Tips of sales planning

The role of a sales manager is not an easy one and I have seen many fail. Some have failed because of their own abilities but most have failed due to the company they work for. So in this article I will outline the top 5 reasons why they fail. This is not by all means the only reasons but the ones that I have encountered the most over the years of training, coaching and mentoring sales teams. The list is not in any order.

Promoted to Manager because they are an excellent salesperson - Most organizations have the misconception that if a salesperson is excellent in selling then they should naturally be an excellent Manager. While some are most aren't and the end result is that the organization will lose an excellent salesperson to another company. In my experience an excellent salesperson should continue to sell because that is what they are good at. In most circumstances they will normally revert back to selling and neglect the requirements of being a the sales manager.

The sales incentive scheme - How a salesperson is motivated is critical to the success of a sales manager. If the sales team is not making their sales targets or quotas this is a reflection on the performance of the manager. But how are they suppose to help their team if the incentive scheme is counter productive. A good sales incentive scheme is essential to the success of the managers and their team members.

Teamwork - As salespeople normally operate as individuals they find it difficult to function as a team. They will fight for the same opportunities and in some cases they act like children. It is the responsibility of the manager to bring the individuals together and this is possible in many different ways.

Taking sales from their sales team - Normally a manager has been a salesperson in one stage of their career and it is their instinct to try and win business. For some their ego takes over and they believe that certain opportunities can only be won by them, so they take it away from one of their team members. This also occurs when the organisation forces their managers to have an individual sales quota as well as a team sales quota.

How to close your sale easily

Sale-closing techniques and opinions on the subject are as wide as the Nile River in flood season, but the truth of the matter is that they can be categorized into three broad headings: assessing customer's need, eliminating sales resistance, motivating them to buy. Armed with this information, you can close more sales and win more business. One word of wisdom before you attempt any of this, however: be ethical in your selling. The world is inundated with snake-oil salesmen, and they get all the press it seems. One of the fundamentals in selling anything is to gain and keep your customers' trust. Win their trust every step of the way.

In other words: do not spin your wheels or waste their time trying to sell an pair of shoes to a man with no legs. It's unethical, pointless, and a colossal train wreck on your career just waiting to happen. This is true for any sales, in any industry. Sell your prospect what he or she needs, and you'll close more deals. Even if you did close a deal selling something to your customer a product or service he or she didn't need, a few weeks or months down the road this may simply turn around and bite you. Don't hurt your long-term business for immediate gratification.

How do you know what your customer needs? Simple: ask something like, "What are your needs?" "How can I help you?" Or you may even try, "What are you looking for, I'm sure I can help you find it?" Of course, this all depends on the type of sales you're in, and your personal selling process. If you're cold-calling, knocking on doors in the neighborhood, you don't want to ask, "What are you hoping for by the end of this conversation?" Your answer will be a slamming door!

The beauty of assessing your customer's needs during the sales process is at least two-fold. First, it lets their guard down. You are building rapport. Secondly, the more information you have about your customer, the more "ammunition" you'll have to answer their objections later.

Eliminating sales resistance is a fancy way of saying "removing obstacles to buy." This is done a number of ways. First off, your first impression counts plenty. Make sure you look presentable, that you have fresh breath, maintain eye contact and learn the art of "mirroring" your customer. You don't want to be brash if your potential customer is quiet - speak in a way that your customer feels naturally inclined to speak with you.

Another way to eliminate sales resistance, besides your first impression, is to win their trust during every stage of the conversation. Be on their side - you shouldn't be "the salesman," but their advocate, on their team. If you can save them money by recommending a sale, or the like, then do so! You will also want to be sure that you don't come off as pushy.

The obvious way to remove obstacles is to answer objections, and be prepared to do so. Expect objections, in fact. Make it a point to study your past conversations with other customers, and when you notice trends in objections, you can be sure that you'll face those same objections repeatedly. The best way to answer objections is to highlight the benefits and advantages that your product/service gives to the customer - does it save time? Money? Lives? Every objection should end with highlighting some benefit(s) to the customer.

Lastly, be willing to part with a freebie/no-risk trial of your product or service, or even a discounted introductory price. These do really well to lower objections of price. When price is a main objection, the real question behind it is, "What is the real value of what you're selling?" Benefits highlight this value to the customer. Free trials allow the customer to try the service or product, as your guest, and thus to experience the value of what you're selling.

The final aspect of this list of sale-closing techniques is to simply motivate the purchase now. This is commonly referred to as "urgency," and can be set any number of ways.

Usually expiration dates on special offers are used to introduce the customer to your company. "Act now, these won't last at this price!" is another example (and do yourself a favor: don't word it that way). Urgency works if it's subtle, and not blunt, however. Here's another fine example: "You'll be our only injury lawyer in this new L.A. phone directory, if you get the ball rolling today."

The whole art of creating a customer flood is to discover and then close on what your prospect needs or wants. Using these sale-closing techniques to win your customer's trust will step up your success rate, so long as you integrate them into your personal selling process.

How to maximize sales leads

The internet is a great resource. In fact, you might even use the internet to make a living running an eCommerce store. As you know, consumers have a lot of choices when it comes to shopping online. The ever-so popular methods of internet marketing through social networking websites, article directory websites, and online message boards might not be enough. For the best results, you want to find your targeted market through sales leads and basically lead them to your site. If you don't know what you are doing though, this could end up costing you a lot of time and money. To prevent that from happening, keep reading on for some tips on how to maximize your productivity.

Don't Opt to Buy Sales Leads: Unless you can guarantee that you are doing business with a legitimate company and unless you can guarantee that you are getting updated and accurate information (not just a list of names and phone numbers), it is best to avoid paid leads finders. You might think that they would result in you getting the best use of your time. After all, they find the information for you and you act on it. However, you will notice both wasted time and money if you get old, outdated, or less than perfect information.

