Closing The Sale In Your Cleaning Business

Writen by Steve Hanson

How do you know a prospect is ready to buy? Listen for signals during the presentation. A great indicator is when they start asking for more information. The following are common buying signals:

*Prospect asks specific questions about your services.

*Prospect asks you to repeat or clarify something you talked about.

*Prospect asks about features or different cleaning options.

*Prospect asks for references or a list of satisfied customers.

*Prospect brings up problems with current cleaning contractor.

*Prospect asks questions about you and your business.

When you start hearing buying signals, it's time to test the waters by asking a question to see if you're reading the signals correctly. Craft your closing question in a way that responds to the prospect's main concerns, and try to eliminate the possibility of the prospect answering "no" to your question. For example, "If you decide to go ahead and make a change in the cleaning service, would you want to stay with the same 3 days per week service, or would you want to go to 5 days per week?" If the prospect answers positively or confirms your suspicions that they'd like to move forward with the sale, then it's time to close the sale.

Here are some sample closing questions:

"When we start cleaning a building, we do an initial deep cleaning to get things up to standard. Would you like us to start next week, or the week after?"

"We track, order, and deliver all our customer's restroom supplies for them so they don't have to waste time on managing this time-consuming task. Who currently handles the restroom supplies?"

"If the cleaning proposal we give you is within your budget, when would you like to make the change?"

If they hesitate on price at this point, try something like, "I can certainly understand your concern with the budget, Tom. That's one of the reasons I contacted you. The money you'll save in supply costs, slip/fall accidents, and time spent managing cleaning complaints will be well worth the investment in partnering with us as your cleaning contractor."

After you've asked a closing question, it's time to stop talking. Remember, this is more about listening to your customer's needs than it is about talking about your business. Sometimes people are tempted to just keep selling, even though the prospect has indicated they're ready to buy. Pause and give them a chance to speak.

One of the best things you can do for your prospective customer is to keep in mind that there is a difference between just asking for the sale and helping people make decisions that are good for their company. In the end, it's not about you. . .it's about them!

Steve Hanson is co-founding member of The Janitorial Store (TM), an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift! Read cleaning success stories from owners of cleaning companies at http://www.cleaning-success.com/

Overcoming The Fear Of Selling

Writen by Kara Kelso

For many of you the Fear of Selling is a huge challenge and obstacle for you from day to day. The first thing you need to do is find out exactly what it is you're afraid of. Are you afraid of success? Believe it or not there this is an actual fear of some folks. Are you afraid of failure or rejection? Do you fear being perceived as being pushy? Do you (secretly of course) fear that your product may not meet the expectations of your customer? You can't come up with a solution if you don't know what the problem is.

There's a huge misconception in direct sales being that you think you're 'imposing' on your friends, family or just a customer in general. As long as you feel as though you're imposing...you are. You need to love your product and feel as though you are offering a service. You're filling a need.

People are natural-born sellers. We just don't realize it when we're not making money from it. Let's say you go to a movie that you loved and you have a friend that you know would enjoy it too. Wouldn't you recommend it to him/her?

So why is it that as soon as we go into sales we automatically feel as though we can't recommend the products we sell. Why is it that we tend to feel guilty because we're going to make a profit off of it?

