Really Odd Fact About Cold Calling Success

The best cold callers on the planet are topnotch sales professionals. Oddly enough we are also the worst.

When we sales pros first start the process of cold calling prospects, it’s not unusual for us to establish new records for scheduling meetings with decision makersmagically transforming scheduling as many as 8 appointments out of cold calls to 10 prospects.

Then, one day, seemingly overnight, the novelty wears off. The thrill is gone. The smile and dial routine, becomes, well … routine.

Although cold call prospecting is lucrative …

You quickly tire of the repetition.

You want the meetings and deals that energize you. But the process of 10-20 calls per day 5 days a week, leaves you bored right out of your gourd!

Did you know many people thrive on repetition and routine? More than half the population falls into that category. As you may well imagine, those folks aren’t drawn to the sales profession.

Our natural behavioral style gives us:

* The confidence to do the difficult assignments
* The ability to think on our feet; and to support (or oppose) strongly
* The talent to bring fresh ideas for solving problems

By our very nature we:

* Are optimistic, enthusiastic, and build confidence in others

* Have the “gift of gab” and an ability to verbalize our feelings

* Are excellent troubleshooters

With the right incentives we sales professionals are willing to take risks that can give our companies unbelievable success.

Routine. Our nemesis.

So, how do you reconcile the fact that the most successful cold calling system has to do with using the same script over and over again?

You have to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses so you can develop strategies to meet the demands or routine cold calling. You must claim victory over … the boredom-factor.

I know that’s tough to do, nonetheless, your ability to fight the boredom is critically important to your success.

Folks like accountants and clerks who gravitate toward routine flip out as they read these suggestions. But successful sales professionals, you’ll laugh … and value these simple yet effective tips. Blast past the dreaded “boredom barrier” as you follow through with these techniques, and keep laughing all the way to the bank.

OK. Let’s shake things up a bit.

Your prospect never needs to know you are doing these kooky things on the other end of the line to break the monotony of cold calling decision makers.

These are the tips that’ll blast you past the boredom barrier.

* Get rid of your chair.

Conduct calls from squatting positionposition yourself as though you are sitting on air. The physical tension of this “squat” will distract your brain from the boredom as you are challenged to sound natural to the executive assistant on the other end of the phone!

* Stand with pen in hand over a calendar or stylus over your PDAready to schedule a meeting.

The changes in your voice as you assume this position and your sense of expectation will convey to your prospect. Much like when you extend your hand in person and expect the other person to extend their hand to shake yours … your sense of readiness will convey to your prospect.

* Keep the chair.

Lean back in it and put your feet up on the desk, like the big wigs in the movies.

* Oxygenate - project your voice with clarity and strength.

First time I did this I got dizzy and called the doctor. He said, “No worries. Your brain isn’t used to that much oxygen! This is good for you. Keep it up.” To get as much air in as you can, put your hands on your bent knees. Lean forward into this slight squat lean, take 5 deep breaths in through your nostrils-so deep that your abdomen fills first then your lungs, and finally your chest. Then, exhale through your mouth. This will pump you up for your calls and add strength to your voice.

* Immediately follow one successful call with another.

Your sense of exhilaration and success will carry to the listener. And you’ll feel the sweet sensation of riding the crest of the wave of success!

Is boredom keeping your from your personal best with cold calls? You will blast through that barricade as you master these tips!

Forward this article to friendsthey’ll thank you for it!

For your FREE mini-course “Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company Presidents” visit http://www.ColdCallingExecutives.com! Or call Your Sales Coach for Extreme Profitability, author/speaker Leslie Buterin (like butterin’ bread) at (816) 554-3674 9-3 CST (that’s Kansas City/Chicago Time).

Feel the Fear

It sometimes surprises people when I tell them I get
slightly nervous before a speaking or training event. They
seem to think that because I’ve been doing it for years,
nervousness would no longer be an issue.

However “nerves” is a normal human emotion and as I often
say - “I’d be nervous if I wasn’t nervous!” However, it’s
how you handle the nerves that will determine your success
as a speaker.

Similarly, many sales people feel nervous or uncomfortable
making cold calls, phoning for an appointment or following
up an enquiry. Again, this is a normal response and most
sales people feel this way.

One of the biggest fears for humans is the fear of rejection
and we’ll do almost anything to avoid it. It stops people
making speeches, contacting customers, asking for the order,
or even asking someone out on a date.

Successful people feel the fear of rejection but they don’t
allow it to paralyse them. They take action even although
they feel uncomfortable. And of course, the more you do it
the less uncomfortable you feel.

