bad habits can break sales

Retail clothing sales can be an unforgiving business. Even if you have good sales process you can still blow sales with bad habits. Here are some small ways you can put off customers that were ready to buy.Number one is poor hygiene. First impressions are huge when it comes to sales. Your appearance plays a massive role in. You do not have to be Brad Pitt or Angelina, but simple hygiene goes a long way. Unshaven, grungy teeth, body odor, wrinkly stained clothes, and messy hair are just a few things customer will pick up on instantly. No one is going to spend much time with a stinky sales person. Taking the time to properly care for your hygiene is a way of showing respect for your customes and fellow employees.Number two is laziness. When a customer walks into store you should appear busy. There are always plenty of things to do in a retail store, such as putting items back on clothes hangers, re-organizing racks, sorting products, and stacking unused hangers. If you are just sitting at the counter on your butt it sends the message that you do not care about your job they will assume you do not care about them.Number three is being unprepared. Nothing is more aggravating for a customer than trying to get information from someone who does not have any, but is trying to pretend that they do. The more you know about your product or industry the more sales you will get. This is the key to building confidence and trust with a customer that is essential for a sale to take place. Additionally you need to know your way around your store. It may seem obvious to you, but for someone who has just come in your store is a maze of store displays and clothes hangers. If a customer has to follow you all over the entire building because you do not know where a specific item is or even if you carry a product you willNumber four is nervous habits. Constantly biting your lip or fidgeting with clothes hangers while a customer is talking to you can drive customers away. Sometimes we do not even notice we are doing these things ourselves and it can be hard to break these habits. One way is to have fellow employee keep an eye out while you are dealing with customers and help remind you with a subtle hand signal, clearing of the throat.

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sales training how top salespeople can

Thanksgiving in the USA is November 27th this year. Just like turkey producers have been filling the grocery stores to sell more turkeys, professional salespeople need to fill their sales pipeline to continue to convert leads to customers or clients. How does the stuffing of the bird compare to the stuffing of a sales pipeline?1. Prepare Stuffing SafelyPreparing turkey stuffing is like preparing yourself with product knowledge, people skills and sales ability. Additionally you have to add your attitude, your actions and your self-confidence. The stuffing, the professional salesperson, takes time to get all characteristics in line and in integrity for the process to be successful. It's imprtant to be in total integrity with all your actions or your stuffing, or else the filling of your pipeline will be sabotaged. This just might be the step to hire a coach.2. Stuff LooselyStuffing a turkey is like adding leads to your sales funnel: too much dressing and it overflows and burns. In the selling process, prospects can drop out of the sales funnel at any stage. Potential clients go from a large number of initially interested persons, on to the narrow end with a smaller number of the initially interested people who will actually buy.3. Cook ImmediatelyAfter you have a fair number of prospects to get to know, there will be some that are ready to buy sooner than others. How many times must you call a prospect for the right timing? Assuming that everything falls into place when you call them, and the pain is so bad you are in the right place at the right time, how prepared are you? As a sales professional, design a system that allows you to stay in touch with each true prospect.4. Use a Food ThermometerIf you have too many non-qualified leads in your funnel, you can have an overflow, but not enough sales results. Yes, the funnel looks full, but you need to take the temperature of leads to decide when they are someone to spend time with. In difficult economic times people change their buying or decision-making style and the timeline may be longer. When economic times are thriving, the timeline may be shorter. Regardless of the economy, research from SiriusDecisions finds that sales of more complex solutions of any type in the business to business sector, has on average a 22% longer selling cycle, and 3.5 more people involved in the buying process. Whether it's the economy or the complexity of the sale, it is critical to steadily fill the pipeline.5. Let It RestJust like your turkey stuffing, you put together the right mix of marketing ingredients to attract prospects to you. Your sales assessment of the prospects needs and wants helps guide your time with them so that when they are ready to move along in the sales process, you are ready to guide them to a decision point to buy. There comes a time a client still may need to think it over or talk it over. While you may want to get a decision when you are ready, at times you have to follow-up and rest. Rest doesn't mean stop in sales. Rest means to allow for a short break and recharge with planned, purposeful follow-up.6. Refrigerate PromptlyWith proper follow-up, customers do say, "Yes, I'm ready." Of course many times the seller needs to prompt the yes by asking for a decision. In follow-up with valid and personal business reasons, salespeople continue to build trust. Always be ready also to continue to ask to move forward with your product or service. That is a sales professional's role.Many turkey recipes don't go on to say eat and enjoy! In sales, it's important to stop and recognize each success. While disputed by sales coaches and trainers, sales always was, and always will be, a numbers game. Numbers are as important to the sales pipeline as stuffing is to a turkey dinner.

