Category: Sales & Marketing

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Sales & Marketing

How to Jumpstart Your Sales in a Stalled Economy with a GREAT Sales Process

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

A tough economy may seem like an improbable time to move current and prospective customers forward to a sale. Yet, it can actually be a great time – if you position yourself as a strategic consultant so customers realize they should not wait.

A good sales process focuses on a wants and needs assessment before introducing a solution. A GREAT sales process focuses on wants, needs, opportunities, challenges, fears and risks! Re-read this list – it includes challenges, fears and risks.

Your market is facing these realities today. Your value increases when you think strategically with your customer and can help them answer tough questions they may not want to think about.

Here are some ways to strengthen your strategic value:

1. Look at your customers’ needs in a different light that includes the challenges, fears and risks that your customers will be facing. Answer the following questions as preparation. If you don’t know an answer, research what is going on in their specific industry or company.
•    What challenges are they facing now that they weren’t the last time you spoke with them?
•    What “realities” are a part of their immediate future?
•    What are the risks to them purchasing – or not purchasing – now?
•    What opportunities might they miss?

2. Develop open-ended questions that will get them talking about these
areas. (Notice how none of the following example questions are directly about
your product or service.)
•    How is the unstable economy affecting your business?
•    What are you facing today that you never thought you would?
•    What are some of the measures your organization is taking to maximize the rest of this fiscal year?
•    The last time we spoke, you mentioned that you were under a tight budget. How are you accomplishing your cost containment?

3. Restate the “What’s in it for Them” (WiifT) of your solution:
•    If your solution will save them money in the long run, you might say, “You mentioned that you have to tighten your budget. We can help you with this. Our xxxx will save you $xxx in this next month. How will that help your cost containment?”
•    If you can minimize a risk, you might say, “As you look to maximize your profitability for the remaining fiscal quarter, our solution will allow you an ROI of twice what you invest. This will help you meet budget.”

Recently a client who uses our Call Reluctance assessment asked to discuss it with me.
I assumed they were going to cut out this “expense”. But I changed my mindset and prepared for a great, strategic discussion. I learned they needed to increase productivity quickly. They had not thought about using the assessment information for managers to coach and increase individual productivity. They are now moving forward to train these managers.

Don’t get caught in default thinking such as, “No one is going to buy now.” Stay positive and be prepared with questions and information to assess wants, needs, opportunities, challenges, fears and risks. This will not only set yourself apart, it will help you jumpstart your sales.

About the Author:

Sharpenz is dedicated to providing sales managers the resources and tools they need to energize, engage and equip their sales team to sell each week. Our 30-minute power sales booster meetings 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 ready-to-go sales training kit today!

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Sales & Marketing

Top 10 Ways To Stay Motivated In Sales

Article Contributed by Jeremy J. Ulmer

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose–a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.” -Mary Shelley

1. Get Inspired Everyday. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Sources of inspiration can include, but are certainly not limited to:sales blogs, sales articles, sales online success stories, sales forums, peers, friends, sales books, and motivational quotes.

2. Hire A Sales Coach. Working one on one with a sales coach has proven to be one of the most effective methods to truly achieve breakthrough sales results. However, be sure to ask these questions of any sales coach you interview before hiring a sales coach.

3. Have Compelling Reasons For Your Actions. Write them down and know your reasons for wanting to achieve your goals and stay motivated. When you clarify why you want to accomplish certain goals, and what it will mean to you to accomplish them, it will help increase your motivation and keep you on track.

4. Be Ready For Negative Self Talk. Become very aware of that inner voice that says you should just quit and give up. One of the most powerful things you can do is to simply raise your awareness and recognize when it is happening. Just by naming the negative self talk alone, it will help you consciously decide what you need to do.

5. Get Back On The Horse If You Fall Off. Don’t beat yourself up if you slip up one day, but make it a rule to get back into your routine the next day. Don’t wait any longer. You don’t need to be perfect all the time, you just need to brush yourself off, and get back on the horse.

