adictoaloshombres: SALES

Showing posts with label SALES. Show all posts

Direct Sales Is Changing -- Why You Should Get Involved

Keywords:

direct sales,mlm,home business,pas

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Direct Sales used to mean trying to talk your friends and relatives into joining the business. There were all kinds of tricks and strategies you were supposed to use to get prospects to come to your home for a meeting, spend time with you on the phone, or read your faxes and mailed sales letters.

Pretty soon a lot of the people you knew would start avoiding you. They weren't interested in the business and didn't like being pressured to join.

Not only that, but you had to purchase all the marketing materials from the Direct Sales company. The cost of brochures, mailers, slick sales letters, envelopes, stamps, and endless long distance phone calls really added up.

And remember the piles of product you had to store in your garage? How many people reading this still have an unused box of supplements that's been sitting in the basement for years?

If that's your view of Direct Sales, you should take a fresh look. The industry is changing very rapidly and for the better. Gone are the days of having to lick stamps and spending your evenings on the phone or holding home meetings.

These days highly sophisticated online marketing systems pull in thousands of warm leads almost automatically. Search engine advertising is used to send very large numbers of targeted prospects to professionally designed web sites. These sites fire up the prospects and send the most promising and enthusiastic to a top-notch sales team. The team talks with each prospect, separating the genuine leaders from those who are merely looking. Then only the best new customers are sent to you ready to buy.

Sound easy? You bet it is. Your web site can be completely automated right along with your hands-off marketing system. I know people, including myself, who spend as little as 7 minutes a week attending to their Direct Sales business. All we do is check our stats to see how much money we're making, the rest -- from advertising, to selling, to product delivery -- is ALL done AUTOMATICALLY.

But I haven't mentioned the most exciting aspect of today's Direct Sales. Commissions are now MUCH higher than they were with $20 bottles of potions and lotions. Today, when I make a single sale, I receive $1,100 to $3,000 per order!

The key to these huge commissions is the superb automatic marketing and selling system. When you've got this kind of high powered selling capability, there is no point in wasting it on low-cost pills. Instead, Direct Sales is very easily selling expensive products and services that earn a much larger commission.

I learned a long time ago that the key to making big money in business is to find a way to increase your prices. The guy who makes a lot of $1,000 sales is going to be earning a much better income than the guy who is making the same number of $20 sales.

Today's high-powered marketing and high-value products make Direct Sales the best and easiest way to earn a very good part-time or full-time income from home. Do yourself a big favor and get involved!

Do It Yourself Sales Tools

Learn to create a simple sales tool that will help you track and follow up on every lead. This is a great tool for salespeople and for anyone who wants to put a system in place to help automate their networking activities.

Keywords:

Sales Tools, Networking, Sales Force Automation, Track leads, selling, sales tracking, saleepeople, selling

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After falling in love with the Hipster PDA and Levengers Shirt Pocket Briefcase,I started becoming more and more dependent on 3" by 5" index cards. They are great for note taking on the go and keeping organized at my desk, so I naturally started thinking of ways to use the cards to automate my sales process. From this, the "3X5" was born. I may not be the first person to use index cards in this way, but I do think a lot of salespeople will find the system easy to use and very effective.

You will need the following items to create your own 3X5 sales tool. I found everything I needed at my local Staples and everything cost me around $25.00.

* A box to store the index cards
* Monthly 3" by 5" index tabs
* Daily (1-31) 3" by 5" index tabs
* Alphabetical 3" by 5" index tabs
* A ton of white ruled 3" by 5" index cards
* A bunch of colored 3" by 5" index cards
* A small case to carry cards in your pocket

Once you have purchased the required supplies, you can organize your 3X5. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that you are assembling your 3X5 on January 1st. If this is the case you would first organize your tabs in the order below (front to back):

* January tab
* Daily tabs 1-31
* February - December monthly tabs
* A-Z alphabetical tabs
* Blank index cards - white and your favorite color

All of your cards should now be in the file box and the first thing you should see is the January tab.

Next, you should start creating cards for your leads. In the beginning, this is going to take some time (assuming you have a lot of leads). I use white cards for leads and colored cards for my customers. You can do whichever you prefer, but I think it is helpful to break down leads and customers.

The system works like this.

Let's imagine it is January 1st. and you attend a networking event where you meet a potential client. You get this lead's business card at the event and you want to contact him/her on the 2nd., so when you get to your office, you staple the leads business card to a white index card and drop it behind the "2" tab and then go home for the day. After all, it is new years day and you have been working hard to create your new sales system and you attended a networking event.

So, you arrive at work on January 2nd. and open up your 3X5. The first thing you should do is move the "1" tab back behind the February tab. You will always be rolling the system forward like this, so that the first tab you see in the box represents the most current month, then the most current day.

Now, you go to the tab for today (Jan 2nd.) and find the card for the lead that you met at the networking event yesterday. You call the lead and learn that he/she is out of town until January 6th. so you make a note which says, "1/2/05 - Mr. Lead is on vacation till 1/6". Now you drop the card behind the "6" tab for the month of January.

You will continue to roll this lead forward in the system, making notes at each step, until the lead either turns into a customer or asks you to leave them alone.

When the lead turns into a customer, I staple their business card to a colored card and place it behind the appropriate alphabetical tab. If their is another opportunity with this client, I move the colored card back to the dated section and move them through the process again.

Of course, as you add more people to your pipeline, you might not get to contact everyone on the day you have them slotted for. Just move them to the next day's slot at the end of the current day so you contact them tomorrow.

You will not want to carry around a huge metal box full of index cards, which is why you want to have a small index card wallet or box, so if you are going to be on the road or out of the office, you can simply grab your cards for the day and go.

Not just for salespeople.

While the system is great for salespeople, it also is a great tool for those of us who are focusing on networking. I actually use three different colored cards and use white for leads, blue for clients and red for my networking contacts (patriotic, I know). On the red cards, I write either 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, etc in the upper right hand corner of the index card to remind myself how frequently I want to contact the person, so I simply move the card forward based on the number on the card. If I want to contact someone every seven days, I move the card ahead a week after I make contact.

This really ties in well to Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone, which recommends you regularly ping your network. By the way, if you have not read the book, you should. You can get book notes for free from the Never Eat Alone blog.

Options / Enhancements.

I have been considering adding daily tabs to each month so that I can move people ahead to a any specific date (IE. August 11Th.) in the future.

You could also keep some sticky tabs handy so you can add a tab to the top of any index card for the contacts birthday. If you do this, you could just put an August tab on the card for every contact whose birthday is in August so you could quickly compile a birthday list each month. Again, this is probably overkill and you could probably just add the contacts name to a calendar and keep it separate, but what fun is that?

High Probability Selling for Sales Professionals: Turn Cold Calling into Warm Sales Leads

To grow your business you need prospective clients and customers: If you don't have a customer list from which to solicit referrals, and if you also lack an advertising/marketing budget, cold-calling to a highly targeted list is the fastest route to finding high probability prospects. Learn how.

