Business >> Sales Training

The 5 Ws of Running a Training Course

2009-06-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

Time and time again I meet with companies who are thinking about running a training course. Although as some one who firmly believes in the benefits of staff training and running effective training courses, it often amazes me the lack of thought that often goes in to the real goals wanted to achieve from the training course.

I often tell people that when considering running a training course they should consider the 5 Ws of questions. Without seriously gong through these 5 Ws most training courses will lack focus.

The type of questions you should be able to answer for all the 5 Ws are as follows:

The first W stands for why?

WHY are we looking at doing this training course?
WHY will this training course benefit the delegates?
WHY is running a training course the best way to achieve this?

The second W stands for what?

What are we going to be able to observe the delegates do different after the training course?

What intellectual level should the training course be pitched at?

What can we realistically achieve from the training course in the proposed timescale?

What will the expectations of the group be from the proposed training course?

The third W stands for whom?

Whom should we invite to this training course?

Who will be able to cover for the delegates whilst they are on the training course?

Who will evaluate the training course to ensure the transfer of learning took place?

The fourth W stands for when?

When will this training course suit the company?

When will the training course be of greatest benefit to the delegates?

When should we be considering a follow up training course if appropriate?

When should we have a feedback session with the trainer of the training course after the training course event takes place?

The final W stands for Where?

Where will the training course take place?

Where will we get the relevant training materials for the training course to be effective?

So for anyone who is thinking of holding a training course, please ensure you remember the 5 Ws before you end up spending your budget on a training course that does not deliver what you want.

The real key to effective training courses is to be extremely clear in what you want the training course to achieve.

About the author:
Would you like to learn more about the 5 Ws of running a training course? Frank O'Toole from Premier Training is helping people to achieve with training courses, let's achieve.

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Make 2009 the year you reinvent your sales!

2009-06-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

Every January, no matter where you look-magazines, newspapers, TV-everybody talks about how it's time dive in and get a "new you" makeover. Reinventing yourself ought to be about more than just getting a new outfit and haircut. Why not start by making changes where it really counts-in your sales results! More sales in 2009 means more commissions…which means you'll have more money to really spoil yourself later on.
The first step is to know where you stood at the end of 2008. Like most sales professionals, it's likely that you can quickly recite exactly how much you closed and how much you earned last year. But have you stopped to consider just how productive you were? It's a question worth pondering.
Recently I conducted a poll with my clients-most of whom were in leadership positions-to determine their biggest sales concerns. The overwhelming answer was sales productivity. In other words, how much revenue per period can each team member produce, and how can we make that better.
You can chart your sales productivity daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annually. Given that we have just finished a calendar year, you have a great opportunity right now to take a look at your own productivity or that of your team for 2008.
There are two ways to do this…
1. Look at your ratios
At a minimum, sales reps should produce 6-9 times what they're paid. The best companies achieve ratio of 10-12 times what they pay their sales staff. If the total take-home pay for a rep (commissions and salary combined) is $100,000, then the best reps produce at least one million dollars in sales. Granted, these numbers are moving targets. You need to take into account accelerators, bonuses new hires, among other factors, but it is nevertheless a reasonably accurate measure to use when assessing sales productivity.
Let's test your own productivity for 2008. What was your total take-home pay (i.e., salaries plus commissions)? What was your total revenue tally for 2008? Simple division will tell you if your productivity levels were mediocre or high. I recommend that managers conduct that test for each team member, as well as for the entire sales team.
2. Examine your sales capacity
Another way to look at productivity is to analyze your 2008 sales capacity. Do that by multiplying the following:
(# of reps) X
(average hours you work per day) X
(number of weeks you work per year) X
(% of selling time) X
(closing ratio)
For example, if you worked 10 hours per day, 52 weeks per year, spent 100% of your time selling, and had a 100% closing ratio, your sales capacity would be a whopping 520. This, of course, is an entirely unrealistic number, but it serves to illustrate how this kind of analysis is conducted.
Realistically, most sales people work an 8-10 hour day, up to 46-48 weeks per year. Selling time per day is a huge variable. The key question is how much time you spend talking to customers. Most sales people report 30% of their day is spent talking directly to customers-and I find it can be as high as 60% and as low as 10%. If you're unsure, estimate that 50% of your time per day is spent selling and the other half is spent in meetings, at lunch, driving, talking to coworkers, entering data into CRM, research or doing general administrative work. Enter this number as a decimal in the formula.
Closing ratios can be as low as .008 (125:1), and as high as 0.5 (1:2). It depends on whether you're cold calling from the yellow pages (which has the lowest closing ratios), or growing your business based on referrals (which has the highest closing ratios). Be honest with yourself and make sure you consider your closing ratio from net new contacts to close-not just the closing ratio from proposal stage to close.
Now that you have your sales capacity number, you can set some goals to improve it. Try to get as close to the unrealistic 520 number we mentioned earlier!
What to improve first? For starters, don't think about increasing the number of weeks you work in 2009. That number should be decreasing not increasing. Also, there's no point in adding sales reps to the equation if your sales capacity is already too low. Instead, consider the following activities.
Optimize your number of hours selling - Can you outsource some non-sales work to others so that you can increase the number of hours you spend per week in front of customers? Consider outsourcing low-return tasks (e.g., expense reports, preparation of slide decks, editing).
Improve your closing ratio - Are you asking for referrals every day from clients? Can you target your market to a smaller niche? Can you improve your qualification steps? Do you have a targeted marketing program to help the right clients find you? Are you reaching out to your existing customers at least once per month?
Sure, we all want improved productivity, but if you don't know how productive you were last year, how will you know what to improve? To reinvent your sales in 2009, you must know your 2008 benchmark. Once that's established, you can choose the right activities to improve. You must measure results at every step, and make decision based on the numbers-not your gut feeling.
As I do every year, I invite you to set a goal for yourself for 2009, and send me your implementation plan. I am happy to hold your feet to the fire every month-just a friendly check-in to see how you're doing!

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions ( www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediateresults, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.
Start improving your results today with Engage's online Newsletter Engaging Ideas AND 10 weeks of free sales tips:www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Sales Training Courses Can Help You Close More Sales

2009-06-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

As the global economy has changed over the past 12 months or so, more and more people are turning to Sales training courses to help them secure more sales.

For the past number of years companies have not had to worry about sales training as the economy was buoyant and sales people with the title of sales people did generally not need to fight for business. In fact to be honest in many industries they were order takers as opposed to salespeople. With this in mind sales training courses were not very popular as consumers with more money in their pockets were prepared to purchase anyway.

Based on personal experience I will try and explain what I mean:

If you were buying a new car in 1990 sales people would be trying every close in the book to sell the car to you. In fact they were even offering you a full weekend test drive, where you could take the car for the weekend to try and help you make the decision. In these times Sales training programmes and sales skills were badly needed as the market was tough. Formal sales training was a must for numerous companies.

Now roll on the clock 15 years to 2005 and see how difficult it was to take a car for a test drive for 30 minutes never mind a weekend. The problem was the market had changed and if you don’t buy the car some one else will come in shortly after you and they will buy it. I understand this is generalising and it is not fair to paint everyone with the same brush. However this meant sales training courses were not in the same demand as sales training skills were not seen as a priority.

The same can be said for numerous industries, another example of this is the real estate business where purchasers trying to get on the property ladder were at times camping outside new housing developments overnight to secure a property. You have to ask the question how much sales training skills would the real estate agent need in this type of market?

The difficulty now from a sales training point of view is that many people who were recruited as sales people over the last number of years, are for the first time having to use the type of sales training skills that can be learned from attending sales training courses.