If you are one that has a fear of selling, take some time today to figure out the cause of your fear, and take action to fix it!

~~~~~~~

About the Authors: Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank are two busy wahms, and the owners of Direct Sales Helpers. Learn how you can be successful in your company by visiting: http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com

Looooking Good 7 Tips For Trade Show Dress

Writen by Julia O'Connor

Well, there you are at the show. You are wearing the corporate golf shirt with logo. Hopefully you have the right size so the sleeves don't droop over your elbows and the tail doesn't hit your knees. It is clean and you pressed it before you hit the show floor. You didn't dribble salad dressing, chocolate or hot dog stuff down your front. Hooray – you are a neat representative for your company.

But what about the rest of you? Does it matter if your event is super casual or super professional? Probably not. Here are 7 Tips to keep you Looking Good –

1. Press the pants or skirt. Make sure the complete ensemble is complete.

2. Wear comfortable shoes that are appropriate to your outfit.

3. No toe-cleavage. Sandals or flip-flops - no matter how expensive or fashionable - belong at the pool or beach, not on a show floor.

4. Casual clothes do not hide droopy shoulders, an expanded waistline or poor posture. Look at yourself in a full-length mirror and make corrections. The first is to stand up straight.

5. Clean out your pockets. Take only the minimum cards, change, identification. Otherwise you may have unsightly bulges in your nether region.

6. Personal grooming is very important. You will not have time to primp and puff on the show floor. Remember how dusty the hall is and how tired you will be by the end of the day. Before the show, get a good haircut. Manicure for both men and women – yeah, guys, what are you doing all day? – Shaking Hands.

7. You are on stage all the time. People will look at you front, back and all around. Be aware that your good side may not be what they are looking at.

These are simple, common sense tips to keep top-of-mind when attending a trade show.

Julia O'Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - writes about practical aspects of trade shows. As president of Trade Show Training, inc,, now celebrating its 11th year, she works with companies in a variety of industries to improve their bottom line and marketing opportunities at trade shows.

Julia is an expert in the psychology of the trade show environment and uses this expertise in sales training and management seminars. Contact her at 804-355-7800 or check the site http://www.TradeShowTraining.com

Tradeshow Success Tip Qualify Leads

Writen by Dick Wheeler

Tradeshow exhibitors often miss important leads at trade shows because they have no lead development strategy. In addition, according to the CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research), as much as 80% of trade show leads never receive any form of follow-up.

One reason is that following up with unqualified leads from trade shows is tedious. This produces disappointment, frustration and inertia as you pursue the mind- numbing work of trying (and failing) to get new business from your bag full of tradeshow booth visitors' business cards.

There is a better way. The key is to identify and classify hot prospects and the products and services they are interested in buying. There are new, sophisticated software packages that allow you to identify a half dozen weighted multiple choice questions in advance that will determine how viable a client prospect is. You need to identify the hot leads, filter out those who are not qualified, and then measure your results. You will be able to target qualified sales leads that have the budget, time frame and ability to purchase your product. Your screening strategy not only helps you zero in on qualified leads but also helps you establish stronger relationships with your best clients.

Rank your prospects as "A" (highly qualified), " B" (somewhat qualified), or "C" (poorly qualified) prospect. When a prospect arrives at your trade show display, your sales staff will be ready to kickstart the sales process by using the software package to help identify qualified leads.

Have your sales force follow up on "A" leads immediately the day after the trade show to maximize your profit opportunity from the trade show. By earmarking the key prospects, your sales staff should be energized by their success in selling the right products to the right client at the right time. Don't neglect the "B" prospects from your trade show, but follow up with them only after you have mined the hot lead lode.

Measure Your ROI

You will be able to measure your trade show return on investment and justify your trade show exhibit expense if you carefully track your qualified leads. Measure the results of these qualified leads in every stage from the number and dollar amount of proposals made to monies received from actual sales. Your head of marketing can better justify the tradeshow expense to the company CEO when showing solid business- producing results.

Dick Wheeler, is President of Professional Exhibits & Graphics, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The firm is a full-service premiere trade show exhibit, graphics and management services company. Go to http://www.proexhibits.com

Getting Referrals

Writen by Bryan Brandenburg

Referrals

A substantial part of your business can come from referrals. The key is to provide extraordinary customer service and educate your clients and influencers to this fact. You must actively cultivate referrals; otherwise you're just leaving it to chance.

Referrals Start with Great Service

The foundation of great referrals is great customer service. A large part of your business can be generated through referrals. Make an investment in your business and your client's satisfaction by doing excellent work.

Characteristics of a Referral Source

Understanding the characteristics of a strong referral source, allows you to spend your time with the most qualified prospects. Below are the conditions of the optimum referral source:

Must have a relationship with your target client

Must understand your target client profile

Must be educated on what you do

Must respect you and your company

Must be respected by your target client

Must be motivated to refer clients to you

Existing Clients

You should regularly ask for referrals and you should have a formal referral program with your existing client base. We simply send a letter out regularly to our clients explaining that we would rather spend our money enhancing our services then marketing for business. We ask for referrals. We send coupons that can be distributed, business cards, and newsletters that can be forwarded. We're not pushy; we just are up front that if they are satisfied with our services they should recommend us.

Complimentary Vendors

With other vendors you need to be more formal about your referral arrangement. The promise of mutual reciprocation rarely works. Immediate gratification does. If you're clear about the value of the client calculated earlier in this section, then be generous with your fellow vendors when they bring in a client. If you're going to make a profit of $10,000 over the life of the client, writing a check for $1000 to the referral source shouldn't be painful.

You may have friendships with some of these vendors but they're also business people and should be concerned that they spend time improving their bottom line. When you propose a solid cause and effect financial arrangement, you'll get significantly better results.

Evaluate all the businesses that are non-competitive but end up doing business with your target client. Examples of this are:

Cabling Companies

Management consultants

Phone Companies

Software Companies

VARs

Hardware Companies

Make it worth their while and put the offer in writing. It could be a major source of new leads for you.

Seminar Participants

If you provide great value at your seminars, this could lead to a lucrative referral pipeline. But like anything else, you must consciously cultivate the referrals. Include extra business cards or coupons in the seminar package and on your evaluation questionnaire, specifically ask if there is somebody the participant knows that could use your services or should receive a discount coupon for the next seminar. Ask and you shall receive.

Professional Services

Some of the best referral sources you have available are from those that provide your company professional services. You're their client, so they're naturally inclined to provide extra value. They also have a great deal of insight into the work you do and your success. Examples are:

Bankers

Leasing agents

Commercial real estate broker

Accountants

Attorneys

Secondary sources that could surprise you are:

Regular delivery people

Vendor contacts; office supplies, hardware, etc.

Cleaning services; contact the managers or owners

Cultivate and groom these sources of referrals. Behave professionally in all of your interactions. Keep them informed on new clients, products and services, press and so on. Supply them with business cards and actively ask for referrals.

Other Referral Sources

There are other referrals sources that may have already generated business for you without having a formal referral system in place:

Friends

Members of your church

Neighbors

Employees

Prospects – If they don't buy, ask for a referral

Members of other organizations you're associated with – school, political, etc.

When to Ask for Referrals

You should always be asking for referrals if you deliver a quality product or service. There are times when you'll get better results than others. Here are some guidelines for when to ask for referrals:

After signing a contract.

Periodically with a letter, say once a quarter

When successfully completing a project and your client signs the final approval.

When a prospect turns you down. Guilt is a beautiful thing.

When you're doing a client satisfaction survey.

When you're calling an inactive client.

When you're calling an active client.

If you're unclear on how to ask for a referral, here are some variations to try:

"It was a real pleasure working with you and I look forward to our next project together. In the meantime, if you know somebody that needs quality software development services, I hope that you pass on what a good experience you had with our company and have them give us a call."

"I'm glad things are going well for you. Do you have any acquaintances that might need my company's services?"

Keep Them Informed

You should keep the referral source informed during the early part of the new relationship. You'll get a sense of how much but at least make a call and tell the source "Thank you" for the referral. Inform them that you've met, started a contract and then simply ask them if they want to stay informed on their referral.

You should almost always send a letter thanking the referral source. It's polite and prudent. If it makes sense, you can send them a credit for your services, a dinner for two or tickets to a ball game. Show your appreciation.

Motivating Referral Sources

Motivating the referral source depends on the kind of relationship you have with them. If it's an existing client, it may be as simple as just providing stellar service and actively requesting the referral. For vendors and professional relationships, setting up a formal commission that is attractive is more effective.

And don't forget to give referrals yourself. If you can comfortably recommend a company, you'll build reciprocation credits and it doesn't take a lot of effort on you're part. The key is to refer only businesses that can really deliver and then make sure you follow-up with the vendor to see how the relationship is going.

About The Author

Bryan Brandenburg has published 5 books as well as a number of articles both in print and on the internet. He has published almost 30 software programs both for consumers and business. More information can be found at www.vmmg.net.

b.brandenburg@vmmg.net

Do You Hate Salespeople

Writen by Brian Lambert

So, when you think of salesperson, what's the first thing that comes to YOUR mind?

Unfortunately many times what comes to mind is anything but comforting to your business or personal mindset.

Do you really understand what salespeople do? Why do you dislike them? Is it because it's easy to? Is it because you were burned by one? Or is it just fun to do?

Are all salespeople really in it just for the money? Are they really just pushy loners who will do anything for your money?

Isn't this a negative portrayal of salespeople -- in other words... aren't you just stereotyping? Aren't you really doing the same thing (judging someone by their title) as others do with skin color or clothes people wear?

Unfortunately when people don't understand what salespeople really do, they have a tendency to over-generalize and stereotype. Are you one of these people? Be honest.

Many would argue that there should be a push to phase 'direct salespeople' out of many different industries.

Sure, that makes sense! Go ahead! Especially if you don't want to have any open positions to place people into, you don't care if you get a paycheck, or you don't need any bills to be paid by your company.

What people are wrestle with is the reality of salesperson competency. They wonder if salespeople are relevant any more. They are also armed with the perception that there really are no professional salespeople. It's too bad that people think this way. But who's fault is it?

