In Tips on 12/09/2010 at 2:11 am
Referrals
The Key To Success
Bottom line: Referrals increase your sales revenue. Referrals provide more success than any other marketing tactic or advertising, not to mention it usually comes at no cost to execute. Many salespeople underestimate the power of a great referral. Most satisfied clients are happy to help you attain future business. If your clients are well services and satisfied then they will want to help you spread the good news. Actively engaging in finding you new clients also validates their relationship with you. If your client can pass on valuable information to a colleague who in turn becomes a client, then this new transaction further solidifies the client/salesperson relationship. Remember the old saying, there is comfort in numbers? Not only is there comfort in knowing that a colleague also deems your service worthy and valuable but it can often times create a sense of competitiveness among colleagues. In the end this just means more sales revenue.
The most important step in this entire referral process is servicing your client’s needs. If a salesperson starts providing excellent service from the conception of his/her sales career then acquiring and selling referrals will be effortless. Your business will begin to take on a life of it’s own and your clients will be your greatest and most valuable means of advertising. Stay tuned for future articles on how to effectively acquire and execute referrals.
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Book Appointments faster with the Customer Appointment Manager Software
You won’t have to put customers on hold or make them wait in silence while you flip through your paper appointment book. With Customer Appointment Manager®, the on-screen calendar lets you see who’s available and when. You can quickly search for customers and their appointment details or find available appointment times by employee. With a few clicks of a mouse you can book repeat appointments. The waiting list will even tell you if a pending appointment can be scheduled.
With customizable fields, you can track information important to you and your business. Send appointment reminders and messages to customers via e-mail or letter. E-mail employees their appointments for the day for access via any web browser or PDA. Export or print your appointment calendar and reports in various formats, such as PDF, Word, Excel, or HTML.
Go HERE to learn more.
Harvard Business Review
Idea Watch: How We Sell and Why We Buy
Go HERE to this podcast.
Featured guests: Dan McGinn and Scott Berinato,HBR editors
Zig Ziglar’s new APP!
Inspiring words of encouragement for personal and business life by Zig Ziglar.
This is the most convenient and reliable way to access Zig Ziglar on your iPhone or iPod Touch.You’re always connected to the latest episode. Instant access, just touch and play!
The app contains the following features:
* Streaming access to play episode from anywhere
* Always updated with the latest episodes- and an archived back catalog
* Download the episodes and play them when offline
* Playback resume (when interrupted by a call or other distraction)
* Favorites (mark the episodes you want to return back to over and over)
* Quick access to all the contact methods for the show
Go HERE to learn more about this new AP
Time Matters
Interview Tips
Wearing a watch sends a signal that you are a timely person and respect deadlines. Be early to the interview. Send a thank you note immediately following the interview. Follow up with an email of thanks as well. If any additional information is requested, mail this as soon as possible or better yet, hand deliver the next day. Showing efficiency and timeliness may just be the edge you need to land the job.
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The Art of Selling
Amway Co-founder Rich DeVos discusses the importance of knowing your product.
Motivation
How do you stay motivated?
What makes you continue to grow, learn and execute in the world of sales?
Each individual is wired differently. What may motivate on person may not apply to another. Finding what motivates you is key to your sales success. Are you driven by the need for recognition, financial security, feeling significant, contributing to society, and or leaving a legacy. Money is important. We need money to acquire the needs for daily living. ONe must work to earn income to be able to acquire and provide basic needs for ourselves and those we are responsible for. After we cover these basic needs, where each individual goes from here will vary significantly. What kind of lifestyle do you want to have? Are you happy living on a smaller scale or do you want an extravagant lifestyle? Do you prefer to live frugally and give excess income to a cause or foundation? These are all very important questions. Sitting down and clearly identifying your goals is imperative to your future. Setting specific and detailed goals will help you define your sales path. If will attach a meaning to gaining income. You will not be just selling to earn make money, but earning income that will enable you to execute your specific goals. Once you have defined your goals then you define the path and the timeframe to achieve them. It is just that simple.
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Laundry Blues
Presentation is the key to winning a client over. We all know how important first impressions are when meeting face to face with a new potential client. Having a neat, fresh and clean appearance is imperative. For most of you, Mama is not around to do your laundry anymore. Dry cleaning bills can add up very quickly. We have found a site where finding valuable coupons is just a zip code away! Use this site to find local dry cleaning establishments offering money saving coupons. Go HERE and start clipping.
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The Resume
The 5 Most Important Things to Consider When Composing a Resume.
1. The sole purpose of a resume is to acquire the interview.
2. The resume should provoke the employer to want to know more about the applicant.
3. During the interview, the resume should serve as an avenue to start a discussion thus initializing the process of selling yourself to the employer.
