Sales and Marketing Articles

How to Manage Your Sales Effectively in 2009!

2009-01-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

2009 is undoubtedly going to be one of the hardest years for many businesses. But with a lull in sales, take the time to ensure your company and your employees are working efficiently and to maximum capability.

Workflow at its simplest is the movement of documents and/or tasks through a work process. More specifically, workflow is the operational aspect of: how tasks are structured, who performs them, what their relative order is, how information flows to support the tasks and how tasks are being tracked.

Making Workflow a success for you...

For successful workflow management to be carried out, you must first understand the underlying processes that make up workflow.

Best Practice Management - Measure and improve your business processes

Sales Team Management - Manage your sales team for profit and success

Automated Documentation - Reduce administrative time and errors through automation

Each component plays a vital part in the smooth running of your business and the efficiency of your staff. When you have every aspect of your business processes up to scratch and working in harmony together, you can expect your customer service to be unbeatable, your profits increase and your customers happy!

Workflow is an integral part of making your business more efficient. There are automated systems available to you on the market which will have tools designed to assist you with the successful management of your sales. Automation technologies are some of the most important timesaving strategies for both your salespeople and managers, they promote a best practice approach outlining a precise definition of what ought to be done, how, when and by whom.

With the help of a software solution to provide the best workflow for your business, you can't fail to see your profits rise and your business become more efficient. So what now?

Research! The internet will help you find a software solution perfect for you and your business and some companies off free demonstrations of how their product will fit your business. Take advantage of these free web demos and you can see for yourself the benefits Workflow will bring to your company.

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By Virginia Hull

Virginia Hull is an employee of Sawfish software and specialises in Workflow solutions.

Writing A Winning Business Plan

2009-01-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

First - stop thinking like a business owner. I know, you might think this is odd. However, the reason most business owners don't write a business plan is because they are too close to their challenges and can't decide what they need to do. Stepping out of character will help you see the big picture and the little details so you can focus on what to do.

Since this was written during championship football season, I want you to assume the role of a winning college or professional sports coach. It doesn't matter if you are a woman or a man for this job. The goal will be the same. You will want to prepare your team to win the championship game by as many points as possible. If you have trouble with football, pick any team sport and the concept will work. The idea is to get into the character of a winning coach to help you create a plan.

Think like 60 Minutes is all You Have

A football game is divided up like a business year. There are four quarters and two minute warnings you must plan for. You will need plays and actions for kicking things off, receiving special team opportunities and think offense and defense to win.

Understand You and Your Opponent

Winning coaches invest time to research opponents and you need to determine both your strengths and weaknesses. If you don't take time for this, you will get clobbered by the other teams. Use this research and analysis to formulate your complete game strategies and special plays.

Plan For Special Plays

Every team will need specials plays to kick off, receive, punt, and defend the red zone and two minute warning. These are special opportunities you have in the year from new equipment, vendor specials, trade shows or open houses you can plan for.

The Offensive Game Plays

You will need a list of offensive running and passing plays to execute during the game. These are easy to think about and you must plan for them.

Action plans to start a new business relationship and move forward.
Actions to build a stronger customer base.
Actions to generate referrals for new clients from existing ones.
Open house and networking actions you will execute for new business.

The Defensive Plays

You will need a list of defensive plays that protect your accounts and seize opportunities. These could include a blitz or a pass rush that capitalizes on an opportunity.

Action plans that develop satisfied clients and builds strong relationships.
Surveys that will help determine if you have new opportunities or lost business.
Monitor and track competitive actions that may impact your current business.
If you can, have contingency plans for injuries, bad calls and penalties in the game.

I hope you see the advantage of planning from a different perspective to make your sales plan fun and much easier to write. Your business plan doesn't have to be 20 pages long. You need a single sheet that covers the actions you will take to win the game in your business. When you finish writing your business plan, it should be on a 12 month calendar with goals and objectives for each quarter.

A complete game plan makes it easier to adjust actions during the game and in your case, the business year so you can motivate your team throughout the year. If you need help with your plan, I suggest you take time to watch a championship game. Think of it as research. You will be done with your sales plan sooner than you think and it will be fun.

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By Steve Martinez

3 Tips to Help You Sell Your Fashion Company

2008-05-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

And you thought the decision to open a business was difficult?
While many believe that selling a company is an even more difficult decision, it doesn't have to be. In fact, it can be a very rewarding one that creates great value or opportunity for a fashion business owner.
1. START PLANNING BEFORE YOU OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Know this: the fashion M&A industry is very robust one today. Apparel and accessory companies of all shapes and sizes, and all across the globe are looking to buy, sell, or merge with other fashion or related businesses.
For this reason, a smart business owner should enter into its market prepared for the possibility of acquiring another company or building a brand that can then be sold.
Failing to plan an exit strategy is a common one. After all, how many people go into business planning to get out of one? (In truth, there are people who build businesses with that exact plan in mind -- create value and sell at a large profit).
Similar to buying a stock, it pays to have an idea as to when you will sell, or how you move towards building a brand that is at least "sale-able" so that you have options available to you as you build your business.
2. CONSULT AN EXPERT ...IN YOUR NICHE!
Selling a restaurant is a different animal than selling a fashion company. As you research options for selling or merging your company, look for experts who have experience in your particular field.
Their understanding of the current industry outlook and how to facilitate valuing your business (and building value) can have a substantial effect on the final deal value. Moreover, a fashion M&A advisor's contact base with fashion companies, bankers and investors interested in the fashion and accessory niche, and other industry professionals can be a great asset that non-specialized M&A companies cannot offer.
"This is a highly active period for fashion M&A, with many businesses looking for strategic partners and others seeking acquisitions at rational prices," notes Jack Hendler, President of Net Worth Solutions, Inc, a New York-based M&A advisory services firm. "There is a great deal of potential in the current market, but companies need all the information they can gather to make insightful decisions that will enhance their long-term profitability."
3. TIMING IS EVERYTHING, SO BE PREPARED
An ancient proverb says, "All roads lead to Rome," meaning all paths or activities lead to the center of things. If you plan ahead from the start, the decision to sell your company will be easier because the process will not be foreign to you. This hold especially true if you are entering into a business with partners, an even more when those partners are close friends or family.
While it's impossible to define a perfect time to sell your fashion business -- since it does depend on economic and personal factor -- knowing your options and having an understanding of what drives the fashion M&A market, will reduce surprises, simplify the process of finding a target, and creating overall great value.

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By Matt Kaden
Matt Kaden is an Associate Director for Net Worth Solutions, Inc (NeWS), a specialized M&A advisory and investment banking firm focusing on retail mergers and acquisitions, including apparel, accessory, consumer products and fashion M&A. For more information and a list of past clients visit http://www.NetWorthSolutionsInc.com

Sales Performance Improvement

2008-01-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Each year companies need to improve their performance in sales not only because of cost pressures but more importantly because they will lose between 5-20% of their customer base each year. This means that in 3 years they will be less than half the size they are now if they do nothing else!
Due largely to companies going into receivership, mergers and takeovers or exit, it is nonetheless a critical factor in the success or otherwise of any business. Just to stand still every company needs to find more business from existing customers as well as finding new ones. The need to improve sales performance is self evident.
Under these circumstances most business owners exhort their sales staff to work harder as if somehow doing more of the same thing will result in better figures when doing more of the same thing brings in more of the same results. It is important to recognise the need to work smarter and not necessarily harder.
So how can we bring about these "smarter" results?
There are a number of areas that can be considered in improving sales performance, not all of them may apply to your situation.
Focus Are your sales staff focusing on the right customers with the right products? Do they assess customers and prospects potential? Or do they just rely on what they did in the past?
Motivation.
It is important that they understand their role in the business. Often this is not the case. If in doubt ask them! The vision you have for the company should be shared by everyone to promote involvement and motivation.
Objectives
Their objectives should be aligned with that vision. It is surprising how many companies do not do this. For instance, there was one case where a company needed growth but the sales team were targeted with maintaining existing customer business.
Cross-Sell and Up-sell
Every opportunity should be taken to cross-sell and up-sell. Cross-selling (other products) and up-selling (superior product, higher grade service) increase the take from the customer for little or no increase in costs of selling to that customer.
Skills
Ensure the sales force is trained in the latest sales techniques because you can be sure the buyer is trained in how to combat them! Training, development and reinforcement of the skills they learn as well as feedback on their performance is vital to ensure that you are getting the best out of the work force
Prospecting
Does the sales team spend time on prospecting? This is the feedstock of your sales pipeline. If they do not, you are running on empty. Do they know which markets to tackle, where and what type of customer the company needs.
Needs and Offer
Do your sales team identify you customers' needs or do they just sell the features of the product or service? Do they consider the whole of your offer or just the products and services? In many cases customers are persuaded not just by the product but by other items such as delivery, terms and conditions or just want to deal with you!
There are of course many other areas to be discussed in an article such as this but simply asking yourself and your team the questions posed above will put you and your business on the road to Sales Performance Improvement.

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By Bob Francis

Bob Francis is an experienced business consultant spending most of his time helping clients with sales and marketing issues. His expertise lies primarily in strategy, sales and marketing and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is an expert at sales performance measurement and improvement.

Sales Force Management - How to Hire and Employ Talented Sales Professionals

2008-01-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

Hiring Sales Professionals: Don't Trust Your Gut
Anyone who has managed salespeople has made hiring mistakes. At one time or another, all of us have found ourselves unable to resist hiring a candidate who seemed to be a sales superstar, even though our intuition made us uneasy or something in their story just didn't jibe with reality. In an increasingly competitive world, success will depend on getting the right people on the sales team and making sure they are doing jobs that best use their innate talents.
Get The Right People On The Team
According to the International Personnel Management Association, typical hiring methods are ineffective. If you simply pointed, blindfolded, to one among a group of candidates and hired that person, your hiring method would depend entirely on chance. If your hiring process includes a typical employment interview, your odds of improving over chance increase about 1%.
If your hiring process includes a standard personality test, you will improve your odds over chance by another 1%. If, along with the interview and personality test, you require a candidate to have relevant job experience your chances of a good hire increase to 5%. If you include a scoreable interview in your hiring process your odds of a good hire increase to about 7%.
If your company is among a growing number of firms that include validated and objectively administered selection tests in the hiring process, you can increase your chances of a good hire by up to 25%. An improvement of 25% may not impress you, but the math shows that this is an improvement of 257% over even the best interview processes that lack selection tests!
So, exactly how would a validated and objectively administered selection test help you avoid making hiring mistakes? These tests reveal not only aptitude for performance, but also a candidate's willingness to perform the duties of the particular sales position. The tests answer the questions: Can the candidate do the job, and is the candidate likely to do the job?
Allocating Sales Talent: Don't Send Ducks to Eagles School!
Assuming you've hired a salesperson based on the results of a validated selection test, it is now imperative to place the new employee in the right position on the team.
I once heard someone admonish sales managers: "Don't send your ducks to eagle school!" It just won't work. Unlike eagles, which are skilled predators hard-wired with a hunter's instinct, ducks are friendly creatures. You send the ducks out hunting, they find a rabbit and they make friends with it! You then yell to the ducks, "No, no, reread page twenty-one of your hunting manual!"
The same thing happens when you send the wrong salespeople on a hunting expedition for new prospects. They make friends with potential customers, buy them lunch, treat them to sporting events, and shower them with expensive gifts, all in the hope of winning business through friendship. But the new business seldom materializes. In frustration, you yell, "No, no, bring in the orders, close the prospects, close the prospects!"
Nearly 2500 years ago in his essay on The Art Of War, Sun Tzu, the great Chinese military thinker admonished, "Do not demand accomplishment of those who have no talent." He continued, "Do not charge people to do what they cannot do. Select them and give them responsibilities commensurate with their abilities." This wisdom has been largely lost on leaders who manage sales organizations.
Talent can't be trained. You either can or cannot sing like an American Idol. In the world of selling, the characteristics of great strategic account managers - by definition - limit their success as business development sales professionals. Likewise, great business development salespeople rarely have what it takes to become great strategic account managers. Both require different skills and different talents! Yet somehow sales leaders believe that talent in one area naturally translates into an ability to perform equally well in other areas.
Coaching Talent
Although you've done your best to select the right talent, and to make sure she has the right position on the team, how do you retain her and develop her innate abilities? First, you continually review your employee's assessment test to remain knowledgeable about her natural abilities and willingness to perform certain job functions. Second - and this is a key to successful talent management- you resist the temptation to place her in a job for which her talent and interests are not aligned.
When it comes to utilizing sales talent, perhaps the biggest error most sales leaders make is promoting great salespeople to the role of sales manager. Most often, when a great salesperson is promoted to sales manager, four things happen:

1) the company loses a great salesperson;

2) the company gets a mediocre - or worse - sales manager

3) customers suffer in the transition;

4) failure prompts the great salesperson to flee to another company.
We believe that much of the money spent by business on sales training is spent educating people in roles they should not occupy. At some point companies will demand a better system for selecting salespeople and sales management candidates with the talent and the will to perform up to management's expectations. For many companies this, and not simply more sales skills training, may become their single most important investment to improve market share and profitability. Using statistically validated assessment tests in the hiring process, placing salespeople only in jobs for which their talents and interests are aligned and developing career paths that allow employees to expand their natural talents is a win-win for the employees and the company.

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By Steve Chriest
Steve Chriest is a sought-after sales consultant, author and speaker. He is a founding partner of Selling Up, a San Francisco-based sales development consulting firm. Selling Up can be found on the Web at http://www.selling-up.com Steve can be reached by email at schriest@selling-up.com

Ten Key Factors That Maximize Sales

2008-01-07T02:19:00.000-08:00

Sales representatives are successful today because they gain the majority of their targeted customers business. They manage the relationship and continuously build relationship equity. That doesn't mean they operate with the old lone wolf mentality doing everything under the sun for the customer. They are successful because they take full advantage of all the resources their company has to offer. Transactions and promos flow through a managed relationship. They also dedicate a specific amount of their time to new account development and penetration of those accounts with high potential rather than over providing service functions to existing accounts. Ten Key identifying factors that will help maximize sales success include;
1. Not being afraid to prospect for new accounts and new business. Have enough confidence to view rejection as simply a step closer to success.
2. Understanding the value of planning and actually documenting the key actions necessary to meet specific objectives at specific accounts.
3. Become professional with your planned presentations whether it is to an individual buyer or a group of customer decision makers. Perfect your 25 word elevator speech that clearly outlines your value proposition. Get it down pat for those opportunistic moments that may occur.
4. Goals are a matter of course and they include more than just revenue and margin growth. Milestones are established for target accounts to highlight progress toward their major goals.
5. No one likes record keeping and paperwork but the really successful sales professional understands the necessity and the value received in return for being methodical with their record keeping.
6. Time management should be forever on your mind and you need to continuously practice efficient time control.
7. You've got to be Hunnnnggggrrrry! Hungry for knowledge to improve your skills and demonstrate enough curiosity that you don't wait for company sponsored seminars for education and training. Read, listen to tapes and finance your own self improvement in addition to company programs.
8. Don't chase orders, chase customers. Be willing to lose an order but fight aggressively to never lose a customer unless you need to prune your territory garden due to unacceptable profitability.
9. Your objective on every sales call is to identify the customer's real needs, not to just take an order. Take pride in being a solution provider and demand creator instead of a demand fulfiller.
10. Understand that often a key to your success lies in your ability to educate the customer. This may range in the form of business acumen to helping the customer understand real value. Become an expert at demonstrating the difference between price and cost.
The formula for success is simple:
FIND THE CUSTOMER PAIN -------TAKE THE PAIN AWAY SET YOUR PRICE
Customers will pay plenty, if you can reduce their "PAIN" Find out what the customer's problems are and where they are in pain. Look at it from their point of view, not yours.
Customers no longer spout off about quality products and reliable deliveries. That's a given. Although all customers are trained to say "Your Price is to High", if you find the pain, price is not an issue. Remember the emerging role of the sales professional today is not to increase sales. Let me repeat that--- your role today is not to increase sales. Your role as a sales professional today is to systematically and consistently increase the number of customers who choose you to be their #1 supplier........
It's not about Features and Benefits
Today it's not about the features and benefits of your product. It's about value and how your customers are going to make a profit. You no longer just sell yourself and everything falls into place. Today, relationships are still very important but they are the ante to play. Customers are smarter and more educated. You must bring every resource your company has into play and leverage those resources to create competitive advantage. Learn to really listen to your customers. Let them talk and when there seems to be a pause in the conversation resist the temptation to start talking again. Chances are good that the customer has more to say. The quieter you are the more they will tell you. Listen long enough with a few strategically placed questions and the customer might just tell you exactly how to gain his business. (And it won't just be about price)
http://www.ceostrategist.com - Sign up to receive "The Howl" a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. - Straight talk about today's issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution's "Leadership Strategist", founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Don't forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business.

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By Rick Johnson

Effective Sales Force Training - Adding Know-What to Their Know-How

2007-09-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Selling is a skill, one that is crucial to the success of almost any business organization. That's why companies spend large sums of money, and a lot of employee time, exposing their sales staff to the wisdom and insights of professional sales trainers. These companies know that they are making an investment, that they are building the skills and techniques their sales forces need to identify and qualify prospects, to turn prospects into customers, and to turn new customers into loyal, repeat customers.

All this training is about "how" -- how to talk to prospects, how to listen for customer needs, how to present benefits. And there are some excellent consultants out there who really do help sales representatives to master all these "hows" for a greater impact on sales revenues.

But "how" is only part of the sales interaction. The "how" must be wrapped around the "what" -- the hard data about the products and services being sold. That's just as important to the sale, but too many companies don't provide the quality training needed to get a good return on their product knowledge investment.

If you look at several companies who have hired professional training consultants to build sales skills, you'll probably find that only a fraction of those companies outsource training development on product knowledge. And they achieve significantly poorer results through this neglect.

Why do they develop the product knowledge components in-house? Because they have staff "experts" on the products, the clinicians or engineers or programmers or other specialists who actually developed the product or service. They tap these experts to share their knowledge sometime during the training session.

Often, that's a mistake. Just look at your own experience . . .

Did you ever have a brilliant math teacher who did very little to help you understand mathematics? Or a language teacher who spoke fluently, but didn't produce students who could speak the language? Have you ever met a doctor, an engineer, a programmer, or, for that matter, an insurance agent who knew what he or she was talking about, but couldn't get it across to you?

These experts are on staff because of what they know and what they can do. When they were hired, no one thought about whether or not they could really be effective at teaching non-experts, working in the very different context of sales. Their idea of what information is important, and what is not, is valid in the laboratory or the design center, but it is often wildly inaccurate when applied to a sales call.

In short, they are experts in the product, but you need experts in communicating about the product.

If you want your salespeople to boost revenues and beat the competition, invest in professional talent on both the "know-how" and the "know-what" sides of the equation. That doesn't mean that you have to completely outsource your product knowledge training.

It does mean you have to recognize the importance of high-quality training about the product, and get the help you need, whether that's instructional design, content development, or training delivery.

After all, your competition is also paying professional sales trainers to take care of the "how". Your sales representatives are probably learning the same skills that are taught to your competitors.

The sales force that effectively shares the "what" with prospects is the one that will pull in new customers.

Over the past couple of decades, Best Training Practices owner Will Kenny has played a key role in enhancing product launch and sales training results for companies in a wide range of industries. He is highly effective at bridging the mindsets of the product/service developers and the marketing/sales staff. We focus on teaching sales reps the "what" they need to share with their prospects -- including what to leave out of the conversation -- working with other sales training professionals who develop the "how", the skills and techniques of the effective salesperson. Best Training Practices can be found at http://www.besttrainingpractices.com/, offering free articles and The Training Tipsheet, our free biweekly e-zine.
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By Will Kenny

Managing Customer Expectations

2007-04-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

As Sales Professionals, it is our responsibility to manage our Customers expectations. This is really the foundation of all sales success. Do you sell your product/service, or do you oversell your product/service? The image our clients have of our product/service is largely determined by the picture we paint. That image can be derived from collateral, your web presence and the information/expectation you have set with your client through your sales conversations.
Where have you put the bar? Is it realistic? Is it attainable? Your client/customer will find out soon enough. You might as well set a real expectation as opposed to one that you and your company can never reach. This will only result in negative results all the way around.
How to arrive at proper expectations
What is the right expectation? You can only determine this from a complete and thorough knowledge of your product/service and how it fits the needs of your customer. Make sure that you are only selling what you can efficiently and cost effectively deliver. This can only be accomplished by conducting a thorough sales interview. Your ability to translate your products benefits into problem solving solutions for your customers is the vital skill that will propel you to sales success.
Don't oversell! If you need to exaggerate your products/services benefits to make the sale, it will not be worth it in the long run. By closing this over promised sale, you will begin a domino effect series of problems that will haunt you for weeks or months to come. Sometimes, the sale we work hardest to get (the one we make the most concessions on) will be the one that messes with us for a long time. It is not worth it! Know where to set your expectations and how to effectively communicate those to your client.
How do deliver the expectation
If you do an excellent job of setting the expectation, your customer will love you! You will give them EXACTLY what you told them you would give them. What a concept! Maybe, just maybe if you acted as a professional, you will find ways to deliver more than expected. This is what will give you the advantage. This is what will set you apart from all of the competitors your customer is looking at or has ever had.
I'm not advocating over under-promising. Don't minimize the benefits of your product/service just to shine after the sale. That is not what I am saying. If you truly believe in your product and have done an excellent job crafting a solution to your clients problems with your product, then the result of your efforts will be a well received solution.
Creating value while under delivering
Always sell value. This cannot be understated. You are selling your product for a reason. Value should be foremost in your discussions with prospective clients/customers.
Conclusions
This is how you deliver and manage the expectation. It is up to you. You create in your clients mind the picture of what they will expect. Paint a picture that is accurate and achievable. Don't over sell. Always under promise and over deliver. Manage the expectations of your clients/customers and your Sales career will be less stressful and more profitable.
http://www.Salesmotivation.net was launched to fill the need for no cost, quality training and motivational material for Sales Professionals of all levels. Our goal is to train you, equip you, challenge and motivate you.
I have been a top producing Sales Professional for over 17 years. I have sold for large corporations and small start up companies. I believe that Sales is one of the most challenging yet rewarding fields an individual can choose. You have the ability to create your own destiny and determine your level of success. I take my profession very seriously, but have a great deal of fun achieving my goals. My wish is for you to do the same.
We are always hear to help and I am available to speak at Sales meetings and conferences. No cheesy pictures, no pumped up resumes. My presentations are packed with tons of humor and mountains of information and practical tools your sales staff can use right away. Please email me at gary@salesmotivation.net for more information.

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By Gary Jones

Double Your Income In 2 Years

2007-03-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

If you are a business owner or sales person, this article will appeal to you. You both earn your income from selling, so I guess you want to earn a few bucks more! What is it that sees two equally qualified people going into similar sales calls, with one of them consistently outselling the other?
I did this when I was in sales, but at the time, I did not know what precisely I was doing right. This sent me on a search of a system; so that I could help other people model this success. What you will read here is a summary of a fool proof system, created from the very best life coaches, sales trainers and business gurus on this planet, both dead and alive!
The Power of Certainty
"You become what you think about", Buddha, circa 500 BC. In fact all the great Gurus, from Buddha, who had it right all those years ago, to the inventors and practitioners of NLP (Neural Linguistic Programming) all share the same toolbox.
Modern Life and Business coaching has moved from the "positive thinking" era, to one of "positive doing". What this means is that you set your goal, visualise it, and take powerful action, towards obtaining it.
As you move along your course of pre-determined action, you must constantly take note of the events around you, and adjust your approach accordingly, with your goal still in sight.
So how does one visualise what a P60, double its current net amount would look like. OK, so you guessed it, it's twice as big a number. No, that's not what I mean, what will that get you, is the real question.
OK, take a moment and write down, what you could do, own or give with that extra money. Now close your eyes and really visualise what that would look like. What can you hear, smell. What does it feel like to be living that life? What is your breathing like, do you feel excited, happy, proud or grateful that you have that extra money.
But can you do it? If you can answer yes, with absolute certainty, then it will happen.
Approaching a sales call with certainty
Once you understand that you can achieve the very best outcome from a sales call how do you go about structuring it?
First you must understand how you will cope with not getting your desired outcome. If for example, you wanted to get the go ahead for a proof of concept trial. You must understand what NOT getting the proof of concept trial will mean to you. You will get a red light for one of the following 3 reasons.
1. The prospect does not want to proceed.
2. The prospect wants the products, but has a legitimate reason for postponing the purchase.
3. You really messed up the call!
Whichever of these 3 rationales you get for not achieving your desired outcome, you must understand exactly what they would mean to you, and how you can take advantage of the situation.
Once you know how to handle NOT achieving your goal, you will no longer have a fear of failure. This almost certainly will remove the 3rd situation, due to your confidence, and make the first 2 outcomes easy to deal with.
What are the 3 stages of a successful sales call?
With a desire to succeed, a certainty of success, and no fear of failure, once you have the simple tools for making all your customer calls first rate, your earnings will start to skyrocket.
The 3 parts of the ultimate sales call are as follows;
1. Thank your prospect for their time, and really mean it with a genuine smile on your face. Next ask them precisely what THEIR desired outcome from this meeting is. And then listen intently to their answer.
2. Find out exactly how long they would really like the meeting to run for, and spend the remaining time, minus 15 minutes, asking questions about their business, needs and desires. Make a note of how these may or may not be relevant to what your offering is.
3. With 15 minutes to go, suggest to your prospect that you summarise the meeting, as you see it, and ask them to correct or clarify any points you may make. You will then finish with an action plan that INVOLVES both you and the prospect. You will then confirm this action plan within a day in written form.
Now how many of you, go into a sales call, and when the prospect asks you why YOU wanted to see them you go into sales mode.
Well from now on, help your prospect go into BUYING mode, and close more sales, raise more finance and double your income in two years.

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By Peter Lawless
This article was written by Peter Lawless, founder of 3R Sales and Marketing. For previous articles like this, visit 3R's Articles. Alternatively, subscribe to Success our free monthly Information Bulletin with sales and marketing articles.

3 Ways of Pricing – Why Value Pricing is the Best

2007-02-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

Where you sit in the distribution chain and how long that chain is often influences how your pricing strategy is set.
There are probably just three ways you can price:
1. Cost plus: this is where you decide how much profit you want to make from a given product and you apply the margin to the cost.
2. Competitive pricing: this is where you check out your competitors and price against them, or just below.
3. Value pricing: this is where you look at your total proposition and charge a fair price for the service you provide.
Of course, you will probably say that you use a combination of 1 and 2. You calculate your margin to arrive at a price, then you sanity-check it against the competition and tweak it as necessary.
If you use a combination of all three, you can stop reading now and go back to counting your money, which must be a full time job for you. For those of you still with me, here are the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Cost Plus:
If you just use this system you will be flying blind in the market. You may well be successful, or even very successful, but you will never know if you could have made more profit, or if you could have sold more product. On the plus side you will definitely make your budgeted gross margin on your sales. Whether you will make and net profit will depend on your total sales value and your overheads.
Competitive:
If you use this system you will certainly know a lot about your customers and competitors, that is, assuming that your market intelligence is accurate. You will of course be aware of what a full-time job it is just to keep up with constantly changing pricing in the market. Your competitors continually discover your pricing structure, match or better it and you are back to square one, re-pricing again.
The up side is that you will often be competitive and will probably make good sales numbers, what a pity that the monthly accounts don’t look so healthy and the gross margin is down again and you’ll have to look at cutting costs to keep in front.
Value Pricing:
This pricing system takes account of both competition and cost, then applies it your business proposition. It takes account of all the advantages your business has over the competition and charges a premium, however modest, for this. Because it is carefully applied, it is justifiable, more than that, it’s a sales proposition that can be marketed to your customers as an advantage to them. The downside to this is that it requires some careful planning and enough conviction to make it work; other than that, it’s all positive, more sales at higher margins.
How does it work?
For example, lets assume that you are a wholesaler and you sit between the manufacturer and the retailer. The retailer could buy directly from the manufacturer, so why wouldn’t he?
- Space restriction for minimum order value

- Tight cash flow

- Lack of category knowledge

- Multiple suppliers needed to cover the category
A wholesaler can consolidate from different suppliers and supply little and often. To the retailer that means:
- Reduced inventory

- Improved cash flow

- Less administration (one account)

- Less sales people to see

- More time to spend with customers
Why wouldn’t he pay a premium for all that?
If you’re really good, you could provide category management for the customer, recommending which products to stock, how to display them and of course, how to price them! To do this properly, you have to be truly independent, know what you’re talking about and recommend what will sell, rather than what you make the most profit on.
The principles of value pricing can be applied to any business, but the key is to properly analyse your business and fully understand what your proposition really is. If you don’t have a clear proposition, it’s probably time you did!

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By John Crockett
Crockett has long experience in B2B sales, marketing and general management with leading companies in the UK automotive aftermarket. His customer experience includes major chain and independent retailers, supermarkets, shopping channel and warehouse distribution. For other articles by Crockett see http://price-it-right.blogspot.com

Increasing Your Profits is a G.I.F.T

2007-01-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

If you want to increase you business profits, you must accept your GIFT formula. The Formula: Combine Growing your “real” market with Investing in new product lines and by Freeing your revenue growth through pricing tactics along with Transforming your profit margins through expense and process changes.
Growing Your Real Market
Growing your “real” market starts by analyzing which clients your products have satisfied. Which are your best selling products? The only facts you have to forecast forward are your past orders. It’s amazing how infrequently small business people ignore their history even though they already have all the pertinent data in their sales, billing and service records.
“In our video business, my wife only purchased those movie genres which our customers would rent. One of my teenage employees helped me analyze the types of movies our customers were renting and which were barely breaking even. Using the results of our study, we increased our children’s titles and our ‘ horror flick’ inventory. Those are genres I don’t watch, but my customers did.”
Invest in New Product Lines
Where is your industry going? If you Invest in new product lines by focusing on the “future” rather than “now” you will be ahead of the curve. It is very easy to stay in your comfort zone, especially if you have competition. You are good at what you do but how can you move up? What can you offer to make your business standout in the crowd?
“Cheryl owned a towing and recovery company and she, like any other business owner, saw that her revenues were flat. Other towing businesses waited for the same “phone calls”, to help stranded vehicles, as she did, Intuitively she knew she needed more business than the work supplied from the local police departments and car dealerships.
I recommended she become a “Minority Supplier” and attempt to “contract” with large companies. We got responses from AT&T, J&J & UPS and several others; UPS became a client.”
Freeing Your Revenue Growth Through Your Pricing
Freeing your revenue growth through pricing tactics will help you grow your revenues. Most businesses in competitive markets are forced into charging what the competition charges. “Profits” can only be increased by eliminating costs. But I have a different question: Are you charging enough for your product or service? Many times businesses can increase prices on their existing and new product lines because they have demonstrated how superior their products are.
“Mary made and sold dolls as a "crafter" and charged what she thought the doll was worth, given her skills ( which she took for granted) and the cost of the materials and the market she targeted hr price, about $25.00 to $40.00 per doll.
After some’ pricing’ consultation,, Mary realized that she really fashioned “collectible dolls” using antique fabrics and using her artistic talents to create a unique product. She then targeting those collectors who sought uniquely crafted dolls created out of antique materials. One of her dolls sold for $1200. “ Freeing” her revenue growth.”
Transforming Your Profit Margins
Transform your profit margins through expense controls and process changes. There are ALWAYS expense savings and process efficiencies available within the framework of your business. The information/data is captured in your procedures, your accounting system, your customer database and your marketing and sales reports. If you don’t like crunching numbers, get someone to take a look. Use this data to change your procedures, manage expenses and increase your profits.
Jack in Florida owned a paper products ( napkins, place mats, paper plates) distribution company. He competed directly with two very large companies in the Fort Lauderdale area. His business demand had decreased over the past six months. The sales force seemed to be working, however, he was losing customers and profits started to drop.
Jack decided to visit his existing clients along with one of his salesman. At first the salesman balked at the “boss” wanting to go out on his route, but he finally agreed. They visited existing clients and others whom he had “lost”.
In two days Jack booked several new orders and retrieved one of his lost accounts. He realized he should be out “selling” and so, he hired his wife, who had been an executive secretary before they were married, to manage the office. He changed his process, reversed his profit drop.
Do you want to increase your profits?
Increasing Your Profits is a G.I.F.T.!! Your business profit will increase by combining G + I + F + T. Accept your GIFT!!