It's the sales professional's fault of course!

Let's face it....we've done a TERRIBLE job of explaining what we really do for a living.

Many salespeople would submit that there is a difference between a salesPERSON and a sales PROFESSIONAL. But what exactly is that difference and where do you find a commonly accepted definition of it? Here's a hint: It doesn't really exist

Sure, there could be "bad apples" in selling. But there are "bad [insert occupation here]" too....to generalize all people in one occupation as "bad apples" just by their title is a foul and it's stereotyping...plain and simple.

I would also say that of the 5,000 salespeople I have personally spoken to and the thousands of members our organization has DEFINITELY DON'T add to the image of a shady, oily salesperson who cares less about the buyer than the numbers.

If you have ever been burned by one of these types, I am sorry on their behalf. In fact, if you have been hurt by a salesperson in your past, perhaps you can share your story with me so I can then discuss it as a case study when I run training and guided discussions on sales ethics and sales process.

With over 3,000 people in our organization, I have yet to find someone who WASN'T humanely motivated to make a call, communicate the results or next step, or even a apologize when they are wrong about something. Any salesperson who has done well in the field would actually steer clear from 'not taking no for an answer' Perhaps if you should go to lunch with one of them, you'll find out that they care about more than you think.

Many people are passionate about PR or Marketing. To many, it "just feels better." It might surprise you to find out that occupations such as PR or Advertising are in the same Marketing Mix component (called Placement) in which salespeople reside.

The promotion element of the Marketing mix is comprised of advertising, selling, sales promotion, and public relations. In other words, it is a subset of the marketing mix. Promotion is the communication function of the marketing mix, and the components of the promotion mix are used to provide information to the target buyer (or candidate). To be successful in promoting to these groups, organizations use the promotion mix, which is comprised of functions that are not tied to a specific product.

It may surprise you to find out that you're actually closely related to a salesperson not only in job function but also in responsibility and competency.

Everyone knows:

• the best salespeople are able to put themselves in their customer's shoes and provide a solution that makes the customer happy.

• The best salesperson is the one the customer trusts and never has to question. The best salesperson is the one who knows that with every cold call made, they are closer to helping someone.

• The best salesperson is the one who takes immense satisfaction from the satisfaction their customer gets.

• The best salesperson is the one who wakes up early every morning excited to come to the office and get on the phone and let people know exactly why they love their product, their job and their clients

It sounds so very simple and there has yet to be a successful company that has survived with zero sales. So if selling is the most important job in a company, why is it so hard to find someone to fit within an organization and stay there? Also, why do negative stereotypes exist?

It's because this simple job hasn't been defined too well.

In my book the 'Models of Salesperson Improvement', I highlight in depth the roles, competencies and outputs of salespeople. Below is a very brief summary.

See if you posses some of these. For more information, you can download the free universal selling framework for how all this is put together called the 'Compendium of Professional Selling' at our website.

There are Seven Roles of Highly Competent Salespeople

ROLE 1: 'The CLIENT-FOCUSED SOLUTION PROVIDER'

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
---- Buyer Knowledge
----Individual knowledge
----Environmental Knowledge
----Client Market Knowledge

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Expectation Management Ability

**Skills Necessary for this Role:
----Skill in understanding where buyers are in the buying cycle

=======================================
ROLE 2: 'The PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATOR'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Communication Management Ability
----Opportunity Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Business Knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Intrapreneurial Skill, skill with Supervisors with Co-workers and with customers and people in general

=======================================
ROLE 3: 'The FOCUSED CATALYST'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Personal Management Ability

**Skills necessary:
----Purposeful Skill
----Understanding of Needs
----Goals

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Solution Knowledge

=======================================

Role 4: 'The CONCERTED FACILITATOR'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Relationship Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Personal Knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Emotional Intelligence Skill
----Social Skill

=======================================
Role 5: 'The EFFECTIVE MANAGER'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Technology Management Ability
----Selling Interaction Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Technical knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Procedural Skill

=======================================
Role 6: 'The VALUE DRIVEN GUARDIAN'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Ability to understand Character and personality

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Ethics

**Skills necessary:
----Procedural Skill

=======================================

Role 7: 'The STRATEGIC PLANNER '

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Priority Management Ability

**knowledge needed for this role
----Strategic Knowledge
----Competitive Knowledge

I would encourage all business professionals to look internally at themselves and what they are saying when the feel like throwing salespeople under a bus. I would also submit that you should know what you're talking about before making unprofessional comments about what salespeople do and the role they serve -- especially if you're in a position that is closely related to selling.

Finally, if you took the word "salesperson" out of this list you would probably agree that it's a complicated and far reaching list of competencies. Nowhere will you find the convergence of so many fields within one profession (purchasing, marketing, HR, PR, economics, finance, law, etc). If you don't believe me, spend a day with a salesperson on sales calls.

Brian is the Chairman and Founder of the the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA). UPSA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington DC that has addressed the concerns and challenges of individual sales professionals. Brian has authored the world's first universal selling standards and open-source selling framework for free distribution. This 'Compendium of Professional Selling' containing the commonly accepted and universally functional knowledge that all sales professionals possess. The open-source selling standards have been downloaded in 16 countries by over 300 people. Over 30 people have made contributions.

Because UPSA is not owned by one person or any company, it is a member organization and guardian of the global standard of entry into the sales profession.

Find out about the membership organization and understand the processes and framework of professional selling at the UPSA Website at http://www.upsa-intl.org

Find out more about Brian at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Brian_Lambert

Or at http://www.brianlambert.biz

Sales Speaker Warns Beware Of Cat Buyers Remorse

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

If you've been in the sales game for any time, you've surely heard of that peculiar affliction known as "buyer's remorse."

It is a sudden fever that comes over a recent buyer who feels he just has to back out of a deal.

Possibly, the used car he bought doesn't have a small amenity in it, maybe a jack for juicing up his computer on the go, and he just can't live without one—or so he claims.

In reality, he may believe that the payments are too high, having heard what his buddy at the gym is paying for a NEW car.

What's really going on with buyer's remorse?

Fear is a large part of it. People who catch this ailment are afraid they made the wrong decision.

Is there any cure for it?

Reassurance might do it, but it's not perfect. You can say, "You've made a great decision—you won't regret it!" but still, keep your fingers crossed.

Is there a way of preventing it?

I'm not sure, but a very recent experience may shed some light on the question.

Cleopa, you know her, she's the feral cat I trained and domesticated. She had a litter consisting of two beautiful kittens. Snowy was all white with a beige tail, and Gorby was white with markings reminiscent of Mikhail Gorbachov, that former Soviet, who is now living well, I bet, anywhere outside of Russia.

Anyway, we advertised on the web for folks to adopt the kitties, and sure enough, Snowy was chosen first. The lady who claimed her was unbelievably nervous, called a bunch of times, insisted on seeing pic after pic, and finally, when she came she seemed really edgy and prissy.

We required a payment of fifty bucks to discourage abusers and weirdoes from vying for these pets, but this lady didn't get screened out; unfortunately. A day after she took Snowy, she communicated that her other cat (who knew?) had stopped eating (Snowy hadn't!).

She wanted to return her and get her $50 back.

Of course, instead of leaving the pet in her hands we said sure, bring her by, but a day after that she said she "solved the problem."

How, we'll never know.

Should we have read the signs of Cat Buyer's Remorse, and avoided this person?

I think so, now that I recall the sequence. Here are the signals that we should have seen:

(1) Some folks will telegraph trouble in advance. She did this by requiring lots of confirmation before even seeing Snowy. Her nervousness should have told us she's ambivalent.

(2) When we met her, she was unusually skittish, and she didn't really seem cat-savvy. I suspect she expected instant bonding and affection from the little being.

(3) She had unrealistic expectations, treating us like we were a pet store or a vet's office.

(4) Our instincts told us she'd freak the first time she saw a flea on the kittie, that she was a perfectionist and a prickly problem.

(5) She left our place looking shaken, a little jittery.

We could, and perhaps should have said, "Wait a second. Are you sure you're comfortable?"

Anyway, this is the signature of someone who suffers from buyer's remorse, and whether you sell big Cats, like Caterpillar tractors, or tiny kittie cats, I hope this will help you to recognize them, and take the right action!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com

Selling Skills What Resources Are Necessary

Writen by David Zahn

As a general rule, salespeople will want to have the following resources available to them as they work to complete sales with customers:

1. A complete understanding of the product or service. The salesperson must be intimately aware of what the product or service can do, and what is not capable of doing or should not be used to accomplish.
2. A detailed understanding of the competition. Having enough experience to know what the competition's product or service is capable of doing or providing is very often a key component in that sales people need in order to best position their own products in front of the prospect or customer.
3. A thorough understanding of the prospect's business and how the product or service would be best utilized by the prospect. Being able to talk the prospect's language or make reference to particularly thorny prospect challenges demonstrates that you understand their business and goes a long way in building trust and rapport with the prospect.
4. Examples of the product, or if it is a service, the output or result of the service being used. Having the ability to explain how the product is to be used, or what the service will provide the prospect allows the prospect to visualize the benefit much better and makes it seem a whole lot more real to them as they try to conjure up exactly how it would work. Not quite as good as the product itself is a data sheet that explains the benefits of the product and perhaps includes specifications of the product and a picture of the product.
5. References. Many prospects will want to know what other companies have used the product or made similar purchases. Being able to point to some well known customers provides a sense of relief for many prospects and minimizes the fear that they are making a potential mistake.
6. Price List. Being able to quote exact prices based on quantities ordered, specific models requested or based on customizations required is a necessity for sales people. No one wants to be close enough to closing a sale only to have to tell the prospect – "I don't know how much it costs."
