Better Listening Skills = More Sales

Today's business environment is intrinsically tied together by ongoing information exchanges between two people. This personal communication is most often facilitated by the spoken word. Understanding this information, as it flows within a dialogue between two people is fundamental to improving one's selling effectiveness.

One of the most significant business information exchanges is between a company's front line sales representatives and either it's existing or potential customers. Information processed between these parties will have a significant affect on many other employees within both party's respective companies as purchase commitments are made.

Maximizing the effectiveness of aural business communication between sales personnel and customers hinges on two fundamental communication process components, talking and listening. It makes sense that no matter how well you articulate a message to a customer, if it is not effectively absorbed by your target audience the probability of sales success is greatly reduced.

Why Do Salespeople Tend to NOT Listen Well?

It is known that humans think faster than they listen. While a sales prospect is talking at an average rate of 125 words a minute, the average salesperson is thinking at a much more rapid rate. The act of listening, the differential between the salesperson's thinking rate and the prospect's speaking rate means the salesperson's brain can and does work with hundreds of other words, in addition to the ones being heard. Often the salesperson is thinking about what they should or will say at the expense of what the prospect is actually telling them.

The challenge at hand for all sales personnel is to learn how NOT to construct their ideas and responses during the most critical stages of their selling process. This is not easy to do given the sales prospect is also subjecting themselves to the same listening distractions. It is no wonder so many sales calls "fall apart" after the salesperson missed a key point made by the prospect and consequently lost or never got the order.

Many business professionals, especially those who make their living selling, depend greatly on their communication skills to enhance their overall job performance and maximize their income. Few salespeople have yet to even scratch the surface of developing their optimum listening skill potential. Many sales professionals have never had the opportunity to learn how to listen most effectively.

Can A Salesperson Learn to Listen Better?

A comprehensive study completed at the University of Minnesota examined the listening ability of several thousand students and hundreds of business professionals. One of the primary conclusions of this study was that immediately after the average person had listened to someone talk, they remembered only about half of what was actually said - no matter how intensely they attempted to absorb all the information communicated.

Our basic inability as humans to listen effectively requires us to utilize continuous educational reinforcement to truly master listening skills not only in a business environment but on a personal level as well. This means for a salesperson to be most effective in any selling situation a systematic effort must be made to consciously attempt to concentrate more on what is said to them, than what they will say in response ? this simple priority of aural information exchange elements will provide a significant selling advantage in almost every possible selling scenario.

Prioritizing listening over talking in a sales situation is easier said than done. It takes training and ongoing integration into any selling technique process.

Listening Skill Development Should be in All Sales Training

Any training, especially sales training, should improve listening skills development. Like any skill set, practice in a controlled setting can not only build self awareness of listening deficiencies, but it can reinforce required skills to leverage other, associated selling tactics integrated in the sales process. As Vince Lombardi once said, "It's not practice makes perfect, its PERFECT practice makes perfect!"

Six Steps to Improving Selling Listening Skills

Again, with practice and conscious resolve, a salesperson can acquire the mental agility to become a better listener by mastering these six "mental listening exercises":

1) Learn to "listen ahead": By "listening ahead", trying to anticipate where a discussion is leading to, during the dialogue, determining the conclusion in advance of your required response allows you to relax and improve information absorption

2) Learn to periodically validate communicated information: By mentally striving to validate the accuracy and completeness of information points made by the prospect, especially during pauses in the dialogue, (which can be achieved with note taking), you can allow yourself to absorb more information easier, especially information forthcoming in the continued dialogue

3) Utilize "Active Listening" techniques: By periodically, mentally summarizing the major points communicated by the prospect and voicing, reaffirming your interpretation of the points made back to the prospect you add a tremendous amount of clarity to the information exchanged thus far

4) Strive to understand versus "Judging": By working to consciously understand what the prospect is saying versus the natural tendency of judging - approving or disapproving what is said will allow you to absorb what is actually said more than any other listening development technique

5) Use your eyes to "get the rest of the story" By listening with your eyes, paying attention to the prospect's body language, their nonverbal facial and body movements or hand gestures you can see what the whole body is trying to tell you, not just the mouth!

6) Maintain a mental repertoire of common responses: By mentally developing and rehearsing how you are going to strategically respond to common sales prospect purchase objections, for example, in advance of a sales call, allows you to listen more effectively. A comprehensive mental inventory of common responses will also give you more confidence in any selling situation.

Today's successful salesperson is ultimately an effective problem solver. Whether it is an existing or potential customer, the most successful sales people continuously strive to hone their listening skills to accurately define their customer's business intentions. If properly trained, and with constant practice, a salesperson will quickly realize that how they talk or present their product or service is relatively unimportant when compared to how and what they listen to, when guided by well honed listening skills.

Applying the selling skills developed from these listening exercises can give extraordinary power, not only to the spoken word, but the words listened to, and may be, in practice, provide the only margin of victory in any given sales situation.

By Mark Smock

The #1 Lead Generation System of Top Sales People

Developing an abundant supply of targeted referrals is the number one lead generation system used by top sales people.

The first step to implementing any successful lead generation system is to get your attitude right. Becoming a "Master of Referrals" requires the proper referral attitude.

Many sales people believe that by asking for referrals they're putting people on the spot or being pushy. "I'll wait and if they want to refer someone to me they will". If this is your attitude you need to change it.

Do you care about the people you do business with? Does that caring come "from the heart" instead of from your pocket? Do you care about the products or services your client's friends are buying? Do you believe your product or service is the best?

I figure your answer is yes!

If you truly believe your product or service is the best money can buy and you care about your clients and their friends, you're doing them a disservice when you don't implement this lead generation system of asking for referrals. If you don't they may end up with one of your competitors who offers less benefit, protection and advantage as you do.

Your job is to make sure everyone in your client's network is looked after by the best. So make sure that's you!

You see, your clients are probably too busy to continually think about helping people in their network. By using a lead generation system of asking for referrals you're giving them an easy way to help their friends. You're making sure they get the same top quality products and services.

You've Got to Create a WOW Experience

Most sales people only try to satisfy their clients. Statistics show that two out of three consumers that were merely satisfied with a company will never return. If you only meet the client's expectations, you'll never see two thirds of them again and you won't receive an abundance of referrals.

So how do you get a client to come back to you again and again? How do you get your current and past clients to give you a personal endorsement to their friends and relatives?

By implementing the second step of this lead generation system and creating a WOW experience! Make every clients experience special!

How many of your friends, family and business associates would you refer to a company that?

?Takes care of your needs better than you ever expected
?Delivers more than they promise
?Makes you feel special every time you communicate with them
?Delivers amazing results for you

If you take the time to create a WOW experience for your clients, it's very possible every one of them will be selling for you.

One of the easiest ways to get referrals is too continually over deliver. If you give much more than you promised, people will want to help you in any way they can.

Over delivering should be the way you do business. The referrals, thank you notes and new friends you make are the bonuses you receive for doing your job.

Make a genuine difference in people's lives and you'll always get lots of referrals.

Make it Easy, Fun and Enjoyable to Refer People to You

People don't like doing difficult things unless there's an incredibly rewarding benefit in doing so. Even then many people still won't do something that appears too difficult.

Many salespeople's clients are unsure about who to refer. Which means they have to do all the work by figuring out who to refer? So they may end up referring no one.

Make sure your clients know exactly who to refer. Otherwise you're not going to get a high quantity or quality of referrals.

The third step of this lead generation system is give each client a good idea of who they could refer.

For example, The Realtor you recently purchased your home from could say to you?

"Do you know anyone who recently had a baby, got married or received a promotion and might be thinking about buying or selling a house?

If you do, I'm sure they could benefit from my services. After all you know how good my service is. So, please introduce them to us. If you do I'll be sure to do something wonderful to thank you."

You can see how this helps you know "exactly" who the Realtor is looking for.

So make sure you show a genuine interest in your clients, their families and friends. Make it your business that they receive the best products and services available, YOURS! Create a WOW experience for every client you do business with. Make over delivering your way of doing business. And make it easy for people to refer new clients your way by telling them who to refer.

Follow the three steps of this lead generation system and you're on your way to creating an abundance of new target clients and becoming a Master of Referrals.

By Jim Klein

The Reason Why They Buy

If you're a business person you want to sell your product or service. If it's been a struggle, then you probably aren't giving your potential customers a good "Reason Why" they should buy from you.

Take off your "business person" hat for a minute, and put on your "consumer" hat. You ARE a consumer when you need products other than your own. And why do you buy what you buy? Not just because it's there. Not because someone else needs your business. You buy because you think the product will meet your wants and needs.

How do you know? Perhaps you've used it before. Perhaps a friend recommended this product or service. Or perhaps the advertising gave you a good "reason why" you should become a customer.

The reality is -- we're all tuned into station WIFM: What's in it for me?

When you put pen to paper and begin to draft your next ad, put yourself in your customers' shoes and ask yourself what's in it for them. WHY will your product or service give them more than someone else's? Do you offer better service? Faster service? Higher quality? Lower price? Greater variety? Better guarantee?

