So i was watching this weeks episode of "the office" and saw that one of the salesmen was having a great sales streak. He then went to the accounting group to see what his latest "big sale" was going to net him in commission. he found out that his company had put in a commission cap and that his sales for the rest of the year will earn him $0.
1st, if you have any influence over a commission or bonus structure, which i am guessing most of us, including me, do not, but if you do, make it a formula you would be gitty to pay a salesperson $1,000,000 in bonus or commission. Aka make it where it makes sense no matter how much you pay out.
Now, to those of us who have seen our commissions/bonuses reduced, eliminated, or delayed for this year etc, you need to find alternate motivation. I know easier said then done. I personally have found by doing some customized rankings that I have some competition in sales volume with a few others and now am focusing on staying number one for the year. Number 1 doesnt matter, but if you find yourself in the middle of the pack, pick out a name or two close to you and just work on beating them.
Sales managers - again, i have no control over the incentive plan at my company so for those who dont have one right now (all of us) i am working really hard to provide extra training (class, one on one, or in the field), afternoons/mornings off, flexible schedules, and preparing the best year end reviews I can for my top people so that if/when, there are merit raises i am well prepared to go to battle for my people. We cannot afford to lose our best people so this is an opportunity for us to become better bosses.
If you are not a boss and your boss isnt helping the motivation factors much, then you need to look for competition, or ways of getting more job satisfaction that doesnt involve cash. Keep up with your sales numbers and other projects you have been involved with so that you can be well prepared for your year end evaluation. If you are at the top, you can ask for the things i mentioned above, or if you have a particularly good sale or week, then maybe then too.
If, in these times, you can find job satisfaction by helping your clients achieve more, your people grow/learn more, or prepare yourself for the coming year better, then you will be using this time to the best.
Happy Sales to all, and to all a good night
Monday
great simple idea that has nothing to do with sales
I saw tis today on one of my favorite sites, lifehacker.com and thought you guys might enjoy it as well. I like things like this
One of the things I discovered during my uncluttering process is that silver wrapping paper works for every gift-giving occasion — weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, baby showers, housewarming, etc. — and when you only have a few tubes of wrapping paper to store, it takes up very little space in a closet. A simple wrapping storage solution can easily handle all of our paper and supplies.
Before using silver paper, I’d been trying to use brown butcher paper for all my wrapping. However, I felt the brown paper was too casual for some occasions, like weddings and anniversaries. I ended up buying small batches of wrapping paper whenever a more formal gift-giving experience arose. The same was true for using fabric bags, and fabric puts a storage burden on the person receiving the gift. I also like the idea of reusable gift bags, but these only work on gifts that coordinate in size to the bags, so you have to store multiple sizes of bags for all different types of situations. Plus, reusable gift bags can be significantly more expensive than wrapping paper and after a couple uses start to show signs of wear. Silver wrapping paper doesn’t have any of these disadvantages — it’s inexpensive, always appropriate, fits all different sizes of gifts, can be recycled, and it doesn’t put a storage burden on the gift recipient or the gift giver.
Silver wrapping paper is in stores in abundance this time of year, and is when I typically stock up my wrapping supplies for the next 12 months. (For some reason, silver paper is much more difficult to find at other times of the year.) Before children, my husband and I could usually survive on two tubes of silver wrapping paper a year. Now that we have a son, we’ve decided to pump that number up to four.
The best deal we’ve found this year is at Ikea. Their SNÖVITA gift wrap (available only in stores) is just $1.99 a roll for 2 ¼ yards:
If you can’t find silver wrapping in your area, a white or a gold wrapping paper might also be a signature wrapping that could work in all situations the way silver does. Whatever style you decide to use, consider a method that will help to keep your wrapping paper clutter to a minimum in your home.
Posted by Erin on Nov 15, 2010
Wrap it up in silver
One of the things I discovered during my uncluttering process is that silver wrapping paper works for every gift-giving occasion — weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, baby showers, housewarming, etc. — and when you only have a few tubes of wrapping paper to store, it takes up very little space in a closet. A simple wrapping storage solution can easily handle all of our paper and supplies.
