Month: January 2011

Unselling What You Just Sold

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date January 9, 2011

Article Contributed by Mark Hunter

I’ll never forget the first time it happened to me. The presentation with the customer was going well. I had prepared extensively. In fact, I had not just spent more time than normal, I had stayed up nearly all night to make sure I had every element covered perfectly in my presentation. For me, this sales call was going to be a huge success. My boss had told me this was going to be a difficult quarter, and that’s all I needed to hear to motivate me to close this particular sale.

The customer I was meeting with was tough. In fact, using the word “customer” was simply too nice. This customer was the ultimate professional buyer who would routinely drive salespeople crazy with questions, bold accusations and flat out rejection.

For this sales call, I was prepared. The program I was presenting to him that day included a new item that I knew in the back of my mind he didn’t need and would most likely flat out reject with some very colorful language. Shortly into my presentation, I noticed him giving me a high level of attention and agreeing with what I was saying. Before I was even half way through my presentation, he said he wanted what I was selling.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I couldn’t believe it! I began to wonder if he knew what he had just agreed to. Yes, he did know and yes he said again he would take it. At this point, we all know as a salesperson that it is wise to take the sale and leave. Yet, I was a bit hurt. Remember, I had spent nearly the entire night preparing an incredible presentation, and suddenly more than half of it was never going to see the light of day. My ego took control and I felt that if I had spent hours preparing it, he was going to hear it, so I continued on.

Go ahead and say it – BIG mistake! You’re right – it was a big mistake. The more I continued on with the presentation, the more the buyer was becoming upset; however, he was not upset enough to throw me out without the order. He listened, and honestly, I’m still not sure why. That’s when I made the final mistake. I shared with him some information that I never should have had in my presentation, and suddenly he began asking me questions. It’s not hard to imagine what happened next, as he decided not only to NOT buy what I was selling, he also went into a tirade about how I and the company I worked for didn’t know what we were doing.

My mistake was very basic. I kept talking after the buying signal was given and in so doing, I lost the order and I lost credibility. The reason I’m sharing this is not to say this has happened to me only once in my more than 25 years of selling. I’m sharing it because it’s one of many situations where I’ve unsold something. It’s just that on this particular occasion I saw it coming like a slow-moving train and still didn’t do anything to get out of the way.

When the buyer gives a buying signal, close the sale and leave. It’s simple, yet we as salespeople allow our egos and our pride to get in the way. Let me share two rules I have regarding sales presentations. They’re not complicated rules, but many times are overlooked.

Rule 1: Close the sale as early in the call as you possibly can. The only exception is if the price or quantity the customer wants is not within the range of your objectives. If the buyer’s requests are in your range of expectations, then get the order.

Rule 2: Close the sale before you run out of presentation. I tell salespeople with whom I am working that the measure of success is to not have to go through your entire presentation to close a sale. This rule is extremely important. You always want to have information and questions you can share with the customer. I like to view it as always having a “back pocket” presentation – information I can share with a customer, but only if it is necessary. This gives me more flexibility and helps me close the sale earlier. My ego is saved and the buyer is not subjected to information they don’t necessarily want to hear. Final benefit of keeping some of your presentation in your back pocket is it subconsciously gives you confidence and determination. You will have confidence in knowing you have more information if you need it, and you will have determination to close the sale with the initial round of information and questions.

It seems crazy that a salesperson could unsell what they have already sold, but it can happen. Do whatever you can to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

If you’re wondering what happened to me and my relationship with the customer, here’s the epilogue: He never did take the new item, and although he did continue to work with me on other activities, I never did get our relationship back to the level it was before my mistake.

About the Author:

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. Since 1998, he has consulted nationally and internationally with thousands of salespeople and global companies. You can follow his Sales Motivation Blog at www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheSalesHunter, Twitter www.twitter.com/thesaleshunter, and Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/markhunter.

Business Ideas

3 Things I Did Right to Start Seeing Consistent Business Growth, Income and Success!

Post author By
Post date January 7, 2011

Last year I hit a big financial milestone in my business.

Now, I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this because I want this for you, and I believe you can do it too.

