Gap Analysis By Brian Tracy

Identify the Real Need of the Prospect ...
As a salesperson, you are in the business of gap analysis. You are a "problem detective." Your job, somewhat like a police inspector searching for suspects, is to find problems for which your product or service is the ideal solution.

In a way, your product or service is a key. You make calls looking for locks that your key will open. In the prospecting phase, you insert the key and find that it fits. In the presenting phase, you twist the key and open the lock. In the closing phase, you turn the handle and push the door open.

Use Questions As Sales Tools ...
Like a verbal detective, the tools of your trade are questions. You use them to get appointments, uncover problems, and discover gaps between where the prospect is now and where the prospect could be by using your product or service. You then show the prospect how much better his situation could be by owning and enjoying what you are selling.

Clarify the Need ...
There is an old saying, "No need? No presentation!" Before you begin your presentation, it must be clear to the prospect that there is a distance between where he is and where he could be. The prospect must recognize that he has a need that is unsatisfied or a problem that is unsolved. The prospect must also feel that the gap between the real and the ideal is large enough to warrant taking action.

Build Buying Desire ...
Buying desire is in direct proportion to the intensity of the buyer's need on the one hand, and to the clarity of the solution represented by your product or service on the other. This process of taking the prospect from cold to luke warm to hot is accomplished by the skillful use of questions that uncover the gap and then expand it to the point where the customer is ready to take buying action.

Putting these Ideas into Action:

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, ask good questions aimed at uncovering the real need or problem the customer has. Listen attentively to the answers. Never assume that you know already.

Second, the larger the gap the customer sees between where he is today and where he could be by using your product or service, the greater is his desire to buy. Show him continually the size of this gap.
__________
Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

Sponsor Message: Looking to get more referrals? Find the answer here.

Cross-Selling Across Divisions By Linda Richardson

Everybody knows it is easier to sell to a current client than a prospect. Cross-selling increases the ties that bind and build loyalty. Cross-selling reduces vulnerability.

I don't know of an organization that does not want its salespeople to cross-sell. The big question is why it is so difficult to successfully implement a cross-sell strategy, especially across divisions.

Certainly product knowledge is a real issue and so is compensation - What's in it for me? But more than that are the issues of risk and trust.

Many salespeople are afraid to "expose" their client to their colleagues. This could be based on their own bad experience, "what ifs", or on internal horror stories where colleagues from other divisions have not delivered and have damaged relationships.

Although confidence in your colleagues' ability to deliver is paramount and even though many salespeople have been burned, allowing this to impede cross-selling is a tremendous loss for an organization. The return on cross-selling across the board — to the salesperson, the client, and the organization — is fantastic.

Everybody knows it is easier to sell to a current client than a prospect. Cross-selling increases the ties that bind and build loyalty. Cross-selling reduces vulnerability. The answer is to do it in a way in which the risks are minimized.

A practical, organized approach to cross-selling is an answer: Start with the specialist. Begin to build internal relationships. Call them directly and if there are no specialists, contact other salespeople or research product knowledge resources.

Ask the specialist: What questions shall I ask my client to see if there is a need? What are the qualifying criteria you need for a solid prospect? What key objectives should I expect? What is a sound bite and success story I can use to interest this client? What are the next steps or implementation steps to move this along? The knowledge you get won't make you an expert, but you don't have to be! However, you need at least this much information.

If a specialist or colleague suggests, "All you need to know is my name and phone number. Have the client call me," empathize and make a second effort to get a little information to make the call worth everybody's time. If the specialist or colleague persists in being difficult, talk to your manager.

As any successful salesperson knows, it can be as challenging to sell internally as externally. If your organization is serious about cross-selling, it will have to make sales-oriented product information — not just technical details — available to you.

Certainly to close a sale you need more product knowledge than what is captured above. But the objective for cross-selling that most organizations define is to get the specialist or colleague from another division or product line in the door to leverage the current relationship. Be sure to update the specialist regarding the outcome of your cross-sell discussion and share credit publicly to help build internal relationships.

With a proactive approach to cross-selling and with an attitude of collaboration, everybody wins!
_____________
Linda Richardson is founder of Richardson, a leading sales training and consulting firm. Linda is a recognized leader in the sales training industry and is credited with the movement to consultative selling. Ms. Richardson has written 9 books on selling including her most recent, The Sales Success Handbook. She has been published extensively in industry and training journals and has been featured in numerous publications.

Sponsor Message: Looking to increase the number of sales referrals you receive? Find the answer here.

Attract Clients With Your Business Card By Bill Lampton, Ph.D.

Let's say you attend a business function. You meet a top tier prospect, and give her your card. Twenty other people do the same thing. So what will make your card stand out from the collected stack?

Here are twelve ways to assure that prospects will read your card, and will become more likely to do business with you.

ONE: Keep your card "reader friendly" by providing ample white space. Unfortunately, we are tempted to jam as much information on the card as the printer can squeeze in.

However, people don't want to bog down by reading lengthy paragraphs. Note how short this one is, and the one before it. Easy to read, don't you think?

TWO: Display your photo on your card. Think what happens when the prospect you met at the reception flips through the cards she collected. Which people will she remember most easily? The ones with photos, of course. For many years, real estate pros have acted on this assumption, and they are right.

An important caution: Be sure to use a recent picture, no more than five years old. The person who uses an outdated picture raises suspicion. What else about them is obsolete or misrepresented?

Recently I had a photographer take a new photo of me, which I will put on my business card and Web site soon.

THREE: Stick with a standard size. You want your card to fit the card collections others maintain. An odd-shaped card might be tossed away as too cumbersome to keep.

FOUR: Never economize on paper stock. The dollars you save won't compare with the dollars you will miss out on because prospects think you may be second rate, like your card.

FIVE: Spend what is needed to include color. Think about it -- how many of your potential clients have black and white TV, cameras and magazines?

Avoid psychedelic colors unless you are a designer, artist or entertainer. Your color photo will reflect a warm, vivid personality, so there's no need to shock the senses of readers.

SIX: Include your slogan. My company slogan identifies my purpose: "Helping you finish in first place!" Six words are enough -- if they are the right words.

SEVEN: If you have a logo, use it. Picture this in your mind: "Golden Arches." Know the product? I am sure you do. Did you salivate? Probably so. That's the power of symbols.

My logo is a winner's trophy, which fits my motto of helping organizations and individuals finish first. Matches my company name as well: Championship Communication.

EIGHT: Tell readers how to contact you by phone, fax, mail and Internet. This sounds elementary, yet you would be surprised at how many marketers omit this essential data.

NINE: Keep your card current, by printing new ones when you change your office location, phone number or e-mail address. When someone gives you a business card with a new number added in pen, you rate their work second class, or worse.

TEN: Use both sides of your card for information. No need to let half the space go unutilized.

ELEVEN: When you give your card to a prospective client, don't offer just one. Instead, ask: "How many of these will you need, to share with your staff?" You will be amazed at how many more cards you will put into circulation with this simple question.

