Beat the Holiday Sales Blues With These Festive Marketing Ideas

The holidays can be a tough time of year for some businesses.

Let’s face it, if you are not in a retail business tied to the holidays, odds are your business dips this time of year. It’s a natural phenomenon - consumers are preoccupied and busy so they tend to put off purchases and decisions that they don’t absolutely have to make, until the first of the year.


So what can you do to drum up some business so December isn’t a total bust? Well I always say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! How can you take advantage of the holidays and gift giving and buying?


One suggestion is to consider selling gift certificates. Just about any type of consumer business, whether you sell products or services, can offer gift certificates.

Promote your gift certificates to your current clients and customers as a way for them to share your products or services that they know and love with a friend or family member. (This can be a great way to facilitate referrals and generate new business, too!).


Gift certificates not appropriate for your business? How about offering an end-of-year or a seasonal special? Make sure your special expires on December 31. This could be a product or service you are discontinuing or closing out. Or it could be a special holiday discount on a regular product or service.

By giving your customers a great deal, or offer they can’t normally get, you give them a reason to purchase from you now vs. waiting until after the holidays. They will appreciate the special price considering their expenses are higher than normal in December. And you win, because you make a sale when you otherwise would not have. Your profit margin may be lower, but at least it is profit!


So be creative. Think about how you can turn your product or service into a unique gift idea. A way for someone to learn the benefits of having a fitness trainer or personal coach first hand, through a gift of a few sessions. Fresh flowers every month for 6 months. $50 toward the purchase of any product or service you offer. A free consultation.


Following are three more holiday marketing ideas you may want to consider:


(1) Offer to donate a percentage of all sales in December to your favorite charity and publicize it with a press release to the media.


(2) Do a promotion giving one lucky customer the chance to win their holiday purchase for free. Select one customer at the end of December and refund them for the full price of their purchase. This will get all buyers excited and will give them an incentive to buy now. Put a maximum value on the prize if you want to protect yourself from having to refund too large of a purchase.


(3) Or just find a way to help your customers see that now is the perfect time to buy, before your prices increase in the new year (Buy Now and Save!), or before you no longer offer a particular product or service. If you don’t want to discount, offer a free gift or value-added bonus with purchase.


Once you’ve decided to make a special holiday offer to your customers. What is the best way to make them aware of this offer?


How about through your regular e-zine or e-newsletter? Along with your regular content, include a line or two about this special promotion. Include a link to the page on your web site where customers can go to take advantage of your special offer.


Don’t publish an e-zine? That’s okay, send out an email notifying your customers of your special holiday offer. Use a compelling Subject Line to get them to open the email. If you have email addresses for both current customers and prospects you may want to send out two different emails.

You could use the email to your current customers to thank them for all of their business over the past year. Or suggest that since they like your products or services so much, they may want to share them with a friend or family member by purchasing a gift. Put together a special gift package to make their shopping easy.


Don’t have email address for your customers or prospects. Here’s six more ways to quickly get the word out about your holiday promotion or special offer.


(1) Put up a poster in your retail location.


(2) Promote your holiday special on your web site home page.


(3) Telephone your best customers to tell them about your end-of-year special, reserved for only your very best customers.


(4) Run a small ad where you usually advertise, but have the ad promote your holiday special.


(5) Include a note on all of your receipts and be sure to make all of your regular December customers aware as well. You may be able to increase the amount of their purchase or get them to return later in the month to make another purchase.


(6) Create a promotional flyer and hand it out in areas your customers and prospects frequent, or find another business you can partner with (a complimentary or non-competing product or service) who might be willing to make your promotional flyers available to their customers, if you do the same for them.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

Article Writing: Can It Help My E-book Sales?

Question: I wrote an e-book and I have a sales page selling it. Can I use article writing to promote my e-book?

Signed, Where are the Sales?

Dear Where are the Sales,
Absolutely. In fact, I highly recommend it.

It’s a perfect fit. Think about it. You’ve already got the content, and you obviously don’t mind writing since you’ve written an entire e-book. You’re a perfect candidate for using article sharing to get traffic to your website – and sell more e-books in the process.

If article sharing is new to you, you’ll catch on quickly. It’s an easy process, and it’s so effective. Here’s all there is to it.

1. You write an article about your topic of expertise. Or you use a section from your e-book and turn it into an article.

2. Add an author resource box at the end that includes the URL to your website – where you want the website visitors to go. Ideally this would be the sales page for your e-book. (See the bottom of this article for an example.)

3. Submit your article to article directories. These article directories contain thousands of free articles that publishers can freely use on their websites, blogs and in their newsletters.

4. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Every time your article is published, your author bio will be included, giving you exposure for your website.

Now, if you have an affiliate program, there’s even more potential. If you’re smart, you’ll also send the articles to your affiliates and allow them to use the articles – and encourage them to replace your URL with their affiliate link for your program. A smart affiliate will grab those articles in a heartbeat and start publishing them all over the web.

I hope you’ll see the potential of article sharing, and embrace it. If not, you’re really missing out on an easy way to grow your business and generate large amounts of traffic to your website. I look forward to seeing your articles in the article directories.

10 top tips to become the worst sales person in your company!

Have you ever had sales people who just never seem to make it no matter how hard they try? These sales people are one of the main factors for decline in business. Your sales people are the heart of your company and without good ones you will find it difficult to succeed in selling your products. To train good sales people you sometimes need to take a different approach.

Here are 10 tips that will save you from becoming the worst sales person in the company:

1. Not being punctual: being on time is very important to a customer. Take into consideration that many of your seasonal Christmas customers will be new. Your sales people will represent the first contact these customers have with your company. First impressions are lasting ones and your sales person need to make a good impression. Being on time will give a good impression to the client and increase their confidence in your company.

2. Poor presentation: some sales people just do not have all their ducks in a row and simply do not present the product well. A presentation is the first thing a customer will know about your product. If your product is not shown correctly to the customer he is very unlikely to buy.

3. Bad attitude: rudeness and unprofessional behavior is not acceptable under any circumstances. It is quite surprising that you will meet some sales people who are just plain rude and short with you the consumer. This gives the potential buyer the wrong impression about your company. They do not get a proper picture of the product, as they will probably not even wait for the presentation to end. You will lose many sales like this.

4. Not being articulate: a sales person must know how to express himself with confidence and fluency. He needs to be able to greet the prospect and introduce himself with assurance. This will start the whole presentation off to a good start. When he actually presents the product he must be sure to do this in a confident manner. He should also be prepared to answer all questions concisely and well. If your sales person cannot do this, your sale will not go through.

5. Not listening to a customer: a sales person should not only be able to present your product but listen to the prospective buyer. There is nothing more irritating to the consumer than having a sales person go on about a product and not letting you ask a few simple questions. After all whose money is on the line here? Worse still is when you do finally get to ask your question and instead of giving you a straight answer they go off on a tangent and have clearly not been listening to you. This will make a customer angry and they will probably never do business with you.

6. Basing a sale on cost: it is extremely risky for a sales person to depend on cost to close the sales. The prospective buyer will be quick to take advantage when he sees that the deal depends on the cost factor. He will drive the price as low as he can and you will take a heavy cut in profits for the sake of a sale. The buyer may hold off and then not even buy.

