Where Sales Trainers and Selling Experts share advice, tips, and techniques on how to become a sales champion!

Whether you are conducting a one-on-one interview, motivating your sales team or delivering a keynote address, your success as a leader is defined by your ability to persuade with clarity and passion.

In fact, you might say that leadership is synonymous with effective communication. According to Harvey MacKay, author of the book Swim With the Sharks, “The No. 1 skill most lacking in business today is public speaking – the ability to present oneself.”

If you want to stand out from the crowd, get promoted or develop an award winning sales team you need to polish your communication and persuasion skills.

Throughout history, our most admired leaders are remembered primarily for their ability to instill courage and inspire confidence. Just think how different this world might be without the calming reassurance of FDR’s fireside chats or Churchill’s defiant eloquence.

President Kennedy once remarked that Winston Churchill had the ability to take the English language to war. Churchill clearly understood the power of words and said that he had the English language deep in his bones.

He would spend hours at a time rewriting and rehearsing his speeches and as a result, Churchill galvanized a nation with his words.

When We Communicate Effectively We Succeed…
Whether you’re in commission sales or on a salary, your income and career advancement are directly linked to your ability to communicate and persuade. The higher you climb the corporate ladder, the more you will be called upon to speak.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an agent selling an insurance policy or a manager goal setting with your sales team, if you want to focus attention and gain consensus, paint word pictures.

In her book, Knockout Presentations, communications coach Diane DiResta suggests using vivid language, “Metaphors transport the listener to a different dimension. They grab hold of the mind and stimulate the imagination. The brain thinks in pictures, not words.”

Analogies, metaphors, stories and anecdotes all work together to help you create vivid word pictures to keep your listeners emotionally involved.

Communication Strategies…
Psychologists tell us that we are born into one of four primary temperament styles; aggressive, expressive, passive or analytical.

Each of these four styles requires a different approach and communication strategy. For example, words that would appeal to a person with the aggressive style may alienate and actually destroy rapport with the passive style and vise versa.

If a leader is to influence colleagues and customers, he or she must be able to quickly and accurately recognize each of these distinct behavioral styles and adapt accordingly.

During your next presentation, make an effort to identify the temperament style you are presenting to and use as many of these emotionally charged words as possible.

The aggressive, bottom line Worker style is results oriented. They ask “what” questions. Workers value achievement and fear loss of control. When presenting to this buying style use these words:

Control · Flexibility · Work · Bottom line · Power · Challenge · Speed · Money Functional · Results · Goals · Options · Hands on · Quickly · Freedom · Immediately

The expressive, emotional Talker style is people oriented. They ask “who” questions. Talker’s value recognition and fear loss of prestige. When presenting to this buying style use these words:

Fun · Entertaining · Creative · Friendly · Simple · Incredible · Exclusive · Improved Prestige · New · Ultimate · Spontaneous · Exciting · Enjoyable · Cash · Adventure

The passive, harmonious Watcher style is service oriented. They ask “how” questions. Watchers value appreciation and fear conflict. When presenting to this buying style use these words:

Support · Service · Family · Harmony · Dependable · Caring · Cooperation · Helpful Easy · Sincere · Love · Kindness · Concern · Considerate · Gentle · Relationship

The analytical, cautious Thinker style is quality oriented. They ask “why” questions. Thinkers value accuracy and fear being viewed as incompetent. When presenting to this buying style use these words:

Safe · Scientific · Proven · Value · Learn · Guaranteed · Save · Bargain · Economical · Quality · Logical · Reliable · Accurate · Perfect · Security · Precise · Efficient

Magic Words and Power Phrases…
Over time marketing researchers have consistently found that certain “magic words” used in phrases and combinations were so compelling that sales followed the ads just as predictably as spring follows winter.

Here are some power phrases that will create interest, generate enthusiasm and motivate people to take action!

Guaranteed success · Live your dreams · Fast, easy access · Unlock your potential · Accept no substitute · Time tested · Go with a winner · The results are in · Extra savings · One-stop shopping

While it might be true that some are born with a silver tongue, most people, like Churchill, have to work at developing their communication skills.

A good way to improve your public speaking is to engage the services of a communications coach, attend Dale Carnegie training or join a local Toastmasters Club.

Developing the ability to speak with power and influence with passion takes time and effort to master, but it will pay off in big dividends.
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John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.JohnBoe.com.

Key Points: If you want to excel in the profession of selling developing your communication skills will be an important step in the process.

-Do you agree or disagree with the ideas shared in this article? What ideas would you like to share that would be helpful?

*if you’re looking for a speaker for your next event or company meeting that’s sure to inspire your sales team contact Josh Hinds at www.JoshHinds.com

One day while I was out on my early-morning oceanside run in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, I passed a large group of city workers picking up trash from the waterfront.

This is a daily routine in this well-populated area and their work is finished before anyone—well, anyone except the most die-hard running enthusiasts—hits the beach for a dose of sunshine, relaxation and fun.

I assume that it costs the city a bit of money to run this operation seven days a week, and I’ll bet that it pays off in their favor. Tourists and other visitors like clean beaches and clean parks, and they stay longer and visit more often in those places that are well kept. So the city keeps on cleaning… the tourists keep spending and the visitors keep on visiting.

This activity got me thinking about how we run our businesses, and how we all need to regularly pick up the trash in our sales approach—in other words, by doing an inventory of how we interact with prospects and customers and unloading the strategies and selling tools that just aren’t working.

A key element of sales success is about accurately meeting the needs of your audience. So what do you need to do to keep meeting the needs of your buyers in this new economy?