7. Delivery Schedule. Once a prospect has agreed to buy, one of the next questions is usually, "how soon can I have it?" A sales person should be forearmed with when delivery of the product or service can be provided based on the unique characteristics of the order being placed.

Selling requires preparation and contrary to some popular opinions, is not conducted on the strength of a smile and a firm handshake. Be certain that you are ready to sell before you approach the prospect.

David Zahn is a two-time author addressing the issues of entrepreneurship and consulting ("How To Succeed As An Independent Consultant, 4th Ed." and "The Quntessential Guide To Using Consultants") as well as being a frequent interviewee and contributor to articles in publications like, "BusinessWeekOnline, Entrepreneur, BrandWeek, Training & Development, CTPostOnline, and others. For a free "business readiness assessment," please click on http://www.startupbuilder.com.

Save Your Breath How To Sell In Trade Shows Without Pitching

Writen by Sharon Drew Morgen

You stand there, in front of your great presentation material, wearing just the right suit or logo shirt, handing out some gimmick with your company name on it, wearing just the right smile or look of professionalism. You might even have a fishbowl at the table - or some type of contest material - to collect business cards of passers by for later use in your sales process. But the worst part of doing a trade show is losing your voice.

Each visitor that stops by your booth gets your pitch. You feel compelled to tell each person why your product is great, why it's different from the competition (which might be located directly across from your booth and getting a lot more attention than you're getting). You've learned the elevator spiel and how to do a pitch in 30 seconds, so the person passing by will 1. be captivated by your information, 2. stop, and 3. make a purchase. And you do this for each and every person passing by.

Why?

WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE?

Let's start with figuring out why you're even at the trade show. You're probably there to get some brand recognition (sales are usually not completed at trade shows) and get your material and pitch into the hands of buyers. The visitors are, after all, self-selected hot prospects.

Or are they? In reality, you have no idea why a person is walking by your booth. I've walked around trade shows just to see how people are selling. And each time I've come within a few feet of the booth, I get barraged with a pitch, data, and more information than I know what to do with. Do the sales folks know why I'm there? Nope. Do they ask? Nope. They just pitch and pitch and pitch. And are they cheery!

If your objective is to brand your product, just being there with a great presence is carrying your visual brand forward. For that you don't need anything more than to stand there and look professional.

Why else might you be there? To sell product? OK. Let's take a look at this. Odds are that you're not going to make a sale at the show itself. You might walk away with business cards, but that doesn't mean people are buyers.

HOW TO SELL AT A TRADE SHOW

If you want to sell, pitching to people as they come to your booth is not the way to do it.

Here's a truth: people do not make purchasing decisions based on information. I know this comes as a shock to those of you who regularly stand at booths at trade shows and pitch your hearts (and lungs) out. I'll say it again: pitching product, making data about your product available, will not make a sale. Oh, it will help close the sale once the buyer is at that point in the sales cycle that s/he needs data to complete his/her picture. But it will not make a sale.

A sale gets made when a buyer decides to make a purchase. Selling and buying are two different activities. For some reason, sellers believe that if they sell, buyers should know how and why to buy. But that's not true.

Sellers concentrate on finding buyers who probably have a need, and creating some means to present their product in a way that well-chosen buyers might understand or recognize a need. In other words, it's a crap shoot.

Buyers focus on finding solutions that will optimize their status quo. To do this they must recognize any outstanding issues that are getting in the way of an optimized work space, seek to easily correct what might be lacking, and to manage whatever changes will occur once a corrective solution is discovered.

Pitching a product will address none of the above - unless the buyer has already completed all of the above actions and is seeking out a solution with parameters that will match their unique dynamics. In other words, when you focus your sale on product information, you're playing a numbers game.

Why are people at trade shows? Let's see if I can count a few of the reasons:

1. they are in town for the day and had nothing better to do;

2. they are in your field and want to see what the competition is doing;

3. they are deciding to buy a new company and want to garner promotion ideas;

4. they think they might have a problem that a product similar to yours might solve, but aren't sure what a solution would look like and are running around the trade show to collect possible solutions.

None of the above reasons would close a sale for you.

HOW TO USE YOUR PRESENCE EFFECTIVELY

Trade shows are wonderful opportunities to ferret out prospective buyers (usually in category #4 above) and teach them how to decide what a solution would look like.

As a visitor approaches your booth, as a facilitative question that gets them to determine what's missing from their status quo that, if corrected, would create an optimal solution for them. For #1-3 above, they will shift the conversation to something more personal, and you'll have saved your breath since you won't have to pitch.

When someone comes by that actually is seeking a solution, use facilitative questions to lead them through their solution-discovery process. Help them discover what's missing in their current environment, how they can fix the problem with familiar resources, and how to make sense of all of the systems issues that need to be managed before they can allow a solution into their culture.

Then, you are only asking questions while they are doing the talking - and you make pitches to those people who understand that they need you, specifically, to solve their problem.

You then not only create a customer, but you save your voice.

Sharon Drew Morgen is the author of NY Times Best Seller - Selling with Integrity. She speaks, teaches and consults globally around her new sales model, Buying Facilitation.

She can be reached at:

512-457-0246
Morgen Facilitations, Inc.
Austin, TX
http://www.newsalesparadigm.com
http://www.sharondrewmorgen.com

Break Out Strategy For The Invisible Salesperson

Writen by Steve Martinez

Are you invisible?
We can be invisible to anyone and everyone at times. You know the feeling; it would be like trying out for an acting role with 10,000 other people dressed in the same black and white clothing. What we actually want is to stand out as if we were the only ones dressed in black and white while everyone else is dressed in a light peach clown outfit. It is a tough challenge when everyone is just like us. However, we often force ourselves into this wallpaper strategy when we conform to a prospect's or customer's initial request.

Perhaps you remember what it was like in high school when you wanted to get noticed by the guy or girl you were interested in. It was the little things that you tried anything and just about everything. I remember a girl named Pat that I wanted to meet more than anything and she finally noticed me in the home economics class when we worked on a project together. The only reason I took the class was to get close to her. We ended up dating and having our high school romance.

There isn't much difference in outside sales. We try to get noticed by our clients and prospects in ways that will attract them to us more than others. We might even take a course in something new so we are closer to our client's goals. When we are interested in someone, we want to know everything about them and will ask our friends, their friends and learn as much as we can.

Getting good information and profiling
Today we can learn a lot about a business when we use the internet and network with associates who are in the business. We are in the information age and there isn't an excuse for not knowing something about a business, if we are really interested.

We stand a better chance of getting noticed when we know the interests and challenges of the business contact we want to do business with. Anytime we have good information and intelligence on an industry we will stand out and the client will reward us for our perspective and interest in them. We know that the best resource for learning what a client wants is to ask good questions.

Good questions come from knowing what to ask because we suspect what the client is interested in. In high school I learned that my future girl friend, Pat, was going to take the home economics course. I took the class and learned how to cook and also met Pat. What a coincidence. In business knowing about a specific service we offer which our prospect shares an interest in is ideal. If they are interested in mailing services, we must learn how to talk to our prospect about mailing services too.

Breaking the ice
Getting noticed and becoming visible to our prospects is a matter of learning what they want and filling a need. It is sometimes being in the right place at the right time and knowing we are in the right place at the right time. In sales we often make our own luck and we can accomplish this with solid research on our prospects. Asking good questions is often a key to this success. Good questions serve as great ice breakers when we have done our research.

Steve Martinez implements sales management strategies with a focus on automating sales for printing organizations. Selling Magic teaches businesses how to automate and customizing ACT or Outlook with the best practices of sales management while integrating email marketing and technology for greater profits. http://www.sellingmagic.com

Sales Will Increase By Applying The Law Of Association By Affiliation

Writen by Kurt Mortensen

To maintain order of the world, our brains link objects, gestures, and symbols with our feelings, memories, and life experiences. We mentally associate ourselves with such things as endorsements, sights, sounds, colors, music, and symbols, just to name a few. This association allows us to make judgment calls when we don't have the required time to do thorough research.

Master Persuaders take advantage of association to evoke positive feelings and thoughts that correspond with the message they are trying to convey. In this sense, you, as a persuader, can actually arouse a certain feeling in your audience by finding the right association key to unlock the door. Associations are not the same for all people--obviously, each person has their own set of triggers. However, once you understand the general rules, you can find the right associations to match any prospect. And of course, some associations are universal for an entire culture.

Another aspect of the Law of Association is the use of affiliation. Persuaders want you to affiliate their company with positive images, feelings, and attitudes. We tend to affiliate our feelings with our surroundings and environment and then transfer our feelings to those we are with. For example, one frequently used technique is to feed take the prospect to lunch. Why? Because people like the individuals and the things they experience while they are eating (if the food and company are good). The idea is to link something positive in the environment with your message.

For example, a good game of golf, a weekend at the beach, NFL tickets, or an exotic cruise would all typically build positive associations and feelings in your prospects. Do you remember ever noticing how, after a crushing victory, sweatshirts sporting the university's logo were seen all over the place? People want to be associated with winners. In fact, a study showed that when a university football team won, more students would wear that college's sweatshirts. The bigger the victory, the more college sweatshirts become visible. When you bring positive stimuli into the situation, you will be associated with the pleasant feeling you have created.

We are now going to discuss four different affiliations that are most often used. They are as follows: advertising, sponsorships, images, and color. Each of these techniques has a unique role in affiliation.

Advertisers and marketers use affiliation to evoke valuable associations in the minds of their prospects. They know that babies and puppy dogs automatically carry great associations of warmth and comfort in the minds of their audience. Consequently, we see tire commercials with babies and car commercials with puppies, even though cars and tires aren't really warm and cuddly. These warm appeals grab our attention and create positive associations in our mind.

Want some other examples? Consider some of the popular slogans: "Like a good neighbor," "The same as home-style cooking," "Like a rock," and "The breakfast of champions." Using slogans in this way, marketers are able to readily create positive feelings and associations without having to create a new image. They simply create even stronger and more positive associations with what already exists.