In the many challenges you face in life you won’t “win them
all” but you must have the courage to try. I read somewhere
that - “winners make mistakes but losers never do.” That’s
because winners have the courage to try and they know
they’ll make mistakes; however that’s how they learn and
move forward.

Discover how you can generate more business without having
to cold call!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
without Selling” This book is packed with practical things
that you can do to - get customers to come to you.
Click here now
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com and
http://www.alanfairweather.com

Back-to-School List - 10 Tips for Trade Shows

There’s a new year beginning now - the school year.
Whether you have children attending for the first time or
finishing university, it’s always hectic to get into the
back-to-school routine. And, if you don’t have school in your
family, there might be your own remembrance of the
excitement of starting afresh and learning something new.

This is a great time to review your trade show program in
the same way you prepare for school.

Pick Your School = Industry

It’s a business school question - Are you a railroad or a
transportation company? In other words, what business are
you in? If you consider your industry a railroad, you will be
concerned with rolling stock, laying track and logistics. If you
consider your industry to be transportation, you will consider
the railroad as a method of transportation - the same
principles apply whether you run rail cars or airplanes.
There’s a engine, a carrier compartment, and now most
importantly, customer focus. Railroads have to lay track,
airlines have to have airfields, so there’s difficulty in
physically moving to meet customer demand. But railroads
adapted by allowing piggybacking - truck trailers on flatbed
rail cars. Airlines serve more markets with the hub and
spoke system. You should look deeply into your own
industry and determine customer focus for the next 12
weeks and 12 months.

Pick Your Classes = Shows

While your firm is part of an Industry, in times of slowing
business there are two avenues you can take to garner
more sales. One is to hunker down and bore deeply into
your niche, the other is to expand into other industries. In
both cases, you may want to look at trade shows beyond the
ones you have on your current docket. For example, if going
deeper into your industry niche, you can consider local or
regional shows, international expos, or shows which focus
on discrete research in your niche allowing you an
intellectual advantage. If expanding into other industries, you
have a wide range of choices but the advice is to research,
research, research before investing.

Pick Your Teachers = Find the Best for You

Not all executives of Fortune 500 companies went to an Ivy
League or MIT caliber school, but considering the vast
number of colleges and universities, a disproportionate
number of these executives are graduates of the elite
universities. Translated to trade shows, that means you
should align yourself with well regarded shows, organizers
attuned to forward thinking, and professional organization
and management.

Pick Your Major = Marketing Message

When you declare a major, it’s your intention to complete the
requirements and pursue a career in that field. People
remember that you started off in theatre, switched to
psychology, graduated in medieval history and then became
a salesman. At a trade show, you don’t get a second chance
to change your marketing message. All the promotion
before the show, the exhibit and goodies need to revolve
around The Message. In essence, a trade show is not the
time to change majors, confuse people and say “I really
don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Pick Your Books = Marketing Tools

A trade show is not an isolated marketing event but a
continuum of your marketing efforts, so you won’t be limited
to books. Along the way, your marketing tools are selected
for the best impact on the right people, whether you use
print, video or the Internet. Once you understand the
demographics of your audience, you use the right medium
for the message. For example, a firm with a high-tech
operation will expect to see detailed information about your
firm on your web site - it’s the first place they will look A
low-tech firm will expect print materials and detailed
manuals. And, yes, there are still people who don’t have
computers, don’t like computers and will never use the
electronic goodies in your life as appreciatively as you do.

Pick Your Clothes = Exhibit

We always want to look our best. Just as your clothes are a
representation of your personality, your position in a firm
and your sense of style (how you view yourself), so too is
your exhibit a representation of your company. It’s the first
physical impression many people have of your firm. It tells
attendees at a glance if you’re an ordinary company or a
daring one. If you are high fashion (which may mean
expensive and faddish) or if your firm has strong traditional
roots. People absorb not only the color and the design of
your exhibit but the language of the signage and the image
of your graphics. They look at the presentation of the
information you have available - whether it’s simple
brochures or high tech interactives. And they judge you both
in a overall sense and by subconsciously picking apart
those segments which they either strongly like or dislike.

Pick Your Friends = Staff

You can’t always play with your buddies, but you do want to
be in a group which balances strengths and weaknesses to
get the job done. Selection of the right trade show staff is the
most important factor in the success of a trade show. If your
exhibit is an award winner design but your staff is bored,
can’t answer attendee’s questions or is boorish, most
people will walk away. Time is too short for the attendee to
teach your staff proper trade show etiquette and sales
techniques.