TWELVE: You may want to distribute more than one card, with each card reflecting a different service you offer. Several years ago, a retired executive handed me three business cards, each representing a new venture he had launched, with distinct services offered.
___________
Bill Lampton, Ph.D., helps organizations improve their communication, motivation, customer service and sales. His speeches, seminars, coaching and consulting share the practical advice included in his book, The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication, Change Your Life! Visit his Web site to sign up for his complimentary monthly e-mail newsletter and order his book at ChampionshipCommunication.com - Call him: 770-534-3425.

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

What Every Sales Person Could Learn From the Yankees By Lee B. Salz

The falling-out between the Yankees and Joe Torre happens every day in business. Sales people can learn a lot from the experience.

This is the time of year when salespeople begin to reflect on their performance. Was it a good year? Was it a great year? Some will say they earned the dollars they desired, so it was a great year. Others will hang their hat on an account that they won and say it was a good year. However, as Joe Torre, former manager of the New York Yankees recently learned, employers have a single data point for measuring success that dwarfs all other statistics.

As the New York Yankees were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the rumors began to swirl that their manager, Joe Torre, was not got going to be asked to return as manager in 2008. He had just finished the last year of a three-year contract, which meant there were decisions to be made.

Interestingly, many have said that his best managerial year was 2007, a year in which the team was eliminated early in the post-season. As manager of the Yankees, he took the team to the post-season every one of the twelve years while at the helm. No other team is enjoying a streak of this magnitude, but it wasn’t enough for team executives.

Following the Yankees’ elimination from the post-season, the executives of the team met to discuss their plans for 2008. Did Joe Torre belong as manager of the team next year? Many fans were confused as to how this could even be a question. Twelve consecutive years in the post-season and 4 World Series victories make his return a no-brainer. How could a team not reward him with a new, larger, guaranteed contract?

As Joe Torre described, he arrived at the Yankees’ executive meeting in Tampa and saw a room full of successful business executives who were looking to continue that success. Joe is a former baseball player, broadcaster, and manager, but not typically referred to as a business professional. He was caught off guard by the business presence in the room. What took place next was even more interesting.

The team told him that they desired his return in 2008. However, they wanted to restructure his compensation plan. They offered him a salary that was significantly lower than what he had been paid in the past. The plan included incentives that, if achieved, made the contract worth more than the prior one. Torre was confused and offended by the offer.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, “The Steinbrenners explained their rationale for cutting his base salary 29 percent -- the team hadn't met the organization's goal of winning the World Series for seven seasons.” During his prior three-year contract, the team failed to even reach the World Series. In Yankees terms, this is also known as an eternity. Joe declined the contract offer and elected not to return to the team.

Following the meeting, the president of the team shared that the New York Yankees pay for performance. They want to make sure that the person responsible for the goal is compensated for achieving and exceeding it. In the military, this is called “making mission.” Torre was quoted as saying, “The fact that somebody is reducing your salary is telling me they’re not satisfied with what you’re doing.” Yankees president, Randy Levine, had a different interpretation when he said the Yankees believed it was “important to motivate people, as most people in everyday life have to be, based on performance.”

Most businesses have specified business objectives. In some, there are revenue targets. In others, the target is an improvement in margin. Still others desire both or have even different objectives. In any case, to achieve those objectives, company executives formulate compensation plans to ensure that their sales leadership and sales people have their eye on the prize. The prize is made very clear to the team. Failing to achieve the business objective is not an area for discussion.

Just like in baseball, sales is full of statistics, metrics, and measurements. On any given day, one can make a case for promoting or firing just about any member of the sales team. During review time, the business leaders go back to the specified objective. Did the team make mission? Sure, great things happen throughout the year, things for which to be proud. However, at the end of the day, there is one key for the sales professional. Was mission achieved? Joe Torre is described as a great man, a classy individual. Sometimes these terms are used to describe members of a sales team. However, those characteristics don’t result in pay increases or promotions. Companies pay for performance. This is performance that ties back to the business objective.

It is not uncommon to find sales professionals who fail to meet the business objective, which is usually quota, citing various statistics and anecdotes to show that there is value in their performance. Yes, there is value, but something simple is missing; bottom line. The business objective was not met. The bottom line for sales people is that they need to understand the business objective, identify what they need to achieve it, and deliver the expected results. At the end of the day, that is the only way sales people will be measured.
____________
Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales activity using his sales architectureR methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager." Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, "Secrets of Business Gurus." He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.

Sponsor Message: To learn more about having Josh Hinds, your host here at SalesTrainingAdvice.com speak to your group or organization go here.

A Sizzling Sales Secret To Be Hugely Successful By Kim Duke

Many years ago, a favorite client of mine said something to me I have never forgotten.

" Kim - don't ever stop being yourself. It is the reason we buy from you."

That was a HUGE compliment coming from a client that other reps had considered difficult, demanding and hard to please. When I took over the account I realized he wasn't difficult, demanding or hard to please at all. He just wanted someone to be real and listen to what he wanted to achieve.

I was just my normal, high energy, slightly edgy and off the wall self - who also happened to have a ton of ideas for him that he hadn't thought of. And I was always thinking ahead for him - anticipating his needs.

The Sizzling Secret To Be Hugely Successful...
Do you want to know one of the major traits of someone who is successful in business and in sales? It's something that most people either ignore as trivial or they just can't believe it can be done. And for some reason it can be one of the hardest things to do. The secret? Being Yourself.

Being A Copycat Doesn't Earn You Any Points
You see it everywhere - usually with people new to selling/business and sometimes even from those who have been in the selling world a long time. The new ones copy those they perceive as successful (adopting their style and language) and the old ones copy the Old Boys Club. ie/ high pressure sales, too many calls and e-mails.

However - it doesn't work. Just as the quote says " It is better to be a bad original than a good copy".

So Why Does Being Yourself Attract Clients and Opportunities To You?

* No One Else Has Your Life Experiences. It's true. There will never be another you. What you have learned in your previous careers, in your personal life - everything you have ever experienced - is all true to you. This is what YOU bring to your customers.

* When You Copy - You Blend In. If customers perceive that they can buy your product or service from anyone - then honey - you have a tough road ahead. If you blend in - customers start focusing on price. Being part of the crowd does not get you ahead.

* Like Attracts Like. I am high energy, upbeat and a fast thinker. It is what made me a national award winner, helped me to sell millions across Canada and also create a successful international business. Guess who I tend to attract as customers and strategic alliances?

You guessed it! I attract other high energy people who are upbeat and fast thinkers. I looooooooove it! However being a copycat will just attract other copycats - not so good.

* You Will Act As A Filter. It's true. Just as your marketing and branding act as filters for your business - so does your personality and experience. Not everyone is going to get you, like you or want you. Thank goodness for that. Remember - people who want you to turn into a pretzel for them are a pain in the ass and not good for your business.

A Fabulous Proverb To Learn From: " The path is clear. So why do you throw stones before you? " - Chinese Proverb

Ask yourself these questions today:
* Am I doing what I really love to do?
* Did I choose this for the right reasons?
* Am I being a copy cat?
* Is my bank account reflecting how customers are seeing me?

I know you're in there somewhere! So instead of hiding and trying to be something for everyone and losing yourself in the process - be brave. And step up to being yourself.
_____________
Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make at SalesDivas.com

Sponsor Message: Looking to increase your sales referrals? Find the answer here.

Is Phone Sales Skill a Lost Art? By Jeff Hardesty

A Little Phone Sales Training Will Go a Long Way. Here's a Real example...

