All posts in Sales

In today’s business climate it’s no secret for the need of a strong customer base and to keep attracting new ones. Yes, we all want more customers with less leads. This is a strategy that greatly improves your profit and saves your company from throwing away money for marketing. Bringing in customers with less leads is key in this climate. Companies are throwing away opportunities every day. If you want to win more deals its important to use proper sales management to increase your sales numbers! It’s important to fix these gaps in your sales process to put you on top!

Here are 5 common lead management mistakes that should be fixed to increase sales performance:

1. Email Doesn’t = CRM Software

This is unquestionably the top killer of sales leads. Email is a communication tool. Meant for short-term discussions or collaborations, not sales account management. It is not a tool to build sales relationships, with hundreds of clients, over numerous years.

Fact: the human brain can only manage so much information.

Your attempts at remembering to follow-up and diligently stay on top of hundreds of prospects and customers is a guaranteed failure. Real sales performance needs a system that will routinely automate some contacts and remind you to reach out personally on a regular basis.

2. One Call Close are Unlikely

It is certainly the stuff of sales legend, that Boiler Room like close. The real sales pro’s understand that this ranks up with winning the lottery. So, if you hit it be happy, but don’t expect to pay your bills and feed yourself playing that game.

This is why a disciplined process of following up, on all prospects, is critical to success. Industry surveys show that the average lead takes a minimum of 5-7 contacts to close and generally requires 30-60 days. So, don’t get frustrated and toss out that two week old lead–nurture it.

3. Stop Picking Threw Leads

The Call of the Wild fouls this one up too, our primal nature lures us to the biggest fish (whale) of the freshest meat (new lead). Two notoriously bad choices.

We can’t pick the right leads! We invariably gravitate to our biases, which is typically counter productive to our sales numbers.

Grabbing for the brass ring (tackling only the biggest accounts or loan amounts) and neglecting the opportunity to land a few small ones along the way, is the perfect example. Your sales management system should help you create an ideal lead profile for each of your sales agents. You will be amazed at how different your “perfect lead” looks from your “preferred lead.”

4. Start to Value Your Leads

Are you trashing valuable non-responsive customers? More so than ever, leads need to be effectively nurtured. Challenging economic conditions slows everyone’s buying decisions. Stay top of mind, so you will be first in mind when the pain or the need becomes right for the big buy.

This doesn’t mean just throwing all your old leads into the autoresponder. Smart sales people build a detailed follow-up plan that includes email, mail, and telephone. And don’t forget the value at each of those touch points–an interesting article or report, an example of success, or best practices session.

5. Get to the Next Lead!

Sales usually always comes down to the numbers.

How many times do we spend too much time organizing or getting ready to do something? The best strategy in most cases is to do as my Dad was found of saying, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.”

Simply getting onto the next lead will produce more sales than any other strategy. Get To Your Leads Now!

Experienced sales-hiring managers have long known that it takes more than just personality or psychology to close the sale. An old style pre employment test, sales aptitude test or sales personality test may be inadequate in helping you hire Top Sales Executives, good Sales Reps or great Regional Sales Managers. Testing for Total Sales Ability ™ is the best solution, and businesses interested in hiring great sales people or regional sales managers can now receive 10 FREE Sales Assessment Tests from Dan Joy, Inc.

As a busy senior executive or small business owner, how can you tell which of your job applicants can really sell? Use Sales Assessment Testing to find out. Here’s what you need to know about Pre-Employment Tests or Sales Assessment Tests if you are interested in hiring a good Sales Executive, top Sales Representative or the best Regional Sales Manager for inside sales or outside sales, primarily in a Business to Business or B2B sales setting, but for many Business to Consumer or B2C sales scenarios too:

A. Sales Personality Testing is not enough:

Testing for sales personality alone is not enough. Would you select a doctor just because they had a good personality but no skills, ability or experience? Similarly, using a sales personality test to predict sales potential often results in disappointment. Many sales personality tests look at a person’s outwardly style of doing things, but there may be no real link to actual sales performance. A personality based sales assessment test may help determine a personality type, but may not help determine whether someone can actually sell. Testing for Total Sales Ability ™ is the key, and presently there is only one pre-employment sales test which provides that, as explained later in this article. You can also use The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ from Dan Joy, Inc. to test your current salespeople for promotion, retention or sales training purposes.

B. Sales Aptitude Testing is not enough:

Similarly, pre employment sales assessment testing based on a person’s sales aptitude alone is not sufficient. Many pre employment sales aptitude tests look at a person’s psyche or internal motivations for doing things, but there may be no absolute link to actual sales performance. One may have the right sales aptitude or Sales Psychology but if the actual Sales Ability is missing, they probably won’t make much headway in selling. Moreover, a pre-employment sales aptitude test may not take actual selling techniques (learnt by real world sales experience) into account. The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ from Dan Joy, Inc., can help where many others cannot.

