Everyones Favorite Topic - 3 Tips for How To

I believe that everyone understands that no matter what business you are in- Real Estate, Financial Services, Teaching, Auto Sales any other profession, we are all in the PEOPLE BUSINESS. It's been said that fully 85% of your success in life is directly related to your ability to effectively work... Read More

Selling with Purpose

Selling With Purpose What is it about selling that makes you afraid? Do you get nervous at the hint of having to sell? Is it the fear of rejection that scares you? Is it the fear of not being able to communicate effectively? Define Your Fear. What is it... Read More

Selling Abilities - Part 1

Selling "-abilities": Reliability (Part 1 of 4) Most salespeople love to talk about their "-abilities": Reliability, Upgradeability, Compatibility and Expandability. Salespeople feel stronger and more confident when they can use their 'abilities' to convince the customer to make a buying decision. But what happens when the customer still doesn't... Read More

Selling -abilities : Part 2

In the last article I talked about different strategies for selling the 'reliability' aspect of your software or hardware. I mentioned how most high tech salespeople love to talk about their "-abilities": Reliability, Upgradeability, Compatibility and Expandability. In this article I want to discuss... Read More

Ten Quick Etiquette Tips for Business Lunches

Knowing what to do when meeting a prospective client forlunch, or going to lunch with the boss or colleague can beconfusing at times. Here is a quick list of items toremember: 1. Be in the present moment with whoever you are with.Limit glancing around the room. It's a sign that... Read More

I Am A Habit

JOHN DI LEMME on "I Am A Habit"H-A-B-I-T...When 95% of people hear this word, a negative thought pops up in their minds. Typically, most people think of a habit being negative. The secret to your future lies in your daily habits so ask yourself right now, "Are my habits today... Read More

Miracles are Your Responsibility!

John Di Lemme on "Miracles are your responsibility"Miracles are your responsibility! What does that mean? Simple...You have a responsibility to create miracles in your own life. The responsibility lies on your shoulders. You cannot blame anyone else, and you can't look outside of yourself for someone else to create the... Read More

5+5 = Your Dream

JOHN DI LEMME ON "5 + 5 = Your Dream" I know your thinking...Okay John, 5+5 does not equal 5 so let me please explain. Let's start with a question. How many times have you heard that you need to have a "long term" goal and be focused for the... Read More

Selling Commodities

"How do you create a perceived value to differentiate yourself from the competition, when you are both selling a commodity?" That's a question I'm often asked in my seminars. It uncovers a problem that is spreading to almost every industry. The rapid pace of technological development and our ultra-competitive... Read More

Stuff We Make Up About Our Prospects

? Go through the "no's" to get to "yes." ? It takes X number of "no's" to get 1 "yes." ? Every "no" brings you closer to "yes." I've heard these statements in so many sales training courses and read them in so many sales books. No wonder so many... Read More

Why People Use Long Sales Copy

Have you ever wondered why some people use long sales letter? Here is the answer: These people newer bothered to find out what the potential customer wants. If you know exactly what your potential customer wants, you can be short and to the point. So, Mr. Marketing Genius comes along... Read More

The Anatomy of a Sales Letter

When Dr. Frankenstein exclaimed "it's alive... it's alive," he thought he had brought wonderful new life to the world. What he really did was create a monster. He took a bit from here and another piece from there and sewed it altogether. Then he was distressed to see how things... Read More

7 Ways to Stop Selling & Start Building Relationships

Sometimes we can all use a friendly reminder to keep us from backsliding into old ways of thinking about selling that lead us down the wrong path with potential clients.I was inspired to write this article after a few coaching sessions with a client named Michael, who sells a technology... Read More

7 Pitfalls of Using Email to Sell

* Are you sending e-mails to prospects instead of calling them?* Is e-mail your selling medium of choice because it lets you avoid the rejection that you dread when you make real cold calls?* Do you wait and wait for return e-mails from prospects that will give you the green... Read More

Ten Top Tips for Terminating Telephone Terror

1. Make telephone callsFew things are more terrifying than the unknown. The fear you create for yourself is far worse than the reality of cold calling. Once you start making telephone calls and continue making telephone calls, it gets easier. You overcome fear by doing. 2. Make a lot of... Read More

Selling Services

Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product. Your prospect is buying an intangible. There are no shiny buttons to show off. You and your company are the visible representations of the service. You need to live up to them in your image. (marketing) And in how you... Read More

Psychological Tricks in Selling

----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and theresource box below is included. ---------------------------------------------------------- Psychological Tricks in Selling By Stephen Bucaro In... Read More

Five Keys to Make Your Cold Calls Sizzle

Do you clam up on the telephone? An advertising rep called the other day to sell some ad space in a local news magazine. After I said, "Hello," there was nothing but monotone dialog until I interrupted him a minute later. It sounded like he was reading a script... but... Read More

Your Ad -- Who Cares?

Junk mail. We all get it. And it goes straight to the trash can. How do you make sure your marketing piece doesn't end up in the round file?Give it the 'who cares' test. You have approximately five seconds to get your prospect's attention. Make those five seconds count! ... Read More

9 Ways to Keep Clients Coming Back For More

A lot of effort is put into getting new clients. We all know our client base will change. Previous clients can move to a new area, sell their business, close down, or change their priorities. So finding new business is always important - but so is keeping your previous clients.... Read More

The Art Of Cold Calling

I know, don't groan. You have to do them if you want to get properties and make money. Believe me, I used to hate cold calling. For those of you that have read our book, "Who Makes It Happen: Back On The Road To Success With Creative Real Estate", remember... Read More

Forgive All Ebay Sins!

Over the years, I have been amazed at the "blinding" greed and reckless approach to commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to customers, selling inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds, left a firestorm of irate customers in their wake. Without fail, all of this "ill will"... Read More

Do Your Words Betray You?

What do the words that you use say about you? What is your basic message? Do your words support that basic message? As a business owner, entrepreneur or sales professional, part of your message must be of confidence and authority. You always want your prospect or your customer to see... Read More

Doomed Before You Dial?

Several weeks ago, I conducted a "Mastering the Cold Call" seminar for the Printing Industries of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. At the end of the seminar, a participant came up to me and said, "Thank you! I learned so much! I learned 'Don't Take No for an Answer.'" Another participant... Read More

Eighty Percent of Success is Showing Up

The above quote, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." is from Woody Allen. It was particularly appropriate this past weekend. I went to take a dance class. My favorite teacher was back in town for a short time. I was thrilled and ready to dance! This teacher is incredibly... Read More

Qualifying Your Prospect

How do you respond when an absolute stranger calls, at work or at home, and begins to ask questions? "Are you the person who??" "What is your marketing strategy?" "Do you own or rent?" Even, "How are you today?" Are you annoyed and put off by these questions? Do you... Read More

Building Relationships

A conversation: The Salesperson: "I don't cold call-I want to build relationships." Wendy: "Huh?" Recently I've had a number of conversations with sales professionals and entrepreneurs who tell me they do not cold call because they want to build relationships with prospects. I'm confused. Who says the two are mutually... Read More

Take the Contract with You

I learned something very interesting this week. Thankfully, what I learned was really at no one's expense. What I learned is that when you are on a sales call and you believe there is a possibility (even a remote one) that you may close, always take your contract or letter... Read More

Talking To A Prospect As If To A Friend

While working with a new coaching client, I asked to hear her sound bite. Everyone needs a good sound bite. A sound bite, sometimes also called an "elevator speech," is a 10- to 15-second commercial on what your company does, offers or stands for. Use it when you meet someone... Read More

Your Voice is Your Instrument

On an introductory call, your voice is your instrument. During a face-to-face meeting, you have visual cues and body language available to add layers of meaning. On the telephone, you have only your voice and the words that you use. The way that you use your voice can make or... Read More

Another Warm Lead

Saturday morning, I sat in my pajamas, sipping strong, black coffee and petting Ms. Kitty Cat. The telephone rang. Usually on a Saturday morning, I screen my calls, but this morning, expecting a friend, I picked up. The caller was not my expected friend. She was a financial advisor from... Read More

Why Are We All So Afraid?

What can strike terror into the heart of even the most successful sales professional or entrepreneur? Cold Calling. What can crush self-confidence, destroy self-esteem and leave even the most seasoned sales professional quivering with humiliation and defeat? Cold Calling. But why? Every culture has its myths and stereotypes, and... Read More

Create A Killer Product by Writing Your Sales Letter First!

You may not realize this, but when if you are in the early planning stages of developing a product, the best thing you can do is STOP and write the sales letter first! "But wait a minute (you might be thinking)... this sounds totally 'Bass Ackwards' doesn't it?" It... Read More

How To Set Goals and Achieve Them

We use only 5% of God's given potential, 95% of them is not used. Why not tap the 95% of our Creative Intelligence and achieve our desired goals. Our goals are limitless because of our creative imagination. You have to commit to your goals. If you don't have a goal... Read More

Planning to Realize Your Goals

Recently, I wrote about about creating specific, compelling goals that pull you towards what you want in your business, career and life. It is important to have a goal written down, and it is equally as important to the write down the reasons why you want that specific goal.... Read More

How to Blow Rapport Really Fast

Do you have 5, 10, or 20 years of sales experience? Or do you have 1 year of sales experience 5, 10, or 20 times? Many salespeople never advance beyond ancient outdated sales lines like "If I do this for you, will you give me the order?" Or "What do... Read More

Handshake Intimidation

In some situations, attempting to intimidate the other person will actually increase the amount of rapport you gain with them. CEO introductions, meeting other salespeople (and competitors), and sales job interviews come to mind. Other times its just plain fun to assert a little power in a situation. Here's... Read More

My Competitor Has a Better Product

The topic of this issue's article is a response to a question submitted by one of my newsletter readers. QUESTION - "At the moment, my competitor's have a far better product/deal, due to circumstances out of my control. However, customers go to the competitor and then come to me to... Read More

How to Leverage Your Influence

Why do we get into sales? Typically it is two reasons for most people. One is to make money, and the other is often that we like working with other people. Yes, there are good reasons to be in sales. To be highly effective and win on a consistent... Read More

Open Your Introduction With A Firecracker Moment

The number one requirement, whether you are a business owner or an employee, is to be able to say what you do, and say it with influencing results. Through testing, I have seen, experienced, and received feedback that an elevator speech no longer works. My test results show that elevator... Read More

Selling Strategy - 5 Ways To Success

Web sites exist for essentially two purposes. The first is to provide information. The second is to sell. If your purpose for being online is to sell products or services, but you don't have tons of sales experience to fall back on, this article is for you!Selling is not some... Read More

Use Bundling To Increase Your Profits And Sales

Use Bundling To Increase Your Profits And Sales An effective way to increase your profits and sales is to bundle many products or services together into one package. This gives people more reasons to buy your products and services. People also have come to believe package deals... Read More

Six Steps to Creating Online Presentations for Telephone Selling

How much extra money could you make by closing just one or two additional sales a day? You can double, or even triple, the effectiveness of your telephone selling by showing prospects why they should buy from you, instead of just telling them.Clients and prospects are visually oriented. They process... Read More

Persuading Learners to Buy: 7 Groups

There are seven major reasons why adults continue their pursuit to learn. Each of the reasons play into the way you want to present your sales information. Studies completed by the United States Department of Education (USDOE), Commission on Nontraditional Study and surveys conducted by the National Center for Education... Read More

Ten FAST Ways to Sell Your Products

Always give a reason for the sale for credibility. 1. If you have old Inventory, give a closeout sale. 2. Return sales. Sometimes called a scratch and dent sale. Offer any less than perfect inventory at a special discount. Always mention the character flaw with the product -- the corner's... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Sell your Product or Service While you Sleep - Part 1

Have you wasted valuable time and money on promotion that doesn't work? Have your announcements and news releases been ignored? Have you been too quiet about getting the word out how your product or service will help solve people's problems? Most of us are passionate about our work. We put... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Sell your Product or Service While you Sleep - Part 2

Part one of this article is available at www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-31.shtml. Have you wasted valuable time and money on promotion that doesn't work? Have your announcements and news releases been ignored? Have you been too quiet about getting the word out how your product or service will help solve people's... Read More

Selling Is Not A Dirty Word

Selling--a word that strikes terror in writers and professionals. We love to write. We love our work. We love to speak. We hate to SELL. Our print and eBooks may go unread because we don't get the word out. Our products and services don't sell because we don't include... Read More

Letting Them Use Plastic

Obtaining merchant status will help to increase your sales. Consumers are becoming creatures of convenience; when dealing with businesses-large or small-they desire ease of transaction. That most frequently translates into the ability to pay for services rendered or product purchases via credit card. Small businesses are often denied merchant status... Read More

Ten Tips for Choosing the Right Direct Sales Company

Direct sales can be your ticket to a profitable home-based business. There's low risk and low overhead - and you'll find lots of conversation, creativity, and cooperation among the company's representatives. But how do you know which company is right for you? Here are ten things to look for as... Read More

Why Write a Sales Letter for Each Product?

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know their products. But after the initial one-year honeymoon, sales slow down. To counter this make sure your ebook, product, or service you offer will keep on selling from the first day, the first year, even for life. Write a short... Read More

Sell More Products and Services with Testimonials

Testimonials are all-important to sell anything. You may already have testimonials for your new book and service, but do you have testimonials for other promotional pieces? Next time you check out a Web site, notice the testimonials. Testimonials imply approval and recommendation. It's great to have them for your product,... Read More

60 Ways to Increase Your Mail Order Catalog Sales

This article is meant to inform. Please don't construe this as legal advice. Perfection in a mail order catalog is like infinity...you can continually approach it but never quite reach it. In the case of many catalogs it is not necessary to achieve perfectionor even approach it very closely... Read More

101 Ways to Improve Your Direct Mail Response

1. Mail to your customers more often. If you are now mailing 4times a year, increase the frequency of your mailings to 6 or 8times. If you increase your mailings by 25%, you shouldincrease your sales by at least the same percentage. 2. Use a P.S. on every direct mail... Read More

Why Arent They Buying?

