How are sales like jump-starting your car?

I hope it has been some time since you last had a dead battery. It's not a lot of fun, especially if it is pouring rain and you don't have a set of jumper cables.

Most people know a battery has a positive and a negative terminal. When jump-starting a car it is very important to know which is which. If you don't connect the negative terminal on one battery to the negative on the other, and then do the same with the positive connections, one can do serious damage to the battery and alternator. 

So what does this have to do with sales? Well if you think about it, those in sales have a negative and a positive. Instead of terminals, we call it attitude.

Unlike a car battery, everyone knows the difference between a positive attitude and a negative attitude ... or do they? You would think this question is a no-brainer. A recent encounter caused me to wonder how evident this fact is.

It is no secret to many in sales that those who maintain a positive mindset towards their daily tasks, their prospects and their clients will out perform those at the other end of the spectrum.

Have you ever come across someone who didn't realize they have a negative attitude? I encountered someone recently that if you looked up the word negative in the dictionary you would have found a picture of this person. Envision a person firmly closed to new ideas or different ways of thinking. He was sceptical about the impact of mindset on actions and behaviors. He believes established processes are more critical than creatively thinking through a solution. He was openly argumentative with his peers, challenged his manager, and discounted others results. His only defence, "I’ve always done it this way." He was fortunate in having established a sizable block of business contacts over the years; which helped him produce above the required corporate quota.

I was left to wonder what his true potential could be if were to flip the dial from negative to positive.

Those familiar with the pioneering work of psychologist Dr. Henry Murray will know he was one of the first to postulate a direct, observable link between thinking and behavior. In the 1960s and 70s, a Harvard professor, Dr. David McClelland extensively studied achievement motivation and concluded that successful individuals have a significantly stronger drive or motivation to succeed than do average or below average individuals. Building on these works, the late Dr. Clayton Lafferty noted that successful sales people were likely to engage in constructive thinking, while unsuccessful sales people were prone to think in counter-productive ways.

Top sales people learn to be effective thinkers. That is, they consciously maintain a positive mindset; they focus on the sale and have established an inner drive to succeed. They combine their strong relationship skills with a strong belief in their clients. If you want to see what they look like, look up the word success in the dictionary!

If you want to jump-start your sales performance - connect to the positive terminal.

High Probability Selling for Sales Professionals: Turn Cold Calling into Warm Sales Leads

Like most sales lead consultants, I do not advocate cold calling . However, I acknowledge that cold calling is necessary at times.

You need prospective clients and customers: If you don't have a customer list from which to solicit referrals, and you also lack an advertising/marketing budget, cold-calling to a highly targeted list is the fastest route to finding high probability prospects.

A High Probability Prospect is one who wants, needs, can afford, and is ready to buy your product or service- now. Those who only want, need, and can afford- but are not ready to buy now- are prospects that you will not meet with now. But, you will continue to contact in the future, until they are ready to buy.

How does Cold Calling fit into High Probability Prospecting?

Before picking up the phone, you need to define your target market. Your target markets are consumers and/or companies who are likely to want your product or service. If you haven't gone through the exercise of defining your target market, start by making a list of your best customers: What characteristics do they share? Are they in similar industries? Are they companies of about the same size, or in the same vertical markets? In B2C sales, look for similar socio-economic factors.

Your prospect list, whether you've created it yourself or purchased it, is the basis of your prospecting campaign. Contact each person on the list repeatedly, each time with a different offer. In High Probability Prospecting, an offer is a succinct distillation of two features of your product or service. Every time you re-contact a prospect, present a different offer.

When call your list, only first-time calls are cold calls in High Probability Prospecting. A truly effective prospecting campaign requires that you call the same list every 3 to 4 weeks, so after a short period of time, most of your calls will be 'warm' calls. A higher percentage of the people on your list will say "Yes" to your prospecting offer with each successive call.

5 Simple rules for maximum effectiveness and maximum efficiency:

Don't repeat the same prospecting offer more frequently than every third call.
Your offer must be no longer than 45 words, describing your product/service and mentioning two if its features.
Your prospecting offer must clearly request a "Yes" or "No" answer.
When prospects say "No," you say, "Okay, good-bye."
When prospects say "Yes," you say, "Why?"

With practice, you should be able to make at least 50 dials per hour. You'll find an increasing number of High Probability Prospects- people who respond with 'Yes' to your offer- with each pass through your list. You'll be on your way to making appointments with people who are ready to buy what you're selling- right now.

High Probability Prospecting doesn't eliminate cold-calling entirely. You will, however, make successively fewer Cold Calls and far more "Warm Calls". That will eliminate most of the Rejection associated with cold-calling. Thus, you will turn telephone prospecting into an efficient and enjoyable activity.

Greater Conversion -- Three Things Everyone Should Do to Get More Sales

Many more people want to buy your product or service, but they don’t end up doing it! That’s because many companies are stuck in the print marketing mindset, and don’t realize that there are a couple simple things that they can do online to increase their conversion rates. In this article, I’ll outline three easy to implement changes that will take those extra sales right to the bank!

1) Product / Service Image Size
Chances are you’ve got images that represent or depict your product or service -- that’s a common sense way to add familiarity to what you have or do! An eye tracking study has shown that small images are oftentimes overlooked and that medium sized images (210x230 pixels) provide near a 150% increase in the amount of time spent looking at the image. The same study has shown that people tend to focus their attention on photographs that contain a human face. Medium sized pictures with faces in them retain interest longer!

2) Linking Images
The same study showed that people click on pictures, even when there is no indication that the picture is a link. For those images of products, link the image to the product page where they can buy your product! For those images depicting services, link the image to the related service information page or a contact page! Always link your images to the next step of your conversion process!

3) Call to Action
Visitors that are interested in your product or service may not know what to do to get it. Or they may be interested enough to purchase or subscribe, but only if it’s easy -- otherwise they’re not interested. This often overlooked scenario is easily overcome by a call to action link on every page. The call to action could be as simple as "Find out more about XYZ Widget Model 3 here!" It could be a Buy Now button underneath an image. The most important part of content written for sales is to make that call to action. You’ll quickly see that doing so will have you smiling all the way to the bank! Always have your visitors do something!

After you’ve implemented these three simple changes into your website, sit back and watch your stats increase. You’ll find that getting more conversions is a very pleasing scenario! As one last word of advice, other eye tracking studies (and possibly the same one I’ve referenced throughout this article) have confirmed that many people let their eyes wander below a picture when there’s text below it. Use that to your advantage by placing "Buy Now" buttons underneath your images. Good luck!

Get them with a powerful sales letter!

The main reason why 95% of online businesses fail is because of poor sales letter. Write your sales letter with an Individual in mind; think as if you are writing personally to them. People love to read good stories, tell them stories that illustrate a point you are trying to make.
1.Heading.
Write attention grabbing & powerful heading. Remember you have 15 seconds or less to capture your visitors attention before they click away. Offer the best benefits or the biggest promise to your visitors. Increase their curiosity by showing them self-serving benefits. Your heading should immediately create a desire in the reader to want to know more.
2. Testimonials
One of the biggest problems on the internet is being believed. Testimonials are the best way to assure people that you are not a scam artist. People want to know what others are saying about the product. In fact, a good testimonial from respected well-known authorities within your targeted field will definitely build your credibility & boost sales. Try to include a testimonial as close to the top of your sales letter as you will get people immediately believing what you say even before they read your sales letter.
3. Build Interest.
Build interest in your reader by discussing a problem or telling a story. The first part of your sales letter should build interest in your readers and try to expand the benefits you got people excited about in your headings. People love to read stories, so tell them some exciting story of your past experience, but remember the story should be within your targeted field.
4. Bullets.
Bullets are one of the most powerful persuader in sales letter. People spend a lot of time reading bulleted list. Bullets arose the curiosity of your visitor, so use them to stress the benefits of your products or services and spell out exactly what is included in your offer. Make you bullets like a mini heading. Use them to narrate the benefits of your products in a step-by-step way.
5. Comparison.
To prove that your product or services is of a great value you need to show them what you are offering is much better them your competitors. Show them that others are charging much more for a less quality product then yours. Explain them that they are getting a better deal by ordering from you. This way you can prove your products or services are of a great value.
6. Bonuses
Make your offer different & valuable by adding some good products as bonuses. Do not give away outdated junk as a bonus it will damage the credibility of your main product. Your bonuses should be as good as they could sell on their own. Remember sometimes people buy the main product just because of the bonuses.
7. Guarantee.
If you have a good product then there is no need to worry about offering a strong guarantee. Make your guarantee look like a personal promise. Try to convince your visitors that they have nothing to lose all the burden is on you to deliver what you promised.
8. Demand Immediate Action
Include a deadline to create a sense of urgency in the mind of your customer. Nobody wants to make a decision, so let your customer know that they will be missing out on a great deal if they do not act now.
9. What to do next?
Do not make your customer guess what you want them to do next. Tell them clearly that “Click here” to order or get immediate access. Make this process as simple & understanding as you can.
10. P.S.
P.S. is very important part of your sales letter as most of your site visitors will immediately scroll down to the end of your page to find out how much it would cost.
A P.S. is a best place to summarize your product or services as visitor checking your price will also have a detailed description of what they will get if they order now.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips, hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on sales letters, query letters, bylines, with solutions , do please browse for more information at our websites.