Here’s a top-10 list of the most common “sales trash” issues that I see when coaching and consulting clients. By getting rid of your trash, you can avoid making mistakes that stand in the way of closing new deals and retaining great clients.

1. Hanging on to bad leads who are never going to buy. Many salespeople fall into the trap of keeping a long list of poor-quality leads in their pipeline, simply because they believe there’s safety to be gained with padded numbers. Bad leads will always be bad leads and will only suck time and resources out of your day. Either you qualify them in your pipeline, or you send that list of bad leads to garbage bin.

2. Citing outdated testimonials and client references. Your testimonials must be current compelling and credible! Prospects want to know if your products and services work in today’s marketplace. That point applies similarly to references. You can’t reinforce your “social proof” in the eyes of prospects if your references can’t be reached or are retired. Find new references from your current clients. Do this regularly.

3. Using a poorly executed script for sales calls. Be objective. Are you using “salesy” sounding language in your script? Do you sound like a radio ad or a telemarketer? Are you taking more than listening on your first call to a prospect? If you answered yes to any one of these three questions, you need to trash your approach and start over.

4. Relying on feature-and-benefits marketing without proof. Effective marketing should emphasize the results you can achieve for a prospect. Back this with power of “social proof.” Use testimonials from current clients to prove your claims about results, and to answer objections they might have about moving forward with you.

5. Relying on a single-media strategy for your sales. To get attention and be memorable in the eyes of prospects and clients, you need to leverage several media channels at once. From websites to social media, from paper-based marketing to face-to-face meetings—invest time in ensuring your message is loud and clear across a number of platforms. Each one contributes something unique to the buying experience of your customers.

6. Depending on cold calling as your #1 lead generator. Give your head a shake! Last year, only 3% of all sales were closed from cold calls. The other 97% came from a range of sources, including client referrals, web inquiries, whitepaper/trial downloads or live chat conversations. Trash cold-calling as your top lead generator. There are field-tested alternatives out there (including the ones I’ve mentioned) that will yield much better returns in less time.

7. Dropping your price when your client asks for a discount. Trash it! Instead, emphasize the value of what you offer to your customer and offer options rather than discounts. Also, position yourself uniquely in the market so you have less direct competition.

8. Asking your client to do all the work in preparing your referral. When asking for a referral, do away with asking a client “who do you know…” That’s a question that almost always yields disappointing results, because it’s not specific enough and puts the onus on the customer to do all the work.

That’s why the most common reply you’ll hear to that question is this: “I can’t think of anyone right now but let me think about it and get back to you.” Guess what? They rarely ever get back to you. Instead, try this approach: “I would like to meet Randy Smith at the ABC Company… can you help me with an introduction?” Or: “I would love to meet your VP of Sales… can you help me with an introduction?” Here’s one more winning approach: “I am going to be calling Randy Smith at the ABC Company this week… can I tell him we are doing great business together?”

9. Forgetting to follow up on new leads. I recently read a study that found that in 2010, 80% of tradeshows leads never get a follow up. In my own experience, I have found that in a vast majority of cases sales leads are not ready to close until after as many as seven follow-ups. Trash your current follow-up system and invest in a multistep approach that uses multiple channels (e.g., phone, email, direct mail, social media, websites, e-newsletters). For more ideas, visit engageselling.com and read our articles on VORTEX selling.

10. Lacking discipline. A few years ago, some salespeople could manage to eek out a living while being lazy—just sitting by the phone and waiting to take orders. In this new economy, however, the only way to success is by being disciplined in how you work. Time to do away with days without any scheduling and replace it with a structured business day in which prospect development and client contact are top priorities. Trash those empty blocks on your calendar and replace it with activities to fill your prospecting pipeline.

This new economy requires a new selling approach. Today, if you are selling exactly the way you were five years ago, chances are good that your results are suffering. Sure, this message is a dose of tough love, but it’s necessary.

Make a decision right now to trash what is not working for you. You can’t afford to be trapped any longer by a litter of sales strategies and business habits that prevent prospects from becoming customers…and new customers from becoming repeat ones! Look objectively at how you work and choose three things you can change right now. Down the road, measure your results and you’ll find you’ve generated a rather tidy new profit.
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Colleen Francis is the Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, which delivers sales solutions that realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise the client’s bottom line. She can be reached at EngageSelling.com.

-what was your biggest takeaway or lesson learned from the article above?

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What’s the first thing that goes through your head when you get a call from a sales rep? If you answered, “I can’t wait to get them off the phone,” then you’re not alone.

In fact, when a telemarketer calls me up at home and says those words that immediately identify them as a sales person, the “How are you today?” line, my first thought is, “I’ll be great as soon as I get rid of you!”

One of the biggest mistakes sales reps make who have to call prospects – either to set an appointment, generate interest, or qualify and then send information – is they don’t acknowledge in any way what is going through the prospect’s mind. Let’s face it, everyone you call has a reaction to being intruded upon, and each of them is having a similar reaction to the one that you and I have.

If you want to successfully connect with your prospect, and earn the precious few seconds it takes to establish rapport and generate some interest, then you must put yourself into the mind of your prospect and enter the conversation that’s going on in their minds. If you don’t do this, then you will be pitching and pitching and the prospect will just be waiting for you to take a breath so they can blow you off.

So, what can you do to enter this conversation? Incorporate the following three techniques the next time you make a cold call, and watch your call times improve, your confidence grow and your sales and income soar.

