Matthew G. Sikich II is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Sales Training". You can find complete information on Matthew G. Sikich II and his products by visiting The 5 Buying Habits.
In today’s economy you need every advantage in your sales kit. Prospects are scrutinizing all requests for their time and each purchase decision. You want to pass their piercing investigation but the sales tools you’ve used in recent years aren’t cutting it. You need something more, and ... Views: 1100
If your prospect does not see the value in your product or service, and if the only difference between you and the competitors is in pricing, you didn’t do a good job as a sales person. The main description of your position inside the company is to create the value, not just to show your ... Views: 1099
The few tips I will share with you in this article, are not earth shattering and going to leave you with one of your “WOW” moments in life. They are very simple, but when done consistently make you referable and unfortunately when neglected will keep you trapped in average. So the question you ... Views: 1099
Beginning in the early 1980s, organizations and well-renowned establishments such as the Harvard Business School, The Gallup Organization, the Chally Group, the Xerox Corporation, among others, began studying outstanding salespeople to identify the competencies – also referred to as the vital ... Views: 1099
Stop reading the newspaper! Everyone acknowledges that the newspaper is mostly filled with negativity – murder, fire, war, disasters, etc. Stop feeding yourself with it! Believe me, you can’t help but be informed about major stories one way or another. We are bombarded. There is no need to go ... Views: 1098
"I was at your site for all of two minutes before I bought one of your manuals. I'm impressed!" I love to get emails like this one sent by Vicki from Tucson, Arizona. Marketing my business would be easy if every client bought my products within two minutes of seeing my marketing materials, or ... Views: 1098
My husband was stuck in our home elevator for 75 minutes. The inside elevator door latch had no hinge for him to grab and my attempts to remove the outside door hinges failed. A community police officer couldn’t budge them off either. And the eight firemen, who repeated all the same steps and ... Views: 1098
As the economy continues to regain strength, sales managers are still struggling to get the most out of their current sales staff especially after the many cutbacks of resources during the recession. After research of over 1000 sales reps over a 2 year period, only slightly more than half of the ... Views: 1098
Most sales reps hate getting objections. Their hearts sink into their stomachs, their palms start to sweat, and they start wondering how they're going to pay the rent. Sound familiar?
When sales reps ask me how they should handle objections, they are often surprised by my answer. I tell them ... Views: 1097
We are looking at the quickest ways to win new business by careful sales prospecting. The reality is there is no quicker way to develop a list of target clients than to revisit your past successes, the companies involved and target their competitors and their Industry.
An Example:
A ... Views: 1097
Here's a sales tip, especially for new salespeople. Here are the 2 biggest mistakes most salespeople make.
1. Thinking you’ve got the right stuff from the get go! Once you think you’ve got it, you’ve had it!
Don't be too quick to be full of yourself. And remember - you probably don't know ... Views: 1097
Follow up in sales is critical. On a recent podcast I talked about how the sales process includes a certain degree of timing. Particularly critical is the timing between a salesperson’s follow-up and a prospect’s pain point to want, not just need, what you sell. Unless you have a crystal ball to ... Views: 1096
What makes people see things your way? Threaten them? By forcing them to do things your way? Sure, if you want a short term agreement that can backfire on you at some later date. You can threaten to fire people if they don?™t so what you ask. But if you want to build a long term relationship ... Views: 1096
What's that ringing sound you hear at this time of year? It's
the sound of store registers ringing up the sales generated by
Santa Claus. Just because he's old, overweight, long haired,
unshaven and dresses funny, don't overlook his marketing
success. Santa is a marketing expert and you can ... Views: 1096
Many business people, specifically those just starting out that previously worked out of a “bricks & mortar location are nervous about letting clients find out they wok from a home office. First they don’t know what to say when someone requests a meeting at their office and then there is ... Views: 1095
The world as you know it exists because of sales. If someone, somewhere, somehow is not selling every single day, you wouldn’t have food to eat, a car to drive, or a house to live in. We can live a day without the skills of a lawyer, or even a doctor but you can’t live even one single day ... Views: 1095
Since the human brain seems to be able to focus on only one thought at a time, it's difficult to evaluate an advertisingidea from the perspective of both a marketer and a customer. That's why it's necessary to use a two-step process when developing highly effective ads, sales letters, web pages, ... Views: 1095
Birdseed. Imagine if in 1981 someone asked you how much money you could make selling birdseed. Seems to be a limited market doesn’t' it? I mean imagine the retail space you need to rent and the amount per square foot you would need to generate in order to make it profitable.
