With the winter holidays behind them, many retailers are left gearing up for spring and summer with rolls upon rolls of wrapping paper, and no place to put it. In-store wrapping is big business during the Christmas and Valentine’s Day shopping seasons, but retailers must find a way to store gift wrapping paper through the other three seasons of the year. Wrapping paper storage dispensers are one way to restore order and preserve paper for future use. They also help retailers organize and store paper for easy location and recovery.

Wrapping paper dispensers are a great storage solution both in and out of the peak holiday season. They give retailers an efficient way to manage, sort and access wrapping paper supply, and keep it out of the way when it’s not in use.

Gift wrap dispensers really began to become popular as stores started adding specialty services, like gift wrapping, as a competitive advantage in recent years. Of course it’s more cost effective to buy wrapping paper in large rolls, so retailers needed a way to keep the rolls out of the way and prevent them from being torn or soiled. Enter wrapping paper storage dispensers.

Depending on the specific retailer’s available space, there are a variety of dispensers to choose from. Dispensers come in both vertical and horizontal storage designs, and most can hold between three and five rolls at a time. Display and storage solutions also exist for tissue paper and ribbons.

Wrapping paper dispensers are also a great way to address a problem facing most independent retailers- a lack of usable space. Dispensers give them a way to successfully store and dispense wrapping paper when it’s needed, and conserve space when it’s not.

What can be done in the time it takes to ride an elevator with a stranger? Stare at your shoes? Find a captivating mark on the wall and examine it? Twiddle your thumbs as you avoid eye contact? Or give a speech that can open the doors to success!

In the time it takes to ride an elevator, you should be able to introduce yourself and briefly tell what you do in an intriguing way. Your listeners should be able to understand how you can help them and how you stand out from the crowd. All this can be done in the time it takes an elevator to go up (or down) – about 30 to 60 seconds.

An elevator speech is a short and sweet opening to your professional side. Add a bit of personality and you will be set to capture the attention of potential clients and business accounts. This miniature speech should be a prepared presentation that sounds “off the cuff.”

Memorizing the key points is essential, but leaving room for additions and alterations will add genuineness to your words. A good elevator speech should grab your listener’s attention by saying a lot in a few memorable sentences. It should be concise, between 100 and 200 words. You never want to run the risk of boring anyone by saying too much.

A person who cannot clearly state what they do and why anyone should care, in a minute or less, will miss great opportunities. First impressions can make or break you. In today’s competitive business world, an elevator speech is a great way to make your mark and demand attention. It can give you the edge you need to succeed.

Just because it is called an ‘elevator speech’ doesn’t mean you are only supposed to deliver it inside an elevator. Elevator speeches can be used whenever someone shows interest in you. Elevator speeches work well at social gatherings, conferences, conventions or other meetings with networking opportunities. Take advantage of any situation where someone is willing to listen and may benefit from your message.

A good start is to develop a ‘hook’ to capture your listener’s attention. Make them want to know more. Briefly describe, without excruciating details or boring harangue, what it is you want your listener to know about you and your business.

Be sure to include some sort of request at the end of your speech. If you ask for something, you ensure a response and thus almost guarantee to continue the conversation further. If you are looking for a business card, say so. If you’d like a referral, make that your specific request. Don’t assume that people will automatically offer what you want. In life you have to make the first move toward obtaining what you want.

Energy and dedication should shine from your mini-speech. Through your words, your listener should be able to embrace the passion you feel about who you are and what you do. A bland, monotonous speaker can say the same words as an enthusiastic, passionate speaker and receive an entirely different (usually negative) reaction. The way you present your elevator speech can greatly impact how you will be received.

One of the big advantages of having a MLM leads business is that you are able to help get their own MLM leads business started as well. The more you promote your MLM home based business to a wide audience the better chance you have of attracting more interested prospects. MLM home based business will involve you contacting people more than once in order for them to think about signing up for the product or becoming a sales member. Most of these list that MLM lead businesses generate their business from is not supposed to be used twice or passed on for others to use.

Most of these people will not be interested in becoming a member or supplier if you can not answer all of their questions. The advantages that a person will receive by becoming apart of mlm leads may be beneficial for them throughout their business career. Most of these MLM leads business will not supply you with all the information that it has promised you; if this occurs you should get out of the business. The more you generate MLM leads you can begin to see some sort of profit from all of your hard work and dedication. All you have to do is a little research on which mlm company is right for you, and then by leads to get you started in the right direction.

MLM home based business may involve more than telling people about your business and product and them signing up; you will need to know a whole lot more information than that. You can get paid by your prospects even if they never join your business or buy a single mlm product or service. MLM lead sale members will generate their own strategies; it might seem like it will take a lot of work to get a listing of your own, but you will find it was worth it in the end.

MLM lead generation that is generated by you will be fresh and one hundred percent exclusive; you should not have to worry about anyone else contacting them behind your back. Not knowing the right answers to give when a particular question has been asked will make a person feel that you are not sure of what you are talking about. MLM lead generation companies might sell you leads that are of poor quality; you may know if the quality is good or bad by the way the person responds to your call. MLM lead generation is a good way to grow your own network; if you get your leads yourself you will not have to worry about getting any of poor quality.

While navigating an online bookstore I came across the James Frey book popularized by Oprah's book club: A Million Little Pieces. As I read about this book I was informed that "readers who bought A Million Little Pieces also bought the books Lies My President Told Me and Pinocchio." Folks, I was being cross-sold, yet I wasn't cross about it.

The reality of business is that customers want to be sold. They love to buy for their own reasons. Not manipulatively bombarded with sales pitches or indiscriminately pressured with endless offerings, but intelligently informed, guided and suggested with related, logical and natural purchases that further their goals.

Up-selling and cross-selling are two sales techniques used by professional sales and service staffs to increase sales. Are you making the most of your suggestive selling?

UP with Selling

Up-selling refers to situations where your customer buys a product or service, and you encourage them to spend more for additional features or packages. They are upping the amount they are spending, albeit for more or better services or products.

Consider the customer seeking a point-of-sale solution for handling charge cards, yet opts to purchase a deluxe POS model for more money when learning of additional capabilities, security and flexibility.

You are shopping for a bare-bones SUV. The salesperson infoms you soccer moms tell him they love having the model with the DVD player in the backseat for the kids. Thus you buy that model with a fancy video system and then extended warranty too.

Sales Crossing Ahead

Cross Selling refers to situations where a customer buys a product or service, and is simultaneously sold related items that often complement their purchase.

For example: A customer buys a computer and is then sold training in a bundle.

Ditto when a man buys a suit and is then offered a color coordinated silk tie and dress shirt to go with it.

While we think of these as advanced sales techniques, they are actually rooted in the power of suggestion.

People, once they've decided to buy, are naturally swayed by more and better options, additional value, and the excitement following their initial purchase. Many customers don't know about additional items or options, or how well they complement the initial item they bought. Up-selling enhances their initial purchase, making them more powerful, capable and effective. Cross-selling similarly enhances their purchase, often maximizing its impact on their business.

Suggestive Selling Salient In Our Lives

Quite frankly, we've been up-sold and cross-sold every day. And it's not necessarily a manipulative process.

Consider the following examples:

* "Would you like fries with that order?"

* "For just 49 cents we can super-size that for you."

* "When you buy 2 you get 1 Free!"