Original :: sales training how top salespeople can

sales training introvert salespeople

Just as Nixon enacted Auto Speed Reduction Day for energy conservation in 1973, introverts in business who sell may want to declare their own Sales Speed Reduction day for energy conservation. Extroverts, more like solar powered items, continually and speedily energize by doing things. Introverts, more like a flashlights, need to stop and replace actually batteries to keep on going.1. Sales and marketing plans usually include a degree of networking. Be selective about the events you go to. As an INTJ in Myers Briggs types, I usually go early and speak with three to six people and then I'm free to either sit and eat, just wander around or leave. Selectivity and purposeful introductions arekey to my success.2. Schedule your days so any extroverting - speaking engagements, networking, even one to one meetings - can be done after you have some quiet time before and after. This allows you to pace yourself. In particular, you want any activity that restores and refreshes you. Selling can be enjoyable this way!3. Email is a great way of communicating for introverts. You can control the conversation more easily. Don't hesitate to draft an introduction or follow up email and let it sit in draft mode. Then before you "speak" you've satisfied that innate need to think first.4. Maximize your planning side to minimize crunch time. If you start preparing for a sales presentation or making a proposal well before the deadline, this lets you manage both time and energy.5. Remember that introversion can look like shyness, but it isn't. Professor Bernardo Carducci of the Shyness Institute at Indiana University defines the difference this way: an introvert hangs around the edge of a social or business event to preserve their energy; a shy person is reluctant to join in because of the risk to be judged.6. Understand yourself as an introvert. Since we need more time to restore our energy, select enough speed reduction activities to protect your energy. Hire a coach if necessary who understands the introvert's care.No one is solely introverted or extroverted. Being an introvert in sales doesn't mean there is something that needs to be fixed. There's nothing broken. We're in the perfect position as introverts to do more 'being' instead of 'doing.' The truth is even extroverts may find it stimulating to slow down on occasion.

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the simple and key technique to handling

You've just finished giving your presentation to your prospect, and you shown him all the benefits and reasons why he should take action, now, and purchase your product. Everything was presented in a very logical manner, and he was supposed to say, "Yes."But he didn't.You've just been told no, and given some objection or reason why your prospect doesn't want to make a purchase or make a decision, now. For a moment, all that head of steam that you were so neatly and professionally building up, has just collapsed like a withering balloon. You're facing your prospect, trying to figure out what went wrong and how to salvage the sale. How can you convince this person that they are wrong by notchoosing to buy from you, right now?Every sales person has been in this exact same boat, more times than we will ever want to admit to or remember. However, it is very important to remember that being told no, right after making your close and asking for the sale, is a fairly common experience. It does NOT, however, mean that your sale is now doomed. It does NOT mean that your prospect has automatically shut you off. And...most importantly, it is vital to remember that your prospect is saying no to the product/proposal you are offering, and NOT saying no to YOU.There many ways to overcome and handle objections. This is not the purpose of this article. Instead, what I am going to give you is an important tip on how to TRANSITION from hearing an objection, to proceeding to handle it. This technique works on any kind of objection that you will come across, and it's very easy to master.First of all, always keep in mind that if you try to tackle your customer's objection, head on, as an objection, then you are setting the stage for an adversarial situation, and in that scenario, you will never win. Your goal is not to make your prospect wrong, but rather to lete your prospect be RIGHT.When your customer voices an objection, do NOT immediately respond to it. Jumping right in and attacking the objection only makes your customer more defensive and also makes them believe you really didn't hear nor understand what they were saying. Instead, count to 5, in your head. As you are counting. slowly nod your head so your customer sees that you are truly listening and comprehending what they are saying. Doing this will work wonders in bringing you and your prospect closer together.Repeat the objection back to your customer, but repeat it in the form of a QUESTION. "Well, Fred, I definitely can understand what you're saying, and it's a very good point. In fact, many of my clients also felt the same way, when they were considering this deal. Am I correct in believing that you do feel that this makes sense, but you're concerned about.....(state the objection, here)?"When your prospect then AGREES with you on this question. Simply ask them if this is their only concern. (never use the word "objection" to your customer)Your next move is to say the following: "So, Fred, would it be reasonable to say that if we could find a way to effectively address this issue, to your satisfaction, then there really would be no reason to not move ahead with this?"Once you get that second agreement/commitment. Proceed with addressing your customer's concern, and then re-close.You will find, that if you remember to use these simple steps, your closing percentage will greatly increase.See you at the top!