Look, I made every mistake in the book (and probably even a few that aren’t in the book). I also probably started my business exactly the way you did — as a solopreneur.

In 1998 I started out as a freelancer copywriter, which basically meant I created a job for myself. The problem with that is because I was the one actually doing the work, the marketing part of my business was hit or miss (sound familiar?). I created a horrible feast/famine cycle for myself and that was my life for years.

It was 2005 that I finally decided I needed a different business model. The problem was I had no idea what it would look like or how to do it. Other writers were no help, they had the same business I had.

So after a lot of struggling and flailing around, I finally got it together and started generating the success and income I had always dreamed of.

So how did I do it? Here are the first 3 things. (Stay tuned for more!)

1. Took Einstein’s quote to heart. As a reminder, it’s the quote that says “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

In December 2004, I made a horrible discovery. For some reason, I’m not sure why, I went through my Quickbook statements and started comparing how much I made each year. To my disgust, I discovered that I basically made the same amount of money each year ($40,000 to $50,000).

You see, over the years when I was in the “feast” cycle of my business, I would proudly tell people I was “growing” my business. Never mind the “famine” cycles were completely wiping out any gains from the “feast” cycle. I had also raised my rates over the years. And yet, nothing had changed. In fact, my best year was one of the years when my hourly rate was the lowest.

All of a sudden the realization hit me. I wasn’t growing a business. I had reached a plateau and I was stuck there.

At about the same time I saw the “Seinfeld” episode where George decides he doesn’t like his life right now (broke, jobless, living at home, no girlfriend) so he decides do it the opposite of what he always did. And it worked, by the end of the show he had a girlfriend and a job with the New York Yankees.

So I decided to also do the opposite. 2005 became the year I did the opposite of what I always did. Which leads me number 2.

2. Hire a coach or a mentor. Once I discovered that I was stuck, I realized that I probably needed some help getting unstuck.

You see, there are 2 issues going on. The first one is realizing you’re the reason why you’re in this situation in the first place. The second is actually doing something to change it.

And it’s not as easy as it sounds to change things. Your perspective on yourself, your thoughts, your actions, etc. are cloudy at best. Now there’s no question you can change things, but it’s a lot more difficult without someone to point things out to you.

There are also some other benefits to hiring a coach or a mentor for yourself. When you do, you’re telling yourself (and the universe) that you’re ready to take yourself seriously and do what it takes to be successful. You’re also saying you’re worth the investment. (Because that IS what you’re doing — you’re investing in yourself by getting coaching, mentoring and education from someone who has been there so you can get to where you want to go a lot faster and with fewer detours.)

Now you do need to make sure you hire the right coach or mentor — not all are created equal (I’ll talk about that more when I get to mistakes).

3. Make sure your business is the right entity for tax and legal purposes. I can tell you as soon as I incorporated, I felt like I actually had a business. There was something about going through that process that made me feel like I finally had a “grown up” business.

I’m not an expert on this, so what I would suggest is making an appointment with the experts (i.e. a CPA and an attorney) and discuss it with them.

Planning & Management

Multi-tasking: Crazy Busy, or Just Crazy?

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date January 7, 2011
1 Comment on Multi-tasking: Crazy Busy, or Just Crazy?

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

I often observe sales and service professionals who are so busy and who believe that multi-tasking during phone calls, conferences, while driving, etc. makes them more productive. My friend Kelly calls this “wearing your Busy Badge.” Does this sound like you? I know it can be me. That is why it was interesting to research information on the productivity of us busy people.

I found Dr. Edward Hallowell, a Massachusetts-based psychiatrist, who has written a book titled Crazy Busy. I love that title because it is something I hear often from friends, clients and colleagues. In fact, I have two emails from people in the last week using that term…“Sorry for this or that, I’ve been Crazy Busy!”

Dr. Hallowell reports some interesting information for us to consider. He says multi-tasking is a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously.” In an article, he describes a new condition he calls “Attention Deficit Trait.” ADT is “purely a response to the hyperkinetic environment in which we live,” writes Hallowell, and its hallmark symptoms mimic those of Attention Deficit Disorder. Whew, I thought I needed Ritalin to get through the day.

