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When coaching your salespeople through the sales process, there are certain questions that you need to consistently ask them. They really need to have a guideline for their qualifying process. Reinforcing the importance of qualifying the buyer and how to do it over time will help them to ask better questions at the front end of the sales process and qualify more effectively.nnI’ve listed five questions that you should ask your salespeople about each new opportunity. The mor

Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the cheapest and most effective types of advertising your company can invest in, but how do we generate this elusive type of advertising? Most experts in the area will say, “Get out and ‘network’.” So we go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting with dozens or even hundreds of other people trying to promote their company or service, and we attempt to promote our company or service as well. Very few people come to these meetings to buy thi

The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils down to one simple fact: the reasons for not buying are bigger to the prospect than the reason to buy.nnIf you sell an intangible product or service, it may be even tougher to close down a sale because your product or service is not something people can see, touch, or feel. So the reasons for your prospects to buy have to be vivid, logical, and emotional. There has to be a reason for them to buy NOW, or they’ll p

Ask most people to describe a sales person, and likely as not, you'll find yourself deluged by words like "huckster," "snake oil peddler," "fast talker," "con artist" and, of course, "untrustworthy," "arrogant" and "dishonest."nnnThose of us who work in sales and know ourselves to be fine, upstanding people may wonder exactly what we ever did to earn such an enviable reputation. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is, people who sell for a living do so in an environment tha

In sales, there's a fine line between persistence and stalking. In my experience, with the exception of prospects who are already in the sales cycle, that line is usually drawn at about once every 6 weeks. So given that you only have once every 6 weeks to make a direct impression on your "B" and "C" list prospects, how can you make sure those follow-up calls have the greatest possible impact?nnThis week, let's go back to the science of sales, and dissect a typical opening cal

Success in sales depends directly on your ability to make yourself likeable, and create a positive experience for your customers. The following 9 Tips are some of the best - and easiest - ways I know to help you create a more positive customer experience:nnLove what you sell, the company you work for and the customers you serve.nIf you are truly passionate about these three things, your willingness to help your customers solve their problems will shine through. Customers will

Before I got married, the most consistent piece of advice for me and my fiancée was, “You must have trust”. Nobody told me how to get trust – only that I had to have it. They didn’t tell me why I needed trust – only that it was necessary to build a successful marriage.nnSales leaders say the same about motivation. To be successful in sales, motivation (just like trust in a marriage) must be present. However, motivation (and how to acquire it) means different things

In the retail industry, it seems as though we are constantly faced with the issue of trying to find new customers. Most of us are obsessed with making sure our advertising, displays, and pricing all “scream out” to attract new customers. This focus on pursuing new customers is certainly prudent and necessary, but, at the same time, it can wind up hurting us. Therefore, our focus really should be on the 20% of our clients who currently are our best customers.n nIn retail,

Salespeople spend their time thinking about what they aren't good at and how they can get better.nnWe are taught to learn from our mistakes as we are growing up. Today there is a "strengths" movement afoot that suggests that what we learn from our mistakes is the characteristics of mistakes. If we could shift our thinking to learning from our successes then we need to study successes.nn nLook at what you are good at....your strengths:nn1.nn2.nn3.nn4.nn5.nn nIf you could stren

Even the most sales savvy among us have had to fight back the nerves that materialize whenever we are faced with telling a customer about a price increase. Talking about it never makes for an easy conversation. When discussing a price increase in a business-to-business environment, it is important to remember that our customers have probably had to have the same discussion with their own customers. A company exists only as long as it earns a profit and it can only do that if

Every sales call you make needs to include the “Learn, Teach, Sell” concept. Today’s customer has many options available to them. Rarely are we in a position to sell to a customer something that is so unique and compelling that they have no other choice but to buy from us. To help create a competitive edge in the marketplace, we must find ways to distinguish our selling process from our rival’s. nnnnOne of the most effective ways to do this is to use each call to “l

In business, the primary goal is to succeed. Competition is fierce in both online and offline businesses. Using four basic principals can increase your sales by up to 300% or more.nnThe first principal is pretty easy. Call your customer by his or her name. By doing this, your customer feels that they are more than just a sale. It is a way of personalizing your service. Customers tend to give more of their attention when you use their name. nnPrinciple # 1 - Call your customer

