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Being a good manager is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The first time you try to fit the pieces together, it takes a while to get everything to fit smoothly. The second time you attempt to make the pieces fit, you are a little more familiar with the pattern. Each time after that, it becomes more and more natural to easily match everything together and have it all turn out right. The pieces of the puzzle a manager has to put together are: 1. advertising 2. recruiting 3. holding productive meetings 4. motivating a person who is in an emotional or financial slump

Here’s a question: What is most important to your success? Is it education, experience, product knowledge, job title, territory, or business dress? Is it your company’s reputation, product, price, marketing collateral, delivery lead times, in stock ratios, service guarantees, management strength, or warehouse location? Is it testimonials, the latest Forbes write up, or brand awareness? Is it the investment in the latest CRM software, business 2.0 tools, or social media strategy?

I’d like to discuss the most powerful words you can use during the selling process. After all Rudyard Kipling said, “Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Plainly, THE MOST POWERFUL WORD is YOU. You should be looking to use the word You in your sales meetings a lot more than you ...

Appointment setting cold calling scripts will help you to make sales appointments that will benefit your small business by using a sales appointment process as a base for your call. If you are making sales appointments for your business now and getting it wrong, it’s costing you time and money, ...

What do people want when they come into your place of business or contact you? What makes them choose your product over someone else’s? The specific answer to those questions can only come from your satisfied clients. However, I can address the general answers to help you get started on acquiring satisfied clients in the first place.

10 Rules Of Negotiation: 1. Don't negotiate Sell to the problem. They make a decision based if they are willing to pay x amount of money for that solution. 2. Don't negotiate with yourself We all have tendency to lose a bit of a confidence. Ex: what is the other guy thinking? What price do I ask? Set a figure you want and stick do it, before the negotiation. Works at both cases: buying or selling. 3. Never except the first offer Because, if he is good negotiator, then he has

Several years ago, I attended a banquet for top salespeople. Before I gave my talk, the speaker introduced someone in the audience and said, "This man earned twice the national average in sales last year ..." The speaker's manner suggested that it was quite an achievement. But, it has been done by many, so everyone craned their necks and looked at the man in puzzlement.

The challenge with too many salespeople is that they decide at first to 'try' selling for awhile. They don't commit 100% to it as a career because they are afraid of being wholly responsible for the level of income they achieve. I must tell you, though, that the highest paid professional ... The challenge with too many salespeople is that they decide at first to 'try' selling for awhile. They don't commit 100% to it as a career because they are afraid of being wholly responsible for the level of income they achieve.

Too many people, when faced with clients who range from dissatisfied to downright angry, choose the loser’s path by postponing handling the situation. Worse yet, they handle it inappropriately. Postponement doesn’t make the problem go away. It results in one of two things happening. Either the ...Too many people, when faced with clients who range from dissatisfied to downright angry, choose the loser’s path by postponing handling the situation. Worse yet, they handle it inappropriately. Postponement doesn’t make the problem go away. It results in one of two things happening.

The easiest lead to close is a referred lead. Unfortunately, not many mortgage brokers have mastered the art form that the process entails. I’ve developed a simple, seven-step process to obtaining referrals that will give you so much more success in developing your referral business that you will make it an automatic part of every selling situation.

At the age of six, Corinne Archer* started putting in long hours training in her sport. Long before she entered her teens, she had fixed her mind on a single goal: to win an Olympic gold medal. From then on, she crushed everything out of her life that didn't contribute to her goal. Every ...

Here are five conditions that must be worked into your goals. All are essential. Hitting four out of five is no good ?leave one condition out of a goal, and that goal won’t be reached. Put all five conditions into a goal, and you’ve got one that will become a reality in your life. 1. Your ... Here are five conditions that must be worked into your goals. All are essential. Hitting four out of five is no good ?leave one condition out of a goal, and that goal won’t be reached. Put all five conditions into a goal, and you’ve got one that will become a reality in your life.

If you do business with people from cultural groups different than your own, you would be wise to invest some time understanding their cultures as well as their needs in terms of your products and services. You may not necessarily be doing business with people in another country, but with those ...

One of the biggest challenges facing any business is keeping in balance. In many businesses, more emphasis is put on getting new business than serving existing clients. Next to sales functions, customer service functions are vital to overall success and must be given appropriate emphasis. Poor customer service will cost a company as much business as will having a poor sales person in the field. Both can damage a company’s reputation and potential for future growth.

Physicians, like many others, are extremely busy and they simply do not have time to waste. A pharmaceutical representative must provide valuable information when meeting with a doctor face to face. If a doctor allows you time to meet with him, you need to maximize your face time with him. That means you need to know your material well. Know the facts of new studies about your product, and be able to present a flawless sixty to ninety second presentation of key clinical pearl

Do This and Lose Salesr Focus on products lose sales, solutions make sales The North Country is dumped on, 17 inches worth of the white cold stuff. Procrastination has hit, those slick road-hugging sports tires still on the car prove to be highly useless in the slick and hard packed snow. Monday morning, the first priority is to have the car be mobile and a set of snow-oriented tires becomes necessary. Four phone calls are made to local tire suppliers with one getting the sale.

If you are a CEO or a VP of Sales, it is extremely important for you to know how to measure the accuracy of your sales and demand forecasts. The forecast processes most often used by companies today, as a fact, results in higher inventories, longer customer order lead times, and good customer delivery performance. However, not all salespeople are successful in measuring the accuracy of a sales forecast. In this article we will discuss how to assess the accuracy of your forecast, how to compare forecasts, calculate and show mean absolute error and how to calculate MAPE.

In the past, most companies have divided territories by geographical area. Today, many salespeople specialize in particular products or services and concentrate on clients who have needs that match the products. So, companies are more likely to claim as your territory any client who has a need for your specialty. That means your client base may well be anywhere in the world. If that’s the case with you, you’ll do very little face-to-face selling and a whole lot of remote closing.

Back in the late 1980’s, the Honda Motor Company ran a memorable series of commercials, the basic premise of which was that the company’s cars were so amazing, they sold themselves. This commercial’s “hook” was that it featured a salesman who was bored out of his mind and had nothing to do because the cars were so in demand they were practically walking off the lot. The brand’s slogan at the time was “Honda, the car that sells itself.” Ha!

Champion sales professionals know that the best mode of operation is to ask questions and to listen to the answers. Although nearly all children ask questions, somewhere along the road of life, we stop asking - or, we ask fewer questions. Some of us even get to the point in life where we feel stupid asking questions. I’m a firm believe that the only stupid question there can possibly be is the one that’s never asked.

I have been trying to track down a billing issue with a company for over a month. After sending yet another follow up email to my account manager today, I finally received a response. It started out by saying “So-and-So is no longer with our company…” The first thing that crossed my mind was how long has So-and-So been gone, and more importantly, how long have emails from his customers been going unanswered.

Negotiation Techniques - How to Win by Not Negotiating Against Yourself Negotiation and Negotiating Skills are some of the most sought after sales training courses. People seek out negotiation tips, negotiating strategies and scour the web for processes to win against the 'other' person in a negotiation. It may come as a surprise to you but your own worst enemy in a negotiation is yourself.

To achieve the critical edge over your competition, consider these seven sales strategies of top performers. ATTRACT BUSINESS TO YOU Imagine being flooded with phone calls and emails from hot prospects requesting information on your products and services. Top performers have a philosophy that works. "Don't make cold calls - attract warm calls." By infiltrating key target markets and positioning yourself as "the expert", you can achieve celebrity status in your niche. To do th

I dream of hot prospects who call me up and say, “We’ve heard good things about your company. We want to make a decision quickly. We’re hoping you can help us out.” Occasionally my sales fantasies turn into realities. When it happens, it’s so easy to be seduced by this low-handing fruit. Outwardly, I try to appear calm, cool and collected – a true professional. But inside, every inch of my body wants to scream out, “Take me! Take me!” Okay. I’m being a bit dramatic here, but I really want to make my point. It’s so easy to be tempted by these opportunities.

It's November and soo Christmas, a New Year and everyone will be talking about resolutions, goals and how 2010 will be even better than ever. All we have to do is set our specific goals, have a plan and execute! Wait a minute! That is what was done last year and the year before! My income is the same, my weight has gone up and I am more frustrated than ever! What is wrong here? Why no progress? I'm doing exactly what the Gurus tell me, and in detail. Well, there is nothing wrong with the goal setting; it does work as long as the biggest barrier to success is not in the way!

Prospects buy products based on the perceived value they will derive from those products. However, what one prospect values is not the same as another. They both may buy the same product, but they can buy it for completely different reasons. For example, why do people buy cotton swabs? Whatever answer came to your mind is the correct answer, but it is only the correct answer for you. Fashion models may see these products as cosmetic applicators, whereas parents may see them as ear cleaners for their children.

Have you ever spent an hour or more preparing and giving an eloquent demonstration to a prospect, only to learn, that they couldn't use the features, couldn't afford it, or are not authorized to make the final decision? You may be a great closer, but it doesn't matter how many closes you know, if you're not closing a qualified prospect.

All Sales professionals want to improve their sales skills. They are also on a hunt for a new sales tip, or a fresh thought to motivate themselves to achieve more sales this week. This article outlines the best, quickest, most accessible and cost free source for excellent sales tips and techniques. Where does an experienced sales professional find a new sales tip or find a technique for improving some area of their sales? Where does someone who has had loads of sales training

I have been facilitating Time Management Training Courses for a number of years and time and time again I am asked, how do you facilitate meetings successfully? It appears that the old saying of ‘meetings are where minutes are taken and hours are wasted’ still holds true in many organisations. Meetings are essential in most organisations and meetings can be highly productive if they are facilitated and managed correctly. However poorly facilitated meetings will definitely im

Motivation techniques are often omitted from sales team training. Practical sales skills training is easier to present, and doesn’t require the same research and preparation time. Many sales managers and small business sales directors just don’t have the time to focus on how to motivate employees. Motivating sales people requires regular blasts of effective training, belief changing viewpoints, and support and ideas on goal setting. All this takes time and more urgent tasks pile up on a mangers desk and take priority.

Life would be grand if we could sprinkle a few seeds in the ground, fertilize, add water…and a great sales person would sprout. This is truly a pipedream, but one often pursued by small business owners and sales management executives in their quest to find great sales talent. Rather than grow their own, they attempt to steal the crops from their competitors. Why not, their competitor is much better at growing a sales organization than they are. They will grab some magic from their competitor's land and they too can enjoy great success.

Over the years I have seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of resumes and I continue to review resumes every day. Based on this experience, I can state that many applicants do nothing to help themselves gain employment. In fact, in many cases, it did the exact opposite! The amazing thing is that the reasons why their resumes did not help were completely preventable! 7 Things You Should Not Do On a Resume 1. Make your contact information hard to find. Your contact information, including name, address, phone and email, must be front and center on page 1.

Positive thinking gives you the ability to see the positive possibilities in every situation. You can now use this one simple self improvement technique and gain the many benefits in both your personal and professional life that others miss. Imagine being able to stop those negative influences, and especially negative people, that are outside of your control from bringing you down.

Overcoming Risk Aversion in Sellingr Help clients move forward in the selling process The deadline is approaching, your month is ending and the prospects that should be closing and going for it are not! What is a salesperson to do! We done the discovery, asked the questions, provided the solution, yet we seem to get inaction from the client. The issue might be RISK ADVERSION and we may not have addressed it effectively. As a matter of fact we may have inadvertently reinforced our customers Risk Aversion, thus creating part of our challenge!

Spirituality, religious beliefs, and a sales career can oppose each other and cause internal conflict. One of the people I recently coached had a clash of beliefs when he moved from a customer service job to a role in direct sales. His beliefs about using selling techniques to influence others ...

Joint field work is where you and your representative make sales calls together. The sales representatives benefit and learn from your knowledge and experience, yet they are still are not working without a net, so to speak. The problem most sales managers have when doing joint field work is they end up taking over the call completely. Some even forget the sales person is in the room! This does nothing to train or develop the sales representative.