More and more companies are turning to sales training programmes to up skill their salespeople to close more sales

About the author:
Would you like to increase sales with sales training? Frank O’Toole from Premier Training is helping people to achieve with sales training courses, let’s achieve.

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Management Training Courses are About Task and People

2009-06-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone in management knows that the most difficult balance to make is that of getting the tasks completed but bringing the team with you so that they want to complete the task. Once you have attended management training courses you will be fully aware that this is the success to effective management.
Many managers believe it is enough to just point the employees in front of the task and expect it to be achieved, many others believe the friendlier and nicer they are with their employees-the task will be done as the employees will not want to let them down. The truth is that in management neither of these assumptions is correct.
It is vital that the task gets completed and obviously dealing effectively with people is a good way to do that.
It does not mean you have to be best friends-your staff doesn’t want you to be best friends with them, friendly-yes but not friends, they are 2 totally different things. Neither does your staff want you to not consider them in relation to getting the job done. An effective management skill is all about getting the balance right between people and task.
The task is vitally important and any effective management training course should have sessions designed for planning organizing implementing and finally controlling the task. Management skills in these areas are extremely important.
The tasks need to also be graded in terms of the bottom line importance, we all carry out several tasks each day most of which are necessary but often are not as important to the bottom line as other tasks we can be doing. Management training courses in the past number of years have spoken about the importance of managing performance through Key performance indicators which is a good place for any manager to start.
The important thing for management to remember is that planning organizing implementing and controlling are the only ways you will achieve the task being done. This coupled with effective people skills is really the right track for management.
Finally as you will discover through management training courses that most managers lack the control element, you must always remember in management what gets checked gets done.
Being able to train the staff member, then plan and organize the task for the staff member to implement is not enough you must put in monitoring controls to check it has been done correctly. Through effective management training you will discover the importance of ‘Inspecting what you expect’

About the author:
Would you like to learn more about management training courses? Frank O’Toole from Premier Training is helping people to achieve with training courses, let’s achieve.

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Increase sales - with sales training

2009-06-30T03:13:00.000-07:00

People often ask me, how can I increase my sales? Will sales training help me? How can I hit my target every month etc. Well the obvious answer to the question of sales training is yes it will help depending on the quality of the sales training course you attend.

One caveat to the above is that the essence of knowledge is using it and there is no point attending a sales training course, developing new skills gaining new ideas and not putting them in to action. People often return from a sales training course full of enthusiasm and prepared to try new ideas but find the first prospect they speak with using the new technique says no, they then revert back to their old ways saying the new skills they learned on the training course did not work. It s important that sales people persevere with new sales skills and knowledge they acquire on the course.

When it comes to increasing sales there are only 2 things you can do, the first of these is to find plenty of prospects who may have a need or want for your product or service. The more prospects you have the better your prospects and always remember ‘if you have no prospects you have no prospects!

You also have to qualify are these people really a prospect or a suspect? A suspect is just a name where as a prospect is a name that you have qualified as being some one who does have a need for your service or product, also has the ability to pay for the product and also has the authority to make the decision on the sale.

Once you have enough prospects it means sales are easier and less pressurised, because as long as you have plenty of people to contact –it doesn’t really matter whether this person buys because there will always be some one else who will buy. Good prospectors are not overly worried about whether people purchase as they have the numbers in their favour. They work on the basis of SW/ SW /SW which means some will buy some won’t so what. You see once you have enough prospects, some formal sales training and understand your sales numbers (activity to sales) the pressure is off.

The second thing you can do is become more effective at each of the steps of the sale, this includes areas such as rapport building, questioning, listening, presenting the product, closing and dealing with objections.

These are all skills that can be learned on any effective sales training course, So when people ask me how do I achieve more sales the answer is easy –increase your activity (the number of prospects you ask to purchase) and improve your sales skills. Both of these can be easily addressed by attending effective sales training courses

How presentation skills training can help you overcome the fear of presenting

2009-06-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago there was a list taken from the book of lists that stated that Presentation skills and speaking to a large audience was the number 1 fear people had.
In fact 41% of people rated it as their biggest fear.

The strange thing about the list was that only 19% of people said death was their biggest fear. It is amazing to think that standing up and delivering a presentation to a group of people rated a higher fear than death.

The good news is that through presentation skills training you can alleviate that fear. Of course it’s true to say that you may still be anxious and get butterflies in your stomach before the presentation, but through good presentation skills training at least you will be able to make the butterflies fly in the same formation.

So how can presentation skills training help you? Well obviously every good presentation skills training programme will have a section dedicated to anxiety and nerves and offer specific techniques to help you deal with this. But there is more to it than that, the more confidence you have in your presentation style, notes, visual aids, structure of the presentation, knowledge of the audience, knowledge of the topic and knowledge of what you are trying to achieve, the more at ease you will feel.

Most presentation skills training programmes also allow time to deliver the presentations in a safe environment and receive feedback from a qualified instructor, this allows you to work on areas that need to be worked on, and many presentation skills training programmes allow time for the instructor to work through these areas with you. The more confidence you have in the presentation and your own presentation skills and delivery the less fear you will have.

There is no substitute for practice and I am always reminded of the famous golfer (I believe it was Gary Player) who had just chipped in the ball from the edge of the green.

I believe he was interviewed after the game and the commentator said ‘You must have been thrilled with the luck you had on that final shot’ the golfer replied ‘yes I was, but it’s funny the more I practice that shot, the luckier I get with it’
I believe there is a lesson for us all to learn whether you are playing golf or using your presentation skills to address an audience, the more you practice the luckier you will get and the luckier you get the less anxious you will be

We can not help the 19% of people who have a fear of death, but through presentation skills training carried out by an instructor who is a master in the art of presentation skills you can definitely overcome the fear of making presentations.

About the author:
Excel at delivering excellent customer service with customer service training? Frank O’Toole from Premier Training is helping people to achieve with customer service training courses, let’s achieve.

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Avoid Problems with Pre-Call Planning

2009-06-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

Gather information on potential sales opportunities
Before you make contact with your prospect, gather as much information about the sales potential as possible. This is called the Pre-Approach. The salesman conducts primary research to gain as much information about the prospect.
What prospect information do salespeople need to prepare for a sale? Some information comes from external sources gathered about the client. Most people will find just about everything they need to know about a company from the Internet. Look for the following information about the prospect:
• Website
• Company’s mission statement
• Number of employees
• Partners and vendors
• Products and services
• Any challenges the company is facing
This information can be very helpful in the pre-sales call planning process.
Gathering internal information on the prospect may be difficult, unless you know the prospect personally. Accomplishing this may consist of developing a set of assumptions about the customer’s buying habits. The salesperson can rely on basic marketing information about the industry in general. Based on this marketing information the salesperson can make some reasonable assumptions about his prospective client.

The salesman wants to have product information to present to his prospect. Know all the benefits of your product, and which of those benefits is most attractive to your prospective customer. Practice reciting these benefits so that you know them well. This is an important part of the process because you will need to persuade the customer to buy from you based on benefits.

Pre-call planning is the preparation that takes place before approaching any decision maker. This preparation uses the information gathered about our customers, and information gathered about your product. The pre-call planning is a process of answering question that will help during the actual sales call. This information is most effective when it’s written. The process of completing the pre-sale planning is like rehearsing the sales before it even takes place. This practice helps resolve issues before they become issues.
Preparation increases your confidence level, and will increase the likelihood of having everything you need to close the sale.