Original :: the simple and key technique to handling

finding alternate lead sources within

Many sales reps often overlook valuable lead sources within their own company, and spend precious selling time looking for leads outside their office doors. They attend networking events, travel to conferences and trade shows, partner with other sales reps, and research potential external lead sources, but rarely consider all the invaluable sources of information around them.What they fail to realize is that some of the best sources for leads and customer information are fellow employees who work with current customers as part of their everyday job. For example, coworkers in customer service, human resources, accounting, and administration are dealing with and speaking to important customr contacts every day. They are often made aware of key information in their ordinary conversations that could be very useful to reps. This information can help reps adjust their sales strategies and ultimately lead to significant sales. If a sale rep can determine who "touches" their customers on a regular basis, they can establish a steady information and lead source within their own company.By first considering the kind of information they would like to gather from a source, a sales rep can begin to develop potential internal sources and guide their sources' conversations with customers. Desired information might include insight into the account, if there are nay new contact people in place, if there are any pending organizational change, or if new products or services are being introduced. Using this information, a sales rep can very likely discover additional needs within an existing customer organization that they can help to address.Some ways a sales rep can guide and train internal sources to provide leads:Providing a list of questions or information to gather as the conversation allows.
Including them in account planning sessions or territory reviews. This elevates them to be part of the team and communicates your vision and direction.
Following up on a consistent basis. This reinforces how serious you are.
"Giving back" with some form of bonus. A gift certificate or dinner out are always appreciated, and will keep you in their mind whenever an opportunity arises.
Mutual respect and better communication are critical success factors in generating internal leads and creating internal partnerships. A sales rep and internal resource must respect the role each person plays in the company and their unique value to the customer. Internal partnering will open the lines of communication between different departments, ultimately strengthening the company while also generating additional sales.

Original :: finding alternate lead sources within

increase sales jumpstart your lead

Are you getting the sales you need? If not, consider diversifying your lead generation techniques. Cold calling and direct mail are common approaches to lead generation however there are many other ways to make your leads flow.Break down your territoryIt's important to break down your sales territory into manageable "chunks" so you can identify your best sales opportunities. By doing so, you can more easily determine who to target and how to best establish and nurture a relationship with those prospects.Generate leads in existing accountsIt is much easier to find new opportunities with existing customers than it is to find new prospects willing to buy. While not all customers have immediae opportunities, don't neglect your customer-focused lead generation efforts. Although they may not have any needs today, it is highly likely they will buy from you when future opportunities arise if you keep them up to date on your value and expertise.Identify others who can help youEnlist lead generation assistance in the form of partners. Partners might include a formal business partner of your company; someone who offers services complementary to your own or with similar business goals; or people within your own organization who interface with customers in different ways, such as customer service reps, technical support, accounting, and product development professionals. Teach them your value proposition, and guide them in how to identify new leads for you.Use emailEmail can be a very effective way to generate leads because it provides a way for prospects to respond easily. Some things to keep in mind when implementing an email campaign include: use a quality database, limit the number of emails you send at one time, create effective subject lines that will get a person's attention, structure your content to avoid spam blocking, use links effectively, and follow up on a timely basis.Webcasts, conferences and other approachesOther creative ways to generate leads include hosting different types of events such as webcasts, forums, or sessions at association meetings. Attending and speaking at industry conferences and trade shows can highlight your expertise and generate a host of new leads. Press coverage of your company's products or services is also a great way to draw people's attention.