Conducting effective workshops is one of the constant challenges facing all trainers. We will try to look at the most effective ways to conduct workshops, ways that will make the workshops not only valuable for the attendees, but valuable and rewarding for trainers too. In order to conduct ...

The purpose of your resume is to move you to the next step in the hiring process. Whether that is the initial interview, or to complete personality, compatibility or skills testing, if your resume moves you forward, it was effective. Over the years, I have seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of B2B sales resumes, the vast majority of which did nothing to help the applicants obtain employment. In fact, in most cases, it did the exact opposite! So why are even the best B2B sales professionals being passed over by their desired employers?

There is a very powerful shift that is taking place in the direct marketing world. A shift that will have a powerful and profound effect on your home based franchise, but only if you apply it correctly AND only if you actually take the action to apply it. I think that you would agree that whether you are marketing your home based franchise on line or off; your potential customers are carrying with them the “Three S Epidemic.” They are either scared, they are scarred or they are skeptical. Maybe they are all three.

Subliminal messages are a great sales training resource that can be added to your existing sales skills. Subliminal training can effortlessly stimulate your mind and add a new dimension to the way you use your sales training. All you have to do is put on a set of headphones, listen to a sales training CD or MP3 subliminal messaging training track, and your unconscious gets directly targeted subliminal messages. It’s as easy as that. I do not advise that subliminal messaging be used to completely replace effective practical sales training.

If anyone has cracked the code, on how to improve selling proficiency, while improving other quality aspects of life as well as create upward revenues, it’s Sam Selim. After almost 30 years in top corporate selling environments, Sam says the key to selling is not in motivation at all, but in the perpetual effects of inspiration. After all, he says, “Who wants to pay for a STATIC event, when what you really need is a KINETIC process”. The problem with common-era “motiv

Whether you are a corporate sales executive needing to increase company revenues, a sales manager wanting to improve your team’s results, or a sales professional looking to invest in your own self improvement, you need to evaluate any sales or sales management training course properly before buying it. All courses are not created equal and a high price tag does not necessarily guarantee results. Do You Really Need Sales Training? The first decision you need to make in choosing a sales training program is whether you even need sales training in the first place.

In her book, The Introvert Advantage, Marty Olsen Laney talks about the defining moment when she embraced the fact that she was an introvert. It came in the form of a statement, "Oh, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm just an introvert!" According to her research only 25% of people are introverted which leaves us the daunting task of dealing with the 75% extroverts of the world. And surprising as it seems, there are those of us who have, for one reason or another, chosen to

Experience has shown no matter where you set your minimum selling price, a sales representative sooner or later will ask you to lower it. The question is not whether you will be asked permission to discount; the question is when should you say yes.

You’re a sales genius. They love you; they trust you; and some of them keep on coming back for more. However, you can very suddenly go from Hero to Zero if you don’t keep your sales figures up to scratch. As a sales genius, you’ll be working hard to have deals lined up for weeks in advance so that you’re not enslaved by what has been referred to as “the Curse of a Sales Job”. Working month to month, just treading water in the hopes of staying afloat, does not make you a super-sales-hero.

When a client tells me they’re not bringing in the sales they want, one of the first questions I ask is “Are you asking for the business?” Their response is either “No, I don’t know what to say” or “What if I ask and they’re not interested”? Well, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know where you stand with your prospect. The close is a crucial moment of decision in the sales process when the prospect decides whether to enter into a business relationship with you or not.

I attended a sales training course a number of years ago and the trainer was talking about closing techniques. I remember he said on several occasions ‘ask for the order and then keep quiet’ he had plastered all over the walls in the training room silence can be golden. I would love to say that I always took his advice and it always worked but that is not really the truth. I, like so many other sales people would ask for the order and as soon as it went silent I would open m

1. It’s estimated in any telesales about 75% of people will only respond well is because of your voice and only 25% due to the words or phrases you use – so work on your voice – make it sound appealing and pleasing. Always smile when you’re talking as it will put a smile in your voice.rn rn2. Prepare your expectations in any telesales… 50% will not respond in any circumstances, 30% will be pleased to take the call and chat to you and the remaining 20% are the ones w

Many of us truly don't like cold calling. It’s one of the most dreaded of all sales process, to cause the most denial. But you can find fantastic methods to think in a different way about cold calling. We are able to take away the unfavorable experience that’s typical for both caller and receiver by transforming our way of thinking. If we start to think otherwise, we find that cold calling has stopped being the fear-laden experience we’ve come to expect. Simply by using

In business we are often faced with occasions where we are called upon to make introductions. These introductions can vary from a small group setting involving as few as three individuals up to a large group at a corporate function.

Excerpt from the book "Chase the Championship - Kicking Ass, Taking Names and Becoming a Dealmaker!" Stay far away from the boss’s underlings when you are in search of a decision. The heads of Marketing, IT, Human Resources, or whoever else is part of the “decision-making chain” for the product or service that you are selling should never be the people that you go after for a commitment.

There are moments in our lives that, because of some emotional connection, we remember more than others. For most of us these include our wedding day, graduation or the birth of a child. For me, mixed in with all of these monumental events, is a cold-call message left on my voicemail when we still had the apartment company. Sounds odd, right?

Before I take you to the nitty-gritty of Pay per click and cost per click in 2019, let me refresh these terms in your memory by telling you what they mean. Cost per Click which is also called as CPC is a term used to describe the price you pay for each click in your pay per click marketing campaigns. On the other hand pay per click, also known by its other names PPC and cost per click, is an online advertising model that drives traffic to websites using ads. PPC model works w

Just imagine, if every prospect you met said ‘where do I sign’ or ‘when can you deliver it’ to a salesperson wouldnt that be the ultimate dream. Sales trainers all over the world would probably be redundant as there would be no need for your sales team to attend sales training courses. Companies could reduce commission rates or even pay no commission at all, if only sales were that simple. Unfortunately all sales do not close with a ‘yes I‘ll take it’, in fact most sales don

Many Sales Professionals are very comfortable maintaining long term relationships and developing repeat business from existing clients. However, it is the goal of every Company to retain existing business and to develop new clients and new sales. This involves identifying a pool of sales leads, and converting some of these leads to new business. Key Points with Sales Leads There are several key points when it comes to beginning work on developing your leads. rn1. EVERY lead i

I love being flawless. It puts a big smile on my face. Whether giving a speech, making a cold call, or bluffing at poker, it's nice to have a perfect mission. Ok...let's get real here...it almost NEVER happens!! So many companies have a mission of 'flawless execution' for their employees. They wear it like a badge of honor and preach it at their annual sales meetings and in their company newsletters. They think that pushing for perfection really works. I disagree. I have a qu

San Diego Sales Training Tips - Sales Leadership – Three Initiatives that Matter Most At the beginning of the year I make a point of being ready with an exceptionally strong strategic plan that is heavily based on the first quarter. In other words, we focus on kicking the ball out of the park with force for January, February and March to send us off with a running start. This includes adding more creativity, more products, growing the team and growing the company. That surge of energy from day one builds momentum and we’re off!

Well that’s an hour of my life that was painful. No I didn’t have a dentist appointment or spend 60 minutes on the treadmill. I attended a webinar that would put an ADHD sufferer to sleep. Come on business people, are you not getting this? If you can’t create energy or excitement when you are talking about a service that you live and breath then how do you expect your potential clients to get excited or at the very least engaged in your presentation? 5 Steps to a Better Sale

Actually "There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who are wondering what happened." You've probably heard that one before. In fact, there are two different types of salespeople and they are very easy to spot. The first type is the improvisor. He seldom prepares, his preferred style, is to take things as they come. He likes to be spontaneous. He usually relies on his instinct and counts on his intuition to carry the day.

• For a company, who matters the most the customers or the consumers? Can you illustrate, drawing from your research and consulting insights, this distinction? In a way we are all consumers. We all consume goods, merchandise, and food and on an energetic level we even consume energy from others. We love to be around people who lift us up and make us feel great, and we do not like to be around people who are unhappy I sometimes refer to these kind of people as energy suckers. And as far as customers go we are also all customers.

Is role playing and videoing a good tool to use for sales people? This is often a questio I am asked when meeting prospective clients who are looking at the possibility of running some sales training courses. Well think of it this way, it’s a Monday morning after the big match at the weekend and the premier league football coach brings the team in to review the match. On goes the video and the coach and players watch, each move is analysed, the tape is stopped and the coach

These interview tips on how to prepare for sales job interviews can be the difference between success and failure. These job interview preparation tips come to you from an experienced sales manager with over two decades of sales recruitment experience. They will help you to prepare the evidence and examples of your experience and skills to match the job you are applying for.

Sales meetings are a fact of life and business and they are important for a variety of reasons. They allow larger companies to address the entire sales team as a group. They offer opportunities to provide additional training (product, skills, and technical). They help keep your team up-to-date. And, they present a tremendous opportunity for your team to connect and develop stronger relationships with each other. Unfortunately, many sales meetings are unproductive and not near

It’s 2010! And in honor of the new decade I thought we could start of the year with a top 10 list. We look at the first 5 on our top 10 list. You might notice that the entire list is focused on the front end of the sales cycle. Specifically targeting, prospecting and calling net-new leads. That’s because in order to make sales, you have to have more leads and better quality leads. You might remember that I am particularly fond of the expression “every sales problem can

Are you always asked to lower your price? Does every prospect start to negotiate with you? Most sales people would answer with a very definitive yes! Of course we all face this! The reason is that consumers and buyers are trained to ask for a lower price, no matter what. Think about it. Would you walk into a car dealership and pay the price listed on the windshield? Probably not. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to negotiate to a lower price, expect it. What you can do, however, is change the way you handle it.

Prospecting has never been harder – or easier. Yes, it’s hard to get responses, but you have all the tools at your finger tips to increase your odds of grabbing the attention of your top contacts and getting a reply. Gone is the dialing for dollars mentality. You can do better than that. You can use these tools to do everything from identifying who your best-odds prospects are to deducing why they’d want to speak with you, writing a powerful email, and ultimately attracting them to you.

If you want to have a fulfilling career in sales, you must first and foremost ask yourself these two questions: Do you enjoy serving people? Do you want to make your customer’s day better than it was before he or she met you or talked with you?” If you answered yes to these questions, then ...

Are you tired of sales being hit or miss? nnDo you want CONSISTANT sales? nnDo you want to know how to get the sale...and make it EASY? nnThis comes right out of the book "Power Persuasion - Using Hypnotic Influence To Win In Life, Love and Business." nnWhen it comes to sales/persuasion/negotiations the best NLP MetaProgram I can recommend to first learn is the convincer strategy.nnWait, what's a MetaProgram you ask.?nA MetaProgram is a way that people sort information. Peopl

The passing of Michael Jackson seem to overshadow everything and several days later the buzz is still going. How can this event overshadow so many others? I caught an early morning news program covering both Jackson and Fawcett and their passing. The interesting thing I noted was the amount of coverage for Jackson versus Fawcett. While both were famous stars and both had provided a great deal to the entertainment business, it was a 5:1 ratio in favor of Jackson! While Farrah was ill and her death not unexpected, Jackson's was sudden and unexpected.

If you’re a parent and you have ever convinced your children to do what you wanted without force or threats then you sold. An educator that makes learning more palatable for their students by adjusting their style and approach is using sales skills. A manager or employer that gets staff buy in and acceptance of new policies is selling their ideas to the team. A Plant or Quality Manager who convinces Upper Management to invest in new equipment, preventative maintenance or staff training uses sales skills to persuade them to approve the expenditure now, for future financial returns.

What is your "follow-up reputation" in your business? Is it 'always and promptly'? Or, is it 'usually fairly timely'? Or, could it be 'doubtful it will get done'? The highest performers keep their promises and exceed the expectations of their prospects and clients. Be a bear about this one. It isn't a task to be ...

Each week I travel the country speaking to groups of leaders at meetings and conferences. No matter where I go I’m asked the same question time and again by leaders ranging from frontline managers to CEOs , “How can I motivate my employees?” I’ve heard this question repeated thousands of times. However, what the person asking usually means is “How can I manipulate my employees to do what I want them to do?”