6. Visualize Your Sales Goals. Visualize the successful outcome of staying motivated in great detail a few times for 2 minutes each day. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome in sales will feel. Form as clear of a mental picture as you can.

7. Create A Daily Journal For Your Sales Goals. If you can become consistent about writing notes in your journal, it can be a tremendous motivator. You should focus on writing about what you got done that day and how you felt about the things you did or did not do.

8. Get Competitive. Many sales people are driven by competition. Take advantage of this natural drive by using it to fuel your sales goals. Take a look at your peers around you and see where you are ranking on new clients per month, revenue, or appointments set. Aim to be #1, or stay on top, if you are already #1.

9. Make A Public Statement About Your Commitments. Make a statement on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or announce to your friends and family that you are going to achieve a certain sales goal by a certain date. You will get support and accountability automatically with this method.

10. Think Positive. Monitor your thoughts and become more aware of your self-talk. If you hear negative thoughts, notice them, and then choose to replace them with a positive mind-set.

About the Author:

Jeremy J. Ulmer is one of the most dynamic and requested sales coaching experts in the country. His company specializes in working with executive sales leadership, organizations, and individual sales performers to transform their sales results. They deliver customized sales coaching programs and sales seminars. Sign up for free sales tips at: http://www.SalesCoachingHabits.com/

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Sales & Marketing

Expand Your Precious Time with Sales Meetings

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

Time. Such a fleeting thing for most of us. Busy sales managers are on a merry-go-round as they try to keep up with long To Do lists, fewer resources and constantly changing economies, technology and processes. We can’t add a 25th hour in our day, so the question becomes, how do we get more time?

The answer is by being more timely.

A survey by the Sales Management Association (SMA) found a disparity between how sales managers actually spend their time compared to how they WANT to spend their time. The largest difference is in how much time they want to spend with their sellers. It seems the demands of corporate outweigh their best efforts to accomplish the real goal of a sales manager: Make sales numbers through salespeople!

This isn’t anything you don’t know. You know you are stretched thin. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could e-x-p-a-n-d your time? You can, while helping your sellers prepare to beat the competition, capturing more market share and selling more — when you are timely with your sales team!

The time you spend developing your sellers to be more competent and confident pays huge dividends with increased sales and gives you precious time! There are several ways to be timely with your team:
• Field Rides and Partner Selling
• Individual Coaching
• Sales Meetings

All of these actions are necessary and important ways to develop your sellers and meet sales quotas. But which one will expand your time most quickly? Your sales meetings. An effective sales meeting makes a HUGE difference for your WHOLE team.

How much time do most sales managers spend with their sellers? The SMA survey found most spend just 45 minutes a week with each seller. A 60-minute sales meeting can quickly double that!

It’s really easy to brush off bringing the team together. After all, isn’t EVERY minute in the field the most important use of everyone’s time? Probably not. The benefits of consistent and timely connections outside the “front line” include improvement in:
•   Readiness – Prepare to maximize every sales opportunity by strengthening their skills, mindset and knowledge.
•    Recharging – It’s tough out there. Sellers need time to be re-energized to give it their all back in the field. Better with you and their colleagues rather than the local coffee shop.
•    Repeatability – The team needs time to review and learn from each other so all can repeat what goes well (and stop what isn’t working as soon as possible). Sellers like to know they’re not alone “out there.” The other sellers have the same frustrations, challenges and home-runs. Now they can stop wasting time trying to figure out what they should/should not be doing or calling each other.
•    Retention – Turnover decreases when there are regular touch-backs with you and the rest of team.

How do you capture more of that elusive time? 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 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!

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Sales & Marketing

Timely Tips for Unlocking Great Sales

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

Whether it’s the first of the week, the first of the month or the first of the year, it’s a new beginning! And we don’t have to let the economy dictate OUR success. Selling in a tough economy seems more challenging, doesn’t it? And yet many people are not feeling the pinch as much as others. How can you ensure you prosper during these times? With action!