Stand Up to Playground Bullies = Pick Your Battles

During the trade show process, there will be times when
you think something isn’t fair, or is too expensive or really
inconveniences you. Sometimes, it’s because you don’t
understand the contracts and the flow of how a trade show
is put together. When in doubt, just ask for an explanation.
You don’t have to take “That’s the way it is…” for an answer.
Find the top level of authority and make your concerns
known. A losing battle for the current show includes
contracts signed which obligate you to use certain labor
pools at certain rates. You can make your views know for
next year, but this year it is in stone. On the other hand, if you
find a competitor next to you (this happens very rarely as
show management is very conscious of this potential
squabble), ask that one of you be moved. Make sure your
complaints are legitimate. When you pick the right battles,
you should win. Otherwise, you’re just a whiner or a gossip.

Pick Your Sports = Extracurricular Activities

Trade shows are seldom just a time to set up an exhibit,
showcase your products, and leave. Increasingly, trade
shows are bracketed by educational sessions, social
events, informal networking time and fund-raising. Golf and
tennistournaments are becoming fashionable either as a
fund-raiser or just social time. Firms will entertain clients
during the non-show hours by utilizing a hotel Hospitality
Suite or an off-site venue. It’s easy to overload your
calendar, overfill your glass and plate and think your only job
is to have a good time. Wrong! You are your company’s
representative, so whatever behavior you demonstrate is
what people perceive as acceptable by your company. It’s
best to be on your best behavior.

Pack Your Lunch = Take Care of Yourself

When you’re on the road, it’s easy to fall into the grab-a-bite
routine as you rush through the airport. Or the
I-deserve-this- dessert syndrome as you dine alone waiting
for the next plane. Too much sugar, too much booze and too
much stress take their toll whether you’re going to or
coming from a show. Experienced business travelers have
these words of wisdom -

* Listen to your normal body clock as much possible

* Acknowledge when you need rest

* Drink lots of water and fluids

* Don’t drink alcohol when flying

* Maintain an exercise routine, even if it’s just walking
around the airport

* Wear stylish and comfortable clothes - don’t look like you
just came from the gym. You will be more quickly accepted
and get better service when you dress professionally

* Pack lightly. There are no naked people where you’re
going - there’s always a store

* Have an emergency kit with you. Whether you have a
headache, you arrive at the hotel past room service hours,
or you feel lonely, take care of yourself. You should take a
medicine kit, pocket knife, small flash light, snacks, extra ID
and pictures of the family.

Going to school for the first time is scary but then it
becomes routine. Keep a little bit of that first-time fear in
your trade show routine. It will make you more aware of your
surroundings and opportunities.

Julia O’Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - writes
about practical aspects of trade shows. As president of
Trade Show Training, inc,, now celebrating its 10th
year, she works with companies in a variety of
industries to improve their bottom line and marketing
opportunities at trade shows.

Julia is an expert in the psychology of the trade show
environment and uses this expertise in sales training
and management seminars.

How To Communicate Your Sales Message So Buyers Take Action Now!

Wouldn’t it be great that every time you made a sales presentation, write a letter, send your sales literature or place an ad that you knew, with some certainty, that you could get your prospects to take action and respond to your offer?

Well, to put it bluntly, it’s not that difficult if you simply apply the basics of marketing. Unfortunately, marketing is one of the least understood and arguably one of the least underutilized, course of action, in business today.

Marketing has and will continue to make the difference between the survival and extinction of a business today. Treading our way into the future with the overwhelming velocity of day-to-day change in this wildly unpredictable changing marketplace, with shorter product life cycles, require businesses, small or large, to have an edge or lose share of market to the competition.

Having the edge today will involve refining your marketing with a holistic approach and razor-sharp strategies that accelerate your business growth. The more I research and study how businesses stay alive and well — the more I am convinced and respect that strategic marketing is the forerunner to optimizing our selling performance.

Think of it this way: Visualize an umbrella - and label it “marketing” and “strategy.” Next, under the umbrella see advertising, branding, public relations, etc. Label those items, “selling” and “tactical processes.”

“Marketing,” — the strategy — is what favorably positions your company products or services in the mind of the customer and is aimed at stimulating a desire and demand on the part of the customer to make a purchase.

“Selling” — the tactical processes — are tools used to educate, inform, influence and persuade purchasing actions from the customer.

Both marketing and selling must lead the customer to action. For example: Advertising is salesmanship in action. Radio, television, newspaper, direct mail (electronic or paper) and magazines should all be constructed in the same demanding way that a salesperson makes a presentation to a prospective customer.

The same skills, habits and attitudes that are required of a salesperson for influencing action, on the part of the customer, should be directly aligned with all your various tactical processes.