_____________________
Robert J. Sivori Business Advisor and Speaker Coach
Bob Sivori, Business Advisor and Speaker Coach, combines business knowledge and public speaker coaching to specialize in Presenting “YOU” Better. As a Business Advisor he uses his experience in both small business and large corporate settings to improve business efficiency and business profits. As a Public Speaker he addresses the need for better presentation skills to improve career aspirations. His professional speaking experience allows him to work individually or in groups to increase speaker confidence and get better audience response.
He has been Business Advisor and Professional Public Speaker Coach since the early 1990’s and has developed business instructional courses and coach/mentor programs. Bob has worked with myriad of small businesses, professional groups and organizations. Bob's website ( http://www.businesstherapyonline.biz) gives an overview of his experience and knowledge.

Sales Team Psychology

2006-12-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

Goal setting is powerful way of keeping sales psychology on the up-and-up. We all know that goals dictate future performance by giving team members a sense of purpose and direction. I can think of nothing less motivating than not knowing why I’ve been asked to do something. Instill in your team members what the end objective is and explain to them the necessary steps to get there. It is much easier to put forth the effort when we can answer who, what, where, when, why and how. Make sure your goals are realistic and attainable, but lofty enough that they are inspiring.
It is a general rule of thumb that greater or more difficult goals actually increase performance. The reason for this tendency is that loftier goals or objectives set higher expectations, and expectations in turn strongly influence behavior. The power of effective goal setting or setting a target can be seen in the following example: In a particular production plant, workers with little experience were divided into two groups. One group was told to simply observe the experienced workers and try to be able to perform at a skilled level themselves within twelve weeks.
The second group received specific weekly goals that were progressively more and more demanding. Needless to say, the second group fared much better. Similarly, Yale University once conducted a striking twenty-year study that found that the 3 percent of students who put their goals in writing had significantly higher incomes than those who did not—in fact, higher incomes than the other 97 percent of students combined. From these examples, it is obvious that proper goal setting goes a long way toward promoting sound sales psychology amongst your team members.
Years of observation and study have produced personality profiles of what are considered to be outstanding salespeople. Perhaps the most recognized of these profiles is the model that was developed by Gallup Management Consulting Group. Gallup has spent more than two decades interviewing hundreds of thousands of top salespeople to help corporate clients form and develop their own sales teams. Its findings suggest that the top four qualities of top-tier producers are:

1) solid persuasion and closing skills;

2) self-motivation;

3) strong work ethic and

4) excellent people and relationship skills.
Why do I highlight these findings? It is likely that as a sales manager, you already look for these skills when you hire someone anyway. But how do you enhance these essential sales characteristics after your recruits are on board so that your team can become even better? My hope is that by giving you four key concentration areas, you can streamline your efforts into getting the greatest results with the most focused effort. When you are trying to draw out any one of these characteristics, or any characteristic for that matter, it is helpful to assess the kind of personalities you’re dealing with. For some, a strong drive to close a sale exists just because they possess a need to “win.” Whether that “win” translates into financial rewards, recognition, the glory of being at the top or whatever, some individuals just have an almost instinctive need to win. This need is compelling enough that they are not deterred by long hours, rejection or time away from their family.
For others, it is not just about winning in and of itself. Beyond that, some individuals have a competitive edge that relishes the defeat of others—even their own colleagues. Half of the victory for these types of people is seeing others left in the dust. I believe that some competition can be a good thing, but you’ve got to be on your toes to buffer this type of personality. If you think pitting your team members against each other might actually create unhealthy rivalries and negative feelings, then you’ve got to have a way to counteract those negative effects.
Next, there are those personalities who are very ego-driven. They aren’t motivated by a need to conquer others. Rather, they want success solely for their own personal satisfaction. This is the type of person who is constantly out to beat her/his own previous records. In other words, these types of individuals compete with themselves. Moreover, they are very focused on being experts. While this competitive orientation has significant strong points, its main downside is that it is too self-focused—even in a well-intended way—and not conscious enough of the team element. The self-motivated person is the one you want to be sure you can draw into the team so you have the best that both approaches have to offer.
Then you have those individuals who seem to get the most satisfaction out of seeing their customers happy. They don’t really have the burning desire to win or compete, but they are very much into relationship building. These people are naturally gifted at being empathetic, caring and good listeners. They are the ones who are much more inclined to stay in touch with clients after the sale has come and gone.
As you step back and evaluate what kind of team member mix you have, realize that no one is purely one temperament or another. We tend to be a combination of at least two of these different types of producers. However, we are usually dominated much more by one area than the others. Your job is to get a grip on what you have to work with and figure out how to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together so your team solidly represents all of the best qualities of top sales producers.
In closing this section, I wanted to touch on the topic of working with a rep who has hit a plateau. Why? Because it’s a very real obstacle that sometimes happens even to the very best. The most typical cause for a plateau is simply feeling burned out. In this case, a very obvious solution would be to lighten the stalled rep’s responsibilities or even give her/him some time off. On the other hand, it may be that the rep is burned out with doing the “same old thing.” If that’s the case, simply changing her/his responsibilities would provide the necessary stimulation to get her/him moving again. New responsibilities could be things like training, forecasting or recruiting. Even performing the same tasks with new prospects or in a different community may alleviate boredom and present exciting, new challenges.
Sometimes it works to have reps come up with their own solutions. They may be more apt to pursue something they feel they’ve come up with on their own than something that is imposed. Furthermore, this way they really know what’s at the heart of the issue and would, therefore, likely know the best remedy better than anyone else. Lastly, review the possibility of how bonuses and other forms of recognition might spur renewed motivation. This approach is especially effective when your team members’ financial needs are already being met and they’re looking for reward and acknowledgment in other forms. In the next section, we’ll discuss what kinds of rewards and incentives work the best.
Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.

________________________________________

By Kurt Mortensen
If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

How To Set Up An Advertising Group To Sell, Sell, Sell!

2006-11-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

There are several fundamental problems facing business start-ups and chief among them is raising financial capital to support operations, production, marketing and sales. Obviously, sales are the most important activity for a business but is often at this point, with a lack of sales, when the reality sets in that without money you cannot advertise in any meaningful way. Even something as simple as classified advertising requires a meaningful advertising budget in order to test ads, fail, adjust, test, fail, adjust until you find the winning ad. When considering other advertising like newspaper ads, direct mail, radio and TV spots, advertising budgets morph into something outside the reach of most under-capitalized business owners. Even Internet advertising can be cost prohibitive, especially when you consider the “cost- per-click” and the low conversion ratios. You can have the best product or service in the world and if you cannot afford to advertise it, you won’t sell it. The exception to this statement is if you have an outside sales force, which, by its very nature, is another expensive and cost prohibitive option for a start-up. Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule but for most start-ups, these are the realities.
So what can you do to raise money to advertise your wares on and off line? One answer is to form an advertising group. One of the best ways to from an advertising group is to put together a LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) which has the benefits of a corporation and approaches the simplicity of a sole proprietorship or partnership. The purpose of the LLC is to recruit investors to invest into the group for the sole purpose of advertising the product or service. Among the benefits of having such an advertising group is the fact that investment risk is shared with no single investor carrying the burden alone. Additionally, the advertising group can be active investors meaning; that the group makes advertising decision as a mastermind group, sharing the risk and rewards of decision making thereby removing the burden from you to call all the shots. It is a way for you to arrange a board of interested directors who have a direct responsibility for the success of the group. It gets the investors involved in the advertising and selling aspect of a product or service while keeping them separated from the original business. For example, you could incorporate your start-up business and hold all the stock and, incorporate the advertising group and give away 90 percent of the stock (retain 10% for yourself) in exchange for investment capital. In this way, your core business is specifically focused on operations and order fulfillment while the advertising group specializes on advertising and selling what your core business provides. You can keep 100% ownership and control of your core business and share in the ownership of the advertising group. If the advertising group fails, your core business remains intact. This way, you can set up another advertising group and try again with another group of investors. By having the investors actively engaged in the advertising decisions of the group, their success or failure is ultimately their responsibility.
You will need the services of an attorney to make sure you are in legal and financial compliance with city. State and federal authorities including the FTC laws regarding stock sales. One way to overcome the cost of legal and accounting services is to offer the attorney and accountant 5 or 10% ownership in the advertising group in exchange for services (a performance agreement based on results). These two key players, if selected correctly, can help recruit investors and lend credibility to the advertising group start-up.
If you would like to learn more about advertising and selling on limited budget, visit our site and go to the product menu, click on business kits and look for the business kit called “Advertising Works”. It is jammed packed with critical information to help you set up a small business advertising and marketing machine to sell, sell, sell! While you are there, check out our Smartie business E-books too!
To your unwavering success!

__________________________________________
Be Smart, Visit http://smart67.com
SBS is an online information resource for individuals and business persons. Our focus is real estate and business information solutions through books, kits and ebooks. We also have a free access to dedicated research center with quality links to help you get key information fast including a dedicated news and media center. Check us out now and learn how SBS can help you. SBS, Where Smart People Get Smarter Faster...

Point Your Employees Toward Financial Freedom

2006-11-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

Could the person in this story be one of your salespeople?
A 39-year-old salesperson recently told me that he earned a six-figure income last year. He said that he had never dreamed that he would earn that kind of money in a single year. As a reward to himself for posting such a successful performance, he purchased a new truck, a bass boat and went on a golfing trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. The salesperson is not married.
As he and I began our interview, I asked permission to ask a few questions about his financial situation and he agreed.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how much of last year’s income did you invest?” I asked him.
“I know I need to begin saving for retirement, but so far I’ve not invested any at all. Right now, I have only about $5,000 in a money market account.”
“How much monthly income would you guess you’ll need to retire comfortably?”
“I really haven’t thought about it much. Right now, I spend $6 - $8,000 per month, depending on how much I earn. So in retirement, I don’t know, I’d say at least $5,000 per month.”
“At what age would you like to retire,” I asked.
“I enjoy what I do, but I also enjoy playing golf and bass fishing. If I had my way about it, I’d retire no later than at 65.”
“That gives you, let’s see, 26 years to save enough to meet your $5,000-per-month income objective, right?”
“Yeah, that sounds right. So how much do I need to have in the bank to have $5,000 per month to spend by age 65?”
“Do you mean before taxes or after taxes?”
“I’d need to earn $5,000 after all income taxes are paid.”
“Well, based on history, the stock market has averaged somewhere between 10% and 11% in annual growth. And assuming that income tax rates stay the same as they are today, my guess is that you will need to have approximately $1 million invested by the time you’re 65.”
“Wow. I never dreamed that I’d need that kind of money just to earn $5,000 per month.”
“One thing we haven’t factored in are your social security benefits, but even with social security, you need to get started putting some money away, wouldn’t you say?”
“There’s no doubt about that. Who can help me design a plan that will guarantee that I’ll not be destitute when I finally do retire?”
“I’ll give you the names of two or three financial planners. I suggest that you interview each of them and select the one you feel most comfortable with. Will you do that?” “You darn right I will. Thanks for opening my eyes.”
OLD AND POOR
Early in my career, my boss taught me the power of compounding; that is, the power of investing a portion of my income each year and allowing the compounding effect to build a small nest egg into enough to take care of me in retirement.
“Being young and poor is not so bad. You’ve got the rest of your life before you. But being old and poor stinks,” he told me. It is totally up to you and the amount of discipline you have in your life to invest a portion of what you earn. In the USA, no one with financial discipline should ever be old and poor.”
DO YOUR EMPLOYEES A FAVOR
Invite a financial planner  one who is good on his feet  to present a short seminar for your employees. Do your part to teach each of them how easy it is to become financially independent IF they start early enough, and how difficult it is to reach their financial goals if they wait to late.
__________________________

By Bill Lee

Bill Lee is author of 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot ($21.95) plus $6 S&H. To order, see Shopping Cart at http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com

What Is Successful Sales Leadership Really About?

2006-10-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Leadership has been defined as “the ability to inspire willing action”. Emphasis is placed on the willing. But to understand leadership, we need to delve a little deeper than that.
One thing which experience has proven over and over again down through the ages is that when any group of people are thrown together for any length of time or for any project, a leader will emerge from the group - one to whom they will listen and give their confidence and support.
Their position on the organisation chart or their title alone cannot make a person a genuine leader. They must have certain traits and skills, or they will surely fail. In business, it has been shown again and again that these skills can be learned and the traits can be developed in any individual who is willing to exert an effort based on strong desire and a true hunger for success.
Generally, a leader or teacher does not actually “develop” another person. They encourage and inspire that person to develop themselves from within. Thus, leadership is, in a large sense, self-initiated.
Once we understand and identify the methods and characteristics of admired leaders, we can take steps to develop these skills and traits ourselves. We can analyse ourselves -- honestly, ruthlessly, objectively – and identify which skills we need to acquire or improve (and those which we need to play down).
No One Is Perfect!
The perfect leader has yet to be born. We all have room for self-improvement. If we can agree upon what it takes to be a good leader - what are the traits of leadership, what are the skills - we will at least have made a good start. We should analyse every genuine leader we know and try to learn which qualities influenced us to consider them a good leader. We can probably agree upon at least five - you may have a leader in mind as we consider these.
Qualities of Sales Leadership:
Enthusiasm:
We will all agree that enthusiasm for what one is doing is one of the first traits. No man or woman can install much enthusiasm in anyone else for something about which they themselves are not enthusiastic. Genuine enthusiasm does not mean a glib, backslapping, plastic smile type attitude. More often, the genuine leader’s enthusiasm is likely to be of a more quiet nature - but it is there! It is shown by the manner in which they go about their work. Their manner of handling their job seems to say to everyone. “This is important! It must be done right. It must be fairly and squarely done! And -“You Can Do It!”
Unless a person feels right down in their bones that the work they are doing is worthwhile, they can never consistently (day in and day out) act as though they do. So, if they have any feelings or doubt about the importance of their work and cannot get enthusiastic about it, the trouble is in the person himself or herself. Whether they realise it or not, those around them sense their feelings, their attitude is showing!
Courage:
Leadership takes “guts”. The true leader has the ability to “take it” when the going gets rough. Often the leader has to “take it” for the whole organisation to keep its morale high. The leader has to face up to a new problem all the time. Indeed, many successful leaders invite difficulties just for the sheer joy of coping with them. The genuine leader approaches each day with a sort of “joy of battle”.
Courage in leadership sometimes takes unexpected forms; it may mean standing up to a principle. (Has anyone ever known a real leader who was a “yes person”?) It means having the character to stand up for what you believe in without comprising or cutting corners.
It may mean taking a bold approach to a new idea - sticking your neck out in support of something, which you think is worth trying. It means loyalty to your conviction.
Self Confidence:
An important requirement for the leader of today is self confidence. However, in making decisions about people, their motivations and the way they act or react, the leader can never feel completely sure they are right. The best they can do is to make a sort of “educated guess” based on the facts they can assemble and then depend upon their past experience and knowledge to interpret them.
However, a leader can be self-confident. A great help is to know and work within their personal assets and limitations. They know what they can personally do and what they are unable to do. They are willing to listen to other opinions, assess them and be big enough to adopt the meritorious ones even if they do not square with their original thinking. They can take small reverses in stride.
A self-confident leader is never satisfied with their present accomplishments, does not spend their time in useless longing for things they cannot have. Rather, they set about realising their immediate and realistic goals.
Integrity:
A leader keeps promises. They keep their promises to their associates as meticulously as those made to their superiors. They keep promises made to themselves, which are the hardest to keep and failure in this is the easiest to rationalise. They can keep all these promises because they never commit themselves rashly; but always within the limits of reality and their present capabilities in terms of personal ability. Part of this matter of integrity is certainly, unquestioned loyalty to their organisation - to its reputation as well as their own. Also they must have loyalty to their products and to their associates and loyalty to their industry. Loyalty to one’s associates is extremely important in any leader. They should never allow themselves or others in their group to ridicule, or down grade other leaders or people in the industry, as it is a sign of jealousy and this is one trait that cannot exist in a true leader. Part of this loyalty is a sense of stewardship - a feeling of responsibility for the welfare, progress and security of the industry as a whole, and that includes everybody who ethically runs a business, everyone in their organisation, their customers and their family.
Interest:
Even the Oxford Dictionary has difficulty in describing the meaning of the word “friendliness”. Of “friendliness” it says, “it signifies befitting or worthy of a friend”.
A leader has a genuine and sympathetic interest in and a respect for, people as individuals. A very high percentage of any leader’s day is spent working directly with individuals.
Be careful - do not go overboard. Here there could be a danger signal. Friendliness can, of course, be overdone. Although interested and sympathetic, the true leader stays firm - never getting so involved in the personal lives of people that he forgets the implications of their role as a leader. They never play favourites - and should never play one personality against another. They know where to draw the line.
Humour:
Whilst not advocating that the leader be the ‘life and soul of the party’, it is essential that they have a keen sense of humour. There will be times when an appropriate joke or light hearted remark, will do more to relax and motivate than all the arranging in the world.
These then are the six basic characteristics, which help a person to be a successful leader. Think of others. Upon reflection, you will probably agree that your ideas are closely allied to or even a part of the six detailed here. They are not by any means a guaranteed panacea that will assure success as a leader. Though all leaders possess them to a varying degree, all of us have known people who have had them all, but were still unsuccessful as leaders. Characteristics or traits by themselves do not make leaders, certain Core Skills are equally necessary.

________________________

By Jonathan Farrington
Copyright © 2006 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved
Jonathan Farrington is the Managing Partner of The jfa Group To find out more about the author, read his latest articles or to subscribe to his newsletter for dedicated sales professionals, visit:http://www.jonathanfarrington.comYou can also now visit Jonathan's Blog at: http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk

Successful Sales Management - What Are The Core Competencies?

2006-10-11T03:44:00.000-07:00

Management, and particularly sales management, operates on and obtains its results from the staff that are managed. This clearly puts emphasis on the behavioural skills required to promote good human relations and helpful attitudes. These skills are developed mainly from:-
• An interest in individual needs and points of view
• Readiness to direct time and thought to analysing attitudes
• A sense of justice or fair dealing
• Respect for the personality of others
To enable the staff that are managed to develop their abilities profitably for themselves and their company, good human relations alone are not enough. The manager has to define tasks, set proper objectives, and maintain firm control. The basic skills required to do these things are:
• Analytical Ability:
Information coming to Sales Managers is of all kinds, from verifiable facts to rumour. It is important to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, to see the relevance of items of information to one another, and to draw conclusions which seem to fit the facts. Again, when a problem arises it is necessary to analyse it to seek its causes (is it a symptom of something wrong elsewhere?) and establish it’s true importance.
• Judgement:
All their decisions express the judgement of the manager on a situation or a person. Having analysed the available information he must then judicially weigh the evidence in order to decide on the best course of action. Few decisions can be wholly right or wrong. Most involve a balance of advantages and disadvantages - “Trade Offs”.
• Communication:
What is clear to them must be made clear to other people also. They should ask themselves what every individual needs to know, and why, what reaction they expect from them, and how they will know whether it has occurred. Good communication is not only a matter of clear thinking and expression. Since it takes place between at least two people the communicator should be able to see their communication through the recipient’s eyes.
However, these characteristics must be underpinned by the core competencies:
The Attainment of Targets:
• Always attaining targets by the time deadlines• Knowing what to do and doing it, when performance deviates from plan
Ability to Get Things Done:
• A good “objective” setter, planner and above all controller • Always finishing what they start
Co-Operation:
• The ability to work with others in a friendly co-operative manner - inspiring others to co-operate
Initiative:
• Having both the desire and the ability to ornate and develop constructive ideas• A self-starter able to work with minimum brief
Dependability:
• Really dependable, thorough and accurate in everything they undertake
The Selection of People:
• Ability to meet manpower quotas and surround themselves with good people• Skilled at getting the facts and making good judgements
Delegation:
• Produce results through others, as opposed to trying to doing everything themselves i.e. delegate wisely
Planning and Organising:
• Have written down objectives and plan in detail how those objectives will be attained• Anticipate problems and plan how they will be overcome
Vision:
• Ability to look well ahead, be a good forecaster and consider the future, its opportunities and problems that will have to be overcome
Creativity:
• Able to generate ideas frequently and always be working out ways and means of ‘doing it better’?
‘Selling’ Company Policies:
• Absolutely loyal under all conditions and a ‘Company Man/Woman’• Always ‘sell’ rather than ‘tell’
Human Relations:
• Possess the desire to develop from a “Boss” to a Leader• Ensuring that people enjoy working for them and being a good team builder
Developing Subordinates:
• Always practicing what they preach• Using all opportunities to show their people the benefits to them of reading, analysing, practising and improving
Problem Solving:
• A positive thinker • Able to quickly pinpoint problems, come up with solutions and get the action going
Technical Knowledge:
• Have an exceptional understanding of their speciality area and continually striving to improve that knowledge and keep up-to-date• Management Knowledge:• Have a sound knowledge of modern management techniques applicable to their field and continually developing themselves in this area
Knowledge of Policies:
• Have a complete understanding of company policies and procedures
Common-Sense:
• Have a highly mature approach to most situations, have and exercise a great deal of commonsense
Enthusiasm:
• Possess a zest for the job and always seen to be enthusiastic • Smile easily and have a positive, eager and responsive attitude
Ability to Work Under Pressure:
• Be able to maintain enthusiasm and good attitudes when the going is tough
Summary:
A Sales Manager may or may not be an outstanding sales person. The important thing is that he or she should be a good manager. This is their individual and unique contribution to their company

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By Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved
Jonathan Farrington is the Managing Partner of The jfa Group To find out more about the author, read his latest articles or to subscribe to his newsletter for dedicated sales professionals, visit:http://www.jonathanfarrington.comYou can also now visit Jonathan's Blog at: http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk

Selling Techniques For New IT Consultants

2006-09-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Selling techniques are as varied as the people who practice them. There are, however, some proven selling techniques for IT Consultants just starting out. Here is a list:
Personal visit. This selling technique is going to get you the best results: Highest touch, most personal contact, most effective.
Personal phone call. When you use this selling technique you are still providing high touch and so it is quite effective. The trick to getting the most mileage out of your phone call is to send a follow-up note immediately after. This part of phone contact is often ignored and will set you apart from your competition.
Send a note or letter. This is not as personal or high touch but it is a popular selling technique nonetheless. Things you can do to improve the effectiveness of this selling technique are to send a handwritten note and customize the message to make it more personal.
Send an email. This is a low touch and minimally personal selling technique but many people feel comfortable with this type of communication. Make sure you spell check your message carefully and send only one email at a time. This selling technique will fall flat if the "To:" line is full of 100+ names.
Set Yourself a Quota. This selling technique provides discipline. Most new business owners will avoid personal selling if allowed. Make a commitment to contact at least 2 new people on your contact list per day until the list is exhausted. Then get networking and add more people to your contact list.
Ask for referrals only. When you are contacting people don't go for the sale. One of the smartest selling techniques is to ask for referrals rather than sales. There is no pressure when you ask for a referral and this gives you an opportunity to follow up by sending some stickers or business cards for the person to hand out.
Bottom Line on Selling Techniques
Selling techniques may not come naturally to you. This is not an excuse to forgo trying them. The selling techniques that are most effective are the ones that are high touch and highly personal. The message you send out is that each person is important. Try to use as many highly personal selling techniques as possible. Barring that, make the selling techniques you are using as personal as you can.

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By Joshua Feinberg
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultant business owners get steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free audio training program that shows you how to use field-tested, proven Small Biz Tech Talk tools.

Sales Calls - Not Just For Selling!

2006-09-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Sales calls can be exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. As a new computer business owner it is easy to get caught up in the sales aspect of the sales call. What you need to remember is that during the sales call you are also gathering important information.
Before you go on the sales call you should have gathered a bunch of information about the business itself. Information to gather before the sales call includes things like the number of computer users, number of computer systems, software applications, type of operating system, and the type of computer problems they are having. The answers to these types of questions are key for you to know when you walk in the door for the sales call.
When you are on the sales call there are some tips you should follow to get the most out of your time:
Listen more than you talk - remember, the sales call should be about them, not you. It’s their chance to talk, it's their chance to vent; the more they talk the more likely it is that they will reveal the key piece of information you need to close the sale.
Take detailed notes - don't rely on your memory. You are not a hard drive and you are not a recorder. When you're on the sales call don't be afraid to have a pad out and take detailed notes.
Analyze them to determine if you want them as a client - not all sales calls lead to business and there is some business you don't want. Unrealistic expectations, nasty personalities, and no clue what they want are three huge issues to watch out for on sales calls.
Determine their urgency - use the sales call to find out how long the problem has been going on, what effect it has had on their business, what their points of pain are, and what their single biggest problem is right now.
Last, but not least, find out who supports their system currently - this is a very, very important question to have answered on a sales call. Who supported their system in the past and the type of support they received will help you determine whether they will be a good client for you.
Bottom Line on Sales Calls
Sales calls are not just about selling. You need to silently gather information about the client during the sales call and decide whether or not this is a business you want to add to your client list. Use your sales call time wisely and bring on only the best clients that will endure for the long term.

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By Joshua Feinberg
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg has helped thousands of computer consultants around the World get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too get more steady, high-paying clients. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training.

Stirring an Audience

2006-09-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

Are we rational human beings?

Do we follow all forms of logic?

Do we only act if it feels right?

Do we even want the facts all the time?

Have you ever tried to persuade an emotional person with logic?

We generally think we make decisions based on facts, but truly this is not the case. It has been found that when people agree with a particular message, they tend to perceive it as being more logical or rational. On the other hand, when people disagree with the message, they perceive it as an emotional plea.1 The truth is that that our decision-making process relies on a mixture between emotion and its partner, logic. However, we cannot rely entirely on emotion until our logical side has been engaged.
In one study, twenty-one students prepared speeches that were written from either a logical or an emotional standpoint. The speeches were presented, filmed, and then evaluated by other college students. Interestingly, there was no real consistency in the findings except that speeches bearing a message that the evaluator agreed with were rated as more rational (even if they were intended to be emotional), while those the evaluator did not agree with were considered to be more emotional (even though some of those were intended to be logical). It seemed that whether a speech was considered logical or emotional depended on the listener. Researchers also concluded that, as a general rule, people seem unable to consistently distinguish between logical and emotional appeals.
The logical side of an argument appeals to our reason. Reasoning is the process of drawing a conclusion based on evidence. For an argument to be legitimate, it has to be true and valid, and logical reasoning must be used to back it up. Many persuaders and marketers use faulty forms of logic, leaving gaping holes that require the audience to make assumptions and fill in the blanks. These are called logical fallacies. A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. It differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. In other words, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises don't completely support the conclusion. In the next section, some of the most common logical fallacies are outlined.
Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.
If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

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By Kurt Mortensen

If Your Sales Strategy Is Not Clear Sales Will Suffer

2006-09-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Ask any of your sales managers to define sales strategy and you might get a myriad of responses. Some right, some wrong and many just vague. Ask them to define operational effectiveness and you will tend to get more accurate answers depending on the level of the manager.
Strategy is the what – direction of the organization. Organizational effectiveness is the how – how you are getting there. The problem is that if your strategy is unclear, vague or downright wrong it doesn’t matter in the long term how effective you are as an organization – sooner or later you will fail due to any number of outside forces:
- competition

- the economy

- technology

- consumer changes in attitudes

- the global market place

- an aging population
Think of it as a matrix; Draw a four quadrant box. Along the top put Strategy down the left side put operational effectiveness. Therefore;
The lower left hand box is low operational effectiveness and a vague or no strategy.The upper left hand box is high operational effectiveness but poor or no strategy.The lower right hand box is low operational effectiveness but clear and focused strategy.The upper right hand box is clear and focused strategy and operational effectiveness.
We could go on for pages discussing the various consequences and outcomes depending on which your organization is function in. Let’s instead summarize a critical factor in this illustration, which is not the quadrant you are currently in but the direction you are moving. In other words if you are in the lower right (your strategy is clear but you lack operational effectiveness) but because of your clear strategy you are becoming better at your operational effectiveness, overall, you are moving in the right direction. However if you are in the upper left hand quadrant (high operational effectiveness but unclear or changing strategy) and because of your lack of clear direction you are becoming less operationally effective you are moving in the wrong direction.
Granted, no organization will ever stay in the same quadrant indefinitely. There are just too many forces at work here such as changes in management, emerging competitors, a fluxing economy and the rapid pace of change in the are of technology.
It is possible however to stay healthy in both areas and the key is to let your operational effectiveness be driven by your strategy. Herein lies the problem in many organizations today. Management tends to focus more on their operational effectiveness than developing and maintaining a clear, focused and communicated strategy and direction. Sure, many organizations have monthly or yearly strategic planning meetings. I have facilitated dozens during the past few years. And the biggest challenge at these meetings is to keep the focus on developing a strategy (The What) and not get bogged down in lengthy operational effectiveness (The How) discussions that are doomed to fail without a clear and integrated strategy.

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By Tim Connor
Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; Soft Sell, That’s Life, Peace Of Mind and The Male Gift Giving Survival Guide. He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com

Why Prospects Challenge Price

2006-09-05T03:16:00.000-07:00

Prospects/customers want several things from their suppliers. Fair price, quality products and services, and timely service (not in order of their preference). Surveys of consumers say that most consumers want: timely and responsive service first, quality products and services second, and low price third. For over thirty years, I have surveyed my sales audiences and asked them what they think is most important to consumers, and the results have been consistent: low price first, quality and service last. We seem to have a difference in perception here!
There are three elements that must be understood by salespeople if they are going to effectively deal with the price issue. First there is price. That is what people pay for what they buy. Second is cost. That is what they pay for what they buy, over time. And then there is perceived value. That is what they want for the money they pay.
Most consumers tell salespeople that what they want is low price - when what they really want is low cost. Now I know that many of you will take issue with this statement, but I only ask that you consider for a moment what you as a consumer want. Do you want the cheapest, or that which solves your problem or answers your need or desire? Most prospects or customers want their problems solved. They know that you get what you pay for, and that the distaste of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price.
People object to price when they feel that what you are asking them to pay is higher than their perceived value. Most poor salespeople, when they get price resistance, lower the price. Most of the time, it is not a price or cost issue, but one of too low perceived value. How do you raise perceived value? Find out what is preventing your prospect or customer from getting a good night’s sleep, and show them how your product or service will satisfy this need/want, or, even better, exceed their expectations for value. I guarantee you, price will be secondary. Not cost, but price.
The real sales pros focus on value - what the product or service does for the customer - and not price. They understand that price is an issue, but not the most important one. Price will always seem high when perceived value is low. The way to change the relationship between price and value in the other person’s mind is to raise value. Lowering price only makes them question your original price, as well as the lower price, with suspicion.
It should therefore be obvious that you never want to introduce price too soon in the sales process - until you have had the opportunity to build value in the prospect’s mind. If you have a price-only buyer (they are out there), you must decide if that business is worth it to you in the long run. I can only tell you from experience, the prospects who made a big deal out of price and expected all kinds of price adjustments ultimately required a lot of other concessions as well. Use their attitude about price and cost as a barometer to the overall quality of the relationship in general.

