the proposed course to make sure that it is exactly as you would like it to be, usually such courses are a mix of theoretical information sessions, group activities, one to one training, practical demonstrations and question and answer sessions to ensure that every member of staff who attends has got the maximum from the course. If there is any aspect you are not happy with let your trainer know and the necessary adjustments will be made. When this has been agreed it is time to book a suitable date for the training to take place, this obviously is down to you to decide upon this based on business needs. When the training course has taken place you will also be offered follow up advice for a set period which can be of great help to some sales staff if they need an extra boost.Premier Training offer sales training that not only produces some excellent results, but as they tailor each course to suit each business you know that every aspect of it has been created with your sales team in mind. This results in a sales training course that will deliver what it promises and will ensure that each member of your sales team is hitting and exceeding their targets each week. Training is important so it is essential for you and your sales team that you get it right, so use the best-Premier Training.

Original :: make your sales team the best with

do you get the most from your sales

Sales training can be difficult to deliver as everyone has their own expectations when considering their training needs. If you have a sales team that you feel would benefit from sales training courses have you considered how this is going to be performed? Many large businesses and organisations have their own in-house trainers who cater for these needs however these types of training courses are often quite old as they are the same course that has been used for years without many updates to keep them fresh and relevant.For a training course with a difference that not only gets results and is driven by what your business needs you should look a little further afield and choose a trainingourse provider that will achieve the results you want in a cost effective way. Too many training courses are aimed at short term results and offer little in the way of long term motivation for your sales team, something which will not create profits but will create unmotivated staff who do not perform as well as they should.Training courses which work well and continue to do so in the weeks, months and years that follow are the type of courses that are practical as well as theoretical. There is little point in sending your sales team on a sales training course that will tell them how to up sell products, create new revenue streams, build rapport with customers, handle objections and understand the basics of selling if there is no practical training on how to actually sell anything. But this is something that so many businesses will do and believe that they are creating an excellent sales team in the process.To get the best from a training course you must make sure that the course is tailored to suit not only the needs of your business but the needs of your sales team ?and that is what Premier Training will create for you. Premier Training are a training company with a difference-you tell them what you want your staff to be able to achieve from the course. If you have a novice sales team in a fledgling company there is no benefit to be gained from a sales training course that is aimed at experienced sales teams. Instead Premier Training will create an introduction to sales type training course which will be designed to get the very best from your sales team and will include role play sales training, practical advice and sales theory, discussion on the topic and one to one training.No two businesses are the same and this is why a tailor made training course is so important if you want to maximise the potential of each of your employees. By integrating practical exercises alongside sales knowledge and information you will ensure that after the course your sales team are motivated and hitting their sales targets every day. Training can be a difficult process which staff often dread, turn this around by using Premier Training and see the results in your sales figures.

Original :: do you get the most from your sales

closing the sale and creating client

Customer service becomes a combination of art and science when your staff learns how to create the desire to buy. The consumers surveyed by our firm are always on the lookout for this key ingredient in the selling and customer satisfaction processes. When you create the desire to buy, you move the customer one step closer to the sales transaction.We've taken the liberty of going into our files to pull out some of the most impressive ways our customers entice their clients and prospects to buy. Here are a few:o For those in the real estate industry, you might want to consider the smell of fresh baked bread, muffins or cookies as a way to greet prospects when they visit your rental or salesoffice. We even know of a dentist who does this as a way of alleviating the fear his patients have about their visits to the dentist.o Retailers often find that getting customers to handle the merchandise is a sure way of getting them to take their purchase to the register. Having the customer try on the merchandise or interact with the product, in some way, got positive responses from our consumer survey participants.o Some of our most successful financial and lending institutions are experts at getting prospects to envision the benefits of an improved quality of life when they take out loans or make investments.o Call centers can be at a disadvantage in that the prospect is not physically present. To counter this issue, a good telephone representative will paint a picture of what the client can expect to receive in the way of products or services. They will also be specific with regard to delivery times, return policies, and explanations of what the next step is in the process.o Successful restaurants will train their staff to sell dessert first! Good wait staff will encourage their customers to "leave room for the good stuff". We even know of a case where the wait staff suggested to a patron (who was too full to even consider dessert) that they have the dessert boxed up so they could enjoy it during their favorite TV show later that night.�The question is what are you doing to create the desire to buy? In your next staff meeting, challenge your staff to come up with creative ways to get the customer involved in the sale or transaction. Overall, you'll be creating a healthier bottom line through increased sales and you'll be creating happier customers who will want to do business with you over and over and over again.

