Sales Articles

Business » Sales | By Eric Corl @ Wednesday, 2nd April 2008 @ 11:54 PM

A growing number of people are generating ideas not to pursue them, but sell them to those who will. This trend has led to a number of companies and services who promise the ability to sell new ideas. Before exploring the different companies who make this promise, it is important to look beyond "selling ideas" and understand what that truly means. In order to sell an idea, what you really need is a patent. The reason for this is simple: without a patent, you have no leverage. If y... more...

Business » Sales | By Bob Janet @ Wednesday, 2nd April 2008 @ 8:48 PM

When you can get the prospect to think that they cannot live without purchasing your product or get them to think that they will be much better off purchasing the product / service from you instead of your competition you will close the sale. Even if you are selling a product that is a necessity of life, you can use the technique of 'A luxury once had becomes a necessity' simply by making your service the luxury the customer cannot live without. The Two ways I have always... more...

Business » Sales | By Bob Janet @ Wednesday, 2nd April 2008 @ 8:11 PM

Years ago I was embarrassed in front of a customer because I did not remember his wife's name. I should have remembered her name because they together had purchased electronics, furniture, appliances and tires from me for over 12 years. I vowed this would never happen again. Since I have a terrible memory I started writing everything down about every customer on index cards. Everything: name, address, telephone number, fax number, spouses name, every birth date of every member of ... more...

Business » Sales | By Bob Janet @ Tuesday, 1st April 2008 @ 10:56 PM

As I have been traveling around the country speaking I continually hear, "Business is down. The market is changing. The customers are changing. It is not like it use to be. The economy is killing us. Being in business is much harder than it use to be." Well let's compare the past with today. As I remember in the 80's and 90's when the gas prices jumped up and up, although they never got as high as they are today it did not matter, our customers and us could not ev... more...

Business » Sales | By Paul Johnson @ Tuesday, 1st April 2008 @ 6:39 AM

It happened again, but I'm not surprised. As the insurance salesman was wrapping up our meeting, he shook my hand and said, "Thanks for your time." I thought to myself, "What a crime." He was being polite, and I welcome that. He genuinely appreciated the time I devoted to our interaction. His thank-you was acknowledging the value of the time I had "spent" with him because we all know "time is money." Unfortunately he -- like many of us -- failed to no... more...

Business » Sales | By Jack Deal @ Tuesday, 1st April 2008 @ 3:52 AM

In traditional business, marketing is what brings your prospect to your door, gets them to call, send an email or in some cases actually buy. Sales is everything that happens after the prospect has contacted you. Traditional business is still with us though it has clearly been evolving very rapidly in recent years. Although the general definitions of sales and marketing still apply, business evolution has expanded and radically changed both concepts. And that evolution app... more...

Business » Sales | By Jack Deal @ Monday, 31st March 2008 @ 1:54 AM

Sarah and her husband Sam run a construction supply company. They have put their life savings into their store and have stocked it with a deep and wide inventory of tools and supplies. Great care and planning went into their layout and merchandising and it is an impressive store. From a business model perspective their business should be booming. The demographics are good, the location good with a local and regional prospect base that creates steady demand. Things should be go... more...

Business » Sales | By Lee Salz @ Monday, 31st March 2008 @ 12:57 AM

So, it's been another round of price squeezing. Very painful! They want it cheaper and your company has tasked you with protecting margin. To make matters worse, the prospect called you one of the worst things possible, a vendor! At this point, you have probably decided that sales really isn't fun. There is hope! You can change the entire playing field by changing your style, your approach, and your game. Let's look at two restaurants: McDonald's and Morton's. Wh... more...

Business » Sales | By Jack Deal @ Friday, 28th March 2008 @ 4:21 PM

'Touch points' can be defined as those customer contacts that are critical to your sales process and sales cycle. An easy way to determine these touch points is to map out, flow chart or whiteboard your sales process from first customer contact through completed sale to ongoing follow up. Some sales cycles can take many months and may involve many different types of touch points. Each step in the process is required to advance to the next step and all steps point to the ... more...

Business » Sales | By Anthony Chambers @ Thursday, 27th March 2008 @ 3:11 PM

Do not let anyone tell you otherwise! When it really comes down to getting your prospect to pull out his credit card and buy from you, there are very specific emotional sales triggers that will work every time. Learn them, implement them, and watch your sales soar. Neglect them, and you will be leaving a fortune at on the table for someone else to take. So what are these sales triggers? Let us take a quick look at just seven of them. You may be in for a surprise here. 1. People ... more...