Keywords:

sales leads, cold calling, high probability selling, telephone prospecting, sales prospecting, selling techniques, telesales

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Like most sales lead consultants, I do not advocate cold calling . However, I acknowledge that cold calling is necessary at times.

You need prospective clients and customers: If you don't have a customer list from which to solicit referrals, and you also lack an advertising/marketing budget, cold-calling to a highly targeted list is the fastest route to finding high probability prospects.

A High Probability Prospect is one who wants, needs, can afford, and is ready to buy your product or service- now. Those who only want, need, and can afford- but are not ready to buy now- are prospects that you will not meet with now. But, you will continue to contact in the future, until they are ready to buy.

How does Cold Calling fit into High Probability Prospecting?

Before picking up the phone, you need to define your target market. Your target markets are consumers and/or companies who are likely to want your product or service. If you haven't gone through the exercise of defining your target market, start by making a list of your best customers: What characteristics do they share? Are they in similar industries? Are they companies of about the same size, or in the same vertical markets? In B2C sales, look for similar socio-economic factors.

Your prospect list, whether you've created it yourself or purchased it, is the basis of your prospecting campaign. Contact each person on the list repeatedly, each time with a different offer. In High Probability Prospecting, an offer is a succinct distillation of two features of your product or service. Every time you re-contact a prospect, present a different offer.

When call your list, only first-time calls are cold calls in High Probability Prospecting. A truly effective prospecting campaign requires that you call the same list every 3 to 4 weeks, so after a short period of time, most of your calls will be 'warm' calls. A higher percentage of the people on your list will say "Yes" to your prospecting offer with each successive call.

5 Simple rules for maximum effectiveness and maximum efficiency:

Don't repeat the same prospecting offer more frequently than every third call.

Your offer must be no longer than 45 words, describing your product/service and mentioning two if its features.

Your prospecting offer must clearly request a "Yes" or "No" answer.

When prospects say "No," you say, "Okay, good-bye."

When prospects say "Yes," you say, "Why?"

With practice, you should be able to make at least 50 dials per hour. You'll find an increasing number of High Probability Prospects- people who respond with 'Yes' to your offer- with each pass through your list. You'll be on your way to making appointments with people who are ready to buy what you're selling- right now.

High Probability Prospecting doesn't eliminate cold-calling entirely. You will, however, make successively fewer Cold Calls and far more "Warm Calls". That will eliminate most of the Rejection associated with cold-calling. Thus, you will turn telephone prospecting into an efficient and enjoyable activity.

Explode Your Sales With Good Communication

Keywords:

marketing, website, internet, web, income, ecommerce, online, sales, business, income, traffic

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These are simple and effective methods to increase your sales. You may think that you know what your customer wants, but do you really? Instead of assuming that you know, why not listen to the customer and ask questions to find out what it is that they REALLY want.

1. Give your customers benefits, not features. Your customers don't want to know the ins and outs immediately of your products, they want to know how it benefits them! Save the details of the product for a secondary page that's NOT on your home page. You can give some main selling points, but keep the minor details off the home page and just list benefits.

For example, let's say you've got a strategy to get your clients out of debt. Don't tell them step-by-step how it works on the front page, be vague and leave the small print for another page. Instead tell them how they can imagine a life with riches and being debt free! That's a benefit, not a feature!

2. Keep in communication with potential buyers. I read somewhere that it takes at least 7 views of your products to get interested parties to buy them. They're obviously interested if they've gotten to your site and requested information, why not keep them informed about your news and updates to the site? You just may have a future customer.

It's also a good practice to use a "bookmark this page" and "tell a friend about this page" tool so you can get potential buyers for the future. Even if they're immediately not buying it doesn't mean they won't be back!

3. Encourage your site visitors to ask questions. Some people may think they're bothering you or wasting your time to ask you a question. Extend your open arms to each and every surfer that comes into your site and encourage them to ask about your site!

However if you see the same question coming up over and over again, it will benefit you and the client both if you create a "Frequently Asked Questions" page. People usually want immediate answers to their questions and it saves you the tedious same responses over and over again.

4. Make the buying experience easier. Don't ask for information that you don't need. Instead, ask for the bare minimum information from the customer so they can "get in, and get out". And then later on, you can send them a quick thank you note and a follow up to see how they liked your website.

Don't make your customer jump through hoops to buy your products. They'll only get frustrated and put it off for later - and later may never come!

By keeping these lines of communication open with your site visitors and potential customers, you'll find you gain more trust and credibility with them and in turn, more sales!

Hidden Sales Pressure : 7 Ways To Make It Go Away

Try to imagine that your potential client is a friend. Look around you for successful people who sell but don't exhibit traditional sales behavior and thinking. You may even still hit your sales goals if you stick with traditional sales thinking, but what toll will this take on your self-esteem?

Keywords:

cold call, cold calling, sales training, phone selling, phone prospecting, sales prospecting, sales scripts, telesales, telemarketing, mortgage selling, mortgage cold calling, insurance sales

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How can you eliminate subtle form of sales pressure?

Here are 7 solutions:

*Stop carrying the burden of driving the sales process forward. Try to engage potential clients based on the problems they're facing rather than on the solution that you're trying to sell, no matter how much you believe in it. And, instead of asking questions intended to "extract" information that you can then use to move the sales process forward, listen for cues that tell you where potential clients want to take the conversation, so they feel understood. If you can let your conversation evolve to that point, they will move the sales process forward.

*Watch out for "sales"-type language. Statements like "When shall I follow up?," "Can I come by and show you what I have?" and "Do you still want to move forward?" are all examples of language that inevitably triggers sales pressure. Try to imagine that your potential client is a friend. How would your language change? I would bet that you'd communicate with spontaneous words and phrases that would spring out of you naturally and allow a trusting connection to emerge, in contrast to "me" language designed to make the sale.

*Become aware of your inner voice and what it's saying. So many thoughts run through our mind before we pick up the phone to call a potential client.: "I better have all the answers," "I'd better prepare myself for potential rejection," "I really hope I can get an appointment." These thoughts stem from traditional sales conditioning, which taught us that we always have to be prepared for disappointment and frustration. How about changing that inner voice to a more positive one that will not only make it easier for you to engage in conversations but will decrease your stress level as well? See how you feel when you tell yourself instead:

• "I'm not going to make any assumptions that my product or service is a fit until we both determine that there's a problem to solve."

• "Not being 'perfect' with a potential client isn't a sign of weakness but an indication that I'm human too."

• "I don't need to fear rejection because I'll use an approach that won't trigger it."

* Don't look at sales as a "game" but as a mission to help those in need. If you shift the way you think about selling, you'll begin to experience the relief that comes with shedding the burden of the negative sales stereotype.

*Find new role models. Look around you for successful people who sell but don't exhibit traditional sales behavior and thinking. You can learn from their positive example. Pay attention to how they build trust, dialogue with potential clients the same way they would with friends, and always, always, keep their own agendas in check, so that potential clients feel that their own needs --not the salesperson's commission at the end of the sale -- are priority number one.

