BASICS OF SALES

The Argumentative person can also posses traits of insincerity and bullying. He has to let everyone know he is right and argues that stance constantly. He loves to hear himself talk and prove to you he is the most important person in the room.

What he is in essence is a time waster. He always knows where he can get something better, cheaper, quicker etc. He is also sarcastic and can be down right abusive. This individual is not above making counter proposals which are unrealistic so he can continue his charade.

To handle this individual one must be poised and courteous and at the same time courageous. Deliver convincing facts to him firmly, tactfully but fearlessly. Facts are the way to go with him. Don't let him think he is tougher than you. Call his bluff but do it as I said with a courteous tone and a courageous manner.

Challenging someone politely is not overstepping yourself. Meeting anyone on their terms courteously but firmly with facts and reason should convert even the most argumentative and unreasonable prospect.

The following Blogs deal with selling strategies to handle different types of prospects:
July 3rd The Nervous Prospect
July 10th The Procrastinator
July 15th The Skeptical Prospect
July 24th The Egotist
July 27th The Talkative type

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope that reading my blog has benefited you. Please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can benefit you even further. In my career I have sold hundreds of millions of dollars and trained innumerable salespeople. If you are at a job you dislike or feel is leading to a dead end, become a salesperson. Let my dvd show you how. Approach companies with seasoned sales experience. I have over 2000 followers on ezine.com, and many more on goarticles.com, saleshq.com, closerblog.com, and thousands more reading my blogs and offering positive comments. Common sense is always the best thing to use to make a decision. Make that purchase now.

Fashion is a language of signs, a non verbal system of communication, that by Alison Lure the author of The Language of Clothes. She also adds that the vocabulary of dress includes not only your clothing but also accessories, hair styles, jewelry and other “ body decoration.”

Your personal appearance is the first thing a prospect notices about you. You only get one time to make a first impression. There are no do overs regarding this. Your entire appearance is what the customer takes into account and, make no mistake it is noticed.

Dress for success author John Malloy,provides these dress rules for success.
If you are able dress affluently.
Dress more conservatively than your prospects.
Always be clean. (Yes that is what he said, evidently it was necessary to mention it)
Never wear anything that identifies a personal belief.
Dress at least as well as the people you are selling.

How's this for a dress code. Be well groomed. Clothes pressed and stain free. Shoes shined and hair neat. If this sounds overstated think about this, how many people have you observed who wore expensive clothes but looked as if they got dressed in the dark. Be particularly cognizant of your shoes. It seems some people are of the impression that shoes are not part of their attire. Make sure they are shined and in good condition.

In general, navy blue signifies authority, brown a lack of sophistication. Black demonstrates almost too much power; red calls the attention to the wearer more than the content of what he or she is saying. That according to Jay Conrad Levinson “Guerrilla Marketing.”

The first presentation you make before your presentation to your prospect is your personal presentation. Let it work for you. Your appearance should be pleasing to the customer without attracting much notice or attention. Although the customer notices the way you present yourself it should not in any way detract from the message you are there to deliver. Anything that takes the customers' attention away from what you are saying is not a welcomed distraction.

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope reading my blogs benefits you. If you are at a job you are unhappy with or is leading to a dead end, please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can train you to become a top salesperson and gain a better livelihood. I have over 1700 followers on ezinearticles.com, and numerous others on saleshq.com, goarticles.com and closerblog.com. Common sense is always the best thing to use to make a decision.

To be a top salesperson you must make top notch sales presentations. To be a great closer, you must be a great presenter. Every step in the selling process is related to every other step. When you have a great presentation chances are your closing percentage is way above average.

There are certain steps to follow to help you achieve this:

1- Preparation
Know as much as you can about your own product (a gimme) and that of your competitors'. (Refer to July 8th Blog) Weave the knowledge you have of both of these in and out of your presentation, how one reflects the other. There may be instances where your competition may have an advantage in certain areas. Know about it and how to handle it. No one product or service is perfect and fits everyone's needs, but knowing how your competitors' product stacks up against yours' is a must. After you have assembled all the facts you can select the most relevant points and use them in your presentation.