Getting The Most Out Of New Sales Leads

Employing Effective Sales Techniques

When selling anything, there are 5 basic stages of action that a salesperson must induce from a potential customer to make that sale. After youТve obtained your lead, be sure to follow these guidelines. They are:

* Attention: You must get the potential customer focused on your product through prospecting or advertising.

* Interest: Now you must keep their attention and develop their need to know more; this is often done through an emotional appeal that is backed-up by a logical connection. (If youТre selling life insurance the question, УWill your family be financially secure if you pass on?Ф is logical, but it also plays upon the emotion of a husband or wife dying and leaving their spouse and kids forlorn.)

* Desire: The lead must want what youТre selling and not what someone else is selling. Build their desire for your product by revealing its value and your companyТs commitment.

* Conviction: Use statistics and facts to make your case. If selling life insurance, point out the fiscal deficit the family will face due to an untimely death and how a policy will fill the gap. Use national figures regarding mortality, insurance rates and payoffs and anything else that might convince that person to purchase your product.

* Action: Now itТs time to close the deal. You need a verbal call to action. If the lead has concerns, address them.

There are numerous techniques you can employ to close the deal. Some are straightforward and others are less direct. Here are a few.

* Direct Close: You ask if the lead is ready to order. ItТs that simple.

* Product Value Close: This technique gives the lead the feeling that they are getting great value for their money.

* Time Close: Basically, if they donТt act fast the lead will lose a fantastic opportunity because rates or prices could go up.

* Trial Offer Close: This one works if youТre able to let someone sample the product. Not really a great one for insurance. Although, itТs connected to the shortened term close below.

* Shortened Term Close: Perhaps the lead is willing to purchase a year of term insurance rather than 5 years.

* Discount Close: Is it cheaper to buy a longer period of coverage? Close the deal by emphasizing that fact.

* Reduced Benefit Close: If money is an issue, they can purchase less insurance for less money but still retain some security.

There are many techniques that you can employ to initiate these various actions that will ultimately make the sale. Here are some procedures and methods that will prove useful in converting that lead to a sale.

Listen to Your Lead: They will often point you in the direction they want you to take them. Is there an emotional connection to your product? Do they talk about their kids or their job a lot? Are they less emotional and more logical concerning life and their needs? What are your prospectТs priorities? If you can connect by listening, you could have a long-term customer.

Employ Language that Makes the Lead the Focus: Yes, life insurance is important, but it only becomes important to your lead if they think it is. Use pronouns such as УYouФ and УYourФ and stay away from УIФ and Уme.Ф Make the lead the center of the universe and connect him or her to your product to make a sale.

WhatТs the Bottom Line? Make the bottom line clear to the lead. Spell it out very specifically using facts and figures to which they can connect. How do they stand to benefit financially? You may also employ an emotional bottom line, which focuses on the peace of mind insurance can induce.

WhatТs it to Them? What benefits will the lead realize if they purchase the product from you? Focus on the positive and how they will be better off if they decide to buy from you. DonТt dwell on the product itself, but instead, its potential to better that personТs life and your commitment to ensuring that they do benefit.

Get to Know Your Customer: Try to find out as much as you can about them. This will help you to understand their needs and desires, which you are trying to utilize to create a sale. What are their priorities? Do they want to make a lot of money, have a secure family life or retire at 40?

Never Rush a Sale: DonТt push your lead into a sale. In the end, you want them to feel positive about their investment. If they need time to think it over or discuss it with their spouse, respect that request. That respect for their process can mean dividends in the end for you.

Offer Explanations and not Excuses: If something goes wrong or you make a mistake, you need to be upfront. Making excuses doesnТt usually fly, and it can jeopardize any sort of relationship youТve created thus far.

Be a Resource for Your Client: Knowing your product and the market and being a resource for your client can help cement a long-term relationship between the two of you. That translates into repeat business, good word of mouth and trust that you canТt garner in any other way.

See Them in a Positive Light: Make sure your potential client can tell that you have a positive image of them. It can come from complimenting them on something that they take pride in or noting that they are wise in thinking about life insurance (or another product) at this time in their life.

Nurture Their Success: One youТve built a relationship with a client, be sure to acknowledge their success and be part of the positive image they have of themselves.

Be True to Your Word: Your word, although usually not legally binding, can make or break you in any business. If you promise to do something - do it. Not following through for one person usually translates to around 15 to 25 people hearing about it.

If you manage to do all of the above, you may be able to parlay the trust youТve developed, your reputation as a resource and the positive image youТve helped reinforce in your client into sales. This is called relationship selling, where future business transactions are based on the relationship youТve cultivated with a specific client.

Relationship selling allows you to utilize the clients you already have, expanding your sales without having to find new leads and develop new relationships. You will certainly still work at finding new customers, but the fact is it takes a lot less time, effort and money to sell a new product to an old client than an old product to a new client.

Thus, in order to be successful, you must not think in terms of making one sale to one person. Rather, you need to consider the long run and developing a solid relationship with your customers. In this scenario, the person who you sold that term life insurance policy to last year may decide they want to buy a permanent life policy next or purchase insurance for that new business theyТre starting. If youТve created a good relationship with them, they will come to you.

Fifty years ago an insurance salesman visited the home, sat down with mom and dad and had a cup of coffee as he talked about his products. It was very cozy and homey - there was a direct connection.

ThatТs not done anymore. Still, you want to create that type of relationship - that personal, one-on-one connection. ItТs still possible today, but itТs not as easy as it used to be. Using some of the techniques described above will help. Personalized e-mail can help in this area and as online chat sales develop, that has the chance to revolutionize how we do business.

However you connect with a client, you must realize that the operative word is Уconnect.Ф Creating that personal connection will allow you to make a lead realize the benefits of your product. That can be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Generating Leads And Making Sales: Advice For Trade Show Exhibitors

If you are getting ready to set up a trade show booth for a show, then you are already being business-savvy and doing the smart thing. Trade shows are one of the best ways to market your products or services and advertise your business to interested buyers. Even for successful companies, trade shows can increase sales and public exposure dramatically. Trade show booths allow businesses to directly connect with the people that purchase their products or services.

Though the reasons for exhibiting at a trade show are obvious, simply setting up a trade show booth is not enough if you really want to make the most of your expense and time. Generating leads and making sales are your priorities and your trade show booth – both the physical space and the display – can help you do this. When you are displaying a trade show booth, you want to project just the right image for your company; one that makes potential clients want to learn more after their first glance. Although people’s eyes should be drawn to your trade show booth, it shouldn’t be because it is simply flashier or louder than the others. Flashy or loud may be good for sales if your business is video games or music, but if your business is selling gourmet foods to restaurants you probably don’t want to advertise your booth with a flashing neon light or loud ear-splitting rap music. Your trade show booth should reflect your company’s brand and market, while still offering just that little extra effect that makes it stand out. This may sound difficult, but it really isn’t. It just takes a little pre-trade show planning.

For the sake of keeping it simple, let’s say that your business is selling candles wholesale to retail outlets. You want your trade show booth to let people know immediately what your business is all about and understand immediately why your business is unique and worth looking into. Remember, depending on the trade show there may be other businesses that sell the same thing you do, so just simply stating your business name and what you do will not be enough. You don’t want to be obnoxious, though, so having a hundred lit candles placed all over your booth would be too much. Don’t overwhelm potential clients – it will turn people away. A better idea would be to display your best candles around the booth, unlit, and then have professional brochures placed next to each type of candle that you are advertising. Offer coupons for large discounts or money-back guarantees on a first bulk-purchase – this shows that you have complete confidence in your product. And consider a giveaway like a tealight or other small candle so attendees can take your product with them. This encourages them to use your product and to contact you if they are interested.

Remember that it is your expertise and professional demeanor that people will remember the most, despite all of your display magic. Though the day may prove to be long, remember to sound fresh and excited when talking to each prospective client. Every interaction is a chance to make sales and generate leads. Practice your sales techniques in front of a mirror if you think that will help. Ask friends and colleagues what they think of your sales pitches, and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Most of all, with each potential client, project confidence. If you can show that you really believe and are excited about your product, your enthusiasm will be contagious.

A trade show is a good venue to generate sales leads and establish new business contacts. Making a sales presentation is easy - you know your product and can speak to its features and benefits. You likely have several different presentations depending on the audience, length of time you have to speak and the product you are showcasing. Use these presentations while you are meeting with prospective clients at your trade show booth and you will feel confident that you are providing them with the pertinent information they need about your company and products. Think of a trade show as a place where you can make many sales presentations all day long to a targeted audience of people attending the trade show. This is the best way to exude confidence and make sales.

Garage Sales - Good For Everyone

Ah, the garage sale! That little slice of suburbia that ties communities together, brings friends and neighbours to your doorstep, and helps your turn the cast off flotsam of bygone years into money in your pocket. These familiar scenes of summertime are a great way for people to buy the stuff they need at a fraction of the retail cost.

