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సంఘము » సందేశాలు - పేజీ 3799
arrow right Seven Critical Qualifying Questions

Training your salespeople to not waste time working unqualified accounts, or building relationships with the wrong people in qualified companies is imperative to the long the term success of our sales team and your company.By understanding your salespeople's natural fear of qualifying, you can better coach them to ask the seven critical qualifying questions early in the sales cycle. Their productivity will improve, and you will acheive more sales in less time.Why Don't They Qalify?There are two reasons why even veteran sales pros lapse into working unqulaified accounts. The first is tactical. Salespeople, who typically have a highly political style, don't want to offend a prospect by asking questions about decision making, spending authority, and budgets too early in the sales process. They want to make friends first.The second and primary reason is psychological. It is part of the typical salesperson's pshychological makeup to want to be liked. And most salespeople are very likeable. Unfortunately, it is more comfortable in the short run for the salesperson to build a relationship with the wrong person than to ask questions that may alienate the prospect.Succumbing to TemptationThe nature of the sales job reinforces this fear of early qualification. Because salespeople face a lot of rejection, they are vulnerable to the song of praise and positive feedback from their prospects.For the prospect, it can be almost like having a congenial (and free!) employee doing problem analysis and preparing the way for the prospect's solution. For the salesperson, it provides frequent strokes. And because the relationship is good, it is natural for the salesperson to assume that he or she will eventually make the sale.Of course, if the prospect is not legitimately qualified, it is only a matter of time before both parties realize that the salesperson's solution is not a fit. But by then the salesperson has wasted valuable time. Even worse, he or she may have wasted aditional valuable resources such as sales and technical support.Teach Early QualificationIt is reasonable, therfore, for the sales manager to require and verify that the seven critical qualifying questions are answered early in every sales cycle.By all means, this should be done before your company commits sales support or technical personnel to the sales effort. This is especially important in longer sales cycles or more expensive products.A good time to do this is during the forecast and review sessions that most managers schedule on a regular basis.During these meetings, confirm that each salesperson is asking the

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

arrow right The Biggest Mistake in Sales Prospecting

Recently I received a prospecting voice mail message from a salesperson. The salesperson explained his company was "the leader in Microsoft hosted Exchange solutions" and he encouraged me to visit his company's website. That was it - that was the "meat" of the voice mail message.If you received that salesperson's voice mail message, what would go through your mind? Do you think it might it be a question like,

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

arrow right Youre Hired... I Think

I'm not a fan of "The Donald" and I had never seen his hit show until last week. Bernadette, my wife, seems hooked on "The Apprentice" and makes a habit of watching every Thursday while I usually go off to our den to read a book. Each week, she encourages me to watch - and each week I decline. I keep telling her she is probably the only person over 35 to be interested in his show.

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

arrow right More Customers! Less Work!