What makes you stand out from the crowd?

Whatever it is, that's what you must convey to your customer.

By Marte Cliff

The Clock is Ticking on Your Leads

Every day is critical when you are in the business of sales. That lead you receive today could very easily be gone tomorrow.

It is very important to act on your lead the very second you get it, not an hour later, or a few days later.

The second it is in one hand, the next hand should be dialing the phone.

Too often leads and referrals are taken for granted, sales people assume that because someone gave them a lead, that it is exclusive to only them. It is not, at any time one of your competitors can call that person and offer them a better price or a better service.

I once worked with a guy in the mortgage industry. He received a lead from someone in his networking group on a Wednesday. He called the lead the very minute he got back to his office, and he was on his way to building a very nice relationship with her. By Thursday the two of them had come to a decision on a rate and product for her home that she was refinancing. Everything was moving along nicely.

Or so it seemed.

When he called her on Monday to follow up, it turned out that she was working with another loan officer, and would no longer be needing any of my co-worker's services.

As it turned out, his customer was at a family reunion over the weekend. While making small talk, she mentioned that she was in the process of refinancing her home.

One of her third cousins just so happened to be present at this conversation, and subsequently chimed in when he heard the word refinance.

He proceeded to tell her that he was a loan officer and that if she allowed him an opportunity, he could most likely get her a better rate. After some more small talk, she decided that since she was only three days into the process of refinancing with someone else, that it wouldn't hurt to give someone in her family an opportunity to do business with her.

So much for my co-workers loan.

So keep this in mind the next time you receive a lead. It is not a given. Give your leads the same amount of attention as you would give a customer you worked your tail off to get, or one with a high profile.

Keep in mind, every time you make contact with your customer, you are building a rapport with them, and strengthening the relationship you have with them. The more they speak with you the more they will get to know you and trust you.

It doesn't matter if the lead is from a friend or a family member. If your customer can get a better deal with someone else, nine times out of ten, they will take the better deal.

So call your leads as soon as you get them, give them exemplary customer service, be accessible at all times to answer their questions, and keep things moving. And remember, the clock is ticking on your leads.

By Jay Conners

Dont Close Your Eyes Or Let Deaf Ears Fall Upon You

To listen to your customer is important, and to hear your customer is critical. But, to see what actions they take is the lifeline to your business.

Recently, I was giving an introductory presentation of the Life Enrichment course to a group of Real Estate agents.

The objective was to sell the agents on participating in the Hypmovation Life Enrichment eight -session, six-week course. The course teaches people how to apply the science of self-programming the subconscious mind through self-hypnosis to improve all areas of life.

During the twenty-two minute sales presentation, I asked questions of the agents to find out what was important to them.

The questions were:

? Do you wish that you could have more control over your life?

? What if you could completely remove and eliminate the fear of cold calling on new prospects--would that be important to you?

? How would your life change if you could permanently remove financial stress?

During the questioning and probing period, I was getting all the right vocal, body language, and yes signs from the audience. However, I didn't feel like I had fully connected with what would influence or inspire them to take action and enroll in the training.

While carefully watching my audience, the next question I asked got a resounding rise in energy from them. I knew now that I was on the right track.

The question I asked next was-

"Would it be important for you to eliminate the physical pain and everyday stress that keeps you from enjoying life more?"

After finding out what motivated and stimulated them to sit up and take interest, I was left with only two other steps. The first step was to explain the benefits of the program and how it would solve their problems. The second step was to enroll them into the program.

The principle lesson:

Listening is important. Hearing is critical. Watching the actions of your customers is the lifeline to your success in business.

By Don L. Price

Get Tough

You deal with rejections, frustrations, disappointment, and possibly disrespect on a daily basis. You probably experience more emotional ups and downs than most other professionals. And, no matter how successful you are, your income is less predictable than that of salaried employees. As a salesperson, your level of mental and emotional toughness affects you everyday, both on and off the job.

Being mentally and emotionally tough is less about what you say and do than it is about how you feel about what you say and do. For example, if your feelings about asking a prospect to make a decision keep you from asking, then you start a downward spiral to nowhere. First, you're uncomfortable asking, so you don't ask and end up wasting time with a non-qualified prospect. You get angry with yourself and/or the prospect for wasting time. All these negative feelings and actions only serve to tear down your emotional and mental well-being.

Here's a Sandler rule: "Never become emotionally involved in a sales call, especially a cold call." Being emotionally tough doesn't mean that you have no emotions or that you are a cold person. It means that you have learned how to control your emotions so they don't keep you from doing what you have to do.

Excerpted from the President's Club Professional Development Program (trainer edition) © 2000 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved

By Dan Hudock

Build Rapport by Mirroring

Traditionally, salespeople look for something in the office that begs a question. For example, "Is that your sailfish on the wall?"

How many times do you think that prospect has been asked that question? How often do you think the prospect hears a salesperson ask about the family portrait on the desk, last night's baseball game, etc.? The prospect anticipates these questions. Verbal skill is actually a very small part of the rapport quotient. Non-verbal communication goes a long way toward establishing rapport with your prospect.

This may seem to suggest the need to learn to read body language. But it's not as simple as interpreting (guessing) what your prospect's body language is saying. The fact is, people feel comfortable with people who are like themselves! So, as a professional salesperson, you can use a technique called mirroring to match your prospect's body language so that your prospect relaxes and feels comfortable in your presence.

Show and Tell (and Touch)

All of us interpret our personal environments through our senses, which act like filters. Your mind is constantly asking, "How does what just happened fit into my world? How do I make sense of this and that?"

You use your senses to interpret your environment: sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. For certain stimuli you use only one of these senses; for others, you use some combination of the senses.

In the business world, three senses are dominant: sight, sound, and touch. (Unless you sell a food product, you generally cannot give your prospect the opportunity to taste or smell.)

Most of the time, your prospects rely on one sense more than the others to make decisions. Prospects are either visual people, meaning they need to see a picture before they can make a decision; or auditory, meaning they need to hear something before they can make a decision; or kinesthetic, meaning they need to touch or feel to make a decision. Some combination of these senses is at work in all prospects, but one sense tends to dominate.

So what happens when your prospect is kinesthetic and you walk into the room and say: "How ëbout those Cowboys? Did you see the game yesterday?" How does your kinesthetic prospect - who needs to touch - gain any sense of commonality out of what you said? You'd want to say: "Wow, doesn't it make you feel great when those Cowboys win?" Your kinesthetic prospect knows, indeed, what it feels like when the Cowboys win or lose.

How can you tell which sense dominates the prospect's decision making engine? Listen for the clues. Every prospect will give them to you. Just listen to what the prospect says.

A visual prospect will say something like, "That seems a little fuzzy to me. Can you show me a picture," or, "I'm having some trouble focusing on that idea. I'd like to see that in my mind's eye." Visual people use their eyes to view the world around them and they need visual images to communicate. If you want to sell a visual prospect, you've got to speak visually. "What do you see yourself accomplishing?" is a good question to ask a visual.

An auditory prospect may say, "What does it sound like when you make the connection," "Can you comment on the importance of this gadget," or, "I've got to make it clear as a bell in order to announce it at the next level." Auditory people use their ears to make sense of the world. Next time you go to a concert, look around for the people who have their eyes closed. They're not sleeping; they're listening. They don't need to see the orchestra to enjoy the music.

A kinesthetic prospect may say, "It feels a little muddled to me. It's got to fit hand-in-glove with what we're already doing," or, "It's a sensitive issue, and I've got be comfortable with it." The kinesthetic prospect seeks trust. Learn to create the feeling of trust, and you can quickly establish rapport with a kinesthetic person. Equally important: Kinesthetics want to know that you are about them.

By "reading" your prospects' cues and "living" in their world, you can quickly establish rapport and begin to improve your sales proficiency. Your goal as a salesperson is to learn these bonding and rapport techniques and practice them repeatedly.

Excerpted from the book You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar, ©1995 by David H. Sandler. All rights reserved.

By Dan Hudock

Why Salespeople Dont Take Risks

Proponents of traditional sales training simply teach the material, sometimes in a very entertaining format, but they place the responsibility for using the material on the salesperson.

So what happens? The salesperson sits at home, stuck with personal flaws related to identity, and he can't perform. He takes no risks. Not being able to use what he has learned simply makes him feel worse. He gets caught in a downward spiral of failure and rejection. He continues to find himself not doing what he's supposed to do - for example, not leaving his home to make sales calls. Pressure, guilt, self-doubt, worry, and fear will eventually totally immobilize this salesperson.

The Sandler Selling System separates identity and role. And by doing so, we reduce the risk factors in a salesperson's life. Since self-esteem cannot be hurt by the rejection of the sales process, a salesperson will continually take risks . . . more risks, and higher risks, leading to bigger sales.

The Sandler Selling System doesn't merely teach techniques and strategies. Human relations skills are included as well. The result is that salespeople whom we train are able to use the techniques and strategies with ease and success.