* Be open to a new approach. You may even still hit your sales goals if you stick with traditional sales thinking, but what toll will this take on your self-esteem? And you will never know what opportunities you lost along the way because you exerted subtle sales pressure on potential clients.

*Find new ways to build trust. You know how to build trust. You do it all the time in your personal life. So why is it so hard in selling? Because traditional sales thinking only shows you how to outsmart your potential clients--and that kind of approach is totally incompatible with building trust.

If you're skeptical about being able to eliminate subtle sales pressure, you're holding yourself back from making a breakthrough in your sales life.

Building A Strong Downline Relationship In Your Direct Sales Business

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Congratulations! You've got a strong direct sales downline or are beginning to build one! This is one of the best parts of being a direct sales consultant, - the fact that you can share your passion for your business with others, help them to earn a little extra money and get paid for helping grow your company as well.

Now that you are a leader of a team, you'll need to build a strong relationship with downline members to not only help them stay strong in their business, but to help your business grow stronger as well. A strong downline relationship will be one that's mutually helpful and everyone benefits.

But you may be wondering how to insure that downline members feel cared for while still maintaining some type of balance with the rest of your life. Here are 5 easy tips for maintaining a great upline/downline relationship.

1. Start off with a bang. When a new recruit first signs up, it's vitally important that you communicate often with her. One thing that I have found very helpful here is to develop a series of emails to send to new downline that talks them through those first days "on the job".

It will help them feel like they are connected to the company and to you. Each day while your new recruit is waiting for her kit she should hear from you. This is very easy to do with an autoresponder system, but can also be done by just copying and pasting into an email message every morning.

2. 15 minutes a day. Set aside fifteen minutes of each workday for downline phone calls. Use those minutes to call one to five members of your group for a quick "just checking in" call. Leave a message if you get voicemail. The idea is to let them know that you're thinking of them and giving them a chance to hear your voice. This is a great time to ask how they're doing with their non-business life as well and get beyond your direct sales company to show you care about them.

3. A downline website. Creating a simple website for my group has been the best thing, by far that I did to keep communication open and strong with my group. We have weekly topic discussions, contests, upload important files and just have fun with the whole group. Through this many relationships between members of my group have blossomed just because the website allowed them to "break the ice".

4. Meetings and/or conference calls. This is another great way to foster unity and strong relationships within your group. Many of you probably have downline that are out your area, so have a quarterly conference call with everyone just to touch base. There are many free teleconference services via the internet that make it very easy to do. And if you can, have a face-to-face meeting once in a while as well. Some group leaders have meetings monthly or quarterly. Others do a once a year get together with everyone.

5. Ecards. I love ecards for celebrating birthdays, achievements etc. First of all it's FREE, which is great, but it's so convenient and just plain fun. Use one of those Internet calendar functions to keep track of birthdays. Once a month go through the upcoming month and set up the ecard deliveries for the birthdays and company anniversary dates for the next month or more. You can set these up to deliver up to a year in advance! It's a wonderful thing. There are hundreds of sites for free ecards on the Internet.

The key? Communicate in any and every way that you can. You will find that your direct sales team members will stay with your company much longer when you've fostered a strong relationship by keeping in touch! Have fun and happy team building!

Harness the Sales Power of Niche Marketing

The major challenge for the small business marketer is discover what motivates their target audience, and then to speak as directly as possible to those fears, desires, goals, priorities, and needs. This article offers some insights into how to capture people's attention, get them interested in your product or service, and soften their sales resistance. It presents some new angles, fresh ideas, and thought provoking concepts.

Keywords:

target marketing, niche marketing, sales and marketing, direct marketing, marketing strategies, sales objections, direct mail marketing, marketing resources, marketing tools

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Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

The key to attracting new customers to your business, whether online or off, lies in understanding a few simple things about how the brain works. Usually at an unconscious level, people are constantly scanning their environment to separate the relevant from the irrelevant, the safe from the potentially hazardous, the desirable from the unappealing. The major challenge for the small business marketer is discover what motivates their target audience, and then to speak as directly as possible to those fears, desires, goals, priorities, and needs.

But it Worked in the Movies

You’re only kidding yourself if you think you can be all things to all people. That insidious form of self deception falls in the same category as ‘If you build it, they will come’. Woody Allen is quoted as saying that ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’, but bear in mind that comedy (and sometimes drama) is often based on exaggeration. Showing up -- which can range from creating an Internet presence to attending networking meetings -- is a good start, but it generally won’t get you too far unless you throw in a dash of originality, competitiveness, and a strategic plan of action.

Since people are constantly looking for specialized information, services, and products, a strategy worth pursuing is to devote at least 50% of your marketing efforts to reaching niche markets. Granted, marketing is no more of a ‘one size fits all’ endeavor than anything else, but what isn’t going to change is the fact that people are generally drawn to things that are customized, personalized, or otherwise geared to their personal preferences.

Are You Talking to Me?

Considering that your prospective clients and customers are continually scanning the Internet, the media, and their environment for information that’s relevant to them, why not tip the scales in your favor by tailoring your marketing message directly to the different niche markets you’re trying to reach? Whether it’s senior citizens, new homeowners, parents to be, recent graduates, newlyweds, or frustrated job hunters, capturing people’s attention can sometimes be as simple as recognizing them as individuals or as a member of a specific demographic group.

For example, have you ever inadvertently ignored someone who was saying to you ‘excuse me’ or ‘you dropped something’; but if they called you by your name, you’d immediately snap out of your haze and pay attention. Again, it’s just a matter of breaking through people’s filtering systems and being noticed. That’s often the number one step to effectively marketing your products, your services, or yourself. Actually, I’d break that down into three parts: get noticed, connect with your prospect, and put them in a receptive state of mind. If you convey the impression, right off the bat, that your service or product is tailor made for their needs, wants, or specific situation, then you may have fulfilled all three requirements in one fell swoop.

Once you’ve clearly and compellingly presented your case for making your prospect’s life easier, more secure, healthier, more comfortable, prosperous, convenient, happier, or more problem free, your remaining challenge is to anticipate objections, lower sales resistance, and inject your offer with a subtle, yet perceptible sense of urgency. If you’ve painted a vivid, benefits-filled picture of your service or product, their motivation to experience those advantages will help you convert them from a prospect to a customer.

Building A Financial Services Sales Culture

Examples of how banks have built new sales cultures successfully, resulting in significant new customers and business. Underscores with real life examples the importance of sales skills training connected to sales coaching for a period of time.

Keywords:

bank, sales, training, culture, retail, officers, prospects, customers, cross-selling, coaching

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A growing number of community banks are recognizing that new and more aggressive competitors are taking new business they “believed” they would or “should” have. To help combat this they no longer accept the practice of “business as usual.” They are taking the time-proven actions it takes to train, coach and reward their key business development team members to get them out on the street. Program results are showing ROI’s of up to 30—to-1!