It's been said many times that prospects must feel they can trust you before they will buy from you. But what does "trust you" really mean? It's simple. Prospects need to know you and your company will do exactly what you tell them you will do, when you said you will do it. Every time you fulfill a commitment, you build trust. Every time you break a commitment, however, you lose trust. In fact, you do more damage than if you never made the promise in the first place.

For any business to be successful and sell, the people involved must believe in their product or service and believe in themselves. Your selling skills depend, in a big way, on your level of self confidence. Other people can sense it if you don’t believe in yourself, and from this they gather that you don’t believe in what you are doing. Obvious belief in the product is what persuades your customer or client to buy from you. Hence, improving your self-confidence will enha

As I think about the incredible workshop I just led, I realize that I manifested this! I had wanted to lead my very own workshop for several years. I wrote a vision of what the workshop would look like and read it daily. When I walked on stage on the first day at the beautiful hotel where the workshop was held and looked out at the amazing people in the audience, this was exactly what I had envisioned. Several years ago I had no idea what it was to manifest. I didn’t understand that by focusing on what you want, you could attract the things you want into your life.

It seems that anywhere I turn there is a conversation, blog, discussion or new book on Relationship Selling. You may also be seeing and hearing the banter. I have no problem with the idea of "Relationship Selling", my only question is. "What is this relationship?" can it be described or is it just another catch phrase to sell product and talk smart. My belief is it can be defined, but many salespeople and managers may be avoiding the accountability that goes along with a clear definition.

TOP 10 WAYS TO HAVE LOYAL CUSTOMERS FOR LIFEnnIn today's business world it's no longer enough to have satisfied customers - you must constantly delight them in order for them to become loyal Lifelong Customers. Customers who will return to do business with you again and again, year after year, despite your competitors' best efforts to lure them away from you. nnSince it costs 10 times as much to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing one, it makes good sense

I am sure you have heard it said if you want to break a bad habit or make a change in your life you need to work on the new behavior or skill for a minimum of 21 days. Unfortunately, many people seem to think if they can quit smoking for 21 days they will never smoke again. The same goes for losing weight or making other changes in your personal life or your career. Not true! Go to any gym in January and see how many people made the New Years resolution to lose weight. Now g

Inertia can be a powerful force. Often times in business, the decision not to act and to stick with the same practices is the easiest one to make. However, the ease of sticking with the same shouldn’t allow sales managers to accept the status quo. Maximizing ROI and finding best practices are not the sort of goals that a sales team can expect to reach without stepping out and aggressively pursuing them. In order to find the most efficient way to pursue leads and react to cust

Earlier this morning I commented on a debating blog about true security. By the time I was done with my rant the realization was, here is an article with some punch. Does life limit us? Do we limit us? Does positive or negative thinking limit us? Do others limit us? When you think of security, be it financial, physical, emotional or other, what comes to mind?

I participated in a few charity golf tou aments this summer. At each one, I kept hearing the same comments from some of the participants. “I never hit the ball well off the first tee.” and “I won’t make the putt because I am not a good putter.” Interestingly enough, everyone who made those comments was right! They didn’t hit well off the first tee. It wasn’t that they couldn’t hit the ball because they certainly did off the next tee, but why not the first? The reason is they kept telling themselves they wouldn’t.

It’s time to finish building our “Top 10 List” for 2010. This time we look at items 6 though 10. If you missed the first 5 ways to increase sales in 2010 be sure to visit the article archive (http://www.engageselling.com/articles/article-top-ways-to-increase-sales-in-the-new-year.shtml).  Enjoy the list and be sure to implement all 10 ideas. I know that you will have a perfect 10 year if you do! 6. Get referrals Referrals are the most profitable source of leads because

What is it that will make your prospect buy today? Why didn’t he buy yesterday? Why won’t he wait until tomorrow? To answer that, you must first define what exactly a prospect is.

My wife and I had a few friends over the other night. My friend Jerry saw one of my guitars sitting in the corner and asked if he could play it. We players are very respectful of other people’s property and would never dream of just picking up the guitar and playing without permission. I quickly discovered that Jerry, Mick and I played and enjoyed similar music styles so in no time at all I had three guitars out and we played for hours. Most self respecting guitar player own

Utilizing Gratitude as a Self-Confidence builder. There is not doubt that our attitude has an effect on our outcomes. Continually being negative, seeing the bad side of things will limit our outcomes if not eliminate the good in ones life. At the same time being positive about everything does not guarantee we will succeed in our endeavors either, but does seem to increase the odds.

People often ask me, how can I increase my sales? Will sales training help me? How can I hit my target every month etc. Well the obvious answer to the question of sales training is yes it will help depending on the quality of the sales training course you attend. One caveat to the above is that the essence of knowledge is using it and there is no point attending a sales training course, developing new skills gaining new ideas and not putting them in to action. People often r

I hate long emails. They take too long to read and typically include action items I just don’t have time for. No doubt you’ve experienced it, too. Your customers are no different and it’s impacting your ability to close sales. Sure, you carefully word your email, expanding your questions to avoid being misunderstood, or outlining a great recommendation. You format it with underlining and bolding to call attention to critical details. You use bullets to make it simple to read.

Karon Thackston © 2005nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnUnder normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After all, when you have something urgent to say, you want others to know about it, right? But when it comes to “limited time only” offers, lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. Copywriters seem to actually be hiding the phrase! Let me give you some examples.nnI received a fabulous email from a ladies clothing site at which I like to shop. It was for

By Colleen Francis I think we can agree that the economy is still unstable. While some companies are flourishing others are suffering. Likewise some sales professionals are exceeding their goals and others. I would say about 75% are crying about their poor results blaming the economy. We see it every day at Engage, with sales rep after sales rep not achieving their goals coming to us for advice on how to sell in a slow market. The first comment I make to all of them is this:

At a company I’ve consulted with over the last nine months, there is a manager, Brad, who would never think of taking a full week away from the office. "Much too much to do, and I don't really need it anyway." He tells me. “When was the last time you did take off on a real vacation?" I ...

Sales is about decisions, thus master questions and get better decisions. Despite all the science, the input of experts and top producers, the majority of salespeople still create more resistance, objections and price wars by focusing on product! In the past decade psychology has examined the decision/buying process of people and the science does not support the old sales approaches. In fact, much of the research by Dr. Eric Knowles *and his associates find that most sales approaches actually build up resistance, cause objections and focus the sale on price.r

The damage of working with difficult people can affect the whole office, including customers. In this article, I'll explore tips that will help you deal with challenging people! Have you heard the people in your office saying the following?rn - “I’m just trying to do my job. I don’t know why he keeps starting things.”rn - “What else can I do when she acts that way?”rn - “This place would fall apart if it wasn’t for me!” Sometimes angels are among us and sometimes they are not! If you feel like you are working with an individual who is not residing on earth it can be difficult at best.r

I get a lot of ezine topic requests each week, and the majority of them are requests for different questioning techniques to use during the qualification stage. I'm glad to see these requests because it means people understand the importance of identifying and then spending time with buyers. I've written many articles over the years that address these kinds of questions, and if you've missed any of them I encourage you to visit my blog here.

Most people love to buy stuff, but they don't like being sold. Many of my clients love what they do, but they really detest selling it. How can we reconcile these two points of view? What if you could learn to "sell" without actually selling? Then, you wouldn't have an unpleasant feeling inside, and your potential clients wouldn't avoid talking to you. The good news is: it's not only possible to sell without selling; it's preferable. Here are 7 enlightened ways to "sell" without selling. 1.

I recently hosted an event in New York and a woman signed up for one of my programs. We'll call her Sally. About a week after we met, I had a call with her and she said, "I thought it was just wonderful how you did that entire day and you didn't sell anything." I said, "Sally, you're in my program. You bought something." And she said, "Oh, yeah. I didn't notice." So that's the ultimate goal. You should be so fired up about what you do and you're just sharing your services and

Five great ways to send your sales skyrocketing in 2010 It’s a challenge that even the most accomplished sales professionals have to tackle regularly: how to attract more of the targeted customers who are best suited to help your business thrive. After all, it’s not enough to know who it is that you want to reach, or even to fine-tune your business habits to emulate the top sellers in organizations of all sizes. You also need to find ways to attract more of those ideal cu

Many sales reps send me emails asking the same thing, "How can I sell against my competition and win the deal?" They tell me it gets more and more difficult as there is always someone who has a similar product for less money, or who can offer their kind of service with more bells and whistles, etc. What can they do? Let's look at a few facts and then put together a sales strategy. To start with, if a prospect hasn't bought anything yet, it means they haven't found exactly what they're looking for, right?

Many sales people go to sales seminars with hopes of removing the struggles that can come along within a sales position. The optimistic outlook of finally learning that one "magical phrase" or technique that will eliminate all objections and close every sale is a powerful lure to a hungry sales person. Unfortunately, many who attend sales motivation seminars often find themselves right back where they started just a few short weeks after the seminar has passed. Struggling to

The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils down to one simple fact: the reasons for not buying are bigger to the prospect than the reason to buy.nnIf you sell an intangible product or service, it may be even tougher to close down a sale because your product or service is not something people can see, touch, or feel. So the reasons for your prospects to buy have to be vivid, logical, and emotional. There has to be a reason for them to buy NOW, or they’ll p

With the public and commercial sectors of Western markets dealing with an on-going lack of assurance, cuts in investments, and strong competition, a lot of B2B sales people are now working in conditions more demanding than ever before. These demanding circumstances have made the sales cycle much more problematic and time-consuming for salespeople. Buying decisions are either being commoditised and purchased on selling price, or they are being dealt with as strategic decisions and being made at a more senior level, irrespective of the industry or size of business.

Ever had a client or prospect never get back to you? Because you're in sales, then I know it's happened to you (or is happening with several of your clients or prospects right now!). If you ever find yourself in a place where you've qualified a prospect, sent information to them on your product or service, and then find that they just won't return your calls or emails, then I've got a guaranteed email that will get you a response.

I am positive you already know that there can be a lot of mistakes made in sales. The reason that I work as part of a sales training courses provider is because I want to inform people of these mistakes that come up again and again in which I am sick to the back teeth explaining. There are 4 crucial blunders that are repeated through sales. The reason that you are even reading this at the minute is because you have courageously taken the first steps into improving your sales

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnIt seems to be a phenomenon. You try Google AdWords Select, your ad gets “disapproved” by the powers that be at Google, you count your losses and give up. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are two primary factors to succeeding at Google AdWords. The first is getting the right keywords. The second is writing little tiny ads. Neither is all that easy, but they can both be done.nnMark Twain said it best. “If I would have had

A sales objections technique that‘s really effective for retail and showroom sales. Feel Felt Found and has been used and proven successful for direct sales to the public. It works on those sales objections that are formed by customer’s feelings. Used by many small businesses, and people ...

If you are a business owner or sales manager responsible for getting your team of sales reps to make their numbers or achieve sales quotas, then I feel your pain. If you're like many of the sales managers and owners I work with, then I know you're being pulled in many different directions. You're busy; you have endless meetings to attend to, reporting to do, and on top of it all you have many different personalities to deal with on your team, and each of them have different skill levels, motivation levels, etc. It can seem like an overwhelming job.

Five great ways to send your sales skyrocketing in 2010 So far in this five-article series, I’ve focused on what you can do at the front-end of your sales cycle to help generate the great results that you’re looking for in your organization. This entails fine-tuning your prospecting and targeting skills and finding multiple ways to get the word out on the street about your work as a sales professional . Getting that component right is crucial. When you master all aspects

With both the public and commercial sectors facing an ongoing lack of confidence and cut-backs in spending budgets, and competition becoming more aggressive every day, sales people are operating in an environment that is more challenging than ever before. As a result of these exte al pressures, senior decision-making executives are making the sales process much more difficult and time-consuming for B2B sales professionals.

Are you entrusted with proprietary information? It’s very easy to innocently divulge confidential information just in passing. Years ago while calling on a small construction company the owner’s wife (let’s call her Joan) told me a story that emphasizes the significance of what you share with others and the potential consequence of breaching client confidence. They were bidding on a tender (quoting on a job) and in construction it’s common to provide a deposit cheque as part of the submission to prove you have the financial backing to complete the work.

