Posts Tagged ‘The Sales Corner’

Sometimes when we’ve run into a wall, we don’t know what to do. This is often the case in sales when you feel like you’ve exhausted your options to get a customer to buy, or get that next sales probing question answered.

Sales should be looked at as a game of not only numbers, but of intuition and ability to communicate. When you have a light, find out where its guiding you to, or what it’s showing you. The Sales Corner constantly get’s inquiries about Sales Probing Questions and we are a resource that can definitely help you if you are running into your own walls.

We have members here; that have over a combined 40 years of selling experience! We utilize them (and you can too) when we are approached with the tremendous amounts of questions we get. We want to bring this list of references to your attention right here at The Sales Corner. These are some of the most popular articles dealing with Sales Probing Questions;

Topic: Probing Questions
Article: 5 Sales Probing Questions that are key to understanding a customers needs.
Article: Sales Probing Questions are good, but Customer Profiling is better! (Update coming soon….)

Keep coming back for more Sales Probing Questions and help with your Sales and Marketing!

Popularity: 15% [?]

When we think about what matters, a lot of you, and others won’t give in to a good idea and run with it. A lot of us are shot down by the ideas we’ve had in our heads as a way to create a revenue stream. It’s only those that take the time to do the work that benefit from their ideas. Do you think “Blogging” would have gotten as far as it has if the first person with the idea never made a blog to show the concept of their thoughts? We don’t.

Sometimes you need to do your thing. Sometimes that thing is what you do best. Sometimes people around you will never know your full potential; UNLESS YOU SHOW THEM WHAT IT IS.

So, the next time someone tells you not to take your idea or thought process to the next level because it’s stupid; ill founded, or otherwise. Remember, they might not have anything better to say, perhaps they are jealous they didn’t think of it first, or some other reason. Regardless, every idea is a good one; remember that. Just make sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to resolve your concepts and bring them off the paper.

When people ask me how they can make hundreds, thousands, or billions off their idea, I have to ask them if they’ve researched their ideas. Usually the answer is no. Remember, it’s true that even with the simplest of things, any idea can make you money. It’s just only the ideas that others will grab and latch onto that will make you lots of money!

So the next time someone comes barking at you with some idea that you don’t think is very good; remind them that you’re giving your opinion, and that they should do the work to see what can be done to grow their idea. AND SEND THEM HERE TO THE SALES CORNER!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Hi all,

If you are a user of TraceMyIp.org, you’ll find some good tips below to ensure you are properly capturing your traffic results.

There are a couple of things you can do though to ensure that you capture the visitor traffic properly:
1. Install the tracker code as close as possible to the top of the page, so that the visitors are detected even if some of your pages do not load completely.

2. Check and make sure that the visitor tracker code is installed on EVERY page of your site, including your campaign landing pages. If you use a hidden tracker option, you can temporarily unhide the tracker to see if it shows up on all pages of your site.

We encourage you use TraceMyIP.org by clicking the banner below; They are one of the best result tracking systems available on the web. They have a ton of other abilities for you to get extremely valuable information from your user base!

If you are interested in more topics on TraceMyIP.org and even more insider information about their tracker; you can register on our Free Members list via Google Groups and view the topic from today!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Many years ago while participating in track and field my coaches typically spoke of cadence. In fact, many athletic events use cadence in their respective performance. Football players have a cadence before each play, dancers have a cadence in their performance and coincidentally those that sell require a cadence.

To perform at a higher level in selling products and services, one must have a certain cadence in delivery and building relationships with clients. Here are some of the things required to assist with your cadence:

1. Confidence. Consumers invest in those they know and trust. However, they also invest in the conviction from the selling representative. Your cadence will be affected by the highs and lows of your confidence.
2. Presentation Flow. Presentation is where it all begins. Know what you want to say, how you are going to say and but most of all listening is more important then speaking.
3. Preparation. One cannot have cadence if there is a lack of preparation. Understand how your services can assist the buyer. Look at issues from the perspective of the buyer; think output. What can you deliver that can aid the client?
4. Presence. When you look good, you feel good. Sellers need to dress the part. Invest in good clothes, and groom well. Be noticeable when you walk into a room.
5. Poise. Buyers implicitly affect tempo with questions and concerns. Remain neutral during volatile periods with proper research and preparation. The better you plan the less likely impact to your poise.
6. Equality. When you formulate equality with the buyer there is better conversation. Your interaction should be a meeting of peers, anything less is a vendor.
7. Labor Intensity. Relationship building is must easier, and you have more swagger when you meet only with decision makers. Gatekeepers waste time and affect your confidence. Meet and greet only those that understand your value.

The concept of cadence is formulated from continuous learning and practice. Athletes and dancers practice daily to broaden their strengths. They understand the value of self-mastery, learning all they can to heighten their performance. Take the first step and before you know it you will be swaying with the music.

