How much time and effort does it take to locate a prospect, get past the secretary barrier, catch the guy at his desk, arrange an appointment, travel to see him / her, fact-find, draw up a proposal, present it, deal with objections. . . ?

A week, a month, a year?

Whichever, it's a lot. And if you don't close the sale, what do you get out of it apart from a deep desire to drink all the beer on the planet and throw the telly off the balcony?

Let's face it, the ability to close is right up there in importance with having your own reserved parking spot and an eye-candy personal assistant, who's single.

Here are the top 5 factors for powerful closing:

1) Make sure that there is nothing you have to apologize for to the client. (Don't turn up late, do what you said you were going to, make sure the demo actually works or the store looks busy and successful if you invite them to come in and take a look).

2) Don't do too much talking, ask the client for his opinions, listen to them and supply relevant information. Be a detective and discover what the single most important deciding factor is for him / her - that is what you now have to prove that you can deliver.

3) Build the client's confidence in the product, your organization and you. What gives confidence best of all is personal experience, so if the product / service is as good as you say it is, let the client try it before buying it. Another way is to take the client to another customer who is happy with what you do and leave the two of them to talk together.

4) If this is a big ticket item, for most personality types (the exception is the big-shot, power personality who needs ego-pumping by buying the best there is, irrespective of price), position yourself as the low-risk choice. "Mr customer, you might pay a bit less elsewhere, but if you do, allow some extra money for the risk'.

5) You must love your product, genuinely. If you are sincerely enthusiastic about it, your client will sense that you mean what you say. Fake this with acting and the impression you make will be 'cheesy'.

Once you have answered your prospects' questions to his satisfaction, ask, 'Are you happy with everything?' If you get a 'Yes', then CLOSE with, 'Then can we proceed?'

My consulting firm receives an average of 2 new product submissions from entrepreneur’s each day. Last year we viewed almost 700 such offerings. They ranged from the silly to the spectacular. The majority of these concepts actually possess some commercial merit. Nevertheless, fewer than a dozen of these will ever make it to market.

There are many reasons for the paucity of successful product launches. The process is challenging and many people are not up for the fight. Many people dream that their idea or concept can succeed, but at no risk or expense to themselves. Still others have recklessly expanded valuations on their product and thus, expectations that are not realistic.

From this deluge of creativity there are always a handful of gems that have all of the essential elements necessary for success. The one constant, however, is almost always capital; or the lack thereof. A certain base level of working capital is always necessary to market launch, license or create a strategic alliance for a new offering.

We have been successfully using a guerilla strategy for years that mitigates the level of investment to expose a product to the marketplace and secure a positive “Proof of Life”. This strategy has proven successful over and over and minimizes the costs of a full-scale inventory build before the chances for success has been fully vetted. Our goal is always to minimize risk until we have a clear positive green light from buyers and professional decision- makers in the product’s category.

We just returned from a Home and Garden Show in Orlando where we employed this strategy to successfully launch a garden tool. We secured a 10 foot display stand from show management (the smallest and least expensive in the show). For about $200 we had very professional vinyl signs created at a local franchise shop.

Our client had a friend with some creative photography talent and we utilized him to shoot stills of the product in action in a nice garden. The client’s wife did the voice over and we edited the photos into a video loop that we ran continuously for the duration of the show. That brings us the most vexing question: How do you display product when you haven’t built inventory? We regularly have to address this issue. We have our graphic artist create art for the product based on creative direction that we provide. This art is the basis for the package that contains the product, a counter display and sales collateral.

We have one or two pieces of the actual product made. IMPORTANT! This must be a production quality prototype. It must have all of the features and benefits that factory production pieces will offer. Do not take shortcuts here. These few pieces are the demonstration models that we use to dazzle the buyers.

The next step is to look bigger, a whole lot bigger, than we really are. We do this by using a boutique display presentation. We use the graphic art to create two, three or four counter displays. These are done at local printers, hand die cut and assembled. The front facing of the display contents are dressed with the graphics but are actually empty of product. Behind the front tier of graphically dressed, but empty product boxes, we have blanks to make the display appear full. Usually all dummy display contents are glued down.

The sales collateral is printed based on the creative we utilize on the display and unit carton. The brochure has embellished copy points and expands more fully on the unique features and benefits the product offers. Also included are pricing, terms, conditions and contact numbers.

The process I described saves our clients tens of thousands of dollars, shortens the process to market entry and confirms market potential, or very occasionally the possibility of failure. During these shows we also pre-sell based on a future delivery date that we have verified with our factories. These orders are often the basis for a funding round, or factoring of the purchase orders.

The essence of this strategy is simple: Our client’s may be the smallest entity at a trade show, but they have positioned themselves to be introduced among the big boys at a fraction of the cost most new products incur during market introduction. Executed properly, these strategies result in unleashing new excitement and energy to support and propel the invention into stores.

Selling isn’t just a game of words but it is also an art of the higher path of communication. A single word spoken can either make or break a deal when it comes to the art of selling products. So are you ready to uncover the secrets of hardcore salesmanship?

To a salesman, selling is the art of living that is conducted with a whole lot of confidence. Without confidence, all the sensational vocabulary goes down the drain in front of a prospective customer. So the real challenge is to simplify the objective goal of becoming an A-grade salesman who delivers a quality sales career.