Technique number one: If we all know that what’s going on in your prospect’s mind is, “Oh, no, not another sales rep”, then why not acknowledge this? Try: “Now _________, you probably get a lot of these kinds of calls, don’t you? Well if you’re like me you’re probably wishing you hadn’t answered the phone right about now, so let’s make a deal: I’ll ask you just two quick questions to see if what I have can actually help you (do whatever it is your product or service can do), and if it can and you’re interested, we’ll continue, and if it can’t or you’re not interested, we’ll part friends, is that fair enough?”

Technique number two: Many times what’s going through a prospect’s mind is that they are too busy to listen at that moment, so they just use the overall brush off of, “I’m not interested,” and this usually gets people off the phone.

Here’s how to enter into that conversation:

“_________ if you’re like me you’re probably busy doing a million things so I’ll make this brief. Let me just ask you two quick things and if we find that we’re a fit and you’d like to know more than we can talk about it or we can schedule a time when it’s more convenient, is that fair?”

The nice thing about this technique is that it acknowledges that they’re busy but it gives them the option of spending more time with you now if they like what they hear.

Technique number three: This third technique is something I learned from a good friend of mine, David Frey. I’ll let him tell it to you straight:

When I first started out in marketing I needed to make some quick money. At the time, there was a rash of mold infestations here in Texas and mold remediators were having a heyday. I knew they were hungry for good, solid leads.

And about the same time I came across a way to generate leads using telephone autodialing. So I bought an autodialing system, installed it in my home and started generating leads for mold remediators. Yes, I admit it. I was one of those pesky, annoying autodialing demons.

It Worked So Well That I moved into generating leads for the mortgage industry. At the height of my lead generating business, I was autodialing 12,000 people in the city of Houston every day out of my little home office. You should have seen all the telephone lines coming out of my wall.

It was crazy!

From all those calls, I would generate about 5 good, solid leads a day (which actually made me a lot of money).

My Eurika Moment! I wasn’t happy with only 5 leads a day so I started testing new scripts. I thought to myself, what’s the first thing that I do when I hear an autodialed message? I HANG UP! So I added 4 words to the front of my script and KABOOM!

My leads QUINTUPLED….to an average of 20 leads a day with the same amount of dials. Wanna know what those 4 words were? They were simple.

“Please don’t hang up”

That’s it. I added, “Please don’t hang up” at the beginning of my script
and my leads quintupled!”

For all of you out there who use an autodial, I recommend you trying this technique. Once again, it’s effective because it gets you into the mind of your prospect.

Think about what you’ve learned today as you go out and make your cold calls. Always ask yourself: “What is my prospect thinking, and how can I speak to that?” If you do, you’ll make a much better connection and you’ll end up making more sales!
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Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by going to MrInsideSales.com

Key Points: 1. Remember that it’s not about you — it’s about your prospect! 2. Ask yourself: “What is my prospect thinking, and how can I speak to that?”

-what do you think of the ideas shared in this article? Do you agree, or disagree? Is there anything you would add that would be helpful to your fellow sales professionals?

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The Merriam-Webster dictionary online defines rapport as relation marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity.

According to Wikipedia, Rapport is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction. It is commonality of perspective: being “in sync” with, or being “on the same wavelength” as the person with whom you are talking.

There are a number of techniques that are supposed to be beneficial in building rapport such as: matching your body language (i.e., posture, gesture, and so forth); maintaining eye contact; and matching breathing rhythm. Some of these techniques are explored in neuro-linguistic programming.

Rapport is a popular and ubiquitous concept in sales. A module on rapport is included in virtually every sales and leadership training course. You’ll find chapters on rapport in almost every sales book.

Many thousands of books and seminars are dedicated exclusively to the concept of rapport. A search on Google for how to build rapport yields a million or so returns.

Despite all of this, rapport is among the most misunderstood and misapplied concepts in business. Ask 10 salespeople to explain rapport and you’ll get 10 different answers. Few people really understand the concept of rapport.

Rapport is essentially being in sync with another person to the extent that you are able to influence their behavior. The rapport building process is designed to develop common ground with another person through mirroring and matching body language, voice tone and speed, word patterns, eye movement, and even breathing.

In time, according to the experts, when you truly have rapport with another, you have the ability to lead them and change their behavior patterns. A process called neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which embodies these techniques, including word-pattern matching, eye movement, facial expressions and more, is espoused by many rapport experts as the real key to relationships and influence.

The problem with rapport is that it is just too hard and complex to get into sync with someone enough to influence their behaviors.

Although I’m not saying it is impossible for those willing to dedicate themselves to years of practice to become competent in NLP techniques. However, the reality is, despite promises from experts, these techniques are far too complicated for normal people.

Few business professionals have the time or inclination to become experts in deciphering word patterns, eye movements, and facial expressions. Learning to effectively and discretely mirror and match people based on their communication style — audio, visual or kinesthetic — sounds really cool in a seminar, but it rarely succeeds consistently in real world business situations with real people.

This doesn’t mean that finding common ground is a bad thing. Far from it. The more we have in common with others, the easier it is for them to like us. If you find common ground, use it to your advantage to connect with the other person.

The dilemma is that the quest for common ground in the guise of rapport building is often awkward, cheesy, and manipulative. Making matters worse are the legions of salespeople who mistake small talk at the beginning of a sales call as rapport building.

Taking their cue from misinformed sales trainers, they’ll make dumb comments about some random object in their prospect’s office as if that is enough to initiate a relationship.

Far too many sales people just go through the motions to check Build Rapport off their sales-process list so they can get down to selling.

Buyers are not fooled. They find these lame attempts at rapport building gratuitous and insincere. Over time, they become numb to rapport- building efforts. Some think it is funny. I have a friend who is a buyer for a manufacturing company. He has the ugliest picture in his office you have ever seen.

