When defining the tasks and goals for a sales person, it is important to be clear regarding what you expect. What should you sales performance standards look like however. Shown below is an example (at a high level) of a Sales Performance Standard.

• Maintain a high level of customer satisfaction with each of our clients.
• Maintain a professional attitude congruous with what would be expected of a professional salesperson
• Sell the amount in your territory as agreed to with the VP of Business Development or your sales manager.
• Properly qualify prospects Actively pursue all opportunities within your sales territory to maximize sales revenue potential for your entire territory.
• Provide estimates for all product lines monthly.
• Provide 3X the number of estimates for each product line. X = the quota number for each product line monthly.
• Know how to use the company CRM for all sales processes including: contact management, lead management, opportunity management, deals closed and look back into historical data etc.
• Track, maintain and update your leads, contacts and opportunities using the CRM.
• Properly qualify and identify probable leads in your region and develop them into estimates and deals.
• Actively grow your contact database gathering all contact information as noted in the CRM. This includes: name, address, phone, email address and any additional information that can be used for either marketing or sales purposes.
• Demonstrate professional selling and negotiation skills in all engagements.
• Be able to present and demonstrate all product lines per you sales plan.
• Demonstrate a high level of expertise for each product line that you sell.
• Develop industry relationships with influencers in your selling geographies.
• Attend all sales meetings and functions.
• Follow up on company generated leads.
• Utilize all company resources to your fullest advantage to accomplish these goals.

With these as suggestions, develop your own standards. If you are a sales person you can even do this. By going through the exercise of creating what you think your company should expect of you, you might surprise yourself about what you learn. Happy selling!

Here's something I've been playing with, and my results have been pretty good, too.

A few months ago a friend was launching a big product with lots of cash prizes for the top affiliates. I knew there would be tons of affiliate competition, with every affiliate trying to out-do the others with bigger and better bonuses.

How to compete?

I decided not to.

Instead, I thought about what every affiliate's bonus pages would look like: Highly polished, slick, professional, lots of graphics, videos, etc.

Odds are they would all start to look very much alike, right?

So I thought … what if I did something different?

What if my page looked like something you might get in the mail – black and white sales letter, using the Courier typewriter font, very old-school looking …

And what if, instead of a highly polished professional photo of myself, I used one where I just woke up? Or one where I just finished exercising, or just finished the yard work?

In other words, I looked like the guy next door and not some slick marketer.

Taking this thinking to the next level, I decided I did not want to spend time or money on creating a bonus. Everyone else was doing that, so why should I?

Instead, I would hold a live class. The homework would be to go over the program before class. Then in class we would implement, step-by-step, what was in the program. And I would record the whole thing, so people could just follow along.

In case you're wondering – it worked beautifully. My sales were a very decent 5 figure number, and my commissions were half that plus bonuses.

And one more thing – I cheated, too. I had my virtual assistant run the class for me. She got to learn some great new skills, and I put less than 2 hours into the entire project.

The takeaway: When you have a lot of competition, it's time to stop directly competing and find another way.

If they are using tons of graphics and slick videos, you go with a 1980's black and white typewriter look.

If they are offering bonus packages filled with 5, 10 or 20 products, you offer no products (I offered hold-your-hand training, which in my opinion is worth far more anyway.)

You get the idea.

Do you know what would work even better than that?

MAILING the actual letter. Yup. Talk about old school. If you collect real addresses of your BUYERS, you might consider doing this on big ticket items.

I know marketers who do this. They are few and far between, and they are KILLING it. They only mail to buyers, which greatly improves their conversions. They use a service to send out the mailers for them. And they make more on one of these mailings than most successful marketers earn in 6 months.

Which brings me to my second idea … if you don't already have the mailing addresses for your buyers, start collecting those now.

When you have a sizable portion of them (at least 200, preferably 500) approach a marketer with a product your list would love. Make sure there is plenty of profit in that product. Take the sales letter, adapt it to a black and white mailer (cheap to produce) and send it to your buyers.

See what happens. Tweak, rinse and repeat.

You can easily DOUBLE your income using this method.

Know why? Again, because it's contrary. It's different. Almost no one is doing it.

