Posted on December 1st, 2009 — in Doing Business, Great Sales Tips, Guidance
Delivering a lecture can be exceedingly frightening. However, as with many initially scary things, if you pick up some of the basic principles, you will easily begin to start getting better. You can very rapidly become highly proficient with your talk skills. If you have job interview or are in sales, it is a key skill to acquire.
You need to understand what your main messages are going to be. Then stick rigidly to delivering those messages. Next consider the vector for your messages. Are you going to use a story or simile? Are you just going to give a lecture or are you going to use a question and answer format?
Script out the story board for your lecture and then work out what optical clues you can use to signpost your talk. remember that the visual clues are not the talk. . Think about putting optical cues on your presentation script so that you remember when to talk about the next item
Work out how you are going to use your voice. You may even listen to voice-over artists to work out how you might make yourself sound even better. There are plenty of great voice-over talents out there. Note the effect your voice has on those that listen to you when you are talking. Think about what souls hear and what sounds good.
The radio set can be a great and cheap teacher of voiceover skills. If you think about it, most of the souls on there would have been to some sort of sound coaching master class, so why not make a note of what they do and then copy them?
You have to look good and sound great. So make sure that you are dressed smartly for your presentation. Don’t be distracting by your appearance - either because you look too great or too bad. It would be a real disgrace to get yourself all prepared to sound superb, if nobody heard to you because you looked a mess or too provocative.
Think about your body language. About 93% of the subject matter that you drive home is based on the non verbal aspects of your subject matter delivery, so make sure that you have all the bases covered by conditioning the different aspects of your talk style.
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Posted on October 21st, 2009 — in Great Sales Tips, University of Marketing
In essence affliliate marketing is akin to an auction. Merchandise is promoted on your web site and in return, you’ll take a commission from each lead. There’s much less work, fewer overheads, it works 24/7, and it is easy to pick up.
To begin with, you must determine which products or niche area you want to specialize in. A way of doing this is, find out solutions to problems a unique customer profile is suffering from, and discover a means to address those issues. One of the better means to find this rapidly is looking for specific long tail keywords; there are less searchers for these in general, but they will convert far more into sales. These lucrative keywords can be rooted out by using applications like Micro Niche Finder. Data generated by this software or other computer programs or computer software compiles associated keywords in a comprehensive list providing valuable information to get top placing on the web based search engines.
Micro Niche Finder will in addition calculate how many searches each word or phrase gets, just how many different sites who exploit those keywords, and details on your rivals too. Last but not least, Micro Niche Finder information can help find related domains, assist you in putting together your internet site, and even identify desirable merchandise for you to sell.
Construction of a site is next; however you still have a few important things to do. It is essential to fine-tune your site to improve your performance on the search engines. This is where SEO Elite information comes in. Your rivals’ internet sites are examined by the program which then offers suggestions on how to increase search engine performance. In SEO Elite the information generated by the computer software advises you where to get links, which words or phrases to concentrate on, and information on how to submit articles. Briefly, the results produced are the same kind of advice that a specialist in search engine optimization may provide.
Once you know which niche you’d like to concentrate on, put together your product promotion, and your site is completed, all you need to do is get your web site up in the search results. The money will roll in without a good deal effort and question why you ever doubted that this method of marketing would work for you!
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Posted on May 7th, 2008 — in Great Sales Tips
Everyone is concern about the price. Money is a common denominator in every country. We use money and prices to orient ourselves in our commercial society. It enables us to analyze and compare all products and services. The price allows us to measure where a product ranks among the other products available. The prospects willingness to pay and ability to pay are different issues. Convince the prospect of the value of what you are selling is greater than the price you are charging.
Never argue about the investment. This puts you on the defensive instead of the offensive… You are not in control. Many prospects will say it is too expensive or they can’t afford it. Independent researchers found 68% of the prospects admitted that price was not the determining factor but they knew by experience that is the best way to get rid of a sales person. Price is seldom the sole reason for buying or not buying something.
If you ask customers why they bought something 94% mentioned non-price items as being the most important factor for the purchase. The only time someone purchases on the basis of price is when the sales person has been incapable of explaining the reasons why the prospect should buy it other than the attractiveness of the price.
Everyone persuades for a living. There’s no way around it. Whether you’re a sales professional, an entrepreneur, or even a stay at home parent, if you are unable to convince others to your way of thinking, you will be constantly left behind. Get your free reports at Success Advantage to make sure that you are not left watching others pass you on the road to success. Donald Trump said it best, “Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding of its profound value across all aspects of life.”
Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.
About the Author:
Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!
Kurt teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income.
If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report “10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands.” After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!
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Posted on May 4th, 2008 — in Great Sales Tips
Frustrated with rejection at the top? Wondering who’s greasing whose palm to get access to the million-dollar decision-makers? Working at convincing yourself that the CEO/President isn’t really THE Top Dog for your particular product/service?