He keeps it there for one reason: to watch salespeople humiliate themselves by asking him questions about the picture in an attempt to build rapport. If you want people to buy you, forget about rapport. Remove the word from your vocabulary. Instead, focus on connecting.

The Real Secret Is Connecting…

There is a quote from Abraham Lincoln that aptly sums up why rapport as a strategy fails. Lincoln said, “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.”

Rapport is designed, not to develop trusting relationships, but rather to influence behavior. Rapport in its purest form is manipulative. People who feel manipulated will be distrustful of your motivations, no matter how pure, and will never feel connected to you.

Connecting, on the other hand, is designed to win others over through a focus on their needs. The most effective strategy for winning others over (convincing them that you are their friend) is to start and end by helping them get what they want.

The most insatiable human desire, our deepest craving is the desire to feel valued, appreciated, and important. The key to connecting and winning others over is, therefore, extremely simple: make them feel important.

The real secret to making others feel important is something you have at your disposal right now. It’s listening. Listening is powerful. Listening is exactly why Jennifer, from the opening story, walked out of that dealership a winner.

Quite simply, the more you listen, the more connected others will feel to you. When you listen, you make people feel important, respected, and heard.

Unfortunately, no one is really listening. I realize that is a harsh and general indictment of virtually everyone, but it is true. Why? Because we would rather think about and talk about ourselves, our wants and needs, our accomplishments, and our problems.

This is easy to observe. Just go to a networking event, business meeting, or sales call. If people aren’t talking over each other in their eagerness to express their own self-important point of view they are waiting impatiently for the other person to stop talking so they can start.

The vast majority of people, especially salespeople, never make the effort to sincerely listen to others. People don’t like to listen because listening doesn’t make them feel important.

Much of the time when they are not talking they are thinking about what they are going to say next, feeling as most of us do, superior to those around them.

Trust me, you are your own favorite person. It is not your fault; it is part of being human, but it is a fact and it is a roadblock to building connections with others — especially in business.

There is real power in understanding this concept and using it to your advantage to build connections. The desire to feel important, valued, and appreciated is more insatiable than any other human craving.

Just like you, when people talk about themselves and someone listens, it makes them feel important. Although truly listening to another person requires self-discipline, selflessness, practice, and patience, it is not complicated or complex. That is the beauty of connecting.

Unlike the complexity of rapport, connecting requires only that you listen to your prospect, customer, client, boss, or peer.
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Jeb Blount is CEO of SalesGravy.com, one of leading sales website on the internet, and author of People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business, Sales Guy’s 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, and Power Principles.

*Key Points: 1. Go beyond building rapport, and instead trully connect with the other person. 2. One of the best way build a powerful connection is to do what’s needed so that the other person understands, and believes that you genuinely have their best interests in mind, and of course they believe you because through your actions you have proven that you in fact do.

-What were some lessons you picked up from the above article? Do you agree or disagree with any of the ideas shared? Use the comments section to share your thoughts.

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Sales expert and bestselling author Jeffrey Gitomer teaches a simple philosophy, “People love to buy but they hate to be sold.”

In other words, most people prefer to buy on their terms. They do not want or appreciate a hard pitch or a features dump. Yet millions of salespeople daily, either on the phone or in person, sell to their customers by dumping data, pushing their position, or simply trying to talk their way into a sale.

Most of us, at one time or another in our careers, have heard some wise trainer or manager exclaim,

“You have to sell yourself.”

“If you want to get that job, son, you have to sell yourself.”

“The real key to sales is your ability to sell yourself.”

“If you want others to like you, you’ll have to sell yourself.”

This philosophy is prevalent in our business culture. Recently I was at an Ivy League University for a speech by a successful businessman to a group of MBA students from the top business schools in the world. The speaker was so well respected that when he walked into the room there was a hush. The audience members were on the edge of their seats in anticipation. And what was the message? What was the secret of success that this revered businessman offered? “Never forget how important it is in business to first sell yourself.” The entire audience nodded in unison.

For this wise man and many others, the phrase sell yourself has become an easy-to-use cliché. It just rolls off the tongue. Like the audience at the speech I attended, most people will nod their heads in agreement to the statement as if some prophet on a hill had just read it from stone tablets. Then, they go forth into the world and start selling at networking events, to clients, prospects, hiring managers, and anyone else they can get to stand still for more than five minutes. You’ve heard it. These are the people who tell you all about themselves, their accomplishments, and how great they are.

But it does not work, because people like to buy, they don’t like to be sold. In fact, the harder you try to sell yourself to others the more you push them away. A conversation where the other person tells you all about how great they are is a turnoff. It is a features dump. You don’t walk away from that conversation thinking how much you would like to spend more time with them. Instead you think, “What a jerk,” or “How boring,” or “Wow, that guy is full of himself.”

Of course, we do love the opportunity to sell ourselves. Most of us, if given the opportunity, will talk for hours about our favorite person, oblivious to the negative impact it has on how we are viewed by others.

You cannot sell yourself to others; you have to get others to buy you on their terms. Even if you are preceded by a great reputation and others are anticipating meeting you, your attempts to sell yourself can backfire. People Buy You for their reasons, not for your reasons. So when we sell people on why they should like us, it backfires. However, when they choose to buy you for their reasons, it creates a powerful connection and a relationship that makes almost anything possible.

Five Tips To Get People To Buy You

1. Be Likable: Likability is the gateway to connections and ultimately to relationships. If others don’t find you likable, then it is virtually impossible to form profitable business relationships. If you are not likable, people will not buy you or from you. Likability is responsible for first impressions because it happens in an instant, and it is responsible for ongoing impressions because it can be lost in an instant. When people find you likable, the door opens to emotional connections, to trust, and ultimately to business relationships that help you build a successful career and income.