Tens Continue to Grow

When I tell people their identity is always a ten, some of them argue that it's impossible, because a rating of ten implies they have no room to grow. The say, "If I was a ten when I was born, and a ten when I was eleven, and twenty-five, and I'm a ten today, then how did I grow?"

Okay, imagine that you are going to plant a seed in the ground. The seed is going to grow into a rose. When you plant the seed, what's the value of the seed and everything in it? Can we agree that it's a ten?

Now, after a couple of weeks of sunshine and water, a stem wiggles up from out of the seed and appears above ground. What's the value of that stem? Can it be anything other than a ten? If you say it's less than a ten, then explain when it lost value. It didn't, of course!

So after six weeks, what's the value of the rose? In fifteen weeks, what's the value of the rose? It continues to be a ten. So the rose was a ten as a seed, and it's a ten now. And yet, didn't it grow?

Just because your identity is valued at a ten doesn't mean you stopped growing. You grow all the time.

However, that's not to say you don't have psychological "trash." In fact, everyone does! It's part of being human. If you were the only person with psychological trash, then you'd have a problem. But we've all got some of it, and in spite of it, we continue to be tens, and continue to grow.

Excerpted from You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar, ©1995 Sandler Sales Institute. All rights reserved.

By Dan Hudock

Top 5 Low Cost Ways To Get More Sales Leads And Sell More Without Cold Calling

Cold calling may now be outdated. People have become defensive to cold calls and not many respond to them anymore. Cold calling is now about rejection, getting rejected call after call until many salespeople, especially B2B salespeople, just get fed up and quit. There are other methods of generating business leads without cold calling, and many of them inexpensive and not too time consuming.

Here is my list of getting more sales leads and selling more without cold calling:

1. Create a website and advertise it. In this day and age, there is no reason why a business professional or entrepreneur should not have a website. Not having a budget for it is no excuse as you can, now, create your own website for under $100. For example, you can buy a domain name and website building software on godaddy.com for under $100, and that comes with easy to use website templates that anybody can use to build their own website. And, advertising is now cheap and easy as well. You can buy first page listings on google.com through Goggle AdWords. For example, if you were a commercial insurance broker in Portland you can buy a listing on Google for just 5 cents a click for the search phrase "Portland business insurance." This means it would cost just 5 cents for each visitor Google brings to your website.

2. A new online sales lead generation website is trade-pals.com. Here, it is free to create a professional business profile in any business category and across all major North American cities. You just create a profile that says what you do, what type of business you want, who should contact you, and why people should contact you. If someone sees your profile and wants to do business with you, you will get an email stating exactly what they're looking for and, from this, you decide whether you'll purchase the person's full contact info (name, address, phone, email, and URL) which is the sales lead. Each email you receive will be from someone that has seen your profile and already wants to do business with you so the sales leads are top quality.

3. You have business cards? use them; use them in creative ways. Every time I send mail, no matter to whom it's to, I include a business card. Every time I eat at a restaurant, I leave behind a business card. Every time I meet someone new, I offer a business card. You never know if the next person that sees your card will require your services. Make sure your business card clearly states what you do.

4. Network at business functions and trade shows. Again, bring business cards.

5. Create a free classifieds ad on craigslist.org. Craigslist is the biggest classifieds ad site on the internet and every day thousands, if not millions of people visit the site. Classifieds ads on the site stay posted for 45 days, so you only need to create an ad every 45 days. The best part is, these ads find there way into Google's search results so make sure your ad has keywords that your clients may be searching.

By Tino Buntic

Cutting Through Stalls and Objections

It's the prospect. If stalls and objections frequently come up in your sales calls, it's a good idea to bring them up before the prospect has the opportunity. If you bring them up first, several good things happen:

* It helps your credibility when the prospect sees that you're not afraid to bring up stalls and objections, even before you're asked. This promotes a feeling of trust.

* You remain in control, not the prospect.

* You can save time and get down to business faster and easier.

Here's how you can handle stalls and objections up-front:

"Art, sometimes when I talk to people about what we do--and it may not be the case here--sometimes they tell me one of the following: They see all vendors as being the same; they hate the idea of going through the process of whom to select to provide this product (or service); they had a bad experience the last time they tried someone new; or they're not sure which direction or application will be best for them. Which of these, if any, Art, is a concern to you?"

The idea is to take three or four of the most common objections--those that you hear most often--and phrase them in a multiple-choice question that prompts the prospect to select one or more. This technique smokes out an objection that might get in the way of your progress later in the presentation.

When your prospect selects one of the objections, you then reverse by saying:

"Really? I'm surprised by your answer. Why did you pick that one?"

Probe a couple more times to find out the real objection. Then, decide if the prospect's objection will be a problem, or if you can handle it later in the presentation.


By Dan Hudock

5 Powerful Tips To Persuasion!

Having excellent persuasion skills is one of the most important abilities to possess in today's fast-paced world. We all need the support and cooperation of others in helping us reach our own personal goals. The saying that "no man is an Island" is an undeniable truth.

These are some tips to influence effectively and persuade others to buy your product or service.

1. Provide an Understanding Attitude.

Enter into their world. You must understand their situation. Look at life from their point of view. This is a time to set aside your personal interests in order to concentrate on your prospective buyer. Do not talk about you. Ask questions to learn about them.

If you were this person, what would you do? How would feel? What would your opinion be? Once you have these answers, then, take the appropriate action that would benefit them.

It would not hurt to mirror some of their actions. You don't want to be too obvious about mirroring, but it is helpful so that others relax in your presence. It is as if they see themselves in you. This can lead to trust.

2. Provide a Friendly Atmosphere.

Smile to brighten up the day. Make a sincere compliment to raise their spirits. Little things like this count a lot.

Make them feel that whenever they need help or just someone to look up to, you will always be there to lend a hand. They will tend to be more receptive in a caring environment.

If you want others to respond to your requests, be sure to go the extra mile. Always over deliver and exceed their expectations. It really does not cost much extra time or money to over deliver, but it pays off in dividends. Others will notice and want that kind of service.

3. Provide compelling evidence.

Explain how your ideas or suggestions could be the most effective techniques to implement. Show undeniable proof that you have the best product by way of testimonials, before and after scenarios. Give detailed comparisons against your competitors. Make sure all your claims are true and verifiable. You want to maintain a good reputation.

4. Provide Solutions to Meet the Needs of Others.

This point is very important. "Finding a need and meeting it" is probably one of the most effective ways to persuade others to buy your product or use your service. People are formatively concerned with their own well-being before others. If you can prove that your proposal is in their best interest and will provide substantial benefits, they will more than likely accept your presentation.

5. Provide an Expert Mind-Set.

People want to know that you understand what you are presenting to them. Be confident. Do the necessary homework so that you have answers to questions that may arise. This is not a time to be proud or arrogant, but rather certain.


By John E. Neyman, Jr., PhD.

9 TIPS: Dont Sell Me - Persuade Me

We all have something in our past we believe someone "sold" us. It might have been a lemon yellow car, a skimpy skirt or a purple tie. We bought it because -despite our gut feeling - we thought we were doing the right thing. We wanted to please the salesman - and we believed that person knew more than we did. Until we got home.

One of the two major complaints from trade show attendees is about the booth staff that has a heavy sales pitch. You know that pushy salesman stereotype.. (FYI - the second complaint is staff that doesn't know its stuff - i.e. is not knowledgeable about the company products and services..)

Trade shows have the disadvantage of compressed time. You might have 30 seconds or 30 minutes but it's not a regular sales call. You can't talk faster. Just listen closely to the attendees and try to persuade people that your firm can solve their problems.

Here are nine conversation points, and examples, to consider when speaking with people at trade shows.

1. Authority - Why are you important? What gives you the authority to ask for clients? Perhaps it's your firm's expertise in a certain area, or a partner's experience. It's no longer because your company has a long history or is the newest dot.com.

TIP - It has to be a proactive, not a reactive, reason. "We've taken the position that e-learning is critical. We developed a great program in-house that improved our sales productivity 45%, and now we're sharing it with others in our industry."

2. Conformity - Are you certified? In every industry, some form of certification carries importance and gives you and your firm authority. Knowing that as a consulting firm, half your staff are CPAs, lets me know that you conform to accounting standards.

TIP - Don't just tell me why you are ISO9000 certified, tell me why it's important to your company. "We were the first HVAC company in this area to be certified and it really helps us focus our goals to service clients like you."

3. Commitment - Is your firm committed to your industry? Are you a leader or just in the middle of the pack?

TIP - Don't say you're committed to customer service, tell me how. "We found that 85% of our customer service calls come during regular business hours, but we never want you to have to wait for an answer, so our 800 number and online help desk are staffed 24/7."

4. Consistency - Clients want to know you have a track record and that you'll maintain it when they remain with you.

TIP - Explain how you maintain the consistency. "We're spending $5million in R&D this year for product improvement, but we'll always stock the MX49 that your firm uses, because we own that mold. "

5. Contrast - How are you different from your competitors? Avoid giving your competitor a plug and don't refer to them by name.