All you’ve gotta do to change this frustration and rejection to outrageous success is this: “Learn to think like a girl”.
You’ll be relieved to know that “sell like a girl” isn’t going to require you he-men to sound “fem” on the phone or you she-women to sound “sultry or whiny”. It does mean that you’ve got to think differently than you’ve been thinking about approaching the upper echelon.
Surf the net, read the articles about sales and they reek of testosteronepower, speed, obscene sums of money begging to get into your pockets, get to the decision-maker at all costs. Overall there’s not one thing wrong with testosteroneafter all it’s half of what makes the world go round.
However, testosterone will get in the way when you’re dealing with the number one person you need to know to get to the Top Dog decision makers. Yep, I’m talkin’ about the gatekeeper.
Oh, I know there are lots of connections made on the golf courses but no one comes near the success rates of those who know how to treat the gatekeeper on the other end of the line. Listen up now, I’m givin’ you an insider’s secret from the Ladies Powder Room … Sales Professionals of America, you be nice to the Executive Assistant and she’ll be nice to you.
Don’t you dare write this off as “too simple”, resist the temptation to think, “kick it up a notch, this isn’t how the big deals are made.” Because the results of heeding this counsel will make your head spin. Like appointments with $1.3 Billion dollar decision makers, meetings with executives who prior to using this method had been unreachable for more than 20 years, sales cycles shortened from 6 months to 2 weeks … and the accolades go on and on.
So what do the folks who’ve learned to Sell Like A Girl know that you don’t know? This is itthe single most important person you need to know to get scheduled on the Executive’s calendar for a sales call is more likely than not, a girlactually a professional executive assistant who is female.
What does she want? To introduce her executive to the sales professionals that are savvy to the ways business is done at the top.
Why is she interested in that kind of relationship? Because her boss, the executive, has included her in his or her directive to seek out new ideas to help the boss take the company where no man has gone before! The Top Dog is eager to hear about new ideas that’ll reduce expenses, increase revenues and keep his company ahead of the other guy. Her boss wants to meet a sales pro like youbecause you have a lot to offer.
Now that you know the secret key, beware of getting your tail caught in the closed gate because of your approach.
When testosterone meets estrogen, it’s a different experience than when testosterone meets testosterone. Or when testosterone wannabees (how a lot of women have learned to behave in business) meet the gatekeeper.
The executive assistant uses the language of business, she’s bottom line, brief in use of words, deliberate in her focusand she appreciates being treated by you as the second most powerful person in the organization.
Give her the information she needs and is looking for to communicate to the executive. That is simply your name, your phone number, and what’s in it for the exec if he does business with you.
And be polite. Tell her you appreciate her and thank her.
True, she isn’t the decision makerbut she is the single most important key to getting to the decision maker. Learn how to think like a girl and your calendar will be packed with executive level sales calls. Your other option? Continue to bang your head against a solidly locked door. Come on, give it a try, you don’t have to tell a soul … just sell like a girl.
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).
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Posted on April 24th, 2008 — in Great Sales Tips
Your prospect attends an important trade show and returns to a busy life. Inside their bag of goodies are all the trinkets and collected purchase information. After distributing the trinkets to family members, the information joins the busy desk pile. As life takes hold of time and priorities the information bag sinks colder and deeper into the desk. Does this sound familiar?
The Ugly Factors of Missed Opportunities
If you are in sales, there are some ugly statistics that should alarm you. Research indicates that 90% of trade show attendee’s use exhibitions as their top resource for purchase information. After attending an exhibition or trade show prospects are ripe for follow up. Unfortunately, only about 80% of the companies will follow up on these prospects. If no follow up takes place, the opportunities grow colder each day. Research also indicates that almost 50% of these prospects could be closed on just one call. Plus almost 60% of these prospects will make a purchase within 12 months.
Cleaning Day Wipes Out Opportunities
If a business or salesperson doesn’t have a sales follow-up plan on exhibition opportunities, the expensive business opportunities will be lost to someone else. The prospects pile of information will someday reach a point where it is shoved into a trash bin because the information is too stale. This is a terrible waste of time and effort for everyone.
Top Sales Priorities
The top priority of a salesperson returning from a trade show should be responding to prospects. The simple action of a sales call and letter makes a huge difference. If the prospect says no, don’t leave it at that because the prospect will probably make a decision in the next twelve months. Establish and execute a follow up plan to stay in touch and you will reap the benefits.
Steve Martinez implements sales management strategies with a focus on automating sales for printing organizations. Selling Magic teaches businesses how to automate and customize ACT or Outlook with the best practices of sales management while integrating email marketing and technology for greater profits. http://www.sellingmagic.com
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Posted on April 2nd, 2008 — in Great Sales Tips
A life insurance agent sits across the dining room table from a couple. The couple is middle class with two children ages 2 and 10. After conferring with the couple for 45 minutes the agent has designed a plan to protect the family against death of either the mother or father or both. The agent slides the proposal across the table to the parents. The parents glance at the proposal and see that the plan will cost them $50.00 a month. The couple hesitates then glances at each other.