Smile and use your positive attitude and optimism to project a cheerful, smiling, outgoing personality. People love to be around happy, optimistic people.

2. Connect: The key to connecting is listening deeply with your eyes and ears. Listen to what your customers say and observe their emotions. There are things they are passionate about. Look for common ground here. When you truly connect with someone, you take rapport to the next level. You begin to move from a business relationship to a friendship. Connecting tears down walls that tend to get in the way of real communication and understanding. When people feel connected with you they feel more comfortable telling you their real problems. With this information in hand, you have the opportunity to solve problems that really matter. This ability provides real value and engenders true loyalty. Strong connections are hard to break and are the foundation of truly prosperous, long-term business relationships.

3. Solve Problems: One of the immutable laws of the universe is that when you give to others, you are rewarded tenfold. Problem solvers are the champions of the business world. However, it is impossible to solve problems you do not know about, which is why connecting is so critical. The essence of business is one person solving another person’s problem. A solved problem is the value that buyers pay for. It is the most important lever in the People Buy You philosophy.

The most successful business people take problem solving to the next level. These individuals are constantly on the lookout for problems they can solve-even if it has no direct impact on their business. They live by the motto, “By helping others get what they want, I will get what I want.”

4. Build Trust: Trust is the glue that holds relationships together and the foundation on which all long-term relationships rest. Trust is developed with tangible evidence that you do what you say you will do, that you keep promises, and that you maintain a consistent commitment to excellence. It means going the extra mile in everything you do. In a world in which most people are doing just enough to get by, those business professionals who consistently do more than they have to will stand out. Buyers appreciate and reward this commitment to excellence with repeat business, referrals, and ultimately with trust.

5. Create Positive Emotional Experiences: Learn to make dealing with you fun, relaxing, and rewarding. You always want to leave your customers and prospects thinking about you and remembering you positively so it is imperative that you find ways to create positive emotional experiences for your customers. The key is to focus on the little things. Remember birthdays, send handwritten notes, do the unexpected. Just as an anchor is used to hold a ship in place against currents, wind, tide, and storm, positive emotional experiences anchor your relationships. They leave people wanting more of you.
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Jeb Blount is CEO of SalesGravy.com, one of leading sales website on the internet, and author of People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business, Sales Guy’s 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, and Power Principles.

-What was your biggest takeaway from the ideas shared above? Use the comments to share your thoughts.

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In a perfect world, we’d be so well organized and good about fulfilling our sales and service duties that we’d never neglect any of our clients. But, we’re human. Things happen. And, we will find ourselves in positions where we haven’t given our best service to a client or two.

It’s easy to do in the current economic climate when existing clients tell you they just aren’t buying. You still have to make sales. So, you invest the majority of your time on finding new business instead of servicing the old. The result? Neglected clients.

Hopefully, this doesn’t happen to you often. However, accountability is the name of the game in sales. You are compensated based on how satisfied your clients are. If you aren’t happy with your compensation, chances are some of your clients aren’t happy with your service.

Even if they tell you things are slow and they’re not ordering, you must keep up the same level of service you provided them when they were making regular purchases.

If you can’t possibly do that, you’ll soon find yourself in some awkward situations with them. Again, with accountability comes the admission that you just haven’t done your job to the best of your ability.

As difficult as it may be to work up the courage for it, your best approach with a neglected client will be the same one used when you first gained their business.

If your primary method of contact with them was an in-person meeting, you should get eyeball-to-eyeball with them again. If you first earned their business over the telephone, call them.

You can expect the ignored client to be anything from neutral to giving you the cold shoulder to being outright hostile about your lack of service. And you will deserve whatever they give you.

However, once you decide the value of keeping their business is more important than a bit of being taken to task or having them threaten to leave you, it’s not so hard to do.

The first step is to admit your lack of service to them. No excuses. The words you use will be critical. Try something along these lines, “Ms. Joplin, I know I haven’t given you my finest service. I hope you will accept my sincere apologies and allow me to continue to assist you with your pest control service.”

You may learn that they’ve already found another provider. If that has happened, you’ll have to work hard to earn the right to their business once again.

If they really haven’t minded being left to their own devices, they’ll tell you and you’ll move right into a discussion of what’s been happening with them or their company—listening to cues as to how you can help them now with products or just better service.

When a client gives you the cold shoulder and makes it difficult for you to regain their trust, you have to humble yourself and slowly work your way back into their good graces.

Trust, once broken, is so hard to recover. But, it can be done if both parties are willing. You may need to start with no sales, but service. Or, you may be able to begin with a smaller than ever order.

Let them hear your regret and commitment with something like this: “I realize you may not be happy with me right now. However, I’m hoping you’ll consider placing just a small order with me now to allow me to provide you with the level of service you deserve.”

By providing extra care and proper follow-up service, you should soon find yourself earning their full trust and business.

If any of your clients are angry because of your lack of service, and are more than happy to tell you about it, look at the bright side. They’re still talking to you—even if it’s not with words you like to hear.

Since you know you deserve it, let them vent. Eventually, they’ll run out of steam and calm down. Get them talking about how they would like to have their needs served.

Once you are onto the positive topic of how you’ll work with them in the future, you may just find yourself keeping their business.

If they truly enjoy your product or service, you may just need to apologize and promise to do better now and into the future. It’s best if you are specific about how you’ll do that.

Here are some words to get you started: “I’ll personally deliver your first order and help your staff check it in. Then, I’ll follow up with both you and your point person about the effectiveness of the product.

