Sales Presentation Training on How to Increase Sales Using Features and Benefits Effectively

When I'm presenting sales presentation training I'm amazed at how many people can't use features and benefits effectively. With sales training to understand real features and benefits they can quickly see how to increase sales and make more money.  If you are one of the people that don't understand how to use features and benefits, then that's great news. It's great because you can expect a big increase in your results when you add this sales presentation training to your sales skills. It gets to the very core of why people buy, and that they want the benefits of the product or service, not the features.

Definition of Features and Benefits   So let's start with a working definition of both features and benefits: A Feature is what the product or service does, how it works, what it looks like, the mechanics of it. A Benefit is what the features do for the customer. A feature of this sales presentation training is the information it will give you to add to your sales skills. A benefit of that feature is the extra income you can earn as a result of the additional sales you will close. Every feature can have lots of benefits. Many features can have the same benefits. The information you'll find on this page is a feature. The benefits are endless and they all result in you gaining something.

How to increase sales using features and benefits   At some point in your sales process you ask the customer some questions to establish what they want. These wants are usually expressed by the customers as benefits. Saving money, feeling safe, and looking good, are all examples of benefits. None of these are features. In your sales presentation your aim is to present a sales proposal that gives the customer what they want. What they want are the benefits, not the features. The features are just the tools that supply the benefits.   If a customer wants a car that is cheap to run they don't want a boring sales presentation on the technical features of the engine and its fuel consumption. They want a presentation on the benefits, and in this example that is how it saves them dollars. Yes, you will include some features of the fuel economy system in your sales presentation, but only the few that are directly related to the main sales benefit that you are presenting. Focus on the benefit of cost effective motoring and only use the features of the car to support how the benefit is delivered.   This sales training can be just a simple change of your viewpoint on features and benefits. Many sales people are experts on the features of their product, and we all like talking about topics we are experts on. The benefits customers want can be unique to each individual and not as easy for sales people to talk about. This is where sales presentation training is important. To learn how to increase sales with a great presentation you must learn how to focus on the benefits not the features.  

A quick sales presentation training technique   Try this quick sales presentation training technique and see if you understand the relationship between the buyer's needs, the product features, and the sales benefits.   Choose a common need or want that your customers express when you are selling to them. Now select the feature or features of your product that can give them that what they want. When I'm giving sales presentation training it's at this point that the delegates start presenting. Don't, you will only be presenting features and that's not what the buyer wants to hear. Add another link to the chain and now select the benefits of those features that will match the buyer's needs and wants. This is how to increase sales when presenting.   It may sound something like this: You said; saving money, compared to what you currently pay out for fuel each month, was important to you. (Customer want) This car has the latest fuel saving technology that will give you 60 miles to the gallon around town. (Feature) That means you will fill up once every ten days instead of once a week as you currently do. So let's look at what you'll save over a typical year. (Benefit)   Add some agreement gaining at the right places and you've got the bases of a great sales presentation, with effective use of sales training on features and benefits. Sales presentation training is all about showing the customer a sales proposal with benefits that match their wants.  It's an important part of your selling process, and investing in more of these sales skills is how to increase sales and make more money.

I'm Stephen Craine, a working sales manager and trainer. The sales presentation training above comes from the training and coaching I give to my working sales teams. We rely on these sales skills to achieve targets and keep our jobs. This is not classroom training that only works in role play situations, this is real sales training developed in live sales situations with real customers. You can see more sales presentation training on my website at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/sales-presentation-training.html

The website is packed with free sales training, sales tips, and if you really want to know how to increase sales there are workbook training courses you can download and start using today. To visit the site and click around the pages, open http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com and get real sales training proven by working sales professionals.

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Increase Sales Revenue NOW! Seven Sales Secrets to Increasing Your Sales Volume, Even in a Recession

Marketing is a Science. After 23 years of recruiting sales people, training sales managers, building businesses, and reading hundreds of books, I have narrowed down the following seven (7) critical areas that need to be mastered, for sustained sales growth:

1. Positioning / Branding / Differentiation:

Effectively answering the most important question in the prospect's mind, "Why should I do business with you (and not your competitor)?" is crucial. So is, a strong "Sales Posture". Salespeople without a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) often have to resort to price cutting. Begging for business is not a viable sales strategy. Remember, the prospect's mind works on the W.I.I.F.M. principle ("What's In It For Me?).

2. Potent Sales Scripts:

Scientifically written, natural sounding and emotionally compelling scripts for Sales Prospecting / Pre-Qualifying, Sales Presentation, Objection Handling, Sales Closing, Following up and FAQs are vital. Good sales scripts will help your salespeople stay on track, ask the right questions, and "sail" into the Close! A written script can also help you train new sales people quickly, and convey a consistently professional image of the company.

3. Cutting Edge Sales Tools:

An "Info Kit" (PDF for emailing, snail-mailing and faxing) is often a must. It should be scientifically designed to push the right Emotional Hot Buttons, and incorporate a strong "Call to Action". Prospect Databases, a good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, clearly defined "Steps to the Sale" with corresponding "Actions" logged in the CRM are also important. A good website is a big help.

4. Hire the Right Sales People:

Good sales professionals are very rare and often hard to find. The JOY Tests (tm) of Total Sales Ability (tm) from Dan Joy, Inc., can help you hire the best salespeople (Top 2%), retain them longer, as well as grow your sales! They can also help you avoid costly hiring mistakes. In the past, sales assessment tools were used primarily by large companies. Now, the fully integrated online sales assessment testing system of Dan Joy, Inc. has brought these crucial sales assessment tools within the easy reach of small to mid-sized businesses, but large companies can use them too. Dan Joy, Inc. offers 10 Free Sales Assessments to qualified businesses (see the link in the Author's Bio / Resource Box below).

5. Good Sales Leadership:

Selling is one of the hardest things. It is both physically demanding (long hours) and emotionally draining (facing rejection continually). Having your sales team report to someone who has never sold for a living is usually not a good idea. I have seen sales people report to a "non-sales" Plant Manager, CFO, Production Manager, Office Manager, etc., and that is often a recipe for disaster. Regular Sales Meetings (at least once a week), Role Playing (practicing the scripts, objection handling, etc.), Sales Training, Sales Goals expressed in terms of controllable actions (important), ongoing accountability, metrics, reward / correction, motivation / inspiration are all extremely important.

6. Continual Lead Generation:

Your salespeople must always have "several irons in the fire" so they don't pin all their hopes on just one sale coming through (or feeling dejected if it does not). Multiple sales should be "brewing" at all times. A good, consistent, ongoing Leads Generation program should be in place (Direct Mail, eMarketing, Advertising, Press Releases, etc). If you have a good product or service, get the word out proactively, in large numbers.

7. Acuity:

Observing what is working and what is not, and making ongoing course corrections is vital. Not to mention studying the competition, monitoring the markets, and innovating to stay ahead. Retaining good salespeople is sometimes harder than recruiting them, but treating them right and compensating them fairly would go a long way.

Conclusion:

You wanted to know how to increase sales -- this is what it will take. If you want to increase sales or grow a business long term even in a recession or down economy, you must master these seven critical areas. This advice and sales tips can help you increase sales revenue steadily. Growing a business requires hard work in addition to just smart work. The sales growth advice above applies to entrepreneurs, small businesses as well as large companies who wish to grow their sales, even though the scale of implementation might differ.

Businesses may receive 10 Free Sales Assessment Tests from Dan Joy, Inc. Dan Joy (BS Engineering, MBA Marketing) is a Sales and Marketing scientist. Employers may receive 10 Free Sales Assessment Tests at http://www.danjoy.com/

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How to Cold Call and Make Sales Appointments to Increase Your Small Business Sales

How to cold call and make sales appointments is a sales skill that will benefit your small business, or cost you a lot of time and resources if you get it wrong. Many small business sales people have a cold calling script, either written or mentally rehearsed, that isn't effective and doesn't get the results. It's not their fault, they haven't got the sales training resources that many large sales organisations have. One of the most common mistakes I hear and see small businesses making when they make sales appointment calls is that they use a cold call script but don't build it around a proven effective cold calling process.

If you use an effective sales appointment making process as a plan of the path you want the call to follow, you can then build your own words and phrases around that process and your results will multiply. You will have more selling opportunities and your business will grow.  Consider some of the ideas and sales training in these 3 stages of a sales appointment call. Try them out and measure the results you achieve.  

The cold call introduction

You have to grab the prospects attention, and make the possible benefits they could gain a real motivator for them to continue with the conversation. This is where small businesses have both an advantage and a disadvantage compared to the big well known companies.  

The disadvantage is that the big companies are well known. The buyer recognizes the name and has an idea of what they can offer. If there is any spark of interest the buyer is likely to listen to the caller from a large well known organization. When making cold calls for appointments from a small business you have to get into your cold calling scripts, who you are, what you do, and most important of all, the reason for your call. You have to grab the buyer's attention.  