We all know ‘sales’ is full of slippery slopes and if something can go wrong, it probably will. After all, the sales process consists of sales prospecting, sales presenting, closing the deal, sales paperwork, order provisioning and order fulfillment.

All of these elements have an opportunity for a breakdown of sorts that will always come back to us; the sales person. If we could just sell and not have to deal with all the other albatross’s life would be better; right?

Well, maybe. That is if you want to leave a bunch of money on the table at the end of the year. So, what do I mean?

Here’s an example that happened just today. And it happened to me. I picked out a permission-based e-mail marketing company to market my new SalesSpeakerPro.com web site. I thought I’d test the waters with a small e-mail blast to beta the overall results and determine how this SEO company will partner with me in line with my strategic company goals. Because as Popeye says, “I yam what I yam what I yam”.

If they fulfilled their service promises and I received a return on my marketing investment, I’d expand the campaign and spend more money with them. “Business 101”.

In my first career as a professional Pilot, I came to understand that it’s not just one human error in the flight mission that will cause the plane to crash, it’s a series of human errors and miss-judgments that lead up to the aircraft’s ‘Sudden Stop’. And 98% of airplane accidents are directly caused by human error, not mechanical failure.

As professional sales people, here’s what we know to be true. Any product or service implementation has a finite number of scenarios that can and will arise. A percentage of them are not good. Things like bad cutovers, faulty installations, mechanical bumps, network outages and software spikes to name a few. But understanding that, you might think service providers would have contingency plans in place to identify problems as they arise and communicating to the customer a pro-active internal process to remedy the situation. You would think.

In my case, my sales rep sent me a contract that stated I would have a web-based admin panel to view the results of my e-mail campaign; because if you don’t measure it… you can’t improve it. The standard result benchmark for e-mail campaigns is measured in e-mail ‘Open rates’ and ‘Click-through’ rates to the web page URL you wish the e-mail ‘Call to Action’ to take your prospect. And the results should be viewed over 24-48 hours to campaign completion.

For my industry and my type of target prospects I was told I could expect an e-mail open rate of 15-25% and a Click-through rate of 7-15%. Based on a test campaign of 35,000 targeted permission-based e-mails that should bring 367 sales and HR executives to my new sales speaker website at a minimum and at a maximum I should expect about 1312.

So here we go. Here’s the blow by blow sequence of events that led to the ‘Sudden stop’ of the airplane.

* Monday, 1 Day before the E-mail Marketing Blast
Me: (E-mail to rep; 2:57 PM)
Good to go for tomorrow (Tuesday).
Send me the password for tracking. Jeff

* Tuesday, 1st Day of the E-mail Marketing Blast
Me: (E-mail to rep;11:31 AM)
Send me the password for tracking; 2nd attempt.

Rep: (E-mail to me; 11:40 AM)
I’ll have it within 24 hours …thanks.

* Wednesday, Final Day of the E-mail Marketing Blast
Me: (E-mail to rep;1 2:31 PM)
And???

Rep: (E-mail to me; 1:37 PM)

Here we are:
www.XYZinfo.com
Login: jdhgroup
Password: 1414

Me: (Phone call to rep; 2:00 PM)

“This link to the Admin tracking panel does not seem to be working. Can you go over this with me?”

Rep:
“It’s working fine from here.”

Me:
“Do you think you should consider why it’s not working for me from here?”

Rep:
“I’m stepping into a meeting right now.”

Me:
“I see. What about tomorrow morning first thing, so I can see what’s going on with my investment?”

Rep:
“That’s fine.”

* Thursday, 1 Day AFTER E-mail Marketing Blast
No call back from sales Rep… ADMIN tracking link still not working

* Friday 2 Days AFTER E-mail Marketing Blast
Me: (E-mail to rep; 9:05 AM)
Jim, give me your President’s name and direct phone line please. Jeff

Rep: (E-mail to me; 9:52 AM)
Are you going to call me so we can discuss the tracking?

Me: (E-mail to rep; 10:03 AM)
Please supply the number and name for now.

Rep: (E-mail to me; 10:12 AM)
Jeff, All correspondence is to be handled by me, so let me know your concerns and I will address them…thanks.

Me: (E-mail to rep; 10:03 AM)
Call me. 740 881 1691

Phone call from rep to me; 10:35 AM

Me:
“Jim, have you ever been to the outer islands in the Bahamas?”

Rep:
“Yes, I have in fact.”

Me:
“What did you think of the service; good or bad?”

Rep:
“It was kind of slow, I guess.”

Me:
“That’s what I thought also. In fact, I left with the impression that if they had it their way, they’d prefer that I just sent my money and not even shown up.

Rep:
Silence

Me:
“The reason I mention it is that’s the way I’m feeling about my experience with your Company. Kind of like; ‘Just send us your money and don’t show up’. Do you feel that’s fair?”

Rep:
“The server has been down and I’ve been dealing with all that. Besides, I assumed that you were going to call me.”

Do you want the word ‘Assumed’ on your career Tombstone?

Now, I can’t make this stuff up folks. And it happens out there all the time. My point is this young man was leaving ‘money on the Table’ and he did not even know it.

Here was my advice to him pertaining to the plane crash anecdote consisting of series of human errors and miss-judgments before the ‘Sudden Stop’ occurs. And in his case, the plane landing was no ‘Walk-a-way’!

Error 1: Promising something you may not be able to deliver for Conditional reasons and not having a contingency communication plan in place in line with all possible scenarios and remedies.

Error 2: Not following through on a contracted service component to the customer in time for the intended service, in this case, the ADMIN tracker. Simply put, not having all your Ducks in a Row.

Error 3: Not training the customer to a critical service component

Error 4: Not following up with the customer as requested

Error 5: When addressed, not ‘Hearing’ the customer’s concerns

Error 6: Not ‘Picking up the phone’ and pro-actively communicating to the customer there is a technical problem

Error 7 (The ‘Sudden STOP’): Not honoring a customer request for direct communication to a higher authority within your company

I gave this sales person my best advice for his career. It goes like this:

“When the stuff hits the fan, and we know it will, pick up the phone and talk with the customer. Don’t bury your head in the sand and think it will all go away. And have a ‘Crisis management’ game plan. It goes like this….”

Here’s a pro-active process for customer experience and future sales for you.

* Let them vent

* Show empathy: “I understand what you’re feeling. If it were me, I’d feel the same way.”

* Thank them for bringing this to your attention: “I’m sorry I missed this before you had to call me, but I’m glad you did, because I need to know.”

* Paraphrase their main points and concerns: “Let me take a minute and repeat back to you what I hear your concerns are.”

* Reassure the customer you will do everything possible to resolve their concern: “At the end of this conversation, you’ll go back to work and I’ll start my work for you.”

* Document the facts: “I’m picking up a pen to list all the pieces and parts of our situation. Please go ahead, one by one.”

* Communicate the steps you will take internally to remedy the situation, one by one.

* Set accountability and follow-up timelines by telephone and e-mail and make sure it's done (Even if you pass it off to another division)

When situation is remedied, follow-up personally and 'close the loop' by telephone again. Recap all the issues and ask if everything has been completed to their satisfaction. Then ask them directly if they will consider doing business with you in the future. And if not, what you can personally do to change their mind.