You've polished your sales page over and over againuntil it's gleaming with benefits. You're gettingplenty of traffic. And still - no sales.What's wrong?It could be the recession (although that's debatable).With thousands of people losing their jobs each week,consumer confidence (and therefore consumer spending)is down.But on the other hand, if thousands... Read More

Tapping The Potential Of Your Customers

Business owners of long standing know the cardinal rule "take care of your existing customers first". Today especially we see business owners looking constantly for the new customer. Hey, did you forget the customers you have. All of us want our businesses to grow. However, after a number of years,... Read More

Nine Keys to Make your Sales Copy Convincing

Would you pay $12,500 to discover the keys to great sales copy? Maybe not, but Brian Keith Voiles did. And he put it to use for Fortune 500 Companies. You may not have that kind of promotion money, so here are the nine keys for FREE. Be sure you cover... Read More

Selling the Dr. Seuss Way

"I am Sam. Sam I am. Do you like green eggs and ham? Would you like them here or there? Would you like them in a box, would you like them with a fox?"I think most people have read this Dr. Seuss tale either as kids or to their children.... Read More

Two Mistakes That Will Cost You Money

You've met a new prospect, accurately assessed their needs and determined that you can provide the product and service she is looking for. You've presented your information in an engaging manner and the prospective customer appears interested. Many salespeople now make one or two very fatal mistakes that cost them... Read More

Pinging for Success: Creating Search Patterns

One of my first internship jobs as a college student was working for a defense company who, at the time, developed a highly sophisticated torpedo for hunting down submarines and destroying them. The operation of the torpedo was pretty fascinating. The torpedo was launched from the deck of a ship... Read More

Success Reloaded: The Matrix

So the other day I'm watching the movie The Matrix, again. For some reason I can't get enough of the great special effects.Remember the part where is Neo (Keanu Reeves) is mentally tortured because he wants to find out what the 'matrix' is and finally meets with Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne)... Read More

Selling: an art of a skill?

Selling is as much an art as it is a skill. The basics of the selling process can be learned by anyone, but the practice of selling is something that the super star sales people have brought to an art level.What gets them to that level?1. Superstars develop their own... Read More

Warming Up To Cold Calls

Will you do just about anything, including sending out hundreds of letters, to avoid making cold calls to your potential customers/prospects? If so, you're not alone. Millions like you have started their own businesses, only to find that the thought of making calls to potential customers/prospects leaves them paralyzed with... Read More

Why There Will Always Be High Paying Sales Jobs

With the dot.com revolution crushing once solid business models on an almost daily basis, the question surely crosses one's mind "am I next?". Selling is one of the oldest professions on the planet. We get paid to have fun doing what others find difficult, confusing, or just plain hard. Everyday... Read More

Creating Intense Emotions That Motivate People

Ever wish that your presentations could be as much fun as a cool TV commercial? Come late January every year network TV treats us to America's finest and most expensive commercials - Superbowl commercials. You may remember some of these even now, 2 weeks later. Which was your favorite? E*Trade?... Read More

Too Much Empathy Will Cost You Money

Ever have a prospect start out your sales call by asking you "so how much does this cost?" as the first question out of his mouth? How you handle this question, and subsequent ones like it, will greatly influence the outcome of your sales-call. Right now is an excellent time... Read More

3 Tips For Getting Through The Voicemail Screen

How many times have you heard that you gotta get past the gatekeeper and get to the decision-maker to make the sale? Countless books and sales trainers have talked about this for years. Much of this advice was written for a world without voicemail. Today's flatter organization has fewer administrative... Read More

How to Create Material That Will Get You Sales Now!

WHY ARE YOU WRITING THIS BROCHURE OR SALES LETTER? A great deal of money is wasted each day putting out useless sales and marketing material. Material that was written for the wrong reason or the writer forgot its purpose after he started writing it or fell in love with his... Read More

Dont Be Macho Selling Ice to Eskimos

This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for a small manufacturing company. I was asked to comment about the impact of excessive optimism on the part of salespeople and sales managers. In the sales rep's own words... "I was required to call on every account because there was... Read More

The Force That Drives Buying Decisions

What do people buy? They don't buy your wonderful presentation. People buy solutions and visions. How do you find out what buyer will think that is? Ask. Ask questions. Spend most of your time asking questions of your prospects, and you will have the opportunity to... Read More

Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You?

Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy something. A person or a business is motivated to buy when they perceive that a change needs to occur to fix or avoid a problem, or to enable a greater vision for their future. They buy when they believe that... Read More

Use Pain To Get Commitments

Whenever I speak with new salesreps and entrepreneurs, I hear a similar frustration: "I call a lot of prospects each week, most of which are really hard to get a hold of. When I do get someone on the line, I am thrilled just to talk to them. I sell... Read More

Leveraging Yourself Up To Executives When Selling

The fastest way to get a decision made is to speak directly with the decision-maker, right? OK, so you knew that. Often times, the decision-makers are not easy to get to. There are dozens of salespeople who would love to pitch to the CEO, President, VP, or Department Directors if... Read More

Obtaining Self-Confidence

A reader recently asked me the following: "I enjoyed the information you provided on your website, however you never mentioned how important Self-Confidence is in a sale. I have been told that I am an excellent sales person, however I lack the self-confidence to close the sale. Self Confidence is... Read More

The Email Blow-Off

This week's article is my response to a question by Lisa Boudreau of ePresence. "I cold call into Fortune 1000 companies, often times the admin will tell me to send the CIO, or whoever I'm calling, an email about who we are and what we do. I tend to think... Read More

Dont Let Rattlesnakes Scare You

Recently I was out trail running along the South Fork of the Yuba River. The Yuba River is in a beautiful canyon running east-west through the middle of Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The terrain here is rocky, hilly and rugged, and is covered with a mixture of pine, oak,... Read More

Now Is A Great Time To Sell!

Its official. The news just came out. Yes, we are now in a recession! Duh. As if you didn't know. Companies big and small have been laying off their employees right and left all year. The stock market sucks. And now they tell us we are in a recession. Big... Read More

Why Executives Wont Take Your Call

Do you hang up on telemarketers? 9 times out of 10 I do. Why do we do this? I hang-up because I am afraid that they are going to waste my time. Telemarketing is a tough job. Most of the people who do it aren't given enough training to excel... Read More

Peddlers, Hucksters, & Empty Suits

Ever feel like you were "just a salesperson"? I think anyone who has been in sales for awhile has thought or felt this at sometime in their career. In some fields, sales is such a dirty word that they've created euphemisms to try and reclaim some dignity. I am sure... Read More

Cold Calling Reluctance

Most salespeople I know consider cold calling a dreadful, but essential activity in our profession. Even those who are good at it rarely like it. Nevertheless, those who are successful in sales do it regularly because without prospects, one does not sell anything. If you hate cold calling to the... Read More

Build & Protect Your Confidence

I can remember the first time that I had to get new customers from a cold start. I was a sales rep at IBM. I had only been selling for a short while since graduating from college, and I didn't really know what to do. When I started working for... Read More

Cold Calling Pressure Reduction

Who likes cold calling? Most salespeople don't like cold calling, and do as little of it as possible. There are a number of reasons why most of us don't like it. One reason is the way we view cold calling. People who don't like cold calling view each call as... Read More

The Risk of Being A Yes-Man

Sales is all about negotiating. You are negotiating from the first word out of your lips on a cold call, to the moment that you touch the contract with your customer's wet signature on it. Whenever you are listening to a prospect tell you about something that they want or... Read More

Improve Your Sales Closing Ratio

Occasionally EGOPOWER readers send me questions or topic suggestions that I feel would be of interest to you. In this issue I give some tips to improve your sales closing ratio in response to a question Rob Smith wrote me from the UK: "I sell IT equipment to schools in... Read More

Lock, Stock, and Barrel!

The other night I was watching a classic western from 1969, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West". There's a scene in this movie where an auction is being held for the widow Jill's land holdings. In this scene, the auctioneer gavels the auction open by pronouncing that... Read More

Why I Hate (Most) Benefit Statements

Benefits are what motivate people to purchase from you, right? Not exactly. Just last week I was reviewing a rundown of product benefits with a client who is putting a new prospecting program together. This client got a series of benefits to use in selling from one of the senior... Read More

Dr. Seuss?s 3-Step Selling Process

Hello Everyone: Here's a unique look at learning how tosell: "I am Sam. Sam I am. Do you like green eggs and ham? Wouldyou like them here or there? Would you like them in a box,would you like them with a fox?" Most people have read the Dr. Seuss tale... Read More

How To Get Rich Giving Away Something Free

The best of all worlds is to have a product you can give away free and still make money. That world exists. The product need not be expensive or elaborate. It can be something simple - a sticker with a happy face, a pen with a logo, or some other... Read More

In Sales Service Means Business

Some businesses flourish while others slowly fade away. There's usually a good reason. Here are two examples. Bernadette, my wife, has a busy schedule. She will often call for a manicure at the last minute. She's been going to Carol's Beauty Shop and Day Spa for the past two years.... Read More

The Best Day In The Week

The best day of the week is TODAY, of course. Yesterday's are lost forever, and we know only too well that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. To M.A.K.E. the most of every day ? do the following: Monitor the critical performance elements in your business. Know your numbers. Know your... Read More

The Prejudging Predicament

There's a direct correlation between sales experience and prejudging. The more sales and marketing experience you have the greater the tendency to prejudge your customers and prospects. Do not put labels on people. "All purchasing agents expect . . ." Don't assume you know anything if you haven't ask... Read More

15 Ways To Get Really Motivated

First, recognize that motivation is an inside job. The word motivate means to impel, inspire, hope, stimulate, incite, propel, spur, goad, move, induce, prompt, instigate, fire, provoke, actuate, cause, egg on, drive, excite, and to trigger. Don't wait for someone to motivate you, here are 15 ways you can motivate... Read More

Hurrican Selling Styles

As I prepare this issue of this Newsletter, at 37,000 feet on my way to Greenville South Carolina, the east coast is being battered by a Hurricane.All hurricanes seem to start out as a blip on a distant radar screen. It grows in size and intensity as it draws closer... Read More

The Doors Of Opportunity

Alexander Graham Bell once said, "When one door closes another opens; but we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that is opened for us." If you're in sales you gotta remember this one. Right now, during these challenging and difficult economic... Read More

First, Fast, And Foremost . . .

First - being before all others. Fast - moving or able to move quickly. Foremost - first in rank, order, or place. Wouldn't you like to be first, fast, and considered foremost in your business. Obviously, the correct answer is yes. Here are nine tips, hints, and practical ideas to... Read More

Before You Sell Do The Math

This is an important and potentially profitable piece of advice. It goes like this - before you ever attempt to sell any products and services - do the math. Doing the math means you have to know certain numbers. These numbers include: ? The sell price. ? The cost... Read More

Smooth Sailing (Selling) In The Second Half of The Year

You can make a difference in the second half! You can't do it by doing the same things the same way.You can make a difference in the second half every year! You can do it by thinking differently and being different. For example:Always link your ideas to action steps. Always... Read More

How To Take The Right Steps To Increase Your Selling Results

Steps - it is unrealistic for most salespeople to expect to make a sale in a single step. Most sales don't end after a single phone call. If you're selling a complex product or service you won't get the order after a single face-to-face sales call. There are a number... Read More

Leave a Better Voice Mail Message

Yesterday I received a call from a financial planner named Richard doing a cold call. My policy is to always return those calls which help me to understand why I would personally benefit from doing business with a sales person. This one didn't, so it ended up getting deleted.This is... Read More

5 Ideas for Writing Effective Sales Letters

Sales letters, sent via e-mail or snail mail, are an effective and inexpensive way to get your message out. Even if your letter goes out to thousands of people, it can give the feel of a personal communication - IF you write it in a direct and conversational tone.To get... Read More

A Quick and Simple Tip For Gaining Customers

In the course of my career, I've had to deal with a lot of vendors-software companies, sensor manufacturers, electronics distributors and more. Some of them have left lasting impressions on me, whereas others have been eminently forgettable. I'd like to talk about two of the more memorable vendors, and the... Read More

Lead Generation Sins - 7 Of Them!

I really just don't get it.How can so many businesses be missing the lead generation boat by such a long country mile?Billions of dollars in profits, flushed away!Just because of 7 innocent, yet deadly, tactical lead generation errors. Its nuts!Now before I continue, let me just say that some of... Read More

Asking The Right Questions

On an introductory call, how do you gather all of the information that you need from a prospect? An introductory call is usually fairly short, just a few minutes. You generally do not have the time to thoroughly question your prospect and then also move on to your next step,... Read More

Grow Your Business By Increasing the Value of Each Sale - 29 Ideas to Spur Your Brain

There are 3 ways to grow any business:- Get more customers- Get more from each sale- Sell to each customer more frequently.That's it - everything else boils down to some variation of these 3 activities.Most owners and most managers want to grow their business. Most of them concentrate exclusively on... Read More

Selling Against Goliath

Selling Against Goliath?How to Take on the Big Guys and WinBy Dave Stein, Author of How Winners SellIf you sell for a smaller company that competes against the big guys, the age-old story of David and Goliath might come to mind. In this story, the giant, Goliath, was beaten in... Read More

Value Based Pricing, Not Price Cutting

Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Paul's name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links.Complete Article with Resource Box at end:Value Based Pricing, Not Price CuttingThe oldest tactic in the world to get a sale moving is to cut the price.And it does... Read More

Connecting with Customers

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine. Business is up he said, but he didn't know why. I asked him a few questions, but more we spoke about it the more concerned I became."What do you mean, you don't know why they're buying?""We never know why... Read More

The Wall of Defensiveness: 7 Ways to Tear It Down

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you realize that your prospects keep stereotyping you as a "salesperson"? And because of that, they don't give you the trust and openness that you deserve, and that are essential if you're going to help them solve their problems?That's what's been happening to Michael,... Read More

Are You a Cultivator or a Harvester?

As a result of providing marketing consulting, training and coaching to a variety of individuals and industries over the years, I have come to recognize that people generally approach the business building process in one of two ways. Everyone tends to be what I identify as either Cultivators or Harvesters.... Read More

A Stupid Question, but it has to be asked

This is a stupid question but it has to be asked.Does your sales letter create as many sales as you would like?What proportion of them respond to your advert?What is just as important, how many of those that responded actually purchased your product?How can you improve the response rate?How many... Read More

Refining Your Telephone Prospecting Techniques To Be A Master Closer!

