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సంఘము » సందేశాలు - పేజీ 3780
arrow right Leadership Lessons for Sales Managers

Leadership, like class, is hard to define, but easy to spot.Someone once defined management as "the effective coordination of the efforts of the individuals in a group to accomplish that stated objectives of the organization." Managers get results by establishing goals and working with and through people to achieve those goals.As a manager, your success depends on your ability to:? Find and attract career-oriented men and women who have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to do the job, who are motivated to work, and who will cooperate with you and each other, and;? Develop and manage these people to meet specific performance standards.Management is a process because it involves a series of skills. But management is as much attitude as it is skills. Managers should be helpful supporters, working to build trust and confidence, and seeking to improve performance by recognizing that individuals have different needs, motivations and aspirations.That means, the more of a leader you are, the better manager you will be.Happily, most leaders are made, not born. They are cultivated, shaped and strengthened by education, training and real-world experience. Understanding leadership AND management is a good way of becoming more proficient at both.What is leadership? What does it take to be a leader? Here's a short course:? Leadership means having a mission and inspiring others to be committed to it. The mission is everything; leaders approach it with enthusiasm.? Leaders are agents of change; they make decisions based on a vision of the future, not just on established directions. ? Leaders take risks to make things happen that would not otherwise happen.? Leaders need a combination of competence, integrity, credibility and authority. They're seen as being involved in a lot of things and able to answer a lot of questions.Leadership is a collaborative, not individual, process. It's the ability to get people to do what you want them to because they want to do it!? Leaders help people do their best.? Leaders depend on themselves and act on their own authority, but they recognize the importance of others.? Leaders ask questions and know how to listen.? Leaders let others talk; they don't talk about themselves.Leadership begins when people disagree.? Leaders recognize that performance and progress are forged on the anvil of constructive conflict.? Leaders are willing to be unloved! In the words of Admiral John S. McCain (the late father of the Senator): "People may not love you for being strong when you have to be, but they will respect you for it and learn to behave themselves when you do." Try it; it works!Qualities of an Effective Leader? Leaders are purposeful; they have a clear view of their objectives and avoid digressions into irrelevancy.? Leaders know their stuff; they have a thorough grasp of their subjects, when possible, backed up with hands-on experience.? Leaders are prepared. No matter how well you know what you're talking about, choose appropriate ways of getting your message across. Avoid shortcuts.? Leaders are enthusiastic, but season their enthusiasm with intelligence and appropriate humor.? Leaders understand the use of drama. Dull is boring, so cultivate a sense of staging, especially when addressing a group.? Leaders are confident and easy-going. Regardless of their management style, they speak clearly, projecting their voices and looking people in the eye. Distinct speech is a sign of distinct ideas; self-assurance catches on.? Leaders maintain a positive attitude. They never speak ill of their organizations or of individuals under their management. The glass is always half full, never half empty.? Leaders demonstrate the contagion of example. It's not enough to talk the talk; leaders must walk the walk.? Leaders support their subordinates, giving them the widest possible authority and discretion, while keeping responsibility centralized with themselves.? Leaders live the U.S. Army's motto: Adapt, Improvise and Overcome.Leadership Makes Businesses WorkIf management ability keeps systems operating efficiently, leadership identifies management needs and seeks systems to address them. If management skills are required to administer existing programs and systems, it takes leadership to create a vision of success, and get people excited about attaining it.In short, leadership-provided by agency heads, sales managers and other members of the management team-makes businesses work. It enables them develop to the limits of their potential, then helps them break those limits.Wnat More? Send comments and questions to w.willard3@knology.netSources:Management Online ? A "Do-While-Learning"? Program, The Diversified GroupThe Marine Officer's Guide, Naval Institute PressBill Willard has been writing high-impact marketing and sales training primarily for the financial services industry for 30 years. Through interactive, Web-based

Bandu2 - Herit.gif  వర్గం: సంఘము   »   0 పుస్తకాలు   »   తేదీ: 02/01/2012 05:46   »   ద్వారా: Mouhamadou-bamb ...

arrow right How To Become A Better Sales Manager

YIPPEE! Kendra won, or should I say, "She was hired," by the "Donald." It was no surprise to me. It was all about people and management skills. You either have them or you don't! Kendra had them and Tana, sad to say, didn't.The shenanigans you watched during the

Bandu2 - Herit.gif  వర్గం: సంఘము   »   0 పుస్తకాలు   »   తేదీ: 02/01/2012 05:46   »   ద్వారా: Mouhamadou-bamb ...