The advantage that a small business has is that they can quickly adapt and be flexible with what they can offer specific sales prospects. Small business sales operations can also target niche markets, and change to meet the market and customer demands and trends.  Because of this a small business, or self-employed person, selling their own products can make the calls more personal to each prospect.  

Include questions in your cold call to qualify the prospect

A good large scale tele-marketing operation will have a tick list on screen of the information they need to ask a potential customer. The ones that use rigid scripts have set questions for the caller to ask. In both cases the questioning stage of the sales appointment process can sound like an interrogation if not done with some flexible sales skill, or if it is at the end of a long shift in a call center.  

The really effective technique, which I include on the sales training I present to my teams on how to cold call, is to include in the conversation the questions that you need to ask. Simply record the information as you talk, and I mean talk not interrogate the buyer. Use motivators in your conversation to move smoothly into the questioning stage of the call.  

Phrases such as, 'So I can see if you could benefit from this offer.' You could even be honest with them, now there's a refreshing change, and say, 'To make sure I am not wasting your time can I ask you.'   Make your appointment setting call a conversation. This is one of your big advantages as a small business as you are not confined to rigid cold calling scripts and company rules.  

You don't need linguistic tricks and manipulative sales techniques

Up to this point in the call process you have crammed in benefits that the potential customer could gain from doing business with you. Now add more benefits, especially those specific and unique to doing business with your small business. You want to communicate several messages to the prospect that will influence, not manipulate, them to meet with you and discuss what they could gain.  

A message that my sales teams learn to use when learning how to cold call, is that the prospect will only really know whether they could gain, or are missing out, when they have met you. When you cold call to make a sales appointment you are only gaining agreement to meet you. You are not asking for agreement to do business with you. When they have met you, and heard what you can give them, they are then in a position to decide if they want to buy. Use any possible benefits that you have heard hit a sweet spot during the call with the buyer as a reason they should agree to a sales appointment. If when you spoke about saving money, increasing production, or that you are a local company, you heard a positive signal from the prospect, you can use this when you try and arrange the appointment. For example, 'So that I can show you how I can protect your investment while still giving you a good return, are you available on Monday evening?'  

A simple question coated in benefits is all that's needed. No double talk or sales tricks that you and your staff are probably not comfortable with, and that get your company a bad reputation in the long term.

This is a small part of the sales process I use when training my sales teams on how to make a cold call sales appointment. It's a starting point on which to build a cold calling script. It can be added to by the individual using it both in techniques and sales skills, and the words and phrases that are used. You can get more free appointment training and information by going to Appointment Setting on my website.

One of my aims is to make the sales training that has been developed and aimed at large sales organisations available to small and medium size businesses. Often the high cost of effective sales training is too high an investment for some companies, and individuals working for themselves. Buying training books and sifting through hundreds of pages is a poor use of your time just to find a few nuggets of worthwhile information.

On my Sales Training website you can find free sales training that will benefit small and medium businesses. All the techniques and skills have been tried, tested, and developed, by the sales teams I manage and train. Have a click around the site. You can even send in any questions you have, or obstacles to your sales success, and I, and sales people around the world will give you some answers.

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Critical Skills For Sales Leaders - Sales Performance Planning to Increase Revenue

How do you get your sales team to generate the greatest amount of revenue, consistently, year after year? Most sales managers think the answer lies in being aggressive, doing more sales activity, proactive business development, keeping the pipeline full and increasing the abilities of your salespeople so that they are more effective on the ground.

What about the value of better planning? World-class sales organisations establish aggressive sales objectives to achieve the best possible results. To accomplish these aggressive targets, they develop clear and effective sales strategy and Performance Plans. The Sales Performance Plan guides the sales leader's Sales Performance Coaching efforts, providing both them and the salesperson with a clear track to follow.

An effective Sales-Performance Plan can work to reduce your sales revenue peaks and valleys.

Generally the Sales-Performance Plan is an offshoot of the marketing plan, which is a critical component of the overall company business plan. Simply stated, the marketing plan defines your target market and outlines specific strategies which will attract, promote and sell your product or service. The Sales-Performance Plan details the essential steps that are required in order to retain the existing customer base, along with the specifics of how to reach potential customers and convert them from prospects into paying customers.

These plans should include execution details. Specifically featuring: who is doing what, by when, how and with what resources. The plan may also include details on how to deal with roadblocks and other obstacles. An effective Sales Performance Plan anticipates and create contingency plans against competitive threats, delays, etc

Leading sales managers have a healthy obsession with planning to ensure they reach their targets and better planning is the key to producing consistent and predictable sales numbers. An effective Sales-Performance Plan is made up of a variety of issues depending on your own individual sales environment.

Elements of a Sales-Performance Plan

A well constructed Sales-Performance Plan will not deliver sales results on its own. As with any plan, it must be actioned in order to produce a result. However, a well developed Sales-Performance Plan will direct every sales activity, greatly increasing the likelihood of the salesperson achieving their sales goals. The Sales-Performance Plan details the key objectives and the actions required to achieve the salesperson's goals.

o More effective Sales-Performance Plans will create, build and nurture a healthy sales pipeline.

o A well thought out and well-managed Sales-Performance Plan ensures your salespeople meet revenue goals and attain their sales quotas.

o A good Sales-Performance Plan will also include development and up-skilling objectives that you and your individual salespeople have determined to be lacking in order for them to achieve their sales goals.

The Sales-Performance Plan contains a brief description of the actions required in order to achieve the goals. The Sales-Performance Plan must briefly specify the following:

Who: Who are the individuals responsible for achieving what needs to be done?

What: What is required to be done to achieve the goal?

When: By when must the required actions be done?

Tactics: What tactics will be required to achieve the goal?

Resources: What resources will be required to achieve the goal?

Measures: How will success be measured, by whom and when?

None of your salespeople should ever begin their year, month or sales week without a clearly specified sales plan. The plan must lay out and detail their key objectives and action plans to achieve their desired results. Once the plan is submitted and agreed upon, it needs to be reviewed on a regular basis.

Target elements to plan for may include:

o Increase $ volume

o Increase the % in sales volume year over year

o Increase sales of specific products/services

o Increase average deal size

o Decrease average length of sale

o Increase $ volume by customer

o Opening new accounts targets

o Margin

o Ratio improvement

o Key account increases in existing product purchases

o Key account new product purchases

o Customer retention goals

o New product objectives

The Sales-Performance Plan needs to be split up into 4 X 90 DAY ACTION PLANS with set dates and strategies for their execution. The plan must be simply broken down and laid out for easy reference and follow up by you as the sales leader. Territory Sales-Performance Plans may also include some of the above measures as well as other goals for growing the territory.

Territory Sales-Performance Plans Territory Planning (a mix of customers or key accounts and prospects in a specified geographic location) is the process a sales team uses to analyze and plan around key accounts and opportunities within their assigned sales territory. For a Territory plan to effectively drive revenue, it must include both strategy and tactics and detailed actions for delivery of each objective.

A typical Territory Plan may include:

o Analysis and objective setting around the company's products and services, market segments, competition, trends, and profiles of key accounts.

o Specific key objectives

o Opportunity/threat analysis

o Account identification and estimates of account potential

o Account situational analysis and account strategy

o Detail on territory/account tactics - What to sell, for what price and by when?

o Key account increases in existing product purchases

o Key account new product purchases

o Customer retention goals

o Channel development

o Deeper key account penetration

o Re-establishing abandoned customers

Developing, reviewing and regularly updating your Sales Plan is critical to consistent sales success.

As one of Australia's leading authorities and coaches in sales management, Ian Segail has been involved in the coaching, training and development of sales managers and salespeople for over two decades.

Drawing on 25 years of experience in sales, sales management and leading an HR and training team, Ian brings a strong dose of fiscal reality and practicality to his works as a Sales Performance Coach.

Engaging directly with business owners and both novice and experienced sales managers alike, across a wide variety of industries and selling disciplines, the focus of Ian's work is to transform sales results for companies by improving sales management practices.

Ian is the author of "Bulletproof Your Sales Team The 5 Keys To Turbo Boosting Your Sales Team's Results" and a number of business articles, business reports and white papers including "The fish stinks from the head!" and "Why Sales Training Doesn't Work."

Ian has an insatiable hunger for studying selling and people management and has passionately pursued answers to the question "How come some people can sell and most can't?"

Access great tools and resources produced by Ian at http://www.salestutor.com.au/Content_Common/pg-tools-and-resources.seo

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How to Increase Sales Starts With Embracing a Just Another 10% Belief

Is 10% very much? Would you believe that 10% can generate more than 10% in your own sales compensation not to mention the overall goal to increase sales?