TIP - Answer questions with a comment that shows your company's leadership. "We're aware other firms are taking the low road, but we've always preferred the high road because the vision is better."

6. Like #1 - This is personal - we all like to do business with people for whom we have a good personal feeling, so if there's a twinge of personality clash in your conversation, pass the visitor over to another staff member.

TIP - You don't want to blow a deal because he or she didn't "like" you. "You know, I think Sam has a better handle on your concerns, so let me introduce you to him now."

7. Like #2 - This is business - In today's fast, competitive world, not everyone is aware of the relationships on the business side, if there is a history your firm has with the visitor's firm.

TIP - Be up to date on your company's status, ask about relationship problems before the show. "Yes, I understand we didn't get the bid for the job in Chile, but since we added enterprise software our costs have reduced considerably. I know we'll be more aggressive on your next bid."

8. Reciprocate - Is this a potential partnership? Every client should be viewed as a partner. Sometimes, you have to give more in a partnership than you get.

TIP - Don't view the reciprocity as a guaranteed 50-50 relationship. "We'll be happy to include co-op advertising in our agreement with you. All we ask is, when the advertising works for you, that you refer other wholesalers like your firm to us."

9. Scarcity - How unique are your firm's talents, products and services? What makes me have to choose you?

TIP - Be certain of your facts before you boast - "Are you aware we are the only firm to provide secure internet access for coffee grinder repair shops?"

Knowledgable conversation leads to persuasion which leads to sales.

By Julia O'Conno

Increasing Your Sales FASTER -- Dealing with Ill Think It Over.

Do you frequently hear that from a prospect?

"I'll Think It Over."

What does this mean? It usually means that either

The prospect doesn't know how to say No, or

There are real questions he doesn't have the answers to that he will be looking for.

He might want to price shop.

Some clients are just procrastinators; they don't make quick decisions, or will never make a decision. and

Something was missed earlier in the sales process.So, could this have been avoided before it got this far? Possibly. The problem is that the longer the prospect delays, the less likely you'll close this deal. I see sales close ratios go up when my clients start using dealing with this before it happens, and handling it quickly when it does happen.

When your hear "I'll think it over," it is an indication that a step in the sales process was missed by not clarifying what the prospect's decision making process was and when a decision would be made. Following the sales process step by step, and making sure that the prospect has discovered all of the right answers for himself before going for the close can increase your close ratio by multiple times. If you are hearing this frequently it is an strong indication that something is missing in your sales process.

Let's break this up into:



How could we have avoided this?

Dealing with it now that you've got it.How Could We Have Avoided This?

During the sales process make sure to ask a few key questions:
1) If the prospect can make the decision, or does he have to check with someone else.
2) What is the decision making process? What is his major concerns? If they are all answered is there any reason that he wouldn't move forward?

Then restate the situation: "Let's see then, if [this problem, or that problem were resolved]?.. then you would decide to move forward?" (Now you have an agreement to make a decision and move forward if all of his questions are answered.).
3) Is Price the major concern or is one of the other concerns he stated more important? (One last heck on his concerns).

Dealing With It Now That You've Got the Stalling Tactic

"That sounds reasonable. You know, when I hear that I become a little concerned that something is bothering you. Is there something



You're unsure of

Your still looking for or

I didn't answer to your satisfaction?Some other questions:



What is it that you're still looking for that I might be able to clarify now?

Would you share your concerns with me?"This will frequently get the prospect to open his concerns to you rather than walking away. Then provide the answers that are needed to close the deal.

Don't argue with anything the prospect says. Provide a logical, positive answer.

The longer the prospect delays the less likely you will get the sale.

And, if the prospect didn't really need your product and didn't know how to say no, you'll clear this up quickly so that you don't waste your valuable time. There is nothing more frustrating than calling a client over and over to hear, I'll get back to you .... later and it never happening.

Following these steps you will see your sales increase FASTER. If you'd like to receive more Hints and Tips to Increase Your Sales, send an email to mailto:AlanBoyer@leaders-perspective.com with "Sales Tips" in the subject line, or go to the website at http://www.leaders-perspective.com/Sales-Training.aspx

Alan Boyer, President/CEO of The Leader's Perspective, LLC, is considered one of the world's leading breakthrough specialists and sales trainers. He has worked with some of the worlds largest companies, on projects in the multi-billion dollar area, and with single proprietor companies. He has worked on many hundreds of projects with companies that have resulted in multi-$100 million savings or gains. With over 35 years of business, sales training, quality, and process experience, he has catapulted businesses lightyears ahead in weeks. Some have doubled and some have jumped 10 times. He claims the key to that is:



Helping the business owners/employees develop the business skills

Helping them overcome the limitations and attitudes that they built between their ears (the self imposed limitations, I can't, this won't work for me, I'm different)

By helping them find the breakthroughs in their business and thinkingHe helps companies worldwide reach further than they EVER thought possible....FASTER

Training for Trade Shows - 5 FAQs

Trade shows are so obvious. You go. You hand out brochures. You come back to the office. It's just a glitch in your work week. Well, it's much more than that. Your bottom line can float on when you make - or lose - a sale at a trade show.

Trade show training. So, who needs it? Well, you do - if you want to understand the process and do a better job. Is training just for one person? It's a start but it's best that everyone involved in a show understand the impact a show can have.

Through the years, I've been asked lots of questions about training. These are the one that are asked most often - the FAQs about why training is important.

Q - We've been going to shows for years. We always send the same crew. Why do we need training?

A - Because if you've been going to the same shows, sending the same staff and selling the same products to the same people, you're in a rut. The business world is changing quickly, and you need to adapt. Trade show marketing is unique for each show because there's a change of exhibitors, attendees - and most important - your reason for attending. To "just do it" doesn't work for trade shows.

Q - Why does everybody involved in the show need training?

A - Because old habits are hard to break. And bad habits are tougher. Trade shows are a company-wide marketing event, not a trip for the sales staff. Statistics show that 80% of leads are not followed-up after a show. When you have more people responsible for the success of the show - from the executive office to the loading dock, from the telemarketing staff to the out-of-town reps, your odds are greater for making sales and keeping customers.

Q - We have had sessions on how to sell and follow-up. What's so different about trade shows?

A - Trade shows are a completely different environment. The time is compressed, the expectations are high (sometimes too high), you're constantly on stage meeting strangers. Then you get back to your office? Well, you have to follow-up leads as well as do your regular work. The more you know about this unique marketing opportunity, the more comfortable and successful you will be.

Q - We're just going to a show to walk the aisles. Why do we need training?

A - Are you a good spy? What are you looking for? Do you know trade shows are the best source of market intelligence about your industry, new products, new processes, new suppliers, new partners, new reps, new employees and new competitors? Training can help you be more aware of your surroundings, focus on your targets and be open to new opportunities.

Q - Our display is looking worn since we do lots of road shows a year. But the boss doesn't want to spend money. Can we substitute training for a new display?

A - Sorry, no. A sad-looking display is a reflection on how important you think your company is. Training can make you more effective, but it can't overcome a neglected image.

Conversely, a new and expensive exhibit cannot overcome an inexperienced staff, pushy sales people, a lack of purpose or that infamous I-don't-care attitude. Don't put all your exhibit money into the exhibit. A sharp exhibit is important to get people to your space, but it's people who make the contact - and the contract.

The more you know, the better you will be at a trade show.

By Julia O'Connor

Marketing Vs. Sales

Marketing and sales co-exist and work in tandem beautifully if they are allowed to remain as separate entities coming together to achieve results:

DRIVING REVENUE!!

Marketing = SIZZLE ------ Sales = CLOSING

The misunderstanding that marketing and sales are the same causes a downward spiral of events. Sales staff and managers become frustrated, productivity drops, turnover is high, and company image suffers. This "cycle of misunderstanding" perpetuates itself over and over again resulting in lost revenue.

STOP THE CYCLE OF MISUNDERSTANDING!

HOW?

1) Understand that there is a difference between marketing and sales.

What's The Difference?

Marketing is associated with advertising, event planning, community involvement, getting your company name "out there", creating credibility, normally a "people pleaser" personality, with the primary focus on lead generation.

Sales is associated with knowledge and understanding of the value of a lead, understanding the "selling cycle", a well documented sales process (and knowing how to use it), great qualifying questions, developing an atmosphere of trust with customers, listening more than talking, asking for the sale or the next step, great follow-up skills.

The actual skill sets (not personalities) for each of these areas of expertise is different. Most companies evaluate potential sales staff on personalities NOT skills. A critical component in the hiring process should include a skill based evaluation.

2) When recruiting, define well in advance what position you are hiring for - sales or marketing? Most companies' need both as a team working together.

3) Eliminate untrained or unskilled staff from being involved in the recruitment process. The misconception about sales and marketing being one and the same runs rampant in all industries in all staff involved in the hiring process.