By following a few steps of solid business process, you can re-route the ‘plane crash’ and gain a loyal long term customer that will add revenue to your company, provide future referrals and put more ‘jingle’ in your commission pocket.

So next time… have a ‘Safe landing’.
______________
Jeff Hardesty is President of JDH Group, Inc. and the Developer of the X2 Sales System®, a blended training system that teaches sales professionals the competency of setting C-level business appointments. Jeff can be reached at jeff@convertmoresales.com.

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

Managing the Sales Negotiation Process By Michael Schatzki

How many times have you heard:

* "You've got to drop your price by 10% or we will have no choice but to go with your competition."

* "You will have to make an exception to your policy if you want our business."

* "I know that you have good quality and service, but so do your competitors. What we need to focus on here is your pricing."

* "I agree that those special services you keep bringing up would be nice, but we simply don't have the funds to purchase them. Could you include them at no additional cost?

Every time you hear statements like these, you're in the middle of a difficult sales negotiation. How you handle that negotiation will determine whether or not you close the sale and how profitable that sale will be. In order to give you a real edge every time, I have listed below some key points taken from my sales negotiation training program.

Don't Believe Everything You See and Hear

Part of a good salesperson's skill is to learn to read people and situations very quickly. However, when it gets down to negotiating, you have to take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt. Buyers are good negotiators, and thus they are good actors. You may be the only person who has what she needs, but everything she does and says, from body language to the words she uses, will be designed to lead you to believe that unless she gets an extra 10% off, she's going with the competition. Be skeptical. Be suspicious. Test, probe, and see what happens.

Don't Offer Your Bottom Line Early in the Negotiation

How many times have you been asked to "give me your best price"? Have you ever given your best price only to discover that the buyer still wanted more? You have to play the game. It's expected. If you could drop your price by 10%, start out with 0%, or 2%, or 4%. Leave yourself room to negotiate some more. Who knows - you may get it for a 2% reduction. You might have to go all the way to 10%, but often you won't. A little stubbornness pays big dividends.

Get Something in Return for Your Added Value

What if you discover that the buyer wants to be able to track his expenditures for your products or services in a way that is far more detailed and complex than is standard for your industry? What if your account tracking system is set up in a way that you can provide that information at essentially no cost to you? Often the salesperson's overwhelming temptation is to jump in and say, "Oh, we can do that. That's no problem." Before you do, however, think about your options.

You could throw it in as part of the package and try to build good will. Or you could take a deep breath and try something like, "That's a difficult problem that will require some effort on our part, but it's doable.". In the second case, without committing, you've told the buyer that it is possible. You may not be able to get him to pay extra for it, but you may be able to use it as a bargaining chip in resisting price concessions. Which way you choose to go will depend on who your customer is and on the situation. However, you do have options.

Sell and Negotiate Simultaneously

Think of selling and negotiating as two sides of the same coin. Sometimes one side is face up, and sometimes the other side, but they are always both there. This is particularly true in your earliest contacts with the buyer. The face the buyer sees is that of a salesperson demonstrating features and benefits. The hidden face is that of a negotiator probing and seeking out information that may be invaluable later should issues like price, terms, quality, delivery, etc. have to be negotiated.

Be Patient

Finally, and most important, be patient. Sales is a high energy, fast moving business. Patience is one commodity that is in relatively short supply, but if you're impatient in a negotiation, you'll lose your shirt. If I'm negotiating with you and I know that you're impatient, I will hold out just a little longer, no matter how desperate I am to make a deal with you. As long as I know you're in a hurry, I'll wait. So be patient. Take the time that you need, don't rush to give in, don't show your anxiety, stay cool and don't panic. Negotiation is a process and a game. Use the process and play the game. You'll be astonished at the difference that it makes!

© Michael Schatzki - 2004. All rights reserved
____________
Michael Schatzki is a master negotiator who, for over 20 years, has provided negotiation training and coaching for thousands of people in the U.S. and globally. More than 75% of Mike's programs are for satisfied, repeat customers. The Negotiation Dynamics® system really works. Mike can be reached at (888) 766-3530 or at www.NegotiationDynamics.com.

Sponsor Message: Learn the art of effective networking at BusinessNetworkingAdvice.com.

I am a Salesman by Ron White

Do I see myself as a speaker?... Nope.
Author?... Try again.
Memory expert?... No.
Guinness Record breaker?... nah.
Entrepreneur?... Closer, but not exactly.
Instructor?... Getting colder.
Motivator?... Wrong.
Salesman?... BINGO!!

I am a salesman and very proud of that! This is how I see myself and the question is why don't more people see themselves as sales people?

What about the talented musician who has the voice of an angel and can play a piano better than Liberace, but does not think that he is a salesman? I will tell you what - he will have to rely on getting lucky with a big break or hunt for a promoter. Or maybe the dentist who has opened up his shop and waits for the customers to walk through the door.

Most people will invest all their assets in marketing before they invest one hour in cold calls, yet cold calls is where it all starts.

First of all, you must get the belief through your head that we are all sales people. Whether you think you are or not - you are! If you participate in capitalism, you better see yourself as a salesperson or be dependant upon others for your success.

Next, abandon the idea that being a salesperson is below your dignity. Do you know what is really below your dignity? Not fulfilling your potential because you didn't want to "lower" yourself to being a salesperson.

Realize that sales all begins with a cold call. Cold calling is not so bad. It is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door and at the very least open the prospect's mind to your idea. After you do this for a few weeks a ratio will emerge and you will begin to see how many cold calls it takes to get a sale. This is when it becomes fun and you work to improve your ratio. Make it a game!

Understand that the difference between making a living and making a fortune in sales starts with networking referrals. Brian Tracy tells us that the average person has a sphere of influence (people they see at PTA meetings, neighbors, family, friends, etc.) of 260 people. If you don't ask for referrals you won't get them.

Close the sale! The salesperson who has a great presentation but can't close is a conversationalist and conversationalists don't get paid very well. At the end of your presentation give them an alternate choice close - "Would you like blue or red?" That is a close and non-threatening. Or simply ask, "Why don't you give it a try?"

Finally, remember when a person is sold professionally, people enjoy it! I spoke recently at a real estate office in San Antonio. The sales manager stood up when I finished and said, "Wow! I don't think anyone who was trying to sell us something has made us feel so good in the process!" I yelled from the back of the room, "I am a salesman!" He enjoyed being sold and so did his group because it was professional. When done right, the sales process should be fun!

Are you a dentist, musician, author, speaker, doctor, lawyer or anything without the title of sales? If you are, do yourself a huge favor and begin to see yourself as a salesperson! Making cold calls is not below your dignity. Not fulfilling your potential is what is below your dignity.

Ron
____________
Ron White is the author of Memory in a Month - Train Your Mind to Work Like a Human Computer in Only 30 Days! To join Ron White's free ezine click here.
(c) All rights reserved worldwide.

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

Questions To Help You Close? By Linda Richardson

Knowing all you can about the client’s decision process can give you an edge in winning the business. Let’s look at questions to ask.