Set a Schedule: If you are a small business owner, you might be your only employee. In that case, you have a million plus things on your to-do list. Set goals and a schedule for yourself. For example, say you are going to search the internet once a day for viable sales leads and their contact information. If you employ other individuals even on a part-time basis, consider delegating the task of finding sales leads to them.

Look for Leads Within Your Targeted Market: This not only saves you time, but it does produce better results. Someone who posts their phone number or email address online when they state they are looking for swing set for their kids is looking for a swing set for their kids. If your online store sells anything kid related, they are within your targeted market. On that same don't go spamming their email account with messages advertising your pet supply store. Your targeted market is anyone who is likely to buy what you have for sale. Search online for people who express interest in anything remotely related.

Consider Investing in a Software Program: There are a number of software programs that focus on the process of generating sales leads. You want to make your choice wisely. As stated above, you want more than just a name, email address, or phone number. You should look for where they expressed interest in anything related to your business. Basically, you need to search the internet looking for your targeted market. This can take time if you don't use a software program.

How to collect sales lead

Whether you run an online business or a local business and whether you sell a product or a service, you might have seen your sales decrease due to the poor economy. While things are expected to improve, consumers have limited their spending greatly in the past. Many will keep doing so for years because they will always have those what-if questions in their mind and good spending has now become a habit. You might assume getting new customers is a hopeless cause, but it isn't. What you need is a good plan to generate promising sales leads. Keep reading on to figure out how you can do so.

Many business owners are busy and have a lot of business related tasks to tend to. For that reason, the task of finding sales leads is often outsourced. While you can buy sales leads from a third-party company, the results are not guaranteed. You might just get a list of names, email addresses, or phone numbers. This is great, but are these individuals within your targeted market? If not, contacting them results in nothing but wasted time and money.

The key to increasing your client numbers and profits in today's economy is to find your targeted market. This is individuals who are likely to buy what you have for sale (whether it be a product or a service). This is easy to do online. Lets say that you sell pet products online; look for classified postings where individuals are saying "I want a dog" or something. Since you sell pet related products, pet owners or hopeful pet owners are within your targeted market. Going after your targeted market saves you both time and money, as well as increases your profits.

The example of browsing online classified websites was used above. This is just one of the many websites that you can find your targeted market online. Online classified websites are ideal because an individual is looking for something and they are likely to post their email address or phone number, enabling you to make contact with them.

In short, you can increase your profits and overcome this troubling economy that is affecting many business owners by generating sales leads and not just any leads but great viable ones. To reduce the amount of time you spend searching classified websites, marketplaces and more, consider buying a leads generating program that lets you search hundreds or thousands of websites with one search!

How to organize sales

The mission for many of today's organizations is, improved customer satisfaction and retention through better after sales service.

There are many companies that have put real teeth and accountability into their employee training to insure they get the consistent results they say they desire. Unfortunately there are many more companies who have only given this customer driven philosophy or approach lip service.

I would like to share with you what I feel are some of the reasons that words do not often become deeds, in the area of customer service.

At the end of this article I will share what I believe are the Twelve Laws of Effective Customer Service. These concepts must be integrated into any customer service attitude, philosophy or program to insure integrity between policy and procedure and customer perceptions.

Let's begin with some of the reasons or causes that contribute to a lack of accountability in the employee customer service area. Before we begin, however, it is essential that we get a working definition of, Effective Customer Service.

Effective customer service is not a slogan, advertising program, button that everyone wears or a banner touting a, "We Care attitude". It is a consciousness or attitude that penetrates every nook and cranny of the organization. It is a philosophy that is understood and embraced by every employee, that's every employee, regardless of position, length of service or vocation. It is consistent regardless of the period in the week or month, market pressures, department or branch, current sales results, current cash flow, management philosophy of the day or market position. It is not a program that is funded for the short term, but a corporate lifestyle that is on-going regardless of the whims of management, the fickleness of customers or the dynamics of the marketplace. Long definition I know, but necessary.

What prevents an organizations from building this consciousness into the fabric of its management team and employees?

One. If the corporate culture has been traditionally profit and/or earnings driven, then it will be difficult to shift gears to a customer driven philosophy. Two. If communication is heavily weighted in a top down direction, you can bet that it will take lots of time and follow-through to re-focus to a bottom up style. Three. If the management style is closed, authoritative and or hierarchical, upper management will, unless they are totally and completely committed to changing the attitudes of the organization as a whole, generally sooner or later abandon this new and challenging change in philosophy. Four. If the attitude exists among middle management and employees is, "here we go again", few members of the organization will be able to fight the internal tide of apathy. Five. If employees have too much on there plate, because your business style is to run "lean and mean', it will be difficult to consistently enforce the policies and procedures necessary to maintain the integrity of actions consistent with your stated objective.

An effective customer service philosophy requires constant vigilance and dedication to see it through regardless of how it may hurt to maintain the integrity of your customer commitments.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Lets say that you have a no questions asked, money back guarantee. A customer, who has purchased a high ticket item from you, for
whatever reason, changes his or her mind and returns the product. You tell them that you will take the product back but you have a restocking fee. Hmm. So you penalize the customer for their return. I purchase a product from you and write a check. The check clears and I decide to return the product. You tell me I will have to wait fourteen days for my refund because the refund has to come from corporate headquarters. Hmm. Customer driven or company convenience driven, you decide. And here is my favorite. I purchase a piece of equipment from you for several thousand dollars. It has a 30 day warranty, so you recommend I purchase a service contract for several hundred dollars a year, to insure that when the equipment breaks I will be able to get it serviced without additional cost. Hmm. Customer driven or organization driven? You decide.

These examples do not reflect a customer focused philosophy. And yet your corporate mission statement says, Our customers are number one. Hmm. I don't think so.