Original :: increase sales jumpstart your lead

your value is like a homemade chocolate

Selling is a lot like baking. I love to bake. Every Sunday I make 3 batches of chocolate chip cookies for my family of three growing boys. Friends who stop by know the cookie jar will be full and ask to dip in. No kid or adult is immune and they can never stop at just one.Yum! These are good. Do you use real butter? What kind of chocolate chips do you use? How do you get them so soft?I shouldn't have another, but may I? Can I please have another?Even though my homemade chocolate chip cookies are definitely not low fat, people eat two, three and four at a time - more than they ever intended, but what the heck? Their senses take over as the cookie melts away in their mouth. And their hesitaion goes out the door.Your clients are the same way. If they love, love, love your consultative recommendations, advice, and observations they'll buy more and more. Make their job easier. Check in on them even if you aren't working a current opportunity. Bring them new ideas and make recommendations you believe will best fit their businesses. Always be willing to listen and brainstorm. Help them financially justify their investment while only selling solutions that will benefit their businesses.Sell your value. Show your clients the value of working with you. No doubt you hear these phrases every day. But when clients are pressuring you for a price break, it isn't always as easy as it sounds.Will clients really pay more to buy your stuff? Yes! They buy Starbucks and Krispy Kreme donuts instead of generic because they value the taste. They'll buy your value, too, if you appeal to their senses.While your clients' budgets may say they should shop around, or they shouldn't buy that extra service level, they will buy - and buy from you. They'll do it because they feel confident in decisions you help them make. They can taste the success you're helping them achieve melting in their mouth.The memory of that success lingers, just like the memory of a homemade chocolate chip cookie.In my opinion, if you're going to take the time to make homemade cookies, you shouldn't skimp on the ingredients to save calories or money. If you skimp, they're no better than the packages or tubes you can buy at the store - and definitely not worth the effort to make or eat. Adults don't see any reason to eat them. Kids will pass them by; and they certainly aren't going to recommend them to their friends.The fact that I perfected my recipe over years, and don't skimp on the ingredients or the time to make them, has my family not just satisfied but bragging. Friends are coming back for more. New friends are coming out of the woodwork.Your value will linger, too.Your client will not only pay for your value, but tell everyone they know about how pleased they are! Before you know it, you'll have a great testimonial for proposals, an eager reference, and referrals flowing your way.I was speaking with a client this week who actually apologized for spreading our name "all over the place!" He said he probably should have told me so I could prepare our team, but he'd been so busy he hadn't had a moment. He'd sent some referrals to look at our website and listen in on some audio conferences we were running. He hoped that was okay with me.Okay? That's value as good as a homemade chocolate chip cookie!