Original :: closing the sale and creating client

sales appointment calls and the one line

You're making sales appointment telephone calls. You've got through to the prospect. You want to have a great opening impact with a stunning introduction that grabs their attention and keeps them interested. So what do you say? What do you include in those important first few lines of your appointment call introduction?No matter how good your sales skills are you can't use them until you are in front of a prospect. Learn how to make cold calls, and gain appointments, and you're diary will be full of potential buyers. The introduction must contain key pieces of information about you, your company and the reason for your call. Just enough to give the prospect the information they need, andot so much that they lose interest. Weaved into this information must be possible benefits for the buyer. The benefits are what motivates the prospect to continue with the call. The secret to making effective sales appointment calls is to use strong possible benefits for the prospect.Let's start with your name. There are many ways to introduce yourself. There is no right or wrong way, and you should choose the one that's right for your prospects. Make a conscious decision on how you will tell the customer who you are. You have a limited amount of time to grab the buyer's attention, every word must serve a purpose. So decide if you are going to use both your first and last name, or take a more informal approach with just your first name. Are you going to use a friendly abbreviation, such as Mike or Dave? Consider the area you are phoning, the culture and age of your prospects, and whether you are phoning business or domestic customers.Many call centre agents start their introduction with, 'My name is.' You don't want to sound like a sales caller. You want to project the impression of an important business call, or a friendly information provider. You choose the image that will work best for you in your market. You have many options that all give the prospect different pictures of who you are. If you have previously spoken to a customer you could use, 'It's David Jones. Another option is to say, 'I am david Jones.' Depending on the voice tone this can sound pretentious, almost like an announcement. The one I particularly like is, 'This is David Jones.' For my voice tone, and the type of customers I contact, it has the right level of importance, and doesn't sound like a telesales caller making hundreds of calls a day.Next comes the company name, or in some cases the product name. This is where you are calling from, work for, or you are a part of. Some introduction phrases I've heard give the impression of a third party, or not working directly for an organization. These are lines that say you are phoning on behalf of, or that you represent, a company. This can put off some prospects as they will view you as an agent or broker.A really good sales training tip is to follow the company name with a wide ranging benefit the customer could gain. You may not know much about your prospect yet so keep it big and open. You could use the fact that your company has the support of a national network and provides great customer service through local offices. You have a particular product or service, but make sure you state the benefits to the prospect not just the features. The company is an award winner. You have happy customers with similarities to the prospect. Spend some time and write a list of the big, wide open, benefits a customer can gain from doing business with your company. You are taking a grip of the prospects attention. It has to keep them focused on what they can gain as you go through the sales appointment call process.Beware of using benefits that claim you can save the buyer money. Everyone makes this claim and many prospects are now immune to it. It can also lead to the prospect asking for prices over the phone rather than agreeing to meet with you.You have said who you are, the company you are from, and you've caught their attention with a possible benefit. Now comes the most important line of the whole appointment setting call. This is the one line you must get right. The reason you are calling. When deciding on your reason for calling take the prospect's viewpoint. What reason will be a benefit from their perspective? Do not use, being in their area as a reason for calling to make a sales appointment. This implies the prospect, or the product, are not valued high enough to travel from out of the area.Consider new products or services you have to offer. Changes at your company that will benefit customers. Relate your call to new legislation and how you can help the buyer. One of the best reasons for calling to make an appointment is because you have a referral from another happy customer. This type of sales call can be as warm as an incoming lead. You are starting the relationship from a good position. Ask your existing customers what they think are the strongest benefits they gain from doing business with you. Do a survey and use the results as a reason for calling to make a sales appointment.We've only looked at the introduction stage and you can see already how important your choice of words and phrases can be. On the phone every word counts, so make conscious decisions on everything you say in your introduction. Keep it short and informative, with plenty of benefits from the customer's viewpoint. And practice your opening lines until you get the words and the voice tone just right.