7. Not knowing when to close a sale: This is a common fault but a lethal one. Many sales have been lost because the sales person did not know when to close the sale. A good sales person is in tune with the prospective buyer and knows instinctively when to move to close the sale.

8. Hard sell: Hard sell is when sales people try to push the sale on the prospective customer. This will make the buyer aggressive and he will try to get rid of your sales person as soon as possible. It is a proven fact that nobody likes to be sold to.

9. Inflexibility: a sales person should be aware of different personalities and various situations. They must be flexible and able to adapt to different circumstances. The presentation may be the same but the buyers are rarely the same. Each buyer wants to feel special and expects the sales person to understand his circumstances. Inflexibility will cost you many sales.

10. Not following up a hot prospect: Follow up is very important. It is actually plain good manners. You have spoken to a person who has expressed interest in your company’s product but may not have been able to make a decision yet. It is courteous and good for business to follow up with hem. You may even make a sale this way. If your sales person does not know how to do this you will end up losing valuable customers and sales.

10 Low-Cost Sales Boosters You Don't Want To Overlook

You don't have to spend a fortune to boost your sales! Take a look at these 10 quick and easy ways to send your profits to the moon without digging into you advertising budget.

1. Test and Evaluate
Have you ever wondered just how much of your advertising budget should go toward experimenting with the latest marketing strategies? Marketing gurus say... spend 20 percent looking for new and improved marketing methods, while the remaining 80 percent uses the "tried and true" marketing strategies to keep the profits flowing.

2. Capture Attention on your Website
Use headlines that leap out and grab the reader's attention to moment they open your Web page. Hey, they're just like you... if their attention isn't caught immediately, they 're ready to surf on the more exciting things!

3. Use the Best-Kept Marketing Secret - Postcards
Postcards are quick and easy to read, not to mention the fact that you can shave off a great deal of wasted advertising expenses by targeting your market. Hey, they're cheap and convenient for you, and they get read more than other types of advertising materials... a winner all the way around!

4. Let Customers Sell You
Some things sound better coming from someone else. Yes, it's hard to brag your business up as effectively as a satisfied customer. Testimonials are evidence that you deliver what you promise. Paste them across ads, your Website, and any other sales copy you happen to distribute.

5. Just Ask
Great salesmen take the time to listen to the questions the customer has, identify their wants and needs, then ask for the sale. That's right, they're not afraid to just ask them to buy! Sometimes customers just need that little bit of pressure to cement the deal.

6. Raise the Value
Sometime value is only in they eyes of the beholder. You can raise the perceived value of your products by pointing out benefits that consumers may have overlooked. While you're at it, raise the price. Yeah, we all know that more valuable items have higher price tags! Don't be surprised if your profits skyrocket.

7. Make it Easy to Decide
Have you ever had a hard time deciding what to buy? Uh-huh, you don't always come to a conclusion immediately. Every time a customer walks out of the store without making a decision, you take a big chance on losing the sale. Keep the options to a minimum to maximize the sales numbers.

8. Break it Down
Got a big ticket item? Break the price into bite sizes for more appeal. Yeah, 90 cents a day sounds much cheaper than $325!

9. Create Bonuses
An unexpected bonus with a purchase makes it seem like you got a lot more for your money. Keep customers smiling when they walk away from the cash register, and they'll keep coming back for more.

10. Handle Customer Complaints With a Little TLC
Don't waste time getting to the bottom of the problem. Customers want to feel they are being heard, or they wouldn't take the time to complain to you. Are you afraid that you'll be losing profit, if you have to bend too far backwards to accommodate them? Think of it this way... an unhappy customer you turn into a happy customer will become a loyal customer. Yeah, it'll pay in the long run.

A Tickler File For Sales And Networking

If you are involved in sales, fundraising or just an active networker, you have probably tried a variety of tools to manage your contact list and remind yourself to stay in touch with all of the prospects and people you meet. This tickler file is designed to be an inexpensive, effective, tool that can be used by salespeople in a variety of different types of organizations.

This tickler file uses inexpensive index cards and a simple file box. You will need the following items to create your own index card sales tool. I found everything I needed at my local office supply store. The total cost was around $25.00.

- A box to store the index cards
- Monthly 3" by 5" index tabs
- Daily (1-31) 3" by 5" index tabs
- Alphabetical 3" by 5" index tabs
- A ton of white ruled 3" by 5" index cards (you don't need a photo, right?)
- A bunch of colored 3" by 5" index cards (pick your favorite color)
- A small case to carry your in your pocket

Once you have purchased the required supplies, you can organize your 3X5. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that you are assembling your 3X5 on January 1st. If this is the case you would first organize your tabs in the order below (front to back):

- January tab
- Daily tabs 1-31
- February - December monthly tabs
- A-Z alphabetical tabs
- Blank index cards - white and your favorite color

All of your cards should now be in the file box and the first thing you should see is the January tab.

Next, you should start creating cards for your leads. In the beginning, this is going to take some time (assuming you have a lot of leads). You might choose to use one color card for prospects, one color for customers, another for personal contacts, etc. If you are not going to organize your contacts by color, you will only need white cards. Nonetheless, you can either copy your contacts information onto the cards or simply staple their business card to one of the index cards.

The system works like this.

Let's imagine it is January 1st. and you attend a networking event where you meet a potential client. You get this lead's business card at the event and you want to contact him/her on the 2nd., so when you get to your office, you staple the leads business card to a white index card and drop it behind the "2" tab and then go home for the day. After all, it is new years day and you have been working hard to create your new sales system and you attended a networking event.

So, you arrive at work on January 2nd. and open up your tickler file. The first thing you should do is move the "1" tab back behind the February tab. You will always be rolling the system forward like this, so that the first tab you see in the box represents the most current month, then the most current day.
Now, you go to the tab for today (Jan 2nd.) and find the card for the lead that you met at the networking event yesterday. You call the lead and learn that he/she is out of town until January 6th. so you make a note which says, "1/2/05 - Mr. Lead is on vacation till 1/6". Now you drop the card behind the "6" tab for the month of January.

You will continue to roll this lead forward in the system, making notes at each step, until the lead either turns into a customer or asks you to leave them alone.

When the lead turns into a customer, I staple their business card to a colored card and place it behind the appropriate alphabetical tab. If their is another opportunity with this client, I move the colored card back to the dated section and move them through the process again.

Of course, as you add more people to your pipeline, you might not get to contact everyone on the day you have them slotted for. Just move them to the next day's slot at the end of the current day so you contact them tomorrow.

You will not want to carry around a huge metal box full of index cards, which is why you want to have a small index card wallet or box, so if you are going to be on the road or out of the office, you can simply grab your cards for the day and go.
Not just for salespeople.

While the system is great for salespeople, it also is a great tool for those of us who are focusing on networking. I actually use three different colored cards and use white for leads, blue for clients and red for my networking contacts (patriotic, I know). On the red cards, I write either 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, etc in the upper right hand corner of the index card to remind myself how frequently I want to contact the person, so I simply move the card forward based on the number on the card. If I want to contact someone every seven days, I move the card ahead a week after I make contact.

I hope this system works well for you. If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to send them to me through my website (http://www.stephenlabuda.com).