Your customer gets maybe a half dozen pieces of mail in a day. Two are bills. Two are sales flyers from local businesses. One is a catalog.

And then there's that mysterious white envelope. Yeah, it's going to get opened. Yes, it's going to get read.

Wow! They're surprised. Someone they know from ONLINE is sending them REAL MAIL.

They don't throw it out. Instead, they open their browser, type in the URL and ORDER THE PROGRAM.

Sure, not everyone does, but … enough do. Believe me, I've seen this work time and time again. Which is why I'm about to start sending out sales letters via snail mail (Shhh, don't tell anyone!)

For Sale By Owner or FSBO is a word that has been floating around in increasing popularity among the real estate community. In the past, the only way that you could sell your home is by using a real estate professional such as a broker, Realtor, or other real estate professional. However, with a realtor costing a sizable portion of the sales price, more and more people are thinking about putting in the time and work into selling the home themselves. This article will talk about what FSBO means, its advantages and disadvantages, and whether it is right for you.

What is FSBO?

For Sale By Owner is a term that means that someone is selling their house without using a real estate professional. In the US there is nothing that requires you to use a real estate agent when you are buying or selling your home. However some states do require that a real estate lawyer read over the contract and that there is one at the closing table when all of the paperwork is signed. Because of this many people have started to turn towards this method and that number has been increasing in recent years. For many people a FSBO sale means that they put a yard sign up, put some online listings out there, and then conduct all of the showings themselves until someone finally buys their home. However this route can include other things like selling your home at an auction, selling directly to an investor, or even something as unusual as a house swap.

Why, And Why Not, To Use FSBO?

The savings is the biggest reason people usually decide to sell by themselves. Most real estate agents take anywhere from 5-8% of the total price that the home sells for. If you sell your home for $ 100,000, and even using the 5% fee, you will be paying $ 5,000 just to the real estate agent in the form of commissions. This is a huge chunk of money that could be used for something like a trip, college, paying off other bills, or even adding to your nest egg. Sometimes sellers think that the best person to market their home is the person that knows it best, which is themselves. Most of the good agents will usually be juggling at least a dozen listings all at one time so the agent might not be able to devote the time and attention to your sale in order for your home to sell quickly.

The biggest disadvantage of selling your home is that it takes a lot of work to accomplish. Even though it is not required it does make the process of selling a home a lot easier to use one. They have all of the contacts that are needed for the various professionals that you need involved with a home sale, plus they will usually do all of the showings. If you don't have an agent you will have to read about all of the state and local laws to ensure that you are proceeding in the best manner, and you will also have to study what type of marketing is working right now. You will have to list the home yourself and you will have to speak directly with the buyers when it comes time to have showings and for the negotiations.

Who should use FSBO?

If you have full time job and other full time commitments, then FSBO is probably not the right route for you. If you are going through a major life change, the extra work from an FSBO may only lead to more stress. If you are selling a home that is extremely unique or would yield a smaller audience of buyers, then having a real estate professional will help you find the right buyers.

On the other hand if you have the time, and are willing to put in the work, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in the home sale process.

If you don't believe that cold calls work in 2017 then stop reading this article and get back to email. Cold calling still works in a BIG way. Here's why and here's how to make an effective cold call in staffing …

Depending on the industry you staff for, cold calls will be more effective than others. For example, the industry I service, Telecommunications, is comprised of Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers ​​who aren't afraid of human contact and conversation via phone. This is how we grew up and this was the preferred method in the business world back in the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's.

… Look at your industry and understand your target audience.

For cold calls to work, you must believe it will. You can not have a shadow of doubt in your mind before picking up that phone. Get your mindset right and convince yourself this will work.

What is the best way to open your call? Here's my pitch …
"Hi Peter, (never use Mr. last name), makes you look subservient off the bat. My name is x, with x company and our core competency is x, x, x. We work with x companies within our industry to help them secure qualified resources for projects and / or direct hire. Can I be a resource for you from time-to-time?

That's IT! Then SIT BACK AND BE QUIET. I don't care if 20 seconds of awkward silence occurs, awkward silence is good! I see and hear so many staffing sales execs ramble on and talk themselves out of opportunities. Listen and listen more.