The vast majority of salespeople do not enjoy cold-calling. Yet, at the same time, it is an activity that most need to do on a regular basis. The biggest reason sales professionals are not more successful in this necessary endeavor is the defense that they have other things to do. However, nothing will overcome this excuse faster than being held accountable for making a set number of cold calls each day, each week, or each month. n nAs much as people would like to believe the

Contrary to popular belief, to be a successful salesperson, it doesn't matter how much you know about your product or service. It also doesn't matter how much of an industry expert you are. It doesn't even matter how great your mother thinks you are. The only thing that really matters to be successful in selling is your ability to shut-up and listen.n nOn numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking, so it's imperative that t

17 Marketing Ideas to Beef Up Business nnBy Patti BranconJuly 22, 2005 6:30 am ET nnIf the same old thing isn't bringing in results, maybe it's time to vary your strategy. Advisors use a variety of ways to get themselves in front of some new prospects. nnIf the market uncertainty has you paralyzed with procrastination, shake off your indecision by doing something different. While others stare at their computer screens and whine about how tough business is, you can get busy! T

Sales is all about closing the deal, and in order to achieve that goal, a purchase price must be agreed upon. All salespeople, at one time or another, have had their price challenged. What do you do when that situation arises? As much as everyone in sales would like to consider themselves "great closers", in reality, many are sissies when it comes to this important skill. They often boast about never discounting their product, but when they're suddenly confronted on price, th

In the competitive marketplace that we live in today, differentiation many times comes simply from the quality of salespeople on the street. How effective they present themselves, build value, drive the sales process and meet and exceed their customer expectations can be the difference between getting a sale and failing. Sales training should be a vital part of your Sales Management philosophy. However, I find that there are misconceptions about what sales training can and ca

At one time or another, we have all encountered an employee who would clearly rather be anywhere than at the store serving customers. It's unfortunate because there are few professions where a person has a chance to make a bigger impression on someone than in retail.n nEvery day, a retail salesperson encounters customers from a wide variety of backgrounds with an equally wide variety of expectations and needs. The interaction that takes place says a lot about the individual c

Many sales are lost because of "sales." To be successful in this profession requires listening to the customer. Unfortunately as salespeople, we often hear so many different things that we feel the need to provide solutions for all of their problems. When this happens, sales professionals can overwhelm the customer, causing them to become confused, and, ultimately, losing any sale. n nFor the salesperson, it all begins when Marketing comes out with what they perceive as the g

As much as we hate to admit it, at one time or another, we've all been lied to. Sometimes the lie is exposed quickly and sometimes it takes awhile to surface. In sales, lying from a customer occurs more often than we are aware of.n nDid you realize that nearly every sales call starts off with the customer not disclosing the entire truth? Salespeople rarely catch it right away. Unfortunately, they often believe the lie and then complicate the situation by building the rest of

Cold Calling Tips to Create Openings for Real Conversation! nnMost of us design our cold calling around scripts and strategies. Isn’t that how we’ve been taught by the sales gurus? Scripts are linear and systematic so you can move calls in the direction you want them to go. Sales strategies do the exact same thing. nnThat’s why as soon as we make a cold call, the other person knows right away that our agenda is not to have a conversation, but to make a sale. There’s s

Have you noticed that the old “tried and true” cold calling techniques which were once successful have completely lost their effectiveness over the years? They just don’t work anymore. nnBut many salespeople are still use them because that’s all they know. They’re working from that old, ineffective cold calling mindset. And they’re making the same mistakes over and over again. nnI’d like to talk about 4 classic cold calling mistakes from the old traditional appr

Networking Or Not-working?nnIn this article I am going to show you how to reduce your costs whilst increasing your sales at the same time!nnAs you probably know, there are books, courses and audio series out there telling you how to network more effectively. What this material tends to focus on is how to get the best from a networking event; without even mentioning the core reason why most people fail to gain anything worthwhile from their networking efforts!nnNo matter how g