2-The Wording:
Make up a blueprint of what you want to say. Prepare a loosely framed agenda of what you will present. This will be a work in progress, but even knowing that changes will be made the direction of the presentation should be set.

3-Work up the points you have chosen and how you will present them:
What techniques will you use, what selling tools do you want to make use of. What questions or objections do you anticipate? Formulate your selling words. Work up each of the points of the outline to give you a phenomenal demonstration. Use words that sell. This will be the main thrust of your presentation.

4-Present it as effectively as possible:
At this point you bring to bear all the selling techniques you have chosen. Here you inject your individuality, your people skills, your personality, and always remember to be flexible (Refer to Blog July 1st-under interruptions).

It takes time, constant repetition, and practice to make effective presentations that lead to closes. First and foremost prepare them, work on them and give them, keep giving them, and continue to give them. Eventually you will become proficient at it, no other outcome is possible.

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips.

I hope reading my blogs benefits you. Please click the free preview on the above site and see how I can benefit you further.

Having a good personality is nice to have if you are a salesperson but you better have a lot more than that if you are to be successful.

I was calling on a hospital purchasing agent and just before she was about to give me the order she shifts the subject to her son-in-law. “He is very personable and bright. I know he would make a terrific salesman. Can you recommend him to your company?” I asked a few questions and gave her a a chance to continue. “What's there to tell. He's bright, articulate and has a great personality. “I see salespeople all day, they smile, make some small talk, what's so hard, and his personality is made for sales”.

What more was there to say, she wrapped it up as succinctly as possible. She had it all down pat. I smiled took the order and said I would mention it, and I did. I relayed the conversation to the sales manager and gave him her number.

Now personality is important, but what happens if the next salesperson has a better personality, do they get the sale? People give much more importance to a salespersons' personality than it merits. Personality is important but not as important to the salesperson as people think it is. A con man probably has as good a personality as it is possible to have. Does that make him eligible to be salesperson?

Some people are of the opinion that the selling process is nothing more than a random compilation of haphazard words and phrases thrown together in the hopes of a sale being made. Being a sales person takes time, training and practice. Knowing the basics of sales and implementing them is the key to selling, not having a great personality to fall back on.

I have seen both women and men with less than sparkling personalities who were successful salespeople. I have seen serious and subdued salespeople that were successful. Successful sales people who people would consider less than personable.

Personality is great if you have a personality that doesn't border on annoying or overbearing. Having a great personality is terrific, but I rate it behind a salespersons' basic knowledge of sales, objection handling, product knowledge, people skills, and another half paragraph of adjectives.

A good personality is a great thing for anyone to have, but it is rather far down the list of attributes one needs to have to be a salesperson. It's not the end all but in it's proper place it helps.

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope reading my blogs has benefited you. Please click the free preview on the above site and let me show you how I can help you further by purchasing My "DVD". At present I have over 1500 followers on ezine.com, and numerous others on goarticles.com, saleshq.com and closerblog.com. Common sense is always the best way to make a decision.

Once you get the order there is no next thing to do, there is only one thing to do and that is to leave as quickly and unceremoniously as possible. There is nothing more to gain and a lot more to lose if you linger.

The longest distance in any office is from the point where you get an order to the door. You have achieved what you wanted to so leave before a multitude of mishaps can occur. If you have been selling for any period of time this will serve as a reminder. If you are just beginning in sales, this should serve as good advice..

If you sell long enough you will experience the myriad of things that can happen from the time you secure an order until the time you walk out the door. The order may be ready, but between the time the order was cut and delivered to the person handing the order to the salesperson problems can occur. Anything can happen, a phone call can interrupt the process, something unforeseen in the office proceedings can bring a halt to it, someone not connected with the process can ask a question completely unrelated to anything of significance but it can affect the process negatively. These are just some of the things that can occur to stop an order from getting into a salespersons' hands.

Once you get the order don't run out of the office like it's on fire, but leave as quickly as possible. I am not giving way to histrionics here but I can't emphasize this too strongly. The order is what completes your reason for being there and the fact that you have secured it means, you have answered all the questions and objections and satisfied all the customer needs. So what else is there to do but leave, linger and you only cause yourself problems.