Original :: sales appointment calls and the one line

the top 5 reasons a hotel sales manager

Hotel Sales Managers should always keep a private data base of their clients. There are many reasons why. Although I use the Opera System and have used Goldmine and Delphi, I keep my clients close to home in my personal computer. Yes, that means that you will have to take the time to put them in the data base but it has proven to be worth it.If you find an opportunity at another hotel that is a beneficial move, then a database will assist in "WOWING" the potential employer. These days the employer will expect you to have your client base at hand. A selling point is to have your clients information handy and they will want to know who you can shift to their hotel. Having your data bae handy will assist you in increasing your sales much quicker. You will want to impress your new employer and utilizing your base for email blasts or simply to easily find their phone number is a smart move. Having your database updated will keep you organized and assist in focusing on capturing more sales. I note special things about my clients and even log room night production and catering revenue where I can. A database also will allow you to target certain accounts that you want and call on accounts that you have qualified to have the potential to book large blocks of rooms. If you are at home and want to do some research or contact your client, you can easily do it by using your own resources that you have established for yourself. I do not always provide full information about my clients in my database at work. As a competitive Hotel Sales Manager, why should I give up every detail on an account that I have worked to death. And with this economy I never know day by day if my position is secure. So I take the time to back myself up just in case.

Original :: the top 5 reasons a hotel sales manager

the real true secret to closing sales

You can learn every closing technique there is, however, each one will be more effective if you've taken the time to qualify and present properly.If you get to the end of the sales process and find that closing the sale is difficult, you probably did something wrong earlier in the sales process.The best sales closing technique I have found is to qualify and present properly. By spending time finding the prospects problem, the one that keeps them awake at night and presenting your product or service as the solution, closing should happen naturally.Many sales people spend very little time finding the prospects problem and then presenting how their product or service will solve their problemThen they look for some magical closing technique to make their lack of preparation work in their favor and make the sale.The top salespeople use proper execution of all parts of the sales process as a sure fire sales closing technique. When you spend time qualifying and presenting many of your prospects will ask "how do we get started" or "what's the next step" before you even have to close.If you're still having difficulties closing the sale, what you may find is you don't have a good prospect. Don't waste your time and energy on prospects who don't have a need or who have a need your product or service can't fill.Learn to accept the fact you can't help everyone and you'll save your self time, energy and the frustration of not closing the sale, you wouldn't have closed no matter how many closing techniques you use.The use of an assumptive close during the process of gathering information and presenting benefits of your product or service is great closing technique if used properly. Using the word "when" instead of "if" and "your" instead of "my" will help the prospect assume ownership. During the whole sales process you should assume that the prospect will purchase.If you need a closing technique to complete the process, the best one I have found is the alternate of choice. This sales technique assumes the prospect will purchase and by choosing either option they are choosing to go ahead with the sale. People do want to purchase. Sometimes they just need help in making a decision. Give them options that will provide a win - win situation for every one.