arrow right Run a Productive Business From Your Car-Office

The way we do business has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. More products and services are now being offered outside traditional premises. You no longer have to go to a bank to complete your transactions or home loan applications. Insurance brokers visit your home or office; retailers deliver products directly to your home. This change in distribution methodology has meant many of us now run a car-office.While researching this change in business strategy, we interviewed several successful managers, executives and sales people who operate their business from their car-office. Karen Lasorda, Vice President for Corporate Business Development of Harleysville National Bank was a valuable source of information as she shared some of her winning strategies to ensure she is highly productive and able to meet her targets each month.While there are many advantages of working from you car-office including flexibility, being truly accessible to your clients and being able to conduct multiple appointments in one day, a number of challenges were highlighted. These included:Having the correct information with you at the right time. A major challenge of people interviewed was being prepared for all situations - for all clients.Being able to locate valuable information or resources ? it is easy to lose things in a car-office.Being unorganised. Many people have good intentions of getting organised however in a car-office environment, organisation is imperative.If you find yourself in a car-office apply these tips to overcome these challenges and boost your productivity today:Be self-motivated ? this is seems like common sense but if you operate your business from your car-office you need to be highly motivated. It is easy to be distracted by shops (especially those stores having a sale!), interesting food outlets for a longer lunch, coffee or catch up with friends. You should enjoy the freedom of working from your car-office but also respect it as if you attended a traditional office.Avoid eating in your car ? don't allow yourself to 'eat on the run'. To be more productive you need to take adequate stretch and food breaks through the day. Enjoy your food, eat in a park, eat with a client or eat with your colleagues but avoid eating in your car. This will also help keep your car clean and smelling fresh.Invest in an economical car ? as you will be travelling many miles ensure you have good mileage and the car is efficient. This can be a costly expense to your business if you are spending unnecessary money on your vehicle.Use a 'week at a glance' calendar ? this valuable tool will help you plan your week and you can place this on the front seat of your car for easy viewing. This will enable you to respond to your clients needs quickly by knowing where you will be each week.Prepare the night before ? each night allocate 10 minutes to prepare for the next days activities. Determine what customer files, promotional materials, product samples and information you may need. This valuable investment of only 10 minutes each night will ensure a smooth and productive day tomorrow.Allow an extra 10 minutes travel time ? always add this extra 10 minutes to any travel plans you may have. If you think it will take you 20 minutes, allocate 30 minutes. This extra 10 minutes will be helpful if you have difficulty finding somewhere, encounter extra traffic or getting a parking space. This extra time allows you to arrive organised and not rushed. No one enjoys being late, always make a great impression with every appointment by arriving on time and feeling calm.Keep a well-equipped glove compartment ? have a good supply of items you may need on the road. This could include also pharmaceutical needs for headaches, minor scratches, tissues, throat lozenges and vitamins.Keep a supply of stationary in your car ? this includes spare notepads, blank paper, stamps, envelopes and thank you cards. Thank you cards allow you to quickly write a note to a new client and post the same day you have done business! This is a powerful way to be remembered by your clients.Stock up on Business Cards ? keep a good supply of business cards, brochures and letterhead in your car-office - you never know when you might find a new client or potential business opportunity.Keep your trunk tidy ? don't forget that clients may sometimes see inside your trunk. Keep this area clean and organised. Take time each month to vacuum this area of your car and remove any trash.Keep your files in the trunk ? invest in an archive box or plastic container that will store up to 20 files. This will ensure all your valuable information is keep in a safe and secure place, out of sight and well organised if you need it.Keep an emergency box ? this plastic container could include bottled water, street directory/maps, first aid kit, and small umbrella. Women may also like to include items such as spare pantihose, nail files, sewing kits and safety pins.Wash your car regularly ? this includes inside and out. Your car-office also makes an impression with your clients. You may need to drive them somewhere or they meet you at your car-office. Always keep your car looking and smelling professional. Invest in regular car washes and clean the inside on a regular basis. If you don't enjoy this task, consider outsourcing it; always keep your car tidy.Carry bottled water in your car-office ? we all know we should drink more water. Keep a supply of at least two bottles of water in your car so you are always hydrated and refreshed.Find great coffee shops for meetings ? seek out several locations where you can meet clients or potential customers that serve great coffee, are quiet and conducive to meetings and provide easy parking. Get to know the waiting staff and owners - develop relationships with them so they will provide exceptional service for you if you are meeting with someone in their location. You may also like to consider establishing a monthly account with them so that you don't have any awkward moments when the check arrives at your table.Allocate external storage space ? for an effective car-office you may also want to dedicate a place within your home for additional supplies of information, files, stationary, promotional material or product samples. Keep only the required items in your car to avoid unnecessary clutter and an untidy car-office.By applying these tips to your car-office you will be more productive, increase yoru sales, meet your monthly targets and enjoy the freedom of a car-office.Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy ? and where they focus their attention ? Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Subscribe to Neen's free monthly ezine at http://neenjames.com

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arrow right A Real CRM Strategy or Just Tracking Customers?

Exactly what is CRMThe idea itself is nothing new; its roots have been around since trading began. The principle of looking after your customers so that they come back regularly is, after all, merely the basis of good trading. In an increasingly competitive commercial world however, strong customer relationships take on an increasing importance. With the cost of selling to a new customer being five times the cost of selling to an existing one you can't afford to lose established business.Yes, you still want new markets, and yes, for various reasons customers will still disappear. The important thing is to minimise this loss and make sure the reasons behind it don't stem from something you are doing ? or more significantly something you are not doing.Which is why good Customer Relationship Management is vital ? and why the process has now been refined to make it more effective than ever.What does CRM Involve?In essence, making your customer feel special by understanding his needs and fulfilling those needs in a personal manner which will keep him coming back for more.Going that extra mile and providing service beyond that which was expected takes your customer to the next stage, where he becomes a 'raving fan' of your business - and you can't have too many of those. Achieve this and your customer suddenly becomes part of your sales force, telling everyone he meets how good you are.This can actually be achieved without computers and software. A good memory and a card index can keep track of customer's preferences and buying patterns. Newsletter campaigns, post sale follow-ups and special offer mailings can all be organised - given time; except that this is where it so often falls apart. For most companies time is the commodity in shortest supply.Identifying the ChallengeThis is where you find the first steps into CRM. Contact Management or Personal Information Manager software can provide substantial benefits. A database of customers for envelope labelling, simple word processing and calendar functions can save an enormous amount of time. The latest breed of contact manager software can do this quite efficiently across small groups of people, an office based sales team for example. So what's the point of moving to a full CRM strategy? Why not stick with a simple address book style contact manager?The real secret of selling has always been to 'Think Buying' So consider for a moment, the things that annoy you as a customer:? Promised return phone calls not made, and information not sent? Not being informed of possible delays or problems? That call to tell you when your order is ready ? promised but not made.? One department in the company having no idea what another department said to you in the last call or letter.? No one bothering to call to make sure the goods arrived, or are satisfactory. Probably no calls at all ? until of course they want to sell you something else? No one knowing what they last sold to you ? or when? No one knowing enough about you to offer you items or services that would enhance or compliment your purchase. Frequently only one person in the company seems to know anything about you! And if they're not available??Overcoming all this takes more than just contact management software.The AnswerWhat is needed is a change in attitude that extends from shop floor to boardroom. Not easy! It takes something special to initiate such a major change, but once up and running the change will feed on its own success.The CRM solution provides a sophisticated but (and this is important) 'easy to use' computer system which monitors all activity with customers, current or potential. Phone, mail, e-mail and fax all link in. Give everyone in your company who deals with your customers access to that system. Link it to word processors, accounts systems, stock control and manufacturing Now you're starting down the right road to achieving your ultimate goal - customers who become Raving Fans.Your Information BonusThe additional benefit to a company implementing CRM, is far superior tracking of sales and marketing activities. Suddenly it becomes easier to identify the most effective sources of business. i.e.? which Mailshots worked best ? which sector provides your best business ? how many leads turn into actual salesAll this information makes running your company so much easier. Your Sales Manager will also benefit considerably from being able to see sales activity and ratios more clearly. He will probably produce the most accurate sales forecast you have ever seen!ConclusionSo, should you try to implement CRM or just stick with contact management? That depends on what you want to achieve. If your aim is to look after your customers to the best of your ability, keep those customers, and tower head and shoulders over your competitors, it has to be CRM.The alternative is to stay with the pack and lose, on average, 50% of your customers every 5 years. Can you afford to do that?Roy Gough Alloy CRM Helping you keep your customers away from the competitionRoy Gough has run and managed businesses for over 30 years. He has experience in finance, automotive, retail, high tech and ecommerce. He uses this knowledge to help businesses to improve their sales and profitability. He currently also sells GoldMine business contact management software, QuoteWerks quotation management tool and Mind Manager the brainstorming and planning tool.His web site can be found at http://www.alloycrm.com