20 Essential Traits Needed For All Sales Executives

It has long been my conviction that the dominant factor in success is the set of mental habits possessed by the individual. Of no vocation is this truer than that of the salesman. "As a man thinketh . . ." applies to him in an all-important way. The techniques and skills, methods of approach, demonstration and closing are matters of demanding study and practice., These things are cold, mechanical, wooden and ineffective except as they are warmed, energized and implemented by the dynamics of a positive personality. A positive personality is never found apart from deep conviction, genuine belief in the fundamentals, the "copybook virtues" known and honored by men and women of character in all generations.

This conviction was strengthened in me some time ago when there came to hand a report of a questionnaire circulated among the members of a Sales Executives Club. These men and women are "top brass" in the sales departments of big business. They have responsibility for the distribution of their firm's product; have in some cases hundreds, even thousands, of sales managers and salesmen under their guidance and direction. The recruitment, training and management of these forces are their daily concern.

The question asked these sales executives was: What are the qualities or traits of character you value most in salesmen? This is the list they offered, the traits being stated in the order of importance attached to them by these sales executives. There is food for thought here. Note for instance that "persuasiveness" is toward the end of the list. Most people would list the art of persuasion as perhaps synonymous with salesmanship but according to these sales executives there are other more import traits, they are listed below.

Dependability was chosen as the most important.

Integrity was next. With this trait the salesman is incapable either of being false to the trust his company places in him or to the real interests of his customer.

Knowledge of product is one of the three fundamentals of success in the field of selling.

Self Time-management Perhaps no vocation gives a man a greater degree of latitude. He must be a good "boss" for himself and exact a high degree of self-discipline for selling.

Work organization is efficiency in self-management. Much of a salesman's time is wasted by the prospect. He must guard the balance jealously and make every minute count.

Sincerity excludes falsification of every shade. It must be real, few can "pretend" with success.

Initiative is the salesman's spark plug.

Industriousness is devotion to the job, never being unemployed during work hours

Acceptance of responsibility for the car, for the sales material, records, samples and above all for the company's good name and the customer's good will.

Understanding of buyer motives this being another of the big three fundamentals of selling.

Sales ethics No longer is the slogan “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) but “caveat vendator” (let the seller beware).

Judgment is not inherited. It can be developed as a habit. Logic is a subject that should be a "must" for sales people.

Care of health, mental, physical, spiritual, financial.

Courtesy is more than politeness. It is consideration for others, deference to their opinions, their rank, their sex, their age.

Determination is a dogged adherence to a carefully worked out and settled program and purpose. The will to carry through. Unwillingness to compromise with anything less than your best performance.

Aggressiveness requires self-confidence and the language of assurance in all interviews. It is pressure applied without offensiveness.

Friendliness involves warmth of feeling, a positive type of cordiality that does not involve back-slapping or wise-cracking.

Resourcefulness Wide knowledge, curiosity, retentive memory, wide-awakeness. Quick thinking in the clinches.

Persuasiveness goes beyond the realm of reasoning, an appeal to feelings, desires, and emotions.

Appreciation of selling as a profession and as the road to personal success. Awareness of the fact that the field of "distribution" offers more in money, satisfaction, opportunity for service, and personal growth in all of the inner virtues and faculties than any other calling, especially more than anything in the field of "production."

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

9 Amazingly Easy Ways To Writing Your Greatest Sales Letter Ever

It is very common that people who are new to Internet Marketing will face with difficulties writing their own sales copy – a job called copywriting. Nevertheless, it is amazingly easy if you follow these 9 easy ways:

1. Headline
The most important thing in a sales letter is the headline, it can’t be emphasized more. Use a red headline to grab attention. Make sure the headline is catchy, in bigger font, and preferably in the font Tahoma.

2. Attention
You need to start your sales copy by getting the prospects’ attention. After the headline does its job, you’ll need to get your prospects’ attention by telling them what they are seeing here. Tell them right away what they are getting in the sales letter they are reading now.

3. Interest
You’ve got your visitors’ attention, what you need to do next is start telling them a story and have them interested in what you have to offer. Interest them by mentioning what You have for Them – them, them, them, you’re always thinking of the benefit on Their side!

4. Desire
When they are ready to know what you want to offer them, then it is a good time to make them want it more. Mention how your product is able to change their lives, tell them how bad things can turn to good after getting your product – always remember that it’s about them, not you!

5. A Call To Action
Already have them thirst for your product deeply now? Great – you are now going to sell them the product. Urge them to buy your product, tell them that they must have this product of yours.

6. Long Copy
It is proven more than enough that direct sales letter with a long copy of a single page works the best to sell a product. This way you can list out everything your prospects need to know and wouldn’t let them have a moment to be confused at all. You get their attention, interest them, explain everything, get their desires out and Bam – sell them the product.

7. Testimonials
Nothing is better than a proof from people who have their lives changed because they purchased your product. By providing testimonials, you get a third party to support you and that urges your prospects into buying more easily. We rather purchase something people recommend, don’t we?

8. Clean and neat sales copy
You don’t want to clutter your sales copy with fancy colors, graphics and so on. It is important that your prospects focus more on your words, the texts rather than the design of your sales letter, color of the background etc.

9. Write a story
A good sales letter will need to hook its readers without fail. We are used to finishing a single task – in this case, a story since young. Ever watched an exciting movie and stopped in the middle because you need to accomplish some other things? It feels voided if you do so, right?

This is the same case, people will try and finish every story they read, especially an interesting one. If you can write a good story and keep your prospects hooked right down until the order button, you succeeded.

Auto Sales Training

If you're a salesperson whose dealership has recently gone online, you're probably wondering about the best way to handle online customers. This new breed is entirely different, and dealerships everywhere are incorporating internet sales techniques into their existing auto sales training programs as a result.

The internet buyer is much more discriminating than their offline counterpart. They are searching for added value, choice and much more than the best price.
Therefore, being able to turn their enquiries into sales should be the goal of all online dealerships. But how do you, as a salesperson go about this effectively?

To begin with, a good understanding of today's internet buyers is in order. They are much more educated about what can be had online. That's because most auto dealer websites allow them to do just about everything except kick the tires. Internet car buyers have greater control over the buying process. They can access information around the clock, greatly reduce searching time, comparison shop and even obtain financing online. That means that once they've reached you, they are much better informed than the car buyers of old. However, it doesn't mean that the salesperson has been outmoded! Salespeople are as an integral part of the auto-purchasing process as they've always been. Customers still need someone to help clear confusion and finalize the sale.

It should be understood that the internet presents a golden opportunity for auto retailers and sales people to re-evaluate and reinvent their customer image. For example, the online salesperson can elevate the entire dealership's image by assuming a more advisory role with customers. This role is highly important, considering that said customer will already know a great deal about what you have to offer. As well, internet buyers, already being used to the low pressure, self-controlled buying process are more likely to respond negatively to traditional pressure selling tactics.

Internet auto sales training should communicate the benefits of using the internet to engage a customer at the shopping stage and provide superior customer service, something that has always been a cornerstone of the auto industry. Training should also identify the benefits of utilizing internet customer relationship marketing to reinforce strong brand loyalty.

