How To Increase Your Sales

Increase Your Sales by Giving It Away
By Alan Boyer

Stand out above the crowd by Giving Away Your Best Information

What makes you better than your competition? Let me give you a hint, it’s not because you are less expensive than your competition or because of your great customer service. When you start giving away your services, your ideas, you will see your sales skyrocket.

Consumers have choices. In fact, they’ve got more choices today than ever before. And it only takes a few clicks of your mouse to be overloaded with options.

Given the fact that competition is at an all-time high, what can you do to stand out? Most companies have someone just like them on literally every street corner. So how do you get noticed? Just assume that you are standing in a crowd. Everyone’s the same height, wearing the same clothes, and has the same skin color. That’s what most companies are doing. They look just like everyone else. So, how do you get noticed?

There are many things that should be done. Many of the consultants out there talk about coming up with an authentic brand, crafting your positioning statement or unique value, choosing the right Bull’s Eye Market, and delivering your message effectively. But I want to suggest something else to consider.

How do you provide more value than your competition assuming that your products and services are similar?

Then how do you let everyone know that you have something really different? How do you become a trusted and credible resource and not just another vendor?

The answer is with information. You’ve got it. All you have to do is package it and share it. Just look at the number of people that surf the internet. What are they looking for? Information.

I’m not talking about just any information. I’m referring to information that will be valuable and beneficial to your prospects and clients. Start telling everyone how if they do XYZ their business will increase, their jobs will be easier. Give them some real meat that can help them, not just skim over the top because you fear that you will give away all of what you sell.

Spill Your Candy on the Floor—Give Away Key Information, Help Your Customer Get Information

I’ve heard other sales trainers say “don’t spill your candy on the floor in the lobby.” What they are referring to is the fear that giving all of your knowledge away means you are no longer needed. They believe you’ve essentially spilled all of the goodies so why should someone hire you? I believe just the opposite, that if we change our approach from selling to giving information and helping, you suddenly become a necessary part of what your customer needs.

They are hungry for information. Information that tells them how to fix their biggest problems. They need that information to decide what is the best approach to fixing their problem. And they will look on those that provide that necessary help as a trusted partner and resource.

The best sales process requires that you first build rapport with the client; after all I’m sure you’ve heard the statement that people buy from people they know and trust, not from salespeople. Once they know you and trust you, then they have to know that what you offer will solve their problem, and finally that you are credible, believable. All of that is a part of the “building rapport.” You also are there to help in any way you can. Selling should be really on the backburner.

So, by providing information you establish rapport, credibility, and prove that you want to help, not withhold information until the cash is shelled out. You are truly there to help.

Give Away as Much Information to as Many as You Can at One Time

Let’s talk a little about your marketing efforts. Have you always sent out your direct marketing (emails, letters, whatever) with a goal of selling something? What would happen if you sent them out to advertise that you are giving away all of this free information? Get everyone to attend a seminar on How to……..[whatever]

I can tell you from experience, both my own and those of the clients that have followed this procedure that your direct mail response rates will increase somewhere around 10 times. During the seminar make sure to give them some real meaty ideas to improve whatever it is that are clamoring for. You have just become “the expert” in the industry, in your geographic area, your community. You will be the FIRST person everyone turns to looking for help, advice, and….to buy from.

You will also have shown your value to a roomful of people in the time that you would normally have spent in a one-on-one sales pitch.

It sort of goes this way for my sales training and coaching:

I send out 1,000 postcards advertising my next “Double Your Business in Weeks” seminar.

There will be 50-60 phone calls (about 5+% response rate, where before giving away information it would be 0.5% or less).

I’ll end up with 25-30 warm bodies in the seats.

10-15 will actually sign up for the next sales training session.

Also, I will have a list of the 50-60 people that called that are on my “qualified leads” list that are interested in my ongoing helpful newsletters (more information giveaway), and within 3-6 months many of those will either call me to join a later session, or send me referrals. And I've done it in the time it would take to make one sales call.

There are lots of ways to give away, or even charge a small amount, for this information. Public seminars, white papers on your website, email newsletters, chamber events (offer to be the speaker at a chamber event, or host a free training, send the entire chamber an email to drive them to your website for the information, or call you to send the information), an electronic file, a CD The options are endless.

You don’t even have to stick to just one way to communicate it. The key here is to use the information as an enticement for them to contact you, give you their contact information, and for them to truly want more from you, much more. Don’t try to sell them, they will be turned off. Be the helper that is in demand.