Similarly, garage sales are a great way to get rid of stuff that you no longer use or need. A garage sale is a favourite of collectors, bargain hunters, and the random passer-by with an idea of seeing what there is to buy at low, low prices. Having a garage sale can be fun or stressful, useful or counter-productive, profitable or costly.

There are many reasons for having a garage sale. Perhaps you want to sell all those unused "treasures" taking up space in your house. Perhaps it is to clean out the house prior to an imminent move. Perhaps you simply want to make a few extra dollars. Some people simply do it for an opportunity to meet the neighbours and do a little haggling. A garage sale is very useful at all these times and for all these reasons.

With a garage sale, you need to give the people what they want (reasonably decent stuff at cheap prices) to get what you want (floor space in your house). While the phrase “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” is true, there is another fact that is equally true, and even more important.

Junk is Junk   and nobody will buy it . usually.

You can always try to sell broken or non-working so they can be used as parts for repairing other things people may have at home. Just be honest about it and price it as a broken item. You’ll be surprised just what kinds of things people will buy.

People who go to a garage sale have many things they may be looking for. Some are just on the lookout for good stuff at great prices. A few will just be passing by and spot something they have always wanted but could not afford until they saw it at your sale. Some are dedicated garage-salers armed with maps of advertised garage sales, hunting for specific items or items they never knew they needed. Some will attend simply to meet the folks from down the block. Some will even attend your garage sale just to have items for their own garage sales. Whatever their reasons, you need to attract buyers who will see your items, like your prices, and walk away with the things they do actually want and need.

But setting up a garage sale properly and pricing your goods so that they sell fast and furious at a price you like well those are topics for other articles.

Four Keys to Understanding Sales

Over the years I’ve read a hundred sales books with all kinds of different approaches and ideas. Some were very good and others left questions about their authors understanding of selling.

When ever I found myself in a slump or things just didn’t seem to work the answer always seem to be in the basics. A great chef, master carpenter or champion athlete always seems to have a mastery of the basics. So let’s take a look at what this idea of selling really amounts to.

First: Sales is two people, a customer and salesperson, communicating with each other. The customer is communicating their needs, wants and results required. The sales person is trying to understand these so the issue can be solved by their product or service. Just think of this as two people getting together to help each other improve their situations.

Second: Customers purchase products and services for the results they provide. This can be a real challenge for sales people that have been indoctrinated that sales are all about their product. This means saving time and money, preventing problems, solving problems or creating opportunities; that’s what the customer is looking for. Your product or service is simply a way or method to get the results, so salespeople need to communicate these results to customers instead of the product.

Third: Getting into new accounts, selling new and existing accounts and servicing accounts is all about two people communicating. Getting into a new account is about communicating results that the customer could achieve and communicating it in their language. The selling part is listening, questioning for clarity and communicating the results. Servicing the account is continued communications about the results to date and additional results needed.

Fourth: If we take the selling process, the objection response process or presentation part of selling and take the words “selling”, “objections” and “presentation” away, guess what we end up with. The “Selling” process becomes a communication process that is used every day. The “objection” response becomes a conflict resolution process and “presentation” becomes story telling.

Take this idea of communications instead of selling and see what happens to your productivity. Ask yourself what the potential results of your product could be from your customer’s perspective. Now think about how that could best be communicated to your customers.

We’ll explore each step of the sales process and how communications fits into it in future segments. For now, just think communications.

Fishy Salespeople? How to Finally Stop Handing Out FREE Fish to Your Sales People

Do you remember the good ole days when sales managers used to just sit back and wait for their salespeople to come into their offices and ask for help?

Maybe they needed the old veteran to come in and nail down the close. Well, we all know you just can't do that any more. Sure, that would put a few more sales in the win column (in the short term). But in the long term what are you creating? Nothing but needy, dependent salespeople without an ounce of personal selling confidence.

Showing your people HOW to prospect, HOW to set appointments and HOW to close sales makes your job easier and everybody's paycheck fatter.

If that's the kind of vision you have for your sales team, then it's time to close down the all-you-can-eat fish-fry and open up the all-you-can-catch fishing school.

Wouldn't that be nice? You bet it would. AND profitable, too.

And so we've come to the reason for this article. You see, Self-Sustaining Salespeople are not found; they are developed. Sure, it still takes a certain style of person to succeed in this business, but once you find them, everything else can (and should) be taught. And it's all been broken down into an easy to follow step-by-step system.

But before we teach our future sales stars the secrets to prospecting and closing, we have to help them. HOW? We show them how to make the shift from just hitting their revenue goals to (with our inspiration) becoming Self-Sustained Business Professionals.

Did you notice I used the phrase "business" professional, not just "sales" professional?

That's because to be a superstar in sales, you have possess the proper insight and mindset about business.

That means having a keen insight into the details of your own business cycle, from pre-contact to revenue receipt, as well as an understanding of your prospect's world, and how it relates to their business objectives and what is important to them. Not you, but to them. You must understand how your prospects measure success.

Let me put that another way:

Sales Superstars must understand the business they are in. They must respect the business the prospect is in and they must recognize what the prospect values in that business.

To do that, Sales Professionals MUST become Business Professionals.

I've interviewed hundreds of sales people for every type of position. I found it funny that most candidates were quick to put down a "higher" level of achievement on their resume compared to their peers and the quota objective from prior sales positions.

However, when I asked them what their system and process are to achieve such "superior" results, most (amazingly) could not explain their results from a "business" level.

So, how do you do it? Inspire self-sustain business professionals?

I can tell you that just affirming the objective of executing to revenue is not enough to make it happen. Eavesdrop on any Monday morning sales meeting, and you will see that just about every Sales Manager has the same intention. They may not be "achieving" it, but is always their marching orders.

What those of us in Sales management really need to do is develop a customized Masters level curriculum in "Executing to Revenue" and "Becoming a Self-Sustained Business Professional."

To achieve that ideal, you need to indoctrinate every new sales employee to a system that develops a result-oriented plan, executes to proven tactics and manages the everyday conditions that tend to throw us off track.

Sound good. But can it really be done? And done quickly?

Well, the first step to becoming a self-sustained professional is running your business with critical metrics, processes and systems. Sounds a lot like the way an entrepreneurial business owner runs their enterprise, right?

In the Business of Core Competencies, I help sales individuals and management identify their essential components, and the performance metrics necessary for successful results.

We classify those metrics and discover how they are inter-related with each other and dynamic to preferred results. And by training specifically to these core competencies one at a time, we can control our destinies and routinely achieve our desired results.

You see, there are basically two kinds of people when it comes to results.

Those who point their index finger outward say it's not their fault things didn't turn out well. There were "conditional" reasons for their poor results. But, those who point their index finger inward evaluate what they could have done differently to avoid the negative outcome.

They know the difference between factors, which they can control and conditions, which are outside of their control. They seek out and modify routines and behaviors that are within their control, to improve efficiencies in gaining the required results.

So, ask yourself: Are you inspiring self-sustained professionals or management-sustained individuals?

Interesting question, isn't it?

Self sustained business professionals identify the essential elements and components that comprise your selling process. They realize how they affect your desired result dynamically, and make adjustments in routines and tactics to assure consistent results. No matter what month it is!

Now, here's a sure-fire method to identify self-sustained business professionals in your sales organization.

Evaluate the sales results for the month of December. Who was at or above quota? Realistically, December has only 13-15 selling days versus the normal 20-23 selling days in the rest of the calendar year.

December brings with it holidays, personal vacations, and general mental re-grouping for the new year. For most B-to-B selling individuals, if you don't have your number by mid-month or so, you might as well forget it.

But, if you understand your essential core competencies and performance metrics that lead you to desired results, you will customize a plan to achieve those results. You will start to execute to the plan prior to the holiday month, and your December revenue goal can be routinely met. And the same goes for a personal vacation month.

Makes sense doesn't it? Great! So, what are you waiting for? Go inspire those Self-Sustained business professionals on your team!

Finding Leads - A Sales Essential

Leads refer to people who have the potential to add to the sales or become part of the entrepreneur’s network of sales people. For many home businesses, the constant flow of leads greatly increases success, especially if the nature of marketing is multi-level. Without generating leads, the entrepreneur will not increase his commissions and sales.

Thus, it is important for a home business entrepreneur to find leads. Some of them get stumped on where to find leads. When they keep hitting a blank wall, their sales go down. And some simply give up the home business, throwing away the invested capital and time.

There is no 100% absolute positive method of getting good leads. But there are ways of generating leads that have been known to provide additional sales and recruits to the home business entrepreneur. Here are three of the most popular methods of finding leads.

·Buying leads from the industry

The chosen industry of the home business may be in the area of health and wellness, or personal care and grooming, or E-commerce. Whichever industry it will be, there are companies that have lists of leads for it. These companies specialize in procuring lists of leads which are sold to entrepreneurs involved in multi-level marketing.

