Matthew G. Sikich II is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Sales Training". You can find complete information on Matthew G. Sikich II and his products by visiting The 5 Buying Habits.
You’ve invested a great deal of time and energy first developing prospects then meeting for an appointment. At the end of the appointment do you stumble when it comes time to ask for the business? You’re not alone. In fact, a full 63% of all appointments end without the ... Views: 772
The competition is fierce. Customers know they can buy diamonds from so many places. They are more educated than ever before. If there were one formula for diamond sales success we would all do it as part of our great customer service. The truth is there are several ways to sales success.
Most ... Views: 770
Sales people who have a poor start at the beginning of a year, often find themselves struggling for the rest of the year to catch up. The good news is, whatever you're experiencing, we've all been there at least once. The bad news is, most of us don't know exactly how to snap out of a slump, and ... Views: 770
Do you know what one of the most powerful incentives you can use in your marketing is? One that is guaranteed to capture your prospects' interest and attention?
You may be surprised to learn that it's not money or love. Is it making offers of products that are "guaranteed", "limited", "proven", ... Views: 770
When it comes to the word negotiations, what comes first to your mind? Negotiation is a dialogue that produces an agreement upon any courses of actions. Mostly negotiation occurs in business especially in marketing and sales.
In the world of marketing and sales, everything that happens here, ... Views: 768
With written testimonials there are three versions you want to include in your materials. The good news is that you don't have to get three testimonials from each client. You just need to know how to chop up a letter effectively to create the format you need. Here are some examples you ... Views: 768
We all make mistakes when selling our product or service. Here are the most common mistakes people make. I have to admit I have made many of mistakes listed in this article even though I have been teaching this stuff for almost a decade. I hope you can learn from them.
1. Allowing a prospect to ... Views: 767
I often hear about people sitting back, waiting for things to get better, asking questions like, “When are things going to get back to normal”? I am afraid to say that this is the new normal. The market has changed forever and the sooner you accept this and get off your butt and begin making the ... Views: 766
You aren’t going to wake up one morning and magically have people clamoring to work with you unless you’ve done the things you need to do to make that happen. But few salespeople have a clue how to get qualified leads contacting them, and they aren’t going to learn overnight. ... Views: 765
Each and every day as we are building our businesses, we all know the key to a successful presentation is a product being sold to the end-line consumer and/or sponsoring a new person. In an upcoming issue, I am going to write about the difference between making a sale and having customer loyalty ... Views: 765
The past year was definitely interesting. Some sales professionals prospered while others suffered. I spoke to one person who doubled his income—and he works in automotive sales! Yet, another well-established person experienced a decline of more than fifty percent in their sales. There are ... Views: 764
Working with many salespeople from top producers to those struggling to exist it’s clear there are five areas of sales that hold the greatest potential for improvement. Top producers work to fine tune their effectiveness in these areas. And others struggle to gain competence. These five ... Views: 764
Who of us hasn’t written advertising copy that we thought was great only to find out it flopped big time? Why? When you wrote it, it seemed very persuasive. You included lots of benefits and even gave a money back guarantee. It got YOU up and moving so why did your customers turn their heads? ... Views: 763
How’s the seminar/dinner approach working for your investment sales success? If your offer has real educational value you don’t have to bribe people to come by offering them a free dinner. If you can’t get people to attend your seminars now unless you offer some kind of free food it can only ... Views: 763
How much do you know about your customers? Do you know what makes them happy? Mad? Restless? Let's face it…you should! Businesses often operate in ignorance of what their customers like or dislike, ignore and abhor. To ensure retention, pay attention!
The Basics: What Customers Love
- When you ... Views: 762
In part 1, I demonstrated it's not all about sales training. Sometimes sales can be increased by developing your companies uniqueness.
Believe me, I know how hard this process is and for some companies they believe they can never find uniqueness. To those I ask
"If you can't articulate why ... Views: 762
Want to grow your business in a tough economy? Use the power of reciprocity when asking for referrals from existing customers to grow your sales.