Solutions:

1) Develop a company profile to differentiate skill sets.

2) Create a list of key questions designed to delineate the difference in skill sets of the sales person vs. the marketing person.

3) Provide appropriate training to anyone involved in the hiring process to help them understand the differences to assure you are hiring the right person for the right position.

Quiz: What Kind of Sales Shoe Are You?

Have you ever wondered what type of saleswoman you are? It doesn't matter if you run your own company or sell for someone else - it is extremely important to know what your style is. What does The Sales Diva mean here? Well - let me throw my high heel on my desk here and I will explain.

Are You a "Shoe-In" With Your Customers?

The most important aspect of selling is to understand and relate to your customer. And before you can do that - you have to know yourself. Contrary to popular belief - you don't have to twist yourself into a pretzel to be a success in sales. You don't have to copy anyone else. You just have to be YOU - with all your quirks and also understanding your strengths.

The sales quiz below will help you determine what type of "Sales Shoe" you are wearing?and what areas of selling you need to improve. Answer yes or no to the following questions. Compare your point total to the scoring key at the bottom.

1. I enjoy the challenge of finding new clients.

2. I feel the most satisfaction with a client I have known a long time.

3. I like most networking events.

4. When I am faced with a difficult client I am not afraid.

5. I love when there are lots of details to put together.

6. Money is a motivator for me.

7. I get excited when I am working with a new client.

8. I love change.

9. I love getting out to networking events and meeting new people.

10. Following up with customers is easy for me.

11. Goal-setting is really important to me.

12. I get excited about unknown opportunities.

13. Self-motivation is one of my greatest skills.

14. I love people - that's why I got into sales.

15. I rarely feel nervous when I ask for the sale.

16. I don't tend to take rejection personally.

17. I love exceeding my goals.

18. People often tell me that I am a great listener.

19. It doesn't matter what I sell as long as I believe in it.

20. I love learning and invest yearly in professional development.

21. I think that the word "selling" is a fabulous word!

22. I am an expert at asking questions.

23. I enjoy solving problems.

24. Relationships are my middle name!

25. My customers see me as an expert.

26. I have a clear picture of who my target audience is.

27. I know what I need to do to market myself.

Scoring Key: What Shoe Are You?

22-27 Points: High Heel Pump

You go girl! You are dedicated to helping people and making money at the same time. Just make sure to keep yourself on track - start a Success Team so you continue to stay motivated.

16-20 Points: Stiletto

Great score! You can run a block in your high heels and not even get a run in your nylon. Just remember - to maintain customer relationships - you have to slow down and pay attention to some of the details.

11-15 Points: Mary Jane Classic

You're doing fine but there is room for improvement. Your shy nature may be holding you back in some areas. You don't have to be behind the scenes - you get out there and shine! Try taking a public speaking class - it will do wonders for your confidence!

6-10 Points: Sneakers

You're busy but not much is happening. You may be feeling a little frustrated at why success isn't coming faster. Dig deep here - what are you afraid of? It's time to get a mentor and also quit trying to do everything yourself.

0-5 Points: Flip-Flop

Don't despair! Many of your attitudes about sales can be adjusted - if you're willing. Use this quiz as a starting point to pinpoint the changes you want to make. Consider reading one professional development book a week and also getting some sales advice for your business.


By Kim Duke

How To Win Business By Networking

In sales we do tend to become focused upon our own little worlds. Our company, our desk, our clients; but there is a whole world of people out there living their lives in their little worlds too. And they do a lot of business. The purpose of personal networking is to move yourself into these people's networks so that you can do business with them naturally and without cold calling. Now, I am not for one second suggesting that you should stop cold calling but you can use personal networking to greatly increase your chances of success and referrals.

Pareto's Law states that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. Chances are that these are the clients that you have strong relationships with, your "champions" if you like. So start to network with them. Find out who they know, who they can refer you to and who they would approach for business if they were you.

Now you may be thinking, "Well, I cannot do that." Or even, "Well, they would have given it to me if they had any contacts, wouldn't they!".

Wrong! On both counts! People who do not sell for a living do not understand what you want if you don't tell them. They may well think that you do not need or want their help. Approached properly your clients will help you, they will give you leads and they will sell your services for you. I advocate that everyone I coach has a "circle of influence" - a group of people who always speak well of you, will refer you to other people and who will happily pass leads to you. Start by identifying ten people for yours now and start to network with them. As time passes you can expand this group. You will find that many of your best clients will be people who are referred to you by your existing best clients.

And remember! In sales, none active clients can be "champions" too so keep in touch with them. I have won many large pieces of business from clients who work with my competitors for a variety of valid reasons but then recommended me and not them!!! Why? Because the salesperson who sold them had something specific that they wanted at the right time but I had the networking skills and the credibility so they gave their referral business to me not the other salesperson!

"But Gavin, I have only just started out and I haven't got any clients or any people to get into my circle!!!!"

Well, firstly I don't believe you. Ten years ago I was offered a job with a large financial advisors in the City. I was very tempted. It was more money than I was earning, the commission was incredible and the offices were flash. I decided that it was not the path for me but I do remember their first question in the interview, "When you start with us you have to make a list of 200 people you know. Now you many not think that you know 200 people but you will. Write down all of your family, all of your friends and then everyone you know through them. It may take you a while but you'll get there. Your first job is to ring them all, tell them what you are doing and ask them how they can help. Can you do that?"

So you see you will know people, when you try. Are you ready to try yet?

But there are other ways to get to know people and here are just a few. I am sure that you will have more and better ideas because you know your business better than me?

Business groups, user groups, networking groups (such as BNI), breakfast clubs, Toastmasters, church, rotary, rotaract, the round table, standing in queues, public speaking anywhere, charity work, in restaurants, volunteer service, hotels, at the gym, professional associations (such as REC), your local business link, schools/ colleges / universities, neighbours, friends, family, colleagues, ex-colleagues and many, many more.

And as a final note before you all leave your desks to take your best clients out for lunch or to go and visit BNI! You are running your own business. You are responsible for making the sales that you need to hit target. You need to work out - by yourself and in discussion with your manager or coach - the best way to do that. Every networking meeting you attend should have an objective!

Several of my ex staff may well be reading this thinking, "I cannot believe him - he stopped me going to the XXX user group." Yes, I might have and if you remember I asked you why you were going. If the objective is not clear and not quantifiable - don't go. It's not a "jolly" or a day out of the office, it's a proven business development method!

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

How To Become A Sales Superstar And Have Fun Winning More Business - Start Here!

One of the interesting things about being a coach and speaker is that I have the good fortune to work with lots of different people from all sorts of different types of companies, markets and backgrounds. Whilst I do work (on the motivation and public speaking side) with non-sales people probably 95%+ of the work I do is with sales teams of some sort or other! As such, I get a real insight into the challenges and issues that many top sales performers face and also into who they are and what they believe.

Now I guess that not many of my readers will not have heard of logical levels; logical levels hails from neuro-linguistic programming (nlp) and has been championed by a chap called Robert Dilts. Logical levels is a model of what's inside of us and how that helps us to filter information through ourselves before acting on it. There are various different versions of logical levels however they all have at the deeper levels the word IDENTITY or who you are.

If you think about it, who you think you are forms the basis of every action you take and every feeling you have. And it's not something that we consciously choose. At your next sales meeting why not ask everyone around the table:

"How did you get into sales?"

I've run this exercise with literally thousands of sales people and the answers are normally very interesting. One common theme however is that most sales people have "fallen into" sales. Very few actually choose. Lets take this back a step further and think about childhood because most of us had a goal or dream to be something when we grew up! What was it for you? Footballer? Astronaut? Nurse? Doctor? One thing I'm confident it probably wasn't was a sales person or a telephone salesperson!! Very few people choose to be in sales!

Think about it for a second. If at some level you have not met your childhood dreams and you have just fallen into sales then how are you going to feel? Particularly when you face client rejections or objections? Its easy to adopt limiting beliefs to support your non-sales identity. I recently worked with a team who had such a strong non-sales identity and such an aversion to what they perceived was a sales identity that they wouldn't even consider the option of objection handling as they felt it was too pushy and rude!!!! Fortunately, we did some one on one work and they're getting on fine now.

So what can you do about this for either yourself or your team?

Imagine that you're in a time machine and going back to your childhood armed with all of the information that you have now. When you get there ask yourself these questions ............



Why would you choose a career in sales?

What could be great about a career in sales?

What are the advantages of a career in sales?

What can only a career in sales allow you to do?

How can you reinforce this new identity and beliefs on a day to day basis?



Answers I have previously heard include:- money, travel, promotion, fastest way to the board (other than finance), meeting people, variety, nice clothes, great cars, work your own hours, respected, professional, essential to business, exciting, dynamic...

Spend some time in writing down why you chose sales and what it can do for you. Even better spend some time writing out your goals (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years) and then consider how sales can help you get there. Chances are sales can not only help you but it will be the fastest way there!

Why not keep a list of all of the beliefs that you have adopted to support your old self identity and spend some time considering more positive options?

