Sales Articles & News
Don't Waste My Time!
Many participants in my programs ask how to deal with people who appear to be seeking information and nothing more. In many environments these individual’s are called time wasters. Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything. What is particularly interesting about these situations is that many time wasters don’t set out to be that ...
3 Ways To Sell and Have Fun Doing It
There are many ways to sell and have fun doing it, but some times we really need to step outside the box and do something a little different if not drastic.
The Hands On Approach
While living in the technology age where everything is computerized, digitized, and auto-responded, it is very easy to forget where we came from, and how all of this progress has almost completely wiped out the personal touch.
Caring The Secret Sales Strategy
Sales information resource Just Sell, calls caring "sales love". Here's the meaning:
Going Back To Get Ahead
Have you ever run DOWN an escalator that was going UP? Well, I did at the Tampa Airport last week. Here's what happened:
The Basic Secrets of A Million Dollar Sales Letter
“Accepting the consequences, good or bad, will free you; take a risk, but be aware that things sometimes turn out differently than you expected." -Marcia Wieder
Creating More Effective Proposals
The need for good proposals - the business kind, not the marriage kind - struck me again a couple of days ago, when I received a poor proposal. I had talked on the phone with a sales rep, and then she followed up with a proposal.
Just Ask!
Instilling urgency in a prospective customer can make the difference between achieving a sale and losing it altogether. If your prospects cannot vividly see personal benefits from taking action, there will never be the sense of urgency needed to follow your suggestions.
Direct Sales and the use of clipboards
Do you ever feel that when you are doing direct sales you find yourself not getting respect from the local businesses? They are busy and you are an interruption of course, yet at the same time, it does slow you down. Smart direct sales marketers carry clipboards into offices to sell and take orders. Clipboards come in many colors and styles; plastic, aluminum, clear, etc. These clipboards should have your company logo on the bottom. They should also have calculators on the clip. The logo ...
How to Acquire More Leads
The most effective prospecting techniques were revealed in the August 1st, 2002, issue of TIP (URL at end of article) that resulted from a survey of financial advisors earning over $200,000 annually.
Win More Sales With a 5 Step Sales Process
Facilitating the buying process can be very straightforward and fairly uncomplicated. Yet most professionals have no idea what it takes to guide a potential client through a decision making process. They are completely lost when it comes to effective follow-up and unsure how to best get prospects to take the “next step”.
Selling – Remember These Ten Rules and Succeed
There are thousands of books and seminars on how to succeed. What many don’t make explicit is the requirement to be a great salesperson – even if you’re selling an idea!
Survival On The Road! A Resource For The 'On The Road' Sales Professional
It makes no difference if you are a Saleswomen, a Salesman, a rookie or a seasoned pro, we all face challenges while on the road. You may set up your own flights, cars and lodging, you may have a travel department that does it all for you, or if you are like the vast majority of "rocket roadsters" you drive your own car.
9 Packaging Problems That Lose Sales
You have a great product, but it's not flying off the shelf. Is one of these packaging problems turning sales away?
Busting Your Assumptions: Effective Probing Techniques for Sales Professionals
Do you find yourself making these kinds of assumptions? - “I lost the sale because my price was too high.” - “I know exactly what my customer wants.” - “I can’t hold a member of my team accountable for the delays in our project because she won’t like me if I do.” - “I don’t delegate often enough because I know I can do the work better myself. “ These assumptions may be correct. However, they also might only be partially right or they might be absolute ...
Closing Sales Is Not A Problem, It's A Process
In my opinion, the most overrated topic in sales training is the subject of closing. In year’s past, it seems the object of most sales training courses was to fill the heads of participants with as many closing techniques as possible. The logic was simple, if the “Ben Franklin” close didn’t work, you could rummage around in your head for the the “secondary question” technique, the “order-blank” method or the “forced choice” close to tie off your sale. Selling in the old school of training ...
Business is Great; I'm Just Not Selling Anything!