The cost of one lead may range between one to five dollars. Newly acquired leads are more expensive than old leads. Leads that have more information are worth more than leads with scarce information.

The usual data that accompany a lead are the following:
-    Full name or legal name
-    Address (usually the current address)
-    Contact number (usually the conventional telephone number)
-    Email address

Some companies include their estimate on how much the client is interested in a particular industry. The entrepreneur must be certain that the leads come from a reputable company.

·Getting leads from the Internet

Leads may come from the Internet. There are ads in the Internet that offer certain free items, called freebies, if a person will just fill up a form. The information from these forms are collected and then sold to companies who wanted to find people interested in their industries.

The downside to this is that the persons filling up the form may be children using the name of their parents. Thus, the preferred industries clicked do not reflect good choices. This is why leads obtained from the Internet are less credible.

The home business entrepreneur must be certain that the leads are new and, if possible, he is the only one who has access to these leads. But most of the time, other home businesses also tap into this certain information. Thus, being prompt in contacting the leads is vital.

·Networking

Every city has its own business networking organizations. The bigger is the city, the more network groups. These groups can be contacted through the city or state economic development departments, the Chamber of Commerce, and several private economic organizations.

The entrepreneur must also look into newspapers for announcements of meetings of different organizations, clubs, and interest groups. Then, he should actively participate in network groups which interests are closely related to his home business industry.

A home business entrepreneur may use any of the above methods in finding leads.  Then he must follow-up his prospects for several times. If there are questions, clarifications, and even objections given by a prospect, the entrepreneur must be ready with answers. All these may be just what he needs to increase his sales and recruitment.

Export Financing - How to Use International Factoring to Finance your Sales

Selling your goods internationally can be extremely rewarding and challenging at the same time. When you start exporting goods, you truly open your company to a world of possibilities, including the possibility of big financial rewards. At the same time, you expose yourself to some of the challenges of international commerce.

Many international transactions are settled using bank or corporate letters of credit, which means you can rest assured that you will be paid on time. However, many of your clients will insist that you give them payment terms. This means you may need to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days before you get paid. And if your company is growing, waiting to get paid can be very tough.

Going to the bank for a business loan may or may not work. Most banks only give business loans to businesses that have a great past history. But this is of little use to businesses that have a short history but a bright future.

A better option is to consider factoring your invoices, which eliminates the 30 day wait that it takes to get paid. Export factoring (or international factoring as it is also known) can be a very useful tool for new and growing businesses.

Factoring is a form of financing, where a factoring company advances you a substantial portion on your invoices. The factoring company waits to get paid, while you get immediate use of the funds. This eliminates the cash flow issues that happen when you extend terms.

Export factoring is a factoring specialty. Actually, very few factoring companies offer international export factoring, so when talking to companies be sure to be specific and ask if they offer this type of factoring.

Many factoring companies also offer purchase order financing. This factoring product extension provides you with financing to fulfill purchase orders. Purchase order financing gives you the necessary funding to pay your suppliers, using the purchase order as collateral.

If your company is growing and selling goods offshore, be sure to look into factoring and purchase order funding as valuable financing tools to help you grow.

Explode Your Sales With Good Communication

These are simple and effective methods to increase your sales. You may think that you know what your customer wants, but do you really? Instead of assuming that you know, why not listen to the customer and ask questions to find out what it is that they REALLY want.

1. Give your customers benefits, not features. Your customers don't want to know the ins and outs immediately of your products, they want to know how it benefits them! Save the details of the product for a secondary page that's NOT on your home page. You can give some main selling points, but keep the minor details off the home page and just list benefits.

For example, let's say you've got a strategy to get your clients out of debt. Don't tell them step-by-step how it works on the front page, be vague and leave the small print for another page. Instead tell them how they can imagine a life with riches and being debt free! That's a benefit, not a feature!

2. Keep in communication with potential buyers. I read somewhere that it takes at least 7 views of your products to get interested parties to buy them. They're obviously interested if they've gotten to your site and requested information, why not keep them informed about your news and updates to the site? You just may have a future customer.

It's also a good practice to use a "bookmark this page" and "tell a friend about this page" tool so you can get potential buyers for the future. Even if they're immediately not buying it doesn't mean they won't be back!

3. Encourage your site visitors to ask questions. Some people may think they're bothering you or wasting your time to ask you a question. Extend your open arms to each and every surfer that comes into your site and encourage them to ask about your site!

However if you see the same question coming up over and over again, it will benefit you and the client both if you create a "Frequently Asked Questions" page. People usually want immediate answers to their questions and it saves you the tedious same responses over and over again.

4. Make the buying experience easier. Don't ask for information that you don't need. Instead, ask for the bare minimum information from the customer so they can "get in, and get out". And then later on, you can send them a quick thank you note and a follow up to see how they liked your website.

Don't make your customer jump through hoops to buy your products. They'll only get frustrated and put it off for later - and later may never come!

By keeping these lines of communication open with your site visitors and potential customers, you'll find you gain more trust and credibility with them and in turn, more sales!

Experts Increase Sales By 28% With Custom Vacation Certificates

Top-notch sales professionals and business owners consistently seek new and economical ways to increase sales. They might try a discount sale, or a buy one get one free sale or something else. But this can be a costly give away of valuable merchandise or time. A different and more affordable method is the vacation incentive.

Vacation incentives have matured since the day of hidden sales meetings. Your customer no longer is forced to attend timeshare meetings, ruin their vacation or pay hidden fees. They get free hotel plus $500 in savings with no gimmicks. The best part is the sales professional or business owner only pays as low as twenty cents per customized vacation certificate and offers a high value for free to get customers in the door -- or make the sale. But does this really work?

According to USA Today, 93 percent of customers surveyed preferred travel over other incentives. Plus the “Incentive Travel Fact Book” states a whopping 58 percent of those surveyed say that travel is a more effective incentive than cash or merchandise.

"In a split marketing test, we sold 23.4% more copies of Instant Mortgage Letters when offering a free Las Vegas hotel and gambling package," says J.D. Zandt, Managing Director of RDULoans.com.

Mortgage companies aren't the only industry increasing their sales with vacation certificates. Other businesses include Timeshare Resorts, Vacation Clubs, Motels & Hotels, Auto Dealers, Apartment Management, Health Clubs, Newspapers, Banks, Carpet & Tile Stores, Boat Dealers, Furniture Stores, Home Improvers, Jewelry Stores, Tire Stores and more.

Customized vacation certificates are perfect to increase sales, generate web traffic, provide lead generation, build loyalty with customers plus motivate executives and top sales performers. Plus with a 30 year travel company completing the processing, fulfillment and arranging, merchants simply promote and distribute the vacation certificates for maximum benefit.

Enjoy Visiting Garage Sales

One of my all-time favorite ways to spend a Saturday morning is to visit garage sales, probably because I have so many great memories of going to garage sales with my mother and my grandmother. I remember waking up early and eating my breakfast as quickly as I could so that we could get out and explore the many garage sales that were held around our town during the spring and summer.

Now that I have become an interior designer, I love visiting garage sales even more. I know, it might sound like a strange place to pick up items for customers, but I have found some of the best and most unique pieces for many of my homes at garage sales. The things that some people find useless are a treasure to others.

If you are about to head out to garage sales, it is a great idea to make a list of the items you are looking for before you head out to shop. Having a list will help you to focus your searching and will make for a more enjoyable time. It is too easy to wind up with a car full of things you do not need after a day of going to garage sales. So prepare ahead and come up with the few things that you need and even think about a budget for those items.

Another great thing about heading out for garage sales is that you can do it with friends. I love spending a Saturday morning with my closest friends and their daughters. We grab muffins and coffee and then enjoy an entire day of garage sales together. So gather other friends that want to purchase great things for their homes and go! The wonders of garage sales await you.

If you are feeling like you have a little too much clutter in your own home, consider putting on a garage sale. There is no better way to simplify your life than to get rid of unnecessary stuff. Once a year I make every member of my family go through all of their belongings to see what they do and do not need. We then throw a weekend long garage sale to sell our items. My children are in the habit of living simply and having yearly garage sales has been a great way for us to work together on something as a family and to bond together.

So whether you are headed out to purchase new things at garage sales or if you are ready to throw one of your own, be encouraged that garage sales are great. They are one of the best ways to reuse great things.

Effective Negotiating - The Key To Sales Success

No two persons agree on all things. When people come together to work out a deal, they try to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs. Each person places a different value on individual elements of the deal.An effective negotiation is not just about making people see things from your point of view, but it is also about converging two different views to a point that is perceived by both parties as mutually beneficial. The art of negotiating is the backbone of a successful sales campaign.

Focus On The Customer - Show Him The Money:

The customer is not bothered about how badly you need to make the sale to meet your monthly target. He is more bothered about fulfillment of his needs and getting value for his money.

Talk about the customer's benefit. Don't tell your customer about the latest technology in the car's engine - tell him how this new engine saves him fuel and time.

Know Your Competition:

Knowing your product is not enough. You must know what your competition is offering. You don't want to end up staring at the customer, when he says your competitors are 20% cheaper. Have your answers ready. Give him valid reasons for your higher price.