This isn’t easy, to say the least. A major culture change is required for most community banks when it comes to selling. Bankers have long been of the mindset that banking is a business built when prospects come to the bank and request the service they want. Unfortunately the consumer has developed a slightly different mindset lately.

“Yes, my banker and I have a good relationship but that doesn’t mean I will only consult them for financial needs and services. There are lots of other options. ” Friends are friends but when money is involved there is a different emotion involved……greed.

The CEO of First Bank in Ketchikan, Alaska, Bill Moran, decided something new must be tried when he started planning for this new year. “I realized that to meet our growth goals we must be more aggressive about taking business from our competition and improve our “unfair share” of our market. There wasn’t sufficient market expansion to maintain our historical growth and profit levels.”

First Bank launched its’ new effort with a 120-day action plan in January 2006 for its’ six branches. The intended focus was to be solely on gaining new customers and establishing new relationships.

“Some of the participating officers found it very difficult to break away from the familiar clients to concentrate only on prospects that had no prior relationship, “said Eric Bjella, VP and Program Manger.

The first step was to assess the sales strengths of each team member. It was important to know who were likely to make calls and build relationships easily (Hunters) and those with good processing and service-related skills but less confidence in their abilities to communicate with prospects (Farmers). This was followed with a professional sales skills training session which included each member identifying from 5-10 prospects.

“The individual assessments and audience reactions to the training were very informative,” said Bjella. “Some of our people felt they never could be successful at making cold calls to strangers. But were they surprised!”

The training showed how to: qualify prospects, make impossible appointments, start building respect and trust from the first appointment, getting to real pains/needs and overcoming objections for desired actions.

The First Bank team met every 10 days in groups of 12 to report progress against their specific targets. While slow at first, calling activity grew and success was gradually achieved. Through coaching and confidence built on successful experiences, sales meetings progressed from a reluctance to report to lively dialogues between members, sharing helpful prospect insights with each other.

One member reported being devastated on her first call, to the point of tears. Executive Vice President Jack Vaughn reported this prospect had also called him to complain, only to contact him later, inviting him to attend a competitor’s bank sponsored business owners meeting. ”Wonders never cease to amaze me, Jack said. I didn’t think we would ever get any where with this prospect and then she did a complete turnaround.”

At the end of the 120 days First Bank captured several new customers, representing over $300,000 in new income to the bank’s bottom line. Less the training expenses that gave a 30-to-1 ROI, income vs. expenses. Other contacts made during this period are expected to move to First Bank in a few months through continued follow-up activities.

A different success story comes from a bank holding company in Iowa. Bank Iowa Corporation felt it was time for a sales culture to be started within at each of its 6 independently chartered banks, serving 17 communities.

“We never had any sales training in our Company’s history, said Michael Thompson, VP and Program Leader. Our CEO, Stan Honken, challenged our presidents to have an officer calling program in place by year-end. I contacted some firms who might help us start a sales culture. After reviewing four, we selected Wemmers Consulting Group from Atlanta. Their program impressed us with its’ accountability factors, experience in bank training and real world application following the skills training.”

Bank Iowa’s Calling Teams intermingled Hunters and Farmers and all branch locations. Their program’s primary goal was to get Bank Iowa folks from behind their desks and out calling on prospects. Sales progress meetings were held every two weeks. A sales progress report, prepared by Amy Armitage, was updated and dispersed to all concerned.

“As Rick had alerted us, calling activity was slow at first but picked up as calling frustrations and excuses were addressed and resolved in the weekly meetings. “We all learned a lot about the process of business development. This will be quite helpful as we continue forward with this program,” Michael said.

It is estimated that Bank Iowa’s 60-day effort helped bring in some $13 million in new business or about $400,000 in new income. Subtracting the sales program expenses this resulted in a 23% ROI.

Brisbane Sales Training and Sales Training in Brisbane

Looking for Sales training in Brisbane with a reputable company that provides successful outcomes? It can be hard task to find that business that has years of sales experience, delivers that latest learning’s, has public sales training classes in Brisbane and private sales training classes in Brisbane also.

Keywords:

sales training brisbane, brisbane sales training

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Don’t take the risk with a one man business, you need world class skills, content and experience. You need a team to ensure the delivery of a professional and successful sales training engagement.

Ziglar Australia operates through established offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane providing training through both public and private training classes. Specialising in sales training and management we utilise small classes to ensure all participants receive the attention needed to address their individual needs and be able to build their learning into usable content for immediate use in the work environment.

People often ask us why Ziglar is so different from other performance enhancement or “sales training” companies. Beyond the more than 50 years of worldwide experience our founder, Zig Ziglar, brought to the thinking and design of our programs, we believe our programs are a dynamic blend of heart, inspiration and cutting-edge personal development technology.

Through years of development and refinement Ziglar has evolved into a world renowned performance enhancement company serving a myriad of disciplines guided by the belief that you build better companies by building better people.

Some programs take a piece-meal approach to performance improvement. Here at Ziglar, we look at an organisation as a whole and then work to incrementally improve all the working parts of that whole. The end result is each person in an organisation produces at a “True Performance” level that catapults the entire organisation beyond its goals. Beginning at the individual level and improving performance from the inside out brings your business phenomenal results.

Ziglar is here to improve your company’s performance by maximising internal productivity and performance for customers through proprietary programs and work force development. All of our programs, including Ziglar VIP, our revolutionary new web-based program designed to bridge the gap between skill building and performance, are designed specifically to improve profitability.

Zig Ziglar’s internationally recognised personal development techniques combined with Ziglar’s expanded tailored performance enhancement solutions is a winning combination that has resulted in Ziglar working with a diverse client base including Fortune 500 corporations, Government agencies, small- and mid-sized businesses, schools and non-profit agencies.

The Ziglar organisation is uniquely equipped to work with organisations to assess needs, identify strengths, and design curricula that serves each client’s unique circumstance. Our approach works in tandem to maintain brand equity and uphold the ideals and vision each company embraces. With many available program designs, Ziglar has a performance enhancement solution for virtually every need.

Growing Sales Through Creating Connections

As a business owner it is your mission to develop a marketing strategy to offer your potential clients a way to improve their situation, solve a problem, provide more value, or open new opportunities to motivate them to buy from you. These ten powerful tools, taken from The 90 Day Marketing Marathon Blunders from A to Z will support you in creating meaningful connections with your customers and provide real time solutions to challenges of today.

Keywords:

business, marketing, customers, clients, sales, sales management, product development, strategy

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Your mission as a business owner is to develop a marketing strategy which offers your potential clients/customers a way to improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, provide more value, or open new opportunities for them which will motivate them to pick up the phone and buy from you. This requires that the focus of your marketing plan be placed on your customer - NOT ON YOU! Taken from The 90 Day Marketing Marathon Blunders from A to Z these ten powerful tools will support you in creating meaningful connections with your clients/customers and providing real time solutions to their challenges of the today.
1. Custom Assessments.