I am positive you already know that there can be a lot of mistakes made in sales, we have all made them, but I have found on sales training courses sometimes when you make mistakes you need some one else to point them out as they are not always visible to you. It s no different than sports, take for example the football coach who is standing on the sideline will see things right and wrong that you are doing through a game which you may or may not be aware of, because you are

The Benefits and Advantages of Sales Leadership Training. It is widely accepted and recognized that the staff or employees have to be trained some new skills in order to prevent being stagnant. A situation like this not just regresses the person’s development, but also the company’s, too. In coming to terms with this problem, several companies have created some programs wherein their workforce could come together in many forums to talk about the many factors of their work

Your results in sales – and all of life – are completely dependent on what you think about all day long. Your thoughts lead to your actions, and it is your actions that determine your results. But everything starts by your mental attitude, by what you dwell on all day long.

A year ago I made the decision that I wanted -- no, I needed -- new carpet in my home. Believe me, it was time. So that very day I started the process. I found a few hours in my insanely busy schedule and got to work shopping for carpet. I started online, but that was just too hard. There was no way to see and feel the carpet or really ask questions. So I headed to the carpet stores; two I had chosen through my online shopping. Now, let me reiterate: I was ready, more than re

You are in the middle of a call and you are leading them to their desire to their water but the problem is you can not get them to drink it. In sales training courses we explain to participants that you do not need to make them drink the water you simply want them to realise for themselves that they are thirsty. How can you guide people into realising that this is what they want? The fundamental truth is to ask the right questions. On a recent sales training course I noticed

© 2005nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnOnly about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned. I'm sure you've heard the statistic before. It's nothing new. While it might sound frightening or frustrating, it's a fact of copywriting life. So what do you do next? Give up? What difference does it make if only about 20% will be read anyway? nnIt makes a world of difference. Especially if you understand that there are some sections of your copy that

All too often, businesses look at using technology as a way of putting barriers between customers and employees. In fact, terms like call avoidance are often used as justification to purchase information technology systems that up serve customer information to ensure a live, expensive call with a human doesn’t happen. This approach misses a key factor in today’s hyper competitive marketplace: repeat business is king. With more and more competition fighting for scarce cust

http://www.sales-solutions.biznnWhat? Am I reading this correctly? Stop selling and I'll close more business? Yes. Let me explain. I was on an initial meeting with a prospective client last week. This prospect was frustrated that several prospects of his that exhibited classic ...

http://www.ktamarketing.comnnAs you know, I am continually on the look out for innovative marketing ideas that bring a high return on investment. This one is truly creative! Thanks to Roosevelt Best of UK-based Naturally First and Astrology First for sharing his ingenuity – and his results – with us.nnKARON: Hello Roosevelt. Thank you for taking the time to give us some details about this unusual (and highly effective) marketing idea.nnROOSEVELT: Good afternoon, Karon. Ce

The end of one year and beginning of a new one is a great opportunity to examine your successes from the previous year, determine what you want to replicate, what you want to change and then set some goals for the new one. Because setting attainable sales goals can be a lot trickier, and more stressful, then people tend to think, I'd like to offer a step-by-step guide to help you set and reach your yearly target.

http://www.ktamarketing.comnnHow many times a day do you see them as you surf the Web? Pop-up and pop-under windows have become a widely used marketing tool. But do they work? Are they just a nuisance, or are they really the gold mine that all the “gurus” claim?nnAfter doing a good deal of research, I’ve discovered some pretty interesting facts. After implementing my own pop-up campaign, I’ve had some enlightening moments. Allow me to tell you what I’ve discovered,

Overcoming the Avoidance Motivators In the last article, the reason most goals do not work was uncovered. (Why We Can't Change) This article will give you specific steps to overcome those barriers and accomplish more in 2010! Interested? Read on… People motivation is complicated and complex, yet if we can focus on basic truths progress can be astounding. The simplified view is we either move toward "gain" in some form, or move away from or avoid "pain" in some way. The first step to making you goals for 2010 is to understand which moves you forward and which holds you back.

Undeniable fact: Almost everyone tends to do business with people they know and like. That's why one of the most important facets of your marketing program should be developing and using your interpersonal communication skills. If you allow yourself to be shy or antisocial (and we all have those rare moments), then you're undermining your success and creating a severe competitive and financial disadvantage. The other extreme, of course, is coming on too strong. If you're alwa

More and more sales reps are complaining to me that they are getting stuck, can’t get through, can’t make direct contact and can’t get a return call. And, if I can be frank, it’s no wonder! Have you listened to the quality of the voice mail messages being left by sales reps who call your office or home? I have. If the calls I am receiving are any indication, it’s no wonder you may be having trouble. Let’s start at the very beginning… A good voice mail must be pr

Integrity in Leadership - Wisdom Integrity in Leadership - Wisdom By Louis Jorda Using quotes from famous leaders, politicians or athletes has become part and parcel of business communications. Try getting through a sales seminar, self-help book or sales kick-off meeting without being ...

The world’s oldest profession involves selling. One might even argue about which came first – the selling or the sex? In fact, selling and sex are so closely related that succeeding at either one of them can be euphoric, addictive, and good fun. Some people might like to argue that selling is not better than sex. They believe it’s the other way round.

"Advertising doesn't work." I hear it from my clients all the time. One client was about to file for bankruptcy because she wasn't getting a good response to her radio ads, and the cost was killing her. But she knew her target market was listening; she knew she needed to get her name out there to generate more business. What should she do? Owners of small businesses and professionals like yourself realize that to take your business to the next level, you need to get your pro

I love the art of selling. LOVE IT. When I first entered the field of sales, the one thing I quickly grew to appreciate was the fact that anything I did to increase my ability in selling also increased my ability in life. Sales skills are life skills.nn“There’s a born salesman!” I have yet to read, or hear on the evening news, of a lady who gave birth to a sales person. Or an attorney, or doctor, or for that matter an embezzler or swindler. Birth is given to

My name is Liam and I want to introduce myself and my product. I will tell you what the secret is to a better water system. I want to talk to you about this; I hope you will listen…….blah blah blah. Now in all honesty we have heard these types of opening statements before but have we ever taken the time to listen? No, I guarantee that you have not. I have seen and heard this through calls and sales training courses Answer me this why would a person stay on the line to listen

It’s disturbing to me and yes sad, the amount of people who fail at their home based franchise. Do I think that people set out each day with the goal of failure on their mind? Quite the opposite. But, in general…most people do not set themselves up with the intent, the strategy and the action plan to succeed. Today, we will take a look at the first of four reasons why people fail not only in their home based franchise, but in almost anything that they do. Will you fall in either one of these categories?

© 2003 http://www.copywritingcourse.comnnIt still amazes me. When I write copy for a company, I always ask about their target audience. I have to know who I’m writing to in order to create a message that will bring a response. But about half the time, the client is absolutely stumped about who their target audience is and what they want. nnAt the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say it again: “You have to know your target audience before you can advertise ef

2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnCopywriting is a primary factor when it comes to achieving good search engine placement. However, many times all that is done is to include keywords in the tags of a page and to include a few keyword mentions. While not extremely difficult, writing for the engines is a little more complicated than that.nnKnow Your Keyphrases Before You WritennIt is much easier to create search engine copywriting if you know which keyphrases you'll use be

A question that is often asked on sales training courses is ‘how should I dress?’ I think this is a vitally important question. You see a prospect will subconsciously have a perception of you built up in their mind in the first 30 seconds to 1 minute of a sales call. The old saying you only get one chance to make a good first impression is vital. Sales training courses will tell you that these first introductions are vital and we all know the importance of the firm but not w

Make everyday a masterpiece because you don't know how many days you have left. Two things happened during the past week that rattled my cage and got me thinking about things. The first was the sudden death of an acquaintance here in Florida. His name was Bob. He was 64 and retired and had a massive heart attack late Sunday night. I just saw him the night before at a party. He was a prince of a man. He was very soft-spoken and always smiling. In an instant he was gone forever.

Goal setting; sales 101 plain and simple, right? However, it really isn’t that plain and simple is it? Have you set your detailed goals for the day, the week, the month and your year both personally and for the success of your home based franchise? Goal setting is critically important to the success of your home based franchise. Without goals…you do not have an exact plan of where you are going, you do not have an exact plan of how you are going to get there and you will not know when or if you have ever arrived.

© 2002nhttp://www.ktamarketing.comnnAlmost everyone on the ‘Net is familiar with ezine article promotion. However, Business Essentials subscriber Steve Watson (of Watson’s Streetworks http://www.watsons-streetworks.com) has found a way to get some “free ink” in national paper magazines, too. No… not press releases – full-length articles.nnKARON: Hi Steve. Thanks for your time today.nnSTEVE: Sure, Karon. Glad to do it.nnKARON: If I understand you right, you’re g

As a salesperson early in my career, I recall nights as I attempted to drift off to sleep, thoughts scrambling around in my head about the day. I would toss and turn as I worried about things I had done wrong that day while obsessing about doing the right things after I woke up the next day. Was my customer about to choose my competitor? Where was I missing business? Had I pissed anyone off? Lord knows, sales people have it rough at times.

© 2002nhttp://www.creatingezines.comnnAsk successful ezine publishers what draws subscribers to their ezines, and you’ll be told one very important thing. Content, content, content. However, many would-be ezine publishers focus more on selling than they do on valuable information. They turn their attention toward making money instead of building relationships. If you follow suit, that practice will surely be the death of your ezine, my friend.nn“What? Ezines are supposed

Do want to embody the American Dream for your home based franchise? Follow these 9 must have solutions and watch your home based franchise grow into the home based franchise of your dreams. Have a terrific idea. Do a bit of brainstorming. What type of home based franchise would you like? Are you presently in a business that is not producing the results that you are looking for? Take what you like and keep it. Then take what you don’t like and ask yourself… How would I do it better? Then do it, take massive action!

Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the cheapest and most effective types of advertising your company can invest in, but how do we generate this elusive type of advertising? Most experts in the area will say, “Get out and ‘network’.” So we go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting with dozens or even hundreds of other people trying to promote their company or service, and we attempt to promote our company or service as well. Very few people come to these meetings to buy thi

Do salespeople meditate? I asked myself this question recently and as I contemplated I realized there had to be more business people meditating than just me. I’m not THAT special. Or was I? After all, I WAS living in San Francisco, a mecca for all things spiritual, new age and psychedelic.

© 2003nhttp://www.creatingezines.com nnJill Whalen is well known for her search engine optimization talents. She’s equally well known for her ezine, High Rankings Advisor. From its inception in 2000 until today, she has built an exceptionally loyal subscriber base of over 15,000 that would literally follow her to the ends of the ‘Net and back. How did she do it? We’re about to find out!nnKARON: Hi Jill… thanks for your time.nnJILL: No problem, Karon.nnKARON: Let me s

Now you’re talking with a potential customer and looking for the closing opportunity. You have used the same approach many times and sometimes it’s an automatic “yes” and other times it’s a stall. You may have asked at the “no” end of the oscillation rather than the “yes”.nn nn· Unless ...

"Selling is more difficult now that it was just a couple of years ago." Most of the participants in my sales seminars nod solemnly when I make that statement. And then they begin to fidget in their seats when I follow that up with this: "And it will be more difficult next year than it is today." They become really uncomfortable when I extend that idea: "And it will be increasingly more difficult every year thereafter." That´s a sobering truth that we don´t like to face. Yet,

Closing the sale or gaining the commitment is part of the sale process. However, many sales professionals to service professionals view closing more as a singularity instead of a process. This results in the less sales and more frustration. Sound familiar? nn Yes, there are specific skill sets required when dealing with this step in the sales process - closing or gaining commitment. However these skills should be used in conjunction with the other sales skills and aligned to

Every client I deal with, in one way or another, eventually asks that question. The words may be different, but the question is the same. In this turn-of-the-century economic environment, it's a universal question. If you haven't confronted the issue yet, it's only a matter of time before you will. Here's the context in which this question surfaces. The company needs to make some change that impacts the sales force: A new compensation program, a new automation tool, a new sa

During seminars when I teach leaders the principle that “People don’t do dumb things on purpose.” invariably some joker will say, “Looks like you haven’t met my people.” You may be thinking the same thing because like me, you’ve observed people do some really dumb things. What is important to understand, though, is no one wakes up in the morning and looks into the bathroom mirror and says “You know, today I think I’m going to sabotage my job by doing something really stupid.”