But most of all have fun! When you start to respect who you are and the importance of what you do at the deepest level you will become more congruent and focused and this in turn will lead to better sales results.

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

The Art And Science of Closing - How To Close More Sales Right Now

One of the questions I often get asked as a sales coach by sales people and business owners alike is, "How do I close sales better? What closing techniques would you recommend?"

In my experience, closing is one of the three most feared areas of the sales process. The other two are fear of canvassing and fear of objections. But the real question is, what is it about these three that creates such a fear? Especially, when even some of the most successful sales professionals face challenges in one or more of these three areas. The answer is simple - fear of rejection. Humans are social animals and the fear of rejection is one of the primary human drivers so it takes a different line of thought to face this issue. Mere techniques will not suffice.

There are books about closing with hundreds of different types of closes in. Some are great examples, some are awful but all of them have one thing in common. They are just examples. They are often not usable as "off the shelf" solutions for your sales scenarios because they each represent a model and that model only works if the person you are dealing with is "running" a similar model in their personality and if your situation is nearly the same too!

Now, I am not saying don't study about sales. Infact, quite the opposite. I do recommend that you read everything you can about sales and human communications because you will learn more about sales and communications in that way than from virtually any other. What you learn however may not always be what the author intended as you should be a student of human behaviour and influence, not beholden to any one particular book! When Bruce Lee studied kung fu he took the best of each style of kung fu and designed a new art which had no set forms and changed to be the most effective for each and every situation. A good sales professional will be aiming to achieve the same.

The first tactic for achieving a better close ration is to change the words that you use. Why not "ask for the business" or "take the order" or "provide a solution" instead? These words don't create the same fear. I have tested this on dozens of sales people and removing the word that the fear is associated with removes the fear too. If anyone has read Anthony Robbin's material he describes how you can only experience feelings that you have words for and that words only have the meaning that you ascribe to them. He describes how, because the quality of snow is important to their survival, eskimos have dozens of different words for snow but we just have sleet and snow. Their experience of snow is different than ours and we cannot comprehend that because we have no words to describe it.

Secondly, it is important that you start with the end in mind. Whenever you go to a meeting or make a call think through it in your head first. Think about what outcome you want from the meeting or call and think through the possible ways this might occur. Think also of what the minimum outcome is that you are prepared to accept from the meeting or call. When you have built rapport, asked questions, uncovered your clients' needs and provided a solution it's only natural to ask for the business. After all, you have provided a solution so asking for the business is the next step! Why would you accept less than your minimum acceptable behaviour from the client?

I once worked with a talented sales professional. He made fantastic cold calls, built elegant and effective rapport and uncovered client needs effortlessly but he did little business. In a short coaching session I discovered that he disassociated the sales process from "closing" hence he would "do the meeting" and then think, "Oh dear! Now I need to close!". Cue panic. His customers could see it and the sale was lost, every time. He was in "sales" mode and they were resisting and he was a nice guy so it was easier to walk away than risk rejection or upsetting the client! Simply by viewing the sale as one seemless process with a natural conclusion he was able to see the "timeline" and "path" of the sale. If the client deviated from this he was able to maintain control and bring them back on track. He achieved a sales breakthrough literally overnight.

At this point, I might add that you must remain flexible. There will be times when you cannot make the sale for unexpected reasons. On these occasions, it is important that you assess your performance objectively. Ask yourself whether next time you could ask better questions to uncover the unexpected situation earlier. If the answer is "no" then reset your objective for the meeting. If the answer is "yes" then take on board what you have to learn and reset the objective for your next meeting. But, and this is very important, always remember to set a new objective for the meeting.

When was the last time you heard this conversation:

"How was the sales meeting?"
"Great".
"How did you get on?".
"Oh, great I think he / she will use us!".

My next question for you is, "So what's the next step?"

This should have been agreed, with time-scales with the client. If it hasn't then you haven't reached your objective. Maybe this was because you didn't set one or you didn't achieve it but this sales meeting was not "great"!

Lets face it, you work hard to find clients and get that all important meeting with them and you listen hard to understand their true needs not your perceived ones. When you provide a solution that matches their needs they are expecting you to "ask for the business". When this becomes a relaxed, natural part of the meeting you will achieve more and effortless sales.

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

8 Must Questions to Ask in Every Sales Situation

Solving people's and organization's problems is ultimately what business is all about. Effective selling involves defining your existing or potential customer's problems. If properly "sold", a sales prospect will have his problems solved with your company's products or services. To be successful at selling, you must systematically approach customers with a proven repertoire of qualifying questions that allows you to clearly understand your customer's current business challenges.

In order to most effectively solve your customer's problems you have to ask questions, the "right" questions and most importantly, listen to the answers you get. The best source of information about a sales prospect's business problem is the prospect themselves. However, any seasoned salesperson will tell you that the customer does not always know what their problem is, how it happened or how to deal with it. Without a proven list of problem definition questions, a salesperson has little chance of achieving sales success.

In every selling situation, there are eight fundamental questions that must be answered to ultimately generate a purchase commitment, a solution to your customer's problems:

1) Does the customer know exactly what the business problem is? Are they giving you symptoms of a problem or the problem itself?

2) How long has the problem existed? Is this a temporary situation or an ongoing challenge?

3) What will happen if the problem continues? Short and long term ramifications should be explored

4) What has been done thus far to address the problem? This answer could be your "door opener" later!

5) What were the results of those efforts to "fix" the problem? Actions taken and money spent should be quantified here

6) What is the cost thus far of this problem? Here you can determine what it cost them NOT to have your company's products

7) Are there budgeted funds available to "fix" this problem? If there aren't, why not and will there be? If not, good luck!

8) Who is involved and how is the purchase commitment to be made?

You must clearly understand who the decision makers are and how the commitment decision is to be made. If you do not, there will always be "someone else" who will kill your deal within the organization!

Once you have valid answers to all these questions you can accurately determine whether the products or services your company has to offer can cost effectively solve your customer's problems. If your products or services can solve your customer's problem you now have something to talk about!

Before you begin your sales pitch, your explanation of how your offerings best meet their needs, be absolutely sure that you have all the decision makers at your presentation and have confirmed the money is budgeted to back up their purchases. If all the key decision makers are not present and you are not sure the funds are there to continue the relationship your probability of achieving sales success at this customer has been dramatically reduced!

One Final Question: Ask for the Order!

You may be wondering why, "Asking for the order" was not one of the "8 Key Questions to Ask in Every Selling Situation"? When you know your product or service can solve your customer's problem cost effectively, and it is clear they understand and sincerely appreciate the value of your product or service offerings to a level of justification that they can, and will, make a reasonable purchase commitment to you, you have AN OBLIGATION, not only to your company, but to your customer, to ask them to buy what your are selling! A simple way to do this is to ask: "What do you want to do next?" ? say nothing more until they respond.

Effective selling can be as simple as striving to get accurate answers to these fundamental problem qualification questions. It is most interesting to experience how systematically going through these eight questions with your potential customer will reduce their tendency to generate purchase objections. Also, there is an interesting relationship or "bond" that develops between the salesperson and the customer when they are asked to explain and again experience why it cost so much for them NOT to have your products or services in their lives!

Today's successful salesperson is a problem solver. How you define your customer's business problems can often be as important as how you eventually solve their problems. Use these fundamental problem definition questions as a format for your next sales call and see what happens. They could be the edge you need to get that order you thought you would never get!


By Mark Smock

The Unmentioned KEY to Selling

PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THEY KNOW, LIKE, & TRUST. PERIOD!

See for yourself.

Let me start by asking you this. Have ever taken your business from one company and given it to another (which sells the same product or service) because you just didn't like the person you were dealing with. Have you ever said, "I don't know what it was about him or her, but I just didn't like them." Or, "I just don't trust him or her." Or, better yet, "I don't even know them."

If you've ever said these phrases, as I suspect we all have, then you know E-X-A-C-T-LY how important it is to YOU, to do business with someone you know, like and trust!!

In the beginning of any of my businesses, I knew people would do business with me if they only knew me. I also knew that once they got to know me, eventually they would like me, and more importantly trust me. Then I would be able to conduct business with them for years to come.

The same will be true for you.

Think about it for a second. The instant someone starts to trust you, you sense it, don't you? After that trust is established, moving forward becomes easier doesn't it? It can be with a friend, a loved one or in business. And it's peculiar because you can't really pinpoint it; you just know it's been verified.

Stop for a minute and think of one person you trust completely. Can you explain why you trust him or her? It's hard to put into words isn't it? I know it is for me.

There is nothing more powerful than trust. Nothing.

On the other hand, we've all decided not to buy from a Salesperson because something just didn't feel right. Maybe we suspected they weren't telling us the truth, or the salesperson was side stepping our questions.

When we sense deception or distrust, a very powerful alert mechanism is somehow automatically triggered in our innermost being. We don't think about it, it instinctively happens. It's built into us. It's as automatic as gravity. And, if we fail to yield to this built in INSTANT-WARNING-DANGER-ALERT REACTION, we will remain unsettled and uncomfortable regarding our decision.