Don't Waste Your Time With People Who Don't Matter:

When dealing with an organization, learn to prioritize. Don't waste your time explaining the secretary why your power tools are good. Save your time and energy for the decision maker. Try to get an appointment with "the boss". If you can't get one immediately, try for a later one, else move on. The secretary is not going to buy your tools.

Exploit The Copycat Mentality:

Humans have a mentality to copy what others are doing successfully. If a person's competitor or acquaintance is using a product, he may be tempted to use the product too. Keep your references ready and tell him how others have greatly benefited from your product or service.

Get Them To Agree:

When a person agrees to something you are saying, he subconsciously creates a positive frame of mind towards your offer.
Getting the other person to say "Yes" on various occasions brings both of you on the same side - with the same goal.

Your Negotiating Strength Lies In Your Uniqueness:

If it is easy to find someone providing the same service or product that you provide, your negotiating potential is reduced. The more unique your offer, the greater negotiating powers you have. Always make a list of points which differentiate you from your rivals. Sometimes people buy things just because they are different from what most other people are using.

Use Time To Your Advantage:

Every one of us has been to a stock clearance sale. When the merchant runs out of time to sell his stock, his loses his pricing power.

Customers use this tactic on sellers and give a deadline to make a decision on price and terms. The person who is short of time is always at a disadvantage. Never allow yourself to be trapped in a "time limit" trap. Even when you are short of time, don't let it be known to the other person.

On the other hand, a person's urgency to get something done can work in your favor. If the other person is in a hurry to get things done, you can be assured that he will be more willing to bend than he would in a normal situation.

A word of caution - never exploit the other person's urgency to such an extent that it makes the deal grossly one sided. You may get what you want one time, but such deals have a negative impact on your reputation and future business. A win-win situation is always desired.

Price Is Not Everything - Terms Matter Too:

Terms of service are as important as the price itself. An example could be the loans and mortgage industry. Companies are able to charge higher interests rates than competitors by allowing flexible repayment options. Companies offering freebies with their products are compensating a higher price with friendlier terms. Create a balance between the price and the terms - when price is your weak point, offset it with better terms.

"The Policy" Tactic:

Since childhood, people are taught that rules are not to be broken. At subconscious level most of the people carry a perception that it is their duty to follow all rules. You will be surprised how easily people give in when they are told that the terms which they expecting are against the company policy. Salespersons always keep a printed price list with themselves. Those few black words printed on a white paper add authority to the salesperson's arguments and send the message that it is not within their power to alter the terms.

Keep Your Last Price For The Last:

Most buyers have a tendency to ask for a lower price than offered. If asked for "the last price", quote something more than the actual "last price" which you are willing to give. It doesn't matter if initially you offer a price 2% lower or 20% lower - buyers will ask for a further lower price in both cases.

The Final Gambit - Say "No":

Risk taking is an essential ingredient of success.

Agreeing to customers' terms all the time weakens your image in the market. Walk out of the deal if it doesn't seem profitable. If the customer gives in to your terms, you win a profitable deal. If you lose the customer, why repent? He wasn't a profitable customer anyway.

Do It Yourself Sales Tools

After falling in love with the Hipster PDA and Levengers Shirt Pocket Briefcase,I started becoming more and more dependent on 3" by 5" index cards. They are great for note taking on the go and keeping organized at my desk, so I naturally started thinking of ways to use the cards to automate my sales process. From this, the "3X5" was born. I may not be the first person to use index cards in this way, but I do think a lot of salespeople will find the system easy to use and very effective.

You will need the following items to create your own 3X5 sales tool. I found everything I needed at my local Staples and everything cost me around $25.00.

  * A box to store the index cards
  * Monthly 3" by 5" index tabs
  * Daily (1-31) 3" by 5" index tabs
  * Alphabetical 3" by 5" index tabs
  * A ton of white ruled 3" by 5" index cards
  * A bunch of colored 3" by 5" index cards
  * A small case to carry cards in your pocket

Once you have purchased the required supplies, you can organize your 3X5. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that you are assembling your 3X5 on January 1st. If this is the case you would first organize your tabs in the order below (front to back):

  * January tab
  * Daily tabs 1-31
  * February - December monthly tabs
  * A-Z alphabetical tabs
  * Blank index cards - white and your favorite color

All of your cards should now be in the file box and the first thing you should see is the January tab.

Next, you should start creating cards for your leads. In the beginning, this is going to take some time (assuming you have a lot of leads). I use white cards for leads and colored cards for my customers. You can do whichever you prefer, but I think it is helpful to break down leads and customers.

The system works like this.

Let's imagine it is January 1st. and you attend a networking event where you meet a potential client. You get this lead's business card at the event and you want to contact him/her on the 2nd., so when you get to your office, you staple the leads business card to a white index card and drop it behind the "2" tab and then go home for the day. After all, it is new years day and you have been working hard to create your new sales system and you attended a networking event.

So, you arrive at work on January 2nd. and open up your 3X5. The first thing you should do is move the "1" tab back behind the February tab. You will always be rolling the system forward like this, so that the first tab you see in the box represents the most current month, then the most current day.

Now, you go to the tab for today (Jan 2nd.) and find the card for the lead that you met at the networking event yesterday. You call the lead and learn that he/she is out of town until January 6th. so you make a note which says, "1/2/05 - Mr. Lead is on vacation till 1/6". Now you drop the card behind the "6" tab for the month of January.

You will continue to roll this lead forward in the system, making notes at each step, until the lead either turns into a customer or asks you to leave them alone.

When the lead turns into a customer, I staple their business card to a colored card and place it behind the appropriate alphabetical tab. If their is another opportunity with this client, I move the colored card back to the dated section and move them through the process again.

Of course, as you add more people to your pipeline, you might not get to contact everyone on the day you have them slotted for. Just move them to the next day's slot at the end of the current day so you contact them tomorrow.

You will not want to carry around a huge metal box full of index cards, which is why you want to have a small index card wallet or box, so if you are going to be on the road or out of the office, you can simply grab your cards for the day and go.

Not just for salespeople.

While the system is great for salespeople, it also is a great tool for those of us who are focusing on networking. I actually use three different colored cards and use white for leads, blue for clients and red for my networking contacts (patriotic, I know). On the red cards, I write either 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, etc in the upper right hand corner of the index card to remind myself how frequently I want to contact the person, so I simply move the card forward based on the number on the card. If I want to contact someone every seven days, I move the card ahead a week after I make contact.

This really ties in well to Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone, which recommends you regularly ping your network. By the way, if you have not read the book, you should. You can get book notes for free from the Never Eat Alone blog.

Options / Enhancements.

I have been considering adding daily tabs to each month so that I can move people ahead to a any specific date (IE. August 11Th.) in the future.

You could also keep some sticky tabs handy so you can add a tab to the top of any index card for the contacts birthday. If you do this, you could just put an August tab on the card for every contact whose birthday is in August so you could quickly compile a birthday list each month. Again, this is probably overkill and you could probably just add the contacts name to a calendar and keep it separate, but what fun is that?

Don't Shoot the Sales Team

Revenue is down. Sales are slowing. The CEO looks up from the business plan and realizes that the company won’t meet analysts’ expectations. Focusing on the organization’s sales leader, the stage is set for sacrificing a scapegoat.

Upon who else should the axe fall when the sales organization misses revenue targets? After all, aren’t sales and revenue the responsibility of the sales leader? The answer may be as easily forgotten as it is obvious.

To one degree or another everyone in an organization impacts the revenue generating process. The strategic plan of the board of directors and the CEO provides the overall strategy for revenue generation. The marketing department provides crucial demographic and psychographic customer or client information on which the sales department relies in formulating industry and account strategies. Manufacturing, finance, legal, customer service and all other departments facilitate or constrain the process of generating revenue, each in their own peculiar way.

The sales organization’s influence in enterprise revenue generation is con-centrated in the sales pipeline. Identifying bona fide sales opportunities, managing those opportunities through the sales pipeline until they produce revenue, and then managing customer or client relationships are the primary responsibilities of the sales and sales management teams. Rarely, if ever, does the sales organization control the resources of manufacturing, marketing, finance, legal and customer service.

The picture most companies present to the world show the sales organization “out there,” in front of customers and clients and in front of the rest of the company’s departments. Even marketing, the first cousin of sales, is more often than not as disconnected from sales as are the other departments. The sales group leads the company charge, and the other departments take up rear support positions, providing tangible and intangible support.

Revenue generation is a cross functional, company-wide process that involves every department and all employees in the organization. The CEO and the Board of Directors set corporate strategy and everyone else in the organization executes that strategy.  We have never observed a situation where the sales organization is in disarray while all the other business segments are humming along with little or no friction. In those rare cases where the failure or underperformance of an enterprise’s revenue generation process lies within the sales organization, the appropriate sales executives, managers and sales professionals should be held accountable and should suffer the requisite consequences. Before CEO’s shoot their sales teams, however, they might want to take a critical look at the entire revenue generation process and how each business segment contributes to or detracts from the success of the process. Like America’s favorite psychologist, Dr. Phil, would advise: Every department in an organization either contributes to the company’s revenue generation process or contaminates it.

