Sales Techniques

Active Listening
The best way to listen is to do it actively. You have to really understand what your clients are saying. For a lot of customers it is hard to say exactly what they mean because there not sure what they want. Your job is to figure it out. A great tool to do so is to actively listen. Here’s an example: I needed to purchase storm shutters so I had two different salespeople come to my house. The first one that came over would ask a question, I would answer the question, and then she would talk for a while. She would keep doing this because the questions she asked did not push the right buttons, she didn’t build a bond with me. Her language was different then mine. When she asked me “Is this color alright?� I wasn’t hearing, “Do you want this color on your house?� I was hearing, “Do you think this color is alright?� There wasn’t a lot of clarity between us and she couldn’t give me exactly what I wanted. The second salesperson that came to my house was very clear. I pointed out a type of shutter I liked and he told me that the home owners may not even allow me to have this color, and then I asked him, “What if I could paint them to match the house?� He came back and said, “So you’re saying you would want to get these vinyl shutters even if we had to paint them to go along with the home owners, is that right? That gave me an opportunity to say yes and him the opportunity to fully understand what I wanted. What he was doing was actively listening to what I was saying. Prodding to get me to tell him exactly what I wanted. By doing this he built a bond with me. It wasn’t always comfortable with him pushing me with these questions but he knows his purpose is to help me get what I want. He pushed me no matter how uncomfortable it was until I told him exactly what I wanted. He made sure that he understood exactly what I was telling him. He had the right idea by doing this rather then guessing at it. You have to think of your self as a researcher. You have to pin point every little detail on what your client is telling you. You can get right down to what’s important to that person. This is how you have to be if you want to get on top, earn respect, trust and ultimately the sale from your customer. Go Get ‘Em!

Richard Cannon, The TeleSales Recruiter started selling candy in school when he was 8 years old. He’s been selling ever since. In his 30’s he was looking for a sales job he could do from home that was in line with his purpose. He looked and looked and couldn’t find the right one. He swore some day he would make it easier for people to find great sales jobs they can do from home. He built a crew of work from home people, but couldn’t help everyone because they were not all passionate about what he was selling. So now, he assist’s salespeople in figuring out what their purpose is. Then he finds them an opportunity that is in line with that purpose. Now they make more money selling something they love. For more information, visit Cannon’s site at http://www.telesalesrecruiter.com

Top 5 Tips of the Most Successful Sales People
Learning from others experiences and mistakes is always a good idea. And for a sales person what better way to learn than from some of the most successful sales people. Some sales training and sales coaching classes bring in successful people to give a talk to the new batch of sales people. But, if you haven’t got a chance to hear these people talk then, not to worry here are the 5 tips from the most successful sales people. Tip#1- Focus on Clients True, you are representing your company, but, your focus should be on the client. It is the client who is going to make sure you stay on the job. Try and get to know the clients as much as possible. They have to taken care of, monitored and pampered. Ask them questions related to your service. Also, ask them suggestions as to how you can improve your service. Implement their suggestions if you feel it is going to make your service better. Show them, that you are implementing their suggestions. You will be rewarded by their loyalty. They will come back to you even if you shift jobs. Clients will remain loyal to you if they know that you care. Tip#2- The Right Attitude Don’t enter this field unless you enjoy doing it. Unless you enjoy what you do it is hard to be productive. Love your work and you will find ways to be creative. If you are passionate about your work it will show. Excitement for your work will have an impact on your clients as well. Enthusiasm is infectious. If you are enthusiastic about your product, the client will feel that you are not just making a sales talk but, that there is really something worthwhile in your product. You should show the same attitude when attending sales training and sales coaching classes. Tip#3- Set a Goal Sales training is all about setting a goal or target and achieving. Most often than not companies will set a target for you which you will have to achieve in some period. It might be a year, a month or a week. Whatever they set is important but more important is your goal. So, if they set a target you can set a higher target for yourself. If they give you monthly targets split it into weeks and days. So, you know what your goal is for the week. Set full throttle and speed ahead towards the goal. But, one thing is clear, setting your own goal is very important. There is something very exciting about achieving a goal one has set for oneself. Tip#4 â€" Select your Clients Carefully A long term two way relationship with a client is always better than a one way street. Your relationship with your client should be mutually beneficial to you and your client. So, select clients who will stay with you for a long time. The advantage of having such clients is that they will refer your business to others. So, with referrals along your way you can increase your business. Now, convert these referrals to the same sort of relationship that you have with your other clients. Sometimes the opposite can also happen. You can meet prospective clients who can turn out to be just that â€" prospective. Asking the right questions can make you understand whether they want to buy or your products or they are just fishing around. Sales coaching and sales training courses also emphasize on this. Tip#5 â€" Follow Up All too often sales people forget about their customers once they have the order in their hand. It is important to keep customers happy for long term benefits. Follow up is very important. If you have a follow up offer, even better. Make it related to the original offer. It might sound difficult, after making one sale is not easy and then a follow up. But, it can be done and should be done. If you have done your research properly then you will know your clients tastes, hobbies, favorite sport etc. So, it is up to you to come up with special offers for your clients depending on their individual tastes.

