We are now three weeks into 2010, which means your sales plan should be in full swing. If you haven't made one yet, let's give you some tips to makes sure you are on the right track. In order to make your plan work, you need two components. The first is a Strategic Objective that includes the larger goals you want to accomplish. Those goals might include becoming your company's top sales leader. Another might be to grow your business by 20%. Whatever those Strategic Objectives are, it is important that you match them up with a very specific Tactical Plan. These are the smaller milestones that will help you get to your larger objectives. If you are in sales, you need to do the following:

1.    Determine exactly how much product you need to sell each week
2.    Determine how many live sales presentations you need to deliver each week to reach that sales goal.
3.    Determine exactly how many prospecting calls each day it will take to reach the sales presentation goal

For example, if you need to sell 5 of your focus products each week to reach your yearly goal, you may have to present to 10 prospects each week. To get those 10 presentations, you may need to prospect with 20 new potential clients. Which means you need to make 4 prospecting calls each day. Once you have that number in your plan each day, let it HAUNT you! Don't end the day until you reach that Tactical Objective.  By breaking down your plan to a measurable daily number, you will have created a plan that sets the course to making you your company's top sales performer.

See you at the TOP!

 

The song says "It's the most wonderful time...of the year!" But why do so many of us feel it's the most STRESSFUL time of the year? Presents to buy, sales quotas to make, 2010 Objectives to set, in-laws to keep happy. HELP! So what can YOU do to control the stress so that another day does not pass by without you truly enjoying it?

Try these tips::

Well, I don't think so! It has been written in several publications and newsletters that sometimes it is OK to lie to the boss.  In my opinion, you will only find yourself in deeper water if you do.  Now as humans, we often do come up with excuses for our superiors when we are trying to cover the tracks that we leave.

Now before you start trying to come up with examples to prove me wrong with a bunch of appropriate times to use a lie or an excuse, let me first explain that I know the difference in having an excuse as an alternative for having to explain private matters....like going to a job interview, for example.  I also know that certain personal reasons are going to happen and we might not feel comfortable being to open with the chain of command.  Beyond the obvious situations, having an honest relationship with your manager will go much farther for your career.

So I compiled a list of excuses and lies that were both part of my sales experiences, as well as, things that I come across through peers and on the web.  In all cases, I can relate to the situation, but I must admit that there are better alternatives.

Here are some that come to mind:

1) I don't think that the budget is going to be an issue.  Actual: When is budget not an issue on a sale?

2) I am getting zero assistance from sales support.  Actual: I don't want to do anything myself!

3) I don't cold call because I have better ways to find my leads.  Actual: You are not strong at cold calling.

4) I have several qualified opportunities that I am moving forward.  Actual: You are a little worried about your pipeline.

5) I won't have a problem hitting my quota!  Actual: I'll fight this battle when I actually don't hit it.

6) I take notes in my head.  Actual: You don't have enough details or understanding of this account.

7) We lost the deal because our product was wrong!  Actual: I was under prepared and got outsold.

8) I have made tons of calls this month and nothing is coming in.  Actual: The quality of those calls could be improved and will bring better results.

So these were not blatant lies that were being told, but they are everyday excuses meant to deflect the blame away from ourselves.  When in actuality we should be using these examples and easy questioning to get ourselves back on track.

I used to love the quarterly sales meetings where we went around the room and, when a deal had been lost, asked the sales person to identify what went wrong and caused the loss.  Then I would list the issues on the board and proceed to rank them in order of importance.  Usually the fingers were pointed elsewhere and someone like Product Support would be sacrificed on the alter.  Of course, at the next win/loss meeting there would be a new list with new fingers being pointed.  It is just more excuses!

Let's stop making lies and excuses.  Your boss is on your team and is there to help and assist you.  Even when it doesn't always feel like that is the case.  Be open and honest and YOU will have GREAT results.

Keep selling!!!

So you say you want to sell……

But do you have a plan to win at it?  Someone with a sales plan has a better chance of success than someone that doesn’t…...and a written one; an even better chance!!!!!

Did you know that the 5 main reasons sales people fail to meet their goals are:

1. Failure to write down their goals

2. Failure to make their goals reasonably attainable

3. Failure to post their goals where they can readily see them

4. Failure to write a plan to achieve them

5. Failure to follow up  and religiously commit to their plan

So why not start right now and write up a plan to be a successful sales closer!