C. Sales Skills Testing is not enough:

The mental component of selling is critically important. So, Sales Skills Assessment alone is not enough. Having the sales skills but no drive or motivation wouldn’t suffice. One must test for more than just a job applicant’s selling skills. Moreover, business methods and sales tools are constantly evolving. The sales approach which used to work a few years ago may not work today. You need a well-rounded pre-employment test of sales ability which keeps up with the changes in the ways that contemporary business is conducted. In other words, you need a pre-employment sales test which is thorough, up to date and well rounded, like The JOY Sales Tests ™.

D. Lack of Sales Call Reluctance is not enough:

Just Sales Call Reluctance testing by itself is not enough. There are people who can call relentlessly but never close. Closing the sale requires proper sales techniques and sales abilities too, not just a lack of sales call reluctance. Total Sales Ability ™ testing like that offered by Dan Joy, Inc., can be a huge asset for you when trying to hire a great Salesperson — Salesman or Saleswoman, or a good Regional Sales Manager, Sales Rep or Sales Agent.

E. Our Recommendation — Assessment of Total Sales Ability ™ is the Best:

The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ from Dan Joy, Inc., can help reduce subjectivity and guesswork, and help employers make more objective hiring, promotion or retention decisions. They go above and beyond the old style Pre Employment Sales Personality Tests and Pre Employment Sales Aptitude Tests, by testing for Total Sales Ability ™ instead. Employers can start with 10 FREE Sales Assessment Test units (Screening Tests) by following the link in the “About the Author” box below or visiting the website of Dan Joy Inc. directly through a search engine.

A hiring mistake can be costly. The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ can help employers and recruiters immensely by testing for sales prospecting ability, objection handling ability, sales closing ability, personality, psychology and more — a total of up to 50+ sub competencies, traits and advanced selling techniques critical to sales success.

They can be used as pre employment sales tests to test Business Development professionals at different career levels, e.g., a Sales Person (Salesman or Saleswoman), Sales Manager, Sales Director or VP of Sales & Marketing, or even a Sales Engineer.

The JOY Sales Tests ™ may also be used to identify and quantify Sales Training needs to help you bridge certain sales training gaps or correct certain sales skills deficiencies in your current sales team. Thus, you may also use The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ to test your current salespeople for promotion, retention or sales training purposes.

Furthermore, you may use The JOY Tests ™ of Total Sales Ability ™ from Dan Joy, Inc., to test your Distributor’s Salespeople, Dealers, Agents, Franchisees, and salespeople at your regional offices or franchise locations.

The 10 major areas of ability tested by the potent JOY Sales Tests ™ are:

1. Sales Prospecting (Leads Generation) Ability.

2. Appointment Setting, Cold Calling, Rapport and Presentation Ability.

3. Objection Handling and Negotiating Ability.

4. Sales CLOSING Ability and Asking for Payment/Deposit.

5. Cementing the Sale (Re-assuring the Client), and Ability to Get Referrals.

6. Computer / Internet / Email / CRM and Sales Tools Ability.

7. Miscellaneous Crucial Sales & Marketing Abilities
(Various Secondary Factors — Personality, Psychology, Skills, Aptitude, Ethics, etc.)

8. Sales Team Recruitment Ability.

9. Sales Team Management / Leadership / Motivation Ability.

10. Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Ability.

So, how can employers tell which job applicants can sell? They can start with 10 FREE Sales Assessment Test units (Screening Tests) by following the link in the “About the Author” box below or by visiting the website of Dan Joy Inc. directly through any major search engine.

It is the common sense that when managing kids toys store, it is important to take right sales promotions, especially at the toys products peak season, because it is very useful to get more sales revenue. OK, in this article at here, I will mainly introduce three useful sales promotions for kids toys products, are you interested in such topic? Follow me to read please.

Firstly, consumption points sales promotion
I am sure such consumption points sales promotion would be so common that almost all the supermarket and even some large scale shopping centers are likely to use such sales promotion way. As for the toys store, you can also use the same sales promotion. Generally speaking, such sales promotion way is useful to give more privilege to returning customers.

During the sales promotion period such as Children day on 1st, June, or Christmas, or other selling seasons, all the customers who have owned the point card have consumed at a certain amount, they will be given some other things as gifts, by this way, it is useful to stimulate customers to consume sequentially, at the same time, customers will feel more comfortable when being given gifts.

However, before taking such sales promotion, it is important to set points limit which should not be too higher or too lower. At this same time, gifts being given to customers should be various so that customers can make their choices according to their different needs. Of course, with the point card, customers also have rights to participate in other sales promotions.