Sean McPheat provides <a href="http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/sales_coaching.html" target="_blank">sales coaching</a>, <a href="http://www.mtdsalestraining.com" target="_blank">sales training courses</a> and sales consulting to a number of businesses around the globe. To learn more about MTD please click on the following link <a href=" http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/about_us.html">MTD Sales Training</a>

Business Lesson: Ongoing Leader Development
I have been doing business consulting for several years. Rarely am I contacted to help a business move to the next level of growth. In fact I am typically approached only when there are major business problems to be addressed. Why do business owners and managers wait for problems before they seek help with their businesses?

As I conduct my initial fact finding efforts, I rarely find a business owner or manager who has been examining and implementing new business trends. I rarely find business owners and managers who have focused time and effort on their own personal business growth and development.

By not reading relevant books, attending seminars, taking courses and using all other means available to continue their personal growth as managers and leaders, the business owner or manager risks becoming stagnant. As times and trends change uniformed leaders find themselves in a position of missing the critical changes in the business environment. Often these critical changes equate to the difference between long-term success and failure.

Business performance (Typically a lack of performance!) becomes the reason that these managers and owners finally look outside their own business. These business owners and managers seek help in recovering lost levels of business performance. The result: Business failure, or at the very least, underperformance. Then consultants like me are asked to come in and help turn the business around.

There is a smarter and less stressful path to follow. That path? Business owners and managers need to stay current with changes that are occurring on the business world. Business owners and managers need to budget time and some money toward their own ongoing development.

This investment does not require huge amounts of time or money. What it does require is the dedication to follow through and continue to grow. It requires learning new skills, refreshing already developed skills, and being open to new ideas and approaches.

Often the biggest challenge will be determining the key nuggets of information, and then applying those key nuggets to current management methods and business operations.

There are many sources of information. These include colleges (Many community colleges offer free/low cost courses.), seminars (In-person and teleconferences.), books (Name the topic, and there is almost always a newly released title available.), magazines (Current trends and business problems are well-covered.), and many more. Many of the best sources for both leader development and emerging trend for your specific industry can be found online.

There are many other benefits from continued learning and development. This is especially true at in-person events. One of the greatest benefits to continued development is the networking that often accompanies the training. Lifelong friendships can be formed. Business mentors and advisors can be found. The opportunity to help others in the search for business success can present itself too.

An enlightened leader is a leader who is most likely to be a success.

Bob Hamilton is a business author (His first business novel is WINNING BASICS – A Story of Leadership, Communication and Inspiration ISBN 1-4137-9684-2.), online business writer, and business consultant and trainer. http//www.RobertBHamilton.com http//www.marketingsuccesscenter.com, http//www.cooksbestbooks.com http//www.openingadollarstore.com and business consultant. Bob can be reached rbhamil1@aol.com.

High-Income Seller Behaviors: 5 Attitudes A Sales Executive Must Have To Close The Deal
Read almost any book about sales and you’ll see some reference to, “you need to have a good attitude.� So what does that mean? Sometimes my most effective selling is when I have a “bad attitude� -- when I’m more discerning and skeptical about whether a prospect has money or is willing to make the change. I get tougher then and force the prospect to fit into my procedure. So for the purpose of this article, I’d like to redefine attitude and not talk about it in terms of good or bad, but instead “what attitudes to have.�

1. My value can be found nowhere else.

Most high-income sellers are in the business-to-business environment. And in that atmosphere, you must bring value with your knowledge, experience, and observations in a market. So even though you may sell the same type of solution that another company sells, your solution is enriched by you being in the process. High achievers understand that their products or services are better because of their expertise and wisdom. The elite high-income seller has the attitude of “my total solution brings value because the prospect won’t be able to find my value from anyone else.�

2. If I want more, I contribute more.

The highest achievers realize something that the average performers don’t. If you want to earn more money, you have to contribute more value and solve more problems for your customer. We say in our training, “if you want to make more money, solve bigger problems.� So when you work on your quarterly goals, stop working on what you can get out of the market and start working on what you can contribute to the market in terms of value and solutions to problems. Then, when you make a sales call or attend a sales prospect meeting, you won’t be a needy, begging sales person. You’ll be a contributor at a higher value.