If you have a complex or high-cost product or service, many businesses have had success by offering introductory seminars, webinars and teleseminars. It allows your potential buyers to take a test drive before committing to purchase. They can determine if your approach and values are similar to theirs.

By determining and delivering the information your buyers want, you will become more valuable and you’ll stand out among your competition. Of course, you have to make sure that your content is pertinent and objective. No one wants to read or listen to an advertising pitch, but they do want insightful information that makes their life easier or better.

Let’s look at some examples:

If you provide staffing services, you might put together information on “Five Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring,” or “10 Interview Tips To Learn What Your Job Candidates Won’t Tell You,” or “Now You’ve Hired Them…How To Retain Employees Without Blowing Your Budget.”

Mortgage company, you might offer a white paper or seminar on “How to get the lowest interest rates,” “How to Fix Up your house for best resell”. You might even partner with a local real estate agent to do joint seminars that would help both of you.

Massage Therapy: offer information where you talk about the biggest problems someone might experience, back and body pains, muscle pains, and how to eliminate them. It could include massages, some techniques that maybe your personal partner could do for you.

Don’t be afraid that you are giving away your services; this makes you visible, and THE EXPERT that they will turn to. I look at it this way: There are always those in your audience that will never buy your services. They are here to get the free information. So what? Aren’t you here to help everyone?

The actual sales you get will always be a relatively fixed percentage of those you talk to, whether it is 10% or 50%. If your sales rate was 10% in a one-on-one, it’ll be MUCH higher in the roomful of people, since you are now considered an expert, not a salesman. And you just talked to a roomful in the time you normally do one sales call to one person.

Everything Increases, Marketing Leads and Sales Closes

Everything increases, marketing response will increase, your sales close rates will increase, and on top of that you are talking to 20-30 people at once.

What would happen if you stopped going door to door, talking to one-on-one, and started having 20-30 people come to you every week, or every month?

Alan Boyer, President/CEO of The Leader’s Perspective, LLC, is considered one of the world’s leading breakthrough specialists. He has worked with some of the worlds largest companies, on projects in the multi-billion dollar area, and with single proprietor companies. He has worked on many hundreds of projects with companies that have resulted in multi-$100 million savings or gains.

With over 35 years of business, quality, and process experience, he has catapulted businesses lightyears ahead in weeks. Some have doubled and some have jumped 10 times. He claims the key to that is:

Helping the business owners/employees develop the business skills and Helping them overcome the limitations and attitudes that they built between their ears (the self imposed limitations, I can’t, this won’t work for me, I’m different) By helping them find the breakthroughs in their business and thinking

He helps companies worldwide reach further than they EVER thought possible . . . . FASTER

www.leaders-perspective.com/Sales-Training.aspx
mailto:AlanBoyer@leaders-perspective.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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Audio Motivation

Listen to exclusive interviews with the greatest names in personal development. Walk, jog or exercise to Audios with Success Teachers. They are great to download onto your MP3 players so you can take your motivation with you.

Tap into the same power that today's movers and shakers use, and keep yourself at the top of your Game with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages. Find out more today at AudioMotivation.com.

Read testimonials from people already using them. I joined so I can listen to them too. It is an extraordinary value and a great investment in your future. Do you want the edge? Get motivated with AudioMotivation.com.

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Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
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From The Realgoalgetter Group of Companies;
dedicated to helping you live a long, passionate, joyful life.
--------------------

Push or Pull?

Push or Pull?
By Michael Knowles

It's the same old tune.

I sat there listening to a man with good ideas who was nevertheless stuck trying to get them to market. His short-cropped, grizzly grey hair and the lines on his face told a dozen stories about his trials and tribulations.

"You know why most businesses fail?" Ron said. He didn't wait for my answer. "Undercapitalization. They can't get enough money together to kick things off and hang in there until they get enough customers."

I nodded. "Sure. I've heard that one a hundred times. Ever wonder why?"

Ron blinked. "Well, I always thought it was about who you know. If you don't have the connections you might as well forget it."

"If that's so, then why was New Coke such a failure? Coca-Cola certainly didn't have a capitalization problem. And they knew plenty of people."

"Yeah, but that's Coca-Cola," Ron said. "I'm talking about the small businesses. We don't get that kind of edge."

"Ron," I said, "You have all the edge you need. But the reason you aren't getting the attention you want is simple."

Ron sat back and crossed his arms. "All right, my friend. Tell me what I need."