Before using silver paper, I’d been trying to use brown butcher paper for all my wrapping. However, I felt the brown paper was too casual for some occasions, like weddings and anniversaries. I ended up buying small batches of wrapping paper whenever a more formal gift-giving experience arose. The same was true for using fabric bags, and fabric puts a storage burden on the person receiving the gift. I also like the idea of reusable gift bags, but these only work on gifts that coordinate in size to the bags, so you have to store multiple sizes of bags for all different types of situations. Plus, reusable gift bags can be significantly more expensive than wrapping paper and after a couple uses start to show signs of wear. Silver wrapping paper doesn’t have any of these disadvantages — it’s inexpensive, always appropriate, fits all different sizes of gifts, can be recycled, and it doesn’t put a storage burden on the gift recipient or the gift giver.
Silver wrapping paper is in stores in abundance this time of year, and is when I typically stock up my wrapping supplies for the next 12 months. (For some reason, silver paper is much more difficult to find at other times of the year.) Before children, my husband and I could usually survive on two tubes of silver wrapping paper a year. Now that we have a son, we’ve decided to pump that number up to four.
The best deal we’ve found this year is at Ikea. Their SNÖVITA gift wrap (available only in stores) is just $1.99 a roll for 2 ¼ yards:
If you can’t find silver wrapping in your area, a white or a gold wrapping paper might also be a signature wrapping that could work in all situations the way silver does. Whatever style you decide to use, consider a method that will help to keep your wrapping paper clutter to a minimum in your home.
Posted by Erin on Nov 15, 2010
The home stretch?
I am not sure what product or service you sell, but in most there is a seasonality to it. In mine, there isnt, but the holiday season makes things a lot different just in the schedules and thought processes of the people involved. In either case you have a period of time that is basically the last real opportunity to earn new business for the year. For me the year is pretty even outside the holidays, but in the past the holidays were the peak season and the holidays is why I was there.
How you prepare for the pick up or slow down is important. Plan it out even if that means a 1/2 piece of paper jotting the known factors down. Get your team invovled. During the slow down portion, I like to make sure that my team knows that NOONE else will be out selling during this time which makes it easier to get in. The sales cycle might be a bit longer, but the lack of competition is nice. Also, this is a great time to touch base with your current clients to thank them for their business.
If its your peak time then you need to plan out your attack. what are the main obstacles you will have in making this a great sales season? If youre in consumer sales will it be the flow of inventory? Or will pricing be a problem? Do you have a list of top clients or people you could call when the "hot" item comes in?
Think this way, if I were a high volume buyer what would be really good customer service to me? If you have people who spend a lot on your products throughout the year, call them and ask if they have a holiday list they are working on. If they do, then you can see what you can cross off for them, or you can tell them where the good deals are, or will be.
Be proactive. Slow times, or peek times are areas of opportunity for Great Sellers.
How you prepare for the pick up or slow down is important. Plan it out even if that means a 1/2 piece of paper jotting the known factors down. Get your team invovled. During the slow down portion, I like to make sure that my team knows that NOONE else will be out selling during this time which makes it easier to get in. The sales cycle might be a bit longer, but the lack of competition is nice. Also, this is a great time to touch base with your current clients to thank them for their business.
If its your peak time then you need to plan out your attack. what are the main obstacles you will have in making this a great sales season? If youre in consumer sales will it be the flow of inventory? Or will pricing be a problem? Do you have a list of top clients or people you could call when the "hot" item comes in?
Think this way, if I were a high volume buyer what would be really good customer service to me? If you have people who spend a lot on your products throughout the year, call them and ask if they have a holiday list they are working on. If they do, then you can see what you can cross off for them, or you can tell them where the good deals are, or will be.
Be proactive. Slow times, or peek times are areas of opportunity for Great Sellers.
Friday
The basic on what to do
Saw this article and thought it brought up some good, basic tips.
Being a sales rep is a challenge for many of us. There's lots of competition and loads of choice for customers. So how do you become better at sales to achieve higher success? Here are some tips that will help you to get better results faster!
1. Solidify your character. Becoming good at sales rests upon one main key. A trustworthy character. If you've got the ability to build trust and reliability with a customer then you've got a good chance of developing a long term sales relationship. A strong character is built by doing the things you say you'll do, and being the kind of person who provides more value than they consume. A good person in all areas of their life.
2. Teach what you know to others. If you can become a good teacher, you'll build respect earn the level of authority you need to be considered an expert in your trade. Teaching others is a great way to solidify your own skills and make sure you know them inside out. You'll even learn more about yourself and others as you teach!
3. Always seek to improve yourself. Self improvement is the key to long term growth. Keep reading and learning about more and more as you go. It's a never ending process!