One of the most common examples of advertising affiliation occurs in the alcohol and cigarette industries. How often do you see a lung cancer patient in a cigarette ad? Instead, advertisers in these industries use young vibrant people who are in the prime of their lives. The beer companies want you to associate drinking beer with having fun and attracting the opposite sex. Their ads portray images of men and women having fun, while surrounded by beer. Their message is, "If you aren't drinking, you aren't having fun." On an intellectual level, we all know that these are just advertisements, but the associations they arouse in us stick in our minds.

When companies need to change their image, they usually find a good cause to latch on to. They will typically find a good social or environmental issue they can tap into. For example, an ice cream company advertises their support for an environmental movement, or yogurt companies start a campaign to stop breast cancer. You also see patriotic endorsements being employed to create a positive association in your mind. The simple sight of the American flag, or the phrases "Buy American" and "Made in America," can trigger instant positive associations.

In the 1970s, the big American car still dominated the U.S. automobile scene. American carmakers had no fear of imported automobiles. There was a tradition in most families to always buy the same make of car. Imports were associated with being cheap, unreliable, and a waste of money. When the baby boomers came along, however, they became better educated and they refused to blindly follow the guidelines laid out by their parents. They viewed imports as having better gas mileage, greater reliability, and lower prices. The negative association shifted suddenly from foreign cars to American-made cars and the rest is a history. American carmakers were almost put out of business by this shift, and they, still to this day, lose big market share to imported cars. As the tide turned, American car companies had to learn to make new associations with their cars.

Closely related to advertising is the notion of sponsorship. Companies and organizations sponsor events that they believe will produce a positive association in the eyes of the public. They hope this positive association will transfer over to their company. The Olympic Games pull huge sponsorships--companies pay big money to get their name and products associated with the Olympics. What company wouldn't want to be associated with peace, unity, perseverance, determination, success, and winning the gold? The affiliations that companies create for us are very strong and memorable.

Let's try an experiment: Think about the following beverages and pay attention to the images that come to your mind while you do so.

Volvo -- Toyota
Mercedes -- Rolls Royce
Hyundai -- Chevy
Ford -- Porsche

The images we see create attitudes within us. It is no random accident that most U.S. presidents have pet dogs in the White House. Consciously and unconsciously, a loving, obedient, trusting dog creates a positive image of its owner. Voters would be more likely to reject a politician who preferred cats, hamsters, snakes, ferrets, or tarantulas. It really isn't a secret that we are abundantly influenced by imagery when making everyday decisions. We are much more likely to donate to someone wearing a Santa Claus suit than to someone in street attire. We are more trusting of a sales rep wearing a gold cross around his neck. Sports bars decorate their walls with jerseys and other sports paraphernalia.

Credit card companies are among the greatest users of imagery and association. Because credit cards give us immediate gratification without us having to face the negative consequences until weeks later, we often think of the perceived positive associations before the negative ones. Consumer researcher Richard Feinberg conducted several different studies testing the effects credit cards had on our spending habits. He came across some very interesting results. For example, he found that restaurant patrons gave higher tips when using a credit card as opposed to cash. In another case, consumers were found to show a 29 percent increase in their willingness to spend when the merchandise was examined in a room displaying MasterCard signs. More interesting still was the fact that the subjects were unaware that the MasterCard signs were an intentional and calculated part of the experiment.

Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Beware of the common mistakes presenters and persuaders commit that cause them to lose the deal. Get your free report 10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands and explode your income today.

Application Questions

What images can you use to trigger the right a emotions during your persuasive presentation?

What image are your trying to create with your product, service, or cause?

What attitudes will the images trigger?

Conclusion

Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you've seen some success, but think of the times you couldn't get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.

About the Author:

Kurt Mortensen's trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!

Kurt teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income.

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

Quotcold Calling Is Deadquot Is A Lie

Writen by Virden Thornton

There is a website that trumpets this notion (myth) in ads all over the Internet. The primary argument is that cold calling is a time consuming prospecting technique that has seen its day and in our modern age, today's technology gives sales professionals new and better approaches to finding prospects to sell. Sounds good if you're selling a book on the subject.

The argument against cold calling states that, "The effectiveness of cold calling went by the wayside as our society moved out of the Industrial Age and into the Information Age,..." It also suggests, that by using today's technological advances, you can eliminate the dreaded cold calling systems and reduce the time your staff spends on an antiquated prospecting approach. Just a few short years ago I used to teach this drivel as well, telling participants in my workshops that cold calling was unprofessional and a waste of time. I'm aware that cold calling is not for every sales team or every product or service, but for certain industries, cold calling is the best approach to finding prospects willing and able to purchase from your staff and is an extremely effective prospecting tool for the same reason that the website states that "cold calling is dead." Technology!

Today there are dozens of devices and techniques used by gatekeepers to screen out sales representatives. Even the smallest firms employ answering machines and voice mail. To make appointments with decision-makers today in many businesses or professional organizations, requires a creative approach that will bypass the screening systems and give your sales representatives an edge in setting up meetings. Cold calling can be that creative approach for many business-to-business selling groups, if you know how to employ this proven prospecting tool effectively.

First and foremost, cold calling should be used to find out who the true decision-maker is in a company and to also obtain a gatekeeper's name. Yes, your sales staff can do this over the telephone, but the chance of being screened out, is at an all time high. By being inside the company, your sales professional can qualify the organization. Qualifying a company on the telephone is impossible today. The minute your staff starts asking qualifying questions, the roadblocks immediately go up. By setting an appointment and then making a wasted trip to a company, that, for a variety of reasons, cannot use what you have to sell, your staff may spend more time than if they had cold called to assess a business in the first place. If your staff members do nothing more on a cold call than find the name of the decision-maker, qualify the prospect, and obtain a gatekeeper's name, they have succeeded in their cold calling activity.

When cold calling, if the decision-maker is in, your representative should ask for two, no more than three minutes of the decision-maker's time to set up an appointment for a short presentation. From my experience in setting up telemarketing centers across the country, I've found that setting one blind appointment on the telephone, takes a little over an hour for a seasoned telemarketer of representative. Setting one qualified appointment cold calling (depending on the industry) can take, on average, from one to three hours. However, my research also shows that appointments set in person, rather than on the telephone, have a much higher probability of being successful, due to the rapport factor that an initial meeting can generate.

If you've been reading from the beginning of this manual, you already know my feelings about selling your products or services while cold calling (Myth 24). If the decision-maker is not available, the second objective for your staff member is to obtain the name of the gatekeeper to use when calling back for an appointment. Dropping a gatekeeper's name is a vital tool in overcoming electronic screening devices and getting to the decision-maker. When cold calling, your representative may also be able to obtain information about competitive vendors and determine if the opportunity exists to replace them.

One of the major complaints about cold calling is that it is time consuming. This is true if the technique is the only prospecting tool that your sales team uses to attract prospects. However, in combination with a drive by assessment plan, softening letters, emails, faxes and flyers, telesales calls, tip clubs, association activities and trade shows, cold calling can be a key element in attracting new business, by breaking down the barriers that today's screening technology creates for your sales team members.

The average sales representative makes less than five sales presentations weekly. With a prospecting system like the one outlined above, custom-tailored to your organization, you can include cold calling as a key element in the process and double or even triple the number of presentations each of your sales team members conduct weekly. Custom-tailoring a prospecting system for your organization with cold calling and telesales scripts and a series of unique prospecting activities is easy, if you use The $elling Edge®, Inc.'s advisory services or our telephone coaching programs for sales managers. You can check both services out at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/personalCoaching.htm.

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. an Ohio consulting firm specializing in sales and sales management training, personal coaching, advisory services and publishing. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Service Linen Supply, Bank One, Jefferson Wells International, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of the "best selling" Building & Closing the Sale, Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching, telemarketing, and personal productivity manuals. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden's latest books, 101 Sales Myths or Organizing For Sales Success, go to: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/

Url Not Found

Writen by

Sales Letter Readability Improve Your Response Rates Conversationally Free Sample Included

Writen by Alan Sharpe

I am doing what you do, sitting at my computer, trying to get my thoughts out of my head and into a written form that will help you make a decision. In this particular case, I am trying to write a few intelligent remarks about sounding conversational on paper. You know, how to write a sales letter that sounds like it came from the mind of a person and not an institution.

I suppose the first thing I can tell you is that you should write the way you talk, unless, of course, you talk in halting sentences punctuated with "ya knows" and "like, you know what I mean?"

And if you usually write sales letters that are signed by someone else, your marketing manager, for example, then you need to write the way that person speaks.

The secret to sounding personal and conversational on paper is to imagine that you are actually having a conversation with your customer or prospect. A back-and-forth exchange where your reader asks questions and you supply answers. That way, your letter sounds like it is written by a living, breathing person, since it addresses issues that are important to the reader, and does so in a warm, lively style.

Which reminds me, try to keep your sentences short. Not like the one that ended the last paragraph.

What else can I tell you? Rhetorical questions are one device at your disposal. Rhetorical questions, as I am sure you know, are questions that are asked for rhetorical effect, not expecting an answer. You can use one or two in your letter if you like. Rhetorical questions create the sense that a conversation is taking place between you and your prospect or customer.

I don't have to tell you that another way to sound conversational is to use the first person a lot. That means you say, "Your business means a lot to me," instead of saying "Your business means a lot to us," or, even worse, "Purchases made by your company are appreciated by my firm." Remember, business people buy from people, not businesses, so you want to sound like a business person, not an impersonal business, when you write your sales letters.