By using a tool such as Assessment Generator you can build custom assessments which will allow the visitors to your website the opportunity to engage with you while providing value which is memorable. With Assessment Generator you as the business owner will receive the basic results of the survey to see if clients are where they want to be in their lives or their businesses.
2. Online Survey Tools.

A well-designed online survey can greatly empower business, academic, and charitable organizations by finding out quickly what is on the minds of your current and prospective customers/clients. Creating an online survey can be extremely simple and convenient with a free survey tool such as Advanced Survey or Zoomerang. By designing a survey and sending this to your database, you can poll targeted groups quickly and in detail while obtaining real time results.
3. "Feedback" Hot Links.

As you update your website, author articles, or launch new products and services, add a “feedback hot link” to your site or to your e-mail signature. This link can state "Send me feedback" or "Send me your comments" and will automatically link to an e-mail which can be used for your website visitors to provide you with insight into what is working and what is not with your products and services. The key is to make communicating with you as easy as possible.
4. Weblogs With Comments.

A weblog is a simple yet compelling online environment, which will allow you to put your thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the web via a journal, photo album, or diary. With a tool such as Typepad you can provide your clients and customers with access to your online journal AND allow them the ability to comment to your posts. If you are blogging around a topic which creates discussion or a topic which can generate ideas for your new products and services, you will find that blogging with a tool which allows for comments will take your products and services to a more advanced and sophisticated level quickly and with the support of your customers/clients.
5. Client Scenarios That Create an Emotional Tug.

What are the typical challenges of your clients, what do they complain about to others, and what do they really want in life? Do they say things such as:
· I am a CEO, and I cannot seem to motivate my team.
· I am a pet owner, and I am looking for a Veterinarian I can trust.
· I am a Solopreneur who is working for a lunatic.
· I am a business owner who is looking to invest my money to double my financial wealth.
· I am a new college graduate, and I am looking for the career of my dreams.

By honing in on what's most important to your website visitors and actually posting these for the world to see, you will begin to connect with these folks in a way which calls the emotions to be tapped. List these client scenarios in bullet form on your website, and link each scenario to a very tangible benefit of what you can offer.

Example: If you are marketing to pet owners who are looking for a Veterinarian he/she can trust, link this client scenario to a special report on “The Top Ten Questions to Ask When Hiring a Veterinarian for Your Pet.”
6. Data Driven Landing Pages.

Landing pages, also known as “jump” pages in the world of marketing, are self-contained web pages that visitors are driven to for a specific purpose (usually for the purpose of collecting e-mail addresses.) Landing pages are very focused and usually contain a message, in most cases to allow you as the web host to determine what visitors click on as well as other statistics. A data driven landing page contains a form requesting the user to enter contact information, usually in order to get something, such as a free special report, newsletter, or to register for an upcoming event. By including a question on this page such as “What is the thing you most want in the area of _______________” (fill in the blank) you will be able to see trends of what folks most want, which can be key to the growth of your business.
7. A Research and Development Team.

A Research and Development team is a group of people you invite to join you in developing your products, programs, and services. Your R & D Team may be as small as ten people or as large as 1,000 people. It is recommended that you call on your R & D team at least two times per month, as they will provide you with valuable information about what is working/not working in your business, and they will tell others about what you are up to. As your business grows, you will want to continue to add people to your list so that you have a cross section of people, ideas, and perspectives from people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.
8. A Mastermind Group.

The purpose of a mastermind group is to share thoughts, ideas, opinions, and information. To be successful in business, it is important for this group to be supportive and to care enough about you and your business to provide you with honest feedback about what they see is possible for your business. Spend at least one hour per week with your mastermind group, and use the feedback gained to grow your life, both personally and professionally.
9. A Product/Service Development Team.

Are you ready to develop a new product or service, and you just don't know where to begin or how to make it happen? If so, invite ten of the coolest people you know to support you in developing the new product or service in exchange for a slice of the pie once the product/service is launched. People love to share their wisdom, especially when they know that they are involved in development of something that will be financially rewarding in the end.
10. Risky Business.

One time per month, add one product or service that is out of the norm or a little bit risky for you and your business. Why? Because it will keep your mind moving and will allow your customers to sample something which is cutting edge and exciting! Example: You are a bookstore owner, and you host a “Mystery Night.” Invite the public to preview the 12 hottest mysteries by attending a masquerade party on the premises of your bookstore - loads of fun, intrigue, and excitement. A suggestion/comment box can be situated near the door, inviting guests to contribute feedback and ideas for the next big event for your biz.

For more information on the 90 Day Marketing Marathon program please visit www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com

© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith All Rights Reserved

Dramatically Increase your sales with these tips

Everyone can use more sales right? It has been proven that you can develop and run a successful business on the Internet if you apply certain principals.

Keywords:

business, internet marketing

Article Body:

If your are just starting a business venture then the following tips will provide you with a solid foundation for growing your new company and if you have been in business for a while you can use these tips as a supplement to your existing marketing strategies.

The results of the following tips may vary based upon your dedication to applying these tips on a daily basis.

1. Sign-up to win web site awards. When you win, some award sites publish your web site link, name and description on their site.

2. Join online business associations or clubs. If you join, they will usually list all their members on their web site. It will give your business extra exposure.

3. Utilize a simple form of viral marketing. Write or have someone else write a small report with your ad included on it and allow others to give it away.

4. Improve your business by promoting customer feedback. Tell them you want their honest opinions about your business, good or bad.

5. Design your packaging so it sells your products. Utilize colors and lettering that make your product more attractive to your prospects.

6. Compare your product's guarantee to your main competitors. Find a niche were your can design your guarantee to be more powerful.

7. Try not to assume your audience understands everything in your ad copy. If you have words they may not know the meaning to, define them.

8. Build alliances with other online businesses. You could trade links or ads, create joint venture deals; cross promote your products, etc.

9. Design your web site to be a valuable resource for people. Include original content, links to other interesting web sites, ebooks, software, etc.

10. Compete with the highly branded businesses by practicing good
customers service, strong product quality and speedy service.

Make a commitment to apply at lease one of these tips each day and you will be amazed by the results.

Does Sales Training Matter?

Of the 4,158 colleges and universities in the United States, only 35 offer sales curricula. Nevertheless, more than 50% of the 1.3 million college graduates in 2007 will become professional sellers on the first day of their employment. Yet, turnover rates, attrition and failure in-the-field for these young salespeople are astounding.

Keywords:

Sales Effectiveness

Article Body:

Obviously, there is a dearth of effective sales training programs in the educational marketplace. Salespeople are simply not being properly equipped or prepared for their jobs. If—as Huthwaite contends—sales is a science, then it can be learned. But in order to be learned, it must first be properly taught.

Perhaps a far more compelling reason why sales training matters is illustrated in the chart below, which details the breakdown of factors impacting sales success.

Branding strategy, pricing, product positioning and the competitive landscape all contribute to producing sales results. While other issues exist, their cumulative effect is minimal and as such these are designated as “etc.” The largest slice of the pie—the piece that actually differentiates companies in a commoditized world—is sales skills. In an increasingly homogenized marketplace, the brass ring goes to sellers who differentiate themselves in the sales process—those who know that success has more to do with “how” you sell than “what” you sell.