Original :: the real true secret to closing sales

ramble on and rumble your way out of a

In the last few weeks, I have had the pleasure of listening to many people talk about their startups. The enthusiasm is there, the excitement for the world next great idea. They have that evangelist spirit and for all intent want me to share in their joy. So how come I find my mind wandering and unable to focus on this joyous rant?1. There is no clean message that takes me on a linear path from no understanding to complete curiosity.If you want my attention, please start with something compelling, and then engage me. If you go into every little story as to why you did this, and what led to that...look it was your journey and one day, several years from now, tell it to CNN.2. The engagemenis overpowered by the need to speak.Just because you care about something, does not mean it is important to me. Once you get me with something compelling, and I become curious, please let me get involved in the conversation. If you interrupt my questions, argue with me, say No or But a lot, or frankly just make me feel like you think I am dumb, you are as annoying as this 50+ word sentence (Which I wrote this way on purpose just to make a point; try and say it all in one breath). This is how I feel when you have to get all your points in before checking if they are important to me. After all, you either want me to buy in, buy it, sell it, or speak on it, right? Perhaps you should get me on your side?3. Listening to constructive feedback is not a requirement to the misguided evangelist.When you bring ideas to market, at some point you must stop listening to advice for the sake of launch. Once you launch, please listen to smart people who share good ideas. Even if you never do anything with it, JUST LISTEN! Even if you do not agree, JUST LISTEN! When you argue, or doubt, you leave great ideas on the table. I cannot tell you how many times I have not listened to what my wife was suggesting, because, well I was mad and what does she know anyways? Well, most of the time she knew exactly what I should do, and I usually wasted 24-48 hours before I realized she was right.So many great ideas end up drowning in the heavy seas of over abundant explanations. So many creators lack the pointed sentences to create the pictures of their brilliance in the listener's mental eye. This month on my blog I have focused on messaging, and it is important to know how to say what you want to say. Here is a link to those posts:

Original :: ramble on and rumble your way out of a

elephants or pygmies in sales which

I used to work at IBM. Itty Bitty Machines, I've Been Moved, I've Been Misled or many other acronyms those of us who worked at IBM came up with. (Actually, I loved it. But, don't tell IBM).While I was at IBM I met an extraordinary individual. His name is David Goldstein. David is a loyal 36+ year employee of IBM. During our time together at IBM, David and I became close. Very close.Initially when I started in sales in IBM, I had a tendency to chase the "BIG" deal or the elephant. I would chase these large deals and not look at the smaller one. Those deals were obviously for someone who could NOT close the big deals. I did get fairly lucky and close a few elephants.As David and Ibecame closer he told me that I should focus on the "Pygmies" to feed my family and chase one elephant at a time. I will always remember that advice. It came from someone who was consistently hitting his numbers and being compensated well as a result.I have to admit that I didn't take his advice completely. I modified it a little. I did start focusing on pygmies. But, I modified David's advice to include 4 elephants in my pipeline at a time and managed those accounts slowly but surely. This advice along with the modification paid me very well during my IBM career and I have modified it to work in my career as an entrepreneur.You're challenge is to determine which are pygmies and elephants and work them accordingly.Here is some critical advice.Pygmies can be closed within the quarter.
Elephants can take 6 months to years.
Only allow 4 elephants in your pipeline at a time. It ensures focus.
Delegate any additional elephants and you and company will be thankful for it.
Use this information to separate your pygmies and elephants and watch your paycheck go through the roof.I can firmly say that you should fill your pipeline with pygmies and include 4 elephants at a time to ensure that you eat while you are shooting the big prey.

