Sales Information
Success Reloaded: The Matrix
So the other day I?m watching the movie The Matrix, again. For some reason I can?t get enough of the great special effects.
Selling: an art of a skill?
Selling is as much an art as it is a skill. The basics of the selling process can be learned by anyone, but the practice of selling is something that the super star sales people have brought to an art level.
Warming Up To Cold Calls
Will you do just about anything, including sending out hundreds of letters, to avoid making cold calls to your potential customers/prospects? If so, you're not alone. Millions like you have started their own businesses, only to find that the thought of making calls to potential customers/prospects leaves them paralyzed with anxiety. Believe me I was one of them. For those of you who know us and have read "Who Makes It Happen", remember what I used to go through before I would get on the telephone to cold call.
Why There Will Always Be High Paying Sales Jobs
With the dot.com revolution crushing once solid business models on an almost daily basis, the question surely crosses one's mind "am I next?".
Creating Intense Emotions That Motivate People
Ever wish that your presentations could be as much fun as a cool TV commercial? Come late January every year network TV treats us to America's finest and most expensive commercials - Superbowl commercials. You may remember some of these even now, 2 weeks later. Which was your favorite? E*Trade? Fed-Ex? One of the dot.coms? My favorite was Mountain Dew.
Too Much Empathy Will Cost You Money
Ever have a prospect start out your sales call by asking you "so how much does this cost?" as the first question out of his mouth? How you handle this question, and subsequent ones like it, will greatly influence the outcome of your sales-call.
3 Tips For Getting Through The Voicemail Screen
How many times have you heard that you gotta get past the gatekeeper and get to the decision-maker to make the sale? Countless books and sales trainers have talked about this for years. Much of this advice was written for a world without voicemail.
How to Create Material That Will Get You Sales Now!
WHY ARE YOU WRITING THIS BROCHURE OR SALES LETTER?
Dont Be Macho Selling Ice to Eskimos
This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for a small manufacturing company. I was asked to comment about the impact of excessive optimism on the part of salespeople and sales managers.
The Force That Drives Buying Decisions
What do people buy?
Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You?
Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy something. A person or a business is motivated to buy when they perceive that a change needs to occur to fix or avoid a problem, or to enable a greater vision for their future. They buy when they believe that a product or service will bridge this gap for them.
Use Pain To Get Commitments
Whenever I speak with new salesreps and entrepreneurs, I hear a similar frustration:
Leveraging Yourself Up To Executives When Selling
The fastest way to get a decision made is to speak directly with the decision-maker, right? OK, so you knew that. Often times, the decision-makers are not easy to get to. There are dozens of salespeople who would love to pitch to the CEO, President, VP, or Department Directors if given the chance. And the purpose of middle management is to filter communication to executives, and oversee the execution of plans and policies so that the executives don't have to.
Obtaining Self-Confidence
A reader recently asked me the following:
The Email Blow-Off
This week's article is my response to a question by Lisa Boudreau of ePresence.
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An Introduction to Mannequins
Just about every clothing store uses mannequins. There are many types of mannequins made of different materials including wood, wax, fiberglass, and plastic. Some mannequins are set in one pose, while others have adjustable arms and legs. There are mannequins that look like men, women, and children. Some mannequins are even made to resemble famous movie stars and celebrities.
Know What You Are Selling As If You Were Buying It
Recently I wanted a new lawn mower as we have an acre of land and we have to keep it mowed pretty regular in the spring and summer and the riding lawn mower from Wally World had fallen apart and had to have something repaired every year for the short four years we limped it through. I called my Dad and asked him what he thought was the best lawnmower for the money as you lay out a hefty amount for almost any riding lawn mower these days with very little guarantee of longevity.
Wholesale Secrets Revealed: The Holy Grail Of Wholesale!
Like the legendary search for the Holy Grail, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, the same "holy crusade" goes on today by veteran and newly anointed business owners for the perfect wholesale, surplus, and drop-shipping resource. They believe that divine intervention will lead them to suppliers that can defeat the economic laws of "supply and demand."
Diverting the Flow of Customers to Your Business
I was a lucky kid when I grew up. Lucky, because I had a big back yard for playing. It was about 28 acres big. My siblings, friends and I spent many days exploring, building, digging and hiding in the vast outback.
Top 10 Ways to Maximize Your Approachability
After reading and researching thousands of books, articles and other resources on communication, first impressions, networking and conversation, I've learned one thing: none of them address what approachability means. Or maybe they just don't take the time to define it, stress its importance and offer suggestions on how to maximize it.
Give Up the Need to Sell
Most business people will tell you that selling is not their favorite activity. Let's explore a way to look at the process of sales a bit more favorably.
Cold Calling Reluctance
Most salespeople I know consider cold calling a dreadful, but essential activity in our profession. Even those who are good at it rarely like it. Nevertheless, those who are successful in sales do it regularly because without prospects, one does not sell anything.
