How To Improve Your Sales Skills
June 22, 2008
One of the biggest problems for many business owners is the ability to overcome objections. In fact, for many, this skill could be the difference between succeeding and going back to being an employee. Since none of us want to do that, we need to hone our sales writing skills and our in person skills. This article will discuss the in person skills.
Objections stop sales. Period. The customer says, “No”. Listen to the objection. For example, the customer says, “It’s too expensive”. Don’t walk away or hang up, listen. Do they really think it is or is this just a knee jerk response. Is he/she trying to buy time, make up their mind. Tell them about the product, benefits to them, how it can help their business. Listen to your customer. Let them finish before immediately jumping in and responding.
Don’t over-react by interrupting while they are speaking. First of all, you cut them off, which upsets them, and secondly you appear as if you are dying for the sale.
Let the customer finish speaking. Be empathetic. Show you understand the concern and then deal with the objection. If it’s price, agree, that while it might seem high it’s not when you consider how the product or services saves time, helps them cut costs, helps expand their business and so on.
Let the Intern Do It - Affordable Help for Your Business
June 21, 2008
Do you have more projects than time? Help might be as close as your nearest college. Many have intern programs, where students complete tasks for businesses as part of their studies.
Here are a few tips for designing an internship program that will work for both you and the student:
Have one or more specific projects in mind. You might want help with a PR campaign, design of a web site, industry research, creation of brochures and other marketing materials, or other tasks. Have duties in mind that will use and develop skills the students are learning.
Make it interesting. Most students already know the alphabet, so don’t assume you can put them to work doing filing or other menial tasks. Give the intern something to do that will lead to a feeling of accomplishment, and maybe something to show in a portfolio.
Pay what you can. Although you may not be required to pay the intern, you should offer something. After all, the intern will provide services you would have to pay for elsewhere. (Of course, you probably won’t get the quality or quantity of work you would get from an experienced professional, and the pay is secondary to the learning experience, so pay accordingly.)
How to Discover your Primary Market and Where to Find Them
June 20, 2008
Whether you market online or offline, you already know the shot-gun approach to marketing brings few results. You will sell more products and services when you step back and set up a strategy to reach your targeted market.
Approaches That Set you Up to Pull Customer Orders
One: Develop a Specific Customer Profile
It’s good to know whether your customers are primarily women or men. Remember, women buy 70% of the books published. Then, figure out the age range of your customer. One 25-year-old male coaching client aimed his motivational book at his age group. He had a lot of insight already because of his age. You may want to know the marital status.
Is your customer married, single, divorced or separated? Does religion or cultural affiliation play an important part in their lives? Location may matter, but remember to think about the vast market Online. These people subscribe to ezines and visit web sites for all kinds of information. Your product or service can easily be just right for them.
It’s good to know as many details from these listings as possible.
A Top Tip to Grow Your List
June 19, 2008
A Top Tip to Grow Your List
by: Alicia Forest
If you want to have all the clients and customers you can handle, then embrace the business model of building an email list of people who are interested in what it is that you offer. But it’s not enough to just add people to our list. You have to build a relationship with them so they get to know, like and trust you enough to make them want to invest some of their hard-earned money with you.
I’d like to share with you one of the many effective strategies I teach in 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™. This is a technique I personally implement on a regular basis, and because I do so, my list numbers increase on a regular basis as well.
Like all of the listbuilding strategies I teach, this one is not costly nor difficult to implement - in other words, it’s free and easy! Simply find forums that are comprised of your target market. Hang around for a bit, see what’s being talked about, and when a question comes up that allows you to share your expertise, pop in and give the group your wisdom.
How To Get New Business
June 18, 2008
Market, Market and then market some more. So many small and home-business owners do what we call spot marketing. They market hard for their business, get a response then stop marketing.
Marketing must be an ongoing process. Let’s repeat that…Marketing Must Be An On Going Process. In addition, you should have multiple marketing strategies. For example, we market on the internet through newsgroups, newsletters, press releases, forums, writing articles. We also market by running support groups, joining local groups and chambers, and being active and getting involved in the community. We give out our brochures and business cards. Your cards and brochures are not going to do you any good sitting in your files. We send out follow-up information for every cold call we make and speak to someone. While we might not do business with them now, we might down the road. However, we certainly won’t hear from them, if they don’t get something from us.
