SOCOM Sales Tips » Entrepreneur

Crafting an Opening Sales Statement

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:16:00 +0000

You’ve got just eight short seconds to grab your prospect’s attention and land an executive sales appointment. This sales expert shows you how.

By Tony Parinello

Before you pick up the phone to make a sales call to an executive, I’d like to suggest you remember the following true story:

A few months ago, one of my salespeople, Daniel, had some car problems, so I offered to give him a ride to work. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to do a little one-on-one role-playing, I suggested we go over some appointment-setting phone skills. I’ve had a long-standing, well-proven statistic that you have just eight seconds to grab an executive’s attention whenever they pick up their phone. Daniel was a bit skeptical about my eight-second standard. He looked at me and said, “Boss, eight seconds is too short a period of time! That’s hardly enough time to take a deep breath, let alone make a meaningful opening statement.”

We happened to be waiting at a red light when he said this. As the light turned green, I kept my foot on the brake and started counting: “One thousand one, one thousand two….” People started honking. By the time I got to “one thousand four,” Daniel was begging me to get moving. By the time we hit the sixth second, the guy behind us was starting to get out of his car, and Daniel was looking for a place under the floorboards to hide. When I finally hit eight, the intersection was a symphony of honking horns, “pointing fingers” and shouting mouths. I hit the gas.

Daniel’s never questioned me again on how long eight seconds really is or whether you can make an impact in that length of time.

If you’ve been reading my columns, you understand what motivates people to buy; you know the relevant specifics about your product, service or solution; and you have a good idea about the strategies at your disposal for contacting people who may give you new business. When you find yourself getting ready to pick up the phone to call an executive, what do you say?

I’m going to assume that your goal for picking up the phone is to develop new business. I’m also going to assume that:

You’ve decided to use the phone to do this, either by means of a follow-up call on a written communication (see my prior article on this topic), or as your first contact with the target business.
Your aim is to get an appointment or create the next step with a top executive who is the person who can actually buy whatever it is you’re selling.

You have three big goals when it comes to developing an opening statement that works. You want to:

Make it sound conversational.
Deliver it with confidence.
Get a favorable interruption–one that will put your prospect in control as soon as possible.

Five Key Opening Statement Components

You’re picking up the phone to call your prospect. For right now, let’s assume you actually do get through to the executive. (You should read last month’s columnto learn exactly how to get past the gatekeepers.) Here are the five key ingredients your opening statement needs to contain:

1. An Introduction. Usually, when an executive (or anyone else) picks up a direct line, they say their name: “This is Jane Smith,” or “Jane Smith speaking.” Your first step will be to repeat this person’s name. Keep things formal for now–use Mr. or Ms., then the contact’s last name.

Prospect: This is Jane Smith.

You: Ms. Smith?

Prospect: Yes.

This first step will earn you Ms. Smith’s undivided attention. Whatever she was doing prior to you saying her name, she’s now stopped doing. She’s paying attention to you, and that’s a good thing!

What most salespeople do now–despite ample and endlessly repeated evidence that they shouldn’t–is say something like this: “Hi, Ms. Smith. This is Will Perish, with the ABC Insurance Company.” Unless your name is, say, James Bond, or your company affiliation is, say, the Prize Disbursement Division of Publishers Clearing House, I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen next in the vast majority of such calls: The prospect will respond to this self-defeating “verbal handshake” by tuning out, asking you to send written information, pretending the building just caught fire, or otherwise disengaging from the call. In other words, you’ll have only been on the line about a second and a half, and you’ll be done.

2. The Pleasantry. Here’s an alternative plan. What I’m about to tell you will contradict what you’ve been taught. Do it anyway.

When Jane Smith says “Yes,” you’re going to respond with something positive and enthusiastic, something that doesn’t directly identify you, your company or the product or service you eventually want to discuss. It’s too early in the relationship for you to pass along that kind of information. Instead, you’re going to use a pleasantry, such as one of these:

“It’s an honor to finally speak with you!”
“Thanks for picking up the phone!”
“Thanks for taking my call.”
“Your time is important. Let me cut to the chase.”

Get the idea? Each and every one of these pleasantries will do a far better job for you than simply volunteering your name and company affiliation at the outset of the conversation. Or saying something totally lame like “How are you today?” or “Do you have a minute?”

3. The Hook. Immediately after your pleasantry, you’re going to catch the person’s attention by using a hook that’s keyed directly to something likely to be of interest to this prospect.

“We’ve helped (three of the top five widget corporations reduce overhead costs by twelve percent this quarter–and they did it without laying off staff or sacrificing product quality).”

Now there’s a tangible benefit if ever there was one! Keep your hook focused and just one or two sentences long, and you can’t go wrong.

The Interruption. More often than not, here’s where you’ll get interrupted if your hook is doing its job. Your prospect is likely to cut in and say something along the lines of one of these statements:

“This sounds interesting–tell me all about it.”
“I haven’t heard of this before, but I must admit it sounds vaguely interesting.”
“I have absolutely no interest.”

(Don’t worry. You’ll be learning how to deal with any not-so-favorable interruptions in next month’s column.)

As I said, you’ll almost certainly get interrupted by this point. For the sake of completeness, though, you need to finish developing your opening statement, so you know what to say in those cases where you don’t get interrupted at this point.

4. Naming Names. Once you’ve shared your hook, the other person knows the reason for your call–the cat’s out of the bag. This is the perfect time to identify yourself and, if you like, your organization. If you choose to identify the name of your business, give it a brief “commercial.” What you say will fit in one sentence. It should sound like this:

“This is Will, Will Prosper, with ABC Insurance Company–the hardest-working company in the insurance industry today.”