Here are a few key tips for actions that will help you unlock the potential of your sales activities in the next 90 days. The actions you take now are the ones that will set you up for GREAT success.

1.  Set Goals. You can only get where you want to be if you clearly know where you want to go. And you can only get there if you have a clearly outlined route. So put pen to paper and follow a process to write your goals and then outline a plan to achieve them. Think through the next 30-60 days. What do you WANT to happen? Write that down and  then identify the actions you need to take daily and weekly to get there.

2. Overhaul your value proposition. Think beyond the WHAT of your specific product and service to the value you offer to THIS person, company, and situation. Think about the clients you currently serve and the ones you hope to serve. Your value proposition may need to sound a bit different each time. It’s not just about product features and facts – it’s about how your product or service will enhance/benefit/make life easier for the person you are selling to.

3. Prepare strategically. Research industry trends. Use Google alerts to know what is going on with THIS person, company, situation. Use the information to plan great questions, your value proposition, who you should meet with, and the timing of your contact. Being armed with knowledge can pay off exponentially.

4. Maximize every sales contact. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Not only with research on what is going on with them, prepare for communicating value to them. Use a focus on What’s in it for THEM (WiifT) and follow a process within the discussion to connect with the person, ask awesome and thoughtful questions, facilitate their understanding of what you do and what it means to them, work through objections and ASK for a decision.

5. Identify alternative prospect streams. Think creatively about who might use your product or service who currently isn’t. There are some industries that are positively impacted by a slow economy. Look for companies that are performing well in the markets and research their vertical channels. You might have a whole new market to explore.

What have been your successes in selling in today’s tough economy?

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 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!

Categories
Sales & Marketing

More Timely Tips for Unlocking Great Sales in Today’s Tough Economy

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

We all know selling in a tough economy can be challenging, but there ARE things you can do to ensure you prosper during these trying times. Here are five more tips for actions you can take to help unlock the potential of your sales activities over the next 90 days.

1. Give something of value today. When we talk about value, we don’t necessarily mean you have to give something of huge monetary away. It also doesn’t have to be your product or service given away. Information is free. Find an article, a reprint, a cartoon that you can share so that you can stay in front of a prospect. Give a cup of coffee, a lottery ticket or give them a call to ask about their daughter’s wedding. Just find something positive to contact them about that doesn’t involve selling. Giving away something today can build a relationship and trust level for tomorrow and the future. It’s a worthwhile investment.

2. Use the power of one. One more action each day can make a difference later. One more phone call, one more email, one more note sent, one more plan, one more question…you get the idea. Before lunch, after lunch, and before you leave at the end of the day are all great times to add ONE more action.

3. Reevaluate your prospect list. Categorize and find out where you are spending your time. And then align your energies and actions to the most likely prospects. What can you do to move them to the next step in your sales process? This may mean you need to adjust your energies and spend less time/effort on your unlikely prospects.

4. Reintroduce yourself to customers you’ve “lost” over the years. You might find a hidden treasure in this group. They were customers once, but aren’t now, only maybe they are ready to return if they were asked. Research what is going on with their company and then reconnect. Remember to focus on the value your product and company can bring to them.

5. Ask for referrals. Tap into reciprocity generosity. As you provide something of value to someone, why not ask, “Who do you know who might benefit from what I do?”  Help the referrer identify prospects by being as specific as possible about the value you provide: “Who do you know who might benefit from increasing xyz or decreasing abc?”   It’s amazing what contacts you might make.

Taking action in tough times is key.

“You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you’ll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.” Caroline Myss

Winners find a way to succeed in all economies. With some upfront effort to ensure your actions are effective and efficient, the door to success is wide open!

Let us know about your recent successes and tips you can share to succeed in today’s tough economy.

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 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!