Let me create a picture for you. This is the best way to illustrate my point."On a busy street you are approached apologetically by a well-dressed stranger who asks for a dollar to catch a bus and make a phone call. He says he has lost his wallet. What would... Read More

Customer Service Revival

Value is in the Eye of the BeholderSales today is filled with stereotypes. The "sleazy car salesman", the "annoying telemarketer", and the ever-present "pushy commission salesman". And in the sales profession, we may not realize it ? but we do think of other people in our profession this way sometimes.... Read More

Dead Silence From Your Prospect: The Worst Sound Of All

Could this be the worst moment in your selling cycle?You've done all the right things with your prospect:? You've identified a real need and developed a reasonably solid relationship.? You've determined that your prospect is interested in your solution.? You've had a couple of great meetings or conversations that let... Read More

YOUR Future Profits -- Protect Source With CARE

At 21 years, just out of Business College, I went into the mail-order business. Spent 4-1/2 years in this venture and learned many valuable lessons about building customer relationships. #1 is TRUST. Folks like to buy from someone who is dependable and responsible.... with integrity.... one who "walks" their "talk".You'll... Read More

Before They buy What You Say - 10 Steps To Selling Yourself

You are the productWe're all in the selling business whether we like it or not. It doesn't matter whether you're a lawyer or an accountant, a manager or a politician, an engineer or a doctor. We all spend a great deal of our time trying to persuade people to buy... Read More

Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isnt the Same

Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isn't the SameNow let's not fall into the old style car salesman's trap of believing that men are interested in what goes on under the bonnet and women are only interested in what colours you can get and whether it has... Read More

Selling More CDs at Gigs, Case Study: The Rogues

A few weekends back, the Brobdingnagian Bards performed at the Austin Celtic Festival. We shared the stage with some amazing bands, but at the very top of my list were The Rogues.We first met The Rogues last year at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Since then I've been a big fan... Read More

How to Write Testimonials that Sell CDs Like Magic

"Which is your best CD?"Ever get that question? My band has five CDs that we sell at shows, and I get that question all the time. People rely on the suggestions of others to determine what they are going to buy. They trust the opinions of others to help them... Read More

Sell YOU With Your Small Talk (Yes You Can)

Want to build a relationship -- sell yourself for a job -- get ahead -- make a sale?Your 'small talk' is crucial.Everyday conversation can make or break you in personal relationships and in the business world. Sadly, most people don't realize how important small talk is, nor do they try... Read More

How to Set Appointments

The Importance of setting appointments is crucial to running a business. They are the key to a successful business.When making appointments try to make your call between one and two minutes maximum. Practice keeping your calls to this time scale, any longer and you could be drawn into a full... Read More

How to Sell Your Products Without Competition

Selling your products at shows can be difficult when you have a lot of competition. Although some show organizers are careful to have a good mix of vendors, it's not uncommon for other shows to have 20% or more of the booths filled with vendors in the same niche -... Read More

Packaging Maketh the Person

The multi million pound cosmetics industry is acutely aware of the value of packaging. You'll know this if you've ever bought anything from those glamorous ladies whose counters are always just inside the front door of Department stores.However, from time to time we're presented with surveys about the creams we... Read More

Breaking the Ice and Winning Over the Client

Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every business strategy and tactic available to man from how to make a great presentation to strategies for success all the way to negotiations and prospecting and getting a client to commit. But hardly anyone touches on the subject of breaking... Read More

Are You a Winner or Whiner?

I've found that winners say "I choose to." Whiners, on the other hand, say "I have to."Let me explain. On a plane, I mentioned to the executive next to me that I'm a professional development consultant and speaker. She smiled, gave me a knowing nod, and before the wheels were... Read More

Dress as Though You Mean Business

Could casual Friday be undermining your leadership ability?One of the cool things about working in a home office is that you can do business in torn jeans and a T-shirt because no one sees you but the dog. And Sparky believes in you no matter what you wear. Some people... Read More

Clear Up Blurry Communication

One of the top brewing companies in America is a consulting client of mine. However, during a seminar for a brewery management team, we were jolted by a "communication wake-up call." We discovered that even though co-workers speak the same words, they don't attach the same meanings. Here's what happened.... Read More

To Sell Successfully, You Have to Be Willing to Be Different

We are complex. We confidently assert that we are independent thinkers but then we can feel uncomfortable -- even embarrassed ? if we break out of "the norm." However, in business the biggest rewards often go to people who are willing to be different.One night, I was in a mall... Read More

No Regrets

Here's a chilling thought. If you were to die tomorrow, would you have the same two regrets that many business people share?According to a study, just before people die, if they express any regrets at all, those regrets tend to fall into two categories. The bigger, by far, is regret... Read More

Im A Second-Story Man

Can you say who you are and what you do in two sentences or less?If someone should ask (in an elevator, get it?) what do you do? You should be able to recite the answer as fast as Robin Williams comes up with a quick one liner.Robin Williams can do... Read More

Reviving Dead Clients

Most consultants I've talked to don't spend any time trying to recover inactive clients and it's a big mistake. We tend to magnify the problem we had or just want to move on, but sometimes a simple apology and offering to make things right will bring you back a client... Read More

Getting Referrals

ReferralsA substantial part of your business can come from referrals. The key is to provide extraordinary customer service and educate your clients and influencers to this fact. You must actively cultivate referrals; otherwise you're just leaving it to chance.Referrals Start with Great ServiceThe foundation of great referrals is great customer... Read More

The Top 10 Ways to Add Extra Value

Everyone wants the best possible value in every transaction, but each of us defines "value" in different ways. Some customers want the lowest price, while others will place a higher value on reliability, convenience or things like color, popularity (think Pokeman cards!) or durability. The challenge for business is to... Read More

How to Build Sales With Extended Benefits

An area that can become profitable for many businesses in building the offer within sales copy is selling (or "upselling" customers with) extended services, products or packages, also often called the "extended warranty."Extended warranties are subtle forms of insurance policies that guarantee a product or service's performance, especially after an... Read More

Instead of Discounting, Back Some Value Out of Your Proposal

Last minute discounting has become so prevalent that many companies have come to depend on it as their default sales strategy. Employing a go-to-market strategy of being the lowest cost provider is one thing, but dramatic, tactical discounting on every deal will erode your company's margins and leave you digging... Read More

Plan For Your Next Trade Show Appearance To Be A Success

Most people who consider trade show planning think of it in terms of logistics planning. In other words planning for details like finding an exhibit, producing graphics, shipping the exhibit to the show, ordering services, etc.But seeing the full potential of a trade show program for your company requires a... Read More

How To Improve Your Voice

VOICEThe Image the customer has of the Salesperson is vital. In telesales the image is created through voice alone. There is no smartly dressed representative to see, no glittering product to touch and tantalize-just a voice on the other end of the phone. However good the present telephone system may... Read More

Telephone Techniques

TELEPHONE TECHNIQUESSelling face to face is different from selling on the telephone. The main role of a telesales person is to generate sales either from incoming calls or by outbound calling. In some the objective is to make appointment and in others it is to make appointments for the direct... Read More

Handling Objections

HANDLING OBJECTIONSSales presentation is not always going to be plain sailing. You must expect objections. The important thing is to know this and be prepared to deal with them. Welcome them as sign of interest which can be turned to your advantage.Most of the objections we come across will arise... Read More

Consumer Effort And The Purchase Decision

It is a basic tenet of behavioral psychology that people engage in behavior that takes the least effort and provide the highest payoff. If someone see's a product as being very valuable but the effort to purchase that product is large it will decrease the value of the product and... Read More

SPIN, Relevant To Both Salesmanship & Advertising!

Neil Rackham turned the world of high-ticket salesmanship on its ear. By observing over 35,000 actual sales calls, he scientifically isolated & identified the specific behaviors exhibited by successful salespeople. He called it SPIN selling.Situation, Problem, Implication, Need Pay-off.It should come as no surprise that one of the things that... Read More

?The Power Of Consumer Opinion, & How To Profit From It!?

Selling is just a whole lot easier when you know what people really want.But unless you're psychic, or know how to do the Vulcan mind meld, "getting into their brains" is HUGE!I can't tell you how many times I've racked my brain trying to make sense of consumer opinion, &... Read More

10 Amazing Product Selling Formulas

1. Sell your products at a wholesale price to retail web sites. You could sell them individually or in bulk.2. Set up joint ventures with other businesses to sell your product to new customers. They can introduce it to their customers for a set price.3. Allow other web sites to... Read More

Its Better When They Tell Them

You know that word of mouth can grow your business. You hear your customers say nice things about your company all the time. So why don't they tell people? And, why don't they write it down?Because you don't ask.Your customers are busy people. They don't think about your business day... Read More

Voice Mail That Sells

As a business owner, I receive my share of sales calls in a given month. More often than not, I'm away from my desk or out of the office which means I end up listening to the messages instead of speaking directly with the sales person. Here are a few... Read More

The Power of Thank-You

When was the last time you thanked your customers?This often neglected gesture is a very powerful sales tool. As a small business owner, I want to know that the companies I chose to work with appreciate my business. Here are some of the opportunities you have to thank the people... Read More

Why Should I Buy From You?

Virtually every business you contact has this question in their mind. To truly maximize your revenues you need give people a reason to buy from you versus a competitor. Here are a few strategies that will help you differentiate yourself from your competition.First, it's important to understand that people make... Read More

How to Lose the Sale Quickly & Easily

Here are five sure-fire ways to guarantee you will not get the sale;Focus on yourself. I recall meeting several salespeople from a variety of vendors regarding an initiative I was working on for a client. EVERY single person began their presentation by telling me about their company rather than learning... Read More

How to ASK for Business -- WITHOUT appearing Pushy --

GIVING Vs "SELLING"Never lose sight of the importance of providing a "reason" to buy BEFORE you attempt to SELL anything to a client/prospect.In the current business climate you have to GIVE first. The very first question from a buyer is.... what is the BENEFIT to ME? Why should I change... Read More

Web Promotion: 10 Amazing Web Promotion Ways To Jump Start Your Sales

Hello, do you have a website and sell something on the internet?If yes, may I offer you 10 amazing web promotion secrets to jump start your sales at your website!1. Find a strategic business partner. Look for ones that have the same objective. You can trade leads, share marketing info,... Read More

Wholesale Secrets Revealed: The Holy Grail Of Wholesale!

Like the legendary search for the Holy Grail, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, the same "holy crusade" goes on today by veteran and newly anointed business owners for the perfect wholesale, surplus, and drop-shipping resource. They believe that divine intervention will lead them to suppliers... Read More

How To Profit From Initial Consultations

"I'd love to work with you, but?"How many times have you heard these words? As a professional service provider looking to grow your business, isn't it sometimes frustrating to hold an initial session with someone who you'd love to work with but the potential client has a whole list of... Read More

10 Tips To Overcome Your Fear Of Selling

Ahh. Selling. Sometimes, this is a word that is dreaded and feared by all but the most intrepid business owners. It seems that, even though we all know we need to "sell" our products and services, many of us feel fearful or anxious about actually doing so.These 10 tips are... Read More

Selling Skills - How to Handle the Dreaded Question Whats The Price?

I've written previously about how to attract customers and how to manage the sales process. But one thorny issue keeps popping up for my clients? what should they do when a potential customer asks "How much will it cost?" as one of their opening lines.This focus on price is often... Read More

How To Make The Most Out of a Business Networking Event

You're not alone. Most people are uncomfortable walking into a roomful of strangers. But networking at business events can help you grow your business, as well as allow you to do hands-on marketing research. Learning to mingle and to follow-up with business networking contacts is crucial to your self-employment success.... Read More

Create a Magic Connection with Clients, Leads, and Business Associates Part II

Part I of this article explored how strategies of Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP) can be used to gain instant rapport with clients, leads, and business associates, and more specifically, how to use physiology, matching and mirroring, to create instant magic communications.Now, how can tonality and words establish rapport?TONALITYWhile physiology accounts for... Read More

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series)

Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do what nine out of 10 adults do, according to a recent article by the American Society of Association Executives. Join an Association. Choose from over 130,000 associations in the United States alone that represent practically any industry at national, international,... Read More

How to Eliminate Objections to Price

Have you ever stepped your way through the sales process only to be disappointed by your prospect's objection to your price?This situation unfolds all too regularly for many small business owners.The other day I was talking to Joan who was lamenting how she'd spent a ton of time developing a... Read More

The Truth Behind Linear Selling: Why It Can Make Prospects Run The Other Way

Sean works for a major telecom company.During one of our coaching sessions, he told me, "I've been diligent about following the sales process that my company believes is required to make a sale -- but, for some strange reason, my prospects don't want to fit into that process.What am I... Read More

10 Important Things To Tell Your Prospects

Hello everyone, hope your day is going well! I know this one is short but it is very helpful!1. Tell your prospects that you offer free delivery. This may cost a little money, but, you will gain the extra customers to make up for it.2. Tell your prospects that you... Read More

Powerful Words

Hi, I'd like to discuss the most powerful words you can use during the selling process.Quote: Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind. Rudyard Kipling.Plainly, THE MOST POWERFUL WORD is YOU. You should be looking to use the word You in your sales meetings a lot more... Read More

How To Get Face To Face Over The Phone

One disadvantage of selling by telephone is the lack of face to face contact.When you are sitting with a prospect it is much easier to read there body language. You can see the look on their face when they are confused about something you said. You can see the delight... Read More

When the Nose of the Camel is in the Tent

My new job was to sell Commercial Service Agreements. It was a fine company. They were growing. They wanted to expand their Service Base. I had a territory that no one wanted. It was the farthest away from the office. "There is no business there!" was all I heard from... Read More

Secrets to Buying Without Being Sold

Have you ever asked yourself, now how did I let that guy sell me on something that I had no real need for at the time? Do you ever get a sneaking suspicion that your probably not going to really use whatever it is that your buying in the way... Read More

10 Mistakes That Reduce Profitability

In my professional experience as a sales and marketing coach/consultant, I've had the opportunity to work with a number of small business owners on various issues related to sales and marketing. The owners who are struggling to keep their businesses afloat tend to engage in some, or all, of the... Read More

Focus on a Trade - Not a Discount

Smart buyers will always ask for a better price. Unfortunately, too many sales people and business owners automatically think that reducing their price is the most effective way to respond to this request.However, negotiating is not always about price. Although price is a factor in virtually every sale it is... Read More

How To Bully Your Prospects Into Buying Your Product or Service

Selling is a tough job, and sometimes you may need to appear tough in order to get the sale.As a salesperson (whether in person or in print) you don't have to appear to the customer as being needy of the sale. Many times, the opposite can work quite effectively, that... Read More

How to Write Effective Selling Proposals

Depending upon how much you enjoy writing, writing sales proposals can be a joy, purgatory, or something in between. However, if you sell a complex product or one that involves the delivery of professional services, learning how to write effective selling proposals can be critical to your success.Some proposals are... Read More

How To Sell Your Products or Services on Value And Stop Selling On Price Alone

Have you ever met with, or talked to a prospect that wasn't ready to buy what you had to offer? What did you do with that prospects? Most sales gurus of the 1980's and 90's wrote books that told you to move on to the next prospect who is ready... Read More

Casual Networking

What comes to mind when you think of networking -- cocktail parties? Shaking hands and exchanging business cards at a Chamber of Commerce events? Endless lines of people anxious to make you a customer? Sweaty palms and panic?Networking is not about how many business cards you can collect -- it's... Read More

Whats Your Clients Style?