* "Would you like to purchase our extended warranty coverage on this? It's only...."

I've worked with customer service staffs afraid to sell, others who felt it was manipulative and smarmy to sell. Yet here's a secret: It's really a form of service!

True professionals are sincerely interested in bridging the gap and delivering great results.

Service Through Sales

When you up-sell and cross-sell:

* You are making informed suggestions as a knowledgeable rep

* You are apprising customers of options they may not be aware of

* You are often anticipating future needs

* It's a way to further help your customer…to be more powerful, to enjoy more benefits, to maximize the usefulness of the products or services they’re acquiring.

Remember this, when you are the rep who is selling and serving:

* You are in the business of solving problems, generating solutions and making customers happy, or even happier.

* You are the subject matter expert when it comes to the products and services you are representing.

* You are apprising customers of options they may not be aware of

* To the extent you listen and understand the situation of your clients, customers or constituents, you are ideally suited to provide solutions, recommendations and remedies.

* To withhold this from others would be selfish, and poor service.

* Any time you can fulfill more needs, address more issues or solve more problems you are easing your client's /customer's life. After all, they already trust you, like you, and are doing business with you.

So, how does one UPSELL or CROSS-SELL? It's easy.

When You Play Bridge...You Avoid Leaving Money on the Table

After you've completed the initial transaction or gotten the initial indication your customer wants to buy, you can then bridge to the Up- or Cross–Sell

I just love it when I’m surprised by simplicity. In a world that is racing forward with new discoveries being made daily, and technological advances showing up just as fast, in almost every field of study imaginable, it seems logical that if we just wait another week or so, we’ll have access to the “be all, end all” influence technique or strategy.

What would it be like if you discovered that you already possess the knowledge and ability to do what science has proven to be the most effective concept for influencing men? Even if you work in the female oriented “Victoria’s Secret”, statistics show that a significant number of purchases are made by men, do you think knowing what moves them to action, whether you’re a man or woman, could be useful to know?

Stop for just a moment. What’s the last conversation you had with someone that left you feeling good about yourself? Isn’t it true that when someone has praised you, complimented you, or acknowledged you in some way, it just kind of warmed you from the inside out, made you stand a little taller, and had you smiling on the inside?

Anyone who has read Kevin Hogan’s best selling book, “The Psychology of Persuasion” knows that there are some amazingly powerful techniques for influencing and persuading others that have been discovered in recent years. If you have ever seen the seemingly unending rows of sales and influence books at your local book store, you’ll understand why I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor when Kevin Hogan recently told me the one thing that supersedes all others, when influencing men: Praise.

That’s right, your chances of influencing a man to do or buy anything, will go up exponentially when you sincerely deliver ample amounts of praise. Kevin Hogan knows more about influence and persuasion than most experts will ever forget. He introduced me as a speaker at his famous Influence Boot Camp in Las Vegas. He said, “I’ve coached a few hundred public speakers in my career. Every now and then, someone comes along that makes you stop and say, “Wow!” and I’ve had 4 or 5 of those people over the years; Vince Harris is one of them.” Now, he wasn’t using some intricate language pattern or complex persuasion strategy. Yet in that very moment, if Kevin would have been selling cheap versions of the once famous Pet Rock, I’d have been the first one in line.

None of us like to feel like we are being sold or persuaded; we do however like to feel good about ourselves, and when the person that helps us do so, also happens to have a product or service available, we sure do like to “repay” them for the good deeds they have been so generous with. You could actually think of it as an invisible form of reciprocity. The Law of Reciprocity states that when we give someone something that has a perceived value for them, they will feel compelled to return that favor. I ask you, what do you and I value more than a heartfelt compliment?

To be sure, there are some almost magical influence strategies that will move others to action, and they should all be used where appropriate. They should however, especially when dealing with men, be used beneath the canopy of praise. When you have first praised the person before you, everything else you do or say will have an amplified impact. It’s easy to throw a big rock through a window, but when the window in question has already been cracked, even the smallest of pebbles will get the job done.

The next time you wish to influence someone try this: forget about what methods you will use, or what masterful words you might say; the words that will be heard as “masterful” by others, are the ones that are used to deliver the sweet sound of praise…about them!

You may be surprised to discover that when others feel as though you are the “angel” of good feelings, that almost any words will be effective for purpose of presenting your proposal. You might also be reminded of how good you feel, when your day has been full of assisting others to feel good too.

As you can see, depending on the technical and financial influence of your product and service, there are many groups that can be involved. Also, the impact your proposal has on their organization will determine how many of the above groups will get involved.

These people generally will only be involved for a short time, and then not be involved at all after your proposal has been accepted.

The keys for these groups are the following.

· They judge the measurable and quantifiable aspects of your proposal.

· They are mostly box tickers. They have certain specifications that have been set up beforehand, and they tick off whether you meet those specifications or not.

· They can and will make recommendations

· They cannot say yes, but they can say no, and their vote carries quite a bit of weight.

The users often develop many of the specifications for a proposal. This group acts as the gatekeepers to ensure you have met those specifications. You need to understand who these groups are. It is often difficult to get to know them personally, because they are usually only involved for a short time during the proposal phase.

The key to this group is understanding that they are usually part of any proposal that will alter the way your prospect will do business, because of your proposal. However, you need to be aware of their influence, and if possible make every effort to meet and understand how they operate during the decision cycle.

Ian Dainty has been involved in selling and marketing for over 30 years. Ian started his business career with IBM. He has owned, grown and successfully sold two technology related businesses. Ian has trained thousands of sales, marketing and management people on strategies for opening new account, selling to small and medium sized businesses, as well as managing large Fortune 500 companies.

Most sales processes that are used today have the essence of competition at their core. Businesses find themselves competing against each other and sometimes even against their clients. Competition is seen as the normal way of doing business in an era characterized by commoditization. The commoditization trap that many businesses find themselves in is causes them to lower their prices while the cost and complexity of doing business increases. Shrinking profits and lower margins create a fear-based mentality that pushes competitiveness to a new level. Closing the deal quickly becomes more important than offering real value to the client. This Competitive Sales Process that most people are trained to use does not honor your innate ability to develop trust and create a meaningful encounter with prospects/clients.

Many people tend to invest tremendous amounts of time and energy to give away all of the knowledge they have accumulated over the years. They give it away for free and find themselves jumping through hoops trying to win the client over, overcome objections, deliver a sales presentation and create a proposal only to then have a 50/50 chance of getting the sale. The whole sales process can be extremely disheartening and de-motivating when you give away invaluable market information in the hopes of setting yourself apart from the hordes of competition believed to be out there lurking in the shadows. This mentality that makes you want to give away your knowledge for free as a way to stand above the competition is based on fear. The salesperson becomes increasingly frustrated at the cycle of giving and getting nothing back. When fear (of decreasing returns and of not getting the sale) is the motivating thought force behind an activity, the results that manifest will be the same as that from which they came. The Universal Law of Attraction shows us that a mentality focused on lack breeds lack.

The Competitive Sales Process creates an unequal relationship between the buyer and the seller. The buyer often expects a deeper commitment on your part without feeling the need to reciprocate. They have become accustomed to salespeople scrambling to make the sale with the hope of differentiating themselves from other companies in their marketplace. The seller is the one who invests all of their time, money, resources, creativity, skills and knowledge upfront, at no cost, in the hope of winning the sale.