I smiled. "What you need, Ron, is a new pair of eyeballs."

"What?"

"You keep looking at what you do through the same eyes. Your eyes. What if you could see your product the way your potential customers will see it?"

"Yeah, sure," Ron snorted. "Just hand me that crystal ball.

"Don't need one," I said. "Because I've got something better."

Push Vs. Pull

Ron was making the same mistake many of us make. He kept pushing his own vision of his value out into the world and expected others to get it. When they didn't, he blamed everything but the real culprit.

Himself, of course.

In companies from high-tech to the neighborhood grocery, the ones who deeply understand their market and the people they serve are the ones who survive and thrive. You must take the time to understand what you do best and then learn to perceive your unique value the way your ideal customers do.

It's hard work that requires self-knowledge, imagination, and some research. The good news is that the results enable you to do the kind of outreach that brings customers to you.

Here are four suggestions for getting started:

Understand and write down what you do best. There is nothing you can do that's more important that identifying those things you do consistently well. If you haven't done this sort of personal inventory before, you'd best get to it before stepping too far out into the business world.

Think about the kinds of problems to which you're naturally attracted. Follow them back to the people who have those problems, and you're on the road to meeting your ideal customer. Describe the person who has the sort of problems you're able to solve, right down to what they dream about at night.

Write a little story about the ideal customer using your product or service. Be imaginative, but ground the story in reality. Put it into a third-person narrative and see what comes out.

Find out where your ideal customers congregate, what they read, and what they listen to. Become familiar with those venues and participate in them yourself. Go out there with an open mind seeking information about their problems, and you'll find yourself meeting potential customers in due course.

Relationships Begin with Your Interest in Others

In the end, the relationships you build with your ideal customers begin with your honest, heartfelt interest in their problems. People will know when you are driven soley by the quest for money. Sure, we all need to earn a living, but when we allow ourselves to be driven by the need to feed, so to speak, we give off an aura of self-absorption that sends a negative message to the world.

But if you focus on really seeing what your customers want from you and deliver that as completely and as positively as you can, the money will take care of itself.

Isn't that right, Ron?

Michael Knowles, co-author of The Entrepreneur's Concept Assessment Toolbook (available at www.booklocker.com/books/1988.html or Amazon.com) helps businesses take what they do best and focus it on success. A Principal in One Straight Line LLC, Michael has over 25 years of experience helping companies create communication strategies help them engage customers, employees, investors, outsourcing partners, and the community.

Michael can be reached at mknowles@onestraightline.com.

Sign up for their newsletter by sending email to subscribe@onestraightline.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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The Motivated Mind
Discover the Secrets to Getting and Staying Motivated
to Change Your Life and Achieve Your Dreams.
The Motivated Mind is a new, step-by-step guide
that will teach you how to get everything you want in life.
The secrets can now be yours.
The Motivated Mind

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Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
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From The Realgoalgetter Group of Companies;
dedicated to helping you live a long, passionate, joyful life.
--------------------

Characteristics For Sales Success

Characteristics of Successful Salespeople
By Kelley Robertson

What separates successful sales people from everyone else? I believe that most successful sales people, in virtually any industry, possess the following characteristics:

1. They are persistent. Selling or running a business for a living requires a tremendous amount of persistence. Obstacles loom in front of us on a regular basis. But it’s what you do when faced with these barriers that will determine your level of success. I believe it was Brian Tracy who once said that a person will face the most challenging obstacle just before they achieve their goal.

The most successful people in any industry have learned to face the obstacles that get in their way. They look for new solutions. They are tenacious. They refuse to give up.

2. Successful sales people are avid goal setters. They know what they want to accomplish and they plan their approach. They make sure their goals are specific, motivational, achievable yet challenging, relevant to their personal situation, and time-framed. They visualize their target, determine how they will achieve their goal, and take action on a daily basis.

3. Great sales people ask quality questions. The best sales people ask their clients and prospects plenty of quality questions to fully determine their situation and buying needs. They know that the most effective way to present their product or service is to uncover their customer's goals, objectives, concerns and hesitations. This allows them to effectively discuss the features and benefits of their product and service that most relate to each customer.

4. Successful sales people listen. Most sales people will ask a question then give their customer the answer, or continue to talk afterwards instead of waiting for their response. Great sales people know that customers will tell them everything they need to know if given the right opportunity. They ask questions and listen carefully to the responses, often taking notes and summarizing their understanding of the customers' comments. They have learned that silence is golden.