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arrow right Sales Forecasting For New Businesses

Sales forecasting is the process of organizing and analysing information in a way that makes it possible to estimate what your sales will be. This Micro Module outlines some simple methods of forecasting sales using easy to find data. Books containing simple and sophisticated techniques of forecasting sales can be found in libraries and business oriented book stores.If you sell more than one type of product or service, prepare a separate sales forecast for each service or product group.There are many sources of information to assist with your sales forecast. Some key sources are: Competitors; Neighbouring Businesses; Trade suppliers; Downtown business associations Trade associations; Trade publications; Trade directories;Factors that can affect Sales can be divided into external and internal influences. Examples of these are:External: Seasons; Holidays; Special Events; Competition, direct or indirect Competition, External labour events; Productivity changes Family formations; Births and deaths; Fashions or styles; Population changes; Consumer earnings; Political events WeatherInternal: Product changes, style, quality; Service changes, type, quality; Shortages, production capability; Promotional effort changes Sales Motivation plans; Price changes; Shortages, inventory; Shortages/working capital; Distribution methods used Credit policy changes; Labour ProblemsCreating a sales forecast can be divided into four steps.Step 1 Develop a customer profile and determine the trends in your industry.Make some basic assumptions about the customers in your target market. Experienced business people will tell you that a good rule of thumb is that 20% of your customers account for 80% of your sales. If you can identify this 20% you can begin to develop a profile of your principal markets.Sample customer profiles: male, ages 20-34, professional, middle income, fitness conscious.Young families, parents 25 to 39, middle income, home owners.Small to medium sized magazine and book publishers with sales from $500,000 to $2,000,000Determine trends by talking to trade suppliers about what is selling well and what is not. Check out recent copies of your industry's trade magazines. Search the Business Periodicals Index (found in larger libraries) for articles related to your type of business.Question: What are five customer profiles for your business?Question: What are some customer trends for your customers/clients?Step 2 Look at the area where you will be tradingEstablish the approximate size and location of your planned trading area.Use available statistics to determine the general characteristics of this area.Use local sources to determine unique characteristics about your trading area.How far will your average customer travel to buy from your shop? Where do you intend to distribute or promote your product? This is your trading area.Estimating the number of individuals or households can be done with little difficulty using national census data to be found at your library or town hall. Your local statistics office or chamber of commerce can identify what the average household spends on goods and services.Neighbourhood business owners, the local Chamber of Commerce, the Government Agent and the community newspaper are some sources that can give you insight into unique characteristics of your area.Question: What are the statistics on the people in your area?Step 3 List and profile competitors selling in your trading area.Refer back to the data you collected in your market research.Get out on the street and study your competitors. Visit their stores or the locations where their product is offered. Analyse the location, customer volumes, traffic patterns, hours of operation, busy periods, prices, quality of their goods and services, product lines carried, promotional techniques, positioning, product catalogues and other handouts. If feasible, talk to customers and sales staff.Step 4 Use your research to estimate your sales on a monthly basis for your first year.The basis for your sales forecast could be the average monthly sales of a similar-sized competitor's operations that are operating in a similar market. It is recommended that you make adjustments for this year¹s predicted trend for the industry.Be sure to reduce your figures by a start-up year factor of about 50% a month for the start-up months.Consider how well your competition satisfies the needs of potential customers in your trading area. Determine how you fit in to this picture and what niche you plan to fill. Will you offer a better location, convenience, a better price, later hours, better quality, and better service?Consider population and economic growth in your trading area. Using your research, make an educated guess at your market share. If possible, express this as the number of customers you can hope to attract. You may want to keep it conservative and reduce your figure by approximately 15%.Prepare sales estimates month by month. Be sure to assess how seasonal your business is and consider your start up months.Further tips Sales revenues from the same month in the previous year make a good base for predicting sales for that month in the succeeding year. For example, if the trend forecasters in the economy and the industry predict a general growth of 4% for the next year, it will be entirely acceptable for you to show each month¹s projected sales at 4% higher than your actual sales the previous year.Credible forecasts can come from those who have the actual customer contact. Get the salespersons most closely associated with a particular product line, service, market or territory to give their best estimates. Experience has proven the grass roots forecasts can be surprisingly accurate.Sales Forecasting and the Business Plan summarize the data after it has been reviewed and revised. The summary will form a part of your business plan. The sales forecast for the first year should be monthly, while the forecast for the next two years could be expressed as a quarterly figure. Get a second opinion. Have the forecast checked by someone else familiar with your line of business. Show them the factors you have considered and explain why you think the figures are realistic. Your skills at forecasting will improve with experience particularly if you treat it as a

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arrow right Is Your Forecast Too Sunny? How to Improve the Accuracy of Sales Forecasts

