Tips to succeed in Sales

1. Leaving voice mail messages is not a the best way to develop new customers, but it is a great way to keep in contact with those customers with whom you already have a relationship but may not deal with on a frequent basis . .....

Learn the Customer

2. Every time youre with a customer, make it a point to learn something personal and professional about them. Dont allow your time together to be so focused on the immediate business opportunity that you miss out on additional, long term information. Its the long term information you gain that will help you retain the customer, and the longer you have a customer, the more likely they are to refer others to you.When youre gathering information about .....

A Perception is Worth a Thousand Words

3. Recently, I stopped by a computer store to have my PC worked on and the clerk proved to be anything but customer friendly. When she did finally speak to me, she told me I would need to leave my PC at the store for at least 3 5 days and that I should be prepared to have everything wiped off the computer. Her comments were not very reassuring, and as I left the store, I mulled over my decision to leave the PC with them. Within an hour, I returned t .....

Opening the Sales Call

4. Always start off a sales call by covering three things: 1. Gain a clear understanding of the amount of time the call will take. 2. Make sure the customer knows what the objective of the call is. 3. Relate the reason for the current sales call to the previous sales call you had with the person, or to information you may have sent them.Connecting the current sales call to something previous gives the customer the comfort of knowing you remember ful .....

Your Price is Not High Enough

5. OK, so youve never heard that line, but wouldnt it be great to hear it? A price can never be too high .....

Celebrate Your Customers Anniversary

6. For salespeople who have retained customers for a period of years, its special to recognize them and their relationship with you. Its also a great way for your customers to realize how much you think of them and a great way for you to take the relationship to an even higher level through this personalized type of communication. .....

Hand Written Business Cards

7. Next time youre about to give someone your business card, take a moment to personalize it. If you take a moment to jot on the card your cell number, a home phone number, or some other piece of information that is not already on the card, you will suddenly make the person to whom youre talking feel very special. Chances are the person will never call you on the hand written phone numbers, but simply writing them on the card gives the person the fe .....

Speak With Your Face

8. Im constantly amazed at the number of times I run across salespeople who clearly dont believe what theyre saying. It is easy to spot in the persons face and body language. They take on a whole host of non verbals, ranging from non expressive smiles with tight lips to eyes that lack any sense of direction. When were selling to a customer in person or on the phone, we have to make sure our entire face reflects the enthusiasm and excitement of our .....

Umbrella Questions

9. Dont forget to use umbrella questions on every sales call. Umbrella questions are questions that work in any selling situation and are designed to provide you with additional information. Examples of umbrella questions include: Why? Tell me more. Share with me another example. Explain further. Are there some other examples you could share with me? You get the idea .....

Customers Goals

10. Do you know what goals your customers have? Just think how much more effective you could be if you knew the goals of the person to whom you are selling. Find out what their personal and business goals are for the current and upcoming year by asking questions and listening to their answers. In addition, let them know that you have set goals for yourself. Explain your belief that it is essential for you to help your customers achieve their goals in .....

Prospecting Timeline

11. At certain times in the year, most people are working hard to make their numbers. Yet, at the same time, many have no idea how long it takes to turn a prospect into a profitable customer. Creating a prospecting timeline can help benchmark past experiences and streamline future ones. Begin this process by examining a few recent customers, and then break down the key activities you went through.Your goal should be to determine the specific activiti .....

Holiday Networking

12. When we near the holidays, its a great time to begin preparing your schedule for making phone calls to people to whom you rarely talk. Theres no better opportunity than during the holidays to call someone you havent spoken to recently and wish them a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. If you make 5 calls per day, just think of how many people you can network with by the time December 31 rolls around? .....

Holiday Selling

13. Often the holiday period becomes a very difficult time to sell when youre in a business to business environment. If this is the case for you, use the holiday period to sell yourself and your knowledge. Send your customers information about your industry, the economy or other points of interest. Although they may not read the information, they will notice that you took the time to send it to them.Use these months to deepen your relationship with y .....