When the Nose of the Camel is in the Tent
My new job was to sell Commercial Service Agreements. It was a fine company. They were growing. They wanted to expand their Service Base. I had a territory that no one wanted. It was the farthest away from the office. "There is no business there!" was all I heard from everyone when I first took the job. I also heard, "You're nuts! Why did you give up the security of being a Technician?"
The Importance of Good Sales Leads
An important part of your business plan should be to generate a steady stream of qualified leads. Making sure that leads flow into your "pipeline" will be one of the most vital aspects of your overall business. This will be particularly true if your business is network marketing. You need an abundance of leads constantly flowing in because sales and recruiting is mostly a "numbers game". There are plenty of ways to obtain new leads, depending on your time and resources. Perhaps the most simple method is to buy a list of leads that pertains to your niche. Many firms in fact provide this service, and you can acquire leads pertaining to nearly any topic under the sun, from pets to sports.
Your Profit is in Your Follow-up: A System for Increased Sales Conversion
No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of the key ingredients to your success will be the attention you give your sales lead follow-up system.
A Brief History of the Sales Profession
The formula for defining a "profession" is similar throughout many disciplines, including: accounting, education, engineering, law and medicine. These professions all have codes of ethical conduct, a definition of their scope, and standards of practice for their members, which include some or all aspects of academic preparation, accreditation, certification and/or licensing. Morris L. Cogan addressed the definition of forming a profession in business in 1953. After reviewing all the literature on the topic, he offered the following comprehensive distillation, which is submitted here, as a fine summary of the previous definitions:A profession is a vocation whose practice is founded upon understanding the theoretical structure of some department of learning or science, and upon the abilities accompanying such an understanding. This understanding and these abilities are applied to the vital practical affairs of man. The practices of the profession are modified by knowledge of a generalized nature and by the accumulated wisdom and experience of mankind, which serve to correct the errors of specialization. The profession, that serves the vital needs of man, considers its first ethical imperative to be altruistic service to the client"(Vollmer et al., 1966).Why is the definition of a profession so important to selling? The professionalism of a group establishes the power that is recognized by others within the business community and outside the profession. With the sanction, approval, and authority intact, the profession attains higher status in the eyes of the clients. In this case, the clients of the seller would need to recognize and sanction, and approve the authority of the sales professional. Due to the nature of the buying-selling relationship, many individual buyers do not feel comfortable giving or otherwise recognizing this power in the sales professional. The question becomes: if doctors and lawyers receive money for their work, and indeed must sell and market their services, why then, are they seen as "more professional"?All of these definitions of a profession provide insight into the ideals and behaviors, which are needed to be considered "professional" by members of the business community. In learning to become a "professional", many occupations are taught in school. When a student studies any new subject matter, their first objective is to understand an overview of the entire subject matter. For example, when studying medicine, students first understand all the systems of the body, the different medical terms, and a high level overview of the entire field before they ever operate on anyone. Once any student studying a new subject understands this high level overview, they then move in depth into each specific area of that profession.Some sales professionals have entered the field by joining a large and established company. Others have grown up in the field by learning the "hard way". Still, others have done a combination of both. With over 15 million sales professionals, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the United States alone there was no set standard upon which to measure and advance the entire profession until the United Professional Sales Association standards were created at the turn of the century. With these standards, thousands of sales professionals are discovering that they are indeed a part of a "True Profession."
How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing?
A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it works for all levels of decision makers. Engineers and executives may not be too impressed by brochures, but they are impressed by well-written white papers. (The same thing goes for trade journal articles more about that in a subsequent piece.)
Instead of Discounting, Back Some Value Out of Your Proposal
Last minute discounting has become so prevalent that many companies have come to depend on it as their default sales strategy. Employing a go-to-market strategy of being the lowest cost provider is one thing, but dramatic, tactical discounting on every deal will erode your company's margins and leave you digging a deeper and deeper hole in which your company will ultimately bury itself.I don't want to give you the impression that discounting is never appropriate. I can think of three scenarios where it is required:
Telephone Techniques
TELEPHONE TECHNIQUES
To Sell Successfully, You Have to Be Willing to Be Different
We are complex. We confidently assert that we are independent thinkers but then we can feel uncomfortable -- even embarrassed ? if we break out of "the norm." However, in business the biggest rewards often go to people who are willing to be different.
Never Stop Selling
The question: "When should a growing company slow down its sales function and focus solely on delivery?"
How To Get Your Mail Past The Gatekeeper And Into The Hands Of The Decision Maker GUARANTEED
There are several ways to get your information into the decision maker's hands.
5 Ways to Encourage Impulse Purchases
I just bought six square pieces of spongy fabric for $20 and walked away happy - "victim" of an impulse purchase.
How Many Ways Do You Have To Justify Your Price?
If you were selling a mansion, and you were selling it for 25 cents, some wiseacre would inevitably respond, "It costs too much."
6 Creative Questions To Move From HOW Are You To WHO Are You
Imagine you just met someone new. The formalities of names, jobs and the like have been exchanged and you seem to be getting along famously. But before you know it, a few minutes pass ? and it looks like you're running out of clichés!
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