4. Become an advocate of your product or service. Only sell and promote products or services you can back up 100%. The key to being able to make good sales is to sell good products and services!
5. Train your communication skills daily. Communication skills are the cornerstone of all sales interactions. Learn about body language and emotional triggers. The better you can communicate, the more people you'll be able to relate to and the more sales you'll make.
6. Read all the books you can get your hands on about sales and marketing. Reading more and more books means getting better variety and flexibility in the way you communicate. More flexibility means you'll be able to relate to a larger variety of customers.
7. Ask good questions. Qualify your customers and make sure you ask questions that will encourage conversation.
8. Listen well. One of the main keys to communication is being able to ask good questions, and listen to the answers. Being a good listener will mean people will want to talk to you. This is great, as they'll be telling your their needs and wants so you can sell them products.
by Dave Vower
Being a sales rep is a challenge for many of us. There's lots of competition and loads of choice for customers. So how do you become better at sales to achieve higher success? Here are some tips that will help you to get better results faster!
1. Solidify your character. Becoming good at sales rests upon one main key. A trustworthy character. If you've got the ability to build trust and reliability with a customer then you've got a good chance of developing a long term sales relationship. A strong character is built by doing the things you say you'll do, and being the kind of person who provides more value than they consume. A good person in all areas of their life.
2. Teach what you know to others. If you can become a good teacher, you'll build respect earn the level of authority you need to be considered an expert in your trade. Teaching others is a great way to solidify your own skills and make sure you know them inside out. You'll even learn more about yourself and others as you teach!
3. Always seek to improve yourself. Self improvement is the key to long term growth. Keep reading and learning about more and more as you go. It's a never ending process!
4. Become an advocate of your product or service. Only sell and promote products or services you can back up 100%. The key to being able to make good sales is to sell good products and services!
5. Train your communication skills daily. Communication skills are the cornerstone of all sales interactions. Learn about body language and emotional triggers. The better you can communicate, the more people you'll be able to relate to and the more sales you'll make.
6. Read all the books you can get your hands on about sales and marketing. Reading more and more books means getting better variety and flexibility in the way you communicate. More flexibility means you'll be able to relate to a larger variety of customers.
7. Ask good questions. Qualify your customers and make sure you ask questions that will encourage conversation.
8. Listen well. One of the main keys to communication is being able to ask good questions, and listen to the answers. Being a good listener will mean people will want to talk to you. This is great, as they'll be telling your their needs and wants so you can sell them products.
by Dave Vower
Wednesday
overcoming objections
I'd like to take just a couple of moments to hit this important topic. No matter what you are selling, you will get an objection. I am not going to try and go over all the possibilities as we will never get them all and most come down to some simple points.
1. most of the time an objection is indicative of a problem with the previous information. either you havent answered a question they have or they are unclear. if they have decided not to use your product they will tell you.
2. an objection is mainly a time to learn. if you use the objection as a place for you to gain understanding of the desires of the prospect you will do a far better job in actually closing the sale
3. you know the most common objections you are likely to encounter. Either by yourself or with a coworker practice the process of answering the objections. Make them hard, do give yourself an easy time because the prospect wont. If you run into price as a problem for you, you better have a good response (value of some other nature)
If you dont take the time to work through common objections away from your client you will learn by trial and error with your prospects and lose sales because of it.
Role playing is a dying artform, but make no mistake, it's a valuable artform.
1. most of the time an objection is indicative of a problem with the previous information. either you havent answered a question they have or they are unclear. if they have decided not to use your product they will tell you.
2. an objection is mainly a time to learn. if you use the objection as a place for you to gain understanding of the desires of the prospect you will do a far better job in actually closing the sale
3. you know the most common objections you are likely to encounter. Either by yourself or with a coworker practice the process of answering the objections. Make them hard, do give yourself an easy time because the prospect wont. If you run into price as a problem for you, you better have a good response (value of some other nature)
If you dont take the time to work through common objections away from your client you will learn by trial and error with your prospects and lose sales because of it.
Role playing is a dying artform, but make no mistake, it's a valuable artform.
What can Billy Mays teach us about selling?
What can Billy Mays teach you about the art of selling? In a word - lots! He was called the King of infomercials. Why? Because he was the King!
He sold more than $1 billion of products at an average price of $19.95 which means he sold more than 50 million products.
While most salespeople seem to blend in with their competitive crowd, Billy Mays stood out from other corporate "Spokesmen" and "Pitchmen."