Original :: elephants or pygmies in sales which

corporate sales training incorporating

Many companies have corporate retreats for their management team but this can be beneficial for all employees. The prospect of sending all full-time employees to a retreat where they can learn more about the company's expectations and how to improve their approach to their current job is one way to improve sales. The often forgotten workers who have the most impact on your customers are the people who deal with them daily.Lets use a retail setting for example. If your front end people, such as cashiers and customer service employees, are not taught the proper way of handling situations with customers, business can be lost. Repeat customers are one of the best customers a business can haveThe way to get repeat customers is by offering something other businesses do not. Extraordinary customer service and the interaction between the customer and the salesperson or cashier must be a focus.Where Should Corporate Sales Training Begin?One aspect many corporate leaders do not realize is their business starts at the sales level. If the customer is not pleased at this level, they will find somewhere else to shop. So this is the level at which corporate sales training should start. These employees should benefit from a corporate retreat that will better prepare them to handle situations as they arise.The sales level employee is paid the least amount of all the other employees, although the level of work expected from them is high. When you reward sales employees with a corporate retreat, implement a few strategies that may make them even more productive, and let them know that you value their role in the company, you are creating a more stable environment for your business.Taking a few employees at a time and letting them enjoy the setting as well as creating a learning environment is a great motivator. When they get back and tell the other employees what a great time they had and how beneficial it was, they will be clamoring to go as well. The point to get across is that depending on how motivated they are, they can be standing in your position within a few years just by following the methods taught at the corporate retreat.Can I Afford the Cost of a Corporate Retreat for Other Employees?Many companies feel this is an expense they cannot afford. However, this is an expense they cannot afford not to invest in. When planning a retreat, a remote area is a very good idea. This will cut down on interference from the outside world and let your employees concentrate on what is at hand. By learning the expectations of the company for which they work, they will not be hesitant to come up with their own goals.By establishing goals and keeping your employees happy and they will work at top capacity for an employer who they feel treats them fairly. Think out of the box, so to speak, and realize a corporate retreat can be beneficial to more than just the management sector of a company. The old adage of You have to spend money to make money certainly applies here.Please visit our website where you can learn more about our luxury cabin rentals which are available for your next corporate sales training location.