Under The Competitive Sales Process that I used in recruitment sales, for example, payment was not received until project was complete. When the candidate was hired, I got paid. There were many times where our company would do 40-60% of the work only to find that the client had hired on their own and would not be completing the project with my firm. In other words, we did a lot of work and received no payment. Viewing The Competitive Sales Process from this perspective makes me wonder why so many businesses choose to remain caught in this trap when a much easier and more rewarding way of doing business exists.

The Competitive Sales Process dominates the global economy today and could be the result of the increasing complexity of doing business in the 21st Century. The internet, automation, the convergence of technologies, consolidation and globalization are the result of developed economies doing things bigger and better all in the name of progress. It is said that greater efficiencies, hence greater profits are a result of the forces of competition. What seems to happen, however, is that all of this progression puts a downward pressure on businesses to create their products or deliver the services faster and cheaper than ever before. We are made to believe that the consumers of products and services want their products faster and cheaper or they’ll go somewhere else. People are plugged in to a technological buzz that is supposed to make their lives easier, but in reality, it seems to make life significantly more complex.

The Competitive Sales Process is based upon a very common mentality that sees people and corporations fighting amongst themselves to win an elusive prize. Millions of businesses are preoccupied with gaining the competitive edge. There is a whole industry based on sales strategies, psychologies, processes and formulas designed to make each sales person more competitive than the next. The most common sales strategy that is taught is all about “the sales pitch” and “the close”. You’re taught how to approach the prospect, how to formulate and discuss features, benefits and evidence. You’re taught how to ask the right questions so that you can manipulate the situation in your favour. The training is usually about how to deal with objections and rebuttals and how to close the deal. Very rarely are sales people taught how to communicate at a level that produces a meaningful encounter. This is seen as a waste of time. You’re taught to focus on walking away with the order instead of focusing on how you can best serve the person you’re meeting with.

Instead, try recognizing that your prospects and clients are just like you. They have the same needs, the same fears, the same challenges and the same inner yearnings. Your prospects and clients also have the same creative energy at their center as you do. Their combination of strengths and abilities will be unique to them and are something that you can learn from, but their creative centers are just the same as yours.

When you learn to see others as the same as you, you will have a much easier time building trusting and highly rewarding relationships. Your ability to treat your prospects and clients in a manner that appeals to their highest values as people will increase, enabling you to tap into the an endless abundance of good coming your way. As a business developer, this good takes the form of increased sales revenues.

Your ability to have a meaningful encounter with your prospects and clients creates a chain reaction of word-of-mouth referrals. The most common method people use when sourcing out a new supplier in the 21st Century is their network of acquaintances. We are continuously bombarded with a vast array of marketing messages all designed to grab your attention and your money and have become increasingly pessimistic about what we see and hear in media marketing. Our reliance on acquaintances and people we trust to make sound referrals is how the majority of people today research a new supplier.

Meaningful encounters with prospects and clients can only increase your exposure to their extended network of acquaintances. As you continue to positively affect other people with your very presence, the effects transcend the immediacy of the interaction to people outside of your direct influence. Positive, uplifting encounters have been proven to raise the feel good substance called serotonin that is found within all people. When someone feels good, they operate at a high energy level and bring warmth to the people they personally interact with. A positive encounter with another person has the potential to affect thousands upon thousands of people.

If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker on the market for a good quality internet mortgage lead, keep in mind that cherry picking your leads may be the best way to go.

In short, having the ability to view your lead before you buy it, pretty much can’t be beat. This way you know exactly what you are getting before you buy it.

Another thing that you should look for when it comes to internet mortgage leads is the quality of the lead.

By quality I mean, how fresh is the lead? Just because you are given the ability to look at the lead before you buy it does not mean that the lead has not been recycled many times.

Make sure that you do your research. Look for the lead companies that own and operate the lead generation web sites that they use to obtain their leads.

Avoid the lead companies that acquire their leads from third party vendors and sell them at a profit to unassuming loan officers.

You all know the pain of calling a customer after paying for a lead and having them tell you they closed on the deal months ago.

So be sure to find out where exactly the internet mortgage lead company you are considering an investment with obtains their leads.

Talk with someone in customer service and ask specific questions about their leads and return policy.

And remember, if you are not happy with the answers provided to you by customer service, than it is more than likely that you will not be happy with their product.

Now that you're two months into 2007, have you given much thought to how you plan to increase your productivity this year; that is, your sales and gross margin?

If you are compensated on the basis of a commission or if you can earn a bonus by achieving certain sales and/or gross margin goals, you are a fortunate salesperson because you are -- to a large extent -- in charge of your financial destiny. Your raise becomes effective when you do.

Most employees would kill for such an opportunity. But to take full advantage of this coveted opportunity, you must generate more results.

As a salesperson with your pay tied to productivity, there are only three ways to earn a higher income:

1. You can sell more to your existing customers.

2. You can bring in new customers that currently buy from the competition.

3. You can improve the gross margin you generate in 2007 versus the gross margin you generated in 2006.

In survey after survey, salespeople report that TIME is their number one challenge. They say that if they only had more time, or if they were able to manage their time more effectively, that they could sell more.

Well, we all have 24 hours a day, so one of the few ways all salespeople are equal is with respect to time. It's how salespeople use these 24 hours that separates the high achievers from those that are struggling to keep the many balls they're juggling now up in the air.

The secret is to periodically measure where your time is going. My recommendation is for at least two weeks per year, keep a time log and determine how your time is being spent -- and where you are wasting time. You can create for yourself 1.56 additional weeks a year if you can figure out a way to stop wasting just 15 minutes per day.

Here's how the math works: 15 minutes per day times 5 days = 75 minutes per week times 50 weeks per year = 3750 minutes per year divided by 60 minutes in an hour = 62.5 hours per year divided by 40 hours = 1.56 additional work weeks per year.

Figure out how to stop wasting 30 minutes per day and you will pick up the equivalent of 3.12 additional work weeks a year.

Just a few weeks ago a friend of mine (Jim Meisenheimer at www.meisenheimer.com) told me that instead of watching TV until 11 p.m. and getting up at 6:00 a.m., he was going to begin going to bed at 9 p.m. and getting up at 4:30 a.m. So I decided to give this idea a try.

Using the above mathematical calculations, I began going to bed at 10 PM versus 9 PM and began getting up at 5:15 AM instead of 6:15 AM, so you can see that I picked up an additional two hours per day that I did not have with my old schedule.

PROSPECTING: Do you have a list of creditworthy prospects written down on a sheet of paper to pursue in 2007? How many monthly prospect calls will you commit to in 2007? After you've made these commitments, you must monitor your activities at the end of each week to make sure that you've not drifted back into your old habits.

FACE TIME: How much "face time" do you spend with customers and prospects each week? If you could do a better job of organizing your day so that you would have more "face time" with your customers and prospects, you're productivity should improve significantly. So you may wish to add "face time" to what you measure each week.

QUOTE TO ORDER RATIO: What percentage of your quotes become orders? The typical salesperson will only convert 20% to 25% of all quotes into orders. If you are not happy with your quote to order ratio, maybe you're quoting too indiscriminately. If you're quoting too much, you're probably spending too much time on the process of working up prices for your bids. At between three and four hours per bid, you may be wasting too much time using the biding process as a marketing tool.