When I watch the Billy Mays commercials I see salesmanship on steroids.
He possessed some very unique qualities, which everyone in sales, should take a closer look at.
Billy Mays died suddenly June 28, 2009 of apparent heart failure. His commercials are still running which says an awful lot about his sales effectiveness.
Here's what Billy Mays can teach you about the art of selling:
1. He worked hard to develop a personal brand which included always wearing a blue shirt with khaki pants. Don't under estimate the value of your personal brand.
2. His personal branding included a black beard, his unique voice and a boisterous presentation.
3. He was passionate about his work - he really loved what he was doing. You can't fake this, and that's why it's so important for you to love the work you doing.
4. He exuded enthusiasm, energy and was extremely animated during his infomercials. Sure he annoyed some people with his exuberant selling style - but don't forget his sales topped $1 billion.
5. He was a master at selling benefits for all the products he sold. For example when talking about the "Quick Chop" he said, "It has the power to chop nuts, which you can use for toppings on ice cream Sundays."
I know for a fact most salespeople sell features not benefits. If you watched 10 Billy Mays commercials you would learn all you need to learn about selling your product's benefits.
6. Amazingly he did all of his selling within a 1.5 minute and 2 minute timeframe.
7. The price was always an affordable $19.95 or $19.99.
8. He always included a special bonus product to motivate people to buy right now. How are you using special bonuses and incentives to motivate your sales prospects and customers to buy your products and services?
9. He did something else that was pure selling genius. He always explains and shows what the product does and how it works - leaving nothing to your imagination.
He used simple language and always seemed to talk directly to the people watching his infomercials.
10. He was the PT Barnum of infomercials.
Why settle for mediocrity when you can become a selling superstar. You don't have to do everything Billy Mays did but you'd be foolish, in my opinion, to ignore everything he did.
Usually people don't buy because they get excited about the products you're selling, people buy because the sales person is excited about the products he's selling.
This excitement is contagious. And your excitement creates an advantage for you and oftentimes your excitement is all the advantage you need to make a difference and close more sales.
Simply stated, Billy Mays made buying his products a no-brainer for his customers.
He made things, everything, easier for his customers - and you can too.
After reading about Billy Mays, are you motivated to make some changes in your selling style?
Now's the time! The economy might be on the uptick and it's the perfect time to consider doing the following:
Reinventing yourself, rebuid, reshape, rework, renew, refresh and reconsider how you're selling.
If you're committed to making changes I might be able to help you.
I'll give you 57 sales tips to reinvent and distinguish yourself from your competition that you can use to rework and revitalize your sales effort.
You don't have to spend any time wondering what you can do - I've done all the work for you.
Now you can read or listen to my 57 sales tips, cherry pick the ones you like, and start using them tomorrow. Now of course this isn't for the doubting Thomas's and the Nervous Nellies in the world.
Here's the problem for many salespeople. Let's say you've been selling for 12 years. Let's also say you fall into the trap of believing that your 12 years add up to a lot of sales experience.
Here's another way of looking at it. You might have one year of experience that's been repeated 12 times. That's a scary thought - isn't it?
Unless you're a master of change and constantly chipping away at all the things that don't work and are constantly on the lookout for new sales tips, new selling ideas, and new selling strategies that you can adapt and adopt - you just might not make it to the top of the sales ladder you're climbing.
Billy Mays did it and I'm still a work in progress - and how about you?
Take a look at this if you're serious about jumpstarting your sales career and want to put a saddle on this turning economy and ride it all the way back up again.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Meisenheimer
He sold more than $1 billion of products at an average price of $19.95 which means he sold more than 50 million products.
While most salespeople seem to blend in with their competitive crowd, Billy Mays stood out from other corporate "Spokesmen" and "Pitchmen."
When I watch the Billy Mays commercials I see salesmanship on steroids.
He possessed some very unique qualities, which everyone in sales, should take a closer look at.
Billy Mays died suddenly June 28, 2009 of apparent heart failure. His commercials are still running which says an awful lot about his sales effectiveness.
Here's what Billy Mays can teach you about the art of selling:
1. He worked hard to develop a personal brand which included always wearing a blue shirt with khaki pants. Don't under estimate the value of your personal brand.
2. His personal branding included a black beard, his unique voice and a boisterous presentation.
3. He was passionate about his work - he really loved what he was doing. You can't fake this, and that's why it's so important for you to love the work you doing.