Business » Sales | By Brooks Van Norman @ Wednesday, 26th March 2008 @ 4:15 PM

One of the greatest challenges that recruiters have today in assessing the viability of a new sales rep is whether or not that individual is going to be able to learn the value messaging and deliver it in a way that will drive sales. The problem with sellers is that we usually interview better than we produce on the job. I have met very few reps who do both well. Usually managers and recruiters work closely during the recruitment process for each rep. This is (or should be) esp... more...

Business » Sales | By Rickie Smith @ Wednesday, 26th March 2008 @ 7:05 AM

It is a good time to look into a direct sales business opportunity if you wish to work from home. There are many companies presenting such opportunities to people like you and me who would like to work at our own pace and have time to spend with our families. It may sound very easy but if you are planning to start a business, you need to be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort to make it work. The best part about a direct sales business opportunity is that anyone can do it. You... more...

Business » Sales | By Stewart Baker @ Monday, 24th March 2008 @ 7:06 PM

There are several ways to get the leads that you need to become successful. Franchise consultant leads can help you by supplying you with a list of qualified leads to choose from every day. It is hard to get the information that you want on your own but if you enlist the help of an experienced franchise consultant you can have all the leads delivered to you daily or weekly so you will know first hand which leads are right to pursue. This is key because the quality of your franchise leads will d... more...

Business » Sales | By Lee Salz @ Monday, 24th March 2008 @ 12:56 AM

I recently had the opportunity to speak to a group of CEOs about their sales recruitment needs. To make a point, I mentioned to them that my friend, Willie McMoney, had heard that I was speaking to this group and asked that I mention he was looking for a new sales home. I shared Willie's background with the group: Willie has a Bachelor's Degree from a well-respected institution, has a great look, has been selling for over ten years for household name companies that offer low-price prod... more...

Business » Sales | By Daegan Smith @ Sunday, 23rd March 2008 @ 11:13 PM

Businesses at present cannot settle on the traditional marketing of their products or services. Such methods such as print and media advertisements are not practical in the modern world we are in today. More and more businessmen result in marketing via emails. There are numerous advantages of email marketing. If handled correctly, it can help a business owner to continuously deliver the correct content to the perfect clients to achieve high response from them. You can reach clients globa... more...

Business » Sales | By Martice E Nicks Jr @ Thursday, 20th March 2008 @ 4:57 PM

What I find very interesting is that both selling tactics exist in the market and are successful...to a certain extent. From the perspective of the buyer, competitive pressures among vendors and the rise of the internet positions many products and services as commodities. What does this mean and why is it important to sellers? 1. The amount of vendor and product information on the internet allows for in depth comparative analysis of features, benefits, and vendors before ... more...

Business » Sales | By Jim Klein @ Thursday, 20th March 2008 @ 2:19 AM

By the time you finish reading this article, you will have learned how to present your product or service properly. Before I talk about the right way to present, let's first talk about the wrong way. One of the most common mistakes sales people make when presenting their product or service is to use a generic presentation. They design and use one presentation, or use the presentation their company designed on every sales call. This type of presentation has one key pro... more...

Business » Sales | By Lee Salz @ Monday, 17th March 2008 @ 12:54 AM

It's that time of year again when salespeople peak their heads up from their cubicles to see if there is a better opportunity out there. So, what do I mean by "that time of the year?" Actually, it's most every day. The way most salespeople are wired, they have an insatiable urge for more. More money! More responsibility! More, more, more! Recruiters will often tell you that it is easy to get salespeople to consider a new opportunity regardless of their satisfaction level with t... more...

Business » Sales | By Jim Klein @ Sunday, 16th March 2008 @ 4:49 AM

So, you believe your prospect has a problem you can help him/her solve with your product or service. It appears the prospect has the desire to solve the problem, and the finances to afford the solution. If you have completed all the steps in the sales process up to this point, your prospect should be on the edge of their seat, waiting to hear your solution. They should be so excited at this point; they're almost begging you to tell them how you're going to help them. You're... more...

Business » Sales | By Jack Deal @ Sunday, 16th March 2008 @ 3:51 AM

In business, not much happens until a transaction is agreed upon. The strategy of how to make these transactions occur is called marketing. The techniques and procedures for closing the sale is called sales. Without sales, there is no business. The successful business is always looking at ways to improve the strategy and process. Successful businesses become students of their markets which is important because the very way transactions occur is changing. In the "comm... more...