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By Tim Connor
Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com

Why Sales And Marketing Recruiting Is Different

2006-08-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Our company specializes only in hiring sales and marketing people, from front line contributors, to mid-level and all the way up to the executive level. We hire sales representatives, account managers, national accounts executives, directors, and vice presidents of sales and marketing. Through that process, we’ve developed a tremendous amount of expertise in these two functional areas that most recruiters don’t have. In addition to that, our sales and marketing team expertise comes from accumulating over a hundred years in the trenches of sales and marketing, actually working for companies and building and leading many successful sales and marketing organizations. When we approach sales and marketing, we approach it with deep experience. This is what you should look for in a sales & marketing recruiting firm.
Most recruiters don’t have that kind of experience in this particular domain. In fact, a lot of executive recruiters or headhunters are generalists. They hire CFOs, CEOs, CTOs and CIOs and they may be very good at the executive level in performing those duties. But when it comes to hiring sales and marketing talent, there’s nothing like having a recruiting or executive search firm which is focused in sales and marketing. We believe that it offers a powerful advantage to companies that are trying to make sure that they make the absolutely right hires for their company. We hire sales and marketing talent on a national level for clients who seek us out, looking for that special headhunting or recruiting firm who only focuses on making critical sales and marketing hires. They seek us out because many of them have suffered the burden of having made mis-hires.
In our Recruiting Guide, we quote statistics showing that 53% of all sales hires are mis-hires. This number is so high because most people don’t have the skills or the experience to hire sales & marketing employees, and so they get “sold” through the interviewing process, as opposed to determining whether or not a candidate can and will sell for their company. In particular, executives with backgrounds in finance, operations, engineering, manufacturing, or other non-sales and marketing fields are easily duped by slick, well-dressed, smooth-talking sales and marketing folks. While many of those people are actually very capable, often times the smoothest and the slickest ones who are the best at selling themselves in the interview aren’t necessarily the best people to represent and sell for your company. This is why outsourcing your recruiting function to an experienced sales and marketing recruiting company can have huge value for your business.

_______________________________

By Andrew Rowe
Cube Management helps companies accelerate their sales, by providing the Sales & Marketing talent they need to grow their business. Cube is a leading recruiting and consulting partner to mid-market and emerging growth companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. We work across the spectrum of Sales, Marketing and Business Development, providing holistic solutions that drive revenue and profit success. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process and People, to produce great results. Download the Cube Management Recruiting Guide and the Cube Management Inside Sales Guide.

Increase Sales with Letters from the Heart

2006-07-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

In additional to a monthly mailer, you should think about a quarterly mailing that is more personal in nature. Let your customers know what is going on in your life. It is like sending a personal letter to each of them. Olympia Funding is very successful in using this technique; they call this "Letters from the Heart". CEO Bill Hogarty encourages customer contact and he is insistent on customer service. It has been said that without the service, the contact is useless and without the contact, there is no one to service. These letters usually tell a story from a book, a famous quote, or some other familiar item with a personal twist on its interpretation. You will find that you will get responses to these letters almost immediately. Do not send them unless you absolutely stand behind what you are saying. Hollow letters are soon discovered.
If you have a database of customers, all you will need to do is generate the labels to place on the postcards you are sending. The postcards should be printed ahead of time then sent close to quarter end. You may want to skip your monthly newsletter this month but it is not necessary. Your customers may be looking forward to the news and they will also get a bonus with the letter from the heart. If Olympia Funding can be very successful with this approach, there is not reason why you cannot be as well.
Provide yourself with as many vehicles for contact as you can but make sure you do not overdo it. Make sure what you are saying is true and that you will stand behind the words. The result is a customer list that will keep on growing.

_____________________________

By Bette Daoust, Ph.D.
Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet's Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com. You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com

Sales Cycles - How Long Is Yours?

2006-07-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Sales cycles vary but it is important that you understand how much revenue your average small-business client is going to generate during a 12-month period. You need to know how long it takes to earn revenue from the point your prospect enters the sales cycle.
Your sales cycle starts when you receive the initial lead and doesn't end until the point where that person writes their first deposit check and signs their first contract with you. The sales cycle encompasses all the time and energy you put into changing the relationship from a lead to a paying customer.
When you first start your business it will be your responsibility to estimate the total sales cycle time. You want to know how long it's going to take to go though the sales cycle with an average lead. Each section of the sales cycle involves time. Things to consider include:
How long are you typically in a qualification stage?

How long does it take you set the appointment?

How long does it take you to do some pre sales-call research to understand what you're up against before you walk in the door?

How long does it take you to do the sales call?

How many weeks are you on the sales call in the deep analysis and proposal?

How long is your follow-up cycle?
You should also consider what kind of funds are going to be required for each stage of the sales cycle and what activities you will need to do in order to convert leads into paying clients.
The Bottom Line on the Sales Cycle
Knowing the average time of your sales cycle is a large part of the business planning process. You won't know exact numbers but you need to estimate the total time involved. Think about how long you're going to be at different stages of the sales cycle. Knowing how much time each stage of sales cycle is going to take will help you figure out how long it's going to take to start generating revenue and producing a positive cash flow.

___________________________

By Joshua Feinberg
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training.

Your Clients Experience Life Events, Will They Call You?

2006-07-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

It's July - half way through. Your having a great year. You've written 30 new lives, some of which were multi-million dollar policies. You've added 10 new investment clients, and now you are managing about $22 million. Your income is projected to be up 20% over last year. Congratulations! But guess what? One of your clients acquired 4 years ago just had a baby, and you did nothing. In fact, you haven't spoken to the couple in over two years. Fortunately, they were approached by another professional and asked if they wanted to review their overall plan. They do. It was determined that they have not heard from you, and they see no harm in letting another professional handle their financial affairs. They increased their life insurance coverage, added a new policy and started a 529 College Savings Plan, all with the other guy. Where were you?
This may be a shock, but it is happening to you and you don't know it. You have failed to invest back into your business by setting up a client contact or management system. You are not recognizing birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates because you think it is not important. You did not even take the time to send a simple annual review form, reminding clients to call you when life events occur. You have focused your efforts on bringing in new assets and winning new clients, yet you have neglected the clients from the past. But it's not too late. You can start now, but you must do it right. Get a database or contact management system. Pay a college student, part-timer 0r your teenager to input the data. Make sure you acknowledge important events like birthday's and anniversaries. Also plug in some important things like hobbies, charities, favorite sport or team, children's names or any other tidbit that will help you connect through certain interests. Prompt clients to send you an e-mail or call you when things happen by sending out a review form. Mail client letters, send emails, newsletters and set up your website. Make sure they don't forget who you are and how you can help them. The list goes on, but just get it done.
Clients experience many types of life events that deserve recognition, praise and sympathy. As a financial service professional, it is important to stay in touch with and understand your clients. It's called empathy, and it is sales skill mastered by only a few. Businesses around the world are beginning to train their sales forces on empathy. You don;t want to get left behind. A great professional uses special times in people's lives to get in front of them and help them make sound financial decisions. It is a very rewarding job, but one must keep in touch. For examples of life events, as well as a comprehensive list of data you should collect from clients, visit my website at www.salesjive.com and log in to the Private Lessons area.
Once you realize how much business you may be leaving on the table, you'll figure out that keeping that business is as simple as staying in touch.
_________________________

By Jay Stubbs

Jay Stubbs is an experienced Financial Services Sales Director and Qualifying Member of the Milion Dollar Round Table.
Jay offers FREE Consulting and Speaking for Financial Service Professionals
For more information, sales ideas, advice and free consumer articles, visit Jay's website.
http://www.salesjive.com

Auto Insurance Leads Cost Too Much

2006-07-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

If you are an insurance broker or insurance agent you know full well that generating sales leads is the toughest part of your job. You cannot live without them because it is what drives your business. It would be great if clients called you for an auto insurance quote but it just doesn’t work that way unless you have an advertising budget for things such as yellow page ads.
If you're like a lot of insurance brokers you buy internet auto insurance leads from online sources such as Insurance Finder or iLeads. This is quite a good system and a lot of insurance agents close a lot of sales via car insurance leads purchased from websites such as these. What normally happens with these internet leads is that the internet lead company draws on consumers that are searching for auto insurance quotes. They land on the website and fill out a form with the details of the type of insurance quote they are looking for. This is followed by the auto insurance sales lead website repackaging and reselling these leads to an insurance broker (sometimes the same lead is sold to multiple brokers). The broker then buys the lead, gives the client a quote and hopes to close the sale.
Not only are there websites that sell auto insurance leads but there are also those that sell all types of insurance lead including, home insurance leads, commercial insurance leads, liability insurance leads, life insurance leads, corporate group benefits leads, travel insurance leads, and disability insurance leads.
If you purchase insurance leads from websites that sell them, know that you are paying too much. Most lead generation websites draw visitors to their site buy paying for internet ads like Google Adwords. This is a system where these websites place ads in the sponsored area of search engines and pay every time someone clicks on the ad, usually between five cents and one dollar per click. The user then completes a form with his information and that information is then repackaged and resold to insurance agents like yourself, usually for between $5 and $100 per lead.
So, do you see how internet auto insurance leads cost too much? If you purchase leads you are paying a middle man, in this case the lead generation website, to gather information for you. You should know that you don’t need to pay a middle man to do this for you. All you need to do is set up your own website and buy these inexpensive "pay per click" ads. And, these days you can set up a professional looking website for under $100 and anybody can join the Google Adwords program to generate sales leads for themselves, including you!

__________________________________

By Tino Buntic
Visit Tino Buntic's website http://www.trade-pals.com to receive free B2B and B2C sales leads without cold calling. TradePals provides free sales leads to insurance brokers, as well as other business professionals and entrepreneurs in major cities across The U.S. and Canada including Phoenix, Sacramento, Atlanta, Boston, Portland, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, New York, Chicago, San Antoni, Tampa, New Orleans, Denver, Winnipeg, Albany, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Memphis, Charlotte, and Baltimore. Create a free professional profile and post it in the TradePals business directory today.

Sales Management and Managing Sales

2006-06-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

For those engaged in sales management and trying to control a group of self-starter type sales people you can just imagine how hard it is. In all the commotion, chaos and controversy they have to manage in shear terror of handling all that is coming at them.
Indeed sales management is not for everyone and managing sales is certainly not as easy as it looks, nor is it suppose to be really. Managing on-going sales efforts for a fast moving company, which is fully engaged takes a lot of savvy, strategic planning and a love of the never ending fast-paced game.
It is not for the weak and you certainly do not want to put anyone in that position in your company who is of low self-esteem or without a strong sense of personal character. Quite frankly a team of sales people would eat them for lunch and spit out the bones and they would be running your sales department and eventually be serving their own self-interests rather than the forward progression and profitability of the company.
The go between we call sales management and manages sales is a special type of person and they are an instrumental part of any company. Sales Management folks who manage sales for your company must be of the highest integrity and must work for the company, the sales people and the sale. Consider all this in 2006.

_____________________________________

By Lance Winslow
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Question Selling

2006-06-02T00:41:00.000-07:00

The more you engage someone's five senses, involve them mentally and physically, and create the right atmosphere for persuasion, the more effective and persuasive you'll be. Listening can be a very passive act; you can listen to an entire speech and not feel or do a thing. As a persuader, you need to help your audience be one step closer to taking action. As a Master Persuader, your goal is to decrease the distance someone has to go to reach your objective.
The more involved they become, the less psychological distance between the start and the finish. The desired outcome becomes more and more realistic instead of just an idea you are proposing. If you put on your shoes to go to the store, you are more likely to continue in that direction. If you sit down and turn on the TV, your goal of going to the store is more unlikely to be reached.
There are many ways to use involvement. We are going to focus on using the art of questioning
Of all the tools in your persuasion toolbox, questioning is probably the one most often used by Master Persuaders. Questions gain immediate involvement. Questions are used in the persuasion process to create mental involvement, to guide the conversation, to set the pace of conversation, to clarify statements and objections, to determine beliefs, attitudes, and values, to force you to slow down, to find out what your prospect needs, and to show your sincerity. Questioning is a very diverse and useful tool.
Much like movement, questions elicit an automatic response from our brains. We are taught to answer a question when it is posed to us. We automatically think of a response when asked a question. Even if we don't verbalize the answer, we think about it in our head. Most people want to be cooperative. We don't want to be considered rude because we don't answer the questions. In this way, a question stimulates our thinking response. Let's look a little bit at how to form good questions. First, design your questions ahead of time.
Neil Rackham and John Carlisle observed hundreds of negotiators in action in an attempt to discover what it takes to be a top negotiator. Their key finding was that skilled negotiators ask more than twice as many questions as average negotiators.
The structure of your questions dictates how your listener will answer them. When asked to estimate a person's height, people will answer differently depending on whether the question asked is "How tall is he?" versus "How short is he?" In one study, when asking how tall versus how short a basketball player was, researchers received dramatically different results. The "how tall" question received the guess of 79 inches whereas the "how short" question received the guess of 69 inches. Words have a definite effect on how people respond. "How fast was the car going?" suggests a high speed, but "At what speed was the car traveling?" suggests a moderate speed. "How far was the intersection?" suggests the intersection was far away.
Application
The best questions draw a person into a conversation and out of being unreceptive. So, it is to your advantage to direct questions at your prospects that will reel them in:
What do you think about…?Have you ever thought about…?How do you feel about...?When did you start…?Where did you find…?
Construct 3 questions that will get your prospect to open up
If you are probing for lots of information, it is best to keep your questions unstructured. The more unstructured the question, the more information you are likely to get. In a conversation in which you are asking many unstructured questions, the other person is likely to be doing most of the talking. Along this vein, it is a good idea to ask open-ended questions. It is too easy to respond to a question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." For example, instead of saying, "Do you wish you had decided differently?" ask, "How did you feel after you made that decision?" Then the person's answer can be used as a device to lead into your more detailed questions--"Why did you make that decision?" or "What do you wish you could change about your decision?"-- without your seeming intrusive.
A good rule of thumb is to start with the easiest questions first. You want to draw your audience into the conversation and help them feel relaxed and comfortable. People are encouraged by answers they know are right. Begin the conversation by starting with a general topic instead of a specific subject. You need to get the wheels in your listeners’ minds rolling before you ask them to answer the more specific questions.
How can you stop telling about your product/service and sell with questions?
What open ending questions do you need to add to your persuasive presentation?
What is the best question you can ask to see if your prospect/customers understands your offering?
One facet of questioning is the use of leading questions. Leading questions are questions that give a semi-interpretation to your audience. The best trial lawyers are experts at using leading questions to cross-examine and influence witnesses. Elizabeth Loftus researched how leading questions influenced eyewitness testimonies. In one project, her subjects watched a one-minute multiple-car accident. One group was asked, "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" The second group was asked, "How fast were the cars going when they hit?" The third group was asked, "How fast were they going when they contacted?" The first group estimated that the cars were going about 40.8 miles an hour, the second group estimated 34 miles an hour, and the third group estimated 31.8 miles an hour. The same question led to three different answers just by using alternative phrasing.
Leading questions not only alter the way we interpret facts, but they also influence what we remember. In another study conducted by Loftus, study subjects who were asked, "Did you see the broken headlight?" were two or three times more likely to answer yes than subjects who were asked, "Did you see a broken headlight?"
Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Beware of the common mistakes presenters and persuaders commit that cause them to lose the deal. Get your free report 10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands and explode your income today.
Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.
Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!
Kurt Mortensen teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income.

_______________________________________

By Kurt Mortensen

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

Use Contrast To Maximize The Size Of Each Sale

2006-06-02T00:37:00.000-07:00

We are affected when we are introduced to two vastly different alternatives in succession. We know that contrasting two alternatives can distort or amplify our perceptions of things. Generally, if the second item is quite different from the first, we will tend to see them even more differently than they actually are. As a Master Persuader, you can use this contrast to steer your audience toward the object of your persuasion.
The use of contrast is based on our perception of items or events that happen one right after the other. If you've had a rotten day because you found out you're losing your job and you come home to a new scratch on your car, you will have a vastly different reaction than if you were having a great day because you're getting a promotion and then came home to the scratch on your car. It's the same scratch, but there are very different perceptions and reactions to it, depending on your personal circumstances.
This is all about human perception. The human mind has to find a benchmark of comparison to make judgments, especially when we are talking about unfamiliar situations. People need to make comparisons with their past experience and knowledge. By presenting your prospects with contrast, you are creating those comparisons for them. The mind can't process everything at once and so it develops shortcuts to help make decisions. Instead of making a completely internal judgment, we look for boundaries, patterns, and polar opposites. We want to know the difference between our options, so we naturally contrast the two items. We mentally place things in our mind from best to worst, first to last, or highest to lowest. Do you want your prospects to compare your product or service to a second-hand used car or to a Rolls Royce? You get to decide where you want them to start their benchmark.
Have you ever taken your car to your mechanic and he tells you that you might need new brakes, a new transmission, a new fan belt, and that the timing sounds off? You go away thinking, "Oh man, I'm sunk. I might as well just buy a new car." Then when you come back, he tells you, "You just need new brakes." You feel as free as a lark, only having to pay $300 for what could have been a $3,000 repair job. Imagine if he had told you he thought he could fix it for $50 and the bill ended up being $500. That is the Law of Contrast in action.
Sweetening the Pot" is a technique often used by salespeople to make the deal seem "sweeter" than it really is, that is, making the prospect believe they are getting an exceptionally good deal. What can you add on as an incentive? What can you give as a bonus? What do you have that will add value to your product or service? It could be an added feature, a larger discount, free delivery, gift-wrapping, batteries, an extended warranty, or free consulting. Whatever it is, use it to create and contrast a higher value.
Think about the last infomercial you saw on late-night TV. You watch the salespeople display and demonstrate the product and you start to get interested. You begin to think about how this product will really make your life easier. They have not told you the price, but when they finally do, it is much higher than you thought. You were hoping to spend around $99, but the announcer said it was $499. Your heart drops but you keep watching because you are really getting into this product and how it will change your life forever.
Oh, now wait a minute--they are giving a special deal today. There is a temporary price reduction. This is your lucky day! Now they are offering it for $297! It's a good deal, but still a little expensive. Wait, they are adding three additional items to the package, an added value of $350. You can hardly believe it--you'll get over $800 worth of products for only $297. You are really interested now and you're just about ready to buy, when wait--it gets even better! If you order now, you can even make three easy payments of $99 for the next three months. You can't believe your luck so you order right away.
You were thinking of spending only about $99 and you ended up spending triple that amount--$297 to be exact. Why? Because of the Law of Contrast, you were going to get over $800 worth of product and the deal kept getting better. This law is critical for you to understand when showing others the value of your product. No one buys unless they feel like they are getting value for their money.
When you "sweeten the pot," you add bonus items to make the deal more and more valuable. We can all learn from the example of a high school bake sale: When the cashier told one group of customers they could purchase one cupcake and two cookies for a total cost of 75 cents, 40 percent of customers bought. The cashier then told another group of customers that they could purchase one cupcake for 75 cents. However, a few seconds later she added that because of a special they had going for that night, two more cookies would be thrown in as a bonus. By the end of the night, 70 percent of the customers purchased cupcakes and cookies when the "three for the price of one" technique was used, even though it was really the exact same deal.2 It's all in the presentation--you've got to "sweeten the pot"!
When using the Law of Contrast, keep in mind the powerful differences between positive and negative information. Psychologists have asserted for years that people automatically and subconsciously have extremely high expectations for the good over the bad. Because of this consistent tendency, negative information, when it comes, always seems to be given considerable weight because it is such a jarring contrast to what was expected. For example, have you ever had a salesperson get you all excited about some incredible product you were about to purchase? You're totally thrilled with all the things this product is going to do for you, and then BAM! The salesperson hits you with the ghastly price. Suddenly the hefty price tag, just one negative detail, outweighs the product's twenty terrific features. Negative information has taken precedence over all the positive information. In fact, now it's consuming your thoughts. You drive home able only to think about how the precious item is going to cost you an arm and a leg.
Time can erode your ability to use the Law of Contrast. The key to this law is that the two contrasting items must be presented one right after the other. This has an effect on group meetings and decision making: If in a meeting you put forth your great idea right after another great idea, it won't have the impact it would have had if it had followed someone else's poor idea. Likewise, if we are talking to a beautiful woman or man at a party and we are then joined by an unattractive woman or man, the beautiful person will seem even more beautiful, and the less attractive person will seem even less attractive.
Try this experiment: Fill three buckets with water, one with hot water, another with cold water, and the third with tepid water. Simultaneously soak one foot in the hot bucket and the other one in the cold bucket for thirty seconds. Now place both feet in the tepid bucket and you will be shocked with the results. The water in the third bucket is considered warm, but to the hot foot it feels cold and to the cold foot it feels warm. It is the same water but two completely different reactions. This is the Law of Contrast. Any product or service can be contrasted to appear very different from what it actually is.
Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Beware of the common mistakes presenters and persuaders commit that cause them to lose the deal. Get your free report 10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands and explode your income today.
Application Questions How can you add value to your product/service using the law of contrast?
What is the perception of your product/service. Is a Hyundai or a Rolls Royce?
What can you do to double the perceived value of your product/service?
Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.
Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!
Kurt Mortensen teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income.

______________________________________

By Kurt Mortensen

Cross Selling

2006-05-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

When I was sixteen and still at school, I worked in a department store on a Saturday. Cross selling was made easy for me then. For a while I worked in the menswear department. Someone came in to buy a shirt, and because all the related goods were displayed next to each other it was straightforward to ask whether the customer wanted a pair of cuff-links or a new tie to go with the shirt. If they bought a tie, the next cross sale was to suggest they also buy a spot-cleaner for the tie. A friend of mine worked Saturdays in a DIY store. Similar rules applied. Someone bought a tin of paint, and the cross sale opportunities were perhaps a paint brush; a brush cleaner; or even one of those implements to help keep lines straight. The basic rule to cross-selling then were - if you have a number of products to sell, group them together so that the customer doesn’t have too much of an effort in seeing the relationship between your products. That’s not to say that it will happen. Often the customer needs to be told about the relationship and have the idea planted verbally that they could buy more than what they originally came in for.
40 years later and the same rules apply. Trading on the Web has even made it possible to display not only your own diverse product range on the same page, but also relationships and partnerships with other companies. Yet research shows that simply because goods are displayed together does not hugely increase buyer behaviour.
Cross-selling from the sixties has evolved into CRM (customer relationship management) in the 21st Century. The theory is that the more products organisations sell to customer; the lower is the probability that the customer will buy elsewhere, and the more profitable that customer relationship will be.
CRM systems make it easy for the salesperson to identify additional sales opportunities. The first product a customer buys adds to the customer database of knowledge the company has about the buying habits and profile of the customer. If it’s a really sophisticated CRM system it will flag up to the salesperson cross-selling opportunities, and in some cases even provide the salesperson with the words to say.
Yet once again, research shows that even giving salespeople the words to say has increased cross-selling by only a very small percentage. Why?
Simple – selling is still very much a human face to face activity, and as such buyers are motivated by emotional feelings as much as by logic. The logical relationship between products and services can be totally overridden by the feeling that you are being sold to or that the salesperson is being less then honest in his or her desire to sell you something you didn’t appear to want at the outset.
Retailing should be relatively easy. Your goods are on display. The customer buys something and the relationship between the other products on display is understandable to you both. Therefore a confident suggestion about the relationship often works.
• If your business is more complicated, or your goods are not in the customer’s face (you might not have retail premises) then you need two things:
A story which includes your full range and explains how they are related, and/or Customer databases which highlights the relationship – but which should still rely on the story in point 1.
• If you have a database be careful about telling the customer how much you know about them. Imagine you buy your cigars at the same tobacconist every week to be told – ‘I see that you’ve bought our product seven times this year, and yet my database reveals that you don’t smoke’.
No matter what you know about the customer it’s still better to have them tell you verbally in answer to a question. All of us like talking about ourselves, no matter how much the other person already knows about us.
It is clear that in a competitive marketplace it will be the people who can sell more to each customer and effectively stop the customer buying from the competition who will survive. The future appears to be that in marketplace where the rules of specialism seem no longer to apply that your specialism could become a competitor’s cross-sell. So we either form commercial relationships with other supplies, or we run the risk of them supplying our specialism.
I was in a German coffee-shop in the UK the other day that also sold clothes and kitchen accessories. I haven’t worked out the relationship or indeed the story – but people were buying. Cross-selling has moved into a new arena!
Frank provides individuals and organizations with consultancy in the fields of selling; organisational change management, performance improvement, developing managers as sales coaches, and teaching charismatic leadership behaviours and presentation skills to senior and executive managers. In addition he is recognised as a leading authority on sales and sales management development using the Coaching Sales Champions programmes he has developed over a period of twenty years as the vehicle for individual and organisational improvement. He strongly believes that whether we work in the public or private sector; whether our organisation is commercial or non-commercial; that we are all in sales. His favourite quote, which has become his maxim is from Robert Louis Stevenson – ‘Everything in live is selling’.

_____________________________

By Frank Salisbury
Frank was a founding member of the Sales Qualification Board (UK), and the Financial Services Lead Bodies Group (UK) – both organisations set up in the nineties to determine and publish standards for salespeople and sales managers in the UK

When Important Sales Intentions Go Bad

2006-05-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

Your prospect attends an important trade show and returns to a busy life. Inside their bag of goodies are all the trinkets and collected purchase information. After distributing the trinkets to family members, the information joins the busy desk pile. As life takes hold of time and priorities the information bag sinks colder and deeper into the desk. Does this sound familiar?
The Ugly Factors of Missed Opportunities

If you are in sales, there are some ugly statistics that should alarm you. Research indicates that 90% of trade show attendee’s use exhibitions as their top resource for purchase information. After attending an exhibition or trade show prospects are ripe for follow up. Unfortunately, only about 80% of the companies will follow up on these prospects. If no follow up takes place, the opportunities grow colder each day. Research also indicates that almost 50% of these prospects could be closed on just one call. Plus almost 60% of these prospects will make a purchase within 12 months.
Cleaning Day Wipes Out Opportunities

If a business or salesperson doesn’t have a sales follow-up plan on exhibition opportunities, the expensive business opportunities will be lost to someone else. The prospects pile of information will someday reach a point where it is shoved into a trash bin because the information is too stale. This is a terrible waste of time and effort for everyone.
Top Sales Priorities

The top priority of a salesperson returning from a trade show should be responding to prospects. The simple action of a sales call and letter makes a huge difference. If the prospect says no, don’t leave it at that because the prospect will probably make a decision in the next twelve months. Establish and execute a follow up plan to stay in touch and you will reap the benefits.

_______________________

By Steve Martinez
Steve Martinez implements sales management strategies with a focus on automating sales for printing organizations. Selling Magic teaches businesses how to automate and customize ACT or Outlook with the best practices of sales management while integrating email marketing and technology for greater profits. http://www.sellingmagic.com

The Highest Form of Persuasion Revealed

2006-04-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Influence is a key element in mastering the techniques of Magnetic Persuasion. Influence is the highest form of persuasion. With influence, people are spurred on to action because of your character, not your maneuvers. Persuasion is what you do or say, but influence is who you are.
How does one gain this type of influence? How do you gain a strong enough influence over people that they will act simply because an idea came from you? How about having a strong enough influence over people that they are still compelled to move forward even when you’re not around?
Presence is the ability to empower and influence others into believing in you, trusting in you, and jumping on the bandwagon. You give them the energy they need to bring to pass the results you want. You help them see themselves in the future carrying out your vision. They become excited and energized by your passion and enthusiasm. They are magnetized and motivated by your charisma. They are lifted and inspired by your optimism and expectations. In essence, you’re a source of empowerment, encouragement, inspiration, and permanency to them.
For some, charisma is a mysterious attribute. It’s challenging to describe someone who exudes charisma because there’s really no way to quantify the effect this kind of person seems to have on others. It seems that you either have charisma or you don’t. Charisma is not leadership, assertiveness, or enthusiasm and it’s not exactly personality either. It’s its own unique characteristic. Charisma empowers others to like you, even if they don’t know much about you and even when there hasn’t been enough time to develop trust in you. If you have charisma, not only do people want to be around you, but, whether they realize it or not, they also want to be influenced by you. Charisma gives you power, allegiance, and devotion with your audience, without leaving them feeling powerless and it creates instant support. So, are you born with charisma or is it learned? The answer to both questions is yes! Some attributes are inherent; others can be acquired.
The word “charisma” comes from the Greek goddess Charis. Charis’ character was one of total beauty and charity. Today, the word has to do with an individual’s magnetism, intensity, vivaciousness, and so on. Gerry Spence’s said it best: Charisma is energy from the heart zone. If the speaker has no feeling, there is nothing to transfer. Charisma occurs when the speaker’s feelings are transferred in the purest form to another. Charisma is not a diluted feeling. It is not disguised. It is a raw feeling. Charisma is the passing of our pure energy, our pure passion to the other.
People who are charismatic often hold us in awe. Their energy prods us, motivates us, and inspires us. They fulfill our need to have heroes. We feel better for having met them, seen them, listened to them, and interacted with them. Why and how do they have this effect on us?
So, how would one go about developing charisma? Here are eight ways:
1. Develop self-confidence in yourself and your message. Don’t appear nervous or out of balance. Be confident that you possess self-worth and know your message.
2. Have a lighter side. Find your sense of humor and happiness. Have fun and don’t take life too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself.
3. Have great presence and energy. Project a presence of the Five C’s of Trust: character, competence, confidence, credibility, and congruence.
4. Have a definite opinion about your subject. Be knowledgeable and make sure that knowledge is based on a solid foundation. Develop a sense of the audience’s emotion and conviction for your subject.
5. Look good. Make sure your clothing, hair, shoes, and jewelry match your message’s tone. Dress the part.
6. Be able to inspire and uplift. Be sensitive to people and their needs. Develop rapport with your audience. Connect with them and become a great listener.
7. Be organized and easy to follow. Make your points connected and your structure clear.
8. Be dramatic, unique, and enticing. Be interesting to be around. Make sure the things you talk about are exciting. Tell spellbinding stories.
Conclusion
Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. It is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.

__________________________________

By Kurt Mortensen
Go to http://www.prewealth.com/iq and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale! Take your test now at http://www.prewealth.com/iq
Kurt Mortensen teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Go to http://www.prewealth.com/iq and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis.