Secondly, point card giving sales promotion
As for the first sales promotion, it is more suitable for the returning customers and even old customers, but as for some new customers, how to take the right sales promotion so as to draw their attention? Such point card giving sales promotion would be wise for you.

During sales promotion period, when the sum of consumption reaches up to a certain degree, customers will be given a card as point card. Next time, when shopping in your toys store, customers who have such point card will get more discount or they have rights to participate in other sales promotions.

When giving cards to customers, according to different sum of consumptions, customers would be given different cards such as gold card, silver card, VIP card, membership card and so on. With different types of point cards, customers will get different discounts and rights.

Increasing sales is how many companies stay in business. But in order to do so, you and your team probably have to spend more hours at the office than you would like. This means fewer days off for vacation, and less free time to spend with friends and family. But there are ways to increase sales without having to work eighty hours a week. The key is to focus your advertising on groups that are sure to be interested in your products. Once you have found these groups, your sales will increase. This means fewer cold calls and less time spent trying to draw interest in your company.

Creating a web site your first step. With a web site, you can make sales during the time when your office is closed. Many people shop online these days and use the Internet to get information about goods and services. If you include your phone number or email address, you will not have to make as many cold calls as you used to. People who want to make an appointment to see you can do so online. If you are selling products, customers will be able to order what they want and have their order shipped to their homes.

The second step is to advertise your web site to niche groups. These are groups of people who will be very interested in visiting your web site. You can find these groups through open forums, blogs, other web sites, and by writing press releases, articles, and paying for ads. Rather than advertise anywhere, choose specific web sites to post ads. Include back links so you will be found by search engines. This will increase your web ranking.

The third step is to advertise in traditional ways including newspapers, magazines, billboards, and direct mail. If you have created an email opt-in list on your site, you can use the addresses to start an email direct mail campaign. Create a newsletter, send discounts, or send new product descriptions. This will attract repeat sales and also help you attract new business.

If you follow all of these tips and begin relying more on the Internet, you have to spend less time marketing your business. Take advantage of everything the Internet has to offer in terms of free and paid advertising. Once you start building brand name recognition, you will be able to reach more people and increase your customer base. Those eighty hour work weeks will begin to cease and your staff will feel much better about their work situation. Decreasing the time spent marketing your business will allow you to spend more time developing products, writing content, and making more connections in the business world.

Visit the Planting Grass website to learn about tips on grass care.

While we work to generate leads and close sales, it is likely that the sales prospects will o ask us to call them back and perform some sort of lead follow-up. Since this happens so frequently, the better we manage and execute in the area of follow-up can have drastic improvements in overall sales results. Below are five practical and easy to adopt sales tips that will drive immediate improvements in following up on sales leads.

1. Follow-up Reminders
It is critical to have some sort of tool or process for reminding yourself when to follow up with sales prospects. This tip may not need much attention as it may be likely that most sales people use some sort of reminder or lead tracking system. Even if a process is in place, it can be helpful to make sure that reminders are working so that sales leads are followed up at the right time. Tools that are good for this are CRM’s and computer based calendar programs.

2. Bring Clarity to the Follow-up
It is very often to hear a prospect say, “Call me back in a month.” And one option that we have is to do as they say and call them back in a month. One thing wrong with that path is that when a prospect does this, they might be brushing you off which would mean you have an unqualified lead in your pipeline and you might be wasting your valuable time when you work on the lead follow-up.

One thing you can do when you get the request for you to follow back up later is to learn more about why they are asking you to do this. If they are just busy now and that is why they want you to check back, will it be likely that they are just as busy when you call back or will be there be some sort of change? If they are just normal busy now and can’t find time for you, it is possible that they will always be too busy and this could provide details in terms of how qualified the sales lead is.

3. Compelling Event
One thing can help when you are in lead follow-up process is to identify a compelling event. A compelling event is some sort of event or date that is important to prospect and it can be associated with the product or service that you are selling.

When you are aware of a compelling event, you can then use that information when you manage your follow-up related interactions. For example, if you know the prospect has to make a change by June 1rst, you can then bring that significant date to the discussion either when prospects tells when to follow up.

4. Let the Prospect Provide Guidance
When the prospect is not ready to talk or to move forward, it can be powerful to let them tell you when they want you to call them back. As sales people, we can often worry about being too aggressive with our follow-up calls. But if the prospect tells us when to call and we call them exactly when they say to call, there is no way for us to look like we are bugging them or are being too aggressive as we are simply following the guidance that they provided.

5. Evaluation Plan
We could take the guidance tip one step further and build out an evaluation plan with the prospect to detail out all of the future steps and time details of what would need to be done if both parties agree to keep moving forward. This can provide a map for all lead follow-up interactions.