About the author:
Albert Powell president of I-Tekk Management, a website development company dedicated to helping people develop their online presence. With 20 years experience in Information Technology, Albert created Success N Sales.com to share helpful selling techniques gained through working in both the public and private sectors. Join Albert on the Success N Sales Blog, or email him at Albert@SuccessNSales.com

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How to Hire the Best Sales Training Consultant

2009-06-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

Is the sales training consultant able to sell himself well to you? That will give a clue as to how good a sales man he himself is in the first place. The next step in that direction would be to check whether your sales trainer is a good speaker talking about sales or is he a good seller trying to speak about sales. There are many good speakers who have very little practical sales experience. Their knowledge is sourced from books, journals, periodicals, and is mostly theoretical. They are good at – lecture and the meaning of the term lecture hasn’t changed at all. You don’t need them. You need a good seller speaking about sales. Of course good speaking skill is essential, but good selling experience precedes it.

The real sales training consultants are the ones that have solid sales experience behind them. They themselves have achieved excellence and recognition in their industry for their sales skills. They are the masters that combine the theory with the practice. Master sales trainers don’t just keep giving lectures. They actively participate in their client’s sales process and help in achieving tangible results. They love sales action and their resumes are full of them.

Ask your sales training consultant what areas does he cover? The fewer the areas covered the better is the depth. Novices are more likely to cover all the areas. Listening and viewing to a small demo tape of sales training workshop done by your sales trainer would give a clear picture of his energy levels, teaching skills, and the knack of getting along with the participants. Make sure that they are not done in a studio and are real. Your sales training consultants should be handing out training material to refer. He also should be willing to prepare questionnaires and work sheets pertaining to the training and the participants’ real jobs.

Pose your most pressing sales concern to the sales trainer and see how is planning to handle it. Good sales trainers spend a few days with the company sales force, studying their methods of operation, and finding out rooms for development. They also study in depth about the company, the industry it is in, its annual reports, and related literature. Your sales training consultant should be asking you for these things if you are considering hiring him. You should expect your sales training consultant to do preparatory work of 3/4 hours for every hour of workshop/training time.

Top sales trainers charge a fee of $5000 per day and upwards. To make sure that they are worth the money, ask your sales trainer whether he is an authority in the field with articles or books published in the area of expertise. A sales trainer with excellent speaking capacities should be a member of the National Speakers Association (NPA). If your sales trainer has all these qualifications then make the final confirmation after consulting a few clients that he has trained in the past. Their sales results should convince you to hire the sales trainer.

About the author:
Sales And Marketing Training :- Our Sales & Marketing training program is designed to help those working in sales and marketing to identify, recruit and retain the perfect customer.

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5 Strategies Employed in Motivational Sales Training

2009-06-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Motivation is the key to improved performance in any field. A Basketball or Football coach knows this so does a sales manager. From the 50s to the 70s the biggest motivation sales managers offered was, “perform or else”…Sales managers later realized that bonuses, perks, paid vacations, and gifts work as good motivators and they used the phrase “perform or else” sparingly and only in extreme situations. But even the best of monetary incentives fail to motivate sales professionals at times. Throwing money at a motivational issue cannot solve all the motivational problems.

It is the responsibility of the sales managers to keep their sales team motivated all the time. The situation can get tricky when the sales manager finds it tough to keep himself motivated. Sales professionals can lack motivation due to a number of reasons including tough market conditions such as a recessive economy. Nearly seventy percent of the sales managers have no experience of steering the sales force in a recessive economy. How can they lead the sales team in such a situation? It would be like the blind leading the blind. It is then they should consider motivational sales training by a professional trainer.

Motivational sales training by an experienced and effective trainer can lead the sales team towards better sales results. There are several ways of achieving this and the motivational sales trainers will be employing the following methods:
1. A seasoned and insightful motivational sales trainer will be able to lift the sagging morale of the members of the sales team by pointing them their strengths. The sales team may not have sold in a downward moving economy. But it might have handled stiff competitions in the past. It might have excelled despite restrictive government policies. The motivational sales trainer will point out to such achievements and prod the sales team to perform better.

2. The natural thing for sales people lacking motivation is to sit at the office and commiserate with colleagues about the tough situation and falling sales. But this is when they should be working more. An extra few cold calls as against the regular quota, a little more enthusiasm in sales presentation, more attention to customer needs etc. will dramatically boost sales.

3. The incentive and commission structure may have to be tweaked a bit to keep the interest of the sales team. When sales professionals work hard in tough situations they will expect adequate compensation. A little higher commission or incentive can act as good motivating factors.

4. When the sales professionals realize that increasing monetary compensation may not be possible in every situation they will settle for recognition and appreciation of their achievements. Motivation gets eroded when these free commodities become short in supply. Motivational sales trainers will encourage the sales managers to lavish praise and recognition where they are genuinely due.

5. Giving a platform for sales persons to voice their grievances with regard to efforts at selling will act as cathartic tool and keep them motivated. Their voice should be heard and grievances addressed.

By offering solutions that can range from the ordinary to the creative, motivational sales trainers lift up the spirits of sales people. Motivational sales training will facilitate an ideal condition for sales people to operate with renewed vigor and unwavering focus.

About the author:
Sales Management Consultant :- Mr. Dvorak is a certified sales trainer and management consultant offers an interactive process for sales professionals to discover their natural talents and how to overcome potential roadblocks to sales success. Contact us on 847-359-6969.

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Boost your risk-busting communications skills

2009-06-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

Seven ways you can boost sales and thrive in the new economy
#2: Boost your risk-busting communications skills In the new economy that is emerging around all of us, one of the key shifts we’re seeing is in the area of buyer motivation. Today, from consumers to corporate clients, the people who make the decision to buy have one big question on their minds: “how can you help reduce my risk?”

There are all kind of reasons why people share that preoccupation, but it does not have to be a barrier preventing you from reaching and exceeding your sales targets. So far in this series looking at ways to boost sales and thrive in today’s market, we’ve talked about how leveraging who you know can help mitigate that sense of risk.

Today, let’s look at the importance of what you say and how you say it.

For any buyer, being preoccupied by risk is all about coping with uncertainty. They have a range of worries: “what if I buy this and it wastes my time and money rather than solves my problem…what if it doesn’t perform the way I expect it to…what if I simply make a bad choice?” As a sales professional, I’m sure you recognize the corrosive danger of those “what-ifs.” They’re all rooted in a fear of the unknown. You have to make it your #1 job to address those fears head-on, by communicating with your customers clearly and credibly with messages that meet their needs.

Personalize your message
Earlier, I shared with you tips on how you can ask leading questions to find out if they’re going to need additional things from you. Today, let’s look some more at what you can do to better meet the needs of your customers. Get to the heart of what is going on inside their business as well as in their minds. Sell to that need by being as personalized as possible. Not only does this help you as the salesperson to always be thinking of your customers by name, it also generates better results at the buyer’s end—particularly when risk is on their radar.

In one consumer study, a group of buyers were asked to rank the effectiveness of a range of marketing vehicles that were each designed to reduce risk (e.g., money-back guarantees, free samples, word-of-mouth testimonials, and brand-based messages). The research results were summed up nicely by Doug Hall in his 2003 book, Meaningful Marketing. “The data shows that real, first-person experience is order of magnitude more credible than manufactured marketing methods… Personal experience is the most real and reliable method of reducing fear.”

The food service industry is in many ways a microcosm of what goes on every day in sales—top performers are well rewarded when they provide more than just a product…they provide an personalized experience. For example, the most successful servers out there know that the best way to earn the most tips is by building a personalized rapport with their customers. The good ones will start by introducing themselves by name to a table of guests. The really good ones will recognize their returning customers and address them by name. Why? Because they have learned what all top-ranked sales professional know: people like it when they hear or see their name pop up in what you are communicating to them.

