Well, that’s what everyone says isn’t it? That’s what you believe, isn’t it? Confess. You’ve bought into the idea that you have to work long and hard and pay your dues in order to succeed.
If you aren’t producing the results you want now you think you ... Views: 758
You’ve invested a great deal of time and energy first developing prospects then meeting for an appointment. At the end of the appointment do you stumble when it comes time to ask for the business? You’re not alone. In fact, a full 63% of all appointments end without the ... Views: 810
Absolutely. While this “secret” is right under your nose most don’t put the pieces together and take advantage of the five-pronged key elements for increased sales. You will immediately increase your sales when you include all five elements in your business and develop ... Views: 789
Beyond product knowledge, sales skills, and marketing skills there are three essentials for sales success? Do you know what they are? Can you guess? Before continuing please answer for yourself the question, “what are the three essential skills for sales success?”
The first ... Views: 823
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in sales is losing your momentum. You make a big push to get a bunch of appointments then you get busy holding those appointments and taking care of the new business. The whole time you’re focused on working through these new prospects you ... Views: 786
Salespeople are busy people. Some are so busy they’ve come to realize that time management is actually keeping them from achieving the outcomes they want. It’s frustrating that something so seemingly simple is such a source of trouble.
What most people either don’t realize ... Views: 810
Working with many salespeople from top producers to those struggling to exist it’s clear there are five areas of sales that hold the greatest potential for improvement. Top producers work to fine tune their effectiveness in these areas. And others struggle to gain competence. These five ... Views: 798
Top producers are regular people who take specific actions that average or poor producers don’t. That means there is nothing preventing you from joining this elite group except you. If you’re willing to remove yourself as an obstacle to your success you’ll become a top ... Views: 858
At first it may have been an exciting challenge trying to fill your appointment calendar each week. Soon what was once a challenge became a drudgery. Unfortunately, few of the appointments you secured resulted in immediate business meaning you had to work even harder to fill that appointment ... Views: 788
How much time, energy, and money have you invested in sales training programs, seminars, workshops, and books? If you’re serious about becoming a top sales professional the total is a large number…perhaps so large you could buy a car or at least make a couple house payments with ... Views: 808
Drum roll please. And bounding out from behind the curtain smiling and bowing to the roaring applause appears our sales super star. The crowd is teaming with emotion putty in his paws.
Yes, if you didn’t go out searching for your dog if you ended up bringing home a dog you ... Views: 743
Wait a minute. That doesn’t sound like a fantastic deal, does it? We’re an instant gratification society we want to have it all now, and worry about how we’re going to pay for it later. Hmmm, that puts you and your proposition in an awkward position now doesn’t it? ... Views: 770
Bob, had just finished up another frustrating day that yielded no sales, and no appointments for future sales. He plopped down at his desk and began to sort through his mail dreading the bills he knew he’d find, and wouldn’t be able to pay. As he quickly sorted through the pile ... Views: 824
Many people think product knowledge, motivation/self-improvement, and sales skills are all you need to increase sales. This is especially true of large organizations. Those things are the basic requirements for sales, yet not enough to increase sales.
If you’re in a service ... Views: 783
Are you an insider? An insider is a person who is able to position themselves in a way to make the connections they need to get all the leads they want. Insiders develop their own proprietary leads list of highly qualified potential prospects. Everyone else pays big bucks to get these names ... Views: 837
When you open your appointment book does it look like your bank account? Empty! Can you sit in your office for hours on end with no interruptions in the form of phone calls from potential prospects and suspects dropping in? Feeling as lonely as the Maytag repairman?
Well, at least ... Views: 871
During sweeps week the television stations break-out their best programming in an effort to drive their ratings up. They know if they can catch a viewers attention and then give them something they want the viewer is likely to tune in as a regular viewer each week. The stations performance ... Views: 842
Do you think sales starts at the appointment? If you do you’re short-changing yourself and working far harder than you need to. Your sales results are far less than they could be.
The first two steps in the sales process happen long before the appointment. Step one is to ... Views: 804
The wheat is falling from the chafe. Just this past week two more sales people fell. It happens every day of every week of every year, and when the external economy gets tight it only escalates. No matter how good you think you are in sales you will fail if you fail to do what it takes to ... Views: 781
Oh my gosh; nobody has any money, you have a sales manager threatening to cut you loose, and you can’t sell anyone anything! What are you going to tell your family and friends? How are you going to pay your bills? What are you going to do now?
First, stop the conversation ... Views: 919
Do you want to get rid of a client really fast never to have them return? Of course, that’s not what you want. When you’ve earned a client or you have a prospect in your sales funnel you want them to stay a client for a life-time continuing to buy from you, and referring others to ... Views: 827
Proudfoot Consulting reports that salespeople only spend 11% of their time actively selling! Just imagine what would happen to your sales if you were to increase that to 12% or even 15%. There are several reasons you actually spend so little time selling: administrative tasks, travel time, ... Views: 1255
”It won’t be easy, but …it could be the most challenging, most rewarding thing you’ve ever done”, reads a recent ad for State Farm Insurance. It could apply to nearly every business opportunity ad you’ve ever read or considered for any service business. ... Views: 1050
Increase your production by adding more clients and adding higher value clients. Easier said than done, right? Hopefully, no one ever told you it would be easy to sell insurance or investments. Yet, if you do certain things you can make it easier for yourself.
First, identify 3 ... Views: 1002
Do you get to the end of the sales presentation only to be thanked for the information and ever so nicely invited to keep in touch? Ouch! Zig Ziglar refers to this as being a professional visitor. So, what happened how did you come to this point only to walk away empty handed?