How many internet sales a dealership makes will ultimately depend on the amount of useful information on that dealership's website. Today's internet buyer will not wait for new information to be added; if a website does not have what they are looking for, they will simply go elsewhere. The internet is seen as 'the great equalizer' of all businesses. Dealerships are no longer just competing with companies down the street; they are being compared to dealerships world wide. Therefore, it is even more critical that any auto sales techniques be original and dynamic; something that catches the buyer's eye or ear and leaves them compelled to know more.

Customer service is just as important online as it is offline; the salesperson must be willing and able to follow up with any and all internet enquiries received. According to a recent J.D. Power Autoshopper survey, 22% of all new vehicle buyers said that the internet affected their choice of a dealer, up from 14% in 2002. Therefore, how a dealer or salesperson responds to internet requests is of increasing importance to customers.

Quality customer relationship management software is another way that a net-savvy dealership can manage its enquiries. Incorporating technology into the office has many other benefits as well. Today's salespeople can now communicate from anywhere, whether it via PDA, cell phone or laptop, making them more accessible to customers than ever before. Web chat offers an additional outlet for sales people and customers to connect, giving customers the opportunity to receive real-time answers to pressing questions.

But the tactics and advice is the same: take the time to listen to what customers are saying so that you can tailor services to meet their needs, don't rush the sale and if a problem arises, avoid excuses; instead, explain why the problem has occurred. Assume a courteous disposition, be willing to ask what you can do for them, and showcase the benefits of working with you and your dealership. Internet customers are after the same things traditional customers are; to be heard and be advised.

Adopt the ‘T’ Method to Sales Performance Improvement

What’s your approach to sales training? Do you have a process that defines which sales performance competency to train to and what impact it will have on selected performance silos if the training objective is successfully met? Or do you rely on ‘field feedback’ not associated with actual performance numbers and related ROI to decide where to put your training dollars?
Here’s a simple blueprint to gain more revenue in less time while maintaining fiscal accountability to the ‘Top-floor’.

At JDH Group, our go-to-market strategy is to understand a sales organization’s revenue goals and define what key results are needed in performance improvement. To illustrate it, we produce diagnostic performance solution ‘Blueprints’ for sales organizations that utilize the ‘T’ method; both vertical and horizontal.
Horizontally, we look at each KPI and help companies understand how to identify, train to, improve and measure competencies in each of the critical performance indicators.

The ‘T’ method of training evaluation is a process that utilizes both a horizontal approach to key sales performance indicators (KPI) and a vertical examination to calculate the impact, or ‘Return on Training Investment’ (ROTI). Aligning the two will not only give you the path of least resistance to your overall revenue objective but will point to performance silos that will produce more revenue and/or recover unnecessary costs from sub-par sales performance.

Horizontal Examination
Here’s an example of sales organization KPI’s that sells business solutions to small and medium size companies:

• 1st Appointment to Proposal ratio (60%)
• Closing ratio (40%)
• Average Revenue per Sale ($3500)
• Sales cycle (38 Days)
• Revenue goal ($25,000)
• Average New appointments generated per rep (5)

This model represents a sales team that statistically has an opportunity to reach 67% of their revenue goal. So let’s take a closer look at which KPI performance training could achieve the required result the quickest.

One way would be to focus on front-end activity. Improving the average appointment generation to 7 new appointments would achieve the revenue goal, all other factors remaining the same.

Option 1: Establish a Prospecting Methodology; a single, documented and agreed upon prospecting method across all sales regions. The training objective should be to spend less time to gain more ‘Targeted’ business appointments to initiate your current sales process.

Another choice might be to evaluate your current sales methodology to understand if there is any room for improvement in your current closing ratio of 40%. As an example, improving this KPI to 60% would secure the monthly revenue target with no other KPI changes. Or splitting the difference; improving the 1st appointment to proposal ratio by 10% and the closing ratio by 10% would achieve the same result while maintaining the necessary new appointments at (5).

Option 2: Initially, choose a ‘Top-down’ approach versus a bottom up; target and initiate your sales process with a fiscal level of authority. Develop a diagnostic sales process that points to the prospect company’s business objectives parallel to you product/service solution. Speak in terms of Return on Investment, Soft and Hard Dollar recovery and Investment Payback Period. Sell the diagnostic parts to your process in line with the prospect’s annual business objectives; don’t rely on ‘Features & benefits’. Then customize your proposal as a hypothetical case study with measurable results.

Vertical Sales Performance ‘Impact Silo’ Examination
Whether you are initiating sales performance training internally or outsourcing a niche training organization, most folks sitting on the ‘Top-floor’ now require accountability in line with budget expenditures.
Another way to say it is the CFO knows he’s wasting half the sales training budget, he just doesn’t know which half.
Approaching sales training expenditures with a Vertical ‘Silo’ inspection will help score points to the fiscal authorities within your own organization.

Let’s take a look at this same sales organization’s vertical performance silos:

• Average New-hire Ramp-to-Quota (5 months) (35 hires per year)
• Sales employee Turnover due to low appointment activity (30)
• Percent of sales reps at or above Quota (70%)

First, calculate your ‘sub-par’ average revenue. This number reflects the average monthly revenue a new-hire achieves before they achieve quota attainment.
As an example, if your current Average Ramp-to-Quota is 5 months, take the average total Revenue sold in the first 4 months of a new hires routine and divide it by 4. That will give you the average 'Sub-Quota' Revenue per Month during Ramp.
In this example, we will use $8,000 as the average ‘sub-par’ revenue.

One of the overall training objectives could be to improve the New-hire Ramp-to-Quota. So you consider the training result and impact as it relates to revenue recovery by selecting a ramp-to-quota goal that’s more efficient than the ‘status quo’ of 5 months. In this case a 1 month ramp-to-quota reduction would recover $595,000 in additional new sales. That equates to $17,000 per new-hire. And if you have determined that the performance training Cost-per-head is $2500, there’s your internal training ROI; 680%.
And we’re not done yet.

You have defined that 30 sales reps per year go out the door directly related to low activity, not setting enough new business appointments to justify the required revenue result.

Let’s take a closer look at it pertains to related costs and potential recovery. Here are your expense breakdowns relating to a new-hire sales rep:

• Average Salary: $28,000
• Recruiting Costs: $1,200
• Training Costs per Rep: $2500
• Monthly Sales Quota: $25,000

If the focused KPI training initiative reduces your sales rep turnover by 50% (15 reps), that recovers $1,953,500 in measurable dollars, something everyone can actually put their finger on.
That’s over $130,000 of real return for every rep that learns how to effectively set new business appointments.

Considering this cause and circumstance versus the realistic training benefit as a ROI factor, you choose Option 1 to establish a Prospecting Methodology across all sales regions. And in this case, that also justifies the training investment to the “Top-floor’.

In the 3rd Vertical Sales Performance ‘Impact Silo’ we determined that an average of 70% of the sales reps are achieving quota per month. And the average month ‘sub-quota’ revenue achieved for the 30% of reps not reaching quota is found to be $16,000.
We also determined the average new appointments generated per week is (5), but
by improving the 1st appointment to proposal ratio by 10% and the closing ratio by 10% we would achieve Quota consistently.
Next, let’s determine our Return on Training Investment if we meet our training objective of improving the 70% team Quota ‘water-mark’ up to 90%.