Have you ever had this experience. You are at a restaurant and the food is less than average but you don't have time to send your meal back. When paying your check. the cashier asks, how was your meal. You tell them you were dissatisfied and they say they are sorry. I am sorry to. I will never return to that establishment again and you can bet I will tell a number of my friends, clients and peers.

Effective customer service requires consistent behavior from every employee I encounter
in every situation when I do business with your firm. There are no excuses for: "I didn't know that was on sale, I am new, this is my last week in this joint, we close in ten minutes could you please hurry, I don't know when your order will ship, its been on back order for several weeks

How more sell conversation

One of the things you must never do when it comes to selling your services is use a sales pitch you intend to memorize and spew at a potential client. However, that isn't to say you shouldn't prepare to have a conversation with a buyer about working together because you should. Here's why you never want to use a sales pitch.

The first reason you never want to use a sales pitch is because it instantly puts you in the sales person category. Most people do not think of sales people as trusted experts or trusted advisors. Most people think sales people are only out to sell you something whether it's the right thing for you or not. Thus most people do not trust sales people.

So the instant you start pitching a buyer you trigger that persons defenses. They automatically become more resistant to you. They will throw more objections at you, and they won't hesitate to lie to you.

The second reason you never want to use a sales pitch is because it disengages the person you are talking to. You now become the entertainer. They simply sit back and start thinking of reasons why whatever you are saying isn't true. They are looking for arguments for why what you say isn't true because they believe sales people lie. You are showing them you are a sales person so in their minds you are probably lying to them.

Perhaps the most important reason you never want to use a sales pitch is because you will never gain the trust of the person you are trying to sell to so they will tell you what you need to know to help them. This leaves you trying to guess what they think they want. You may as well go play Black Jack at the casino because the odds are more in your favor.

The best way to prepare for a sales conversation is to think about the questions you could ask that would help your potential client tell you what they need, why that's important, how they want to get what they need, and the true value of getting what they want. No matter how good you are at selling your services you won't get new clients unless you help them uncover how your services are what they are already looking for.

Every person has two sides. There's the outer professional side of our personality and then there's the inner side of our personality that we may almost never share. The more introverted your potential client the more unlikely it is that you are addressing what really motivates them to buy. Most people focus on this outer professional side when they are speaking to a potential client about working together.

That can be a huge mistake because the real buyer is that inner side that we don't necessarily want others to know about.

While a potential client might talk about a specific result they want they don't talk about why they want that result. Yet, it's the reason they want that result that drives this potential client to hire you. They may want the result because it would make them look good in front of someone else.

You can't tell a potential client how this result will make them look good in front of someone else because if you do you risk two negative things. First, you could miss the mark and get it wrong. Second, even if you get it right it may very well embarrass your potential client to have you voice what they are thinking out loud.

Plus when you guess and get it wrong that could mean losing the buyer.

To sell to the real buyer you simply have to help the buyer tell you what's really driving them to buy. They could be searching for approval, risk reduction, control, removal of a fear, increased visibility, etc. The only way for you to know is to ask how getting the outcome they want would impact them.

Not only do many service providers try to sell to the wrong buyer they also often try to lead a potential client to their way of thinking. That doesn't work. When you try to lead a potential client to an answer you have in mind it feels like you are trying to manipulate them.

Feeling like you are being manipulated instantly triggers your defenses and decreases your trust in the other person. That's very dangerous territory because it is very hard to recover once you trigger a potential client's defenses, if you ever can.

How to gain maximum leads

Creating a competition is a good way to build leads, but there is limited brand building and emotional engagement. A slightly better way would be to tell them to either fill out a form, or write on a business card, "In 25 words or less tell us why our product is amazing.." or something to that effect. Engage the people around you by asking them to become involved with your company. Don't just let them throw their business card in a bin.

Depending on your budget, you could have a "skin health" expert at the stand, giving people free 10 minute facials. Make the entertainment relative to your product or service. If your brand is a fun brand, make the stand fun as well. In order for them to get a head massage, or whatever the attraction is, the should need to book a meeting with you later in the week, or some other similar valuable business goal.

Selling professional services has always been challenging especially as the financial investment increases and the sales cycle lengthens. Even when times are good and the economy is booming. Right off the bat, you know it isn't going to be easy. Just take a look around...

The credit markets have dried up no matter how much the President pleads and bashes the banks to free up some money for small businesses.

The number of unemployed Americans is heading toward Depression-era levels and the only entity hiring seems to be the Federal government.

Thanks to fears about upcoming legislation on Cap and Trade and Climate-gate your prospects and clients are anticipating skyrocketing increases in gasoline, natural gas, and electricity and that means they are guarding their wallets like a junkyard dog.

So how is that for setting up an ideal selling environment?

What's that you say? You live outside the U. S. - sorry to break it to you, my foreign friend, but with the U.S. economy on the ropes... European economies sliding, stock markets softening, and inflation soon to rise... these ain't exactly the conditions that set you up for life either.

How to make good sales customers

Creating good customer relationships is the most important duty that we have as business owners and this is something that does not cost a lot of money. Many times it is the little unexpected things that we do that mean the most and keeps the customer coming back to our business over and over!

I purchased a program a few weeks ago from a large company and was shocked when I received a handwritten Thank you note in the mail. I have to tell you, I was extremely impressed at this gesture! Just a simple thank you card that only took a couple of minutes to write meant a lot to me and I will remember that the next time that I decides to purchase another program.

Here are some simple ways for you to increase your customer sales.

* Offer Exceptional Customer Service.
* Offer More Low Cost - High Profit Services To Your Customer
* Build A Relationship With Existing And Former Customers
* Offer More Than One Price Level Of Products
* Create A Web Presence

Is there a service or a process that you can offer your customer that they cannot get from your competition? What is it that you can do to be more efficient that the competition? It is usually better to focus on being different in a particular market rather than trying to complete directly. Find a unique strategy or a way to position your products or your business differently in your current market place.