Original :: corporate sales training incorporating

attitude the key to turning your

Any company, yours included, can most certainly turn its workforce into its salesforce. All workforces, whether they are a two person team or a multi-national company with over a hundred thousand employees, are ultimately responsible for selling. Every employee action, interaction and communication with a customer influences their decision whether or not to buy from you. Customers are just as much influenced by the attitude of the cleaners and delivery staff as they are by senior management. The way your employees (in any department) answer the phone, write a letter, deliver a service, or pack a product for delivery, leaves a lasting impression in the mind of the prospective customer, andeither persuades or dissuades them in a buying decision.Selling is not just the responsibility of your sales staff, but is the responsibility of all employees, and starts with their attitude to your customer. Let's begin our look at turning your workforce into your salesforce by exploring two simple examples of a good and bad attitude towards customers, and the consequences of these. Both examples happened to me recently and encapsulate many of the principles you will learn about in this book.Example 1: The Barman - A bad customer attitude!I am a big fan of traditional British Sunday roast lunches and over the years have visited many pubs on a Sunday for roast beef or lamb and a pint of beer. There's no finer way, I think, of spending an hour or so on a Sunday than having a succulent roast dinner, with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, piping hot fresh vegetables and rich gravy, all washed down with a pint of warm beer. I love it! On this one particular Sunday, my wife Jane and I decided to take our two children to the pub just around the corner from where we live in Bath. This pub is a regular haunt of the Bath rugby club and has been in existence since the late 1700s. It's a wonderful pub with great beer. As we always do on these occasions, we ordered our food and drinks from the bar, got the children strapped into their high chairs and looked forward to yet another enjoyable feast. We had the restaurant to ourselves and were delighted when the food quickly arrived and was as tasty as we had hoped. But there was one problem with our lunch - simply that the portions were too small. I thought the meals looked a bit small when they arrived, with just one slice of beef, a couple of potatoes and a scattering of vegetables.Being a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Sunday lunches, I have a good benchmark to measure them against. But it was not just me being gluttonous who thought the portions were small; my wife Jane (who is a light eater) also felt they were tiny, and we both agreed that paying the equivalent of a decent pair of shoes, and still leaving hungry was poor value. When I had just about finished my meal and realised that I was still hungry, I went into the kitchen to ask the chef for a few more potatoes. The chef had just stepped out, but the barman (who had originally taken our order) appeared a few minutes later, and I explained to him about the small portions and asked for a few more roast potatoes. He looked at me as if I was some sort of alien and categorically said 'no, the chef agreed the size of the portions and that was that'. We are not talking about a whole new meal here, just a couple of potatoes, which I'm sure would have cost a few pence. After a short, but ultimately pointless conversation with the unhelpful barman, I said there was no way we would recommend this pub to others, and would not want to come back to eat there again. To which he turned on his heels and walked away, and to him, that was the end of that. That may have been the end of it for him, but now I would never recommend that pub for food (even though the beer is good), simply because of the small portions and poor value for money. In fact I would purposely do the opposite and tell my friends 'to stay away, and not eat there'.As a side note, shortly after that incident, I was asked to organise a meal for 20 local businessmen. This pub was one venue I had previously considered, but consequently removed it from my shortlist, preferring to go to a competitor around the corner instead. For the price of a small handful of King Edwards, and for failing to do the right thing for the customer, that pub has now lost out on my repeat revenue, and they've lost out on my desire to recommend the pub to friends and family. In fact, they now have negative recommendations coming from me. If this was a traditional sales company, it could have all the best salespeople in the world, but the salesmen would always be fighting against the negative word in the marketplace which is, 'we offer small portions and we don't care, and if you ask for a few more potatoes, good luck!'The barman is clearly nowhere close to becoming a hidden salesman, in fact he is stopping the future growth of the pub by not giving his customers what they want, and in doing so, preventing positive word of mouth recommendations. This is an example that happened to me, but I'm sure you have your own experiences of dealing with companies like this where the staff are unhelpful, and sadly fail to understand the future revenue consequences of their actions. I'd even be so bold as to suggest that you have people in your own company who think and act like that barman because every company has them somewhere. This means you have customers who are walking away from your company with their own version of the story I have just told you. Even if you have the best team of sleek sales professionals, you will lose customers if they are being treated in the same way as the barman treated me. You will lose out on future sales revenue, and will have to fight even harder to win new customers, unlike the barber in my next example.Example 2: The Barber - A good customer attitude!Let me give you an example of where a local business directly understands the value of word-of-mouth recommendations, the lifetime value of a customer, and how the workforce can become their salesforce. This is the example of my barber, Paolo. Since I moved to Bath, I've been going to one particular barber to get my hair cut. This is by no means the most prestigious barber shop in the city, but I'd argue it is the most successful and most profitable, and more often than not, the busiest. Although you do not need an appointment to get your hair cut there, the shop is always busy, and there is often a queue waiting. It was the fact that the barber shop was always busy that made me want to try it in the first place. I was definitely not attracted by its d?cor or styling, as the shop looks like it hasn't been touched for years. On my first visit I was served by Paolo, a Sicilian man who is a few years younger than me. He rents a barber's chair at the end of the shop. Paolo is the business owner of that chair, not the shop itself, but just that chair.Although customers can get their hair cut by any barber in the shop, Paolo only gets paid when he cuts hair at his chair, with his clients. Paolo knows full well the value of happy repeat customers. Firstly, he knows that if he has happy customers and delivers an extraordinary service, his customers will come back time and time again, allowing him to maximise their lifetime revenue. Secondly, he knows his customers will do his marketing for him as they will tell their friends and family what a great barber he is. I have certainly recommended Paolo many times and will continue to do so, and I've also overheard other people recommend him to their friends. I'll keep getting my hair cut by Paolo, and only him, because he continues to meet or exceed my expectations.The difference between the Barman and the BarberThe difference between the Barman and the Barber could not be more marked.For the sake of doing the right thing, the Barman could have generated significant amounts of future revenue for the pub from my future visits. He didn't understand that because of his negative behaviour, I will now suggest to my friends and family that they shouldn't eat at the pub, particularly on a Sunday. These two fundamentals of business growth (life-time value of a repeat customer, and word-of-mouth marketing) will dramatically reduce the revenues of that pub. Conversely, Paolo understands very well that his business is built on repeat revenues and word of mouth recommendations.Paolo would never consider saying to me that he had cut all the hair he was going to cut on that particular visit, and if I wanted him to cut some more, I would have to pay more. This is clearly ridiculous, as is saying to a paying customer that you cannot have extra potatoes, simply because the chef has decided how many will be given on each plate, even if there are too few in the first instance. As Paolo does not have a professional direct sales team trying to chase and close new customers for him, his business is built on word-of-mouth referrals and repeat customers. The only way Paolo will receive positive recommendations, and the only way customers will come back and use him again is if he constantly delivers and over delivers. At the heart of what makes Paolo great is the fact that he is a business owner, and thinks like a business owner. He puts his customers' needs first, ahead of his own.What makes the Barman at the pub poor, is the fact that he thinks like the worst version of an employee, putting his own needs ahead of his customers. These two simple distinctions are the focus of this book.

