SALES RESOURCES - SELLING TECHNIQUES, SALES TOOLS, SALES TIPS ...

Do You Really Believe That?

The self help gurus are the best at teaching, "You are what you believe. Your thoughts determine your outcomes and actions. And what you think about most will manifest in your life." These gurus are right and many salespeople and sale managers still subscribing to old beliefs and ways of selling do not serve them well in the information age. Prospects are smarter, well armed with information and detect sales techniques quickly. They dont enjoy sales meetings that seem like a role play. Prospects want salespeople that are the real deal and real smart. Here are three beliefs to check and change if youd like to enjoy better results from sales in 2012. #1: You can only expect people to stay with your company for a short amount of time. Business owners and sales managers are told by the experts that the alphabet generation, X, Y, and M (millennials), are different than the boomers. They are motivated to stay in a position for only two years. Then the

How To Earn Trust

If you want to forge a long-term relationship with a client, what is the most important skill you can have? If you say something like "deep expertise in my field," I respectfully disagree. The way to build the trust that leads to lasting sales relationships is to truly understand the clients needs. That means the most important skills have to do with asking and listening, not showing off how much you know. Lets look at why thats so. Want Trust? Then Listen. The key to winning and keeping clients for the long haul is a simple but profound secret. Its not about how well you talk. Its about how well you listen. Action Selling, an effective sales training program, teaches that before a customer will buy your product, your service, or your company, the customer first must decide to buy you. This truth shows up dramatically in the professional-services sector. When customers choose among financial advisors, consultants, accountants, or attorneys, what are they really

Top Three Mistakes Made In Selecting Referral Partners

There are thousands of dollars invested every year in creating a compelling brand. Once created, well designed pieces of collateral hit the streets through different venues; email newsletters, direct mail, blogs and videos. All important strategies and tactics for generating qualified opportunities. There is another strategy for generating opportunities that requires little money. Its called a referral strategy and the upfront investment is the willingness to invest time in people and relationships. In a world gone flat, everyone is bombarded and overloaded with information. Its more important than ever to develop referral partners and strategic alliances in order to push past the clutter and be considered for the next opportunity. Unfortunately, most salespeople and companies dont execute a referral strategy very well. The intentions are good, however, methodology is poor. Lets take a look at the top three mistakes made in building referral partners. #1: No alignment. When

Developing Client Trust

Selling is not so much about the features of our products or services--or even the benefits the customer receives. Rather, it is about our relationship with the customer. People do business with people they trust. That does not mean people will not make an occasional purchase of a specific item or service from someone they do not trust, because most people will. However, those purchases tend to be exactly that-one-time purchases. To generate consistent, repeat business, to generate high quality referrals and to generate larger, more profitable sales, you cannot rely on the occasional one-time purchaser. To build a sales business you must develop a book of clients who trust you. Most people will pay a little more, sacrifice a little, or wait a little longer when buying from someone whom they really trust and respect. The hard part is building the trust and then maintaining the trust. What are the keys to building client trust? 1. Know What You Are Talking About Custome

Are You Really Meeting Your Clients Expectations?

One of the current buzz phrases in sales and marketing is "exceeding the clients expectations." This is a laudable goal, but one that is seldom met. And then to top it off, it isnt enough. If you manage to exceed your clients expectations, you still have only succeeded in meeting half of your obligation to the client. Clients have more than simply expectations during the sale, they also have product or service priorities. In order to have consummated a quality sale, you must have met both the clients expectations of the sale and their product or service priorities. Many salespeople, business owners and companies think these are one and the same. They are not. Lets break these down into two distinct concepts. Expectations: Every client has certain expectations about the sale. A client may expect a number of things to happen during the course of the sale: " they may expect to be kept fully informed of the progress of the sale " they may expect any problems or is