When it comes to effective selling, one simple fact never changes: Selling is a relationship business. You already know all about your company's products and services ? and you've learned the fundamental aspects of the sales cycle.But have you ever asked yourself ? What helps one salesperson develop immediate rapport... Read More

Why Cold Calling Is Dead

Our world of selling is closed off from other areas of business that continue to adopt and embrace new, efficient ideas. I was reminded of this recently while re- reading Seth Godin's "Permission Marketing." Here's a book that was intended for business owners and marketing executives, yet it provides a... Read More

Is Cold Calling Dead?

Is cold calling dead? And if laws are being passed to put it to rest once and for all, how do we generate business from now on?Opinions on the subject vary greatly depending on the background of the individual. For example, most of the old-timers are vigilant in preaching their... Read More

Using Emotion for Persuasion

The other day, I received the last issue of a business magazine before my subscription runs out. Now, I like this magazine, but I'm swamped with reading matter so I won't renew.Of course, I've received many reminders and offers about renewing; magazines try very hard to keep the subscribers they've... Read More

Selling To Your Difficult Person

We all have people whom we find difficult. We don't understand them, connect with them, or even talk comfortably with them. But, when we own a one person business, seeing someone as difficult gets in the way of our selling effectively and their buying wisely.It is easy to blame the... Read More

How To Seal The Deal In Seven Seconds

Can you close a sale in just seven seconds? If you make a great first impression, you can do it even faster. Seven seconds is the average length of time you have to make a first impression. If yours is not good, you won't get another chance with that potential... Read More

Five Things More Important to Buyers than WHAT Youre Selling - I

Article I of a two-part series.No matter what customers say they want, what they're really looking for is "something special." They can't quite describe it, but when they find it, they know.Indeed, those little details of the buying experience may appear intangible. But what you sell is usually less important... Read More

How To Write A Riveting Sales Letter That Closes Sales

How do you get people's attention and build their interest to take the time to read your sales letter? Let's face it. If you can't get the attention of prospects and keep their interest your sales letter will just fall flat on it's face and thus not make you much... Read More

Losing the Big-One: Salvaging Lost Accounts

After careful consideration, we have chosen our vendor, and it's not you."Hard words to hear. That big deal, the account you've been courting for months, has fallen to someone else."We appreciate all the time and effort you put into your bid. It was quite professional."Yeah sure, they really appreciate your... Read More

How to Sell High Tech Solutions

Many companies are looking to improve upon the speed, security, and accessibility of business technologies, especially satellite and broadband connections to the internet. While customers are becoming more savvy, many don't speak 'tech-ese,' and they still are baffled by terms such as routers, IPSEC, T-1s, WIFI, and broadband. While these... Read More

Whats the Secret to Repeat Business?

When you think about ways to gain repeat business from your customers, you probably turn your thoughts to marketing efforts such as advertising, public relations and other means that will allow you to repeatedly be seen. However, without one particular element included in your plan, your efforts to entice customers... Read More

Prepare to Sell!

Sales is a critical part of any business, including non-profits. Sales is not complicated or difficult, but requires preparation, consistent action and a plan. Before completing any preparatory work in sales, consider asking yourself some tough questions.Why are you in this business?Do you believe in your product/service?What are you trying... Read More

Nothing Happens Until Someone Sells Somthing

You can always tell a good salesperson, they are always on the look-out for opportunities to do exactly that. Every chance they get they'll promote whatever it is they offer. They are driven through their need to either make money, they're passionate about the goods and services they offer or... Read More

Solution-Sell is a Myth!

Who among us is not already up to here with the omni-smarts who wax poetic the benefits of "Solution Selling." Now it may seem strange for me, the author of the book "Up Your Income! Solution Selling for Profitability" to cast aspersions on the merits of this approach. Nevertheless like... Read More

Incentive Dilemma:

Manufacturers and distributors are rolling out more sales incentive programs for their channel partners than ever before.Some of these programs are not as successful as they could be, however, because they fail to appreciate fully what motivates salespeople and drives them to overachieve. Read on to learn six key concepts... Read More

Money Does Talk!

When buying something, you can buy in one of two markets. The first is buying on terms in the retail market and the second is buying in the wholesale cash market. This can be illustrated by referring to the biggest purchase we all make in our lifetime - Real Estate.In... Read More

Stop Screwing Up Your Sales Letter

"Sales Letter"... that's your web site's sales page. The page with the carefully written copy designed to convince a visitor that they will benefit from buying what you are selling.I began direct marketing before the internet and learned the basics of mail order marketing. I am glad to say that... Read More

What Successful Sellers Know - Others Dont ... The Subtle Art of Closing

Ask any salesperson, "At what point in the selling process does the 'Close' take place?" Eight out of ten will answer, "at the End". To be fair, they are not totally incorrect but they are, nevertheless, more wrong than right proving in principle and in practice, Perado's Law: Twenty percent... Read More

Three Big Ol Tips for Better Sales Letters

Growing up in the South, I used the phrase "big ol'" a lot. Big ol' truck. Big ol' house. Big ol' party. The phrase was one we used when the word "big" just wasn't descriptive enough.I think the following suggestions qualify as Big Ol' Tips. Look around the Web and... Read More

Flea Marketing Lessons

A few days ago, I was signing copies of my book ? Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness ? at the flea market. Nobody expects an author to sign books at a flea market. Some people sell a few worn-over books, but authors just don't... Read More

Throw Out Your Selling Language - Unlock Your Natural Voice

I was sitting at my desk last week when my phone rang. I picked it up and said, "This is Ari with Unlock The Game." The woman on the other end of the phone said, "Hi, my name is Julie Jackson, I'm with XYZ company and we are a...and we... Read More

Sell More: How to Get Motivated Buyers To Call You First

How many sales opportunities have you lost to competitors who seemed to have the inside track? It's likely your prospect purchased from their emotional favorite.Selling goes beyond communicating the value of your products and services. Selling is about communicating the value of doing business with you. It is about connecting... Read More

Hate Follow-Up Phone Calls To Hot Prospects Who Won?t Call You Back? Stop Calling!

We all learned in Sales 101 we must follow up with our prospects until they buy. Unfortunately, while we're busy trying to make all these follow-ups, some very fine prospects who are ready to buy now are flying under our radar.The trick in sales is to talk to buyers. Rather... Read More

Do You Have Enough Prospects To Make Your Numbers?

Several years ago I worked with a CPA who wanted 20 new clients. We came up with a great direct marketing campaign that brought in 10 leads per 1,000 letters. His closing rate was 10%, so after his first few clients came on board, we calculated that acquiring new clients... Read More

Leads, Prospects, and the Huge Gap Between

The leads marketing delivers to the sales team never seem good enough. Either the leads are "bad" and are wastes of a salesperson's time, or there are just not enough "good" ones. If sales had more good prospects, the company would have more sales. Perhaps sales and marketing could work... Read More

How to Sell: Selling Tips of Master Moms

"If you don't think well of yourself, no one will think anything of you." At least half of selling is a mind set. Set your mind to being selfish with positive self-image, positive self-talk and your self-esteem. The sale is made inside our head before it takes... Read More

Understanding The Corporate Buyer

Selling your services to corporations is an attractive proposition. The contracts are larger than with small businesses and individuals, and often longer-term. There's the possibility of repeat business worth many billable hours at respectable rates.But the best clients are not always the easiest to get. If you don't grasp the... Read More

Cracking The Billable Hours Ceiling

How many of you made as much money as you wanted to last year? Don't be shy; raise your hands. Hmm, I don't see too many hands out there. What would you say is the cause of this gap between your goals and your earnings?While you could certainly name the... Read More

Successfully Selling Your Professional Services

As a professional service provider you face special challenges promoting yourself to potential clients. You may have certain restrictions on how you market or advertise. You may feel overwhelmed by the demands of being both owner and employee. You might not have a strong base of effective selling & marketing... Read More

The Damaging Admission - A Persuasive Technique

We would all like to think that our product or service is flawless. More importantly, we would like for others to believe that as well. But no matter what you sell, a drawback (sometimes several) will always exist, even if only in the mind of your reader-prospects. Either way, you... Read More

Dropped Jaw Syndrome, Your Fastest, Most Reliable Market Test

Business owners should be more like doctors.Forget selling and start asking your customers where they hurt. Broken leg? Ulcer? Empty wallet?Don't sell, diagnose. And what are you as a doctor looking for? Well, of course: that ever-illusive, yet ever- profitable disease called Dropped Jaw Syndrome.OK, it may not be in... Read More

How To Make An Extra $100,000.00 Each Year

HOW TO MAKE AN EXTRA $100,000.00 EACH YEAR BY ADDING A FEW LINES OF SCRIPT TO YOUR ONLINE ORDER PAGEMcDonalds has added over 200 billion dollars to their sales with their one line "Would you like some drinks or fries with that?"Sales are made or lost by what is written... Read More

5 Ways to Encourage Impulse Purchases

I just bought six square pieces of spongy fabric for $20 and walked away happy - "victim" of an impulse purchase.I was at one of those big show events and walked past a demonstration booth. I even knew it was coming. About 50% of the people walking out were carrying... Read More

Chicken Little And The Disintermediation Myth

If Chicken Little were alive today he wouldn't be running around forewarning us of the sky that was about to fall. He'd be too preoccupied alerting everyone about another potential disaster - which may in the end prove to be just as erroneous as his first prediction. Nevertheless, if the... Read More

Long Sales Letters vs. Short Sales Letters

Everywhere I turn, I'm being asked to weigh in on the issue of whether copy should be long or short in a sales letter. I receive countless newsletters on copywriting and marketing, and they are all still debating the issue.I doubt that the question will be answered definitively, but after... Read More

3-Levels Of Successful Selling

Any selling approach that lacks a proven strategy, a practiced proficiency for its application and most significantly, a full understanding of its psychological, human behavioral import ? is at best, a wishful endeavor. ?Paul Shearstone 2003......................................................................................No one ever questions the fact there are born athletes who, when compared to others,... Read More

Gic Number For Writing Sales Letters

When I write sales letters for my clients, one rule I always start with is The Rule of 7.I learned about The Rule of 7 from one of my good friends who once ran for political office. In his campaign, he made certain that his name appeared seven times in... Read More

Unique Selling Propositions

If you have competitors, then you should have at least one Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The more REAL ones you have, the better - for your Branding, your business recognition, and your sales!We all have competitors, and the more you have, the more important it is that you have a... Read More

Your Clients Buying What Youre Selling

Linda felt like she had reached a plateau in her cleaning business. For the past 3 years, she'd run the same ads in the same publications with the same results. She would generate enough new clients to make up for the ones she lost due to normal attrition, but she... Read More

Sales Copy Tips

Writing good sales copy is not an art, it is a science. There is no reason to get creative here. You want to follow the formula that has been proven to work.Nevertheless, I am always surprised at how many sales letters on the internet can be improved upon.Here are a... Read More

How Improve Conversion Rates

Do you know your conversion rates? Conversion rate is the number of visitors to your site that take the desired action against the total number of visitors in a particular period or time. Research has shown that 60% of websites do not know their conversion rates. Then how do you... Read More

If I Wanted To Sell For A Living, I Would Of Majored In It In College

By a show of hands, how many of you grew up as a kid saying to yourself, "I can't wait to grow up until I become a salesperson"?Why do people go into sales? Here are some reasons people have given to me and sales managers when they apply for a... Read More

Freebies

Freebees--Freebees--FreebeesWHY PAY, WHEN "YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE?"There are all sorts of things that we would like to have but we cannot always afford them. That is where Freebees come into play.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~People will tell you that there is no such thing as a 'free lunch.'I don't know who first... Read More

Count Down To An Advert

There are hundreds of books available to teach you how to write a good sales letter/advert. If you were to read them all it would be possible to distil all of the recommendations into a 'What to do list' similar to the one below. This list is not exhaustive. No... Read More

A Pause For Thought

You can have your cake and eat it.What is it that makes the sale of information products so appealing?Is it the fact that the only storage space required is a minute spot on your computer's hard disc.Perhaps it is because even when you have sold it, you still have it,... Read More

Lessons Learned At Gunpoint

"If you do anything foolish or try to get out of the car we will shoot you" were the terse words which hung in the air like a bad smell.The small car was being driven at over 120 KPH down the dark roads and highways. Beside me - at the... Read More

Turn Your Wisdom Into a Workshop

The Technical Revolution has done a lot for us -- we merely have to pick up a phone or send an email to conduct business. Yet, there still is no substitute for live, personal appearances when you want your teaching to count, and that's why I love workshops. Your participants... Read More

Can You Use Hynotic Like Statements To Sell More Products?