For example — The successful salesperson must:

1. Develop and build rapport

2. Understand customer needs

3. Emphasize tangible benefits

4. Skillfully move a customer toward a purchase

5. Keep the prospective customer “engaged” in the purchase process

6. Strategically link a product or services to a customer’s most important needs and issues

7. Detail the product or service to motivate the purchasing action of the customer

Each advertising piece that is used in your marketing arsenal - newspaper ad, magazine ad, direct response mailing, public relations campaign should make a complete and compelling case for your products and services in the same way that a salesperson would do in person.

1. Do your ads (metaphorically) talk to your customers - do they build a rapport?

2. Are your brochures, letters, newsletters, ads and public relations material believable and emotionally peak the curiosity of people to want to learn more?

3. Is your marketing targeted toward perspective customers that have a real need for your products and services - have the money and willing to spend it?

4. Does your marketing materials educate and emphasize all the tangible benefits to keep the prospective customer engaged and motivated to take a purchasing action.

Today is not the time to be timid in your marketing. People need a nudge in making decisions. They want and expect to be told how to take action to obtain your products and services.

Take an assessment of your strategic marketing and selling action mentioned above and in addition see if you are:

1. Educating your customers about the unique advantages your products and services offered:

a). Service guarantees

b). Technical or manufacturing support

c). Warranties

d). Durability and dependability

e). New product developments

f). Upgrades and product enhancements

g). Delivery

2. Asking strategic questions for:

a). Linking products or services to customers needs

b). Providing solutions for their problems

c). Manage customer relationships

d). Keeping your customer and prospective customer engaged in the buying process

3. Active Listening for:

a). Emotional triggers

b). Logical reasoning

4. Handling objections to:

a). Minimizing concerns

b). Overcome obstacles

5. Presenting benefits that:

a). Motivate your customer’s loyalty and purchasing action

b). Advantage your products and services over your competitors

Now is the time to pull out all your marketing materials, ads, sales scripts, brochures, presentation materials, marketing channels, and yes, check your attitudes, habits and skills - it’s time to be innovative, nontraditional and bold in your thinking and business endeavors.

Don L. Price: Author, Sales/Marketing & Positive Change Solution Provider, International Speaker & Mental Fitness Coach http://www.donlprice.com

Invite Don to speak at your next Convention, Meeting or Retreat. Optimize your Power to Succeed with Strategic Performance Marketing/Sales and Success Coaching, for Reaching Higher Performance in Your Personal and Business Life.

– Seminars, Keynotes, Retreats, Consulting —
http://www.donlprice.com

Subscribe FREE to Price on Success e-Newsletter
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101 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91502

INCREASE YOUR ONLINE SALES

According to a new survey carried out by Alliance & where
ID_NUM=9270; Leicester, one in five small business owners view
tax as their greatest concern. The Chancellor has announced in
his last budget that companies with profits below œ10,000
will not have to pay any corporation tax with effect from 1
April 2002. The question to be asked is: does that announcement
make incorporation a more attractive option compared to being a
sole trader?

The answer is that from a tax point of view, it is advantageous
to trade through a limited company as long as the income is
drawn from the company by the owners as dividends from their
shares and the amount of dividends drawn is restricted below the
40% band rate (i.e. œ31,063 for tax year 2002/03). That
way, the owners have no further personal tax (”income tax”) to
pay. Moreover, dividends are not subject to national insurance
contributions. This is excellent news of course. But, if
dividend income falls within the higher rate bracket of income
tax (i.e. above œ34,515), they will be taxed at 22.5% on
the excess, which of course will increase the tax burden. The
company profits are subject to corporation tax rates. Those are
lower than income tax rates.

The most catastrophic scenario is when the director takes his
reward from the company as salary. Then his/her salary is taxed
at income tax rates (like a sole trader’s income). That is
because, unlike sole traders, the tax system treats companies as
separate from their owners because a company is a separate legal
entity. The problem is that the income taxes are higher than
corporation tax rates. On top of that, they will be subject to
employee and employer national insurance contributions, which of
course increase the tax burden and render his position worse
than even an unincorporated business (”sole trader”), because
NIC Class 1 on payroll are higher than NIC Class 2 paid by self
employed.

In contrast, a self employed person (”sole trader”) is taxed at
income tax rates on the profits from his business, which are
added to his other sources of income. As it has already been
mentioned, income tax rates are overall higher than corporation
tax rates. On top of income tax, national insurance
contributions class 4 are payable on the business profits within
a specified band (7% on profits between œ4,615and
œ30,420). National insurance contributions Class 2 are also
paid by self-employed people, although those are lower than
those payable by company directors on their salaries.

