Archive for Universe Of Sales
05.17.08
Posted in Universe Of Sales at 4:32 am by admin
Through out our career and lives we regularly get an opportunity to meet new people and form new relationships. Did you know you have seven seconds to make a first impression? Apparently in those seven seconds people assess your age, income, marital status, education level and interests - in seven seconds! Regardless of whether people are right about their perception of you… we all subconsciously make assessments of people when we meet them. To ensure you make an outstanding impression every time… try some of these tips.
Appear confident. There’s an element of ‘fake it ’till you make it’ here. Smile when you first meet someone and look him or her in the eye. Even if you don’t feel it, your smile and eye contact will show the other person you are friendly and confident.
Be aware of your body language. Be aware of good posture; stand straight with your shoulders back. Don’t fidget with pens or your clothing - keep your hands by your side if you are someone who constantly fidgets. A smile, combined with good posture will boost your confidence.
Introduce yourself first. Rather than stand alone, be brave. Walk up to an individual, or a group, extend your hand and say, “Hi my name is Neen James, nice to meet you”. Everyone will respond positively to your confidence and appreciate you making the first move. It will be a trigger for others to do the same.
Shake hands. This is an important skill; if you don’t know how to shake hands properly, learn. Some women, particularly those who haven’t been required to do it in business, can lack confidence with their handshake. It’s important. Cultivate a firm handshake - not too hard, but just right. Look the person in the eye when you shake their hand and say their name out loud: “Hi Robyn, it’s nice to meet you”. If you are unsure about shaking hands with someone, always extend your hand first. It is rude to not shake the hand of someone who offers theirs to you.
Learn how to pronounce their name. When you encounter someone with a difficult to pronounce name, ask him or her to repeat it, spell it and say it again - and allow him or her to correct your pronunciation so you get it right. People will appreciate you taking the time to learn how to say their name properly.
Use a person’s name several times when you first meet. This will help you to remember their name, it’s a very personal way to communicate - and, people love the sound of their own name!
Learn conversational skills. The ability to make conversation is what scares so many people about new social interactions, here a few questions you can ask anyone you meet for the first time:
What do you do?
Where do you work?
Where do you live?
Does it take you long to get from home to the office?
What inspires you?
What do you like read?
What has been your most valuable business lesson?
Ask people what they like to do in their spare time. This is a great question and most people become energised when you ask them about their life outside of work. Watch their eyes sparkle as they tell you about the activities they most enjoy. Take the time to discover that people are far more interesting than their work.
If you meet someone with an accent, ask where he or she is from. Find out something interesting about their country by asking:
Where are you from?
How often do you go to visit?
What do you miss most about that place?
Who is someone famous from there?
What food is that country famous for?
If you are at an industry or charity event, ask how they heard about the event. It’s a great icebreaker and allows you both to share stories of how you came to be at the event and what you hope to achieve by attending.
Listen intently. Give the person you are speaking with your full attention. Use active listening techniques such as nodding, smiling and leaning towards them while they speak. Ask questions about the topics you are discussing. People will appreciate your attention. It is very rude to look beyond the person you are speaking with or to look around the room for someone more interesting.
Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy - and where they focus their attention - Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://neenjames.com/
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04.11.08
Posted in Universe Of Sales at 4:15 am by admin
Every day is critical when you are in the business of sales.
That lead you receive today could very easily be gone tomorrow.
It is very important to act on your lead the very second you get
it, not an hour later, or a few days later.
The second it is in one hand, the next hand should be dialing
the phone.
Too often leads and referrals are taken for granted, sales
people assume that because someone gave them a lead, that it is
exclusive to only them. It is not, at any time one of your
competitors can call that person and offer them a better price
or a better service.
I once worked with a guy in the mortgage industry. He received a
lead from someone in his networking group on a Wednesday. He
called the lead the very minute he got back to his office, and
he was on his way to building a very nice relationship with her.
By Thursday the two of them had come to a decision on a rate and
product for her home that she was refinancing. Everything was
moving along nicely.
Or so it seemed.
When he called her on Monday to follow up, it turned out that
she was working with another loan officer, and would no longer
be needing any of my co-worker’s services.
As it turned out, his customer was at a family reunion over the
weekend. While making small talk, she mentioned that she was in
the process of refinancing her home.
One of her third cousins just so happened to be present at this
conversation, and subsequently chimed in when he heard the word
refinance.
He proceeded to tell her that he was a loan officer and that if
she allowed him an opportunity, he could most likely get her a
better rate. After some more small talk, she decided that since
she was only three days into the process of refinancing with
someone else, that it wouldn’t hurt to give someone in her
family an opportunity to do business with her.