Are you a salesperson or a "quoteperson?"

Quoting is not selling. Quoting is a task. Selling is persuading a customer or prospect to make a buying decision that is in his or her best interest. If you offer the greatest value (a combination of service, quality and price), that means more customers buying from you versus buying from the competition.

So set a goal for 2007 to improve your quote to order ratio by x number of percentage points.

PERSONAL MARKETING PLAN: What will you do to market yourself more effectively in 2007 that you didn't do in 2006?

Will you send customers and prospects more thank-you notes? Send postcards to your customers and prospects when you go on vacation? Publish a personal contractor newsletter with money-making ideas your customers and prospects will value? Remember that for your sales to take off, you must be on the customer's and prospect's minds when they are ready to buy.

If you have quite a few competitors in your market selling the same kinds of products you sell, with similar service and with a similar level of quality, one of your first decisions is figuring out how to persuade customers and prospects to do business with you instead of with one of your competitors. This is what selling is all about.

We all have 24 hours in a day. But to optimize your selling time, you must do a better job of managing how you spend your time. Try keeping score in 2007 and I believe you will find several opportunities to get more productivity out of your day.

One of the most stressful moments for most sales people comes at the point when they have to decide whether or not to go around someone they have been dealing with to that point, be they client or prospect.

Some call it end run, backdoor, go over someone’s head, run around, what ever you call it, it’s never an easy decision, and certainly not always the right tactic; having said that it is more often the right choice than most sales people believe.

There are a number of factors in determining if and when to do an end run in order to win a deal. The value of the product/solution to the client organization; how pervasive is your solution in the client’s organization; how the client goes about purchasing both in terms of deciding and executing the purchase. And most notably, how good the rep is to begin with.

Assumably, top notch sellers will not get pigeon holed in a way that will force them to make that decision, but experience has shown that when they have to, they tend to go for it and usually win.

At the same time reps who sell solutions that rightly or wrongly have traditionally had lower perceived value or commoditized products/services such as packaging, office supplies, print services, copiers and office equipment, promotional items, industrial supply, and others, are the most reluctant to do an end run. These are the very reps that should be expanding their sales beyond their traditional buyers. The same reps who usually confuse users (the wholly grail end user) with real decision makers, sadly too many settle for dealing the purchasing.

Consider this, in “32 percent of the situations a corporate buyer has no say in what they buy”; further “while it’s in only 32 percent of the situations in which they have no say, those situations cover 68 percent of the dollars spent. In other words, the bigger the ticket the stronger the probability that the buyer has no say in what they buy, so you must get to the decision maker for bigger ticket sales (and the sooner the better). " Lawrence L. Steinmetz, William T. Brooks: How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors: Winning Every Sale at Full Price, Rate, or Fee

So if you are dealing with “end users” or purchasing (buyers), and are reluctant to move for fear of retaliation or loss of future business, you are doing yourself and your company great harm. If you view these individuals as your clients and not their company, it will cost you. Yet we still hear a lot of reps tell us that they can't abandon their “champions”, “I can’t do that to my contact”. Bear in mind that today’s champion is tomorrow’s albatross.

It may be stating the obvious, but one way to avoid the dilemma is to begin the whole process differently. By staying away from the wrong people at the start of the sale you will save a lot of sorrow and effort later in the process. If your solution has impact across the organization, you need to align with people who also have influence across the organization. If you are selling a ten pound service, there is no point in talking to someone who can only carry a five pound bag. No point in trying to sell a six figure product to a five figure guy. Many managers have a timeframe of weeks, so if your product doesn’t fit that timeframe, you heading to a point where you're going to have to do an end run.

And that’s alright, you have little to lose, and if you do it right, you’ll end up with much more powerful allies than the person you just went around. It all has to start right, as mentioned above, the company is your customer not the individual, individuals and their role are much more transient than entire companies. Sell to the company from the outset; tell your contact you appreciate the opportunity to talk to them, as you will with others in the company who will benefit from your solution. Ask them how they have made similar decisions in the past; why they have chosen to do it that way, and you’ll soon discover who else needs to be involved. Probe and validate their buying process and you’ll find a straight line to others you’ll need to engage. Then ask them to bring these people into the process, if they turn you down, go it alone, their bark is worst then their bite.

Again at the risk of stating the obvious, you can always start at the top. It is true that not every decision requires an executive, but it doesn’t hurt. They know what’s going on and why; they can certainly give you the insight you need to get to the project level decision maker; and your relationship with them can be the ultimate tie breaker. They certainly see the big picture more clearly than folks you’ll do an end run around. How many times did you stick with “your contact” only to find out that the decision was made by someone higher up the food chain?

To illustrate, take the example of an industrial supply (MRO) company that was continuously mired down with purchasing managers who spent their time squeezing pennies from their reps, always holding up quotes from competitors until price concessions were made (isn’t that sort of like a reverse end run?). They were finally encouraged to go around these managers and took their sale to the CFO’s and VP’s of finance. At that level the discussion went from pennies to big dollars; from incidental savings to major cost take out, not only in terms of pricing, but the value add in the form of systems, inventory management, fulfillment, invoicing, allocation, etc. In other words they had the right message in the right language. The end result was bigger contracts, since CFO’s have influence across the whole company, and since the purchase managers reported to someone who reports to the CFO, their role and influence was limited to implementation and facilitating the needs of the new value add strategic supplier.

So go ahead, liberate your stalled sales, and get past your obstacle. If you don’t you can bet someone else is, why not you!

Tibor Shanto, is a Principal with Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., Renbor Sales Solutions Inc. enables companies achieve sustained growth, by focusing on critical aspects of revenue growth. By recognizing that an outstanding sales force is THE differentiator in today’s environment, our clients with our help, focus on the development of both strategic and tactical initiatives to foster a winning team that will out think, out sell and out perform competitors while consistently gaining market share.

A 2007 survey conducted by Pitney Bowes revealed that Tuesday was the #1 arrival day for direct mail for three reasons:

1. It’s the lightest mail day in the U.S.

2. Having your letter delivered to a prospect on the day they receive the least amount of mail boosts your chances of the piece being opened and read!

3. Every other day in the week falls short.

HERE'S WHY: according to a related article in CRM Today, Monday is a bad day for contact because the Monday Blues will be descending and thoughts will be split between the weekend’s activities and the challenges that the week holds in store.

By Tuesday the weekend has quickly become a distant memory and minds are focused.

Any day thereafter, the mindset may be, “Well, I’ll deal with it next week.”

So, Tuesday is the day.

HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: what pieces do you send to prospects, customers and potential clients that are unique, memorable and persuasive?

I’m glad you asked. Here’s a list of seven ways to convert Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

1. Event Postcard. When my St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 (woo hoo!) I bought a box of limited edition postcards and sent them out to my top 50 prospects. On the back of the card I wrote “GOOOOOO CARDS!” Half of them called me back within two days. One client even booked me to do another round of training for his hotel! Going…going…GONE!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What well-known, hometown event/holiday could you leverage to make your prospects think of you?

2. Article. If you come across an article that’s relevant to your prospect, his company or his industry, send that baby out! Emailing a link works best, although snail-mail and faxing works too. Just be sure to leave a little note (on your stationary, of course) that reads, “Thought of you when I saw this!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What publications are your prospects reading?