As I become more successful with my internet business I have become interested in ways to move my business to the next level.Besides pumping more money into advertising it occured to me that increasing my closing percentage on my websites to the visitors I am getting would be a free... Read More

Interactive Sales Letter Skyrockets Conversions with 2 Simple Questions

There are many tactics and techniques that go into converting visitors into buyers. However, this article will prove to you why creating an "interactive" sales letter will be the most critical weapon in your modern marketing arsenal to accomplish this.Most Internet Marketers rely on their savvy copywriting techniques and persuasive... Read More

6 Steps on How to Install Confidence Into Your Clients

What methods can we use to install confidence into your clients ?1. Give abundant value in everything you sell.If you want to build up a reputation that will lead to a successful internet business you can't afford to outsmart your client by giving him less value then he's paying for.... Read More

Stop Telemarketers, Do Not Call List or Not

American consumers have spoken and have done so loudly registering 50 million telephone numbers with the FTC's National Do-Not-Call list since the registry debuted in July.This new telemarketing sales rule, which was scheduled to take effect October 1st, recently encountered two legal battles which could diminish the rule's intent -... Read More

How to create your own Unique Selling Proposition

Why would a prospect buy from you rather than from your competitor?How do you outsell your competitors?Your unique selling proposition (USP) is very important as part of your business planning. This is especially so if you decide to set up a home business in the highly competitive internet arena. What... Read More

Know What You Are Selling As If You Were Buying It

Recently I wanted a new lawn mower as we have an acre of land and we have to keep it mowed pretty regular in the spring and summer and the riding lawn mower from Wally World had fallen apart and had to have something repaired every year for the short... Read More

Five Deadly Sales Letter Mistakes

To be effective your sales letter must be opened, read, believed and acted upon. In order to do this it must attract attention, warm the interest of the reader, create a desire for your product or service and cause your prospect to take positive action.An effective sales letter, not surprisingly,... Read More

Write On The Money: The Ten Commandments (Plus Five) Of Profitable Sales Letter Writing

According to the Direct Marketing Association, in 2003 U.S. direct mail marketing efforts produced more than $689 billion in sales. For those organizations who know how to use it direct mail always has been and always will be a core component of their overall marketing strategy.Several key factors are critical... Read More

Give Up the Need to Sell

Most business people will tell you that selling is not their favorite activity. Let's explore a way to look at the process of sales a bit more favorably.Whether we like it or not---"we're all in sales". Most of us have an internal dialogue about both selling and closing that is... Read More

Selling Your Way To Success

I wonder when we decided to become a sales person. I know when I was at school all I ever wanted to do was join the Navy and see the world. My best mates wanted to be a truck driver or Fireman, Policeman, Soldier, Banker, Doctor, Pop star, Football player... Read More

Winning Sales Proposals

Your proposal is selling for you when you're not there, so it must reflect your standards of professionalism.Like it or not, sales proposals are a tool of the trade, and writing a well-crafted proposal can mean the difference between winning and losing a client's business, especially if you are selling... Read More

Sales Brochures - 9 Steps to Success

Even in this day of websites, many customers want to look at a brochure or other form of hard copy. It's important therefore that your brochure tells the customer all they need to know.*It can be handed to the customer or used for direct mailing*It gives the customer much more... Read More

Marketing Conversations, And Conversation Stoppers

Where many marketing conversations get off-track are the ones you have with yourself, before you even pick up the phone or initiate the handshake. As independent professionals, usually at the helm of solo businesses, we sometimes find ourselves facing daunting internal obstacles as we try to begin our day's marketing... Read More

Touchdown! Closing Skills for Successful Selling

It's early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just 72 seconds away from their fourth NFC Championship game. They have a three-point lead over the Philadelphia Eagles, who face an impossible fourth down and 26 yards on their own 28-yard line. All Green Bay has to do is hold... Read More

Do You Want to Know the 8 Tips to Selling More Products?

So often sales men and woman are the very people that prevent themselves from obtaining additional sales and increasing their commissions. It doesn't matter if it's counter sales or door-to-door.They get caught up in the newest method or someone's latest spin on how to get their customers to buy. What... Read More

I Don?t Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy

I went shopping for clothes today.My plan was to buy a navy blue sports coat, a couple of shirts and ties and maybe a pair of black shoes.Understand that as a sales trainer, I want people to ask me to spend my money. I'm not going to buy unless asked.... Read More

Do Your Customers Buy On Price Alone?

Here are four simple things you can do to take price out of the equation!It's frustrating when people appear to be focused on price alone. All they talk about is the price. "Your price is too high" or "I can buy cheaper elsewhere" are heard all too often. It's annoying... Read More

Are You Selling What They Want To Buy? Is It An Appropriate Solution?

Let me tell you about my friend Peter who has four children. With a family of six, he finds buying cars rather trying.Recently he went by himself to buy a new car. Salespeople fawned all over him to show him the latest models; the run-out specials and to try to... Read More

Can Walmart Make You Rich?

Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought... I need to get my products on those shelves. Did you spot the perfect place for your new product and think, Bingo, that's where my product will go. I think I'll give them a call.The truth is, Walmart receives hundreds of calls... Read More

Who Takes Your Money

Your business is making profits, but where is the cash? It seems that someone has taken away your money. Your bank account is still the same, and your personal wealth is still the same. There must be someone that took your money. Based on my over 18 years of professional... Read More

12 Handy Tips for Generating Leads through Cold-Calling

Cold calling can be a great way to generate quality leads. You get to speak to the gatekeepers and stakeholders, and you get a great insight into their requirements and influences.But cold calling is an art-form. It can be daunting, it's always a lot of work, and you always need... Read More

Want More Sales? Write A Barry Bonds Sales Letter

I'm not a baseball fan. Never have been. In fact, I hate the sport. However, I am a Barry Bonds fan. Here's why: Barry Bonds possesses the exact same intangibles every great sales letter possesses. He's loyal, consistent, powerful, and hits a ton of home runs, year after year after... Read More

How to Build A Steady Stream of Customers--Step One

The success of a small business depends upon a steady stream of good customers. To build that stream of customer a business owner must examine five critical points in their business operations. This is the first in a series of five articles that examines those critical points.Target Your Customers---The Key... Read More

Do You Know When You Are Being Sold To?

Britney Spears has recently caused controversy with suggestions that the ad campaign for her new fragrance range uses subliminal or hidden messages in its efforts to convince potential buyers. Advertisers have long been aware of the power of appealing to our subsoncious minds, so what methods exactly do they employ,... Read More

Selling for Beginners

Speak to almost any self employed professional and most of them will say that they love their job but don't care much for selling their services. Here's some advice to help all those reluctant professionals who need to sell to clients.We have identified 9 basic selling skills that will help... Read More

Consulting Versus Selling

Consulting Vs Selling, How we can make sales by not doing selling but consulting. As we know, everybody loves to buy but hates to be sold. We need to engage in non-manipulative selling, and ask deeper questions that will make the sale.View Yourself As A ConsultantOne particular self-image possessed by... Read More

Going the Extra Mile and Getting Referrals

Successful salespeople have the ability to turn the customers they serve into advocates. They don't directly ask for assistance, they do it by going the extra mile when providing service. It is only natural for satisfied customers to refer their friends and business associates to someone they know they can... Read More

Great Telephone Skills

Having good telephone skills is crucial as the call may be the catalyst for a prospective sale or provide vital counseling for a member of public. However, since both parties may not see each other face-to-face, a telephone conversation may not lead to favourable results; on the flip side, it... Read More

Book Yourself Solid

THE 7 KEYS TO GETTING MORE CLIENTS THAN YOU CAN HANDLE EVEN IF YOU HATE MARKETING AND SELLINGClients often ask me how I built a six figure income working as an independent professional in less than 10 months. I narrowed it down to 7 simple steps. Seven simple internal and... Read More

How Many Ways Do You Have To Justify Your Price?

If you were selling a mansion, and you were selling it for 25 cents, some wiseacre would inevitably respond, "It costs too much."When that happens, are you prepared?As an excercise, make a list of 20 "reasons why" your services are worth your fees.Why is life better with your offer? Have... Read More

Schedule Telemarketing Time For More Success

Telephone canvassing, or cold calling, is the practice of sitting down with a long list of potential prospects you've never met and telephoning them, one at a time, to learn which of them needs what you sell and then arranging to sell it to them.Believe me, nobody likes telephone cold... Read More

Sell With KISS, As In Keep It Simple, Stupid

One of the most useful and fundamental communications lessons that has been repeated to me over the years, ever since my earliest days of formal business training, is the fabled, famous, and fabulous "KISS" formula.In my college marketing class we were told "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" When I entered my... Read More

Lazy Man?s Way To Get Customers

No matter how big or small your business is and no matter how high or low sales are right now, there is something you need, badly. And that is a selling system.All firms are careful to have elaborate accounting, production and transport systems. And yet there is no system to... Read More

Why USPs Dont Work

The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on the assumption that if you can't be better than the competition then being different will usually suffice.It is true that most businesses scrape by in the midst of mediocrity. The bosses of these firms see an industry or profession that looks lucrative... Read More

17 Tips for Bringing Your Event to Life

Your job as an event planner doesn't stop with the meeting in the company boardroom. You may be called upon to organize an employee appreciate event, an awards dinner, a product launch, the celebration of a company milestone, a gala recognizing a longtime employee's retirement, an incentive event for company's... Read More

How to Reach Purchasing Agents of Big Corporations

Now business owners and sales professionals can develop a Faster and Easier method of selling to big corporations, Hospitals and Universities, Government Agencies (State, County levels), and other medium enterprises... as well as K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade).This Sales Lead Database will link you directly to the purchasing, procurement, and... Read More

Dont Call Me

The March, 2004, issue of Psychology Today reports on an experiment involving identical business negotiations between test subjects. The only difference was that half started the transactions with a brief phone call and completed it with email. The other half used only email.The transactions beginning with a phone call turned... Read More

Customer Loyalty in the Technology Industry

For technology companies, service after the sale has emerged on equal footing with innovation as a competitive advantage.As technology-related products and services touch nearly every area of our lives and our businesses, technology has become integrated in how we communicate, learn, work, and entertain ourselves. Our appetite for technology products... Read More

Tips for Increasing Your Profits with Gift Certificates

Offering gift certificates is an excellent way of increasing sales by solving your customers' gift-giving problems. Often people would like to give your products as gifts, but are hesitant to choose a specific item for someone.I'm a jewelry artist, and when I realized I was losing sales to these potential... Read More

When Selling, Keep It Simple Stupid!

After our first half-hour telephone coaching session, when asked what he thought about our training, my client felt the learning process we had undertaken together earlier in the week, "was a bit too elementary." As a Branch Manager with over 18 years of sale experience, a supervisor who must also... Read More

6 Creative Questions To Move From HOW Are You To WHO Are You

Imagine you just met someone new. The formalities of names, jobs and the like have been exchanged and you seem to be getting along famously. But before you know it, a few minutes pass ? and it looks like you're running out of clichés!Now what?There comes a time in every... Read More

10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now

1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad.Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They'll already become emotionally attached before they buy.2. Turn your ad into an article.It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead... Read More

Increasing Short and Long Term Profits

"I was at your site for all of two minutes before I bought one of your manuals. I'm impressed!" I love to get emails like this one sent by Vicki from Tucson, Arizona. Marketing my business would be easy if every client bought my products within two minutes of seeing... Read More

5 Tips to Choosing a Direct Sales Business

With hundreds of direct sales companies out there, how do you choose the right one for you? Here are a few tips to make sure you choose the right one the first time:1. Find your passionBefore you even start looking for the "big money", you need to decide what type... Read More

A Little Something Special Goes a Long Way

Keeping the 80/20 rule in mind; that is that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your client base, there are a lot of missed opportunities to keep your clients coming back again and again and yet again. Having worked six years in the hospitality industry, particularly the hotel... Read More

How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing?

A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it works for all levels of decision makers. Engineers and executives may not be too impressed by brochures, but they are impressed by well-written white papers. (The same thing goes for trade journal articles more about that in a subsequent piece.)Good... Read More

Telling the Value Story

You arrived on time and completed your calculations. You worked up a presentation of all the things you're going to do and items included, going over each item carefully. You've just given the customer the price. They look at each other. He says, "Okay. Thanks for the quote. Well get... Read More

How To Shorten The Selling Cycle And Reduce Buying Stalls

The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils down to one simple fact: the reasons for not buying are bigger to the prospect than the reason to buy.If you sell an intangible product or service, it may be even tougher to close down a sale because your product... Read More

Your Best Friend - The Phone

We all know that you can't earn your commission until you make the sale. Furthermore, you can't make the sale without the order, and you can't write the order until you have a product presentation scheduled. Finally, you can't have a presentation until you make the infamous CALL to schedule... Read More

Looong and Boooring Sales Letters

You have all seen them,the sales letters that never ends. They go on and on about how this product can do this and that. The product can often be very good and have all the features you are looking for.But I think that many of the sales letters that have... Read More

How To Get Your Mail Past The Gatekeeper And Into The Hands Of The Decision Maker GUARANTEED

There are several ways to get your information into the decision maker's hands.Use "The Stealth Mail Method". You've heard the expression if it walks like and duck and quacks like a duck it's probably a duck. Everyday the gatekeeper sorts through the bosses mail just like you and I do.... Read More

How A Simple Greeting Or Post Card Can Turn Into Cash ? Guaranteed

I've been using a technique that has helped me to get business I otherwise wouldn't. This will get you more business also. It's so easy you're going to kick yourself for not thinking of it sooner.Read through the newspaper everyday looking for news items or clips about local people in... Read More

Four Easy Steps To Building A Powerful Employee Incentive Program

Want to build a successful incentive program for your company? Have you dreamt about finding ways to have more fun at work and still see BIG results? At the heart of every employee incentive program is the ability to motivate and reward your team for excellent performance. In this article,... Read More

Peak Performance ? What You See Is What You Get!

Would you like an easy way to track the performance of your sales SuperStars? Will a large sales activity board really make a difference? You bet! This article will give you three easy ways to improve the performance of your sales team because what you see is what you get!Setting... Read More

Define Your Best Customer

To be more effective at developing relationships, one should always take time to describe their best customer. This is the customer that gives you the biggest bang for your buck. This customer is the one that pays bills on time, uses you exclusively for all their business needs in your... Read More

Creating Your Perfect Pitch!

