How you use your sales time ….
From my daily email @ JUSTSELL.COM ==>
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The First Sale Is The Appointment…
Setting the appointment for any direct sales associate should be the number one priority. As stated in this NETWORKED BLOG “If you don’t have anybody to tell your story too…Then nothing else matters!”
One of the common mistakes I make and many seasoned associates will make whether it’s Retail, Direct Sales or MLM is forgetting the whole point of why your talking to this “Suspect”. All you need to do is set the appointment. When it comes to a sales process where you have to develop your clients outside of building a list or having them walk through the door the first step has to be the appointment.
Let’s help define this a little more by breaking down what a prospect is from what a suspect may be. A “Suspect” is somebody you feel may be interested in yor information and you are going to approach them, call them , market to them to see if they respond in a positive manner. A “Prospect” is somebody we have engaged and we now know they do not have our service or product (and this is key) ..and are willing to listen to that information. So a “Prospect” by definition is somebody you have already set an appointment with, have presented too and or has told you they are interested and want more information. The “suspect” is the person we are engaging for the first time to set that appointment.
Many, many people entering and even those already working in the field of marketing and sales get all “keyed up” over prospecting and setting that appointment. I know I have tripped up many times including just yesterday where I have let the possibility of a sale come before the importance of setting the appointment. Once we grasp the idea of what we are doing everyday while chatting with friends, going to the store, making the calls and dealing with existing clients the appointments should come to you almost naturally. This is a mind set however…You have to go into the day with a goal of “I’m going to set X amount of appointments today. Yes, this includes the easy ones that call you directly wanting time with you or those that walk into your office or store front. They can just as easily walk out! Engage them – Ask the open ended questions – Close the Appointment. ” Sure, I can help you with that Bob. Let’s go over her and look into it” Bazinga! You just set an appointment!
When making those phone calls through the day keep your focus on why your making the call…is it to sell them something over the phone? YES! Sell the appointment!! Use a Script to keep things on track. Have a calendar ready with available time slots set aside. Give them an option to meet with you Thursday @ 3:00 or Friday @ 11:00. – The phone will be a lot easier to manage when you focus on the one product “The Appointment” instead of worry about the “NO” you may get and never get the chance to present the actual product or service. Remember they are just a suspect at this point and your calling or engaging in conversation to see if they may be a prospect… Nothing more, nothing less.
Learn to Earn!
Jeff Beeman
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How to prospect for more appointments in 2012…
OK readers today, tomorrow and into the future, here we go. I’ve let this Blog run it’s course of static information this past year and am seeing the direct result of that which would be …very low SEO , readership and income. So what changes can we make to increase those areas of concern?
One step will be a possible change of Word Press Theme but what I really want to do is engage readers and hopefully start some back and forth dialogue. I’m hoping to add daily content on my own personal prospecting efforts and with that in mind you (the reader) are invited to comment, make suggestions or ask for advise in the comment section of the pages.
So here we go – Middle of the week between Christmas and New Years. Where are our prospecting efforts at this time? A few of us may be “Closed for Business” getting some much needed vacation time while others are looking to plan a new strategy or like myself clean up the rough edges of projects already in place. For those that are still out in the field are you finding that setting the appointment for this week is still tough to do with prospects off enjoying family time? Are you actually contacting more people but being put off with the “Call Me Next Week” Objection? Personally I have been able to contat more people however setting a firm appointment is the issue. Yes they would like to hear more about te information I have but …no urgency to make a commitment.
Plan of action for the day is to allow the appointment to be set into next week however I want the prospect to understand this is a busy week for me also. I am taking my valuable time to bring you this important information Mr. Prospect so the end f the conversation could go something like this
… “I will call you again on Monday for our Tuesday appointment and confirm I still have a time slot for you on my schedule Mr. or Ms. Prospect. Should that time slot be filled what would be a good alternative time? “
Now this may seem a little envasive for some direct sales associates however in my field of work I have sporadic walk in clients that need to be taken care of immediately. If I have a questionable appointment with a “Cold Cold” prospect over somebody walking in asking for my services I can not say “Sorry, please excuse me as I have to run an appointment. Please come back in a couple hours.” Who would? Right??
So my thought for today as we work through this week of – Yes we can get in touch with more people but they because they are on there down time they do not want to schedule anything solid – is that we make sure we convey our time is important as well. I will do anything I can to help you Mr. Prospect however somebody else with an immediate need is going to get my attention first.
Learn to Earn!
Jeff Beeman
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Everybody Loves a Sale!
Everyone loves a sale; you can often find your favorite items for much less and at a great price. A sale typically happens for a couple of reasons, the retailer has an over abundance of stock on the specific item or they could have a sale to mark the beginning or end of a certain season or holiday. Some retailers will have a sale when they are relocating or going out of a business as well. No matter the reason, it is a good time to find your favorite items as a greatly reduce…
Everyone loves a sale; you can often find your favorite items for much less and at a great price. A sale typically happens for a couple of reasons, the retailer has an over abundance of stock on the specific item or they could have a sale to mark the beginning or end of a certain season or holiday. Some retailers will have a sale when they are relocating or going out of a business as well. No matter the reason, it is a good time to find your favorite items as a greatly reduced price.
Many retailers have a sale at the beginning of a particular season, right around this time everyone is getting ready for fun in the sun. Therefore retailers will typically have a spring sale to help kick off the season. Additionally, at the end of the season, they will have another sale in efforts to rid themselves of the spring stock and get ready for the fall and winter seasons. The end of the season sale is when you can find the best prices for the items you are looking for. Typically, this is when everything is greatly reduced to make room for fall and winter items.