• 1st Appointment to Proposal ratio (Improve to 70%)
• Closing ratio (Improve to 50%)
• Average Revenue per Sale ($3500)
• Sales cycle (38 Days)
• Average New appointments generated (5)
• 100 sales reps

Implementing a focused performance improvement system to advance our middle KPI’s in supporting an additional 20 sales reps per month to achieve Quota would increase our monthly revenue results by $180,000.
That’s an annual return of $2,160,000 or a training ROI of 864% based on a $2500 cost-per-head training investment. And with a 38-day sales cycle, the training investment ‘break-even’ point would be approximately 80 days.

Because of this cause and circumstance versus the realistic training benefit as a ROI factor, you choose Option 2 to establish a ‘Business acumen’ sales methodology, develop supporting diagnostic tools to establish financial business metrics parallel to your prospect’s initiatives and your product/service solution.

Adopting this ‘T’ method to sales performance training will allow you to determine the shortest path to your revenue goals, determine and implement ‘Best Practice’ sales performance training and justify the training investment to the “Top-floor’.

Because at the end of the day… it’s all about Return on Investment.

20 Ways To Increase Your Traffic And Sales Using Free Follow-Up Autoresponder Courses

An auto responder course is a group of articles or information set up to be sent out separately over a set period of time by e-mail. People just e-mail your auto responder to receive the free course and it is sent out automatically over time. You can find free follow-up auto responders to use by typing it into any search engine. Below are ten ways to use them to increase your traffic and sales.

1. Offer your course as a free bonus for purchasing one of your main products or services. People will buy your products quicker when you offer a bonus.

2. When you write and give away a free course you will become known as an expert. This'll gain people's trust and they will buy your main product quicker.

3. Allow others to add your free course to their own product packages. Their customers will see your ad when they purchase.

4. People love to get freebies. A free auto responder course is perfect. They will visit your web site to get the free valuable information.

5. Allow people to receive your course for free, if they give you the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested.

6. Allow other people to give away your free course. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the course.

7. You could trade advertising space in your course for other forms of advertising. It could be banner ads, e-zine ads, web site ads, etc.

8. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact info before they can receive your auto responder course.

9. Give away the auto responder course as a free gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business.

10. Give away the course to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that sign-up.

11. Make money selling advertising space in your course. You could charge for small classified ads or sponsor ads.

12. Get free advertising by submitting your course to freebie web sites. This will increase the number of people that will see your ads in the course.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those people that would like to sell the course. You could make more money by selling the master rights.

14. Hold a contest on your web site so people could win your course. You will get free advertising when you submit your contest to free contest directories.

15. You'll gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your course. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your course with other people's products or services. This technique wills double your marketing effort

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving your course to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This'll give people an incentive to subscribe.

18. Allow your affiliates to use the free course as a promotional tool for your product. Each lesson could include their affiliate link.

19. Promote other businesses affiliate programs you join with your free auto responder course. Include a different affiliate link on each lesson.

20. Advertise a different product or service on each lesson. If you only have one, use different emotional response ads on each lesson.

For more tips & tricks to increase your traffic and sales using free follow-up auto responder courses Free Work From Home website today!

A Sales Resume Is Your Ultimate Sale, Your Skills and Experience Are Your Pitch.

The toughest of all resumes to write is a sales resume. Basically, the employer is looking for a person who can sell himself through the resume first.

Every employer is looking for that specific set of skilled sales executives who will determine their next quarter sales and drive their growth. As a candidate you will want to win the employers' heart just with your resume. Minute details can be exaggerated or big failures can be hidden by a good sales person. Also, any employer will be expecting a sales executive to possess reasonable learnability and good convincing skills. A good sales resume will convey these messages directly or indirectly.

Basically, your resume should include the following information:

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

As a sales person, include your sales results and targets in a highlighted manner.

The number of staff that you manage in your team or company in general.

Include your overall roles and responsibilities in planning and budgetary matters in your department or company in general.

Include your sales responsibilities with some description of what you sell and the markets in which you sell your products or the concepts and the type of clients that you targeted.

If you had budgetary responsibilities, specify some of the important projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time.

Include, if you have introduced new sales procedures, practices and techniques which helped or enhanced in improving sales.

Mention how you improved the efficiency and productivity within your department or the organization in general.

Mention how you have reduced costs and saved money in your department or the organization in general.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization.

A Simple Sales Strategy: Define What Selling Is!

How do you define selling? A lot of people think of selling as persuading/convincing people to buy things they may or may not want or need. To some, selling is all about closing a deal. Thinking of selling like this is not very empowering to you. Frankly, if you have this perspective on selling, it's no wonder if you hate it. I would too!

So what perspective can you take about selling that will make it enjoyable, exciting and something you look forward to? Sounds like a bit of a tall order doesn't it? Read on.

Hopefully by now, you have made the list of all the problems that you can solve for your target market. You're going to be surprised how long that list grows over time. So really, if you look at your list and you think about it, you are a master problem solver. What you're really doing is helping people. Correct?

So try on this perspective about what selling is: Selling is helping people. Selling is serving. Selling is a process of identifying and solving people's problems.

See, feel and know that selling is serving. This will cause a big shift for you. With this perspective, you will really become passionate about wanting to help people. Find this passion and let it shine through.

It is your purpose, your moral obligation, to have as many sales conversations with people as you can so you can help as many people as possible. If you're not having these types of sales conversations, you are holding back the gift you have to offer the world. You owe it to people to be there for them with your expertise and wisdom.

Next time you're talking to a potential client, think about how you can help them, how you can serve them. Forget about trying to sell them something. If what you have to offer does solve their problems, and you facilitate the conversation using the strategies we are covering, people will sell themselves and will subsequently buy from you.

If you have a perspective on selling which is one of service and helping people, how do you think the people you're talking to will feel? Think about this: people hate to be sold. The minute they feel they're being sold, they often want to get away - fast. Don't you? On the other hand, if they feel you are sincerely trying to help them solve their problems, they will relax and open up to you.

If you have a perspective on selling which is one of service and helping people, how do you think you will feel? Does energized, excited, relaxed, and natural come to mind?

This perspective is simple but powerful and very attract-tive to clients.

(c) 2005, Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation. You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end) and all links are made live.

7 Ways to Cut Loose from Old Sales Thinking

Regardless of what product or service you’re selling, you should be able to relate to her dilemma.

Outdated sales skills fail to address the core issue of how we think about selling and unless we get to that core and change it once and for all, we’ll go on struggling with the same counterproductive sales behaviors.

And we’ll continue believing that we’re always just one new sales technique away from the breakthrough we’re looking for.

New Thinking = New Results

Maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to analyze our thinking and identify why we’re not making more sales.

Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset.

How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Old Sales Mindset Vs New Sales Mindset

1. Always start out with a strong sales pitch Vs Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

2. Your goal is always to close the sale Vs Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

3. When you lose a sale, it's usually at the end of the sales process. Vs When you lose a sale, it's usually at the beginning of the sales process.

4. Rejection is a normal part of selling, so get used to it. Vs Hidden sales pressure causes rejection. Eliminate sales pressure, and you’ll never experience rejection.

5. Keep chasing prospects until you get a yes or no. Vs Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there’s a fit or not.

6. When prospects offer objections, challenge and/or counter them. Vs When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

7. If prospects challenge the value of your product or service, defend yourself and explain its value. Vs Never defend yourself or what you have to offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

Let's take a closer look at these concepts so you can begin to open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling efforts.

1. Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

When you call someone, never start out with a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer.

Instead, start with a conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves. For example, you might say, "I'm just calling to see if you are open to some different ideas related to preventng downtime accross your computer network?"

Notice that you are not pitching your solution with this opening phrase. Instead, you're addressing a problem that, based on your experience in your field, you believe they might be having. (If you don't know what problems your product or service solves, do a little research by asking your current customers why they purchased your solution.)

2. Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

If you let go of trying to close the sale or get the appointment, you’ll discover that you don't have to take responsibility for moving the sales process forward.

By simply focusing your conversation on problems that you can help prospects solve, and by not jumping the gun by trying to move the sales process forward, you’ll discover that prospects will give you the direction you need.

3. When you lose a sale, it's usually at the beginning of the sales process.

If you think you’re losing sales due to mistakes you make at the end of the process, review how you began the relationship. Did you start with a pitch?

Did you use traditional sales language ("We have a solution that you really need" or "Others in your industry have bought our solution, you should consider it as well")?

Traditional sales language leads prospects to label you with the negative stereotype of "salesperson." This makes it almost impossible for them to relate to you with trust or to have an honest, open conversation about problems they're trying to solve and how you might be able to help them.

4. Hidden sales pressure causes rejection. Eliminate sales pressure, and you’ll never experience rejection.

Prospects don’t trigger rejection. You do -- when something you say, and it could be very subtle, triggers a defensive reaction from your prospect.

Yes, something you say.

You can eliminate rejection forever simply by giving up the hidden agenda of hoping to make a sale. Instead, be sure that everything you say and do stems from the basic mindset that you’re there to help prospects identify and solve their issues.

5. Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there’s a fit or not.

Chasing prospects has always been considered normal and necessary, but it’s rooted in the macho selling image that "If you don’t keep chasing, you’re giving up, which means you’re a failure." This is dead wrong.

Instead, ask your prospects if they’d be open to connecting again at a certain time and date so you can both avoid the phone tag game.

6. When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on "overcoming" objections, but these tactics only create more sales pressure.

They also keep you from exploring or learning the truth behind what your prospects are saying.

You know that "We don't have the budget," "Send me information," or "Call me back in a few months," are polite evasions designed to get you off the phone. Stop trying to counter objections. Instead, shift to uncovering the truth by replying, "That's not a problem." No matter what the objection, use gentle, dignified language that invites prospects to tell you the truth about their situation without feeling you’ll use it to press for a sale.

7. Never defend yourself or what you have to offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

When prospects say, "Why should I choose you over your competition?," your instinctive reaction is to defend your product or service because you believe that you are the best choice, and you want to convince them of that. But what goes through their minds at that point?

Something like, "This ‘salesperson’ is trying to sell me, and I hate feeling as if I'm being sold."

Stop defending yourself. In fact, come right out and tell them that you aren’t going to try to convince them of anything because that only creates sales pressure. Instead, ask them again about key problems they’re trying to solve.

Then explore how your product or service might solve those problems. Give up trying to persuade. Let prospects feel they can choose you without feeling sold.

The sooner you can let go of the traditional sales beliefs that we’ve all been exposed to, the more quickly you’ll feel good about selling again, and start seeing better results.

Advantages Offered by Reliable Sales Recruitment Services

There are various online Sales Recruitment Services that can help business owners to quickly fill the job vacancies inside their companies. Considering the fact that the popularity, renown and credibility of a business are reflected by the professionalism and the value of its employees, a solid, well-trained business team can easily separate a company from the rest, making the difference when it matters the most.

The sustained efforts of a reliable, well-trained business team behind a company, corroborated with proper managerial skills and effective, innovative selling and marketing strategies can easily neutralize competition, ensuring a leading position for the company on the market. By increasing the popularity, exposure and credibility of your business you will be able to sell more to your loyal customers and attract new potential clients to your products or offered services, thus boosting the profitability and longevity of your company. Hence, the key for achieving success for your company is to make sure that you are surrounded by well-trained employees, as the entire business revolves around their actions.

The process of sales recruitment can be very demanding for company owners. In order to make sure that the future team members of their business have proper training and hold the right set of abilities and skills, business owners often need to supervise the process of sales recruitment themselves. However, time is a very important resource for any business and considering the fact that sales recruiting can be very time consuming, business owners can’t always personally manage the recruitment of new employees. If you are looking for well-trained, professional salesmen, sales executives, territory managers, business development managers, key account managers or sales directors to quickly fill the job vacancies inside your company, the best thing to do is ask the help of a reliable online Sales Recruitment Service.

As soon as you hire an online Sales Recruitment Agency to take care of the process of sales recruitment in your place, an entire team of executives, hiring managers and human resource professionals will work in tandem to efficiently satisfy your requirements. The recruiters behind Professional Sales Recruitment Services temporarily become members of your business team, helping you to quickly find the sales persons that best fit your company. Sales Recruitment Services offer prompt feed-back and keep you posted on the progress of the sales recruitment program. In addition, you have access to an extended human resource data base, allowing you to personally browse through the profiles of your potential, future employees. A reliable Sales Recruitment Service greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of recruitment, also ensuring that your future employees are the best professionals in their branch.

Most Sales Recruitment Services include features such as high-volume, low-volume or single-hire recruitment, quickly finding the best candidates for your offered positions. Furthermore, Sales Recruitment Services offer hiring decision support and process consulting, helping you to make the best decisions regarding the acceptance of candidates inside your company. Sales Recruitment Services are the best means to quickly find and select the most appropriate candidates for your sales vacancies, helping you in building a professional, reliable business team.

Boost Your Sales Through Sales Trainings

Many people regard sales as the most effective way of earning unlimited income. In fact, 7 out of 10 salespeople who were interviewed why they preferred sales as their job, they have contended that in sales, they can earn income on tap. This goes to show that they can either earn more or earn less.

From this point of view, salespeople view their success based on the kind of sales training that they have. Of course, no one could instantly exert expertise without the proper training that he needs in his career.

Hence, many salespeople are more than willing to submit their selves to sales training. They know that it would be one of the best ways to earn and achieve success.

So for those who cannot understand why sales training is important in a salesperson's career, here are some of the advantages of engaging into such sales booster activity.

1. It is a great help

Based on its basic concept, sales trainings are especially created to help the salespeople hone their skills and improve their craft. Their ability to create more sales is improved through the acquisition of advanced marketing strategies.

2. Molds better attitude

Another best thing about sales trainings is that they do not mainly focus on improving the skills and abilities of the salesperson as far as selling are concerned. Through these trainings, the attitude and behavior of the salesperson towards sales are improved.

Sales trainings teach them how to deal with the clients properly, how to handle objections, and how to persuade people. These things are not commonly taught on ordinary training programs.

3. Teaches good interaction

Through sales training, the seller will be able to identify the right strategy in dealing with his clients. It provides the right combination of language, perception, attitude, and the art of selling in order to interact with the client in the most favorable method.

The focus of this activity is to make the seller realize that selling should never be hard, or what most salespeople believe as hard selling. The point here is that with proper interaction, selling becomes an art, where the words and emotions are interlaced so as to lure the client to buy the product.

