There is, indeed, a secret to meeting sales goals in times of “tight fists”. The secret is – re-think your own habits of selling.

Positive Things to Consider During Economic Down Times:

1. People like to buy from people they know and trust. Go back to exiting customers and get to know them again.
   a. Take them small customer loyalty gifts.
   b. Show them new products you may have never shared with them.
   c. Engage them again in a strong customer relationship.
2. People don’t want to take risks when money is tight. Show prospects the safest way to complete a sale with the most effective delivery of products or services.
   a. Demonstrate ways you save them money.
   b. Show them ways other customers have benefited from using your products or services.
   c. Assure them of the ease of the sales process.
3. People always want to feel they have made a good investment when they have to be monetarily accountable.
   a. Apply their specific needs to the long term savings in their investment with you.
   b. Introduce them to employees, in your company, that can assist them in each part of the delivery process.
   c. Make sure you allow them easy access to you should questions
   or issues arise.

Positive Ways to Consider The Prospects’ Position:

1. People like to know their company and you, the sales person, have a good working relationship.
2. People like to feel important all the time.
3. People want to be surrounded by the familiar.

Positive Ways to Consider Yourself:

1. People want to buy from experts. Position yourself as a consultant sales person
   in your field of expertise.
2. People want to buy from the trustworthy. Position yourself as one who follows through on your promises.
3. People want to buy from those who care. Position yourself as the one who cares the most and they will remember you, first, when it is time to buy.

The secret is to re-think your selling habits. Let’s face it, your tired routine may need a gasp of fresh air. So, get rid of negative thoughts, go after your existing customers, continue to build new prospect relationships, and ask for the sale once you’re in front of the buyer. Remember, it could be YOU that is making this slower buying trend seem dismal.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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I am always fascinated by data collected from our clients indicating that approximately 65% of their salespeople fail to ask for commitment from the prospect. I’m even more curious about why this happens.

Most people, including non-sales people, have some concept of “selling.” Undoubtedly, each of us knows what works for us and especially what doesn’t work for us. It’s a fundamental truism that we feel more comfortable buying and selling to and from people most like ourselves. Sales emphasis has shifted throughout the past thirty years from salesperson-focused to customer-focused methodologies. However, in my opinion, asking for commitment should not be perceived as “pushy,” “old” selling methods. It is truly still customer focused.

Asking for commitment assures the customer that you are:

• Reflecting your confidence in your recommendation/solution
• Validating your own belief in your selling process
• Allowing the buyer to decide (their decision, not yours)
• Maintaining trust
• Strengthening dialogue
• Reducing buyer anxiety

You’ve done well to reach this point in the sale. Don’t sabotage your efforts, or your sales career, by not asking for commitment. It’s why you’re there!

Richard Dickerson

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Will your business or vacations plans be taking you to Europe soon? If so, here’s some first-hand experiences you might find interesting and useful. I just returned from 12 days in Europe and Germany with my family, and the culture shocks – along with the “economic shocks” – were dramatic.

First, let me say there are some wonderful places to visit in Europe. Being ex-military, we visited many World War II historical sites, including Normandy, France. It’s the location of the D-Day Invasion in June 1944 that ultimately led to the liberation of Europe. And while some people may not like Americans, I can assure you the people who live in the Normandy region understand they owe their freedom to the United States and our allies.

Nevertheless, regardless of where you intend to conduct business or simply enjoy the countryside, you must be aware the U.S. dollar is extremely weak against the Euro dollar. You’re going to feel like you’ve been robbed at gunpoint when you exchange nearly $167 in American currency for $100 in Euros. And if you rent an automobile car, be prepared to pay through the nose, not only for the car, but for the fuel as well. A small car might cost you $150 American dollars a day. Furthermore, I may not like paying $4 a gallon for gas in the States, but it sure beats the $10 per gallon prices in France and Germany. My suggestion – take the trains. In the end, they’ll save you money, get you where you’re going faster – they run on time – and you’ll avoid the stress of driving in cities like Paris where traffic is as bad as any I’ve ever seen, and I grew up in New York.

Hotel rates are fairly comparable to U.S. prices, and generally include a very good European-style buffet breakfast – lots of bread, pastries, fruits and meats – and all very fresh. Depending on the age of the hotel, you’ll probably find the rooms smaller than you’re used to and the bathrooms about the size of a coat closet.

Restaurant meals are also very expensive – portions are much smaller than Americans are used to – which isn’t all bad if you’re watching your weight. However, when you order a beverage, you might as well drink the wine or beer because they often cost less than a soft drink or water. At one Parisian café, we paid about 20 U.S. dollars for four glasses of Coca Cola – without ice and no refills.

Modern hotels have wireless connectivity for your computers and older places may have one computer in their business center; however, be aware the keyboards vary from country to country. For example, in Germany, the letters y and z are exchanged. and if you don’t notice that little fact, you’ll create some humorous looking emails as well as struggle to find your favorite websites. That probably explains why there’s no such baseball team as the New Zork Zankees.

Let me leave you with one more tidbit of information that could add to your comfort level in Europe. Save some change for the restrooms. That’s right – what you can do for free at any rest stop in the U.S. will cost you around a half-Euro in many locations. The fee is designed to pay for janitorial services and ensure the restrooms are kept clean and working. If you’re out of change, you may have to find a tree, but don’t worry, the locals will understand and won’t be offended.

Travel safely and have fun!

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Do you find yourself typing in the same familiar email to your prospects and clients again and again? Whether it’s boiler-plates, generic thank you messages or directions to your business, there is a tool in Microsoft Outlook 2000/2003 – AutoText – that can help you automatically insert text into an email with minimal effort.

Whether you need to automate a paragraph or a three page email, I will show you how you can use AutoText to help save time so you can spend more time selling.

There are four easy steps to create an “AutoText” Entry

1. Type your email into the email body area.

2. Highlight the text you want for your AutoText Entry.

3. Once the text is highlighted… click – Insert > AutoText > New… Or you can simple hit Alt+F3 (Function Key – Not F then 3)

4. Name the AutoText and click OK

Using your AutoText Entries:

1. In a new email start typing the name you gave the AutoText name

2. When the yellow box appears as you type (above), simply hit the “Enter” key. Your AutoText will then automatically be placed into the email body text.

Option Two: If you can’t remember what you named one of your AutoText entries, you can use the Insert AutoText Option.

1. Click – Insert > AutoText

2. Find the name of your AutoText
1) Click the name of the AutoText
2) Click “Insert”
3) Click OK

You can download this in a quick reference guide by clicking here

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