Sales Articles

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 4:32 PM

Are you boring your customers? When you market by telephone or face-to-face selling, are you approaching your customers from their perspective or from yours? And are you interesting, different from all the other messages they receive? Napoleon Hill, author of the famous book *Think And Grow Rich* (a must-read for serious students of success) tells how Andrew Carnegie's mother once went into a department store to a buy a little furnace. The salesman started giving her the long le... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 4:19 PM

I recently read some stories about an IT services company called Sparxent whose founders created the company with the "premise that the current Value-added Reseller (VAR) model for the middle market needs to evolve to better serve the segment." They continue with, "mid-market companies in the past have had to choose between traditional VAR's with deep expertise in a single vendor's solution, or VAR's that sell a broad variety of software but have little expertis... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 4:03 PM

Like me, I'm sure you know a lot of people who want to succeed. Business owners, entrepreneurs, sales and marketing folks, blue and white-collar folks alike; we all want more than we have now, whatever that *more* happens to be, for each person. The whole thrust of what my company's services and consultations are about is to help VAR's (Value-added Resellers) succeed. Helping them get *more* leads, more sales, more revenue, etc. However, I think that we, the sales a... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 5:01 AM

There is a copywriting concept called "Entering the conversation going on in your customer's mind." This is both a simple and complex technique to use and understand but when you do master this important skill, it is extremely effective in building your relationship with your customer. Basically, there are two ways to approach this * focus on what problems, issues, and concerns your customers are facing currently (what conversations are they having?) * us... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 3:00 AM

My niece just graduated from a top flight parochial school and has been accepted into Wesleyan college. I am very proud of her but I also felt compelled to give her some experiential words of wisdom. I told her that although her college education will be of great benefit to her, it is her mental attitude and behavioral characteristics that are going to make her a true winner in whatever she does. That is my opinion. How did I get there? Well, you are likely familiar with the concept o... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Wednesday, 3rd September 2008 @ 3:30 PM

Again and again, when speaking with my clients, they tell me that if they had more leads or their sales staff, it would solve their challenge or problem. If they only had more leads. Yes, leads are great. But I've learned that that's not the problem they are really sharing with me. The real problem is that their sales folks are not doing proper follow-up on the leads they are getting. While there are plenty of VAR (Value-added reseller) companies that do not fall into... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 29th August 2008 @ 5:35 PM

What is this coveted "holy grail"? Some describe it differently but it's the desire of a VAR, solution provider, systems integrator, or any other sales person to be viewed as their clients' trusted advisor. I know that phrase is very over-used but let's focus on the actual meaning. If you don't like the term "trusted advisor" use one that works for you. What does it mean? Essentially, you want your client to trust your opinion and counsel. ... more...

Business » Sales | By Ron Subs @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 10:00 PM

You love the product or service you represent, but you have not found the success you had hoped for. It may have crossed your mind, but do not quit just yet. Most Internet business owners are under the impression they must invest 50% of their sales into lead generation. That is a good chunk of change. Who wants to give up 50% of their income in order to attract more visitors to their website? So if you are tired of buying leads that waste your time and paying for pay-per-click adverti... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 9:40 PM

During a new project call, today, a client asked for my advice on which was better, telemarketing or email, for finding new prospects. My basic answer is that the telephone is overall more high-touch and more reliable. However, email, when done correctly can be effective. I didn't say *as* reliable or *as* effective but it can be a wonderful secondary form of air cover. So that begs the question -- what makes a successful email? At a high level, here are the six secret... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 9:35 PM

While doing some research for one of our clients on a pay-per-click campaign, I was reminded of how important it was to have an effective landing page. A landing page or squeeze page (as it is also known as because it gathers info and squeezes prospects into a funnel) is the site that you direct people to from a Google text ad, email, or direct mail campaign. I see a lot of mistakes out there and they are too numerous to list here so I thought I'd give you the top three elements that... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Sunday, 24th August 2008 @ 11:36 PM

