Sales Training Articles

Many Sales Professionals are very comfortable maintaining long term relationships and developing repeat business from existing clients. However, it is the goal of every Company to retain existing business and to develop new clients and new sales. This involves identifying a pool of sales leads, and converting some of these leads to new business. Key Points with Sales Leads There are several key points when it comes to beginning work on developing your leads. rn1. EVERY lead i

I recently wrote an article called, Feeble Questions Can Kill Your Business. In the article, I stated that too many sales people get caught in the trap of asking low-quality questions instead of more powerful ones. Many people contacted me and requested more information on what constitutes a great question. This article will address that issue.nnFirst, the reason it is important to ask questions is to gain a thorough understanding of each customer’s situation including thei

Want to increase your sales immediately? nnVirtually everyone wants a quick, easy solution that will help them increase their sales. Fortunately, in all but a few situations, this is not an impossible task. The key is to sell to the right people. This doesn’t mean trying to connect with the key decision-maker in a particular organization or creating a list of ideal companies to contact. I’m talking about tapping into your existing customer base.nnMost people in business t

Have you ever wondered what type of saleswoman you are? It doesn’t matter if you run your own company or sell for someone else – it is extremely important to know what your style is. What does The Sales Diva mean here? Well – let me throw my high heel on my desk here and I will explain. Are ...

Years ago voicemail was all the rage. There was no e-mail, so people tended to honor and even return their voicemail messages. It was a good time... But that's history now. Email has changed everything, and people now hit the delete button on their voicemail messages the instant they hear ...

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnI was in shock. Honestly, I shook my head when I read his email. I meant no disrespect; I just couldn’t believe he really felt that way.nn“Karon, I want you to write the sales letter for my site. How much will it cost me?” read his note. After looking at his home page and evaluating his target audience, I didn’t feel a sales letter would be the best type of copy for his site. When I sent him my suggestion he replied with some

Old-school traditional cold calling can take a toll on a person’s self esteem over time. It’s just not natural to have somebody hang up on us, or to experience rejection over and over each day. Because of this, many of us tend to recoil at even the idea of cold calling. It’s a fear-laden experience that’s often depressing. nYou see, most of us have a mental block around cold calling. We associate cold calling with the worst of what selling is about -- the “going to

Cell phones have changed our world. With few exceptions, we can now talk to anyone we like whenever we’d like. The staccato symphony of ring tones accompanies us through our days: from the morning commute to the crowded restaurant at lunchtime, during meetings and even during the quick stop at the grocery store when the day is done. We’re always connected, always reachable. It’s a marvel.nnnnIt’s a marvel that can destroy your tradeshow performance.nnnnConsider the fo

If you aren’t moving forward you’re moving backward. You want to grow and that means you need to attract more prospects. You’re scared to limit yourself to a specific group of people, or you simply don’t know how to narrow the field. One way to ensure your rapid growth is to develop a specific area of expertise. What product(s) are you passionate about? What products do you believe in so much you wouldn’t even consider living without them? n n As

My wife and I had a few friends over the other night. My friend Jerry saw one of my guitars sitting in the corner and asked if he could play it. We players are very respectful of other people’s property and would never dream of just picking up the guitar and playing without permission. I quickly discovered that Jerry, Mick and I played and enjoyed similar music styles so in no time at all I had three guitars out and we played for hours. Most self respecting guitar player own

© 2003 Garrison Wynn http://www.wynnsolutions.com n nDo you have the best service, product, or skills in your area, yet for some reason you still are not getting the results you know you deserve?nnHey! I thought if you were the best, you were supposed to eventually win. Let’s address the reality of why your products, services, or leadership styles – or those of your competitors – are selected. nnThink of the top-selling hamburgers in the world. Are they the best hambur

Something that's as important to me as oxygen....is creativity. Now you may wonder - what does selling have to with being creative? Let me sum it up in 3 words: IDEAS CREATE CUSTOMERS. My office is absolutely gorgeous and it's not an accident. (a heck of a lot of reno work last ...

Sales…quite honestly it is the biggest mind game that I know for the success of your home based franchise. Once you have mastered the art of selling you have mastered your key to success in everything that you do; not just success in your top home based franchise. The lesson for each of us in Scroll 2 is that we need to start each day with love in our hearts. Mandino states that love is the greatest secret of all success albeit personal or professional. Now, you might be saying to yourself..oh I don’t hate anyone…And Mandino isn’t saying that at all.

How To Stay Up, Even When You’re Down. This past weekend I was going through some old newsletters when I came across a letter that might help you to deal more effectively with the recession and the tough times you're facing. So - enjoy the updated version of my Mt. Everest Newsletter. Sixteen ...