From the traditional point of view, cold calling conversations should constantly lead towards making a sale. We’ve been given only one path to follow, and that’s getting a “yes.” nnThis is why our language and energy feels stilted. We aren’t being genuine, and we aren’t inviting the other person to tell us the truth about where they stand. nnHere are four powerful reasons to relax and stop trying to force cold calls into sales:nn 1. When we’re carrying “forwar

How to sell anything!nAn article by Jim ConnollynIn this article, I am going to show you how to sell anything (and for a great price too!) This means not only making a sale or gaining a new client/customer - but making that sale or winning that contract in the most profitable way possible.nnOVERVIEWnPeople often tell me that once they get ‘in front’ of a prospective client, they are pretty good at converting the prospective client into a paying client. The problem is; the

Before you make a cold call, do you “gear up” first? Do you get excited about your product or service, and try to anticipate making the sale?nnWell, if you’re following the old traditional cold calling mindset, that’s probably what you’ve been trained to do. But what you don’t know is that enthusiasm and confidence usually backfire on you.nnWhy? Because you’re talking with someone who doesn’t know you. Think about how you’d feel if someone you don’t know a

Master the foundation for cold calling successnnSometimes the finest solutions are the simplest. Focusing on relationships when making cold calls is one of them. It keeps us genuine, and eliminates our dread of making cold calls. We’re real people talking about real things. We’re interested in the conversation, and it shows. nnMost of us dislike putting on our “salesperson persona” when we make cold calls. We think it’s needed, however, because we’ve been trained

Sales is not a personal thing - Or is it? A negative attitude in sales will hold you back every time! Do you have a negative attitude holding you back? nNo one likes to do business with people who are negative. But sometimes we don't even know we have a negative attitude. Take Casey for example: nnWhen Casey, a 38 year-old top sales executive in her field for years, started having difficulties in the sales game - not meeting quota, she asked for my help. I probed her about ho

How much business is you company losing due to sales executives using the marketing approach when meeting with existing or potential clients?nnOver eighty percent of sales executives in South Africa actually market their company’s products and services. The modus operandi of a sales executive in today’s business arena, when meeting with clients is to tell the client about themselves, their company and products or services. The effect of this can cost company money, becaus

Most companies today struggle with sales challenges. With economic instability and world conflict, these issues may seem to be externally afflicted; however, most businesses can utilize a sales check-up to determine areas of vulnerability and to uncover healthy, revitalized sales.nnnSales is an operational area that confounds even the savviest executives from time to time. Determining when it is appropriate to call for reinforcement and when a simple adjustment to a vulnerabl

I’d like to introduce you to a radical new thought. In the old sales mindset, you’ve probably been trained to focus only on making the sale. You approach your cold calls with the idea of moving things towards a sales event. nnBut think about what this does to your cold calls. Before you even say “hello,” basically then, you have an agenda. You want something. nnWell, your prospects can sense this immediately, and they put up their guard. As people, whenever we know th

Can’t you tell when somebody wants something from you? I certainly can. And it usually feels inconvenient and intrusive. n So you can understand, then, why potential clients will often run for cover when your cold call is only about "making the sale." n Most people sense that cold calls are self-serving to the person calling. You can almost hear the unspoken thought, "You want something, right? Otherwise why would you be calling?" This triggers almost immediate resistance.

Every sales executive has heard how important it is to set sales goals. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with why you should set sales goals. But I am going to suggest a somewhat radical, new change to the way you currently set goals so you can achieve higher sales performance. And that radical change is this:n n Beginning right now, stop setting “YES” goals that revolve around results and productivity and start setting “NO” GOALS instead. n nYes, you heard

Master the foundation for cold calling successnSometimes the finest solutions are the simplest. Focusing on relationships when making cold calls is one of them. It keeps us genuine, and eliminates our dread of making cold calls. We’re real people talking about real things. We’re interested in the conversation, and it shows. nMost of us dislike putting on our “salesperson persona” when we make cold calls. We think it’s needed, however, because we&