3. (Your) Article. Better yet, send them an article YOU wrote. If it’s online, shoot them an email with the link. If it’s in print, send a copy in the mail. If possible, use your prospect as a positive example in your article. Then highlight that section when you send it to them. Appeal to their ego.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What did you write today?

4. Travel Postcards. Every summer I spend a few weeks in Geneva, Switzerland, speaking at a youth leadership camp. One of my traditions is to stop by the local souvenir shop, pick up a few dozen postcards, grab a seat with a view of the Alps and spend the next half hour telling my prospects, “I wish you were here!” NOTE: the key to this technique is to offer Social Proof. Don’t forget to “mention” in your postcard that the reason you’re traveling is because you’re working with an existing client.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When is your next business trip? To whom are you going to write home about it?

5. Mindshare. Sales isn’t about MARKETshare, it’s about MINDshare. So, complete the following sentence: “If my prospects saw (x), they would think of me right away.” Now send them one.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What item immediately makes people think of you?

6. Blog Posts. Similar to emailing an article, try sending a blog post to your prospects. I do this every time I return from working with a client. I’ll blog about the speech by showing pictures and sharing stories from audience members. Sometimes my client will even comment on the post! Then I’ll email that blog post to similar prospects and say, “Just got back from another successful program in Pittsburgh! Thought you’d like to see a few pictures…”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your excuse for not blogging yet?

7. Pictures. If you store your pictures online at Flickr or Photo Bucket, email the links to your prospects. CAUTION: be sure your pictures are 1) high quality, 2) professional and 3) show you doing what you do. Demonstrate value by sharing pictures of you and your existing clients laughing, having fun and working well together. Think of it as a testimonial, minus the words. Let the picture do the talking. And make your prospect think, “Man, maybe WE should be working with these guys!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Do you have pictures that show you doing what you do?

BOTTOM LINE: people who get noticed get ahead. Don’t get caught in the Normality Trap by using the same old, tired follow-up. Make your approach unique and unforgettable, and you’ll be certain to turn Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

A 2007 survey conducted by Pitney Bowes revealed that Tuesday was the #1 arrival day for direct mail for three reasons:

1. It’s the lightest mail day in the U.S.

2. Having your letter delivered to a prospect on the day they receive the least amount of mail boosts your chances of the piece being opened and read!

3. Every other day in the week falls short.

HERE'S WHY: according to a related article in CRM Today, Monday is a bad day for contact because the Monday Blues will be descending and thoughts will be split between the weekend’s activities and the challenges that the week holds in store.

By Tuesday the weekend has quickly become a distant memory and minds are focused.

Any day thereafter, the mindset may be, “Well, I’ll deal with it next week.”

So, Tuesday is the day.

HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: what pieces do you send to prospects, customers and potential clients that are unique, memorable and persuasive?

I’m glad you asked. Here’s a list of seven ways to convert Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

1. Event Postcard. When my St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 (woo hoo!) I bought a box of limited edition postcards and sent them out to my top 50 prospects. On the back of the card I wrote “GOOOOOO CARDS!” Half of them called me back within two days. One client even booked me to do another round of training for his hotel! Going…going…GONE!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What well-known, hometown event/holiday could you leverage to make your prospects think of you?

2. Article. If you come across an article that’s relevant to your prospect, his company or his industry, send that baby out! Emailing a link works best, although snail-mail and faxing works too. Just be sure to leave a little note (on your stationary, of course) that reads, “Thought of you when I saw this!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What publications are your prospects reading?

3. (Your) Article. Better yet, send them an article YOU wrote. If it’s online, shoot them an email with the link. If it’s in print, send a copy in the mail. If possible, use your prospect as a positive example in your article. Then highlight that section when you send it to them. Appeal to their ego.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What did you write today?

4. Travel Postcards. Every summer I spend a few weeks in Geneva, Switzerland, speaking at a youth leadership camp. One of my traditions is to stop by the local souvenir shop, pick up a few dozen postcards, grab a seat with a view of the Alps and spend the next half hour telling my prospects, “I wish you were here!” NOTE: the key to this technique is to offer Social Proof. Don’t forget to “mention” in your postcard that the reason you’re traveling is because you’re working with an existing client.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When is your next business trip? To whom are you going to write home about it?

5. Mindshare. Sales isn’t about MARKETshare, it’s about MINDshare. So, complete the following sentence: “If my prospects saw (x), they would think of me right away.” Now send them one.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What item immediately makes people think of you?

6. Blog Posts. Similar to emailing an article, try sending a blog post to your prospects. I do this every time I return from working with a client. I’ll blog about the speech by showing pictures and sharing stories from audience members. Sometimes my client will even comment on the post! Then I’ll email that blog post to similar prospects and say, “Just got back from another successful program in Pittsburgh! Thought you’d like to see a few pictures…”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your excuse for not blogging yet?

7. Pictures. If you store your pictures online at Flickr or Photo Bucket, email the links to your prospects. CAUTION: be sure your pictures are 1) high quality, 2) professional and 3) show you doing what you do. Demonstrate value by sharing pictures of you and your existing clients laughing, having fun and working well together. Think of it as a testimonial, minus the words. Let the picture do the talking. And make your prospect think, “Man, maybe WE should be working with these guys!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Do you have pictures that show you doing what you do?

BOTTOM LINE: people who get noticed get ahead. Don’t get caught in the Normality Trap by using the same old, tired follow-up. Make your approach unique and unforgettable, and you’ll be certain to turn Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

“I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”

Recognize those words?

Straight from the mouth of J. Wellington, aka “Wimpy,” famous for his appearances in the Popeye cartoons.

Wimpy’s unforgettable character first aired in 1934. Interestingly, 70+ years later, his words still contain a nugget of truth: Tuesday is the day.

A 2007 survey conducted by Pitney Bowes revealed that Tuesday was the #1 arrival day for direct mail for three reasons:

1. It’s the lightest mail day in the U.S.

2. Having your letter delivered to a prospect on the day they receive the least amount of mail boosts your chances of the piece being opened and read!

3. Every other day in the week falls short.

HERE'S WHY: according to a related article in CRM Today, Monday is a bad day for contact because the Monday Blues will be descending and thoughts will be split between the weekend’s activities and the challenges that the week holds in store.

By Tuesday the weekend has quickly become a distant memory and minds are focused.

Any day thereafter, the mindset may be, “Well, I’ll deal with it next week.”

So, Tuesday is the day.

HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: what pieces do you send to prospects, customers and potential clients that are unique, memorable and persuasive?

I’m glad you asked. Here’s a list of seven ways to convert Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

1. Event Postcard. When my St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 (woo hoo!) I bought a box of limited edition postcards and sent them out to my top 50 prospects. On the back of the card I wrote “GOOOOOO CARDS!” Half of them called me back within two days. One client even booked me to do another round of training for his hotel! Going…going…GONE!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What well-known, hometown event/holiday could you leverage to make your prospects think of you?

2. Article. If you come across an article that’s relevant to your prospect, his company or his industry, send that baby out! Emailing a link works best, although snail-mail and faxing works too. Just be sure to leave a little note (on your stationary, of course) that reads, “Thought of you when I saw this!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What publications are your prospects reading?

3. (Your) Article. Better yet, send them an article YOU wrote. If it’s online, shoot them an email with the link. If it’s in print, send a copy in the mail. If possible, use your prospect as a positive example in your article. Then highlight that section when you send it to them. Appeal to their ego.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What did you write today?