To illustrate the above, let’s take a simple example. We have a
limited company and a sole trader. They both make œ60,000
profits each in the tax year 2002/03. We assume that the company
director takes a salary equal to the amount of his personal
allowances (untaxed income) of œ4,615 and the balance as
dividends. The company will pay corporation tax at 19% equal to
œ10,523 and nothing else. The sole trader will pay income
tax œ16,542, National insurance Class 2 œ104 and
National insurance Class 4 œ1,806. Total œ18,452. The
bottom line is that the person that has incorporated his
business into a limited company will make a tax saving of
œ7,929 compared to a sole trader! Isn’t that fantastic?

Somebody might be wondering: why is this entire happening? The
official explanation is that, this government, to help the
economy grow, encourages people to leave as much profits within
their businesses to be reinvested, instead of being taken out
and spent.

The “unofficial line” is that, as a matter of fact, for years
the Inland Revenue has tried to reclassify the self-employed.
The 1% in NIC hike on staff salaries above the NIC threshold
from next April adds to both the employees’ and employers’ tax
burden and may more than offset the saving from the corporation
tax zero rate on the first œ10,000 of profits.

Aren’t there any other matters to consider in deciding whether
to incorporate or not?

Higher administration costs to comply with company law, payroll
and bookkeeping is one factor. Another issue is pension
planning. Extracting profits out of the company as dividends
rather than salary means that there will be no “net relevant
earnings” and therefore pension contributions can’t be made. But
the advent of stakeholder pension plans has meant that
contributions up to œ3,600 per year can be made without the
need for any earnings. If a person does not wish to transfer
funds in existing plans into stakeholder because of high
charges, there is a way out: the best net relevant earnings
(i.e. salary) in five consecutive years can be used for making
contributions for the next five years, even if there were no
salaries in the remainder four years. It is comforting to know
that entitlement to basic state pension is not affected by
taking a salary from the company at the level of a person’s
personal allowances i.e. œ4,615.

Furthermore, an individual may decide not to bother with pension
plans and instead invest in ISA. Often, these can be more
efficient than pensions but that’s beside the scope of this
article. If that option is taken, no salary is necessary.

Another factor is business motoring. It might be tax
advantageous for an unincorporated business that owns many cars
not to incorporate because if these cars have some private use
there will be benefits in kind taxed on the users. These are
generally higher than the straight apportionment between private
and business for all car running costs in the case of sole
traders.

The conclusion is that there can be considerable tax savings
waiting the sole trader who decides to go down the road to
incorporation. But, one needs to proceed with caution and
careful planning. And don’t forget the biggest advantage of
incorporation, which is Protection from Personal Liability.
Incorporating is one of the best ways to protect a business
owner from personal liability. Shareholders of a company are
generally not liable for the obligations of the company.
Creditors of a company may seek payment from its assets, but not
the assets of the shareholders. This means that business owners
may engage in business without risking their homes or other
personal property.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Article. I hope
you’ve found it useful. If you have, please drop me an email and
let me know what you think.

You can email me at…

constantinesavva@accamail.com

Alternatively, you can visit our website at
http://www.tax-accounting-london.info and read a series of other
full length articles that present the complete picture on a
variety of interesting topics.

If you would like to know how to save tax and make sure that
more of your hard earned cash stays with you to expand your
business and increase your profits, we have a Free Special
Report addressed to small businesses either starting up or
already in business. This Exclusive Free Special Report is
available automatically when you subscribe to our regular series
of Free Newsletters on finance advice and tax planning by
visiting our subscription area on our website
www.tax-accounting- london.info. It is complied from real life
situations dealing with small business tax affairs for over 10
years and it is loaded with down-to-earth advice and practical,
understandable examples.

LEGAL NOTICE Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation
of this article, the author cannot accept responsibility for any
errors or omissions. Proper professional advice should be taken
at all times.

We retain copyright for the contents of this article. Any
unauthorized copying or onward distributions are prohibited
without our consent.

How to use NLP Anchoring in every Conversation

The new commercial you are saying bad things about to your friend, the way a lady across the room plays with her hair,
in song texts like:”We all live in a yellow…”, or the sound that your mail program makes when you get a new email.

They are there all the time, for the simple reason that they are the reason why our brain works the way it does work.

The question is: How can you use “free floating anchors” as John LaValle calls them?

How can you practice the NLP(tm) technique of Anchoring in everyday life?

Easily.

E.g.: You are having a conversation with a friend via Skype. You talk about this and that, suddenly your friend bursts
into laughter about a think you said that you didn’t even intent to be funny.

There is anchor created right there, by the way you said it, the way you spelled it, the way you took breaks in between the phrases.

You can test it by trying to reuse it. Not to often of course, as you might collapse it if over doing it , but you can reuse it over and over easily.