Know Your Customers Customer

14. How much do you know about your customers customer? It doesnt matter if you sell B2B or B2C, the question still demands an answer. I work with too many salespeople who, when asked this question, have only a shallow answer.Take the time to find out all you can about what motivates your customers customers. Spend time with them, talk to them, and, most of all, get to know what drives their decision making process. When you can identify this informa .....

New Years Resolution

15. Start the New Year off right by developing the habit of recording the questions you ask on a sales call. Create a complete list of all the questions you ask to open a conversation, explore facts, close a sale, etc. Along with recording the questions, make a note of the type of responses you receive. Within a few months, you will not only have documented your questioning skills, but also developed your own personal list of questions you feel very .....

Have you Learned Something New

16. There is always something new you can learn about your customers, whether they are newly acquired or long term accounts. Use each sales call as an opportunity to be teachable. Its amazing how customers change! Unless you keep up to date knowledge about them, you will soon find theyve changed and you havent. After each sales call, ask yourself what you learned about the customer and, of course, make sure you record it in your customer profile. .....

Benchmark Your Sales Goal

17. At the end of each day and each week, compare your accomplishments to your overall sales goal. If you achieved the volume you needed to hit your goal, congratulate yourself! If you didnt, identify at least one thing that did go right and might help you achieve your goal in time. Always find something positive to end the day with. Before you leave, dont forget to set up the next day or week! The last thing you want to do is use those very producti .....

Google a Customer Prospect

18. Looking for a reason to contact a customer or a prospect? Search their name on Google.com to see if there are any listings for them. Youll be astonished at what you can find concerning your customers/prospects or others with their same name. Regardless of the outcome, the search should give you some interesting antidotes you can use on the next contact. When that contact is made, the customer/prospect will be amazed you took the time to do the se .....

Agree on Something

19. Never end a sales call without having agreed with your customer on something, even if its not the close of a sale. The objective of coming to an agreement, no matter how small it might be, is to demonstrate to the customer that youre able to move the sale forward. If possible, gain agreement on one particular aspect of the sale and use this as a building block for the next time you meet. However, if you cant see eye to eye on a particular aspect .....

Reduce Your Selling Time

20. In each day, make time to not do any type of selling. Rather, use that time to reflect upon recent sales contacts and identify at least one thing you did well in each. Think of the questions you asked, the body language you used, and the information you shared. After youve pinpointed the best of the best, take the time to plan how you can do that same activity in every other sales call you have. .....

Dont Present All Your Information

21. Never plan to present all of your information on a sales call. If you do, youll have nothing left to show the customer should you reach the end of your presentation without a sale. The keys to a successful sales call are to know your information so well and to be so prepared that you do not need to present everything to gain the sale. The best sales presentation is the one never given. .....

Add On Sales

22. Every time you make a sales presentation, always be thinking about what the add on sales may be. If you wait to think about this until after you close as is commonly done , you tend to be too rushed and forget the whole add on process. Thinking about these sales during the presentation will enable you to be ready when the time comes to ask for them. In addition, many times, the suggestive sell of the add ons can help close the sale of the first .....

Never Give 100 percent

23. The customer should never hear your entire sales presentation! If you have to deliver the whole thing to make a sale, you either havent developed a very good presentation or you shouldnt be selling. The purpose of the sales presentation is to assist you, the salesperson. It is not so you can assist the fancy, glossy sales materials or the super slick PowerPoint presentation.Great salespeople never have to deliver their entire presentation because .....

Expertise in 30 Minutes a Day

24. No one has the time to read everything they need to in either their professional or personal lives. This general shortcoming creates a magnificent opportunity for us as salespeople to become experts in our industry. A universal lack of reading time means that all it takes for a person to be viewed as an expert in his field in less than a year is a commitment to read for 30 minutes a day about their trade not counting medicine, engineering, etc. .....

