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Posts Tagged ‘sales’

10 Keys To Guaranteed Success In Negotiations

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Negotiating is a skill that like warfare tactics must be honed. It is important to be mentally prepared to win. Do the ground work well before your reach the negotiating table and decide on the “path” you are going to take. Positivity will help as also a sense of confidence and self esteem. Set aside any doubts you may have and stride forward prepared to win at all costs.

The five cornerstones of successful negotiation skills are placing emphasis on common points; presenting clear arguments; being innovative and open to several options; focusing on the problem being dealt with; looking for a clear solution. The key is to be clear about your preferred outcome. However in the back of your mind you must be willing to compromise to some extent.

A good negotiator is an excellent communicator and understands how human beings think, feel, and function. You must be able to befriend the people seated on the other side of the negotiating table. You must know when to push hard, when to accept a compromise, and when to walk away. A negotiator is in many ways an artist he needs a great amount of creativity to steer the negotiations to a successful completion. A negotiator must keep in mind the 3Fs: fair, fast, and firm.

According to the gurus there are tactics to be used for negotiating:

1. Be focused on the problem or issue. Logical arguments are the key to smooth negotiations.

2. It is important to be firm yet polite when making a stand or presenting a point.

3. Clearly emphasize the advantages and disadvantages.

4. Be patient and let the process of negotiation take its course.

5. Put ego aside and concentrate on the matter at hand. It is finding an amiable solution that’s important not self worth or position.

6. Never threaten or manipulate the opposite party-it is completely unethical and unfair.

7. Aim for solutions that are interest based and not what individual desires or aims are. It is best to consider any situation as a whole rather than from a personal view point.

8. Avoid psychological traps and have the magnanimity to admit when you are wrong. Be open minded.

9. Don’t accept weak solutions and try and negotiate a plausible settlement. Temporary measures are not what you need. A permanent solution must be sought.

10. Value time, schedules, and deadlines. A good negotiator will not beat around the bush or adopt delay tactics or waste time talking about mundane matters. It is professional to immediately get down to the business at hand.

Most human beings are born negotiators. From the first breath a baby takes it makes all around him dance to his tunes. Most of us consciously or unconsciously do what we have to do to get our own way in life. And, if we look closely it is just mastering the art of negotiation.

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Posted in business, entrepreneurism | No Comments »

How To Network To Increase Sales And Gain New Customers

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

Let me say from the onset that networking is not multilevel marketing (MLM) or a pyramid scheme. Having said that, networking is the building of business relationships. Note that the primary focus is on building relationships.

  • Sales and business connections are often developed from the relationships we have with other people, and networking provides the opportunity to meet people and expand your contact list.
  • Choosing the right group to join or event to attend is crucial, otherwise you will meet people who have very little or no interest in what you have to say. Focus on the quality of your contacts not on quantity. Getting two quality contacts who will answer your phone calls or read your letters are better than having ten who will not.
  • The first impression your contact gets about you could be what cement the relationship or take it apart. A firm handshake, a pleasant facial expression, a demonstration of interest in your contact, and attentiveness to his/her name and line of business will convince your contact that you are not only there to sell some product, and quickly move onto your next victim.
  • Your first meeting with a contact should be about understanding his problems, needs and concerns and collecting contact information. Clearly state what you do in 15 seconds and in 30 seconds what you have done to help people with similar problems. Don’t use the initial meeting to promote your credentials. Your contact is not interested in your credentials, not yet, but in how your solution can solve his problem.
  • The follow up after a networking event is where many small business owners come short. Send a handwritten card to the people you met the next day, referring to the networking event where you met. Within two weeks send them letters arranging to meet for lunch or coffee to learn more about their businesses and how you can help.
  • If a month goes by with no communication between your contacts and you, they may forget about you, and potential customers may be lost. You may talk to your contacts by phone, but you will get better results by using a letter, newsletter or articles in your blog to demonstrate your expertise or the value of your product by sending them useful ideas and suggestions they can use immediately.
  • The average person is estimated to know about 250 people. This means each person you meet has the potential to connect you with over 60,000 people. The more people you meet, and the quality of your relationship with them will take your name and products to places where alone you could never have reached.
  • This reach will allow you to become a powerful resource for your contacts. The quality and regularity of the ideas and suggestions you send to them will keep your product on their minds, and be the first person they come to when they need help.
  • Your contact list will further expand when you follow up on referrals that others give you. Contacts who give you referrals have confidence in your expertise, reliability or the quality of your product. They have found your solution to their problems helpful, and would like to share with their family and friends what they have found. Be sure to follow up on your referrals.
  • Social medias like facebook, twitter, myspace and linkedIn are providing networking opportunities for millions of business people on the Internet. But you will agree that eventually you have to meet your contact in person and shake his/her hand before you feel comfortable enough to sign that $100,000 contract.
  • If you are not networking, you are losing thousands of potential customers who have money to spend and need your service or product, but do not know that you exist. Go to events where you will meet large number of people. Initiate conversation with people you meet. Ask to be introduced to people you don’t know. Express genuine interest in your conversations. Give out your business cards, and follow up on your contacts.