Having your own home based franchise, you must each day know exactly who your energy vampires are and how to keep them away. We have all heard it before, the Law of Attraction states that we transmit both positive and negative energy and how we manage this energy positively is what really matters. So, who are your energy vampires in your home based franchise? Are they fear, doubt, anger, hopelessness, frustration, depression? The list could go on and on.

Almost every salesman has heard of successful sales techniques that are meant to rake in more sales for them. Yet when I employed these sales techniques, no results were observed. Prospects are still unmoved. This baffled me the longest time. Years back, I discovered that for selling techniques to work, a strong emotional foundation is required. Persuasion is essentially transference of emotion, and sales techniques seek to hasten this process. So if you do not have good emot

90% of what it takes to be a good sales person is your mindset. Yes, I know this is a strong statement. Even if you have the skills and all the moves, you won’t be successful if you have a terrible attitude – no one will want to buy from you! The sales person who wants it the most is the one who is most often victorious. Sure, we can teach you a step-by-step program to make sure you’re prepared, know the right questions to ask, close faster and recognize additional sales opportunities – but training won’t help you if you have a “who cares” attitude.

Here's a sales tip - the best day of the week is TODAY, of course. Yesterday's are lost forever, and we know only too well that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. When you're reading the morning newspaper and don't see your name in the obituary - declare it a great day. Some salespeople ...

A positive attitude is a key sales tool. A positive attitude is something sales people work on, practice, sharpen and tune. Attitude breeds attitude, and if you are negative, the other person will be negative. Positive thoughts lead to positive language, and this is the language that sells. Within this positive language there are very powerful words that, if used effectively, are proven to be the words that sell. It might be said that it is challenging to maintain a positive

Skilled long distance runners all have their unique style of racing. Some start out of the gate in a flash and then slow down as they approach the finish line. Others progressively pick up speed and really crank it up as they head into the final miles. Both styles can be successful if the runners have taken the time to train properly for the race. Just like runners, salespeople are goal-oriented individuals working to reach the finish line in the best possible time.

I find events to be one of the most effective strategies to uncover qualified leads. The people who participate choose to come because they’re interested in your topic. You get to share your perspectives and recommendations, highlighting yourself as an expert they want to work with. The prospects who attend feel as if they know you and want your assistance. With today’s technology, events are inexpensive to run.

I’m sure by now that you have established your sales targets for next year. If you haven’t I suggest that you get cracking and do it now. Time is slipping past! If you have set your targets, congratulations! Here are 10 things you can do to achieve those goals. 1. Invest time prospecting for NEW business every week. Most salespeople rely on existing clients to generate their sales. Allot a specific amount of time to look for new business opportunities whether it’s withi

You are nature’s greatest miracle!! Think about that statement and realize how true it is. You are completely unique and there is not one other person out there that is like you. Og Mandino’s teaches in the fourth scroll that you are your own unique leader...a leader that people are looking for in their own home based franchise and in today’s age, a leader that people desperately need and want. You have unique qualities and knowledge that no one can teach like you can teach. As soon as you realize your uniqueness and you start to show it and act on it...

As business owners, leaders and managers we wake up every morning asking ourselves, “Is this the day we begin to see the signs of an economic recovery?” When really we should be asking ourselves two questions: 1. How do we sell more today?rn2. Are we positioned for the recovery should it happen tomorrow? Waiting to see if the recovery from our recession is just around the corner is not a healthy place to be. If you are waiting, you may be waiting a long time while missing

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnI just had to laugh! During a recent conversation about how often you should change your copy, I had one person tell me “Well, if there were any *good* copywriters out there, they’d be able to write it once, and it would work forever!” Oh really? Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.nnIt is extremely rare for advertising copy to last for extended periods of time. Changing your copy is a given, the reason being that

I was reading a very powerful article written in the New York Times (printed on Saturday…March 14th ), and it centered on the benefits of having your own home based franchise; which if you are thinking about starting a home based franchise, should be of great interest to you.

The game of selling…quite honestly it is the biggest mind game that I know for the success of your top home based franchise. Once you have mastered the game of selling you have mastered your key to success in everything that you do; not just success in your home based franchise. Today’s message is about persistence and how you must persist until you succeed.

© 2003nhttp://www.ktamarketing.com nnAsk Bobette Kyle about building a Web business on a small business budget, and you’ll be amazed what she’ll tell you about planning and coordination. By getting to the heart of the online business structure, Bobette saves small businesses lots of time and money. She’s agreed to talk with us today and to share a little of her wealth of knowledge.nnKARON: Hi Bobette. I’m excited about our time together. nnBOBETTE: Thanks, Karon. Me,

Sales are frequently developed through the relationships we have created with other people. Networking functions provide the opportunity to expand our contact list, particularly when we create and nurture quality relationships. It is not enough to visit a networking group, talk to dozens of people and gather as many business cards possible. However, every networking function has tremendous potential for new business leads. Here are five strategies to make networking profitabl

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnAsk any copywriter what the first commandment of copywriting is and they’ll quickly tell you “Know Thy Target Audience.” In order to write effectively you have to know this one group of people and know them well. I guess that’s why many people get so frustrated when it seems they have more than one preferred customer base. One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “What if I have more than one target audience?” In

Digging deep and drilling down to uncover mutual interests and potential business opportunities is the very essence of effective networking. These same skills are also the key components in maximizing your existing business relationships. The fastest new business opportunities can be recognized within your existing account base, however it requires discipline, expert probing techniques and the ability to peel back the layers and uncover areas of mutual need and potential gain. Think about it: Are all of your customers aware of ALL of the products and services that you can provide t

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnMost marketers don’t give a lot of thought to the buying processes of their customers. That’s a shame. Lending due attention to the buying process can have a dramatic effect on your sales. nnWhat is the buying process? Where does your customer fall within it? How can you use it to help bring your customer to the point-of-purchase? Follow me as we take a look at the decisions customers must make before deciding to buy.nnEach and ev

© 2003nhttp://www.ktamarketing.comnnIt’s the gold medal of e-commerce. Getting that coveted sale is what every online business owner hopes and prays for daily. It’s why we fight for good search engine positioning. It’s why we battle with our copy, making it “just so.” It’s what pays the bills! But what if you could get even MORE sales from your order page? It’s really not very hard to do.nnWhat I’m about to tell you is not some big secret. It’s a widely use

Conducting effective workshops is one of the constant challenges facing all trainers. We will try to look at the most effective ways to conduct workshops, ways that will make the workshops not only valuable for the attendees, but valuable and rewarding for trainers too. In order to conduct ...

Build the most Irresistible offer of all Irresistible offers for your home based franchise. Remember the Ronco Commercials with their But Wait...There’s More slogan? OK… I am dating myself, aren’t I? But guess what; this method of building irresistible offers continues to work and it can for you and your home based franchise as well. You want to offer your prospects and leads more and more until even the most stubborn person can no longer resist. You might be thinking, but Jen, I can’t afford to do that...how will I ever make a profit in my home based franchise?

Do you know that the word can’t is the most frequently used word out of an unsuccessful home based franchise entrepreneur’s mouth? I challenge you take a look at this unfortunate word and really think about how many times you might use it in one day. The word can’t is a word that I detest, is the worst of the four letter words and I do not tolerate it’s usage in my house or in my home based franchise. Most people use it far too often, very casually and most importantly...they use it inaccurately. Truly, think about when you use can’t.

This is a true story. Over the course of a year, a local branch manager had 7 separate photocopier sales people conduct face to face prospecting calls on her business. However, since the current equipment was on a lease with an expiry date far into the future, it was not the right time in the buying cycle to start the sales process. The branch manager asked each sales rep to call back on the same specified date in the future. Of the 7, only 2 sales reps called back. Only 2! Although this may sound unbelievable, it is more often the rule than the exception.

Karon Thackston © 2005nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnMechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have bigger appetites than the real-life spiders you squish under your shoe. What spiders am I talking about? The automated programs sent out by search engines to review and index websites. These "spiders" (sometimes called "bots") are looking for a reason to list your site within the database of their particular search engine. It's hard work roaming around the 'Ne

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnAs a copywriter, I’d love to tell you that every site on the Web needs tons of copy. However, the simple truth is not all do. Many sites simply produce better sales when they use more graphics than words. Since search engines are hungry for words you simply have to use copy if you plan to get ranked high. Quite a dilemma, isn’t it?nnSo what do you do if you’re a graphic designer, if you sell jewelry, or if you have another site

Link popularity. The term has flooded the ‘Net over the last year, and everybody is in a buzz trying to build link popularity for their sites. But do we really understand what link popularity is, and how it works best? If not, you’re about to find out. nnDebra O’Neil-Mastaler of Alliance Link ( http://www.Alliance-Link.com ) is here to give us the ins and outs of link popularity and how to ensure your linking strategies accomplish your goals.nnKARON: Hi, Debra! It was s

The analysts are, in increasing numbers, starting to tout the end of the recession, but for most of us, it still seems quite slow out there. Even if you’re the most talented salesperson, you probably have noticed that an annoying number of your prospects are stuck in your pipeline. Ok, it’s not the most polite way to phrase this, but you could be suffering from a case of sales constipation. No, a swig of milk of magnesia isn’t going to do the job here, but there are strategies to get you moving along again.

The drawn out recession has snapped many salespeople back into reality. Regardless of the industry, the days of fast and easy sales are over. So-called sales professionals who have forgotten or never learned basic proven selling techniques are now realizing that they better ramp up their efforts if they’re going to hit their goals or even keep their jobs. There has definitely been a shake out of ineffective salespeople in the last two years, and organizations are choosing to function with streamlined sales teams that are lean, mean, and focused on effective selling.

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnAs a search engine optimization copywriter, I’ve seen my share of keywords. When working with me, clients choose their own keywords (or have someone else choose them) and then send me the list to include in their copy. I must admit, sometimes I’m just amazed at the selections I receive.nnIt’s absolutely imperative that you make wise choices in the area of keywords. Many people simply look at statistics. Others go strictly on the

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnAs a professional copywriter, I’ve seen my share of copywriting mistakes. One that seems to be particularly common is writing copy that’s “upside down.” When you do this – when you don’t relay your message in the correct order – you lose your audience’s attention, and the sale!nnYou’ve probably seen copy that reads something like:nn Professional Virtual Assistant ServicesnFor over seven years, we have been providing

Please… Return My Callr By Eric Slife Getting prospects to return your calls is one of the most frustrating problems you experience. You can be 90% sure a deal will close in the next week and suddenly, silence. If you keep calling, you appear desperate and annoying, so what do you do? Before you drive yourself completely crazy, take solace in the fact your competition faces the same problem. However, that alone won’t pay the bills. Before exploring some tactics that will he

© 2004 http://www.copywritingcourse.comnnIt’s a common approach to writing copy. You begin by asking questions. Why? To evoke thoughts in your readers' minds, to stir up emotions, and to get customers thinking in the way you want them to think. But have you ever thought about how you phrase your questions? Are you doing it in a way that will have the greatest impact on your readers or are you just throwing questions on a page?nnBehaviorally speaking, not everybody responds

I believe that the role of a persuader in marketing and sales is to encourage and make sure that your clients will take a positive decisions and actions. This actions includes when your clients agrees and repeatedly says the magical word ‘YES’ during your persuasion. I will give you some tips, a persuasive tips on how you can start hearing the magical word. Using this persuasion technique, you need to use them in your advantage. When we persuade clients, we are triggering

© 2003nhttp://www.marketingwords.comnnI see it almost every day. People who want to generate a press frenzy, but go about it in just the opposite way that they should. nnThere are some definite strategies you need to use when writing a press release that gets results. There are also some long-standing, proven ways to completely and totally ruin your release. In an effort to help you get what you want out of your next press campaign, I’d like to share the top three “bombs

Making appointments is an essential part of the sales process in all direct selling situations. We need an appointment to give us our platform where we can apply our excellent consultative sales skills to the advantage of both parties. But making those awful appointment calls! Who wants that much rejection? They do not even give you a chance! Secret Number 1 – Use Active MotivatorsrnYou do not like making appointments? No-one does, and you never will! Do not even TRY to lik

A lot of sales person or businessmen spend a lot of money just to be trained on how they can boost up their sales and negotiations. Well of course it’s very obvious, they want to earn more. When the first time you entered the world of business, you will never expect that your sales will rise up in just a few days. It is not like that, you have to take risk and take a lot of sacrifices if you really want to move forward and climb higher with your business. I have here some s

Every year at exactly this time, the articles and news stories begin building on the topic of "New Year's Resolutions". Whether it's a news reporter on the scene of a New Year's Eve party or someone warning us not to fall into the typical New Year's Resolution trap, it doesn't matter who is writing the story; these are all reminders to think about the things we want to achieve and how to make them happen. Sadly though, many people who make New Year's Resolutions won't achieve them. Why not? They aren't thinking about their resolutions as goals.