Sales leaders and L&D specialists have little if any impact on branding, pricing and product strategies—and neither group can influence the market forces that define the competitive landscape. But they can and do have a direct and profound impact on the skills of their salespeople. Sales force effectiveness is entirely within their control. In an environment where product features and brand identity are no longer enough to “close the deal,” sales skills are the primary engine of differentiation, value creation and profit margin growth in the new millennium.

Business Cards That Boost Your Sales

Keywords:

business cards

Article Body:

A business card is a great way to introduce your company name to a potential client and then in turn they will always have your name and number handy. This brings your company into your client’s world as a household name for your customers for their future needs or as a word of mouth company to pass on to their friends and family. Business cards that boost your sales need to be given out to every person you come in contact with or anyone who becomes interested in your company and the service that you provide. A business card should also have an eye-catching design and it should be memorable to help your business profit more.

Let us say that you are in the real estate business. A business card is extremely necessary in that line of work. Your name will be remembered when your customer is given your card and then they will have it to keep around and refer to when necessary. There are several templates available online that will give your business card the look that you desire. Real estate business cards can convey the message that you are an independent realtor or it can show what area that you work with. Rather this is a design for apartments or houses or a specific city like New York Cit or Los Angeles with beautiful layouts, those designs will definitely enhance the look and feel of your business card. Your company will benefit in sales from a real estate business card that shows the areas of real estate you work in and the design should catch a potential client’s eye and keep them intrigued while they are holding onto your card. Consider adding clip art to your business card if you want a simple, yet effective design for your real estate business.

There are magnetic business cards that give your customers the assurance that they can place your card on the refrigerator and forget about it. Then the next day and a couple of weeks later your business card will still be around when the needs of your services are required. Your business card is not just another paper card. It has a feature that is almost guaranteed to get you business and boost your sales. Magnetic business cards are easily accessible and are a lot harder to lose, once you stick them and forget them. The refrigerator is not the only surface that your magnetic business card will stick too. File cabinets, lockers, and even cars can become places of advertisement for your business and its services.

Building sales can be a day at the beach if you do it right

You’ve put a lot of work into your business, but finding new customers is still a pain. The solution is to create systems that work over and over again to fill the pipeline with prospects and convert more of them to customers. If you’re ready attract more customers, boost sales and save enough time to take a well-needed break, read on.

Keywords:

Marketing, time-management, saving time, systems, customer relationships, CRM, web-based crm software for small businesses, sales, automated marketing, client management, referrals, testimonials, build revenue

Article Body:

After years of hard work, you’d like a vacation. Maybe even that snorkeling trip to Cozumel you’ve been promising yourself since the day you went into business. But you can’t. And business isn’t the vacation it once was either.

You put in all that hard work to get your business off the ground, but it hasn’t gotten easier, especially when it comes to finding new customers. And you aren’t getting any closer to dipping your toes in the ocean than you ever were.

The good news, however, is the trip is still possible. And so is a business that runs like a dream. You just need to stop spending so much time chasing business and let it come to you instead.

The solution is to create marketing systems that work over and over again to fill the pipeline with prospects and convert more of them to customers. And don’t forget the most important part – to get better at managing your existing customers. They’re the solid gold of your business.

One of your best tools for an integrated selling and customer management system is CRM – customer relationship management software that does it all, so you don’t have to. Just plug it in, sit back and let the automated processes reap better results than you ever managed during those 20-hour days. Because, after all, we don’t want to lose sight of that sandy beach.

Let’s take a closer look at life with a good CRM software program.

In order to fill the lead pipeline, you need to create marketing and selling systems to attract new clients. In a virtual environment, this means you enter your lead information into the software and let it generate pre-written emails and letters for follow-up.

With all that plum marketing, you’re sure to make sales. Without a system, however, that might be as far as you get – you make the sale and then the client is history. Which means you’re wasting one of the most valuable resources a small business has – the relationship. Studies show that 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers. Hence, it’s easier to build revenue with follow-up than by finding new customers.

To maintain the customer relationships and take advantage of the power of referrals, use CRM to create client systems that automatically communicate with your customers. For example, after each sale, the software can send follow-up pieces requesting referrals, testimonials and can, based on the clients buying history, up-sell and cross-sell your company’s other products.

Bottom line, don't try to do it all. Use software to work harder so you can hit the beach. In fact, using CRM, especially if your company is customer-focused, allows you to not only work less but get BETTER results than you ever did on the fly. Your customers consistently come to you, rather than you having to chase them down.

Choosing A Direct Sales Opportunity

Keywords:

direct sales, home business, work at home

Article Body:

Direct sales can be a great way to start a home business, but how do you choose a company? Fortunately, it is not as difficult as it may appear on first glance.

The first thing you want to consider is what would you enjoy selling. It is possible to sell things for solely practical reasons, but it's much more fun and often more profitable to sell something you are enthusiastic about.

Do not join a program just because your best friend joined it and wants you in her downline. If you love the program too, then go for it, but otherwise think things through carefully. You aren't doing your friend a favor if you aren't really interested in the business. You might even waste her time.

Now it's time to consider the details of the program. First let's consider the legal aspects. It's the ugly side of things, and I like to get past it quickly.

Watch out for companies that practice "forced buying," no matter the name they may call it. Forced buying means that you must purchase a certain amount of product in order to receive commissions, and it is illegal. It can lead you to having a huge amount of excess stock in your house and cause you to lose large amounts of money.

Is the focus on recruitment or sales? You will want to read the article at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/lotionalrt.htm on multilevel marketing, but the gist of it is that you want to watch out for programs that focus too much on recruitment and too little on sales, or you could be a part of a pyramid scheme. You can read more from the FTC here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-fran.htm

Watch out for exaggerated claims, either for the product or your income potential. This is a huge red flag. Make sure all claims are substantiated with hard evidence and watch out for shills.

Phew! Done with that part.

Now take a look at the commissions. How much product will you have to sell to earn enough money for your needs? How realistic is it that you will be able to sell this much? This is one of those points you should go over carefully with your upline, and if they don't have the answer, but you really love the product line, see if they can find out. Support from your upline is vital in direct sales, and if you aren't getting it now, you won't later either.

What are the products? Will you be using them too? Once again, if you are excited about the products, they will be much easier to sell.

Is your local market saturated with reps? If the competition is all over the place in your area, you're going to have trouble selling.

Can you sell online? Can you design your own website or are you restricted to the one the company made for you? What does it cost?

Finally, beyond your upline, what sort of support does the company itself offer you? There will at some point be a problem where you will need the company to help you out, either with a customer's order or with your business. Make sure the company is going to be there for you.

Do You Have to Be Aggressive to Make Sales?

Can prospects sense when you're assuming too much?

Learn to start conversations by focusing 100 percent on generating discussions around prospects' problems, rather than pitching your solution the second you hear an opening. Learn to begin those conversations by converting the benefits of your solution into problems that your solution can solve.