As spring moves to summer, the forecast should be for warmer and sunnier weather. What is the forecast for your business? Is the outlook sunny or cloudy?Do you know what sales you can expect, whether for a team of sales people or within your own business or practice? How do you feel about putting together a forecast? How do the others in your business feel? I wonder why you have these feelings?Forecasting is vital for any business ? well, accurate forecasting is vital!! This is true for professional services as well as commercial organisations. How often are your forecasts accurate? Inaccurate forecasting carries all sorts of hazards. Whether there is a tendency to be too optimistic and sunny with your forecasts, or too downbeat and understating it, there are potential problems for the business. Are people encouraged, or allowed, to be pragmatic about their forecasts or do they feel as though they have to tell you they will do well? Do you tend to think that there are too many factors outside of your control and so it is not worth doing anyway?Why does it matter? Apart from the reality that sales, whether to existing or new clients, are the lifeblood of your business! Being too optimistic about potential sales can lead to various issues ? anticipating revenues which will not happen, planning resources such as people and products, problems with cash flow, panic management! The other end of the equation, under-estimating has its own problems too! Although it can feel good to see sales coming in which were not anticipated, think about the problems they might cause within your own business. Cash flow problems of a different sort, the need to get the resources at short notice, quality of customer or client service and response are all probabilities. Becoming more accurate with your forecasts will help you run a smoother and more profitable organisation.How do you approach forecasting sales? Tea leaves, roll of the dice, check the stars or ask others for their expectations? There are some basic principles to consider or follow and a variety of methods you can use to help and they should prove more reliable then the ideas above! Although we are presuming you are already an established business, many of the principles will apply even for new start-ups.First point ? look at your records for the previous couple of years and do some analysis. What are the average monthly sales? (or revenues if you prefer!) Can you break this down to weekly figures, if useful to you? Are the any obvious patterns or trends to these? Seasonal or market driven? What is the breakdown between new business and repeat business? How frequently do existing customers purchase? Can you assess average "order" size from each category? What are the trends in all of these, year on year? You may find that looking at a "Z-chart" can help you to take a realistic view of how you are doing. The key line here is the top one, which is created by taking the rolling total from the previous 12 months. It shows how you are really doing on a year-on-year basis and allows for seasonal dips and highs, which can distort the annual figures and cause a knee jerk reaction.Knowing the trends is a good start. The next stage is to assess and breakdown your actual sales process. What are the specific steps and activities you take to go from identifying potential customers or clients through to getting their commitment? Not only the steps and the best practice activities, but how long does the process take on average? (The sales cycle, sales lead time or whatever phrase suits your business.)Too often, organisations and sales managers in particular spend too long looking at results, which are effectively historical data and difficult to do anything about! Fundamentally, sales will come from the right levels of activity directed at the right potential clients ? using the appropriate skills. If these inputs are wrong, there is an inevitability about the outputs! Getting to grips with your sales process can help you to create the effective measures and control points to improve sales forecasting and sales performance.An element of forecasting, and good sales planning and management, is the old maxim ? "start with the end in mind". What do you need to be generating need to in terms of business? (Revenue, or numbers of units or whatever works for you.) Working back from this you can start to see where your critical checks and controls should be ? and how you can assess the probability of getting a sale.Think about your business ? and be clear about the average order size or purchase level of each customer. (If you have several very different product or service groups or lines you may need to do this for each one.) Does this vary for existing and new customers? From this analysis you can see how many sales you need to get each month and what those numbers will be in each category.Based on the averages, how many orders or customers do you need each month?How many of these can be relied on for repeat business ? and how much new business do you need to obtain?In order to get to the point of orders coming in you will have to go through a number of stages, which may look something like this:The stages might have different names within your business, the principle will hold true.To help your forecasting become more accurate you need to be able to move through the process and assess how things stand at each stage and what is the potential of moving through to the end. The more you can break each stage down into specific activities, the better your ability to see whether you will continue moving through.You need to initiate some form of sales reporting system to record what are the planned activities and the actual ones which take place. There are many variations available electronically, which can improve efficiency and effectiveness. Most of these will enable you to create your own sales "pipeline" or "funnel" so that you can monitor progress. Basic systems such as ACT, Goldmine or SalesLogix will also allow you and your sales people to develop customer records, keep everything related to the customer in one place, and manage their diaries. You can have an even more thorough tool such as SalesCentric, which can let you incorporate the sales process and activities and carry support material on the customer record. There are ways to use all of them to help with your forecasting, though SalesCentric will probably allow you to be more accurate with it.Alongside the need to set some form of percentage weighting at each stage, it will help you to know the ratios between each stage of the sales process. The way to go about this is to work backwards!! * As we stated earlier ? how many orders (commitments) do you need each month?* How many proposals will you need to be doing to achieve this number? (and what is the time lapse between presenting them and getting the response?) Do you convert 1 in 3, 1 in 2 or what?* To get to formal proposals, how many people need to be at the "analysis" stage?* To be able to do this ? how many do you need,,,,,,,,,,you can get the idea!These numbers will help you to create the right sales controls for yourself. If you are not talking to enough people at the start of the process, you are extremely unlikely to get sufficient sales!The next phase is to look at each of the stages and think about how you can assess your chances of generating business. What criteria can you use for each one? Past relationships, number of contacts you have, relevant experience, number of competitors in the frame etc.,etc. You will need to work this out for your own organisation. You may then make some decisions about how you progress opportunities. What can you do to increase your chances? When do you decide to pull out of the opportunity?When you are creating your forecast these percentages and numbers can then be combined to give you the potential ? and with some anticipated timescales. For example, if you have £150,000 of business being discussed, proposed or tendered you can do the maths. If £60,000 is at the 30% stage, that equates to £18,000. The other £90,000 might be at 50% - giving a potential of £45,000. Therefore the forecast would be £63,000. You might be able to get more than this if you take action to increase the % probability ? but based on a realistic assessment, your forecast is not £150,000!! It is having figures like that in mind which can cause problems, being far too sunny! Encourage everyone to use an effective sales planning and reporting process that is relevant for your market, or even insist on it! Then manage that process, correcting problems early on rather than when sales are not happening ? and set the weightings for the forecast. Let your sales people give you accurate forecasts, do not compel false optimism. There is no harm in being sunny, just be sure it will happen!!References: www.salescentric.com, Saleslogix, ACT and Goldmine are available from many suppliers.Graham Yemm a founding partner of Solutions 4 Training Ltd.During his years as a consultant he has worked with a variety of major companies in the U.K., Europe, USA, the Middle East and Russia in Sales, People and Management Skills. He has had many years of experience tailoring programmes to address organisational issues around sales, account management, negotiations, sales management and customer service ? especially focusing on the communication and personal skills aspects.Graham is a Master Practitioner of NLP and was involved with setting up and running "The Business Group", which promotes uses of NLP in organisations. He is an accredited trainer for the LAB profile programme ? "Words that Change Minds". His personal enjoyment comes from helping individuals to take more responsibility for their own actions? freeing them to feel they can make more choices about their lives. Contact, http://solutions4training.com/ or +1483 480656

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arrow right Your Extended Shadow And Successful Sales Management