The only way it ... Views: 1094
"I'm getting zero conversion on my Web site (no ezine sign-ups). What can I do to improve my lead generation and income?"
- Beth, from Chicago
If you have a web site or are thinking of building one you want it to do two things. You want it to generate leads for your business and help you grow ... Views: 1094
In today’s world every business and profession depends upon how well you can sell it. Whether you are appearing for an interview – where you sell your skills – or whether you are working in a business or organization you will find that you would be required at one time or other to sell ... Views: 1094
Are you looking to bridge the gap between where you are living and where you really want to live? How can you make this move practical and enjoyable for yourself? My first suggestion is to write a few lists so that you can "see" your thoughts in writing. This is a practical solution to curb the ... Views: 1093
As everyone knows when you first get going in any new job, much less a career, you are for better or worse, subject to the influence of your immediate supervisor. Yet, without one who pays attention in guiding your activities properly, you can develop undesirable traits, which if left unchecked ... Views: 1093
In my workshops, I'll ask participants for examples of stress-causing situations or events. They're always eager to offer real-life examples of stressful events. (Some examples may have already popped into your head as you read this.) But the reality is that there are no stressful situations! ... Views: 1093
"Advertising doesn't work." I hear it from my clients all the time. One client was about to file for bankruptcy because she wasn't getting a good response to her radio ads, and the cost was killing her. But she knew her target market was listening; she knew she needed to get her name out there ... Views: 1091
Virtually everyone in sales is required to negotiate. After conducting hundreds of workshop and working with thousands of people during the last decade, I have discovered that most sales people are not as effective at negotiating as they could be.
However, I do come across great sales ... Views: 1091
What are the elements of a successful sales call? There are two, 1) know your information and your product or service, 2) understand the specific needs of each prospect you talk to, and address them. Nothing will lose you a sale quicker than sticking to a basic script while your prospect is ... Views: 1090
One of the best ways for you to increase targeted traffic to your website when you don't want to spend a lot of money is to join some free traffic exchanges and start surfing. (Most traffic exchanges also have a paid program, but we will be focusing on just the free aspect in this article.) Your ... Views: 1090
We always try to talk to or interview individual sales people before we deliver in house sales training. As part of this discussion the salesperson is asked about the areas of their selling that they feel they need help with. At this stage we must have talked to nearly one thousand salespeople ... Views: 1088
There are certain times when customer oriented industries face a major constraint in building the economy. At that period of time, it becomes evitable that the call centers either reduce their manpower or steps back from the main operations. Call center outsourcing industries need to emphasize ... Views: 1088
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Borowski’s lost his marbles.
How could he possibly tie Thomas Magnum and Dirty Harry together with Sales Professionals?
Let’s check out both characters.
Dirty Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood’s character in five highly successful films, portrayed a renegade ... Views: 1088
"I hate sales pitches!" You may have felt this way yourself
or heard others say it. If it's such a common response,
what's the best way to organize your marketing to attract
new clients and customers?
While getting all aspects of your marketing right can be
complicated, the simple truth is that ... Views: 1086
While autos can go a day or sometimes more before a fill up is required, introverts who sell will discover accelerated sales results with a daily routine centered on three areas: release techniques, comfortable marketing activities and targeting those activities to identified prospects.
One ... Views: 1086
Unless you’ve been in the distant wilds and away from business presenting for some time, you are familiar with selling at a whiteboard. Discover what most experts won’t tell you: the very best times to appeal to you audience and sell more with less effort.