Find out the client’s decision criteria.
Most clients expect to be asked about decision criteria, and most salespeople do ask these questions. However, the real value comes by drilling down once they get an answer. Start broad by asking:
* So I can understand what is important to you, what factors will you consider in making your decision? (Start to narrow it down.) Which are the priorities?
or
* So I can put a solution together that meets your needs, can you tell me the criteria you will look at in making the decision? What are the priorities? Why is X so important?

Then probe the decision makers.
It is critical to understand who will make or influence the decision and then get to those people. Ask questions such as:
* Who will participate with you in making the decision? Or: Once you have resolved this, who else will you involve in the decision?
* What are their perspectives?
* What are their roles?
* Who is championing this?
* Who is not supporting this?
* What obstacles might there be? (You must know what can stop the deal.)

Probe the decision process:
* What steps are you taking in making this decision? (If anything seems unusual or specific, probe to find out why.)

Probe time frames:
* What is the time frame? Why is that?

Find out about competitors:
* What other organizations are you considering?
* What about their offering do you like?
* What about their offering is of concern?
* How far are they in the process?
* With whom have they met?

Also, there will be times when clients change their criteria midstream. If this happens, ask why. Find out who has changed the criteria. Probe and discuss with your internal coach (hopefully you have one!). When clients say they don’t know their criteria, suggest ideas from other similar clients and then check for feedback: We often see clients who consider … How do these sound relative to what is important to you?

Before you can close, probe, probe, probe so you are poised to win!
___________
Linda Richardson is founder of Richardson, a leading sales training and consulting firm. Linda is a recognized leader in the sales training industry and is credited with the movement to consultative selling. Ms. Richardson has written 9 books on selling including her most recent, The Sales Success Handbook. She has been published extensively in industry and training journals and has been featured in numerous publications.

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

12 Keys to Tuning Up Your Sales Force By Lee B. Salz

Not sure if your sales organization is up to snuff? Here are twelve keys to help ensure that your team is focused on the right things every day.

Many cars today tell the driver when it is time to perform maintenance. Even better, some tell the driver that maintenance is needed in 1,000 miles with updates along the way. It would be great if as a business executive or small business owner, you had this kind of technology at your fingertips.

Unfortunately, managing a sales organization will always be a manual effort. Sure, CRMs and contact managers help, but there is no technology that replaces the leadership associated with sales management. Not sure where to dig into your sales organization? Here are twelve areas that will show just how game ready you are.

1. Business Objective. In your capacity, I’ll bet you can cite the objectives of the business easy as pie, but do the key members of the sales team know them? Better yet, do they know the current one(s)? Business objectives change. It is important that those affected by the change are in the know.

The business objectives serve as the foundation of the company’s sales architecture® which is the overall selling system framework. If the foundation changes without reviewing the selling framework, there is a high risk of not achieving the objective. It is the equivalent of constructing a building with the wrong materials, or worse, in the wrong place.

2. Differentiation. Some argue that differentiation is the job of the marketing team. I see this as a shared responsibility between sales and marketing. The bottom line is whether or not your company is successful winning business at your desired prices. George Carlin has a great line on this. “If you nail together two things that have never been nailed together before, someone will buy it!” The target for differentiation is always moving.

What is unique today is passé tomorrow. However, sales people can differentiate themselves above and beyond the product by being a valued resource to their clients. This is critical in a competitive or commodity marketplace. One of my favorite questions to ask sales people is why someone should buy from them. The goal is to see what value they see that they bring to their clientele.

3. Ideal Client Profile. Hopefully, you already have one of these. This is the document that clearly defines the attributes of your ideal client. Think in terms of size, buying circumstance, budget, buying habits, etc. This is a profile which each member of the sales team should memorize and be held accountable for knowing. Their pursuit of new business should be aligned with this profile. As the objectives of the business change, this profile may change. Be sure that it still meets the needs of the business.

4. Messaging Consistency. You spend time and money investing in a new campaign. Your sales people position the company using this new message, but the print material and website still convey the old information. Not good! The outbound message to the market must be consistent. If the sales people say it, the corporate presentation should reinforce it. The printed collateral material and website should help position the message. In essence, the entire approach should be aligned.

5. Intellectual Capital. What is that, you say? These are your referenceable clients. Other than your employees, they are your most valuable asset. This asset is critical for your sales team to help them win business. How are you growing your portfolio of referenceable clients?

How are you ensuring that your largest client is not over-utilized by the sales team for these purposes? Do you have clients who can speak to everything your firm does, coming from multiple buying circumstances (newbie, veteran, etc)? The use of references can serve as a key competitive advantage for your sales team. It is important that the portfolio be ever-growing and well-managed.

6. Sales Performance. How are the members of the team performing relative to their assigned goal? While you may be tempted to measure only revenue performance relative to quota, this is not always the best approach for longer-term buying processes. In those circumstances, review of performance in the buying process itself is an important area for study. That said, the rule of thumb is to look to upgrade the bottom 20% of the sales team. Recruiting is an ongoing initiative of any healthy sales organization.

7. Pipeline Analysis. There are various opinions on how large a sales pipeline should be to ensure it yields enough to meet the business objective. The challenge is that a strict quantitative value minimizes the importance of a qualitative one. I’ve seen sales people with a pipeline of twice their goal finish the year at 150% of quota. I’ve also seen sales people with a pipeline of five times their annual goal miss the target.

Quantitative studies aside, the best approach is to conduct formal, periodic pipeline reviews so that you and your executive team can dig into the pipeline to see what prospects are real. Quality supersedes quantity. Pipeline reviews are very helpful for executive teams with respect to learning of market trends and competitive intelligence.

8. Ideal Sales Person Profile. Hopefully, you have one of these too. This tool defines the attributes of the ideal sales person for your firm. You need this if you are going to upgrade the bottom 20% of your sales team.

This profile changes, however, as the business changes and matures. Think in terms of the Blackberry®. About seven years ago, their sales people had to create demand in a minimally competitive market. Today, the Blackberry® is a staple in business, but buyers have product choices outside of the Blackberry brand. The skill set required to be successful in their business initially is very different than today. Don’t have a profile? See my article titled “The Sales Marriage” to learn how to formulate your ideal sales person profile.

9. Revenue Accelerator Program (RAP). Again, you are probably asking yourself what this term means. I could have just written “new hire training.” That doesn’t convey the importance of getting sales people to a productive level as quickly as possible. Every time a sales person is hired in your company, there is a cost to the business. Thus, the development of a program that is focused on reducing the time for a sales person to generate revenue is critical.

To effectively formulate your RAP, ask yourself what the sales person needs to know to effectively sell your product and when do they need to know this information. Some err by using the fire hose approach. “Teach them everything in their first week and tell them to go sell!” The fundamental question is, how quickly is there a return on the investment for this hire?

10. Skill Development. Many think that sales talent is born; not developed. Oh, if that were only the case. Companies need to invest in their sales team development just as professional sports teams practice their craft every single day. Sales is a profession, one of the few professions in which ongoing training is not required to continue to perform in the role.

However, it is critical to success. One of the biggest disconnects between executives and sales people is when the sales team is criticized for not “selling the value.” When the executives are asked when and how they trained the sales team on demonstrating this value, a blank look appears on their faces. Sales people will perform based on how they are trained and how they are compensated.