To apply this to your line of work, think of all the ways that you communicate with your customers. From face-to-face meetings, to email, to direct marketing material. Look for opportunities where you can to include the customer’s name in your message. Newsletters, estimates and direct-mail pieces are all good places to start. But exercise good judgment! First, find out whether they're more comfortable with being referred to on a first-name basis. Second (and this is really important), don’t overuse their name, otherwise you’ll sound corny and even less impersonal than a form letter.

Anticipate rather than just react
Risk-busting communications means that you need to do more than just react to buyer hesitation. Don't panic. Stay in control.

Of course, this requires that you think ahead about objections that a customer might have and prepare good responses. When you’re talking about your product or service, always communicate the benefits of what you’re offering ahead of the features. Just as important, be generously empathetic in acknowledging a customer’s objections. That helps to put their mind at ease and demonstrates to them that you genuinely understand their position they are in.

The extra effort you put into your communications pays off. The credibility of your message grows. By demonstrating that your top concern is finding a solution to what matters to them (rather than being just motivated by making your commission), you close the gap between a customer having objections and making the decision to buy.

Choose the right tools and measure relentlessly
As with all investments, the time and effort you put into risk-busting communications is best spent when you also make a point of measuring your results. Your audience you want to reach plays a significant part in determining which tools you should use (e.g., websites, e-newsletters, direct mail, cold calling). No matter the mix that you choose, be sure to include some kind of metric so that you can track your response rate and fine-tune your message when necessary. The results of your efforts will pay for themselves several times over because your messages—particularly those that are fine-tuned to address specific needs that your customers have—will be seen as purposeful, relevant and timely. In other words, they’ll sit up and take notice.

As a sales trainer, as I meet professionals and business owners of all kinds across North America, I remind all of them that no matter what title they hold in their organization, they are all sales people. In good times and in bad times, everyone in an organization is responsible for the messages they communicate to their clients. Moreover, it is up to each of us to decide what kind of sales person we want to be.

By investing a little bit of time and forethought, you can emulate the business habits of the top-10% sales performers out there. Be empathetic, be responsive to the needs and objections of your customers, be focused on personalizing your message. With time and persistence, you’ll find that you’ll have a winning communications formula that can top the sales charts in any market.

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions ( www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediateresults, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. Start improving your results today with Engage's online Newsletter Engaging Ideas AND 10 weeks of free sales tips:www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Focus on existing relationships

2009-06-30T02:50:00.000-07:00

Seven ways you can boost sales and thrive in the new economy
#1: Focus on existing relationships

It’s a different market out there today from the one that many of us have known for the last several years. There’s no disputing that this new economy presents plenty of challenges, and yet by adopting the right approach, it’s also an opportunity for sales professionals to actually thrive...even in a tough market. The secret to success in sales today isn’t found by adopting untested techniques, many of which are packaged with fancy sounding names that sizzle with promises, but fall short on delivering results.

As a sales professional and as a business owner, I’ve weathered all kinds of markets, and I’ve had the great fortune to learn from others who have also managed to stay at the top of their game. What I have learned is that success in any market (and in any profession...not just sales) is owed in large part to emulating time-honored, field tested business habits and repeating those often enough and consistently enough that they become second-nature to you.

In this first of a series of seven articles examining what you can do to boost your sales and thrive in this new economy that is taking shape around us today, we’re going to look at the importance of existing relationships—why they matter and how you can go about leveraging who you know.

Being successful is about more than applying what you know

Your knowledge and the raw skills you offer matter a lot in your work, but it is a mistake to underestimate the importance of who you know and of how hard you work to cultivate that network. This is true of sales as it is of other professions. Consider the lessons learned in a landmark study conducted in the 1990s, in which researchers studied the habits of star performers among engineers at Bell Laboratories.They found that most engineers in that organization had similar academic credentials and shared an aptitude for problem-solving. However, the top performers were the ones who invested time and effort in building and maintaining relationships that they could rely on when needed in their work.

The lesson here is a universal one: you can differentiate yourself—even when you’re matched by others in terms of skills or resources—simply by focusing on your personal relationships and networks. But the lessons don’t stop there. It’s also important to recognize that when it comes to networking and relationship-building, the ones you have already established are the ones that are the easiest to maintain.

Don’t overlook your existing customer base

Start by looking at your current customer sales database. You might be surprised by who you know! All too often, this step is skipped by companies who are hungry for new business. Many will spend a considerable amount of time and money to find new customers, and do so at the expense of the customers with whom they are currently doing business.

Even worse, some try to rationalize this behavior by saying: “well, we lose a good percentage of customers every year anyway.” Never accept that kind of reasoning! Customer losses are, in fact, fully preventable. It costs a business far less to retain an existing customer than it does to find new ones. This is particularly important in today’s marketplace, because as I pointed out in an earlier article, companies today are entrenching their existing business relationships, sticking with vendors they trust.

From your customer database, compile a list of who has actively bought from you in the past. If you notice that there is one customer in that list that you haven’t heard from in a while, call them and find out why. Be sure to call your regular customers, too. Even if the purpose of your call is to simply thank them for their business, gestures of appreciation are always noticed. If your client is allowed to accept gifts, consider sending them a gift basket of goodies, or even gift cards from their favorite retailer. Not only does this help to solidify your existing relationships, it send an important message: “you matter to me.”

Listen carefully to identify new needs and be a resource

Do your clients have new needs or new requirements? In tough economic times when many organizations are seeing their budgets and staff shrinking, you need to find out what’s going on in their world...right now.

Whether you’re meeting a customer face-to-face or talking on the phone, be sure to ask leading questions to find out if they’re going to need additional things from you. Ask them completely open-ended questions to find out if they’re looking at new services, products, solutions, even those that might be outside your scope of work. You can be a valuable resource simply by recommending the work of someone in an affiliated field, or by partnering with that person to offer your customer an all-in-one solution.

The message you are sending is an important one: I’m more than a vendor or a service provider...I’m a resource you can count on. Again, it’s all about differentiating yourself from the rest of the market. Being thoughtful and showing empathy for people you do business with doesn’t have to cost you a dime and yet it leaves a lasting impression on people because it demonstrates that you’re focused on something more than just making your commission.

This takes me to my last point: there is a real danger right now—especially those who are feeling fearful because they’ve never sold through a downturn before. Never put your needs of earning a commission ahead of your customer’s need to solve a problem. When you’re in front of a customer and all you’re thinking about is “how the heck am I going to get my commission out of this guy,” they can smell it just like a Conrad (my pup) smells fear.

Take the initiative and look at your existing relationships. Be persistent. Be a resource. It’s hard work, but the effort pays off—not only in terms of commissions, but also in terms of having customers who really enjoy doing business with you. As our good friend Zig Ziglar reminds us all, success come from hard work much like water comes from priming an old-fashioned water pump: “if you will pump long enough, hard enough, and enthusiastically enough, sooner or later the effort will bring forth the reward.”

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions ( www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediateresults, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. Start improving your results today with Engage's online Newsletter Engaging Ideas AND 10 weeks of free sales tips:www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Be shrewd and creative about who you target

2009-06-30T02:49:00.000-07:00

Seven ways you can boost sales and thrive in the new economy
Step #4: Be shrewd and creative about who you target

No one could hit a baseball the way hall-of-famer Ted Williams could. He knew there was a lot more to becoming a home-run champ than just swinging hard at every pitch. “To be a good hitter,” Williams once said, “you've got to get a good ball to hit.” Here’s a lesson in there for all of us as sales professionals to apply each time we step up to the plate in business: it pays to be choosy.

Just like Williams poised in the batter’s box waiting for his good ball, sales people get their best results when they target their prospects with forethought and empathy. This is an especially important discipline to engage when selling in a down market, because resources are tighter than ever and your time is finite to meet your sales quotas.