5. Successful sales people are passionate. They love their company and they exude this pride when talking about their products and services. The more passionate you are about your career, the greater the chance you will succeed. The reason for this is simple—when you love what you do you are going to put more effort into your work.

When you are passionate about the products or services you sell, your enthusiasm will shine brightly in every conversation. If you aren’t genuinely excited about selling your particular product or service, give serious consideration to making a change. You are not doing yourself, your company or your customers any favours by continuing to represent something you can’t get excited about.

6. Successful sales people are enthusiastic. They are always in a positive mood - even during difficult times - and their enthusiasm is contagious. They seldom talk poorly of the company or the business. When faced with unpleasant or negative situations, they choose to focus on the positive elements instead of allowing themselves to be dragged down.

7. Successful sales people take responsibility for their results. They do not blame internal problems, the economy, tough competitors, or anything else if they fail to meet their sales quotas. They know that their actions alone will determine their results and they do what is necessary.

8. Successful sales people work hard. Most people want to be successful but they aren’t prepared to work hard to achieve it. Sales superstars don’t wait for business to come to them; they go after it. They usually start work earlier than their coworkers and stay later than everyone else. They make more calls, prospect more consistently, talk to more people, and give more sales presentations than their coworkers.

9. Successful sales people keep in touch with their clients. They know that constant contact helps keep clients so they use a variety of approaches to accomplish this. They send thank-you, birthday, and anniversary cards. They make phone calls and schedule regular ‘keep in touch’ breakfast and lunch meetings. They send articles of value to their customers and send an email newsletter. They are constantly on the lookout for new and creative ways to keep their name in their customers’ minds.

10. Successful sales people show value. Today’s business world is more competitive than ever before and most sales people think that price is the only motivating buying factor. Successful sales people recognize that price is a factor in every sale but it is seldom the primary reason someone chooses a particular product or supplier.

They know that a well-informed buyer will usually base much of her decision on the value proposition presented by the sales person. They know how to create this value with each customer, prospect, or buyer they encounter.

We all have what it takes to become successful. Are you ready to make it happen?

© 2005 Kelley Robertson, all rights reserved.

Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees and has helped thousands of sales professionals and business people improve their results.

He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques To Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at http://www.kelleyrobertson.com

Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Audio Motivation

Listen to exclusive interviews with the greatest names in personal development. Walk, jog or exercise to Audios with Success Teachers. They are great to download onto your MP3 players so you can take your motivation with you.

Tap into the same power that today's movers and shakers use, and keep yourself at the top of your Game with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages. Find out more today at AudioMotivation.com.

Read testimonials from people already using them. I joined so I can listen to them too. It is an extraordinary value and a great investment in your future. Do you want the edge? Get motivated with AudioMotivation.com.

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Chronicle
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.
From The Realgoalgetter Group of Companies;
dedicated to helping you live a long, passionate, joyful life.
--------------------

Customer Follow Up

Follow Up With Your Customer
By Jay Conners

After you go through a sales session with a customer, wether you sell them a product or not, follow up with them. Otherwise, your time was all but wasted.

Every part of a sales process from the initial contact, to the presentation of the product, to the final step, following up, are all equally important.

The following up process is an important element of the sales process for many key reasons, here are just a few:

1. Following up makes your customers feel important.

When a customer walks into your office, or calls you on the telephone, they do not want to be thought of as a statistic. They want to be treated as though they are the only customer you have.

By following up after your initial contact, it tells the customer that you are serious about doing business with them.

They will appreciate the phone call, and this will be a clear message to them that they weren’t just another sale on your way to meeting your goal.

2. Following up with your customer shows that you care.

Another reason to follow up with your customer is to find out how they are doing, and how their new product is benefitting them.

Ask questions about the product and the experience they have had with you and your company.

It is always good to get feedback, good and bad. This way you can correct anything that your customer was not happy with, learn from your mistake, and be sure not to let it happen again with your next customer.

If their feedback is negative or they just are not happy with the product, find out their reasons, be empathetic, and try to resolve the problem as best you can.

3. Follow up with your customer for more sales opportunities.

After your initial meeting with your customer, one of two things happened. Either you got the sale, or your customer left still undecided.

If you got the sale, following up with your customer is important for reasons stated in number two, and also, you now have an opportunity to up-sell. While they are on the phone, ask for permission to go over some of your other products you believe they may be interested in.