What would your answer be if I ask you which job has unlimited income potential? The answer is commission based selling. Educated, skilled and experienced sales people earn many times compared to what they can get from just doing a job. The best part is that the only limitation for their income becomes the amount of effort that they put in. If you are in selling, or planning on getting into selling - here are 3 simple steps that will put you far ahead the competition.

Many people think that the art of selling is something that a person is inherited. This is far from the truth. Selling is a skill that can be mastered by anyone. A major ingredient of successful selling is the sales pitch. You must rehearse and practise your short sales pitch over and over again, until it becomes your second nature. Successful sales men and women do this everyday, sometimes even few times a day before they meet a new client. You will not be able to give a good presentation by trying to wing it. Always master your presentation.

The product or service that you sell must be something that you can be proud of. If you do not believe in the product or service you are selling, you should move on to start selling something you truly believe in. Even if you are asked to sell the product to your family members you should be confident in doing so. When you can really stand by a product's quality and promises, you will be able to justify the costs and the selling process will be much more positive and enjoyable.

How to improve selling skill

Salespeople become discouraged when they do not know how to do an important sales skill. Poor sales plans lower confidence in reaching sales goals. Inadequate marketing, networking, referrals, or cold calling causes leads to be unavailable for prospecting. Efforts to set first appointments, without training, creates disappointments in meeting necessary activity levels. Unattended needs for face-to-face skill enhancement results in lower sales numbers, income, and discouragement.

A natural encouragement occurs when sales managers teach the selling skills in a face-to-face sales process. Confidence increases when managers help reps develop a sales plan for goal achievement. Confidence increases when a person learns how to find leads and how to turn those into first appointments. Confidence increases when first appointments lead to presentations and presentations turn into the right number of sales (and these ratios are understood). Increased selling knowledge put into practice results in an encouraged sales force and higher production.

Buyers live in a very complex world now. With global stakeholders, economic downturns, enlarged decision teams, and an almost limitless number of options - all available at the drop of a hat - competition is far more complex than being addressed by us having a good solution and giving great service. And as a result, we're having greater difficulty closing sales. We'd like to think it's 'the economy, stupid.' But in reality, the problem is more complex.

The only way to shift the results is to do something different. [You know the deal: According to Einstein, you can't solve a problem using the same things that created it.] And sellers are kicking and screaming at the possibility of having to do something different. But I can tell you that doing what you are doing will keep giving you the results you're getting.

Sales is no longer a robust-enough model. The future of sales lie in actually helping buyers navigate through their internal decision issues that often have absolutely nothing to do with a problem or a solution. We have been taught to believe that by understanding the 'problem' and having the appropriate 'solution' that buyers will buy. We've never been taught that getting buy-in from the internal, behind-the-scenes cultural issues that buyers live with daily and are the cause of the 'need' are what determines purchasing habits. In fact, a buyer's decision issues are managed, daily, by a plethora of internal people, policies, history, relationships, vendors, etc. that are independent of their need or our solution, and are well outside the sphere or influence of 'sales.' But we know that, as that's what's stopping us from closing all of the sales we should be closing.


A prospect that a client of mine had been working with for a year finally, after 3 visits and 3 trials, decided to not purchase the product. I spoke with the prospect that was the head of Learning and Development: What stopped her from being able to buy a product that they loved? The new HR director was a very difficult person to deal with, and the prospect didn't want to get into a fight and decided to not purchase rather than deal with him.

So this had nothing to do with need or solution, and everything to do with a buyer's behind-the-scenes issues. What I did was to give the L&D person a list of Facilitative Questions to use with the HR guy to help them decide to work together efficiently on behalf of all of the employees. This worked, and they bought the product the next week.

But it had nothing to do with a problem, a need, a solution, or a relationship. It had to do with helping the buyer manage their off-line issues. And the sales model does not manage these issues: the buyer must manage these issues, on their own and without us, and it's a confusing journey for them. When buyers begin the journey to resolve a business problem, they have no idea what demons they need to address en route. And the time it takes them to figure it out is the length of the sales cycle. But we can help them by being neutral navigators and providing a navigation route through the maze.

Herein lie the problem with sales: it does not have the tools to help buyers manage their private, off-line, non-problem/solution related issues.

What would you need to believe differently to be willing to consider adding a new skill set to the one you are already using, and have been using successfully for years?

How would you know that adding a decision facilitation model, related to the buyer's change patterns not needs, would give you the ability to close more sales?

What would you need to see, understand, or agree with, to be willing to shift your initial approach to a buyer and instead focus on being the GPS system to lead your buyer through their internal decision issues before starting the sales process?

Chose a new way of sales Attraction

Wanting is passive; it's just a feeling or desire with only the potential to lead to action. On the other hand, think back to the last time you fought for something. Was it a job? A relationship? A parking spot? No matter how trivial it may seem to others, if it's significant enough to you, even that first cup of coffee in the morning can be worth fighting for.


Does your product/service serve a greater purpose? Who does it ultimately benefit and how: the client, the end user, the community? Put a face on them; get to know them. How does it feel to know that you are contributing to changing someone's life for the better?

Commit to it. When you're fighting all of your senses are engaged. You are emotionally charged, determined. You consider all the possible ways to reach your goal. You commit to attaining A and you will not settle for X, Y or Z. You do not hit a speed bump and head for the first exit.

Choose a New Action. Most of us end up taking the same actions or reactions - even when they have failed to work for us in the past! Replacing habitual actions with a different active word can trigger a whole new attitude, increase physical energy and open up new opportunities for growth. For example: Notice the difference in your attitude or energy when you focus on unveiling a feature as opposed to simply telling someone about it.

It is surely one of the great ironies of the selling profession that sales people are often described as being 'great talkers'. Great sales people have to be effective communicators of course but the 'gift of the gab' can actually often be a hallmark of the poor sales person, not the great one.