“Never in history has the human brain been asked to track so many data points,” Hallowell argues, and this challenge “can be controlled only by creatively engineering one’s environment and one’s emotional and physical health.” Limiting multi-tasking is essential.

Mutli-tasking affects our economy as well! Jonathan B. Spira, an analyst at the business research firm Basex, estimates that extreme multi-tasking costs the U.S. economy $650 billion (yes, that’s a “B”, not a typo) a year in lost productivity. How can that be?

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine monitored interruptions among office workers and found that workers took an average of twenty-five minutes to recover and return to their original task after an interruption such as a phone call or answering e-mails. Twenty-five minutes! Even if the phone call was 2-3 minutes – this is nearly a half hour of lost productivity.

In today’s day and age – and not to mention economy, we’re all “crazy busy.” But be smarter about your busy by concentrating on one task at a time. It is not a badge of honor to multitask!

Are you guilty of multitasking too much? What do you to focus on productivity? Let us know in the Comments section.

About the Author:

Sharpenz is dedicated to providing sales managers the resources and tools they need to motivate and equip their sales team to sell more each week. Our 30-minute power sales booster programs help companies increase sales by providing the right tools and training – fast. Designed with the busy manager in mind, Sharpenz ready-to-go sales training kits will give your sales team the opportunity to grow and earn more – all in a half hour of power. To learn more, visit www.sharpenz.com and sign up for your free sales training kit today!

People & Relationships

7 Ways to Avoid Money Fights in Your Relationship

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date January 6, 2011

Article Contributed by Dr. Patty Ann Tublin

Money makes the world go round. It’s also is the number one reason why couples fight.

Here are 7 ways or guidelines for handling money issues throughout your relationship so you don’t have to end up fighting about money. Consider these guidelines to be your relationship tools for keeping the spark alive in your relationship whether you are dealing with the richer or poorer times in your relationship.

1. Know thyself. Be aware of what money really represents to you (this might require a little bit of soul searching here) – and do not impose your attitudes and beliefs about money onto your partner.

2. Know what money really represents to your partner. And don’t try to convince them that they should be more like you!

3. Communicate your individual attitudes and values about money to each other so you develop a joint strategy you are both comfortable with. Think of this as your financial blueprint for relationship harmony! Develop a clear, concise plan for how you use your money: how you spend it and how you save it. If you happen to come into a financial windfall – an inheritance or you hit the lottery (hey, somebody has to win) – discuss and develop a strategy for how you will use that money. Money that people “fall” into is often the start of a very slippery slope for the unraveling of relationships if plans for these monies are not discussed.

4. When you find you are at a crossroads when it comes to money issues, clearly communicate your differences to each other using respect as your baseline. This will avoid all the finger pointing, blaming and accusations inherent in the following statements: “You don’t care how I feel about blah, blah, blah when it comes to spending money.”

5. When differences regarding financial decisions come up (and they will) respect the differences without accusing the other of being cheap, irresponsible or spending money like it’s going out of style. Doing this will keep the issue focused on the differences regarding the finances and avoid the pitfall of entering the dead man’s zone of character assassination!

6. Keep money in its proper perspective in your relationship. Money does not define your relationship or your love for each other. Do not allow money to come between the two of you. Keep your love and respect for each other at the core of your relationship and defend this love at all costs!

7. Remember that love is the platform whereby all financial decisions will be made –“in good times and in bad, for richer for poorer.”

Money is an absolute necessity in life. If we use love as our platform and respect as our baseline, money will have its appropriate place in our relationship. Although all differences regarding the handling of money might not always be reconciled, we will at least be able to “agree to disagree” respectfully regarding money issues. Let’s not forget what we all know to be true – money is merely a commodity in our lives. Money cannot buy love and it cannot buy happiness!

About the Author:

During the past 25 years, renowned relationship expert Dr. Patty Ann Tublin has helped hundreds of people rekindle romance and reignite passion in their relationships. The solutions in her Relationship Toolbox™ help couples re-build romance so intimacy inside and outside the bedroom can flourish. Through her successful 25-year marriage and her experience of raising 4 children, Dr. Patty Ann has earned an international reputation for saving relationships. To reignite your flames of passion, visit her site at www.drpattyann.com.