There is a very thin line between blowing & closing a sale. A real salesman truly knows the difference between these fine lines and juggles his way around to have a successful sales career. Just by having a higher intellectual knowledge also doesn’t guarantee success in a sales career. What really make a difference are the most common rules of salesmanship- desire, commitment & patience.

A study conducted on selling indicates that it usually takes around 10 years to master the art of salesmanship. The bottom-line in any business is closing sales and that’s exactly what it takes to impress the bosses. Educational qualification has never been highlighted too much when it comes to hiring a good sales person. So for those who have not studied too hard, still got a very good chance of landing a sales job!

The following are guidelines to grow an awesome sales career. Personally I consider them the 10 commandments of quantum salesmanship!

1. Sell a product that you believe and interested with. Selling a product that you are not interested in personally will not do you any good. So try to pick a product or industry that captures your thoughts & imagination throughout your career. This will help you sell the product without much hassle in terms of the knowledge base.

2. Be an expert. Being an expert means that you grasp the subject from all angles & dimensions. Don’t wait for your boss to educate your brain instead take some pro-active measures to stay ahead of your competition. This is the reason being for choosing the subject of your interest and choice. Start reading results driven books by experts in order to master your skills before you go out to sell. Your non-interest in a particular product will hamper your ability to close a cold call.

3. It is very critical that you wrap up your apprenticeship before taking a deep dive into the ocean of high paying jobs. It is apparent that a lot of young guns in sales take the short cut to start earning a high chunk of salary. But what they don’t realize is the long term picture of a successful career. Switching jobs frequently doesn’t look good on your resume as the employers will be scared to hire you with a long term perspective. It’s perfectly fine to switch jobs for an opportunity to accelerate your growing curb.

4. Learning from experience is the best way to cut down on your mistakes. Find a mentor in your industry to get a helping hand in growing your career ahead. A mentor should be someone who has been there and done that! You don’t necessarily need a coach, who will drill you every time you make a mistake. A mentor will guide you and help in not only the good times but also the bad times too. A good student will always credit his success to his teacher along with the education.

5. You should always be willing to learn under any circumstances. As per the Guru’s “Learning is the true essence of a Life time.” Your enthusiasm should rub off on everyone working around you as this will create a positive environment wherever you work. Customers will appreciate your positive energy while you are promoting a product. It’s ironic but you should realize that the most you will ever learn from is the person that you might not like at all! Hence, you should always keep an open eye and be transparent towards all.

6. You must acquire trust from your customer before you begin your presentation. This means that customers should always feel comfortable around you and you must dress to impress every time you step out to sell. Having a good wardrobe always helps to instill new confidence in a superficial world. Even if you don’t like it, you must accept the fact that dressing nice is a vital part of your sales presentation.

7. Managing contacts is an acquired skill that you must develop in order to capitalize on them. You must keep track of how many people you meet along with their contact details. Networking contacts is a great resource that will increase your market penetration. If you maintain enough contacts, you will rarely have to rely on cold calling in order to sell your product.

8. You must set your goals and timelines to achieve them. This is a very good habit that will reward you until you retire from the sales industry. By keeping a plan of development, you will be focused towards your career with a systematic approach. Many a times, a salesman without a strategy, finds himself in career crisis as a result. Developing career should also take in account your hunger for attaining the higher side of the corporate ladder.

9. Keep a helping attitude towards others, as it will increase your reliability in the network of sales people. Giving and getting assistance is part of being a professional and it pays off when you are facing difficult times.

10. “Roll with the punches”- You must increase your adaptability as a sales person. Technology is rapidly changing the way a business is managed, so along with it your ability to evolve should also increase.

If the above commandments are too boring for you to handle then believe me it will be difficult to survive in the sales industry. The toppers in sales have the unique ability to convince their customers and to a certain extent it is a gifted ability. But ones without this gift can definitely learn the art of selling through experience and perseverance. So before you go out there to make a sales call, ensure to read through this article to come out on top of the world!!!

Many of you are in businesses where a customer’s credit history is an important piece in the qualifying process. The social security number is just as essential as the name on the application. But what do you say to increase the likelihood of receiving that increasingly important “444-55-7777”?

After building a bridge of rapport with your customer, asking questions to dig for the true needs and hot buttons, and summarizing your understanding - you are ready to receive permission to look at their credit. Don’t even bother unless you have earned the right by completing the previous steps mentioned.

Before we can go the next step in the sales process and propose any real solutions we have to see a credit history. This can be difficult because it often resembles a close situation. You may have to sell the customer on trusting you with their personal information. As always, look at this as an opportunity - a great way to measure how hot your customer really is. If they are just jerking your chain, you will definitely find out when you ask this scary, sales question:

“Can I have permission to pull your credit?”

Like most things in sales, if you make a big deal of it; so will the customer. Don’t use words like “pull your credit” or “check your credit”. These sound painful and invasive. I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to sales people prepare their customers for the absolute worst and set the table for a big, fat “NO!”.

“Well…umm…the next thing I have to do is pull your credit history. But don’t worry it won’t hurt your score that bad. I mean nobody really knows how bad your score drops when you run a customer’s credit but we have to do it if you want to see if you’re approved. I’m really sorry…but can I have your social security number? ”

What a loser. Imagine if you were trying to take a splinter out of your child’s hand. This is a fairly simple procedure that has little to no pain involved. However, if you were to tell your son or daughter “Brace yourself! This is going to really hurt!” You certainly wouldn’t expect for little Johnny to stand idly by and wait for the tweezers.