Follow the money
In the new economy that is taking shape around us, buyer behavior is changing (a point that I discuss in greater detail in the first article in this series). It’s incumbent on you as a sales person to sharpen your sleuthing skills and follow the money. Take time to look at your market and ask yourself how the needs of buyers are changing and how you can best position yourself and your organization to meet those needs.

To illustrate my point, consider the changes that we’re seeing in the car industry. Sales figures for most car markers are pretty discouraging right now (although Jaguar, curiously enough, posted an eight percent sale increase for 2008!) Economists point to all kinds of reasons as the cause behind this, but the effect is clear: people are keeping their vehicles longer. There are opportunities here for those who choose to see them. If people are keeping their cars longer, doesn’t it stand to reason that they have to take better care of them? It’s not a stretch, therefore, to suggest that car owners could be frequenting garages, auto repair and tune-up shops more often. To complete this illustration, a smart organization that targets these customers and caters to their needs will be well-positioned to smack those sales home-runs with a confidence that would make Ted Williams proud.

Spend money on those who are spending with you
This is not the time to be taking a shotgun approach to sales, trying to sell all things to all people. Rather, this is when you should be targeting those who know you best—particularly customers that have a higher propensity to buy from you in good times and bad. Spend money on those who are spending with you. Don’t make the mistake that so many companies make during an economic downturn, taking a hatchet to their marketing budget. There’s a real opportunity right now for smart companies to step up their advertising and marketing efforts—provided that they are willing to invest the time to target who they are going to reach with their message and then measure the results.

In addition, consider how you can improve up-selling and cross-selling in your current market. Look carefully at who buys your products or services. Let’s say you’re a sales rep for a food-services company and you notice that your product line is selling briskly among women who are Toronto-based restaurant owners in the 45–65 age bracket. Maybe that’s who you should be targeting. Find out what their needs are, and market aggressively to them, showing how your product meets that need.

Be creative
Success in the new economy is about adapting quickly to change, but these are times that also offer an opportunity for you to become a game changer, too. Creative solutions to age-old problems have a way of finding an audience—no matter what market conditions are like out there. Look with empathy at your customers. Ask yourself, are there barriers that tend to get in their way of doing business...things that frustrate them in their work?

Think about how your sales team or your organization can ease that pain, starting with a simple, bold new idea or approach and give it time to germinate. That’s the essence of what Clayton Christensen of the Harvard Business School describes as disruptive innovation. He notes in a recently published, co-written article: “success comes from figuring out how to satisfy a real customer who needs to get a real job done.” Don’t underestimate the incredible opportunities that are at hand in this new economy to change the rules of the game—no matter what industry you work in.

Just remember that targeting is about being selective. Focus on the customers who are spending, understand how their habits might be changing and find solutions—especially innovative ones—that can help position you and your organization to remain on top. which takes me back to my point about Ted Williams. He stressed the importance of waiting for the right pitch before swinging, but he also had a follow-up point: “the greatest hitter in the world can't hit bad balls well.” Targeting is as much about staying focused on customers as it is about being able to distinguish those really exceptional clients from the all the rest.

(1) The complete Williams interview from 1968’s Sport Illustrated
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081309/3/index.htm

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions(www.EngageSelling.com ). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.
For free online Newsletter Engaging Ideas AND 10 weeks of free sales tips: www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Obtain testimonials from customers

2009-06-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

Seven ways you can boost sales and thrive in the new economy
Step #3: Obtain testimonials from customers

So far in this series on boosting your sales and thriving in this new economy, we’ve looked at the importance of leveraging who you know, of considering carefully what you say and how you say it. Let’s turn now to what your customers have to say about you, and why it is vitally important that you harness the power of word-of-mouth in sales.

Customer uncertainty during difficult economic times can make any sales person’s job harder, especially when pitching to new prospects. In an environment of elevated risk, it’s human nature that we tend to stick to what we know and what we’re sure of…and that certainly applies to customers when facing a choice between buying from you or one of your competitors. As a sales professional, you already know how important it is to first sell the benefits of your product or service so that a prospect or existing customer can make a decision with confidence to buy from you. However, there’s still much more you can do to help influence and boost a buyer’s confidence, and that’s where testimonials come into play.

Testimonials can transform selling benefits
Let’s face it, there is a whole lot of fear out there today. Among the many things companies are worried about is whether they’re making the right choices when it comes to suppliers. Will you be able to deliver on your promise? Are your fundamentals strong or could you be out of business soon? Are you stretching the truth with the unique benefits you are offering, simply to secure a sale? No matter how polished a sales presenter you might be, those questions are the kinds that your prospects will be asking themselves until they are given a good reason to feel differently.

Whether you’re trying to persuade one person or a room full of people, testimonials provide your audience with something tangible and solid: someone else’s positive experience, their satisfactory results and their glowing praise. On the face of it, these are opinions, but when they are seen as credible opinions, testimonials have the potential of taking on the similar weight as facts. Here’s why. Because they give your prospects something they can measure against their own needs and expectations. Testimonials are especially powerful when they come from a peer or from someone in the same industry as your prospect. It’s meaningful when you’re able to say: “We’ve been doing business with your colleague, Phil, in accounting, for over ten years, and here’s what he has to say about that experience.”

Turn the great things people already say about you into testimonials
As a sales trainer, I often meet people who say: “I know my customers love doing business with me, but I’m not all that great at getting testimonials…what am I doing wrong?” If you want testimonials from your clients, you have to ask them. It’s as simple as that.

People generally like to be helpful to other people, but they’ll never get that opportunity to give you that all-powerful testimonial if you don’t ask first. Keep your ears open for kind words and praise from your customers. Follow-up right away with a phone call or an email, explaining how important testimonials are in your line of work, and then ask: “would it be okay if I included what you said in my collection of client testimonials?”

Another approach is to simply follow-up with a customer who purchased from you recently. This is especially important when speaking to new customers. As Andy Sernovitz, the author of “Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking” explains, they are the ones who are most excited about having found you. Make the most of that. Also, be sure to ask probing questions, such as: “why did you choose to do business with us over someone else?” Or: “why do you continue to buy from us in these economic times?” A customer who is happy with the products or services they are receiving from you is quite likely to share a few really solid reasons why they keep placing orders.

Review with your sales team the very best feedback your group has received to date and then go down the list of your existing customers to identify the ones who could provide new testimonials. Get on the phone and make those calls. If you can’t do it yourself, there are all sorts of companies out there that you can hire to collect those testimonials.

Testimonials work best when you use them often
Proving to others what you already know is true — that’s the real power of testimonials. However, you can’t extract their full potential unless you use them often. If you’re working within a larger organization, it will definitely be worth your time and effort to sit down with those responsible for corporate marketing and identify every opportunity possible to include testimonials on outward-bound corporate communications.

No matter how large or small your company is, make sure every proposal that goes out the door has at least one testimonial on the front page. Every page on your website should feature glowing feedback and recommendations from your customers. You can also collect a group of testimonials and insert one in the signature line of each email you send. Like so many things that characterize the business habits of the top-10% of sales professionals in organizations of all sizes, the key is to be consistent.

More tips on how you can obtain and use testimonials are covered in a previous newsletter article, available here.

The proof you need to sell more
More than any other marketing tool — from advertisements to opinion polls — recommendations from other consumers is still ranked the number-one selling tool, according to a 2007 study by Nielsen Research.

In an economy of all seasons — from sunny to stormy — it remains effective because it provides consumers with something that is valuable to them: proof. It demonstrates that buying from you isn’t a risky decision — it’s a smart decision, backed by the track record you’ve earned from those who know best: your customers.