Do you know WHY you businesses repeatedly advertise and market to people? Because they're attempting to establish trust and likeability, by continually placing their products/services in front of prospects.

That's why repetition, repetition, repetition is so vital in marketing and advertising to people who have no idea who you are.

However, that style of relentless marketing and advertising is not necessary, but is considered obnoxious, to people that already trust you. Plus it's a lot less expensive!

It doesn't matter how many books you've read on selling, marketing, advertising, or prospecting, the most important reason people BUY is they liked, and or trusted the individual or company that was selling.

So, to make your prospecting easier (note I didn't say easy), wouldn't it make sense for you to contact people that you have already established trust with? You know who they are, and I promise you they'll be more open to your new venture than a complete stranger would be.

You'll find your sales presentations, quotes, bids, estimates, and prospecting, easier if you will seek out those who already know, like and trust you.

At the core of all transactions you'll find this truth to be the foundation.

By Scott Rauber

The Choice between Yes and Yes: A Psychological Revelation

Three year old Kara was throwing a tantrum. She didn't want to go to bed, of that she was certain.

"Do you want to brush with the red or blue toothpaste?" her dad asked gently.

"Blue," she says, glad to be given the opportunity to make a decision.

Ten minutes later, Kara was well tucked up, wondering when she'd agreed to go to bed in the first place.

You laugh at the story, don't you?

The method used to get Kara into bed seems a bit like trickery. And who am I to say that it's not? Yet I want you to pay attention to one thing. Kara was glad to be given a choice between yes and yes.

Your clients are not much different

Clients come to you every single day asking you to give them a choice. A choice between yes and yes. Instead all you're giving them is a choice between yes and no.

Mah friend, your bank account will see far better days if only you'd step back, and use the immense power of the choice between yes and yes.

Of course, you don't have to believe that this choice factor works. You don't have to believe your sales will go up. All you have to see is proof. So in the article below I'll demonstrate the psychological factor of choice.How it can work for you and how it can turn against you and bite you in the you-know-where.

It all started on one stupid loss-making November's day...

We were doing fine with the sales on our website when we made one change. I'm going to demonstrate the change in the article below so it would help for you to have the page open so you can see what I'm talking about.

If you look at this page at http://www.psychotactics.com/hiddenlink.php you'll find that you get the choice to buy two packages. One is the copy of the Brain Audit and the other choice is a copy of the Brain Audit + the Brain Audit Rip.

Till the middle of November, we had both the offers up. Then one ego-driven morning we decided to pull the plug on one choice.

We gave customers the choice between a yes and um..NO!

Almost within 24 hours, our sales started going south for no reason at all. We ignored this sickening slack for about a week. Then we looked back at what was working. And we put back the choice between yes and yes.

The customer was back in choice-ville and the sales soared.

But here's the curious part

Among the two packages, one has a much higher price. Yet over 97.5% of customers, when given the choice between the two packages, chose the higher priced package.

The customer is no dumbo

No siree. The customer knows exactly what she wants. And when given the choice between yes and yes, she takes a decision to buy that which creates most value for her. Of course, if there's an enticement to buy, as was in this case, then there's a far greater likelihood of her buying the more expensive product.

The customer is no dumbo...but I sure am

Think about it. If your revenue shot up. If customers were buying higher-priced products what would you logically do? Wouldn't you take the same concept and use it everywhere you could?

You'd think a smart person would do that, wouldn't you? (Which is why I qualified myself at the start of this paragraph). But no! As we speak, the only product that has a choice of YES and YES is the page I've already mentioned above.

Don't stop at one point. Take the concept through it's paces

If you're in consulting, look at the choice between yes and yes. Are you giving the customer a choice between package A and package B. Or do you offer just one package? If you're selling products, the concept of yes and yes choice stays put.

And once you've found that the concept works, puh-lease don't do the dumbo bit. Audit every possible thing you sell. And put in a yes and yes factor. Not only will this bring you higher quantity of sales, but also an a much better price on every product/consulting assignment you do.

I said yes and yes...NOT yes and yes and yes and yes

You, me, we all crave for choice. But give us too much and we go a little waka-waka in our brains. Because choice is based on rejection. To choose the strawberry flavour ice-cream, you must mentally refuse all the other flavours.

(Read article on: The Curse of Choice) http://www.psychotactics.com/artchoice.htm

If you give a client too much to choose from, they will end up rolling their eyes, doing a RAM check and shut down their brains before you have time to do anything at all.

Keep your options simple. Keep the choice between yes and yes.

So that even a three-year old has no trouble choosing!

Secrets to Getting in Front of Your Best Prospects

As a salesperson, your ultimate goal, of course, is to make that sale. But the process begins with selecting your best prospect. The objective is to spend more time with your best prospects and less time with suspects.

In order to do that, there are three 'secrets' or keys to getting in front of your best prospects:

? Define or identify who your best prospect is.

? Be active. The primary reason sales people fail is lack of activity and/or focus.

? Be persistant. Follow up with clients. Be there when they need you.

Who, then, is your best or ideal prospect? The obvious answer is anyone who has a need, can write a check or make a decision. If you were to pursue that avenue, however, you would be reaching out to nearly everyone. Remember, you're not interested in any prospect, you need to identify your best prospect.

For example, if you asked a successful realty agent who their best clients are, they would say someone who is renting but looking to buy, or a homeowner who wants to sell. That makes sense, but it's too ambiguous. The next logical question would be "What is your primary source of income?" The answer: Listings - a realty agent's best prospect is someone who wants to sell their home, because that's where the money is.

You have narrowed the field, but need to take it a step further. Your next question, then, is "Who is most likely to sell their home?" We posed this question to Paradigm Associate real estate clients.

After careful thought, consideration and research, they identified three target groups who would be most likely to sell their home in the Metro New York area. They include households that no longer have children in the school system, therefore, they do not want to pay exorbitant property taxes associated with large single family homes; households impacted by consolidations and layoffs in banking, finance and advertising - many have decided they no longer can afford or need the proximity to New York City; and homeowners employed by international companies where employees are likely to be transferred every few years, because often, they are responsible for buying/selling their own homes.

Based on that information, it would make sense to devise a selling strategy that focuses on reaching out to these three specific market segments as opposed to reaching out to everyone who may or may not move in the next two years.

Therefore, when defining who your best prospect is:

? Review your prior sales records and activity logs and compile a list of why your customers purchased from you in the past.

? Next, confirm that these are, in fact, the reasons they selected your firm. The most effective way to do this is to call your customers.

? Ask your clients the following questions - What was the major benefit you received by working with our organization? Why did you select us and not our competition? What advice do you have for us? That is, what should we be doing more/less of? What should we be doing differently?

The first two questions remind both you and your clients about your strengths, your capabilities and they reaffirm the things you do well. It's much easier to reach your best prospects when you are clear about what distinguishes you from your competition. The third question allows you to develop a close relationship with your customer. Not only will you discover future needs, but it presents an opportunity to become a trusted advisor. More often than not, the best prospects in your market will buy from those they trust.

Once you have identified your best prospect, remain active. Ask yourself the following questions:

? Do I have a list of 25 decision makers I can contact each day?

? Do I see at least one key decision maker each day and have an agenda prepared for them?

? Do I have a clear picture of how my product or service can benefit my future client?

? Do I have goals in place for each of my customers?

? Do I have a follow-up system in place?

That last question leads to my final point - You need to be persistant. In my more than 18 years of sales training, what I have found in tracking results is that our clients work with us not because of our good looks, best jokes or tee times, but because we follow up.

The best and most successful firms are those whose sales people are persistant. I recently had a discussion with Lew Hoff, Founder and CEO of Bartizan Data Systems. He told me about his firm's first client which he signed on in 1970 and who remains with him today. Through the years, this client has provided Bartizan with more than $1.5 million in revenue. After all these years, Lew asked his customer why they chose Bartizan over the four more experienced providers. His client's response was, "Because you were the only one who followed up."

By Michael W. O'Reilly

Selling More Effectively as a Trusted Sales Professional - Thirteen Tips

Do you want to sell more successfully using an honorable and straightforward approach? Read these thirteen sales tips to help you be perceived as a trusted sales professional by buyers. Incorporating these sales tips into your selling process will differentiate you from the rest and help you sell more successfully.



Attitude can be everything. It is important to remember that your attitudes drive all actions and these actions are perceived by buyers as trust-building or trust-breaking. The most important change you can make to sell more successfully is to adopt and reinforce attitudes that will lead to actions resulting in greater levels of trust. Conversely, it is just as important to "lose the attitudes" that result in actions that are trust-breaking.



Truly believe in the product or service and company for which you sell. This is a really difficult hurdle for most sellers who strongly believe in straightforward selling. If you don't believe your products or services will benefit your buyers, then you will constantly be in conflict with yourself during the sales process. If selling using a straightforward platform is truly important to you, it might be necessary for you to find another product or service you will better represent to truly be successful using this approach.