Original :: your value is like a homemade chocolate

show your clients the money

Are you wondering how to close those opportunities lingering in your funnel? While these are admittedly challenging times for many, I still see lots of sales being made. So what're those sellers doing differently? They're showing their clients the financial justification behind their decisions.Ask Clients if Their People, Processes or Budget are Causing Their Biggest Issues This question will help your customer pinpoint where their biggest challenges exist and you can begin to develop a plan to resolve the situation together. In today's economy executives need your help to discover the financial justification behind their decision to work with you - for themselves and their board. They wat to be confident they are doing the right thing. And if you can show them the money, you'll close the business.So, now's the time to master financial questioning with your clients. And you don't have to have a Masters degree in accounting like I do to do it!One IT seller I was working with couldn't get his prospect to close even though the prospect's computer system crashed twice a month like clockwork. The prospect felt the pain for the multiple hours the system was down, told the seller he really wanted to fix it, but couldn't bring himself to open his wallet to do it. It just wasn't in his budget and business was too slow.In good conscience the prospect didn't feel it made good business sense to invest in fixing a problem that only happened a few times a month.With my coaching the IT seller worked with his prospect to identify the impact the downed computer system was having on his business. He questioned his prospect about:Revenue his business wasn't able to generate when the system was down
Customer dissatisfaction when they couldn't schedule appointments
Duplicate work that occurred across the staff
Lost invoicing when the system didn't recover properly
Employee dissatisfaction when they couldn't do their jobs and had to work overtime
The seller examined every financial impact he could think of that the downed system was having on his prospect's business. He helped his prospect realize that the status quo really was costing his business much more than a consistent service contract would! When the prospect saw all the money he was spending, he signed immediately.This seller didn't need an accounting degree to ask financial questions and show his prospect the money. So how can you do it with your opportunities?Think about all the issues resulting from your prospect's business issue and the impacts they could have on his business
Use your questioning skills to help the prospect determine which impacts are important to him
Document your findings in your proposal to provide your prospect the financial return he needs to justify and sell his decision internally
Now you can show your prospects the financial gain they'll get by moving forward with your recommendations. You'll find yourself selling in spite of the current economic environment, and your client's business will reap the rewards.

Original :: show your clients the money

are you selling to customers or clients

The terms may seem interchangeable, but for those who recognize the subtle distinctions, you may be leaving a wrong impression. This is important to know if you want to be perceived as a consultative seller to others. By not using the correct term in meetings, presentations or even casual conversation, you may be hurting your ability to get ahead with important clients.I often find myself switching between these two terms, knowing I want all our prospects and clients to perceive me as a consultative partner to them rather than a vendor sales rep, yet uncertain I have "earned the right" to call them clients. But even before we've earned the right, don't we need to act as if we have?Remembethat old adage, "dress for the position you aspire to"? I think this is a similar circumstance. We must not only treat our prospects and clients the way we always expect to treat them, but also speak of them as if they have already achieved that level.From my perspective a client is a person whose business you have a vested interest in, and for whom you perform as a partner within their business. Not everything you provide is billable. And not every opportunity you are awarded was shopped with the competition for the best price.You are a respected part of your client's business. Every time you meet with your client, you bring a new idea. They value your expertise and recommendations, even seeking them out. While you want to be successful yourself, your primary objective is to make their business successful because you know your success stems from their success.In contrast, customers are people who you help meet a need. They have a problem. You address the problem. You may invest long hours in determining the right solution. They may invest a great deal in purchasing the solution, but they don't recognize the value of your recommendations. You don't take time to present new ideas, perform quarterly review meetings, or call them spontaneously.While you like customers as people, neither of you are investing in a long-term relationship. Customers may deal with a specific seller so long that a friendly relationship is established, but there is rarely a vested interest to the extent that a business partnership is established.So, which would you rather have: clients or customers? Personally, I'd like every customer to be a client, because it means they respect the full value of what I can bring to them as a consultative seller, and what our organization can provide to their business. I have fun working with clients, and they enjoy working with me. We make each other successful.The big question is: how do we turn customers into clients?First, we change how we refer to them. They are clients.Next, we examine why we aren't doing those things for our customers that we do for our clients, like bringing a new idea to every meeting, helping them identify unique ways to address their strategic business objectives, or holding a project review meeting with their staff.Finally, we change. We treat our customers like clients. If they don't see the value after all our efforts, they may select different vendors. But then, they really weren't our clients in the first place, were they?The people we're doing business with can easily sense if they're being treated like a client or a customer. If we treat clients -- the people who should have our respect, attention and receive valuable input from us -- as if they're only "placing orders" through us, we'll fail as consultative sellers. And ultimately it's the clients that make us all more successful.