Wouldn't it be nice if there were an inexpensive method for creating more customers? There is!Many businesses spend a lot of money in an attempt to increase sales and generate a larger customer base. They use online advertising and print ads. Both these methods can be costly. Instead of spending money on expensive advertising campaigns, let's look at these simple methods to increased sales.Use Articles Instead of AdsPeople tend to more readily believe what they read in published articles as opposed to advertising. They have learned that advertising has one purpose and that's to sell them something. Instead of investing a lot of money in an advertising campaign, invest a little effort.Schedule some of your time to writing articles about your product(s). This will start to establish you as an expert. Give away free information. As people begin to trust what you tell them, they are more inclined to ask you questions and buy from you.We don't want to give up on advertising altogether. But, when you run an advertisement, try to make the advertisement look more like an article than an ad. Many large companies have been employing this technique for many years. It's time you start!Make certain you also include customer testimonials in your ads. People like to know what others say about you so don't hide those good comments!Secure & Use TestimonialsTypically, people pay more attention to what others have to say about you than what you have to say about yourself. That makes sense. You are trying to sell them something. Your customers aren't trying to sell them anything.So how to you get customer testimonials? Pick up the phone and call your customers! Provide an after-sale customer satisfaction survey. Make certain you have a note attached to the survey saying their comments may be used in your advertising and your website. Ask what they thought of your product or service. Inquire what they liked about it and how it was helpful for them.Then, feature these testimonials prominently in your marketing materials. But don't stop there! While you have them on the phone, how about asking for a referral?Get ReferralsWhen people need a new doctor, lawyer, plumber, mechanic or a hairdresser, they typically ask a friend for a referral. Individuals trust the recommendations of people they know. In fact, that's how the majority of people find new jobs.Don't wait for the occasional referral to come in spontaneously. Implement a proactive system to generate referrals. Most businesses lack referrals simply because they fail to ask happy customers. Start asking!Personalize Your Marketing MessagePeople do business with people they like. You need to help prospects get to know you and trust you. Let your passion and personality come across in your marketing, as well as your professionalism. Include a picture of yourself, with a smile, in a prominent place on the first page of your marketing materials.Make Contacting You EasyIf you want clients and prospects to get in touch with you, make it easy. Put your phone number at the top of your marketing materials and tell them to call. When you call them, give them your phone number again at the end of the conversation and tell them to call. If you have a web site, put a contact form at the bottom of your home page and every other page on your website.Stay in Touch With Customers & ProspectsMake it a habit to contact customers regularly. When you do, don't always be in a sales mode. Keep track of their purchases and when a reorder might be appropriate. Then, send them a reminder about reordering so they don't run out.Communication isn't the only ingredient for developing a relationship with customers, but it is a critical one. If you sell services or high end products, a personal phone call is one of the best ways to answer prospects questions, and to establish trust. Contact your prospects and clients regularly and get feedback on what they are concerned about.Start bloggingThe power of weblogs is that they allow millions of people to easily publish their ideas, and millions more to comment on them. Increasingly people write, read and comment on blogs. Many people mistakenly believe that blogs are only personal diaries. More and more, blogs are being used by businesses to attract customers.A successful blog is written with a distinct audience in mind. In this way, you can provide content that is unique to your audience's issues, needs, or desires. Successful blogging takes a commitment of your time. When you begin blogging and wish to capture an audience, you should be prepared to blog every day. In this way, you can develop an audience who counts on you to help them begin or end their day. How does a blog help you generate sales?When people return time and again to your blog because you provide them with relevant or entertaining information, they will comment. When they post comments, you get a chance to start a relationship. And, many who do not comment, will still be referred to your personal information and your products.All of the methods we have discussed here to increase sales are relatively inexpensive. For those of you on a limited marketing budget, the rewards can be great. Time to get started!Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a "Corporate Freedom Fighter" dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to "Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time".

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

arrow right How to Boost Your Sales Letter Conversion Rate

Emotion and reason mix very well together to make excellent sales techniques. Expert copywriters, while writing their sales copy in a systematic and methodological way, use emotions and emotional triggers all the time.The famous Robert Collier must have been a real master of this technique. When I studied some of his letters, I discovered the use of emotional triggers so subtle that you hardly notice them. What a wonderful way of selling.Using emotion sales techniques brings results, as the example of Collier may show.Some people however, consider such methods, especially when emotion is used, as some sort of persuading

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

arrow right How to Maximize Sales by Minimizing Windshield Time

During the late 1980's I was a field sales representative for a computer distributor, selling computer systems and peripherals in and around Los Angeles, California. The traffic was horrendous, and the time I wasted driving to and from appointments just drove me crazy (no pun intended).Sure, you could have cell phone conversations with prospects and customers, but you couldn't write notes while driving (unless you had a death wish), and you couldn't prepare proposals and fax them. Plus, there was nothing like slogging through traffic to attend a meeting, only to learn that the meeting had been cancelled at the last minute.Why did I spend so much time driving? The company I worked for had a prejudice against salespeople spending time in the office. They felt that salespeople should be in front of prospects and customers as much as humanly possible, and that time spent is the office was