4. Travel Postcards. Every summer I spend a few weeks in Geneva, Switzerland, speaking at a youth leadership camp. One of my traditions is to stop by the local souvenir shop, pick up a few dozen postcards, grab a seat with a view of the Alps and spend the next half hour telling my prospects, “I wish you were here!” NOTE: the key to this technique is to offer Social Proof. Don’t forget to “mention” in your postcard that the reason you’re traveling is because you’re working with an existing client.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When is your next business trip? To whom are you going to write home about it?

5. Mindshare. Sales isn’t about MARKETshare, it’s about MINDshare. So, complete the following sentence: “If my prospects saw (x), they would think of me right away.” Now send them one.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What item immediately makes people think of you?

6. Blog Posts. Similar to emailing an article, try sending a blog post to your prospects. I do this every time I return from working with a client. I’ll blog about the speech by showing pictures and sharing stories from audience members. Sometimes my client will even comment on the post! Then I’ll email that blog post to similar prospects and say, “Just got back from another successful program in Pittsburgh! Thought you’d like to see a few pictures…”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your excuse for not blogging yet?

7. Pictures. If you store your pictures online at Flickr or Photo Bucket, email the links to your prospects. CAUTION: be sure your pictures are 1) high quality, 2) professional and 3) show you doing what you do. Demonstrate value by sharing pictures of you and your existing clients laughing, having fun and working well together. Think of it as a testimonial, minus the words. Let the picture do the talking. And make your prospect think, “Man, maybe WE should be working with these guys!”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Do you have pictures that show you doing what you do?

BOTTOM LINE: people who get noticed get ahead. Don’t get caught in the Normality Trap by using the same old, tired follow-up. Make your approach unique and unforgettable, and you’ll be certain to turn Touchpoint Tuesday into Wealthy Wednesday.

It’s been one of those days; Ben has made several calls today with mixed results. One has really got him pondering what he is doing wrong. A customer decided to go with a competitor whose salesman has a questionable reputation. The competitive sales person promises a great deal, most of which he and his company rarely delivers. The product quality is ok yet not equal to Ben’s equipment.

Ben had questioned the customer about the purchase decision only to get a vague answer about feeling better about the other company despite the known reputation and pricing was not the issue.

As Ben pulls up to the coffee shop to take a break and clear his mind, he sees a salesperson from a different company, Susan, she is also taking a break and they sit down together for coffee. Ben tells his story about the lost sale and how he doesn’t understand what he did wrong or missed. Susan indicates she might have some insight as she knows the customer and some of his connections.

“You see Ben, this customer knows John at BBC and he thinks this other sales person walks on water, even though BBC has had problems with him and his promises. I bet John told your customer to trust this guy even though your customer knew about the problems BBC had been having.” Says Susan.

“That doesn’t make sense!” retorts Ben.

“You’re right” says Susan, “It is not logical, but you have to understand most people do not realize how preconditioning affects their decisions.”

(For those of you not in sales, hang on, this applies to all communications.)

“Now you got me at a disadvantage, what is this preconditioning you’re talking about?” asks Ben.

“I was just reading an article by Dr. Kevin Hogan; he’s the guy that studies why people make choices and why some are not logical.” “In this article Dr. Hogan sites a recent test to see how preconditioning affects our choices. It goes like this:”

Test subjects were asked to trust a total stranger in the experiment. All of them were given a written description of their intended partner’s behavior of which some indicated great trustworthiness and others being not so trustworthy. They were also told that their partners actual behavior might not fit the description they were given. In short, they might be described as an angle yet act like a complete Jerk or vise versa.

Now all of us have some built in radar that tends to pickup on such behaviors in others and of course there is the logic side of a choice as well. What happened is that even though the partner’s behavior was angle like and trustworthy, if the description was negative so was the trust. The same for the partner that acted like a jerk and showed no signs or trustworthiness but had a good written description was trusted most of the time!

What it showed is people tend to believe the information they get ahead of time rather than the new information they see for themselves. This is called preconditioning and the media, gossip and other sources do this to us everyday! As Dr. Hogan puts it, “Labels prime thinking!”

“Ok, so you think my customer was preconditioned by his friend John and didn’t take into consideration the logic of what I could provide?” asks Ben.

“Most likely that is what happened. That is the power of opinion and recommendation, it preconditions ones thinking and can override what we see as logic or good common sense!” explains Susan.

“So how do you deal with this preconditioning when you run in to it?” ask Ben.

“First of all I approach every communications with the idea that I do not know enough about this person or situation. I always ask additional questions to help me understand what and how they are thinking today. I always hold of f on the logic until I get a good understanding of how they see the situation and the players that are involved. This gives me a good insight into their current beliefs and views. Then I can create strategies on how to align with those beliefs or work on changing them.” She replies.

“Huh? What is it you just said?” ask Ben with a puzzled look.

“It’s this way Ben, “people see what they want to see”. If a person has a certain view point, belief or reference that is how they will see the situation even with new or different information being provided. It’s one of the 10 Laws of Persuasion. Just look at some of the candidates on the American Idol try outs. Do you think some of them see what they want to see or hear in this case? So our job is to try and understand why they see the situation the way they do and then figure out how to fit our solution to that view or change the view!” Susan explains with more intensity.

“Alright, so if I understand this, what I should have done is focused more on understanding how my customer was thinking rather than selling my facts and benefits to him?” Ben asks with anticipation.

“Absolutely!” says Susan. “I rarely talk facts and benefits anymore. If I can understand the other persons view and basis for that view point it enables me to present ideas in a way that they readily accept and I am not pushing something down their throat!”

Ben sighs and asks, “How do you know what to listen and look for?”

“It’s this way,” explains Susan, “If you are focused only on your product you will only hear ideas that relate to your product. If you listen for ideas that tell you someone’s beliefs and views you’ll hear them. It’s all about what you’re focused on, the customer’s situation or your product sale!”

“Great, so I focus on views and beliefs and uncover some, then what?” is Ben’s question.

“I call them “follow-up questions” and they can be any short question that gets the other person talking more about that belief or view. The question “why” is used in every encounter I have. Some others are “tell me more”, “how did that happen”, “what caused that” and about fifty other variations.

“So let me get this straight. I should be focusing on the situation and peoples views rather than my product. I should ask more open questions to get more of that information and then use the “follow-up” questions to get at the beliefs and views?” queries Ben.

Author's Box is a short description at the end of an article. This is a great tool to promote your site or blog address, or even just your email address. I you do run a business, just imagine this as the gate to your business. Or let's think about simple but attractive display of your shop.

When people see an interesting or attractive display, at least he/she will stop for a while to enjoy the sight. Next possibility is he/she will enter your shop to find out if the real stuffs you sell are as attractive as what displayed on your shop's window. If your visitors are satisfied with what they find, they will probably make a business deal with you. If this happen repeatedly, it means that your business is running well.

Author's box has almost the same function with display in a store. It shouldn’t be fancy, but it SHOULD be interesting. Use active sentence(s) with simple words so that it will be easier to understand. Remember, this is not a poem contest :-)

If you submit your article to an article resources website such as EzineArticles.com, there’s a great possibility that your article will be republished by unlimited number websites or even other article resources publishers. Of course your author’s box containing your link will be republished too.