When the Christmas season nears, retailers start making efforts to bring you to their website or stores when shopping for your gifts. From around October on through December you will begin to see a Christmas sale at every retailer around. They will offer specific items, perfect for gifts, for a reduced price. One thing that you will benefit from on these types of sales, is that Christmas is the busiest shopping season of the year retailers are in competition with each other to lure consumers. Therefore, you will benefit from their competition with great sale prices.
Depending on the type of sale, you can benefit from 10% off all the way up to 75% off usually on various different items. Closeout sales are typically around 75% off to move the inventory out before closing the business. No matter, you can find excellent deals if you shop and compare prices among various retailers.
Happy Shopping!
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Earning the Right To Sell…
Earning the Right to Sell with Stats 10 Steps to Greatness
Summary:
Baseball players use stats to tell the story of their season and their career. Those of us in business could learn a thing or two from baseball players about using stats to size-up our careers and experience.
We could learn a thing or two from pro sports.
Baseball players use stats to tell the story of their season and their career. Score keepers keep track of every at bat, every hit, every strike out, every run scored and every base stolen.
Those stats are cited by commentators during the game, sports reporters after the game and they are featured on the backs of baseball cards to they tell the story of the player’s career.
Those of us in business could learn a thing or two from baseball players about using stats to size-up our careers and experience.
Give your prospects a reason to listen to what you have to say.
I was attending a conference last month and the topic of using business stats to “earn the right” among prospects was brought up. “Earning the right” was explained as giving your audience a reason to listen to what you have to say.
Before you can sell anything you must establish credibility.
Before you can sell anyone anything, you must first convince them you or your product or service are worthy. And one way to do that is with stats.
At the conference, we were tasked with compiling a list of our own stats (what we’ve achieved in our business or career, or what qualifies us to be doing what we’re doing) and I was amazed at how few of my own I could recall on a moment’s notice.
Can you easily list all your “stats” I couldn’t!
It was easy to come up with the obvious – I’ve been helping clients successfully market for 20 years.
And I could also recall two recent marketing successes: gaining free exposure for my business to 100,000+ of my ideal customers and tripling my web site traffic in a three-month period.
But beyond that I was stumped. My 20 years of marketing experience and seven years of entrepreneurial experience were boiled down to three stats that did not do a very good job of representing my career or my expertise.
I came home from the conference determined to compile my list of stats and to start using them. And, to inspire you, my readers and clients, to do the same.
Use my 10 questions to create your own list of “stats”
To make it easy, I’ve compiled a list of 10 questions you can ask yourself to come up with your own list of stats. This list is just a jumping off point.
Feel free to brainstorm further to come up with your own list of compelling stats that you believe will help you “earn the right” to be seen as an expert in your field by your prospects.
I call this list your “10 Steps to Greatness”
Why? Because when you are able to list stats in 10 different areas, you will be able to convince your prospects you are great at what you do AND that your product or service can help them.
I’ve included my own stats as examples, NOT to brag about them, but for several reasons: First, to show you I DID come home from that conference and compile my own stats; Second, to give you examples to follow; and Third, to inspire you (if I can do it, you can, too!).
Not all of my stats are earth-shattering. But by having a full list to choose from, you can be sure to have a handful of compelling stats available at any time.
10 Steps to Greatness
(1) How many years have you been in your current line of business (or a related field)?
For example, I’ve been in the marketing field for over 20 years.
(2) How many clients or students or customers have your served (in your current business or your total years in this industry)?
For example, I’ve taught over 600 small business owners how to create and implement their own marketing plans using the 10stepmarketing System.
(3) What results have you generated with your business, products or services?
For example, I increased my subscriber base by 590% in four months and I tripled my web site traffic in three months.
(4) What results have your clients or customers gotten with the help of your products or services?
For example, when I worked with the American Council on Exercise, I helped them generate over 340.8 million media impressions in three years, through public relations and public service ads. I have also secured nearly $1 million in free media exposure for my clients.
(5) How many awards or recognitions have you or your business, products or services received?
For example, I’ve earned three national and two local marketing awards, plus a small business top achievement award.
(6) Have you spoken, taught or done presentations?
For example, I have spoken on marketing at conferences across the United States and in Canada, and I’ve taught hundreds of small business owners via teleseminar.
(7) Have your articles been published or have you been quoted or interviewed or written up in the media?
For example, my marketing advice is featured in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Start-Up Series publication “How To Start A Personal Training Business.” Additionally I am an Expert Author on EzineArticles.com and my marketing how-to articles are featured on numerous web sites.
(8) How can you quantify your business (e.g. how many business deals or transactions have you made, or how many articles have you written)?
For example, I’ve written and published 40 articles in the past six months.
(9) How many products have you sold?
For example, I made 20 sales my first two weeks in business.
(10) What experts in your industry have you studied or learned from?
For example, I have taken courses from such marketing and business experts as T. Harv Eker, Jay Abraham, Brian Tracy, Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hansen.
I challenge you to spend some time this week, compiling your own list of stats. Start with these 10 questions and see what you can come up with. Draw on your personal or professional experience.
What makes you great at what you do? What experience and knowledge to you have to offer? What are you passionate about and how can you translate that passion into credibility? Why should others pay attention when you talk? Be creative. Brainstorm.
Then select a few of the strongest, most compelling stats and start using them in your marketing.
Remember, you are not using these stats to brag about your accomplishments. You’re using them to get your prospects to pay attention to you and to establish credibility.
(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa
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