Affiliate Marketing

2006-04-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Affiliate, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Affiliate.
Affiliate Marketing: Why is it One of the Most Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise your Business
When you think about Affiliate, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Affiliate are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.
Ever heard of affiliate programs? These are forms of Internet advertising that rewards the affiliates for driving traffic to the advertiser or for other transactions. The advertiser pays the affiliate to place a link on their website, and the affiliate sends traffic to the advertiser in return. Simply put, it's about paying commissions to people who help you make sales. It's that easy. NOT.
Affiliate marketing has its ups and downs. It could be draining if you are not armed with updated information and the technical how-tos. But this article's sole objective is to reach out to you and not to badmouth affiliate marketing.
Here are the following reasons on why web marketers go gaga over affiliate marketing as a form of Internet advertisement.
1. Low cost
Many are scared to go on a home based business because of the capital required. In affiliate marketing, you don't have to spend much to start raking in moolah.
2. Inventories not included
Product management fuss could be very stressing. An inventory is not asked to be maintained. The merchant does the maintenance required.
It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Affiliate. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.
3. Unlimited income through leverage
See how much you can learn about Affiliate when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.
When you have a paid job, your monthly income mainly relies on whether you go to work or not. With affiliate marketing, your affiliates could all just lead traffic to your site without having to lift a finger after providing them your ad copy and links. Though not every web marketer earns limitless, it still is a fact that all the necessary matters for the advertiser or Internet marketer are all there to be successful.
4. Go worldwide
With affiliate marketing, you are dealing with a global market place. All you have to do is choose a niche product and prepare all the necessary tools for your affiliates to lead traffic from just about anywhere to your website.
5. Low risk
The very main reason for Internet marketer's enthusiasm with affiliate marketing is its having a low risk factor. Especially for those with low budget set aside for advertising, affiliate marketing is just the way to do it.
6. No closing time
With affiliate marketing, your business works every single second of the day while targeting a worldwide market! What could be better than that?
But all of these will be put to waste if you don't have the right niche product and all the other important tools to make it big in affiliate marketing, i.e., well-SEO-ed website. So better work on this first before ever considering those benefits.
Brought to you by: Internet Income Resources http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/index.php
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Affiliate.

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by: Arthur Caby

I have been marketing on the internet for over 5 years with most of that time involved with Affiliate Marketing. Http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/

What To Do When Nothing’s New: Five Strategies for Success

2006-04-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

Look at that throng of people crowding the trade show floor. People come from all over the country to walk these aisles, eager eyes flitting from booth to booth, scanning the exhibits for…what, exactly?
Research shows that the vast majority – 76% -- come to trade shows to discover what’s new and exciting. Maybe it’s a new product, or an innovative bit of technology, or a snazzy new application, or even an entire company that they were never aware of before. In an ideal world, every company would be constantly innovating, creating cutting edge products at phenomenal savings guaranteed to meet the customer’s needs.
But as you and I know, business doesn’t work that way. There are years when companies struggle to survive. Other years, it takes every ounce of effort just to maintain market position. And still other times, things might be fine, but the newest innovation is six, twelve, even eighteen months on the horizon.
Is it even worth exhibiting during these times? Do the results of participating in a trade show while your company’s in a lull phase justify the costs?
Absolutely! In fact, it is precisely at these times when not participating could hurt your bottom line. Businesses rise and fall based on the strength of personal relationships. There is no better place to form new relationships and maintain and reinforce existing relationships than at a trade show.
To do this, you need to create a positive impression with your exhibit. Demonstrate something new and exciting. Give the people what they want. How can you do that, you ask, when you don’t have any new and exciting products?
Here are five focus strategies the pros use when they’re in a similar situation:
1. Focus on Features: Purveyors of high-tech or complicated products often don’t realize how little consumers know about the items they purchase. For example, take the average word processing program. It has countless features – yet how many does the everyday user know about, much less use? Realize that your buyers may not even know what they don’t know. Here’s an opportunity to offer seminars, tutorials, or other interactive options centered on the more obscure features. This way, you’re demonstrating that you value your customers and want them to make the most of your products/services. You could win their loyalty for life.
2. Focus on the Future: If the next big innovation is in sight, but you’re not ready to spill the beans just yet, you’ve got an ideal opportunity to create a buzz. Some of the most effective excitement generating campaigns say little, if anything, about the new product, yet still create an impression that something noteworthy is about to happen. Signage, graphics, and literature all declaring “It’s Coming!” let the public know that you’re excited about the new product – and that they should be too.
3. Focus on Finesse: Is there a way to make your product new and improved? You’ll sometimes see this technique that I’ve called the Proctor & Gamble strategy. Every so often, you’ll see a new and improved version of a product introduced – laundry soap, shampoo, deodorant, and so on – yet you’d have to be a chemical engineer to notice any discernable difference between the old product and the new one. Still, consumers flock to the new, even if it’s only slightly different than the product they were previously satisfied with. If you can’t change your product, what about the packaging? Glidden changed their paint can while still keeping their actual product, the paint, the same as it ever was, and saw sales rise as a result.
4. Focus on People: Great products wouldn’t exist without great people. Consider putting a human face on your operation by centering your latest exhibit around the people who make, test, or use your product. Post Cereal, Reynold’s Wrap, and NAPA auto parts have all used this strategy successfully during periods when their product line was fairly static – and then carried the idea forward, altering it as needed to introduce new products!
5. Focus on Service: Many times, we’re asking buyers to make a huge investment to buy our products. If something goes wrong, the buyer worries that they will be left holding the bag on a very expensive mistake. Reassure consumers that they’ll never be alone if there is a problem. By promoting service plans, support networks, and other types of assistance, you’re demonstrating that you’ll be there for your customer – through thick or thin!

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Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and tradeshow training. For a free copy of “10 Common Mistakes Exhibitors Make”, e-mail: article4@thetradeshowcoach.com; website: http://www.tradeshow-training.com.

What’s On Your Business Card?

2006-04-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

It May Be Small, But It’s So Powerful...Your Business Card!
If you’re like most professionals, you have a business card. But, what does your business card *do* for you?
“Do”?
Yes, that’s right; what does your business card *do* for you? Does it help to actively create more business for you or does it sit—like most business cards—in a big stack of other business cards that nobody ever looks at?
If you want to maximize your marketing strategy into all areas of your business collateral, it’s time to make your business card work for you. The time when your business card was just a simple way to give your name and number has long since passed. Far from having to be just a way to communicate your name and contact number, a business card provides an excellent opportunity for you to make yourself memorable.
The key to any successful marketing campaign is being memorable. Advertisers spend millions of dollars figuring out exactly what needs to be done to create advertisements that stick in the heads and hearts of their consumers. When it comes to creating a unique and distinctive business card, you have the exact same goal. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, you need to stand out from the rest to define yourself as the best.
Here are just a few ways you can make your business card step up and be more than just a cardboard rectangle:
* Turn it into a mini-billboard advertising your services.
* Highlight your USPs on the back of your card.
* Offer a special, discount, special promotion.
* Create a unique shape or design that relates to your field so your card becomes a topic of conversation by those who have it. But, be careful not to make the shape or size so “unique” that it won’t fit in the typical places people store their business cards. If you go too big or too unusual, you might find that your card is thrown out.
* Hand your business card to everyone you meet; store clerks, gas station attendants, waiter and waitresses, secretaries…everybody!
* Place your business card in every piece of mail to your patients and local vendors.
* Spend a little more and turn your business card into a magnet. In this way, it can be carried in your wallet, but also stuck on that refrigerator for years of free advertising.
* Whether you’re starting a new office or are looking to revamp your image, a new logo will help you portray the true identity of your business through a professionally-designed logo.
* Make your card serve double-duty—use it as an appointment card, too.
* Be sure to include all the ‘usual suspects’ on your card, including name, profession, and phone and fax numbers. Additionally, be sure to include your e-mail and web address for that extra added impact.
As you can quickly see, your business card doesn’t have to sit idly inside somebody’s wallet never to be looked at again. It can work for you in powerful ways—promoting you, your business, and your services. Spend a few minutes designing your next business card and it can have big payoffs as your smallest, but most effective advertising billboard!

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by: Dr. Christopher Cordima

Dr. Christopher Cordima is the author of three amazing new e-books for health care & service providers. Get More Clients with Newspaper Advertising, Postcard Marketing and Personal Injury Marketing. Visit http://www.pimarketingsecretsrevealed.com and Get a FREE Weekly Marketing Newsletter at http://www.marketingchiropracticweekly.com to increase your biz!

Sales : Using the Law of Expectancy

2006-04-15T02:57:00.000-07:00

Studies in persuasion technology show that what you expect tends to be realized. I call this the Law of Expectation, which is also one of the tenants of sales.
As a sales professional, your expectations influence reality. I recently came across a movie called, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" It explains how our thoughts and intentions shape our reality. If you haven’t seen the movie, I urge you to do so. (You can go to http://www.whatthebleep.com/ to learn more.)
The movie explains that human behavior is directly related to how others expect us to perform. As an example, there was once a study in which first grade students were told that blue-eyed kids are smarter than brown-eyed kids. The blue-eyed children subsequently scored better on tests than their brown-eyed peers.
After several months they decided to bring the children together and tell them that what they'd told them before was wrong. This time, they said that all children are born with blue eyes and the more we learn the more our eyes turn brown, so brown-eyed children are smarter. Just as predicted, the blue-eyed children started to have trouble with their studies and the brown-eyed children improved.
So what might happen if you truly believe you're a great salesperson? What if you were to see, hear and experience every prospect as a great candidate? How do you do this? One way is to make a great first impression; it’s the moment where the Law of Expectation has the greatest impact on your performance. You communicate your expectations by your word choices, voice inflection and body language. When you expect your prospects to buy, all your actions will lead them in the right direction.
Before each sales meeting, try asking yourself, "How do I expect this sales process to go?" If your other-than-conscious mind feeds back a negative response, mentally rehearse the end result you want in full color with sound and feeling. You may want to imagine the prospect signing an order form or handing you a check. Now picture yourself smiling and shaking hands with your new customer. Know that you’ve just done a great service. When you spend time rehearsing success, you’ll be comfortable with it when it happens.

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by: Patrick Porter

Dr. Patrick Porter is an entrepreneur, award-winning author, and motivational speaker. His electrifying keynote speeches and seminars deliver the real life, nuts ‘n bolts concepts he used to take his business venture to astounding heights. http://www.patrickkporter.com.

Increase Profits by Bundling Your Cleaning Services

2006-04-03T04:13:00.000-07:00

Anytime you place an order in a fast-food restaurant you're asked if you would like the "meal special" or "value deal". Instead of just ordering a sandwich you are now given the choice of a complete meal at a value price. Indeed, fast-food chains have perfected the idea of product bundling into an effective marketing strategy. What is bundling? It's a selling strategy that offers your customers a discount for buying two or more products or services. Packaging your cleaning services and products together can be a powerful marketing technique that allows you to sell more, and at the same time gives your customers added value.
For some businesses bundling seems pretty simple: a restaurant offering fries and a drink with a sandwich; a car wash offering a deluxe car wash with wax treatment; or a hardware store bundling paint rollers and a paint tray.
As a cleaning service you have an excellent opportunity to increase your profits by adding the sale of products or added services to the routine maintenance that you already provide to your customers. While you may not be able to address all of their supply needs, offering trash can liners, toilet paper, paper towels, soap, air fresheners, and ice melt will give your customers added convenience. They can easily order their supplies from you or you can offer to manage the supplies and restock when supplies are low.
When bidding on a new cleaning account, look at the supplies they're currently using, and then stop by your local janitorial supply house and get prices for the same or similar products. When preparing your bid, take a 10 - 15% markup on the prices you'll be paying for the products and include this on your bid. Explain to the prospect that you'll bill them for supplies used during the month on their monthly service invoice. By meeting their supply needs, your customer has one less thing to worry about and you have one more way to make a profit.
Another way to increase your profit margin is to bundle together similar services. When offering carpet cleaning, also suggest carpet spotting. Does your customer have a break room? Offer a package that includes cleaning the refrigerator, microwave or other appliances. You can even offer these services on a regular maintenance schedule, such as once or twice a month.
The change of seasons also provides an opportunity to offer added services. For your residential customers offer a "Spring-Cleaning Package". You might want to include window cleaning, blind cleaning and carpet cleaning. You do not have to give huge discounts when bundling services. Your clients gain value by being able to get all of their maintenance services handled by one company.
How do you decide what services to bundle together? Write down the types of clients you have and the services you are already providing. Do you clean banks, medical facilities, retail space, or residential homes? Make a list of the extra services you can easily provide that will benefit their business. Then offer those bundled services to your clients!
You can market your bundled services to existing customers by including a flyer in their monthly invoice. Take a few minutes to call your clients to check in and see if they have any concerns or if they are happy with the service you are providing. That call will provide an opportunity -- not only for feedback, but for you to let your client know about the products and services you can provide to them that will save them time and money.
Bundling services and products is one way to add another income stream to your cleaning business. It helps you to up-sell to your customers without having to spend much time or money on marketing. By selling bundled products and services you will see an increase in your profits and your customers will benefit from "one-stop shopping".

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By Steve Hanson

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store
Steve Hanson is co-founding member of TheJanitorialStore.com, an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift. Read cleaning success stories from owners of cleaning companies at http://www.cleaning-success.com/

Why Business Must Practice Multi-Media Sales Techniques

2006-03-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

As spring training gears up for baseball, professional ball players are practicing the skills they have developed over a lifetime to achieve perfection. These professionals are where they are today because they put in the time, energy and discipline of thousands of hours of practice. Their goal is to execute perfection during their practice sessions. Many of them practiced to perfection using video tools and special coaches to assist in their development. The commitment these individuals have made is beyond what many of us could imagine. Their practice efforts prepare them for perfection on the baseball field.
80% of Sales Professionals Stop Practicing
If practice is this important in baseball, why isn’t it like this in sales? Eighty percent of sales professionals stop practicing their sales skills once they reach a level of success they are comfortable with. Why? Most sales professionals believe they know how to handle objections and that the sales process hasn’t changed. They assume that what they have learned hasn’t changed and the success they have achieved will remain with them.
It is a good thing the professional ball players don’t think the same way or they will be replaced in the lineup. Sales professionals need to prepare for the 90 mph fast ball from clients and prospects. The landscape of business continues to shift and change with technology, trends and other factors. When sales professionals don’t practice implementing these new trends and learn what to say or how to demonstrate a solution, they lose.
A New Way of Pitching Sales is Growing
New technology for getting and reaching clients and prospects is changing the way we communicate in business. In one example, on-line ordering portals for business are growing in ways that are replacing salespeople. Pod casting is another way businesses are getting their message out and driving sales to websites. An RSS feed is another way to reach prospects or an industry with new information. However, only about 12 percent of the population knows how to use an RSS feed today. Expect this number to change quickly in the coming months.
With the growth and adoption of web meetings, streaming media including audio and video, salespeople can multiply their efforts and reach more contacts. The bottom line is that salespeople must practice and sharpen their sales skills using new technology and communication tools.
The Impact of a Multi-Media Generation
If businesses and salespeople are not practicing multi-media new sales capability, they won’t be effective. This means that if you are not developing and practicing new sales skills, you are falling behind. The internet makes it easy to learn about these new sales tools. You can join webinars, pod casts or telephone conference calls to learn more.
Consider this, professional baseball players don’t practice for just one pitch. They prepare for the fast ball, the curve ball and the sinker because they never know what the pitcher will throw at them. So, just as in baseball, every professional salesperson should practice new sales skills and be prepared for anything customers throw at them.

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By Steve Martinez
Steve Martinez is a pioneer in automating the sales process for business and salepeople developing customized action plans for business. http://www.sellingmagic.com

Has Your Packaging Gone To The Dogs?

2006-03-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Whether it's for Fido or for Morris, the market for pet products in "nontraditional" outlets (specific to retail outlets outside the traditional pet store venue) should reach nearly $4.2 billion by 2010, according to Market Trends. This area is expected to grow as pet products move into the luxury and "lifestyle" category such as diamond studded collars or designer duds for your pet. Companies like as Eddie Bauer and Louis Vitton are making luxury pet accessories and “must have” pet products. After all, your pet is the most important part of the family. (Just kidding!) But seriously, there is more money spent on things for pets than on babies - a lot more.

Remember last week when I asked "What's In You Bottle?" Well, it turns out that dogs have special bottled water too. "PetRefresh® is the only water available today that is specifically designed for the daily hydration needs of pets. Not a treat, but a core nutrient for better health." Also a new water product for dogs, OOH's "Pup Cups", is water in a cup for dogs on the go. They got great brand recognition by donating water to the Humane Society for Hurricane Katrina canine victims. I just love this one: K9 Water Co., a Valencia, Calif.-based company, is selling a line of vitamin-enriched bottled waters for dogs over the Internet. http://www.k9waterco.com/. A four-pack comes in four flavors -- Toilet Water (chicken), Gutter Water (beef), Puddle Water (liver) and Hose Water (lamb).
The humanization of pets is more than just as part of the family; they are living longer and healthier lives. There are all kinds of innovations in pet "goodies." The list of packaged things for your dog is endless. In fact, there is even a new word coined, pupperware, to describe this niche. Pupperware n. Dog accessories and toys, particularly ones demonstrated and sold at in-home parties. [Blend of pup and Tupperware.]
But just innovation and being trendy doesn't tell the whole story. People are concerned about a dog’s health too. Vitamins and minerals for Fido present a huge new segment. The big thing in "packaging" is ease of dispensing and use for DIY pet medications. There are a lot of new DIY products offered for when you can do it yourself instead of carting your dog to the vet. Just remember make the instructions simple and easy to read if you want people to buy your product.
Recently "Greenies" (a top selling dog treat) got in trouble with consumers because purchasers claimed the product packaging was not informative enough about the potential choking problem. I don't know the outcome but its important to note that the consumers blamed the package labeling as part of the problem.
Affluent boomers and other empty nesters are looking at Fido as an integral part of the family. They have money to spend and plenty of it so look for an influx of products geared towards this audience. A good example is Harley Davidson. They see money in the 50+ generation and have developed the companion dog products too.
Think about this unique marketing and packaging application too. Prepared meals for dogs, sounds good enough for humans to eat. "BENEFUL® ELEVATES PET FOOD TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH INTRODUCTION OF FIRST-EVER PREPARED MEALS™ FOR DOGS The difference is visible, as Beneful Prepared Meals showcase the eight, mouth-watering varieties and real food ingredients in clear, ready-to-serve, re-sealable plastic containers – a new packaging innovation in pet food. The new product is being launched regionally in 2006 in 50 percent of the U.S."
I just had to use this example, Bow Wow Breakfast Cereal for Dogs. It is a new line of dog food intended for morning consumption. The company that makes it claims it's specifically formulated to meet a dog's needs in the morning. The thing is pets don't buy this stuff; people do. So keep that in mind as you develop your product packaging. First, you have to appeal to the "human" side of the dog owner.
At the Marketing to Women conference at which I recently spoke, I used an example of packaging dog food that appeals to women. Pedigree Dog Food just implemented a reclosable zipper, something SHE will buy. So think "people" when packaging your products for the dogs. You have to first persuade the owner to pick your product up off the shelf. Make sure that in addition to your packaging "going to the dogs" it's attracting the people too.
Some predictions on "hot" packaging trends in the coming months: Baby Boomer Products Environmental Sustainability And Packaging Labeling And Ingredients Statements On Packaging (ongoing) RFID And Packaging

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By JoAnn Hines
JoAnn Hines the Packaging Diva has been on TV, traveled to China, worked with the SBA and spoken at the White House (twice). Why do they seek her out? Because she knows how to package products so that people will buy them. When Faith Popcorn made her business trend predictions for 2006, she called JoAnn to find out what was going on in the world of packaging. Businesses large and small call upon her to solve their packaging problems.

Tracking For Profits

2006-03-24T05:47:00.000-08:00

If you can't track it, don't do it.
Every high-performance venture needs a tracking system. A tracking system with well-designed metrics lets everyone know how well they are doing relative to their commitments. It is a guide to whether additional or extraordinary actions need to be taken.
It is one of the first things I set up with my business coaching clients because without a clear set of objective metrics it is hard for people to be clear about their results.
Establish intentions for your project, figure out the critical success factors, determine suitable measurements for each, and set performance targets for those measures.
For example, say your intention is to increase market penetration. The measure is your venture’s sales divided by total sales in your market. Perhaps your current market share is 10% -- good, you have a benchmark, and your new target is 25% by the end of the year.
That’s objective, measurable, and thus... achievable.
Make someone accountable for your project’s performance against each target.
Establish a timely tracking system for each metric, which easily gathers the necessary data.
Develop periodic interim performance targets, and a reporting structure to let everyone involved know how they are doing.
Your performance tracking systems can be kept with pen and paper, or they can be automated on your computer system. However you implement them, keep it simple and don't let the overhead of your tracking system become a burden of any kind.
Below is a very simple system I used to keep track of my page output while writing Faster Than The Speed of Change. It was kept on a computer spreadsheet, but could just as easily been pencil on graph paper. Whenever I was below the line I had catching up to do.
Start with 0 in the lower left corner, write units of measurement along the left axis, and dates of measurement along the bottom. Draw a straight reference line from 0 to your goal, and plot your performance against that goal. Of course the reference line need not be straight; set it up in whatever way reflects the time-relationship of your goals.
If you want to find out how you can set up a performance dashboard and completely systemize your entire business to make it "scalable and saleable" link to http://www.turnkeycoach.com

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By Paul Lemberg
Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life™. To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren’t sure what to do next, go to Paul's business coaching website.

Do It Once - Do It Right - Repeat – Automate

2006-03-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

The dream for every business venture is to discover the secret formula for success in their industry. It doesn’t matter how they discover the secret formula. The goal is to have one that is not only perfect but is reliable, repeatable and one that can be automated. If you are like me, you prefer doing business with a franchise brand name you can trust. It is the reliability of a repeated experience we prefer. We expect to repeat the same experience from each visit regardless of where the franchise is on the planet.
Franchising Your Sales Formula
We can apply this franchise formula and use their secrets as we develop a personal sales formula for our business. We simply need to follow the same steps they apply. First we need to discover the repeatable sales success formula for sales in our business. This might be similar to discovering the perfect cookie recipe using the right cooking temperature for the perfect length of time using the ideal secret ingredients. Our goal for this assignment is to document then duplicate and automate the procedure. When we finish, we will have a successful sales action plan we can repeat and automate.
The success formula for sales is very similar to our cookie example. As you know, the recipe must be followed or the results will be different. You know what happens when we substitute an ingredient in cooking or fail to follow the recipe. The same poor results will happen in sales. Here are three steps to franchise your sales formula for success.
Document the Events
Document the exact sequence of events including all the ingredients. Treat this exercise like a cookie recipe. You will want to know exactly what you said, when you said it, who you said it to and what you sent to achieve your results. Every business needs this documented but it is amazing how few businesses or salespeople have an actual action plan for sales. Treat this as if you were creating the perfect cookie and each action made a difference in taste. Once you have a successful sales formula, don’t accept substitutions. I once learned a painful lesson when I used baking soda instead of baking powder for cookies. The results were terrible tasting cookies I couldn’t give away.
Duplicate the Action Plan
When we visit the golden arches they duplicate their success formula to achieve consistent results. This is why I enjoy my fries and milk shakes with them. In sales we must learn to duplicate our action plans consistently. If we send mailers in our sales plan as the second step, we should always follow and duplicate this sequence of events. We should be considerate of the timing of our events. If we learn that every four days is the ideal timing, stick with the formula. The key point is meticulous adherence to details of our action plans. We must think of it as franchising our success formula as we duplicate our action plans.
Automate the Sales Events
With the advancements of technology we have numerous opportunities to automate the sales process. There are countless ways we can use computers and software to create systems that automate the sequence of events in the sales process. When we automate the routine sales event actions, we will gain more time for high priority sales actions. We should evaluate and consider everything we do as opportunities for automation. There are ways of merging tasks together, eliminating some and delegating others. We should focus on the important sales tasks and keep the main thing, the main thing. We should always remember the salespersons role is to develop profitable relationships that generate sales through the activities they perform.

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By Steve Martinez
Steve Martinez is the Founder of Selling Magic, a sales revolutionary company dedicated to teaching businesses how to increase sales by automating the best practices of sales. You can reach Steve at http://www.sellingmagic.com

Eliminate Your Prospect's Pain to Close More Sales

2006-03-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

For many years, I actually believed my customers and prospects when they gave me excuse after excuse for not buying from me. With my customers, the excuses came when I tried to convince them to try a new product they were not currently using. But from my prospects, the excuses were for not doing business with me at all.
Why is it, you might ask, that one customer was willing to take a chance on a new product and another is afraid of being a pioneer? After all, it is the pioneer who runs the biggest risk of getting an arrow in the back.
There’s no single answer to this question, but many times the answer lies with the prospect’s personality. Some prospects are risk takers and others are so conservative that they will only try something new if everyone of their competitors in the community has already begun to use it and experienced no problems. Other times, the prospect simply has doubts that the salesperson has yet to overcome.
What’s the best way to find out the “real reason?” Ask.
Here’s one way to phrase your question:
“Mr. Prospect, you have told me that [new product name] is attractive, reasonably priced and that you believe it will save you labor dollars. Yet, you still don’t seem to feel comfortable testing [new product name]. If you don’t mind my asking, what is standing between you and giving [new product name] a try?”
Another reason we often find that prospects won’t give a new product a try is because the “devil they know versus the devil they don’t know.” In other words, what they are using now is working for them. They’re not getting any complaints.
Therefore it’s sometimes necessary to make prospects realize that they’re not as well off as they thought they were. Without first suffering some amount of PAIN, many conservative people simply won’t make a move to something new.
How do you make a prospect suffer some pain? Again, some well-designed questions frequently help.
“Have you ever taken time to figure how much labor it’s costing you to manufacturer [name of the product prospect is currently using)?”
“In what ways would it affect your company if one of your key competitors had discovered a way to reduce cost by, say, $1,500 per unit?”
“How much time would it save you if your materials were placed at strategic locations around the job rather than dumped in one spot?”
“How call backs would it save you if we were to completely encase each shipment in plastic to prevent weather damage, theft, etc.”
You have to help your prospects SEE themselves benefiting from your product or service.
By becoming a problem solver rather than merely a salesperson, you’ll find that your sales will really take off. So instead of selling products, try selling solutions to your customer’s and your prospect’s problems.

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By Bill Lee
Bill Lee is author of Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line and 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com

Can Your Superstar Sales Person Become Your Superstar Sales Manager

2006-03-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

Finding the right person to fill the sales management role is a common quandary in wholesale distribution. It can be especially challenging when a decision is based strictly on sales territory performance without regard for the specific skill sets required to lead a sales force.. 2005 has been a good year in wholesale distribution with some industries recording double digit growth rates. With market cooperation like that, most sales people are smiling as they hit or exceed their quotas. Deciding on the right sales person to promote to sales manager can become a difficult and risky decision..
“We need a new sales manager. Let’s promote Tommy, he’s our leading producer in field sales.”
“No! We can’t afford to lose Tommy’s production in the field.”
“That’s not a problem. He can be a working sales manager and still call on his key accounts.”
Most of us should recognize that conversation but not many of us recognize the fallacies that lie within it. In wholesale distribution, it seems that the primary prerequisite for becoming a sales manager is being the top performing sales person. Promoting our top performing sales person to sales manager simply due to results is a big mistake. Personal experience tells me it has less than a forty percent chance for success. Our chance of success is decreased even further if we really believe that our sales manager can manage the sales force and still be solely responsible for a number of high volume accounts.
Different Skil Sets
l It is an undisputable fact that different skill sets are required to become a successful sales manager as compared to being a successful sales person. Selling is a profession that requires professionals. Managing a group of professionals with the type of personalities required to succeed in sales is no easy task. Yet, in my humble opinion, it is probably the most important management position you can hold in a company. Sales management holds the key to meeting company objectives. Effective sales management builds the platform for success. Sales people are not the easiest group in the company to manage. If they were they would not be sales people. Selling is not easy. It takes a special talent, self motivation, self discipline, a passion to succeed and the ability to accept rejection. The reality of the situation is simple. The majority of sales people are not managed well. Let’s look at some common sales management mistakes to help us develop the list of hints I promised that will increase your ability to determine which sales person at your company is likely to succeed as sales manager.
Mistake ----- Low tolerance for process.
Let’s face it, there probably isn’t a sales person alive that likes paperwork and administrative tasks. However, a Super Star Sales Manager will be process oriented. They understand that success in sales is driven by best practice and best practice is built around process. Sales effectiveness depends on predictable and repeatable best practice. The Super Star Sales Manager will create the kind of culture that negates the inherent aberration by sales people for process, structure, detailed and documented action planning.
HINT #1
If your star sales person embraces structure, pays attention to detail, is always current with required communications, documents his action planning process and doesn’t whine about administrative requirements passed down by corporate, chances are he/she will have a high tolerance for process. This means he/she possesses a basic understanding of structure and accountability. Everything isn’t locked up in their head just because they have been doing it a long time and have had great success.
Mistake ----- Weak coaching and mentoring skills
Relationship equity is still a primary ingredient for sales success. However, relationship equity with the customer is quite different than relationship equity with peers, subordinates and executive management. A Super Star Sales Manager will build enough relationship equity with their sales force to be able to provide effective coaching and mentoring in reviewing the sales person’s activities. They understand that you must manage activities and measure results. This coaching and mentoring process includes buddy calls, monthly territory reviews that provide support and resources to leverage individual sales talent. This process includes opportunity recognition and pipeline management. What does the sales person have in the pipeline? Can the sales manager provide proactive support and resources to increase the chance of success?
Hint #2
If your star sales person is reluctant to accept or seek out help, this may be an indication of the Lone Wolf methodology. Maximizing territory performance requires a team effort. Utilization of all resources and support is mandatory to grow market share and maximize profitability. Look for the sales person that is successful but recognizes that they are not alone. Look for the sales person that shares the credit for success, coaches the inside sales staff, recognizes the contributions of customer service personnel and others in the organization. This sales person has also gained the respect of his peers and is often seen giving advice and sharing ideas.
Mistake ---- Lack of development programs and leadership skills training
Leadership skills are extremely important to effective sales management. This is especially true when managing a sales force that leans more to the route mentality, is in a comfort zone, becomes complacent or is focusing on demand fulfillment as opposed to demand creation. The ability to recognize the need to adapt your management style not only to the situation but also to the individual is a key to gaining respect and trust from the sales force. This is a learned skill. Failure to seek out leadership skills training can be detrimental to success. A prerequisite to success in sales management is the ability to recognize talent and develop that talent. A Super Star Sales Manager will recognize talent and is willing to help develop that talent to reach its highest potential. They also prune the garden effectively. This means they hire well but fire even better. Failure to formalize a development program for sales management is a big mistake.
Hint #3
If your star sales person is not interested in attending seminars, doesn’t listen to self development tapes and hasn’t read a sales book in the past year, chances are they believe they are as good as they are going to get. Look for the sales person that is willing to be away from his territory, sacrificing commissions to increase his individual knowledge. This is the type of sales person that is a sponge when it comes to continuing education in the fields of sales. This person not only seeks company sponsored training but is willing to invest his own money and time in self improvement activities. They have a philosophy of continuous self improvement striving to be the very best that they can be.
Mistake ---- A Member of “The Lucky Territory Club”
Numbers alone don’t always tell the story. We need to analyze each individual success story. Just because a sales territory has performed well doesn’t automatically mean the sales person is a star. A ten percent sales growth sounds great but how good is it if the potential growth for that territory should be in the twenty or thirty per cent range. A ten percent sales growth in that territory sounds great but how good is it if the market in that territory actually grew by thirty percent and the sales person was in a comfort zone walking by opportunities daily.
Hint #4
When evaluating your star sales person for potential promotion, analyze the numbers thoroughly. Is the sales person the real reason for that territory success? Are the numbers as good as they appear when you consider all the factors? Determine how this territory was established. Is this sales person responsible for the long term growth of this territory or did they inherit it. Analyze new account development in this territory. Evaluate this sales persons prospecting skills. How many new accounts have been developed in the territory? What kind of penetration success has been demonstrated with existing accounts?
Hint #5
Look for the sales person that has the ability to think strategically. They are willing to sacrifice personal gain for the benefit of long term company success. (A rare quality). A sales person that may be a maverick and shoot from the hip occasionally but every risk they take is a calculated risk. Their personal objectives for territory performance are in alignment with the company’s strategic objectives in relationship to product development,, segmentation, vendor development and margin initiatives. Look for the sales person that has good communication skills internally, one that has learned to listen exceptionally well, a skill that often eludes some of the best sales personnel.
If you are ready to promote your star sales person to sales manager, pay attention to the hints listed in this article. If your star sales person measures up according to the factors discussed in this article, your chance of success increases dramatically. That means your Super Star Sales Person can become your Super Star Sales Manager. If they don’t measure up according to the hints discussed, look deeper into your sales organization for that sales manager or go outside the organization. There is no such thing as entitlement. Remember, different skill sets are required to be an effective sales manager.