Why should you describe your business to others in 5 to 10 seconds?How long do you think you have to get anyone's attention? 5 minutes? 2 minutes? 30 seconds? It is actually 10 seconds. I know it does not seem like a long period of time but you will be... Read More

The History of Sales: Dale Carnegie is Still with Us

I've recently been hearing sales companies talk about how they are 'helping their buyers buy' with a system that is the 'next thing' after Consultative Selling. After becoming familiar with their concepts and methods, I've come to believe they are correct: they are definitely on to the next iteration. But... Read More

Stop Talking - Start Selling

Selling is not talking. It's listening. You may have heard the saying "the first person who talks, loses". And, it's true most of the time. There are dozens of reasons to stop talking so you can start selling. Here are a few worth listening to:Let Them Take Center StageMost people... Read More

Save Your Breath: How To Sell In Trade Shows Without Pitching

You stand there, in front of your great presentation material, wearing just the right suit or logo shirt, handing out some gimmick with your company name on it, wearing just the right smile or look of professionalism. You might even have a fishbowl at the table - or some type... Read More

Gatekeepers

When I ask salespeople to define what a gatekeeper is, I generally hear: "Someone who keeps out people who will waste the boss's time."But gates are two-sided - they open as well as close: a gatekeeper's job is actually to make sure the boss gets to spend his/her time efficiently.I've... Read More

Selling the Difficult: How to Sell What People Dont Understand How to Buy

I'll play a seller, using conventional selling methods, selling something difficult to understand; you be the prospective buyer. As we go through the process together, note your reactions, how your beliefs are being challenged, what 'objections' and emotions come up for you as I try to 'sell' you. Once we're... Read More

The Trusted Advisor Relationship: What Is It, and What Should It Be?

For the past months, maybe a year, I've been hearing sales groups talk about the need to become Trusted Advisors (I'll call them TAs). I suspect that the problems cropping up in the sales arena these days ? the increased length of the sales cycle, the increased levels of competition... Read More

Going Global: Communication Across Mental Boundaries

A completed communication consists of a sender and a receiver. If there is just a sender - like in a pitch, or a lecture, or a commercial, or advertisement, or even a newsletter - it's not a communication, but an assertion, or a monologue, or an opinion.Sometimes, when we have... Read More

What is a Pitch?

I've been training in countries outside the U.S. recently, and have finally accepted a universal truth about sales people: you love to pitch.For some reason, sellers continue to believe that knowing about a product solution - and all of the features, functions, and benefits it affords ? would lead a... Read More

The Struggle to Decide: The Paths Customers Take to Solve Problems

Usually my essays discuss the issues that the 'sales' method initiates, methods such as over-long buying cycles, product and brand differentiation problems, price competition, and objections. This article focuses on the buyer: what, precisely, is the real problem they face; and how you lose differentiation/competitive edge/time through your faulty assumption... Read More

Is Sales Profession an Oxymoron?

If you are in Sales, you have probably heard these before:Q: "How can you tell a sales person is lying?"A: "His lips are moving."Q: "Why do lawyers like sales people?"A: "They give them someone to look down on."Sadly, the term sales professional is often seen as an oxymoron, in much... Read More

Sales Letters - How to Write Them

You could just send out your brochure to potential customers but it's much better to personalise your mailing with a well written sales letter.Personalise - Using the person's name in a sales letter will give you the greatest success. It's feasible to address sales letters to - "Dear Transport Manager"... Read More

The Relationship Between Colour & Sales

Make no mistake that emotions are the driving force behind sales, and customers making buying decisions can be influenced through visual elements towards a particular behaviour or emotion that will encourage more sales.Not convinced? Have you noticed that a lot of restaurants are decorated in/heavily feature reds and/or oranges? Still... Read More

An Ideal Selling Situation

The largest sale that I ever closed was negotiated over hot dogs and a soft drink at a refreshment stand, just off the exhibit floor, at a Superintendent of School Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I met an educator who was interested in the summer study abroad programs that... Read More

Overcoming the Fear of Selling

For many of you the Fear of Selling is a huge challenge and obstacle for you from day to day. The first thing you need to do is find out exactly what it is you're afraid of. Are you afraid of success? Believe it or not there this is an... Read More

The Biggest Mistake In Selling!

Some trainers and sales managers teach that there are prospects that just need a little more time in the decision-making process. They explain that a decision-maker's stall is not always a put off and they just need to think a bit more about their decision, or that they have to... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Maximize Your Approachability

After reading and researching thousands of books, articles and other resources on communication, first impressions, networking and conversation, I've learned one thing: none of them address what approachability means. Or maybe they just don't take the time to define it, stress its importance and offer suggestions on how to maximize... Read More

The Problem With Technology At The Point Of Sale In Financial Services

BackgroundThere's a conundrum that currently exists between the customer and the seller in financial services. The customer buys and the seller sells. The customer is focused on their wants as much as needs, and whilst the seller often says they are focused on the customer's needs, all too often the... Read More

Sex Sells!

An attractive woman has a decided advantage as sales representative over her male counterpart. This "selling edge" is primarily due to the existence of the "glass ceiling" found in most business organizations today. The glass ceiling (women are still arbitrarily held back from leadership positions) means that there are many... Read More

Everything in Life is Selling

Robert Louis Stevenson said 'Everything in Life is Selling' and it is. Whether as a child you cry until you get what you want; whether as an adult you provide a service to your employer in return for payment; or whether as an individual you make sure that you look... Read More

Color Psychology Will Make Or Break Your Sales Success

Color psychology is the biggest question I receive on a regular basis. The reason being is it's importance. Color is a trigger that is associated with traditions and used in marketing over the years so well that they must be honored or sales are lost.Color will also trigger reactions. It... Read More

How to Make Sure You Sell More!

Make sure you target women. It's true for almost anything you are selling. According to Women Mean Business: The Secret to Selling to Women, eighty percent of all checks written in the US are written by women and they purchase 80-% of all consumer goods in the U.S. That's not... Read More

What Do Mobile Auto Detailers Clean When it Rains?

A mobile auto detailer and their profits are tied to the weather perhaps more than any other business. There are ways to make money even on a rainy day if you are smart. A mobile detailer can do many things. They of course can specialize during these time on the... Read More

Selling ? Remember These Ten Rules and Succeed

There are thousands of books and seminars on how to succeed. What many don't make explicit is the requirement to be a great salesperson ? even if you're selling an idea!Here are the ten simple but powerful rules that will guide you in all your selling decisions.* Helping. Get into... Read More

Model Dell: The Art of the Affiliate Coupon

Along with having an innovative supply chain, there's another reason Dell is the largest computer company in the world. They always offer great coupon codes to online affiliates that let the buyer "in" on deals that they otherwise wouldn't get.By offering coupon and discount codes that are both new promotions... Read More

Youve Got a Great Business, but Nobody Cares!

I would like to share a disturbing little secret with you. Almost 70% of the people you do face-to-face business, with will never speak to you again!It's not that they didn't like you or get value from your services, but they just don't care. They have other things on their... Read More

What Should I Charge?

People ask me, "What should I charge?"I say, "Ask your clients."If they are respectable professionals you want as clients, they will be honest with you and give you a fair price based on their experience, their need, and their ability to pay. They will not try to undercut you.And if... Read More

Creating More Effective Proposals

The need for good proposals - the business kind, not the marriage kind - struck me again a couple of days ago, when I received a poor proposal. I had talked on the phone with a sales rep, and then she followed up with a proposal.You know what? Her proposal... Read More

Never Stop Selling

The question: "When should a growing company slow down its sales function and focus solely on delivery?"The answer: "Never!"When fast growth is the focus of your company, the only constant is that you will always, and I mean always, need more sales. It doesn't matter how full the sales pipeline... Read More

Everything Follows the Pitch

If you asked me to point to the heart and soul of a startup company, I would not say it's the people, the culture, or even the product. I would say it's the pitch. The pitch is that one message that, when delivered, makes people say "wow, that's a great... Read More

Sales People have an advantage as entrepreneurs

Zig Ziglar use to say in seminars and on tapes that nothing happens until someone sells something. I had never really understood how absolutely true that was until I got into franchising and saw how one franchise sale could add jobs to the economy, provide great service to a community... Read More

How To Dramatically Improve Sales Closing Ratios

A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directness as these examples illustrate:? "How does... Read More

Just Ask!

Instilling urgency in a prospective customer can make the difference between achieving a sale and losing it altogether. If your prospects cannot vividly see personal benefits from taking action, there will never be the sense of urgency needed to follow your suggestions.Closing is the logical conclusion of a demonstration of... Read More

Closing Sales Is Not A Problem, It?s A Process

In my opinion, the most overrated topic in sales training is the subject of closing. In year's past, it seems the object of most sales training courses was to fill the heads of participants with as many closing techniques as possible. The logic was simple, if the "Ben Franklin" close... Read More

Why You Buy, Part Three

Still more discoveries from the recent studies in behavioral economics:Over-Valuing "Mine"People consistently place a higher value on things they own, even if their "ownership" is temporary. The research is interesting, and I often saw this phenomenum used by salesmen on busses in Ecuador. A product is thrust into your hands,... Read More

Business Lessons Learned At The Mall

Normally in this column I dispense highly-intelligent small business advice in response to thought-provoking questions submitted by future and fellow entrepreneurs. This week, however, I have a couple of questions for myself, one of which makes me wonder how truly intelligent I really am.Q: Dear Me, I recently took my... Read More

The Basic Secrets of A Million Dollar Sales Letter

"Accepting the consequences, good or bad, will free you; take a risk, but be aware that things sometimes turn out differently than you expected." -Marcia WiederNo matter what you try to sell, you really won't sell anything without getting a prospective buyer to purchase your product or service. In attempting... Read More

9 Packaging Problems That Lose Sales

You have a great product, but it's not flying off the shelf. Is one of these packaging problems turning sales away?1) You don't understand your market.There are so many new markets and retail outlets out there. Don't forget Internet marketing too. The question is can one package service them all?... Read More

Business is Great; I?m Just Not Selling Anything!

Awhile back you had a great idea. An idea that you thought could make you a decent income, with very little effort. Then, you had another great idea-to sell your first great idea on the Internet! What better way is there to market and sell your idea to the world,... Read More

How to Acquire More Leads

The most effective prospecting techniques were revealed in the August 1st, 2002, issue of TIP (URL at end of article) that resulted from a survey of financial advisors earning over $200,000 annually.Here's how they rated the following techniques: 100.0% for Referrals from clients, and non-clients 69.6% for Contacting clients by... Read More

Future Business Key Element In Sales

A challenge facing many businesses is how to maintain a constant stream of customers in order to provide a regular cash flow.One method is to choose a location that ensures a steady flow of traffic past the door, creating a constant awareness of the business. While position is important, it... Read More

3 Ways To Sell and Have Fun Doing It

There are many ways to sell and have fun doing it, but some times we really need to step outside the box and do something a little different if not drastic.Listed below are the three fun and exciting ways to take that giant leap and start having fun selling your... Read More

The Hands On Approach

While living in the technology age where everything is computerized, digitized, and auto-responded, it is very easy to forget where we came from, and how all of this progress has almost completely wiped out the personal touch.In this article, I am going to discuss three different ways to reach out... Read More

Going Back To Get Ahead

Have you ever run DOWN an escalator that was going UP? Well, I did at the Tampa Airport last week. Here's what happened:Last Wednesday I was scheduled to fly from Tampa through Dallas to Phoenix on American Airlines. I just got back from Chicago the day before. It was a... Read More

Caring - The Secret Sales Strategy

Sales information resource Just Sell, calls caring "sales love". Here's the meaning:Sales love ('sAlz - luv): noun: 1: unselfish and loyal care for the good of a customer, prospect, reseller, and/or team member.The only reason we are in business is to provide value to a group of people who care... Read More

The ?Write? Way to More Sales

The sales letter you can't put down?the advertising copy that makes you want the product?the resume that prompts you to call the job candidate this second?all these are examples of exceptional business writing. While you certainly know good writing when you see it, can you write with the same pizzazz... Read More

Sales Training from the Ghostbusters

Picture this scene from the 1984 smash comedy movie from Columbia Pictures, Ghostbusters: Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, aka? the Ghostbusters, are involved in a heated meeting with the Mayor and the Head of the local environmental agency. The city is in shambles because a legion of evil spirits has... Read More

Selling Your Business ? Step by Step Process

So it's finally come time to sell the business. After investing years of your time and uncounted thousands of dollars, it has become successful, providing for your needs and wants, and it's time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Where do you start?A good time to start thinking about... Read More

Whats So Special About You? Defining Your USP

Your prospect is in the market for a widget, just like the one you sell. She surfs over to Google (or picks up her Yellow Pages) and looks up "widgets."She is immediately greeted by 15 different widget companies, including yours. How does she go about making her selection? And what... Read More

Making the Sale When the Customer Wont Buy

Ever had a party online or offline, and had guests say "I love that item, but I can't afford it right now", or "It's so hard to decide, I want all of this!". This is a perfect time to sell all those items to your customer without them having to... Read More

Open Source Selling? The Next Evolution? The Next Revolution

"Open-source" is typically found in the Information Technology area as a way to provide an open standard and framework for building software projects. The major benefit of "open source" to software programmers has been dramatic. "Source code" is defined as the inner working and competitive advantage of operating systems and... Read More

Top Seven Ways to Write An Order-Pulling Sales Letter

Ready to put your Web pages up? Ready to sell a lot more products and services? If you're not getting the sales, you want you may want to think "makeover." Whether you're just starting or doing a web makeover, you need to Power Write your sales letters.Before you call your... Read More

Don?t Waste My Time!