Reciprocity is defined as a “mutual exchange” - the give and take of life. In a slow economy it can be your lifeline. Often, referrals can be ... Views: 762
Here's a sales secret. The best advice I ever got was from my father. Growing up as a kid, whenever I asked him, "What do you think I should do," he always responded with, "What do you think you should do?"
I guess the best advice wasn't really advice, more like a gift. The gift of learning how ... Views: 761
For many professionals, selling is becoming an impossible mission. There are even books written on the subject letting you believe that "selling is dead…" Yes, selling is becoming seriously challenging. The first reason is: there are more and more competitors out there who swear they have a ... Views: 761
“What if I could show you how you could save money, would that be of interest to you?”
“What if I told you that you could capture more market share, would you like to hear how we can help you do this?”
“What if our system saved you time, would that be of value to you?”
“What if I matched our ... Views: 760
What separates successful sales people from everyone else? I believe that most successful sales people, in virtually any industry, possess the following characteristics:
1. They are persistent. Selling or running a business for a living requires a tremendous amount of persistence. Obstacles ... Views: 760
The People aspect of business is really what it is all about. Rule #1: Think of customers as individuals. Once we think that way, we realize our business is our customer, not our product or services. Putting all the focus on the merchandise in our store, or the services our corporation offers, ... Views: 760
Understanding why people buy and what that means to you is an important part of your sales development training. You can know more about your product or service than anyone. You can have your sales presentation down pat. You can know beyond all doubt that your prospect needs what you have ... Views: 760
Standing Above The Crowd
In today’s highly competitive business environment it is critical to find ways to separate yourself from the other companies who sell the same – or similar – product and/or service. Here are several strategies that can help you accomplish this:
Help your clients ... Views: 760
Don’t Answer Objections, Isolate Them!
By Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales
Most sales reps hate getting objections. Their hearts sink into their stomachs, their palms start to sweat, and they start wondering how they're going to pay the rent. Sound familiar?
When sales reps ask me how they ... Views: 759
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in sales is losing your momentum. You make a big push to get a bunch of appointments then you get busy holding those appointments and taking care of the new business. The whole time you’re focused on working through these new prospects you ... Views: 759
I was never very good in science class which is probably why I'm not a doctor today. Yet, I remember vividly the exercise on heated atoms. The experiment started with a flask of water and a Bunsen burner. When the flame from the Bunsen burner was applied to the flask, the atoms would dart all ... Views: 759
I spend much of my time working with companies to help them identify and hire the right sales talent for their company. One of the biggest frustrations that I hear from my clients is that they struggle to get people to apply for their jobs. Thus, they feel they have to settle for the few ... Views: 759
So.
You've met with the client. Provided a proposal. Asked when they wanted follow-up. You felt the meeting went well and secretly you were counting the dollars and where you were going to spend them.
And then you've...
Called, e-mailed, Called, e-mailed, Called, e-mailed, Called, e-mailed, ... Views: 759
If you watch television or listen to the radio, there is no escaping the recession talk. It’s a comedy of sorts really. Think about it. Your sales day went along smoothly. You may have gotten a new client, a new prospect, a potential joint venture partner. Then, before or after dinner, the media ... Views: 759
I’ve noticed that the word “sell” can be a strongly negative trigger for many of us creative service-based business owners. It tends to conjure up visions of polyester, pressure and pushiness, all of which are just downright unattractive qualities.
But, the fact is, without a selling ... Views: 758
In the 70's and 80's, there was a great television show called "Quincy." This show revolved around a coroner who investigated deaths. Jack Klugman, a.k.a. Dr. Quincy, performed an autopsy on what appeared to be a death by natural causes and realized that the actual cause of death was murder. ... Views: 758
Many people say that working for themselves or working on Straight commission is just to 'IFFY' for them.
'I'd rather work for a company that will give me a check every week, that direct marketing stuff is just to 'IFFY' for me.'