As I was riding down the road last week, I noticed a billboard. As I sat waiting on a stoplight I kept staring at it. I couldn’t help wondering what those people were thinking when they created that thing. It made no sense to me whatsoever. The focus was completely off. They were spending all that money on a billboard that was practically useless.nnThat happens quite a bit with all types of advertising. Well-meaning people design and/or write ads that just don’t make good

If you were told that it is possible to profit from a stock that has a falling price, would that make sense to you? Although it does sound counterintuitive, it is possible to do so by a practice called “Short Selling”. By using short selling, you will be able to take advantage of a stock that is falling in price, and help hedge against potential losses, when stock prices move against you. What is Short Selling? Short selling is a tactic used by traders where stocks are bo

Have you ever started off a day feeling great, then…WHAM…out of no where, you find yourself in a foul mood? You wonder, “What happened to put me in this mood?” You try to point out the last person, place or thing you contacted. But there’s much more to it than that. There is a term used ...

© 2004 http://www.copywritingcourse.com nnIn part one of this article series, I introduced a client of mine (AEwebworks) who suffered from some copywriting traumas. The basic diagnosis was a lack of synergy within the copy, ineffective use of testimonials, a lack of focus on the target customer’s buying process, and the inability of the current copy to support the search engine goals of AEwebworks. nnAfter doing some research, I created a plan of action for writing SEO cop

It’s not uncommon as an entrepreneur to get stopped when it comes to charging what you’re worth. There’s always a time during the meeting with the prospect that the prospect will ask you “How much are your fees?” For many entrepreneurs, this is where you freeze. You may have thoughts like “What if I charge too much, will I lose them?” Or, “I better lower my fee so they’ll hire me.” And, then they hire you.

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnI can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard the statement, “I get tons of traffic, but no sales.” It’s normally followed by comments like: “My site is highly optimized for the engines and my rankings are great. I don’t understand why no one is buying.” Let me shed some light on this mystery.nnMost often, when site owners (or professional copywriters for that matter) write “search engine optimized” copy

THE 6 “SECRETS” TO SALES SUCCESS AND A 6-FIGURE INCOME There is no magic pill, trick, teqnique, system or secret to success. However there are many beliefs and habits that will bring you the desired results that you wish to have. It is your choice to develop the appropriate beliefs and habits that produce the results that you wish to have. If you honestly are not happy with the results that you are having then you must change the actions, which are producing those results. T

Building a lasting relationship with your customers is beyond important, especially in the age of information. More than ever customers have access to information about your products, yet they still want to buy from people they trust. How important is trust to YOU when you buy? The more a customer trusts you, the more they’ll be willing to go to bat for you internally, refer you to other customers, and risk investing large amounts of money in your products and services.

How did Hotmail gain over 12 million subscribers in 18 months? How did the very low budget movie “The Blair Witch Project” become such an incredibly successful phenomenon? The answer lies in the power of “buzz.” n nBuzz or word-of-mouth marketing influences more people to buy, or not to buy products and services, than most other forms of marketing. Why is it so powerful? Basically, we have a need to share information as a means of communication and also as a way of un

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnI’ve always loved scented candles. They help create a cozy atmosphere. They give you a relaxed feeling. And - most importantly - they make your home smell wonderful! So, naturally, I was excited when I was approached to rewrite the index (front) page for an online retailer who made specialty, soy scented candles.nnThe goals of the copywriting rewrite were to increase sales and improve search engine positioning for the terms “soy c

© 2003nhttp://www.marketingwords.comnnThere seems to be a common myth regarding site visitors and the buying process these days. I’ve heard this statement more than a few times over the last several months: “My visitors find me when they use search engines. They type in the exact keyphrases I’m listed under. So when they get to my site why aren’t they buying?” The simple answer is that they aren’’t ready to buy yet.nnJust because surfers type a specific keyphra

Many salespeople and business owners mistakenly think that negotiating is something you do near, or at the end of, the sales process, particularly when discussing price or term of the agreement.nnEffective negotiating, however, is a process that begins with your first contact with your customer or prospect. From the moment you make contact, the other person will evaluate the value of your product, service, or company. Here are strategies that will help you increase your value

We are living not in an economic storm…but the Perfect Storm. I realize that there are those of you out there that are shaking their heads at this statement. Because of everything you hear in the media you are afraid to do any expanding in your home based franchise. Because of the global doom and gloom that we hear about on a daily basis we are second guessing every decision and action that we take in our home based franchise.

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnWhen you write a press release, what is your ultimate goal? No doubt, getting the information to as many publications and on as many Web sites as possible. The focus lies in moving outward… taking the press release to as many *other* sources as possible. We buy lists of journalists, pay public relations companies to distribute the release to thousands of targeted leads, use online press release distribution services, and create our

Leave a voicemail? Don’t leave a voicemail? This is a question that sellers are passionate about. Many suggest not, but isn’t that a missed opportunity? I always leave a message because how else will they know that you want to speak with them? In today’s world where it’s acceptable to screen calls, you may never reach your prospect if you don’t. Add to it that a message allows a prospect to hear your interest in talking with them and your professionalism. So why not do it?

With the coming new year, I thought it was time to take review and make some internet resolutions for the coming year.nnNow these aren't the typical kind of personal resolutions like losing weight or quitting smoking.I have in mind resolutions as they relate to thetime and work each of us spends on the internet each day.nnSo, here goes:nn-- How about dealing with others as you would want them to deal with you ? (sounds familiar doesn't it)nn-- Be helpful to those who are just

Journal entry: December 10, 2009rn“My calendar is full and my sales are on track. Looks like I’ll end the year ahead of target. This means my boss will finally stop bugging me to get my sales on track. After several years of developing my client base, I’m making headway. That means I can finally relax and start taking it a bit easier. I can’t coast but the momentum should carry me well into next year and by then I’ll have even more customers to which will make it ea

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnWhen you begin to write copy for any product or service, there are a few things you have to take into consideration. The first is always your target audience: who you’ll be writing to. Finding out about the needs and wants of the audience members, their communication styles, their lifestyles, and a multitude of other elements are “musts” before writing one word of copy.nnBut something most people neglect is giving due attention

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword nnAfter Google’s most recent update, those in the search engine optimization (SEO) field seem to be standing at attention. As sites that have held long-standing positions in the top 10 flounder and bob around in the search results like a fishing cork in a pond, many are scrambling for answers about what to do next. I’ve been asked for my opinions about changes in search engine copywriting, so I thought I’d share some of m

Are You Worth Another $100,000 per Year? By Jacques Werth, President High Probability® Selling n©All rights reserved. Equation Research recently published data indicating that the difference in income betwee Top Salespeople and Low Performing Salespeople is nearly $100,000 a year! Where do ...

In a recent marketing workshop I attended, I discovered that most business owners rely on just two or three strategies to attract new business. Even well-established companies tend to rely on one or two strategies. However, there is a multitude of ways to drive new business to your door. Here are a few:nnNetworking. Perhaps the most commonly used approach by small business owners. However, it is often poorly executed. Many people attend a networking function and take the wron

Sales and Closing...Closing and Sales in home based franchises (or any business or company for that matter) seems to still have a negative undertone. Even though I have been in sales for years, have consistently been in the top 5% of earners, I still hate the word close. I know for me, it goes back to my beginning days of sales. I studied Tom Hopkins and the motto was close and close often. I think the word back then was trial close. Regardless, at least in the companies that I worked with in the 80’s, they wanted me to close often and close hard.

1. Ask "am I catching you at a bad time?"rn2. Delete the 'reading from a script' sound.rn3. Change tone and pace of voice so it is similar to that of the person you are talking to.rn4. Never argue with a customer even when you must defend your position.rn5. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions.rn6. Listen to what the customer wants; give them what they want and need rather than being focused on what you have to sell.rn7. Have multiple offers available to best serve you

To overcome sales objections we must, first, understand who creates the objections, and why. Only then can we develop appropriate sales rebuttals. Most sales people find that many of their potential customers tend to give the same or very similar, sales objections. There are several reasons for ...

It’s been one of those days; Ben has made several calls today with mixed results. One has really got him pondering what he is doing wrong. A customer decided to go with a competitor whose salesman has a questionable reputation. The competitive sales person promises a great deal, most of which he ...

The ability to effectively handle objections is without doubt the single biggest factor in getting prospects to buy. An objection is first and foremost an indication that at some level the prospect has or is considering buying and should be welcomed by the salesperson. An objection is a ...

“It’s not in the budget.” Sound familiar? This is probably the number one objection most salespeople have experienced the last two years, and it’s not a smoke screen. What do you do when your prospects tighten their purse strings? The primary reason sales people encounter this objection is because their product or solution isn’t a high priority. Businesses highest priorities are their Critical Success Factors (CFS). If anyone of these factors fails, the business will eventu

For those who are employed in professional selling, prejudging can be an occupational hazard that has the potential to be dangerous and harmful to one’s income earning potential and their reputation. Prejudging, is forming a mental impression of a customer regarding their ability and desire to purchase a product or service with little or no evidence to support our preconception. Here’s an excellent true story to keep in mind when you find yourself drawing to conclusions before having all the information and facts out in the open.

© 2004nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.com nnI have to admit, I was curious. When I saw previews of a new show called “The Apprentice,” it made me want to at least watch the premiere to see what was going on. Immediately, I was hooked. The whole idea of candidates - from all walks of life, not just college grads fresh from their commencement ceremonies - vying for a position in one of Donald Trump’s organizations piqued my interest. What kept my interest were the real-lif

You probably hear it all the time: You must be willing to fail in order to win. As you probably suspected, most people are not are not willing to take the failure walk for their home based franchise and that is what stops 97% of entrepreneurs dead in their tracks. The fear of failure has people giving eulogies to their goals, hopes and desires. Recently, I came across some very powerful information that I’d like to share with you this week.

Every sales call you make needs to include the “Learn, Teach, Sell” concept. Today’s customer has many options available to them. Rarely are we in a position to sell to a customer something that is so unique and compelling that they have no other choice but to buy from us. To help create a competitive edge in the marketplace, we must find ways to distinguish our selling process from our rival’s. nnnnOne of the most effective ways to do this is to use each call to “l

Everything starts with a thought. What you think about eventually creates what happens in your life. I say ‘eventually’ because can you imagine if there was no time lapse between what you thought and what actually happened: like you’re sitting in your living room daydreaming about tigers and ...

I recently read about a study of MBAs 10 years after they graduated. Researchers at Stanford School of Business found that Grade Point averages had no bearing on their success. Surprisingly, a major deciding factor was their ability to converse with others. The skill of connecting in short, ...

It seems that everywhere we turn all we hear about is how tough it is to start a home based franchise. I say that the exact opposite is true and quite frankly there couldn’t be a better time to start your own home based franchise. I’m here to remind you that you need to focus on the opportunity rather than challenges that surround having your own home based franchise. If you have not created a niche marketing strategy to the affluent...why the heck not? First of all, I strongly suggest that you go out and buy Dan Kennedy’s No BS to Marketing to the Affluent.