Keywords:

cold call, cold calling, sales training, phone selling, phone prospecting, sales prospecting, sales scripts, telesales, telemarketing, mortgage selling, mortgage cold calling, insurance sales

Article Body:

We could say that Unlock The Game™ actually takes the "middle ground" between passive and aggressive by being authentically unassuming, yet effective - and that this is the most stress-free and effective way to sell.

What do I mean?

I mean that you have to shift away from assuming that every prospect is a fit for your solution.

It's sort of like the legal concept of "being innocent until proven guilty."

We can't afford to make any assumptions about "fit" until our conversation with the prospect indicates that we've mutually arrived at that conclusion.

The aggressiveness that turns off prospects sets in when you assume, every time you pick up the phone, that you have a solution for them.

Your tone of voice and language gives them that message long before they've even had a chance to agree that they have a problem you might be able to help them solve.

But if you can manage to find that middle ground of not assuming anything while also communicating in a low-key, unassuming manner, you'll discover a whole new effectiveness you could never have imagined.

Can prospects sense when you're assuming too much?

Sure they can -- because most of us have been conditioned to present or talk about our solution as a way to engage prospects so they'll reveal their problems to us.

But that logic is completely flawed, because when you launch into your solution to someone who doesn't trust you yet, all you do is allow them to pigeonhole you as a stereotyped "salesperson."

So how do you make this concept of being unassuming but effective a reality?

First, learn to start conversations by focusing 100 percent on generating discussions around prospects' problems, rather than pitching your solution the second you hear an opening.

Second, learn to begin those conversations by converting the benefits of your solution into problems that your solution can solve.

Third, after you and your prospects have identified a problem or problems, you can then engage in a discussion about whether fixing those problems is a priority.

It's only at that point that prospects have finally given you implicit permission to share your solution with them.

Jumping in with solutions prematurely will only land you back in the trap of being perceived as "aggressive."

Converting Your Website Leads to Sales

Learn the proven way to gather, organize, and convert your website leads into paying customers.

Keywords:

crm, customer relationship management, crm system, crm software, email marketing, contact manager

Article Body:

Your website exists either to sell products or generate leads that can be later converted into paying customers. In the former case, unless you sell inexpensive commoditized widgets, it takes several interactions with a prospective customer before you can close the sale. Therefore, a top priority of almost every online business is to gather, organize, and convert website leads to sales.

1. Gather leads

Most of website visitors who are interested in your products or services aren't ready to buy just yet, but they sure have some questions and would like additional information (if it's not too hard to obtain). Don't make them search for it -- put your contact information right in front of them. Every page of your website must have call for action and contact options that are impossible to miss. Some examples include:

- Ask a question via email
- Call your sales phone number
- Request an instant call-back
- Sign up for special offers
- Contact for a price quote
- Download product brochure
- Submit an inquiry form
- Chat live with a sales representative
- Subscribe for a newsletter

When gathering leads, stick to the KISS principle. Don't ask for more information than absolutely necessary. For example, if you only need to know your potential customer's state of residence, don't ask for a full mailing address. If you do all your sales via email, don't require a phone number, or at least make it optional.

Be sure to provide a clear, concise statement about how the information you collect will be used. Assure your prospects that their contact data will not be shared with other parties and they can stop receiving communications from you at any time.

2. Organize leads and prospects

Leads are useless unless they are properly organized. First, you must establish the systems and processes for recording all pertinent information for leads collected via different channels, such as website, incoming phone calls, trade shows and so on. Aside from the contact information, each prospective customer record should date and source, products and services of interest, subscription and contact preferences, and any other relevant data.

Your lead management system must also be able to record the history of all communications with a lead, such as incoming and outgoing emails, phone calls, voice mails, faxes, and items sent via postal mail. Each lead must be assigned to a sales representative, and categorized by the level of interest, size of opportunity, and sales pipeline status (more on that later). Sales reps should also be able to enter internal notes and comments about the prospect, and set reminders for the future follow ups.

Last, but not least, your lead system must be centralized. Every person involved in a sales process should have the ability to instantly access and update the information, without the need to upload, download, and synchronize the data. This is especially critical if members of your team are geographically dispersed or telecommuting.

3. Convert leads to prospects to customers

This is where the rubber hits the road. There is a number of distinct steps in any sales process. Below is a typical example of a sales process. You can easily adopt its stages and definitions to your situation:

Lead - a contact that has expressed an interest in your product or fits the target profile of a potential customer.

Prospect - a lead that continues to express interest in your product or service after a two-way information exchange.

Qualified prospect - a prospect that has participated in a discussion with a sales representative and confirmed their need.

Confirmed prospect - a qualified prospect who has the info they need to make a decision and budget to go with it.

Committed prospect - a qualified prospect who has reviewed your price quote or proposal and has indicated that she is ready to move forward with you – but haven't yet.

Customer - ka-ching!

You can use your sales pipeline status report to not only organize and monitor the effectiveness of your overall sales process and individual sales representatives, but to forecast sales as well. To estimate the dollar value of your entire prospect base, multiple the average probability of closing the sale at every stage of the pipeline by the number of prospects currently assigned to that stage.

Establishing and managing your lead conversion process is all but impossible without proper customer relationship management (CRM) tools. You will need a system that captures lead information from your website and other channels, and integrates it with email, contact manager, calendar, and sales force automation software.

The companies that have established the systems and processes for converting leads to sales are already reaping the rewards.

Effective Negotiating - The Key To Sales Success

Keywords:

Sales , Negotiation , Negotiating

Article Body:

No two persons agree on all things. When people come together to work out a deal, they try to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs. Each person places a different value on individual elements of the deal.An effective negotiation is not just about making people see things from your point of view, but it is also about converging two different views to a point that is perceived by both parties as mutually beneficial. The art of negotiating is the backbone of a successful sales campaign.

Focus On The Customer - Show Him The Money:

The customer is not bothered about how badly you need to make the sale to meet your monthly target. He is more bothered about fulfillment of his needs and getting value for his money.

Talk about the customer's benefit. Don't tell your customer about the latest technology in the car's engine - tell him how this new engine saves him fuel and time.

Know Your Competition:

Knowing your product is not enough. You must know what your competition is offering. You don't want to end up staring at the customer, when he says your competitors are 20% cheaper. Have your answers ready. Give him valid reasons for your higher price.

Don't Waste Your Time With People Who Don't Matter:

When dealing with an organization, learn to prioritize. Don't waste your time explaining the secretary why your power tools are good. Save your time and energy for the decision maker. Try to get an appointment with "the boss". If you can't get one immediately, try for a later one, else move on. The secretary is not going to buy your tools.

Exploit The Copycat Mentality:

Humans have a mentality to copy what others are doing successfully. If a person's competitor or acquaintance is using a product, he may be tempted to use the product too. Keep your references ready and tell him how others have greatly benefited from your product or service.