It’s no different when we go on and on about how a customer’s FICO will drop, their information is sensitive, etc. To increase your success try more innocent phrases like “take a quick look at your credit” or “take a peek at your credit history” to ease your prospect’s fears. Both of these sound much less invasive and threatening. You know it’s necessary and essential to see that credit report. Use a summary statement, mention their hot button, and make it a logical next move to see the credit.

“To summarize our conversation so far, you said your payments are making it really uncomfortable every month and you are starting to feel the pressure. Is that right?"

“The next step to getting this payment under control is to take a quick look at your credit. Then we can determine which program is best for you and get rid of all that worry. What’s your social security number?”

Make it seem perfectly natural. No pauses, no stopping, just straight through to what you need to meet their need. You’ll find that when a customer does allow you to take a look at their credit it is a tremendous buying signal and lets you know that the customer is serious about doing business with you. So next time you get ready to RUN or PULL someone’s credit, set yourself up for a sale instead of a scare.

With Auto Sales Leads, Gettting the Data is Everything

Once upon a time, it used to be that people lived in pretty much one place for their entire lives. Transportation involved using one's feet, more than anything. Far away places really were far away, in terms of the convenience of getting to and fro.

It wasn't until the Post-WWII era that it became normal for every-day, average families to even have a car. A car, much like a television set, was considered strictly a luxury item, for the middle class on up. It wasn't uncommon for people to go their whole lives, or nearly their whole lives, without ever owning a car. Cities were smaller, and the most-often frequented places were much more readily accessible.

In modern times, cars are no longer a luxury item for most people, they are an absolute necessity. With the exception of some few public-transit friendly metro areas with central transit stations, it is pretty much impossible to survive anywhere in the United States these days without a car.

Today, there are 1.9 cars for each household in the U.S., or about 200,000,000 cars! In 1970, that's as many cars as there were in the whole world! Clearly, auto sales leads cover a broad range of consumers. In 2004, 16.3 million new vehicles were sold. Targeted auto sales leads can be a great way to get a piece of the market.

There is one a company called Allmedia, that specializes in gathering customized contact lists in order to find the best auto sales leads for your specific offer. They have list research specialists who will work together with your existing marketing team, or can act as your marketing consultants, learning your campaign goals, tailoring a customer profile for you, and compiling a list of leads. Allmedia can be very useful to manufacturers, dealers, and related industries for finding their best prospects when launching a new vehicle, increasing services at a particular dealership, launching a new marketing campaign, selling auto accessories and related items, and selling extended warranties.

Not only does Allmedia help identify your target market, they help locate this market. The company knows which lists of auto sales leads are recent and reliable, and which may pan out the best based on demographic information such as: income, age, gender, owners of competitive makes, the year the car was made, make, model, number of cylinders, number of doors, body style (such as coupe, pickup, hatchback, etc.), type of fuel (gas, diesel, etc.), presence of children in household, homeowners, home value, and more.

A common lament from many sales people these days is the difficulty that they have in getting their customers to call them back or answer emails. This applies to prospects and even regular customers. Sales people worry that if they call too much they will be perceived as a pest or as unprofessional or, even worse, as a stalker.

This is a real dilemma and it seems to have gotten worse over the last few years. I think that there are many contributing factors, most of which you have already heard about. The factors include technology, the increased sophistication of buyers, and the re-engineering of the work day in the new millennium.

One more factor to consider: it is not their job to call you back. It is your job to call them. Let’s address this first. Selling is a dance and it is the sales person’s job to lead. Don’t expect them to call you back….ever. It is your job to call them, to inform them, and to serve them. Remember, it is all about them and not about you.

Let’s return to the other factors that have made things harder for sales people. Obviously technology has made the sales person’s job tougher; this includes voice mail, the use of cell phones, BlackBerries, laptops, and caller ID. Busy customers have figured out how to screen their calls and hide from sales people thanks to technology. Caller ID may be biggest culprit since your buyer can hide from you if they want to and many do. One way to handle this issue is use your cell phone’s “block caller ID feature”, which will keep them guessing who is calling.

With increased information available to buyers in the form of wikis, forums, and websites, buyers are relying less on sales people to keep them updated about products and services. Candidly, this works against the buyer since they are not benefiting from the sales person’s superior knowledge. Think about it. You sell the same product day in and day out; when it comes to your product and how it works, you are one of the world’s top experts. Meanwhile, the buyer buys your products occasionally (at best) and by definition knows far less than you do. What is wrong with this picture? To quote Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does”. You have what the buyer needs; be sure to remember that.

I think the solution to this quandary is to position your self as a “knowledge broker” rather than as a sales person. Help your customer get as much information as possible about their problems and issues, along with the possible solutions (I.E. your offering). Keep them updated on other information resources such wikis and forums; become a source of knowledge and insight about their issues. This information will give you power.

The change in the workday and workplace has been huge. Because of technology, people are working longer days and spend less time in the office. Nowadays the new 24/7 work schedule allows people to work from home on their laptops away from the office phones. Many people prefer cell phones over land lines; in this case, take their cue and don’t call them at the office and instead call them on their cell. If this is problem, they will tell you.