Many participants in my programs ask how to deal with people who appear to be seeking information and nothing more. In many environments these individual's are called time wasters. Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics ? they ask a continuing... Read More

Restaurant Pressure Washing

Many pressure washing companies try to stay away from the restaurant pressure washing business, while other specialize in it. One reason some do not like it is due to the all the grease, which gets on their hoses and equipment, which in itself is difficult to clean off. Another reason... Read More

Getting Past the Gate Guard

Over the years, many prospects have hidden behind their well-trained secretaries to prevent interruptions from persistent salespeople. But in today's electronic world, voice mail systems have frequently replaced the human gate guard.In surveys we have conducted, we have found that salespeople's inability to get busy prospects to return their calls... Read More

Exporting to Europe: Not the Challenges You Think

If you plan to do sell your product or service in Europe the problems you encounter may not be the ones you expect. It's easy to focus on perceived difficulties, such as the so-called 'language barrier', while not noticing the real pitfalls ? until it's too late. I learned three... Read More

The Most Important Word in a Business Letter

What do you think it is? Many experts insist it's the word "you." Why?When most of us read anything, we're looking for something that interests us. What do we need at that moment? What will we need tomorrow? Why should we bother to read this story?Self-interest is what motivates us... Read More

More Cleaning and Janitorial Customers Using Yahoo

We use this method to find new cleaningcustomers, and it is virtually free. Included is a link you can change the search parameters to what ever you wish, in any town or city you wish. In this example we are using Real Estate Agents in Chicago.So heres how it works,... Read More

Make Your Trade Show Booth Popular

So, you are taking your products and heading to a trade show, but this year you want to make your trade show booth popular in order to garner more business and have no idea how to do it. Actually, it really is quite simple to make a popular trade show... Read More

At-ti-tude, n

At-ti-tude, n.One of Webster's dictionaries describes the word attitude as:a mental position; the feeling one has for oneself.Your attitudes are mindsets-or points of view based on what you believe to be true about life, other people and yourself.The $elling Edge®, Inc. has taught thousands of selling professionals how to consistently... Read More

Program Your Biocomputer For Sales Success

Selling isn't something you do to people, it's something you do for them. If you feel as though you're being pushy or twisting arms when you are interacting with prospective customers or clients, you might be doing just that. To be successful in sales, you do need to be in... Read More

Lead Companies, Eight Features To Consider

So now the time has come to invest in Lead companies, but how do you know which one is the right one for you?When I was a new loan officer, finding a lead company was not easy, I can remember logging onto Yahoo, typing in the key word "mortgage leads"... Read More

Your Profit is in Your Follow-up: A System for Increased Sales Conversion

No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of the key ingredients to your success will be the attention you give your sales lead follow-up system.Notice that I used the word system to describe your follow-up program. It's an important conceptual word. If you do not have a well planned,... Read More

How Sellers Can Take Control

For centuries ? at least since the serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple ? sellers have assumed that getting the right information about a product into the right hands would offer a good chance of a sale.But if you look at the numbers over the years, the success rate... Read More

Referrals: Getting Good Business By Doing Good Business

Whether you're a conventional sales person, a professional ? such as a dentist or lawyer or doctor ? or a business owner, you've got to have clients to stay in business. There are several ways to do this: either continue to find new customers, keep all of the customers you've... Read More

Breaking Through The Comfort Zone Barrier

After completing a workshop on personal productivity or time management, we usually find participants react to the instruction on goal-setting in one of three ways:1. Some workshop attendees really don't want their lives to change nor does a greater level of achievement appeal that much to them. Therefore, they do... Read More

Why Are Customers So Indecisive?

Do you know why your customer won't buy? You've given her the best price, possibly even the best options. Yet she fidgets. Maybe, maybe not, she ponders.You stand by the wayside and sweat, praying the sale will go through. Then almost inexplicably, it slips out of your hands, and you... Read More

How Leaky is Your Sales Pipeline?

Does your Sales Pipeline leak? If you answered no, you don't even understand the question. Every business' Sales Pipeline leaks to some extent. The question is: Have you done everything you can to ensure that it does not leak excessively? Do you even know what your Sales Pipeline looks like?Very... Read More

Are You Scaring Your Customers Away?

"Hello, is (pause) puh-TREE-shuh home?"So started my weekend lesson in marketing. It was Saturday afternoon, and started like a typical telemarketing call. Heavy accent, reading a script. I told him Patty wasn't home, I'm her husband, he could talk to me.At this point, one of two things happens. Either they... Read More

Your Proposal Was Rejected... But Why?

When a request for proposal (RFP) comes in, you get excited! It's a chance to earn income, develop more business contacts, and expand your client base. You work your little heart out in order to be thorough, compelling, and professional. Everything is in place. Your RFP is geared to show... Read More

It Isnt A Sale Until Youre Paid

Back in the days when I sold for CTV and CBC Television I had a manager that once said " It isn't a sale until you're paid." Most salespeople absolutely HATE calling their customers to ask for payment as they feel like the GOOD GUY and BAD GUY rolled into... Read More

A Simple Truth - Authentic Sales Tip

A Simple TruthDo you have the right stuff?Are you consistent in your business?Do you build relationships easily?Are you approachable?I'm writing this E-letter aboard American Airlines flight # 2005 from Atlanta to Miami, and then on to my final destination Tampa International Airport.For the last three days I've been attending the... Read More

Writing Effective Sales Messages

A sales letter is a document designed to generate sales. It is a distinctive type of persuasive letter. It persuades the reader to place an order, to request additional information, or to lend support to the product or service or cause being offered. For most sectors other than retail, a... Read More

Sorry, But Im Not Buying From You!

Former General Electric CEO and legendary manager, Jack Welch, nailed the problem recently when he said there's just too much beating around the bush and indirectness in corporate communications. People are more interested in not hurting each others' feelings than in improving productivity, and we simply need more frankness, says... Read More

Six Simple Steps for Getting More Applications

When I first started out as a loan officer, one of the things I found to be the toughest, was taking an application over the phone. I just didn't seem to have the skills, nor did I have a plan. I was literally calling people on the phone and saying... Read More

Complacency and Fear are Sales Busters

Prospecting is the engine that propels anyone in sales. Without consistently initiating contact with prospective customers to talk with, your sales will plummet and everybody loses. Studies confirm that 80% of all salespeople fail in their first year because of the fears associated with prospecting. 40% of veteran producers with... Read More

Can Barter Help Increase Cash Sales and Visability for Your Small Business?

Barter is becoming an increasingly popular method of commerce. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 20 to 25% of world trade is now barter. Corporate barter is now a 20 billion dollar industry. It seems as though everyone from the big corporations on the New York Stock Exchange to... Read More

Aamazing Tips To Increase Your Sales

1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months.2. You could upsell to your customers. When they're at your order page, tell them about a... Read More

6 Ways To Get More From Your Promotions

1. Settle On The Right Way ForwardThe purpose of your promotions is to get more sales, not to soley enhance the image of you or your company. As a salesperson you must understand this right at the beginning or you will be wasting your's and every one else's time.You must... Read More

UK Sales and Marketing Terminology

Terminology / AcronymsABC figures: This is the independently audited sales figure for all recognised publications in the UK. By using the ABC figure, you can quickly establish how much the advertising will cost per 1,000 readers. Account Managers: These are sales people who have great skills in getting repeat orders... Read More

Ask for the Business

Many times in the process of making a sales presentation to a potential client, we will break down our product piece by piece, explaining all of the features and benefits it has to offer, then we expect our customer to have immediate buy in, and purchase our product based on... Read More

Sealing The Deal Over The Business Meal

Doing business over meals is a ritual that has existed for centuries. Taking clients to breakfast, lunch or dinner has long been an effective way to build relationships, make the sale or seal the deal. These business meals are essentially business meetings. Knowledge of your product or your service is... Read More

Lance Has What It Takes

Lance has what it takes and then some.Did you know . . .Lance looks at every single detail.He weighs his food every day to maintain proper nutrition.He trains, he does research, and he pays attention to the appropriate technique.He seeks out the best and the brightest when he needs help... Read More

Quotations Tell... Proposals Sell!

The traditional "Quotation" was originally devised during the Industrial Revolution of the 1850's and has changed little to the present day. It is a totally Dickensian format and absolutely out of date in a situation where supply so completely outstrips demand. We are now 155 years on, and selling through... Read More

Diverting the Flow of Customers to Your Business

I was a lucky kid when I grew up. Lucky, because I had a big back yard for playing. It was about 28 acres big. My siblings, friends and I spent many days exploring, building, digging and hiding in the vast outback.Geographically disadvantaged as a flatlander, there were no rushing... Read More

8 Part Strategy For Constructing Your Advertising Message

Strategies to help produce your brochure, advertisment or direct mail. And make it achieve more sales.1. Attract & keep the customer's eyeYour customer must be kept glued to your words. They may leave at any point of your copy so keep it attractive and relevant to their needs, right through... Read More

A Brief History of the Sales Profession

The formula for defining a "profession" is similar throughout many disciplines, including: accounting, education, engineering, law and medicine. These professions all have codes of ethical conduct, a definition of their scope, and standards of practice for their members, which include some or all aspects of academic preparation, accreditation, certification and/or... Read More

Follow the Long Yellow Copy: Do Long Scrolling Sales Letters Work?

Have you ever sat through a movie and got to the point when you counted the minutes till its ending? Unfortunately, you can't speed it up or leave it for another show (although, some people do try switching movies). When long Web copy leaves your eyes glazing in that same... Read More

Sales 101: Handling The Angry Customer

I am often reminded of the following true story whenever I encounter a hostile customer or prospect, witness a scene where someone is losing their cool or observe someone getting chewed out for something that they may or may not have done.No one enjoys being yelled out, cursed at, bullied... Read More

The Importance of Good Sales Leads

An important part of your business plan should be to generate a steady stream of qualified leads. Making sure that leads flow into your "pipeline" will be one of the most vital aspects of your overall business. This will be particularly true if your business is network marketing. You need... Read More

Buying Mortgage Leads - Three Things to Consider

The time comes for all mortgage brokers and loan officers to consider spending some of their hard earned money by testing the waters of mortgage leads.After all, leads are the name of the game.If the time is right for you, it is important to do you research, remember, you are... Read More

The Never Ending Sale

Once you have added a new customer to your book of business, plan on keeping that customer until you have all of their business, and the business of their family and friends.This way you can ensure having their business forever.When working as a branch manager a few years back, I... Read More

Value-added Selling?

"Value-added." That word is used so much it has become a cliché in business circles. There may not be a business in the world that doesn't claim to be a "value-added" seller.The problem is that once a word or phrase becomes a cliché, it often losses it's original meaning. This... Read More

What Not To Do With Your Leads

Anyone that works in sales knows just how important it is to have lead sources to keep your pipeline filled. But it is not only how we obtain the leads that is important, it's what we do with them once we get them.One of the most critical mistakes a sales... Read More

Get the Most Out of Your Current Customer

The customers you already have could be your biggest lead source, and you may not even realize it.Think about it this way, every customer you have, most likely has brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, and friends, so why not tap into it.Here are a few ideas to draw leads out of... Read More

Mortgage Leads, Choosing the Best Option

When it comes to buying mortgage leads, there are many good companies out there for you to research, and many avenues to travel down when considering which lead type will work best for you.While working as a loan officer, I dealt with my fair share of mortgage lead companies. Along... Read More

People Buy People So Sell On Relationships

(Objection handling tips excerpted from Objections! Objections! Objections!)People buy people. If everything else were equal wouldn't you buy from the person that you liked the best? Of course you would and so do your clients. This may seem obvious but it is a fact that's often overlooked by most salespeople.... Read More

What Are Car Boot Sales?

If you live in England then you will already be familiar with car boot sales but I will still offer some valuable tips on how you can make money or find a bargain. However, if you are a resident of any other country then you are unlikely to know what... Read More

Needs Based Selling

I am sure you are familiar with the phrase, "I could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo." First, allow me to personally congratulate anyone out there who has sold ice cubes to an Eskimo, for I believe this to be quite a difficult task to accomplish.You would have to be... Read More

To Buy or Not to Buy? Motivating Your Customers to Take Action!

All customers have a choice to make. Sometimes that choice is between your product and your competitor's, but sometimes it's not. Often, the customer's choice is simply whether to buy your product or nothing at all. If this is the actual choice your customer faces, it is important to determine... Read More

Mindset Over Materials: The Secret Weapon of Sustainable Sales Success

Long-term sales success has less to do with skills or knowledge than you might think. Nor are stunning brochures or excellent products guaranteed to make one iota of impact over time. Unless certain critical elements already exist in the salesperson, providing training and tools in hopes of improving performance does... Read More

Aikido and The Art of Cold Calling

Imagine being in a crowded concert or bar. All of a sudden, a fight breaks out between two men who've had too much to drink.You happen to be a few steps away, and the next thing you know, one of the men turns to you and looks as if he's... Read More

Three Ways to Get More Referrals

When you are in the business of sales, among the many key ingredients to your success is receiving referrals from as many sources as possible.Wouldn't it be nice if every morning you walked into your office and had a referral sitting there waiting for you on your desk?Unfortunately it doesn't... Read More

Picture Yourself a Winner

In the work place, the amount of good things that happen to a person during the day far out number the amount of bad things that happen, so why do we spend so much time stressing over the bad things when we should be smiling about the good things.One reason... Read More

Selling - Trade Shows Vs. Regular Sales Calls

Remember those school exercises that started "Compare and contrast....yada yada yada". Well, here's an exercise to get your sales brains moving.There are major differences between how you sell in a Regular Sales Call versus at a Trade Show. In other words, just because you can sell well, doesn't mean you... Read More

EXHIBITORS - Check Your URL

How many of you have a corporate web site? Everybody says "Yes".How many of you know its proper URL? OK, most of you.How many of you have read everything on the web site? Numbers are dropping like stones here. How many of you contributed information on the web site? Anybody... Read More

Challenge Yourself!!! Evaluate Your Selling Skills!

This evaluation is not for the "weak-kneed". Real questions to determine Real skills for Real world sales.When is the last time you were evaluated for your skills - not your personality or potential? Be honest. How do you critique you? How do you identify your strengths and weaknesses in sales?This... Read More

Seminars for Prospecting

The purpose of a 1- or 2-hour seminar is to attract potential customers for your product or service. The topic must be provocative enough to attract attendees, without sounding too much like a sales pitch with breakfast thrown in. Topics can be about the latest advances and/or technology in your... Read More

Are You REALLY Listening?