The most effective sales people are those that LISTEN. The old adage of "two ears, one mouth, use them in that ratio" has never been more true. In our experience great salespeople differ from their more pedestrian counterparts in a number of important and significant ways.

They listen more than they talk. (I know, we just said that, but it's important so we repeat it again).

They have time. It is interesting but great salespeople always seem unhurried and under no pressure - even when the customer tells them they 'only have a minute'.

They are not pre-occupied with 'closing the sale'. Closing scares poor salespeople, great salespeople take the time and trouble to ask great, High-Gain questions and, because they are focused on what the customer wants and how they can solve the customer's problems, they do not build the close up into something huge and scary in their heads. Moreover, the fear of rejection experienced by poor sales people doe snot exist for this group, they take time to determine how they can solve the customer's problem and therefore the outcome of the call is always favorable.

Sales and marketing idea

Successful businesses get to where they are by working smarter, not harder. In other words, they make sure they are maximizing the potential of what they already have before worrying about how they can start something new. The same goes for your credit card processing account. If you can make more money by processing plastic, it's certainly worth the effort. All it takes is a little creativity and you'll be off and running.

Forbes Magazine recently published a report that examined consumer habits and how they differ when using plastic versus cash. In the report, they discovered businesses without a credit card processing account were losing up to 70% of their business. So, if it boosts your profits all on its own, why wouldn't you use a credit card processing account to obtain an even bigger advantage for your business and profit margin?

Some businesses try to recoup the expenses associated with processing transactions by requiring any customer to meet a minimum purchase amount in order to pay with plastic. Not only does this deter customers from shopping at a business, but it could also be against the terms of service with some of the major card companies.

Another option is to feature a product that will allow you to make some extra profit. Make it a special benefit for your customers upon purchase. This could be an overall discount on everything they buy, a contest entry, or give them something extra to take home (buy a can of soup and get a free can opener, for example).

Processing credit might not sound like fun and it's certainly not to be taken lightly, but your customers don't have to know. Offer customers a chance to enter a contest for some prizes or an amazing experience if they use their card to make a purchase of a certain amount.

Loyalty programs should also be considered. Make it easy for your customers to track the number of visits they make to your store or the amount of money they spend there. Then, when they reach a certain amount, reward them with a prize or a discount that will have them eager to fill their cards.

Processing credit cards might not seem like a great marketing idea, but you'd be amazed at the results. Use your credit card processing account to increase your sales and your profits with these simple ideas and you'll be able to see the benefits for yourself!

New Way of Selling

The world of selling has changed forever and now companies must use information assisted selling in order to ensure they grow revenues. The convergence of the internet and a worse-than-perfect economy are putting double pressure on companies dependent upon sales to search out new ways to sell their products and services. While discounts seem to be the favorite mode of operation, other companies are actually seeking new ways to handle customers in order to effectively impact their bottom line.

With growing numbers accessing the web either for information or the purchase itself, organizations that are unable to use information to assist them in the sale will find themselves extent. Lets face it, very little new has been offered up to the sales world since the days of Dale Carnegie, yet the world has changed dramatically. Back in Carnegie's day competition only existed between local competitors and now competition is global. Things like customer satisfaction did not even exist as a corporate term when most the old philosophies were created, now companies are rewarded by manufacturers and consumers for their ability to satisfy customers. The market place has proven what companies have been teaching their people is clearly archaic and highly ineffective approaches. As a result the reputation of sales people is only higher than that of lawyers with even the unemployed avoiding sales as a career. The sales industry is treated with disdain of the ploys promoted by the so called 'sales-gurus' of decades gone past have damaged the industry's attractiveness.

Combine the negative reputation with US retail numbers suggesting nearly twice as many store closings as openings, companies are aggressively investigating new ways of reaching and more importantly new ways of selling them once reached. I developed information assisted selling as a new way of handling a customers whereby the company uses information in order to assist consumers in the selling of their product or service. I first introduced information assisted selling to solve problems for auto dealers. This new way of selling was immediately validated with improvements in sales effectiveness, employee retention,and customer satisfaction.

By survey delivered in real sales situations consumers suggested that sales organizations had become predictable avoiding information in order to "control" the sales cycle. This outdated approach was heavily promoted over the last three decades or more and I believe the reason for high turnover and poor effectiveness. Information Assisted Selling anticipates and initiates buyer sensitive issues and uses information as a way to control the sales process. This causes the prospect to be happily surprised by a willingness to make service senior to the sale itself, and results in better results from a highly sensitive consumer that is looking for almost any reason to not buy.

Corporate America is now searching for solutions to the most difficult sales environment in 25 years and new ways of actually selling customers may finally be an option worth investigating. When the internet hit critical mass it became obvious to not just auto dealers but all industries that companies must learn a new way to communicate and handle a better informed, internet-savvy customer to have any chance at making the sale. Information assisted selling is an intelligent, more effective and customer friendly method that reduces the time spent in the sales cycle, creates a better relationship, and gets better results.

No one denies that the economy is different and that the customer has changed, so who would think that the way in which you sell them would not also have to change? When the forces of a very difficult economy and information available to anyone with a mouse combined with a company's future dependent upon every sale for its revenue, companies must embrace new ways of selling it customers. Information assisted selling is a new way of handling an informed and more selective consumer.

How to full fill sales need

If you are in sales, or you are training to become a sales person, you will need to learn to shed the attitude that you know what is best for your customer. The customer is that one that has a certain problem that needs to be solved and that should be the only thing that you need to worry about. Read on to find out how you can turn your selling methods around.

Selling is closest to a sport out of any white-collar profession. You need to go after your prospect with ferocity as if you have to conquer the sale each day. However, too many sales people go into the sale with the attitude that they are the ones that know what's best for the customer, that the customer should just shut their mouth and take what being given to them. This could no be farther from the truth.