If you have any further challenges with it or with me, I want to know so I can rectify the situation immediately. After that, I’ll be in touch on a monthly basis. In fact, why don’t you just tell me when and how you’d like me to stay in touch?

I’ll add that to my calendar for follow-up right now.” Practice delivering these words with sincerity. If a situation of neglect has occurred, you had better be sincere about rectifying it. If you deliver your preplanned script too quickly, it will come across as if you’re worried or frightened about losing their business.

You never want to operate from a position of fear. Always operate from an attitude of servitude if you want to achieve real success in your selling career.

If your clients are having challenges with your product that you’ve ignored, that’s a different story. Ignore them long enough and they may just go away—to the competition—but they’ll damage your reputation (and possibly that of your company) along the way.

If you’re a true professional in this business, you won’t let things get that far. Staying in touch on a regular basis should prevent this from happening.

It’s easy to be loyal to someone when you’re personally acquainted. Think about where you do business. Do you always go to a certain dry cleaner or grocery store? Is it just because they’re convenient? Or, is going there a habit that began with excellent service?

Have you even done any comparison shopping to find out if there’s a better business for your needs? Chances are you continue to frequent certain businesses because you know them and they know you. There’s a high level of comfort there.

We are creatures of habit and don’t often seek out change unless we’re unhappy where we are. But how did you get there in the first place?

I have frequented the same dry cleaner for years. Initially, I started going there because it was convenient to my home. I have since moved to a different neighborhood but still go to the same cleaners.

In my daily travels around town, I probably pass three or four other dry cleaners that may have the same service (or better…or more economical) and might even be more convenient for me but I don’t even give them a second glance.

I’m loyal to my dry cleaner. Why? Their staff always greets me with a smile. Many have been there for years and know me by name. They do a good job and my items are always ready on time. They’ve gone the extra mile for me on a few occasions when I needed a rush job or minor repair.

It all boils down to this: they make me feel good about doing business with them. Ultimately, that’s our goal as sales professionals. Do your clients feel good about doing business with you? If not, you have some work to do.

Consider your clients as the individuals they are and come up with better ways to serve their specific needs. Individualized attention is a long way from neglect.

If your clients do continue to do business with you because you make them feel good about doing so, congratulations! You’re bound to achieve success.

* Excerpted from Tom Hopkins’ book, Selling in Tough Times.
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Tom Hopkins International
7531 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Tel: (480) 949-0786 or 800/528-0446 Fax: (480) 949-1590
Visit our website for more sales training resources from Tom Hopkins.

* Key Points: 1. Take careful inventory of how well you are serving your existing clients. If you find you have neglected them, rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

2. Don’t make excuses for your lack of service. Be sincere in your apology and own up to it. Let your client know you do appreciate them and hope that they will allow you the opportunity to better serve them going forward.

-What ideas did you find most helpful in the above article? Share your thoughts in the comments.

According to a Rain Today survey of over 200 businesses that hire service providers, referrals from trusted sources were the most important factor in a hiring decision. Ironically, handling referrals correctly is an often overlooked portion of business etiquette.

Always Remember This…
A referral is a vote of confidence. You have impressed someone (e.g. friend, colleague, client) enough with your services to the point where they feel compelled to recommend you to someone else. They are giving up their time to pass your name along in order to help you. This is an act of kindness and should always be thanked. Furthermore, the way you handle the referral will reflect on their reputation and yours.

Here is the 3-step process on how to handle referral communications and results:

1. Thank the person calling with the referral and ask, “How would you like to be involved in this process?”
2. Maintain open communications throughout the process.
3. Operate in the moment. This may sound a bit Zen-like but it simply means don’t wait too long to follow through with your actions.

A Referral Scenario: Act I
Your phone rings and it’s a familiar client.

Client: Hi, this is Jane from XYZ Company, how are you?

You: I’m great and you?

Client: Doing well. I have a referral for you. You’ve been a tremendous help so I was telling a colleague about you and they wanted me to give you their contact information.

You: Thank you Jane. I enjoyed working with your company and the highest compliment any client can give is a referral. I’ve also been passing your name around in the community. (Obviously, only say this if it’s true.) What’s their contact information?

Client: It’s Jim Great at 123 Main St., 123-4567. Here’s their email and you should know they’re in the medical industry.

You: Thank you. How did you leave it with Jim on how I would contact him?

Client: I said you’d call or email.

You: Perfect! I’ll call him right now. Let me ask you, how would you like to be involved in this process?

Client: Just send me an email and let me know how it works out.

You: You got it! Anything else I should know?

Client: Yes. He has 3 school age kids and is hard to reach after 3 p.m.

You: Thanks again, I’ll act on it (insert when you know you’ll follow through).

A Referral Scenario: Act II
Hang up and call or email Jim.

You: Hello, Jim Great? This is (your name) from (your business) and I was referred from Jane to speak with you regarding (your services).

Jim: Yes, I spoke with Jane and your name came up.

You: Yes, Jane is an excellent client and we had a great relationship. What do you need help with? But let me ask you, do you have a few free minutes to talk?

Jim: Well, we are having problems with (listen carefully)!

You: Would you like to set up a time to discuss your needs in more detail? I find it best to meet you at your location and learn about your business. How is next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.?

Jim: Great. See you then.

Act III: The Grand Finale
So far so good? You’re not done yet. After hanging up with Jim you need to do the following:

• Send Jim an email confirming the face-to-face or phone meeting.
• Immediately call Jane back and update her. Thank her again, and ask her one more time how she’d like to be involved.
• Send Jane a thank you card. If it’s a big client consider including a small gift certificate for coffee or to a restaurant.

