Real Sales Attitude

If you happen to be a sales person browsing the net for published material on the subject of the sales process, the choice is almost overwhelming. I suppose I shouldn't be saying this but from what I've witnessed sales experts can sometimes be guilty of trying to find their own angle and "spin" on something that seems overly complex but is actually in reality relatively simple. I have seen people enter the business of sales with little or no experience who start selling like they've been doing it all their life. Their colleagues who may well have been in the industry for considerably longer are often dumbstruck by this sudden success. Well the answer to this question is easy if you understand a little about the psychology of people. It's all about "Attitude!"

You often hear sales people complaining about their job and the difficulties they encounter on a daily basis. They moan about their customers, marketing, the company they work for, their colleagues, their own personal lives and that's often just the tip of the iceberg. The great sales people I have come across are almost blind to all this negativity going on around them. They hunger for opportunities, take personal responsibility for their failings, they constantly strive to improve on their mistakes and most importantly, they love what they do and wouldn't swap it for anything else. I believe that if you have a passion for anything you can reach beyond your own limitations with the magic of willpower and self-motivation. Think of a tiny ant that can carry up to five times its own body weight, whereas on the contrary, think of a person trying to become a great sales person by reading and reading endless amounts of training material without enjoying a moment of it.

If we take a look at the entire cross section of people who do make a living from sales we can probably find something between these two extremes. There are those who don't make it past the early stages and there are others who perform really well from the offset. It's the ones in the middle of these two levels that really require some serious change of vision because they continue to survive as sales people but never excel beyond being just plain old "average!" So can a person really change their attitude to selling or is their personality already imprinted on the brain? That is the real question when it comes to sales attitude. Will Mr. Average really become a great performer after investing time and money on "Sales Systems?" I have to say that I think it is possible but I also believe the amount of success that derives from sales systems is probably about 20% with the rest coming from a complete change of attitude.

David Lynch is a Sales Expert, Coach, Writer of successful works such as "Making The Seller" and "39 Mistakes to Avoid in Sales" and he is also a Sales Training Course Designer. He has many years of experience in a cross section of industries from Finance to Hospitality. You can read more about David at http://www.makingtheseller.com

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Legal Vs Illegal Telemarketing Practices

Telemarketing is a legal business, but many telemarketing firms make illegal calls and are able to get away with it simply because the average telephone consumer does not know their phone privacy rights. What you need to understand is that there are rules telemarketers must abide by. However, you also must understand that though you may find all telemarketing calls annoying, the fact remains that many of the calls you receive are within the rights of the telemarketing firm.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was created in the early 1990's to provide telemarketing companies with legal guidelines that were created to protect a telephone consumer's right to privacy. The following is a basic outline of legal and illegal telemarketing practices:

It is legal...

- For a telemarketing company to call between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm.

- For a company with whom you have an established business relationship to call you. This is a company with whom you have made a purchase.

- For the affiliates of the company you have a business relationship with to call you as long as the affiliate is in some way associated with the product or service you purchased.

- For telemarketers to call your cellular phone if you have given them permission to do so.

- For telemarketers to send you unsolicited faxes if they have been given your express permission

It is illegal

- For a telemarketer to call you before 8 am and after 9 pm

- For a telemarketer to not have an internal do not call list.

- For a telemarketer to not remove your number from their call list when you request it.

- For a telemarketer to call you once you have made the request to no longer be contacted by them.

- For a telemarketer not to have a clear and defined policy, and to not make this policy available to a consumer upon request.

- For a company with whom you have an established business relationship to call you after you have made the request to be added to their do not call list.

- For telemarketers who use autodialing devices to call cell phones

- For telemarketers to send unsolicited faxes without permission

- For telemarketers to use automated messages

- For a telemarketer to not provide their name and the name of the company they work for when asked.

As you can see, telemarketing companies must abide by strict rules or else face the penalty of the law. Therefore, know your rights and stop telemarketing calls by making complaints.

Dwayne is an old consumer advocate who has way to much time on his hands (the wife says) so rants to his audience on Ezine Articles.

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So You Think You Have A Hot Prospect? Yeah, Right

Omaha, Nebraska is where my business is based and where I maintain a primary residence.

As I travel the country and mention Omaha, I hear a number of comments. Typical lame
farmer jokes (this is a metro area of close to a million people), and comments from uninformed
elitists who think it is the same place as Oklahoma (hullo, that would be a STATE).

Also, many people associate Omaha with,

-Omaha Steaks

-Mutual of Omaha and Wild Kingdom

-Warren Buffet

-For sports fans, the College World Series. That is the focus of today's Tip. (Trust me, there is a huge sales point here.)

Right now, even though much of the country is still experiencing the frigidness of winter,
the college baseball season has begun, and the goal of thousands of players is to get their
team to Omaha in June for the national championship.

I've written about the College World Series many times over the years. If you are a sports fan, you really should try to get here to experience it.

The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) does not hold any other of its many championship tournaments at a fixed location other than the College World Series. They know it would be tough for any other community to support it and embrace it like Omaha has over the past 50 years.

And, Omaha wants to keep it forever. As a result, every time the NCAA says "Jump!," the power people in Omaha say, "How high, sir?"