11. Compensation. Does your compensation plan drive the sales behaviors you feel assist in meeting the business objective? It all comes back to the business objective. The blessing and curse of sales people is that they use their compensation plan as a job description. If you pay them for doing one thing, but expect another, you will be disappointed. This is also a very sensitive area. The plan must change as the business objective changes. However, if the plan changes too frequently, the sales team will grow distrustful and look to leave. Approach this with true circumspection.

12. Metrics. The beauty of sales is that just about everything can be measured. Some like sales for that very reason. It is incumbent on the executive team to create metrics with desired goals such that every aspect of the company’s sales architecture can be measured and analyzed. This is a great way to use your CRM. They are designed to track what needs to be measured.

I suggest analyzing performance of team members, product lines, and the sales organization in total. Who sells the most of what product? Who sells the highest margin deals? What product is not selling as expected? Which sales person has the shortest buying cycle? Which sales person has the longest buying cycle?

Review of these twelve areas will ensure that your sales organization is finely tuned and ready to conquer the selling world.
____________
Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales activity using his sales architectureR methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager." Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, "Secrets of Business Gurus." He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.

*brought to you by SalesTrainingAdvice.com

Stop Sounding Like a Self-Serving Salesperson By Jill Konrath

After several months of leaving a series of voicemail messages for a prospective customer, she finally picks up the phone. "Marie Trent speaking," she says in a flat tone.

Startled by the human voice on the other end of the phone, the message you spent hours crafting disappears instantaneously from your memory bank. Instead, you blurt out:

"Hi. My name is __ and I'm the sales rep for Generic Industries. You've probably heard of us. We're the fastest-growing firm in the market right now and we have locations in 13 different cities. The reason I'm calling today is I'd like to get together with you to explore your needs and show you ..."

"Excuse me," she interrupts. "We're already working with another company."

"Which one?" you ask, fingers crossed.

"Newco. And we're quite happy with them."

"What do you like about them?"

"They take good care of us, they know our firm and their pricing is great."

"Would you be open to considering other options? I'd be glad to show you what we could do for your company."

"Not at this time," she answers curtly.

"When should I call you back then," you ask politely.

"Why don't you try calling in six months."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate the time you took with me today. I'll get back to you then," you say, smiling inside because you "KNOW" it's only a matter of time before you get lots of business from this firm.

What's wrong with scenario? Actually, just about everything. If you were the seller, I'd tell you that:

* You suffer from a bad case of delusional thinking. The buyer brushed you off, plain and simple.

* You interrupted someone's business day with no thought as to what they were doing when they picked up the phone.

* You lacked a peer-to-peer approach. Intelligent buyers immediately sense you're a lightweight when you're so eager to settle for a 'fictional" appointment six months from now.

* You solidified your prospect's positive feelings about the competition by the questions you asked.

* You were entirely focused on "what's in it for you" - not the value your prospect gets from your using your product or service.

Certainly that wasn't your intention. You were trying to be nice, conversational and perhaps even avoid sounding like a typical salesperson. Unfortunately, that's not how you came across. You sounded pretty self-serving.

Tips For Getting High Quality Appointments

1. If you're sick and tired of getting yourself caught in situations like this, use these tips to help you change the game. Plan out multiple contacts before you even pick up the phone.

* Develop multiple scripts highlighting various aspects of your value proposition.
* Then, write out various emails you can depending on your prospect's business situation.
* Finally, develop a campaign you can roll out over time.

2. Make sure your message focuses on your value proposition. Ensure each contact states the clear business value that clients receive from working with your firm.

* "We work with clients to significantly reduce time-to-market on new product introductions."
* "One of our customers saved over $1/3 million in just the past year by eliminating the redundancies in their system."

3. Treat the person you contact like a human being, not a prospect. In calling a friend, you'd:

* Automatically ask if you were interrupting: "Is it a bad time?"

* Notice if they sounded distracted and address it head on: "Hey, if you're swamped right now, I don't want to interrupt. I'd rather catch you when you have a few minutes to talk."

* Immediately suggest a future contact, initiated by you: "When is a good time to call you back?"

4. Prepare for the common obstacles prior to the call - and eliminate them if at all possible.

* "We already use ___." You respond: "Well I assume a company of your size would be working with another firm. (pause) AND that's why we need to meet ... "

* "We're really busy right now. We couldn't possibly take time to look at options." You respond: "You and I know that six months from now your workload isn't going to be any lighter. AND that's exactly why we need to get together ...

* "Your prices are too high." You respond: "Yes our prices are higher than others on the market. AND that's exactly why we need to meet ..."

Please note that the second sentence starts with AND, not BUT! Because 'and' doesn't negate your prospect's perspective, they're interested in learning more.

Then, reel off 2-3 valid business reasons that this prospect should get together with you. They need to flow out of your mouth without hesitation, so prepare them ahead of time. These are true statements, not slippery manipulations, so make sure you state them with quiet confidence.

If you (or others in your company) can't come up with any reasons, then you'd better take a serious look at the sustainability of your business model. Just because "you want their money" is just not a good enough reason for them to meet with you!

Recently I interviewed Amy, the "Vice President of First Impressions" for a small technology firm. Using the phone and email, she arranges meetings between her company's sales reps and Chief Technology Officers from Fortune 1000 firms.

In less than 8 months, she's set up appointments with over 50 of these big companies. She's a real telesales professional. If you heard her conversations with prospects, you'd think they were her long-time friends.

Amy focuses on business, treats these C-level executives as equals and enjoys her conversations with them. But, she also has at least 4 voicemail messages and 3 emails at her fingertips, ready to use as needed.

In addition to the above strategies, Amy recommends that you:

5. Piggyback off competitors, if at all possible. When you're trying to get into an account, don't immediately try to displace long-standing incumbents. Instead, position your offering as one the co-exists alongside their current supplier or even enhances it.

6. Keep "tweaking" your "message" till you get it right. In her first three months on the job, Amy didn't set up one single appointment. Yes, she was extremely discouraged. AND, she kept trying new approaches till she found ways that worked.

7. Be yourself! Laugh with your prospects, enjoy them - and let them know you'll be coming back.

Summary:

Sounding like a sleazy, well-oiled seller will not get you an appointment in today's market. Think of your phone calls as business-to-business conversations with peers. That may be a hard mind shift to make, but it's where you need to be. If your business acumen is lacking, start reading up on the subject so you can become conversant.

And, most importantly keep working at it! Try focusing on different aspects of your value proposition. Try reframing what you say. Change a word or two, if need be. But don't keep doing the same thing, again and again. That's insanity.
_____________
Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, is a recognized sales strategist in the highly competitive B2B market. A popular speaker at sales meetings, she helps her clients crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle and generate demand for their offering. Konrath publishes an industry-leading e-newsletter and blog. To subscribe and get a free Sales Call Planning Guid ($19.95), visit SellingtoBigCompanies.com. For more info on sales training, call 651-429-1922.

Sponsor Message: Learn the skillset that all sales champions know and implement -- visit BusinessNetworkingAdvice.com today!

Top 10 Reasons Why You Might Consider Sending Out Cards...

Talk about making the case for getting more personal in your sales efforts by using greeting cards, personal notes, and thank you cards...