So much for my co-workers loan.
So keep this in mind the next time you receive a lead. It is not
a given. Give your leads the same amount of attention as you
would give a customer you worked your tail off to get, or one
with a high profile.
Keep in mind, every time you make contact with your customer,
you are building a rapport with them, and strengthening the
relationship you have with them. The more they speak with you
the more they will get to know you and trust you.
It doesn’t matter if the lead is from a friend or a family
member. If your customer can get a better deal with someone
else, nine times out of ten, they will take the better deal.
So call your leads as soon as you get them, give them exemplary
customer service, be accessible at all times to answer their
questions, and keep things moving. And remember, the clock is
ticking on your leads.
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03.28.08
Posted in Universe Of Sales at 7:33 am by admin
Let’s imagine you are the sales manager for a large company. You are in line for a vice president position, and you feel things are running well. The CEO invites you in for a meeting about the company’s goals and future. You feel excited because you smell a promotion coming. The CEO is not in the mood to chitchat, so he gets right down to business. He appreciates your hard work and knows you are in line for this big promotion that will take place in the next six months; however, sales performance is not as high as he would like it to be. He wants to increase sales by 25 percent in the next three months.
When this happens, the promotion will be yours. He doesn’t care how you do it; he tells you to “just make it happen.” He doesn’t want to be bogged down with the details. He just wants you come back with the job successfully done. Do you think you’ll be able to pull a team together and make it happen if you don’t have a solid relationship with them already? In this scenario, it would be quite late in the game to start thinking about how to get your team members to make this work, particularly if they feel like they’d just be doing it so you can get your promotion.
Look through each of the eight levels of persuasion and influence in the preceding diagram and assess whether they would be effective or not. Also, determine what the results and long-term consequences of each strategy would be. You could force or manipulate your team with threats of poor evaluations, loss of Christmas bonuses, loss of a shot at a raise or even loss of their jobs. Or maybe you could get them to do your bidding by asserting your authority over them: “I’m the boss; you have to do what I say.” These are probably the easiest motivational methods, and they probably will get you the results you desire, but it’s a double-edged sword. You may get the results you need for your promotion, but you’ll also “gain” people who hate you, a nasty reputation, a loss of trust, etc. Hence, you have to decide if it’s worth the trade-off.
Suppose you rule these options out and move toward a more negotiation-oriented approach. You could meet with each team member one-on-one and discuss possible incentives or rewards. Let’s say you offer two extra weeks of paid vacation. Wow!you see your team start hustling. The downside to this motivation is that it’s external. Once the reward is given, your workers go back to normal. It is highly unlikely that your team will maintain their heightened activity once the incentive is removed. Furthermore, a danger exists that rewards will become expected. Rewards become crippling when they are required to produce any movement rather than being the occasional perk. Yet another downside to this motivational approach is that you may get what you want, but it may also cost you the kitchen sink in the process. Offering incentives also communicates to your employees that they can control you.
Hopefully, you’ve been more long-sighted and realized that having a great relationship with your team is the best way to motivate them. With this kind of work atmosphere, you can be up front with them about your promotion without worrying about what they’ll think and say about you when you’re not directly over them anymore. You also won’t have to beg or bargain to get their help. You always seek a win-win situation, but the ultimate commitment from your team occurs when they’ll step up to the plate, no matter what, based solely on the relationship of trust and respect they have with you. This kind of allegiance takes time and trust to develop.
To be an effective leader, always seek to build these kinds of connections with your team, even when you’re not under pressure for them to perform. The ideal situation is to pursue this kind of team unity not necessarily because of what you hope it will ultimately get you, but just because you care about your team and consider them worth investing your personal energy and interest in. Because your team members trust that you truly care about them as individuals, they can feel free and empowered to really give it everything they’ve got and to be an enthusiastic part of the team. Under such conditions, they’re not worrying about where they stand or what your motives are. Always be concerned about the success of your team as a whole rather than how you will professionally benefit. In the long run, you will have both.
Kurt W. Mortensen is one of America’s leading authorities on persuasion, motivation and influence. Kurt spent 15 years researching personal development and motivational psychology and is currently a professor on the university level. He offers his speaking, training, and consulting programs nationwide, helping thousands achieve unprecedented success in business and personal endeavors. Kurt is author of Maximum Influence a bestseller and is endorsed by Stephen R. Covey, Brian Tracy, Robert Allen, and Mark Victor Hansen. Go to http://www.prewealth.com/iq to find out where you rank in your ability to persuade or email askkurt@persuasioninsitute.com.
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