I just thought of another one. Without being fake or insincere, mention that you thought of your client today, or yesterday, or recently, showing that there is a relationship between the two of you. Naturally, only say "I was thinking of you this morning" if you actually were. Otherwise you will be making stuff up.

You may be relieved to know that you can be colloquial, too, which is a humdinger of a way to establish rapport and sound genuine. If your buyers know what a humdinger is, then by all means throw one into your letters at least once a year. Your goal in all of this, if I may say so, is to sound authentic without being overly familiar or coarse.

Another way to sound conversational is to be open in the way you talk about things. Give your customers a glimpse into what life is like at your organization.

You probably want an example of what I mean, so here it is (here are two examples, actually):

Commercial-ese: "Shipments are dispatched from our warehouse in a timely and an efficient manner in accordance with our ISO 9000 designation."

Conversational: "Our warehouse manager, Bob Fletcher, will make sure your shipment is headed towards your plant by end of day today."

Commercial-ese: "Our sales department is in receipt of your order of Jan 23."

Conversational: "Kathryn in our sales office told me about your recent order. Thanks for your repeat business, Alan!"

Another sure way of avoiding "bureaucratic-speak" is to say everything in the active voice. Don't say "money is saved" when you can say "you save money." Avoid writing "operating costs are reduced" when you can instead write "we reduce your operating costs." See the improvement? Passive voice sounds institutional. Active voice sounds conversational.

I suppose if you went back to the start and began reading this message again, you'd pick up a few methods that I did not mention (using parentheses like this, for example, which looks as though you are lowering your voice and whispering a piece of inside information to your reader).

I hope that these tips help you write effective sales letters. Ones that come from your heart, and are effective mainly for that very reason.

----
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).

Using Voice Broadcasting To Boost Sales Leads

Writen by Christine Harrell

Every type of business is best suited for different type of lead generation. For many businesses such as real estate agents, college loan refinancing lenders, landscaping companies, and more, cold calling is undeniably effective. No matter how many business owners and self employed people cringe at the thought of making cold calls, they work incredibly well in generating leads.

Sidestepping the hassle of cold calling

A little known and highly effective solution to the many hurdles of cold calling is voice broadcasting. Voice broadcasting allows you to prerecord a message that will be delivered to your targeted call list through a completely automated process. Sending your marketing message through voice broadcasting eliminates the discomfort of a cold call while still achieving the same highly effective results.

Lead generation is a numbers game

Even for those who enjoy reaching out to new customers, cold calling is incredibly time consuming. Generating leads is a numbers game: the more you reach out, the more leads you will make. Using voice broadcasting, you can set aggressive business goals without hiring an army of people to generate qualified leads.

Set new leads goals based on your call success ratio

If your goal is to generate 50 new sales leads per week and you know that you have a call success rate of 1 in 30, you can consistently reach your goals. Simply multiply the 50 leads you desire by the 30 calls it takes to gain one lead (50x30=1500 calls) and let your automated voice broadcasting message do the work.

Creating an effective voice broadcasting campaign

Your success ratio depends on the quality of your voice broadcast. When creating your voice broadcasting message, keep these tips and ideas in mind:

· Sound natural: The key to a voice broadcast is to engage the caller immediately and this is best done by using a natural phone voice. When a recipient thinks they've received a faceless automated machine, they have a tendency to tune out. When people sense sincerity in the voice and message, they tend to listen.

· Introduce yourself: Give your name at in the first line of the call to further personalize the experience.

· Speak in terms of customer benefits: When creating your message, speak in terms of how the recipient will directly benefit from your product or service. For example, instead of saying "our current home loans rates are 5.2%," try "the average Californian saves over $7,000 per year by switching to our low interest home loan."

· Get right to the point: State the benefit to customer very early on in the call. The sooner they understand how they will benefit, the more open they will be to your message.

· Entice the customer to find out more: Don't reveal everything in your voice broadcast message. Instead, entice prospects with the most interesting and beneficial points and encourage them to take an action to find out more. Encouraging a prospect to make the next move is a critical step in turning a prospect into a client.

· Include a call to action: Decide on the precise action you want the caller to take after hearing your message and ask them to take the action throughout and/or at the end of the call. The action may be to call your direct line within the next 24 hours or fill out a form on your website.

For those who have never tried cold calling because of fear, doubt, or time constraints, voice broadcasting is the solution for eliminating all of cold callings most unattractive points while still reaping the full lead generating potential. The cost of a voice broadcast is miniscule compared with the cost of live personnel, but can achieve the results of an unlimited sized call center. By using these few tips and ideas, you can easily build a marketing campaign to drastically boost your sales leads.

Author is a writer for Unix USA which specializes in fax broadcasting and generating sales leads. For additional information about these services you can visit http://www.unixusa.net.

Sales Asking The Right Questions

Writen by Wendy Weiss

On an introductory call, how do you gather all of the information that you need from a prospect? An introductory call is usually fairly short, just a few minutes. You generally do not have the time to thoroughly question your prospect and then also move on to your next step, setting that introductory meeting. So, how do you gather enough information to qualify your prospect and, at the same time, set up the meeting?

First, make a list of all the information that you would like to gather from your prospect. Then, look at your list and decide what information is crucial and what information can wait for later (either later in the conversation or later at the meeting). Ask the crucial questions first. Then, if your prospect is chatty, you can ask the rest of your questions. If your prospect is brusque or to-the-point, ask the questions you need to ask, set the meeting date and save the rest of your questions till then.

You should, as much as possible, "prequalify" your prospect. Find out as much about the prospect and prospect company as you can. Once you've done that, eliminate the questions to which you already have answers.

There is no reason to ask a prospect, "Are you the person who purchases…?" or "Are you the decision-maker?" If you have done your homework and prequalified your prospect, you should know the usual title of the decision-maker and/or in which area or department you will usually find that decision-maker. The rule is always to try to reach the highest level person whom you believe might be the decision-maker. If your decision-maker is usually found in the Human Resources area, ask for the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. When you have a conversation then, there is no need to ask, "Are you the decision-maker?" Of course they are! Or they may have delegated that authority, and if so, they will tell you that and give you the correct name.

Ask questions that solicit relevant information. There is no need to ask a prospect, "Are you familiar with… (your company, your product/service)?" You won't be getting any useful information with this question. It really doesn't matter if they are familiar. If they say they are, it does not guarantee that they know everything they need to know to understand the value of what you are offering. If you want to make absolutely certain that your prospect does understand the value of your offer, you must tell them. If they are not familiar with your company, why then, you still have to tell them.

It is far better to simply stay in control of the introductory calling process by telling your prospect what you would like them to know. Ask your questions on a real "need-to-know" basis. Keep them short and to-the-point, and then ask for what you want.

Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy's free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com.

Real Estate Marketing Technique Dominance Or Warfare

Writen by Lanard Perry

Effective real estate marketing technique is the foundation of a good real estate marketing system. And the real estate marketing system contains a list of specific actions required to successfully implement a specific real estate marketing technique.

Here's an example of a real estate marketing technique that every agent and his and her uncle uses: "Offer a No Cost Obligation Competitive Marketing Analysis (CMA) to attract consumers.

Once you've established a relationship with the prospect you can then segue into your pitch to sell additional, higher-margin products and services that enhance the consumer's interaction with the low-cost product or service."

Specifically, you are angling for a "listing agreement", and if you get it you can then add on "seller" giveaways to make the listing more appealing to buyers and therefore easier to sell (seller agrees to pay discount points, offer home warranty plans, agree to sell-lease backs, etc.)

No, I'm not talking about under pricing it to sell it quickly, or anything else unethical. Instead, I am talking about having open and honest dialogue with your seller to determine what kinds of concessions he or she is willing to make to get their properties sold. It could be a new paint job, a new roof, the installation of new carpet and anything else imaginable.

It's important to realize that a real estate marketing technique is different than a tactic. While it is possible to have a tactical real estate marketing system without a sound, well-considered real estate marketing technique, it is rare to be able to develop one that withstands the test of time.

Some real estate marketing techniques are based on market dominance. In this scheme, agents are ranked based on their market share or dominance within their communities.

Still, other real estate marketing techniques are outright aggressive. They beg the questions whether you should grow your business or not, and if so, how fast.

Finally, other real estate marketing techniques are warfare based strategies. Ever hear of Guerilla Marketing? Well, that's where the term comes from.

Using technique that you are comfortable with, that is more in keeping with your personality is recommended, because when the going gets tough you are so likely to abandon it. I'm starting to use the term more frequently these days, but only because it's true; slow and steady wins a lot of races, and when you implement your real estate marketing techniques and strategies know that although the going may be slow initially, while you'll eventually reap the benefits of your efforts.

Summarily, effective real estate marketing technique is the foundation of a good real estate marketing system, which is key to your short, intermediate and long term success.

May your real estate career be long and rewarding.

Lanard Perry is the author of "Farming Expired Listings" - a Real Estate Listing System Ebook that shows Realtors how to average 1 or more listings a week. Visit http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com and http://www.real-estate-marketing-talk.com to learn and earn more.

Childish Selling Techniques Upset Customers

Writen by Lance Winslow

Many Used Car Salesmen and Self-Proclaimed Marketing Consultants who have written 3 or more books on the subject believe that we should look towards children to teach us the art of negotiation or sales. Sure such talk makes and interesting and lively line of conversation, but it is rather pathetic to actually teach salesmen or negotiators to act like this. After all isn't this what Iran is doing as it tries to negotiate the making of Atomic Bombs?

Some marketing gurus who are consultants and authors of marketing books tell us that children are worthy to study because they possess some of the following traits in their cry baby ways to get things; "Focus, persistence, intensity, enthusiasm and charm." Yet if we are listen to these gurus and experts in marketing they want us to use these techniques and act like children? Wow, and we are to actually take this as rational advise?

Children also lie, tell stories, manipulate, cry when they do not get their way and throw temper tantrums too. Is this what the world of business negotiation is coming too? It appears if we are to listen to these self-proclaimed might giants and pillars of intellectual capacity and marketing consultants; that indeed this is what we are to do and how we should act in business.