Using Time to Sell

25. Frequently, salespeople think the way to control the amount of time needed for a sale with their customers is by offering them a special deal if they buy now. When this is done, the salesperson is usually only giving away profit, while thinking hes speeding up a sale. We leverage time best by selling to the customers time parameters, not our own. When we sell to their parameters, we are selling at a higher value and a higher profit. .....

Know the Influencer

26. With many sales, it appears there is only one person involved in the decision making process. Yet, more times than not, another person is behind the scenes influencing the decision. When you make your sales call, always assume there is an influencer and expect to deal with him or her. To find out who that influencer is, use probing questions with the customer such as: Who else in your organization is typically involved in decisions such as this? .....

Price Discussion

27. When faced with resistance to price, offer the customer an example of where they spend considerably more money on something else. By doing so, the customer will begin to put into context the amount youre asking them to spend with you. .....

Universal Questions

28. There are six universal questions you can ask almost anytime and anywhere in a sales presentation. They are: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, and How?. A perfect place to ask one of these is when youre not sure where to go with the discussion and/or are afraid of losing control. .....

Sales Advocates

29. The best way to make a sale is to have someone else make it for you. You do this by creating sales advocates. These are people who are so impressed with what you offer and/or the way you sell that they tell others about you even without you asking. If you havent obtained any sales like this, then you dont have any sales advocates and, more importantly, your sales process and/or service may not measure up to what people expect. .....

Uncover New Benefits

30. After people have had time to experience the product or service youre selling, they often begin to realize benefits they werent expecting. Talk to your long term customers and find out what additional benefits theyre experiencing. You may find it advantageous to use these in your future sales presentations. .....

Quiet Time

31. Block out 30 minutes a day or 2 hours a week to move to a quiet location with nothing but a blank piece of paper. During this time, ask yourself how you can secure more sales from your existing customers and make notes of your thoughts. Your best ideas will always come when you step back from the business long enough to examine how you can take your customer relationships to a higher level. .....

Is It Your Product or You

32. Its important to understand why people do business with you. Have you ever asked your customers why they chose you? Have you ever asked those who chose your competitors why they did not decide to do business with you? Find out if theres anything about your sales process that needs to be modified. The information is free, and it may wind up being the best feedback youve ever received. .....

Your Head

33. Tilting your head slightly when you are listening to someone speak communicates that you are giving them your undivided attention. Its amazing how this simple type of body language can convey a powerful message. .....

Develop a professional greeting

34. Don t just say hello and jump into your telephone presentation without taking a breath or allowing the other party to participate. Your greeting should err on the side of formality. Begin with Mr., Mrs. or Ms, as in Good morning, Mr. Smith. Or Good evening, Mrs. Jones. Everyone else says, Hello. Be different. Be professional. .....

Introduce yourself and your company

35. My name is Sally Smith with ABC Company. We re a local firm that specializes in helping businesses like yours save money. Don t get too specific yet. Don t mention your product. If you do, that allows the other party to say, Oh, we re happy with what we ve got. Thanks anyway, and hang up. By keeping your introduction general, yet mentioning a benefit, you ll pique your prospect s curiosity and keep them on the line longer. .....

Express gratitude

36. Always thank the potential client for allowing you a few moments in his busy day. Tell him that you won t waste a second of his time. I want to thank you for taking my call. This will only involve a moment of your time so you can get back to your busy schedule. Don t say that you ll just take a moment. The feeling evoked by them hearing that you ll take anything from them will put them off. .....

State the purpose of your call

37. It s best if you can provide the purpose within a question. If we can show you a way to improve the quality of your product at a lower cost, would you be interested to know more? This is very likely to get a yes response. At this point, you re ready to start selling an opportunity to meet this person or to get their permission to provide them with more information. You re not selling your product yet you re selling what your product will do for .....

Schedule a meeting

38. Get a confirmation to meet, either in person or to teleconference to get the information you need in order to give a solid presentation. If he s so interested that he wants to do it right then and there, that s OK. .....