5. Your Ending Question. If you don’t get interrupted by this point, you’re going to conclude your opening statement with an ending question that incorporates some element of time. Try one of these:

“Ms. Smith, does this touch on issues that are of concern to you this (month/year/quarter)?”
“Are you wanting to accomplish something like this by the end of this (quarter/year)?”
“Is this something you’d like to explore further?”
“Who on your team would you like for me to continue this conversation with between now and the end of this business (day/week)?”

Putting It All Together

Here’s an example o
f an opening statement that works. Yours shouldn’t sound exactly like this one, but it should be about this long, and it should, like what follows, hit all the bases you’ve been reading about.

Prospect: “This is Jane Smith.”

You: “Ms. Smith?”

Prospect: “Yes….”

You: “(Pleasantry) It was a pleasure to read that your company has successfully expanded into the European marketplace. By the way…(Hook) after studying another client’s operation, we suggested an idea that provided revenue gains of more than $25,000 per year. The real surprise is that we did this without taking one bit of Acme’s hard-earned capital. (Your Name) This is Will Prosper at Zenith. (Ending Question) Acme’s impressive results may be tough to duplicate. But would you be open to taking the next step between now and the first of the year?”

Again, you shouldn’t try simply to insert your company specifics into the script you see above. You should use all the ideas in this article to craft an opening statement that is uniquely yours and that best fits the business you’re pitching.

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/sales/presentations/article78614.html

The Importance of Individual Sales Goals

SOCOM Sales — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:32:00 +0000

Achieving sales volume goals for your business is one of the biggest challenges any owner faces. Many factors beyond your control can affect that final number–the economy, the weather, the competition. But one manageable factor is the people in direct contact with your clients–your sales team.

Some business owners ask every person on the team to meet the same sales goals. That’s the easiest thing for a busy entrepreneur to do. But not everyone is capable of achieving at the same level. Some salespeople are better with a certain product; others work best with a certain type of client. You just can’t get away from these complicated variables.

Since your business is so powerfully impacted by these variables, you should master the art of flexibility. Smart business owners work with each person on their staff to discuss what’s expected of them to keep the business growing. Each person must be evaluated based on his or her skills, knowledge and interests.

It’s wise to set an overall company goal so you all know what you’re trying to achieve. It’s also a good practice to step back every now and then to look at the big picture of your business as it relates to that goal and look for things you can do to reach the goal. It’s also critical to let your sales personnel in on your company goal so they can understand where they fit into your plans.

Your salespeople are crucial to growing your business, and to get the results you want, you should meet with them eyeball-to-eyeball (or, at the very least, in a phone meeting) once a month. This should only take five to 10 minutes per person per month, and the results you’ll see will be worth the effort.

Begin your monthly meetings by thanking your team members for their service to the business. Review how they did with their sales last month, and ask them if they’re pleased with their numbers. Then ask what they might do differently if they had an opportunity to go back 30 days and relive that month over again. Often, both you and your salespeople will be surprised by some of the creative answers they come up with. Use that information to move forward in setting some new goals.

Let your salespeople be in control of their goals by asking what their income goal is for the next six months. Then break that figure down into monthly goals. Ask if that monthly amount seems reasonable to them. When they confirm that it does, show them how many sales they must generate to achieve that goal. Again, have them commit to their belief in that goal being achievable.

To finish up, talk about special offers or promotions that you’re implementing so your salespeople can work them into their sales plans. Always end these planning meetings by asking what you could provide your salespeople along the lines of product knowledge or selling skills education to help them continue to grow and achieve their goals with your business.

This type of personal involvement in setting achievable goals for your salespeople always works in your favor. You’ll get to know what they believe they can do. They’ll get to know what you hope they’ll achieve. And best of all, when they know you care enough to help them set individual, personalized goals, they’ll do their best to outperform your expectations.

Closing the Sale

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:56:00 +0000

I could have used this post last week.

Learn how to ask the right questions that will help you complete each sale like a star.

Typically, when I talk with my students on a one-to-one basis, they ask me a lot of questions about how to close sales. That’s to be expected because it’s the positive end result all salespeople seek in any contact with potential clients.

In most situations where sales aren’t closed, it’s usually because the salesperson didn’t ask the right question. In all my training, you’ll hear it repeated over and over that every answer you need to get in order to meet someone, qualify them as to their needs, get permission to give a presentation or close a sale will come to you if you only ask the right questions.

Sometimes, it’s not just the question that matters, but how it’s presented. You may have to set the stage or tell a story leading up to the question that helps the client rationalize the buying decision. No matter how good your lead in or story is, however, you won’t get the sale if you don’t ask for it.

Let me give you a few closes that have proven successful for my students the world over. Don’t be concerned if they seem a bit wordy–you’re painting pictures and involving the emotions of your potential clients. Say the words with warmth and sincerity, and they’ll work for you.

When your clients hesitate because they aren’t sure it’s the right decision, try what we call “The Best Things in Life Close.” This is a great close to use with a personal sale, especially when you’re trying to sell something to a husband and wife. Compare the decision they’re considering right now to other decisions they’ve made and have been happy with. It’s especially helpful when they’ve admitted they want the product but are just struggling with saying yes. It goes like this:

“Isn’t it true, John and Mary, that the only time you’ve ever really benefited from anything in your life has been when you said yes instead of no? You said yes to your marriage. . .” [And this next part's optional: ". . .and I can see how happy you are." But don't add this phrase unless you've seen signs that they truly are a happy couple!] “You said yes to your job, your home, your car–all the things I’m sure you truly enjoy.