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

arrow right Customers Do Not Know How To Ask Good Questions ? That Is Your Job

Customers will ask you a question and you'll proceed to talk about your product. That is why you are not making more sales. It is your product knowledge that keeps getting in the way. Not that you do not have enough product knowledge ? trust me you have plenty. It is that you are not listening to what your customer is truly asking you. You are taking their questions or statements literally instead of trying to clarify what it is they are truly asking you.Customers do not know what questions to ask. So instead they ask a question that they are comfortable with hoping that you will find out what they truly want. By getting to the heart of the matter and finding out why they ask what they ask, you will unlock the key to the sale.If you are able to focus your presentation on the customer and how the customer will benefit from a product and your competition has focused their presentation on product knowledge; you will win the sale every time. Customers buy emotionally and they justify their purchase logically. This means that you have to sell emotionally and validate their decision with logic. It will never work the other way around.When you focus on the emotional reason that the person is listening to you today and speak in terms of how the product will benefit them, you are giving the customer what they want; solutions!Don't get me wrong, product knowledge is necessary, but you are very likely bringing it up too soon in your presentation. Your customer does not care about you, your product, or your company. They only care about themselves and fulfilling the need that they have today. Therefore everything that you talk about should be in terms of them and how they are going to benefit from your product. So put your product knowledge aside for one second and focus on your customer's needs.The only way to find out the customer's needs is with good questions. If a customer immediately asks a specific technical question about your product, then you need to ask yourself why they are asking that question. Think about it for a minute. Most salespeople in your industry will immediately go into a product puke session about nuts, bolts, and widgets instead of asking the customer "why do you ask?" Remember, they are not having a conversation with you today to buy nuts, bolts, and widgets. They are having a conversation with you today for some other reason and it is your job to find out what that reason is.The next time you are getting ready to launch into a presentation about why your product's specs are better than the product specs down the street; I challenge you to ask yourself, will this customer truly NOT benefit from the other product?For more information on engaging questions that you can use to get your customer talking; send a blank email to questions@tomrichard.com.Tom Richard is the President of Tom Richard Marketing and specializes in both marketing and sales education. Visit his website at http://www.tomrichard.com

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

arrow right Is It Time To Rethink Your Sales Training Program or Is Your Sales Training