Follow this basic format for all your referrals and feel confident that your business and referral etiquette is as good as…gold? No. It’s as good as your improved bottom line and reputation which is even better.
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Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps business owners stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales assessments, strategies and practical advice.

-What are your thoughts on the ideas above? Do you have a specific system for following up with referrals you would like to share? Use the comments below.

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Keeping your pipeline of prospects full is no easy task. I’m not going to suggest it is. I talk to salespeople all the time and most say that prospecting is their number one source of new business.

So if you are like most salespeople, one of your hardest tasks is simultaneously one of your most necessary – keeping your sales pipeline full. There’s no way to slide into loads of profit without some effort – serious effort – on the front end.

To use an analogy, let’s think of the athletes. Professional and Olympic athletes train for years for the shot to achieve national and/or international success. For some athletes, their competitions last mere minutes. Even for baseball, football, hockey, soccer and basketball players, their pinnacle moments may take place in games that last only a few hours. What does it take to achieve at such a high level?

A tremendous amount of effort on the front end. We don’t see the countless hours spent training, preparing, avoiding injury, healing from injury, finding the right coaches, acquiring the right equipment, managing time schedules, and juggling personal lives.

From a sales perspective, closing the sale is the “big event” – that’s where the money starts flowing. But getting to that event takes a lot of effort and adjusting along the way.

From a prospecting standpoint, consider these questions:

What are the obstacles you’re facing in growing your business?

If you can’t identify specific obstacles, you can’t begin to find ways to overcome those obstacles. Put it down on paper what is standing between you and more customers.

What percentage of new business comes to you because of referrals from your customers or your network?

Interestingly, some salespeople wait for their customers to give them referrals. It’s like waiting for your friends to suggest a good restaurant instead of proactively asking your friends for restaurant recommendations. Start today to make it part of your follow-up process with current customers to ask them for the name of at least one contact or company that may appreciate you as a resource.

Referrals happen when you provide a superior customer experience. Networking is all about developing as many relationships as possible. To refine your networking and referral process even more, find ways to develop relationships with people who are in a position of influence.

What would happen to your business if you could expand your pipeline by 50%?

Now is the time to start dreaming big, because the more you visualize what business growth could mean for your company and you personally, the more motivated you will become. Start getting specific. Start listing ways that increased profit will benefit your company and you. Then let this motivation carry you to the next step – expanding your list of potential prospects.

What’s the best new idea you’ve come up with in the past year for your business or sales process?

Write down one idea you developed and the positive impact it had once you implemented it. Then start coming up with more ideas to refine your sales process. You may wonder what this has to do with prospecting. The more you can see that ideas – big and small – significantly improve your sales process, the more momentum you gain in wanting to improve and wanting to prospect.

Creating Confidence in Others

Sales is all about conveying a sense of confidence in others. Prospects become customers when they believe in the product, service and/or salesperson. Without a level of confidence, there is no sale.

Prospecting can be hard, but the payoff is worth it. Grow your pipeline with the same focus as a committed athlete trains. In the end, the “gold” is worth it.
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Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter”, is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit TheSalesHunter.com.

* Josh’s Key Points to consider: 1. Start today — being proactive, and ask for referrals. Commit to asking your customers for at least one person, or company which might benefit from having you as a resource. 2. Place a strong importance on developing relationships with your clients & customers.

When people feel as though you genuinely care about them, beyond the “dollar” signs they represent to your bottom line they will begin to act in kind. It is possible to be the type of person others seek out and want to do business with, but you need to put the leg work in on the front end, making sure you are piling on the value in each and every interaction you have with your clients… Here’s wishing you great sales success, Josh Hinds

-What were some key takeaways you got from the above article? Use the comments section to share your thoughts.

PS. If you’re looking for a motivational speaker to inspire your sales team consider having Josh Hinds at your next sales rally or company meeting. Details at www.JoshHinds.com

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

I lead a lot of sales training sessions that focus on the first half of the sales process. In the workshops we do a ton of live warm and cold calling on speakerphone.

I make and hear hundreds of prospect calls a year. Everyone wants the silver bullet for B2B sales, especially for landing that first meeting or interest. Get ready…here it is. If you look like your prospects, sound like your prospects, feel like your prospects, even smell like your prospects then you cease being a sales person and turn into a peer.

People hate salespeople, but they love people like them. If you are a chameleon, you will sell. Period.

You are probably thinking, “Great Steve, so how can I act like a chameleon.” It’s easier than you think.

1. Use “Client Voice” – Client voice or customer voice is a subtle but powerful way of phrasing things. Rather than saying, “We’re so great,” instead try, “Our customers work with us because of X, Y, Z.” A more advanced and nuanced way of doing this is to say something like, “Funny that you mention that.

I was just talking with another ABC executive last week who mentioned that … looks like that’s what you’re dealing with as well. How is it playing out there?” Tone is so important here; if you are down to Earth you are a peer. If you are too enthusiastic, you are a clown that doesn’t ‘get’ them.

2. Speak their language – my friend Steve W Martin talks about the confidential language of the C level exec. I’ll expand on this. Every type of executive speaks a certain language.

GCs speak the language of law, CFOs speak the language of finance, Chief Sales Officers speak the language of well, sales. Learn that language and they will let you in the club. This language is dictated not just by what functional area they are in now, but also what functional area they were trained in.

Beware: if an executive comes from a legal background but then gets into another function like, say, marketing, they will probably still think and sound sort of like a lawyer. If you sound like a lawyer and use those terms effectively, you have a higher probability of getting in the door on a cold or warm call.