The key to making the sale is to discover the gaps between where the prospect is now and where they could be by using your product or service.nn Identify the Real Need of the Prospect nAs a salesperson, you are in the business of gap analysis. You are a "problem detective." Your job, somewhat like a police inspector searching for suspects, is to find problems for which your product or service is the ideal solution. In a way, your product or service is a key. You make calls lo

You need to set the tone and set out a vision of where you want the team to head, over-performance from a sales performance standpoint. As far as leading and motivating, it comes down to individual tactics and techniques that you need to use with each one of your sales people because they are all motivated by different forces. As we talked about in previous shows “The 7 Forces of Sales Motivation” and how you can use that through a questionnaire inside the Sales Managemen

Fully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising.nn Why People Buy nFully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising. Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from.nn Join the Top 10% nThe only way tha

I am positive you already know that there can be a lot of mistakes made in sales, we have all made them, but I have found on sales training courses sometimes when you make mistakes you need some one else to point them out as they are not always visible to you. It s no different than sports, take for example the football coach who is standing on the sideline will see things right and wrong that you are doing through a game which you may or may not be aware of, because you are

Persuasion means how you can influence others to follow you and like you. This is the meaning of the power of persuasion and not influencing other people to dislike others. Adversaries are always around in the world of marketing and sales and some of your opponents will do everything they can to eliminate you in the game. This is not the same with the athletic competitions but you also need a strategies and techniques and even rules to follow. Winning over your adversaries do

Catastrophes come from out of nowhere. Massive thunderstorms can roll through a region without a moment’s notice, knocking out power and phone lines. An iffy meal at a local restaurant, and you have a staff member flat on their back with food poisoning. Open up your sales materials only to discover that you have all the wrong literature – and that it’s printed in a language you can’t read! What do you do?nnThe key is preparation. Most problems can be addressed using y

Many companies and their decision-makers require written proposals, and if you are like many sales people, you probably shudder at the thought of this request. However, writing a good proposal doesn’t have to be painful providing you keep a few points in mind.nnFirst, recognize that closing the sale in a business proposal is a process, not an event. It doesn’t occur just because you have asked for a commitment or because you have presented all the features and benefits of

My name is Craig. But I'll answer to Greg. Most Gregs I know answer to Craig. Of course we are not alone: there's Eva and Ava, Bill and Bob, Jeff and John, and many more. I can't complain. I often confuse and occasionally mangle others' names. Names are not my strong suit. nnMy purpose is not to engage in anthroponymy, the study of personal names. It's simply to remind you that learning, remembering and properly pronouncing other peoples’ names is more than just good manner

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Sales Training . Sales Training is tools and techniques which allow someone to be successful and confident in marketing and sales. Tom Hopkins is the Official Guide to Sales Training . How to Master the Art of Selling , by Tom Hopkins, is a valuable resource for people interested in Closing Sales and it is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble . n Product Description nWith over one million copies sold and n

It's said nobody likes a complainer. I beg to differ. In customer service a complainer is doing you a favor. They are the extension of your research, testing and quality assurance departments. Although essentially unpaid, they're providing you with invaluable, often real-time feedback on what isn't working in your business or your relationship with them. Try to put a price tag on that!nnWe know from surveys that most unhappy customers voice their displeasure with their feet Ã

Every great home based franchise starts at the beginning. Every great entrepreneur was once a beginner. Every top sales person was once a beginner. Every great athlete was once a beginner. I think that you get the point…everyone starts at the beginning on their journey to their Greatness. There is this book: “Every Great Chess Player Was Once A Beginner.” The title says it all and although it is obvious that everyone starts someplace, it’s hard to imagine Ryan Howard starting in Little League, or John Elway in Pee Wee football.

The modern sales department is aware that improving the skill set of its salespeople could enable them to get more sales and work more efficiently in their relationship with customers. So as to confirm that they are operating at their full potential, knowing effective selling techniques should be encouraged for all levels of sales staff, from the junior to sales management. Several corporations aim to provide sales management training, and particular selling skills, however t

In my sales management career, I would bet that I've seen about 5,000 resumes for sales people. Yet, I still haven't seen one that shows someone who has achieved 40% of quota. Every single resume shows 100%, 200%, 2,000,000% of goal. Where are all of the people who have had less than stellar ...

There are few decisions more critical for a company than the hiring of the leadership of their sales organization. Yet, few know how to do it well. There are few decisions more critical for a company than the hiring of the leadership of their sales organization. Yet, few know how to do it ...

When you come across the phrase the art of the soft sell, you might focus your attention on the word “soft.” You might not even do this consciously; many salespeople don’t. And based on this unconscious focusing, you may lead yourself to believe that the difference between conventional ...

I don't know about you, but 24 hours in a day isn't enough. And 8 - 9 hours for work just barely covers the paperwork, order follow-up, client calls, e-mails that need answering, voicemail messages, etc. "You mean you want me to prospect and find closing time, too? What, are you ...