“You see, when you say yes to me, it’s not really me you are saying yes to but all the benefits this product offers… [and then list a few of the benefits they were most excited about.] Those are the things you really want for your family, aren’t they?”

With these words, you’re helping them focus on the benefits they want from the product rather than their hesitation to make the investment to own it. The little agreements you ask for during the close get the “yes” momentum started. If they do truly believe your product is good for them, these words will help them get over their hesitation to give you the final yes and close the sale.

Another situation might be during a business sale where the decision-maker uses “the budget” as a reason not to go ahead. This purchase might not have been in their plans, so the money isn’t in the budget. If you truly believe your product would provide excellent benefits to their company, your goal in this situation is to get them to admit and agree to that point. Ask this: “John, if the money for this investment was in your budget, would you proceed?” If he says yes, agree with him by saying “That’s wonderful, John. I’m glad you see the benefits our XYZ product can bring to your business.”

At this point, you can either move on to a discussion of their return on investment or try these words:

“I can understand your concern with your budget, John. That’s why I contacted you in the first place. I’m fully aware of the fact that every well-managed business controls the flow of its money with a carefully planned budget. The budget is a necessary tool for every company to give direction to its goals. However, the tool itself doesn’t dictate how the company is run, does it?

“It must be flexible to allow the company to manage crises or take advantage of unplanned opportunities. As the controller of that budget, you retain for yourself the right to flex it in the best interest of the company’s financial present and competitive future, don’t you?

“What we’ve been examining here today is a system which will allow your company an immediate and continuing competitive edge. Tell me, under these conditions, will your budget flex or will it dictate your actions?”

Hopefully, you see the difference between just asking for the sale and helping people make decisions that are good for them. That’s the difference between an average salesperson and a great one!

Tom Hopkins is the “Sales Basics” coach at Entrepreneur.com and is world-renowned as “The Builder of Sales Champions.” For the past 30 years, he has provided the finest sales training available through his company, Tom Hopkins International.

Why I love SalesForce.com

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:07:09 +0000

There are many options out there for a customer relationship manager (CRM) available. I guess they all have advantages and disadvantages but I have grown accustomed to SalesForce and have no issues with it. Besides using it for work to manage all my accounts and prospects, I also have a personal account that is available to anyone for free.

SalesForce has done a good job keeping up with the needs of there corporate customers by adding new features and having a consistent update pattern that they make visible to SalesForce admins. But this is not why I love SalesForce so much.

Work anywhere

SalesForce as a CRM solution allows a mobile workforce to always be connected. The old school days of field sales people running their business off of spreadsheets should be trashed. Being able to access your company information from any connected device like a computer or mobile phone allows sales people and executives to review and update important data anytime of the day from anywhere in the world.

Customizing reports is easy

People at the top are always asking for reports. SalesForce makes this fairly simple. You can set reports up to be available to everyone or make them private. I only use a fraction of the public reports and mainly use them as templates to creat my custom reports that give me superior insight into what’s going on in my department. Having this information available makes getting reports to the executive team easy and painless. No more scrambling around trying to get a report together.

Never miss another follow up.

Part of being a great sales person is being able to juggle dozens if not hundreds of accounts at one time. Everything is a process within the sales cycle and dropping a few balls is not a luxury you can afford (literally). Creating follow up tasks and events for all of your contacts is a simple process to do and syncing this data to Outlook or your mobile device is seamless. I don’t need to be on my computer to know that I have a call in a few minutes, my iPhone reminds me like any other calendar client would. So wile on the road if I am driving from one location to another or sitting in an airport like I am currently, I don’t need to be on my computer to know when and who I need to touch base with.

What CRM do you use?

No Related Post

Start a business online

SOCOM Sales — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:00:14 +0000

Ten days is too long between posts. I have been busy with a few other projects I’d like to share. As many of you know I follow several other websites about making money online and internet marketing. DoshDosh is one of my favorites along with ShoeMoney and no list would be complete without John Chow

Now the space of ‘make money online’ sites is getting full. In fact the space is overcrowded with blogs and sites devoted to teaching you how to make money online and some charge a fee for their ’secrets’. Since there are so many sites like the few I listed above available for free, I don’t understand why people would pay for the same information. Then I started thinking that these people are actually getting paid though. I would think that people do pull out their credit cards and add to someones PayPal coffers for the information. The instant gratification of spending $20 or more for a PDF must appeal to someone. 1 PDF + domain name = online business.

I started to look around at my sites and wanted to see if there was anyway to turn the conglomerate of sites into a viable business. But what should someones online empire look like? Instead of running 4-7 individual sites maybe creating one hub and then making these the branches of my own internet enterprise. I am going to spend some time putting together a series of posts that people can use as a mini online business plan of sorts that will outline how with only a small investment of time and money you can start building your own internet empire.

I’ve been exchanging email with another online marketeer who has been very nice about coaching me through some ideas on this. The last thing I wanted to do was spend more money on domain names than I needed and since I already own about 30 but adding one wasn’t going to kill me. So I invested (you have to look at it this way) in Sexton Enterprise.

Using the Sexton Enterprise blog will help me outline all of the future steps to show you how to do the same. I used a couple of my existing domain names that were literally doing nothing and started pointing them to some new websites that I put together. To start building an empire, you need at least two specific ideas of sites you want to develop. Since I have too much free time and I want to see this work, I created 5. Obviously SOCOM Sales falls into this. Then Sexton Enterprise Marketing will be the Marketing wing of the company and based on some general interest, I have a Stock Watch and Investment site and an iPhone Blog.

