First - being before all others. Fast - moving or able to move quickly. Foremost - first in rank, order, or place. Wouldn't you like to be first, fast, and considered foremost in your business. Obviously, the correct answer is yes. Here are nine tips, hints, and practical ideas to get you on your way. These sales tips work.
1. First - All potential customers have needs. All potential customers have problems. All potential customers are never 100% completely satisfied with their current supplier. A professional salesperson recognizes these simple facts and uses prepared questions to uncover the hidden needs, problems, and dissatisfactions that every potential customer has. Once these have been uncovered, always try to have your potential customer quantify them for you in dollars. Every quantifiable problem is begging for a solution. That's where your products and services come in.
2. First - The way to achieve number one is based on your ability to ask rock-solid and open-ended questions. Develop and use a minimum of ten questions. Your questions should get your potential customers to talk about their business, responsibilities, challenges, priorities, current supplier, current product, criteria for making a decision, the decision making process, expectations, and how they measure success. Note, that the person asking the questions is usually in control of the sales call.
3. First - Make every customer presentation a personalized one. If you ask enough questions, you'll learn about your potential customer. The more you learn, the better your opportunity will be to tailor your presentation. The goal is to get the customer thinking your presentation is awesome. Run-of-the-mill presentations are neverawesome. When your product fits the customer's specific needs it then becomes awesome.
4. Fast - Today more than ever, our biggest challenge is too much to do and not enough time to do it. Moaning and groaning aren't solutions. Learn to prioritize everything. Start each selling day with a six-pack. No, not that kind. Have a written list of all the things you want to do each day. Prioritize your list by writing the numbers 1-6 next to the six most important things. If this is so easy why do so few people do it?
5. Fast - In sales we tend to over promise. We're so anxious to get the business we make commitments based on perfect alignment and unreasonable assumptions. Every broken commitment, regardless how small, is a credibility deduction. Be slow to commit and quick to deliver and you'll have a significant reputation.
6. Fast - Someone once said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." Pledge from this day forward you will never utter these words again, "I've always done it this way." They are limiting words during these rapidly changing times. Ask these two questions often: How can I do it better? How can I do it faster? You headed in the right direction if you're always attempting to do things better and faster.
7. Foremost - There are V.I.P.'s and F.I.P.'s. You don't want to be the latter. A F.I.P. is a formerly important person. To remain a V.I.P. in your customers mind, mix high touch with your high tech. Buy and use an old fashioned fountain pen. Send two handwritten notes everyday. (10 per week, 500 per year, 5,000 per decade, and 10,000 over twenty years). It's a real touch of class during these busy times. Also, go to egreetings.com if you want to send (free) greeting cards suitable for any occasion.
8. Foremost - You don't have to be a lot better than your competition to win more sales. You need only be a little better. Having an edge doesn't give you a lot, it gives you a slight advantage. Join the 1% club. Seek to do everything that affects your business 1% better. Imagine the consequences if you were 1% better in these areas; your questions, your prospecting, your networking, your telephone, your time management, your communication skills, your negotiation skills, your closing skills etc. Big things happen when you focus on being a little better.
9. Foremost - The principle tool for salespeople is words. You use words to make appointments, to build rapport, to ask questions, to make presentations, to handle objections, and to ask for the order. Words are the real key to success. To avoid getting mugged by your own mouth, choose your words carefully. You will take your skills to the
next level if you prepare and practice your words.
First - being before all others. Fast - moving or able to move quickly. Foremost - first in rank, order, or place. If this isn't your style, you could always be last, slow, and lagging.
Jim Meisenheimer is the creator of No-Brainer Sales Training. His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by contacting him at (800) 266-1268 or by visiting his website: http://www.meisenheimer.com
In the last decade, the Internet has become a major... Read More
Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product.... Read More
Hypnosis has been a taboo word for far too long.... Read More
If you asked me to point to the heart and... Read More
One disadvantage of selling by telephone is the lack of... Read More
Whether you're a conventional sales person, a professional ? such... Read More
* Are you sending e-mails to prospects instead of calling... Read More
Its official. The news just came out. Yes, we are... Read More
No matter how big or small your business is and... Read More
"Accepting the consequences, good or bad, will free you; take... Read More
How do you get people's attention and build their interest... Read More
There are 3 ways to grow any business:- Get more... Read More
This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for... Read More
There are many fund raising ideas on the market today... Read More
Do you clam up on the telephone? An advertising rep... Read More
Barter is becoming an increasingly popular method of commerce. The... Read More
Here are four simple things you can do to take... Read More
Imagine you just met someone new. The formalities of names,... Read More
So the other day I'm watching the movie The Matrix,... Read More
Lance has what it takes and then some.Did you know... Read More
Ever have a prospect start out your sales call by... Read More
Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include... Read More
Will you do just about anything, including sending out hundreds... Read More
For centuries ? at least since the serpent convinced Eve... Read More
Linda felt like she had reached a plateau in her... Read More
Manufacturers and distributors are rolling out more sales incentive programs... Read More
You have just walked out of the office of a... Read More
Does your Sales Pipeline leak? If you answered no, you... Read More
What can strike terror into the heart of even the... Read More
The topic of this issue's article is a response to... Read More
When you are in the business of sales, among the... Read More
We all learned in Sales 101 we must follow up... Read More
No matter what you sell--products, services, or causes--one of the... Read More
Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More
If Chicken Little were alive today he wouldn't be running... Read More
This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for... Read More
First, recognize that motivation is an inside job. The word... Read More
Direct sales can be your ticket to a profitable home-based... Read More
The number one requirement, whether you are a business owner... Read More
When it comes to buying mortgage leads, there are many... Read More
We all learned in Sales 101 we must follow up... Read More
I was a lucky kid when I grew up. Lucky,... Read More
Who likes cold calling? Most salespeople don't like cold calling,... Read More
In the work place, the amount of good things that... Read More
Is cold calling dead? And if laws are being passed... Read More
Telephone canvassing, or cold calling, is the practice of sitting... Read More
Terminology / AcronymsABC figures: This is the independently audited sales... Read More
For two winters I heated my house with an old... Read More
"Which is your best CD?"Ever get that question? My band... Read More
Hello Everyone: Here's a unique look at learning how tosell:... Read More
Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought... I need... Read More
A sales letter is a document designed to generate sales.... Read More
After completing a workshop on personal productivity or time management,... Read More
A Simple TruthDo you have the right stuff?Are you consistent... Read More
Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product.... Read More
Whenever I speak with new salesreps and entrepreneurs, I hear... Read More
You've polished your sales page over and over againuntil it's... Read More
What do the words that you use say about you?... Read More
Sales is all about negotiating. You are negotiating from the... Read More
Strategies to help produce your brochure, advertisment or direct mail.... Read More
When it comes to effective selling, one simple fact never... Read More
A completed communication consists of a sender and a receiver.... Read More
Part I of this article explored how strategies of Neuro-Linguistic... Read More
Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do... Read More
When you are in sales and you come across a... Read More
"Value-added." That word is used so much it has become... Read More
Sales |