Get Them To Agree:

When a person agrees to something you are saying, he subconsciously creates a positive frame of mind towards your offer.
Getting the other person to say "Yes" on various occasions brings both of you on the same side - with the same goal.

Your Negotiating Strength Lies In Your Uniqueness:

If it is easy to find someone providing the same service or product that you provide, your negotiating potential is reduced. The more unique your offer, the greater negotiating powers you have. Always make a list of points which differentiate you from your rivals. Sometimes people buy things just because they are different from what most other people are using.

Use Time To Your Advantage:

Every one of us has been to a stock clearance sale. When the merchant runs out of time to sell his stock, his loses his pricing power.

Customers use this tactic on sellers and give a deadline to make a decision on price and terms. The person who is short of time is always at a disadvantage. Never allow yourself to be trapped in a "time limit" trap. Even when you are short of time, don't let it be known to the other person.

On the other hand, a person's urgency to get something done can work in your favor. If the other person is in a hurry to get things done, you can be assured that he will be more willing to bend than he would in a normal situation.

A word of caution - never exploit the other person's urgency to such an extent that it makes the deal grossly one sided. You may get what you want one time, but such deals have a negative impact on your reputation and future business. A win-win situation is always desired.

Price Is Not Everything - Terms Matter Too:

Terms of service are as important as the price itself. An example could be the loans and mortgage industry. Companies are able to charge higher interests rates than competitors by allowing flexible repayment options. Companies offering freebies with their products are compensating a higher price with friendlier terms. Create a balance between the price and the terms - when price is your weak point, offset it with better terms.

"The Policy" Tactic:

Since childhood, people are taught that rules are not to be broken. At subconscious level most of the people carry a perception that it is their duty to follow all rules. You will be surprised how easily people give in when they are told that the terms which they expecting are against the company policy. Salespersons always keep a printed price list with themselves. Those few black words printed on a white paper add authority to the salesperson's arguments and send the message that it is not within their power to alter the terms.

Keep Your Last Price For The Last:

Most buyers have a tendency to ask for a lower price than offered. If asked for "the last price", quote something more than the actual "last price" which you are willing to give. It doesn't matter if initially you offer a price 2% lower or 20% lower - buyers will ask for a further lower price in both cases.

The Final Gambit - Say "No":

Risk taking is an essential ingredient of success.

Agreeing to customers' terms all the time weakens your image in the market. Walk out of the deal if it doesn't seem profitable. If the customer gives in to your terms, you win a profitable deal. If you lose the customer, why repent? He wasn't a profitable customer anyway.

Can Professional Sales Training Improve Your Bottom Line?

...

Keywords:

professional sales training, sales training, sales ,salesmanship, sales seminars

Article Body:

Sales is like any other business. There are people who just do it as there jobs and are pretty good, there are people who do it cause its what they want to do, and are great at it, and there are people who are in the process of burning out.

Only, doing sales, you burn out much more quickly than in other fields. That's why it wouldn't even make sense to do professional sales training as you're starting out – how do you know you'll even be in it for more than a year or two.

There are many seminars, services, books, and other such like that offer you so called professional sales training, but take it from me, a professional. That is not where you want to start.

Of course, once you've made it past what we call the “two year hump”, you're probably in it for good, and can do professional sales training. You'll know who the players are, who use approaches compatible with your personality, and who you can avoid because they've got nothing to offer you.

Some professional sales training courses are really offered by the best people in the industry, people with such a nack for sales that they can charge hundreds of dollars for seminars to teach others how to do what they do.

But other times, professional sales training is just offered by two bit huksters, who don't know jack about sales, people who are good enough maybe to teach a beginner some tricks, but who aren't really worth the money you've got to pay to see them.

You see, professional sales training events involve salesmanship themselves, only they have to be sold to salesmen. You can tell good professional sales training, because there will be a lot of veterans there as well as newcomers.

Most sales companies offer professional sales training on the job, because, lets face it, you've either got it or you don't. Now, once you get into the game a little bit, you can sometimes benefit from further professional sales training seminars, classes and the like, but until then it's a bad idea to try that approach.

Until you've been in the industry a year or two, you won't have a nose for it, and won't be able to tell what professional sales training courses are likely to be good and which ones are just a money making scheme to exloit new comers.

Conversational Hypnosis - A Powerful Sales Tool

If you have not heard of conversational or covert hypnosis then it is time to you get to know about it. What is conversational / covert hypnosis? Conversational hypnosis is a term used by Ericksonian hypnotherapists to create a trance using embedded words in the verbal text.

Keywords:

learn conversational hypnosis,learn covert hypnosis

Article Body:

If you have not heard of conversational or covert hypnosis then it is time to you get to know about it.

What is conversational / covert hypnosis?

Conversational hypnosis is a term used by Ericksonian hypnotherapists to create a trance using embedded words in the verbal text. Some people see this technique as unethical because the client has a right to knowingly participate in the development of trance. On the contrary, other specialists affirm that conversational hypnosis is a well-tested and effective Ericksonian technique, and definitively not unethical in any way.

Conversational hypnosis is one of the most effective and efficient techniques of hypnotherapy in producing quick and permanent results. However, special training and skills are necessary to be able to effectively use this technique.

How can conversational hypnosis relate to your sales job?

If you have already gone through the special training to apply conversational hypnosis in your job, just think of the possibilities especially when you are trying to close a deal with a client. You are definitely going to experience a higher closing rate compare to those who have never heard conversational hypnosis.

Every purchaser will have a motive. It is either something that they want to have, wished for or something that can potentially contribute to growth to whatever they are doing. For example why would an individual live a big house when he or she can live comfortably in an average sized home? Or why would a business owner expand his or her business to other states or overseas when it is doing well its current location?

If you are equipped with the skill of conversational hypnosis, you will become a better sale person. Because some how or someway, you will be able to manage and convince your client that the product or service you are selling is what they want or something that can help improve whatever that they are doing.

Do keep in mind though that such skill isn't only for selling. It is really a great addition to your life because you will be able to use conversional hypnosis to persuade an individual, a group or even large audience to do your bidding.

Just imagine how nice it would be to get someone to do something for you just because you are too lazy to do it? Or just to do something as you please.

Can conversational hypnosis be used in an unethical way?

Obviously the answer would be YES. To the extent where you can even make a stranger give you all his cash in is wallet at that point of time. If such skill ever falls in the wrong hands, there would certainly be havoc.

However the supply of appropriate training is very limited worldwide. Not many people can find the right access to the proper conversational hypnosis training courses. Even if there is one available, it will come at a hefty price tag.

How would you know if you naturally have the skill of conversational hypnosis?

Every individual would somehow be in a group of friends. Regardless of its size, as long as you know you're the leader of the group, you pretty much have the natural gift of conversational hypnosis. Unfortunately many of us aren't born leaders. This is where acquiring the knowledge and skills of conversational hypnosis will be beneficial.

It's always better to be the leader in a group of friends or in a relationship because things will go your way, which is favorable to yourself. And the best part is your followers or companion will be happy to have it your way. Isn't that wonderful?