The Upshots

If sales training had been effective and was properly explained, chances are, sales will grow. But if it was done otherwise, more than a few unconstructive results may happen.

One of which is the lack of communication or miscommunication. Without proper orientation on the job and proper comprehension of the nature of the job, both the management and the employees might have difficulty in communicating the correct ideas and concepts.

Also, without sales trainings, salespeople will be less confident in distributing their products. This is because they are not fully aware on how to face their clients and how to persuade them into buying.

And last, without proper sales trainings, the people will not be enticed to do their job and advanced on a higher level of enthusiasm. This is because they are not aware of the possible compensation they will get ever they have performed better.

Indeed, sales trainings are not just any ordinary program and not just like any other training program designed just for the sake of having it. It has its purpose, and its results will definitely reap more income.

Balance In Direct Sales: Take Time To Watch The Horses

As my direct sales business has grown over the past couple of years, I've had seasons where my life has been completely out of balance... it's then when I have to pull back and reflect and get some perspective on life... including my home business.

A while ago, my daughters and I were out running errands... the usual mega-store run for everything you've ever needed or not in bulk, off to deliver an order to a friend and then back home again. We live in a small town and anytime we want to go ANYWHERE outside of our lovely town we have to drive through a beautiful community of horse farms and grand estates.

One horse farm along our usual route is magnificent...rolling hills, lush green grass, beautiful white fence. Each spring the mares and babies are out on the pasture by the road where we drive. I have to be careful when we pass by because we're all ooooing and aaaahing - people in the cars behind me get mad because I slow down, people in front of me better not slow down because I'm not watching the road and I might rear end them... something about a colt running along side it's mamma... breathtaking.

What does this have to do with doing a direct sales business? Not much really... except to say that there IS more to life than the business And sometimes you need to stop and watch the horses. It's amazing - I can be driving along that country road and have my mind completely focused on what I need to do for my business... where I need to be, what I need to get, who I need to call... so much so sometimes that I don't even hear the kids asking me a question as I'm driving. But when I get to the farm and I hear the kids say, "Oh oh oh.. mom look there's a baby running"... immediately all the brain rush shuts off and I gaze and admire and remember there are other things to think about.

I am passionate about direct sales. But the reason I'm passionate is because of what I believe it can DO for the women (and men too) that are in the field. Unfortunately I hear of too many women (sorry guys, that's the majority in our field) who spend too much time NOT taking time to watch the horses... those moments of quiet rest, to reflect on life rather than business.

I guess it's all about balance. This is nothing new to you I know. So find your horse farm... and enjoy the moment... but remember to keep part of an eye on the car in front of you just in case!

Are Your Sales Scripts Working For or Against You?

Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

Sales scripts are a double edged sword. On one hand, they can help you present your selling points and sales rebuttals in an organized, strategic way. Used incorrectly, however, they can undermine your sales effectiveness and actually cause you to lose sales. Here’s a caveat worth considering: Although sales scripts may contain tried and proven tactics for converting sales prospects into customers, a surefire way to drive a wedge between you and your prospective clients is to sound like you’re reading a script or regurgitating memorized lines. Bridging the gap between salesperson and sales prospect often requires a conversational, informal delivery that won’t come across if you’re reciting a script.

All the World’s a Stage

One thing we often forget about in the world of business and in the business of life is to ‘lighten up’! Being too intensely serious and rigid can not only impair your ‘likeability factor’, but it can also cancel out a lot of the enjoyment you might derive from your business or career. Developing the ability to inject your presentations with a dose of personality, humor, and spontaneity can help you avoid sounding rehearsed and pushy. A certain amount of experimentation may be necessary to find out what works best for you, but that’s all part of the process.

Getting on the Same Wavelength

Flexibility is vitally important in developing rapport with a prospect and winning their confidence. If you’re adhering to a rigid script, then you’re not being responsive to their needs, concerns, and questions. Granted, listening and being empathetic is more of a challenge for some people than others, but if your success hinges on the ability to persuade and influence (and whose doesn’t?), then it’s a skill well worth cultivating. Very often the most fascinating, likeable, and persuasive people are the ones who have perfected the art of active listening.

Focus on Bullet Points

Rather than memorizing a sales script word for word, consider writing up an outline or a set of bullet points that you can impress on your mind. You may need to review the original sales script, every couple weeks, to make sure you’re ad-libbing effectively and accurately; but don’t lose sight of the way you’re communicating nonverbally, because that’s what your sales prospects are paying the most attention to.

It’s How You Say It

A lot of sales and marketing people tend to talk too fast, either because they’re so excited about what they’re selling or they’ve had one cup of coffee too many. Some may feel the need to talk fast if they have a lot of information to impart in a short period of time. Every situation is different, but in most cases, talking fast is major tactical error. First of all, it may make it difficult for your prospects to absorb the information you’re giving them (and if they’re confused, they’re not going to commit); and secondly… well, you know what they say about ‘fast talking salesmen’. One way to get a reality check, once or twice a year, is to videotape and critique mock sales presentations involving you a few of your associates. Getting their feedback and seeing yourself as others see you can be an effective way to iron out some of the wrinkles that may be thwarting your sales performance and limiting your income.

Are Your Sales On The Up?

Copyright 2006 Homer Farey

Ask Yourself Some Questions. How good is your sales letter? The old adage: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" is as relevant now as it was in the old days of door knocking.

If I buy your product, how will I benefit? • Will it help me to become rich? • A better person? • Happier? • Better looking? • Will it make me more attractive to the opposite sex?

Convince me of just one of these, or similar things and the price you charge will not matter.

Let's look at the sales letter. • Has It gone stale? • How good was it in the first instance? • Were you happy with the initial response? • If so, what went wrong? • Would a makeover put it right? • Perhaps it just needs a new headline.

If the click through rate is good, it would appear that the headline is doing it's job. Should the ratio of purchases to clicks-through be poor, I would suggest that the text of the letter is not up to scratch. Just changing a few words here and there can give a quite different impression to the reader.

Whatever you are selling, a very large percentage of the population will not be interested in it. You must aim at those who would get the most benefit from your particular product.

You would not think of advertising fishing rods in a fashion magazine.

It is amazing how many things are aimed at e-zines and other media that have little or no relevance to the product.

Whatever you do, don't give up. If you have faith in what you are selling, you will find the best methods of promoting it.

When writing an advert concentrate first on the headline. This is the most important part of the project. The headline must capture the reader's attention. Without a good headline, the best advert in the world will be overlooked and just a waste of space, time and money.

Look now at the text of your sales letter/advert. Are you talking to a real person? Are you explaining what you and your product can do for that person? Do you come across as an honest reliable person? Or is your letter full oh hype with no substance?

Your prospect is not really interested in you. He/She is only interested in what is in it for them. Few people surf the net looking for something to buy. As a general rule they are looking for information. That is the reason that your headline has to stand out from the crowd. It must make them stop and take another look. It must intrigue them enough to make them want to read more. The content of the ad’ must excite them enough to want to purchase something that they did not even know existed just five minutes ago.

Does your advert do that? Writing an advert is not a skill that the majority of people are born with. It is something that needs to be learned. During your lifetime you have learned numerous things that were difficult in the beginning but that you rarely even think about now. They have become part of your lives. Writing adverts and articles is just another thing that you need to learn how to do well.