Sales is still a must for any company who wishes to stay in the marketplace. A recent Internet search uncovered over 471,000,000 hits on the words sales or selling. Visiting an Internet bookstore revealed similar interest with almost 11,400 titles including the key word of sales, over 8,208 titles with the key word of selling and 4,700 titles with the key words of sales and marketing.Extensive research conducted by the American Society for Testing and Development (ASTD) discovered direct training expenditures were 2% of payroll costs with another 10% of more in indirect costs. With all of this interest and dollars being invested in training and development for improved sales, possibly now is the time to assess your sales development.The following evaluation is for you, your manager, or your organization to determine the effectiveness of the current sales development initiatives within your company. After taking this quick assessment, some thoughts and questions to consider have been provided to help you truly discover how to secure the sales development results that you desire and more importantly require in today's highly competitive global business market.1. Are the learning engagements training (learning a new skill) or development (enhancing a current skill set to improve the already learned skill)? Training  Development2. Is there a minimum of 50 hours of training or development per year devoted to the development of the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes and habits necessary to become a world class organization? No  Yes3. Is the training or development offered on a weekly or biweekly basis providing ongoing opportunities for application and feedback? No  Yes4. Is the training or development offered on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis where learning engagements exceed 6 hours per day without opportunities for application and feedback between learning engagements? No  Yes5. Is the training or development aligned with the current organizational goals and supported from the top down by the CEO and executive committee? No  Yes6. Is the training or development based upon "core" competencies?  No  Yes7. If training or development is based upon "core" competencies, how many times have you had to repeat the training? None  1 time  2 times  3 times  4 times or more8. Is the training or development based upon "desired" results? No  Yes9. If the training or development is based upon "desired" results, how many times have you had to repeat the training or development? None  1 time  2 times  3 times  4 times or more10. Is the training or development based upon weaknesses or upon the strengths of each individual within the organization? Weaknesses  StrengthsThoughts and Questions for Your ConsiderationNow, that you have completed this straightforward assessment, the following thoughts and questions are designed to help you determine the effectiveness of your current sales training or development.1. Are the learning engagements training (learning a new skill) or development (enhancing a current skill set to improve that already learned skill)? Training  DevelopmentIf answer was training and the objective is to learn a new skill, you are right on target! However, if your people already possess skills, then the learning needs to focus on development. Development goes beyond training and works to build the What's In It For Me (WIIFM) leading to the What's In It For Us (WIIFU).2. Is there a minimum of 50 hours of training or development per year devoted to the development of the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes and habits necessary to become a world class organization? No  YesIf the answer was Yes, GREAT! You and your organization are committed to the your people and to reaching that next level of success. However, if any part of the answer was NO and you want to create a World-Class Organization, how are you going to achieve that goal? Much of the traditional training or development focuses on only knowledge and skills. Yet, performance failure more often than not is because of poor attitudes and habits. Attitude redevelopment is the KEY driving force to changing behaviors and securing sustainable results. Remember, if your people have spent at least 20 years learning something, one or even 10 hours per year will not significantly change their behaviors.3. Is the training or development offered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis providing ongoing opportunities for application and feedback? No  YesIf the answer was Yes, again CONGRATULTIONS! People need numerous opportunities to practice newly learned skills so that they are highly "competent" in both their attitudes and behaviors. For example we all know what 10 x 10 is. However, very few of us can answer as quickly and with as much confidence what 23 x 24 is.4. Is the training or development offered on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis where learning engagements exceed 5 to 6 hours per day without opportunities for application and feedback between learning engagements? No  YesIf the answer was Yes, then the learning may not be delivering the desired results and potentially creating a negative return on investment. Research suggests that a one time exposure to a learning event such as a 1 or 2 day full training or development session results in 50% cognitive retention after 24 hours; 25% cognitive retention after 48 hours and less than 2% cognitive retention after 16 days. Remember, the brain only absorbs, but the butt will endure.5. Is the training or development aligned with the current organizational goals and supported from the top down by the CEO and executive committee? No  YesIf you answered, Yes, again you and your company are headed for success. If the response was No, then you may wish to consider looking at your organizational goals to ensure alignment. An important side question to ask is can everyone in your organization name exactly the same top 3 organizational goals for the current year? If not, what are those "miss actions" costing you in terms of financials, leadership, relationships both external and internal and growth and innovation?6. Is the training or development curriculum based upon "core" competencies? No  YesIf you answered yes, then whose competencies are you using? Do all those competencies work for and with your organization and your people?7. If training or development curriculum is based upon "core" competencies, how many times have you had to repeat the training? None  1 time  2 times  3 times  4 times or moreIf you answered more than none, then is a core competency based curriculum, truly effective and creating the desired end result of transformation?8. Is the training or development based upon "desired" results? No  YesIf you answered No, then why are you undertaking this training or development?9. If the training or development is based upon "desired" results, how many times have you had to repeat the training or development? None  1 time  2 times  3 times  4 times or moreIf you answered more than none, then potentially, the desired end results were not clearly communicated within the ENTIRE organization. (Refer to above Question 5, the side question.)10. Is the training or development based upon weaknesses or upon the strengths of each individual within the organization? Weaknesses  StrengthsIf you answered, weaknesses, then the question is why do winning teams win? Is it because of their weaknesses or strengths? Training or development should be strength-based not weakness-based. A strength-based curriculum ensures that everyone is leveraging their assets while working to improve their potential strengths and weaknesses.This quick assessment as well as the hints and questions are designed to help you easily recognize where your current efforts might be redirected to ensure that your sales training and development is truly delivering your desired end results.Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, is the Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business and education experience, she builds peace and abundance by connecting the 3P's of Passion, Purpose and Performance through process improvement. Her ROI driven process solutions affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation with a variety of industries. She aligns the strategies, systems and people to develop loyal internal customers that lead to external customers. As co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential:Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for June 2005 release, Leanne speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please call Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 or email leanne@processspecialist.com if you are seeking amazing results.Copyright 2005 Leanne Hoagland-Smith, http://www.processspecialist.comPermission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted)

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arrow right Do You Know the Emotion Behind the Objection?

Prospects have many reasons (you might think excuses) for not buying your product or service. Many of these objections, however, are actually emotional defenses, and before you can overcome the obstacle you must recognize the emotion behind it. To help you analyze why your prospect doesn't want to buy from you, ask yourself the following questions.1. Does the buyer feel neglected? This is a prime danger of taking regular customers for granted. You could well walk in expecting a sure-thing order only to find that your customer isn't sure he or she wants to deal with you anymore. Why not?The buyer may feel that the amount of steady business that his or her company has provided merits more of your time and attention then you've been giving lately.The buyer may feel that his or her job depends on dealing with a supplier who can be trusted to deliver what was ordered when it's supposed to be delivered., who will still be available after the order is signed.If you've determined that neglect is the emotion behind the buyer's objection, the best thing to do would be to let the customer get all those feelings outside in the open. Once the buyer has made you aware of your shortcomings, he or she may still give you the order-once promised to do better in the future.2. Does the buyer feel that you're not showing enough respect? To some buyers, salespeople who just