Networking Masterclass - Part 2 Practicing Altruism
June 18, 2008
Practicing Altruism The ‘Golden Rule’ occurred in the Greek and Chinese cultures thousands of years before the Christian era: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The spirit of the Golden Rule is one of generosity and altruism and is at the heart of any personal networking and ‘right’ living. Ralph Waldo Emerson said ‘To have a friend, you have to be one’, and his words are as true today as they ever were. You can test this out yourself by completing the following simple exercise: List ten people you know best: People You Know Best: H/N S/U1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. After each name, write an ‘H’ if the person is happy, or an ‘N’ if the person is not happy. Then write an ‘S’ if the person is selfish or a ‘U’ for unselfish. Rimland in Psychological Reports (51); Brain/Mind Bulletin 1983 defines ’selfish’ as “A stable tendency to devote one’s time and resources to one’s own interests and welfare - an unwillingness to inconvenience oneself for others.” In his experimental study the 2000 individuals who completed this exercise reported very few individuals who were both happy and selfish. The findings represent an interesting paradox. Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet at least as judged by others, these selfish people are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy. So the Golden Rule in networking, as in life is if you think about the other person rather than yourself, not only is that going to increase your empathy/rapport skills but it will make you a much more attractive person to know and be a magnet for personal happiness.
Margaret Stead - Dream Architect, helps individuals, executives and business owners market themselves online into new jobs, careers - building customer-employer relationships and increasing their job satisfaction.
Time for a Change
June 17, 2008
As 2005 approaches, many of us are thinking about change. Many of us are setting goals, and making promises to ourselves and to those we love. We may vow to do everything different-better-next year. We set lofty expectations to lose weight, learn a 2nd or 3rd language, never yell at our kids again, or give up our vices completely. And as the calendar closes out one year in favor of another, the timing seems just perfect to make those changes. But are we really, really ready? Attempting to change before we have made a fully educated CHOICE to commit to the process may be our first (and biggest) New Year’s mistake.
Psychologists Prochaska, Norcross, and DiClemente, among others, have developed a theory about the process of change, and the process by which we can be effective at implementing long term change in our lives. This Transtheoretical Model involves a number of steps by which people have been professionally and successfully treated and taught to manage their problem behaviors through behavior modification. As you read, ask yourself where you are in the process of change, and what obstacles are standing in your way from reaching the next level, and ultimately success. The example I use is to illustrate is one of weight loss; however, virtually any goal you may have to improve your relationships, time management or organizational skills, or any other aspect, fits the model.
Imagine spending an hour less time working every single day?
June 16, 2008
Imagine spending an hour less time working every single day?
by: Ryan Blake
Just imagine what you could do with one extra hour a day, you could spend it playing with your son or doing research on your next project
What I’ve compiled are my all time favorite websites that I’m sure will save you lots of time, which you can spend doing more important things.
Here we go in no apparent order.
LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It’s a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.
S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I’ve utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.
Menu Driven Business Planning
June 15, 2008
A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will support or avoid a restaurant for its food. Starting with a preliminary menu is a simple and basic approach to restaurant development. Begin with a menu, and you are light years ahead in the restaurant development process. A menu will tell you and your Guest what you are trying to be as a business, and greatly enhance your chances for success.
I view a menu for content, image and pricing. Content (the actual items on the menu) will dictate service staffing needs, level of culinary experience and type of management required. Who will be doing the cooking, do they have experience in this type of food, and how much are you paying them?
Image is how the Guest will perceive the menu. Menu image helps define the targeted clientele and which other restaurants this operation would be competing with. Are the content and image of the menu appealing to your desired clientele? Pricing helps determine a potential restaurant’s competitive placement. Is the pricing for the type of food offered competitive with other’s in the market area, and does it permit the ability to manage a profitable food cost? Pricing sets the Guest’s expectations in terms of food and service quality. This perception will, in turn, help define appropriate staffing levels. The budgeting process can now begin. Analysis of menu content, image and pricing will tell prospective restaurant operators whether their concept is appropriate for a certain market area.
Popular Business Misconceptions Cost You Money!
June 14, 2008
Faulty information costs you money! Which of these popular business misconceptions do you believe?
Popular Misconception #1: “We Only Need Our Books Done Once A Year For Tax Purposes.” Are Your Accounting Records Adequate To Run Your Business?
Although it is important to keep records for tax purposes, it is not the only reason (or even the primary reason) good accounting records should be kept. Another frequent reason clients request financial statement preparation is to obtain bank financing. Although important, this also is not the primary purpose of keeping good records for your business.
Good recordkeeping will enable you to extract meaningful financial information for your business that will help you to manage it properly. If you can`t access this information, you will not be able to manage your business properly. Bad management leads to business failure.
Yes, the primary reason good accounting records should be kept is to produce periodic (at least on a monthly basis) financial statements for management information purposes. Only with this current financial information can you properly manage your business. This information can alert you to declining sales, excessive expenses, tax opportunities, cashflow problems, and many other vital concerns for your business.