4. After the interview the resume will act as a summaryfor team members to view and hopefully empower the employer’s case to hire you.
Free Worldwide Roommate Database
If you are you just graduating from college, starting a new career in a new city or just need to lower your room and board expenses, then you might want to consider looking at this service. This free and safe service provides a venue for exchanging information to explore affordable room leasing and or connecting with individuals looking to share rent space. It is worldwide and is very user friendly and safe. Go HERE to learn more.
Qualify The Customer
Qualifying the customer becomes a very important step in the selling process. It should be considered one of the first steps when entering a sales appointment. If you have not done your homework prior to the appointment then taking this initial step even becomes that more important. By qualifying your customer you are gauging where you will need to start in the selling process. This can be done quite easily by asking a few simple questions and really listening to your prospective customer. If you really want the prospect to purchase your product, then you need to give them a reason to want/need your product. By presenting the prospect with a series of open ended question you will navigate the prospect to relay to you what their specific wants and needs are. Most people in general love to talk about themselves. To become a good salesperson you will need to develop excellent listening skills. Do not make the mistake of not taking the time to get to know your prospect before you begin your sales pitch. Most important this is not a time to talk about yourself. Turn all of the attention on the prospect and learning about his wants and needs. Here are some examples of open ended questions to start with:
1. What type of product/service are you currently using? How long have you been using this product/service?
2. What are you most pleased with in regards to this product/service?
3. Is there any one thing, if you could, see changed about this product/service?
4. What has been your experience in using this product/service in the past?
5. What are the most important aspects of this product/service to you?
6. What price range do you usually spend for this product/service?
7. How important is this product/service to you and your business?
Then you will need to quickly take this information and determine the perfect approach to connect your prospect to your product. With this valuable information you will be able to qualify your prospect. If you are able to gain this information before the actual appointment then you will really be ahead of the game in preparation. Knowing your prospect is key in developing customers and generating repeat business and referrals.
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Harvard Business Review Offers Free Podcasts
The Harvard Business Review is an incredible source of very valuable information. Check out this free podcast on the intriguing topic of motivation. In this podcast you will listen to Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates us, speaking about the mysteries he has uncovered on this subject.
Go HERE to listen to the podcast.
Go HERE to read previous post.
Your Office on Wheels
Todays Briefcase Options
WOMEN
MEN
Cold Calling
What’s The Real Goal?
Video by Keith Rosen of Profit Builders
Your Partner In Success
Keith Rosen is an award winning columnist, keynote speaker and best selling author, Keith has written several books including the gold medal winner,Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions, which was named 2008 Sales Leadership Book of the Year. This book also received the Axiom Business Book Awardand was honored with the silver medal for being recognized as one of the World’s Best Business Books of 2009. Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions was recently named one of Selling Power magazine’sBest Books to Read in 2010.
Visit his website HERE
Interview Tips
The Importance of Good Body Language
SMILE
Smile even when you are nervous. It may sound silly but you might want to practice talking while smiling in front of a mirror. Listen carefully to the interviewer with a pleasant look on your face. Remember that smiles are contagious! If you smile at a person they will naturally smile back at you. You will make a connection. It will put you and the interviewer at ease immediately. It is one of the first things someone will notice about you. So go ahead and smile.
EYE CONTACT
From the minute you walk into the room you need to make and maintain eye contact with the individual you are meeting with. It will show confidence and stability. Looking directly into one’s eyes as you are listening and or speaking to them gives them the impression that you are interested in them. It shows that you care about what they have to say. It convey trust and is very important in establishing a relationship.
HANDSHAKE
What does a wimpy handshake suggest? In shaking hands you have to physically touch another human being. Do you want to convey confidence and stability to those you meet? If you do then you will want to take the act of the handshake seriously. Firmly grip and shake the hand that is offered to you. Take charge and extend your hand first. While you are shaking hands, maintain eye contact and smile.
POSTURE
Good posture during an interview is a given. Walk in with your chin up and stand up tall. Sitting up in the back of your chair. No slouching aloud. Women remember to sit nicely in the chair. Cross your legs making sure not to expose too much leg. Great posture shows confidence the minute you walk in a room. It commands attention and let’s you be noticed.
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Three Important Factors
regarding
Proper “Business” Dress
vs
“Casual” Dress
1) Your clients have an expectation or image of what you should look like the first time they meet you – and more often than not, it includes the idea of being dressed in formal business attire (coat and tie). Think about it – when you go to see your physician, you’re expecting to find him wearing a white lab coat with his name on the pocket. And if God forbid my house were to catch fire, I hope it doesn’t happen on ‘casual day’ at the firehouse. I want those guys jumping off the fire truck dressed like they came to fight a house fire – the coat, the helmet, the mask, etc – not cutoffs and tank tops. So embrace the concept of a uniform for business, decide what is appropriate for what you do and whom you serve, and dress accordingly.