3. There is a never-ending supply of client pain.

The elite sellers--the top one percent--know that even when a market is soft (no budgets) it doesn’t mean there’s no pain in the customer base. So the high achiever is always focused on the problems that he or she can solve and not focused on the budgets that aren’t there. Budgets follow beliefs. If the prospect believes he has a problem and believes it’s worth solving, budgets have a way of making an appearance.

4. My baggage doesn’t matter.

Let’s face the fact that we all have unwanted baggage. That little tinge of fear when we get ready to ask a question that we know we should ask, but some how it just doesn’t roll off our tongue. The average performer decides he will wait to ask the question later. The high sales performer doesn’t let his baggage get in the way of the right question to ask (or the right comment to make). In a sick sort of way, your baggage gets in the way of your customer getting his problem solved. You don’t want to have that on your mind when you go to bed tonight, do you?

5. I am hyper-discerning about my time.

It’s easy to say, “be discerning,� but with all the distractions and demands on our time, it’s hard to execute that attitude. So what do high sales achievers do with their time? In the sales environment they create standards of conduct that they demand from the prospect. If on the first phone call, the prospect doesn’t want to share any of the problems they’re trying to fix then they have broken the first code of conduct and the high achieving sales executive should move on. If, on the first face-to-face meeting, the prospect refuses to tell how much money this problem costs them to have, then again, they’ve broken a rule of conduct. The sales executive must move on. Set your code of conduct on what you expect from prospects and don’t deviate. That makes it easier for you to ‘let go’ at the appropriate time.



During his 19+ years of experience as a leader, experimenter and coach for hundreds of B2B sales teams, Bill Caskey doesn’t blame prospects for how they treat most sales organizations – for not seeing their value, for treating them like servants, and for sucking up their expertise and taking it somewhere else and getting a lower price. Sales organizations play a part in this game too! Our sales behavior is the problem not our clients. Learn how to play the high-income seller’s new rules at <a href="http://www.theelitesellerblog.com">http://www.theelitesellerblog.com</a>

A "Warm Calling" vs. "Cold Calling" Rant
Had another conversation with yet another entrepreneur who told me he does not "cold call," he only does "warm calls." I continue to be baffled by those who cut off possibilities with a semantic twist. "Cold call, warm call," it's simply a state of mind. Your mind. Your prospect does not make those distinctions. Just because you have designated a call to be "warm" doesn't mean that the person you are calling thinks it's "warm." This "warm call/cold call" concept is a smoke screen that covers the real issue. The real issue is controlling your message. The real issue is being able to communicate with a prospect so that they understand and resonate with what you have to say. The real issue is about having the skill necessary to communicate with a prospect under any circumstance. Prospecting by phone, introductory calling as I prefer, is a communication skill. Like any communication skill it can be learned and it can be improved upon. The idea when introductory calling is to contact a qualified prospect and entice them with your message. You have a brief amount of time on the telephone to catch and engage your prospect. If you are not able to do that, the call ends without achieving your desired result. If you have the proper skills, however, it is possible to have extremely productive conversations with prospects no matter how you choose to categorize them, "warm" or "cold." The idea of a "warm call" is that you've had some prior contact with your prospect and that you have somehow "warmed up" the call. The prior contact might be with a letter sent before your call, it might be that you have encountered the prospect elsewhere it could also be that you have a referral. All too frequently callers who use the "I only warm call" approach do not adequately prepare for their calls. Instead, they rely on the appellation "warm." If you are one of these callers, stop right here and ask yourself these questions: --> How many "warm" prospects have said "no" to me over the years? --> Would those calls have been more productive if I had been better prepared and more in control of my message? Although you may have sent a letter, you have no guarantee that your prospect has read it. Although you may have met previously, your prospect may not recall that. Although you may have a referral that is no guarantee that your prospect will meet with you or have any interest at all in your products or services. When you are on the phone with a prospect you must deal with them, where they are, at that particular moment in time. If your prospect hasn't read your letter, doesn't remember the person who referred you, or is simply having a bad day, that's out of your control. What is within your control when prospecting is to have honed your skills so that your message is clear and so that you can respond in any situation. When you have skills, you know how to catch a prospect's attention, you know how to keep their attention, you know how to respond to questions and objections and you know how to ask for what you want. When you have those skills it's no longer about a "warm" call or a "cold" call, it's about communication, conversation and results. © 2006 Wendy Weiss

Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy's free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com.