No sale is complete until it is closed, and after the close take the order, Be Thankful and Be Gone.

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope you benefited from reading my blog. Please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can help you further.

The friendly talkative prospect can be the nicest person you know. Easy to get along with, and agreeable to a fault. He or She is so sociable that it is almost impossible to get the sale going in the direction you want it. They talk endlessly about everything but the sale. So how do we get them on track without injuring this nice set of circumstances and making them feel uncomfortable?

Let these nice people talk until you find a good opening. They are relaxed so you be relaxed do not be overly aggressive, but take advantage of any pause they allow you and lead them into the sale. Be firm but subtle. Each time they stray bring them back, say something to the effect of “I agree” or “As I was saying” and lead them back into the sale. (Refer to my blog July 1st Things That Can Happen On A Sale: Interruptions)

Try to tie the prospects own words with the sales story. “You said something there which ties in with exactly what I know will be of benefit to you”. Then make the correlation. (Remember it's always about benefits for the prospect) Make sure what you say then holds their interest and attention.

With this prospect you have to be attentive, assertive and clever. Take the opening when you get it and swing them into the sale and keep doing this until you have them on board and following you in the sales process.

Sixth in a series of selling strategies by customer type, “The Talkative Friendly Type”

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope reading my blog benefited you. Please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can benefit you further by purchasing My "DVD". To date I have over 2000 followers on ezine.com, and numerous others on goarticles.com, saleshq.com, and closerblog.com. In my career I have sold hundreds of millions of dollars and trained innumerable salespeople. If you dislike the job you are at or think it is leading to a dead end, let me show you how to sell so you can approach a company equipped with the basics of sales. Read the comments left by the thosands who read my blogs and articles. Common sense is always the best thing to use to make a decision.
Common sense is always the best way to make a choice.

The opinionated and egotistical person is better than everyone else. His attitude “ no one can sell me, when I'm ready, I buy. He knows what he wants and needs and he knows what you are going to say and do even before you present it to him. He is superior in his judgment and opinions. He dislikes any advice or suggestions from you.

In his opinion he is better than you the salesperson. He speaks to salespeople in a condescending manner and gives you half his attention.

Here's How To Sell Him:

1-Flatter him, defer to him as if he really is as smart as he thinks he is. Play to his ego.

2-Try addressing him as Sir. Do it subtly. Be serious with him. Always look straight at him, eye to eye. This is important it shows him you take him serious but are not afraid of him. Although he is in command, he has found someone who appreciates him.

3-Get his opinions and outlook on things. Let him make suggestions like he is leading you.

4-Give him credit for his suggestions and let him sell himself.

5-Keep your suggestions in line with his and his preconceived ideas.

Let Him sell Him ----- Only thing is you get the money. He can have the credit.

(Fifth in a series of Selling by customer type)

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

Knowing how to sell can benefit you by providing you with a better livelihood and earnings potential in any economic environment. Click the free preview on the above site and let me show you how.

To be successful in any type of sales endeavor you must constantly know where to go to get your business, how to maintain it, and most importantly how to increase it if it falls short due to unforeseen circumstances. There will be instances when you must get new business to make your money. How do you increase your sales dollars aside from your company increasing prices,or introducing new items.(Refer to blog dated July 8th)

Put these approaches into action:
1-Increase the number of calls to existing customers(Refer to blog dated June 24th)
If you make a sale on every fifth call then adding two additional calls a day for a total of ten new calls a week should theoretically give you two new sales a week
2- Frequency of calls to existing customers puts you in front of them more which leads to additional business by your presence alone.
3- Increase your base. New customers gain you more business.

Sell more per call.
Let your time before the customer be more productive. Practice your skills, hone them and increase the number of units sold.

Sell those items which are of greater value to to the customer.
More value means higher priced items. The customer gets better quality, you get a higher priced sale.

Sell the whole enchilada.
Sell all your products that are of use to the customer not just what they asked for or came in for. Selling a printing cartridge, also sell the paper,pencils etc. that goes along with that purchase.