When working within my sales coaching practice, I always bring out a dollar and a dime. I ask how much value is the dime compared to the dollar. Most agree that the value is just 10% and that really is not very much.

So, what would happen to your annual sales or revenue if you increased your sales behaviors or actions by just 10%? To answer this number requires you to know two important measurements of your sales results:


Your sales to earn ratio. Average dollar value per sale Sales cycle time

Sales Coaching Tip: A sales to earn ratio is the total number of contacts to the total number of earned sales.

Some sales training gurus call this a sales to close ratio. However, the word close is to shut down and who wants to shut down a qualified potential customer (prospect)? Sales Coaching Tip: Exchange the word prospect for the phrase qualified potential customer as you truly should be viewing that individual as a potential customer.

For example if your sales to earn ratio (instead of sales to close ratio) is for every 100 contacts you earn 10 sales, then you ratio is 100 to 10 or 10:1. By increasing your contacts by just 10% to 110 contacts, you could earn another sale. If you break this down even further, what this means is all you have to do is to make just 2 more calls each day Monday through Friday.

Knowing your average dollar value per sale is $1,000, you realize an additional $1,000 of personal income for just making 10 more calls. If you do this on a weekly basis, within one year you could add another $52,000 to your annual income. Sales Coaching Tip: Your sales cycle time (number of days from first contact to earn sale) will affect your income. This is one of the reasons you must keep your marketing tunnel (yes tunnel and not funnel) full with qualified potential customer leads.

Sales Skill Note: A funnel suggests that once you have your qualified potential customer in your funnel, you can let go and gravity takes over. However, if you are engaged in education based marketing, your goal is to walk with them through the Tunnel of Value through education and lead them out to the light generated by your product or service. This tunnel approach is far more in alignment with relationship selling.

To increase sales begins with your thoughts and your actions (sales behaviors). You must develop a just 10% more belief and then take the appropriate action. Since you know your numbers, your just 10% more belief starts to generate a self fulfilling prophecy. Very quickly, you have achieved your goal to increase sales by 10% and that has resulted in a better than 10% increase in your annual sales income.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

You probably do not want to be uncomfortable. Who does? Yet, you want to increase sales and to stop all those sleepless nights right before sales figures are due. Now is the time to give Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session. Experience how being uncomfortable can help you increase sales.

P.S. If you liked this article and want to read Leanne's first book on sales, then sign up to receive notification of this dynamic sales coaching book, Unlocking Sales Results: The Keys to Becoming the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits.

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How Crunching Key Sales Numbers Will Increase Sales & Help You Sell Smarter, Not Harder

In sales, it is the simple actions that generate the greatest results. If your desire is to increase sales, then take some time to crunch your key sales numbers. Taking this action allows you to work smarter not harder. So what are those key sales number?

I am continually amazed at the number of small business owners or sales professionals be them manufacturers, retailers, distributors realtors, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, financial advisers, lawyers, accountants, information technology consultants and even business coaches who do not now their numbers. No wonder they are working harder not smarter.

Here are some critical key numbers that every sales professional should know to be able to efficiently and effectively increase sales:

Total Sales for the last 12 months
Average sale value for the last 12 months
Number of active clients (those conducting business within the last 12 months)
Number of sales transactions for the last 12 months
Historical sales growth for the last 5 years
Average profit per average sale for the last 12 months

Let's say that you currently generate $240,000 in sales. Breaking this down further means on average that you receive:

$20,000 in sales per month
$5,000 in sales per week
$1,000 in sales per day

Now you determine that your average sale is $100 and this means that you must have 10 orders per day to make your current sales levels. You want to increase your sales from the historic growth of 7%-9% to at least 15% which is almost double your historical growth and starts to make you feel somewhat uncomfortable. Yet, you know that your marketplace is growing, more and more competitors are hanging up their signs so you believe that this is possible. Sales Coaching Tip: To be competitive means you must leave your comfort zone and that will make you uncomfortable.

To reach your new growth goal means an additional $36,000 in new sales or $3,000 more a month. This translates to 30 more transactions per month (average sales value is $100) or 1.5 more new sales per day. When you begin to crunch the numbers, securing another 1.5 sales does not seem that impossible.

Now you further realize that your existing customer base of 100 active clients make on average of 2 purchases a month. By doing the math, you quickly determine that by increasing monthly purchases to 3 for 10% of your customers, you can easily pick up another $12,000 in sales. Sales Coaching Tip: Look for the low hanging fruit that is probably there, but you ran by it because you just did not see it.

In reviewing your inactive clients of 300, you notice that some of them buy once a year. If you make sure that just half of them buy twice a year, instead of just one time, you can add another $15,000 to your total sales. Sales Coaching Tip: Working with existing client is much more cost effective than trying to find new customers.

Finally, in your historical growth you receive an average of 10 new customers per year. Your research suggests that only one third of them will buy twice a month and the rest will purchase only one time. This results in another $12,000.

Your projections look something like this:

$12,000 from additional monthly purchases for 10 existing customers
$15,000 from one additional purchase from 50% of inactive customers
$12,000 from historical growth of 10 new customers
$39,000 in total projected new sales by focusing on just 3 sales areas

All of a sudden you see that you can achieve your sales goal and with some additional sales to spare. This activity is much like answering the question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. By taking small bites in specific areas, you can increase sales.

Now you understand the importance of knowing your sales numbers. So get the #2 pencil out or the Excel spread sheet and start crunching those numbers!

Would you like to increase sales? Are you tired of coming up short with your monthly, quarterly or annual sales goals? Would you like to stop bleeding all the dollars from poor attitudes to unhappy customers? Then you may discover a possible solution through Triage Business Planning action plan where you can become one of the few to change and realize business success instead one of the many who continue to fight change and ultimately die.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chicago Sales Coach, helps small business owners to C Level executives from Chicago to Indianapolis to worldwide who are truly tired of struggling to unlock the sales and business results that they want. Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.

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Increase Sales by Leveraging Down Economic Times to Build Your Business Results

Are you thinking that the economy is terrible and sales are going to the dogs? Guess what? Many of your competitors are thinking this exact thought or something very similar. Did you know that down times are the best time to increase sales not to mention to improve your own sales skills.

Of course, by taking this attitude means that you will need a plan of action by knowing your existing sales statistics. Small Business Sales Coaching Tip: : Do not confuse motion with progress and activity with results as a close friend of mine has often stated.

What are you sales numbers or sales stats?
Do you know how many dial ups you need before you can reach someone?
Do you know how many people you reach to secure an appointment?
Do you know how many appointments turn into requests for presentations?
Do you know how many presentations actually convert into earned business?
Do you know the sales value of your customers?
Do you know your average sale?
Do you know how much time was required to earn the sale?

Small Business Sales Coaching Tip: If you answered No to any of these questions, you need to reread the previous coaching tip. Also, it helps to calculate your numbers based on 100 call ups or contacts.

Why so many professional sales people give up during down economic times is that they do not know their sales numbers. This ignorance is a killer and probably stops most sales professionals from reaching their goals to increase sales. Small Business Sales Coaching Tip: Knowing your numbers is part of your sales skills.

There is an old adage if "you cannot measure it you cannot manage it." When you consistently measure your actions, you can track your results.

For example, I know that every time I speak, I secure one client within 6 months. The average value of the client ranges depending upon the needs of the client. However, if I want to increase sales, then I need to increase speaking engagements.

Years ago, I constructed a simple business model, MSP, that helps to keep my focus on my sales numbers and consequently sales skills. For example, a speaking engagement is a Marketing activity. This specific action for me generates one Sale at XX Dollars. If I want to increase my income (Profits), then I must increase the number of speaking engagements. When you understand and more importantly use your sales statistics, you will not only increase skills, but probably improve your own sales skills.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Is your business facing inconsistent or insufficient cash flow, lackluster sales to poor productivity? Maybe some exercise at the sales coaching training gym will get you to where you want to go?

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chicago Sales Coach, helps small business owners to C Level executives from Chicago to Indianapolis to worldwide who are truly tired of struggling to unlock the sales and business results that they want. Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.

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How to Better Qualify Prospects to Increase Sales

Are you wasting a lot of time with tire kickers?  Or have you thought that you truly did do your due diligence only to discover you missed something?  Learn what actions (sales behaviors) you, as a sales professional,  need to take to increase sales because you now know how to better qualify your prospects.

The word qualify from its Latin's origins means to make of what kind. In sales, the word qualify is to separate your contacts or to make your contact into these 4 kinds:

First Kind - Most Prevalent Contact - Someone who will never ever buy from you.   This person can waste a lot of your time. Your sales behavior is to be polite, but to focus your energies (sales skills) where you can really increase sales.