As a sales professional you will need to learn to mirror your prospects. You will need to be able to show them exactly what they are looking for not what you think they want. You will need to discover what kind of problem they have and then position your product in such a way that you hand them the perfect solution instead of trying to give them something that you think they want.

It's a new era of selling. We need to use ethical methods, where we make our clients feel great after they walk away from the sale, instead of feeling uneasy or taken. Customers will learn that in order to feel that way again they will need to do business with you again. You are no longer going to be a peddler. You need to become a sales person that brings suggestions to the table, a sales person that creates relationships with his/her clients.

The relationship building process is the key. As you show your customers that you can make them feel good by solving their problems, you will learn how to uncover more issues that they need solved. It's now a game of psychology where you also become a counselor, someone they can confide in. The customer that trusts you with their personal problems is a customer that will keep you around as long as you deliver on your promises. They will keep coming back to get the same experience, just like a fast-food chain. You need to act the same way and be the mirror, not the megaphone.

When you started your business, you need to know who will be your clients or customers are. Of course you will not be selling girl things to a guy, isn't it? Knowing your clients will let you prepare on how you are going to present your product. The more you know about your customer, the more likely you can prove the specific product that perfectly suits to your customer.

Focusing on the clients knows who will be your possible clients. Now it's time to find them.

The first obstacle as a businessman is how you can go through to persuade the right person. Each product you have can always be sold to the right person that needed it most. Researching the right customer is really hard that's what explains its worth in taking more time to talk or converse with your clients.

After knowing the right person, it's time to negotiate.

With the power of persuasion, you are empowered to win negotiations. The right negotiation is also very important because this will be the path to your success. During your negotiations you need to create a positive environment for you to have a good conversation and persuasion with your clients. You need to take them to your way of thinking and make them believe in you.

Boosting your sales by winning more negotiations is really a hard work. Just let the power of persuasion blend these ingredients to create a good business.

Selling and negotiating

In the world of business, selling and negotiating with your clients or customer is not easy. Your intelligence cannot always help you. Sometimes what help a lot are your charm and your wittiness. Use your intelligence, charm and wit and empower it using the power of persuasion.

I believe that everyone who enters the world of business wants to be successful. I am going to share with you here the power of persuasion for your sales breakthrough.

When you decided to go to a business, you already knew what kind of business you are going to have and you already knew what products you are going to sell. Of course because it is like going to battle that you don't know how to use your gun. It is not enough that you looked just like an expert but you must also be an expert of your product because your customer also might know how to read people who are true and those who are just acting.

Be an expert of your product. Search more and gain more knowledge about the product you are selling. This is the first step to your persuasion sales breakthrough.

Many people say that practice makes perfect. Well that's true and you can apply it here in your sales and marketing. It is because you need to practice your selling pitch. It is not enough that you are just going to make a written draft of your statement and then memorize it. Memorizing and practicing is very much different. Memorizing cannot make perfect, you want to know why? There are a lot of factors that can erase what you memorized especially when unexpected circumstances happen.

The next step is to develop your self confidence.

Every negotiation that you are going to make you will not immediately know what kind of clients or customers you have and of course knowing your customer is your first move. Sometimes you will encounter a very annoying customers or clients. When that happens, without self confidence your knees might be shaking in front of that person. You need to be cool, relax, and smooth. Develop your self confidence in such a way that you can easily handle different kinds of people.

Just allow the power of persuasion to boost up your confidence and sooner or later, you are already taking them to tour way of thinking.

When persuading people, it is much easier to negotiate with them if you are telling them the whole truth about your product. The reason for these is that when your product fails and does not do what you told them, everything will comes back to you. Not only that, they might discourage your other potential customers not to buy from you.

The last thing that I am going to tell you is that never forget to maintain eye contact. When you talked to some one, your eyes never lie and so your customers and clients are always looking to your eyes. They might misinterpret you if your eyes are wondering around while talking to them.

This sales breakthrough might be very simple but never under estimate the power of persuasion because this simple technique can be more powerful to increase your sales.

How to stop sales rejection

There was once a story that appeared in a community paper. Residents of a small community complained to the business section of the paper and told story upon story of having merchandise mailed to them that they didn't want or didn't even order. The infuriating part, the residents added, was the items were even billed to them.

A doctor in that area narrated that he received such a package with the following sales letter: "We are taking the liberty of sending you three fine ties. Because these ties have the approval of thousands of discriminating dressers, we know that you will like them. Please send $9.99." The indignant doctor said that he sent the company this letter and then some: "I am taking the liberty of sending you $9.99 worth of good vitamins. These have helped thousands, too. Please accept them in payment of the ties which you sent me recently!"

More and more people are selling all kinds of products online. Nothing is wrong with that, especially during these financially hard times that extra cash helps-may it be from a home-based business, a second job, or even a personal loan online. However, like what the little story showed, there are also pitfalls in selling that could harm the business, instead of making it profit. But what if the entrepreneur or business owner or sales agent is doing all that he or she could, and yet face rejections and objections from clients or customers? One thing people in selling should remember is rejections are a normal part of any sales experience-whether just selling hotdogs on the street or selling luxury cars.

Whenever newbie sellers hear the word, "no", they would think that their product or service is being rejected. That may be so, but this could be a good experience to motivate themselves to sell more aggressively (although not too aggressively as what happened to the story). There are effective ways to handle rejections in sales.

If a client does not want the product being offered, most of the time, it is because they are satisfied with what they already have. If this is the case, sellers should look into the qualities of that product and compare it with theirs. They might be missing something from it.

Rejection can be a signal that the seller should modify sales strategies. What may appeal to one will not necessarily attract another.

Rejection is an opportunity to enhance relationships with prospective buyers. During these financially hard times, not a few prospects instantly let go of their hard-earned cash. It doesn't mean they will not buy. Sellers should take this time to get to know their clientele.