In a small midwestern town, the local high school of 878 students recently produced its first state championship basketball team in over 90 years. The community has had an organized city basketball league for its younger boys for many years. But, this league, designed to spot talent early and then feed the high school basketball program, did nothing to produce the state title. There is also an open gym at the high school every Tuesday and Thursday night to encourage the young men in the community to play basketball. But like the city league, this open gym contributed nothing to the team in its championship bid.A local banker, a former college all-star, has volunteered his services for one dollar a year to assist the high school's coaching staff. The boy's varsity basketball program also has an able assistant coach. But these two accomplished assistant coaches, like the city league and the open gym, were of no value in helping the boy's varsity team win the state title. The reason these community programs and an extra coach had little effect in producing the state title, was that the state championship was won by the high school's girls varsity basketball team.Everyone in town, with the exception of the school's administration, can see that the failure of the boy's varsity basketball program lies with the head coach. The girl's coach is a woman who is tough but fair, a coach who works hard to build self-esteem and confidence in each member of her squad. She teaches the fundamentals, drills her team for skill and then empowers her players to make decisions on the court that will get the job done. The confidence she has developed in each member of the team gave the girl's team the ability, under extreme pressure, to put up the winning shot at the final buzzer, to take the state championship.On the other hand, the boy's varsity head coach is a tyrant who literally destroys his players by trying to mold them into an antiquated system that fails to capitalize on each boy's strengths. He makes all the decisions and directs the team from the sidelines. As a result, the boy's team rarely lives up to its potential or the investment in time, talent, and money the community has made in the boy's basketball program.Ralph Waldo Emerson has written that an organization "is the extended shadow of one man." As this example of the two high school basketball coaches illustrates, it is the extended shadow of the coach that makes a winning or a losing basketball team. At the supervisory level in your company or firm, it is the extended shadow of the manager, more than any other single element that is the key to developing a sales culture and consistently achieving sales success.To learn more about how to cast a positive shadow check out The $elling Edge, Inc. Coaching & Team Development self-directed learning manual at http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/team.htmVIRDEN J. THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, California. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides. Check out the listed books and manuals at http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/books1.htmVirden teaches for the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University at Lubbock, Texas and in the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School Of Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. You can contact Virden at: Virden@TheSellingEdge.com.

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arrow right Baditude!

As a group of sales trainees took a break from our workshop on selling, the distress they were feeling, was clearly manifest in their intense discussions. It was obvious from their unrestrained conversations that the software being installed to track their sales performance was the reason for their anxiety. It was also evident from their negative comments, that many of these trainees had already given up on selling their company's services and that no amount of sales training could help them sell their firm's services. Our client, a large midwestern service firm, was willing to pay generous incentives for their customer service staff to up sell additional services. Yet, most participants in this training session felt, for a variety of reasons, that obtaining additional sales was impossible.Jenny, a customer service representative from one of the inner-city offices of the firm was typical in her feelings about being asked to sell. She talked about how difficult it was to achieve sales success because of her location and the unique customer base she worked with daily. She said it would be impossible to achieve the sales success of coworkers in the more wealthy suburban locations-"so why even try?"Jenny specifically talked about a coworker by the name of Arlene who had been exceptionally productive in producing sales over the last three months. Arlene worked at a branch in an upper middle class suburb. She had earned over half the incentive pool for her sales success, doubling her income. Jenny told the group, that she was sure she could do the same thing, if she could work in the suburbs like Arlene.On meeting Arlene for the first time, you might surmise that her warm and friendly disposition produced her ongoing sales success. She has a great personality. As Jenny inferred, you might also feel, after visiting her office, that her location assisted in her phenomenal sales success. Her customers certainly have the money to invest in her products and services. However, to learn exactly what was behind Arlene's success, the firm's regional sales manager had her "shopped," (had someone act like a customer to check her performance). They also had her local manager observe her work for a few days to see if they could learn more about her success. On closer scrutiny, the sales manager learned that Arlene consistently used the selling process The $elling Edge®, Inc. had taught her in our workshops and our Self-Directed Learning reinforcement series. Along with Arlene's warmth, friendly personality and favorable location, it appeared that using our "selling process" was the major factor in her consistent sales success.Because there were so many complaints about the unfair incentive and tracking system being implemented by the firm, the regional sales manager decided to run a test on his staff. He wanted to see if Jenny was correct in her assessment. Did the location of a branch dramatically impact an employee's ability to sell and earn additional income? Was it true that location alone determined the amount of incentive bonuses paid out? Overnight, this manager reassigned Arlene to Jenny's inner-city location. Jenny then took Arlene's place in the suburbs.The first week after the transfer, Arlene's sales plummeted, possibly giving some credence to Jenny's theory. What few sales Jenny had been making also declined her first week in the suburbs. Since neither employee was familiar with their new customer base, these reductions in sales seemed in order. However, on checking the two representative's sales success on a weekly basis, the sales manager soon learned that location had little to do with sales or lack of success. As the weeks progressed, Arlene's sales began to steadily climb. After a month and a half in the inner-city location, her level of sales success was right back up to her production levels before her move to the inner-city. Jenny, on the other hand, over the test period, was never able to move her sales beyond what she had been doing before her move. Of course, she had an excuse for not performing well. Jenny told everyone that her sales were low because she had not had the time to get to know the customers in her new location.Although Jenny had a pleasant personality and seemed to get along well with people, her new manager observed that she seemed unwilling to learn and then use any of the sales techniques taught in our workshops. When she was "shopped" during the test period, it was obvious that Jenny tried to use her personality to persuade her customers to buy from her. Not once did she move out from behind her desk to greet customers, nor did she shake their hand. She immediately got down to business, and failed to build rapport with the people she served. She preferred to be efficient and in turn was not at all effective in selling her firm's products and services. In short, Jenny did none of the things that would help her build the kind of customer relationships that regularly produced additional sales.As the manager evaluated the results of the test, it became clear that Jenny's bad attitude about selling was at the heart of her poor sales record. Also, not learning and using the sales tools she had been given was the deciding factor in her lack of sales success. Arlene, on the other hand, had proven that an office location was not a major factor in the sales process for this firm.On closer scrutiny, the regional sales manager found that a bad attitude about sales permeated the entire inner-city staff. To a person, they felt that they could not sell the customers they served, so they quit trying. While at the suburban location, everyone was upbeat about the new sales skills they had acquired from our workshop and used the methods to consistently sell their customers and earn more money while they generated more business for the firm.As the regional sales manager looked into this attitude problem further, it became clear that the contrast in staff feelings about the consultative sales process they had been taught, primarily emanated from their respective managers. For the most part, Jenny only parroted back what she had heard her inner-city manager say about the selling process. On the other hand, Arlene's attitude about selling simply mirrored what flowed daily from her suburban manager.As you lead your sales team, what messages are you sending to them about the selling process? Do they know that you believe in and personally use the sales tools that they must master to succeed? Are they able to use your example as a springboard to staff sales success? It really is your extended shadow that controls how well your staff performs their sales duties. As the research into the selling process outlined in this lesson clearly shows, sales success, truly lies in the extended shadow of the sales manager or supervisor. Check out our personal sales coaching training at:http://wwwTheSellingEdge.com/personalCoaching.htmVIRDEN J. THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, California. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides.Check out the listed books and manuals at http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/books1.htm Virden teaches for the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University at Lubbock, Texas and in the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School Of Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. You can contact Virden at: Virden@TheSellingEdge.com.