Looking back at some of my first efforts at writing adverts, it is a wonder that I ever sold anything, but I did, not a lot but I sold enough to realise that with a little practice there was money to be made by anyone with the will to learn and to take proper advice from the experts on how to go about it. (One day I hope to be an expert there is still a lot for me to learn.) It’s an on-going ever evolving process. Study as many adverts as you can. Try to figure out what it is that excites you and what just leaves you cold. Study the headlines. What made you read this one rather than that. Does the author of the advert strike you as honest and knowledgeable? What sort of guarantee is on offer? Be honest with yourself. Would you buy from this person?

Study, Study, study and keep on studying. You have just taken the first step on your way to becoming a very wealthy expert in your chosen field. Don’t let it stop there.

Homer.

7 Ways to Stay Sharp in Sales ... or how to catch your first monkey

One of my very good friends leads a top performing sales organization selling financial services out of Boise Idaho. His team is consistently rated as the top producing office in North America for his company. We are always exchanging ideas on selling, challenging each other on philosophies and suffice it to say, his past performance has always caused me to listen intently to what he has to say.

I have no idea if the story he told me is true or not. He has played a practical joke or two in his day. Short of travelling to Africa, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if there is a bit of embellishment to the story, it is a great tell with an insightful message.

In Africa, as Charles tells it, the natives have a clever way to catch monkeys. They take a coconut shell, cut a small hole in one end, and hollow it out. The hole is just big enough to allow a monkey's hand to enter.

Then they attach a string to the other end of the coconut shell, place some peanuts inside, put the shell in the middle of a clearing and hide themselves behind a tree until a monkey comes.

The monkey smells the peanuts inside the shell ... it reaches in to grab the peanuts ... but when it does, its fist, full with peanuts, is too large to pull back through the hole.

The natives start pulling on the string and reel the silly monkey in. Why, because the monkey will not let go of those peanuts to save his life. All the monkey would have to do is let go of the peanuts. He doesn't, as he has to have the peanuts.

I'm thinking there may be some truth to his story. I did a Google search "catch a monkey using a coconut" and found one hit on a bladder cancer website that included an article on relaxation that references an African legend, where they do they catch monkeys using coconuts with a banana inside. Seriously!

So let's assume this monkey catching technique works. Chances are if you're like me, you'll never get a chance to try it out. I don't recommend you doing this at your local zoo!

So why tell the story? Do you find yourself grasping a fist full of peanuts? Do you ever get hold of something and not let go? Do you want the peanuts so badly that you fail to consider other alternatives to achieve your goal? Are you flexible and effective in your thinking? Are you prepared to try other methodologies and techniques? Do you seek out others for advice? Do you use your power of observation on those who are successful?

I believe one of Charles' greatest strengths is his ability to make things simple. Once he has done this, he shares the basics for success with his team. He then walks the talk and leads by example. He believes in his people, they believe in him. He's the type of leader that wouldn't use coconuts to capture monkeys, he'd sit down with them, and using his big smile and power of persuasion, have them convinced they should simply follow him home. They probably would!

Charles goes on to offer some simple advice on how to "get the peanuts." I wonder if this is the basics of sales success.

1.Always be prospecting. "Everyone is an opportunity for new business or a referral."
2.Keep the calendar full of appointments. "A body in motion stays in motion, a body at rest stays at rest."
3.Be proficient in your presentation skills. "Confidence sells."
4.Your customers are a gold mine for future business. "Treat them right and they will take care of you."
5.Set stretch goals. "Great things happen to those who make things happen."
6.Hard work is just that. "Honest intelligent effort is always rewarded."
7.Have fun. "Enjoy what you do and you'll be good at it."

Great advice Charles, thanks for sharing. Wishing you continued success!

A 56.8% Increase in Sales After 9/11

2002 wasn't a good year for many restaurants. The September 11th attack on the Twin Towers really hurt sales.

But rather than make excuses, Jeff Mohler of the Marblehead Grille and Chowder House in Easton, PA decided to take the offensive. He began focusing on Neighborhood Marketing part way through the first quarter of the year. 2nd quarter results showed a 24.4% increase over the previous year (after all discounts), and Third Quarter results showed continued growth with 36.2%. But Jeff was finding it very difficult to find time to manage his marketing as his volume increased. In the 3rd quarter, Jeff installed and began using an automated marketing software program.

In Q4 Jeff showed a 59.3% increase over October of the previous year. The final result: Business was up 32% for the year, thanks to Neighborhood marketing and software that allowed Jeff to manage his new marketing.

RESTAURANT MARKETING RESULTS JOURNAL - Since January 1, 2002

HISTORY 2001:
Prior to the tragedy on September 11, things were coasting along nicely in 2001 on target for a 5%+ increase. Because of the impact of 9/11,the year ended with only a 1.4% sales increase.

JANUARY 2002:
I decided to take the plunge into Direct Response. I found a bucket of three year old Entry Blanks from our 3rd Anniversary Contest in March 1999, called out about 150 January birthdays, designed and sent a card offering a "FREE One-pound Lobster Dinner" to those 150 people. We also began handing out guest Information Forms (GIFs) to gather data from our guests. By the end of the month we had redeemed 28 cards bringing in 90 guests, created $ 2,335.25 in sales, gathered info totaling 1800 new people for our database and posted a sales decrease of 4.5%, for January.

FEBRUARY & MARCH 2002:
Things began to improve slowly and by the end of the 1st Quarter we had worked our way back to a 4.4% sales increase with the database surpassing 5,000 people's birthdays and anniversaries.

APRIL - JUNE 2002:
The 2nd Quarter really became the convincing time for me as we sent out 600, 900 and 1,000 Birthday cards, redeemed nearly 1,000 (close to 40%) and generated $48,000 in sales after discounts, a 24.4% increase. We also added Anniversary Cards to our mailing beginning in June with about 500 cards being mailed for the month, 182 redeemed and created over $7,500 in added sales. The guest-per- card number was lower than birthdays. I guess people invite friends to help celebrate birthdays but do the anniversary thing mainly as couples.

JULY- SEPTEMBER 2002:
Data management became more complicated as we passed 12,000 entries. Excel and Mail Merge were handling the work and spitting out labels. The cards, now numbering about 300 a week had to be labeled, stamped with the expiration date and a stamp - a lot of work, but worth it. I had read about various software programs and ordered a (software) package..... It arrived in mid-July as we were in the throes of Little League Championship baseball, spending almost three weeks on the road.

The neat things about the restaurant marketing software are: 1) printing the address, birth date and expiration date all on the cards at once (you can actually do the postage at the same time also, but I haven't gone that far), plus 2) the ability to log redemptions and track customer usage. I felt this to be extremely helpful as we move forward and want to do more sophisticated tracking and developing of specific Guest Lists.

The 3rd Quarter boomed and mainly in my absence¡­which felt good. A 56.8% sales increase moved us to 27.3% after three quarters. I was ecstatic and slowly being convinced this Direct Response was good stuff - controllable, measurable and profitable.

OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2002:
The 4th Quarter caused some marketing creativity in the sense that we did not want too many people redeeming cards in December, typically our biggest sales month of the year. We stopped mailing cards from December 8 - 26, but still ended the month up 24.4%, a nice number but a big drop from October and November. We ended the year up 31%.