If sellers change their attitude towards rejection, they will eventually realize that selling is not as hard as it seems to be.

Superior sales tips

Customer Focus - Unwavering customer focus in selling is crucial to success. Successful selling organizations continually judge their performance through the eyes of the customer. It is not their ability to persuade that defines success, but it is their passionate commitment to involve the customer in every facet of the business. SELLING, or more appropriately stated, "the satisfaction of customer needs," is the responsibility of everyone in your organization. Everyone touches the customer directly or indirectly. Everyone is a link in the chain of providing value to customers.

Anticipatory Leadership - Superior selling organizations shape their futures by being anticipatory and visionary. They are never satisfied with today's performance. "Raising the bar" must be the primary objective of sales and service leadership.

Continuous Improvement and Learning - Superior selling organizations know that sales and service improvement are outcomes of deliberate, planned actions over time at all levels. They have come to understand that there are no quick fixes. Often, selling organizations focus on the BIG DEAL, or the champion seller who is given accolades for a particularly strong level of achievement. While promoting big deals or champion sellers can be healthy, long-term success depends more from both incremental and breakthrough improvements on the part of everyone than on spectacular events.

Superior Focus on People - High-performing selling organizations are meticulous in their recruiting and selection process as they understand that sales leadership begins with the hiring decision. They define the characteristics of superior individual performance, and seek men and women who display these competencies. They train relentlessly. They invest in the development of sales and service skills, and in systems support. They look to training not as an option, but as a fundamental process to communicate expectations and promote improvement. They understand that a focus on skill mastery is among the strongest investments an organization can make.

Speed, Tools, Technology - Success in competitive markets demands ever-shorter cycles for introduction of new or improved products and services. Speed and flexibility in responding to customers is a critical requirement for today's selling organization. Winning selling organizations recognize that speed counts -- that it is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. They study where time is spent on each step of the sales process as a basis for improving selling effectiveness. They eliminate constraints to enable the sales force to do things quicker and faster. They look at technology solutions that enhance the customer experience, improve individual productivity, and speed up the response to customer requests.

Rewards and Recognition Driven - In sales, compensation and recognition are powerful levers to influence change. Superior selling organizations reward based on performance and contribution, both at the individual level and at the team level. They monitor the compensation strategies of other companies, to ensure that they are able to attract and retain the caliber employee they need. They adapt their pay plan yearly to reflect the strategic changes in the organization.

Process Centered - In selling, process and methodology are key. Superior selling organizations clearly define and document their sales process to ensure everyone understands the most promising paths to success, and then execute rigorously to the process. They embrace one standard or a series of standards in how they go to market, and then train and develop to those standards.

Measurement - While profitable revenue may be the primary performance yardstick, world-class selling organizations study the factors that influence success with a customer and apply the appropriate measures to evaluate performance. They are passionate about customer metrics, results metrics, and process metrics. Like professional sports teams, they monitor performance by establishing standards and leading indicators to assess progress.

For many companies, competition, both domestic and international, has become fiercer, necessitating explicit strategies for differentiating and remaining competitive. As an outcome of several trends, including globalization, competition grows when organizations become more similar, regardless of how many players are on the filed. Organizations know they are in a serious competitive environment, whether there is only one other competitor or a thousand competitors, if they cannot differentiate themselves - that is, by adding more value at a lower cost than the other guys. Basically, the only way to grow is to take something away from the competition. Today, more than ever, more people are after less business and companies need a bigger piece of a smaller pie.

How to come-up for bad sales day

A lot of salespersons are actively engaged in sales activities be them marketing or selling. Given that business research suggests somewhere between 40% and 70% of all sales targets are not met, this suggests some poor performance is happening within the marketplace.

So what would happen if the focus was removed from selling your products or services and allowing your customers to buy? Would this change your monthly, quarterly and annual revenue results?

Buying is an emotional experience while selling is far more an intellectual exercise. We have all heard about finding the pain, stating the gain, overcoming objections to negotiating for mutual benefit. From my 30,000 foot perspective, that seems like a whole heck of a lot of work and I am surprised that the brain of the salesperson is not overheated. Maybe this helps to explain all those missed targets.

Brain research has proven all experiences are routed first through the primitive brain (amygdala) and then onto the neo-cortex. Our primitive brains are far more emotional and intuitive while the neo-cortex is rational and conceptual.

Since the primitive brain is emotional and sales according to Zig Ziglar is the transference of feelings, then does it make more sense to create an environment of buying versus one of selling?

To switch positions requires a change in how your attract the attention of your potential customers (a.k.a. prospects). Many businesses are still engaged in sales or product based marketing.

However, where should the focus be? Right again, it should be on the buyer. Therefore, the end result is far more about buying than selling.

Education based marketing places the focus on the potential customer. The sales professional shares information that is important to the potential customer. This information may be different depending upon the person standing or sitting across from you and her or his questions. Yet through the facilitation of thoughtful probing questions coupled with active listening, you as the sales professional can educate your soon to be new client.

Then something almost magical happens. Your products or services have been bought and without you having to sell anything. Now does that not make more sense unless of course you still enjoy not making those sales targets.

One other consideration when engaging in education based marketing is it may lengthen the buying cycle. The reason is because you may have to invest more time in building the relationship. However given that sales research suggests 90% of all sales people make 3 contacts or less and 80% of all commitments happened between the fifth and twelfth contacts, there is already probably not enough time being invested.

The old adage of no wants to be sold and everyone loves to buy is very true. Use this to your advantage by stop selling and getting out of the way to let your customers buy your products or services.

Sales Improving skill

Ever marveled at how skillfully Improve Players respond to the seemingly unrelated suggestions thrown at them? There is no script to follow, no direction and typically only the thinnest of plots. Does this sound familiar to you? It should!