Being a good listener requires more than just keeping quiet while the other person is talking. Do you hear everything that is being said? Do you understand it completely?Here are some tips on how to become a more effective listener:FOCUS in on the basic message. Try to pinpoint the main... Read More

2 ½ Steps to Sales Success

You have just walked out of the office of a potential new major customer that you have anxiously been waiting to meet with for weeks and again, you realize you have no idea what is going to happen next as a result of your meeting. Worse yet, you again "spilled... Read More

Keep the Referrals Coming

A key method of our survival in the business and retail world is referrals. Referrals are always nice, because they come from someone on the outside of your company who has enough trust and faith in you to refer someone in your direction.When we receive a referral from someone, it... Read More

Revenue Growth Through Alliances

Any company in today's global economy must eventually face the issue that if it is not growing, it will be expiring. For most companies, mergers and acquisitions are too risky to be a revenue growth option. Organic growth, though low risk, may have some considerable limitations. A third option -... Read More

Things You Need to Know Before Joining a Direct Sales Company

A lot of people are very intrigued by the idea of joining a direct sales company and being able to make extra money from home. There are a few things a first-timer in direct sales should know before signing up.1. There are always more expenses than first expected.This is true... Read More

The Top 10 Myths About the Sales Profession

Myth 1: Sales People are all Shady!In the Broadway play "Death of a Salesman" Willy Loman was a down and out emotionally spent Salesman trying to understand his life after 34 years of traveling up and down the roads selling his products. The negative stereotype of a Salesman is rooted... Read More

Health Insurance Lead and Health Insurance Leads

Health insurance lead generation systems provide a stead stream of potential clients for health insurance brokers. Health insurance leads are considered to be people who may need health coverage to supplement the health coverage provided by their employer. A health insurance lead can also be someone who is self-employed and... Read More

Expert Qualities in Sales

If you went to see your doctor, and he mentioned a particular over the counter drug to you, or a particular type of food that was healthy, chances are, you would listen to this advice, than go out and buy the product.Why is it that when a doctor recommends a... Read More

7 Strategies for Writing Fundraising Letters

Writing fundraising letters can be an effective way to request donations to a charitable cause. Letters are used for a variety of purposes and can be sent to a large number of people or a select few. The results of a writing a fundraising letter can vary greatly depending on... Read More

How to Give Your Customers a Choice Between You and the Competition and Have Them Choose You

Instead of giving your customers or potential customers a choice between you and your competition and having them choose the other guy, have them choose you.Michelle Dunn's new book" Become the Squeaky Wheel," says creating a credit policy can have surprising results.According to Dunn, a leader in the debt collection... Read More

Recommending Products Vs. Selling Them

Some of the best sales people I have ever met, were able to meet all of their sales goals without ever selling a thing. They simply recommended their products to their customers.They were able to do this because they spent years building their book of business.Whenever a current customer walked... Read More

Your Direct Mail Sales Letters Must Differentiate You

For two winters I heated my house with an old fashioned woodstove. I learned the art of reviving a bed of dying coals each chilly winter morning, adjusting the kindling, firewood and dampers just right so that the stove would heat my turn-of-the- century farmhouse for the longest period possible.I... Read More

Selling For Keeps

When you are in sales and you come across a customer, you don't want to think of that customer as someone you can only make one sale to, you want to think of them as someone you can make several sales to.I can remember not to long ago when I... Read More

Write Fundraising Letter Overlines That Donors Cant Resist (Includes Samples & Examples)

The headline that appears over the salutation in a fundraising letter is known as the overline. Overlines have one goal: to persuade your donor to read your letter.According to direct mail copywriter and author Hershell Gordon Lewis, the best kind of overline to use in a one-to-one piece of communication... Read More

Listen! How to Sell More by Listening More!

In my opinion, one of the biggest skills of being able to sell well is developing your listening skills. Most sales companies and sales people talk about being consultative but they don't really know what consulting is! No-one can consult if they cannot listen first. You cannot sit around a... Read More

Building an Action Plan

Going into your workday and waiting for things to happen, and then reacting to them is not a very productive way of doing things. You may as well be going into your workday blind.This is why it is so very important to have an action plan.An action plan, simply put,... Read More

Three Ways to Increase Mortgage Applications

If you are in the mortgage business, the very first thing you need before you can get anywhere, is an application.I spent years working in the mortgage industry, and my goal was to close one loan per week.Monday through Friday I would find myself a spot in the back of... Read More

What is Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try to attract new customers, and this is a kind of lead generation.Lead generation includes anything that a business does to gather a list of new or potential clients and involves a number of techniques used to create interest in potential... Read More

Generating Sales Leads

Any company that relies on selling a product or service needs strong sales lead generation. A sales lead is a prospective customer. Businesses try to get as much information about their sales leads as possible. They need to find out what makes this person a potential buyer of their product.... Read More

Mortgage vs. Real Estate Lead Generation

It is fairly common for real estate companies and mortgage brokers to use leads. There is a difference between mortgage lead generation and real estate generation. Mortgage lead generation deals with people who need to refinance their homes or apply for loans, while real estate lead generation is a service... Read More

An Introduction to B2B Lead Generation

It is important that organizations find other companies to do business with. Business-to-business sales, abbreviated as B2B sales, are vital to many companies' profit margins and to their standing within their industry.There are many examples of the importance of good business-to-business lead generation. Many manufacturing businesses need companies to supply... Read More

How to Generate Leads on the Internet

In the last decade, the Internet has become a major commercial force. Not only do online sellers like Amazon.com have huge sale numbers, but nearly all successful businesses must utilize the Internet in order to stay competitive in the modern market. There are many ways that the Internet is used... Read More

An Introductino to Insurance Lead Generation

It is vital that insurance salespeople have a steady stream of leads. Often, people don't even know about a particular type on insurance and it is up to a salesperson to explain it to them. The salespeople must have good leads in order to know who may be more open... Read More

An Introduction to Store Fixtures

Everybody is familiar with the old retail chant, "Location, location, location!" It speaks volumes about making the right decisions from the start to make your retail establishment a success. Once you've decided what it is your store is offering to the general public, the next step you'll take is finding... Read More

A Look at Store Fixture Parts

Products for sale need to be displayed in a manner which best presents them in the customers' eyes. For example, clothing needs to be folded on shelves, hung from racks or displayed on mannequins. Books need to be displayed in shelves, spinning racks and organized bins. Videos need shelving and... Read More

The Benefits of Metal Store Fixtures

Your choice of materials for store fixtures includes wood, metal, plastic and conglomerate materials such as pressed wood and fiberboard. Depending upon your budget, the weight and size of the product being displayed and the style of your retail establishment, one of these raw materials will serve your needs well.... Read More

The Allure of Antique Store Fixtures

They say if you wait long enough, a style you liked in almost any genre will come back. This is as true for retail store fixtures as it is for clothing or styles of music. The look of the 1960s came back strong in the early 90s and now it... Read More

How to Buy Wholesale Store Fixtures for Your Business

It may sound funny, but honestly, if you're opening up your own retail store the last thing you'll ever want to do again for the rest of your life is buy anything retail -- especially if it's for your own store. Buying your store fixtures wholesale is not only mandatory... Read More

The Benefits of Buying Used Store Fixtures

The difference between antique or vintage store fixtures and used store fixtures is simple: antique fixtures have a classic look and style. In many cases they are brand new but manufactured in a style of the past such as deco or minimalist. Used store fixtures are just that ?- they've... Read More

An Introduction to Mannequins

Just about every clothing store uses mannequins. There are many types of mannequins made of different materials including wood, wax, fiberglass, and plastic. Some mannequins are set in one pose, while others have adjustable arms and legs. There are mannequins that look like men, women, and children. Some mannequins are... Read More

A Look at Mannequin Heads

A mannequin head is a life-size head that includes all of the features of a human face. Mannequin heads can be used in several different situations. They can be used to model hats, wigs, makeup, or be used as practice dummies by people learning to cut hair in beauty school.... Read More

Finding a Used Mannequin

Many stores on a budget choose to buy a used mannequin. Used mannequins are a good deal for several reasons. Many stores do not see the purpose in buying new mannequins when used ones work just as well. While some used mannequins may have slight damage or need to be... Read More

The Benefits of Display Mannequins

Mannequins are primarily used in stores to display clothing. A display mannequin is usually a full-size dummy in the shape of a person. A display mannequin will normally include all parts of the human body including a head and feet. Display mannequins can be made of several different materials, including... Read More

Where to Find Mannequins for Sale

Any time a clothing store opens or expands, they must buy mannequins. There are many different places to find a mannequin for sale, including the Internet, companies that mass produce mannequins, and businesses that make unique mannequins one at a time. Other mannequin sellers offer used mannequins at a discount.There... Read More

A Look at Child Mannequins

Not all mannequins are made to look like full-grown adults. Child mannequins are also common in many clothing stores. A child mannequin is the same as an adult mannequin except that it is built to the scale of a child. These mannequins are made specifically for displaying children's clothes. A... Read More

Female Mannequins: An Overview

Female mannequins are very common in clothing stores. They are often found throughout the store, from the front window where they display the store's latest and greatest fashions, to all other sections that featuring women's clothing. There are many types of female mannequins. Some are full-size figures that are completely... Read More

Buying Wholesale Mannequins

Many mannequin manufacturers sell their mannequins in wholesale. This means that they sell large quantities at a discount. There are many advantages to buying a wholesale mannequin. Buying mannequins wholesale can save stores that need a large supply of them money. Wholesale mannequins made by the same manufacturer are usually... Read More

The Secrets Behind Hypnotic Selling

Hypnosis has been a taboo word for far too long. And many people see it in a mystical light. Yet what they do not realize is that hypnosis is a naturally occurring state experienced by everyone every single day. And it is only in recent times, that business professionals have... Read More

The Answers (1 - 5) Are Here !!! - Challenge Yourself - Evaluate Your Selling Skills

"THE ANSWERS (1 - 5) ARE HERE!!!"Question 1) List the top five most important steps in the selling process?Answer: 1. Rapport. Help me, the customer, feel comfortable with you. The more comfortable I feel the more information I provide.The more information I provide the more you understand my needs and... Read More

How to Revive a Dead Lead

It's easy to spend days, weeks, or months speaking with a prospect, working up to a decision to buy. This is especially true if your prospects are in larger companies.Sometimes your lead can go dead. You're not sure why, but your contact person just goes quiet ? sometimes disappearing for... Read More

How Can Fundraising Consulting Help Us Raise Money?

If you need to hold a fundraiser and don't know where to begin there is help out there for you. It is time for you to seek fundraising consulting advice especially if your fundraising event is going to be on a larger scale. Fundraising consulting will help you organize and... Read More

Store Owners - Five Ideas to Increase Sales

1. Animate your window display.How often do you change your window display? Once a month? Once a week? Try changing your window display every day! I saw a very successful display that had five or six mannequins facing left and right with a backdrop of a street scene. Every day... Read More

Get The Help You Need With Fund Raising Ideas

There are many fund raising ideas on the market today for anyone that is looking for them. Fund raising ideas are easy to come up with and are very successful in some cases. Before you start on fund raising there are a few things to do to make it as... Read More

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Picture Yourself a Winner

In the work place, the amount of good things that happen to a person during the day far out number the amount of bad things that happen, so why do... Read More

Why Are We All So Afraid?

What can strike terror into the heart of even the most successful sales professional or entrepreneur? Cold Calling. What can crush self-confidence, destroy self-esteem and leave even the most... Read More

Leveraging Yourself Up To Executives When Selling

The fastest way to get a decision made is to speak directly with the decision-maker, right? OK, so you knew that. Often times, the decision-makers are not easy to get... Read More

Get The Help You Need With Fund Raising Ideas

There are many fund raising ideas on the market today for anyone that is looking for them. Fund raising ideas are easy to come up with and are very successful... Read More

Lead Generation Sins - 7 Of Them!

I really just don't get it.How can so many businesses be missing the lead generation boat by such a long country mile?Billions of dollars in profits, flushed away!Just because of... Read More

Selling For Keeps

When you are in sales and you come across a customer, you don't want to think of that customer as someone you can only make one sale to, you want... Read More

How to Write Testimonials that Sell CDs Like Magic

"Which is your best CD?"Ever get that question? My band has five CDs that we sell at shows, and I get that question all the time. People rely on the... Read More

Persuading Learners to Buy: 7 Groups

There are seven major reasons why adults continue their pursuit to learn. Each of the reasons play into the way you want to present your sales information. Studies completed by... Read More

Your Profit is in Your Follow-up: A System for Increased Sales Conversion

No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of the key ingredients to your success will be the attention you give your sales lead follow-up system.Notice that I used the... Read More

How to Acquire More Leads

The most effective prospecting techniques were revealed in the August 1st, 2002, issue of TIP (URL at end of article) that resulted from a survey of financial advisors earning over... Read More

Do You Know When You Are Being Sold To?

Britney Spears has recently caused controversy with suggestions that the ad campaign for her new fragrance range uses subliminal or hidden messages in its efforts to convince potential buyers. Advertisers... Read More

60 Ways to Increase Your Mail Order Catalog Sales

This article is meant to inform. Please don't construe this as legal advice. Perfection in a mail order catalog is like infinity...you can continually approach it but never quite... Read More

Ten Quick Etiquette Tips for Business Lunches

Knowing what to do when meeting a prospective client forlunch, or going to lunch with the boss or colleague can beconfusing at times. Here is a quick list of items... Read More

Where to Find Mannequins for Sale

Any time a clothing store opens or expands, they must buy mannequins. There are many different places to find a mannequin for sale, including the Internet, companies that mass produce... Read More

Model Dell: The Art of the Affiliate Coupon

Along with having an innovative supply chain, there's another reason Dell is the largest computer company in the world. They always offer great coupon codes to online affiliates that let... Read More

Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isnt the Same

Selling To Women - Selling To Men - It Isn't the SameNow let's not fall into the old style car salesman's trap of believing that men are interested in what... Read More

A Quick and Simple Tip For Gaining Customers

In the course of my career, I've had to deal with a lot of vendors-software companies, sensor manufacturers, electronics distributors and more. Some of them have left lasting impressions on... Read More

3 Tips For Getting Through The Voicemail Screen

How many times have you heard that you gotta get past the gatekeeper and get to the decision-maker to make the sale? Countless books and sales trainers have talked about... Read More

First, Fast, And Foremost . . .

First - being before all others. Fast - moving or able to move quickly. Foremost - first in rank, order, or place. Wouldn't you like to be first, fast, and... Read More

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series)

Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do what nine out of 10 adults do, according to a recent article by the American Society of Association Executives. Join... Read More