Sales advice, recommendations and interesting, useful and fun news from the world of selling!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Summer Selling
Are you going on vacation this summer? If you've got some days saved up, cheap flights and hotels make it a great time to get in some rest and relaxation. That being said, you don't want vacation time to have any negative impact on your business. Follow these tips from Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter, and you'll be able to rest easy knowing your sales aren't going anywhere.
"Summer is upon us and that means a lot of vacations. Just because there's a vacation in your schedule, it doesn't mean you should let it slow your selling process," says Hunter. "As much as you might be looking forward to it, it's best to avoid mentioning it to prospects or others. Talking about it may give a potential customer a reason to go someplace else when they're ready to buy, if for no other reason than they think you won't be focused on serving them."
Take these steps to avoid missing sales while you're away:
1. Make sure either you or someone else can still check your email and voicemail messages at least a couple of times a day.
2. Know in advance how you will handle any orders that may come in and how sales questions or issues will be handled.
3. Plan your vacation schedule so you will have a couple of blocks of time to deal with hot sales issues. For example, take one hour every other day to be available by phone or email to deal with issues. If you don't need it, great! If you do need it, you won't feel that it has disrupted your vacation because you planned for it in advance.
4. Do not leave a message on your voicemail saying you're away on vacation. Nothing will turn off potential customers faster than knowing you're away.
5. Always remember that your vacation is a product of the job you do. If you didn't do your job, you wouldn't have a vacation so working a little bit while you're on vacation is certainly no big deal.
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," is a motivational sales speaker and industry expert who addresses thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information on his sales training or to receive a free weekly sales tip via email, contact "The Sales Hunter" at www.TheSalesHunter.com.
Sales trainer and speaker Mark Hunter gives quick tips on his blog that pack a punch. Follow his tips and see your client relationships grow!
"Leaving voicemail messages is not a very effective way to develop new relationships, but it is a great way to keep in contact with your current customers that you don't deal with frequently," says Hunter. "The entire process takes less than 5 minutes a day if you do it between 7:00 and 7:30 AM. During this time, the majority of people are not at work. Calling them early in the morning almost guarantees that you'll reach their voicemail, allowing you to make 3-5 calls in the span of only 5 minutes. Your objective should be to keep the person you're contacting from forgetting about you. Start the message by telling your contact that you haven't heard from them lately. Compliment them on their business or simply suggest that the two of you should talk later. If you happen to reach someone at this time of morning, all the better. The person who answers will be impressed that you're at work before most people, and, chances are, they will be willing to talk for a few minutes. Remember, your objective is not to sell anything. It's simply to raise the other person's awareness of you, thereby opening the door for future sales."
"Especially in today's marketplace, keeping your name in front of your clients is crucial," continues Hunter. "Everyone is fighting for business and those who don't put forth the effort to stay on the top of the list will quickly fade or be replaced by their competition. Remember, "out of sight, out of mind." Using this early morning voicemail technique is especially effective because it accomplishes your purpose with great efficiency. Not only have you started your day off achieving an important goal, you can use the rest of your time to focus on your day's objectives."
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", assists companies to identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. To receive his free weekly "Sales Hunting Tip" visit www.TheSalesHunter.com
In this economy, we're all feeling the pinch. That can make us anxious to bend over backwards to appease prospects. While it's important to keep your clients happy, you don't want to cut into your profit by giving things away. Take this advice from sales trainer Mark Hunter and think before you commit to that freebie.
"When the market gets soft and sales become a little harder to come by, it's easy to start flinching at every hesitation you see from a prospect," says Hunter. "The problem is that each time you acknowledge a flinch by the customer, you make another commitment and give them something extra. At the time you may think it's critical to close the sale, but it rarely is, especially when what you end up offering the customer is something they really don't need."
"Think about this for a moment: if you were offered something for free, would you turn it down? No, you'd accept what's being offered, but you may not place much value in it. In fact, you may not even use what was given to you. In the same way, your customer will readily accept what you offer them, but they may not place any value on it. The end result? You cut into your profit and, in some situations, wind up making a sale with no profit at all because of the little extras that were offered up along the way."
Contact Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter for your next Conference or Sales Meeting. To see and hear Mark Hunter now visit www.TheSalesHunter.com
Sales trainer Mark Hunter has a useful blog that he updates regularly with tips, advice, and inspiration for salespeople. He recently wrote this inspiring post that's perfect for a Friday - and everyday!
"At the end of each day, congratulate yourself for accomplishing whatever you believed was your most successful event of the day, even if it is something as small as getting an email from someone," says Hunter. "The key is to never allow your day to end with a negative thought."
"I use this technique myself and have shared it with thousands of others over the years. Those who do put it into practice often come back to me later on saying how much of a positive impact it had on them."
"Many times, the most successful tips are the simplest and this one doesn't require any great skill," continues Hunter. "It just requires you to find the positive in everything you do. Even on bad days, there is always something to be grateful for. Don't waste time lamenting about the bad stuff. Focus on the positive and use it to influence your outlook."
Read The Sales Hunter's latest thoughts and comments about consultative selling, sales development, and sales motivation techniques at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog
Sales trainer Mark Hunter recently had some very practical advice on his blog. He writes about changing your sales strategy to fit in today's economy - something to consider if you're struggling right now.