And folks this is why Donald Trumps pathetic showing of the Blame Game gone Ballistic in the Apprentice is so popular; Because we have allowed cheaters, manipulators and childish behavior into our business community and corporate boardrooms. So who is to blame? Well perhaps we all are for allowing this non-sense to permeate our society.

Lance Winslow

How To Create A Torrent Of Low Cost No Cost Leads Through The Front Door Of Your Business

Writen by Royston Guest

Wouldn't it be just fantastic if in the first quarter of this year you acquired a new sales force for your business? Now I'm not just talking about 1 or 2 new people, I'm talking about hundreds or even thousands of new sales people all out there in the market place spreading the word and selling you and your business. Mobilising an entire army of raving fans all bought into you and your business and the difference you make in the market place.

What impact would this new sales force have on the growth of your business? Could this be the break through your looking for in to order hit double or even triple digit growth this year?

A pipe dream or a reality?

Well actually it could be a reality – I've seen it done many times with our Clients; let me tell you how?

Firstly it requires you to take a leap of faith for a moment and think differently about your business. You've spent a great deal of time, effort and money in attracting and building the loyalty from your existing customers and clients – True?

Those customers and clients have bought you – they've bought your business brand and as long as you're delivering on the promise and engaging in the appropriate retention strategies then they'll remain loyal to you forever! (We'll talk about retention strategies in a future issue of the Business Accelerator Ezine coming soon).

These loyal clients are the 'ideal profile' of client for your business. They;

STAY! SAY! And PAY!

- Stay for as long as possible

- Say great things about you

- Pay on time…every time!

Now it's the "SAY great things" part that I want to talk with you about today. Because in saying great things about you – you can create a torrent of referrals through the front door of your business!

By just being pro active v re active, by thinking about this strategy from a different prospective you can turn your clients into your Silent Sales Force!

Think about it for a moment; there already bought into you and your business, there passionate about what you do and how you do it, there loyal, talk about you and your business with enthusiasm, understand your products & services probably better than some of your own people because they are actually using them! WOW aren't these the traits you'd look for in recruiting a new sales person. And perhaps the sting in the tail;

As they are your 'ideal profile' of client who do they shake and move with both professionally and personally? Yes – other like minded individuals similar to them, and most importantly for you similar to the profile of clients you want to attract to your business and… FAST!

Now I'm not just talking about referral capture here on an adhoc basis – I'm talking about a Systematised Referral Process where you go back to the well on a regular basis and have a structured process.

Let's look at the numbers for a moment by taking a generic model; our ABC Limited or as I prefer to say 'UnLimited' – the only limiting factor being our mindset about what we can and cant achieve in our businesses.

Imagine in our ABC business we have 500 Customers. Taking the 80/20 rule – the top 20% are the 'ideal profile' of client. So we focus on the top 100 Clients as our Silent Sales force.

On average we pick up just one referral from each of those clients (I say on average as I have a number of thoughts on the number of referrals we should ask for; a discussion for another day) that would now give us 100 prospects.

Now I don't know what your conversion rates are in your business at the moment. What I do know however, and I'm sure you'd agree is that referral business converts at a higher rate than any other form of lead generation activity.

So – in this example I'm going to work on a conversion of 1:10 (I'd probably expect it to be more like 1:5) this would equate to 10 new clients from your new sales force.

Now – if we systematised the process and went back to the well on a quarterly basis this would generate 400 new prospects; at our conversion rate of only 1: 10 = 40 new clients per year!!!! How much would this be worth to your business?

I'm sure you could run your real numbers in terms of number of customers and conversion rates through the formula I've used above, and calculate precisely what impact this strategy would have on the growth of your business?

So there you have it! How to create a torrent of Low Cost/ No Cost Leads through the front door of your business and turn your key clients and customers into your Silent Sales Force!

Written by Royston Guest, Sales & Marketing Director Pti International. Please visit http://www.http://www.pti-worldwide.com

Royston Guest is Sales and Marketing Director of Pti International. For more information please visit http://www.pti-worldwide.com/?p=Conference+Speaking

How Can Quotheat Retentive Platesquot Help The Ceramic Industry In The Usa

Writen by Juan Ramirez

For many years, the competition on plates, cups and dinnerware in general has been based on beautiful designs and production costs only, after all... how do you make a plate better?, plates are not like automobiles that you can add a new gadget (bells and whistles) so that they sell better. or that You can make them more potent too, or go the oposite way and make them more fuel efficient.

But plates? you can only make them more beautiful but you also have to make them at a low production cost. The USA is not winning this competition.

What would happen if you could make a better plate that nobody else can make? and that you could make it as beautiful as any plate in the market?, and what about a better coffee mug?, a tortilla warmer, an entire line of products that only you can make?

Microwaveable heat retentive plates can be preheated for just one minute and they will stay HOT for 30 minutes to keep food hot at the table. The rim or edge of the plate remains cool for easy handling. There is a lot of information on the internet about these plates now, they are a product looking for a manufacturer.

If you look in the US economic census NAICS 327112 or simply go to WALMART OR TARGET and look at the plates you will see what I mean.

heat retentive plates are patent pending, nobody without a license or sublicense will be able to produce them in any other place in the world. PCT APPLICATION (International) has been filed

Anyway, nobody will be able to import them to the USA. heat retentive plates are a product looking for a manufacturer. A small or medium size manufacturer could set up a production line for this product and teach the big guys a lesson.

The industry lost too many jobs, and the equipment and the plants... are they collecting dust?

for more information on microwaveable heat retentive plates, just search the internet, there is lots of information available about this totally new technology (a practical application of the Stefan-Boltzmann law).

Juan J. Ramirez

Juan J. Ramirez Industrial Engineer

Preempting Objections

Writen by Paul Archer

How can a holiday home jog your memory about how to handle objections in selling?

Well, this year on holiday with my family, I was reminded how effective the pre-empting technique is. It was a scorching afternoon in the Vendee, France at Les Dunes Camping Site. We'd just arrived after a long drive and Sharon, our Rep, was showing us to our caravan which was to be home for a few weeks. Now this is always a scary moment as you are in their hands for the choice of location.

Would we be next to the family from hell?

Would we be next to the Bar or worse still, the Karaoke?

No, we were being led back towards the entrance to the park, with the main road and amusements. Before I even thought of the noise issue, the Rep turned around and said confidently.

"The people before you were a little worried about being close to the entrance but when they left yesterday they told me what a great location they had. They mentioned how close the van was to all the amenities and how quiet it was at night."

I hadn't even thought about the noise problem until she mentioned it but because she'd gave me a customer testimonial and some benefits of the location, it didn't even cross my mind that it would be a quandary.

Clever girl.

I wonder if she was a trained salesperson? But the point was she did just the right thing. Let me explain further.

No product or service is perfect. There's always downsides or disadvantages or the competition has the edge in one or two areas. No one has a "killer application" for long these days as competition is so swift and reactive.

There's always going to be something the customer might not fully appreciate and just might lead to an objection later on, usually when we ask for the order or close the sale.

Now I'm not saying that you should tell the customer all the main problems of your product early on in the process. What I'm saying is, if there is a particular feature that the competition beat you on, and previous customers have mentioned it before, then pre-empt it.

Just like Sharon did with the caravan location.

It might not be a problem with your product or service. It could be just a hurdle your customer has to cross before they can enjoy the product. Something that potentially might cause them to stall when it comes to purchasing.

Seek out your product deficiencies, if you don't know then ask your competition as they'll be sure to let you know! Then think of a way of making the disadvantage or potential problem not seem such a big deal early on in your sales process.

Some examples to assist you. Say X was an issue. You could use Sharon's technique with a customer testimonial.

"One thing about our product is X however only yesterday I had a letter from a customer who really found this to be a benefit to them.. I'd happy share the letter with you."

"Naturally you have to think of X, but what this really means to you is incredible peace of mind"

Notice the words "however" and "but" really emphasise the second part of the sentence, which is what I want to do.

Price is sometimes an issue. Maybe your product or service is on the pricy side. Now price is merely a reflection of value. If there is enough benefits to the customer, then the price is merely what needs to be paid to achieve the value. If we don't pile on the benefits to the customer, then they won't always see the value.

But if price can seem to encourage a "how muuuch!" response, break it down into bite sized chunks. This morning I was downloading some songs from an on line retailer and they were trying to sell me their monthly instalment plan so I could download 25 tracks a month. Cleverly they'd made the point that each track would cost me less than 30p and compared to other sites who charge 80p or more, this sounded really good.

If your product is payable monthly such as life assurance or health insurance, be sure to break it down into a daily cost. People aren't stupid and we should never do it for this reason – it just sounds better. There's a few ideas to assist you but I'm sure at this stage you're thinking of your proposal and how to pre-empt potential objections at an early stage.

Another story I heard whilst on holiday was Virgin Money's decision to offer staff EBreaks. Virgin is owned by Richard Branson here in the UK and is one of the most forward looking group sin the country.

You see call centre staff at their offices were taking time out from making calls to check on EBay to make bids or to see how their product auction was faring. It got to such a proportion that the managers gave all staff a 15 minute EBreak during the day so they can do their EBay'ing. Clever.

You can't stop staff doing it so build time in the day for it to happen so you can control it.

Remember, think of your product or service, seek out the problems or deficiencies and build ways into your sales process to pre-empt the issue, so it doesn't become a problem later on.

By the way the caravan location was perfect and I heard my wife explain to Sharon that we'd had a wonderful few weeks and would like the same spot next time.

Paul is an international speaker, trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He works with companies across the globe to help them increase their sales results. He specialises in rapport selling and rapport sales coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. Get your free Sales Excellence Ebook Chapter and MP3 download at www.rapportselling.com

When A Salesperson Is Better Than His Manager Part Ii

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

In "When A Salesperson Is Better Than His Manager, Part I," the last article in this series, our feckless manager's credibility and authority were being covertly challenged by the top salesperson.

The production leader seemed to be spreading rumors that the boss was a failed salesman, someone who got kicked upstairs into management because of incompetence.

Sensing this slander, the manager wonders what to do. Here are some of the options that occur to him, right off the bat:

(1) Should he just let this whittling away of his stature occur, without comment?

(2) Should he have a meeting, one on one, with the alleged miscreant?