'I couldn't quit my day job, it's just to 'IFFY' and your not ... Views: 757
At first it may have been an exciting challenge trying to fill your appointment calendar each week. Soon what was once a challenge became a drudgery. Unfortunately, few of the appointments you secured resulted in immediate business meaning you had to work even harder to fill that appointment ... Views: 757
Do you get to the end of the sales presentation only to be thanked for the information and ever so nicely invited to keep in touch? Ouch! Zig Ziglar refers to this as being a professional visitor. So, what happened how did you come to this point only to walk away empty handed?
... Views: 757
When I am working with private coaching clients I note that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a lack of consistent revenues is caused by a lack of consistent prospecting. A failure to prospect on a regular basis will inevitably result in irregular revenues, and inconsistent commissions. ... Views: 757
By The Pioneer of Subliminal Messages Online.
Every salesman has a sales goal, but not every salesman reaches that goal. But the number of those who do shows us that it is possible. If you are one of those who does not seem to reach your sales quota and get higher profits, then the problem ... Views: 756
I’m a sports nut. Whenever I travel to a city I typically check the schedules of whatever pro or college team of any sport to see what I might be able to attend. Also, my friends and family are well aware that I’m pretty good at getting great tickets to games by paying less than face value--even ... Views: 756
You hear it all the time -- if your price is higher than your competition you're told to “build value." You’re instructed to stress the quality, the warranty, the features, etc. But your prospects have heard all that before, haven’t they? Want a better way?
Let’s face it -- prospects will ... Views: 756
As entrepreneurs and business owners, we all have dreams of closing sales beyond our wildest dreams, signing up lots of clients, and making more money than we ever thought possible. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen as quickly as we’d like it to.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners ... Views: 755
Did you know that out of 100 new websites, only one will make it? Sobering, isn't it? If you are like me, you stumbled on to the internet, heard stories of those who made millions and decided that this was your chance! You were going to take the ecommerce world by storm.
Chances are, you threw ... Views: 755
They do it for the love of it. That’s what every successful salesperson will tell you – they love it!
"It" isn't the thing they sell, the personal toiletries at a department store, a new rose at the garden centre, advertising on your favourite radio station, life insurance, or your membership ... Views: 755
When you struggle to close the sale you think closing is the problem. But when you struggle to close the sale closing is a symptom of the problem not the problem itself. When you try to fix a symptom as though it were the problem the problem remains because you’re trying to put a ... Views: 755
A customer’s purchase is overcharged by $10.00. The store policy is clear… “No cash refunds” so the sales associate refuses to issue the refund even though the mistake was hers. The customer was told he would have to accept a store credit or wait for a cheque to be issued by head office.
A ... Views: 754
Absolutely. While this “secret” is right under your nose most don’t put the pieces together and take advantage of the five-pronged key elements for increased sales. You will immediately increase your sales when you include all five elements in your business and develop ... Views: 754
What are your partner’s secret desires?
If she could do or be anything that she wanted, what would it be?
If he could spend time on one new activity, what would that be?
Where would she most like to travel?
How does he envision retirement?
What are some things that your partner would ... Views: 754
The wheat is falling from the chafe. Just this past week two more sales people fell. It happens every day of every week of every year, and when the external economy gets tight it only escalates. No matter how good you think you are in sales you will fail if you fail to do what it takes to ... Views: 754
Not sure if your sales organization is up to snuff? Here are twelve keys to help ensure that your team is focused on the right things every day.
Many cars today tell the driver when it is time to perform maintenance. Even better, some tell the driver that maintenance is needed in 1,000 miles ... Views: 753
Got your attention didn't I? There is a "nasty" little sales habit that separates "wanna be" amateurs from professionals. And I mean NASTY ... it is a moldy green, time-consuming, energy-wasting, confidence-zapping habit. Want to know what it is?
Most sales people CHASE their ... Views: 753
There aren’t many certainties in selling. What works well for one person can be a dead end for another, and what looks like a sure sale can easily deteriorate into a missed opportunity. One thing you can count on, however, is that a lack of strong, qualified leads will always be a stumbling ... Views: 753