Well, the NCAA has said that they want a new stadium in which to play the games. A new,
$140 million downtown stadium. Of course, Omaha said, "OK, but we need a new 20-year
contract to keep the tournament here."

I'll spare you all the details, but what it all has boiled down to is that a major power struggle
has taken place here between the mayor, and a few people on a commission that was appointed
several years ago to run a new arena that was built. The ridiculous bickering over where to
build this thing could potentially mean losing the entire College World Series.

OK, let me get to the sales point.

Yesterday, the mayor and a few other high-powered execs on his own stadium committee
presented the NCAA with their proposal for a building a new $140 million stadium, asking for
a 20-year contract.

The NCAA, which considers itself perhaps even more important and powerful than The Vatican,
The Supreme Court, the IRS, and perhaps even Oprah, replied,

"That's nice. But come back to us when you have broad-based support in Omaha."

And the Omaha people left with that as a result of their "sales call."

Kind of like a sales rep who gets off the phone, thinking he has a hot prospect when he hears,

"Sounds good, we'll give it some thought. Get back to us."

Huh?

"Broad-based support"?

Now, I was not in the room, but if I was, I would be waving my hand wildly, like a
second-grader, and would ask this simple question:

"Excuse me, but could you please define ically what you mean by 'broad-based support'?"

I mean, if you were going to spend $140 MILLION to secure a sale, isn't it reasonable to
know exactly what you need to do in order to earn that right?

Sales reps: look at your follow up files right now. Pick a few of the prospects you are working on,
particularly the ones you think you have a good shot with. Why do you think that?

Did they tell you something that sounded like the "broad-based support" phrase? If so, I bet
you don't get the sale.

Sales Managers: How many times have you sat with reps, reviewing their pipeline, asking about
specific prospects, and you hear things like the broad-based support phrase? It often sounds
like, "They said they were going to do something. They just needed to work a few things out."

ACTION STEP

Here's a pretty simple suggestion that can move your sales process along more quickly, and help you get more yes answers: Get specifics on exactly and specifically what needs to happen next. Leave no doubt.

"What specifically needs to happen on your end to move forward?"

"What will we need to do in order to make this happen?"

"When you say you need ______, what does that mean? What does that look like?"

"How do you measure ______?"

"When you are evaluating/demo-ing the product, what criteria will you use to judge it, and what will you need to see to move forward?"

Some squeamish types might argue that this is being pushy. No, it is business.

And if the mayor calls, I'll be happy to go on the next sales call with the NCAA.

Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone, provides proven ideas, tips, and processes to help salespeople use the phone to prospect, sell and service without morale-killing rejection. To see word-for-word phrases you can use right now to get to and sell more buyers, and other resources such as books, audios, and seminars, and to get his FREE weekly TelE-Sales Tips, and access to back issues, go to: http://www.BusinessByPhone.com

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Telesales - Leaving A Quality Voicemail

Many sales people don't seem to understand the importance of leaving quality voicemails for their clients or prospects. This is probably because in lots of cases they don't expect a reply. This is very much the wrong attitude because people do listen to their voicemails. The problem with voicemails from sales people is that they have to get the message across quickly and they have to stand out from all the other messages people are often bombarded with. This shouldn't put you off though because telesales is not as difficult as you would imagine if you can only go about it with the correct preparation and dedication.

Before you leave a voicemail "Create a Structural Plan!" This could be used over and over again and can be modified for particular cases. A plan is important so that the early part of the voicemail can contain all the essential elements of the message. The second part can contain less exciting but useful information for the client. For example I would never start a voicemail by leaving my name and number. I would leave my name and the company I'm calling from. Then I would immediately state the reason for my call and what I could do to benefit the customer. I would usually end the call with my contact details because if they want to contact you they will listen to the complete voicemail in any case. Try recording a test voicemail and play it back on your own phone. Think of how you would react to it and make changes where you think it could be fine tuned.

Speak clearly and underline the key points of the call. This can be done by slowing down a little and by stressing key words with more emphasis. A professional sounding voicemail stands a much greater chance of getting past the delete button because it's a bit like listening to a radio advertisement if you think about it. Don't some radio advertisements capture your attention more than others? Well, it's exactly the same story for voicemail. The ones that are very well prepared and well scripted will obtain the best response rate.

Don't make your message too long. This can create more than one problem for you. The customer may get bored with the length of the message and skip to the next one or even worse they could just delete it. You also have to remember that you're filling someone's mailbox which only has a certain amount of allocated space. If they feel your message is very long, they may delete it to free up space for their own clients to leave messages.

Last but not least try to convey your personality in the voicemail; this can be done by making a very quick reference to something specific to you, or by introducing a touch of personal humour. Just use your imagination on this one because it will help you to stand out from the crowd.

So I would always leave a voicemail as a last resort if I'm unable to contact a particular person. That person could very well listen to your voicemail at a moment when they are sitting in their hotel room with nothing to do. That's your moment and you need to make the most of it. In most cases you will not get a second chance, especially if these people are busy decision makers.

David Lynch is a Sales Expert, Coach, Writer of successful works such as "Making The Seller" and "39 Mistakes to Avoid in Sales" and he is also a Sales Training Course Designer. He has many years of experience in a cross section of industries from Finance to Hospitality. You can read more about David at http://www.makingtheseller.com

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