Today’s PowerPoint saturated ... Views: 1086
I’m always amazed to hear people talk about master closers. It’s as if their skills are most significant at the END of the cycle. This seems to me to be rather misleading. Are we saying that it doesn’t matter how you handle the prior steps as long as you have some magic at the end?
I believe ... Views: 1086
Having a great closing technique doesn't guarantee you'll close sales. Closing the sale begins before you walk in the door.
You can learn every closing technique there is, however, each one will be more effective if you've taken the time to qualify and present properly.
If you get to the end ... Views: 1086
With the phenomenal rise of media outlets such as cable TV, online networks, blogs, podcasts, and more, never before has the demand for quality information been higher. From magazine publishers to bloggers, expert opinion is needed to provide valuable content for listeners, readers, and web ... Views: 1084
Sharks hunt for prey by finding movement in the water or blood. In today's economy you can often find people mistakenly adopt a "shark" sales mentality. They feel they need to circle out there and surround customers by getting to them first. First smell of blood in the water and they go for ... Views: 1081
If there is one thing most new business owners are scared of, it is the prospect of selling. You hear it over and over – the phrase ‘I’m not a sales person.’ The truth is, we are all sales people. The only difference is that we do not all have the same sales style.
If trying to sell the ... Views: 1081
When you make contact with a new prospect—either by telephone or in a face-to-face meeting—you have an extremely short window of time to connect with them. If you fail to achieve this they will quickly tune you out. Here are several things you can do to lose your prospect’s attention in the ... Views: 1081
Many sales people go to sales seminars with hopes of removing the struggles that can come along within a sales position. The optimistic outlook of finally learning that one "magical phrase" or technique that will eliminate all objections and close every sale is a powerful lure to a hungry sales ... Views: 1081
Your parents give you your name when you come into the world, but it is up to you what sort of name you present to the people around you throughout the rest of your life. As you know it takes years to build your reputation, but if you allow your guard down, one small discretion can destroy it ... Views: 1081
In earlier articles we wrote about the power of using hidden commands in normal conversation to increase sales, convince others to do something or to accept your ideas.
This is often done by separating out a simple command or suggestion by pausing, stating the command in a different tone of ... Views: 1080
In today’s business world it is not uncommon for many sales people to work from a home office. At first this may seem like a great opportunity, however, it does create some unique challenges. One of the biggest obstacles is the number of distractions that can take us away from our work and ... Views: 1080
As effective as Masterful Praisings are in reinforcing good behavior, reprimands are as effective at curtailing bad behavior.
We call em, you guessed it…”Masterful Reprimands”.
Although they are basically concept, just on opposite ends of the spectrum, there are big differences in the ... Views: 1080
Far too often a generic sales presentation is the be-all and end-all for a busy sales team. A single presentation is supposed to work in any situation for any audience. But, let’s face it…does this really work?
How can one sales presentation do the heavy lifting for every situation and every ... Views: 1080
You love a good story, I love a good story, everyone loves a good story. Stories are how we learn and how we remember things. Stories simplify the complicated and support our beliefs. And stories are one of the most powerful tools you can use in a sales conversation if you know how to tell a ... Views: 1079
The trade show floor is full of different types of people with different agendas. Some people have specific goals for attending the show; others do not. As an exhibitor your observation and questioning skills will be your key to determining who may be a viable sales prospect. Familiarize ... Views: 1079
You may not realize it, most of us are into sales, even if it’s not really part of your title or job specification. Remember that even if you’re not selling goods or services, you still have to sell yourself and your ideas.
Here are more tips and reminders on how to succeed in sales.
1. ... Views: 1078
Identify the Real Need of the Prospect
As a salesperson, you are in the business of gap analysis. You are a "problem detective." Your job, somewhat like a police inspector searching for suspects, is to find problems for which your product or service is the ideal solution. In a way, your product ... Views: 1078
Seven great motivators called "why-to-buys" make your products, services and brands extremely compelling to any audience.
Communicate that one or more of these "why-to-buys" are at the core of your solution or recommendation. You'll immediately amplify your audience's interest and reduce their ... Views: 1078