How often should you call a customer while praying for a returned call? If I had to give you a ratio of your calls to theirs, a 5 to 1 ratio is a good; I had a sales trainer tell me that once and it made sense at the time. After all, we don’t want to overstep our boundaries. Or, do we?

Maybe a smarter answer is don’t keep score at all. Remember customers get dozens and sometimes hundreds of emails a day; your email can easily get lost in the milieu. The same applies to the voice messages that you have left. You can’t expect them to leap for the phone when you call or even remember your last call with them. They don’t keep score, so why should you?

A good strategy might be to mix up your approach. Try a blend of land line calls with cell phone calls, along with a few email messages. Text messaging works too. See what works best. When you are desperate to connect, try unconventional means such as sending a FedEx envelope; everyone opens the FedEx package. Call the operator at their work and have them paged; this one is surprising effective. Send a a fax; people respond to faxes since so few faxes are now sent compared to ten years ago. Or, send flowers or a gift if budget allows; this will get their attention.

Remember, it is your job to call them.

The group of personality traits and behaviors that makes a successful salesperson has been a topic of discussion amongst business owners and marketing experts for decades. It seems that almost everyone who has published a book or journal article on this topic seems to have the "recipe" for what makes the perfect salesperson. We've all even heard the phrase, "He (or she) is a born salesperson," indicating that we tend to believe that being a good salesperson is a gift one holds inherently, not a skill that can be learned over time.

A Harvard Business School study states that 20% of all salespeople make 80% of all sales. That leaves 80% of a salesforce fighting over the remaining 20% of business. Assuming these statistics are accurate today, it is very important to be in that top 20% of sellers in your company. Clearly, there must be many determining factors that separate superior sellers from the inferior sellers. Here we present a compilation of what business leaders consider to be the makings of successful salespeople. We explore what key factors appear in multiple studies examining the attributes of successful salespeople.

One study examined its findings by concluding that highly successful salespeople do not take the word "no" personally when they are attempting to make a sale; they take full responsibility for all results, both positive and negative; have above average determination and ambition; are intensely goal-oriented; possess empathy; and are comfortable interacting with strangers. Empathy here is defined as the ability to relate to customers effectively and especially understand the customer's financial situation.

Another group of factors identified in successful salespeople included the following:

· A sense of humor
· An ability to establish rapport
· Creativity to differentiate yourself from the competition
· An unyielding belief in your company, the product/service, and yourself
· Ability to promote yourself convincingly
· Reliability and dependability
· A passion to excel
· A perpetual positive attitude and enthusiasm

A third study contends that top sellers are self-confident, persistent, good listeners, open to challenges, motivated, and energetic.

Sales is a challenging and demanding occupation and becoming a top salesperson is no easy task. However, having an idea of the many attributes experts have identified in their most successful salespeople will certainly help you on your journey to the top. The sales profession provides many rewards, both tangible and intangible. When those rewards do not come, it is most likely because you have lacked something along the way: energy? Product knowledge? Clear goals? Tenacity? Perhaps a combination of all of these?

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, careful examination of the traits listed above may help you answer the question, "Do I have what it takes to be the best?"

Cruising along the highway in his white Taurus, our young salesman finds himself deep in thought. Although he is heading to his next sales presentation, he is not thinking of sales at all. His mind is filled with thoughts of his family.

Flipping down the visor above his head, he looks at the picture he taped there almost two years ago. It is a picture of his dream house – a three-bedroom paradise in a wonderful neighborhood for his family. Looking at the worn picture, he imagines the day this house will be theirs. He can see the excitement on his two daughters’ faces and the smile in his wife’s eyes.

Suddenly, the salesman’s daydream is interrupted as he pulls into the parking lot of his next client. He grabs the padfolio from the passenger’s seat, straightens his tie, and practices his smile in the rearview mirror. Completely relaxed from the morning’s drive, he confidently struts into the familiar lobby, signs the guest log and takes a seat.

From down the hall, he sees his competitor leaving the conference room. He looks somewhat beaten and disheveled. “Good luck,” the competitor says with a cocky, sarcastic tone as he passes.

Our young salesman smiles, “Thanks.” His thoughts are already back to the picture taped to the visor in his car. Thinking of his dream home and the opportunities it will bring his family always bring a smile to his face.

Within moments, the receptionist leads our salesman to the conference room. He is uncharacteristically calm as he shakes hands with each of the five suits seated around the large, mahogany table. Wasting no time, he leans forward, beginning his presentation. His excitement level rises as his enthusiasm and confidence drop from every pore of his body.

Our young superstar glides through the material like a well-choreographed figure skater, clearly outlining what doing business with him and his company would be like. On the opposite end of the table, the chief suit leans back in his leather chair, smiling. He is listening intently to every word our salesman uses.

Then, near the end of the performance, our salesman is interrupted with a single word. “Yes,” says the chief suit. Stopping his verbal melody, our salesman smiles and says, “Thank you, you’ve made a good choice.”

How could this salesman possibly win such a large account with so much ease? Was it his flawless performance? Was it his point-by-point presentation?

No. The truth is that our young salesman belongs to an exclusive club. It is a club made up of those who have a definite purpose in life; those who are not afraid to dream by day. Our salesman’s definite purpose is to make money to provide his family with a better life. His dream is so vividly etched in his mind that it lives in every part of his being and is evident in his life. He knows that a dream is not just a secret wish; it is a lifestyle and a purpose.

