How to Manage Your Sales Effectively in 2009!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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...

Copyright © 2006 James W. Hart, IV All Rights reserved

Point Your Employees Toward Financial Freedom

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?

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?

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

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!

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

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

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