Does Your Sales Training Program Address Your Sales Performance Issues?

In Part 1, we went over the steps to uncover sales performance issues and decide which are applicable at a high priority for pin-point sales skill training. We first documented the main sales performance issues. There are (4) distinct sales performance silos that will effect the overall outcome of any sales team, year in and year out. They are:

•    % of Sales reps to Quota
•    Average New-hire Ramp-to-Quota in months
•    Sales Employee Turnover rate
•    Time spent versus Result achieved

Next we, listed (4) steps to find out if you have any sales performance issues in each individual sales performance silo and if so to what degree. They were:

Step 1: ‘Run the Numbers’ for any realistic ROI opportunity
Step 2: ‘Run the Numbers’ hypothetically for a ‘Specific’ improvement
Step 3: ‘Run the Numbers’ for a ‘Reality Check’
Step 4: Set the Goal and ‘Train to It’

In our first example, we looked at a sales organization’s performance silo of ‘New-hire Ramp-to-Quota and determined (1) a sales performance issue and (2) a worthy sales training objective and (3) a realistic sales training return on investment.

Let’s take that same sales force and utilizing our (4) step process look at the remaining two Sales performance issues; ‘Sales Employee Turnover rate’ and ‘Time spent versus Result achieved’ to see what the X2 Evaluator™ system turns up.

Step 1: ‘Run the Numbers’ for any realistic ROI opportunity

Our example sales force has 350 sales reps that are responsible for securing new business each month. They currently have a sales employee turnover rate of 45%, or 155 reps per year. I’ve found in the sales industries I partner with, my clients average between 30%-70% sales employee turnover per year, so these folks are right in norm.
But the ‘norm’ doesn’t have to be the ‘Future’.

Here’s another important point. In the sales arena, 95% of sales employee turnover is due to Low 1st appointment activity. And in our example sales force, it was nearly 100%. Simply, if you’re not creating enough sales appointments each month, you either go out the door or you are ‘Shown the door’.
Now let’s run the numbers to see exactly what this sales employee turnover is costing them and attach a weight of priority to consider ‘pin-point’ sales performance training.

Here are the numbers relevant to costs:

•    Average Salary:     $30,000
•    Recruiting Costs:     $ 2,000
•    Training Costs:      $ 3,500
•    Monthly Sales Quota:  $ 3,500

In sum, this sales management team is looking eye to eye to a total of $4,512,200 going out the door each year, a combination of revenue ramp up costs on the front end, revenue production loss on the back end, salaries and benefits, then again revenue ramp up costs and salary for the replacement new hire. It’s a vicious circle.
And once again that total ‘Penalty cost’ number is an attention getter.
Simply put, each sales rep going out the door, due to low sales appointment activity, is costing the company $29,300 of lost revenue.

Does that portray a legitimate sales training Return on investment opportunity? Well, in less you need to invest $29,300 per sales rep in the training of choice to remedy the sales performance issue  it certainly does.

Step 2: ‘Run the Numbers’ hypothetically for a 50% improvement

In this case, I showed the sales management team what return on investment they would get by retaining just half of the sales reps going out the door due to low sales appointment activity.
Using their numbers my diagnostic system showed them a ROI of $2,256,100 just by reducing their sales employee turnover due to low sales appointment activity from 44% down to 22%. That’s keeping 77 sales reps from going out the door and adding to the sales productivity pool.

Step 3: ‘Run the Numbers’ for a Reality Check

Remember in Part 1 of ‘Does Your Sales Training Program Address Your Sales Performance Issues?’ we ran this sales force team’s key sales performance indicator numbers in the X2 system to see ‘if and where’ there were leaks in the ‘KPI ship’. And we discovered not a leak, but a big ‘ole fire hose.

Two ‘KPI issues’ were apparent. First, their ramp-to-quota for a new-hire took 7 months when the average sales cycle is 17 days? Second, they were only setting 3 new appointments per week when they needed to set 6, based on their other KPIs and a subsequent sales appointment activity number.
Thus, their sales appointment ‘activity barometer’ was only running at 50%. And that we determined dictates a longer ramp-to-quota.

Then we dug a bit deeper in the X2 system and out popped a 6% conversation-to-appointment ratio; they had to conduct 15 prospect conversations to get 1 new appointment.

We then asked the ‘Reality Check’ question. Is it realistic to focus on reducing the sales rep turnover due to low sales appointment activity in half, from 44% to 22% for a sales training ROI of $2,256,100 or $29,300 per rep?

And we answered ‘yes’ if they addressed the front-end of their sales process; setting targeted sales appointments. Again as before, they needed to (1) establish an activity standard to reach quota based off of individual KPIs and (2) develop a sales prospecting methodology and supporting system to spend less time in achieving it.

Because most sales employee turnover happens in the new hire ramp-to-quota issue silo, the same pin-point sales skill training initiative kills two birds with one stone.

And if you add those (2) ‘sales training initiatives birds’ up, it points to $14,532,100 of realistic revenue recovery.

Step 4: Set the Goal and ‘Train to It’

Reducing sales employee turnover due to low sales appointment activity now appears to be a worthy one. It makes good business sense for this sales organization. And if we measure our results, we will probably add some more revenue back on the table with additional reps not going out the door  to the tune of $29,300 per rep.

As in Part 1, our sales training goal in this case is to spend the least amount of time to get the desired number of sales appointments each week to assure our monthly success.
Now as a side bonus, let’s take a look at our last sales performance issue silo, ‘Time spent versus Result achieved’, and see what, if anything, we can address related to our pin-point sales training initiative.

“Time is money”. What’s your ‘Hourly rate’? If you’re a sales rep with a W-2 goal of $100,000 your hourly rate is approximately $51 dollars an hour. Here’s an interesting statistic. My clients spend an average of 50% of their time on the very front-end of their sales process; sales prospecting for new opportunities to initiate their sales process. This sales management team gave me an average prospecting time of 45% to plug into the Evaluator™ system.
And here’s what it showed.

The sales reps were spending an average of 20 hours per week on sales prospecting and sales appointment generation. But they were only running at 50% on their ‘Activity Barometer’ and needed to generate 50% more sales appointment activity; going from 3 new appointments per week to 6.
At their current sales prospecting efficiency rate of 6% (15 Prospect conversations to get 1 appointment) they would need to dedicate 33 hours per week to sales prospecting and sales appointment generation. And we know that’s not realistic.

But if they set a sales training objective of moving that appointment conversion ratio to 50%, they would not only meet their sales appointment activity number but save 26 hours per week, for a time recovery of 79%, from 33 hours per week to 7. And 26 hours times $51 per hour recovers $1326 ‘Hourly Rate’ money, allowing sales reps to increase capacity and pursue higher-value, solutions-based selling opportunities.

Once again with our last (2) sales performance issue silos we determined (1) a sales performance issue and (2) a worthy sales training objective and (3) a realistic sales training return on investment.

Ask any CFO what their first impression is when they hear the words ‘Sales Training’ and they might communicate back their ‘Real world’ vocabulary of ‘un-accountable’ and ‘un-measurable’. Simply put, they know they’re wasting at least half their sales training budget dollars; the problem is they don’t know which half.

As a sales management leader, methodically discovering sales issues first and then running ‘Quantitative’ sales performance numbers to check for feasibility, worthiness, and return on sales training investment will differentiate you from the pack. And you’ll stand an excellent chance of getting the result you want.

In this case, giving sales reps a skill-set to set 1 ‘Top-down’ business appointment in 2 conversations will allow participants to set the required amount of targeted business appointments to assure their monthly revenue goals. So less people will leave, they’ll make more money and spend less time and you will recover measurable dollars; something you can actually put your finger on.

Does Your Sales Training Program Address Your Sales Performance Issues?

Sales training programs encompass a variety of necessary components; things like company policies, sales paperwork, CRM/sales force automation orientation, sales processes, company services, sales skill training and product features and benefits.
But when I ask Sales executives and Sales trainers how their current sales training program is aligned with their sales performance issues I get the look of УNo speak EnglishТ.

LetТs first categorize СSales performance issuesТ. There are (4) distinct sales performance silos that will effect the overall outcome of any sales team, year in and year out. They are:

Х    % of Sales reps to Quota
Х    Average New-hire Ramp-to-Quota in months
Х    Sales Employee Turnover rate
Х    Time spent versus Result achieved

This is a good place to start in determining what sales skill training to implement to achieve a measurable return on investment. But hereТs what will set you apart when you walk the request up to the front office. Start out with the NUMBERS.
ThatТs right. Take a diagnostic view of your current sales performance silos, one by one.

LetТs look at a real sales performance issue example of СAverage New-hire Ramp-to-QuotaТ. I recently conducted a СSales Performance Improvement BlueprintТ web-cast for this sales organization.
The company was hiring 155 sales reps per year. The ultimate objective of any new-hire sales training program is to ramp the new sales rep to Quota. Simply, give them everything they need to effectively reach their monthly sales goal.