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arrow right Poor Performance - Fix it by Coaching

Coaching is about finding out the cause of poor performance or behaviour and discussing with the team member how to put it right.The team member might respond immediately to coaching and improve the situation. However the improvement wont always be permanent and you may have to do further coaching.When I suggest this to some managers, they see it as some kind of touchy-feely softly-softly approach. Let me assure you right now - it's not! It's about telling the team member what part of their behaviour you're unhappy with, listening to what they have to say and agreeing a way forward.The goal is to achieve a change in behaviour that the team member is committed to and helps you achieve your outcomes.Coaching benefitsThink of a time when somebody, a teacher, parent, boss, - coached, taught or encouraged you get better at something. When I ask this question on a seminar I get responses such as -

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arrow right The Effective Executive

What does it mean to be an "effective executive"? Well very simply it means achieving the goals you set out to achieve in an efficient, creative and effortless manner. Some of the benefits that ensue from this self efficacy are: feelings of self confidence, self esteem, self worth, a sense of personal empowerment, feeling invigorated and passionate about everything you choose to do, a sense of resilience, more energy, personal emotional and physical health and for some a great sense of purpose.How much of the time do you feel any or all of these? Surveys I have done over the last several years suggest that most executives feel

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arrow right Effective Sales Territory Management

How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch.If you manage a territory that has existing customers, your first priority should be to introduce yourself to every single one of your customers. This should be a pleasant, low-key introduction along the lines of,

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arrow right Are Your Business Proposals Losing You Sales? 10 Steps to Get the ?Yes? You

Your ability to write an effective and persuasive business proposal directly relates to your level of success. Write a great proposal and you'll get the contract or make the sale. Write a ho-hum proposal and your prospect will go elsewhere.Regardless of the product or service you're pitching, your prospect makes his or her ultimate decision based on how you write the proposal, not the product or service itself. That means even if you have the best product in the world, if you write the proposal poorly, you probably won't get the deal. A lesser quality product or service may very well beat you out just because the other person knew how to write persuasively.For any proposal you submit, realize that your prospect is likely reviewing at least twenty others. Therefore, your job is to make your proposal not only stand out, but also get selected as the bidder of choice. To increase the odds of your proposal winning, follow the proposal writing guidelines below. Doing so will enable you to get the "yes" you deserve.1. Always use the prospect's correct name, title, and company name. While this may sound obvious, many salespeople and business owners send proposals to the wrong person, or they misspell the prospect's name or company name, or they write an incorrect corporate title. Such oversights make a negative impression and alert the prospect to the fact that you're careless. If you don't know how to spell someone's name or his or her exact title, call the person's office and ask. While you're at it, verify the street address and company name. Is the prospect's title that of Sales Director or Sales Manager? Is the company an Inc or an LLC? Are they located at 41 Buckingham Street or Avenue? Prospects look at these details to get a feel for your professionalism and attention to detail. Pay attention to the details every time.2. Always include a cover letter that includes the reason for your proposal.Since your prospect is likely reviewing more proposals than just yours, include a brief cover letter that recaps any conversations you've had and that clearly states why you're presenting your proposal. After all, if you don't state why you're sending this 10-30 page document to someone, why should they bother reading it? For example, you could write, "I am enclosing the proposal we discussed on June 1 that will introduce you to the ABC widget. Based on your stated needs of (state the needs), you will see in the proposal that this widget will (state the benefit)." Too many salespeople fail to state a reason for the proposal. But if you don't give people an immediate reason to keep reading, you'll miss your chance to capture their attention. A lonely proposal in an envelope or attached to an e-mail gets absolutely nowhere.3. Always include an immediate, brief overview of your product or service.In one opening paragraph, state what your product or service is, what pain or challenge it solves, and how your prospect will benefit from what you offer. Stick to the facts. Resist the temptation to make your product or service sound grander than life. Phrases like "first," "only," "greatest," revolutionary," and "groundbreaking" typically raise red flags and indicate that you're exaggerating.4. Always include research and development information.Your company has likely done plenty of research into your product or service, so highlight the findings in your proposal. Show your prospects that they're getting more than just any old product or service. Show them all the benefits they'll get when they invest their time and money into your solution, and why that investment is worthwhile. Highlight any intriguing findings or principles that relate to your prospect's challenge. Show them that your company knows what they're going through, have done the research for them, and now have the best solutions for their needs.5. Always write in chunks.A business proposal is not a book or a magazine article. Structure your proposal so your prospect can skim read it and pull paragraphs out as needed. Think in sound bytes and text block chunks. Why? Because studies show that people have greater comprehension and longer retention when printed information is presented to them in bullet points, numbered lists, or some other format that sections out pertinent details.6. Always include all the important technical details.Make sure your proposal lists the small but important technical details your prospect will need to know. How many items come in a case? How many user licenses does it include? How long of a warranty is included? Does the price include service calls, consultation, or training? If so, how much? Don't let your prospect guess about anything. Make it easy for them to get the facts so they can make a quick and informed decision.7. Always state the obvious.Remember, the prospect reading your proposal does not know much, if anything, about your product or service yet. So just because you know that an accounting computer program can calculate and create employee paychecks, don't expect your prospect to make that assumption. They need to read everything, even the obvious, or they may not realize all the features and benefits your solution provides.8. Always write for an eighth-grader.Most mainstream and business publications are written at an eighth-grade level, so no matter how complex your product or service is, keep your proposal geared so that an eighth-grader can understand it. This is not to imply that your prospect is dumb or uneducated; rather, he or she is a busy professional who is pressed for time. Your prospect wants the information presented in the simplest way. So resist the temptation to impress people with your big words and over-complex solutions. Instead, impress them with your knack for making a complicated solution easy.9. Always use good grammar.Sure, you want your proposal to gain attention, so breaking some grammar rules for added impact or emphasis is okay. But don't overdo it or you may appear careless. Remember, you're selling a professional solution. If your proposal is riddled with errors, your prospect may think your solution is too. Always have a co-worker or professional editor read your proposal prior to sending it. In today's marketplace, bad grammar could cost you the sale.10. Always make a compelling call to action.What do you want the person reading your proposal to do? Buy your product? Contract for your services? Stock your merchandise in his or her store? Whatever action you want your prospect to take, state it clearly. "I recommend you begin by placing an introductory order for 500 piece." "I suggest we start with a three-month consulting contract." "I recommend you devote three shelves to this product." Tell them precisely what you want.The Winning ProposalAs any business owner or salesperson knows, "you're only as good as your last proposal." So commit to enhancing your business proposals, and focus on writing effectively and persuasively. By following these pointers, you'll be 10 steps closer to landing that next deal.Dawn Josephson, the Master Writing Coach?, is President and founder of Cameo Publications, LLC, an editorial and publishing services firm located in Hilton Head Island, SC. Dawn empowers leaders to master the printed word for enhanced credibility, positioning, and profits. She is also the author of the book Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books and the co-author (with Lauren Hidden) of the new book Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros. Contact her at dawn@cameopublications.com or at 1-866-372-2636.