2010. Drew J. Stevens PhD. All rights reserved.

Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. (Dr. Drew) is the author of Split Second Selling and the soon to be released Ultimate Business Bible and six other business books on sales, customer loyalty, self mastery and business development solutions. Drew helps organizations to dramatically accelerate revenue and outstrip the competition. He conducts over 40 international keynotes, seminars and workshops per year. Dr. Drew is the founder of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Acceleration. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization visit his marketing and sales website or call 877-391-6821.

Popularity: 57% [?]

During my workshops I frequently speak of the need for selling professionals to be prepared for every selling situation. With the lack of selling methodology and training amongst 92% of the selling population there are a number of gaffs during the sales day.

After a relaxing Independence Day weekend, I returned to several emails. One of the most striking included the following, “I realize that your company may be too big to have a need for our training materials, but I liked what I saw on your webpage and I thought it might be worth having a conversation.”

While I honor the selling representative for having the gumption to connect, their lack of knowledge for my firm is alarming. Worse yet, there exists the typical bromide of “what you can do for me approach”. Selling professionals must refrain from selling products and begin to realize the need to invest in and develop relationships. Consumers buy from those they know and trust and this begins with intellectual dialogue based on objectives and values.

If there is a desire to invest in a relationship then:

1. Conduct fundamental research on the company and establish need.
2. Get introduced to the economic buyer through a third party.
3. If a cold call is required, ensure the focus is on objectives and measurements of success.
4. Conduct research on the true economic buyer, blind messages to gatekeepers will only get lost.
5. Stop thinking of input; consider how your product or service will benefit the customer. Think of external value end the selfishness and focus on the prospective client.

Before you pick up the phone or key a letter:

• Know the customer.
• Know the industry.
• Know the competition.
• Know your value.
• Know your differentiation.
• Know your value proposition.
• Know your output.
• Know your decision maker.
• Know your time frame.

Customers are too busy and not inclined to have their time wasted on the folly of sales commission. The only methods of competitively selling today include differentiation, value and output. Anything less is simply a waste of the selling professionals time. How much do you know?

© 2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All rights reserved.

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on Sales Marketing & Business Development Solutions . Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Acceleration. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization visit his marketing and sales website.

Popularity: 60% [?]

In recent weeks in working with a number of clients, there is a tendency to see similar issues between them. Much of what I experience concerns the sales force. The larger issue is that many organizations do not invest in their sales teams. Ironic since the notion of every business is to retain and acquire clients.

To assist organizations to operate more efficiently here are a few thoughts to remember:

Selling professionals are in the marketing business. Spend one to two hours per day creating information that increases marketing. Use resources stemming from IMC to assist you and the organization to attract consumers. Creating an array of activity lessens labor and helps to increase brand.
Use testimonials to build brand. Ensure that your customers and alliances can reiterate your value proposition and articulate it to others. Consumers that trust you and enjoy your value will be tickled to inform others.
Maintain customer contact. Those that invest in customer relationships are always top of mind. Consumers not only conduct business with whom they trust- but also remember!
Sellers and their business are dependent on customers. Ensure that all calls are returned timely. I use a 90 minute rule! If not return all calls and emails by day’s end. Additionally, any and all staff should be well versed in customer service culture.
Eschew the folly of trends. Refrain from the bromide trends of “casual day”. Always be prepared to visit a customer. Buy good clothes and resources (i.e. Wallet, brief case and yes a pen) to emulate the part. Have good vocabulary and become well versed to speak with economic buyers.

©2010. Drew Stevens Ph.D All Rights Reserved.

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on Sales Marketing & Business Development Solutions . Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Acceleration. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization visit his marketing and sales website.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Susan Shapes Success welcomes you to get in touch with your own inner success and amplify it outward.

When you think about your happiest moments, do you think about what really makes you happy or what makes you financially secure and more successful? Happiness makes us able to do more, feel less stress, and when we are happy we are successful at life.

My son and I were praying before bed one evening when he was still a toddler. After he had finished being thankful for all his favorite things “A-a-a-men”, he clambered up onto the bed and pulled the sheet up to his chin.

When I leaned over his low slung twin bed with wooden railings to give him his goodnight kiss and tuck the loose ends of the sheet gently under the mattress, I stood and whispered, “My heart is filled with so much happiness for all the great choices you made today.”

I watched his reaction. His brown eyes squished to tiny slits as a smile expanded over his cheeks and before I turned away and walked out of the room, shutting the door slightly and turning off the light, he stopped me and asked, “Mom, your heart is filled with Happy Meals?” I had to catch my breath from laughing so hard.

These are the most precious moments in life. If you feel like you have not had one of life’s pleasures in awhile, it’s time. ~ Susan Yakima

Susan Shapes Success utilizes telephone, chat, social networks, in-person meetings, inspirational speeches, writing, tips, emails, and reminders to physically support the individual who strives for higher achievements and happiness in personal and business life. Experience the simple pleasure of moving ahead in an already fast paced world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_success_factors

Critical Success Factor (CSF) is the term for an element that is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. It is a critical factor or activity required for ensuring the success of a company or an organization. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis, and business analysis. For example, a CSF for a successful Information Technology (IT) project is user involvement. “Critical success factors are those few things that must go well to ensure success for a manager or an organization, and, therefore, they represent those managerial or enterprise areas that must be given special and continual attention to bring about high performance. CSFs include issues vital to an organization’s current operating activities and to its future success.”

