BASICS OF SALES

In spite of the fact that you think you have better than average skills your sales figures do not reflect it. If this is the case it is time to evaluate yourself and find out how to live up to your expectations.

Here is a checklist to see if you are being all that you can be:

1- Do you do those little things that can give you a background to be successful?
Have you listened at meetings? Have you read all the literature required to keep you informed and up to date? Have you asked questions when you needed to? Are you satisfied with where you are at this point in your career? Are you current with everything you need to be current with regarding your product, service and your company?

2- Do you have your goals in place?
No matter what product you sell or company you represent, You must set goals to be successful and measure yourself against them.

3- Do you set up your weekly, quarterly, and yearly goals?
You must know what to do within a certain time span to accomplish those things to make you successful.

4- Do you review your performance at days end and evaluate it?

5- Do you set up your next day the night before so you know what needs to be done?

6- Are you flexible when you need to be so you can adapt to circumstances and demands when needed?

7- Do you know which of your customers will yield you the best chance of making your numbers?

8- Do you know how to evaluate your performance at any point in time in an honest manner to be sure you are doing what you need to to be successful?

These are things that should be addressed before you ever set foot in your territory, and you should also keep constant track of these things while you are selling in your territory.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the FREE PREVIEW @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how the program I devised can help you sell even if you have no prior sales experience and, I can also help increase your selling prowess if you are currently selling.

There are many things that are important in life, and that also cross over to being important in business and selling. If you dislike doing a particular thing it can have an adverse affect on you, especially if it is a contributing factor to your success.

It is important both in your life and in your chosen field to determine what you dislike doing. Perhaps it can be telling people what to do. Perhaps you do not like training people or speaking in public (for a salesperson this is a tough one). For me; it was paperwork and record keeping. I would put them off as long as I could, then labor over them when the deadline appeared or the need came to bear.

The first thing to do is identify them and then try to deal with them. Pay particular attention to them and not push them off or ignore them. Recognize them and find a way to deal with them and this will lead to a better result. I remember innumerable times when salespeople would relate to me how they kept putting their expenses off, consequently they lost receipts or forgot pertinent details. They were especially embarrassed when their tardiness was addressed at sales meetings. Not only were they embarrassed but management took note of this and it certainly reflected on future management choices because paperwork is certainly a big part of that job.

In selling as in other phases of life there are things we either dislike or are not fond of. When you find what you dislike to do, take note of it. Give it particular attention. You may not grow to like it but being aware of it makes it more tolerable. In the end these things must be accomplished so why beat yourself over the head with them and make yourself miserable.

All I know is that everything in selling was not perfect, but being on the road sure beat sitting behind a desk all day in a cubicle.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips.

Please click the free preview @ www. basicsofsales.com and see how the program I devised can help you sell from beginning to end and also increase your selling prowess.

Your everyday habits and the sum total of your character and makeup is reflected in your sales technique, sales approach and the way you sell.

The sum of your life's actions in general reflects how you sell. The way you sell to people reflects the way you act in life. If you recognize this you can strengthen good habits and stop undesirable ones. You consciously acquire habits and you can consciously change and improve them.

Make sure your personal habits and your general demeanor help not hinder you in your selling career.

A- What habits do you possess that will give you a good start to your selling day?

B- Do you make a habit of putting your customer's welfare before your own?

C- Do you possess positive thoughts and perform positive actions?

D- Do you practice habits that keep you mentally alert?

E- Do you make it a habit to be businesslike and courteous to all you come in contact with?

F- Do you make it a habit of being prepared before you call on customers?

Through self evaluation and self improvement you can strengthen your good habits and help make good impressions on your customers.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips.

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how MY $25 DVD can make you a successful salesperson.

A salesperson has to wear many hats. One of them being a marketing analyst and also a promotion expert when you are handling a dealer network. You have to make those dealer reps that sell your products strive to better their figures. Not only do you have to sell, but you have to know how to grade your customers, how to interpret the data connected with them and in some instances how to prepare incentives for them to buy.

I ran a territory that I built up from $ 2,000.000 to $ 15,000,000 twice. In order to survive I had to “keep ahead of the curve”, “color outside the lines”, and do whatever it took to make and beat the previous year's figures. I had to do it in an honest and professional manner so that it did not come back to bite me or My company the next year. Doing anything that was illegal, dishonest, or underhanded was not an option.

Sometime your company may ask you to prepare a promotion that will furnish you and your area with needed business. National promotions that are aimed at the entire company may not be needed or wanted at certain times, so it will fall to you to design your own promotion. There are instances in business when certain areas are asked to step up and add to the entire bottom line. When this happens you better be ready. You should know what products you can put together with which customers to yield you the best results.

Incentives are always a good option. Let the sales force or company that handles your product strive to beat their previous figures for a given period of time. You can offer them free goods to give to their customers when their customers' buy a certain quantity or some other variation that suits both yours' and the customers needs. You need to set up parameters to accomplish what needs to be done. You do this by knowing what you need and how you can help the customer achieve it to help you and them get results.

Promotions start with figures from a previous period of time and then by you creating something that will help your dealer or a chosen company to perform in such a manner as to help you get what you need. Sometimes it is up to you to help yourself. When your company offers you a deal to help increase your business you better make the most of it. It is a big part of selling.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how what I do translates into making you a better salesperson or starting you off in the right direction.

The proper management of your voiceART 2

A- Smile when you speak:
Smiling encourages your customer to relax and indicates that you are friendly and willing to help him satisfy his needs. Think of how you return a smile when one comes your way and how it tends to relax you.