I am going to post all subsequent entries onto the new Sexton Enterprise Blog so this can be for sales related information. The paths will cross, but thats the point.

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Turning Sales into a Science

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:28:28 +0000

A friend passed this article along to me knowing that I stay on top of these types of stories. Little did I know that they mentioned NetSuite as a pioneer of the Sales 2.0 era. Thanks Jake!

——————-

It’s a question almost as old as commerce itself: Is selling an art or a science? For years, technology companies have been trying to transform the former into the latter. And for years, the results have largely been disappointing.

Think of those days as Sales 1.0. We’re now in the era of Sales 2.0. Your bottom line may never be the same.

Remember the bad old days of sales-oriented technology? Customer relationship management systems that cost a fortune to install and crashed easily. Downloadable lists of sales leads filled with old or bogus data. E-mail marketing tools that targeted the wrong consumers. And on and on.

Fortunately, software firms that target small companies with sales tools have been getting smarter and smarter. Following pioneers such as Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and NetSuite, a new generation of companies is offering easy-to-use, cheap (indeed, often free) technology that can supercharge the performance of your sales force–with minimal training and virtually none of the heavy-duty installation associated with the CRM systems of the past. With lead-generation and networking services, e-mail marketing products, relationship managing tools, and other bells and whistles, it’s now possible to turn a sales operation into a gleaming high-tech machine. Here’s a quick tutorial on some of the new tools and a nine-step guide to launching your sales force into the future.

1. Build a bigger Rolodex

The Products
Jigsaw, Ziggs, ZoomInfo, Spoke

How They Work
It’s said that a salesperson is only as good as his or her Rolodex. Fortunately, it’s now easy to have a much, much bigger Rolodex. There are a number of websites that invite businesspeople to upload and share their contacts with one another. The most popular is probably Jigsaw, which boasts 4.3 million contacts from professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Subscribers can pay $25 per month to download 25 new contacts; you also can upload contacts from your own Rolodex in exchange for Jigsaw points, which can be accumulated and used for more downloads. Once you’re signed up, most contacts come with direct phone lines and e-mail addresses; if a contact turns out to have bad information, Jigsaw awards points to users who report the problem and docks the user who uploaded the info. Two other online services, Ziggs and ZoomInfo, allow users to pay to download contacts or add their own profile. ZoomInfo also provides sales data and listings of competitors within industries, a neat tool.

Other services are taking the kinds of lists traditionally offered by Hoover’s and InfoUSA (NASDAQ:IUSA) and putting them on a dose of steroids. Spoke takes big lists from providers like InfoUSA, enhances them by combining these lists with Web search data and user-validated list data, and adds it all together to create better lists. Spoke also makes it easy to slice and dice them by industry, geography, company, or revenue level. Ziggs is free; ZoomInfo is free for basic service, but advanced searches can cost as much as $12,000 a year.

Case In Point
As the director of inside sales at Bay Area e-mail security provider PostX, John Fales has long used the Web to prospect sales leads. But using Google can be time-consuming and cumbersome. And the lists provided by major providers were often filled with incomplete or outdated information. Then Fales heard about Jigsaw. The service made it a cinch to find multiple decision makers inside large companies and organizations. Fales says use of Jigsaw has sliced more than 50 percent off the PostX sales cycle. “We’ve been able to get into accounts very quickly as well as find a variety of potential players in a position to buy the product through the service,” he says. “It’s been consistently helpful. It would be very difficult to go back to the old way.”

2. Network more efficiently

The Products
LinkedIn, Ryze, BranchIt, CompanyClick

How They Work
The kids have MySpace and Facebook, and it’s hard not to be envious. In a matter of hours online, they’re building vast networks of connections–the kinds of networks that take businesspeople years of mixers and rubber-chicken dinners to create.

Unless you’re selling something like video games or skateboarding gear, you’re probably not going to have much luck marketing on MySpace. Fortunately, a number of social networking services geared toward small business have emerged. They promise to change the way we network forever. Palo Alto, California-based LinkedIn, for example, is often described as MySpace for businesspeople. You won’t find videos, MP3s, or other flashy media on the site’s bare-bones profile pages. What you will find are resumés, people’s professional affiliations, special interests–and lots of them. LinkedIn has nearly eight million registered users from more than 100 countries spanning 130 separate industries, including thousands of top executives.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20061201/sales-into-science_pagen_2.html

Cleanup your LinkedIn Profile

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:17:33 +0000

If you are a professional and trying to network with other people in your industry or get back in touch with past coworkers, LinkedIn is the tool you need.

CNN Money wrote about this earlier in the year talking about the growth of the site and how it is used by some of the 8 million plus users.

LinkedIn is all about business: recruiting, sales, investment. It’s not exactly a marketplace or a job site but rather a community of more than 8 million people who rely on one another to get things done.

LinkedIn as I have said in earlier posts is an account that everyone in a professional environment should have and more importantly, something everyone should want to look its best. Think of your LinkedIn profile like your personal Hoovers page where people that find you should be given quality data.

If you have an account, you should make it look clean. Guy Kawasaki made a post on his blog “How to Change the World ” on giving your profile an extreme makeover. This is almost a step by step way of making your profile standout to business associates as well as head hunters and prospects. You may also want to take a look at a post Guy made about the Ten ways to use LinkedIn.

Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.

Among the benefits of getting an executive bio of your experience and credentials, you also allow yourself to be searchable on sites like Google since LinkedIn has a high ranking.

As a professional, I use LinkedIn a lot and I have setup my personal SalesForce.com account to allow for LinkedIn searches right from my contacts list by modifying some basic code. You can see how to add LinkedIn to SalesForce here.