Try it out!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Patrick Leypold is a NLP Trainer and Author. He
offers a free 10-page report about NLP ™ Meta
Programs at http://www.smscoach.com/sales/1article.htm.
He also has a blog on NLP(tm) Tips and
Manipulation at nlptips.blogspot.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Freelancers, Subcontractors, & Creative Folks: Stop Charging By the Hour & Make More Money!

One of the biggest challenges with a creative business is getting paid what you are worth. The root of the problem isn’t that the client doesn’t have the money and it isn’t that the client isn’t willing to pay you what you are worth. The root of the problem is how you are charging and how you are creating value in the mind of the client.

First, you must create a business based on value pricing and not hourly pricing. The number one worst way to charge (and most creative businesses are charging this way) is by the hour.

Frankly, it shouldn’t matter how long it takes you to solve the client’s problems or provide your service, it should matter that the client is getting what he needs and what he wants. If you’re creating value and you’re giving them value, they’ll pay you for that value. They shouldn’t be paying you for your time. If you’re being paid for your time you’re essentially setting the ceiling to how much money you can make because you can only work so many hours.

Therefore, you must determine, specifically what your value is to the customer, not how many hours you will work for that customer.

To do this, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do you impact that customer or potential client?

• What do you provide to them that will help them and helps solve their problems? How will solving these problems impact the customer? Is it a problem with high impact or low impact?

• What is important to the customer? Why is it important to the customer? How important is it?

• Have they had experiences working with someone in your type of business before? If so, was it a good or back experience? Why? Exactly what happened?

• Why is the client coming to you for this issue?

• What is the client’s definition of success with this project? Ask him to describe specific ways he will know he made the right choice in hiring you.

By getting the answers to these questions - not guessing what the client will say, but actually getting the client to answer these questions - you will have the information you need to create VALUE in the mind of the client. If they perceive your work to be valuable, they will be thrilled to pay you. If they do not perceive your work to be of value, they won’t pay you no matter how low you go on the pricing scale.

It’s all in the mind of the client. Get in their head and understand specifically what they want and, even more specifically, why they want it. Once you do that, getting paid what you are worth is a piece of cake!

Kirstin Carey is the author of “Starving Artist No More: Hearty Business Strategies for Creative Folks.” Kirstin knows how much most creative people hate sales, contracts, and discussing money and she consults creative people on the business side of creativity so they make more money, get better clients, and still love what they do. She put together a resource full of proven strategies and insider secrets guaranteed to help creative types get the business help they need so they don’t have to starve anymore! Go to http://www.MyCreativeBiz.com

Gic Number For Writing Sales Letters

When I write sales letters for my clients, one rule I always start with is The Rule of 7.

I learned about The Rule of 7 from one of my good friends who once ran for political office. In his campaign, he made certain that his name appeared seven times in all of his radio spots.

Why? Because that’s generally the number of times required before a name “magically” sticks in the mind of a prospect. The Rule of 7 is often used in radio and television advertising. But this isn’t an isolated occurrence—the number seven seems to be a bit magical in other areas, like prospecting and linguistics.

Do you know the average number of times experts say you need to make contact with a prospect before they will be ready to commit?

Seven.

Can you guess how many times linguists say a person must use a word before it becomes a true part of their vocabulary?

That’s right—seven.

This “magic” is the reason I try to repeat my client’s product name or business name seven times in the sales letters I write for them.

The truth is, we’re not really talking about magic, here. It’s really about generating recognition for a name or a concept. It’s about embedding something in a prospect’s subconscious mind. It’s about branding. I use The Rule of 7 to write sales letters, but the idea can be applied to other areas of marketing, too.

Every person and every thing has an identity—and branding is about more than just a logo. A brand identity is about who you are, what you offer and the benefits of choosing you over the competition. The name you choose to operate under—whether your personal name, your business name, your product name, or your website address—is a link to all of that information. Repetition, which is what makes The Rule of 7 work, strengthens the recognition and recollection of your brand.

Now, all the “experts” may come back later and say that “seven” isn’t the right number after all. It’s nine. Or it’s five. Or it’s eight-point-three. But it doesn’t really matter, does it? Seven works well as a general rule. (Besides, it is a lucky number.)

Of course, I know that fulfilling The Rule of 7 is no guarantee a prospect will accept an offer. But I know using the rule increases the chance that a prospect will see my name or the name of one of my websites and think, “Oh, yeah, I remember Seductive Sales Letters” or “I remember Matthew Cobb.” Recognition and recollection—that’s what The Rule of 7 is all about.

One word of warning, though. Just because seven times is good doesn’t mean that seventy times is even better. Repeating the same name over and over again can grow annoying and cause prospects to quit reading. And then, you may not even be able to fulfill The Rule of 1.