Selling with Success - Gaining Rapport
Gaining rapport is perhaps the single most important element to selling with success. Without rapport your chances at making a sale are slim to none. Rapport is created from your first point of contact with a potential client and so one easy way to gain rapport is through the use of your client’s name. Hence:

o Get to know your clients name,
o Use your client’s name,
o Remember your client’s name, and
o Use your client’s correct title.

Sounds easy doesn’t it? Yet how often is this done in practice? I once accompanied my sister-in-law in Barbados to a new gym she wanted to check-out with a view to perhaps joining it. I’m a qualified Personal Trainer and so she, or rather my brother, wanted my expert opinion. I introduced myself to the Manager who then proceeded to spend the next minute or so asking me if I was called anything other than “Nickolove� even though I had indicated that was the name I preferred to be called. I wasn’t even the main client! So you can imagine how impressed I was with her sales skills. (The gym didn’t pass muster with me either.)

There are exceptions to using a person’s real name. One of my friends is called “Tifsihitâ€�. She is a beautiful individual and I wanted to honour her by using her full name and I tried to do so. However, she politely informed me that my efforts resulted in saying something rude and that she was happy to be called “Tâ€� â€" an abbreviation used by most of her friends. I humbly acquiesced.

Sometimes we meet individuals whose names we later or promptly forget. How many times has this happened to you? Do you ask the person their name again? In many cases people are reluctant to ask a person’s name the second or third time around. However, the irony is, people don’t mind being asked their name. It shows that you are interested in them and people generally respond favourably to this.

When you are talking to a customer, address them by name and use their name during the conversation. You don’t have to overdo it but when people hear their names mentioned it helps to make them feel that they are being spoken to as an individual rather then just anyone or everyone. It helps to give them confidence that you are seeking to address their individual needs.

Many people say that they can’t remember names. Just saying this helps to reinforce this negative and false belief. The truth is, unless you have a medical condition that affects your memory, you have a perfect memory and, with a little effort, you can remember the names of a roomful of people if you so desired.

One technique that helps me to remember a person’s name is for me to ask a person to spell their name for me, especially if it is somewhat unusual. When a person spells their name I can actually see the letters and this makes it easier for me to recall.

I am also unashamed at repeating a person’s name a few times until I get the pronunciation right (or not as in the case of Tifsihit!). This repetition also helps me to remember their name.

I also like to discover the meaning of names. I meet many people with exquisite sounding names and I’m always curious as to their meaning. Even common names have interesting meanings. Take the name “Stephen�. I discovered only this weekend that the name Stephen is of Greek origin and means ‘crown’. Knowing what someone’s name means is another way of engraving that person’s name into my memory. It also creates a natural focal point for light conversation which adds to building rapport.

There are many excellent resources on the market to help you develop your memory. I highly recommend choosing one of these resources if you want to dramatically improve your memory and your ability for remembering names. It’s too lengthy a discussion for this article.

Finally, use a client’s correct title. Many times I receive correspondence addressed to “Mr Nickolove Lovemore� or sometimes I receive calls asking to speak to “Mr…� What is really irritating about this is that, in many cases I have actually spoken to the person sending the correspondence and there is no way you could mistake the sound of my voice for that of a man.

I remember a situation where I received a letter from a real estate agent I had been dealing with who fell foul to this error. When I pointed out that my title should be “Ms� and not “Mr� I was told that they assumed “Mr Lovemore� was the decision-maker and so had addressed the letter accordingly. That went down like the proverbial lead weight. How chauvinistic! I was the individual to whom they always spoken to and yet it was assumed that I, a lowly female, was incapable of making a decision about a financial contraction of this magnitude even when a “Mr Lovemore� had never been mentioned.

Getting a client’s title wrong is a sure way to alienate them so if you are unsure about a client’s title simply ask them. If this is not possible then circumvent this problem by not using a title at all.

There are many hurdles to overcome with regards to building rapport. Get your client’s name right and you will sail over the first hurdle and be one step closer to selling with success.

Nickolove Lovemore is a Life & Success Coach and a NLP Practitioner. Please visit http://www.SuccessAccesories.com for information regarding new program - Selling with Success.