Intimately know the product or service and environment in which you sell. Do you need to be an expert? Maybe not. But it can only benefit your customer to know as much as possible so you can identify if your product or service can best meet their needs. A significant aspect of building trust with your buying counterparts is quickly establishing credibility. First and foremost, you should know much more about your products and services - as well as your competitors' products and services - than your prospects. Secondly, you should know your customers' organization and industry and the unique challenges and issues they face better than any of your competitors. Lastly, "I don't know" is a very appropriate answer when that is, indeed, the case. If you're new to a market, letting your potential customers know that up-front will help lower their expectations and make you feel more comfortable when giving "I don't know" as an answer. When you use this response, however, make sure you offer to find out the answer in a specified timeframe, and then be sure to keep that promise.



Live within your means. It's simple. Don't force yourself into a position where you "have to make the sale" or you lose something. For one, prospects don't like to feel like you are desperate for business. Secondly, if you want to sell using an honorable approach, it's important to reduce the risk/reward for a given sales situation. If you typically make only three to five sales per year and find yourself in serious debt, don't you think there's a definite likelihood that you might "stretch your value structure" a bit to make sure you win the sale so that your debt can be reduced?



Focus on helping the prospect rather than making the sale. If all you're thinking about is making the sale, this will be perceived negatively by your prospect through your actions. It doesn't mean you should never think about the sale, it simply means that you need to focus on the prospect's needs first and foremost.



View yourself as an advisor. This is a different mindset that may be foreign to a lot of salespeople. If you adopt the mindset that you're an advisor with the primary goal of identifying and fulfilling your potential customers needs, your attitudes and actions will be perceived very differently by your counterpart(s) than if your view yourself as a sales rep needing to "overcome the obstacles" and "close the sale."



Focus on the long-term. Admittedly, this is difficult. Most salespeople are used to the frequent calls from sales managers reminding them that "we've got to make our monthly or quarterly targets." If you can adopt this attitude, though, you will likely see higher sales, both short-term and long-term. Buyers hate to be "closed." If you take a short-term mentality, there's a high likelihood that buyers will perceive you as trying to close them - this is trust-breaking and your sales will likely suffer in the short AND long-term.



Some business is not worth pursuing. Most sales managers probably hate this one. It's important, though, to be realistic about each sales opportunity. You're not going to win every sale, so why work under the assumption that you will? Oftentimes, there are many early indicators that will lead you to believe that there's a low probability for making the sale. If that's the case, move on and spend your limited time and energy on opportunities where there's a higher probability for success.



Tell the prospect if your product or service will not meet their needs. Once you've had a reasonable opportunity to ask the appropriate questions, you must be willing to let the prospect know, as soon as possible, if your product or service will not meet their needs. This will result in a more efficient buy/sell process and save both you and the prospect valuable time that could be better spent elsewhere. The prospect will respect and probably trust you more for selling in this manner, and very well may purchase or recommend someone else to purchase from you in the future.



Ask questions, listen, and take notes. Entire books have been written on this subject. Prior to every prospect meeting, you should already have a list of at least one dozen questions to ask. The prospect's response to each of these questions should oftentimes be followed by one to three additional questions to drill down to the true issues and needs. Always take notes. This will show the prospect that you're truly listening. Also, send your typed notes to the prospect and ask them to review to ensure that you did indeed "get it right."



Follow the 80/20 Rule. When meeting with a potential buyer, you should try to talk 20% of the time and allow them to talk 80% of the time - a lot of salespeople and sales managers get this one confused.



Be direct. Answer buyer questions directly. Why do you think there is such a loss in the public's trust with politicians? How often do they provide a direct answer to a question? Rarely. Just because most politicians set a poor example, doesn't mean you should.



No "closing." One of the worst things you can do as a salesperson is to spend a lot of time and effort building trust with a prospect, only to destroy your "trust factor" towards the end of a complex sales process. No buyer likes to feel they're being manipulated or "closed." Make a recommendation, preferably with several options for the prospect to consider, and ask them to identify the next steps with a timeline. Tell them you'd really appreciate their business and ask what next steps you can take that will be helpful to them.

By Robert Reed

Peak Performance

One of the best books I have ever read is a 1986 classic written by Charles Garfield; Peak Performers: The New Heroes of American Business. Garfield spent nearly twenty years trying to figure out what causes some people to excel to amazing successes, while others bask in the glow of mediocrity.

He discovered all types of individuals can become peak performers, that they are made....not born. Regardless of industry, he uncovered these superheroes of the business world in every corner of the United States.

Possessing key attributes, a peak performer will very likely:

? Be motivated toward results by a personal mission
? Posses the twin capacities of self-management and team mastery
? Have the ability to correct course and manage change


Every field has those who reach the top. There are those who are in the top 10% and then those dominate in the top 1%. I am constantly fascinated by those who have that "spark" that leads them to achieve more than other from similar background. Amazing people who are able to work harder (or is it smarter?) and do so without visible signs of effort. They accomplish more than any one could ever imagine. These people stand out as an example to us all.

I have a friend who we have call "Midas". Since college he has had a spectacular career. He is able to spot great investments and helps others build their companies and maintains a phenomenally strong network of business and personal contacts. All this and he still has time to be a dedicated husband and father.

How about you? Are you a peak performer? If not, do you have the desire to accomplish more in your career and personal life? Here are three ideas that can help you on your path to peak performance:

? Never stop learning. Read books, magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs and other materials. Develop a never ending thirst for knowledge.

? Have a plan. If you do not know where you are going, how will you know when you arrive? Set goals and write them down. Refer to your goals regularly and make decisions that lead you toward their completion.

? Take action. Many intelligent people never reach their potential because they do not ever get moving. Even if you have to adjust your direction, having momentum makes it easier to get things done.

Make the commitment to be better tomorrow than you were today in everything that you do. With this as your mantra, the sky is the limit on what you will achieve.

By Thom Singer

11 Proven Sales Strategies to Help You Close The Deal

There are a number of sales closing strategies that you can learn with different ones applied in different situations. Each salesperson might be more comfortable with one or another. As a business owner, you want to be certain that you and your salespeople become exposed to a number of different strategies so they can choose the one they prefer depending on different situations.

First you must understand that before you can assist your prospect in identifying the advantages of buying your products or services, you must also instruct them of the disadvantages.

Then you and the prospect analyze the items on your list and identify the strengths and advantages while overcoming the disadvantages.

The goal here is for the advantages to outweigh the disadvantages and close the deal.

The take it with them close- This allows the prospect to actually take the product home or try out the product. The idea is that once this happens, the prospect will be unable to part with the product and must have it.

There is a story about a salesmen who sold pet dogs. The salesman said "Here, take this home and give me a call in a week. If you don't want it, I'll come and get it". Once that dog was there and the young son fell in love with it, there was no way that dog was going back.

Subject To Approval Close- This allows a salesperson to actually close a sale, but do so subject to certain contingencies. In other words, it's up to the salesperson at this point to really do some work when possible to assist the prospect in removing contingencies thereby making the sale official. .

Take Away Close- I prefer this one. It's human nature to want what one can't have. The salesperson says things like, "This product isn't for everyone. It's a certain kind of person who can appreciate this service."

The Standby Feel Close- This approach is intended to establish empathy with your prospect's situation in an effort to persuade them that you or a prior customer has actually dealt with their situation.

The Order Form Close- Sometimes the prospect might need a little encouragement and It's useful to actually take your order form or contract and put it in ftont of your prospect. Tell them to complete a section and you'll complete the rest.

Never say, "Sign the contract", which has a very negative connotation. It appears too binding and rigid to your prospect

If they haven't heard enough reason to buy, you then say ""If We Do This, Will You Buy?" you must identify what it will take for the prospect to break down and buy.

Presumptive Close- Under this method you actually go on the assumption or presumption that the prospect has already decided to buy. You might talk about how a prospect will enjoy the product or service or how the benefits might be enjoyed.

When the prospect gets in the habit of talking, feeling and thinking like they already have the item, the sale is almost all but completed.

Informational Close- If your products or services is such that your prospect needs more information in order to make up their mind, then the more relevant information you can share the more likely the prospect is to buy.

Overcoming Objectives Close- You can identify the prospect's specific objections to buying and focus on ways to overcome those objections. As you successfully accomplish this task, the close will follow right afterwards.

Instructional Close- If the close requires the buyer to know how to use your products or services, it is critical that you provide detailed instructions where applicable.

Directive Close- This is when you actually talk to your prospect and tell them exactly what to do. Direct Them to go over and sign up. They will respond by buying when told to do so. It's one of the easiest ways to make a sale.

Exclusive Close- You indicate in all the marketing you do that your products or services are very exclusive. Lock the doors and only allow customers and referrals to enter. Soon you'll find they want it because everyone wants in. Whatever the strategies you and your employees learn and implement, all awareness that sales strategies are available is essential to go a long way in your business sales efforts.

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By Abe Cherian