So how was this company doing? They were obtaining this ultimate sales training program objective in 7 months. So how does one determine if that training outcome is a СSales Performance IssueТ? LetТs take a look.

Step 1: СRun the NumbersТ for any realistic ROI opportunity

Х    Each new-hire rep had an ultimate quota of $3500
Х    Sales Cycle was 17 days
Х    Average customer term agreement of 36 months
Х    Average 'Sub-Quota' revenue per month during ramp of $1300 (This number reflects the average monthly revenue a new-hire achieves before they achieve quota attainment)

Step 2: СRun the NumbersТ hypothetically for a СSpecificТ improvement

In this case, I showed the sales management team what return on investment they would get by helping just 1 sales rep achieve full sales quota in 6 months versus 7 months. Based on their numbers my diagnostic X2 EvaluatorЩ system showed them a ROI of $79,200 just by trimming off 30 days. If they did that for all 155 of their annual new-hires, they could realize $12,276,000.
And that got their attention. So, is it now a worthy sales performance issue to attach pin-point sales training to? Not quite yet.

Step 3: СRun the NumbersТ for a СReality CheckТ

The most successful businesses Ч and certainly, sales departments Ч have identified their Key Performance Indicators (KPI); individual gateways that directly effect the outcome of a particular process. Then they measure the competency ratios in line with them.

A good KPI example in the sales process might be how many times you advance the first sales appointment to the next phase, whether thatТs a demonstration, a site visit, a survey or a proposal. Another KPI is how many times you gain a new customer once the first gateway is passed. And when you do gain a new customer, whatТs the average revenue you achieve? And how long does it take to gain a new customer on average; i.e. sales cycle? 
How about how long it takes you to gain 1 new sales appointment, defined by sales prospect СconversationТ? And as a by-product of all this, how many new appointments are needed each week?

We ran these numbers in the X2 EvaluatorЩ system to see Сif and whereТ there were some leaks in the СKPI shipТ. And hereТs what we discovered; not a leak, but a big Сole fire hose.

Two СKPI issuesТ were apparent. First, why does the ramp-to-quota for a new-hire take 7 months when the average sales cycle is 17 days? Second, they were only setting 3 new appointments per week when they needed to set 6, based on their other KPIs. So their sales appointment Сactivity barometerТ was only running at 50%. And that will dictate a longer ramp-to-quota.
Dig a bit deeper in the X2 EvaluatorЩ system and out popped a 6% conversation-to-appointment ratio; they had to conduct 15 prospect conversations to get 1 new appointment.

OK, back to the СReality CheckТ. Is it realistic to focus on reducing the new-hire ramp-to-quota from 7 months to 6 months for a sales training ROI of $12,276,000 or $79,200 per rep?
You bet it is. These folks needed to address the front-end of their sales process; setting targeted sales appointments. To do that, they needed (1) establish an activity standard to reach quota by month six and (2) develop a sales prospecting methodology and supporting X2 EvaluatorЩ system to spend less time in achieving it.
Then they needed to plug their sales prospecting СsystemТ into their current sales training program and work to a weekly sales appointment activity goal to assure a monthly revenue result by month 6.

Step 4: Set the Goal and СTrain to ItТ

A sales training ROI goal of $12,276,000 or $79,200 per rep is for sure a worthy one. And the diagnostic system showed us they would meet this goal just by setting 3 additional sales appointment per week per rep; 6 appointments versus 3.

Actually, I lied. The X2 Evaluator system showed an even brighter picture if the sales appointment activity standard of 6 new appointments per week was met. If they could support their new-hires with a sales prospecting system that could help them achieve 6 new sales appointments per week, they would actually cut their new-hire Ramp-to-Quota by 4 months; from the current 7 months down to 3 months.
And that sales training ROI would be $316,800 per rep or a whopping $49,104,000.

One of the reasons why sales training fails is a failure to define a useful objective. In this case, our diagnostic method has defined a single useful objective for them to train to. And this same diagnostic method can be utilized if you have a СSales Performance IssueТ of an unacceptable percentage of Sales reps reaching Quota each month.

In Part 2, we will take a look at (2) other sales performance issues, СSales Employee Turnover rateТ and СTime spent versus Result achievedТ with this same sales management team and see what our diagnostic method to sales performance improvement and ROI turns up.

Death of a Salesman? ItТs What Happens When the Customer Says УIТll Think It Over!

I was selling employment testing material that was based on the teachings of a well-known sales trainer. The question that brought the most conversation was about closing. How do you ask for an order? When someone says IТll think it over, do you become the nice customer service type that says Уfine, call me when youТre readyФ or do you go for the throat and say Уwhat is there to think about?Ф You know the first response is totally wrong and the second, which is the suggested answer, will probably turn the customer off. You try to say it nicely but at this point itТs likely heТs not going to say much more. What did I do? I said gently and with a smile in my voice, УMr. Customer, could you think out loud so I can hear you?Ф

I must tell you, I did not expect the response I got. He laughed heartily and said he could do that. He proceeded to tell me his reasoning and I proceeded to answer all his objections. We were both very relaxed; he purchased my product and congratulated me on my question and my closing.
ThereТs an old adage that says, УA smile given to another can make the difference in their day and yours too.Ф

Needless to say, I decided selling could be fun. I did not go back to boring bookkeeping and now that IТve retired, these words Сcould you think out loud so I can hear youТ are my present to you.

Converting Your Website Leads to Sales

Your website exists either to sell products or generate leads that can be later converted into paying customers. In the former case, unless you sell inexpensive commoditized widgets, it takes several interactions with a prospective customer before you can close the sale. Therefore, a top priority of almost every online business is to gather, organize, and convert website leads to sales.

1. Gather leads

Most of website visitors who are interested in your products or services aren't ready to buy just yet, but they sure have some questions and would like additional information (if it's not too hard to obtain). Don't make them search for it -- put your contact information right in front of them. Every page of your website must have call for action and contact options that are impossible to miss. Some examples include:

- Ask a question via email
- Call your sales phone number
- Request an instant call-back
- Sign up for special offers
- Contact for a price quote
- Download product brochure
- Submit an inquiry form
- Chat live with a sales representative
- Subscribe for a newsletter

When gathering leads, stick to the KISS principle. Don't ask for more information than absolutely necessary. For example, if you only need to know your potential customer's state of residence, don't ask for a full mailing address. If you do all your sales via email, don't require a phone number, or at least make it optional.

Be sure to provide a clear, concise statement about how the information you collect will be used. Assure your prospects that their contact data will not be shared with other parties and they can stop receiving communications from you at any time.

2. Organize leads and prospects

Leads are useless unless they are properly organized. First, you must establish the systems and processes for recording all pertinent information for leads collected via different channels, such as website, incoming phone calls, trade shows and so on. Aside from the contact information, each prospective customer record should date and source, products and services of interest, subscription and contact preferences, and any other relevant data.

Your lead management system must also be able to record the history of all communications with a lead, such as incoming and outgoing emails, phone calls, voice mails, faxes, and items sent via postal mail. Each lead must be assigned to a sales representative, and categorized by the level of interest, size of opportunity, and sales pipeline status (more on that later). Sales reps should also be able to enter internal notes and comments about the prospect, and set reminders for the future follow ups.

Last, but not least, your lead system must be centralized. Every person involved in a sales process should have the ability to instantly access and update the information, without the need to upload, download, and synchronize the data. This is especially critical if members of your team are geographically dispersed or telecommuting.

3. Convert leads to prospects to customers

This is where the rubber hits the road. There is a number of distinct steps in any sales process. Below is a typical example of a sales process. You can easily adopt its stages and definitions to your situation:

Lead - a contact that has expressed an interest in your product or fits the target profile of a potential customer.

Prospect - a lead that continues to express interest in your product or service after a two-way information exchange.

Qualified prospect - a prospect that has participated in a discussion with a sales representative and confirmed their need.

Confirmed prospect - a qualified prospect who has the info they need to make a decision and budget to go with it.

Committed prospect - a qualified prospect who has reviewed your price quote or proposal and has indicated that she is ready to move forward with you – but haven't yet.

Customer - ka-ching!

You can use your sales pipeline status report to not only organize and monitor the effectiveness of your overall sales process and individual sales representatives, but to forecast sales as well. To estimate the dollar value of your entire prospect base, multiple the average probability of closing the sale at every stage of the pipeline by the number of prospects currently assigned to that stage.

Establishing and managing your lead conversion process is all but impossible without proper customer relationship management (CRM) tools. You will need a system that captures lead information from your website and other channels, and integrates it with email, contact manager, calendar, and sales force automation software.

The companies that have established the systems and processes for converting leads to sales are already reaping the rewards.

Comparison Sites Attributing To A Higher Level Of Online Sales

What is the attraction and value of these for users and what are retailers and service providers finding them a useful tool as they strive for online sales?