Let's dissect my pitch above. The first name establishes a level playing field. Posture and positioning is critical in sales, (read any Seth Godin book) especially, within the staffing and recruiting business. Sharing core competency and clients establishes relevance and credibility right away. This is also critical because most peoples' attention span nowadays is 1-2 seconds.

The word "qualified" says so much. Hiring managers need quality. If you simply say we secure resources, then you don't separate yourself from other recruiters. If he questions your "quality" claim, this is a when you have him! Share success stories. Share what other clients tell you. This is powerful.

I use projects and direct hire to make sure he understands we cover both sides of the business and we can be flexible with his business needs. Hiring managers love options and flexibility.

My final question, "Can I be a resource for you from time-to-time?" has been my ACE in the hole. Very non-threatening and doesn't make you look desperate. It gets the hiring manager thinking proactively and if he is wise he will keep you in his mind in the event he needs you in the near future.

When holding an estate sale and going through a professional firm there are several things you want to avoid so that things go as smoothly as possible. Organizing an event can be pretty overwhelming so if possible you will want to seek out help from an estate sale liquidation company to help make things a lot easier. Most estate sale companies are used to handling estates that are valued at tens of thousands of dollars, but that does not always mean that the companies are reputable, so you will want to check your sources and weed out the untrustworthy ones.

Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid when hiring a company to run your sale:

1. Make sure to research the company before you agree to sign a contract and try to find out how long the company has been providing its services. Knowing whether its employees are members of professional associations, have specialized credentials or are just regular people with no background in estate sales is important as well. Unfortunately scams will arise and knowing exactly who you are doing business with will help prevent any rip-off from happening. If you are not comfortable with the employees of the company, then do not hesitate to contact a different company instead. Failing to properly review the estate sale company can be costly and is a mistake made far too often.
2. Always compare rates and fees of professional companies and make sure they are clear and you fully understand them. There could be additional fees for security, moving expenses, trash removal, advertising, cleaning and other related estate sale expenses. The company will already take a percent of the total amount gained from the sale, so you do not want to get hit with any unexpected fees that you were initially not aware of. Commissions and fees should be requested by you beforehand and compared to other companies so that you get the best deal possible. A lot of people do not make as much money as they can because they make this blunder.
3. Do not make the slip-up of removing items from the home after you hire a professional company, because the company could charge you for any loss of commission. So if there is anything in the home that you want to exclude from the sale, let the company know ahead of time so that things do not get mixed up.
4. If you want to clean up before the big estate sale and toss any items you believe to be junk, go ahead, but make sure you are certain these objects in fact have no value. That old piece of dusty pottery or seemingly ugly vintage lamp could be rare and actually worth thousands of dollars.
5. Lastly, do not make the error of not hiring a professional estate sales company. If you do not know what you are doing and cannot properly research the value of certain items then you are almost certain to lose out on a lot of money. An estate sales liquidation company can assess the value of all of the items for sale in the home, clean up after the event and oversee all of the transactions. Some companies will even offer a lump-sum payment for items that are left unsold. Despite paying a commission, you often end up making more using an estate sale company instead of going it alone.

It may sound obvious but often a business will forget the fact that the only way to make money is to get customers to buy. And the best way to get customers to buy is to have am effective sales funnel.

A sales funnel is set of steps where you guide a prospect through a series of communications that results in them buying from you.

But what happens after that first sale is made? Existing customers are the people who are most likely to buy from you again.

How Does A Sales Funnel Work?

At the top of the funnel, you offer something for free in return for getting a prospect’s contact information. This could be a report, checklist, video or eBook. Then you begin marketing, following up with emails and other communications to attempt to make a sale.

Throughout your sales funnel process, you should have several offers that complement each other. For instance, before you buy a car, you take it for a free test drive. If you like the car and buy it, the salesman doesn’t just hand you the keys and then vanish. You’re offered extended auto warranties, enhancements like upholstery and wheel options.

After a couple of months the salesperson will contact you to see if you’re happy with your new car, and let you know about a discount or sale going on.In the future, you’ll be contacted with opportunities to trade in your vehicle and the sales process goes on and on.