The primary purpose of networking is the building of business relationships; the buying and selling of goods and services are its byproducts. Only when you have developed those relationships will you get their byproducts in increase sales.

By Ben Aidoo

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Posted in branding, marketing, sales and selling, small business marketing, tips and tricks | No Comments »

How Do I Prevent My Small Business From Failing?

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Why is my business failing? Thousands of businessmen and women have asked the same question at one time or another, especially during the early days of their businesses. To be sure, the marketplace is a high-tech jungle where only the fittest survives.

The bottom line reason your business is failing is that you are not selling enough of your product (goods or services) to cover your operating expenses and make a profit. But the problem is not with the product, it is with the elements that make the product what it is. What are those elements?

  • Do you have the right product for your target customers? Obviously if you don’t they will not buy it, at least not in the quantity that will make you a profit. Choose a product that already has a demand, but emphasize a unique benefit of the product that your competitors are not. It should be a product that is consumable, so that your customers will come back to buy more.
  • Is your product quality and durability comparable to your competitors? The quality of your product is the primary element to which all the other elements are anchored. If you do everything right but have a bad product you will not have repeat customers. Majority of your customers will be one-time customers, and the bad news about your business will spread like a virus.
  • Is your product easy to use or consume? Customers are irritated when they spend their hard-earn money on an item, but cannot get it to work. Next time when they go out shopping they will choose an item that they won’t need the brain of a biochemist to get it to work. Choose products that are customer friendly.
  • Is the price of your product competitive? If a customer can buy your product at half the price from your competitor two block down the street, why would he buy your product? Look around and do some comparison shopping to check on your competitors prices and adjust your price accordingly.
  • What is the platform from which you sell your product? Do you sell your product on the Internet or in a brick and mortar store? If you sell on the Internet, is your website or blog pleasant to the eyes, easy to read and navigate? Being mindful that if a visitor to your website is not able to solve a problem he encounters on your website in 3 seconds you’ve lost him.
  • If you sell in a brick and mortar store, does the layout of the store give customers easy access to your product? Are the price tags conveniently displayed to avoid having the customer to ask for the price of each item? Are your salespeople informed about the product enough to answer customers questions? Your aim is to give your customers a pleasant experience in the store to make them want to come back again.
  • Once you set up your website with quality content and products, nobody will know that you exist until you advertise it. How much it will cost to do so will depend on the type of ad, and the competition in your line of business. You may choose to submit your website to the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN or Bing, and wait for months to have your website pages indexed, or buy ‘pay per click’ (PPC) ads that will send visitors to your website within 24 hours of signing up.
  • You will need to know about keywords and their placement on your website. When a visitor goes to the Internet for information, s/he types in a word or phrase. The search engine checks through its indexed web pages for websites and blogs with keywords or key-phrases that match the visitor’s query, and present them in order of relevance. Search engines are scrupulous in their selection, because if they provide the wrong information they will lose the visitor, and that is bad business.
  • Advertising a brick and mortar store normally involves running ads in the local newspapers or on TV. Since this can be expensive, you may want to set up a website or blog and encourage your customers to go there for discount prices and information about your product.
  • When you attract customers to your website or store, and they buy your products, the next step is turn them into repeat customers. Ask for their names and email or postal addresses. Because this information is valuable to your customers, offer something for it. Give them a discount or a coupon in exchange for their personal information.

You can stop your business from failing by selling more of your product to satisfied customers who will buy from you again and again because you sell the right product, high quality product, easy to use and at competitive price; because they know where to find you from the weekly information you provide them by email, letters, on your website or blog about new products, discounts and coupons. Shall we get to work now?

By Ben Aidoo

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Posted in branding, business coaching, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurs, marketing, sales and selling, web design | 1 Comment »

How To Sell More In A Down Market – The Leadership Secrets To Dynamite Sales Results

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

Accepting Accountability

Sales volumes are at record lows; you’ve never sold so little, and your commission checks have never been so small. You need to sell more, and you need to make more money … and you need it now!

Is it possible that:

* Previous good markets turned you into an order taker, and you forgot how to sell?
* You’ve worked your trap line for years, and it’s finally dried up?
* You’ve convinced yourself that there is no business to get?
* You just aren’t trying anything new to get new business?
* Your selling skills are a little rusty?
* You are talking too much and not listening for opportunities?
* You just don’t know what to do about it?

If you are not selling as much as you’d like or if you’re not making as much as you’d like, don’t blame it on the markets, competition or others. It’s time to forget the excuses and begin to accept accountability for any shortfall in sales volume or your paycheck.

Leaders are always accountable for results. If you are going to manage your sales responsibility as if it is your own business, you need to accept full accountability for the results.

Becoming a Personal Productivity Champion

As a sales professional, how is your time management, or as I like to refer to time management, how is your personal productivity?

It is essential for leaders of organizations to master the art of personal productivity. Yes, just like selling, personal productivity is an art form. A CEO who leads a worldwide organization cannot afford to waste a single minute when trying to profitably grow their business.