1. Setting your goals should be easy. Start with the small ones and then thing about the big ones!

2. You always want to put a time frame on your goal – that is easy in this case too – you will typically have 12 month sales quotas to achieve

3. List the obstacles you are likely to face in achieving the goal

4. List those you might be able to call on to help you achieve the goal

5. Write out an action plan on what you are going to do – make it pretty specific and make sure it is written down – not just in your head

6. Create some motivation for your self – what is it going to take to mean success? keep that though on the top of your mind

7. Take action every day on your plan – it might only take 10 to 15 minutes but do not let any day go by without monitoring your results and taking action

As a successful sales person you should have this same sort of regimen for your annual sales goals and for that matter for your personal life goals.  If you are not doing this already, this is a great time for you to get started.

So get writing, get defining your goals and get selling to prove you are truly a champion at selling!!! 

 

How do you become more effective at Selling????
 
This is a question that I hear time and time again. Everyone wants to think that they can Sell and everyone thinks that they know how to Sell…..but do they?
 
For rookies and pro’s alike, selling is both an art and a science. Very few people are able to enter a career in sales and work at their full potential right from the get-go. And unfortunately, not every company or employer is willing to invest the time and resources necessary to train their sales force to be successful. Most companies will give their workers a few pointers and the rest is up to them to seek out on their own. In many cases, those pointers are product specific and never enforce the fundamentals of selling!!
 
For any sales person….Time is money!!  Why waste time learning through trial and error when you can be effective immediately by preparing for effective selling? We will all learn plenty about sales along the way of making sales calls, but a head start out of the gate, is more valuable than gold to a salesperson. Some of my best lessons came from making mistakes, but learning to Sell effectively will give the skills needed to be far more successful sales calls, then from getting into bad selling habits.
 
By utilizing these 10 sales tips you will be more confident and effective in your Sales quest:

1. Always research your prospects and understand their business…no excuses!
2. Always try to maximize your efficiency in prospecting and working with existing clients. By utilizing your current relationships, you will expand your credibility with prospects and open doors for opportunities.
3. Whenever possible try to develop a relationship with a key contact in the company to get advice on how things work.
4. Whenever possible market yourself as a consultant, not as a vendor. Prospects want to by from someone they trust. They should realize that you know more about your solutions benefits then they do.
5. Identify and reach company decision makers. If you don’t know who they are, find out!! It is not that difficult to determine if your audience has the power to sign the contract or not.
6. When the appropriate sales call need to have a presentation, communicate effectively and deliver a presentation that was built for your audience. Make sure your audience understood what they heard and saw.
7. Ask effective questions and set objectives for meeting. If you don’t have an objective, how do you know how you performed?
8. Use common objections to your advantage. “Yes, Joe Customer, I realize these economic times are tough; however I feel that I will actually be able to save you money in the long-run.”
9. Determine opportunities in the market by watching for changes and shifts. When inbound calls are coming in based on a particular interest, find out what is behind the surge and become an expert!
10. When making a high impact presentation, establish yourself as credible and accountable. Let them know that they are listening to the master of the subject.

Staying sharp in the sales call will go a long way towards an effective sales career. I have never met a prospect that wants to feel like they are being “sold”, but they do want to feel smarter and understand what you are bringing to the table. An effective salesperson knows what signals to look for and how to react to them. There is nothing more dreadful than walking out of the sales call and thinking about the 5 things that you wish that you had said. By properly preparing for a each sales call, you will leave with answers to the questions you asked. You will have a better relationship with that prospect than before you walked in and hopefully, on those perfect occasions, you will leave with the satisfaction of a closed sale!

We’re pleased to launch our new site, which we created to keep you better connected with all that’s happening at MySalesExpert!!! We are excited to share new ideas, discuss sale techniques and provide technology updates with you!! We hope that you will find all the information you are looking for here quickly and easily.

Even though a lot of work has gone into the new site, there’s still much work left to do. We have a lot of fun information that we will continue to load and we will be adding to the site frequently. Feel free to check-in regularly and to see how Tim and the MySalesExpert team can work for you at improving your sales acumen!!

As for the new web site design, we hope it accomplishes the goals we set out to achieve: to create a site that makes it easier for users to understand sales and technology and sharpen their skills by using them. This website should give us a vehicle for enhancing our communications with you and sharing information.

Thanks for stopping by!!