About The Author

Matthew Cobb is an independent copywriter/consultant who operates Seductive Sales Letters. Visit SeductiveSalesLetters.com and sign up for the official monthly publication, The Seductive Sales Letter Clinic.

Sales Process - How to Avoid Wasting Time on Prospects Who CAN’T or WON’T Buy

Do you have blind faith that, if you can somehow convince a prospect to engage in a sales cycle, you will eventually make a sale? If you do, watch out! This belief can waste your time, effort, and company resources.

Unfortunately, time and resource investments do not inevitably produce sales. How many of the opportunities in your pipeline have been stalled at the same step in the sales cycle for weeks…or months? In how many opportunities have you and your company invested enormous amounts of time, energy and resources (conducting product demonstrations, writing lengthy proposals, providing product evaluations, etc.), only to have the prospect decide they don’t WANT to buy, or prove INCAPABLE of funding the purchase? Even when you make sales, how many turn out to be “nightmare” customers who are always dissatisfied and consume huge amounts of post-sale resources?

All Prospects Are NOT Created Equal

You DO need to help your prospects explore whether their business problems are substantial enough to justify investing time in a sales cycle. However, you also need to figure out whether each prospect is WORTHY of your time and resource investments! If a prospect is not a good fit, gracefully exit from the opportunity. (Why not refer them to a competitor and let the competitor burn some cycles?)

How can you determine whether a prospect is worthy of your time and resource investments? Many sales skills training courses teach an acronym, M-A-N, that stands for Money, Authority, and Need. The basic idea is to determine whether:

1. The prospect is willing to commit enough budget dollars (Money) to pay for the product or service
2. The key decision makers and influencers (Authority) have been identified; and
3. The prospect’s pain (Need) is severe enough to justify investing in a solution

Unfortunately, even when you do a good job of M-A-N qualification, you can be “blindsided” by issues that delay sales cycles or destroy opportunities outright. For example:

• Some prospects prove incapable of securing financing. They may have a budget, but they are not “credit worthy”, so they can’t FUND the budget.
• Some decision makers need to have specific information provided in a specific format before they can authorize a buying decision.
• Sometimes you invest considerable time and effort in troubleshooting complex problems and designing solutions, only to be informed that the prospect must take the proposed solution OUT TO BID. This can lead to the opportunity being lost to a low bidder or the profitability of the opportunity being pummeled.

To avoid these issues, add additional questions to the M-A-N qualification process. The acronym that I have assigned to this revised process is M-A-I-N BP, which stands for Money, Authority, Information, Need, and Buying Process. Here are sample M-A-I-N BP questions:

MONEY

• How will your prospect pay for the product or service?
• Has a budget been established?
• Are they credit worthy?

AUTHORITY

• Who (in the prospect’s organization) needs to approve an acquisition of this nature?

INFORMATION

• What information do the decision makers require before they can make a decision?
• What format does this information need to be in?

NEED

• What are the prospect’s business problems?
• How compelling are they? In other words, can you quantify (associate dollars, percentages, and time frames with) the pain the prospect is feeling?
• Are the quantified business impacts substantial enough to warrant investment by the prospect’s organization (and YOUR company) in identifying and fixing the problem(s)?

BUYING PROCESS

• What is the prospect’s buying (procurement) process?
• What impact might this process have on the profitability of the transaction?
• What competitive advantage will you receive if you invest your time and resources in designing a solution that goes out to bid?

If you decide to add M-A-I-N BP qualification to your sales opportunity qualification process, here are some final thoughts to keep in mind:

• If you don’t know the answers to ALL of the M-A-I-N BP questions, it is highly likely you are wasting your time and resources!
• Opportunity qualification is NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT. As an opportunity advances through the sales cycle, you should frequently ask whether any of the answers to the qualification questions have changed. If an answer changes, it could impact the length of the sales cycle and even destroy the viability of the opportunity. At minimum, an answer change will probably require a change in focus and/or a reprioritization of planned activities.
• Never feel bad about disqualifying an “opportunity”. The amount of opportunity in most sales territories is virtually unlimited. If you carefully qualify and re-qualify each opportunity, and only invest time and resources in qualified opportunities, you will maximize your return on time and resources invested.

Copyright 2005 — Alan Rigg

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don’t Perform and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and managers DOUBLE sales by implementing The Right Formula™ for building top-performing sales teams. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com

How To Become A Better Sales Manager

YIPPEE! Kendra won, or should I say, “She was hired,” by the “Donald.” It was no surprise to me. It was all about people and management skills. You either have them or you don’t! Kendra had them and Tana, sad to say, didn’t.