Original :: attitude the key to turning your

why you must establish yourself as an

One of the key parts of sales that you will learn in sales training is the importance of being the expert. There are some obvious reasons why the prospective customer must view you as an expert in the products that you are selling. The methods of being viewed as an expert are a little more difficult.Trust is the major reason why you must be viewed as the expert in the products that you are selling to your customer. They must be able to see you as someone who will guide them along the right path toward the product that they should buy. Most people realize that sales people are interested in selling, but they still ask the questions and they still seek advice from sales persons.You must knoyour product well so that you can answer these questions. Before you begin trying to sell a product you should read every bit of information that you can get your hands on so that you will be able to answer your customer's questions. This is one of the ways that you will be viewed as an expert. If you are not able to answer a customer's simple questions, they will not be able to trust you to sell them the right products.When customers are looking at your products, offer them some information on the product that they may not have realized before. You are in a good position to know every facet of the product and if you can give them some information that they didn't have before, the customer will see you as knowledgeable on the product.With online selling, becoming an expert is the same except that you will establish yourself as an expert by the content on your site. Create content that will give some useful facts to those that are looking for information on the problem that your product can solve. Include articles and other information so that the web shopper can visit your site to read more information on the product.Make sure that the content on the site is updated frequently. This is the way that you can bring your customers back for more. It will keep you established as someone who knows more about the product than the average user.This is something that you will learn with effective sales training. It will take a bit of hard work and homework on your part, but it will be worth it when the customers come to you for your expert opinion on the products that you are selling.Learning how to sell effectively is not an easy task. There are a great many nuances to the art of selling to consumers. There are some books on the subject that will give you some good direction. For a more intense look at sales, you can take a look at a sales training course for you and the people in your business. If you own the business, it is in your best interest to make sure that your staff understands this kind of information.

Original :: why you must establish yourself as an

sales training ideas the economy has

Sales training rarely focuses on what to do in a tough economy, or when clients are in panic mode due to economic events yet, when these situations arise, how you act and react is extremely important and can make or break your business quickly. Following are some things you can do to make sure you stand out and thrive in difficult times.1) Make yourself available.Believe it or not, many salespeople become overwhelmed and even scared themselves and as a result, they avoid phone calls, e-mails, and other communication from clients and prospects. At difficult times, you want to be more available than ever. You even want to extend the number of hours you are in the office. You may even want ttemporarily put other areas of your life on hold. Important: It's critical to have balance in your life and yet, when you're in crisis mode in your business, it's a good idea to dedicate as much time as possible to business.2) Get proactive.This could easily have been number 1 however, in times of crisis, many people will call you so being available is first and foremost. By proactive we mean, call and contact your clients and prospects. Let them know that you are there for them and ready to walk them through this uneasy time. Also, let them know that you are available to talk to them if they want to call you or stop by. Again, many salespeople run or avoid a potentially bad situation, you want to face it head on and let people know you are there for them.3) Stay calm, cool, and collected.Most people panic when there's turmoil or times are tough; most people calling you will be nervous or upset. The best thing they can hear on the other side of the phone is someone who is calm and composed. By being calm you will help make others calm and they will also look to you for leadership. People who are calm when everyone else going a little crazy, are people who others look to for answers. So keep your cool and urge others to relax and stay the course.4) Double your efforts.In tough times many salespeople and businesses will cut back, this is your chance to leap frog everybody else by working hard and increasing your efforts instead of cutting back. You don't want to be giving into fear or emotions at this point and you don't want to be following the crowd. Double your efforts, work hard and smart, and grab the business that everyone else is cutting back on, ignoring, or not paying attention to.

Original :: sales training ideas the economy has