B- Speak at a measured pace and unhurriedly:
Your customer should be able to hear and understand everything you have to say about your product and the benefit it will yield him.

C- Speak in a conversational tone:
When you speak conversationally you tend to reduce any possibility of tension that may occur between you and your customer. You are not selling the person you are speaking to, you are just having a conversation with him. He will become more at ease. You will also appear more persuasive.

D- Speak with dignity:
Give your company and your product the feeling of importance it deserves by treating it with dignity and respect. Handling your product properly and knowing how it works adds a great deal of enhancement to your presentation. (Refer to My blog Dec. 18th 2010, “SKILL IN HANDLING YOUR PRODUCT DURING YOUR PRESENTATION.)

E- Speak clearly:
You will inspire confidence in your customer when you present your product with words that inspire strength and importance.

F- Speak economically:
Choose only those words that will present your case simply and effectively. Speak as if you are being paid by the word.

G- Use expressive words when speaking:
Your speech can be much improved if you find and use those words that best express the attributes of your product.

Words are meaningless unless they are delivered with expression behind them.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can teach what you need to know to get a background in selling and an entree with a company.

How you speak to a customer is important. You use your voice to convey your message. The combination of your voice and how you use it through your speech pattern is what leads in the end to the sale.

Here are some things to take note of and to use to gain proper management of your speaking voice.

A- Smile when you speak.

B- Speak at a measured pace and unhurriedly.

C- Speak in a conversational tone. (This is one of the main things I concentrate on in My DVD presentation @ basicsofsales.com. along with B above.)

D- Speak with dignity.

E- Speak clearly.

F- Speak economically.

G- Use expressive words when speaking.

In My next blog I will enumerate on the points above.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.
Point of fact. I have over 5000 followers on ezine.com,saleshq,& goarticles.

An open mind is an important thing to have especially for a salesperson. It is hard to harbor the blind spots of prejudice and be successful. If you are prejudice it closes the mind to sources that might otherwise be used to your advantage. Prejudice can be banished by putting some valuable self-disciplining measures into action.

A- Be partial to new and different ideas. Keep an open mind and this will benefit you. It will at the very least broaden your field of play.

B- Keep an open mind towards people. If you do not have an open mind you reduce the number of potential prospects. The way a person looks or dresses can lead you down a false path. I knew of quite a number of instances where the appearance of a prospect caused a salesperson to lose a sale because they prejudged the prospect. Sometimes people are hurried or scurried, consequently they did not have the time to dress appropriately or gather themselves up. This however had no bearing on their need, and their money was at the ready. The only thing missing was the salesperson's open mindedness.

C- Do not give way to preconceived notions that are not based on fact or reason. Any decisions that are based on unsubstantiated ideas or feelings rather than facts cannot lead to productive selling. Things created in the mind have a tendency to overshadow what is real. Fact or reason is however what is reality.

D- Act with fairness. Injustice is the other side of prejudice. If preferences for people or circumstances are distorted by prejudice someone is going to be done an injustice. As corny as it sounds fairness to all is one of the virtues of good selling.

Selling is tough enough without making it more difficult by limiting yourself through prejudice. Keep an open mind and concentrate on satisfying a prospect's needs not what you think of them or about them.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.

Sometimes things happen that you have no control over or that you can not ever foresee as happening. Things happen in life and needless to say also in sales. When you come into a situation where customer's are irate because you, your company, or your product under performs, you'd best have a plan to assuage them. The plan better make sense and it better appear to be sincere.

I remember early on in my career other salespeople telling me about this. “There will come a time (and sometimes it may seem all too often) where you will be the brunt of hostility by someone in your customer's office or hierarchy”. The thing I made sure of is that I had better have a plan, a way to combat those days when bad things happen.

Back in the day I would carry three by five index cards with me when I visited accounts. I would jot down any pertinent information I thought important. Later on it all went on to my laptop. Non the less I would make sure I had a record of anything I thought significant and, more importantly anytime I helped someone out in the account or took care of a problem worth noting.

When I was called in by an irate customer or someone of note in the account I now had a record of how I performed in the account and more importantly how I handled big time problems. This was not a short time thing but something I amassed over a good period of time and held for just such grave circumstances.

When one of those bad days came and I was brought in front of an owner to face the music and here is what transpired. The owner was both hostile and irate, and rightly so. He let in to me in no uncertain terms. He really was close to being out of control and going over the line. When I felt he had vented enough I tried to calm him down and start to remedy the situation. He would have none of it and started to go off again and went so far as to tell me to remain quiet and just take my medicine. After a bit more time; I started to remedy the situation once more, only this time I was more forceful. I pulled out my cards and pointed to times and situations where I not only remedied problems but helped benefit the company more than anyone could have expected.

When he still objected and came down on me again I came out with this phase “Over the years I have earned the right to your business as these instances point out. I know there is a problem but I have earned the right to stand in front of you and try to make it good”. I did not back off. I was not disrespectful but I was firm.

Now I wish I could relate that all was bright and cheery after that but, he just glared at me and mumbled something and told me to get on it and fix it pronto. I did not see him for some time but due to the fact that I was not banished from the account I knew that he at least gave me another chance to straighten things out.

Now having facts to back my position up and uttering the phrase “I have earned the right to your business” I believed saved the day. This process would play out several more times in more accounts.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips
Please click the FREE preview @ www.basicsofsales.com & see how MY DVD can change your life.