Do you actually believe that you are going to achieve those lofty goals of being a top home business entrepreneur and make big money in your home based franchise for this last part of 2009, looking into 2010? Most people don’t believe. And when I say believe, sure on the surface they might talk the good game, but deep down there is always that question mark, that voice that says, why should this year be any different than last year…especially in this economy? Do you have that same little voice?

In 1999 Neil Rackham, one of the authors behind the sales bible, SPIN Selling, co-authored “Rethinking the Sales Force”, in which he posited that worldwide, the number of professional sales people would be reduced by 50% within 10 years. It’s been 11 years and whether that prediction has come to pass one thing is certain, being a sales rep today is even harder than it was then. In 1899 if you wanted to buy something that wasn’t made locally, you probably had to learn

Have you heard the saying "People buy people?" If you have been in sales or business any length of time then you would have heard this a thousand times. The trouble is no one has ever really been able to show you how you can go about selling yourself - until now, that is.

“How much will this cost?” Many sales people shudder when faced with this question. They stutter, stammer, and hem and haw. This is where the rubber hits the road and when the prospect will either give them the green light to move forward with the sale or say, “thanks but no thanks”. Far too often, sales people feel uncomfortable talking about the price of their offering fearing that their prospect will put the brakes on the buying decision if the price of their produ

Most People Do Not Study. Reason two on why 95% of people fail in their home based franchise and will never become a top producer is because most people do not study. I asked the question in the first article of this series if you were obtaining what was needed for the accomplishment of your goals and dreams. Maybe the more important question is: Are you studying, learning and doing what is necessary to be the master of your craft, be that top producer and to have the best home based franchise possible? Trust me, this is easier said than done.

Master sales people are adept at using a strategy called framing to communicate with prospective clients. Framing ensures their sales messages 'cut through the clutter' and distinguishes them as the credible sales resource for their product or service. Framing is not a difficult skill and it is one that you can master too. Here are the main ways you can immediately apply framing to increase your sales performance:

I suspect that you have heard the expression “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” This adage was created many decades ago and it remains true to this day. And even though many sales people understand it, they make a fatal mistake—they use the same approach although their original approach was not effective. My wife and I once vacationed at an all-inclusive resort in Cuba. One of the advertised features was an in-room mini-bar stocked with beer, water, and s

What does it take to become a success in the home based franchise industry? What is the secret formula, if there is a secret formula, in the home based franchise...and who actually has it? You may be asking these questions of yourself and of the present company that you are currently aligned with. I actually know the answers to those questions and will share them with you in one minute. But before I do, I have a question to ask of you...What are you trying to accomplish in your home based franchise?

Now is the time to become a "smart" entrepreneur about your business by doing more not less. What I mean by "doing more" is increasing your sales and marketing efforts. Instead of pulling back as many entrepreneurs are currently doing, beat out your competitors by finding new ways to stay visible. An economic slowdown can be a problem for your business if you allow it to be.

Avoid the trap of overselling It’s every salesperson’s nightmare: the sale that unravels just before the deal has been closed. It happens more often than it should, and overselling is quite often the cause. As sales professionals , it’s important to recognize that this is a trap that we all can inadvertently set for ourselves. With a little forethought, however, we can learn to avoid making this costly mistake. Overselling happens when we promise a customer that they wi

Sales professionals usually ask a few questions in order to gain a better understanding of their prospect’s situation. However, most of them don’t probe deep enough into the size and scope of the problem. I remember hearing a great phrase from another sales trainer. He suggested that sales people “pick at the prospect’s scab” which referred to the pain or problem that a prospect may be facing. Your objective in taking this approach is to help your prospect discover

When you get your next paycheck, take a close look at it. The money that was deposited in your bank account was a direct result of the work your people did. You were rewarded for their performance or nonperformance—not yours. To tell yourself anything different is an outright denial of the facts.

I recently spoke to a group of sales professionals at the end of their training conference. The attendees had participated in many learning sessions over a two day period – most of which were product related. I was scheduled to speak after dinner and I was somewhat concerned how attentive they would be by this time. nnFortunately, in the days preceding, the company had structured the entire program to create energy, excitement and to foster a sense of team enthusiasm. They

For many professionals, selling is becoming an impossible mission. There are even books written on the subject letting you believe that "selling is dead…" Yes, selling is becoming seriously challenging. The first reason is: there are more and more competitors out there who swear they have a better product or service. The second reason is: the customer is getting more confused than ever. The more choice there is, the less easy it is to decide. And, you have noticed, today th

When I am working with private coaching clients I note that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a lack of consistent revenues is caused by a lack of consistent prospecting. A failure to prospect on a regular basis will inevitably result in irregular revenues, and inconsistent commissions. It's that simple. This is especially true when we're doing well. It can be so easy to forget about prospecting when we're wrapped up with following a dozen (or so) hot leads, who are demandi

Even with everything we've been hearing about the economy, people are still spending money. I stood in line to buy my chai latte at Starbucks...people were buying expensive coffee! I stood in line at the supermarket waiting to buy my groceries...people's carriages were filled to the top with food!

Attentiveness means being aware of what's going on in your environment. It can be as simple as noticing when someone is getting bored, to sensing that now's not the right time to put your ideas across. It's knowing when to act and when not to act. Attentiveness is also the ability to tune into ...

We've all been there! Trying to get a noteworthy prospect to return our calls and take our value added proposal, product, or service seriously. No matter how many times it happens, it's never easy getting used to the fact that some folks simply will not return our calls or take the next step in the sales process! The most productive salespersons are professionally persistent and stay focused on the target at all times. Patience, follow-up, and consistency pay off in the long

Sales…quite honestly it is the biggest mind game that I know for the success of your home based franchise. Once you have mastered the art of selling you have mastered your key to success in everything that you do; not just success in your home based franchise. One of the best sources of getting your mind in the game of selling and making your home based franchise a huge success is Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman In The World. It’s the story of passing down a chest of scrolls from one great salesperson to another.

One of the most important activities of the training department is, the promotion and marketing of its products. So many times we get wrapped up in training people, developing new training programs, and testing, etc, that we lose sight of the big picture. We need to look back and define our ...

In an unstable economy, it is natural for people to be concerned with how much money they make and also their job security. What they may not realize is that both their personal profitability and their professional longevity depend in large part on their ability to focus. In many of the discussions that I’ve had with my coaching clients throughout the year, one thing has remained constant. Those who focus on their Most Valuable Activities (MVAs) are the ones who are the mos

Engaging Customersn3 methods to get people talkingn Step 1: Have you ever wondered why some people turn sales people and others down? To get past this resistance we need to understand that selling is all about communications, not your product. In this segment we will start with the ...

Resistance: Confrontation, fight, battle, struggle, conflict. Resistance is known to be one of the biggest obstacles that hold people back from succeeding whether it is succeeding in your home base franchise or personally. Tell me, have you risen to the level of success in your best home base business that you aspire to be? If not, what is the resistance that is holding you back? Are you a writer who doesn’t put pen to paper? Are you an aspiring Internet Marketer that never does any type of marketing? Do you buy an expensive home study course, but never finish it?

If you’re one of the millions of people who never seem to get what they really want in life, the reason may be a few simple attitudes you have acquired that I call ‘demotivators.?In my experience training thousands of professional salespeople, I’ve found four common demotivators that we must ...r

Salesmanship requires a complex array of skills and natural abilities, and in the day to day pressure of writing sales proposals, arranging meetings and closing deals the finer points of the art are often overlooked. It is often these finer points, though, that will help you win that important contract. The ability to read and engage with people is probably the most important skill in a sales professional's toolbox and honing it is always time well invested. The main core of

Sexual discrimination against women still exists in job recruitment and promotion interviews. It can happen in job interviews when an employer is conce ed that a female applicant may want time off work on mate ity leave or parental care. So if you’re a woman going to a job interview what can you do to stop any discrimination and give yourself a better chance of gaining the job. While open sexual discrimination is no longer allowed, it can still happen in a covert way and it can never be fully prevented by legislation alone.

If you’re just joining us in this series of articles I have been talking about recession buster strategies for your business. Guess what; it’s true that you and your home based franchise can thrive in today’s market place, you just have to focus on the incredible opportunities that are right in front of you instead of letting the Constant Negative News (CNN) get to you. So tell me, have you and your team in your home based franchise considered targeting, marketing and selling to people who do naturally well in recessions?

Cold calling is a fact of life for most people in sales. Sure, the vast majority would prefer to rely on referrals, word-of-mouth, or some other lead source that reduces or eliminates their need to make cold calls. However, unless you deal with an established set of accounts, you will, at some time, be required to cold call in order to generate sufficient leads for your business. Having said this, even the most seasoned sales professionals often resist this strategy unless th

This article has come about because of the need to provide quality information on the sales process to the myriads of sales people who want to improve their sales and make a lot of money in sales but don’t have a whole lot of information as to how to effectively represent a product or service professionally. Although some of the companies that these potential "superstars" represent have some kind of a sales training program in place, it is usually not enough. You see, it ta

There are a lot of persuasive techniques that will and can help you how to persuade people and get what you want. One of these techniques is to get others to accept your point of view. Talking about the point of view or opinion of others is really not that easy specially when both of you does not have the same opinion and does not agree with each other. Some hot tempered person is likely to find fights because of their pride of not being accepted. I mean his opinion was not b

Integrity starts from within. If we are to have integrity in every day life, we must first master it within our minds. Each and every day, we wake up and begin the day long process of running thoughts, conversations and questions in our minds. In total, it’s been estimated that we have 65,000 ...

The simple fact is - most people now look online when researching which companies to use for anything. Your website and your business email correspondence must reflect your professionalism and personal style. They also need to stand out from the competition. And they need to make a connection with your viewers.rn rnWAIT! Is it actually possible to make a personal connection and establish a relationship with a total stranger on the Internet? Yes, it is. And one of my favorite

rnBeginning in the early 1980s, organizations and well-renowned establishments such as the Harvard Business School, The Gallup Organization, the Chally Group, the Xerox Corporation, among others, began studying outstanding salespeople to identify the competencies – also referred to as the vital behaviors – that contribute to their extreme levels of success. Two of the most surprising discoveries – and these are very important because it doesn't matter what product or se

Sales Success in Challenging Times This article has come about because of the need to provide quality information on the sales process to the myriads of sales people who want to improve their sales and make a lot of money in sales but don’t have a whole lot of information as to how to effectively represent a product or service professionally. Although some of the companies that these potential "superstars" represent have some kind of a sales training program in place, it is

Proper sales training is crucial for the success of any business! The efficiency of your sales depends on various interrelated factors such as the efficiency and the skills of your business members, the ability of your company to create and explore new sales opportunities, as well as the ability to close potential sales. In addition, a proper customer relationship management can maintain the clients’ interest in the products or services offered by your business. Conside

Every person who’s ever tried to close a sale has been through it.nnEvery person who’s ever tried to close a sale has been through it. You’ve talked to a good prospect three or four times. You think they are ready to buy. But just when you think you’ll be able to close the sale, it stalls.nnHow many times have you lost a sale or had to work way too hard to close the ones you got? I’m sure you’ve heard every possible objection a prospect could give ranging from "no

Eight Steps to Impact and Influence rnCommunicating meaningfully is becoming more difficult than ever before. While technology has created an ever increasing number of ways to communicate, many people are now insulated and protected. Consequently we’re losing the skills and abilities to communicating in the most influential way – face to face.rn rnThere’s a real danger to the maintenance of meaningful communications and professional client relationships. If you become o

From the outside, selling seems like a fantastic career. Many sales people get to travel, attend trade shows, go to conferences, socialize, and earn a ton of money. However, those of us in the profession know that selling can be intimidating. Cold calls. Objections. Frustration. Rejection. There are many occasions when we encounter resistance from buyers, or have to defend our price, or venture into new markets, or deal with cranky decision makers. It’s no surprise that man

It was a hot sunny day in the middle of July. I started my early day selling door to door Direct Marketing services to businesses in my local neighborhood. For all of you that are sales people that do door to door selling, I am sure you have an idea of what it feels like being rejected constantly all day long before getting that one appointment or sale. I know that you have been at a point where you feel drained out and you feel like you aren’t worth a thing after talking t

If your sales training program is built on the concept that you have to work really hard now so you can relax later you may be in the wrong program. You're being told that the program your learning is so ineffective that you have to make up for the low productivity of your training with a high level of activity. Doesn't that seem just wrong to you now that you've had that pointed out?nnYou can’t fix a poor sales training program by just doing the things that aren’

You can get better results than you are now. All it takes is three simple steps leading to better actions. You have a sales plan now, right? But if you aren’t getting the results you want there is something wrong with your plan that is keeping you from getting what you want. n n If you don’t have a sales plan for insurance sales success, now is the time to develop one. A sales plan is more that the mission you have for yourself over the next year. A sales plan sho

“I’ll think it over and get back to you.” “Sure, we’ll do that someday.” “I need to check with my colleagues.” “Give me a call next month, then we can set a date.” nnTired of excuses? Looking for a more successful way to get others to take immediate action? nnFor the last century, psychologists have been studying simple persuasion tactics that will allow you to motivate people and get the results you desire. This art

Take Action…Let’s face it...your dreams are worth nothing, your plans for your home based franchise will never come to light and all of your goals will be impossible to make unless you take the action necessary to make them all come true. It continues to blow my mind that people come to me with big plans, huge goals, and lofty dreams for their home based franchise; all of them attainable, yet little to no action is taken. So many of us want the lifestyle of the wealthy, yet do not take the action that is necessary to have that lifestyle.