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By Rick Johnson
http://www.ceostrategist.com Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership and the creation of competitive advantage. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information. CEO Strategist – experts in Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution and Sales Management Effectiveness. Jump start your sales force by getting Rick's new book -- Lone Wolf to Lead Wolf, The Evolution of Sales.

5 Ways to Beef Up Sales - Immediately

2006-03-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

Last week, one of my clients—we'll call him Rick—had a demo scheduled with a prospect. The standard "show up and throw up" they typically did early in the sales cycle.
Trying to shorten the sales cycle, I asked naively, "Why does the customer want to buy? What are they trying to accomplish?" Rick couldn't tell me. I asked if he thought the salespeople knew. He said no. I gave him an assignment: he had to find out "Why," "Why now," and "What's it worth." Otherwise no demo.
In other words, no compelling reason to buy...No demo.
So Rick took a risk, and is rapidly moving to a fully-paid trial implementation.
Sure, long-term objectives and plans still matter, but I've been getting more and more inquiries focused on "what to do now." Entrepreneurs and executives alike are demanding help on how to improve revenues and profits right away.
How do you make the quickest difference? Focus the bulk of your energy on revenue generation. In other words, sales! And don't do it the same old way either, because -- as you may have noticed -- it isn't working that well.
Here are five ways for your sales force to bring in more business in short order. There are no magic bullets, but just last week I taught one of these techniques to a client (#2) and he used it to close a deal the following day! Use one or use them all. Each technique will have its own effect, and each will multiply the power of the others.
1. Sell return on investment, and sell it to the CFO.
Sales people are complaining that while the pipeline may be full, the deals are taking too long to close. Perhaps that's why the pipe is so full! What are the reasons for this? Companies have money, and in many cases they have needs. But many people are so scared THEIR customers aren't going to buy THEIR wares, they are loath to spend any money themselves. The result? They are only willing to spend money when they absolutely see near-term financial payback, and the CFO is killing many deals.
The solution? Sell the return on investment. Sell the payback. And sell it to the CFO. Arm your salespeople with two things: A series of case studies that document the returns from using your product, and a well-defined ROI process worksheet. Work with the CFO to build the ROI case so that he or she owns it. This is the only way they come to believe it. Make it their idea and instead of killing your deal, they will help you close it.
2. Forget USP. Determine your Usage Cases
Instead of focusing on why your product is the latest and greatest, clarify the ways in which potential customers will use your product to solve specific problems and produce tangible results. Then, instead of touting the "benefits" of your product--which often fall on deaf ears, anyway--engage your prospects in conversations about what costly and quantifiable problems they now have, and how they might use your product or service to alleviate those.
And, as sales guru Mike Bosworth says, don't tell them your offering IS the solution. You're a sales "guy" and they won't believe you. Instead, ask them if your possible solution might help them. If they believe it does, they have accepted your solution as truth. Then get them to tell you, in real dollar terms, what fixing that problem is worth.
3. Increase Sales Training. Use the 10% solution.
But don't expect any one salesperson--even your superstars--to be 100% at every part of your sales process. They almost never are. But there is a way you can raise the level of every person in your sales organization—immediately.
Use this process adopted from W. Edwards Demming's principle of optimization. Break your sales process into as many discrete--but meaningful--steps as you can.. Cold calling. Letter writing. Setting appointments. Identifying pain. Writing proposals. Presenting. And so on. Find out who in your organization excels at each step, and have those reps explain their methods and mindset to the rest of your sales force. Do all the steps at once in a marathon session, or one step at a time. Either way, the results will be amazing.
4. Use the 80/20 Rule. And get rid of the bottom 20.
There's no room in today's world for mediocre producers. Hold each member of your team accountable for reaching two kinds of performance benchmarks: results measurements, which include not only revenue, but perhaps new accounts and repeat business, and action measurements, which might include prospecting calls, appointments, and new contacts.
Not every sales person will be a superstar, but every one should pay their own way--and then some. Salespeople who aren't producing not only cost you money, they drag down the performance of your whole organization. You may not pay them very much, but why pay them anything? I suggest you do both yourself and them a favor, and let them go. Don't worry about having an empty desk: that warm chair was an expense your company doesn't need.
If you feel it isn't fair to "dump" them, or if your sales cycle is too long to measure short-term revenue results, give the problem reps a 30-day plan to increase their level of activity in specific ways. That's long enough to see an improvement if there's going to be one.
5. Track your results and work harder
Most entrepreneurial sales organizations fail to analyze their efforts. They have no idea how much effort--or money--it takes to create a new customer. The only indication they have of whether salespeople are "doing enough" is based on the revenue numbers. The answer? Track both activity and results, and use the statistics your garner to quickly raise performance. Break your sales process into a series of meaningful steps, counting each time a rep completes one. Calculate averages and set a benchmark. And while you're at it, analyze the percentage of deals that close whenever you complete that step. That knowledge can dramatically improve your sales forecasts.
Once you establish benchmarks--this one's a no-brainer--RAISE THE BAR. Yes, that's right, because the fact is, revenue isn't coming in fast enough. Do everything discussed above to improve your sales effectiveness--then do more of it. Just working smarter isn't going to cut it. You're going to have to work harder as well. And anyone who doesn't want to? See number 4 above.
I've developed a unique Sales Audit Process based on the work of W. Edwards Demming. This program is guaranteed to produce an immediate 10-25% improvement in your company's sales, or more. If you'd like to find out more about how you can increase sales right away, call me at 858-951-3055, or visit www.paullemberg.com/contact.html and send an email with details about your company's sales situation.

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By Paul Lemberg
Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life(tm). To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren’t sure what to do next, go to Paul's business coaching website.

The History of Cigars

2006-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

No doubt, cigar smoking is a pleasure. Over the period, it is considered as the symbol of status of wealth and class. But, do you wonder from where this fashion of cigar smoking came into limelight and who started this? According to research, cigars have been around for over 1,000 years. It was started by the original native population of the islands in the Caribbean as well as the rest of Mesoamerica in as early as 900 AD. In fact, a ceramic vessel at a Mayan dig site in Uaxactun, Guatemala have been found, which was painted with the likeness of a man smoking a cigar that’s says the glowing past of cigars.
Later Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus had introduced the smoking to Europe. With two of his colleagues Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, Columbus had taken puffs of tobacco wrapped in maize husks, thus becoming the first European cigar smokers.
During 19th century, the popularity of cigars was on its heights. In fact, all the states of United States had a cigar factory. Cigars were more popular than cigarettes making almost everyone a smoker, or lived with one. Later, in the early part of the 20th century, cigar sales were at its peak. According to a report, the weight of tobacco sold in the United States alone in one year would equal the weight of the entire population of 10 states combined. Found everywhere in the united states, cigars were priced as per the size of the pocket of the general population as earlier Americans were not allowed to buy the Cuban cigars.
Online Cigars MarketThe passion of smoking cigars increased with the time. There has been a tremendous rise in the number of cigar smokers now in comparison of past years. Order whether an oscuro cigar, the black one or choose the claro, light brown cigar, make sure you get the right cigar to enjoy that unforgettable experience that lasts forever. By buying cigars online, you can also protect yourself from the duplicate cigars that are common these days. In fact, it also gives you the facility to get cigars at your doorsteps too, no matters you are the resident of any corner of the world.
Cigars are the ultimate experience of smoking. From last 1000 years, the fashion of cigar smoking is in practice and still alluring many aficionados to carry on this great passion.
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By Rachna Agarwal

For more information on buy cigars online visit http://www.selective-cigars.com.
Author is a cigar industry expert.

Point Of Sale Displays

2006-02-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

In a competitive market, point of sale displays help solve several of a marketer’s short-term hurdles. The impact of sales promotion measures is not durable like the results obtained through advertising and personal selling. Sale displays by and large are understood and practiced as a catalyst and as a supporting facility to advertising and personal selling.
Point of sale displays differs from advertising in many ways. Whereas advertising is mostly an indirect and subtle approach towards persuading consumers to buy a product, sale displays is a direct and almost open inducement to consumers to immediately try the product. Secondly, advertising normally has long-term objectives like building brand awareness or building consumer loyalty or repositioning a brand, sale displays performs an immediate task of increasing current sales. Finally, advertising helps sales by adding some durable and long-term value to the product, while point of sale displays aid selling by temporarily changing the existing price-value relationship of the product.
While continuing to use advertising to build long term patronage of the consumer, sale displays will come handy to give the occasional spurt required to boost up current sales. Marketing man resort to sale displays to meet several marketing needs such as introducing new products, overcoming a unique competitive situation, unloading accumulated inventory, overcoming seasonal slumps, getting new accounts, retrieving lost accounts and for persuading dealers to buy more/ increase the size of the orders.
The above categorization is based on the marketing problem to be tackled. If we look at the target group to whom sale displays measures are normally aimed at, we find four broad target groups, viz. the consumer, the trade or channel and influential groups. Bulk of the sale displays effort is aimed at the consumer and the trade.

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By Josh Riverside
Point Of Sale provides detailed information about point of sale, point of sale displays, point of sale hardware, point of sale marketing and more. Point Of Sale is the sister site of Fulfillment And Distribution.

Advertising Specialty Distributors

2006-02-03T01:58:00.000-08:00

Advertising Specialty Distributors sell and market the products of various manufacturers. These distributors cater to the needs of the people by making the finished Advertising Specialty products available. Advertising Specialty distributors are also known as promotional product distributors. If you are a new Advertising Specialty products manufacturer then the Internet is the best place to look for distributors.
Nowadays, the majority of Advertising Specialty manufacturers are in the business of distribution as well. These companies don’t want to hire any middlemen or distributors to sell their products; they prefer direct contact with the market. They generally manage the orders from large corporate houses along with the smaller businesses. Apart from distributing they also provide services like designing, imprinting and communication.
Generally, major Advertising Specialty Distributors contract with the companies who are either manufacturers or consumers. While looking for an Advertising Specialty Distributor, always look into its track record of the market coverage. This means its range of covering the market and people. If the shop is centrally located or in an industrial area, that distributor will generally have an edge over his rivals. Their main aim is to secure product acceptance and maximum market coverage.
Advertising Specialty products are more popular than ever; there are 15,000 to 20,000 distributors in the U.S. market alone. So if you’re new to the market or an old player who desires to make a mark, then try to go in for a big and established Advertising Specialty Distributor, who can take your product places. But make sure the chosen distributor fulfills all your requirements.

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By Eric Morris

Advertising Specialties provides detailed information about advertising specialties, advertising specialty companies, advertising specialty distributors, advertising specialty manufacturers, and more. Advertising Specialties is the sister site of Outdoor Banner Stands.

Advertising Specialty Distributors

2006-02-03T01:55:00.000-08:00

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By Eric Morris

New Marketing And Promotional Ideas

2006-02-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

New marketing and promotional ideas! Free! Most are related to internet-based businesses, but even those can usually be adopted in some way to other businesses. Here are half a dozen marketing ideas to get you thinking.
A one-hour coupon. Offline businesses that want to increase the traffic to their websites can announce an "internet coupon" good for a free drink (or whatever). The coupon would be up on the site for an hour, sometime on a Friday, say. Visitors will return again and again to try to be there at the right time to get the freebie. If you collect pay-per-click advertising fees, this repeat traffic might be especially profitable.
Free gift article teaser. A free gift is certainly not a new marketing idea, but it hasn't been done much in internet article "resource boxes." My click-throughs from articles increased when I started putting in the author's resource box, "For more information and a free gift, visit..." The gift is usually a short course, or an e-book. If you don't want to write an e-book, you can find one with free distribution rights.
Word links for sale. Maybe you have heard about the entrepreneur that sold a million pixels on one web page for a dollar each. Advertisers could buy a minimum of 100, and the image would link to their site. I've seen many copycats, but I haven't yet seen anyone selling words. This could be even better for advertisers, because they could buy the words that are relevant to their products. A page full of random words isn't pretty, but these things get publicity and traffic for their novelty.
Product user contests. If you have a product that's used in many ways or many places, this is a great promotional gimmick: a contest to see who has used their cell phone, watch, or whatever in the wildest place or the most unusual way. ("I took my walkman to the north pole!") Customers could post their stories and photos directly to your company web site. They wiould return repeatedly to see new stories, and the results of the competition.
Advertising on cereal boxes. A lot of time is spent staring at cereal boxes. Perhaps you could get a good rate on advertising on them. There have had some advertising, but no boxes covered in ads yet. Brokering ad space on cereal boxes could be a good business to get into.
Pay for article placement. Many of us distribute articles to generate traffic to our web sites, and many also pay to advertise. Since articles are especially good marketing tools, why not pay to have other webmasters put them on their sites? This is done for free now, but not often enough. Maybe offer a small one-time fee, with a minimum time commitment. Explain that leaving the article there forever can generate search engine traffic.
Put ads on private cars, advertising on sidewalks, have a contest to see who can get your product mentioned on and seen on TV - there are endless possibilities for new marketing and promotional ideas.
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By Steven Gillman

Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: New Ideas (http://www.999ideas.com)

Ball of String Sales Supervision

2006-02-03T01:52:00.000-08:00

How many times have you hired a new sales person and because he or she was experienced and successful somewhere else, they understand how to be successful in your organization? Moreover, did you take for granted that the new salesperson understood what was expected of them on the very first day they began with you? And unfortunately sometime later discovered they do not have your company’s sales process, policies, procedures and prices well understood?
In many ways you vest authority to your salespeople to make instantaneous decisions when in the customer and prospect presence. Unless your salesperson is fully knowledgeable (and that means tested in some fashion) about how it is done in your company, predictably a few things will come unraveled.
Try this the next time you bring a new salesperson aboard; that is try the “ball of string” approach.
As you verify assigned minor goals and objectives are being completed, you can let a little string off the ball to see how the increased authority and responsibility is handled. Then, as more difficult objectives are completed you let a little more string out, giving a little more opportunity to demonstrate their grasp of your company. After successive measurement periods you will have an understanding of exactly what the new salespersons' capabilities are so far. Now you are in a position to identify what skill set, additional product or company knowledge is required for enhanced performance - or if corrective action needs to be taken.
Why do this? Coaching your salespeople to improved performance involves understanding any present competencies, as well as those areas that need shoring up and improvement. When you turn your new salespeople ”loose” if you will, you will discover further along that what you had assumed at the start was most likely premature. They are not ready to be considered a full-fledged salesperson – at least not yet in your organization. Assuming they are up to speed too soon probably will require you to intervene, or worse yet perform triage in rectifying scenarios created from lack of company policies, procedures, processes, practices and product knowledge. Also expect to receive phone calls from your prospects and customers asking you ‘what is going on with your company anyway?’
Try the “ball of string” technique the next time you select and hire any new salesperson. Letting a little string out as you go and as objectives are meet ensures you know where the new hire is in their understanding of your organization. You’ll find you understand how well the basics are understood, as well as what you need to address with them so they continue to improve. Through continuous observation and coaching, you will always be able to judge what remains open for improvement; letting a little more string off the ball as you go.
And oh yes, lest we fail to mention, something for your own piece of mind.
Doing it this way will avoid being awake nights wondering when you personally must get involved in sweeping up the broken glass created by incorrect information about your company’s sales process, policies, procedures and prices with your customers and internal support organization. Moreover, the last thing you want to deal with is an upset customer that is barraging you with complaints about the new salespersons' sales style.

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By Don McNamara

Don McNamara is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and is President of Heritage Associates, Inc. http://www.heritage-associates.net
Heritage Associates is a full service sales management consulting, training and coaching company. Don also speaks and writes on the art and science of superior sales management and top sales performance.
With over 30 years sales experience from the field level to executive sales management, in his career he has been an individual contributor, corporate sales training manager, regional manager, national sales manager and vice president of sales. Don is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, where he serves as Professional Development Chair and the National Speakers Association.

Overcoming Call Reluctance

2006-01-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

Everyone in marketing faces it at one time or another - reluctance to pick up the phone and make calls. Logically, it makes no sense to feel that way. We believe in our product or service. We have a script that’s either been given to us or one that we’ve carefully written out. We have a list of prospects that are at least somewhat targeted. We know that when someone says “No”, it’s not directed at us. And still… the phone weighs a ton.
OK. You decide that the pain of being broke is greater than the pain of “cold” calling, so you commit to making calls each and every day. Or at least commit to try. Or try at least some days each week. For a while anyway…
We’ve all been through all of this before, and guess what? IT DOESN’T WORK! We’re still reluctant to make the calls we know we need to. So what’s the deal? Are you just “bad” at calling? Is it that calling only works for some but not most of us?
The answer, of course, is that calling can work for any one of us. It’s a matter of finding the right “key”(s) to open that door of calling success. We need to address why the typical “cold” call isn’t effective. We’ll start with the obvious issue. Calling strangers causes most people some amount of anxiety. Why does it make us feel so anxious and apprehensive? I’ve found that there are four reasons that cause people to feel anxious about calling. If any one of them exists, anyone would feel anxious about making a call. Here they are:
1) We feel that we sound like a telemarketer. Somewhat unprofessional and/or insincere.
2) We aren’t sure how to effectively start the call.
3) We aren’t sure how to effectively steer the conversation.
4) We aren’t sure how to comfortably and professionally end the conversation.
Let’s look at each one of these issues separately and find out how to put them behind us.
1) We feel that we sound like a telemarketer
What makes a telemarketer sound like a telemarketer? Think about it for a moment. You know the drill – we’ve all received telemarketing calls both at home and at work. What is it about that call that marks it as a telemarketing call? There are several factors that make us cringe at these calls. First off, telemarketers are either overly friendly to start with or they sound completely disinterested. Both make the caller sound insincere. Secondly, telemarketers talk and rarely ask. The call is all about their product and service and not about the person who received the call. Thirdly, they usually plow through their script, not allowing us to get a word in edgewise. And fourth, it’s always evident that they’re reading a script to you rather than speaking to you as a person. Those four factors generally mark the call as a telemarketing call.
How do you keep people from viewing you as a telemarketer? Simple. Don’t do those things!
a) When you call, don’t be overly enthusiastic and don’t be disinterested or matter-of-fact in your tone. Speak in an appropriate, natural tone and manner.
b) As you get into your conversation, ask questions. Be consultative. Remember, this is about your prospect, not about you.
c) & d) Practice your script so it is as conversational as possible. I always write out my script so it reads as naturally as possible. It’s usually not perfect writing but it is always natural and easy to say.
2) We aren’t sure how to start the call
The thing that annoys most of us when a telemarketer calls is that they dive right into some sales pitch without even knowing whether we have the time or interest in hearing about what they have to say. The most effective way to be viewed as a professional is to act like one. As an example, here is the way I start my marketing calls:
“Bob? Good Morning. This is Michael Beck. How are you today? (pause) Bob, I’m an executive coach (pause – I want to make sure they understood what I just said) and have worked with insurance managers for a number of years. Do you have a few minutes to chat?”
As simple as the above exchange is, it serves a number of important purposes:
a) In short order, I’ve told him who I am and what I do.
b) I said his name two times. (People love to hear their own name. Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”)
c) I began to establish credibility. (“I’ve worked with insurance managers for a number of years.”)
d) I asked permission to take some of his time.
3) We aren’t sure how to steer the conversation
We ended the start of our phone call with a question: “Do you have a few minutes to chat?” There can only be three answers to that question – “Yes”, “No”, or “What is this about?”
• If the answer is Yes, you’re off and running.
• If the answer is No, you could say you’ll call back or ask when a good time to call back would be, but why not use the opportunity to get more information? Since you’ve already told him who you are and what you do, why not ask: “Would you like me to call back?” The answer will either be Yes or No! Either way you should be happy. Either you’ll know not to waste your time trying to reach a disinterested prospect or you’ll have a somewhat pre-qualified prospect on your list!
• If the response is, “What is this about?”, have a short explanation of why you’ve called prepared, something like: “I wanted to share some of what I do, find out what your initiatives are, and see whether what I do could help you reach your goals faster and easier.”
Pretty straightforward isn’t it? …
If you approach the meat of your conversation in a way to see if you can help your prospect, rather than sell them something, it’s quite easy to have a stress-free, effective conversation.
No matter what the goal of your call is, at some point the discussion needs to draw to a close with a “trigger” question. “Can we set up an appointment to go over this in more detail?” or “Here’s what we should do next…”
4) We aren’t sure how to end the conversation
How you handle the end of your conversation will determine you well you protect your attitude. We ended the middle of our conversation with a question (see a pattern here?). There can only be three answers to your question – “Yes”, “I need more information”, or “No”
• If the answer is Yes, again you’re off and running.
• If the answer is a request for more information, have a simple process ready to provide prospects with additional information and/or credibility-building materials, get a commitment for a follow-up call, and set it up as an appointment in both your calendar and theirs. Don’t leave the follow-up as a vague process. Inotherwords get a phone appointment and avoid endless voicemails and phone tag.
• If the answer is No, my preference is to thank them for their time and candor, ask them if they’d like me to give them a call back in 6-12 months, and then hang up!
Let me close with a couple of perspectives that have served me and others well over the years.
One perspective is that if you find that any one prospect means a great deal to you, it’s a sure sign that you aren’t finding enough prospects. Put in more effort. Then everything else takes care of itself.
The other perspective that I have found helpful pertains to rejection, and is illustrated in this story:
Imagine you have a recipe for fantastic chocolate chip cookies and bake them to perfection. They’re absolutely delicious! You take a tray of these cookies around to people, asking them whether they would like one. The first person takes one and loves it. The next person you offer the cookies to declines - they are full, don’t like chocolate, or don’t want sweets. Here is the key question: “Does the fact that the second person didn’t want your cookies affect the quality of the cookies or the skill of the baker?” Clearly the answer is no. Their decision doesn’t have anything to do with the cookies or the baker. Their decision was about what’s going on in your their life, not yours.
When you create an effective phone process – knowing how to get into and out of conversations – and understand that a “No” truly is not about you at all, calling becomes more comfortable and it becomes easier to make many more calls. The result? Financial Success!
Copyright 2006 Exceptional Leadership, Inc.

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By Michael J Beck

Michael Beck, "The Insurance Coach" is an Executive Coach and Recruiting Activist, and helps insurance professionals succeed faster and easier. He can be reached at 866-385-8751 or mbeck@theinsurancecoach.com Visit his website to learn more: http://www.TheInsuranceCoach.com You can subscribe to his newsletter here: http://www.theinsurancecoach.com/Subscribe.htm

Sales Managers: Get Your Team Up For The Game!

2006-01-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

If you’re a sports fan, or an athlete, as I am, you know when you or your team are “flat” and are just phoning-in their performances, and when they’re juiced, and ready to go.
It makes a crucial difference in sports, as well as in selling.
In both situations, we have to get up for the game, and if you’re a sales manager, it’s your duty to psych up your players before every engagement, whenever possible.
As a former sales manager, and as a sales coach and consultant, I advocate having frequent sales meetings for this purpose. Meet, greet, and motivate your people before every shift, if they sell from inside.
If they’re outside sellers, try to arrange frequent telephone conferences to achieve the same thing,
Remind them of their sales targets, and try to tell inspiring stories, or share recent customer testimonials with them.
Every meeting should give them another reason to feel proud of themselves and what they’re selling.
You can use these get-togethers to review closing techniques, or to introduce better techniques of any kind. And most important, team members can discuss what’s working for them, which their peers don’t get a chance to see and to hear for themselves.
But the key deliverable from a successful meeting is emotion. They should get a boost, feeling higher and more energized than before.
One of my salesmen said to me, after our umpteenth meeting, “Gary, I might be able to make more money somewhere else, but nothing is going to be this much fun!”
Mission accomplished!

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By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Why This Car Is Smarter Than Most Customers!

2006-01-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

I’ll never forget taking my first test drive in a Mercedes.
The salesman was related to dealership’s owner. And he was anything other than a chip off the old block.
Papa was elegant and cultivated, and very much a gentleman, prone to understatement.
The kid was brash, spoiled, impatient, and a lot of other things you can imagine.
We were driving in a residential area, and I was concerned that the pickup was hesitant.
He told me to push the pedal to the metal, and it didn’t help, much. I thought this car might be able to do 60 in a half-hour, or so, if you timed it on a track.
Anyway, the ride came to a conclusion, but not before I asked a question about the transmission, which seemed jerky, from gear to gear.
Obviously frustrated with me, perhaps partly because I was younger than the demonstrator, he said I could stop worrying about the mechanical integrity, because “This car is more intelligent than most people!”
Hey, I know a compliment when I hear one, and this was anything but.
All I could do was smile. I had never heard of insulting your way to a sale, but this seemed to be just such an attempt. Did he actually expect to earn my business this way?
Recently, I spoke to a sales manager in a different industry, and he revealed that he loves to insult prospects, that they actually seem to appreciate it.
No, he’s not in the whip business, buggy, or otherwise.
All I can say is that the car dealer that insulted me has gone through its share of hard times, because the nameplate it represents has been plagued by quality problems.
Moreover, it has faced excruciating competition from other brands such as Lexus and Infiniti, to name a few.
Now, those are some intelligent cars!

________________________________

By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Increase Your Failure Rate: Go for the NO!

2006-01-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

Interview with Richard Fenton as he talks about striving to get "no" instead of a "yes" when sales pitching. Read on!!
Reader Views is please to have with us Richard Fenton, author of “Go for No!” With the world being inundated with books that give sales training techniques for getting to the “yes” Richard recommends the opposite – going for the “no.” Welcome Richard.
Irene: First of all, what inspired you to write “Go for No!”?
Richard: Basically, Go for No is my personal story. Most of my life I have allowed the fear of failure and rejection to rule my actions, so much so that I wasted years not pursuing my dreams. Of course, this is not to say that I have “mastered” the art of courage. Courage requires daily focus; in that way I am clearly a “work in progress.” And I’ve always wondered what it would be like to meet the person you will one day become, say 10 or 20 years in the future. What would they (you) be like? What could they teach you? What advice would you give yourself if this were actually possible? And, since I think most people have a fear of failure and rejection… as I do… I decided to make that the main theme of the book.
Irene: How did you pick the characters for your book?
Richard: Eric Bratton, both as the main character and his alter-ego “future self”, is me. The first EB is the person I was; the second is the person I am becoming. I guess you could say the “real me” is somewhere in the middle.
Irene: Does the “real me” continue to fluctuate between the two alter-egos?
Richard: Absolutely! I would love to be able to say that the strong me is present all the time. But, even though I know better and literally wrote the book on this, I still slip into weak me mode sometimes. But that’s what being courageous is all about. Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in the face of it. Without the fear, there is no courage.
Irene: Did you base any of the characters on your own life experience?
Richard: Yes. Harold, the manager who tells Eric to “go for no” is a real manager from my past who had a profound effect on my life by telling me exactly that. All the rest are simply vehicles for the concepts I wanted to express.
Irene: The writing style is different from most books in this genre, yet the message is as powerful, or more powerful, than books that are written giving techniques and tools for improvement. Why do you believe readers will “get it” with your book as compared to others?
Richard: First, thanks for the compliment. As to your question, yes, I hope so. I’ve always responded more to stories that keep me engaged, where there is a vested interest in a character and curiosity as to what will happen next in the story, like in movies or novels. It’s also a lot more fun to write, which is important to me personally.
Irene: You focus on the “no” aspects. We are taught to direct our thoughts to the “yes” aspects, the so called positive focus. Tell us how “no” actually is a positive after all.
Richard: We are all taught, directly or indirectly, that “yes” is the destination in life, to get what we want, whether we’re selling a product, asking for a raise, convincing the guy or girl of our dreams to marry us, or getting our kids to eat their spinach. What we’re not taught is that the willingness to hear “no” is how we get there. In that way, yes and no are not opposites; they’re simply opposite sides of the same coin.
Irene: Most of us don’t want to hear “no” for an answer. It starts in childhood and continues throughout life. You are proposing a concept that is hard to switch to. What are your suggestions for changing a mindset that has been integrated into the thought pattern throughout the lifetime?
Richard: This is an interesting question. We get a lot of letters from people who’ve read the book, many who say they were immediately able to make the switch, and others who struggle with it. It’s important to realize that courage is a muscle like any other physical muscle; building it requires exercise! This is not to say it’s easy. Success is simple, but it’s never easy.
Irene: As a key-note speaker you present a step-by-step process for setting “no-goals” to increase productivity. Again, this is against the rule. Explain to us how your theory actually does work.
Richard: Let me use how we “sell” my speaking services to our clients. To make the living I want to give 50 keynote presentations a year, basically one a week. Statistically, from our experience, each of those dates (the “yeses”) involves us getting turned down (the “noes”) approximately 100 times. So, we have two choices; one is to go for 50 yeses per year, the other is to go for 5,000 noes. That’s our “no” goal: to get rejected 5,000 times per year. If we do that, the yeses take care of themselves.
Irene: This all reminds me of the statistics courses I struggled through in college. It is finally making sense. However, most of us have rejection issues. What are your suggestions on facing 5000 noes just to get 50 yeses. That is a lot of rejections to face and the self-esteem could really be stretched.
Richard: One of the most important things to realize is that “no” isn’t personal. When we personalize it – meaning that we see the no as a rejection of ourselves – then, yes, the constant rejection can take a chunk out of our self-esteem. So the key is to not take it personally. For example, I attended a workshop recently and one of the things we learned was to think “SWSWSW” whenever someone says no to us.
Irene: Which means…?
Richard: Some Will, Some Won’t, So What?! The rejection has nothing to do with you – it’s only personal if you allow it to be. Or, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”
Irene: A lot of us have a fear of failure. Most of us don’t want to admit it or don’t even realize that is the basis of non-success. Please give us some insight on how we can address our fears.
Richard: Wow, what a wonderful segue to mention my next book, co-authored with Andrea Waltz, called “The Fear Factory” which is due out in May, 2006. While I’ve got you, want to buy a copy? I figure the worst that could happen is that you’ll say no.
Irene: I’m sure your next book will be as revealing as “Go for No!” Is there anything else you would like the reading audience to know about you or your book?
Richard: Go for No! is a life philosophy… we urge anyone who wants to do more… or be more… to get it and read it. And let us know about how the go for no philosophy has affected them. This is more about me and my book… I want to help the world to go for no! Readers can find us at http:www.goforno.com

__________________________________

By Irene Watson

Irene Watson is the managing editor of Reader Views http://www.readerviews.com

Picasso's Five Sales Strategies

2006-01-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the last century, no question about it.
The other day I spent some extra time at the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena, checking out his paintings, and then his sculptures, and I got to thinking about what he could teach salespeople.
There are at least five solid lessons:
(1) Picasso put "The Law of Large Numbers" to work. (See my audio program with this title, published by Nightingale-Conant.)
He was extremely prolific, having created, literally thousands of works over his career. Compare that to DaVinci, whose significant output was extremely limited, however brilliant. Salespeople should be constantly opening new accounts, more than they think they need to reach their quotas and to have a nice living. Push yourself to create a lot, every day, that’s the Picasso way!
(2) Picasso, as you may know, used various expressive styles. He had a “blue” period, dabbled in cubism, realism, minimalism, and so forth. There are lots of ways to communicate with your public, so become adept at all: phone, face to face, voice mail, email, etc.
(3) Ignore your critics, internal and external. If you watch the movie about Picasso, starring Anthony Hopkins, you can see how self-confident this guy was, especially in his romances and work. He didn’t indulge in self-criticism, and he had no time to listen to his external critics. In fact, he probably outlived most of them!
(4) Lead, and let others follow. Emerson said to be great is to be misunderstood, and while Picasso did enjoy commercial success during his lifetime, he set his own course, boldly creating styles unique to himself. One of the sculptures I like a lot at the Norton Simon Museum actually looks a hundred years ahead of our time, and he shaped it in 1909! I think it may take audiences that long to really “get it,” but so what?
(5) Enjoy yourself! This guy loved life, and was filled with energy and vitality. He left nothing un-done; you can see this in the movie about his life. Work should be involving and enjoyable. If it’s drudgery, it’s not just killing your creativity; it’s probably killing you.
Most great artists outlive everyone else, except great comedians. We could do worse than to model our careers after luminaries such as Picasso, Erte, and Dali, to name a few.