When you dare to dream by day, you place your dream face-to-face with the everyday opportunities you have to help you achieve it. You realize that dreams are not meant to hide in the safety of an ephemeral sleep. You give yourself the strength and determination to transform dreaming into doing, and to make your dreams live in the unfolding of your life.

Have the strength to believe in your dreams – completely and continually. As your dreams become internalized and mentally digested, your passion, determination and competence will be unmistakable to everyone you encounter. You will find that every word you speak, every step you take, and every hand you shake will sparkle with the magic of confidence. When you dare to dream by day, you will awake to a world of unlimited possibilities.

Google Adwords expert Perry Marshall shared the following story in a recent e-mail:

"Do you remember Admiral James Stockdale, the guy who was Ross Perot's Vice Presidential candidate in 'the 1992 election?

He didn't fare so well as a VP candidate, but he was quite an impressive military man. He was former president of the Naval War College and was the highest ranking officer in the "Hanoi Hilton" in Viet Nam. He spent eight years in Hanoi and was tortured numerous times by his captors.

Mr. Thomas Barnett relates:

"Stockdale tells the story of the optimists who never survived their time in Hanoi, simply because they clung far too much to their dreams of release and in doing so couldn't handle the brutal realities of what it took to survive the day to day.

"So instead of dealing with the here and now realistically, they tended to cling to the hope that they'd be home by whatever the next holiday was, and when that day came and went, their spirit would be diminished by that measure.

"Over time, they died because their spirit was extinguished by reality."

Stockdale's explains his "paradox" this way:

"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end (which you can never afford to lose) with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

What Stockdale was really describing is the flagrant abuse of "positive thinking."

Why am I sharing this story with you? Because many salespeople damage their chances for success by being too darned optimistic.

I'm not saying that salespeople shouldn't be optimistic

A certain amount of optimism is required to survive the rigors of our profession. Where we run into trouble is when we look at our sales opportunities through "rose colored glasses". This can cause us to waste enormous amounts of time and effort on opportunities that, when viewed realistically, have little chance of ever closing.

How many opportunities do you have listed in your sales opportunity pipeline? For how many of those opportunities do you have a scheduled appointment at a specific date and time that is on your prospect's calendar for which you have a specific, previously agreed-upon agenda for advancing the sales cycle?

This can be a scary question. When viewed from this perspective, many (if not most) of our opportunities can look pretty weak.

It is easy to gain a false sense of confidence

We can be very busy and have lots of "opportunities" listed in our pipelines. Yet, if prospects won't commit to valid next steps.if they won't return our phone calls.if the endless lunches and other "relationship building" activities don't actually advance sales cycles.then how "real" are these opportunities?

There is an old sales adage that I repeat frequently: "Time is our only inventory." The only way to achieve consistent success in sales is to carefully scrutinize where and how we spend our time. Successful salespeople laser-focus their time and energy on opportunities they have an excellent chance of closing. Unsuccessful salespeople waste much of their time on activities that make them feel busy, but don't produce sales.

The #1 thing you can do to improve your chances of sales success is to take OFF the rose-colored glasses when you examine your sales opportunity pipeline

Be brutally honest with yourself - how many of your opportunities REALLY pass "the realism test"? In other words, for how many opportunities:

1. Do you have a scheduled appointment

2. At a specific date and time

3. That is on your prospect's calendar

4. For which you have a specific, agreed-upon agenda for advancing the sales cycle?

When you look at your sales opportunities through this critical lens, don't feel bad if you discover you don't have anywhere near as many "real" opportunities as you thought you did. Isn't it better to find out now rather than later (such as after you were fired for not achieving your sales goals)?

The sooner you identify the deficiencies in your sales opportunity pipeline, the sooner you can take meaningful action to find more prospects that will pass "the realism test"!

I am happy to share these comments from a small business owner who achieved success through coaching, setting SMART goals and staying in constant action to meet his goals

For those of you who work from home your day largely involves hours of work at the computer and a quick trip to your own kitchen for lunch, it's easy to feel a bit isolated.

When you get up and go to a job every day, you're interacting with people, but you don't get that working at home,'' a common complaint I hear from many of my clients who run home based business. Yet after spending a few sessions in Coaching this client’s entire perspective changed

Here is a true and terrific success story about an individual who turned to Coaching to find the business and personal success he was looking for.

His aloneness and lack of direction and support left him stuck, especially when it came to assessing how to grow and diversify his business and increase profits. Then he saw my flier that read, "Go the distance to reach your dreams ...'' while shopping at a local bookstore. He called me and we had a terrific trial session. The light bulb went on. He was filled with energy and excitement. The black cloud of doom and despair lifted from above him. “He immediately signed up for 12 sessions of Life and Business Coaching.

The motto “Go The Distance To Reach Your Dreams really resonated with my new client. He said "I knew didn't need therapy. ... I had been in therapy and that was very helpful. Now I needed direction and motivation in certain areas. I need someone to guide and inspire me to set goals to achieve the Success I was looking for. Coaching was my answer. “Here is his success story:

“After 12 Coaching telephone sessions my life and thinking were transformed. I am better organized and more things done. I know how to focus and take control of my time and my life. I am happy and confident.”