Awhile back you had a great idea. An idea that you thought could make you a decent income, with very little effort. Then, you had another great idea—to sell your first great idea on the Internet! What better way is there to market and sell your idea to the world, you thought. So, you bought a domain name, found a web host, and hired a high-priced web designer. Before you knew it, your new business was up and running on the web. With the help of a search engine optimization firm, your ...
What Do Mobile Auto Detailers Clean When it Rains?
A mobile auto detailer and their profits are tied to the weather perhaps more than any other business. There are ways to make money even on a rainy day if you are smart. A mobile detailer can do many things. They of course can specialize during these time on the interior detailing of automobiles, SUVs and mini-vans. It might not be as glamorous but there are plenty of latte stains on the inside of the modern American automobile.
You've Got a Great Business, but Nobody Cares!
I would like to share a disturbing little secret with you. Almost 70% of the people you do face-to-face business, with will never speak to you again!
Sales People have an advantage as entrepreneurs
Zig Ziglar use to say in seminars and on tapes that nothing happens until someone sells something. I had never really understood how absolutely true that was until I got into franchising and saw how one franchise sale could add jobs to the economy, provide great service to a community and change the quality of life for the franchisee and their family. Sales people have an advantage over other folks in business. Our top performing franchisees were always the best sales people. Our toughest ...
Why ALL sales decisions are based on emotion Here's The Proof!
Have you ever gone into a newsagent, picked up a magazine and flicked through the pages for a while, read the index, read some of the pages in the magazine?
Cross selling for Increased Sales, Profits, and Customer Satisfaction
Cross-selling - the art of selling for non-salespeople Cross-selling is the act of selling related products at the time and point of sale. Here's a couple of examples: You buy trousers, the salesperson offers you the shirt, tie, cufflinks, shoes… You buy a computer, the sales person offers you a printer, scanner, software… When done well cross-selling will dramatically improve your sales, profits and customer satisfaction. ...
What Should I Charge?
People ask me, “What should I charge?” I say, “Ask your clients.” If they are respectable professionals you want as clients, they will be honest with you and give you a fair price based on their experience, their need, and their ability to pay. They will not try to undercut you. And if you are a true professional, you will charge them a fair price and not try to overcharge them. You will not undercut yourself, either. You will base your price on two things: your value ...
The Runaway Bride Yeah right!
Your brain has this really interesting system that is kind of like a search engine on the internet. It is called your RAS for short. A search engine works by typing what you want to find into it and then it goes out on the internet and finds the most relevant web sites for what you want. Your RAS works the same. You put something into your RAS and your brain will literally go out into the world and search for exactly that.
Why You Buy, Part Three
Still more discoveries from the recent studies in behavioral economics: Over-Valuing "Mine" People consistently place a higher value on things they own, even if their "ownership" is temporary. The research is interesting, and I often saw this phenomenum used by salesmen on busses in Ecuador. A product is thrust into your hands, and after a ten-minute sales pitch, you pay or give back "your" item. It's a very effective technique. Regret ...
6 Steps to Avoid Losing Summer Sales
It's a fact - the online world dies down in the summer time. Kids are out of school, families are on vacation, there's fairs to attend to, and many are just spending too much time outside to be online. For those that market mostly online, the summer months could be eating your profit. The good news is, it's easy to take your product to where your market is - offline.
How To Dramatically Improve Sales Closing Ratios
A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directness as these examples illustrate:
Business Lessons Learned At The Mall
Normally in this column I dispense highly-intelligent small business advice in response to thought-provoking questions submitted by future and fellow entrepreneurs. This week, however, I have a couple of questions for myself, one of which makes me wonder how truly intelligent I really am.
Finding the Best Direct Sales Company to Suit Your Needs
Choosing a direct sales company might be one of the hardest parts of starting your own home party business. There are so many choices now a days, and a company for every product imaginable, this can be a very daunting task. The most important thing for you to remember is to do is your research before joining any direct sales company. There are many factors involved in what type of company you want to be apart of. How will you know what company is right for you? Take in consideration some ...
Never Stop Selling
The question: "When should a growing company slow down its sales function and focus solely on delivery?"