As salespeople, how often do we walk into a situation with a thread-bare plot (like an information-gathering meeting), unsure of what's going to confront us (objections, personality conflicts, budgets, etc.) and last but not least, an audience waiting to be entertained. (Yes, your client expects some entertainment for their hard-won time and dollars!)

Sellers can learn a lot from Improve Players, like how to take a curve ball and turn it into a home run. Learning to react quickly and skillfully to the unexpected can mean the difference between winning and losing the sale during these uncertain times. But there is more to Improve than just spitting out the first thing that comes to mind. Here are Five Tips adapted from Improve you can start applying to your sales calls today!

This obvious but critical step is often overlooked in our rush to get in front of a client. You must know inside and out WHAT you're saying and WHY you're saying it -- and "My manager told me to" is not a good enough reason! Practice your sales script. Read it out loud to the dog. Rap it to your roommate. Know it so well that if you had to, you could pick it up at any point within the script and run through it with ease.

Only by being truly in tune with the moment are you aware of subtle shifts in your partner. Silence for instance, which we are so anxious to fill, can mean: "you've lost me" or "show me why I should buy you." Stop, pause and take in the moment. You'll be amazed at what you may have missed.

Commitment? Yikes! As salespeople we reserve the right to change our opinion based on what the client thinks, right? Wrong! See your choices through; don't be batted around by every wind. You may not win everyone over, but you'll win something that is too often overlooked in sales: self respect.

No matter what your partner gives you in Improve, you must always reply with "Yes, and..." to keep the action moving forward. For example, suppose your client tells you that they have never buy anything but product X. Instead of saying "Yes, but you've never tried our product," (which puts them on the defensive), you reply: "Yes, and that's why you don't yet have anything to compare it to." In this way you acknowledge their point as well as offer an alternative perspective without getting their defenses up.

How to improve your sales professional

Whether your company is brand new or you find that you are in a place where you want to make sure that it can stay on track, you will find that your sales force is something that you need to invest in. No matter what industry you are competing in, competition is tougher than ever, and if you want to make sure that you are going to stay on top, your sales reps are going to be an important part of how you do it. A good sales professional is one that is going to keep on getting you business that you need and if you want to make sure that you are on top of things, you need to think about how you are going to hire and keep the best of the best!

The first thing that you need to do when you are looking at building the right sales force is to make sure that you are putting the right kind of energy into hiring. Be explicit when you send out the position description. What kind of knowledge do they need and what should their core competencies be? What kind of responsibilities do you want them to fill and what kind of expectations are you going to have for them? Knowing this can help you figure out how you are going to proceed in the future.

Remember that you should be picky. Do not assume that you can train a bad behavior out of a sales representative. If they look unprofessional on paper or at the interview, you will find that their application should be dismissed. You can avoid wasting your time by doing some telephone screening beforehand. A sales representative's phone manner should definitely something that you look into. Make sure that when you do meet them face to face that you judge them on how well you think they will suit you and whether they are already great salesmen. Remember that you should share your expectations with them; do not assume that they can read your mind!

Once you have a promising sales staff, you need to think about keeping them. There are companies that get very annoyed when they have gotten sales representatives trained up and then they have lost them to better offers. Do not be surprised that if you cannot offer your sales representatives a good environment and they end up jumping shift. Make sure that your sales representatives feel welcome and like a valuable part of your company. Having room for advancement is important as is a recognition program for excellent performance. If you do lose people, set up exit interviews. You never know when you will learn something new about the way things are going, or when you can change a good representative's mind!

Take some time and consider what your options are going to be when you are thinking about retaining a great sales force; your representatives are the face of your company!

How to Interested in more sales

People have a negative opinion of sales people but let's take some time to look at who exactly a sales person is. For me a sales person is someone who goes through the sales process, so they generate interest, they qualify there audience to ensure that the solution is for them and they gain commitment to the solution from the audience. Is it only sales people that go through this process or are these skills used day to day in all environments to gain commitment, do you go through this process when trying to convince a friend to accompany you to the cinema for example?

It is not unusual for us all to find ourselves in a situation where we are being sold to, if we forget that sales is all about a physical product and consider that what we can be asked to buy into could be anything from an idea to a way of life it is apparent that we are a potential customer daily and are the target of a sales pitch.

A hairdresser will regularly offer you a product to help get the best out of your new style, this will be pitched as a recommendation but it is not unusual for a hairdresser to receive commission for selling retail products.

A bank clerk will discuss account upgrades and finance packages with you, this will be pitched as an opportunity to get the best out of your money but it is not unusual for a bank clerk to be targeted and receive commission on selling finance products.

A politician will talk at length about new policies, this will be pitched as a way to a better life for you and your fellow nationals but they want you to buy into their party and make that vote.

A lawyer sells a scenario to an audience of jurors, the lawyer's sole aim and objective is for the jurors to buy his story or interpretation of events.

A manager ensures a team's timely completion of work, this will be achieved by selling the benefits of the work's completion.

Who's buying? We as individuals will buy into something every day as a result of the influence and sales skills of another. Today I was offered the solution to a problem, it was pitched to me as something that would answer many questions and something that would take a problem away, whether this is true or not is yet to be proved but I bought into it. That is a good job done.

Without knowing it there are many professions which require the skills of a sales person, it may be difficult to accept but how often have you found yourself in a situation even with friends and family when you are keen to participate in something that you have had to gain agreement on, how do you gain agreement? It's Simple you selling to them.

But how does this translate to every career? Anyone who is an employee will find them offering an solution to a colleague, manager or client at some stage. This may be a great solution but your success will depend very much on your delivery, you need to sell this solution to the recipient to ensure that it is agreed and implemented, you need to exercise your sales skills to gain buy in to the solution.

Consider how often you go through this process on a daily basis without even considering it selling, consider how many times you have lost that sale and consider the feeling of making a sale on every attempt!