So, don’t forget to put a link to your blog or website on the author’s box.. Just write down your link as it is. I mean, if your link is http://moneysucker.co.nr just write down like that. Don’t write Click here with a link put under these words. Why? Because we never know if someone who want to republish our article has much time to copy and paste it into his/her html editor. There is always possibility that he/she just copy and paste it into text editor such as notepad. If you only write down a click-here with link under those words, your link will never be shown at all when your article is republished.

If you been in sales for quite a while or you are new to sales than you know that cold calling is a waste of time. Many people call cold calling telesales but whatever you call it if you're spending your time cold calling your not maximizing your time.

In the never-ending battle to try to find more sales leads many people revert to cold calling as a method to find new business. Sure cold calling can find you find new business and the occasional hot prospect but the problem is that there are so many other things you can do to eliminate when a cold calling.

Cold calling can have a effect on your self-esteem, can affect your mood and outlook, and just is downright not very fun. When prospecting for new customers follow a plan to find these new customers that will end cold calling, as we know the cold calling is a waste of time you need a plan of attack to find hot prospects and have them come to you as opposed to you constantly bugging them with cold calls.

A couple of ways you can find new leads is to offer your services as a speaker for a local Chamber of Commerce meeting or any other industry-specific meeting that you can lend value to. Write an article and find ways to have it published and again make it specific to the industry you're targeting. Set up an e-mail auto responder series for your prospects and send them e-mails that are not "salesey" but something that'll actually add value to their day and will hopefully solve some of the problems that are currently facing.

In all the articles I have read about how to make a sale none have touched on the basics, all have guaranteed that if you follow their advice and use all the tricks from the box you will become the worlds best salesman. When I read these articles the adage comes to mind “If you can’t do the job TEACH”.

I have not yet seen any published advice from a Salesman or even a Sales Manager, it all emanates from sales training organisations or, university graduates who have never had to stand before a potential customer with briefcase in one hand and business card in the other hoping this potential customer will help generate sufficient income to buy a new DVD player or if they have they soon moved into training.

Tricks and affability are the order of the day, which appears to suggest that if the tricks do not work make the customer feel sorry for you,. Customers who feel sorry for you or have succumbed to trickery do not remain customers for very long and soon move on to a product or service that meets their needs and you do not remain a salesman for long.

If you sell a product to a customer and the product does not meet his needs you will not be a supplier the customer can trust. To initiate that trust the salesman must understand his product inside out and believe in his product understanding the benefits and drawbacks. All the best salesmen have a knowledge of their product that is beyond the understanding of any costly marketing department. The best salesman will understand how the product works, where it works, how it works, why it works and why it does not work, he will also have a working knowledge of the customer that even the customer may not have and a good salesman will not recommend his product to a customer or potential customer if it is not going to do the job, a good salesman will recommend another company.

I can hear the groans of sales managers and trainers around the world “Recommend another company, he must be mad!” If you have built up trust with the buyer over several years and then stiff him for a few bananas then it is you who are bananas as you have lost the trust of that customer and the customer.

What makes a good salesman is not tricks but an in-depth understanding of his product, his employer, his customer and all their shortcomings, then you have created a magician who can pull out of the hat a product or service that will meet all the customers needs.

For the past twenty years, and until I took retirement, I have been employed as a freelance negotiator, even though I was the chairman of a small private bank, a precious metals haulage company and a finance house. I have negotiated on behalf of numerous companies, governments, local authorities, Presidents and Kings. My negotiating skills have been used to obtain business, avoid bankruptcy, join businesses and raise billions of US$ in finance.

Today I run a small antiques and collectables business on the internet and help businesses with problems if they need me. My advice has helped lawyers free their clients from prison for breaches of company law and also seen of creditors with plausible claims. I have had several articles published but never written a book -- I cannot imagine that anyone would want to be bored by me for that long and pay for the privilege.

There are so many get-rich schemes. Beware and hold on to your wallet! There are many home-based businesses selling all types of products. How do you know which one to choose? How do you know what to look for? How do you know if the products are really good without spending a fortune to find out? These are all legitimate concerns.

I have been an Avon District Sales Manager for almost 9 years and before that, I sold Avon for over 10 years. I speak from experience — if you have a vision and are determined to reach your goals, Avon can be the vehicle to get you there. Here are some reasons:

Avon is probably the lowest-cost business to start. “The cost of lunch could change your life!” is my motto. Only $10 to start! No inventory! No sales quotas! No stress!

Avon can give you financial freedom — in the Avon world there are hundreds of woman and some husband/wife teams earning a six-figure income. They have taken the career path … not only selling the products but sharing the opportunity through networking Avon to people everywhere.

Avon offers on-line training to all representatives. These courses are absolutely FREE and teach money management, the Beauty of Knowledge, the Power of 3, how to market your products, how to build your business and find new customers everywhere you go.

Avon representatives can have their own website and sell to family and friends all over the U.S.

Avon’s products are guaranteed 100%. If the customer is not happy, the representative can ask for credit and return the product to Avon.

Avon gives every new representative a credit line of at least $100 — (s)he orders the product, it is shipped directly to his/her door and (s)he pays the bill before submitting the next order.

Avon has products for every member of the family. The representative has giftable items, DVD’s, clothing, licensed products like Dora and Bob the Builder and many more items to entice the customers.

Avon’s SKINCARE is the BEST! The Research & Development Department is always finding new technology to combat the signs of aging. Our Clinical line takes the needle / pain / high cost / doctor’s visit out of having botox treatments, laser treatments, collagen injections, and thermal face lifts.

And best of all, the representative can earn anywhere from 20% to 50%, depending on how much time and effort (s)he puts into the business.

I was an Avon representative from 1978 to 1988. My sales put me in the top 10 of my district and made it possible to remodel my kitchen with brand new cupboards and appliances. Our Christmas presents were always Avon products … family and friends loved getting the holiday decorations and jewelry. My sons learned the benefits of hard work and enjoyed helping me tag my brochures and make deliveries. We made long lasting friendships with so many wonderful people.

Our style of negotiation will be influenced by the style of the other party. If both sides are adversarial; there will be little trust between the two parties, however, if one side decides to be co-operative, there is a danger the other side will use this apparent sign of weakness to their advantage.

Co-operative bargaining has the advantage of being a more efficient style of negotiation, however certain rules have to be followed by both parties for it to work. Let us look at the two styles of bargaining and their features:

Features Of Adversarial Bargaining:

• Each side takes up a position and defends it.

• Opening bids are set at unrealistic levels; too high or too low, in order to give

room for manoeuvre.

• Movement is small or non-existent until later on in the negotiation.

• Tactics are used to gain short term advantage.

• Too much emphasis is placed on trust. .This really is my best price!

• Information is withheld, or misrepresented.

• The outcome is often “win-lose”, or “lose-lose”.

• The more aggressive negotiator usually does best.

• This style does not encourage long term, mutually beneficial relationships.

• Neither side asks enough questions, or explores alternatives in sufficient depth.

Features Of Co-Operative Bargaining:

• Each side recognizes that the other has needs and feelings and accepts implicit rules.

• Objective measures are taken of what is fair and reasonable.

• Trust is not an issue as either side is willing to share information.

• This style is friendly, but not soft. There is a willingness to trade concessions.

• There is a clear, communicable strategy.