_____________________________________

By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Practical Tips to Motivating Employees

2006-01-14T03:47:00.000-08:00

Some employees are true self-starters and seem to motivate themselves to excel. But even with your highest flyers, there could be times where he or she hits a funk and needs some positive motivation. Look to these tips to help you through the trial:
Make sure the goal is crystal clear - The first step in motivating an employee is ensuring he very clearly understands the goal and when it needs to be met. If goals aren’t clear or if you can’t articulate the goal yourself, spend time getting clarity with both yourself and the employee.
Put them on the same side of the table as you - Design your rewards (financial, prestige, etc.) around attainment of the goal and get them working with you as opposed to against you. Putting some tangible rewards around goal attainment will allow the employees to see the fruits of their labor.
Don’t be afraid to expose poor performance - If progress isn’t being made against the goal, be very explicit and deliberate about showing objective performance measures and progress against the measure. Objectivity is very important here; if you are concerned about being objective, use a trusted colleague or HR representative to cross-check you.
Clearly articulate the consequences of continued poor performance - Ensure the employee knows what can happen if performance doesn’t improve. It could be loss of financial reward, a lower job title, or in extreme cases, termination. Again, be objective and use a trusted colleague or HR rep if necessary.
Follow through - Don’t make idle threats or statements that the employee knows you won’t follow through on. If you set a goal to be achieved by a certain date and both your reward and consequence are clear; be prepared to follow through on either the reward or consequence.
___________

By Lonnie Pacelli

Lonnie Pacelli has over 20 years' experience with Accenture and Microsoft and is currently president of Leading on the Edge™ International. Lonnie's books include "The Project Management Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-Ups and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass" and "The Truth About Getting Your Point Across". Get the books, leadership products, other articles, MP3 seminars and a free email mini seminar at http://www.leadingonedge.com

Try Selling The Finer Things In Life

2006-01-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

I started my career by selling newspapers on street corners and then when I was old enough, I landed a job with Time-Life Books, promoting their best-selling nature, science, and food libraries by phone.
Since then, of course, I’ve sold a lot of other things. But the thread that runs through my career, what I really enjoy, is creating and selling knowledge: seminars, consulting, coaching, books, tapes, newsletters, and the like. I suppose I just have an affinity for learning and teaching.
Others may like technology or travel or agriculture or boating.
I bring this up because you should sell items for which you have a good temperamental fit, goods and services that you respect or personally enjoy. If you don’t, I believe you’ll underachieve, and worse, you’ll be unhappy. And you might blame the profession of selling for your woes, instead of identifying the real culprit.
If I were in the car business today, I’d sell Porsches. I drive one, and I wouldn’t mind collecting them, when I have a close encounter with a ton of extra money!
But I wouldn’t be happy at all, selling average cars. While they have their place, they simply don’t inspire me.
There are cars on the market that cost as much, if not more than Porsches, but I know, from direct experience, that their engineering is vastly overrated, and they spend too much time on hoists. They’re not for me. I’ll have nothing to do with them, given a choice.
Call it snobby, but I know myself. I’d be a misfit if I had to sell something I didn’t respect or enjoy.
I’ve often thought about the maxim that a salesperson must “believe” in his product. I’m not sure that exactly captures what I’m referring to. I think appreciate, admire, enjoy are closer to the mark.
I knew a fellow manager at Time-Life who, on more than one occasion said, “If they didn’t pay me to do this, I’d hang around for free, just to watch!”
If you feel that way about what you’re selling, or about the company for which you’re working, then that is one of the best rewards you can get.
Then, you’re selling one of the finer things in life.
___________

By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

The Wrong Time to Promote?

2006-01-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

This might be a given for some people, but it still needs to be said. If someone has not specifically asked for your information, don't send it. Simple as that. Not only are you wasting time, you are wasting money as well. It could also have an impact on your image, so just don't do it.
Often times on message board was see someone simply say "I want to work for home" and is bombarded with offers. The correct thing to do in this situation is to first find out what kind of interests they have. You may want them as a recruit, but you don't want them if they have zero interest in your products and will quit in just a few short months.
Another example of a wrong time to promote was a snail mail we received. This person had good intentions I'm sure, but what they did not realize is we have other businesses. The business information this person sent was in direct conflict with one of these other businesses. If you were a Mary Kay rep, would you purposely send business information to an Avon rep? I would hope not, but it's amazing how many do this every day without realizing it.
Finally another point we need to bring up is articles. While they are a far cry from business information and don't even fall into the same category, we can't tell you how many articles we get a day that have absolutely nothing to do with our publication. If you write articles, which you should in any business, make sure you know where your articles are going. Gardening has nothing to do with a business newsletter, so don't send it there. Read publisher guidelines, and the publication if you can before submitting. Avoid auto submissions that don't tell you where your article is going.
The bottom line is - if it's not asked for, don't send it! Your reputation, time, and money are at risk when you send information at random.

_______________________________________
By Kara Kelso and Anita DeFrank
Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank are two busy wahms, and the owners of Direct Sales Helpers. For more Direct Sales Success Tips, visit: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/newsletter.html

Want Sales? Take-It-Or-Leave-It Pay Plans Should Get-Up-And-Go!

2006-01-11T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was chatting with a national sales manager for a growing company who expressed interest in attracting top sales and management talent.
When I asked him about the compensation he offers, he detailed a plan that consists of a super-low, guaranteed salary plus reasonable commissions, based on performance.
Then, I probed to determine what alterative pay plans he had in place, and he seemed shocked at the question.
“This is our plan,” he emphasized.
I went on to tell him that what he outlined is incredibly unattractive to someone of high caliber, and he should come up with more exciting alternatives, if he is sincere about attracting top talent.
It amazes me how inflexible managers become once they have formed a pay plan that at least a few people will work under, without complaint. They adopt an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.
Which is very, very shortsighted for one simple reason: people in sales, particularly, are motivated differently. For instance, some folks thrive in a commission-only environment, while others need a hefty, set salary before they feel they can relax and give their best.
You have to allocate your incentives to fit the beings you’re working with. If they need security, but they’re good, adjust the mix so there’s a healthy guarantee. If they’re daredevils or folks who are used to being on the high wire, working without a safety net, then back-load the incentives so they’re paid nicely based on results.
But also appreciate that they’re judging you, and your company. Salespeople and managers with excellent track records will see everything about you, from the quality of the shoe leather on your feet to the permanent or temporary feeling of the furniture in your office.
If anything about you says, “Fly by night,” they’ll insist on up-front pay, and they’ll doubt strongly if you’ll be around to remember your promise of lofty commissions in the hereafter.
In other words, if company like IBM or Exxon says it will honor your future achievement with big bonuses, you have a right to believe them, and you know they’ll be around to collect from, if you have to hold their feet to the fire.
When it comes to health benefits, more and more companies are going to a “cafeteria” format, enabling people to pick and choose, and to trade off one good thing for another.
Try applying this modern sensibility to compensation and you and your company will be handsomely rewarded--with performance.

_______________________________________

By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

How To Turn Regrets Into Opportunities

2006-01-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

It's time to take inventory. What worked for you and what didn't work for you throughout 2005?
When you think about last year what are the things you regret not doing? Will you also regret not doing these things in 2006?
The best way to turn regrets into opportunities is to set them up as personal goals. It's always worked for me and I'm sure it can work for you.
For example, write down five things you regret not doing last year. With this in mind create another list. What are the five things you'd like to accomplish in 2006 personally and professionally?
Putting your list on paper is very important. You see, most people don't do this and it's the biggest reason why 92.5% of all New Year's resolutions never get done. 92.5% of all New Year's resolutions become individual regrets. That's no way to start the New year, especially if you're in sales.
There's a little space in your mind and it's called - imagination. Everyone has one but so few people engage it.
The more vivid you can imagine yourself achieving something the more likely you will be able to achieve it. Pretty simple stuff huh?
If you can't see yourself (Clearly) doing something why in the world would you expect to achieve it. The plain truth is if you can't see it you won't do it.
It all starts with you. Crank up your imagination! The world is waiting for you to claim your share of the available abundance.
It's not so easy to imagine yourself being very successful and wealthy. It's even more difficult trying to imagine a new life for you and your family.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Everyone has an inner voice that speaks to him, but very few people listen to it." I'm paraphrasing this based on my memory of it from 20 years ago. After reading that quote 75 times I began listening to what my inner voice was saying.
I turned my life upside down. I walked away from a six-figure income, a big job, a corner office, a big bonus, a company car, stock options, and at the time, all the security that came with a corporate job.
The decision to leave my job and start my sales training company was the most courageous decision I ever made - including the decision to volunteer to go to Vietnam.
It doesn't take courage to fire up your imagination. It takes courage to live the life you imagine. You and I are here only temporarily. Why not make the most of it?
Dream big!
Imagine vividly!
Establish goals that will light the way for the life you deserve to live.
The only acceptable place you'll find people with no problems and no goals is a cemetery.
Some people die early (Mentally and attitudinally) and get buried later.
Take hold of your life. Grab the wheel. Establish goals to eliminate future regrets.
I don't think it's the person with the most toys who wins.
I believe it's the person who dies with the fewest regrets.
You have my best wishes for a healthy, happy, and deliriously successful 2006.
If you're at a crossroads in your life and would like to talk to someone (Me) who has been there and done that successfully take a quick look at this link. I have enough wiggle room in my calendar to talk one-on-one with only 15 people.
Here's the link: http://www.meisenheimer.com/sales_coaching/oneonone.htm
Let's go sell something . . .

_______________________________________

By Jim Meisenheimer

Jim Meisenheimer publishes The No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter, a fresh and high content newsletter dedicated to helping you grow your business and multiply your income.
Use this link to sign-up for Jim's F-R-E-E No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter and to get your copy of his Special Report titled, "The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do." http://www.meisenheimer.com

4 "Sale Thieves" You Need To Be On The Lookout For

2006-01-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

Many successful marketers began their careers as children setting up a lemonade stand or selling newspapers. Years of experience and exposure to more mature and intricate marketing techniques change a lot of things, but there is one aspect that is no different between selling glasses of lemonade and Internet marketing... customers have the power to decide whether or not to buy your product.
Yeah, the products and marketing methods are changing constantly, but the driving force that motivates sales remains unchanged... so do the 4 things that steal sales right out from under your nose.
1. The “I don’t need it” attitude. Let’s face it... need has little to do with what people buy or don’t buy in the American culture. Want has everything to do with whether they do or don’t buy. The most crucial aspect of getting a high number of sales is targeting the right market. It does little good to advertise to people who really aren’t interested.
What are you advertising? Where are you advertising? These two questions go hand in hand. If you’re trying to sell hunting gear, it would make little sense to target mothers with small children. Sure a FEW of them hunt, but your return for the cost of advertising is going to be pretty low. Pay attention to what your target audience reads, and invest your advertising bucks wisely.
2. The "I can’t afford it" attitude. In a few rare cases, that may be true, but usually “I can’t afford it” can be interpreted as, It’s not high on my list of priorities.” We can usually find the money for the things we really want.
Go ahead and MAKE your product or service a priority. Dramatize the benefits they’ll experience, sweeten the deal until it’s irresistible, and put a deadline on it. Make it “too good to pass up!”
3. The "I’m in no hurry" attitude. Procrastination is criminal in the marketing world. Yeah, procrastination steals money right out of our pockets! The customer comes... he sees... he wants... but when he puts it off, he never does get around to buying!
What happens in the short time after he walks out without the purchase? Time quietly fades the emotions that were driving the sale, and the desire to shell out the dinero for your product soon fades away entirely.
Don’t let them leave without making the purchase. Now you can’t put a gun to their head and force them to buy, but you can make a deadline on the special. A “take it or leave it” offer just might inspire the procrastinator to act now.
4. The "I don’t trust you" attitude. Buying is risky business, and most people fear making a foolish investment more than they fear never getting the product. You can allay those fears simply by implementing a few tactics that evoke trust and confidence for the buyer.
Offer an unconditional money back guarantee. You’ll effectively eliminated the risk factor that holds many consumers back.
Use testimonials to let prospective customers know that you do deliver, and a satisfied customer can say it way better than you ever could.
Be open to communication. Hey, when they know someone is willing to answer any question they have, the uncertainty evaporates.
Don’t let these four thieves steal any more of your profits. Deal with them effectively... get them out of the way!
Copyright 2006 Cutts Group, llc

______________________________

By Allyn Cutts

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Sales Words To Use & To Avoid

2006-01-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

I come from a long line of communicators, salespeople, entrepreneurs, and even one telegraph operator.
All of them took language very seriously, and if you look at how they did in their careers, it worked out pretty well for them.
With this legacy in mind, please pardon me if I also show sensitivity to the impact of language. It's in my genes!
I suppose, if you want to be a word-nerd, it doesn’t hurt having a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication, at USC. (Occasionally, it can even get you some football tickets!)
Anyway, I’ve had such great responses to my articles about wimpy versus winning sales language that I thought I’d treat you to more examples of sales words to use and to avoid.
Typically, it is good sense to avoid using these weak-at-the-knees, trembling, weasel words and phrases:
I’d like to…
Perhaps…
Possibly…
Maybe…
Do you have a minute to talk?
I’m not interrupting anything, am I?
Substitute the following positive terms and combinations:
What we’ll do is…
What we do…
What we’re doing…
I’m sure you’ll find…
Definitely…
Certainly…
This will just take a second…
I’m a strong believer in the “Try it, you’ll like it!” approach to selling, and so I encourage you to put these improved words to use, every day, in your presentations.
And then tell me how you do, okay?
Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2006
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Credit Repair Business Opportunity

2005-12-29T05:22:00.000-08:00

If you are in the credit repair business and you are looking for a credit repair business opportunity, you may want to consider purchasing credit repair leads.
Credit repair leads are considered a good business opportunity because normally people who go to specific sites and fill out forms specific to credit repair have committed themselves to finding a company and a person to help them.
With a credit repair lead, you will have a potential customer who is serious about having repair work done to their credit report. Otherwise, they never would have come as far as putting a phone number or e-mail out there for contact purposes.
These potential customers are not merely thinking about it, or just playing with the idea, they are truly serious and they are waiting on a phone call.
Of all the credit repair business opportunities available, purchasing credit repair leads is perhaps one of the best. Basically, the potential customer has come to you, and provided you with their information before you have even made contact.
Keep in mind, like all business opportunities, credit repair business opportunities need to be researched before any kind of commitment or investment is involved.
If you are considering purchasing credit repair leads, be sure to research the company you are purchasing them from.
Call and speak with one of their customer service rep’s and find out how they obtain their credit repair leads and what the process is for obtaining them in a timely fashion.

___________________________________________

By Jay Conners

Jay Conners is the owner of two mortgage related lead sites where he obtains leads from people looking for credit repair.

Please visit his sites at http://www.callprospect.com/credit_repair_leads.html And

http://www.callprospect.com

Successful Payroll Management

2005-12-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

Any business owner that has employees, knows that payroll can be a complicated task to manage. Moreover, it can be downright frustrating if you are not sure exactly where you should begin. Yet, successful payroll management doesn't have to be a chore. Further, you can find significant advice pertaining to successful payroll management online.
Did you know that there are associations that can guide you in the proper direction in terms of successful payroll management? For example, the American Payroll Association provides a website that addresses myriad issues pertaining to the payroll process. They also provide information to individuals interested in a career in payroll management. Individuals visiting the site can learn about the basics of payroll.
The Internet has made learning the fundamentals of payroll a far simpler process than ever before. With the advent of the web, information is easily accessible to business owners everywhere. Now, you do not have to spend hours on the telephone ordering publications only to find that you ordered a publication that is not at all helpful in addressing your payroll questions. Instead, you can now easily access such publications from your office or home and scan them for the information you require, which might be direct depositing, federal and state taxes, federal and state garnishment compliances, hourly wage laws, and much more. Thus, there is no waiting for the mail to arrive, only to find yourself completely frustrated and lost, rather the information you seek is often just a click away.
By visiting associations that deal with teaching successful payroll management, you can get yourself involved in various seminars. By attending seminars, you can learn about significant issues pertinent to successful payroll management. For instance, you can learn about garnishments and how they apply to the payroll process, tax compliances associated with payroll, and even learn about professional payroll services and how they work. Finally, there are even audio seminars available if you are unable to attend in person. If you prefer, you can easily find listings of the latest conferences that are planned pertaining to payroll issues.
On the other hand, if you are seeking payroll resources, the web will provide you with a wealth of information. You can find accounting software that will make payroll management easier for you, reliable accountants who can help you manage your business payroll, tax attorneys that can assist you with all of the complicated tax laws in your state, and information on how to conduct payroll processes electronically. A simple search engine search will have you mastering your payroll management in no time whatsoever.

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By Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Payroll

Sales Management Myths: Entrepreneurial Salesperson

2005-12-29T05:18:00.000-08:00

I just had a phone conversation with a client who had a familiar story to tell. He had built his business on the model of an entrepreneurial sales force. Give them a territory, pay them straight commission, and tell them they are in business for themselves, free to develop the customers they chose with the products they wanted.
And for a couple decades it had worked well. The business grew and expanded. More entrepreneurial sales people were added, and the model was duplicated over and over again.
So far so good. But then the growth in sales began to slow down. Three flat or declining years in a row has caused this company president to question the status quo. Not only is business flat, but he's unable to get his sales force to promote the lines that he wants to promote, he's unable to get them to use some of the new technology that the company wants them to use, and he's unable to get them to prospect for new customers. Now he's faced with an experienced sales force, who for the most part, are unmanageable.
The culpit? A sales model that was built on the concept of the entrepreneurial salesperson. There was a time when this model was effective, but in today's competitive economy, there are serious difficulties with the entrepreneurial model.
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up the business. Employing a group of entrepreneurial salespeople reduces the demands on sales management so that the company's executives can focus on building the infrastructure necessary to keep up with the consistent growth.
As we all know, this was the case for most of the previous decade. By shifting the responsibility for sales management unto the salespeople, however, you give up much of your management influence. In effect, you cede management of the sales force to the salespeople. And they generally make decisions that are in their own self interest, not yours. The very concept of an entrepreneurial salesperson is that he/she will manage himself. By definition, you abdicate your managerial role and cede management to the salesperson.
Is it any wonder that you can't direct the salesperson?
As long as business was consistently growing, this wasn't an issue. But now it is a concern. Most distributors have experienced a reduction in sales volume over the last few years. Many have come to the conclusion that they have to initiate significant changes in their sales organizations if they are going to be profitable and growing.
Now, instead of just more business, progressive distributors want to expand the business in target accounts, emphasize key product lines, and acquire new accounts. In other words, they want to direct the sales force more precisely, to focus them on the behaviors that further the company's strategic objectives.
At just the time that they want to more precisely focus the sales force, they are faced with a group of experienced salespeople who have become satisfied and content.
These sales people would rather not move out of their comfort zones of established customers and established products. They have no desire to do the hard work of prospecting for new accounts. And many are content with the diminished incomes of the past few years.
The culprit in this difficult situation is the entrepreneurial model. This is not to say that there are no entrepreneurial salespeople. Certainly a certain percentage of every large group of sales people will turn out to be highly motivated, constantly improving, driven to succeed and willing to accept your direction. From my experience, this is about one of 20 sales people. The chances of your entire group fitting this mold are slight. The issue is not the occasional exception to the rule; the issue is the model that no longer supports your strategic interests.
What to do?
The company president on the phone was looking for solutions. How could he change the established routines, attitudes and practices of his experienced sales force? How could he revive the slumbering entrepreneurial drive? How could he gain some degree of directability?
Unfortunately, the answers are larger and more challenging than that which could be discussed in a half hour phone call. Decades of a certain way of doing business have resulted in attitudes cast in granite. Half-way measures can't be counted on to work.
The solution is going to require strenuous work.
Wipe the slate clean and start over. Begin with the definition of what you would like the salespeople to do. What do you really want your sales force to do? Noodle your ideas onto a blank sheet of paper, and review it for a couple of days. When you have a well-articulated full page of detail, you will have taken a major step forward.
Once you have a clear and specific idea of what you want them to do, then start dealing with implications of that. For example, does you compensation plan support the behavior you want? If not, then change that.
Does you training and development program equip the sales people with the skills that support your vision? If not, it's time to revise that.
Does you infrastructure support your idea of what the sales people should be doing? In other words, does customer service, purchasing, delivery, operations, sales management, etc., all support the revised job description? If not, make some refinements.
Finally, do you have the kind of people who will whole-heartedly embrace your new vision? If not, then it's time to begin the process of recruiting new sales people.
Each of these is difficult and challenging issues that speak to the heart of how you have your sales force structured. Designing and implementing these changes can take the better part of a year or two. Each of these initiatives will be met with resistance from some. It won't be easy. Before you rush into the fray, however, make sure you count the cost. You may decide that you are not up for the task and that it is easier to continue to cede management to your sales people.
Should you decide to revise your sales force, you can anticipate arriving at a focused and directable sales force - an enormously powerful asset for any distributor.

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By Dave Kahle

About Dave Kahle, The Growth Coach®: Dave Kahle is a consultant and trainer who helps his clients increase their sales and improve their sales productivity. Dave has trained thousands of salespeople to be more successful in the Information Age economy. He's the author of over 500 articles and five books. His latest is 10 Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople. His "Thinking About Sales" Ezine features content-filled motivating articles, practical tips for immediate improvements, useful resources and helpful tips to help increase sales. Join for NOTHING on-line at http://www.davekahle.com/mailinglist.htm.
You can reach Dave at:

The DaCo Corporation

3736 West River Drive

Comstock Park, MI 49321

Phone: 800-331-1287 / 616-451-9377

Fax: 616-451-9412

info@davekahle.com http://www.davekahle.com

Designing a Brochure? Consider a DVD

2005-12-29T05:16:00.000-08:00

The ubiquitous brochure has been a staple of corporate communications for decades. I'm not sure who created the first one, but I'm sure more brochures have been written and designed than there are books in the world. And I mean in all languages. The esteemed brochure provides a company the opportunity to briefly describe its services and programs without scaring their public away with too much information. Its typical format is three panels, logo on front, information inside, and contact information on the back. It's handy, too—small, easy to give away and usually containing basic company information that doesn't change often.
It sounds like the perfect method of introduction. If it is designed well, it also lends legitimacy to the product, company or program it describes. The brochure is perfect for some things. It falls apart is when it is expected to stay current within a changing environment. Print is permanent. Companies try to escape that fact by squeezing extra life out of a brochure in the form of laser-printed inserts that accommodate a growing product line or incorporate new programs. Or cover-up stickers - I call them "brochure toupees." Who are you fooling?
On the flip side of the brochure is the Website. It is one of the best ways to sell and market - always updateable, malleable, and flexible. With a few keystrokes and no printing bill you can change information, reorganize and delete all things old and irrelevant. It's great, but most companies still find standard marketing methods work best to get an audience to a website (direct mail, traditional advertising, etc.). The problem with a website is it tends to put all the information out there at once. If you're trying to target a market, this might not be great at the beginning. Your market may get sidetracked and you'll never know. Another one of the most amusing (and occasionally effective) marketing methods is customized print advertising. The print world responded to the flexibility of the Internet by creating customizable digital printing. For example, a sweepstakes direct mail package customized with your name, a poster of a sexy car with your name on the vanity plate, a pound of paper telling you, by name, that you are fiscally irresponsible if you live without yet another credit card.
There's something else out there that very few companies take advantage of. If your market is targeted and you are looking for a new way to sell a product or service, consider a DVD. High tech, entertainment and edutainment have been taking advantage of this medium for a few years, but they have yet to make their way into the mainstream. A DVD with a self-running presentation can be an effective way to talk about what you do. The main benefit is that you can make changes without high production costs, and you can customize it for a particular audience. You can use it to sell, to teach or provide instructions. DVDs are also device-independent and will work on any computer.
I recently created a self-running DVD for our local United Way. They were looking to help local companies launch Internet campaigns, rather than using traditional donation methods that require too much time and paperwork. The Internet campaign allows a company's participants to go online to setup donations at their convenience. The presentation describes the benefits of going digital and shows how easy it is. The CD provides staff and volunteers with a great tool to sell companies on moving to the more efficient method. Aside from the fact that a DVD can be customized and updated easily, it makes you look like you know what you're doing (if done well). Everyone has a brochure, but providing a little movie that talks about your organization can lift your company high above the common brochure. These little movies can be burned on a CD along with other goodies like a free screen saver or wallpaper that relates to your product or geographical region. Free fonts are like chocolate to me, I'll load any CD with a free font. A digital coupon works too.
There are unlimited benefits to having a digital presentation in your cadre of marketing tools. They're flexible, editable, original and very cool. Think about the tools you currently use. A digital mini-movie might be just the thing you need to round out your marketing efforts.

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By Audrey Nezer

Audrey Nezer is an award-winning graphic designer in Seattle, Washington. Her company, Artifex Design, creates playful, edgy and effective marketing and communication materials for companies and organizations throughout the United States. Visit http://www.artifex.net to learn more (and win a prize!)

January Sales for Business

2005-12-26T06:07:00.000-08:00

Inevitably - and surely rightly - business men and women take their eye off the ball while they take their holiday break. The business community can at last be human again, spending time with family and friends. The turn of the year marks a universal celebration where we look back at what went before and look forward to the future. Just as inevitable, though, the whole cycle starts again and business cranks back into gear a few days into January.
In early January many business people have one great big cloud over their heads. This cloud represents budgets. The cloud may be darker for some than for others. Many companies roll up their financial year at the calendar year end. Many others have April as their new financial year. If you are in the first category you may be in the process of spending your new budget, careful to ensure it is spent wisely and not all at once! If you are in the second category you will be in the final throws of planning for next year's budget, probably negotiating for this or that project that you just know will bring great benefits to your company.
For those in the business of selling products the budgeting process can be akin to the January sales where you should be making a strong pitch for business. Why? Because many have a brand new budget, coffers full and others are planning next years budget. You will either be selling your product to budget holders that are flush with money or you will be attempting to insert provision for your product in next year's budget. Whichever way, January is a good time to act.
Businesses selling lower cost items for which little authorisation will be required will particularly benefit by selling to those companies who have a new established budget. If you are selling higher cost items you would be best targeting those companies that are in the process of planning next year's budget. That said, there is an argument for all companies to target large company's individual budget holders towards the end of their financial year. Some budget holders will wish to use up their allocation for fear of setting a precedent and having the following year's budget slashed. Of course, targeting a company that doesn't really need your product seems to me to be a waste of time, but it amazes me how many marketing drives are so broad that these wasted contacts are made. This is the case even when a budget holder is trying to use their allocation. There surely must be a genuine need for your product.
I am the marketing man for Arkay Hygiene from the UK. The pest control products sold by Arkay are increasingly required by both the private and the public sector. The variety of products for sale start at a few pounds and range to four figures. The kind of strategic marketing described above is essential to Arkay in order to achieve effective year-round sales volumes.

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By Vernon Stent

Vernon Stent is marketing consultant to Arkay Hygiene. An example of a low cost product are Bird Control Spikes. Examples in the higher range include Industrial Glueboard IND35 Fly Killers

Were You Born to Sell?

2005-12-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

Most people are always striving to better themselves. It's the "American Way." For proof, check the sales figures on the number of self-improvement books sold each year. This is not a pitch for you to jump in and start selling these kinds of books, but it is an indication of people's awareness that in order to better themselves, they have to continue improving their personal selling abilities.
To excel in any selling situation, you must have confidence, and confidence comes from knowledge. You have to know and understand yourself and your goals. You have to recognize and accept your weaknesses as well as your special talents. This requires a kind of personal honesty that not everyone is capable of exercising.
In addition to knowing yourself, you must continue learning about people. Just as with yourself, you must be caring, forgiving and laudatory with others. In any sales effort, you must accept other people as they are, not as you would like for them to be.
One of the most common faults of sales people is impatience when the prospective customer is slow to understand or make a decision. The successful salesperson handles these situations the same as he would if he were asking a girl for a date, or even applying for a new job.
Learning your product, making a clear presentation to qualified prospects, and closing more sales will take a lot less time once you know your own capabilities and failings, and understand and care about your customers.
Our society is built on selling, and all of us are selling something all the time. We move up or stand still in direct relation to our sales efforts. Everyone is included, whether we're attempting to be a friend to a coworker, a neighbor, or selling multi-million dollar real estate projects. Accepting these facts will enable you to understand that there is no such thing as a born salesman. In selling, we all begin at the same starting line, and we all have the same finish line as the goal - a successful sale.
Most assuredly, anyone can sell anything to anybody. As a qualification to this statement, let us say that some things are easier to sell than others, and some people work harder at selling than others. Regardless of what you're selling, or even how you're attempting to sell it, the odds are in your favor. If you make your presentation to enough people, you'll find a buyer.
The problem with most people seems to be in making contact - getting their sales presentation seen by, read by, or heard by enough people. There is also a problem of impatience, but this too can be harnessed to work in the salesperson's favor.
We're all salespeople in one way or another. So whether we're attempting to move up from forklift driver to warehouse manager, waitress to hostess, salesman to sales manager or from mail order dealer to president of the largest sales organization in the world, it's vitally important that we continue learning.
Getting up out of bed in the morning; doing what has to be done in order to sell more units of your product; keeping records, updating your materials; planning the direction of further sales efforts; and all the while increasing your own knowledge - all this very definitely requires a great deal of personal motivation, discipline, and energy. But then the rewards can be beyond your wildest dreams, for make no mistake about it, the selling profession is the highest paid occupation in the world!
Selling is challenging. It demands the utmost of your creativity and innovative thinking. The more success you want, and the more dedicated you are to achieving your goals, the more you'll sell. Hundreds of people the world over become millionaires each month through selling. Many of them were flat broke and unable to find a "regular" job when they began their selling careers. Yet they've done it, and you can do it too!