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arrow right A Fracas in the Franchise - Keep Your Customers by Keeping Your Workers

As a previous owner of a Franchise I know the importance of maintaining employee commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm in maximising customer satisfaction, generating positive customer perception and protecting your investment.Repeat business is the life-blood of any business worth its salt. Coupled with a structured approach to increasing market share, looking at the 'window of opportunity' and delivering services with excellence and cultivating positive customer perceptions would appear to be a recipe for success.Have you ever stood at the front counter of a business and overheard employee dialogue or noticed that some employees appear to convey displeasure with their jobs?As a person, and practitioner, interested in people it has often been my observation that many Franchisees need to wake up and realise that people management is not that complicated or as difficult as they may have thought. There are a few simple things that can be done to build an environment of high trust amongst employees.However, it appears that not all franchise owners practise what they preach. Many espouse that 'we treat our employees as valuable assets of the business'. This has always been a great source of amusement to me (because experience has often demonstrated otherwise).Some people engage subtlety in intimidating staff, constantly making nit picking comments, refusing to lead by example and reducing staff numbers to the point where the bear minimum of staff are left to serve in the business. This begins to seriously effect employee moral, customers are disenfranchised and owners wonder why profits are down.Take this true, real life example which I was actively involved in some months ago (names and details changed to ensure privacy).Aunty Marges was a Brisbane Franchise that appeared on the scene several years ago. Aunty Marges specialised in quality cookies, cake and coffee. A husband and wife bought two of these Franchises.The new owner's employed 4 staff in one particular location. Staff was rostered on at different times throughout the day with one of the owners helping for part of the day. The roster started at 7.30am and normally finished at 6.00pmIt was a busy business located in a popular shopping centre, was a pressurised environment. The owners had over-extended their borrowing capacity.Janelle, a teenager had been employed along with the other 3 employees to work in the business.Janelle was known to be a hard worker who went out of her way to up-sell, interacted well with customers and took her job seriously. Despite being in her last year of college she took her responsibilities seriously.One morning the owners called a staff meeting where they admitted that they were over-committed and requested that employees put in an extra effort. When staff left they were not replaced.The friendliness soon began to disappear and the owners began to leave critical notes scolding employees and placing more demands on them. As a result staff began resigning.One night as our family was over at Janelle's place the telephone rang. It was for Janelle. The business owner (the wife) rang up and was obviously berating the teenager on the telephone.Janelle went to her room sobbing and came back some time later to tell her parents and our family what had occurred.Over the next four months this became a consistent occurrence. Finally Janelle had enough and I was asked to speak with the owners, which I did.Why is it that some people seem to have a moribund fascination in causing other people pain and afflicting them with a life a drudgery and frustration. Our teenagers need positive role models instead of having roadblocks placed in their paths.Why is it that we consistently hear about businesses that seem to pay lip service to 'our employees are our most valuable assets' behave abominably and wonder why the books are down?What is Workplace Harassment?Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 employers have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of all workers by managing risks at the workplace.1. A person is subjected to "workplace harassment" if the person is subjected to repeated behaviour, by a person, including the person's employer or a co-worker or group of co-workers of the person that-(a) is unwelcome and unsolicited; and.(b) the person considers to be offensive, intimidating, humiliating or threatening; and(c) a reasonable person would consider to be offensive, humiliating, intimidating or threatening.A recent draft statement released by the Queensland Government includes some examples of behaviour, where repeated or occurring as part of a pattern of behaviour, may be considered workplace harassment includes the following.Abusing the person/s loudly, usually when others are present;Repeated threats of dismissal or other severe punishment for no reason;Constant ridicule and being put down;Leaving offensive messages on email or the telephone;Sabotaging the person's work for example by deliberately withholding or supplying incorrect information; hiding documents or equipment; not passing on messages; and in other ways, getting the worker into trouble;Maliciously excluding and isolating the person/s from workplace activities; Persistent and unjustified criticisms, usually of the nit-picking variety;Humiliating the person/s through sarcasm, criticism and insults, often in front of customers, management or other workers;Spreading gossip or false, malicious rumours about the person/s with an intent to cause them harm;Singling out and treating person/s differently from others, without good reasonEffects of Workplace Harassment on the Employees and the BusinessWorkplace harassment has detrimental effects on workers and the workplace.Workers who are harassed can become:distressed, anxious, withdrawn and depressedphysically ill, sleep deprivedaggressive, vengefulless self-confident and develop low self-esteem.Workplace harassment may result in:loss of trained and talented workers;loss of profits;reduced productivity and morale;an unsafe working environment; andlegal costs for a workplace.Employer Costs ? (off your bottom-line)Employers who engage in these behaviours may face stiff penalties and the full weight of the law.? Costs to the employer include high staff turnover, which inturn places added pressure on owners to spend longer hours in the business.? Low morale which decreases productivity? Workplace investigations by the OH&S people? Higher workers compensation premiums where the claim has been proven? Legal penalties and damages awards in some circumstances? Mediation Fees? Becoming known as a 'bad' employer? Indirect costs (often significant) added to the bottom line.? Incurring the displeasure of the master franchise holder.It has been my experience that on average an employer will be out of pocket through direct and indirect means by $25,000 for one incidence.PreventionYou can effectively manage workplace harassment by adopting some of the following proceduresRecognise your strengths and weaknesses and educate yourself and your employees.Make a commitment to treat staff with respect. You have a vested interest in doing this.Introduce a workplace specific harassment policy for all levels of management and staff.Arrange for an in-house seminar on workplace harassment and have employees sign to say they will comply with the policy.Deal with all complaints immediately, confidentially and thoroughly.The place where Janelle previously was employed continues to be an unhappy place, the owners are stressed and the master franchise holder is unhappy with the owners.Do not ignore workplace harassment and think you will get away with it. You can find other helpful articles at www.biz-momentum.comPhilip Lye is the founder of Biz Momentum providing strategic human resource management to help you grow your business. He is an expert in workplace team building and prevention of workplace conflict. Drop by today and find helpful information at http://www.biz-momentum.com. Send us your question for an answer from us.