What is Consultative Selling?
Consultative selling sales training courses are becoming increasingly popular. Even other sales training classes and sales coaching classes are offering consultative selling as a part of the curriculum. So, what is consultative selling? As any of these sales training courses will tell you consultative selling is a type of selling in which the selling is based on customer needs rather. It is a non-manipulative process. The focus here is not on product. Instead a client’s need is clearly defined and the client’s needs and objectives are addressed jointly. So, what is the difference between traditional selling and consultative selling? As any sales coaching manual or sales training manual will tell you in simple words, traditional selling is based on the need to sell an already existing product whereas in consultative selling the emphasis is on meeting the needs of a customer by developing a solution to those needs. This solution can be a product or a service or a combination of both. In traditional selling the sales person has to explain the features of the existing product or service and convince the customer that they need these features. In effect traditional selling is manipulative whereas consultative selling is the opposite. The sales person has to wait till the end of the presentation to know whether a person is going to buy his product or not in traditional selling. In consultative selling this problem is not there. You go for any sales training courses or sales coaching classes you will here these words “Customer is king�. This is true for consultative selling as well. The difference is that you first get to know your customer before you develop a product. This is especially important if your company is offering financial services. Knowing the client will also help you in assessing the financial well being of the company. To do this you should be able to ask the correct questions and to listen to the person at the opposite end. For instance if you are offering financial solutions some of the questions could be • How many years have you been investing? • What types of investments have you purchased before (for example, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and variable or fixed annuities)? Do not ask open ended questions initially rather ask questions that are useful for information gathering. Later you can ask more open ended questions. At this stage you are not expected to offer an opinion and it is best you don’t. This is only the preliminary stage. Many sales training courses try to make consultative selling sound as though it is a panacea to all evils. It is not a magic potion that is going to make your company profit rise in laps and bounds. There will be a difference but it will take time. A good sales training course will tell you this. It will also tell you that however hard you have worked to satisfy the customer by designing a solution that is suitable to the clients need; the client is going to have some objections to the plan. It is a part of the game. Clients may feel that the investment that they are required to make is not commensurate with the solution that they will be getting. They might have some preconceived notions about certain type of products. They might be hesitant about committing to a program. How can you deal with them? The best way to deal with this is to restate them. This will make the clients explain why they have the objections. Once the objections are clear you can address them. Sometimes, as the client explains his/her objection he/she might realize that the objections are not valid ones and they might just withdraw them. The most important part is the actual implementation of a solution. This is the time when the customer starts getting doubts as he/she starts getting unsolicited advice from well wishers. So, it is imperative to ensure that you are to see to it that the process doesn’t get derailed. If you get a chance to attend a sales training course or sales coaching course that offers consultative selling, don’t hesitate, just go ahead and make maximum use of it. Remember to make hay while the sun shines.

Sean McPheat provides <a href="http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/sales_coaching.html" target="_blank">sales coaching</a>, <a href="http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/inhouse.htm" target="_blank">sales training courses</a> and sales consulting to a number of businesses around the globe. He is the owner of MTD Sales Training and designs and delivers <a href="http://www.mtdsalestraining.com" target="_blank">sales training</a>, programmes and consultancy assignments across the UK, Europe, US .

Sales Through Storytelling: Story Tell, Story Sell!
An old French proverb tells us "Nothing succeeds like success!" And in sales nothing succeeds quite like success stories. Are you sharing yours? Why not? The secret is in how you share your successes.

Learn to tell thirty-second "success stories." During sales calls a quick-hitting story can make or reinforce a point in memorable fashion. Success stories may be told in response to a question, to serve as a testimonial, or even as an aside. Did you know you had a storied past?

Stories work for several reasons: they're more memorable than numbers, names and dates; and listeners enjoy the drama: a problem followed by a solution, a mystery solved with a twist, or a creative workaround to a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Also, your listener can find him or herself in the story. A good story will resonate with prospects.

"We're wired for stories, individually and collectively. Since the time of Odysseus we've been told stories. Since we were little kids we've been read and told stories. This is how we’ve been conditioned to learn; our morals and our values are taught through stories." So says Gay Ducey, past president of the National Storytelling Association.

Look at your sales history and pick out an accomplishment. Now tell the story behind the accomplishment. It states that you helped a past client increased sales 60%. But tell how you did it; Cite a "before vs. after" description. What was the secret? Stories that reveal secrets captivate.

The Three S's of Success Stories

Success stories offer a setting, a situation and a solution. Remember, you're the hero of your stories. Your decisions, actions and insights made the difference.