“Now I successfully juggle several accounts and focus more strategically on promoting and growing my business. My phone is ringing off the hook with new work. My business has grown over 30% in 12 short weeks. I closed 4 new accounts PLUS I am involved in 3 entrepreneurial business ventures that will increase my overall income over 50%.- not to mention the exposure it has given to my business. “

I have developed a brand for myself which is so important in business. Coaching brought me to the insight of developing my own online business in addition growing my Marketing and Media business. I am developing websites for clients that are AWESOME. My efforts are increasing their business. I am in demand. It’s a great feeling.

In addition coaching helped me manage my time better, reduce my stress and improve my health. You can view my website at http://www.schneidercreative.com/start.html

It’s wonderful hearing these comments from a client who has experienced the life transforming benefits of coaching. By using a Coaching method based on a seven step process to change that focuses on principles of neuroscience, clients quickly close the gap from where they are now to where they want to be in life. This method is successful, powerful and works!

It enables the client to get the results they are looking for in the least amount of time. It leads to the clients to insights a very powerful form of learning that allows them to develop life long positive habits that transforms their life.

Setting meaningful, measurable and inspiring goals are the foundation of Coaching. But, it does not stop there. The key to a client’s success 1. Setting the clearly defined goals and creating a vision for each 2. Developing strategies and actions to meet their goals 3. Staying in constant action to meet the goals 4. Engaging in weekly coaching session and completing assigned action steps.

The process is structured yet flexible to meet the growth and learning of the client. It keeps the client on track-constantly moving forward.

Coaching is a wonderful tool that helps clients reach their full potential, improve their performance and enhance their overall quality of life. To further assist clients, I make myself available at all times via email and “coach on call:”-where the client can reach me to have a quick 15 minute chat to get them back on track and deal with their issue at hand.

The purpose of the article is to share the benefits of coaching with everyone who may feel stuck, or be at a crossroads in their life and ready for a change. Coaching can help. As a Coach I am my client’s biggest fan. I am dedicated to supporting them reach their goals and have a life they want and love! Visit my website at www.carolgcoach.com and allow me to help you achieve the success you are looking for.

Here's a little information about one of the greatest thinkers in the 20th century. He was born March 14, 1879 and died April 18, 1955. He was a German born theoretical physicist who is best known for his theory of relativity. In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He authored more than 50 scientific papers and in 1999 Time Magazine honored him by naming him "Person Of The Century." I guess you can say the name "Einstein" is synonymous with "Genius." You're probably wondering how I'm going to connect Einstein with the subject of sales.

One of the most memorable quotes in my collection of quotations belongs to Einstein. I'll bet you recognize it immediately. It was Albert Einstein who defined insanity this way. He said, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity." He also said, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction." Where are you now relative to where you want to be? Where are you headed? If you don't like where you've been, you have to think about making some changes in your life! This is a huge sales tip for you.

Here are 13 steppingstones you have to weave into your sales mindset:

=>> Changing your attitude

=>> Being self-confident

=>> Being enthusiastic

=>> Achieving goals

=>> Managing time

=>> Communicating effectively

=>> Identifying opportunities

=>> Assessing opportunities

=>> Analyzing behavioral styles

=>> Presenting solutions

=>> Overcoming obstacles

=>> Securing commitment

=>> Measuring results

Do you know what it takes to become a gifted, successful, and extraordinary sales representative? It takes mastery and continuous improvement with these 13 steppingstones. Here's a fact. You will become what you think about most. That's another huge sales tip. Hello - you should fill your mind with positive thoughts, positive expectations, new ideas, and sharpened skills in these 13 steppingstones of the Surefire Selling Results Pyramid. Here's an example of a mindset adjustment. Dr. Wayne Dwyer was talking to a woman about her work. He asked her if she liked the work she was doing? She said she did but knew she would never get rich doing it. He asked her if she wanted to become rich? She said, "Of course, who doesn't." He said, "Let me see if I got this right, you want to become rich but you think it will never happen." Guess what? She's right, it will never happen. Not until and unless she changes her mindset - changes how she thinks!

Okay - I've just given you 13 steppingstones you can use to build a very successful sales career.

Take them!

Use them!

Think about them!

You can do it all by yourself, and in time, master each one of the steppingstones. On the other hand, if you want to speed up the process - maybe I can help you. You see, I've done a lifetime of study on what it takes to be successful in sales. Never forget what Krishna said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." If you're sick and tired of where you are and what you've got and ready to make some serious changes - and would like some help - go visit my website and browse around. When you think about it, anyone can do an Einstein - his definition of insanity. You can't do the same things over and over and expect different results.

It's time for a change - isn't it?

Another sales tip for you. You can do this alone or work with a sales coach!

I'm ready when you are!

Magic and Mentalism. For the past few months I've been teaching my son new Jedi Mind Tricks.

Creative minds in the field of magic and mentalism are constantly coming up with better ways to fool the senses.

When everything is boiled down to the basics in magic, you have just a few principles that makes Sylvia Browne and James van Pragh so effective in front of an audience. They are the same things that makes David Copperfield and Lance Burton appear to be able to make things vanish and reappear before your very eyes.

One principle is that of misdirection.

For example- I perform one card "trick" (it's an illusion) where a selected card disappears from the deck and appears underneath a plate, surrounded by strangers and no friends to help.