I recently read an online article by Eric Chabrow on CIO Insight titled "Computer Jobs Hit Record High". While there can be negative news about employment readily available, I thought I'd share with you some signs of a sector with strong economic numbers that might bode well for you and your sales. The article states "unemployment among computer-related jobs hovers near historic lows as the U.S. information technology workforce tops 4 million for the first time."more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Friday, 22nd August 2008 @ 6:08 PM

During good economic times it is important to know what your customer is thinking, however in uncertain economic times it is "crucial". As market conditions change, it is important to understand the following questions you can simply ask your customers. Being sure you are on top of your customer's concerns, by doing research, is a powerful information-gathering tool. These questions will help you understand how you need to change with the current market conditions. more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Thursday, 21st August 2008 @ 4:38 PM

When I started working in the technology industry in the late 80's to early 90's, I had a great sales manager who used to say, "are your clients listening to radio WIIFM?" At first I didn't quite fully understand what this meant. In fact, it took a few years for me to completely wrap my head around it. I paid attention to the concept most of the time but, as we all do, I tended to let my ego get in the way and started showing people how much I knew about a product... more...

Business » Sales | By Victor Epand @ Thursday, 21st August 2008 @ 12:34 PM

Are you wondering what to do with your old watch? Does it still work, but you just don't need it anymore? If so, it might be a good idea to go ahead and sell your watch. Before you stick a price tag on it an go door to door to try an sell it, there are several things that you can consider. You must know how to prepare your watch for a sale, how to price it, and how to present it. Preparing Your Watch For Sale If you watch is broken, you may want to take it to a watch repair sh... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Wednesday, 20th August 2008 @ 7:21 PM

I was getting a hair cut the other day and endured how the barber could only talk about the price of gas and the economy. It seems as if everywhere I go that's all anyone can talk about. So, it is no wonder that some of us are a little scared, nervous about the future, etc. It's always being reinforced -- always being focused upon. Unfortunately, if you are a VAR entrepreneur, sales person or marketing person you don't have the "luxury" to engage in that stuff,... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Wednesday, 20th August 2008 @ 7:07 PM

I was recently asked the question, "Who Wins? Direct Mail or Email?" by a student of mine. This was my answer -- and I want to share it with you: It all depends on your *list.* And, very importantly, how often you "touch your list". The better the list you have, the better the results you will get. I define a good list as one that contains customers and clients who you have marketed to several times at the very least. Of course accuracy is important, but updating ... more...

Business » Sales | By Ramon Vela @ Wednesday, 20th August 2008 @ 2:42 PM

As part of our business we manage events for our clients. We do everything for them from event planning to event recruitment. Given this experience, I've developed 3 simple guidelines for deciding "if" to put on an event. I am going to suspend, for now, the discussion of whether an event is a good idea or not. I will say this: I personally believe that if done correctly an event is a fantastic vehicle for generating leads and beginning/developing/nurturing new and existin... more...

Business » Sales | By Jerry Glynn @ Sunday, 17th August 2008 @ 11:14 PM

Sales forecasting is an art rather than a science, which enables analysts to predict the forthcoming stages of sale of any company or organization. It is one of the most difficult areas of management where a lot of experience and knowledge is required for accurate prediction but also one of the most important, since it is undertaken to predict demand at different stages. This process is a complex managerial function and should be undertaken in a scientific way. Sales forecasting is also a... more...

Business » Sales | By Lee Salz @ Monday, 11th August 2008 @ 9:27 PM

The compensation plan changed again. The revolving door of company executives spins out of control. You look at the corporate direction and you'd like to give the CEO a compass so he can find his way. Concerned, you've decided that today is the day that you will peek your head over the cubicle wall and see what other opportunities are out there. After all, you've been successful. No need to go down with the ship. The morning you wake up with the inspiration to begin a job s... more...

Business » Sales | By Rebecca Kepple @ Monday, 11th August 2008 @ 5:20 AM

In the world of business there are those who naturally know how to market and those who find themselves learning the trade over time by trial and error. If you are in business you need make money, or you won't still be in business 5 years from now. Which means you need to know the heart of matter inside out; the marketing! How does marketing work? - Marketing is a relatively simple concept. A product or service is created and a business aims to offer that product to the consumer. In... more...