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions(www.EngageSelling.com ). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.
For free online Newsletter Engaging Ideas AND 10 weeks of free sales tips: www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

How to Motivate and Coach a Winning Sales Team

2009-06-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

We have heard that success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. But sales is a profession that requires large doses of inspiration and motivation on a regular basis in order to be successful. Professional sales people face a lot of rejection and for every ‘YES’ there are at least nine “NOs’. It can be difficult sometimes experiencing all the rejection successful sales people recognize that the constant barrage of “NOs” is not to be taken personally, but that its just part of the sales game. Even if one gets used to the rejection over time, the stiff competition from rivals, adverse market conditions, and the need to keep meeting or exceeding sales targets can affect the performance of a sales person. Even top achievers are not immune to this. At such times the antidote is the motivation from the sales manager. Applied in the right amounts and at appropriate times, motivation can lift the sagging spirits of the sales force. Their body language changes, they start performing better, and their results improve.

Know Your Sales Team

Strengths and Weaknesses: As a sales manager you must know your sales team thoroughly. You must know the strengths and weaknesses of each member of your sales force. A sales manager has to work with the sales team that they have been given. Each sales person has certain strengths and drawbacks. The talent of a sales manager is to optimize the results by capitalizing on the strengths. It helps if you know that X is good with institutional sales and Y is better at individual sales. Or that A can get along with up market clients better and B can maintain a certain type of account. If you know that C has worked in the service industry earlier in his career and can gel well with professionals from that industry it would help you both. It also helps when you know within the team who works well with whom. Ultimately you want them to perform better and having a coherently working team is always good to achieve the sales goals of the individual and the organization.

Driving Forces: Even knowing about their personal lives is helpful when it comes to dealing with the sales team. It is hard to compartmentalize personal and professional lives. Somehow they affect each other no matter how hard we try to segregate them. If their personal life is going great, things are more likely to be brighter on the professional front and vice versa. If you know that sales people are interested in earning extra incentives by working harder to pay their new car loan, they would show all the enthusiasm to do so. It would be wise to give them the opportunity to do so. Young sales people will be keen to earn more money to pay off their student loans or finance car loans. Middle aged sales people would like to finance their kids’ college education or pay-off their home mortgage. It is important to know the driving force of each sales person on your team.

Encourage them to Share with You

Professional: You should encourage your sales people to talk to you about things that are influencing their work. This includes product information, sales processes being followed, sales support, their relationship with co-workers, attitude towards the management policy, their equation with you, and any other factors. You should sort out if there are any issues. If a sales person provides valid suggestions about improving the sales process then the best motivation for them would be to modify the sales process and attribute the credit to them. Some members of your team may be interested in periodic training and workshops. Encourage them by providing the opportunities for such skill sharpening and enhancement training.

Personal Joys and Sorrows: As a sales manager you can be the friend, philosopher, and guide of your sales staff. Encourage them to open up with you and discuss their personal matters with you on a one-on-one basis. Try to provide friendly counseling. Offer solutions and ask them to put everything behind and march ahead. Knowing their personal joys and sorrows you can be a part of their lives and they would trust you more as a leader. This will help you in getting things done. Also it will be easier for you to understand that the reason for somebody’s poor sales performance in a given month are the challenges in their personal life.

Rewarding Achievements

Recognition is the key in sales. When a sales person achieves something appreciate it by way of incentives, perks, and gifts. Also acknowledge the success publicly so that he feels recognized and appreciated. This acts as the best booster to perform better.

Be Gentle Yet Firm

When somebody on the team is not reaching their sales goals be gentle with them. The worst thing would be to single them out in a sales meeting in front of everybody. Try to find out why they are failing. Ask them to meet and talk to you one-on-one and find out their problem. Provide the solution if there is any. Point out where they can improve. Be gentle and firm with such people. Allow them enough chance to improve. A little compassion and understanding goes a long way as a sales manger and can help your sales team to get back on track to sales success.

About the author:
Chicago based Sales Training Consultant Doug Dvorak who is the CEO of The Sales Coaching Institute Inc. offers sales training seminars that includes Integrity Selling and Integrity Coaching. Contact us on 847-359-6969.

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

The Principles of Professional Selling

2009-06-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

The sales profession is the highest paying hard work and the lowest paying easy work. Virtually, the sky is the limit in earning potential in sales. So it’s obvious that such a profession would require a disciplined and professional approach. A casual and halfhearted approach would only result in lost opportunities and revenues in this field. To rise in sales your approach has to be thoroughly professional. In fact, the more professional you are in your approach the more money you can make. The professional approach to sales is based on certain principles that anybody can follow and master easily.

The Professional Approach

An ordinary approach to sales is what produces mediocre sales people. A professional approach on the other hand transforms an ordinary sales person into a super achiever.

1. Being Assertive and Selling with Dignity:
A professional sales person is assertive. They operate from a position of integrity and strength. They are neither aggressive nor submissive. They treat their customers well and in turn get treated well too. An ordinary sales person may allow the client to take them for a ride or be unnecessarily rude to the client, thereby losing the opportunity to make a sale. An unprofessional approach to sales also means allowing the client to be rude with you. It doesn’t matter much if you make the sale but lose your self-esteem. This is not so for the professional sales person. A professional sales person creates win-win situations for both the customer and himself. A professional person sells with dignity.

2. Doing Homework Well: A professional sales person does their homework well before calling prospects or meeting them in person. Even the process of prospecting is done with a professional approach. Bigger prospects are typically given more weight than smaller ones. But all prospects that provide even the smallest sales opportunity are taken in to account. They find out everything that needs to be known about the prospect and sets about calling or meeting them.

3. A Cool Attitude: The attitude and mannerisms of a professional sales person is cool, calm, and self-assured. They should talk in calm voice and at an unhurried pace.

4. Professional Turn Out: Attire and appearance speak a lot about professionalism. A personal sales person is smartly dressed. They maintain their mental and physical fitness and acts with honesty and integrity. The old sales adage is “who you are speaks so loudly, of course I can’t hear what you are saying”. Who we act, dress and communicate, both verbally and non-verbally influences our success with prospects.

5. Proper Etiquette: You wouldn’t interrupt the customer while they are talking. You would rather listen to the customer intently. Make note of the customer’s requirements. Note the objections very clearly.

6. Talking About the Needs of the Customer: A professional sales person knows that the customer is more interested in themselves. A customer is least bothered if a salesman meets their sales target or not. They don’t even care to talk on the phone for more than one minute if there is no mention of their needs. A professional sales person knows about this. They tailor the sales presentation to suit the needs of the customer. When their turn comes to talk, a professional sales person talks in a clear and pleasant tone.

7. Removing Objections: This is where the cool and professional approach comes to the fore. You remove objections so swiftly that the customer doesn’t even realize that they were ever listening to a sales person. The customer feels as if it was their trusted friend that was removing doubts.

8. Closing Deals: A professional sales person knows when to talk and when to stop. They don’t keep rattling on when there is no need to. You also don’t rush in to close a deal. Your timing is perfect like the drop volley of an ace tennis player. Once you sense the close is approaching you cease the opportunity swiftly and ends the deal with a warm smile and a handshake.

9. Honoring Commitments: A sincere salesman only commits what they can deliver. You don’t over-promise and under-deliver. That’s a professional approach. A professional sales person would say, “Perhaps we can give you a maximum reduction of 12.5%”. And you would give at least a 12.5% reduction, not less than that. You promise less and deliver more. You wouldn’t promise a reduction of 15% to the client and retract his commitment.

10. Punctual Service: A customer’s time is very important. A professional sales person keeps this in mind and honors every appointment as per schedule. You wait for the customer and never keep the customer waiting for him.