How Many Levels In The Sales Funnel Process?

As you can see from the example above, there can be many different levels in a sales funnel. A one level funnel is where after a customer buys from you, you move onto the next prospect.

But this a critical error.

It costs 6 to 7 times more to get a new customer than keep an existing one. It makes sense to market to someone who has already purchased one of your products, rather than try to convince new people to buy your services. An existing customer already knows you and your business. If they have received excellent value from you once, they’ll be more prepared to spend money with you again, rather than somebody who has never heard of you.

There is no “ideal number” of sales funnel levels. Each business, product and service is different. Just make sure you are continuously providing your prospects and customers opportunities to improve their lives or solve their problems with future purchases from you.

Most sales people dread making the number of calls necessary for sales success. Is it because the sales representatives do not know their product or service well enough? Do they have a fear of the unknown? It may very well be one of those reasons. However, the fear typically comes down to a lack of preparation before making the first sales call.

Here are five easy tips that will help in planning a sales call strategy in advance of dialing the phone. Using these can assure success in getting to the next step in the sales process, which is an appointment.

1. Practice what will be said to a prospect before calling. Do not let it sound like there is a lack of organization or that standard script is being read to them. It is okay to have reference notes as long as the sales representative does not sound like they are reading a script word-for-word. If done well, practicing will generate great conversations or voice mails that get call backs.

2. Be interesting! How? Quickly and efficiently, state the purpose of the call. This can be as simple as two or three benefits or a few statements of value for the product or service offering. The best way to communicate is by giving the prospect just enough information to compel them to ask for more information. If sales representatives randomly talk and just throw information at the prospect then they are more likely to reject the idea of ​​a meeting.

3. Be easy to listen to. Use polite words such as "may I", "please" and "thank you." Use the name the prospect likes to be called by. Speak louder as it conveys authority. It is okay to talk a little faster as there is no body language interference. Be sure the words come out very clear. Also use "hello" instead of "hi." If leaving a phone number on a voicemail, be sure to repeat it two times and slow down so the listener has time to write the number down without missing digits.

4. Use an alternate choice close when setting appointments by phone. Give the prospect an alternate choice when setting a meeting. For example, a good message might be "I know you are busy, so in your line of work are mornings or afternoons better for you?" The prospect will respond with a timeframe rather than saying "I don't have time." Use the alternate choice method again before hanging up by offering a choice between two dates and times for the meeting.

5. Make the gatekeeper an ally . If the initial contact is the gatekeeper and not the decision maker, it is vital to make them an ally. Gatekeepers are more inclined to make certain that the decision maker receives a phone message if they are treated with respect and not as a stepping stone. With a little imagination, create a compelling approach so that the gatekeeper will not only find interest, but that they will want to pass along the message. Obtain the gatekeeper's name and when calling back again, ask for them. Build that relationship and watch how sales can soar.

Using the above tips, should produce more qualified appointments. An additional benefit is sales representatives may have more fun prospecting than they could ever imagine.

Overall, successful calls are made by seeking out the right prospect, expressing a sales advantage through the purpose of the call, and by creating a need for the prospect. If sales representatives can manage to accomplish this in a short phone call, then they can prepare for the next step in sealing the deal with an appointment.

In a practice known as the "baker's dozen" a baker throws in an extra muffin or cinnamon roll when you buy 12.

We all love to receive some kind of bonus when we buy a product. But we tend to underestimate how powerful this tool can be to increase sales.

When my wife and I bought new windows for our living room last year, the contractor added a free window when we also purchased windows for the bedroom (which we hadn't even considered ordering).

A bonus can often both clinch the deal and increase the amount of the sale.

And yes, professional service businesses can offer bonuses and special offers, just as a product-based business can.

Here are a few examples.

Add a bonus for a larger sale

Let's say you have a 6-month coaching program with a fixed fee. If that is your only option, it's a yes or no proposition.

But what if you also offered a nine-month program for the same monthly fee but added a bonus? The bonus might be a virtual training program or access to an online forum.

This bonus might cost you very little but add substantial value to the client while also increasing your revenue.