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

arrow right 11 Secrets to Leadership in Sales

In his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill discussed the eleven secrets of leadership. In reading this work, it appears that the attributes of strong leadership and effective selling have a tremendous amount in common. After all, to be really successful in sales, you need to be a leader, both within your own organization, as well as to your clients and customers.To paraphrase management guru Peter Drucker, a leader is someone who not only does things right, but who also does the right things, while helping others do the same. The same holds true in sales: how better to serve your clients than to really know and understand what they do, and to truly help them do it better?With that in mind, here are Mr. Hill's eleven secrets to leadership, as they apply to leadership in selling:1. "Unwavering Courage": Selling successfully requires courage; taking a risk where the odds may seem stacked against you; courage to make that extra call, to deal with the tough client or prospect, and to not let anything deter you. As Hill says, courage is "based upon knowledge of self and one's occupation.2. "Self-Control": The ability to set a course for yourself and take disciplined action each day is a key attribute of all successful salespeople.3. "A keen sense of justice": Knowing right from wrong - understanding what is fair and just - allows you to make, wise informed decisions.4. "Definiteness of decision": Deciding on what you want to achieve, and then doing whatever it takes to get there, even in the face of obstacles and setbacks, is crucial to your success. For those who don't quite make it, failure can usually be traced back to a lack of decisiveness about what they really want.5. "Definiteness of plans": In Hill's words, "the successful leader must plan his work, and work his plan. Truer words were never spoken when it comes to selling. Plan your time, and then take action on your plan each and every day.6. "The habit of doing more than paid for": Want to sell more? Go the extra mile for your clients. Want to get the respect, admiration, and cooperation from your internal "clients" ? the people you need to rely on to implement or help you close sales? Go the distance for them as well.7. "A pleasing personality": Is selling a popularity contest? No, but would you buy something from someone who was nasty and rude?8. "Sympathy and understanding:" Selling is about understanding what people DO, and then helping them do it better. Plain and simple.9. "Mastery of detail": Ah, yes? The devil, as they say, is in the details. Ever work really hard to close a sale, only to have it fall apart because of some small detail that falls through the cracks? What may seem like a small detail to you can be a crucial one, maybe even a deal-breaker, to your prospect, customer, or client.10. "Willingness to assume full responsibility": No matter how much customer support your company provides, you are the prime representative of your organization. If you try to pass the buck to someone else, you lose respect and credibility. "But it really wasn't my fault that the shipment was delayed in customs and then the delivery truck was attacked a pack of wild dogs?" Doesn't matter; accept the responsibility for any problem and all details, and then do whatever needs to be done to make things right. Your clients need to know that you are their advocate.11. "Cooperation": You can't do it alone. Sales is a collaborative effort. Your prospects need to collaborate with you; you need the cooperation and assistance of others both inside and outside your organization to make things happen. The best salespeople are those who can work well with others, and with whom other people want to work.Think about these eleven areas of leadership, and ask yourself how you do on each of these items. Find areas where you can make improvements and chart your course to work on improving what you do each day; incremental improvements each day become exponential over time.Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.

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arrow right The Road to Pendingville is Paved with Good Intentions