There are as many different ways to be personally productive as there are CEO’s. However, I think few leaders will argue with these five “big picture” items as the solution to being productive in their responsibilities.

* 1. Plan – you have to plan your business and your time. Without planning factors such as where you are going, how you’re getting there, when you’re getting there, who is helping you get there, what you need to get there and why you want to get there, you will likely fall short of your goals in both good and bad markets.

* 2. Evaluate your progress – you have to take the time to evaluate how you are doing and make adjustments to your plan if necessary. This prevents you from wasting time on tasks that aren’t working in both good and bad markets.

* 3. Organize – leaders need to be personally organized, so they can organize their team to execute the plan. You know without organization you will be less effective in getting results in both good and bad markets.

* 4. Prioritize – leaders have a great number of things to do and decisions to make. Without properly prioritizing, they can waste their resources focusing on the wrong areas in both good and bad markets.

* 5. Schedule – leaders schedule their day, week, month and year. Their daily schedule is set like television programming; you know what’s on at what time and the only way that will change is if there is an earth-shattering development that needs to be communicated.

Get and Stay Motivated

Self motivation is an important ingredient to the successful sales professional regardless of the current market place. When the market is down, it is even more critical to create a self-motivating environment.

If you still are having a difficult time finding passion in the down market, here are a few suggestions for you to consider:

* Stop listening to the depressing news on talk radio and the 24-hour television news channels.
* Create a list of things that make you happy, and keep a copy with you wherever you go.
* Keep a photo of something that makes you smile near your side.
* Before you get in your car in the morning, walk around the yard and smell the roses.
* Find a mentor-someone you can talk to who will keep you on a positive track.
* Don’t hang around people who aren’t fun and exciting to be around. Find upbeat, positive, forward-looking people with whom to surround yourself.
* Find your favorite motivational quotes, write them on index cards, and keep them with you to read anytime you feel a need.
* Turn on some music, and dance like no one is watching* Phone someone you haven’t talked to for a long time, and make them smile. I guarantee you’ll feel good about it too.
* Write down what you’re thankful for.
* Make one more sales call; don’t give up; think positive* Get some exercise to clear the mind and rejuvenate.

Plan Like a Leader

Leaders spend a large portion of their time creating plans, implementing plans, measuring/monitoring plan performance and adjusting their plans.

In this section, we will cover the element of planning your business-your sales responsibility.

The components of a sales responsibility plan I recommend include:

* A mission statement,
* A SWOT analysis,
* A set of objectives that help you achieve your mission,
* Tactics or action plans to achieve your goals.

To develop a mission statement, here are the steps I typically recommend you process through:

Step 1: Brain Storming – Either sit down with a blank piece of paper, a white board, sticky notes or a flip chart paper, and start writing your values; your attributes; what you do; what you want to do; where you are; your strengths; what your customers like about you;, your company’s products, services and systems; and any other relevant issues specific and unique to you or your sales responsibility.

Step 2: Identify – Begin to identify key words that are actionable and unique, and separate those from the others. Group the others into obvious categories such as “products,” “services” etc.

Step 3: Form – Using the actionable and unique words, with one eye on the other word groups, begin to form a collection of different brief mission statements.

Step 4: Decide and Finalize – Using the process of elimination, select your favorite and tweak it if necessary; your mission statement is now finished.

As mentioned before, this is a process. It doesn’t and shouldn’t happen in an hour. It also helps to involve others to ensure you benefit from different perspectives. To demonstrate my point-with over 15 year’s experience, I relied on a Mentor/business coach to help me finalize the mission statement for my business. She asked me a few questions that triggered a spark of inspiration and BOOM, a direction was set. Visit www.ethos360.com so we can show you how to do the same.

Self Development

For some reason, many companies elect to slow down, minimize or entirely eliminate the expense associated with training and developing their people when there is a down market.

Most sales professionals don’t typically set time aside for self development. They’re usually too busy looking after customers or solving problems. You may have an individual development plan, but is it really aggressive enough to help you sell more in a down market?

Although there is this wealth of knowledge available to you online, there is also a wealth of knowledge available to you within your own company.

* Start with product knowledge. When was the last time you went through your company’s manufacturing plant to get a detailed understanding of how the products you are selling are made?

* If there was a product knowledge test today, would you pass? Maybe you passed years ago, but would you pass today?

* Do you have a mentor within your company? You should because there is a wealth of knowledge and experience from which to benefit.

* Ask your boss or mentor to role play a realistic scenario of your choice. Upon completion, review with him/her. Question and ask feedback on your strengths and weaknesses throughout the situation.

* Re-vamp your value proposition statement delivery.

* Create a series of elevator speeches to answer basic questions like: 1. What you do for your company. and 2. Why someone should buy from you.

Closing thought;

Successful implementation of the six elements of leadership should help you sell more in a down market, and when the markets return – and they will albeit at a level less than the recent glory years – you will have developed some new habits to contribute to your continued success.

You will also experience leadership thinking, behaving and performing, which will elevate your career if you desire a management or leadership position in your organization.

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Posted in sales and selling | No Comments »