The agent observes the hesitation. He anticipates an objection and reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out 2 quarters, 2dimes, 3nickels and 4 pennies. He then puts the change on the table and states that “The children’s future will be protected in the event that a tragedy takes the life of one of you or both for a little over a dollar a day or a cup of coffee.” In sales, the next one that speaks loses. The couple smiles and asks “Where do we sign?”
This is called “Reduce to the Ridiculous” and it is a form of “framing.” In the sales profession this is a very effective way to overcome the “monthly objection.” Millhouse framed his decision in the very same manner. The salesman reduced to the ridiculous and Millhouse bought. Forty cents a day sounds better than $12.40 a month. The couple in this example was faced with the dilemma of $50.00 a month. The children would still be taken care of financially in the event the parents died but $50.00 a month is a lot of money, that is $600.00 a year or just $1.61 a day. “Wait a minute, just $1.61 a day? We can do that! Where do we sign?” What does this say about our customer base?
People do not respond the same to prohibitions and allowances (Plouse, 1993). Take for instance the agent and the couple or Millhouse and the salesman, both were faced with a substantial amount of money out of pocket even though the need warranted it. When the agent and salesman turned the concept around to the point of value for only pennies a day, the customer’s frame was changed and the sale was made. The “framed” saw that the allowances far outweighed the prohibitions regardless of the fact that everything was the same. This is very powerful in the world of sales. “How you make a decision is often determined by how you view your choices or how you frame the questions around it” (Anderson, 1999).
In the Millhouse example the salesman framed the question around the future success of the company being worth “one can of soda.” This statement is pretty ridiculous to the point that anyone would say yes to that statement. If the salesman framed the question any other way, the possibility of a sale at that moment could have been greatly diminished. For example, if the salesman stated that the future success of the company depended upon the purchase of this product today, there is no value associated with the gain or loss. Millhouse didn’t see a can of soda being the reason the company is successful; rather Millhouse can easily validate that the decision could be made tomorrow and thusly rationalize against the purchase. For example, he could rationalize the overall cost versus gain, interest paid, and “Is it really a value.” People tend to be against risk and will look for reasons to talk themselves out of the situation when given the chance (Anderson, 1999).
The can of soda a day is not a loss compared to the future success of the company.
Framing in the business world can be a powerful ally to the salesman. Salesman are trained not to go into a sales pitch right away but rather “feel out” the prospect, gather information and find the hot spots. An experienced salesman knows his prospects as well as the product if not more. An experience salesman builds a relationship with the prospect. An experienced salesman asks the right questions. An experienced salesman frames the closing statement to the point that the prospect would be a fool not to buy.
A good listener as well as inquisitor can learn more about a person in one conversation than they think. The more the person knows the more power that person has to be an influence upon the decisions we make. In these cases knowledge is power. Successful businesses with products to sell have uncovered so much information about the people and markets to which their products are being sold to. Without this knowledge, the marketing departments would never know how to cleverly make that closing statement, or put that person there in that commercial or use those colors within the product they are marketing to sell. This is all a form of decision framing by influencing the way the customer sees the product, convinces themselves to purchase the product and rationalize that the purchase was a good decision. Framing a decision in part is controlled by the normalcy, habits and attributes of the decision maker (Plouse, 1993).
Morally, people must take the decisions they make into careful consideration and accountability. One can have a great influence over another when it is done right. We are all guilty in one way or another of framing, from the toy companies to convincing your boss you need a raise. The world is bought and sold face to face or across the airwaves using frames. Conflict and peace and the reasons for either one are thrust upon us by using frames. The key is to take time in making a decision.
Usually a decision can be made on a product or situation with a little bit of time in between. Will the decision be different? There is an extreme possibility that it will. If one was framed and took time to think about it, more than likely the decision will be different. Millhouse didn’t take time to analyze the total cost of the product on the extended payment plan and the difference that would make on the actual bottom line and whether it was worth it then. We are all guilty of framing and being framed. We all have a responsibility to take a few steps back and think about and realize the decisions we make. The fact of the matter is we would probably be surprised about how differently our lives might actually be.
Raul Ramirez
References
“Decision Making Traps We All Fall Into” Kare Anderson Canadian Womens Business Network 1999. retrieved 18 November 2005.
http://www.cdnbizwomen.com/articles/kare8.html
Plouse, Scott (1) (1993) “The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making” New Aster: McGraw-Hill
Raul Ramirez is a licensed agent in the state of Florida and is the owner of Gulf Breeze Insurance Inc.
http://www.gulfbreezeinsurance.com
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