• Bad behavior is punished.

• This style involves creative problem solving.

• It encourages long term, mutually profitable relationships.

• Each side asks more questions and explores alternatives, rather than taking up fixed positions.

• The usual outcome is “win-win”

What? What are deserving customers? I want to sell to everybody, don’t I? Well… do you?

Smith Manufacturing Company, one of your best customers, regularly buys from you and your company. They order pieces and parts yet seldom yield an opportunity to solve larger manufacturing, production or quality problems, choosing instead to call other companies for these services, some of which may be your competitors. They call frequently, requiring lots of assistance from your inside sales and shipping people. They seem to have many issues too, issues that frequently require your attention and those of your customer service department. They pay late, but they always pay eventually. They buy at a discount and you earn less profit than you should for an account of this type. You call on them regularly, socialize with their managers over lunch and an occasional dinner, and enjoy a good reputation throughout their firm. You may feel this is one of your key accounts.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Or… does it sound all too familiar? We all have them; customers that consume a great deal of our resources. We like them. We like their employees. We spend a great deal of time there. The burning question becomes: Can we honestly continue to justify our current or growing level of investment of our resources in this account?

Jones Medical is also one of your regular customers. Your business here is quite different than at Smith Manufacturing Company. Here, you provide solutions based upon your product mix and your years of experience. Your profit margins are considerably higher and their company pays your invoices promptly, taking advantage of any particular terms you may offer. Your communications with their personnel are typically over the phone or via email. You make quarterly calls on key personnel and may occasionally take a key official to lunch. They operate in a very professional manner causing your inside salespeople, customer service staff and shipping department few problems. Since you are in the business of providing solutions, you often miss their more generic storeroom business since your "pieces and parts" competitor is often there weekly checking bins and drawers for needed low-margin, price-sensitive replacements. You have become an important resource to many key players in this company and they reward you with opportunities to serve them.

Let’s compare both types of customer. In your mind, quickly review your existing customer base. What do you see? Are there more Smith of Jones types of companies? Where do you spend the bulk of your time and resources? Which customers bring more complaints to you from your inside service staff? Where does the bulk of your gross profit come from? Which companies generate more of your costs? What are your opportunity costs? These are tough questions requiring tough decisions.

Many of us will find that we have far more customers like the Smith Manufacturing Company while actually needing to cultivate more customers like Jones Medical. How does this happen to be? As human beings, we tend to get comfortable. In fact, over time, we tend to get so comfortable that we actually get stuck in a rut and tend to remain there. Salesmen have told me that they simply don’t have the necessary time to locate and develop more customers like Jones Medical. "It is the Smith’s that pay the bills" they often say. That may look true on the surface, but underneath, the Smith-type companies are actually putting a stranglehold on your sales and earnings, causing the salesperson to experience a somewhat stable or declining income level.

I have found that at some regular interval, it is healthy to review my accounts and determine where we actually invest our precious resources as well as reviewing how much time we actually spend looking for additional customers. What I have found is that we often need far fewer Smith-types and considerably more Jones-types. Our sales and profit growth is going to come from establishing more accounts like Jones Medical and weaning ourselves away from our accounts like Smith Manufacturing. So what are we to do about it? How can we accomplish this?

Often, there may be a junior salesperson or a particular inside salesperson in your company that could be re-assigned these accounts. You might continue to see these customers quarterly to maintain contact and then share the commissions with your inside staff. It may however, be in your best interest to completely shed responsibility for these accounts, thus handing-off these customers to someone else. Alternately, you may be able to locate a new partner, another local company who is interested in servicing your Smith Companies, thus divesting yourself of them altogether. Sometimes, "firing" your customer is the only reasonable alternative.

I have several ex-customers and prospective accounts that I choose not to do business with. That’s right… I choose. While the reasons vary, the common thread is that pursuing their business is not a wise use of my time or company resources. The net profit gained from my selling investments there simply will not justify pursuing or keeping these customers. I choose to allow a competitor to service them. If my competitors are consumed with servicing these Smith-type accounts, I have more opportunities and less competition in pursing additional Jones-type accounts. It really is that simple.

What is required of you is clarity and self-honesty in evaluating your market position and your customer mix and the ability to make the tough choices. Remember, it is your territory, and it is your earnings at stake. Use your time wisely, invest your resources carefully and choose customers that your company can afford to deal with in a profitable manner. This is truly the selling scenario where everyone wins.

As a sales person how do you know when to give up on a lead. The short answer is never. People’s situation’s and circumstances change. You never really know when you can catch the client at the right moment for them.

I sell life insurance and the Majority of my clients come from a lead program with National Agents Alliance. In my Opinion they have the best lead program I have ever seen. I typically take 10 to 20 leads each week. I place the date I receive the lead and type of lead in the upper right hand corner. I typically will call a lead for about a month after I receive it then I place the lead in a separate pile.

My Goal is to schedule 15 to 20 Appointments each week off of these leads. My Prime calling times for appointment setting is Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 8am to about 9:30am and Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 6pm to 9pm.

Last week I only had about 9 or 10 appointments set with my most recent leads. I went back to my piles of leads and started calling on my leads from September, October and November. I was able to make 7 more appointments which have resulted in 3 sales and 2 follow-up appointments.

This week when I set my appointments I concentrated on the newer leads first and I did manage to set 12 appointments by Early Wednesday morning with leads no more then a month old. I also have 6 additional appointments with leads from September through November.

As a commission only salesperson my activity determines my paycheck. The more appointments I set, the more people I sit in front of. The More people I sit in front of the More Sales I make. The more sales the bigger my paycheck. There really is Gold in them there old leads all you need to do is mine it.

After some initial how-are-you, rapport building conversation, your prospect brings up what they called you about: “I called you because I don’t like the results we’re currently getting. I’ve heard you have something you can help us with.” What an opener for someone who provides a product or service to improve whatever the problem is! Maybe; if the provider or seller listens and understands first.

At this conversational juncture the meaning of the adage “Selling ain’t telling, asking is” takes on life form with buyer and seller face to face. It’s time to get to know the specifics of what’s said and not to respond with a sales presentation because you are eager talk just about what you can do!

One of the most difficult tasks a consultant, a salesperson, a manager or anyone tasked with the role of solution provider is to effectively influence a person to clarify their expectations.

Most customers, clients or buyers need help in clarifying what the issues are! Most may even need help in clarifying their objections. Sometimes they know and can’t express it. Sometimes they just don’t know.

An early task for a salesperson with a customer service spirit is to assess if a solution you have is the appropriate resolution to a potential customer’s situation. This requires that we ask questions and as a listener, help the client turn their statements and objections into specific information we can work with. It’s sort of like taking a lump of clay and then molding it into recognizable art.

Getting the specifics of a personal experience as opposed to our assessed or judgmental interpretation gives us information from the clients point of view. It helps them clarify their language when appropriate. If you want to travel from where you live to San Francisco, California, you would use a map which goes to San Francisco, not to Atlanta, Georgia. Use your client’s map of experiences. Leverage your personal experiences to explain things in your clients' way of understanding.

How will this knowledge about listening and clarifying of information cause power? It might not. To be effective at influencing our clients and to clarify what it is they want to achieve requires us to put in action skills such as listening and questions. This requires more than good intentions. It requires commitment. Commitment to understand first, and then to be understood.