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arrow right Book of Lists Marketing for Pressure Washing Companies

The American Business Journals produces a Book of Lists each year in their many markets, it is wise for pressure washing companies to use this book of lists to find new clientele. The book of lists, lists the top companies in size in all industry sectors. Since pressure washing companies clean almost anything, it behooves them to use the book to selectively target the top companies to do business with.A combination of phone and fax selling works best to secure personal appointments. Below is a rough idea of how our company uses the book of lists for new sales. If you own a pressure washing company you should too. You may wish to copy this article and three-hole punch it for your marketing binder. Think about it and Wash On !- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -BOOK OF LIST INSTRUCTIONSPersonal Car Washing ?Skip those businesses with less than 25 employeesBusiness Parks, Commercial Buildings, Property Management Companies ?Fax to them every quarterMake personal visit every 6 monthsContractors -Fax fleet flyers every 4 to 6 monthsFranchise Headquarters -Stay away from franchise headquarters that are in our industry or are in a service businessDay Care Centers, Senior Care/Retirement Living Facilities ?Fax every 6 monthsBoat/Marine Industry -Fax 1 time each year and visit 1 time per yearHotels, Motels -Fax every 6 monthsTravel Agencies -Skip for 6 months to one year after Sept 2001 attack on AmericaManufacturing -Call purchasing and facilities departments every 6 monthsHouse Washing -Fax every 3 ? 4 monthsApartment Complexes -Fax in October and February** Watch for duplicate fax numbers. Some companies own for example 5 hotels, 2 office complexes, 5 restaurants. They only need one fax. Such companies should also get a personal visit. Always call and get permission to fax first and a name to put at the top of the fax so it gets to the right person.

Bandu2 - Herit.gif  వర్గం: సంఘము   »   0 పుస్తకాలు   »   తేదీ: 02/01/2012 05:46   »   ద్వారా: Mouhamadou-bamb ...

arrow right Are Your Sales Meetings Boring?

Many sales meetings are boring and a waste of salespeople's time, say the majority of salespeople I interview. A review of what's going on in the market is good to know, but to be effective, sales meetings need to be a lot more than that venues for quick market updates.Inviting a vendor's sales representation to present a product training program never hurts, but if product knowledge were the criteria for success in sales, about 90% of the fledgling salespeople in North America who are about to lose their jobs would be top performers. While product knowledge is important, it won't turn a mediocre performer into a top producer.What's missing in most of the salespeople I meet is a general lack of sales skill. But rarely do I see sales meetings focus on teaching salespeople how to sell more products to existing customers or how to penetrate a prospect who is giving the lion's share of his purchases to the competition.Here are several ideas that will allow your sales force to leave their next sales meeting with enough ammunition to improve their performance:1. Ask two or three of your top salespeople to join the manager or sales manager on a panel. Give the sales force enough advance notice to identify several sales obstacles they are facing and jot each of them down on a separate piece of paper. At the sales meeting, call out the question and allow the panel to respond with their most effective ideas.2. Invite three loyal customers to attend your next sales meeting and answer questions from the sales force about what services they most appreciate from a salesperson and what it is about your company that makes them such loyal customers.3. Invite each salesperson draw a number out of a hat to determine the order each salesperson will present a 15-to-20-minute sales presentation on a key product line that the company is emphasizing. What makes this approach especially effective is to capture each presentation on video. When the presentations are over, replay the video and ask the audience to critique each presentation.4. Ask each salesperson to present to the sales force background and details on one of his or her key prospects. Invite the sales force to make suggestions as to what the salesperson might do differently to penetrate this account.5. Buy a copy of the One-Minute Salesperson for each salesperson to read, then at the sales meeting, go around the room and ask the salespeople to tell the group what they plan to do differently after reading this little book.6. Announce a sales contest that will reward the sales force with a weekend getaway if they achieve a measurable goal over a measurable time frame. Goals could include:? Bring in five new credit-approved customers who purchase a minimum of $10,000 over the next 120 days.? Identify each salesperson's year-to-date gross margin. Improve individual gross margin by one percentage point over the next 120 days.? Achieve a sales goal on an emphasis product line over the next 120 days.7. Identify specific problems your company's typical customers frequently face and brainstorm specific techniques to help your customers overcome them.8. Brainstorm what your company has to offer customers in your industry that your individual competitors cannot match. What sets your company apart from each of your key competitors?Set a personal goal to make your company's sales meetings more fun and more effective in 2005.Bill Lee is author of Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line. $29.95 plus $5 S&H. All credit cards accepted. http://www.mygrossmargin.com or email blee@mygrossmargin.com

Bandu2 - Herit.gif  వర్గం: సంఘము   »   0 పుస్తకాలు   »   తేదీ: 02/01/2012 05:46   »   ద్వారా: Mouhamadou-bamb ...

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