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By Kim Haas

Kim Haas is a WAHM and Founder of Womans-Net.com, a popular online networking community focusing on working from home and women in business and owner of http://article-host.com/ To learn more about Kim, visit http://kimberlyhaas.com/

The Bos

2005-12-22T01:47:00.000-08:00

I want to tell you a little story that could make a wonderful difference in your life. You may already know about everything I'm going to tell you. If you do, you're a remarkable person, and according to the latest statistics you belong to the top 5% of all the working people in the world. You're to be congratulated. If you don't know about the things I'm going to say, you've been holding yourself back, not only on the job but you're also missing a big percentage of the greatest joy in life. I want to talk about your boss and your relationship with him. How you handle this relationship will determine your success or failure. It will determine how much money you make or do not make, and it will determine whether you're a happy person or an unhappy person.
So let's talk about you and your boss. Who is your boss? You have only one and every working person, from the president of the largest corporation to the shoeshine boy, has the same boss. He is simply the customer. There never has been, there is not now, and there never will be any boss but the customer. He is the one boss you must please. Everything you own he has paid for. He buys your home, your cars, your clothes. He pays for your vacations and puts your children through school. He pays your doctor bills and writes every paycheck you will ever receive. He will give you every promotion you will ever obtain during your lifetime, and he will discharge you if you displease him.
Sometimes, particularly these days of seemingly complex economics and big business, we lose sight of just what business is. It all started back during the most primitive times. A man, in order to fend for himself and his family, had to provide his own food and his own shelter. He had to do his own fighting and fashion his own rough clothes and crude weapons for hunting and materials for fishing. Later he had to manufacture his own farming implements. In short, each person had to personally take care of every department of his or her life.
Naturally it came about that men and women with certain talents appeared. One person was particularly adept at fashioning spears, another at fishing, another at hunting, another at making garments, and so on. It was only natural that soon these individuals found that they could best spend most of their time in the pursuit of that at which they were most talented and trade their production for the production of others.
As a result, the person who made spears found that others would give him a share of their food, clothing, and so on, if he'd provide them with spears. Thus, trade and commerce began. It's far more complex today but still based on the same principle. A person's money is the result of his production, and he trades it for things he needs and wants. And it's here that logical discrimination comes into the picture.
Since his money is the result of his work, it's left to his discretion as to where he spends it. It is here that he assumes the role of boss. He will spend his money only with those whom he feels have earned it. And this is as it should be. You and I are exactly the same way. If someone treats you badly in any way, you instinctively feel that he has not earned your business and you will withhold it from him.
Over a period of time this amounts to a really substantial penalty. Let's say a family spends $100 a week for food, and because they've been mistreated or even get the feeling they're not appreciated or liked, they stop doing business at one store and take their business to another one. That's a penalty to one store of $5,200 a year and an increase of that amount at another store. In 10 years it amounts to $52,000. This amount of money can be lost by not realizing who the boss really is. The same thing applies to our clothes, drug items, hardware, cleaning, gasoline, automobiles, everything we purchase.
The average family earns more than $42,000 a year. This money pays your salary and mine if we earn it. And our prosperity as individuals hinges directly on our attitude toward what we do for a living. The man who works on an automotive assembly line might not think much about the car at the point of sale, nor about the family who will eventually buy and travel in that car. But that family pays his salary, and they will withhold the purchase of the car on which he works if it does not earn their respect and admiration.
If you doubt this even for a moment, think of the cars that once were popular and that can no longer be seen on the road. This applies to all products. Having earned a successful place in the economy should not be confused with keeping it. It must be earned every day, year in, year out. There's not a single company that could not go out of business. Everything depends on how the boss is treated, the boss being the customer. And yet the customer is eminently fair, just as you are. He can be won back, and if he's treated with the importance that he deserves, he can in a few years bring a lot of other people into your place of business.
Let me tell you something you may not have thought about. If you get in your car and start driving across the country, you will pass many thousands of businesses, from small restaurants, drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations, to great sprawling corporate complexes covering hundreds of acres and employing thousands of people. By simply looking at each one you can tell how they're treating the boss.
Did you know that your rewards are in exact proportion to your service? That's right. We're paid exactly what we earn, but no more. And you can tell by looking at any business exactly what it has earned by seeing what it has. It's the same with people. We get back exactly what we earn, but not a penny more. And this, again, is just the way it should be. A person might be underpaid for a while, but the scales of life must balance eventually and he will, in the end, receive just what he's earned.
There are of course two ways in which we're paid for what we do. One is tangible in the form of money, and the other is intangible, but just as important. To many it's more important. This latter form of payment comes in the form of inner satisfaction, in the form of joy as a result of accomplishment. It also comes in the form of satisfaction in position and the standing it gives us.
So each of us is paid in these two ways: money and satisfaction. And there's a very simple way to increase both of these forms of income. You may wonder how I can say that I can tell you of a simple way to increase your income from the standpoint of money as well as inner satisfaction. Yet I can, and you'll be able to see and spend the results.
First, I want you to understand and believe completely the great law that lies as the foundation of all life, business and personal. It is that our rewards in life will be in exact proportion to our service. The more you think about this and observe people and businesses in their true light, the more you'll see the undeniable truth of it.
Try as best you can to estimate the proportion of your total ability you have been giving to your work. I don't think anyone gives 100%. I don't think it's possible to give 100% day in and day out. But estimate what you consider to be the percentage of 100% you have been giving to your work. Would you say it's been 30%? 50%?
Since your rewards will be in exact proportion to your service, you can increase your income both financially and from an inner satisfaction standpoint simply by narrowing the distance between what you have been giving to your work and the 100% of which it may be said you could give under ideal conditions. You don't have to ask for a raise; the income will appear of its own accord and in the right time. You may want to question this, but try to take my word for it.
The second point I want to make is this: If you will begin to do your work better, better than you've ever done before, you will immediately begin to receive incalculably more inner satisfaction. You'll also find that what may have been a boring or uninteresting job will take on new meaning and interest. No matter what it is that you do during the entire working day, try in every case to do a little more than you have to, more than you're being paid for. Because unless you do more than you're being paid for now, you can't hope for or justify an increase in pay.
The third point is, each of us is interdependent. As I pointed out earlier, other people pay our salaries, buy our homes, clothe, feed, and educate our children. Therefore we depend on others for our very lives, just as they must depend on us. If we expect others to give us excellent service and fine products for the money we spend, doesn't it make good sense that we should treat them the same way? Every hour spent at our work should be spent in the attempt to give the best of which we are capable, a baker's dozen for the money our company's customers spend for our products and services and with which our salaries are paid.
A person who tries to get the maximum return for the minimum of effort is only kidding himself. Sooner or later the scales will balance. They must, for that is the law whether we like it or not. This kind of individual actually shrinks as a person, as a human being. He has no real place in a dynamic and swiftly changing world.
The fourth point is to try each day to find some way in which the work you're doing can be improved. Here again you're guaranteeing an increase in your income in both categories. We all know the cynical type of individual who will laugh at this. I know them; you know them. But I don't know one who could be said to be doing well, do you?
I know lots of men and women at the top of their fields who live their lives every day in the way I have suggested. Rather than go along with someone who's never proved in his own life that he knows what he's talking about, I'd prefer to believe the one who said, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." I feel, as I'm sure you do, that he was more qualified to speak than the know-it-all who is behind in his installment payments.
Anyway, it's worth a test. If you'll follow my suggestions for the next year, you'll be a different person, living a rich, rewarding, and meaningful life. Four things, all of them simple.
One, remember that our rewards in life will be in exact proportion to our service.
Two, by giving your work a larger percentage of your capabilities and talents, you will, you must, increase your income substantially.
Three, since our lives depend on others, treat others in every facet of your life exactly as you want others to treat you. If you expect others to give you excellent products and services for the money you and your family spend, then you should make certain that your job is handled as excellently as it is possible for you, since it is the money of others that pays your salary.
Four, try to find some way every day in which your work can be improved. And above all, know your boss. He's the customer. Treat him with the respect, care, courtesy, and good humor he deserves. Remember, he pays all your bills every month. He will buy everything you will ever own. He may be coarse, crude, ignorant, selfish, conniving, and a thoroughgoing savage. He often will be. Here it is more important than ever that you treat him with all the care and attention you can muster. If you don't and if you permit his attitude to affect yours, you're admitting that he's the stronger person. If you respond the same way he conducts himself, you're admitting you're no better than he is.
Most people, however, are nice people. They're people like you and me who want to be liked and want to get along, who want to be friends. They have problems and sorrows of their own about which we're not aware. They have bad days and disappointments. Make sure that the time they're with you is a high spot in their day and that they'll want to come back, not just because of your company, but because of you.
If you'll do these things for a year, you'll be surprised and delighted, and you'll find you wouldn't live any other way for the world. If you're already living this way, you know what I mean.

______________________________________

By Earl Nightingale

Earl Nightingale co-founded Nightingale Conant an audio publishing company and world leader in personal development with over 2 million loyal customers. Other audio books available at Nightingale Conant include authors such as Napoleon Hill, Deepak Chopra, Wayne W. Dyer, and many, many more.

8 Valuable Insights Into Paid and Free Web Directories

2005-12-22T01:44:00.000-08:00

Web directories have numerous benefits. Informative decisions must be made when choosing between submitting a site to a paid or free web directory. Whatever your choice, ensure that your website conforms to all required norms: complete, detailed, user friendly, and distinctive. The options are many and stem from two main categories: free directories and paid directories.
A free directory is a great way of getting back links. Your site will probably get listed on a PR3 or PR4 page. Sometimes, your site will get listed within a few days otherwise it may even take a month. But it can also happen that the free site never gets around to listing your site. The options in the free category are numerous and one can opt for an open directory project such as DMOZ or a free directory like JoeAnt. Apart from main directories there are niche directors that are specific to one segment only like health, alternative medicine, and so on. Remember, every listing will add to the website’s Google PageRank and free directories of standing do provide a steady rate of referral traffic.
Many free directories have editors who do the vetting for no remuneration; this allows the directory to include hundreds of sites at little or no cost. Directories like DMOZ are used by Google and other search engines as databases; this means that your web site will automatically be listed in several major search engines and directories.
A paid directory is one that offers premium service which includes faster approvals. Most paid directories deliver high quality traffic or a good PageRank. Less crowded than free directories, your site stands a good chance of being listed on a higher PR page. Some directories like Yahoo charge a fee for considering a site for inclusion. This is towards costs of reviewing your site and the fee is a recurring expense to be paid yearly. However, there are exceptions where non-profit sites are reviewed free but there is a special path for submission of such sites. Other sites charge a one-time inclusion fee. The costs of paid directories can vary from US $ 25.00 (one time fee) to US$ 299 (annual recurring fee).
Whether you should opt for a paid or free inclusion depends on your needs.

• Consider what is your goal?

• Determine how much immediate exposure your website needs?

• Is there time to wait for a free inclusion or would you benefit from a quick paid inclusion?

• Is there budget provision for paid inclusion: pay per click or recurring yearly expenses?

• Do you have time to assume the role of a reviewer and vet your directory before a free inclusion?

• Or, would it be more feasible to pay for a professional editor to review the web site?

• Learn how each directory is organized and what its guidelines are.

• Surf the net and find out where your competitors are listed.
Make a working plan and choose wisely what will benefit your business plan the most.

______________________

By Paul W Wilson

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1866WebDirectory.com the premier website directory provides human edited categorized website listings including business websites, news websites, gaming websites, shopping websites, travel websites and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888PressRelease.com.

Trade Shows

2005-12-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

Trade shows show promise as a “golden” marketing opportunity. Many business owners are stepping outside of the traditional box and investing in portable signage. Talking one-on-one with potential buyers provides an immediate gratification that is empowering. The trade show makes highlighting business services or products easier.
Plan Ahead
Working trade shows requires some planning. If possible, visit the facility prior to selecting your booth. Walk through the facility looking for potential problems that would inhibit your success, such as:
Food court: Although being located next to the food court could be beneficial, it creates a distraction. It's difficult enough to interest a potential buyer in 3-minutes; you don't need the sweet smell of cotton candy interrupting.
Competition: Don't be suckered into renting a booth that is right next to a competitor. Some people believe its quality that counts and are eager to take the challenge of competition.
Accessibility: Ideally, your booth should be near the entrance or exit of the building, or the restrooms, or the main isle. Wherever there is an adequate flow of traffic.
The location of your booth and the signage you use will have a direct result of your trade show success. Stay focus on the appearance of your site. Use a banner to display your company logo, web address, and phone number. It's important you capture the attention of potential buyers with signage and color.
Keep it short and simple, K. I. S. S. Use a secondary color to present information of importance. The two-tone color method adds depth and retains the attention of the reader and that's a big advantage.
Most booths are no more than a 9` by 5` area. So it is equally important that you make valuable use of the area. Eliminate any unnecessary clutter and keep things organized. It's important that your potential buyer doesn't become distracted.
Offering a special is also a good way to bring more people to your booth. Use a tripod and display board to feature your special offer. Write clear and in large lettering. Be prepared to answer questions. Working a Business Trade Show Business trade shows go hand in hand with network marketing. The primary purpose of this type of trade show is to draw the interest of other businesses. Your objective is to provide enough information for the other participants to promote your services or products by word of mouth or through passing literature.
It's common practice for business groups to exchange business cards and brochures at a business trade show. Each booth gives a 2 minute presentation to visitors, a free gift (ink pen, magnet, sticky notes, or eraser), and ask for the visitors literature. Professionals shake hands and begin asking questions.
· How can I assist you?· What are the benefits of using your services or products?· Who is your target market?· How can potential buyers reach you?· Do you work outside of your area?
Business trade shows are not limited to business owners. Most vendors will invite others that may profit from using the services or products of the network group. Finding a good booth, using the proper signage, and displaying a sample of your services or products are all important elements of trade show marketing.
Some believe network trade shows are more profitable. While others, think a trade show that deals directly with the consumer has more advantages. The secret to successfully marketing your business at a trade show lies in the tools you use. If you have a dynamic personality, make your next marketing strategy a trade show.

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By Matt Bacak

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com

Sales Success Tip-Stop What's Not Working

2005-12-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

In my day to day training of sales professionals, many who are mediocre at best and failing at worst continue to resist some simple testing and measuring tools for determining what they are doing that is working and what they are doing that is not working. The most common excuse I hear is that they don’t have time. However, when the most successful sales professionals in the world subscribe to testing and measuring, I have a lot of difficulty accepting this lame excuse. Making the same mistakes over and over takes infinitely more time than determining what is working and what is not working and adjusting your activities accordingly.
I ran across this little gem this weekend. It really brought into focus how most of us live our lives. The only problem is that many of us are stuck in Chapters, 1,2, and 3, never reaching Chapters 4 and 5. It wasn’t very long ago that I could have written this myself. Through trial and error and some incredible mentors, I am now well past this scary scenario. I want you to join me!
Read this short, but powerful lesson and then take action!
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE CHAPTERS
Chapter 1.
I am on a road There is a deep hole I fall in I am lost. desperate It is not my fault It takes an eternity to find a way out
Chapter 2.
I am on the same road There is a deep hole I pretend not to see it I fall in again I cannot believe I am in the same situation But it is not my fault It takes a long time to find a way out
Chapter 3.
I am on the same road There is a deep hole I see that it is there I fall in again. It is habit My eyes are open I know where I am It is my fault I come out immediately
Chapter 4.
I am on the same road There is a deep hole I walk around it
Chapter 5.
I walk on another road --Rinpoche
Wow. Have you been there? I have. That’s why I am So passionate about helping others avoid these costly mistakes.
What do YOU continue to do on daily basis that is producing little or not results, other than frustration?
Certainly, we can all fill in the blank here: Continuing to do what we have always done and expecting a different result is the very definition of _________________.
What skills or knowledge that if you learned or mastered would produce a fantastic result in your career or sales results?
What is holding you back from learning those skills?
What is holding you back and preventing your from moving forward and making a commitment to excellence?
Whatever it is, make a promise right now, this very minute to move past it. Otherwise you wind up in the fill in the blank paragraph earlier.
As we approach the beginning of a brand new year, we really need to pull out ALL the stops and get the results we want.
Listen. Learn. Take action.

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By Greg Beverly

Greg Beverly, CPA, MBA has more than 21 years experience working with sales and business professionals, helping them to achieve their professional and personal dreams of success. Visit his website at http://www.salessuccess.yougethelp.com for a free sales success ecourse.

Marketing That Measures Up

2005-12-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

Businesses - no matter the size - need to measure the effects of their marketing so they will know what is working and to discover what needs improvement. There are many areas for which marketing is responsible, and in each are indicators of performance that can be measured.
For smaller organizations, there are two key areas that I believe you must track:
• Customer acquisition
• Customer retention
Customer growth rate helps you measure acquisition, while customer longevity as well as frequency and recency of purchase are metrics of retention and customer value.
But before you can measure, you have to know a few facts. Who are your best customers? In each organization, the answer will be a little different. How do you define a "best" customer? Are they the ones who buy the most and cost the least to service? Are there other parameters that tell you they are "best?" Do they refer more business to you? Are they brand ambassadors?
How did you acquire them in the first place (special offers, referrals, newspaper ads, DM)? What is your customer growth rate/attrition rate? Which customers did you keep/lose? Why?
Then you need to define what the best ones look like demographically. Are they 35 - 45, married couples with children and a mortgage, or 18 - 24-year-old singles who live in condos? Urban or suburban? Readers or radio listeners?
Once you have a picture of them, it is easier to develop a strategic and tactical plan to acquire and retain more of them and fewer of the bad ones. Additionally, it becomes more apparent what you need to measure to ensure you are making headway and spending your marketing dollars correctly.
RESOURCES
• Marketing Metrics White Paper
• Marketing NPV, a website devoted to marketing measurement

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By Harry Hoover

Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Focus Four, Levolor, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, TeamHeidi, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX, Verbatim and Wicked Choppers.

Looking Inside of Your New Business

2005-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Starting a home business is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You're facing a pile of scattered pieces and it may be a little uncertain where to begin. I think that the best way to begin is by taking a look inside yourself: at your talents, abilities, interests, and personal motivations. 1. Make an objective list of your talents and abilities.Ask friends and family what they think you're good at doing. You must be skilled in your field; whether it's computer programming, selling, cooking, baking, etc. 2. Make a list with activities you enjoy.This often will point to natural skills and abilities, and can be directed into business ideas. 3. Make a list about "how would I like to spend a perfect day" or a weekend, a holyday, a vacation. On one hand, such kind of list will help you understand your interests and personality. On the other hand, it's possible to find some answers regarding your future venture just reading between the lines 4. Make a list with products and services you receive.Evaluate what is good and bad to everyone. If you find something is bad, think how you could improve it. Please, give this evaluating process your undivided attention, and you will discover few starting points for your new business. 5. Make a list with products and services you need, but you can't find yet You'll be surprised at how many new ideas will rise in your head. 6. Make a list with what your friends and colleagues are saying they want or need. Their comments may inspire you to start a new service. Before starting filling and evaluating the above list, think that many exciting businesses didn't even exist a few years ago. So try to be as creative as you can. You need to think out of the box, you need new pair of "glasses" in order to see potential business opportunities all around you.
But take care, a good idea doesn't automatically translate into a success business. There must be a market demand, I mean people willing to pay for your product or service.
The final advice. It's important to be clear about why you want to start a business, and what "success" would mean to you. You probably want to earn money. It's ok, but how much ? Or may be you need a personal status or to be recognized as an expert in certain field, but how high ?

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By Valerian Dinca

Valerian Dinca is a freelance writer specialized in items like targeted traffic

Real Estate Marketing - Beef Up Your Follow-Up

2005-12-13T02:46:00.000-08:00

If you're a real estate agent, client follow-up should be a major part of your real estate marketing program. Whether it's a postcard mailing program through a direct mail vendor, or just a series of well-timed thank you cards after the transaction, you need some form of follow-up.
Why so important? You probably already know, but for those just joining the real estate ranks:
* Proper follow-up generates repeat business by keeping you in touch with past clients.
* Proper follow-up generates referrals by showing you still care after the transaction.
Follow-up brings other benefits to the table, but referrals and repeat business top the list. And if you've read any studies on where real estate business comes from, you know how important these factors are -- especially referrals.
ExecutionSo, how do you strengthen your follow-up? One way is to make it more specific to the individual client. Another way is to make it more human. Combine the two, and you've got a follow-up program that will maximize your referral and repeat-business rates like nothing else.
First, let's look at ways to make your follow-up program more specific to the individual. The basic execution is simple, thought it does call for a bit of note-taking during the relationship.
Step 1. Keep notes on your clients.Throughout your business relationship, make notes about your clients. They might include a range of topics -- hobbies, interests, decorating styles, other neighborhoods or areas they were interested in, number and age of children, future plans. You get the idea.
What you're doing is gathering useful information about your clients that will allow you to tailor specific "touches" later on when doing your follow-up. File these notes away in your customer database, filing system, or wherever else you keep client information. And remember, the easier it is to do, the more likely you'll stick to it. So find something that works for you.
Step 2. Outline your follow-up program.You need to put your follow-up program on paper for several reasons. First, the manual act of writing things down engages the creative side of your brain. You'll be surprised at all the ideas popping into your head as you map out your follow-up program.
Secondly, you need to write your program down to make sure it achieves the number of contacts or "touches" you're striving for. Opinions vary on the number and frequency of touches. I would suggest monthly, especially in the beginning of a follow-up program (when you're most likely to get referrals from still-happy clients).
Go for a balance of automation and personal contact. Why? Because a program that's 100% personal contact (phone calls, for example) will be exhausting to maintain. In the other extreme, a program that's 100% automated (like a scheduled mailing program) will be too impersonal. You have to combine the two.
You have the best chance of generating referrals during this first year. In the second and third years, you might choose to reduce the number of phone calls, while keeping the newsletter and auto-mailers going.
Do you now see the value of collecting this information along the way? It's invaluable later on, when you're preparing your well-balanced follow-up program. And can you just imagine the surprise when Jane says, "Wow, she remembered that I like Feng Shui ... I forgot we even talked about it!"
Now that's referral power.
Step 3. Carry out your follow-up program.This is where all the previous lessons will pay off. Just by having a procedure for your newsletter and a well-managed client database with good notes, you've finished half of your follow-up legwork in advance. The rest is simply filling in the blanks, keeping tabs on your schedule and sending your materials out.
SummaryA balanced follow-up program -- one that mixes personal, one-to-one contact with automated elements like postcards -- gives you the best of two worlds. It's easy enough to manage across a number of clients, while at the same time surprising your clients with specific information delivered in a personal way.

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By Brandon Cornett

Brandon Cornett has worked as a writer and advertising manager within the direct mail industry. He now dedicates his time to helping agents and brokers improve their real estate marketing programs. His Modern Guide to Real Estate Marketing and his free newsletter are available at: http://www.ArmingYourFarming.com

Presentations Don't Need Fancy Techniques

2005-12-13T02:44:00.000-08:00

Even though it was a dark, dreary conference room, the speaker at the front stood like a beacon of light, attracting everyone towards him. In spite of the worn carpets, the smell of conference coffee and the dry, air-conditioned atmosphere, suddenly everyone in the 1,500-strong audience felt alive. Somehow, the speaker's presentation breathed life into the building and we all felt fantastic.
Yet, as I sat at the back of the room, I knew a secret; I knew that if the conference had been held a week earlier we would all have focused on the worn carpets, the dreary atmosphere and the lingering smell of coffee. A week earlier, that speaker – Alan - would not have captured our hearts so well. You see, just one week earlier I had listened to him rehearse his presentation and it was, frankly, dire. Alan had asked me to review his presentation because he was nervous. He had never spoken to such a large audience before and he was concerned that he should get everything right. But almost everything was wrong. He simply read out his numerous slides, he mumbled and he fidgeted.
So, with just one week to go before his big day I told him to throw away his presentation. "You're being a slave to your slides," I told him. "Chuck them out and simply face the front and speak from your heart. Tell us your story," I said. So, we rehearsed again, this time with Alan simply standing in front of the room telling his story. At times, the excitement of some things captured his imagination and he delivered his information with the real passion he enjoyed. At other times, the sadness of some of the things he was talking about choked his voice and we shed a tear with him.
"Perfect," I said, "Don't do anything different. You are absolutely brilliant when you are being yourself." After the conference itself was over, Alan found me in the lobby and came to thank me. "That was the best piece of advice I've ever been given about making a presentation," he said. "If only I'd known years ago that the best way to make a presentation is to be yourself and speak from the heart I'd have never worried about public speaking."
One tip; one changed man. All I did was suggest he stopped trying to be a 'presenter' and carried on being himself. It changed Alan's entire presentation – and the audience reaction. Far too many people think they need learn special techniques to be a great presenter. They don't; all you need to do to make a perfect presentation or a super speech is to be yourself and speak your true mind.

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By Graham Jones

Graham Jones can help you make great presentations. He provides online courses in presentation skills and also provides information on how you can overcome the fear of public speaking. He also writes presentation tips free of charge.

Marketing Resolutions for the New Year

2005-12-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

It's that time again, when we make our New Year's resolutions. Maybe this is the year you plan to get organized, stop smoking, or finally lose those extra pounds you've been carrying around. Of course, many people make ambitious resolutions every year, and then fail to follow through. Here is how you can make resolutions to create positive marketing habits, and make those habits stick.
Choose just a few things to do--or even one. The more things you try to do at once, the greater that chance that you won't keep to your resolutions. Choose one, two or three things you will do this year.
Make your resolutions "do-able." They should be ambitious, but not overwhelming. Do-able resolutions might include sending one press release a month, joining a professional association and attending at least 80% of the meetings, writing one new article each month and submitting the articles to newsletters and article banks, setting at least three sales appointments each week, following up with ten customers each month, etc.
Your resolutions must be specific. Note the examples above. Not, "Make more sales appointments," but a specific number.
Write them down. When you put them in writing, the resolutions become real. Post your resolutions above your desk or anywhere you will see them often.
Make a plan. How will you work these actions into your schedule? Put them on your calendar and treat them as important appointments. Put the meeting dates for your association on your calendar now, before it starts to fill with other obligations. Choose a day each week or month when you will do what you have resolved to do.
Reward yourself. Promise yourself something you enjoy when you keep your resolutions. Don't wait until the end of the year. It's March and you've sent press releases every month so far? Get a massage, go see that movie you want to see, or buy yourself a little treat--and pat yourself on the back.
Enjoy your success. If you are in the habit of marketing on a regular basis, you will start seeing results. Remember that marketing has a cumulative effect, so expect that even if you don't see huge jumps in business right away, you will start to see results and those results will snowball over time.
Feel free to revise your resolutions. If something isn't working, stop doing it and start doing something else. But when you see successes, you may be inspired to increase your efforts and do even more of what is working.

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By Cathy Stucker

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps authors, entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. To learn more about marketing and publicity and get free marketing tips, visit Cathy at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

The 3 Biggest Lies About Promotional Pens

2005-12-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

Every time you turn around there's someone on your phone or doorstep, trying to sell you pens for you to use for promotional items. Every time they show up, you buy a few hundred or thousand, though more than likely you have a storage closet somewhere that's full of them.
That's because you've bought into lie number one: Pens are a great way to easily promote your business. The truth is a pen is good for branding your business, but it does little to promote your business. Why?
Because it doesn't do any real promoting! A pen with your logo, name, address and phone number just tells people who you are. It does nothing to make them want to use your company's product or service. Worse, it just lies around, waiting to be picked up and used-and mostly it will be used to make a grocery list, not to find your company's name and address!
Lie number two is that pens are a great way to inexpensively market and promote your business. This isn't true, and that closet full of pens should be proof enough. Yes, you can get fairly cheap promotional pens, but you know what they really tell people about you? That you're cheap!
People aren't stupid. They know a cheap item from a more expensive one. And even though they will take and even use your pen, they will not connect you to quality. If you want a pen to do that, and you do or why bother, you're going to have to buy more expensive pens that show you're a class act all the way. This kind of promotional pen costs a great deal of money, so you won't get away, um, cheaply. Quantity and/or quality will, either way, cost you money, so pens aren't really a cheap promotional item after all, are they?
Now, for lie number three. Yes, it's the big one! Because everyone gives pens away as promotional items, you should too in order to compete. Remember being in high school where everyone dressed the same way? Look back at your yearbook and you'll see that everyone pretty much looks the same. Only a few brave souls who dared to be different stand out.
Same thing with promotional pens. There are a gazillion of them out there. And they all pretty much look the same and say the same thing: logo, contact information and website URL. If you want your promotional item to “wow” your customers and potential customers, you won't do it with a pen, most likely, unless it is one killer, expensive pen that does everything a cell phone can do.
The promotional arena is just saturated with promotional pens. So break away from the herd! If you feel you have to use a writing instrument as a promotional item, look into buying some cool mechanical pencils!
They're easily available and are far more effective for promoting your business than promotional pens for two reasons: 1) Not everyone else is giving them away, so they're automatically different, and 2) (and this is a secret!) people want them. Why? They're great for kids to use in school or to do homework. And help one of today's busy, overly zealous parents out by giving them something little Jake or Jane can use, and I guarantee you'll be remembered-and better, called on for your product or service!

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By Cindy Carrera

Cindy Carrera is a freelance author who has written numerous articles about creative promotional gifts. Learn how to choose the right corporate holiday gifts and make a lasting impression in the business arena.

10 Steps to Making That Change Happen

2005-12-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

Hair Salon Management can always be broken down into easy chunks. So if you're salon management team wants the best way of how to run a hair salon, then by following these hair salon owners tips it will ensure that you can shout "more clients in my salon" and have a successfully run salon business.
Put into action these steps and you will see results¡ I promise!
Step One
Think about the result you want from your change. Get your Salon Management team together and really think it thru. If you're a salon owner then get some stylists together and talk it over with them. Sounds obvious but all the of the jigsaw needs to make sense if you are to get the team commitment and corporation. But no need for you to explain your reasons for changing.
Step Two
You have to change your approach or behaviour in order to change the behaviour in others CONSISTENTLY! For example if you want all clients to have a consultation before their hair is washed then you¡ have to do it each and every time or it will be death to that idea. If you want more clients in my salon then Remember its your hair salon business so you have to change¡.right!
Step Three
Get your salon management team to give Loads of praise when you catch them doing it right. Stop catching them doing it wrong. Why does salon management , salon owners focus on the negatives. Reinforce good behaviour by plenty of back patting.
Step Four
Hair salon business runs better when systems are in place so run small regular meetings or one to ones telling them the importance of the new system or change you want. If you have loads of part-timers or shifts then run your meetings in shifts. Otherwise it will take forever to get everyone together.
Step Five
Get your salon management team to Train, Train, Train and train to ensure that all know how to do what and when. Wishing alone is not enough you must train it. (Sorry I know this is going to be a blow to you but "Fairies are not real" just because you wish it ant gonn'a change a thing) make sure they have the knowledge, understand the benefits for the client and the hair salon business.
Step Six
Allow them time to change, you know what they say Old Habits die hard. Practice makes perfect, if they see themselves successful with the new approach then in time things will change. But remember you must praise them!
Step Seven
Expect some of your team members to feel uncomfortable with the change, even your salon management with find this out. This is so common when people have done something the same way for years and then they are asked to change it. It creates an internal conflict but this is a normal response. Its a bit like when you have a disagreement with someone who has a different opinion to you it makes you feel uncomfortable right. Remember what it felt like when you started owning a hair salon!..........
Step Eight
Reduce the discomfort by putting people who are happy with the change with the people feeling uncomfortable with it. Make sure your salon management are happy with the change. Have plenty of group discussions and one to ones. Get everyone to view their progress and to publicly commit their support to the change. This will really make your hair salon business fly¡¡¡¡
Step Nine
If you adopt the blow by blow approach above staff will carry out the changes and change their attitudes. This means that they have taken onboard the approach or new information. Often they will try to do more to bring about not only in themselves but in others too.
Step Ten
If enough people undergo the change at least 50% then over time this will become the norm The culture in the hair salon will change and your new system or training will be here to stay. Its like chucking mud at the wall eventually it will stick. Then you will be the envy of salon owners everywhere¡¡

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By Steve Winder

Fix your hair salon problems and improve your business. Learn how to stop stylists leaving, make a quiet day busy. To receive your free 100 page e-book on how to open a salon and save thousands visit this site now: http://www.hairbizsecrets.com

Catalog Design Essentials

2005-12-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Catalogs have been continuously advancing and designs are getting outrageous. Good catalogs should look enticing and pleasing in order to sell out. In order to come up with the greatest designs for your catalog should follow some simple rules. Following certain rules will help make your catalog look outrageous and perfect.
First is by placing a strong design that will be prominent and noticeable to the customers. Of course the first glance would be at the first page of the catalog, so in order for it to stand out; keep a strong product that will have the reader’s attention. Be reminded that first impressions last so it important to keep up with the design to make it most attractive.
Keep your catalog simple. Some catalogs look like ornaments with messy design and structure. Using fonts that are visible and easy to read will not be too hard to follow. Some customers may not be patient when they find your catalogs too hard to read, they will tend to set it aside. Just the right size and fonts will hit it. Most customers will appreciate catalogs that are simple because it is not tiring to look at and the colors and matches are pleasing. Catalogs that are over designed do not organized because of too much designs.
Order forms are important. Just imagine catalogs without order forms, will that make sense? Keep your order forms as easy and effortless for the customers. Order forms should be based upon the readers. You should have one order form for businessmen and the consumers. So you need to keep up very informative brochures so the customers will be well-informed with your products.
Originality keeps up a business name. Keeping up a good and consistent design will have your brand and name be remembered by your customers. Keeping up with these simple rules will help you create catalogs that are on the hype.
For more related articles, you may visit http://www.catalogprintingexperts.com

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by: Karen Nodalo

Karen Nodalo came across writing when she was about 11. The whole craze for writing started when she first wrote her diary during elementary years. After school, she would write in it first before doing homework. She finds it cool and until now she still keeps one.