Here is an example:

"We recently received a call from a merchant unhappy with their current vendor. They were paying high fees, receiving poor service and experiencing frequent security breaches. In short order we were able to launch a wireless processing system that was more secure, more reliable and even less expensive. Through customization we were able to address their foreign and domestic needs, a strength of ours."

Not only does this success story demonstrate an independent sales organization's ability to solve problems, it showcases an understanding of business, markets and methods.

Stories can demonstrate your professionalism, customer service, researching ability, creativity, problem-solving inclination or other strengths.

Consider this story for a job-seeker:

Here is an example of how one candidate summarized his most recent employment for a competitor

"In my last job I was hired to manage a production department at war with the editorial department. I walked into an environment full of distrust and resentment, built up over years of animosities and recriminations. Through my implementation of cross training between departments, initiation of mutual social outings such as picnics and scheduling of project post-mortems we were able, after 6 months, to convert resentment into understanding and competition into cooperation. As each department began to understand how the other one worked we were jointly able to improve the workflow and consequently shorten time to market with publications. Even quality improved as we better understood how best to work together. That showed me the importance of internal communication and how hard it can be, though not impossible, to change an existing culture."

Not only does this success story demonstrate the candidate's ability to solve problems, but it shows interviewers the candidate's understanding of interoffice politics and the human side of operations.

Stories can demonstrate your detail orientation, dedication, leadership, independence, researching ability, creativity, serice or problem-solving inclination. Remember that employers want well rounded hires so make sure they see evidence of your varied skill set. Here are a few examples:

• Your conversion of old equipment into new uses shows you can think outside the box and are resourceful.

• The non-monetary ways you recognized your staff shows your creativity, abilities as a leader as you demonstrate your understanding of how to motivate others.

• The weekly internal E-letter you created for employees not only boosted morale, it gave evidence of your strong communication skills.

• The canned food drive you initiated at your last job not only showed your commitment to your community, it also raised visibility for the company and improved their public relations.

• By forming a lunchtime jogging club you helped bring employees from different departments together while improving the health, and mental health, of employees who participated. Your leadership and team building skills were further evidenced when your runners club formed a Centipede in the recent Bay to Breakers race.

• Your multilingual skills helped aright a project suffering from miscommunication between subsidiaries from overseas. Not only could you translate phrases and idioms of speech, your insight into cultural differences bridged a gap and corrected a wayward project. More than showcasing your knowledge of languages, you demonstrated the ability to liaison between different groups, negotiate and turn an important project around.

Here are a few examples:

• Your analysis of existing processing statements and identification of cost savings

• Your experience with a variety of systems and payment methods: credit, debit, phone and gift cards, etc.

• Your skill in designing billing systems that cross borders and time zones and convert currencies"

Best yet, this Story Tell, Story Sell method works for sales, management, consultants, meeting planners, solopreneurs and even politicians. I know, I've coached them!

Review your past work history and identify the stories within each accomplishment. Now tell them to others. Don’t forget the moral to your story: the point the story tells about you (and your firm), your skills and credits. And remember, yours is a never-ending story!



As a self-employed speaker, trainer and consultant on communication and customer service topics, Craig Harrison is simultaneously a decision maker, gatekeeper and caller on a daily basis. Craig is standing by to take your calls and e-mails: (510) 547-0664, or via Excellence@craigspeaks.com. Visit his website at http://www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com.