4. He exuded enthusiasm, energy and was extremely animated during his infomercials. Sure he annoyed some people with his exuberant selling style - but don't forget his sales topped $1 billion.
5. He was a master at selling benefits for all the products he sold. For example when talking about the "Quick Chop" he said, "It has the power to chop nuts, which you can use for toppings on ice cream Sundays."
I know for a fact most salespeople sell features not benefits. If you watched 10 Billy Mays commercials you would learn all you need to learn about selling your product's benefits.
6. Amazingly he did all of his selling within a 1.5 minute and 2 minute timeframe.
7. The price was always an affordable $19.95 or $19.99.
8. He always included a special bonus product to motivate people to buy right now. How are you using special bonuses and incentives to motivate your sales prospects and customers to buy your products and services?
9. He did something else that was pure selling genius. He always explains and shows what the product does and how it works - leaving nothing to your imagination.
He used simple language and always seemed to talk directly to the people watching his infomercials.
10. He was the PT Barnum of infomercials.
Why settle for mediocrity when you can become a selling superstar. You don't have to do everything Billy Mays did but you'd be foolish, in my opinion, to ignore everything he did.
Usually people don't buy because they get excited about the products you're selling, people buy because the sales person is excited about the products he's selling.
This excitement is contagious. And your excitement creates an advantage for you and oftentimes your excitement is all the advantage you need to make a difference and close more sales.
Simply stated, Billy Mays made buying his products a no-brainer for his customers.
He made things, everything, easier for his customers - and you can too.
After reading about Billy Mays, are you motivated to make some changes in your selling style?
Now's the time! The economy might be on the uptick and it's the perfect time to consider doing the following:
Reinventing yourself, rebuid, reshape, rework, renew, refresh and reconsider how you're selling.
If you're committed to making changes I might be able to help you.
I'll give you 57 sales tips to reinvent and distinguish yourself from your competition that you can use to rework and revitalize your sales effort.
You don't have to spend any time wondering what you can do - I've done all the work for you.
Now you can read or listen to my 57 sales tips, cherry pick the ones you like, and start using them tomorrow. Now of course this isn't for the doubting Thomas's and the Nervous Nellies in the world.
Here's the problem for many salespeople. Let's say you've been selling for 12 years. Let's also say you fall into the trap of believing that your 12 years add up to a lot of sales experience.
Here's another way of looking at it. You might have one year of experience that's been repeated 12 times. That's a scary thought - isn't it?
Unless you're a master of change and constantly chipping away at all the things that don't work and are constantly on the lookout for new sales tips, new selling ideas, and new selling strategies that you can adapt and adopt - you just might not make it to the top of the sales ladder you're climbing.
Billy Mays did it and I'm still a work in progress - and how about you?
Take a look at this if you're serious about jumpstarting your sales career and want to put a saddle on this turning economy and ride it all the way back up again.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Meisenheimer
Friday
SHUT UP - round 2
A little while ago I wrote SHUTUP - a basic guide to letting the prospect do most of the talking.
Today, we will go more internal with our worlds.
So, youre doing well. You want to make sure your boss and other important people know about it. This is a tricky place to be, because you dont want to be a braggart and at the same time a little recognition would be nice.
Best case is that your boss notices and says something to you.
2nd is that your boss notices, but doesn't say anything to you.
3rd best case is a peer notices and points it out to everyone.
You will notice there wasnt a "you run and tell your boss how great you are"
There is a difference between sharing a big win and summarizing your wonderfulness, and i would even suggest that if you have a big win, that its going to get noticed when the reports come out anyway, so why not let choice 1 happen?
Patience is still a virtue.
The words you don't say have more impact than the ones you do.
Today, we will go more internal with our worlds.
The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.
- Lord Bacon
So, youre doing well. You want to make sure your boss and other important people know about it. This is a tricky place to be, because you dont want to be a braggart and at the same time a little recognition would be nice.
Best case is that your boss notices and says something to you.
2nd is that your boss notices, but doesn't say anything to you.
3rd best case is a peer notices and points it out to everyone.
You will notice there wasnt a "you run and tell your boss how great you are"
There is a difference between sharing a big win and summarizing your wonderfulness, and i would even suggest that if you have a big win, that its going to get noticed when the reports come out anyway, so why not let choice 1 happen?
Patience is still a virtue.
The words you don't say have more impact than the ones you do.
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