Second Kind - Prevalent Contact - Someone who may buy from you at some time in the future.  This person may have only 2 to 3 of the necessary criteria.  Sales Coaching Tip:  Four Criteria are:  1. Have a need; 2. Have an allocated budget; 3. Decision maker; 4. Urgency

Third Kind - The Rarest Contact - Someone who may buy from you right now on the spot. According to sales research only 2% of sales are made on the first contact hence the rarity of this qualified prospect. Your sales behaviors here are to begin to develop the relationship as 80% of all sales are made between the 5th and 12th contacts. Sales Coaching Tip:  Even though I have used the word prospect, consider using the phrase qualified potential customer.  This phrase provides you with a picture of working with him or her instead of just being an object as a means to an end.

Fourth Kind - The Best and Most Cost Effective -  Someone who may refer you to others who may be interested in buying from you.  Using existing loyal customers to Centers of influence is the best way to have qualified potential customers beating a path to your door.

Qualifying is a sales skill and begins prior to meeting the actual person.  First, you probably should return to your marketing action plan and review your target audience.  Your sales behaviors (actions) include research as to both demographics and pyschographics of your potential customers.  Additionally, you need to be aware of how did your potential customer hear about you whether it was a referral or someone who had conducted business with you years ago.

Many in sales truly do not understand this term of pyschographics. In today's far more complex market place, potential customers have specific attitudes, interests and opinions that affect their buying decisions beyond the traditional demographics of age, location, sex, income, etc.  By having a better understanding of these "psychology" benchmarks helps you as a sales professional to form a more cohesive marketing message and further hone your sales skills as well as sales behaviors.

Finally, you may wish to better understand your own decision making style. When in Socrates words, "You know yourself," you can choose yourself and then create yourself specific to your goal to increase sales.

TAKE ACTION SALES COACHING TIP:  Invest some time in better qualifying your potential customers. Remember, by taking this action you have greater control of the overall sales process.

Want to learn how to increase sales? Sign up to receive notification of Leanne's forthcoming sales coaching book to help you become the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

You probably do not want to be uncomfortable. Who does? Yet, you want to increase sales and to stop all those sleepless nights right before sales figures are due. Now is the time to give Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session. Experience how being uncomfortable can help you increase sales.

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Dramatically Increase Sales Conversion Rate Using Education Based Marketing

Is your sales conversion rate acceptable? Would you like to work smarter not harder? Then consider education based marketing instead of the traditional sales based marketing and realize your goal to increase sales.

So what is your sales conversion rate? In other words, if you receive 100 qualified leads, how many sales do you actually earn? Depending upon the industry and your own sales skills, this may range from 5% to 90%. However from my sales coaching experience, I believe the average is probably closer to 1 out of three to five.

What would happen if you could double that conversion rate? Instead of earning one sale with every 5 contacts you now have 2. For the same amount of effort, you have doubled your results. Does that make sense to you?

During the last year, I have been transitioning from sales based marketing to education based marketing. My sales style was always helpful, but I never considered myself an educator unless I was doing sales training. Now, I have embraced this more contemporary model and the results have been exciting.

The traditional way of selling evolves from a sales based marketing approach. Here is the focus is on how quickly you can make the sale. Within this approach are certain No-Nos such as Do not give anything away.

With the advent of technology and the Internet, there is a wealth of free information so the old paradigm of giving stuff away is no longer viable. Now sales professionals must out think the Internet and all that free information.

To change from the accepted and traditional sales based approach is quite easy. All you must do is take the role of trusted educator and advisor. Your goal is not to sell the product or service, but to bring value by educating the potential qualified customer. Of course, you may think this may take more time. Given that most sales are completed between the fifth and twelfth contacts, the time really is not an issue.

So what is the real issue? From my sales coaching experience, the real issue is conversions. How many contacts or leads can you convert into loyal customers? Sales Coaching Tip: If you do not know your sales conversion ratio or percentage, shame on you.

If sales conversion is the 800 pound gorilla in the room, then your sales actions should be focused on improving that percentage. By taking such directed actions, you can begin to close the gaps between leads received and sales earned.

One such action is education based marketing which is probably 180 degrees away from the traditional sales based marketing. Your role is now to educate your potential customers or even centers of influence. By demonstrating your subject matter expertise, you become the go to person when people have questions.

Since educate means to lead out, you now take the role of leading your potential customers out from where they are to where they want to be. Imagine that you are walking side by side with your customers, educating them instead of having to pull or push them to buy your products or services.

Education based marketing extends beyond the traditional research of the marketplace. Some examples of within this 21st century marketing approach include:


Articles
White Papers
Assessments

TAKE ACTION SALES COACHING TIP: Understand the difference between sales based marketing and education based marketing. Revisit your marketing growth action plan and make those course corrections now. Embrace a belief of educating your potential customers first before attempting to sell them. Watch your sales conversions skyrocket; your sales increase; and your piggy bank explode.

P.S. You may be wondering how I know this to be true? Fair question. Since providing a free professional sales profile to qualified potential customers by using a performance appraisal online assessment tool, my conversion rate has increased from 40% to 80%. My qualified potential customers are receiving a tangible product and service while experiencing the benefit of working with me as a sales coach or executive coach.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chicago Sales Coach, helps small business owners to C Level executives to achieve their competitive advantage by leaving their comfort zone whether they are from Chicago, Indianapolis to worldwide. If you are tired of poor sales, bad attitudes and truly want to make the current year exceptional, then pick up the phone and call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.

P.S. If you would like to receive Leanne's weekly business column for free, sign up at http://www.processspecialist.com/column.htm

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How to Increase Sales? Focus on Sales Development Training

To get the best sales results out of your training investment, a sales development training program needs to be focused on your product's, or service's, unique value proposition. What unique value or benefit does your product or service have for customers? Ensure that your training program provides information that your sales staff can use in sales planning and sales calls.

Customize the training program to focus on the specific needs of your unique sales staff; by customizing for your own staff you will increase training effectiveness. All training needs to be developed with specific objectives in mind:


Do you need to train newly hired, but experienced, sales people? For example, for newly recruited sales employees (even experienced ones), it is important to ramp up their effectiveness by training them on your products or services. Review the unique characteristics of your products or services. What benefits do they provide to your customers? What is different about your product or service, from your competition's products or services?
Do you have a sales and marketing kit to give to new sales employees? For example: product literature; information from, and about, suppliers; the industry; your competitors; and your business. Include a summary of your business plan and strategy, as well as your marketing plan and your marketing mix strategies.
Do you need to train existing sales staff to be more effective, to close more sales, to be more successful at prospecting, to improve presentation skills, or more? What type of sales performance training do you need to develop and provide?
Do you need to train your sales staff on changes to existing products or services? Or to train on newly developed and newly introduced products or services?


 

Sales development training will help your business increase sales; it is an important tool in effectively managing and developing successful sales staff. Training needs to be a continual process; it starts when you hire new sales people and continues as new products or services are added or improved, and as the market and your competitors adapt.

Business owners and managers often behave as if sales people know everything they need to know (perhaps because they act like they know most everything) and therefore they often overlook the importance of continually training sales staff. When hiring experienced sales people, you expect them to be trained and capable of selling. However, to improve the effectiveness of newly hired, yet experienced, sales people, you need to provide product training that highlights the features, advantages and benefits (FAB) of your products. Alternatively, you may have to re-train your experienced sales people to sell in a way that more closely aligns to your changing business.

Training needs to introduce changing sales techniques and tactics; as the market changes or your products change, your sales approach also needs to change. Training for inexperienced sales people is necessary both on a product knowledge level and on a sales skills level. Focus first on basic sales performance and sales skills training; then work on training and developing advanced sales techniques. Your training plan needs to complement and support your business and marketing plan, your strategy, and your business operations.

Put effectiveness measures in place for your training program. For example,

Prior to initiating the training:


Record the number of calls your sales staff makes (daily, weekly or monthly), by employee.
Track the number of quotes or proposal requests (if appropriate for your business).
Record the sales by employee; profit per employee; value added sales per employee.

After training starts, set review dates (usually after at least 8 to 10 customer contacts) and compare to the performance prior to training. On a continual basis, track progress against the pre-training benchmarks. If the training results in improvement, continue with your program.  If there is no improvement, change the training.  Keep focused on your goals and make sure the training and sales staff know what the goals are.  Sales people are typically very results focused and motivated.

To engage your sales staff in training, make sure they understand the connection between learning and earning more income (if paid sales commissions based on sales volume).

For those small business owners and sales managers who feel you do not have time to train sales staff, understand that your investment of time and resources in training will pay off by increasing the effectiveness and performance of your sales staff. If you do not know how to build a sales development training program, consider hiring a sales training consultant or specialist to build a custom training program for your business.

Relate sales development training to a focus on why people buy and how product differentiation can help increase sales.

Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc., the business and marketing services company and owner of the small business resource website, http://www.more-for-small-business.com

Kris has more than 25 years experience in successfully managing and leading large, medium and small businesses; businesses that she has worked with have grown by more than 30% in sales in the first two years. Use Kris' experience to help you manage and lead your business. Copyright 2008 Voice Marketing Inc.

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Increase Sales by Adopting Superman Or Superwoman Sales Beliefs

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound are the some of the visual images that we have around Superman or Superwoman. To have super human strengths is something that most individuals want especially in sales when it seems that only super human sales behaviors will move those qualified potential customers off the dime. So what is a non-superman or non-superwoman sales professional supposed to do?

Why not consider just adopting some of those Superman or Superwoman sales beliefs? For example, do you have the scarcity belief that business, pardon the expression, sucks? Given this terrible economy, no one wants to buy my products or services? Maybe you are thinking it is just going to take too much effort to sell my products or services during these uncertain times?

Would Superman or Superwoman have those beliefs? Probably, not because they would still try to secure the results that they want. There behaviors would reflect those beliefs because our beliefs drive our behaviors.

Each of us have the capacity to have Superman or Superwoman sales behaviors, but we unfortunately start digging pity tunnels where we adopt a "poor me it" belief. As one of my dear colleagues once said, "The first rule when in a hole is to stop digging." Turn that energy around. Climb out of that pity, poor me it hole. Brush the dirt of your clothes and take proactive sales behaviors instead of reactive ones. Sales Coaching Tip: Did you know that almost 50% of all leads are not followed up? What does this say about the sales beliefs and sales skills of most sales professionals? ( Source: National Sales Executives Association)

Using positive affirmation statements or what I share with my sales coaching clients, positive belief statements as a personal sales skill, will help you adopt a Superman or Superwoman Sales beliefs. These statements are created in the first person, use present tense verbs and vividly describe your desired end result. By touching, seeing, hearing and feeling these statements at least 3 times a day begins to reprogram your beliefs of scarcity and victim mentality to abundance and victor. Then your sales behaviors begin to reflect those beliefs.

TAKE ACTION SALES COACHING TIP: You and only you have the ability to increase sales because you consistently apply proven sales skills along with self leadership skills. If you want to increase sales, then that change begins with you and your beliefs. Simply speaking, change your beliefs; change your sales behaviors.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

You probably do not want to be uncomfortable. Who does? Yet, you want to increase sales and to stop all those sleepless nights right before sales figures are due. Now is the time to give Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session. Experience how being uncomfortable can help you increase sales.

P.S. Want to increase sales? Maybe a trip to the sales coaching gym is exactly what is needed to turn you into a Super Sales Man or Super Sales Woman.

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Want to Increase Sales by Another 100% and Equal 200% Increased Sales?

Do you want to increase your sales by 200%? With the right attitude and discipline you can increase sales by over 200%. Do you have the correct attitude to increase sales? Does your attitude exhibit effective disciplines to increase sales?

In the previous article we discussed how a healthier attitude can help you increase sales by 100%. In this article, we are exploring how discipline will increase sales by another 100%. Refining your attitude and discipline equals 200% increased sales.

Discipline is a commitment to the most important person in the world. Discipline signifies doing what you have to do even when you do not want to do it. In sales, that can imply plenty, but let's focus on increasing sales.

Primarily, to increase sales we need to establish a benchmark. Do you know your sales process numbers? For example, your sales call to close ratio? Yes ___ No ___

If you answered YES, you are utilizing discipline to inflate increased sales. You should be aware of your daily disciplines. What you have to do on a daily basis to increase sales results and what is the basis of these results. If not, look intently at how you got those results. They will identify the proper disciplines required to increase sales.

If your answer is NO, you lack discipline and must begin tracking your daily behaviour. This includes your sales disciplines especially if you yearn to increase sales. Make note or track what you habitually do on a daily basis to increase sales?

You can track your daily disciplines by creating an uncomplicated form. Simply completing this form is a discipline. Across the top of this Discipline form, write your daily sales activity. Place the numbers 1- 31 down the side of the Discipline form representing each day of the month. Indicate your sales disciplines in terms of a number or time in the column, constantly noting what you are doing to increase sales.

For example, disciplines to increase sales can be telephone - inbound / outbound, networking, referrals / introductions, etc which lead to sales appointments. Sales appointments lead to building relationships and qualifying for new opportunities. Qualified relationships lead to sales prescriptions (presentations) which in turn lead to closes. Sales of $X equals increased sales.

By tracking your daily sales disciplines (activities), by totaling these disciplines at the end of the month and by averaging all disciplines, you will soon learn what we in the sales profession call, your sales call to close ratio in regards to increasing sales.

Before long you will be familiar with how many sales calls are required to make an appointment, i.e.: 12 to 1. How many appointments it takes to locate a qualified relationship, i.e.: 6 to 4? How many qualified relationships lead to a sales presentation, i.e.: 5 to 3? Finally, how many presentations are necessary to close and the value of that sale?

Now that you know your numbers, you can define the daily sales disciplines (activities) essential to increase sales.

It is purely a matter of discipline and doing what you say you will do, even if you don't feel like doing it. Discipline is the key to increased sales.

Convert each letter of the word Discipline to a numerical value. What is the total number? Imagine having attitude and discipline working for you and earning you a 200% increase in sales.

Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob presents a series of great ideas and strategies with combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob's Free Newsletter, worth $297, visit http://www.BobU.com Now!

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Top 7 Sales Skills to Increase Sales in 2009 Regardless of the Economy

Being a top sales producer extends beyond your technical sales skills into your personal or self leadership skills. You must have knowledge of the results from your marketing and selling actions along with incredible self leadership skills. These seven sales skills can potentially deliver far more results than any technical selling skill such as fact finding to closing.

Number One Sales Skill: Track Your Progress Right now, do you know where you stand specific to:

Leads in your marketing funnel?
Follow ups on those leads?
Statements of work a.k.a. proposals?
Orders in your sales funnel?
Delivery of orders?
Follow ups after each completed earned sale?
Referrals?

Number Two Sales Skill: Know all of your sales numbers Do you know all the numbers respective to your sales actions? These numbers may include and are not limited to:

Sales to earn ratio a.k.a. sales to close ratio
Sales cycle time
Average dollar value per sale

Number Three Sales Skill: Increase your current actions by 10% What would happen if you increase your current actions by just 10%? The simple action of increasing your daily focused activity might look like this:

Instead of making 10 calls per day, you may 11.
Instead of setting 10 appointments every two weeks, you set 11
Instead of making 10 presentations every four weeks, you make 11

Number Four Sales Skill: Reconnect with all of your customers every 30 to 60 days Do you have a customer loyalty plan where you contact your existing active customers every 30 to 60 days? How about your inactive ones? When was the last time you contacted them? Given that for your customers to maintain a top of mind awareness (TOMA) requires at least 3 contacts per month, what opportunities are you creating for your competitors to steal your customers?

Number Five Sales Skill: Leave your Ego at the doorWhen times are good and when times are bad, your ego should be left at the door. Customers do not owe you a sale nor do they owe you a referral. What you owe your customers is a trusted advisor who is more concerned about them than a sales person who is only concerned about himself or herself and making that next sale

Number Six Sales Skill: Be authentic in ALL actions Are you truly authentic in all of your actions? Do you mean what you say? Do you follow up on all of your promises? Do you return all calls even when you know them to be potentially bad?

Number Seven Sales Skill: Listen more than you talk Great sales professionals understand the value of listening. As said by many, if you were designed to talk more than to listen, you would have two mouths and only one ear. Use your two ears at least five times more than your mouth. As a wise man once told me: If you are telling, you ain't selling.

Regardless if the economy is up or down, these 7 sales skills can keep your marketing and sales funnels full. You will increase sales and develop incredible strong customer loyalty.

Simply speaking, would you like to increase sales? Are you tired of coming up short with your monthly, quarterly or annual sales goals? Are you willing to be leave your comfort zone? Then you may discover a possible solution at the Sales Coaching Gym. Now is the time to step out of your comfort zone and become one of the few who achieve sales success instead one of the many who are left behind.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chicago Sales Coach, helps small business owners to C Level executives from Chicago to Indianapolis to worldwide who are truly tired of struggling to unlock the sales and business results that they want. Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.

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5 Steps For CEO's to Increase Sales During Downturns and Recessions

Since more sales would make your management life a lot better, take action with your sales force now. Do not wait another minute hoping something will happen. Don't depend on conditions to get better. They may get better, but they could also get worse. Focus your attention on your selling team, and selling productivity vs. selling expenses. Sales may not be your expertise, but sales is your life blood so get involved and start applying pressure. Here are some tips that can help.