I'm not sleight of hand expert.

I simply practiced the elements of this effect over and over, hundreds of times. The entire success or failure of the illusion rests in a one second moment where everyone's eyes must be away from the plate.

Someday I'm sure I'll be found out on this illusion (it truly is magical to have not only mind reading but telekinesis going down all at the same time!). I'm just not that good.

Misdirection is the critical factor in many magic "tricks" and "illusions."

The ability to know how their human brain will react and respond to your instructions....every time...or close enough to every time that you'll never be seen as anything other than astonishing.

There are a few other factors in magic that can be drawn upon to make something appear from nowhere. Concealment for example.

Concealment comes into play in many illusions and magic tricks.

The better one can conceal the more astonishing the illusion.

Like these elements that give you the pieces to create and design a magic trick, you can also use generalizations about how people will react in certain environments, given certain stimuli.

Magic IS Persuasion.

Persuasion can be magical.

In both magic and persuading others, you *must* know what people will do in specific scenarios and be able to predict those behaviors or actions.

You have to be operating at a high level of certainty as an expert persuader and as a magician. (I'll spare the argument they are one and the same...they are close enough.) I know very few people who are extremely persuasive who do not have a strong interest in magic.

I know of no one in magic who doesn't have a scientific mind...the ability to predict outcomes given a certain set of controlled variables...and do it almost flawlessly...and the ability to reverse engineer RESULTS and BEHAVIORS and ACTIONS back into causes for the effects....for THAT is what a magician is.

The psychic does this as well. They simply are disingenuous about the story they present.

Research is at the core of success for all magicians and all those who persuade.

Those who have the best information inevitably become the better magicians.

Those who understand what the audience will look at, look for and pay attention to will become masters.

Those who create their illusions in a way that creates a natural flow of occurrences so the audience always feels that everything that is happening...is happening naturally...they are the masters...here the audience suspends criticism and lowers their defenses. They now want to be a part of the experience.

And so it is with the master persuader.

A natural flow of occurrences however demands that the performer and the master persuader work within the construct of how his audience thinks and feels. He has to know what they will look at and think and why. Only then can he create magic.

Successful Persuasion is Magic and Magic starts with understanding your audience

It's absolutely necessary that the Master assume nothing and set aside all instincts and intuitions.

Like the magician, if the salesperson or manager, "goes with their gut," they will fail.

Intuitively we know that as parents we have the most influence in how our children will "turn out." Yes?

And obviously a happy employee is a good and productive employee. Yes?

Certainly if customers are satisfied more with the company than the employees of the same company you're going to make more money...right?

Obviously it requires 367 people in a room before you can GUARANTEE that two people will have the same birthday. But how many people does it take in the same room before there is a 50/50 chance that some two people will have a birthday in common in the room. 183?

And when you place two quarters heads up, side by side, touching each other so that Washington is looking straight left on both coins...now you rotate one coin while it remains in contact with the other quarter. You rotate 180 degrees. (Going from 9:00 to 3:00.) Washington is now head down (so to speak) and facing your right on one coin and facing left on the unmoved coin. Right?

The answer is of course that gut instinct is not very helpful. In fact, people who follow their gut turn out to be the failures of life.

It doesn't require 183 people in a room for there to be a 50/50 chance of two people having the same birthday. How many does it require? 23.

That's it. Mentalists and magicians are all aware of this and when they find themselves in a room of 40 people the odds are overwhelming that two of the 40 will share the same birthday...thus able to create the illusion of coincidence, synchronicity...when it's nothing of the sort.

People are very predictable because they do think with their gut...which is why they are 50 pounds overweight and as long as people espouse, "go with your gut," or "go with your instincts," they will easily be fooled, manipulated and make for a great audience for magic.

The two quarters? It would seem just logical that if you carefully rotate the coin 180 degrees all the while touching the other coin, without slipping, that the rotated coin would now be upside down.

But no, intuition is dead wrong again.

Both coins are once again heads up facing left. The rotating coin is actually head down when it's in the 12 o' clock position (rotated from the 9' o clock position.

As parents you have a very modest input into your children's destiny. Not including genetics, the most significant factor is their friends. Then their school teachers...oh, and then there is you finishing dead last.

If your customers are happier with your company more than your employees are, you're probably losing money or not making what you could be.

Ah, and happy employee's are better and more productive employees? Nope. On average the opposite is true.

Common sense and instinct might be great for some things...but it is pretty useless for thinking.

People "think" in "rules of thumb." They make wild assumptions that in the moment "feel right" based on their gut and little else.

Understanding how people think, and what they will think is crucial to being a master persuader.

If you ignore how people truly process information, how they behave, what they think in various settings and circumstances, and go with your gut, you don't stand a chance at effective persuasion.

You must know how people think and what they feel. Everything else rises or falls on this first hidden principle.

Next week, we'll look at more hidden principles of persuasion.

Persistence is the key that will unlock doors to great riches in sales and in all areas of life. Without persistence you will never reach your true potential, attain the goals you so greatly desire or experience true success. Making the decision to have persistence in sales is not enough; you have to take action to bring such decision to fruition.