"With the economy performing at less than stellar levels right now, it is important to make sure your sales strategy fits the economic environment," says Hunter. "In normal times, I've always been one to sell the future benefits because it allows you to develop a more attractive ROI. In the times we're in, however, many customers have absolutely no desire to examine what tomorrow is going to look like. They're only concerned about today."
"For this reason, I am strongly advocating salespeople to ensure their sales strategy is designed to appeal to current needs. Although I'm not wavering from my belief that sales professionals must not allow the economy to become an excuse, I do believe that we need to use the state of the economy to create opportunities, and the best opportunity in our current economy is to sell to today's needs."
Remember, the point is not to focus on the doom and gloom, but to focus on what you can do to help your prospects now. Giving your prospects what they need ensures you stay relevant - and when they start focusing on future benefits again, so can you.
Read The Sales Hunter's latest thoughts and comments about consultative selling, sales development, and sales motivation techniques at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog
Mark Hunter has a great post on his blog. I know it's a reminder I should keep in mind!
From Mark's blog:
Regardless of how energetic you are, energy spent on complaining about something or somebody you don't have any control over is always wasted. The greatest assets any salesperson has are their time and intelligence. How you choose to spend the time you have each day is the easiest asset to control. There is a direct relationship between your energy level and the amount of time you have in your day. When we spend it complaining about something, we wind up placing our energy into an activity that has virtually zero return. Our complaining takes away our valuable energy and, as a result, our most prized resource: time.
Over the years, I've found that there is very little room for complaining among top performing salespeople. They would rather spend their energy and time developing customers and closing sales. Next time you're about ready to start complaining about something, take a deep breath, step back and ask yourself if it is really going to be constructive.
Read The Sales Hunter's latest thoughts and comments about consultative selling, sales development, and sales motivation techniques at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog
When you get the news from the company big-wigs that your products are increasing in price, it's never a good feeling because now you have to tell your clients about that price increase. Will they go for it? Will they understand? Will they take their business elsewhere?
Mark Hunter a.k.a. The Sales Hunter recently wrote in his blog about this situation, and had an interesting point to share:
"A price increase must always be sold to two people," says Hunter. "Not only does the person buying the product / service need to be convinced, but also (and more importantly) the salesperson doing the selling."
"I strongly believe the biggest obstacle in selling a price increase is found in the salesperson," continues Hunter. "Far too often, the person trying to make the sale doesn't believe in it and, as such, doesn't have the ability to communicate with the sense of commitment and focus needed when dealing with this issue. Before attempting to sell a price increase, I would advise any salesperson to take the time to research both the background and the driving issues behind it. Then (and more importantly), determine the real value the customer will receive. Keep in mind that it's not really about the price. It's the value that is really being sold or bought."
Read The Sales Hunter's latest thoughts and comments about consultative selling, sales development, and sales motivation techniques at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog
"Opportunities are seen by many, understood by few, and capitalized upon by even fewer." - Mark Hunter
"It is amazing how intellectual capacity drives opportunities," says sales trainer Mark Hunter. "Far too many insights are never capitalized on because we fail to use our own intellectual capacity or access the insights of others to determine how to leverage an opportunity. I read recently where Bill Gates and Warren Buffett took a trip to Alberta, Canada, to better understand how the people there are extracting oil using new technologies. They made this trip because they were curious and were driven by the fact that they knew it would expand their intellectual capacity."
"Sales is all about using your intellectual capacity to help people see opportunities," continues Hunter. "The salespeople who are at the top of their game year in and year out are the ones who know how to leverage their intellectual skills. Take the time to develop your intellect by digging into books, articles, newspapers, and engaging in conversations with others that will stimulate your mind and cause you to grow intellectually. In the long-term, your success is not driven by what you sell, who you work for, and certainly not by the price you sell it for. Long-term success is driven by your intellectual capacity and your ability to leverage it to see opportunities."
Monday is Memorial Day in the U.S. - the official beginning of the summer season. While many people are thinking, "Vacation here I come!" there are still plenty of people working the entire work week. "Staying motivated to sell when everyone around you is taking time off can suck the life out of nearly anybody," agrees sales trainer Mark Hunter. On the other hand, "it's during those periods when so many people are starting to slack off that you can have your most productive prospecting time," says Hunter.
"I've always found making prospecting calls on the eve of a holiday, or the day after a holiday is a great time to reach people. First off, many people are not in their normal work mode and as a result, they'll be more open to receiving a phone call."
"I've also found that people are often extremely impressed that you're making prospecting calls when most people are vacationing - giving them a level of confidence about you."
Hunter continues, "As easy as it might be, don't slack off tomorrow, Friday, next Tuesday, or any Friday throughout the summer. Come fall, you'll thank yourself for the additional business you've done."
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. Learn more at his website, www.thesaleshunter.com and check out his blog at www.thesaleshunter.com/blog/
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Name: Editor: Kelly McLean
Location: Carlsbad, CA, United States
SalesDog.com, the internet's number one sales success destination for more than seven years, works with America's leading sales experts to bring practical selling tips and strategies to salespeople, sales managers, business owners and entrepreneurs. Over 30,000 sales professionals rely on its free weekly newsletter to keep them abreast of cutting-edge developments impacting their profession.
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