If you've been in sales for any length of time, or have participated is a sales training program, chances are you've been taught to look for "buying signals" from your prospects. Buying signals can be important; but they can also easily be misinterpreted. We recently read an article in which the author equates certain statements or requests from your prospect with indication they are ready to buy. For example:- Your prospect repeats a question that has been answered fully. - Your prospect asks for a sample - Your prospect makes "positive noises." - Your prospect makes "any comment or question about price" - Your prospect asks for references. - Your prospect asks for your guidance or opinion. - Your prospect mentions a negative experience with a previous supplier.Are these buying signals? Maybe. Maybe not. They could simply be questions that serve to clarify or gain an understanding of what you can do for them. Certainly, queries or comments like those listed above indicate that your prospect is at least "playing ball" with you ? that they are engaged in an active sales process, and have some level of interest.If we take these buying signals as gospel, we run a real danger of driving ourselves down a road of false hope toward the land of "Pendingville." Ever been there? In a meeting, the prospect shows some of these positive signs and you walk out of the meeting feeling like you've got the sale in the bag. You follow-up by sending the information the prospect requested, you provide samples, you provide references, you give them a full-blown white paper offering guidance and advice. And then you call them ? presumably to close the deal, and your call goes unanswered. You call again. You e-mail. You stop by their office. You send them cute and funny notes. You pray.In the meantime, your manager asks you how it's going with the prospect. You tell her, "Looks great, just waiting for the green light to get started." Week after week, it's the same story. If you have enough of these prospects in your pipeline, you're looking forward to next month when you're sure all of these wonderful people will get back to you with that huge order. And, since you know you will have this huge influx of new business you figure there's no reason to do any new prospecting because you're going to be so busy with these new accounts you won't even have time to handle more.The next month comes, and nothing happens. Then you start to panic; your boss is wondering what happened to all those huge deals. That Hawaiian vacation you were already planning in your mind vanishes from view. You realize you'd better get busy and get some new things going. And again, the cycle is repeated.What was missing in this process? The NOT-buying signals. Spending too much time with prospects that either aren't going to buy or aren't ready to buy is one of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make ? even veterans. By nature, all of us in sales are optimists ? we want to believe that everyone who tells us they're interested is in fact going to buy from us.To protect ourselves and our income, though, we need to take a step back and sometimes play the cynic. Here are some of the things you should be looking for that could be indicators it's time to move on:- Will the prospect agree to a firm next step with you? (For more on this topic see "The Art and Skill of the Next Step.) If not, it may be time to move on.- Have repeated calls to a seemingly "hot prospect" gone unreturned?- When you speak to the prospect do you hear something like "I really like your proposal, but I need to do (fill in the blank) to get it moving forward"?- Another variation of the above: "We really want to move forward, we just need a bit more time", or "We really want to move forward, but we've had some other priorities come up."We don't want to be naysayers, but typically these are signs that the sale is not going to happen; at least not within our normal sales cycle. There could be legitimate reasons as to why the prospect can't move forward that are beyond your control. So what do you do?First thing to do is to be on the lookout for anything that sounds like a "not-buying" signal. You want to hear those as early in the sales process as you can so you can spend your time with leads and prospects who are more likely buy within your normal cycle.Next, if you're not sure what the real reason might be for not moving forward, ask a question such as "Did we do something wrong?" (That's also an effective message to leave for someone not returning your calls.) You may be able to get some valuable information that can help you recraft a recommendation, or give you more solid footing on which to move forward.Finally, always make sure that you have enough coming into your sales pipeline; know how many new appointments you need at any given time in order to achieve you numbers. Don't allow yourself to get caught in "Pendingville" without a reliable map and escape plan.Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.

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

arrow right Finding the Need is Only Part of the Sale

Many of us in sales are taught to believe that the most important job of the salesperson is to 'find the need' of our prospects. If we can uncover 'needs' then our job is easy; we just need to show our prospect how our product or service fills that need. Right?Well, the problem with that approach is that it only addresses part of the pie. Think about it. What do you do when YOU need something? Let's say you need to buy a new computer; do you sit around and wait, hoping that a computer salesperson is going to call you? NO, of course not; you go out and you fulfill your need.So, as a salesperson, if people really NEED your product or service they will pick up the phone and call you to place an order. If that's the case, why aren't you selling more??? Oh, you say, they're buying from your competitor. Or, you might tell me, 'Well, they just don't KNOW that they need my product or service; my job is to 'find the need' and to 'build their pain.'Let me give you another way to think about this?suppose, just suppose for a moment, that instead of just focusing on 'needs' we broaden our thinking: as a salesperson you want to find out about what people DO. Your job is to find out and understand what they're doing now, how they're doing it, who they're doing it with, when they're doing, why they're doing it that way, and then to help them do it better. Makes sense, right?When you adopt the DO philosophy over the NEEDS philosophy, your thinking and the questioning will become much broader. By asking 'do' based questions you get better information from your prospects, which in turn allow you to make a proposal that will make much more sense to the prospect. And the only reason people buy something is because it makes sense to them.By asking 'do' based question you are creating a conversation which engages your prospect. When performed at its best, selling is an extended conversation; it is not an interrogation by the salesperson, and neither is it a 'product dump' where you aim to tell your prospect anything and everything you can about your services.What are some examples of 'do' based questions? Well, here are a few:? 'What are you currently doing about _______?'? 'I'm just curious, what made you decide to do it that way?'? 'How did you decide to do that?'? 'What are you hoping to accomplish in the next quarter, year, three years??'? 'Tell me exactly what you do here?' Or, 'tell me what your key areas of responsibility are?'? How was this decision made in the past?? Will the decision process be the same this time around?Take some time to make a list of questions that you can ask that are relevant to your business. Some of the questions may not seem to have a logical or direct tie to your product or service; that's OK. In fact, that's good! By focusing on what your prospects do and how they do it, you are opening up the whole dynamic of your sales call into a true conversation; one that will help you better understand the goals, objectives, and needs of your prospect. By broadening your conversation in this way you are then able to make the proposal or recommendation that will make sense to your prospect.And, in the end, the only reason people buy something is because it makes sense!Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They both have over 20 years of management and consulting experience in a variety of organizations. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.