In addition, by offering a second service package you then have a choice of 'yeses,' not a choice between yes and no. So, the chances of a prospect saying yes increases substantially.

Also, note that if you don't offer a higher-end service you will never sell that service.

Add a bonus for choosing you sooner

We're all faced with the situation where the prospective client says, "I need to think about it."

That is certainly valid, but it's also equally valid to reward a prospect for signing up for your service sooner rather than later.

I don't like any kind of high-pressure sales tactics, but have no objection to offering a little more incentive for taking action quickly.

"If you choose to work with me within one week of receiving the proposal I'll offer a complimentary one-day training session."

Whatever bonus or incentive you offer, it should be perceived as a significant value to the prospect. Just this little nudge will often get a prospect to make a decision faster than usual.

And the faster clients decide to work with you, the more income you tend to make.

Add a bonus for a referral

When I ask people where most of their business comes from, a majority say, "word-of-mouth." But I have yet to meet anyone who has a plan to increase word-of-mouth other than offering exceptional service.

Why not reward word-of-mouth referrals by offering a bonus?

You could say something like this: "Because I build my business on word-of-mouth I offer a client bonus if you send someone my way who becomes a new client."

This bonus would vary, depending on the service you offer. It could be a free coaching session, a discount on services for a month or an additional service.

Some clients will do nothing, but others will introduce you to many new clients.

A little more value

Never underestimate the power of a special offer, a discount or bonus in return for buying more, buying sooner or giving you a referral.

And interestingly, when you offer more value in this way, you also tend to increase client loyalty and word-of-mouth. Everyone likes a good deal and will often share what a good deal they received with others.

Cheers, Robert

Sales Managers execute several roles and wear many hats: manager, trainer and coach. These multiple roles can create challenges for some sales managers. Where should they invest their time? Should it be in attending internal meetings? Analyzing reports? Training and coaching the sales team? If you are serious about hitting and exceeding your revenue goals for 2012, invest your time in training and coaching your sales team. (It makes analyzing reports a whole lot more fun when the numbers are in the black.)

Sales managers may have attended sales training courses on their journey to mastering the art and science of sales. How many sales managers have attended training and coaching courses to learn how to transfer the skills that made them a top producer? In the words of Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

We have found the best sales managers make the leap from producer to teacher. If you can’t teach and grow others, you are doomed to be the major rainmaker versus a sales leader.

Here are five tips to help you grow your sales team.

#1: Know when to train and know when to coach. Training is telling and imparting knowledge. Coaching is asking questions to make sure that the knowledge landed in the salesperson’s gray matter. When a sales manager identifies a performance issue, they usually go into training mode, telling and teaching the salesperson a sales technique or concept one more time. The problem may not be about selling skills. In working with sales teams for over a decade, we have found that salespeople know what to do, however, don’t execute selling skills because they don’t believe it works or it make them uncomfortable.

It’s time to take off the training hat and put on the coaching hat. Ask questions that help change the salesperson’s paradigms and beliefs. Presumptive questions are a great coaching tool for shifting perspective.

For example, “When you asked the prospect how much the problem was costing, what did she say? When you shared with the prospect that you couldn’t put together a recommendation until you met with the CFO, what did he say?” The answers from the salesperson range from, “I can’t ask that question” or “I forgot.” A couple of good follow-up coaching questions are:

· “What makes you believe that? Is that perception or real data?

· What is the reason is that you keep forgetting? Is it knowledge or comfort zone?

· What will you do differently the next time?

If you want better answers, ask better questions.

#2: Document your sales process. If you don’t have a defined sales process, you don’t have anything to train, coach or inspect.

Many companies state that have a defined sales process, however, there is no written documentation such as key questions to ask during the sales process, value propositions, gaps in the competitors offering or common objections.

Some sales managers respond with the excuse, “I hire people with ten years experience….they should know how to sell.” Have you heard of something called the NFL? They hire players with years of experience and pay them millions of dollars to play. The NFL wouldn’t dream of a team showing up to a game without working from a common playbook. They know a playbook allows a football team to sit down, review the films and see where they executed well and where they fell short. The players can debrief the game because they have a process to compare, analyze and improve against. Without a defined sales process, a sales manager is forced to debrief 10 different playbooks with very average results.