Close better,Close better.
Practice your closing skills. No sale is complete until you close it. The close is what everything in the sale leads up to. Closing, hands down is the most important part of the sale and will be handled in future blogs.

Closing is what brings in the money to let the company exist and you to subsist.

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope that reading my blog has benefited you. Please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can benefit you further.

A variety of skills are needed to achieve the goals we want in sales. How we use and coordinate these skills is the strategy we adapt to be successful. We must take the right actions dictated by a set of circumstances to make affective use of our strategy. Although we can't predict why certain things happen during a call we can be prepared for what actually happens if we had a planned strategy for most possibilities beforehand.

You can never be sure of what will happen during a sales call but you should try to control the events as best you can. The course of the sales call depends on many factors, the attitude of the customer, the disposition of the salesperson, and the set of variables involved. It is hard to predict what will happen on a call but going into to it armed with a strategy can help you handle most of what comes up.

A sales strategy is a plan to achieve the objective of a successful close. To develop a strategy you must understand each selling skill you posses, and when to use it and the result you get. As salespeople you should know how these various skills blend together. How one thing leads to another in the sale. How does the general benefit statement lead to probing and agreement and support statements. How do all of these lead to the close?

Think through the possible situations you may encounter on a call. (Refer to July 1st blog) You probe for customer needs and answer those needs. What do you do next? Where do you lead the customer?
What is your strategy?

Besides using your sales strategy to respond to immediate customer responses you can also use your strategy to plan ahead in the call. If you have called on this customer in the past you should have an idea from their previous answers and reactions what to expect from them on your next call. You can use that information to try to anticipate what doubts a customer may have and what benefits they are interested in. If you know what to expect you can anticipate the most effective strategy to use. This will increase your choices to respond to customers in the right way and make sure the call doesn't end prematurely.

You can handle any sales situation if you have these skills at your command and know how and when to use them. Remember circumstances dictate which skills are used. Once you have thought of all the possible sales situations that you may encounter, and are comfortable with your skills, you can now put to use the strategies you have adapted to face your customer. (Refer to July 8th blog).

Thank You
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales Blogs offering sales tips

I hope that reading this site above and let me show you how I can benefit you further.

If you think you will become a top salesperson you are well on your way to becoming one. Imagining something and going to that place like it's already a reality is about as positive as you can get.
How do you get there? Set your goals and work them. Believe in them and live your sales life like they have already been accomplished.

1- Study your customers and the industry.
When you study people and know how to read them and communicate with them, you are at an advantage. (Refer to my blogs 6/22, 6/26, 7/3, 7/10, 7/14).

2- Have a plan, a goal.
Make your business plan, know where the major portion of your business is and have a plan to get whatever else is needed to put you over the top. (Refer to my blogs 6/17, 6/24).

3- Qualify your customers.
Needs of customers are the key. Find them out and you will succeed.

4- Always have your presentations prepared in advance.
This is always important and, also when you attend meetings and conferences make sure you are prepared for those also.

5- Treat everyone you encounter as if they were a potential customer.
Networking, friends, you never know where your next customer will come from.

6- Try to get a mentor.
Observe the salespeople you come in contact with both in your own company and in the field. Pick someone and model yourself after their good points. Even if you are not close to that person just talking to them and observing them will serve the purpose.

7- Schedule priorities.
Make sure the important things get done first then handle everything else in order of importance. Make sure everything is covered.

8- Study competition.
Know how to present your competitors' product and how they would sell against you. Prepare a sales presentation on your competitors' product or service.

9- Always promote your company.
Sell all the time to everyone, everywhere. This does not mean to be over bearing. Do it naturally as if it is a part of your makeup.

Be committed to your company and business. Become an entrepreneur within your company, like it's your company, your business. Like your success is tied to the company's success. Know that failure is inevitable if you are to become what you want to be.(Refer to my blog 7/12). Be optimistic about your company and yourself.

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

I hope that reading my blog benefited you. Please click the free preview on the site above and let me show you how I can benefit you further when you purchase my dvd. In my career I have sold hundreds of millions of dollars and trained innumerable salespeople. I can do the same for you. Common sense is always the best thing to use to make a decision.