Visualize success and then create habits that make it happen.

Popularity: 22% [?]

The odds of your business surviving five years are 50-50 according to David Birch, former head of a research firm specializing in studying small business data. (Isen 2007) There are many reasons why a business will fail. Much research is available to denote which factors are the most important, however, it appears that most business fail because they lack focus on the organization’s most vital asset – customers.

Solo practitioners begin a business for two reasons; money and passion. Business professionals desire to take their passion and make money from it, and there is little harm in this. There is no better way to enjoy your time on earth than to do the thing that you enjoy.

However, with passion there is a need for focus. Presently with the cacophony of noise due to the Internet and social media resources, consumers are overwhelmed with messages. Consumers today require differentiation to denote whom to shop and whom to avoid. Unfortunately the Internet’s ubiquity hinders variety so that only option remaining the builds brand and business success is customer service.

Customer service is simply the organizational culture and processes that entrepreneurs create to ensure allure. Consumer decisions are driven by emotion. Service must be enculturated into the organizations so all staff become dependent on the client. This is an important construct; there is little difference from one retailer to the next or one restaurant to the next with one exception- customer service. When treated correctly, customers inform others of their experience helping to manifest the organizations brand and announce it to others. No marketing tactic in the IMC process is as cost effective as a word of mouth.

When customers believe and trust their vendor they tell others helping to create brand differentiation. Exemplars include Apple whose retail outlets are the busiest of any mall and Zappos.com whose unblemished customer service helps helped to brand to proliferate.

If there is little belief in customer service think again. According to both Dun and Bradstreet and the Small Business Administration, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years. Customer service can provide the life raft of success if used correctly. In reviewing the success statistics, would you rather be a follower or a leader?

©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and sales. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization to increase their business development skills visit him at www.stevensconsultinggroup.com

Popularity: 34% [?]

We see it a lot here at The Sales Corner. Including the “decision makers” making the decision to put an exorbitant amount of money into a product or service to gain little to no attention from that service or provider. In this example below, we show you a common type of approach;

“Mr. Customer, you can pay $15,000 dollars to get you in the top 3 on Google in less then 6 months!” Doesn’t that sound great?! Oh, and by the way, can and will also offer you; Internet Marketing, SEO Services, additional Search Engine Placements, Revenue Ad ideas, ways to sell products, and other things that will appear to help your online growth…. and if you want to gain access to that stuff, you’ll need to pony up another $15,000 or more to take advantage of those things!” If you’d like can start right away as long as you can provide them a Credit Card, AND SURELY WILL GUARANTEE you top placement on Google for your money, and their hard work, and you’ll become famous! Doesn’t that sound great Mr. Customer?”

Ho Hum, but we here at The Sales Corner say “Sorry Mr Customer; You’ve just been screwed out of a nice chunk of change!” Change that you could have used to buy a new desk, computer, programs, or hell, maybe you wanted a vacation with your family while you left the business to someone else!!

Why are you screwed though? Here’s how, and we think you’ll find this a bit intriguing;

1) ANYONE can search Google for anything.

When they do, some of YOU will have success on the top pages and some will not. However, it’s true that the top 5 links mostly get the clicks, it’s not always true that just because you are in the top 5 you’ll stay there there based on what those optimized search terms were. No, you’re in the top 5 because Google put you there based on how they ranked your popularity. (among other criteria….)

(This information alone to the right service provider is worth about $10,000 dollars in their price book, and I’ve just provided it for
free.)

So how popular are you today?
Where do you fit in?
Is your provider KEEPING you in that top 5 with “good ethics” and “dynamic ways” to keep you in the top listings?

Frankly our “Kid and Pre-Teen Research Team” can do better then some of the “experts” out there. WHY? It’s because they are creatively changing and remain dynamic.

You’ll stay on top of the Google game if you are dynamic, changing, and doing doing doing something that Google likes. Do you know all the secrets? NO, and let us tell you, neither do we, nor does the next service provider.

What The Sales Corner does know is how to keep you in front of your customers in your market. We help you build on your relationships and open NEW doors!

The perks of some of these things are becoming “famous” on Google, or having “the source” be you when a potential party is looking for your solution, service, or similar product etc…

We hope you take the time to consider this the next time you are seeking a service provider with a very large amount of overhead needed to do a job that any smart 3rd or 4th grader can do. Please be different; be smarter then those people. HELP YOURSELF LEARN and GROW and ACHIEVE and perhaps best of all SAVE YOUR MONEY! (Or give it to us, to help your ROI…..)

The Sales Corner Memberships;

http://www.thesalescorner.us/blog/sales-corner-marketing-seo-sales-membership-packages/

Popularity: 34% [?]