Typically unless you are working with one of the main executives of a company, you will not find any information about them on the corporate website. But with LinkedIn, you can do an easy search of the persons name and find out who they are, what they are doing currently, and also where else they have been. LinkedIn has become the professionals Yellow Pages.

As a sales person, if you are ever trying to figure out how to reach the right person in a target account, LinkedIn is a great tool to search through an entire company to find additional contacts to reach out to. Also on the flip side, if you are just targeting any current VP of marketing for some new service you are offering, you can do an advanced search for that specific title and get a fresh list of names that you can call on. this is something even large database companies like Hoovers has not figured out how to master.

The 10 R’s of Success

SOCOM Sales — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:42:04 +0000

Dave Cheong is another blogger that is working his was to entrepreneurship I was surfing through his past posts and I came across a headline that caught my eye and wanted to share it with all of you. I saw 10 R’s to Apply if you want to Succeed and thought ‘WTF’ and had to read the entire post.

In his post he give a great framework for people that want to succeed to follow. Being that I am an entrepreneur at heart I thought that all of the 10 R’s are on the money.

1. Realistic

2. Realise

3. Recognise

4. Reframe

5. Respond

6. Review

7. Repeat

8. Reflect

9. Reward

10. Renew

His post goes into a lot of detail on these and none of them seem like they are hard to follow.

Life is a continuous process of discovery and learning. We only stop doing either of these when we die. At this very moment, you are discovering new things, experiencing interesting events, learning and growing constantly.

Set Your Employees Free

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:21:49 +0000

This is an interesting article I read from Entrepreneur.com and my thoughts on it.

Looking for a new way to increase employee satisfaction and loyalty? It may not be as hard as you think. A new survey by Kenexa Research Institute, a recruitment and retention consulting firm, discovered that telecommuters report the highest level of job satisfaction. According to the survey, which took place in June, about 73 percent of remote and home-based workers said they’re satisfied with the company they work for, as opposed to 64 percent of office workers. Jack Wiley, executive director of the Kenexa Research Institute, said allowing employees to work remotely is a matter of respect. “I respect you and I have confidence in your commitment to the work, to do this under the conditions and at the time you feel will be most productive for you,” said Wiley.

But telecommuting isn’t catching on at all workplaces. Some businesses worry about how to administer a work-at-home policy in a fair way for all employees. And some employers still have what Wiley called a “command-and-control mentality,” meaning if they can’t actually watch employees, they don’t know how productive they’re being.

Companies should inherently trust their employees. Sure there should be a probation like period with newbies, but why did you hire them in the first place if you didn’t think they could do the work? If you have the IT infrastructure to allow people to work from home, why not let them do it?

Giving an employee the flexibility to work from a home office is better than most financial compensation. Good employees will do their jobs and many times be more productive since they do not have to worry about commutes or have the daily office distractions that are always available.

It should be emphasized that their is a standard, which is something I have found in companies not to exist to much of an extent. It’s hard for new employees to know what the standard is out the gate. It’s one of those things that is ‘learned over time’. If new employees were told specifically what was going to be expected of them and the metrics that were put in place, I don’t think that most would fall short. It becomes a problem when there are no standards set.

It’s no wonder that telecommuters have a higher job satisfaction rating than office based employees. how great is it to wake up in the morning start the day off with a home brewed cup of coffee start a load of wash and walk into the next room and start getting things done? There really is nothing that compares.

I am very familiar with the ‘command and control’ mentality. Being from the military myself, command and control is #1 in a leaders mind when it comes to success of a mission. But C2 as it is now called in the military has taken on new forms and so should the parallel with business. Technology has made many leaps in this arena, and a sales manager on the other side of the world can check through a CRM system like SalesForce or NetSuite to see what his staff is doing. The idea that your employees need to be cube animals is so far gone since simple applications like a CRM and email can give you the control you need and let your employees feel empowered to run their lives and still be highly effective at their jobs.

As we move from Generation X to Generation Y in the workforce, managers need to understand the shifts they need to make to get these new employees as well as keep the ones they have.

Go to school and sell on eBay

SOCOM Sales — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:01:31 +0000

Boost your sales by learning from experienced eBay sellers.

By Janelle Elms |

Thinking of starting your own business on eBay? Before you do, it may be a good idea to head back to school; eBay school, that is. On eBay, you’ll find a group of trained and experienced sellers–known as Education Specialists–who can teach you the ins and outs of running a business on eBay and give you the tools you’ll need to create a successful venture.

Because of incredible demand for its services, the Education Specialist program has grown from just one course–”The Basics of Selling on eBay”–to a suite of classes on subjects that include buying, opening an eBay Store and fundraising. eBay education is popular even in the brick-and-mortar world, where Education Specialists are training companies to use eBay as a new selling channel. “We have found that new sellers gain confidence and knowledge about selling on eBay after taking a course from an Education Specialist,” says Sharon Guldner, senior manager of eBay Education Programs.

Education Specialists are trained, tested and provided with “the same course materials developed by eBay University, so students can be confident they are learning tried-and-true selling techniques from [experienced sellers],” says Guldner.

The highest classification an Education Specialist can achieve is Business Consultant certification. Cindy Shebley, 49, founder of eBay consulting company CloverCity, was one of the first 10 eBay sellers to reach this elite level. She uses her advanced training to help her eBay clients succeed. “One of my first clients went from $0 a month to $4,000 a month in 90 days,” she says. Shebley also uses her experience selling photography equipment as an eBay PowerSeller to advise her students. “On eBay, if you’re willing to do the work, you’re not only your own boss, but you’re also in charge of your own destiny,” she says.