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

arrow right Customers For Life

Who's talking to your customers? Is it your competition? Why or why not? When you stop to think about it, these are valid questions. Most people rely on some sort of clientele for their business, and can improve on customer relations. A more holistic approach to this process incorporates the more global question:How can I create customers for life?Two main objectives in the "customers for life" program are getting repeat business and referrals from your clients. Amazingly, few people diligently pursue these objectives. Many studies have demonstrated that the cost to obtain a new client greatly exceeds the cost to obtain repeat business or referrals from existing clients. Some of the key concepts in mastering the "customer for life" notion include positioning yourself or your company in the mind of your customers as the valid solution to their problem, creating a relationship with your clients, and overtly soliciting referrals. Obviously the concepts can be adjusted depending on the type of industry one is in. Let's examine each concept by itself.Assuming that a business agreement has been reached, it is important to continue to reinforce the idea that you are the continued, and ongoing solution to a challenge, in the client's mind. This is accomplished through continued and planned communications with the client regarding the service or product that is provided. Product or service updates, or other free information are also examples of this kind of communication. For instance, a mortgage professional may supply each of her clients with quarterly rate-updates to keep them informed about the market -- she includes her name with each update. Other reasons to contact customers could be a product/service survey or announcement.Closely intermingled with planned and continued communications with clients relating to specific products or services is the concept of "relationship marketing." This involves keeping informed about some aspect of the client's personal life, perhaps sending greetings on special occasions, for instance. Popular businessman and author, Harvey Mackay, has incorporated the "Mackay 66" in his business. This is a comprehensive, detailed information sheet about clients that incorporates everything from anniversary dates to birthdates of the client's children.The list contains his clients' business and personal data. Mackay attributes much of his success and that of his organization to the concept of taking a very personal interest in his clients' lives and interests. He also has developed very close and enduring friendships with his clients that are personally gratifying.Finally, the concept of continued solicitations for referrals is important to people who produce at a high level. An old saying goes, "ask and you shall receive." While one may have very satisfied clients, a referral is many more times likely if it is kindly requested. Most of the high producing people in any field can completely relate to this. Even satisfied clients need to be approached to get referrals. If you're not asking your clients for referrals, your competition may be!High-producing people will testify to the effectiveness of getting to know their clients. Also, high producers remind clients of a job well done by staying in touch and by asking for continued business. If you're honest, and good at what you do, you owe your clients and their possible referrals no less.Set aside some time to plan and make it a priority. Otherwise, it will be one more important idea that is sidestepped by the urgent activities of life.Eric Johnson is a regular contributor to the Investor's Value View financial newsletter. To send comments to Mr. Johnson or to learn more about the Investor's Value View newsletter, visit http://www.valueview.net.

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

arrow right Nine Common Mistakes Salespeople Make

1. They talk instead of LISTEN. Too many salespeople monopolize the time they have in front of prospect with their talk, only allowing the prospect to listen (whether or not it's interesting). For every hour they actually spend in front of a prospect, they spend five minutes selling their product or service...and fifty-five minutes buying it back, Result:

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

arrow right Customers Want You to Ask for the Money

Many years ago, I was the one starting a small business. I ran a part-time resume service out of my New York apartment. One client showed up on time for her first appointment, nervously clutching her notes."Can we just talk for awhile?" she asked."No," I said firmly, amazing myself.

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

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