Giving the Customers What They Want
To give customers what they want, you first need to know who they are. There is going to require some research on your part to find out who they are and then what do they need. In doing so, you can develop your own personal niche, in a specific market. There are certain tips that can be used in developing your own niche. Of course some form of research will be necessary as well. In order for you to develop your own niche in the market, it is vital that you take time out to do an “ideal customer profileâ€� to suit you and your business. So what is an ideal customer for me and my business I hear you ask? Good question and there are several answers to this. We are going to cover the two most important. From experience, I did all of my own prospecting, I did not use Mail shots, Advertising, or Telesales. I actually phoned the potential customer myself and said, “My name is Leslie Johnston, we haven’t met yet that’s the reason I’m phoning you. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to see if we like and trust each other, and then decide which areas now or in the future we can make some money off of each other. Is morning or afternoon the best time for you and me to share ten minutes togetherâ€�……….. My Question to the secretary or to who ever answered the phone was:-“could tell me who is the person responsible for the profitability of the company please?â€� and that got me to speak to the right person This approach got me a 38% success rate from all phone calls in getting to talk to the person that I wanted to speak to, and a whopping 84% success rate to getting the appointment with the people I did talk to. That to me was exactly what I wanted the appointment for, I was not lying anywhere in that script. The prospect knew precisely why I was coming, and they welcomed the honesty of the approach. If I was going to have a close working relationship with them, then I wanted to know if I could trust them or not. Do you really want to work with someone that you don’t like? This was exactly what the customer wanted to know about me as well, they had just never voiced it before. Have you ever met a business person that didn’t want to talk about the possibility of making money? I then picked on average 1 in 10 of the people that I talked to take on as a client of mine. Yes, you read that correctly, I Only Took 10% on Average of the People I Talked to as Clients of Mine. “Whyâ€�, I hear you ask? I only wanted top quality customers because the time spent on a small profit sale is the same as a large profit one so why waste time on the small sales? The second most important thing to look for in your ideal customer profile is:- Do they want your product or service? Do they have the authority to buy? Do they have the money to pay for it? Now let’s look at the first one â€"a customer who wants your product or service. When I worked in Financial Services I discovered very quickly that virtually everyone Needed Life Insurance, but very few people Wanted Life Insurance. We humans will find the money for whatever it is that we want, irrespective as to whether or not we need it. Our homes are full of stuff that we didn’t need, but things that we wanted. The simple way to find out what it is that they want is to ask them. It is very important that you find your ideal customer first, and then find a product or service for them. That is exactly the way that I did it, and then tailored a service to suit my customer in my chosen market place Have They Got the Authority to Buy? A question that I found worked the best was, “Who is responsible for the profitability of the company?â€� When I was doing my survey of companies and asking them what it was that they wanted in an ideal world. Two answers always came up. (1) To make more profit (2) To pay less tax. So I learned how to make companies more profitable and how to exploit the legal loopholes in order to pay less tax. One of the ways to make companies more profit is to show them how to sell more. So I started sales training. -Get the idea â€"Give them what they want. It really is that simple. There is at least one niche to exploit in every market and there are usually several So start looking for yours now dare to be different and you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams For more help on this, go now to www.thehandsontrainingsystem.com. and get my 5 part training program Yours in Success Leslie Johnston

Leslie Johnston has been in sales and Management since 1969 and during that time has worked in the Tire Industry until 1981 and then in the financial services until 2000. He is a very entertaining and dynamic speaker and as a sales trainer he is truly awesome and highly motivational. Since the mid Seventies he has conducted hundreds of seminars and training courses during that time. He has now retired from selling but keeps extremely active speaking and teaching others how to sell. All of the sales training that he received in his early days he reckoned that some thing was missing and it was all what he calls “Product Bashing� and then spent the next 5 years studying and experimenting on how to “Problem Solve “ and his sales figures went through the roof. Follow what he teaches you to do and just watch your income GROW!