To locate an eBay Education Specialist in your area, go to the eBay Education Specialist Program homepage at ebay.com/esp, and type in your city, state or ZIP code. Education Specialists teach their classes at a variety of locations, including homes, community colleges, libraries and hotels.

You can also use the Advanced Search function to locate someone who teaches courses on specific topics. You’ll then be shown a list of qualified teachers along with their contact information, student feedback and a schedule of upcoming classes. You can contact them for more details or sign up for their group and individual classes.

If you’re interested in learning how to become an Education Specialist yourself, you can find more information and register for the training program at the Education Specialist Program homepage.

Janelle Elms, eBay University instructor, is creator of the eBay Stores Video Series. Contact her at onlinesuccessinstitute.com.

Reposted from URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2007/september/182976.html

Create your personal brand

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:37:41 +0000

“Know–and Brand–Thyself”

The ancient Greek adage is more than just a pithy saying. Creating a personal brand will show your strengths throughout life.

by: John Williams

It’s a brand new work world. And I do mean “brand.”

It used to be that only large businesses worried about branding. To thrive, they had to distinguish their company from the competition. This meant carving out a niche based on competitive advantages and specific corporate attributes. They crafted and maintained a strategic brand–a unique, useful promise to current and prospective customers–to gain brand equity and loyalty. This was business, after all.

But things have changed. The 21st century is the age of free agents and custom ringtones. Nike doesn’t just sponsor Tiger Woods; Tiger Woods sponsors Tiger Woods (check out the personal logo on his cap). Today, branding occurs at the individual level. This is especially noticeable in service industries, but increasingly in others as well. Everything about you, from the type of cell phone you carry and the vocabulary you use, to the brand of coffee you drink, says something about who you are and what you can do for the rest of us.

In business today, your most important job is to promote yourself. You probably won’t work the same job from graduation until retirement. More likely, your future depends on leveraging your strengths along a winding career path ripe with possibilities. To take advantage of these opportunities, you need to stand out in a crowd. You must become your own brand.

Essentially, this means distinguishing yourself based on your “competitive advantages,” including unique professional skills, life experiences, character strengths and personality traits. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

by Emily

1. Ask the No. 1 question in branding: What makes you different than others, particularly others in your field? What qualities, experiences and skills make you special? Generate a list of personal brand attributes, and then prioritize them.
Your brand is a promise of the value you’ll deliver to your customer. It’s important to consider how you add value. For every feature, there’s a corresponding benefit. Are you always on time? This translates to reliable service. Do you tend to think out of the box? You’re a problem-solver. The more unique your brand is in your field, the better. If you add value like everyone else in your industry, it’s not considered a competitive advantage. Look for ways–even small ways–that make you different and thus more valuable and irreplaceable to customers.

Ironically, it’s really not about you. Like business branding, you must consider the needs and desires of your prospective customers. What are they looking for? This is a critical but often-overlooked component of personal branding. For example, if your competitive advantage is dogged reliability in a field defined by fast-paced innovation, you need to rethink either your brand or your field.

2. Write a mission statement that includes three or four of your top brand attributes. Include ones you already possess and those you’re still working on. Keep in mind you’re not defined by a company or a title. The only organization you belong to for life is yours. Create a mission statement that promotes who you are and who you are becoming.

3. Create a personal logo, like Tiger Woods did. People remember pictures and color (a logo) before they remember text (a name). Adding a logo to your personal business cards makes you stand out in a crowd. The symbol in your logo can serve in other capacities, including an embellishment to personal stationery or as a favicon for your website. (Try creating your own logo for free at LogoYes.com)

4. Broadcast your brand. Use personal business cards, create a personal website and network with colleagues to promote your attributes. Everything you say and do–from how you greet others and answer the phone to how you dress and carry yourself–sends a message about your brand. Strive for consistency.

5. Establish credibility. Join professional and community organizations, take or teach a class, give a lecture, start a blog or contribute to an e-newsletter. Constantly search for ways to get your name out there. Equally as importantly, hone your skills whenever possible.

6. Be your own brand manager. Don’t be afraid to tweak your brand based on feedback from these forays. The success of any branding campaign depends on what the market thinks. Equally as important, preserve your brand with pit-bull determination.

The opportunities to brand yourself are endless. Seize the day, You, Inc.

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world’s first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com

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How to Sell in 60 Seconds

SOCOM Sales — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:52:17 +0000

When selling, you have one minute to pique your prospect’s interest. Here are some tips to make the most of your time.

By Tony Parinello

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/sales/howtoguides/article65972.html

Q: I’ve always equated selling with telling, and lately I’ve noticed that my prospects cut me off when I am giving them my pitch. What’s the best way to get my point across and win the sale?

A: I would imagine that this month’s question has value to all of us in sales and marketing. Let’s face it: Buyers are more educated than ever before. What we sales and marketing types need to focus more on is understanding our prospect’s world–and the best way I know of to do just that is to ask intelligent questions. Here’s a rundown of the best questions to use and when to use them. My strong suggestion is that each and every one of us should ask a whole lot more questions and speak a whole lot less.

When interacting with a prospect, you must first seek to understand what’s going on in the other person’s world. Then and only then will your ideas be accepted and understood by the prospect.

The best way to do this is to set strict limits on your own “talk time.” Keep it under 60 seconds. Yes, you read right: You must never, ever speak for more than 60 seconds without asking for approval to continue. This approval comes when you ask open-ended “prompting” questions. Generally speaking, these questions:

Cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.
Do not lead, control or try to manipulate the other person.
Enable dialoging.
Begin with the words “when,” “what,” “how,” “why” or “where.”
Require thought to be answered.
Encourage the other person to reveal feelings.
Build rapport.