I received the following sales stats from my friend Jeff Packard. Jeff is currently a trainer with Sendoutcards -- he and I met several years ago when he was working with the Tom Hopkins organization. Suffice it to say Jeff knows what it takes to succeed in selling. He literally learned from one of the best sales trainers in the world.

On with the list...

1. Most businesses lose 10-17% of their business every year.

2. 62% of your clients aren’t taking advantage of all of your products or services.

3. 91% of our customers say they would give us a referral.

4. 80% haven’t been encouraged to do so!

5. You lose 10% of your influence for every month that you don’t have contact with your client.

6. A 5% increase in customer loyalty could yield 20-80% to your bottom line.

7. Studies show that an average prospect won’t do business with you until they’ve seen or heard from you or your message at least 7 times.

8. 79% of all trade show leads aren’t followed up.

9. 66% of your business within the next year will come from your sphere of influence.

10. Only 3% of the mail we receive is personal.

And that's worth thinking about!

* By the way, if you'd like to learn more about SendOutCards, a powerful relationship marketing system that I both use and recommend you can do so here.

-- Yours in selling success, Josh Hinds :-)

Programming Yourself for Success -- By Brian Tracy

Your mission statement is always written in the present tense, as though you have already become the person that you have described. It is always positive rather than negative. And it is always personal.

Program Yourself Correctly...
Your subconscious mind can only accept your mission statement as a set of commands when you phrase it in the present, positive and personal tenses. "I am an exceptional salesperson," is a perfect example.

After every sales call, you should quickly reread your mission statement and ask yourself if your recent behavior was more like the person you want to be, or less?

As a top sales performer, you are always comparing your sales activities against a high standard and adjusting your activities upward. You're continually striving to be better. Every day in every way, you are deliberately working to become more like the ideal person you have envisioned.

Determine Your Mission Statement...
Your goal is that, a year from today, when one of your customers has lunch with one of your prospects, and your prospect asks your customer to describe you in detail as a salesperson, your customer will recite your business mission statement voluntarily.

The way you have treated your customer will have been so exemplary that your customer will describe you in the most glowing of terms.

Compare Yourself Against Yourself...
Once you have developed a mission statement like this, you can read it, review it, edit it, and upgrade it regularly. You can add additional qualities to it and more clearly define the qualities you've already listed. It becomes your personal credo, your philosophy of life, your statement of beliefs and a guide to your behavior in all your interactions with others. Each day, you can evaluate your behaviors and compare them against the standard that you have set in this statement.

Shape Your Own Personality...
Over time, a remarkable thing will happen. As you read and review your personal mission statement, you will find yourself, almost unconsciously, shaping your words and conforming your behaviors so that you are more and more like the ideal person you have defined.

People will notice the change in you almost immediately. Over time, you will find that you are actually creating within yourself the kind of character and personality that you most admire in others. You will have become the molder and the shaper of your own personal destiny.

After you have applied the ABC Method to your list, you will now be completely organized and ready to get more important things done faster.

Action Exercises:

First, imagine that one of your customers was going to meet with one of your prospects. What would you want him to say about you? How could you behave with your customer to assure that he says these things?

Second, talk to yourself positively all the time. Feed your mind with positive messages that describe your goals and the person you want to be.
_________________
Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

Handling Rejection By Paul McCord

The life of a salesperson is filled with rejection. We typically hear far more “no’s” than we do “yes’s.” Actually, we probably hear “no” every single day of our selling careers.

Moreover, unfortunately, it isn’t just from prospects we hear “no.” We hear it from our companies, our suppliers, our sales manager, and almost everyone else we deal with. Our life is filled with the word “no.” Nevertheless, in order to get to our “yes’s,” we must hear the “no’s.”

How we handle the “no” is one of the keys to succeeding in sales. It seems that there are some people who can just slough off “no’s” without a second thought. But for most of us, a “no” is a personal rejection.

Depending on how you market, dealing with a “no” can be a direct, in-your-face rejection, or can be an anonymous trashing of our direct mail letter. However, all of us must, at some point in the selling process, deal with face-to-face rejection.

If you cold call, your rejection is immediate -- and if your cold calling is done on the phone, can appear to be very personal. When you call a complete stranger and they hang up on you or rudely tell you to get lost, the tendency is to take that as personal rejection. The salesperson that has sent out a thousand direct mail letters actually suffers the same rejection, but is protected by not knowing the recipient did not even look at it, but instead immediately threw it into the trash.

In actuality, the rejection is the same -- the individual is rejecting your offer, not you. But one salesperson must hear in a loud, clear click his rejection, while the other never hears the soft drop of the letter into the trash.

Worse, once you get the opportunity to get in front of a prospect, the “no’s” continue to come. You make your presentation. You get your no. You answer the prospect’s objections -- and you get your no. You drive home your close -- and you get your no. Repeatedly, at times, it seems that no is the only word people know.

Then, finally, you get a qualified yes. The prospect agrees to purchase if you can do a little something out of the ordinary. Yes! Finally, someone who has his checkbook out and ready to go. All you need is a little help from your sales manager. And, then, it happens again. No. Sometimes you feel that you not only have to fight prospects, but your sales manager also.

You managed to get your manager on board? Great. Now all you have to do is get the warehouse to agree to nudge a delivery in a little earlier than the calendar allows. And, again, no.

Do the no’s ever stop? No.

Of course, there are the yes’s -- and that is what keeps us going. Striving to get to the occasional yes. However, all of those “no’s” can stop us dead in our tracks if we allow them. How we handle the “no’s” is the key to how we get to the “yes’s.”

Attitude is one of the great limiters of salespeople. People have a tendency to anticipate outcomes and many times that anticipation has an influence on the actual outcome. If you approach a task with a defeatist attitude, there is a good chance that you will fail. If you approach the same task with an attitude of success, there is a good chance you will succeed. Why? Several reasons, but two are of importance to our discussion.

First, if we assume we will fail, we will not give our best effort. Why should we? We already know the outcome before we even try to tackle the problem. After all, we are just wasting our time.

Secondly, our prospect can read our defeatism in our voice and body language. Moreover, if we do not believe in what we are saying, how in the world can we expect a prospect to believe it?

Consequently, in order to be successful, we must be able to take the rejection we experience and deal with it in a positive manner. We have to find a way to eliminate the residual negative feelings we have from the rejection that seems to be all around us.

Advice for handling rejection has generally centered on either understanding that each “no” gets us closer to “yes,” or understanding that, since the prospect does not know us as an individual, the rejection cannot be personal, but is rather a rejection of the offer we made.

Both of these are true statements. For many of us, neither gives us much relief.

So, if the traditional methods of dealing with rejection do not seem to work very well, what can we do to rearrange our attitudes? It seems we need to find a format that will give us the opportunity to offset the rejection with success. We need to institute a program that will allow our brains to regroup and experience the joy and positive reinforcement of getting the yes’s that offset the “no’s.”

How can we create a method to give our brains the positive yes’s it needs to readjust after receiving a chorus of no’s?

One method that has been very successfully used by a number of salespeople is to set aside tasks during the day where they know for certain they will be successful. You have a contract to sign with a new client? Try to schedule it later in the day, after you have done your cold calling tour of duty for the day. End the day on the positive note of signing a contract. Have a couple of very strong referrals to call? Again, make the positive calls after you have made your cold calls. Save the best for last.