11. Doesn’t Give Up: A professional sales person doesn’t give up easily. A ‘NO’ for this person is a signal to try harder.

12. Looking For More: When one sale has been made with a customer, a professional sales person takes it as just the beginning. You know the same customer may buy more or provide many referrals later.

Optimism and stick-to-itiveness are the traits of professional sales people. Professionalism in sales involves paying attention to the details. That’s where ordinary sales people falter and professional sales people excel.

About the author:
Sales Coach Chicago :- Doug Dvorak, CEO of The Sales Coaching Institute Inc. is a professional sales coach in chicago, illinois offering sales coaching and business coaching services to achieve breakthrough results. Contact us on 847-359-6969.

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

No Free Gifts!

2009-06-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

No Free Gifts! And Other Negotiation Advice Designed to Keep Your Value High and Your Customers Happy

Despite your best attempts to sell value and remain firm on your rate, some clients will press ahead with their request for a discount. After a solid attempt from you to reassure them that your rate is fair, if your prospect is still pushing for a discount, you have a choice. Walk away from the business because you want to maintain your rate or slowly start to give concessions in an attempt to win (or save) the business.

If you want to give concessions, following a simple system will ensure a profitable negotiation.

Your First Step

The first step, always, is to find something else to give up that doesn't reduce your rate. A free day, no-charge reporting, a client profile on your Web site. What you choose will be specific to your agency, your markets and your client base. The key is to have the list of things you're willing to offer prepared in advance, so you can draw on it during the negotiation.

It's hard to think creatively in the heat of a negotiation, so planning ahead can give you a ready-made solution that leaves both you and the client feeling satisfied with the transaction. Your goal is to maintain the rate integrity of your resources while delivering extra value to the customer with a service that does not cost you anything (or very little). For example, if the customer asks you for a discount consider offering them following instead:

An unconditional money back guarantee or perhaps extend the guarantee period by 30 days

Free day

Payment terms

Payment with credit card

Free staff training CD’s or in house training by you on hiring and retention practices

Access to a public seminar or trade show your company is sponsoring

Future discounts based on volume: the company will pay full rate today and receive a discount on a future order. You can also do this as a gift certificate for them to use later.

A loyalty rewards program. “Hire 10 get the 11th one free!”

Participation on your client advisory board or panel

About half the time, your customer will take you up on the offer to provide a “non monetary concession.” The other half will continue pressing for a rate discount because in today’s marketplace it has become all too common for one supplier to attempt to trump all others by lowering their rate and cutting their margin. In many cases, your clients are being trained by the competition and other vendors to demand lower pricing from you. It’s a short term strategy, and it does little to benefit buyers but that doesn’t make it any easier to assure prospects they’ll get equal or better ROI by paying more. Sometimes, a prospect just wants you to lower your rate, and you (with your agency’s support) will need to consider doing it.

Your Second Step

If you feel you have to give up a discount in order to close the sale, do yourself a huge favor and always ask them one of the two following questions first:"What is important to you about an x% discount?" or
"Why is an x% discount important to you?"

These questions will flush out any last details that could help you find a different way to structure the terms and pricing. This allows you to keep your rate while letting the customer walk away with their needs met as well. If, however, you ultimately do have to reduce your rate, make sure to follow these two rules:

Never reduce your rate without getting something in return. Getting something in exchange for a pricing concession is key to managing customer expectations that future discounts will not be easily dished out. As with the "no money" concessions above, what you get in return for a rate reduction will be unique to your business and markets. It could include references or case studies, a bigger order, introductions to senior level executives or cash up front, etc… Again, whatever you ask for, prepare the list in advance so you can respond quickly and smoothly.

Nothing is worse than coming to an agreement on rate (especially a reduced rate!) only to find out that your prospect is still looking for other concessions. Be sure to get a firm verbal agreement from the customer that this discount is all they will need to get the deal done. Try asking them something like "I'm not sure if I can get you this rate, but if I can, is it fair to say that we can go ahead?" or "I'm not sure I can get this discount for you. If I can, though, are you willing to ….?”

By asking them this last question, you can ensure you get all the issues on the table first, giving you the chance to deal with them fairly once and for all. So what goes after the “willing to”…. in that question? I believe that if you must, absolutely must reduce your rate to win the business NEVER let that rate drop without getting something in return. “No Free Gifts” my friend Steve Kraner taught me. Try some of these best practice ideas submitted from Engage recruiting clients for finishing the question…

"I'm not sure I can get this discount for you. If I can, though, are you willing to ….?

place your order today?

provide full payment for he work term up front?

hire more employees with your agency?

provide me 3 qualified referrals / introductions?

give us a testimonial or case study?

allow us to sponsor the event you are organizing?

invite me to the event you are having for their clients?

provide me space in your newsletter for a monthly column?

provide my company an exclusive hiring arrangement?

introduce me to additional departments or internal decision makers?

This step is easy to do if you have conviction. The first step to finding better clients – ones that focus on value and not rate – is making sure you are 100% confident that you are delivering such a high value to the marketplace. Confident that all buyers will want to own it at full cost. When you do believe this, you will not have any trouble asking for something valuable in return for your rate discount.

Remember that what you ask for does not have too be of equal monetary value. In fact it can be free for the customer to provide as long as it has value for you. The goal is to employ reciprocity – you will gladly scratch the customers back as long as they are willing to scratch yours! Creating equality in your client relationships ensures that you will have a long lasting trust based relationship which reduces the amount of “shopping” the customer does each time they need to order. This increases your profits, decreases your sales cycle and encourages referrals.

**Copyright 2009, Engage Selling. You have permission to use the above article in your newsletter, publication or email as long as you do not edit the content and you leave the links and resource box intact.

About the author:
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with proven sales strategies that work in this tough economy, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. Start improving your results today with Colleen’s online newsletter Engaging Ideas and her FREE 7 day intensive sales secrets eCourse: www.EngageNewsletter.com.

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Get management out in the field

2009-06-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

Seven ways you can boost sales and thrive in the new economy
Step #5: Get management out in the field

So far in this series of seven articles, we’ve looked at field-tested activities that you, the sales professional, can embrace today to generate dynamite growth in your sales, even in this new economy. Earlier, I shared with you how you can generate more sales from existing business relationships, and about how you can communicate in a manner that mitigates a prospect’s sense of risk. I’ve also talked about how you can use testimonials to your advantage, as well as customer targeting to get the results you’re looking for.

So far, the bulk of my advice has been on what you can do to change things. In today’s article, however, I’m going to broaden that scope a little more and share with you another field-tested activity—-but this time, it involves what others (and by that I mean senior managers and executives) in your organization can do to have a positive influence on sales.

My advice is this: get your CEO to sit-in on sales calls. Have your VP of Sales and Marketing join you when making in-office visits to your clients or prospects. Get your sales manager to join in on a meeting when pitching to new prospects. There’s a case to be made for all levels of management to become outfielders on your sales team (As I write this, I can almost hear the cheers of “hip-hip-hurray” from my readers everywhere).

Why this matters

If you were to share this advice within your company right now, the very first question that you’d be asked by managers and executives is, of course, why. Why should management be out in the field when they already have professionals like you on hand who are great at what they do? My answer, and this is one that I give when conducting sales training to executives and employees of all kinds, is that becoming an outfielder in the sales process is the only way...the only way...that business leaders can get a pulse on what’s really going in your marketplace today.

Management guru, Tom Peters, also recognized that this activity is a vital element of what makes an organization successful. In his book, In Search of Excellence, (co-authored with Bob Waterman), he credits management at Hewlett Packard for coining a great euphemism for this approach: Management By Walking Around (or MBWA for short). Pretty much says it all about what this activity entails, doesn’t it?