The opposite of an open-ended question is a closed-ended question. Closed-ended questions, unlike the kind we’ve just examined, put an end to effective dialoging and will not get you any closer to a second appointment. Therefore, you should totally avoid this type of questioning as a means of getting approval to win another 60 seconds.

One example of a closed-ended question might be, “You’re interested in attracting new customers, right?” The best place to use the closed-ended question is in a situation where you need to validate or confirm what you think is going on in your prospect’s world. Generally speaking, closed-ended questions:

Are useful to give feedback during a dialog.
Can be used to obtain specific information and/or confirm facts.

During a dialogue, if you need to make sure that you’ve heard the prospect correctly, you can use what’s called a clarifying question. These questions, too, can win you a fresh 60 seconds. A good clarifying question might begin with the words, “So, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying that…”. Warning: you should always preface your clarifying question with a statement such as this and then creatively paraphrase what you think your contact’s main point is. It’s a really bad idea to parrot back what you’ve just heard your prospect say. That approach may be perceived as condescending, sarcastic and disrespectful. Generally speaking, clarifying questions:

Secure the other person’s approval and prove to a greater degree that you’ve got a good understanding of what he or she said.
Express in your own words what you just heard.
Clear up differences in the definition of words and phrases being used.
Clarify the meaning of “global” words (like “always” and “never”).

Typically, once you clarify with your prospect, you can then use a developmental question to move the dialog in a desired direction to further understand the prospect’s purpose and/or result he or she wants to achieve. These questions, too, can win you another 60 seconds of time to talk–once the contact has responded to your question, of course. Generally speaking, developmental questions:

Encourage the other person to elaborate on what he or she just said.
Begin to make it possible for the other person to show his or her true feelings about the topic at hand.
Obtain further definition of what’s under discussion.

Optionally, you can also use a directional question to win another 60 seconds. These questions steer the dialog to a certain direction that a developmental question just uncovered. Directional questions are like a roadmap of your conversation and allow the dialog to take another path, one that’s beneficial to uncovering the prospect’s purpose and needs. Generally speaking, directional questions:

Move the dialog from one logical topic to another.
Invite the other person to participate in an informational exchange.
Can be used to replace a closed-ended question you were tempted to ask.

Important: Don’t fall into the trap of using directional questions to control or manipulate the prospect in any way. This will destroy any business rapport you’ve built and reduce your chances of getting a second appointment.

Another question type you can use to earn another 60 seconds of talk time is called an opinion question. This kind of question is extremely helpful in revealing where a prospect stands on any particular issue, and it can be used to give you more insight into someone’s unique needs. Opinion questions are also a nonthreatening way to ensure that the other person is actually engaged in the dialog. As a general rule, opinion questions:

Ask a direct question in a nonconfrontational way.
Get the other person to speak frankly and openly.
Allow the opportunity to share feelings.
Show esteem and respect for the other person.
Help to extend and prolong dialogues.

Finally, you can use what I call a social proof question to justify another 60 seconds of talk time. This is an indirect way of getting the other person to realize that his situation is similar to that of other people you’ve worked with. As with any other reference to a third party, there is the chance that your contact will respond favorably to what you cite within the question. On the other hand, there is a chance that the social proof you introduce will be looked upon as competitive or irrelevant to what’s being discussed. So these questions can be tricky. Generally speaking, social proof questions:

Introduce a third party that is relevant to the discussion.
May increase confidence that you can address the purpose and needs of the other person.
Validate the other person’s reasoning.
Can be used to address concerns or problems before they arise.

Intelligent use of each of these question types will encourage your prospect to begin to show his or her true feelings about whatever subject is under discussion. Build business rapport with prospects, and they’ll be less likely to tune out while you’re delivering your pitch.

Tony Parinello is the author of the bestselling book Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer. For additional information on his speeches and his newest book, Secrets of VITO, call (800) 777-VITO or visit www.sellingtovito.com.

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Speed Networking and Beyond

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:18:00 +0000

Speed networking programs generally involve people meeting each other one at a time for a short interval and then moving on to the next person in line. They are fairly structured in the way people queue up to meet.

Speed Networking and Beyond

The Perfect Presentation

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:15:00 +0000

One of the most important aspects of any presentation is the materials you use to back up your pitch. They can mean the difference between a presentation that bombs and a presentation that gets you to the next level. From brochures and PowerPoint slides to props and snacks, here are the essential things entrepreneurs should bring to their first investor meeting.

The Perfect Presentation: Materials - Entrepreneur.com

How to Close a Sale in the First 30 Seconds

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 18 May 2007 18:20:00 +0000

Tap into customers’ hidden wants to win their trust–and their business.

Those of us in sales are often consumed with one thing: the close. We’ve been trained to accomplish this by pushing those all-important features and benefits. From the moment we begin the sales process, our vision is focused on the end.

What if we’ve got it backwards? In my observation–and research bears this out–the outcome of the sale is determined within the first 30 seconds of a presentation. It’s during this key period that decision-makers often reach for the “turn off” switch.

Does this seem rational? Of course not. But buying isn’t purely rational; it’s greatly influenced by emotion. That’s why it’s essential to build a sales process around your opening gambit rather than your closing techniques.

You might use small talk to develop a relationship or position a benefit claim. You might ask prospects questions, such as “What would you like to accomplish?” You might even boldly announce your own hopes for the meeting and say, “This is what I’d like to accomplish today.”

But if buying decisions are made not in the head but in the gut, are these the best opening gambits?