Some salespeople have found that reversing this schedule leads to more productive cold calling time. Having just come from signing a contract or having made two very successful calls to strong referrals gives them the positive mental attitude needed to sound strong and convincing on the phone when they make their cold calls.

Better yet, try to arrange your schedule where you have two or more positive tasks to perform each day and split them up so your brain is readjusted several times during the course of the day. The more regularly you can feed your brain positive experiences, the easier it is to deal with rejection. Rejection becomes the exception, rather than the norm.

Other salespeople use bribery to handle their rejection. Bribery comes in all forms and fashions. The salesperson will assign themselves a certain number of phone calls or presentations or other tasks that they must perform and then, as a reward, they allow themselves to do something they desire to do -- work on their sales files, go to lunch, work on marketing materials, or some such.

Others reward themselves with new clothes or some other object. Others will allow themselves to go home early or take a day off at some point in the future.

Other salespeople have found that detaching themselves from the rejection allows them to ignore their rejection. These salespeople will use a number of impersonal prospecting methods, such as direct mail, email blasts, and advertising. By not experiencing the rejection first-hand, they believe they can be more positive and successful when dealing directly with a prospect when making a full presentation.

My experience has been that methods two and three have serious drawbacks. Let us take each in turn:

Bribing yourself can become expensive -- both in terms of the rewards you give yourself, whether buying something for yourself or allowing yourself time off. In addition, it really does not reprogram your brain. All it really does is encourage you to get through the task as quickly as possible to get your reward. If the reward discourages quality work during the task, it really is not a reward for doing the task, but is rather a reward for putting on the show of doing the task.

The third method -- using an impersonal prospecting tool to replace direct prospect contact can also be dangerous. There certainly is not anything intrinsically wrong with marketing via direct mail, advertising, emails, and such -- as long as the object is not to avoid prospect contact. Besides being relatively expensive, these methods of prospecting should be a supplement to your direct prospect contact, not a substitute.

Unfortunately, if your objective becomes avoiding prospect contact to insulate yourself from direct prospecting and rejection, the task of sending out direct mail pieces, sending emails, constructing ads, etc. become the goals in and of themselves. They no longer become a format for increasing your potential pool of prospects, but rather they become the reason for your existence -- you live to create the perfect direct mail piece that generates interest and sells your product or service without your involvement at all.

Arranging your schedule to allow daily activities that reinforce your positive selling activities, including prospecting tends to be the most successful way to deal with rejection. Certainly, if you happen to be one of the lucky few who can simply ignore the rejection you receive, I envy you. Nevertheless, for the vast majority of us in sales, we must find a format that allows us to reformat our brains after experiencing sustained rejection. Allowing our brains to experience success on a regular basis, particularly after having experienced rejection, seems to be the attitude adjustment mechanism that works best for the majority of us.

Try arranging your schedule to purposely take advantage of the successes you know you will experience everyday. Place them in your schedule when you know your attitude will need their positive influence and you will see a marked difference in the way you handle rejection.
_____________
Sales trainer, consultant, speaker and bestselling author, Paul McCord is a international expert on lead generation, referral selling and personal marketing. Visit his site at www.PowerReferralSelling.com or email him at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com

Sponsor Message: Looking To Make More Sales? Then take this powerful relationship marketing system for a test-drive...

The Secret to Overcoming the Price Objection By Lee B. Salz

Ok. This is false advertising. There is no secret to "overcoming" the price objection. The truth is that the price objection cannot be overcome. That is because it isn't intended to be overcome. It is meant to be resolved through thought facilitation by a sales person. The sales person's role is to help the prospect work through the price concern as opposed to attempting to overcome it.

First, can we agree that it isn't really an objection? It is a concern. I know that many sales books call it an objection, but it is not. It is an attempt by the prospect to resolve financial questions in their mind. People want to feel good about decisions they make and that is why concerns are brought up.

The mistake many sales people make is that they think they understand the prospect's concern when the price issue is initially raised. A fatal flaw, indeed! The truth is that the cause for this concern isn't initially known. A myriad of possibilities could be causing this to come up now such as:

- Is it a question of how much use they will get of the product?
- Is it whether or not they can afford it?
- Is it that they saw a similar product at a cheaper price?
- Or is it a sales person being hyper-sensitive to the mere mention of price?

There are others, but you get the point. The bottom line is that without knowing what is causing the price concern, you can't possibly help the prospect work it through. To share a personal example, I live in Minnesota where owning a boat is commonplace. To me, however, it is expensive. It isn't the price of the boat, or the cost of maintenance, or even the price of the slip. It is the fact that the season for boating is so short that I don't feel I would get enough usage out of it to make it worth the financial investment.

On the other hand, I bought Peg Perego, motorized cars for my three kids. Each one had a $300 price tag on it. Expensive to some, but cheap to me. Why? Because I'm rich? Hardly. No, it is because my kids use them, a lot! From my perspective, it's worth every penny! If I get significant utility out of something, I can justify the price in my mind. At the other end of the spectrum, like most parents, I have also bought tons of toys in the $20 price range that have been used once, maybe twice. After that, the toys are never touched again. To me, that is expensive.

Some other price concerns center on whether or not the prospect can financially afford the product. A good sales person will facilitate the conversation that helps the prospect to recognize the options available to them for financing the purchase.

In other scenarios, the prospect has seen the same product, or a similar one, at a lower price. The human mind tries to make everything into an easy to understand commodity. When I worked in employment background screening, prospects would compare a $9.95 database search with a comprehensive courthouse search. The comparison of the two was apples and oranges. The strong salespeople were able to explain the difference in a way that led prospects to see that they needed the comprehensive search. The $9.95 search can be perceived as very expensive since you rarely catch any bad guys with it.

The worst case is when the salesperson does not believe that his product is worth its price tag. If this hits home for you, I highly encourage you to look to be somewhere else. If you don't believe in your price, I guarantee you that no one else will either. If you believe that all sales ultimately come down to price, help me to understand this:

1. Why doesn't everyone buy generic drugs?
2. Why do people buy bottled water when they can get it for free from the tap?
3. Why doesn't everyone drive a Yugo?
4. Why are people buying satellite radio when there are plenty of good stations available for free?
5. How come most people have cable or satellite television when they can get a dozen stations for free?
6. Why isn't everyone shaving with a single-blade disposable razor?
7. Why isn't everyone drinking generic coffee?
8. Why isn't everyone fighting to sit in the last row at the ballgame?
9. Why do people even go to a ballgame when they can watch it comfortably for free in their living room?
10. How did your company get any clients at all?

I think you get my point. Thus, you really do believe that someone will pay more if they feel the purchase is worth the price. Maybe you can't afford the product you are selling. That is a completely different issue. There is a great expression that goes along with that. "Don't spend the prospect's money." You don't belong in their shoes, so don't put yourself there. You never truly know a person's financial situation.

Look, no one wants to get ripped off. And everyone wants to brag that they got a good deal. So, if you can master the facilitation of the discussion around the pricing concern, you will inherently have more sales.
_____________
Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales activity using his sales architectureR methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager." Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, "Secrets of Business Gurus." He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.

Sponsor Message: Take your sales career to dizzying heights with this powerful client relationship building tool.