Original :: are you selling to customers or clients

tough times call for tough training

With the downturn in the market, good staff are still surprisingly hard to find, particularly at the operator level.A colleague in the hospitality industry, spoke about his challenges:"Good staff have become rare. Everyone's competing for the same pool of labour. The young, often with limited education, unskilled and without any career in mind, are just working for a couple of months until they find something they like. Our organisation is understaffed. Sick leave is on the rise, morale is down, productivity and efficiency are low. On top of that, the supervisors are overworked. We are caught in a vicious circle."What can he do? The number one solution, both short and long term, is trainig. Often people think of "training" as only skill and knowledge building. However there are additional plusses from good training - motivation and a positive attitude. These can be even more important than the skill and knowledge development. Training takes time and money - two resources that are in short supply at the moment. However, both can be overcome with a little creativity. Before thinking about the type, content, length of training etc, there is one principle that must be at the forefront of every manager's mind:"We are training our people to be the best in the business."This is irrespective of how long they may stay with you, how junior they are, how inexperienced, or how de-motivated they might be. It must be a case of:"We attract the best people. When they leave us, they leave with far more skills than when they arrived."People must want to work for your organisation - this requires that you build a reputation. Your people must be seen as an asset rather than a cost. This can only start when the CEO and top people share this view - this attitude will show in their behaviour. Those of you reading this who are in the sales business, have probably heard of James Levenson's philosophy "From the cleaning people to the CEO, everyone is an important salesperson." (Levenson gave a speech back in 1974 called "And you think strawberries are for eating". It's one of the best sales leadership speeches ever given - look it up on the web, it's still there!)The type of training?Customer service training is the best because it incorporates all the skills that are transferable throughout the organisation, including management. What's more, it can help the bottom line.Who should attend?The training must start with the top team. All the top managers must undertake the training first. Then, each manager or supervisor in the organisation (including the CEO) must act as a sponsor to one training group - i.e.. he / she (in addition to having undergone the training first) must participate in the training of another group in the organisation. The sponsor should be there to support the trainer, follow up with participants individually and hold short team sessions with people on how they have applied the training. (These meetings can be as short as 5 minute sessions. In one organisation, they were called the "5 minute update" - very powerful and motivating.) Who should conduct the training?You may have a good internal trainer. Alternatively, there are two choices. A very good external trainer, or convert one of your managers into a trainer. Turning your managers and supervisors into trainers (particularly in tough times) can be both a cost saving and a great boost to their personal skills - most people also find it highly motivating. How long should the training be?Ideally at least a two-day workshop. However, in some businesses there is a lot of shift work and getting people together for any length of time is hard. In these cases it may be necessary to break the training up into small modules of 1 to 2 hours. Pay people to come in early or stay later. The benefits far outweigh the small costs.Good follow-up systems, such as having the staff measure customer satisfaction (themselves, not the standard "fill in the form") adds greatly to the training effectiveness. In fact this is essential. At the start of the training, staff should be encouraged and coached in how they can measure their results. Then give them the responsibility of doing just that. How to make the training cost effective?Once you've run a pilot session, why not offer it to other organisations in your area? They are facing similar problems to you, so why not get some revenue from your investment? Yes, you can even offer it to your competitors! With this strategy, you will start to build your reputation as the "best employer in town" - people should be saying, "I want to work there". How to get the best staff?Make sure to stress the training and career development you offer. Even your adverts, should say "We don't expect everyone who joins us to stay forever. However, when you do join, we will guarantee you the best training and career development. In addition, if you want to make a career with us, we can offer a great future". Why is this training "tough"?Much easier to focus on and quantify, cost reduction. Cost management strategies, whilst important, can often send the wrong messages.Far better to run some team meetings and ask the staff "We are all going through a difficult time at the moment, what are your suggestions on how we can better manage our costs and still maintain our level of customer service?" You might just be surprised at some of the suggestions you get.This happened with cleaners in a large university. Not only did they reduce costs, but they were soon running sessions for other maintenance people across the campus population of 12,000! Two cleaners even made presentations to the Board of the university and to groups of up to 200 other maintenance and administration people - truly amazing results. Tough times call for tough training.

Original :: tough times call for tough training