Follow up

39. If your meeting is more than a few days in the future, send a letter of confirmation immediately. If the meeting is tomorrow, send an e mail confirmation. Keep it short and upbeat. .....

Covet your time

40. Time is precious only 86,400 seconds in a day. Average people waste most of those seconds in unproductive or unrewarding ways. Successful people manage their time efficiently. They are aware of how they spend it and make conscious choices to use it wisely whether to work, relax or regenerate with family. .....

Have a personal mission statement

41. Hopkins has his personal mission statement at his desk: I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment. Mine is peppered throughout my published writing: Inspire people to pursue the awesome experience. Successful people identify what they are about and make their choices accordingly. .....

Spend 5 minutes a day prioritizing

42. Without prioritization, it s difficult to be efficient and productive. Hopkins suggests taking 5 minutes at the end of every day to sit down, assess and choose the 5 or 6 priorities for tomorrow so you can begin with clarity. Successful people don t squander effort and energy on unimportant issues. .....

Be a follow up specialist

43. Many people talk a good game and then never deliver. Sometimes the cause is hypocrisy and sometimes it s simply being sloppy and careless. Successful people do what they say they ll do, and they pay close attention to detail so small issues don t get neglected and become major catastrophes. .....

Don t be a lemming

44. If you are always heading the same direction as everyone else, you may move forward, but you ll have little control of your destiny. Successful people often figure out what everyone else does only to do the opposite, which many times puts them ahead of the pack. .....

Keep a thick skin about rejection

45. For many each no is like taking a punch in the gut or a slap in the face. The way to get up and keep going is to remember that it s just business. Successful people know that the key to getting life s few brilliant yeses is to positively cope with the many noes you get on the way to receiving them. .....

Make others feel important

46. The greatest craving of most people today is recognition. Unfortunately, so many people are so tightly focused on their own status and problems they are ignorant to the needs of others. Successful people recognize, support and encourage others on their journey, which brings synergy, energy and satisfaction to all involved. .....

Pace yourself

47. Prospecting is a very time consuming and arduous task. Allocate a specific amount of time each day week? and keep to the schedule. It is always easy to put something ahead of the prospecting activity but make an appointment with yourself and dont break it. .....

Place Your Ad Here

48. Have your kid help you write an ad for your local newspaper and put signs up around town. Less is more when it comes to effective advertising, so skip the glitter unless your kid feels really strongly about it and make signs using bold markers with your address, the date and time of the sale and an arrow pointing in the right direction. .....

Enlist Some Helpers

49. Have your kid ask a friend to chip in for the cause, both by putting her stuff up for sale, too, and volunteering to help the day of. Not only will this double the selection of items for sale, youll have an extra pair of hands to help. In the days leading up to the sale, look over and clean all the items. Theres nothing worse than selling a pair of jeans for $3 and remembering there was a $20 bill in the back pocket. .....

Consider Your Layout

50. When it comes to rummaging through other peoples used stuff, presentation matters: Have your kids help you arrange all items by category, and make it easy to navigate between sections. Instead of throwing books into a box, line them up on a bookshelf for easy browsing. Hang up clothes on an old shower rod and order them by size. No one wants to dig through piles of precariously stacked T shirts, and you dont want to be the one stuck folding and .....

Create Ambiance

51. Just because youre setting up shop in your front yard doesnt mean it cant have the vibe of a classy boutique. Play some nice background music so shoppers arent perusing in silence. If your kid is really into it, he could even open a lemonade stand and sell packaged snacks or your favorite homemade cookies to make some extra cash. Make sure to have a garbage can nearby to keep things tidy. .....

Dont Overprice

52. The main thing to remember is not to overprice. Although its nice to make money, clearing out that excess clutter should be your ultimate goal. A good rule of thumb is to sell things for one half to one third their original price. Your kid might be very attached to that old stuffed animal, but even though its super cute, its still a secondhand product to a new owner. .....