#3: Eliminate fire hose training. Training is often delivered through an impact training model: two days or two weeks of training with NO reinforcement. Effective sales managers know that reinforcement coaching and training allows the sales manager to take her team from:

· Unconscious incompetent (don’t know what they don’t know) to

· Conscious incompetent (they know they don’t know) to

· Conscious competent (they know how) to

· Unconscious competent (the salesperson is masterful)

Reinforcement is the key to mastery. Think about how you learned in grade school. Remember multiplication tables? Flash cards were held up and you repeated the formula’s over and over until they landed in long term memory. (Okay, I am dating myself.) Sales managers need to hold flash card sessions with their sales team to develop their selling skills on:

· Dealing with objections

· Developing and delivering customized value propositions for various buyers

· Quantifying the cost of the problem or opportunity

· Ask impact questions

These are fundamental skills that eliminate chase mode, price shopping and looking and sounding like your competition.

#4: Prioritize your time. There are the corporate meetings to attend, reports to analyze and of course, investing time with the team. If you want to grow revenues in 2012, make training and coaching your number one priority.

A successful sales manager in Denver, Colorado, invests one hour each week with 16 direct reports. Is it difficult for him to find the time to meet with his team and balance all the other responsibilities on his plate? Yes. Did his sales team grow revenues 20% in a flat market and competitive market? Yes. Time is a limited asset. Choose to invest it wisely.

#5: Stretch your team. You signed up for leadership and part of that responsibility is stretching your sales team. Push salespeople out of comfort zones by following Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Call on that prospect you’ve been avoiding. Ask the tough questions during a sales call. Insist on excellence and don’t allow your sales team to settle for being average. Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach said, “If you settle for nothing less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your life.”

Have you ever wondered why your sales people are not as good as you are at selling? Or, why they don't pursue the top management of the prospects like you would? Well, the answer to this question is: They are not you.

You were a quick study to pick-up sales skills or you wouldn't be where you are. Consequently, no matter their experience, they never learned the skills of selling to over-achieve or where never coached to implement them.

Now to complicate matters, selling in today's environment is very different than it was 10 years ago.

Therefore, unless you invest in sales training and sales management coaching, your team will become less and less effective as others hone their selling skills and prowess.

The subsequent section discusses why sales training is necessary for your sales team.

Collaboration

I've always said, my toughest sell was selling within my own company. A training seminar helps to overcome this barrier, as each unit learns to collaborate for getting a sale. Usually, customized sales trainings brings organizations together as a force because it enlightens the rest of the organization to what's going on with buyers and encourages them to press the sales people for critical information rather than jump to sales peoples' demands. This forces the sales people to be more thorough and sure of potential before the organization spins it's wheels on pipe dreams.

Better customer service

It is a common myth that customer service is only important after a deal has been closed. If you offer a superior pre-sales customer support, the chances of closing the deal increase by various folds. A sales training seminar guides you on how to offer a customer support that makes you a desirable vendor.

Builds confidence

Confidence is the key when it comes to meeting CEOs, CFOs, and other prominent individuals from an organization. If these prospects get even the slightest hint of your intimidation, they will keep you at bay from top decision-makers and critical information. A solid training program provides even the shyest of people the tools to feel they not only belong at the top but will not give-up until they get there.

The sales professionals become more active

After a sales training program, the sales professionals feel excited about learning new concepts and how to adapt them to their own style. Additionally, sales management learns how to coach, mentor and hold sales people accountable to keep that excitement from evaporating once they leave the sales training. And this combination of knowledge and accountability is reflected when they meet potential clients. This, ultimately, increases sales activity and productivity.

Up-selling and cross-selling

Cross-selling and up-selling have always remained one of the best tools to increase revenues. After learning how to sell in the C-Suite, up-selling and cross-selling becomes just another question. Learning from a proven and successful training expert, the sales professional can introduce the clients to other products / services offered because they will be perceived as a trusted consultant who is trying to protect or enhance their clients' careers.

Conclusion: These factors reflect that investing in sales training is one of the wisest decisions for your company.