The shenanigans you watched during the “Apprentice” show are perfect examples of what not to do if you want to become an effective and respected sales manager.

Enough about that . . .

Today, being a sales manager, is a tough job - and it can also be extremely rewarding. Here’s what I find bizarre. There are too many undertrained sales managers trying to coach and develop their undertrained salespeople. It’s not a pretty picture.

What do you think happens when that happens? Right - nothing much happens.

Last week I went to Chicago to conduct a one half-day sales training program. After completing the program in Chicago I was off to Las Vegas to do a two-day sales training program.

I’m sitting in an aisle seat (9D) on American Airlines flight #1417. Once I settled in I exchanged hellos with the guy sitting next to me.

I asked, “What kind of work do you do?”

He says, “I’m a sales manager” and proceeds to tell me about his company, his responsibilities, and some of his problems.

After a while he asks me, “What about you - what kind of work do you do?”

I gave him my prepared elevator speech, “I coach and train salespeople and sales managers on how to increase sales, earn more money, have more fun, and how to do it all in less time.”

He says, “You coach sales managers, man could I ever use a coach!”

I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “One day I’m a very successful sales representative and the next day I’m a sales manager.”

He continues and says “Hey, I wanted this job - it was a dream come true for me.” Along with the promotion I got the standard “Hit the road Jack kind of attitude from my company.”

“It wasn’t mean-spirited, just a go figure-it-out for yourself kind of an attitude.”

I asked him one of my favorite questions - a question that uncovers specific problems. I said, “Keith, as a sales manager, what are some of the biggest challenges you’re dealing with now?”

He said, “You got an hour to hear them all?” I took some notes while he was talking and here’s a list of what he said he needed help with:

Recruiting
Interviewing
Planning
Time management
Coaching
Motivation
Planning a dynamite sales meeting
Strategic account plans
Measuring performance
Sitting goals that get results
Leadership
Self confidence

I said, “That’s quite a list.”

He says, “My wife thinks I’m nuts for taking the sales management position.”

She says, “You’re working longer hours, you’re always stressed out, and you’re always thinking about work.”

Well, I’m not going to bore you with any more of the details of that conversation - but Keith seems to be the perfect candidate for my just released Sales Management Coaching Program.

After I explained the program and all of its benefits to Keith he perked up and said, “Sign me up!”

You can use this link to see the complete Sales Management Coaching package - it will take only 118 seconds to read.
http://www.meisenheimer.com/sales_coaching/individual.shtml

If you’re a sales representative please forward this to every sales manager you know, who wants to become the best they can be in their role as sales manager.

If you’re a sales manager, take a close look in the mirror and ask yourself, “How am I doing as a sales manager?” If you want to achieve superior results as a sales manager you’ll have to have superior sales management skills at your fingertips.

Years ago, some of the best advice I never took was “You can’t succeed alone.” It took me a long time to buy into this very simple concept. Today I belong to a Mastermind group that meets every three months. We’ve been doing this for five years now.

During the same five years I have hired three different coaches to help me grow different parts of my business. Personally, I have always found an immediate payback with the coaches I’ve hired.

For me, the results have been truly amazing and incredibly rewarding.

Here’s the link again to see the complete package.
http://www.meisenheimer.com/sales_coaching/individual.shtml

Enough about sales management . . .

It’s time to start thinking about the second-half of 2005.

Here are a few practical selling tips:

1. Prepare a list of what worked for you during the first half of 2005.

2. Prepare a list of what didn’t work for you during the first half of 2005.

3. Prepare a written list of goals (Make them specific) that you want to achieve during the second half of 2005 - professional and personal.

4. For each written goal prepare a list of strategies that describes in considerable detail how you are planning to achieve each goal.

5. Identify the one thing that’s holding you back from achieving phenomenal success. Be honest with yourself! Then, immerse yourself in a self-development program to convert this weakness into a personal strength.

This is not an exercise in futility. Actually, it’s an exercise designed to help you achieve the personal growth and development you need to take your business to the next level.

If dealing with time management is an issue for you, my Audio Book “57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life” includes 57 creative ideas on how you can, once again, take control of your time and more importantly your life.
Use this link for more information about the audio book and to see the extra stuff I’m including:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=143021

Now go out and outsell and outsmart your competition . . .

Jim Meisenheimer is the No-Brainer Sales Training Guru.
His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas
that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by
contacting him at (800) 266-1268 or e-mail: jim@meisenheimer.com

Use this link to sign-up for Jim’s FREE No-Brainer Selling Tips
Newsletter and to get your copy of my Special Report titled,
“The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do.”
http://www.meisenheimer.com