3. Know what’s going on (or at least make smart educated guesses) – With all of the research tools at our fingertips, it’s sales malpractice to not at least try to make educated guesses about the issues facing your prospects. Using phrases like, “I bet you are facing,” or, “I did a little homework and figure that you are dealing with” work really well.

4. Word choice matters – If you really listen and actually hear the words that your prospects use, then you can subtly mimic their speaking style. This is where your CRM system comes in handy.

Get direct quotes from your prospects when they make key points, capture them in the CRM, then later phrase questions and comments in those same words. The best reps can key in on speech patterns and word choices to figure out if a prospect is a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic – the internal language of the mind. By doing this you can tap your prospects’ unconscious thought processes and realize the full power of language.

So you want to sell more? Be a chameleon.
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Professional sales trainer and coach Steve Richard is Co-Founder and Head Sales Trainer at Vorsight, a leading sales training firm based in Arlington, Virginia. Vorsight focuses on the first half of the sales cycle, providing tactical approaches that help B2B sales teams generate more opportunities and “get in the door.” Learn more at www.vorsight.com.

* Key Points: Look for ways to be a peer, rather than an outsider. In other words strive to use the same type of language in your sales calls that your prospects use. Know what’s going on in the company you’re calling on, or industry. Be informed.

-What were some other important takeaways you got from the article above?

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

Referrals can be really powerful selling tools when used correctly and as part of a formalized plan. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for referrals. Too often, sales people and business owners commit classic mistakes in asking for them and assume, based on their disappointing results, that referrals might simply not be worth all the effort.

Referrals do work. Working with our own clients at Engage Selling, we’ve seen closing ratios on sales calls tighten dramatically when referrals are incorporated into the sales script…some as much as three-to-one (in other words, obtaining one sale out every three sales calls placed).

Referrals have the potential to connect you to new customers through a network that’s built on trust and familiarity. That means there’s more on the line than just your own reputation: the person doing the referring has to first be sure they are doing the right thing by recommending you, your products or your services with others.

Given this, let’s look at what you can do to avoid the classic mistakes when asking for referrals…

Don’t ask too soon

The worst time to ask for a referral is when you’re still at the point-of-sale stage in the sales cycle. If the ink isn’t even dry on the deal that your customer has signed with you, odds are good that they haven’t yet had the opportunity to fully try your product or service and form complete opinion. Success in sales is about building and maintaining relationships. Making the sale is just the start of that relationship. In a sense, it’s a relationship that is much like a marriage—a lot of work needs to be done to keep that relationship working well.

Give your customers time. Don’t ask for a referral until you’ve earned it. While it’s acceptable to ask after a product has been delivered or installed and the client has told you they are satisfied, I still think there’s a better approach. Use the request for referral as a means of adding value to the customer’s buying experience. There’s a lot to be gained by going the extra mile and being creative, persistent and value-driven in your request.

All business is personal

People refer business to you not for business reasons, but for personal reasons. That is why for a request for a referral from one of your clients can only come from you. The service you provide is professional, but when a customer recommends that service to someone they know, it then becomes a very personal act. It demonstrates a high level of trust that someone has in you…and that’s not to be taken lightly. Therefore, it’s important that any referral program you develop is based on the idea that you value your customers as people first—not as revenue centers.

Remember to show your thanks

Forgetting to say thank you is a big mistake…so big that it’s cringe-worthy. Think about it for a moment. If a client makes the decision that you’ve earned that referral you’ve been hoping for, and you miss the opportunity to thank them for that gesture, you risk shutting off that referral pipeline…maybe even permanently.

When it comes to referrals, there are in fact two instances where a thank you is in order. First, you ought to thank your client when they refer your name to a friend or colleague. Send a card to express your appreciation. An email message is simply not enough. A card is personal and it sits in someone’s hand, making it memorable in a way that email simply can never be.

The second instance for expressing thanks is when that new referral buys from you. Again, sending a thank-you card is a nice touch. Include a small gift as well, but only if the customer is able to accept it (some organizations, including government, have a no-gift rule). A small token of thanks can be as simple as a gift card for coffee from the local Starbucks, or even a donation to the client’s annual golf tournament. The key is to make a gesture that says: “I really appreciate you thinking of me.”

Be persistent, but don’t overdo it

As I am fond of saying, there is a fine line between persistence…and stalking. When you initiate a referral program, it’s important that you be judicious in how often you reach out to your existing customers. Once every 30 days is a good rule of thumb. If you hold off much longer than that (for example, once every business quarter), it’s too easy to lose that top-of-mind position in the marketplace. On the other hand, if you try sending tokens of appreciation to a client once a week, you definitely will run the risk of being perceived as stalking.

Be specific and a resource

A component of an effective referral program should include asking your customers if they know someone who could benefit from the products or services you are selling. However, it’s important that you be specific. For instance, you could ask: “Are you the only one in your department that uses this service?” If there are others who do, in fact, use your services, then those are the people you want to meet, and your existing customer is ideally positioned to make that happen.
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Colleen Francis is the Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, which delivers sales solutions that realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise the client’s bottom line. She can be reached at EngageSelling.com.

* Key Points: 1. There are two instances when you want to be sure and thank the person who referred you (beyond the simple email or quick phone call — go for a thank you card or personal note instead. It shows you went the extra mile). The first instance is when the person first gives you the referral. The second instance is once the referral has bought from you — that is they have become a customers of yours themselves. It’s not only the nice thing to do (to show your appreciation to whoever gave you the referral), but it also lets them know you took care of the person they recommended to you. Showing your appreciation in this way is simple enough, but it may surprise you how often it makes the difference between a person giving you one referral — and many! To your sales success, Josh Hinds

-What were some important lessons you picked up from the above article?

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