The online retail sector for products and services has been buoyant for a number of years and the level of resource and funding that major retailers dedicate to the online market surges with each turn of the calendar. As the online marketplace has developed, the consumer offerings have become increasingly sophisticated and more reflective of the offline marketplace and traditional marketing. Consumers demand greater choice and shop around for the best deals – the benefit of increased levels of competition. Online comparison sites have developed a niche in recognising and reflecting offline shopping habits and reflecting this in terms of online user search habits.

Indeed the online comparison sites appear to be a making a good fist of it with new research from E-Consultancy revealing that in some industry sectors up to 30% of online sales are referred by shopping or product comparison sites. More and more, online comparison sites are being considered as part of the online marketing mix for retail and service providers and represent the entire business model of a new wave of comparison based reseller and aggregators.

Personal finance is one sector where aggregator and referral sites thrive. The impartial aspect of allowing consumers to compare and contrast a range of services and providers to find the deal that suits them best allows a degree of empowerment on the part of the consumer and offers a distinct competitive advantage for reseller and aggregators. Sites such as Moneynet ( moneynet.co.uk ) and the Motley Fool ( fool.co.uk ) provide users with information in a simple, no nonsense manner allowing them to select the product or service that suits them and pocketing the referral commission.

Other sites such as Dial-a-Phone ( dialaphone.co.uk ) are more straightforward in their approach to referrals. A bulk reseller, they can display preferential deals from the main mobile phone networks, avoiding the middle man and passing savings on to the consumer. Again, there is an essence of customer freedom involved as the user can compare and contrast various services and offerings before committing to a particular network or package and again the reseller picks up the commission for passing the user on.

With the online marketing model continuing to develop in size, scope and sophistication, the future look bright for online referral, reseller and aggregator sites and these look set to be a continued integral aspect of online marketing.

Come on salespeople ... 11% just isn't good enough!

"Salespeople spend 79 percent of their time doing things other than selling or prospecting. The actual time spent selling averages 11 per cent." Source: Sales and Marketing Management

I was blown away when I read this statistic. I love that saying and get to use it so infrequently.

How many people today, regardless of profession, can use 11 per cent of their capacity and survive? Perhaps this explains the high mortality rate in the sale arena where we do battle every day. This number screams complacency to me. Actually, I might give complacency higher credit, maybe 20 percent.

Anyone who has worked in a sales environment knows the challenges one faces in keeping the shoulder to the grindstone. Sales is a very tough profession, especially a commissioned environment. You don't produce you don't get paid. It is a black and white scorecard. You can not bank talk or laziness, and you certainly can't buy groceries with either.

So how is it salespeople are spending only 11 per cent of their time on the tasks critical to their success? Some will be quick to say the remaining 79 per cent is taken up with administrative tasks, paper work, chasing down orders, providing customer service, and the list goes on and on. If you can hear yourself saying this, my suggestion is for you to get in front of a mirror and look in it. Ask yourself, "Is my workday appropriately filled with tasks that will provide the income and recognition I seek?" My guess is if you look yourself in the eye, the true answer is no. Time mysteriously is filled doing other "stuff".

So what does this other stuff look like? Is it having a coffee with other 11 per centers? Is it sneaking in that "last" game of free cell? Is it worrying about what the sales quota is looking like for the month? Is it comparing excuses for why the business is not there? If so, then snap out of it.

Only you can control your actions. The first thing you need to do is to get in the game mentally. Are you telling yourself you can be more successful or are you wallowing in self-doubt? Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in your product? Do you believe in your customers?

Have you created a plan, one that sets a goal with supporting objectives that are measurable and realistic? Have you the discipline to ensure you are doing the necessary activities that will ensure your success? The prospecting, networking, relationship building that top performing salespeople do consistently.

Have you identified where your time is going? If not, create a time log for a week or two and keep track of what you are doing by the half hour throughout the day. You might surprise yourself when you find the time spent on selling and prospecting is only 11 per cent.

Once you have analysed the problem you are well on your way to finding a solution. Imagine if you could increase your productivity two fold. What impact would that have on your income? What if you could increase four fold, and don't think you can't! When you begin to think success, your actions will support you on the path to success.

Before discounting this article or the 11 per cent number, take a good look at the top sales professionals in your company. What percentage of their time is spent selling and prospecting? What are they doing different from you? What can you learn from them? Where is their mindset? Are they positive, optimistic and disciplined in how they approach their day?

Make the effort to get a fix on where you are spending your time. Ask yourself, "Is what I am doing right now, the best use of my time?" Then you need to be honest with yourself when you answer. Good luck and good selling!

Cold Calling Executives in Brisbane Sales Training

Now, you don’t wanna miss out on use of a proven, effective sales tool. Do you? Of course not! Here’s What Sales Pros AttemptNow, this is interesting a recent client survey revealed that most sales professionals feel pressed to accomplish a lot during a prospecting call. With each executive-level cold call most professionals take a big breath and in one great big run on sentence try to establish rapport by being friendly, gain credibility by giving company history, learn about the prospect with probing questions, introduce and sell products/services all within the parameters of one brief make-it-or-break-it telephone call to the executive suite.You’ll Never See It Coming, Here’s WhyHere’s a news flash it can’t be done! Even bigger news this kind of approach actually signals executive assistants that you don’t belong in the executive’s office. The assistant will simply smile, refer you down to a lower level and you’ll never know why or how you got booted down the ladder so quickly.

So, let’s go to the heart of the matter, take a close look at the structure of the phone call itself. In the 35 to 90 seconds that you’ll have to spend on the telephone at the executive’s level you’ve gotta be prepared to take the call down the straight and very narrow path in which you want it to go. And there is one absolute, positive, no doubt about it purpose for your call. Any hint of a deviation from this purpose will result in fewer executive-level appointments. So here’s the secret ... cherish it and know it’s extremely valuable.

THE amazingly simple secret to successful cold calls to the offices of executives is to be certain that every single one of your prospecting calls has one crystal clear purpose and one purpose only. Each word you speak during your prospecting phone calls directs and redirects the conversation toward that one goal scheduling an executive-level sales call. It doesn’t matter whether you schedule a meeting in person, or schedule a phone meeting every word of the initial phone call must direct the conversation toward getting that meeting booked on the calendar. Period.

Write Down the Words of a Successful Call A technique that’ll catapult you forward is to write down the words exchanged during your cold call. Identify what words, statements and questions keep the conversation on track towards an appointment and what words cause you to lose the appointment. You’ll become consciously aware of the words that flow between you and your prospect and their impact. Won’t be long till you realize that your words either get you what you want or take your cold calls way off the path down some obscure rabbit trail. I guarantee your competition doesn’t have a single-minded focus on high level calls and is unwittingly forfeiting a whole lot of potentially lucrative business. Yet, they hold onto their ill-advised, accomplish-a-lot-in-a-little-bit-of-time approach to prospecting at the top. You on the other hand will find that keeping your prospecting calls on one laser-like focus will bring in more executive-level sales calls than you ever imagined possible. Now, go get ‘em.

Sales training available at Ziglar Australia in public sales training classes and private sales training classess across Brisbane and the Goldcoast.

Choosing A Direct Sales Opportunity

Direct sales can be a great way to start a home business, but how do you choose a company? Fortunately, it is not as difficult as it may appear on first glance.

The first thing you want to consider is what would you enjoy selling. It is possible to sell things for solely practical reasons, but it's much more fun and often more profitable to sell something you are enthusiastic about.

Do not join a program just because your best friend joined it and wants you in her downline. If you love the program too, then go for it, but otherwise think things through carefully. You aren't doing your friend a favor if you aren't really interested in the business. You might even waste her time.

Now it's time to consider the details of the program. First let's consider the legal aspects. It's the ugly side of things, and I like to get past it quickly.

Watch out for companies that practice "forced buying," no matter the name they may call it. Forced buying means that you must purchase a certain amount of product in order to receive commissions, and it is illegal. It can lead you to having a huge amount of excess stock in your house and cause you to lose large amounts of money.

Is the focus on recruitment or sales? You will want to read the article at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/lotionalrt.htm on multilevel marketing, but the gist of it is that you want to watch out for programs that focus too much on recruitment and too little on sales, or you could be a part of a pyramid scheme. You can read more from the FTC here: ftc.gov/bcp/menu-fran.htm

Watch out for exaggerated claims, either for the product or your income potential. This is a huge red flag. Make sure all claims are substantiated with hard evidence and watch out for shills.

Phew! Done with that part.

Now take a look at the commissions. How much product will you have to sell to earn enough money for your needs? How realistic is it that you will be able to sell this much? This is one of those points you should go over carefully with your upline, and if they don't have the answer, but you really love the product line, see if they can find out. Support from your upline is vital in direct sales, and if you aren't getting it now, you won't later either.

What are the products? Will you be using them too? Once again, if you are excited about the products, they will be much easier to sell.

Is your local market saturated with reps? If the competition is all over the place in your area, you're going to have trouble selling.

Can you sell online? Can you design your own website or are you restricted to the one the company made for you? What does it cost?

Finally, beyond your upline, what sort of support does the company itself offer you? There will at some point be a problem where you will need the company to help you out, either with a customer's order or with your business. Make sure the company is going to be there for you.