A Website Without Online Marketing: A Fruitless Tree

2005-12-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Have you quit your day job and invested time and money into your own online business? Are you wondering where those promised visitors and the profit from them have gotten stuck? Then read on before your precious investment is fully wasted.
Nowadays, many people save money to quit their day jobs in hopes of achieving their own customized version of the American Dream by starting what is commonly known as an e-commerce business or a "dot com" venture. They then proceed to spend the savings of their labor on great looking, functional and hopefully practical websites. However, a large percentage of such venturesome warriors that take the initiative to quit a steady job and embark on the bumpy road of e-"self employment" do not end up reaping the fruits of their courage.
The initial phases of website development both financially and emotionally drain the average venturous individual to a point that at the end of the process they are impatiently waiting for miraculous profit to be pouring their way. In reality, this seldom happens since there are thousands of such individuals both from the past and the present on the very same path striving to prosper. In order for a website to be profitable, it would have to contend in the race for traffic against hundreds of thousands, or even millions of competitors.
It is possible to attract visitors to your website via countless means however the best and the most efficient are what have been rounded up under the roof of Online Marketing. Online or Internet Marketing addresses the concerns of all those website owners that are astounded at the low returns on their investments. It helps strategize a plan to increase the popularity and traffic of the website and tackle the issues of low profits. The most important aspects of Internet Marketing are as follows:
1. Spreading the Word: Since other online venues require a relatively longer initial period of time to yield results, it is quick and efficient to spread the word about your website via submitting articles and news releases to be published. An informative and useful article will intrigue other website owners to syndicate the article hence exposing your website to the visitors of their own websites. On the other hand a carefully prepared news release if published at the right time will drive major media publishers to run stories on your website which in turn will expose your website to a very wide base of potential visitors and in turn converted customers.
2. Networking: Propagating the word about your website is a great way to jumpstart your internet marketing campaign, however you need stability from within to be able to sustain your website's popularity. By partnering or simply having a relationship with websites in and out of your industry you will be able to increase your website link base and provide a one-stop solution for your visitors. You can achieve this by being an active participant in online forums, chat sessions and even seminars not to mention offline venues such as business mixers and conferences.
3. Search Engines: Once you have created an initial surge of visitors via press releases and worked on networking to maintain your traffic, your website will be seasoned and ready to benefit from a very precious medium that lets targeted visitors come to you rather than you going after them. Search engines are inundated with searchers looking for products and services in virtually every single industry and category imaginable. By using keyword popularity tools you can find out approximately how many people search for keywords relevant to your website on a daily basis. Once you find the keywords that would bring valuable visitors to your website, then you can target them by optimizing your website. This process is referred to as Search Engine Optimization which will be discussed in much more detail in future articles.
4. Refining the User Interface: Refining the User Interface is certainly one of the most ignored yet extremely important aspects of owning and operating a website. You can be getting hundreds of unique visitors on a daily basis to your website yet making less profit than a direct competitor of yours with half the traffic. The secret lies in your user interface consisting of elements such as forms, navigation, contents, links, buttons, customization, localization and more. By using these elements in the correct places and at the correct time and constantly monitoring your visitor retention and conversation rates, you can not only increase your conversation ratio and therefore your profit but also maintain a larger visitor base potentially creating word of mouth and return business.
The above are the main areas in which you have to be active in order for your online marketing campaign to be successful. However it is sometimes not possible to achieve the best results in all areas without rigorous research and extensive training. This is where internet marketing firms come to your help in devising and implementing a successful campaign. Internet Marketing is virtually the only way to turn your investment of time, patience and money into measurable profit that could get you closer to achieving your goals and fulfilling your dreams. This is why I invite you to read my future articles where I will be providing more detailed information on each of the above categories as well as information on how to find do-it-yourself information and shop for internet marketing services.

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by: Sevan Baghdasarian

Sevan B. Director of Technology ViPSEM - A Subsidiary of APR Network Inc. http://www.vipsem.com

How to Do a Successful Exhibit

2005-12-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

What makes exhibits successful is who are behind the exhibits. These are the people who are aware of the do's and don'ts in an exhibit.
Some exhibitors tend to be oblivious of the little things that they should consider during their exhibits. These little things actually help a lot in the success of such exhibits.
These following tips will surely make the most of your exhibit:
"Stand up straight"
Stand and do not sit. Always be attentive. Give me that smart look.
"Always smile"
They say smiling makes you younger and it also makes your aura good. If you always bring smiles with you, people will certainly approach you. You should look pleasing to every person that you will be interacting with.
"No drinking, smoking and eating in the exhibit"
Business is business. You did not come to a social gathering.
"Chewing gum is not allowed"
When chewing gum, visitors tend to be distracted that interrupts their concentration that might lead to lost sale.
"Don't be offensive"
Making fun of your visitors will not help the exhibit. Do not offend other people of their race or their gender.
"Have clean hands"
You hands should be always clean. You use your hands in meeting different people; handshaking is one important factor in the business.
"Know what you are really doing"
Conversing with people would bring you to the edge. You should know what you are talking about. The credibility of your company is on the line, so it behooves you to know what you know, know what you don't know and find out where the answers are in between.
"Say so if you don't know"
Do not fool yourself, if you really don't know the answer, search for the answer and tell it to the visitor in the quickest time possible.
"Do eye to eye contact when talking"
Some people don't know how to talk to people. Eye to eye contact means paying attention to the visitor. Remember to look at the badge of the person and use his or her name in you conversation.
"Cell phone in the booth is a big NO NO"
Using your cell phone might be a nuisance in the exhibit. Visitors would be irritated when most of your time is spent with your phone.
"Avoid barricades"
The traffic in your exhibit will increase by 25% if you will leave the center open.
"Do not stack give-aways on tables"
Piling up give-aways on the counters will most likely pull towards you bag-stuffers. It would be much better if you will display limited give-aways to generate interest and avoid the grab-and-run effect.
"Do not utter the words "May I help you?"
Visitors usually respond unlikely when ask such like this. The most common reply you would get is "No, just browsing." It will be more probable to ask your attendees on how they are familiar with your displays or what made him see your product.
"Avoid acting as a security guard"
Do not stand in the exhibit as if looking like a secret service officer protecting the displays. It more congruous to stand 4 feet from your displays to prevent hesitations from your visitors to look at your products.

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By James Monahan

James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of ExhibitSite.com and writes expert articles about exhibits.

Spy Matrix Spy Phone: The Ultimate Spy Cell Phone

2005-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most advanced portable bug on the market today is the Spy Matrix Spy Phone. This spy cell phone looks just like a regular phone, and it works just like a regular cell phone. The only difference is that is also a bug. This is the ultimate in listening devices. It is the best way to keep track of teenagers or significant others who show signs of straying. And, with a little ingenuity, you can even use this spy cell phone to perform surveillance on acquaintances and strangers.
The spy cell phone is especially helpful when you want to keep track of family members. This is because you can pass it off as a new phone for the family’s new cell phone plan. It is perfect. Give it to teenagers and you can go wherever they go. This Spy Matrix Spy Phone is equipped with a GPS tracker and a special microphone that picks up noises and conversation in its general vicinity. Not only that, but can also allow you to listen in to both ends of the conversation. You can know whether you teen are where she or he is supposed to be, and you can find out, from listening to what is going on in the room, whether there really is a study group.
A secret phone number allow you to activate the spy cell phone without the subject knowing that you have done so. You call the secret number (there is a second real number for regular calling purposes) and the phone quietly turns on and begins giving you access. You can “forget” it in a room or leave it to “charge” and hear what others are saying. This is a device that is also useful when performing professional surveillance for clients. No matter what you want to use the phone for, the spy cell phone is a device that few people would suspect as being a bug — especially since it works just like a normal cell phone in all respects.
Stop wondering what is really going on and find out for sure. When you have the Spy Matrix Spy Phone you do not just have any phone. You have a real, top of the line spy cell phone.
(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: Spy Cell Phone.

_______________________________

Kingston Amadan
To learn more about Spy and Surveillance Products visit http://www.spyassociates.com . Read other related articles at http://spyassociates.blogspot.com/.

The Advantages of SEO Training

2005-12-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

It is estimated that at least 340 million people use search engines to find products and services every day. That's a lot of people. The top search engines use link popularity to decide which sights come up first when you do a search. Wouldn't it be nice if your website came up at the top of the list? It is a possibility with search engine optimization, or SEO. With the right SEO training, you can be on your way to a more successful business and much higher web traffic.
Before you start SEO training, you should first understand what SEO is. SEO basically means optimizing the results of a persons search on the web to lead to your website. When someone does a search, say on google.com, they type in a keyword and start the search. The search results then list several websites that fit the category of the search. The top websites are always listed first. Hence, the person doing the search is more likely to use the websites listed first. With the proper SEO training, you can learn how to make your website be listed at the top of the search engine lists.
SEO training can be provided through many different means. A great deal of people receive their SEO training at special seminars. These seminars can last several days and vary in price. Some are as low as $300 and some are as high as $1500. These seminars usually have limited seating available so sign up as soon as you can. There is also SEO training courses offered online with downloadable SEO training material. Most online SEO Training courses are self paced, so you can learn it at your own pace for a set price. There are even some free courses offered online as well.
Most of these courses teach the basics of SEO. This includes: learning how to use link popularity, keyword usage, and marketing techniques that can work best with SEO. Some courses even teach you how to start your very own SEO business, which has become quite popular in the recent years. Many of these SEO training courses offer certification in SEO so that you may officially start an SEO business.
All SEO training courses guarantee that with completion of the course, you will have a dramatic increase in your website traffic. Some say as much as a 500% increase. For business owners, this means a lot more money. If you are interested in SEO training, get on a search engine and see what results you get. The top websites listed are sure to be the ones that used search engine optimization. If it works for them, maybe you should give it a try.

________________________________

by: Jay Moncliff

Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.altaenbuscadoresonline.com a website specialized on Alta En Buscadores, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Alta En Buscadores. For more info on Alta En Buscadores visit: http://www.altaenbuscadoresonline.com.

The Right Marketing Tool For You

2005-12-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

If you have a business to promote, you may want a marketing tool. But what is the best marketing tool for you? What marketing tool is widely used? Some of you may be asking what a marketing tool is. There are answers to these questions.
A marketing tool is something that a business uses to promote its product or service. This can be done through various means. But the main one is advertising (or marketing). A marketing tool can be any of the following: web design, SEO, photos or illustrations, autoresponders, and public relations.
The first marketing tool listed was web design. With a stunning web design, you can attract more people to your site. A web design that is easy to navigate also keeps people interested. It may also be memorable to keep them coming back.
The second marketing tool is SEO (search engine optimization). With search engine optimization you can guarantee that your site will be one of the first listed on a search engine. It does this by using link popularity and keyword popularity used in search engines. This will ensure more web traffic. In turn, this means more business.
The third marketing tool is photos or illustrations. If you have attractive photos or illustrations of your product or service, people will be more likely to purchase it. Get a professional to do this for you. The more photos or illustrations you have the better.
The fourth marketing tool is the use of an autoresponder. An autoresponder is a powerful marketing tool. It is used to automatically send out emails to people on your mailing list or to people who may have visited your sight. These automatic emails can list sales, promotions, or any other advertisement you'd like to have noticed to better promote your business.
The fifth and last marketing tool is public relations. Public relations are also a great marketing tool because it not only makes you look good, but it develops positive feedback of your business. This will in turn bring you more customers. Always build good rapport with your customers.
The best way to get different marketing tools is on the web. There are many sights that offer different marketing tools. They all vary in price from site to site. Most offer guaranteed results in a determined amount of time or they offer you a full refund. Some even offer a free trial period.
A marketing tool is the best way to promote you business. Using more than one marketing tool at a time will ensure even better results. Take your time and see which one is best suited for your business. If you can, try to use all 5!

_____________________________________

by: Jay Moncliff

Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.marketing-eficaz.biz a website specialized on Marketing, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Marketing. For more info on Marketing visit: http://www.marketing-eficaz.biz.

Retail To Recruit

2005-12-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

We're all aware of how difficult it is to find business builders.
This can be tough...Even with the best recruiting techniques.
For me one of the better ways to find business builders is to Retail to Recruit.
Personally I think your MLM business should be made up of 75% retail customers and 25% business builders.
Why?
Having more retail customers ordering from you week after week, month after month, year after year creates that residual income we all want. Plus you now have an army of customers that are spreading the word about your products. People will talk more freely about products that are doing well for them, then they will about a business opportunity.
In one case people feel they are sharing, in the other they feel like they are selling (guess which one?).
When people talk about products they're sharing an experience, when they're talking about a business opportunity they feel like they're selling.
In my company we make great money with retail sales and business builders. Personally It's easier to find retail customers than business builders, plus your income is generated faster. (of course that depends on your pay plan, for example I get paid every week with ours).
Let me ask you a question.
Do you think it's easier to introduce the idea to someone who is in love with your product/service they can have their own business or to someone who has never tried your product or service?
Kinda of a dumb question, because I know you know the answer.
Once someone has been using you product for about 30 days or so. And before I go on I trust you have been in contact with your customer to see how he/she likes using your product. More importantly have they used your product at all.
You would be surprised at how many people will buy a product and not use it.
If you do come across someone who has not used your product don't say "WHY NOT".
Tell a story.
For example, lets say you sell product XYZ and you called a customer and they have not use it yet.
Me.. "Hi Bob, this is Duffy how do you like XYZ?"
Bob.. "Oh I have not tried it yet it's still in the box, no time to busy"
Me.. "I can relate to that Bob. When I first started taking XYZ I started noticing a difference after only 3 days, I could fall asleep faster and I woke up more refreshed and with more energy and I am getting the same feedback from my other customers as well. I'll give you a call in few days and see how you're doing. Talk to you then, have a great night."
I did not challenge him, I accepted his excuse and I went on to tell him a story of how XYZ has helped me. Do you think he is going to leave your product in the box for one more day...I doubt it.
But even if he does, just keep telling stories of the things XYZ is doing for you and others
However, if your customer has not tried your product after 2 or 3 phone calls (5 or 7 days). Personally I would offer them a refund. With that the customer will either say no and try your product, or they will accept your offer. If so, great, either way it's a win-win.
If this person lived in my city I would go over and pick up the product. It’s not doing him or you any good just sitting there. It might as well be given to someone who will use the product.
Ok, it's been 30 days or so since your customer has been using your product and they love it, what now?
The next time you talk to a customer you can say something like this:
According to my records, it's time for you to reorder. How would you like to save up to $10 off your next purchase? For every name you give me of someone I can send a brochure to, I'll give you $1 off up to $10. Is that fair?
Or
If they are internet customers you would be offering them a $10 rebate after they place their next order. Simply tell them after you get the contact names and confirmation of their next order you will send them a check in the amount owing. The above is for local customers that you are personally delivering your product to.
This is a great way to get warm leads.
Then you take a flyer or brochure about your product. Put a yellow sticky note on it and say Hi "Sally" Mary Jones has been taking this product and feels great and thought you might be interested. Your name, your address your phone number.
Then, after you mail the info to the referrals, you call them in a few days. And say:
Hi Sally. This is Your Name, You don't know me but Mary Jones asked that I send you a brochure. Did you get that brochure? Listen, our product is helping a lot of people around the country--it's helped Mary.
The product is less than a dollar and a half a day and it's got 100% money back guarantee. Would you like to try it or do you know anyone who'd like to try it?
I used what it costs to use my product each day for the above example, replace that with the break down of your products cost per day.
Now it's been about 2 months after your original customers first purchase. Depending on your products user rate you may have talked to them as little as 2 times, but that's ok.
Now say something like this:
Hello _______ How are you doing?
Have you experienced any additional positive results with your product?
Listen, I can't offer you a discount this time. "4" of the people of the "10" names you gave me are on the product and they're loving the product. They're going to reorder the product. Would you like to supply them and make the profit or would you rather I supply them?
If they say they would like to earn the profit, they have just given you permission to show them your presentation.
You're now retailing to recruit.
Until next time.

____________________________________

By Duffy Rogan

Duffy Rogan is a network marketing coach, and provides free mentoring to anyone in any network marketing company. Save yourself years of failure and frustration and learn the TRUTH about succeeding in Network Marketing. FREE ebook http://mlmsuccess.bigmlmlies.com

Setting the Climate for a Non-Confrontational Negotiation

2005-12-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

What you say in the first few moments of a negotiation often sets the climate of the negotiation. The other person quickly gets a feel for whether you are working for a win-win solution, or whether you're a tough negotiator who's out for everything they can get.
That's one problem that I have with the way that attorneys negotiate-they're very confrontational negotiators. You get that white envelope in the mail with black, raised lettering in the top left hand corner and you think, "Oh, no! What is it this time?" You open the letter and what's the first communication from them? It's a threat. What they're going to do to you, if you don't give them what they want.
I remember conducting a seminar for 50 attorneys who litigated medical malpractice lawsuits, or as they prefer to call them, physician liability lawsuits. I've never met an attorney who was eager to go to a negotiating seminar, although that's what they do for a living, and these people were no exception to the rule. However, the organization that was giving the attorneys their business told them that they were expected to attend my seminar if they wanted to get any more cases from the organization. So the attorneys weren't too happy about having to spend Saturday with me in the first place, but once we got started, they became involved and were having a good time. I got them absorbed in a workshop involving a surgeon being sued over an unfortunate incident involving a nun and walked around the room to see how they were doing. I couldn't believe how confrontational they were being. Most of them started with a vicious threat and then became more abusive from that point on. I had to stop the exercise and tell them that if they wanted to settle the case without expensive litigation (and I doubted their motives on that score) that they should never be confrontational in the early stages of the negotiation.
So, be careful what you say at the beginning. If the other person takes a position with which you totally disagree, don't argue. Arguing always intensifies the other person's desire to prove himself or herself right. You're much better off to agree with the other person initially and then turn it around using the Feel, Felt, Found formula. Respond with, "I understand exactly how you feel about that. Many other people have felt exactly the same way as you do right now. (Now you have diffused that competitive spirit. You're not arguing with them, you're agreeing with them.) But you know what we have always found? When we take a closer look at it, we have always found that . ."
Let's look at some examples:

You're selling something, and the other person says, "Your price is way too high." If you argue with him, he has a personal stake in proving you wrong and himself right. Instead, you say, "I understand exactly how you feel about that. Many other people have felt exactly the same way as you do when they first hear the price. When they take a closer look at what we offer, however, they have always found that we offer the best value in the marketplace."
You're applying for a job, and the human resources director says, "I don't think you have enough experience in this field." If you respond with "I've handled much tougher jobs that this in the past," it may come across as, "I'm right and you're wrong." It's just going to force her to defend the position she's taken. Instead, say, "I understand exactly how you feel about that. Many other people would feel exactly the same way as you do right now. However, there are some remarkable similarities between the work I've been doing and what you're looking for that are not immediately apparent. Let me tell you what they are."
If you're a salesperson and the buyer says, "I hear that you people have problems in your shipping department," arguing with him will make him doubt your objectivity. Instead, say, "I understand how you could have heard that because I've heard it too. I think that rumor may have started a few years ago when we relocated our warehouse; but now major companies such as General Motors and General Electric trust us with their just-in-time inventories, and we never have a problem."
If the other person says, "I don't believe in buying from off-shore suppliers. I think we should keep the jobs in this country," the more you argue the more you'll force him into defending his position. Instead, say, "I understand exactly how you feel about that, because these days many other people feel exactly the same way as you do. But do you know what we have found? Since we have been having the initial assembly done in Thailand, we have actually been able to increase our American work force by more than 42 percent and this is why . . ."

So instead of arguing up front, which creates confrontational negotiation, get in the habit of agreeing and then turning it around.
At my seminars, I sometimes ask a person in the front row to stand. As I hold my two hands out, with my palms facing toward the person I've asked to stand, I ask him to place his hands against mine. Having done that and without saying another word, I gently start to push against him. Automatically, without any instruction, he always begins to push back. People shove when you shove them. Similarly, when you argue with someone, it automatically makes him or her want to argue back.
The other great thing about Feel, Felt, Found is that it gives you time to think. Sometimes something will come up in a negotiation that you weren't expecting. You haven't heard anything like this before. It shocks you. You don't know what to say; but if you have Feel, Felt, Found in the back of your mind, you can say, "I understand exactly how you feel about that. Many other people have felt exactly the same way. However, I have always found . . ." By the time you get there, you'll have thought of something to say. Similarly, you sometimes catch other people at a bad moment. You may be a salesperson who is calling to get an appointment and the person says to you, "I don't have any more time to waste talking to some lying scum-sucking salesperson." You calmly say, "I understand exactly how you feel about that. Many other people have felt exactly the same way. However . . ." By the time you get there you will have recovered your composure and will know exactly what to say.
Key points to remember:
Don't argue with people in the early stages of the negotiation because it creates confrontation.
Use the Feel, Felt, Found formula to turn the hostility around.
Having Feel, Felt, Found in the back of your mind gives you time to think when the other side throws some unexpected hostility your way.

_______________________________________

By Roger Dawson

Founder of the Power Negotiating Institute

800-932-9766

RogDawson@aol.com

http://www.rdawson.com
Roger Dawson is the author of two of Nightingale-Conant's best selling audiocassette programs, Secrets of Power Negotiating and Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople. This article is excerpted in part from Roger Dawson's new book - "Secrets of Power Negotiating", published by Career Press and on sale in bookstores everywhere for $24.99.

How To Effectively Connect With Your Prospects And Close More Sales With Proven Communication Skills

2005-12-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered why some sales letters produce extraordinary results? Ever been "sucked in" by some web copy and, like some magic, been literally held by the hand until you click on the order button? What do you think was really the power behind that irresistible pull? If you've ever tried to answer these questions, you may have observed that the power behind those magical results is the words used. Yes, to REALLY connect with your prospects/customers, you need the right words and the effective use of those words.
Effective communication is a science. And, like every other sciences, there are proven steps to implementing it successfully. The highly successful entrepreneurs know its real worth. Every marketer worth his onions must master this art of effective communication to really produce the results he desires. To market your products/services profitably, you must be able to convince your prospect/client why he/she must buy from you.
Marketing online lays more emphasis on the written word. Your sales letter, web copy, emails, ezine, etc. must be able to effectively communicate your ideas. This is what copywriting is all about. It is the masterly use of words to effectively express your ideas to enable your reader do what you want. Study the master copywriters and you'll be amazed how they effectively do this. And if you want to succeed online as an internet home business entrepreneur, you must master this skill.
Now there is a secret to effective web communication skills. The secret is in focusing on the other person (your prospect) and what you want him to do as a result of your message.
But how can you focus on the other person? Simply understand his wants and needs. Empathize with him. Put yourself in his shoes and see the world through his eyes. Feel his joys. Feel his pains and problems. And feel his wants. When you've done this well, your next job is to show him how he can get what he wants by doing what you want.
Besides, been able to convincingly convey your ideas or what you wanted done, is an important factor in effective web copywriting. Conviction involves persuasion. Your prospect will never take action until he is persuaded. Your ability to convincingly persuade your reader is proportional to how much you're able to appeal to his emotions. This is because our purchasing decisions are ruled by our emotions.
You must however know that persuasion isn't converting people to your way of thinking. It's about converting people to your way of feeling and believing. It is about your emotions.
The following tips will help you to effectively communicate with your prospects and therefore increase your profits astronomically.
1. Use Action Words: You can do this by using verbs throughout your copy. Action words have a way of literally turning the subconscious mind into action. And because the subconscious is the seat of reaction and emotions, a web copy with the right verbs make persuasion much easier.
2. Use Words That Create Ideas: The ideas you create in the mind of your readers through your web copy determines, to a great extent, what they feel towards you and your offer. You could create excitement or cause the creative energy in your prospects to rise. And whenever they remember you or your offer this idea wells up.
3. Use Simple Words And Short Sentences: Put your scholarly prowess aside. Focus on communicating. Communicating without understanding is a failure. Simple words and short sentences make reading easier. And the easier to read the better the chances of being persuaded. Remember the K.I.S.S. principle. Therefore use short, simple and direct statements that cut right to the heart of the matter.
4. Focus Your Message On Your Audience: To communicate with power and effectively persuade your prospect to do what you want, you must understand your audience. Who is your audience? What do they want? And how can you help them get what they want? When your message is focused on your prospect you stand a better chance of achieving your purpose.
5. Present Your Message As A Conversation: This is powerful online. When your prospect accesses your web copy, he'll be alone. It is not a public presentation. Therefore let your presentation sound like a conversation between the two of you. Use the first person singular. If possible use personification. Sound natural. Forget hype. Present facts and enough emotional empathy to help him make a decision.
There you've it. Your copy writing skills could make or break your online business. Being able to effectively communicate your ideas so that your prospect does what you want is a skill you must master if you must pull in massive profits with your internet home business.

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By Chadrack Irobogo

Copyright © by Chadrack Irobogo 2005. All rights reserved.
Chadrack Irobogo’s mission is to reveal proven and tested tactics and strategies to help you generate real and consistent revenue from your online business even when you are on a shoestring budget. For a FREE email course "Success-Sure-Steps To Making The Internet Your Own Money Machine!" send a blank email now, mailto:profit-ideas@sendfree.com. http://ideas4profit.250free.com

Secrets of Fundraising

2005-12-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

How many times have you seen a non profit making a heap of non profit fund and using it for some creative community work? Probably you also wanted to create a big fund like your competitor? You may also ask yourself, how on the earth did that non profit pooled so much fund. Well, it is not too difficult! This big pool of fund was possible only due to some tricks or secrets adopted by that non profit. If you want to collect funds of a big magnitude, we have some of the most unusual secrets for you.
The way you run your fundraising campaign will decide the level of success in raising a reasonable amount of funds. To create a successful campaign is not as easy it feels, given its complications involved in first identifying those donors, then to contact all of them with your proposals, and finally getting success in winning a fund request. However with right strategy and tactics, anyone can get a reasonable level of success in their quest for funds.
Established fundraising techniques suggest us that fundraising effort is a complicated solicitation process of seeking funds from those organizations, who are seasoned donors, with different motives and goals. As these donors, be they big corporations or very small local groups, generally receive hundreds of funding requests every day, it is often very difficult for them to award grants and dominations to all of them.
Understanding how their minds work is too difficult and as result most of the fund seekers keep groping in the dark without any tangible results. As their priorities and objectives keep changing every year, you’ll need to devise a mechanism of finding a good donor, who fits your non profit and its goals. Conventional wisdom says it is as difficult as finding a needle in the haystack. Bu it may not be necessarily so- that is if you know how to act!
Here are some unknown secrets, which we have learnt over the years:
1. Get to know how they work and act. Read their annual report and audit statement. Jot down all those activities for which grants and funds were awarded.
2. If you’re careful, you’ll also find out about their future goals and targets, printed on their annual report.
3. Though there are thousands of donors, and it is often difficult to locate a donor of your choice, you can still use the power of internet to access a load of database on different donors and their activities.
4. Pooling together a database for your non profit, is possibly the most required necessity, before you start looking for a donor (That’s how we started to look for our own fundraising, with our entire database on thousands of donors across the world).
5. In spite of all those loads of database, you’ll never expect to reach your goal, unless you create a system by which you can contact your donors. Automated fundraising software will completely enable you to increase your efficiency in reaching those invisible donors. Such software will also help you to organize your non profit. (Click here to know more about Fundraising Software)
6. Right communication provides you an opportunity to know the mind of your potential donors and their activities. A strenuous task that it is, communication is possibly your only lifeline between you and those donors. Get ready to compose one hundred different types of letters and proposals to shoot off to donors.
7. Here is a small tip: the proposal you send out to your donor, is a mirror that reflects your mind, goal, attitude and integrity.

________________________________

By Daniel Lesser

Daniel J Lesser is actively involved in teaching thebasics of fundraising and its applications in non profit fundraising exercises. You can visit his fundraising webportal at http://www.fundraisinginfosite.com

Advertising-The Best Marketing Tip

2005-11-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

The best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In fact, any marketing tip you hear or see will be related to some form of advertising. In this article, we will go over several marketing tips and the reason you should use them.
One great marketing tip is to use an auto responder. Autoresponders automatically send out emails to people on your mailing lists or to people who have been to your website. You can then send out advertisements of your business or service. This is a great marketing tip because it is often inexpensive and sometimes free to use an autoresponder.
A second marketing tip you may enjoy is the use of slogans or logos. This is an excellent marketing tip. People will always remember a clever logo or slogan. Many people find it best to use a funny slogan because it brings people happy thoughts when they think of your business. Try to think one up.
A third great marketing tip is to put your URL everywhere. Get yourself noticed. Put your ULR all over your site, in your autoresponder emails, hand out flyers, business cards, etc. This is always beneficial.
The next great marketing tip I have for you is to use an SEO. An SEO (search engine optimization) enables your website to be listed at the top of search engine lists. SEO uses keyword and link popularity to maximize this result. This leads to more visitors to your sight and more profit. Again, this is another great marketing tip.
Another great marketing tip is your web design. A great web design can attract more people to your site, and keep them coming back. In addition, another similar marketing tip is to use flash pictures to get attention. Or, another marketing tip is to use eye catching photographs or illustrations or your product or service. This will attract more attention as well.
My favorite marketing tip is to use testimonials and offer feedback to customers. This marketing tip is a must for anyone who wants to show positive feedback of their business. A similar marketing tip is to post these positive testimonials on your site or to send them out in your autoresponder.
Lastly, a great marketing tip is to keep your domain name simple and easy to remember. People can't find your sight if they can't remember it, let alone if they can't spell it. A catchy domain name is always helpful.
For another good marketing tip, try asking fellow business owners. I'm sure they will have a marketing tip or two to aid you. You can then make some friends in the business circle and swap ideas. Eventually it will all lead you to a successful and promising business.

__________________________________

By Jay Moncliff

Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.marketing-eficaz.net a website specialized on Marketing, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Marketing. For more info visit his site: Marketing