If your customer left you still undecided, than this is the perfect opportunity to see if they have come to a decision. If they haven’t, ask if there is anything they would like you to go over again, or, if they thought of any more questions they would like to ask.

A final note . . .

Before a customer leaves your desk or hangs up the phone, make your customer aware of your intentions to follow up with them. If your sales session went well, this should not be a problem.

Following up with your customers is a great opportunity to keep in contact with them, and there is no law that says you can’t follow up more than once.

The more you stay in contact with your customers, the stronger your relationship with them becomes. The stronger the relationship, the more business and referrals you can expect from them. So follow up, Always.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

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The Motivated Mind
Discover the Secrets to Getting and Staying Motivated
to Change Your Life and Achieve Your Dreams.
The Motivated Mind is a new, step-by-step guide
that will teach you how to get everything you want in life.
The secrets can now be yours.
The Motivated Mind

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Chronicle
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.
From The Realgoalgetter Group of Companies;
dedicated to helping you live a long, passionate, joyful life.
--------------------

Marketing Plan Need Changing?

Does Your Marketing Plan Need Changing?
By Joy Gendusa

Change is good, right? Not always. But when is it bad? Is it a question of good or bad? Sounds philosophical. Maybe it is.

Philosophize on this…why would one take something that is going good – no.. great – and change it? Obvious answer is to make it better. Not!

In business or in marketing, change is not always good. When you have certain promotional actions that are in place making things happen, or in better terms, making you money – don’t change them! Why do I say this? Because I see it time and time again.

Someone has a marketing campaign that is bringing in a good return on investment and they up and decide to change their postcard! What?!?!?!?!? Change your postcard – why??????? “Er uh, we just decided to do something different.”

And then some three or four months down the road, they call back with their tail between their legs and ask – no demand to have everything back the way it was before. In this latter case – change is good.

I am not just saying that to say that one should always keep their postcard marketing campaign the same and never change it. Quite the contrary. Change your marketing, change your habits, change your way of life when it warrants it. There is really some truth to the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Maybe it is human nature to want to change everything once something gets going just the way they planned it. Who the heck knows? All I can say is step outside the human-nature box. Change only when things are drastic or when change is warranted.

Drastic circumstances deserve drastic measures. But how do you determine drastic? Sometimes that is really easy. Your company’s income is crashing. Do something! Change! Or better yet, figure out what you changed and get it back to what was working.

How about a plateau? Does that deserve change? Depends on how long that plateau lasts. I have never seen things leveling off and staying level forever. It either goes one of two ways – up or down. I know an optometrist who had a very successful practice in small town USA. He never really marketed. He never really had to.

People knew of him from miles around. Mainly he did PR stuff – a fundraiser here, networking there, etc., etc. His good works made him well known and respected and the community ooo’ed and ah’ed over him so much the paper loved printing it.

But things changed. Malls started opening up. People started shopping out of small-town USA and into the bigger cities. The environment changed. But he didn’t. He still kept a good practice, but you could see something interesting – his gross income started to plateau.

And over time – many years – that plateau gradually started to show where it was really going. I actually don’t have to say where – you’ve got the picture.

Now, would that demand drastic measures? Taking into account inflation, cost of living and other factors that are on the rise – yes, I would say that would demand drastic measures. Did he take them? Not until the direness became all too apparent. But yes, he finally did take them. He started postcard marketing his you-know-what off!

I have another client that is just a dream. They have had the same list for the past 5 years, ever since they have been in business – thirty thousand physical therapists they mailed to over and over and over and over and … They never changed.

They figured if it was bringing in the income it was the thing that was working. And it worked and it still works. And today – they made Entrepreneur’s 100 Hot List for 2005.

So, next time you think about changing your marketing plan, look to see if it needs it. Look at your numbers. Are they improving? Declining? If your income is going up – don’t change one single thing. But if it is going down or flat lining – for heaven’s sake, change!

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. As an Expert Author, she is always willing to share her marketing advice through articles, interviews and speaking engagements; visit www.postcardmania.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

---

The Motivated Mind
Discover the Secrets to Getting and Staying Motivated
to Change Your Life and Achieve Your Dreams.
The Motivated Mind is a new, step-by-step guide
that will teach you how to get everything you want in life.
The secrets can now be yours.
The Motivated Mind

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Chronicle
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.
From The Realgoalgetter Group of Companies;
dedicated to helping you live a long, passionate, joyful life.
--------------------