... Views: 791
Do you feel like a dog chasing its tail running and running never catching what you want? It’s true sales is about action, however, successful sales is about right action. And right actions spring from the desired golden ring.
To get what you want you have to know what you ... Views: 830
As a service professional when you earn a client you want a life-time client not a one-time sale. The more interaction you have with your clients the greater their satisfaction, and the greater their satisfaction the more likely they are to stay with you, appreciate your services, and refer you ... Views: 833
Setbacks are your opportunity to make powerful comebacks. Throughout your working years as a service business owner you will experience adversity from both internal and external forces. If you lack persistence and determination you will crumble and lose it all.
With persistence and ... Views: 860
Do you wake up each morning expecting great opportunities to present themselves to you? When you expect great opportunities they will be there, you only need to be ready to see them. Your attitude determines whether or not you’ll see those opportunities.
Are you like Bob or ... Views: 841
If you aren’t moving forward you’re moving backward. You want to grow and that means you need to attract more prospects. You’re scared to limit yourself to a specific group of people, or you simply don’t know how to narrow the field. One way to ensure your rapid growth ... Views: 872
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to go for the close too soon. Now I don’t literally mean asking for the sale. What I mean by going for the close too soon is that you jump to your solution or outcome too soon in the sales conversation ruining any chances you have for ... Views: 867
Whoo hoo, your sales are growing and now you’re wondering if it’s time to develop a physical presence in the marketplace. Most service professionals come to this cross-roads and take the next step without carefully considering the impact and the underlying concerns.
... Views: 746
When you try to sell instead of trying to match you can’t sell. Have you ever seen the children’s toy where the child tries to put different shaped objects into matching shaped holes? Essentially selling insurance is the same thing only the shapes and holes are conceptual rather ... Views: 796
Do you wonder how you can be more persuasive? If you’ve ever experienced a top salesperson you recognize that these folks are very persuasive, but never manipulative. Many salespeople try to be persuasive, but end up being manipulative and don’t earn many sales.
One of ... Views: 2186
Ok, confess you’ve said it yourself when approached by a salesperson. And you understand it in a retail setting, but what about service industry businesses? In your case when the prospect projects disinterest what do you do how do you handle it?
What does “I’m ... Views: 756
Do you view prospecting as an outcome or an opportunity? Do you think of prospecting in terms of a process or an event? The way you answer those questions makes a big difference in the results you experience.
Many people view getting the attention of a prospect as the outcome. ... Views: 736
A sales professional’s success is determined by your willingness to invest in yourself. There are two areas for personal development that most will invest in, and one area only Top Producers invest in. Those who aren’t Top Producers never even think to invest in themselves in this ... Views: 1024
Selling services can be confusing and complicated for the potential buyer. It’s a simple truth that a confused buyer will not buy. They can’t make a “yes” buying decision because they aren’t sure what they’re saying “yes” to, and the long-term ... Views: 763
In sales effectiveness is doing the right things to produce the desired result which is more sales. Your effectiveness is dependent on your actions, and the relationships you form with clients and prospects. You can’t be effective if you don’t understand your client’s and ... Views: 858
If your business is based on any service industry ugly sales is not for you. You may be wondering what the heck is ugly sales. You may have never heard it referred to as ugly sales, but you certainly felt how ugly it is when you’ve been on the receiving end of ugly sales.
... Views: 811
You aren’t going to wake up one morning and magically have people clamoring to work with you unless you’ve done the things you need to do to make that happen. But few salespeople have a clue how to get qualified leads contacting them, and they aren’t going to learn overnight. ... Views: 799
I work with and am friends with a number of financial advisors. In a recent conversation with a veteran in the business we discussed the main reasons new advisors don’t make it. Truthfully your odds of making it in the business are pretty slim if you just do what they tell you do to, but ... Views: 807
When you struggle to close the sale you think closing is the problem. But when you struggle to close the sale closing is a symptom of the problem not the problem itself. When you try to fix a symptom as though it were the problem the problem remains because you’re trying to put a ... Views: 795
Even the worst salesperson will fall into an easy sale once in a while. Insurance and investment companies know that and that’s why they push you to meet with anyone who has a heartbeat. They know that if you meet with enough people you’ll eventually sell something to somebody, but ... Views: 746
Your clients and potential clients want you to serve them and their best interests. You have the power to determine your sales success by exceeding the expectations of your potential clients and existing clients. As a service professional your clients want you to act on their behalf and in ... Views: 776
You love a good story, I love a good story, everyone loves a good story. Stories are how we learn and how we remember things. Stories simplify the complicated and support our beliefs. And stories are one of the most powerful tools you can use in a sales conversation if you know how to tell a ... Views: 899
You don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, or at least you’re acting like you don’t. You’re like a frustrated employee who hates their job, but doesn’t see how to get a better one. You lack focus, but you don’t know what to focus on so you’re ... Views: 741
Why do so many saleswomen struggle to compete and excel? It isn’t because you lack skill or knowledge. It’s because you get confused and lose focus on what’s important.
Don’t try and make sales more complicated than it needs to be. Understand that there are ... Views: 774
What does every professional service salesperson need? More appointments with more qualified prospects. Yet, many salespeople fight this daily struggle and feel like they’re losing the battle.
Your current efforts to fill your appointment calendar may not be working because ... Views: 818
You “hear” objections on a daily basis. The problem is the objections you “hear” are rarely the real objections that are preventing prospects from buying your solution. When you understand the five hidden objections you can proactively remove them.
The 5 ... Views: 1332