In the book, You’re Working Too Hard to Make the Sale!, researchers William Brooks and Thomas Travisano examine how a buyer’s emotional triggers influence the sales outcome from the first meeting. After interviewing hundreds of decision-makers, buyers and end-users, they conclude that customers want to buy from people they believe understand them. Features and benefits barely enter into the decision.

Most salespeople encourage buyers to talk about their needs. But an insightful salesperson will also interpret buyers’ subliminal wants. Across the board, it appears that customers who share the same job role–say entrepreneurs, purchasing agents or chief financial managers–share the same underlying wants.

Take selling to other entrepreneurs, for example. Many people assume entrepreneurs are driven primarily by the desire to make big profits. As you probably know, that’s simply not true. Entrepreneurs are in business for themselves because they want to call the shots. Their true wants include being the boss, ensuring the company’s security and perhaps passing the company along to a successor.

As a salesperson, if you can subtly communicate to an entrepreneur that you understand his or her true wants and that you can help achieve them, you stand a better chance of closing the sale.

So as you prepare for a presentation, think about the person you’ll be presenting to and their role within the company. What are their wants? What’s the fear or pain they try to avoid? Remember, wants aren’t business goals. They’re personal, emotional desires that tend to be universal among buyers in similar categories. It’s to your advantage to prepare an opening strategy for each category of decision-maker you come in contact with.

Now, let’s consider the purchasing agent. In general, purchasing agents need to get up to speed quickly on products and services that may be outside their realm of expertise. They live with the fear that they’ll be overwhelmed with technical information they have no desire or time to master.

So when meeting with a purchasing agent, present your product or service in a way that’s easily understood. Avoid technical jargon; don’t try to wow ‘em with your in-depth knowledge. Play to the purchasing agent’s want–that your product or service is easy to understand and can be purchased safely–without delving into a mind-spinning education.

By immediately demonstrating to buyers that you understand their wants, you’ll increase their comfort level with you, which is the first step to gaining their trust. Once a base level of trust is established, the buyer’s inclined to keep an open mind, instead of closing the door.

A word of caution: This technique can be tricky at first. It goes against our habits. As salespeople, we’re trained to unearth the prospect’s need so we can solve the problem with our product or services. But needs are rationally based, while buyers are emotionally driven. So satisfy the wants first.

Ray Silverstein is the “Sales” columnist at Entrepreneur.com and president and founder of PRO: President’s Resource Organization, a network of advisory boards for small-business owners.

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How to Tell an Employee He Smells

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:26:00 +0000

As a business owner, you’re going to have to deliver bad news every once in a while. Here’s how to approach sensitive subjects without offending people.

What’s so great about good news? Simple–everyone likes it. Employers don’t dread telling a worker they’ve done a great job. They don’t fret over finding a tactful way to tell an employee that everyone in the office enjoys working with them.

But we all know the news isn’t always good. Perhaps you have an employee who wears clothes that are too tight, one who constantly discusses a sensitive medical condition that makes other employees feel uncomfortable, or one who simply smells bad.

Upsetting employees can set in motion a negative cycle. They may begin to feel bad about themselves, question their ability to do the job or resent the person who delivered the news. Hearing bad news can also cause defensiveness that protects the recipient, yet prevents him or her from truly hearing the gist of the message. Feeling bad and not focusing on the point prevents them from turning something they don’t want to hear into a positive outcome.

So how can you frame the news so that it’s at least partially positive and therefore easier to hear and accept? First, determine whether the issue is one you could address without having to approach the offending employee directly. For instance, in the case of someone wearing clothes that are too tight or revealing, an e-mail to everyone in the company may suffice. You could say, “With summer approaching and everyone wanting to wear cooler clothes, I want to go over the company’s dress policy.” In the case of the smelly worker you could first send an e-mail that says, “We have some employees with very sensitive allergies. Please refrain from wearing perfume or scented lotion and try to keep your smell as neutral as possible.” Maybe the culprit is some very unfortunate cologne.

If you do have to approach an employee individually, start with positive feedback before moving onto the negative comments and the request for change. This method should be brief and to the point.

For example, let’s say that a worker comes to a team meeting unprepared and you want to say something about the situation. Beginning with a positive statement, you could say, “Juan, I really appreciate the work that you’ve been doing on this committee.” Then state the negative: “This week I noticed you didn’t seem as prepared as usual.” End with a change statement: “I want to make sure you’re fully prepared with data for the next meeting.” Even offer to help create the solution: “Are you overwhelmed right now? Is there anything I can do to help you get ready for the next meeting?” This could also help you get to the root of the problem.

In more sensitive situations–like the one involving the smelly employee–be sure to stress that you’re addressing the problem because you truly care. Start by saying you’ve noticed the person sometimes doesn’t smell quite right. Quickly explain you’re saying something because you want to help them find a solution–and help their career. Ask if everything is OK and if there’s anything you can do to help. Maybe the person is a busy, newly single father and sometimes sacrifices showering, but didn’t think other people noticed the smell. Or maybe the person has halitosis, but didn’t realize there was medication he could be taking for it.

Concluding with a concrete suggestion of a change provides the recipient with a thought, action or attitude that can help him or her turn a negative situation into a positive one. In some situations, it’s nearly impossible to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. But once the person has time to reflect on the discussion and make a positive change, he may come to appreciate and respect your concern, honesty and tact.

David G. Javitch, Ph.D., is Entrepreneur.com’s “Employee Management” columnist and an organizational psychologist and president of Javitch Associates, an organizational consulting firm in Newton, Massachusetts. With more than 20 years of experience working with executives in various industries, he’s an internationally recognized author, keynote speaker and consultant on key management and leadership issues.

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