Make the Competition Irrelevant
Is there an easy way to make the competition irrelevant? In an age with so much access to information, bombarded by advertisements and commercials, is it possible to keep the attention of your potential customers? What is the secret to help customers make an easy decision to buy? There is a secret formula that works for e-commerce, retail, bids and proposals. It is a simple formula that has worked since the days of bartering beads, beans and burrows. Create Differentiation Create differentiation within your own products or services. If you have an assortment of products or services to offer, you may have identified your differentiation already. Common examples of differentiation for products may be based on size, speed, color, components, combinations or accessories. Common examples of differentiation for services include speed, performance, quality, responsiveness, availability, ease or integration. If you are in the unique position of having only one product or service to offer potential customers then you should consider accessories, partners or other options to create a variety of levels from the perspective of your future customers. If all else fails, you can offer different levels of shipping speed or delivery. Focus on the Moment of Truth Focus on the moment of truth, the place or position that your products or services will be offered to the customer. In a retail environment this may be the end-cap, a wall display, shelf space or a counter display. On the Internet this may be an on-line store, e-bay or your personal web site. It may be in a catalog or a brochure. It could even be part of an email communication. Occasionally the moment of truth may be in the form of a bid or proposal after several months of discussions with a potential client. The moment of truth is the moment that the customer has a an option to make a purchase decision, to buy your products, invest in your services or hire you. This is the moment that you need to put your good, better and best foot forward. Good, Better and Best Give your customer three options. Show them something good, show them something better and show them your best. It is a simple formula that takes a little care and creativity in crafting your message. The three offers should be based on the foundation of a consistent theme, the single most important underlying reason to invest in your products or services. The 'good' product or service should be the lowest cost option but still demonstrate your inherent value and differentiation from the competition. You should be able to clearly define your value, the features, advantages and benefits of what you have to offer. This is the customer minimum investment to buy, and it should be a good one. Step up to better. Using the foundation established with your 'good' offer, add something more for a slightly higher price. The customer value should be easily distinguished and highlighted as more significant than the slightly increased price. Make a clear comparison to the "good" product or service. This should be a preferred alternative for the potential customer. The option should be slightly more expensive, but worth it. Some examples may include, "with additional 1GB memory", "includes six months of Satellite Radio", "bundle package includes download of 50 songs", "50% faster than the original", and similar comparisons. Show them your best. The third option should be the best that you have to offer, the cream of the crop. This is the most expensive option and will only be selected by the most exclusive of customers. It should also have something in common with the original "good" option and the "better" option, but the third and final option should be recognizable the best you have to offer. The price may be significantly higher than the other two options, and that is fine. Demonstrating a significant leap to a higher price point for the top of the line option will help to differentiate the cost value of the other two options. Do not expect large volume of sales on the best offer. Rather, use this to demonstrate competitive advantage and differentiation with the "wow" factor. Even if you have hundreds of customized solutions or products, select and present three options, good, better and best. In the decision process, human beings can easily compare and contrast three options. The mind can juggle three prices and three sets of features for a quick and easy decision process. Once you add a fourth element, the customer needs to start a deeper level of analytical comparison. If you have too many options then the customer will need to spend more time to consider the alternatives, and while they are weighing your multiple options they may start to consider the competition as well. Limit your presentation to three options. If the customer makes a specific request for an alternative, then provide the alternative that the customer has requested, but avoid introducing too many new variables unless asked. The more factors in a decision, the longer the process and the more likely to turn your "Moment of Truth" into a Lapse into Confusion. The Value Proposition For each option that you present to the potential customer, provide a value proposition. Your value proposition should be something that can be conveyed in three to five bullet points, three to five sentences, or spoken in thirty seconds or less. You should be precise and succinct. Present the value proposition from the customer point of view. For example, rather than say "we ship in three to five days", you could say "the product will typically arrive at your door in three to five days". Rather than say "we have the fastest process", you could say "our process is fast, so you get results faster". A value proposition typically contains the essential elements of Feature, Advantage, Benefit, Image and Offer. This is a reference to a specific important feature of your offer, the advantage as compared to the competition, and the benefit to the customer. The Image refers to a photograph or diagram. The Image is an important element of your value proposition, as people will generally remember an image more readily than words. Images convey feeling, and typically depict a lifestyle example of the customer enjoying the benefits of the feature's advantage. The Offer is a call to action. Give your customer an offer to buy, and let them know specifically how to conduct the purchase. Examples of the order call to action are "buy now", "limited time discount" or a number to call to place the order by phone. An example of the value proposition with the essential elements is "Call now to order the self-cleaning home brew coffee maker and start enjoying fresh, hot coffee with the extra convenience of no fuss, no muss and no clean-up. Order on-line to receive your free sample of assorted coffees, available while supplies last." All we need to complete this enticing offer is an image of hands gently caressing an aromatic steaming cup of coffee, cradled over a saucer. Plan, Do, Measure and Adjust Carefully plan your three offers and the value proposition for each. Once you introduce your three offers, measure the success rate of each option by the corresponding sales attach rate. Typically the "good" offer should be about 25% of your sales, and the "best" offer is normally only 15% of your sales. Some customers will want the lowest cost option, and some will want to be exclusive and purchase the best option regardless of price. The middle of the road "better" offer is customarily the lion share at 60% of your total sales. Most customers are willing to pay a little more for quality, speed or convenience associated with the "better" offer if presented properly, even if they do not want to pay the high price of the "best" option. The "better" alternative gives customers a chance to do a little better than "good", but still feel that they saved money as compared to the outrageously priced "best" option. If you do not experience the desired result in mix of sales then it may be necessary to adjust your plan or your value propositions. In any case, as long as the customers continue to make a selection between your options, the competition is irrelevant. Your customers can get what they want, and they will remain your customers. ______________________________________________________ Words of Wisdom "No computer network with pretty graphics can ever replace the salespeople that make our society work." - Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil, 1995 "You can only cure retail but you can prevent wholesale." - Brock Chisholm "Give your customer three options that they can compare without memorization. Make it quick, make it easy, and add value. - Just like that." - John Mehrmann ______________________________________________________ About the Author: John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital

John Mehrmann is a freelance author, industry expert and President of Executive Blueprints Inc, an organization dedicated to developing human capital and personal growth.