Sales Success in Challenging Times This article has come about because of the need to provide quality information on the sales process to the myriads of sales people who want to improve their sales and make a lot of money in sales but don’t have a whole lot of information as to how to effectively represent a product or service professionally. Although some of the companies that these potential "superstars" represent have some kind of a sales training program in place, it is

As sales professionals we’ve all most likely had this problem with a prospect at one time or another. They were a hot prospect sending you all the right buying signals and then all of the sudden they switched off. Now they don’t return your calls. They are unresponsive to your emails and you are left in sales limbo. Do you keep calling? After all when you last spoke they were set to proceed. Now they are missing in action. What can you do? I would like to share a quick littl

Do you want to shake up your sales results? It's time to rethink you're approach and come up with a plan that will produce results. A strategic sales action plan provides an implementable quantifiable path to significantly improve your results. n n Let’s begin by identifying the key elements of a strategic sales action plan. The key elements of your strategic sales action plan include: the value you provide, your unique market position, your marketing plan, your sales p

You hear it all the time -- if your price is higher than your competition you're told to “build value." You’re instructed to stress the quality, the warranty, the features, etc. But your prospects have heard all that before, haven’t they? Want a better way? Let’s face it -- prospects will ...

Take action in your sales Wouldn’t we all love a bit more action! If you are working in sales, sales requires movement, sales requires action. You need to get commitment and get action from your prospective clients and act yourself too. You need to do this in a planned time frame. Recently on a sales training course I asked the participants whether they had anything in common with Barrack Obama or Bill Gates. They all replied with a no. The truth is that they do and so do yo

If You Are Involved In Sales Or Marketing In Any Way ... Here Are Some "Mental Performance" Statements AKA: Positive Thinking Affirmations ... You Can Use And Practice To Put Yourself In A Comfortable Frame Of Mind, Before Talking To Your Prospects ... To Help You Get Started And To Stay Motivated. nn· I'm A Master Of Marketing n· Talking To Prospects Is Easy For Me n· I'm Talking To A Friend n· I Really Care About This Person n· I'm Great At Asking Questions n· I'm A Wonde

In June of this year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Obama to declare Fresno County a federal disaster area. The White House has not yet responded to Governor Schwarzenegger's request. Requests for presidential disaster declarations are much rarer for droughts than for other natural disasters. Previous requests like this one were declined by the Bush administration. Nevertheless, the compounding effects of three straight years of drought have had a

This has to be one of the most asked questions in my sales training. "How do we deal with the sales objection -- we are happy with our current supplier?" Firstly, let me talk you through a few key elements of what I notice in people when they have asked me that question: Generally their whole body language tightens, they get uncomfortable and they retract in on themselves. It's as if they are expecting the worst thing they can imagine to just happen there and then. This will obviously have a huge impact on the way they communicate with the person on the other end of the phone.r

Today’s healthcare industry is coping with the effects of change. While global pharmaceutical companies have been dealing with governmental controls for years, U.S. – based companies are seeing the process accelerate from a gradual shift to an abrupt, ove ight reversal. Today’s marketplace ...

While companies focus thousands of dollars on external customer service in hopes of wooing and retaining customers, little attention is being paid to the effect poor internal customer service has on overall customer satisfaction. It all starts within your organization! Sooner or later the ripple effect reaches your external customers. To really walk your service talk, your commitment to internal customer service must match your company's external focus on customer care.nnWhen

The best way to overcome sales objections is to understand who creates the objections, and why. Only then can you develop appropriate sales rebuttals. Most sales people find that many of their potential customers tend to give the same or very similar, sales objections. There are several reasons ...

Leaders have tough jobs. Why? Because in most cases they bear 100 percent of the responsibility for the performance of their team yet receive little glory for their efforts. The best leaders work longer hours, endure more stress, and have greater responsibility than the people they manage.

What's your Magic Number? n The most successful businesses — and certainly, sales departments — have identified their Key Performance Indicators (KPI); individual gateways that directly effect the outcome of a particular process. Then they measure the competency ratios in line with them. Have ...

Motivation seems to be one of the toughest areas to get a handle on. Many managers tell me that some of their reps are already motivated and don't need their help in that area (usually the Top 20%), but that the majority seem to need constant motivating, mentoring, counseling, or out right ...

Success in Telephone Sales with incoming enquiries is measured in conversion rate. What percentage of incoming calls can I convert to a sale? The higher the percentage, the better the Telephone Sales Person, a skilled and experienced Telephone Sales person will convert a higher percentage of enquiries to sales than will a poor performer. Here we look at a few key Telephone Sales skills and tips that will help you achieve a higher conversion rate. As a trainer and consultant i

“Get the sale at any cost.”n“Make more calls.”n“Tell them what they want to hear.”nnSales professionals in virtually every industry are under tremendous pressure to close sales. It is not uncommon for them to hear comments similar to ones above from their sales manager, supervisor, or boss. But this approach does not create trust with customers and does not encourage repeat business or a lasting relationship. nnA more effective approach is to develop a partnering

Subliminal messaging is the effortless way to build a positive sales mindset and make your sales skills more effective. Have you ever seen successful sales people and wondered how they constantly achieve top results. Even when they have only the sales skills that others have, and use the same selling techniques that less successful people do, they still achieve consistent high sales results. The difference between these two types of people is all within their minds, and their beliefs. This is where subliminal messages can help. Successful sales people have drive and ambition.

This free sales training is focused on how to ask for the buyer’s agreement to a sales appointment. A lot of sales training, on how to make sales appointments, focuses on the opening lines of the cold calling script. They use cold calling tips on grabbing the prospect’s attention and getting ...

To live a successful life, one of your major goals must be to honestly evaluate yourself and continually strive to become the person you would really like to be. If you want to be a champion in sales, the qualities and characteristics you must develop to do so, will also make you a champion in ...To live a successful life, one of your major goals must be to honestly evaluate yourself and continually strive to become the person you would really like to be. If you want to be a champion in sales, the qualities and characteristics you must develop to do so, will also make you a champion in life.

As some of you know, I'm the highly introverted (INFP) who is also a sales and marketing director for a company that sells both nationally and internationally. So, this tells us that I really, really, really dislike sales prospecting -- at least in the stereotypical 'pick up the phone and cold call' 'sales hunter' way. I'm always looking for ways to find prospects in unorthodox ways. One of these is spelled out in my article "Cold Calling for Introverts" (http://halwarfield

© 2003nhttp://www.copywritingcourse.comnnHave you ever been to one of those sites that has obviously been written to get high search engine rankings? You know the ones… they have copy that sounds like this:nn“When you buy quality silver jewelry from us, you know your quality silver jewelry is of the highest quality because we only sell quality silver jewelry that is top-notch. No other quality silver jewelry site on the Web offers the selection of quality silver jewelry

Wouldn’t you love to know what separates the winners from the losers in sales? Would you love to learn how to achieve the top sales in your profession? Well below are 4 simple secrets that can be the defining difference in your sales. 1. You’re Attitude. You may never have though about this but we actually contact more people through the phone than we do face to face. For this reason we need to be proactive in keeping our attitudes positive because we will without doubt run

When you start think about the sales process, there are three basic principles you must learn and adopt before you will become successful. The first is to be organized. You need to have information on all your clients with all their information. Your schedule for that day should be tied to a map ...

An Elevator Pitch is a technique that you can use in sales meetings, prospecting, and telesales and appointment making calls. The sales technique makes your first contact with a buyer more effective and will help you close more sales. An elevator sales pitch will help you introduce yourself to potential customers with a conversation that hooks the buyer into your sales pitch. You can make a short, concise, sales introduction that grabs the prospect’s attention and moves them towards closing the sale.

The key to effective sales planning is thinking and preparation. One of the keys to successful selling is having a written game plan. I won't say this is easy because it's not. Because it's not easy to do it's easy to avoid doing - and that's huge mistake. If you're ready to roll up your ...

Take those steps to successful sales Imagine you could avoid reluctance and avoid rejection on your sales calls. Now who would not like that? To be a professional sales representative you need to go through a process of steps. In sales training courses it is said that if you do not go through theses steps it would be similar to a professional builder building a house and leaving out the foundation, the house will inevitably fall in on top of you and you will not achieve your

For many individuals, finding a new career is a desired goal. Although some individuals will pursue a field or profession in which they have already received a good amount of training, others are looking to go in an entirely new direction with regard to the desired field. For the latter group of individuals, the following will provide ten ways in which to become an expert in any field. Have a Pla The first thing which one must do in order to become an expert in any field is

Ask for help. Asking for help is the lesson, habit, message to be learned from Og Mandino’s last scroll in his book The Greatest Salesman In The World. We all possess a natural instinct to ask for help. When we are deep trouble, we ask for help. When we know we have done something terribly wrong we ask for forgiveness. The lesson to be learned here and the habit to be formed is that we need to ask for help in the proper way. I want you to think about this for a minute. Isn’t it natural for us to ask for money, things and the success in our home based franchise?

© 2004nhttp://www.learn-copywriting.comnnPretty or elegant? Good or scrumptious? Nice or delightful? There is power in the adjectives you choose. Just like Clark Kent and Superman or Bruce Wayne and Batman, some adjectives are plain, ordinary, everyday words. Others are alter-ego Super Adjectives that leap into your customers’ minds in a single bound. Adjectives are boring, but Super Adjectives impress, inspire, and convince your customers more effectively.nnLook at these

Money making scams, unethical selling techniques and mind games, are still used by some large and small business sales teams. These short term gain techniques are really bad business practice and can bring down not just a business but a whole market place. I’ve listed below some of the common scams sales people use when persuading customers to buy from them. Look at the reputation some industries are now trying to claw their way back from. Holiday clubs and time share, estate agents and realtors, double glazing and direct sales for home improvements.

As you read this article there are hundreds of thousands people that are unhappy with their job, finacial situation and income capabilities. Are you one of them? The truth is if you are able to read this article then you have what it takes to be able to change any of those things in just a few ...

Sales training courses for senior managers can train, educate and motivate senior sales managers to get their sales force to surpass the sales goals of the company. Advanced sales training for senior sales managers can turn a great senior sales manager into an excellent sales team leader. nnSales training for senior managers in sales and marketing is a solid investment into creating a sales team that is capable of consistent high performance results while being managed effect

How to Increase Your Sales Using Emotional LanguagennnWarning:nIn order to make the point of how emotions are used to persuade I have two outcomes in mind. The first is to demonstrate subtle emotional elicitation. The second is to encourage you to invest in learning more about persuasion and review all the products listed at www.power-persuasion.com and www.power-persuasion.com/specialoffer.html As a result you might think I am being overtly manipulative. I AM! Because in ord