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

Are you tired of excuses? Looking for a persuasion technique to get people to take immediate action? Are prospects saying things to you like: "I'll think it over and get back to you?" "I need to talk it over with my wife." "Call me next week and we'll set up an appointment." Then create a sense ...

© 2004nhttp://www.marketingwords.com nnIt only makes sense. You have an e-commerce catalog site. You want lots of visitors to come to your site and buy. The best (and most cost-effective) way to do that is with great search engine placement. However, search engines are text machines, and most catalogs don’t have a lot of text, so herein lies the problem.nnThe obvious answer is that you need more copy on each page. However, the pictures of your products are just as importan

One big sales tip. When working with your prospects and customers focus on their needs and their customers' challenges. That's where the ideas are. One big sales tip. Imagine you sell shower curtains and shower rods to hotel chains. You call on hotel chains. You want to be different. Your big ...

You've heard it before, but you don't understand the impact and implications. You can't get the results you want if you either don't know how, or won't take the time to plan to get them. Your natural instinct is to just go-go-go rather than plan, so you know when and where to go to get the best results. n n Here’s the way you approach sales success. You think you have to be running to an appointment or running to get an appointment at full tilt. You rush into the appoin

How the skills learned in NLP can be incorporated and applied in business… When people hear NLP for the first time they tend to imagine some ‘new age’ fuzzy fluffy thing. NLP is a methodology. It is a group of skills and tools that we all use all of the time, just most of it is done unconsciously. NLP methodolgy has been developed over years of studying very successful people and working out what they do, how they do it and then packaging it in such a way that we can do it

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

When I say “green” I am talking about the environmentally conscious consumer, also called “Cultural Creatives” or the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market which includes about 50 million people. If you are trying to reach them, ya gotta go green. They are all about a better ...

During sweeps week the television stations break-out their best programming in an effort to drive their ratings up. They know if they can catch a viewers attention and then give them something they want the viewer is likely to tune in as a regular viewer each week. The stations performance during sweeps week has a big financial impact on future commercial sales. n n So, what does sweeps week have to do with your sales? There’s nothing stopping you from scheduling your o

It’s amazing what people do studies on, but I found his study to be quite interesting whether it be for the benefit of your home based franchise, if you are searching on how to become a top producer in sales, or whether you are searching for a different path for your life. Hopefully you will as well. There was French entomologist who once led a group of processionary caterpillars onto a rim of a large flowerpot.

But this solution is a new addition in the history of books as they contain the solutions for the problems of all types. You can have a solution for all your problems if you have this manual with you. Due to types of help these manuals have gained popularity very easily and it has been well accepted among the people through out the world. Now as is mentioned in the earlier paragraphs these solution manual comes in variety of trends and they deal with a varied range of subject

There is an old mantra in sales – Under-promise and over-deliver. While many salespeople follow this axiom and, on the surface, it has good intentions, it really tells you to do one thing – Lie to your clients. If you are in sales, try this interesting concept – Tell the truth!nnThe theory behind the "under-promise and over-deliver" concept is that if you over-promise, your clients will be upset with you when the final results are not what they expected; they may bad-mo

As the winter and Diwali are approaching, the demand for dry fruits goes up. This year has been tumultuous with the Covid 19 lockdown and people being forced to remain indoors. We have had to make changes to the way we have done things including our shopping. Stores have had to open ecommerce websites to sell their wares and ensure that their customers lack nothing. The online shopping dais has provided a contactless and safe platform for people to buy most of what they need.

Once you decide to write a powerful, money-making sales letter, an important thing to realize is that there are two structures you're building simultaneously. One which is seen – the physical structure. The other which is unseen - the “invisible” (psychological) structure. The ...

In a typical scenario in a company, the sales department tends to strive hard to achieve both customer satisfaction as well as the sales. In such a scenario, the term 'sales effectiveness' is of the utmost importance. It is important to acknowledge the fact that one has to be prompt and extremely fast in closing the sale otherwise it gets lost. What you require are strategies, which are proved to be effective in closing the deal and increase your effectiveness to a great exte

Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks customer interest, and invites further investigation -- if you do it right.n nI didn’t do it right. At least, not at first.n nAll entrepreneurs make mistakes, and I made one of my first ones right off the bat. Thrilled with the fledgling bu

There is a little test that professional buyers give to every sales person. It is a test to see if they are confident in the price they presented. They call it the flinch test. Will you pass the test? After a lengthy buying process, the time has come to submit pricing. Countless hours are ...

What's the most precious commodity in the world? Nope. Not gold. Not platinum. Not uranium. Not diamonds. The most precious commodity in the world is not something you can mine, or harvest, or hoard in safety deposit boxes. n nThe most precious commodity is something you have an almost endless supply of. Major industries go out of their way to get it from you. Entire trades have sprung up for the sole purpose of enticing you to part with yours.n nWhat is this precious thing?n