As a sales professional you do not want to bother or be a pest to your prospects or clients. How can you exercise persistence without so doing? The answer lies in your reason for being persistent. If you are being persistent only to make a quick buck then the prospect will perceive this and most likely you will be seen as a pest. On the flip side if you are being persistent with a sincere desire to help and be of value, ten this will come across on the nature of your presentation. A touch of human element makes a profound deference and when the prospect sees value in your products and services your persistent will be accepted and commend

Hard work will always be rewarded and normally your results will mirror your input. If you work persistently giving your best endeavor then your persistence will payoff in spades. The problem most sales professionals have when using persistence in sales is being impatient. As a result they give up too quickly and never rise to levels of greatness. If only they tried asking for the order one more time or remained persistent just a little while longer then things would have worked out. For those who exercise patience the results always come and can be quite dramatic.

For persistence to work, it must be done consistently. I you normally follow-up with your prospects every month then do not put of following up for three months or put the account aside for a sustained period. This will result in inconsistency which can be counterproductive. I you adhere to your follow-up schedule then you will consistently see better results.

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. This fact is even more evident when placing your client in a cold direct sales situation.

When you consider that the average person when placed in new or unfamiliar surroundings will take in up to 70% of his initial information visually, the remaining 30% being divided between the auditory and kinetic senses, and a first impression will be made in a matter of seconds, you’d better make sure that they like the look of you or your presentations going to be all up hill!

Let’s look at a simple example to demonstrate this fact:

Think back to the last time you were on holiday in a strange country. Remember the first night when you went down to the sea front looking for a nice bar to have a drink in. As you walk along the promenade you’re visually scanning all the bars until one catches your eye correct? When one does catch your eye you’ll cross the road and go in, once inside you visually scan the décor and decide in a split second whether or not you like the look of the other customers sitting at the bar and more importantly, the bar staff.

Now all that information you’ve just taken in visually. Assuming you like everything you see, your next sense the auditory sense kicks in and you start to analyze the sounds, i.e. do you like the music that’s playing?, does the conversation at the bar sound friendly?, have you been greeted with a big smile and a welcoming opening line from the bar staff?. This is when your kinetic sense kicks in and tells you if you feel comfortable or not. If you feel comfortable you order a drink and stay. If you don’t feel comfortable you turn around, walk out and start the process all over again at the next bar.

That is exactly the same process we use to gather our information when we meet someone for the first time and that is exactly the process your clients will use when they meet you for the first time. If you don’t make a good visual impression and greet your clients in an open and friendly way their kinetic sense will tell them they don’t feel comfortable with you and if they don’t feel comfortable with you they certainly wont trust you enough to buy your product at the end of your presentation no matter how good it is!

So how do you make a good first impression every time?

Here are five tips that might help you:

Make sure your sales material is clean, complete, and presentable and you have at least two pens on your person in case one runs out. That way you can concentrate on making a good impression without worrying about your sales material.

Go to the toilet. Nothing saps your concentration like a full bladder! Besides once you are with your clients you don’t want to leave them again till the deal is done.

While you’re in the toilet check yourself in the mirror and make sure you are clean and presentable. If you smoke, clean your teeth and wash your hands. Nothing is more off putting to a non-smoker or even worse an ex-smoker than shaking hands with someone who stinks of stale tobacco.

Now spend at least five minutes on your own away from any other reps filling your mind with positive thoughts. If you’re giving off loads of positive vibrations when you meet your clients they will also feel positive about you and are far more likely to feel comfortable during your sales presentation.

Lastly put yourself in their shoes. Try to imagine how you would feel meeting yourself for the first time? What impression would you make on yourself? Is there anything you would change? And remember, always Treat your clients exactly the way you would like to be treated whether they buy or not. The person they talk to after their presentation with you, might be your clients tomorrow!

It's standard practice to generate leads by requiring web site visitors to exchange personal information for quality content and/or collateral. Walking the fine line between asking for too much information (and scaring prospects off) and asking for too little takes finesse. Here's a simple way to glean more information from prospects, qualify leads, and keep those visitors returning to your site.

1. Identify themes based on why visitors come to your site. This will usually be broken down by the kinds of information and/or product you sell or the services you provide. For example, a Network Services company might identify these themes: Disaster Recovery, IP Address Management, Network Access Control, DNS/DHCP Infrastructure, and Voice Over IP.

2. For each theme, develop five pieces of collateral or content you want site visitors to acquire. This can be whitepapers, data sheets, a webinar, you name it. Your goal is to walk each user through acquiring all five of these pieces.

3. Develop unique registration forms for each interaction. The trick is to keep the forms short with no more than five or six questions each so that users don't stop mid-form. And, instead of asking the same questions over and over, ask a different set of questions with each form. Use cookies to identify the unique visitor, and if the visitor doesn't have cookies enabled, you can also track identical users by asking them to register with their email address. The goal is to get more qualifying information with each round of registration.

4. Score the leads and give them to your sales people. Score the leads based on both the kind and quality of information provided. For example, even if you got quality information from the prospect, they wouldn't score well if they answered that they have no current projects and no budget. A typical scoring system might be:

A - high quality, inside sales follow up
B - good quality, inside sales follow up
C - moderate quality, inside sales follow up as time allows
D - marketable opt-in lead, no follow up required
E - purchased/acquired list, non-opted in
F - junk lead

Believe it or not, implementing this system will allow you to not only generate higher quality leads, but also double the number of leads you receive because you're using shorter, more user-friendly forms.