It’s worth noting that this book—today, considered a classic—was first published in 1982, when North America was in the throes of a deep, painful economic recession. What Peters and Waterman (and Hewlett Packard) recognized back then—that there was a lot you could learn from the people served by your business—still rings true today. Today, Peters is still fighting the good fight in favour of the MBWA approach. For example, his presentations laud the work of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, noting how “he religiously visits at least 25 stores a week.” Clearly it’s a lesson that’s not lost on the leaders of business today. Just last week, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was in the news after he reportedly showed up unannounced to work on the floor at one of his company’s distribution centers.

What’s in it for you and for your customers
If these are challenging times in your marketplace, better for management to hear it firsthand from customers than from anyone else in your organization. Sure, it might be tempting for some folks in your accounting department to squabble over why the company is spending more on airfare to fly your managers out to meet with customers. However, the benefits can be substantial.

Maybe there are underlying problems or barriers to sales that need to be diagnosed. By having management out in the field, your organization can get to the root of the matter quickly. Just as important, the mere act of bringing in reinforcements sends a powerful signal to the people with whom you do business. It shows that you’re not backing down. Rather, you demonstrate that you’re bringing in extra resources, including the big guns from headquarters, to ensure that your customers’ needs are met thoroughly.

Moreover, this approach can help your management team decide what kinds of additional training and resources your sales team needs to regroup, reshape and revise its sales process. None of this can happen as quickly or as thoroughly without them first having the opportunity to see what’s going on out there.
Out in the field. It’s not just where the salespeople and the customers are, it’s where the answers are, too.

**Copyright 2009, Engage Selling. You have permission to use the above article in your newsletter, publication or email as long as you do not edit the content and you leave the links and resource box intact.

Beware the seven deadly sins against honesty in sales

2009-06-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

Beware the seven deadly sins against honesty in sales
Throughout this series of articles on how you can be a top-ranked power seller in this new economy, I’ve concentrated on a range of activities that you can put into place right away to reach more customers and prospects and generate chart-topping sales. So far, I’ve talked a lot about the thing you need to do, but in this final piece in the series, let’s talk about what you need to avoid doing, so that you can be successful at winning the hearts and the loyalty of your customers.
As I discuss in my new book, Honesty Sells, the healthy relationships you forge with all customers need to be based on open, honest communication. Achieving this requires that you commit to learning more effective way of doing business with people. Don’t kid yourself: without this commitment, your efforts are going to fall short. You need to avoid the dangerous assumptions and lies that so many unsuspecting sales people tell to themselves, all the while thinking that they’re doing themselves a favor…until it’s too late.
The assumptions and lies I’m talking about here are the seven deadly sins against honesty in sales. Beware of each of these. Learn what you can do to avoid committing any of these sins…and how you can repent in a hurry.
Sin #1. Assuming that clients will think you’re being honest with them.
Even if you have a mantle full of awards at home that say “The Most Honest Sales Person, Ever,” you have to constantly prove your honesty and trustworthiness to people you meet. Sadly, it is a human characteristic that people tend to remember and talk more often about the negative experiences they’ve had than they do about the positive ones. Consider a bad experience you might have had in the past with a dishonest sales person. Maybe it was the last time you bought a new car, TV, or even a pair of shoes. That experience, if left unchecked, could shape your perception of everyone who sells cars, TVs or shoes—no matter how unfair that kind of judgment would be. As a sales professional, the onus is on you to demonstrate through words and actions that you’re the real deal on honesty.
Sin #2. Treating prospecting as something you’ll outgrow eventually.
After hitting your targets again and again, some find it tempting to start looking at prospecting as something they don’t need to do anymore. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard a seasoned sales person say they’re too experienced to prospect…or that cold calling is beneath them. That’s crazy! Prospecting is the lifeblood of sales. Period. It’s how you constantly generate new opportunities and grow your client base. Without having this as a fundamental component of your regular business habits, you could be putting your career at serious risk. Everyone needs to prospect…no matter how successful you are. To be effective at prospecting, you need to have more than a system for attracting qualified buyers. You also need a sales funnel that’s three times larger than what you need in sales.
Sin #3. Thinking that a great product will sell itself or that the competition is non-existent. One of the worst lies that sales people can tell themselves is this: “people need what I’m selling and they have to buy it from me.” Truthfully, even if your product is something that people really need—for instance, cars, houses, clothing, insurance or oil—nobody really needs you. Prospects have been successful in the past without you and they will find someone else to do business with if you’re gone. These days, money is tight in a lot of markets and companies are watching their budgets with extra care profits. In this environment, your competition can be anyone or anything that causes your buyer to be distracted. Here’s how you can avoid this deadly sin. Offer your prospects and clients a great relationship—one that can help make it easier for them to do business. That’s what will keep those clients coming back again and again.
Sin #4. Believing in the adage “nothing personal…it’s just business.”
Big mistake. Successful sales professionals will tell you that in business, everything is personal. People buy from people they like. It’s true. In essence, when a client chooses one sales person over another, what they’re really saying is that—other things being equal—they like one better than the other. Great sales records are built on likeability. Likeability is personal. Establishing and maintaining great personal rapport is how you build trust between yourself and your clients.
Sin #5. Relying on a “low-hanging fruit” strategy to hit your targets.
Beware this common trap that ensnares many sales people. Encouraged by successive quarters of chart-topping sales, it can be very tempting to hit the cruise-control button, sit back and rely on an existing client list to maintain sales. In fact, the most dangerous period a company faces is the one right after a record-breaking quarter. It’s not enough to just keep picking the low-hanging fruit. As everyone has been reminded over the past year, markets go up and down. Therefore, you must keep your sales machinery in top working order at all times.
Sin #6. Treating any prospective sale as if it’s a sure thing.
Remember Benjamin Franklin’s sage advice—nothing is certain in this world other than death and taxes. In sales, no matter how great a particular prospect may look to you, things can change in a hurry. Even after a contract is signed, a sale can still fall through. I once saw over $60,000 vanish into thin air when a tornado destroyed the headquarters of my prospect…while the contact was still being finalized by the legal team. In sales, the most volatile time is between when your receive a verbal go-ahead from a prospect and when the contract is received. That’s when anything can happen. So count your deals only as 100% in your pipeline once you have a signed contract and a purchase order is received.
Sin #7. Adopting an under-promise/over-deliver strategy.
I am not a big fan of the supposedly tried-and-true customer relations strategy of managing expectations and then delivering results that exceed those expectations. It simply sends the wrong message to clients. Think about it. If you make a habit of under-promising and over-delivering, then you have to do this every time you do business with a client. Eventually that person is going to expect it from you. If you are unable to exceed those expectations—even once— then your credibility can be damaged. When dealing with a client, it’s better to be specific about what you’re going to do and deliver on that promise. Remember that people buy from people they trust. Trust is built by demonstrating consistent behavior over a period of time, and it’s that consistency that makes buyers believe in your honesty and integrity as a sales person.
Summing up…
This concludes our series on how to boost sales and thrive in the new economy. As I’ve emphasized throughout these articles, it’s important that you embrace changing economic times as an opportunity to reexamine the way you work, how you communicate with people and identify where there is room for improvement.
To recap:
1: Focus on existing relationships
2: Boost your risk-busting communications skills
3: Obtain testimonials from customers
4: Be shrewd and creative about who you target
5: Get management out in the field
6: Engage your offence
7: Beware the seven deadly sins against honesty in sales
By implementing these field-tested business habits I have outlined, you will have the tools you need to make it to the top of your sales organization—no matter what kind of economy you’re working in.
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