1. Do not do sales training. Not that you'd spend the money now anyhow, but because it won't work for what you need right now. You've heard all the good arguments about investing when the market is down so you can be tougher against competition and in position when conditions improve. But this is not real estate. You need results now. Besides you're sales people don't believe they need training and you can't afford time out of the field.

What you need now is performers - sales people with relationships who can get to the top people, who are motivated, who can beat the competition.

More importantly you need sales managers who can train, coach, mentor, motivate, recruit and hold their sales people accountable. You do not need sales managers that can sell, yet this is what most sales mangers default to during sales downturns.

Therefore you've got to slash the weak, burn a hole in your sales managers' bottoms, and bring in the Special Forces. This is no time for a pump you up event. It's time for results or a ticket to the front door.

2. Fire sales people and hire sales people. You know you'll keep your top producers but you'll have to get rid of the poor and mediocre. Now here is what will make you sales team leaner, but delivering more sales. Eliminate more sales people and managers than you have to so that you can hire some really good ones that your competitors have already let go. However, don't pick who goes on your gut feel or hunches and don't hire using the same. a. Evaluate your selling team analytically (sales people and managers), using a tool designed for sales people and sales managers - not personalities or behaviors. Even the Boston Red Sox manage the team analytically and that's how they won 2 World Series after 80 years. see this website............. b. Hire new sales people and managers using screening tools designed for sales that will predict someone's' selling and managing success in your company. The one I recommend is highly validated, EEOC compliant and 96% accurate over 19 years. It provides a recommendation, the candidate's critical strengths and major weaknesses for selling success.

These evaluations will cost a few hundred dollars per person and the screens can cost tens of dollars, but they will be extremely valuable and guarantee selling success. Besides they cost less than a sales call, a customer dinner, or a flight to anywhere. They are worth it so cut some other expenditure to fit these in.

3. Get help for your sales managers. Face it; your managers are as good as they will be. I'm sure they are giving it their all are not holding back. Bottom line they won't get better without help and if they stay the same, today's sales level is all you'll get unless condition get worse. You sales / market share will not move ahead until the economy gets better. Can your company handle this? Are your bosses, directors and shareholders will to wait?

You sales managers are the drivers who have to provide the coaching and motivation to their sales people to get them to the next skill level. You know your competitors are throwing everything they have at stealing your customer or capturing anything out there. Your sales people must be better than theirs and the only way that will happen is if the sales manager shows the sales people how to sell in tough times and holds them accountable to do it. Again, if the managers knew how to do it, they'd be doing it already.

So buy some coaching for your managers. It can be inexpensive and can happen remotely or on-site. This will pay-off quickly and be the trigger to move you beyond your competitors. See

4. Bring in people outsider - consultants, directors, customers to help. As with your sales managers, all your internal resources and ideas have been tapped. You need fresh eyes. I know it is tough to spend overhead, but it has to be done. Times are different and while you've been focused on running the business new perspectives have developed and taken hold. You need to hear about them, and then determine if and how they might fit into your go to market strategies.

If you're really worried about cash flow, cut performance deals with the outsiders. Consultants that know they can deliver will be open to this idea. However, if you do offer performance incentives in lieu of fees, don't be stingy on the upside or you won't get anyone worthwhile to participate.

5. Get involved. I'm not recommending micro management, but you need to be asking tough questions and getting honest answers. The more you're people tell you "I don't know?" the more you'll know they are in control. Here's why. If one knows s/he doesn't know, that person can now dig-in to find answers. If you hear a lot of good news or "Everything is OK boss," you will know that person is out of control. S/he doesn't know what s/he doesn't know and that's when the unexpected (usually bad) happens.

Encourage "Don't Know's," but be sure to follow them up with "What are you going to do about it, and by when?" Then check-up and hold them accountable. The more you follow-up and present consequences for not getting what they said they'd give you, the more you'll get them to perform at higher levels. Be careful however, manage their game plans and schedules, not their activities. It's a lot easier and less frustrating for you to let them manage their time and to-do's and far more productive for everybody.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus Tip: FREE E-Book "Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers". Just click this C-Level Relationship Selling Link Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to be effective and feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.

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Increase Sales By Changing The Title Description on Your Business Cards

Something insidious has happened during the last 10 to 15 years within the best position of any in the business world. Sales professionals have co-opted their roles by embracing titles such as:

Business Development Strategist
Project Development Consultant
Customer Relations Specialist
Business Development Consultant
Closing Transaction Specialist
Regional Accountant Specialist
Marketing Consultant

Rarely do you read the following title in a business card:

Salesperson

Sales Executive

Sales Specialist

Sales Consultant

Sales Representative

And how often do you read the following:

Professional Salesperson?

What happens when something is not clearly defined? The results are usually muddied and require far more resources to achieve.

So what is the problem with being called a salesperson or having the word sales in the job or title description? I believe that many in sales truly do not want to be in sales and by changing their title they can change what they do and focus on other aspects of business building. Then what happens is that sales results are marginal at best.

These reasonably intelligent individuals fail to realize that business building is about attracting new customers (making sales) and developing loyal customers (making sales). For without sales, a business will not be a business. Sales Coaching Tip: Sales are the goal!

Imagine for a moment a baseball team and everyone is called football players. What would happen? The reason baseball players are called baseball players is because they play with a baseball. So why would those in sales who make sales be called anything other than a sales person.

Until individuals including small business owners to C Level executives understand that hitting a moving target (undefined target) is very difficult, the goal to increase sales will continue to allude most of these organizations. And what is more frightening due to the lack of competent sales professionals, many small business owners to C Level executives allow these titles such as business development specialist to continue to proliferate the business world. Sales Coaching Tip: Sales managers have your sales people called sales representatives, sales specialists or sales professionals. This will increase their focus.

Being in sales is the best profession in the world. If you do not want to be in sales, then get out and find a job that works with what you want out of life.

What other actions have you taken to increase sales? Take free sales skills audit to help you crystallize the what of your sales skills.

Do you need some additional sales coaching tips but cannot afford a sales coach? Then visit the sales coaching gym.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith helps sales professionals & organizations through business coaching training services (locations near Chicago & Indianapolis) to increase profits to productivity. My clients quickly double results in 30 to 90 days. Call me at 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching consultation.

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Don't Have a Sales Manager - Hire a Sales Training Consultant to Help Increase Sales!

Omnipresent Sales Forces

In the increasingly competitive business landscape, sales teams of business establishments have become indispensable features. From start ups to established big multi-national companies - every organization that sells products or services has a sales team. The size of the sales teams may vary from a one man army to battalions of sales people, but a sales department is a must for most companies and firms.

Role of Sales Managers

Usually a sales manager leads the team of sales people. This need not be true in all cases. With sales persons reporting directly to the vice-president or to the owner (in case of small firms) there are no sales managers in many organizations. However, a sales manager is expected to lead the sales team. He is supposed to be the friend, philosopher, and guide of the sales persons. Typically a sales manager monitors the progress of the individual sales persons and the team as well. Due to various reasons, ranging from personal to professional, performance of the sales team gets affected from time to time. The sales manager sorts out the professional issues and advises as a friend on personal ones. He also acts as a link between the sales staff and senior management.

Sales Training Consultants are not Mere Substitutes, They are Better

In the absence of a sales manager this vital role can be entrusted to sales training consultants. Sales training consultants are seasoned and skilled sales professionals that have sound market knowledge and profound insight in to human behavior as well. Their sales wisdom and information about the latest market trends come with diligent study and years of in field experience. Sales training consultants are adept at detecting flaws in the sales methodology of a business organization. They are equally skilled in zeroing in on causes of under- performance of the sales staff. They are part marketing experts and part psychologists that are respected for their capability to suggest remedies to increase sales. From motivating the sales staff to weeding out unproductive sales practices, these gurus of marketing are good at the entire gamut of sales related activities. These pros not only perform what sales managers can but they also do some more such as:

Sales training consultants can present the much emphasized out-of-the-box thinking.

· They can develop better rapport with the sales staff by their friendly and easy manners. It has been observed that sales personnel trust sales training consultants and open up about their problems.

· They can call a spade a spade when it comes to honest analysis as they are not on the pay roll of the hiring firm. So, hire a sales training consultant to boost your sales with the use of tested and proven methods.

Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. http://www.dougdvorak.com

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Executive Briefing - How Sales Process Improvement Can Help to Increase Margins and Revenue Growth

I find it useful to remember, everyone lives by selling something.

Robert Louis Stevenson

We never lead with product; we lead with need.

Zig Ziglar

My creativity strikes at the heart of sales - it's focused on building relationships, improving presentations, and closing a sale.