Being a good manager is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The first time you try to fit the pieces together, it takes a while to get everything to fit smoothly. The second time you attempt to make the pieces fit, you are a little more familiar with the pattern. Each time after that, it becomes more and more natural to easily match everything together and have it all turn out right. The pieces of the puzzle a manager has to put together are: 1. advertising 2. recruiting 3. holding productive meetings 4. motivating a person who is in an emotional or financial slump

Here’s a question: What is most important to your success? Is it education, experience, product knowledge, job title, territory, or business dress? Is it your company’s reputation, product, price, marketing collateral, delivery lead times, in stock ratios, service guarantees, management strength, or warehouse location? Is it testimonials, the latest Forbes write up, or brand awareness? Is it the investment in the latest CRM software, business 2.0 tools, or social media strategy?

Do This and Lose Salesr Focus on products lose sales, solutions make sales The North Country is dumped on, 17 inches worth of the white cold stuff. Procrastination has hit, those slick road-hugging sports tires still on the car prove to be highly useless in the slick and hard packed snow. Monday morning, the first priority is to have the car be mobile and a set of snow-oriented tires becomes necessary. Four phone calls are made to local tire suppliers with one getting the sale.

Back in the late 1980’s, the Honda Motor Company ran a memorable series of commercials, the basic premise of which was that the company’s cars were so amazing, they sold themselves. This commercial’s “hook” was that it featured a salesman who was bored out of his mind and had nothing to do because the cars were so in demand they were practically walking off the lot. The brand’s slogan at the time was “Honda, the car that sells itself.” Ha!

I dream of hot prospects who call me up and say, “We’ve heard good things about your company. We want to make a decision quickly. We’re hoping you can help us out.” Occasionally my sales fantasies turn into realities. When it happens, it’s so easy to be seduced by this low-handing fruit. Outwardly, I try to appear calm, cool and collected – a true professional. But inside, every inch of my body wants to scream out, “Take me! Take me!” Okay. I’m being a bit dramatic here, but I really want to make my point. It’s so easy to be tempted by these opportunities.

It's November and soo Christmas, a New Year and everyone will be talking about resolutions, goals and how 2010 will be even better than ever. All we have to do is set our specific goals, have a plan and execute! Wait a minute! That is what was done last year and the year before! My income is the same, my weight has gone up and I am more frustrated than ever! What is wrong here? Why no progress? I'm doing exactly what the Gurus tell me, and in detail. Well, there is nothing wrong with the goal setting; it does work as long as the biggest barrier to success is not in the way!

Overcoming Risk Aversion in Sellingr Help clients move forward in the selling process The deadline is approaching, your month is ending and the prospects that should be closing and going for it are not! What is a salesperson to do! We done the discovery, asked the questions, provided the solution, yet we seem to get inaction from the client. The issue might be RISK ADVERSION and we may not have addressed it effectively. As a matter of fact we may have inadvertently reinforced our customers Risk Aversion, thus creating part of our challenge!

Over the years I have seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of resumes and I continue to review resumes every day. Based on this experience, I can state that many applicants do nothing to help themselves gain employment. In fact, in many cases, it did the exact opposite! The amazing thing is that the reasons why their resumes did not help were completely preventable! 7 Things You Should Not Do On a Resume 1. Make your contact information hard to find. Your contact information, including name, address, phone and email, must be front and center on page 1.

There is a very powerful shift that is taking place in the direct marketing world. A shift that will have a powerful and profound effect on your home based franchise, but only if you apply it correctly AND only if you actually take the action to apply it. I think that you would agree that whether you are marketing your home based franchise on line or off; your potential customers are carrying with them the “Three S Epidemic.” They are either scared, they are scarred or they are skeptical. Maybe they are all three.

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Everything You Need to Sell More in Less Time, and Make More Money. Colleen Francis, Sales Expert and President of Ottawa based Engage Selling has been named one of the top 5 sales trainers in the market today by New York based Sales and Marketing Magazine.

The Street Smarts Marketing System™ is fast becoming one of the most sought after methods for speakers, trainers, authors, consultants and entrepreneurs who want to fast-track their business success.

We specialize in breaking your fear of cold calling and providing a methodology and mindset that allows you to connect with your prospects on the phone on a human level. http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

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