2) It’s easier to explain being overdressed than being underdressed in any business setting, whether you’re meeting in a client’s conference room or for dinner after hours. If you’re the only man at the meeting in a coat and tie, even a casually dressed audience will assume that a) you mean business, b) you just came from a more serious meeting with a more important client, or c) you have “an engagement” after your meeting ends, and have dressed for that event. A man I met on an airplane once told me about the time he traveled from Chicago –dressed in a suit and tie — to meet a prospective client in the Silicon Valley. He was teased for being overdressed, and his response was “I want you to know how important your business is to my firm, and I only get one chance to make a first impression. My partners and I treat every contract with a degree of formality that speaks to our attention to detail. Now do I still get to wear my necktie?” He went home to Chicago with a new deal in hand.
3) Your self-image affects your confidence which can affect your performance, so if dressing well has even a slightly positive impact on how you think you look, you can’t possibly lose. And what if more formal business dress gave you the edge in performance? Today’s business environment is fiercely competitive, and companies spend real money on presentation materials, technology, lobby décor, even conference room chairs. Your personal appearance, which includes grooming and clothing, should add to the image of your firm and not detract from it. Keep your khakis and logo shirts for the company picnic – and dress for your clients like you’re worth what you are charging.
Article courtesy of Tom James Clothing Company.
Thank You Notes
The Old Fashioned Way
Your mother always told you to sit down and write your “thank you” notes. Your mother was giving you very important advice and teaching an even more important communication skill. In the world of emails and text messaging, we often forget how effective a simple handwritten note can be to the recipient. Personal letter writing is quickly becoming a lost art in this society. Taking the time to sit down, pick up a pen and paper and convey your thoughts on paper will be an important and valuable process throughout your sales career. It is a very simple courtesy that can make a huge impression. A short, simple and sincere note may be the deciding factor which closes the sale, wins the contract, awards you the job, grants you the interview, and or get you in the door and in front of a potential client. It is a crucial tool that is often overlooked but if used consistently and effectively will put you far above the competition.
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Resume Writing Dos
- Your name, address, telephone number, and/or e-mail address should be clearly stated at the top of the first page.
- The level of education completed and pertinent course work should be one of the first things listed in the body of your resume.
- List ONLY relevant work experience in chronological order, beginning with your most recent employer. List the name of the company, the position held, and dates including the month and year.
- When describing job responsibilities, be clear, concise, and to the point.
- Use proper grammar, appropriate punctualization, and correct spelling throughout the ENTIRE body of your resume.
- Try to keep the body of your resume clean and contained to one page, if possible. If you have to use an additional sheet, be certain that your first and last names are listed at the top of each page.
- If you list references on your resume, contact them first to let them know the job(s) for which you are applying, and ask them if it is acceptable for potential employers to contact them.
- Have a second party review your resume after it has been completed. Sometimes there are errors that you miss and that another person will quickly point out.
- Keep a list of all of the places to which you apply. This will come in handy when making follow up calls.
Resume Writing Dont’s
- Do not use a photograph on your resume.
- Do not use paper in colors other than white, ivory or gray.
- Do not put your date of birth, gender, or marital status in your resume.
- Do not put irrelevant subjects in the body of your resume, for example: Hobbies, Personal interests, or “general” objectives.
- Do not put irrelevant or subjective information in your resume.
- Do not use a generic objective, such as: To obtain an accounting position. If you do use an objective, make it short and relevant.
- Do not leave out the date of your college degree, if applicable.
- Do not use wordy phrases. Be as clear as possible when describing work responsibilities.
- Do not let the body of your resume become too lengthy. Try to remember that when someone is hiring for a position, they have dozens of resumes to sort through. Make yours easy to read.
Article Courtesy of Professional Perspectives
Successful Voicemails
Your goal is to spark an interest an leave the prospect wanting more information. Leaving too much information can turn the prospect off, leaving a negative first impression. Provide something of interest that will invite the person to return the call. Adding information about a promotion or sale can spark interest and curiosity, but make it brief. Your voicemail need not be more than 14 seconds. Repeat your phone number twice. If this prospect was a referral be certain to use the name of the person who the referral came from. This will qualify you and give you a connection to open with in your next contact.
Reminders:
*Best hours to leave a voicemail are 7:00AM to 8:00AM and 4:00PM-6:00PM.
*Be aware of time zone differences.
*Friday afternoon messages are least likely to be returned.
*Monday morning messages are prioritized by importance and may be overlooked.
The Interview Questions
Tell Me About Yourself
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