Sidney Friedman

"Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

Unknown

Introduction

In the rapidly changing landscape of business, competition is stiff. Customers are more sophisticated and demanding in the face of better available options. A sales opportunity can become clouded or loose momentum with the constant requirements on the part of businesses to add more customers, crunch the sales numbers, and boost profits.

To achieve aggressive revenue targets and meet customer needs businesses have to make organized and systematic approaches. Sales form a formidable part of such approaches. Robust sales along with other factors such as: better products or services, attention grabbing advertising, and reliable customer service help businesses successfully in attracting and retaining customers, generating more revenue, and pushing profit levels higher.

A better product or service may not necessarily translate into higher revenues. How the product or service is launched in a specific market can determine revenue. Selling is widely regarded as an art form. Those born with innate talents for a career in sales can succeed, but success can be elusive for the most seasoned sales professional if they do not follow a process. Academicians however, stress that a sales genius may have inborn talents for the trade, but with adequate training any average interested person can turn out to be an outstanding salesman. The topic still remains as the Holy Grail. However, each business has its own sales force using a unique selling model. And all successful businesses have some common sales methods.

Underscoring the Importance of a Sales Process

Having touched upon the weight of sales in business processes it will be necessary to note that robust selling is based on a sturdy and effective sales process. If you are saying, "we do not have the time to work on the process, we have numbers to meet" - your approach may not be right and you might want to reconsider it. To reach the destination, the path should be right and the journey should be enjoyable. Many salespeople are so caught up with the numbers (targets and quotas) that they do not enjoy the process. They do not realize that if the process is correct and executed properly that will take care of the numbers. In fact, true and successful sales professionals work the process thoroughly and enjoy each phase of the exciting sales process that finally ends with stellar sales figures. Being process driven is the mantra. The results will follow naturally.

A sales process is not a panacea, but many organizations are increasingly realizing that it's an indispensable tool that no business can do without. Having a sales methodology in place by firms increased to 84% in 2007 from 42% in 2004 (Source: CSO Insight). Analysis of all successful businesses shows that they all adhere to and execute against a well-defined sales process. Though the exact structure and methodology of operation of their sales processes may differ, they all serve the purpose of boosting sales. An effective sales process is the strong edifice on which the entire structure of sales stands. A weak and ineffective sales process will produce poor sales results and hamper growth as a strong and effective sales process can boost sales and help to increase margins. It is imperative for businesses to have a fail-safe, well-defined and solid sales process in place.

Sales process and sales staff complement each other to take a company to the desired level of growth. One cannot work without the other. A persuasive and experienced sales staff may not be able to perform at its optimum level when the sales process of a company is not efficient. But when the combinations are right the results can be astounding.

About the Author

Doug Dvorak helps companies and professionals achieve results through customized, creative and non-traditional sales training systems that are "one size fits one" and developed to the unique business needs and "sales pain points" of each client. He is available to speak on these topics.

For more information visit http://www.salescoach.us or call 847-359-6969

Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site as long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided

Copyright 2008 The Sales Coaching Institute, Inc.
Sales Skills Training l Strategic Sales Coaching
Chicago, IL l 847-359-6969 l doug@dougdvorak.com
http://www.salescoach.us

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Sales Coaching - Why It May Be What You Need to Increase Sales

Sales coaching has been around for many years in the form of mentors and sales managers. Yet, today's sales professionals are facing not only the historical challenges of stalls, objections, but new ones of which many have been generated by the Internet.

The nuances of selling have increased, but the sales skill of how you relate to that prospect, belly to belly is where it all happens. Sales coaches have the time that sales managers do not have. Through, hopefully, a developmental process that focuses on enhancing your current sales skills' strengths, you as a sales professional can increase your sales effectiveness.

Sales coaches allow opportunities through role playing to help you as the sales person improve your skills from marketing to selling. What many sales managers fail to understand is that marketing skills are different than selling skills, but both are needed within the sales process.

A good sales coach will bring a proven sales process to the coaching program. Some companies truly do not have a sales process in which there is a step by step methodology to get to the goal to increase sales. When a step within the process is violated, skipped, ignored, then the likelihood of achieving that sales goal has been dramatically reduced.

Effective business training coaching should start with a desired result. Then and only then you as the recipient and the coach will know if this solution has been effective.

Finally, an experienced coach will know the basic challenges you are facing in your sales role. For example, I work with real estate agents whose number one problem is listing or selling homes. What I have learned is that most real estate agents do not have a sales plan or marketing plan. Without a plan, there are not written goals that can be actively pursued. New car sales professionals as well as many independent salesmen also lack sales plans. Again, these professionals are embracing the spray and pray mentality. Spray it on the wall and pray it sticks.

These are some of the reasons, not all of them, why you just may need some sales coaching if you truly want to have more money in the bank.

Want to increase sales? Take this sales skill assessment

Do you need to exercise your sales skills. Consider visiting the business training coaching, sales coaching gym.

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How Sales Training can Significantly Increase Profits

In today's competitive based business world, businesses need to have an edge over their competition in order to secure new customers as well as keep current customers satisfied.

One way to do this is through sales training.

Sales training is an important part of creating a successful sales force. Although it is often as unique as the products that you sell, any salesman can apply the methods that are taught.

Many of today's most powerful corporations use sales training because the results have proven to significantly increase their profits. They realize the potential for growth and take advantage of what sales training has to offer.

Sales training covers all aspects of sales; techniques, how to process sales, knowledge of the products being sold, seeking out new clients. New and innovative techniques are being developed everyday, and an effective sales trainer will instruct your sales force on what works and what does not.

It is important for your sales force to understand that they are the key to the success of your business. Finding new prospects on a daily basis can be difficult, however, with sales training, they are taught the most important aspects of sales from beginning to end.

In many companies, sales managers have worked their way up the ranks to gain the position that they have. The methods that they used to get to their current position are no longer an effective way of gaining sales.

Sales training can instruct your sales managers on how to create a sales force that is second to none, and the sales managers in turn can share their knowledge.

Your sales force is the heart of your business; sales training is an important tool to use in order to generate new sales. It is equally important that your sales force implement the knowledge that they received from the sales training. Often times when the sales training has ended, the sales force go back to their previous methods.

One way that you can prevent this from occurring is to ask your sales force if the training session was informative and helpful. Feedback will be helpful in determining what to include in future training sessions.

Sales training will have very little success if the session has little to do with the type of products and services that you offer. For this reason, it is very important to find the right sales trainer who can develop a sales training program specifically designed for your product or service.

Although sales training is usually conducted in an office setting, if your sales is mobile or located in different parts of the country or the world, online sessions can be arranged so all of them can take part in the training.

Sales training is a highly specialized field; trainers are often people who have been in sales for years. They can offer insight to those who are just starting out or have not had as much success as they desire.

The sessions can be monitored, and you are able to determine what part of your sales force has participated as well as adding new information to the program.

When you properly train your sales force, you will be giving them the tools that they need to succeed in the business world today. Sales training has proven to be an effective tool in managing your business.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group marketing company

Peter develops and implements strategic marketing programs as well as sales management training for businesses of all sizes.

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Manufacturer Reps and Independent Sales Reps - How to Use Them to Increase Your Sales

INCREASE YOUR SALES BY USING INDEPENDENT SALES REPRESENTATIVES (ISR) MANUFACTURER'S REPS (MR)

Why would I be interested in using Independent Sales Representatives? Simply put, to achieve more sales, faster, and at lower cost than other methods.

While Independent Sales Representatives or Manufacturer's Reps are not right for all circumstances, their outstanding advantages could be right for you. Especially, if you need to take your company into new markets or grow existing markets with a lower up-front cost.

What is an Independent Sales Representative?

An Independent Sales Rep, also known as a Manufacturer's Rep, is an independent business composed of sales, marketing and customer service professionals, representing at least two related but non-competing products in a well-defined territory, and primarily compensated through commissions. The Principal can be a manufacturer, distributor, importer, or service provider.

An Independent Sales Representative or Manufacturer's Rep is not the same as "inside" sales, showroom sales, or telephone sales. An Independent Sales Rep may use showrooms, trade shows or the telephone to interact with customers. But their primary focus is to work face-to-face with customers, often traveling to meet with them to show products and services, close sales, provide training and solve issues. Commonly, ISRs carry complementary product lines and cover a territory suited to effective coverage of the account base.

What is a Sales Agency?

A Sales Agency, also known as a Rep Agency, offers a management structure and a team of two or more ISRs. Sales Agencies generally operate regionally. Just as in the case of an ISRs acting in a solo fashion, sales agencies sell multiple product lines that do not compete with each other. Sales Agencies sometime have a provide showroom space as part of their services.

What is a National Sales Force?

A National Sales Force is the combination of any inside sales capability plus outside Sales Agencies plus ISRs, along with administrative and support personnel who jointly cover a country. It is common to build up to a National Sales Force incrementally, with only one or more regions in the beginning. Expanding coverage to more regions, and eventually to a full National Sales Force depends upon success in the regional markets.