(3) Should he call a meeting with all of his reps and discuss the matter, openly?

(4) Should he do a "master's demonstration," like a sensei at a martial arts academy, demonstrating his selling skills to his troops?

Several thoughts come to mind.

Does a manager, whose job is leadership, have to be excellent at performing the task that his underlings are fulfilling?

In baseball, there are various leadership positions on the field and in the dugout. Most obvious is the manager. Does he have to be a great player, at this very moment, to be credible?

Many of these guys reached the Hall of Fame as players, before becoming managers. You wouldn't expect a 70 plus year old to be a pinch runner or even a designated hitter, would you?

But the fact that they WERE some of the game's greats undoubtedly plays a role in determining their credibility for later generations of players, right? A rookie with the Washington Nationals can find a film of Frank Robinson and prove that this was one of the best all-around players to ever put on a uniform.

At the same time, look at Tommy Lasorda, a Hall of Fame inductee, who didn't get voted into that august institution because of his pitching ability. He made it, primarily, because he was a winning manager for the Dodgers.

So, a great manager doesn't have to have been a great player. Doesn't the same principle apply to sales leadership?

Maybe our besieged sales manager should just say nothing, because if this is true, he has nothing to prove, right?

In Part III, the next article in this series, we'll explore his other options.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

A Simple 4step Approach To Sales Success For Financial Advisors

Writen by Jason Wenk

If you are a financial advisor who has ever struggled when dealing with wealthy prospective clients, then what you need is a process or formula to follow that will enhance your success. About the only more frustrating than not having enough appointments, is blowing them when given the opportunity. That's where a formula comes in.

With formulas, all the typical human-error is removed. It's replicatable. It's like 2+2. When I do it I get 4. You do it, you get 4. You see, if you know that a formula works - virtually anyone with a pulse can 'plug-in' to the formula and get the same results. If you haven't reduced everything you do in your business to some type of formula...then you're working too hard and will never get predictable results.

And with the right "formula" your results can become mucho-predictable. You will know exactly how many new clients and new money under management you'll have in two months; or 6 months; or 6 years for that matter. It's easy and I'll show you how and why it works for anybody, anywhere, all the time.

So let's get to what I call the Million Dollar Sales Formula...

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #1:

We've all had prospects that no matter how much we know they should work with us, for some reason or another choose not to. Often times financial advisors will beat themselves up chasing the prospect, trying to figure out what went wrong - and almost always think it's because either: A) The client's an idiot (which is sometimes true) or B) We said something wrong in our meetings/sales process

I on the other hand would contend that most our our sales failures in financial services is due to something we did far earlier than when we asked for the business (you are asking for the business, right?). Through extensive trial and error, what I've found is that we fail to make the appropriate 'first impression' before the meeting process has even begun. And that's why we lose clients that should never be lost.

How do you fix this?

By making sure you send out a packet to all prospects prior to them meeting with you. When done correctly this 'packet' can literally close 32.4% of the prospects before they even meet with you. I know, I've measured with and without and can substantiate that exact number. Let me share with you the pre-meeting components that must be executed to significantly increase your closing ratio:

An appointment reminder letter with map to your office along with instructions of what your prospect needs to do to be properly prepared for the meeting. Think of this as a welcome letter and short home-work assignment to ensure both their and your time is well spent. The cover letter should be printed on a professionally designed letterhead with a professionally designed logo, and should have your website address on it. Which, by the way, you should absolutely have a website - and it should look good and serve a purpose. To see what I mean go to www.redrockwealth.com. This is an advisor I know who is doing all the right branding and is not sacrificing a powerful direct-response marketing message in the slightest of ways.

A Confidential Personal Profile. This is what they put their name, date of birth, children's first names, and the like on. It should be no more than one page and should also ask for the names of their current broker, advisor (these are different and will make your client decide exactly what their current "advisors" are in their eyes), attorney, accountant and insurance agent. In the same section you should also give the your prospect a satisfaction scale of 1 - 5 to rate their current financial professionals.

A Confidential Financial Profile. Now this is basically what it says it is - a place for them to answer a few thought provoking financial questions, create an income statement and a balance sheet. You should also always ask what they would change about their financial situation if they could change just one thing, as well as what is truly important about money to them. The responses they give to this questionairre will prove vitally important in your meetings (note that I said 'meetings', not your one-shot-wonder single appointment slam-dunk appointment).

Your PROFESSIONAL business card. Don't try to be cute, please don't put your picture on it, and don't print your own. Your card should be on par with the finest law firm in your city, town, village, tribe...whatever. If this all sounds like a lot of work - it is!! But well worth it once you close your first BIG client.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #2:

The Initial Meeting and Most Important 45 Minutes of Your Sales Process!

Why 45 minutes? Well, for those of you who haven't studied direct response marketing...allow me to enlighten you. There's an adage in copyrighting that says the purpose of your headline (and everything you ever send out should have a headline) is to get people to read your first sentence. The purpose of the first sentence is to get your prospect to read your second sentence and so on.

The same is true of a well executed sales process.

The only objective of a first appointment should be to have a second appointment. You do this by limiting the first appointment to allowing the prospect to ask you any questions they have about you, then asking them questions for about thirty minutes, then wrapping up. If you've sent out a packet like the one described earlier then every initial appointment will have your prospects coming into your office with their completed questionairres and all of their financial statement. When you have about 15 minutes left, you simply say the following:

"Now that I know a little about you, here's what we need to do next: I'll take the information that you've completed, my notes, and copies of your statements and prepare an analysis I call a Personal MAP for Retirement. This will show you in detail the specific areas in your finances that can be improved and by how much. We'll schedule a meeting time in the next couple of weeks to go over your report so that whatever you decide to do after that you will be able to make informed decisions that will improve your finances, fair enough?"

Did you see what I just did? Did you notice the last two words? These will become the most important two words of your career, guaranteed.

If executed correctly, nobody will be able to resist that second appointment. Now some people will ask how much it costs and tell them it's free, but you'll let them know based on what you find how much they would have to pay you should they make the educated decision to engage in your services.

Seriously, this stuff makes me giddy just writing it. You should be too! In just these first two steps I've already shown you how to at least double your closing percentage with wealthy financial planning clients.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #3

The Second Appointment - Separating the Men from the Boys!

As a precursor to this meeting, here's a little tip: Make sure you send a thank you letter to the prospect for the first appointment and have it dual as a reminder of the second meeting. Follow the same rules as to the quality of the paper and the like and include another business card.

At the actual appointment, make sure you thank your prospect again for coming in, let them know it's nice to see them again - and always ask if they have any questions before you begin to show them your analysis.

The analysis should include the following (nothing more and nothing less please):

* Morningstar reports on their funds/variable annuities
* An asset allocation analysis
* A bullet-point style analysis of their taxes, long term health care needs, estate planning needs, and a quote of what you'd charge to fix their problems

And lets be honest here - everyone will have problems. Especially Million Dollar clients. If you can't look at their investments and show them how to save money on taxes, eliminate estate taxes, and improve their investments - then you need far more than an education in sales.

This step is really super-easy. The key is this:

"So as you can see Mr. and Mrs. Prospect, I've identified approximately $4,000 of immediate benefit to you from this analysis with another $1,700 each year thereafter. So there should be around a $20,000 benefit over the next ten years and my fee for making this happen is $595.00 for a step-by-step detailed plan of action. Fair enough?"

Some people will agree on the spot, other will not. Remember to never, ever, ever, ever, ever push for a close. This all has to happen very naturally. Understand that the reason people work with you is not for what you can do for them but rather or not they trust you and like you. Not many people like pushy sales people. So try your best to be very non-chalant about all of this.

And about the fee - hey, this can be whatever you want but you have to be charging fees. If your not charging fees then these folks will know instantly that the other shoe has got to drop and it's usually in the form of you selling them something for a commission. If you are fee-only this is never an issue; but if you are fee-based or commission-based you have to be charging a planning or set-up fee for taking a new client, PERIOD.

If they don't want to schedule their next appointment at that time, just tell them to think about this for the next few days and that you'll follow-up to see if they have questions.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #4

The Ultimate New Client Acquisition Process!

I've said before that I love systems and processes. They work soo well and are soo easily replicable that you must use them if you ever want to get to the big leagues of financial planning. All the Million Dollar Producers do it - so do what they do and you'll get there too.

So here's the process I use to take a new client:

Meeting Three - I have clients sign my Advisory Services Agreement (for the fee) and we create an Investment Policy Statement (for those who don't know what this is - it's basically an outline of what the clients goals are and what we will be attempting to accomplish for them as their advisor)

Meeting Four - We fill out transfer paperwork and new account forms. I always use brokerage accounts to gather the assets up and consolidate them first. The recommendations and financial plan come next.

Meeting Five - We go over the clients Written Financial Plan and Investment Recommendations

Meeting Six - A three-month review meeting

Meeting Seven - Another three-month review meeting

Meet with all clients every six months thereafter.

Holy Cow! That's A Lot of Meetings!!!!!

That's right - and they love it. This, my friends and colleagues, is what the wealthy want. They want a system, some attention, a WOW experience. An experience so different and so superior to that of any other advisor in your area.

And let's get this straight:

This process is easy. It can be learned by anyone. If you have at least one staff person (and please get one as soon as you can afford one if you don't) all you will have to do is the meetings.

Lastly, know that this system may not work for everyone. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a system. Always identify what you know works and remember to never stop doing those things. If you can patch together 4 - 6 steps that all work well -- then you've just created your own "formula"; and that's exactly what financial advisors need to reach super sales heights.

Jason Wenk is a financial advisor serving clients in Western Michigan and a financial advisor coach teaching advisors marketing and practice management techniques throughout the country.

You can visit Jason's website at http://www.advisormarketingsystems.com for tons of free tips and marketing resources for financial advisors, insurance agents, financial planners and investment advisors.