To what extent do manufacturers use Independent Sales Representatives or Manufacturer's Reps?

According to the Research Institute of America, from 50 to 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers use Independent Sales Representatives, depending upon the industry.

How do I know if there are Independent Sales Reps or Manufacturer's Reps in my industry?

Virtually every industry has ISRs. For example: Agriculture, Mining, Utilities, Construction, Manufacturing, OEM, Wholesale, Distributors, Retail, Transportation, Information, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, Professional Management, Administrative & Support, Waste Management, Educational, Health Care & Hospitals, Medical, Pharmaceuticals, Entertainment, Recreation, Hotel & Motel, Food & Restaurant, and Public Administration.

How does using Independent Sales Reps or Manufacturer's Reps increase sales?

The major reason that ISRs can increase sales is because they carry multiple lines. When more than one line is brought to the customer, sales can be made more effectively and at lower cost. The sale of one product can "trigger" sales of other products. With multiple lines, reps see more customers in their territory than inside salespeople. Thus a broader, better-defined customer base is created. The result is more sales and better market penetration.

What are the other advantages of using Independent Sales Reps or Manufacturer's Reps?

Principals can enter a new market quickly and cost-effectively. The Rep brings his existing customer base. The Rep knows his territory and has his own established network of both buyers and other Reps. For new companies who are still seeking to create their place in the market this feature is vital.
One product sale can "trigger" other product sales.
Reps are paid for results, leading to a highly motivated sales force.
Sales costs are known.
Provide better focus in their territory due to familiarity with local preferences. Reps quickly identify new product opportunities, whereas an inside sales force may take months or longer to make that identification.
Reps have local acceptance. They are familiar to their customers and trusted by them. They often live in their community. So they have a vested interest in their products and customers, whereas inside salespeople may not.
Provide more objective ideas for product improvement and more objective customer feedback on new products because they do not work for the Principal. Customers feel confident in sharing information with them about changes and opportunities in the market. Customers who would hesitate to bring valuable input directly to inside sales staff will openly share with Independent Reps, including both suggestions and criticism. This openness further motivates the Rep.
Provide quick response to customer issues because of close physical proximity. Customers may also feel that it is easier reach the local Reps.
Provide consultative selling, customer service, product demonstrations, product and sales training, sales analysis, credit reporting, market research, market development information, product quoting, and current product improvements, new product development, and participation in sales meetings, trade shows and conventions. Some may also offer showroom displays.
Alert Principals to new developments in their territory that could affect their lines.

How does an Independent Sales Rep get paid?

The Independent Sales Rep typically is credited for all sales in his territory, and is paid the commission stated in a written contractual agreement, sometimes called a "Sales Representation Agreement." Payment is due only after the sale is closed.

The Independent Sales Rep or Manufacturer's Rep operates a independent business, with its own sales and administrative staff. This business is responsible for all related operating expenses, including staff compensation, employee benefits, advertising, auto, insurance, office equipment, taxes, technology, travel, and so forth. These costs must be paid out of the gross commission received by the Rep.

Doesn't the Independent Sales Rep or Manufacturer's Rep add cost?

No. Using Reps can actually save money for the customer. A Principal must have a sales force. Using an Independent Sales Rep is a form of outsourcing the sales function. Just as with the well-known practice by many companies to outsource such functions as manufacturing, information technology, and accounting, using Reps is outsourcing.

To compare the cost of the inside sales force with the outsourced sales force, the overhead "burden" of the inside sales force must be included. For example, what may appear as a yearly cost of $75,000 for a salaried inside Sales Professional has a true cost of 2.0 to 2.5 times that amount, or $150,000 to $188,000 when the overhead "burden" is included. Examples of such costs are administrative support, auto, commission, office space and related costs, employee benefits, holidays, technology, and travel. Another intangible cost that is minimized is the Principal's legal exposure, because Reps handle the cost and liabilities associated with their own employee selection, training, compensation, discipline and termination.

The bottom line is that using Independent Sales Reps reduces fixed costs and spreads those costs over multiple lines. A single sales call for many products saves everyone time. If all Principals had to sell all their products and services via an inside sales force to all territories, the additional cost to the economy would be mind boggling.

Can Independent Sales Reps or Manufacturer's Reps serve as distributors?

Generally the Independent Sales Rep is not a distributor. However in some cases the Principal may require that the Rep takes ownership of the product and resell to the customer. In this case that Rep would be functioning as a Distributor rather than an Independent Sales Rep.

Why don't all Principals use Independent Sales Reps or Manufacturer's Reps?

Many Principals who could benefit from using Independent Sales Reps who do not yet sell that way have misconceptions about the method, or about inside sales forces, or both. Another reason could be that they prefer to have complete control over the sales force.

How many lines should an Independent Sales Rep or Manufacturer's Rep carry?

Reps handle as many lines as necessary to present a sufficient portfolio of products and services for their customer base and to provide sufficient profits for themselves. By carrying multiple lines the Principal shares in the costs of a unified sales organization, as described in detail above. When the Rep is selling the line of another Principal, a positive relationship for the lines of all represented Principals is being established.

Will my Rep help build my business -- or just be an order taker?

If sales could be successfully made via promotion and advertising by themselves, neither an inside nor independent sales force would be needed. However, because Reps are only paid by commissions, they cannot depend only on the sales support efforts of the Principals. They have to go beyond the Principal's efforts to develop and implement their own incentive programs which are tailored to their own territories and customer base.

How much commission is the Independent Sales Rep or Manufacturer's Rep customarily paid?

Commission rates vary by industry over a wide range, with the majority between 5 - 20% of gross sales.

How much commission dollar does the Sales Agency actually keep?

The Sales Agency keeps approximately 40% of commissions received. The remaining 60% is paid as compensation.

How Can I Find Independent Sales Reps, Manufacturer's Reps or Sales Agencies?

There are several online services that provide cost-effective access to Independent Sales Reps.
Visit regional and national regional trade shows to meet Independent Sales Reps and Sales Agencies.
Set up a booth at a trade show and post in your booth a "Sales Representatives Wanted" ad.
Employ or engage a consultant to act as a Sales Manager whose job it is to select, engage and train your National Sales Force.
Advertise in Craigslist, on-line job boards, and classified sections of newspapers.

While these routes may appear simple and inexpensive, be prepared for their hidden costs and time delays. To use them effectively, you will need an appropriate level of Human Resources staffing to screen a potential deluge of resumes, reduce their number by a factor of as much as a hundred or more, finally leading to phone and possibly in-person interviews. That is, some advance staffing may be necessary, and you will need to budget sufficient time and resources over and above the up-front advertising expense. Plus newspaper advertising can be quite expensive.

GETTING STARTED: Tips for Working With Reps

Placing productive, independent sales reps is a numbers game. Period. This fact cannot be emphasized too much.

Using one of the matching services will improve those numbers. But you will still most likely need to communicate with several reps to place that one that will ultimately be productive.

For example: to have 10 productive reps you may need to place 30. To place 30 reps you may need to have discussions with 100.

Therefore, it is important that you proceed with the proper understanding. Some of the online services provide specific guidance to their members which can prevent months of frustration in getting started with Independent Sales Reps. This guidance includes detailed tips and instructions to cover the following fundamental points.

The Best Way to Place Reps
Creating a Professional Impression
Why Patience and Persistence are Vital
The Proper Use of a Letter-of-Intent -- including a sample Letter of Intent that members can begin using right away
How to Set Commission Amounts
How to Prevent Problems with Samples Provided to Reps
Proper User of Contracts and Exclusives -- including a Sample Representation Agreement
How to Overcome and Even Benefit from Situations Where the Rep Truly Is Not a Good Match for Your Business

Contact RepHunter.net at http://www.RepHunter.net for assistance with the topics presented in this article.

RepHunter.net, operated by RepHunter, Inc., is a Minnesota-based company that provides manufacturers with experienced sales representation. We use a unique profiling system to facilitate a TARGETED SEARCH using specific criteria and our growing network of independent manufacturers' representatives.

RepHunter.net is more COST-EFFECTIVE than placing traditional ads and wading through the resume response.

RepHunter.net was established by Matt Tronnier, an experienced sales professional, and Jeffrey Simon, an experienced financial manager and systems developer. Matt was frustrated by his own attempts to search for new opportunities, because resumes just didn't capture the key criteria for finding good partnerships. By creating a profiling form for manufacturers and representatives, RepHunter.net can leverage the technology of databases and the Internet to bring manufacturers the qualified sales representatives they need, without the resume reviewing hassle.

Our clients confirm the quality of our referrals and tell us that the candidates that we place are more productive and able to hit the ground running precisely because of their established customer base.

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