Three Scientifically Proven Behaviors That Will Increase Sales Effectiveness -

Three Scientifically Proven Behaviors That Will Increase Sales Effectiveness -

Over the past 50 years, there have been numerous scientific studies that have classified how the human brain is wired. Through this research, scientists have identified the behaviors that trigger influence.

This science is relevant in selling because it provides insights that guide salespeople in behaving in ways that enhance their ability to sell. Though there are many science-based behaviors that could be shared, the following are three that are easy to execute and will improve sales effectiveness.

1. Labeling

Labeling is when one person assigns a label to another person and then requests behavior that is consistent with the label. There have been many research studies verifying that labeling increases compliance with persuasive requests.

In one such study, behavioral scientists asked citizens about their previous voting behaviors. The researchers randomly told some of the participants that they were above-average citizens who are extremely likely to vote. The rest of the participants were told that there was only an average probability that they would vote in future elections. When the behavioral scientists analyzed whether the participants voted in an upcoming election, they found that those who had been told they were extremely likely to vote actually voted at a much higher rate.

When salespeople label prospects, they are priming those prospects to behave in ways that are consistent with the label. For instance, if a prospect is reluctantly answering a salesperson’s questions and that salesperson says, “You really know a lot about this issue. I appreciate your insights and willingness to answer my questions,” the prospect will become more responsive.

2. Reactance 

Why do prospects feel pressured when salespeople attempt to create urgency?

The answer is found in a powerful scientific principle called reactance. Reactance refers to the feelings that occur when people perceive that their ability to freely choose is being restricted. When this occurs, they will instinctively desire to rebel against what is being imposed upon them.This is why signs that say, “No littering” or “Don’t litter” have been shown to actually increase littering. 

Salespeople who want to increase sales effectiveness must understand reactance because, when attempting to advance the sale, reactance will often be activated. This is detrimental – when prospects feel reactance, they will reject both the salesperson and the salesperson’s message.

The key to minimizing reactance is to reduce the prospect’s perception that you are pressuring him or her. One example of this is found in a fascinating research study identifying that – when asking for funds – compliance rose by 400 percent when the request concluded with the statement, “Of course, it’s up to you.”

3. Tag Questions

How do you guide your prospects in thinking through and affirming the central value propositions upon which the sale is built?

Numerous scientific studies have validated that one way to promote the contemplation of a statement of value is through using tag questions. Tag questions are value building statements that are converted into questions. These questions have been proven to amplify the persuasiveness of sales messages because they guide prospects in mentally digesting and verbally appraising an assertion of value. 

To construct a tag question, simply add a concise questioning phrase to your value proposition. For instance, the statement, “This software would reduce your operational costs annually by $300,000” evolves into the tag question, “This software would reduce your operational costs annually by $300,000, wouldn’t it?” 

In summary, science has identified the causal factors that create and enable influence. When salespeople align how they sell with this science, their sales effectiveness will skyrocket. This is why merging science with the sales process is a concept that is just too important to ignore.

To learn more about merging science with the sales process, watch my video below.

happy selling

The single biggest void in professional sales today is the skill needed to cultivate meaningful customer relationships. Ironically, making customer connections has never been easier, thanks to social media, email, and texting. But, because our ability to connect is never more than a few keystrokes away, we have a false sense of our position with customers and prospects.                     

Making Connections via Technology Is Not a Relationship

As I told Selling Power publisher Gerhard Gschwandtner in the video interview below, we often confuse a voicemail, email, or one-way texting with productive progression in a customer relationship. This level of engagement may or may not help us get or stay on our customers’ radar, but it does not create opportunities for problem-solving conversations and needs assessment. Nor do these connections drive purchase decisions, displace competitors, or facilitate influence. For these outcomes, you need a bona fide relationship with a degree of influence with your customer. Such relationships are based on trust, credibility, rapport, and respect; all four are the building blocks to a long-term, productive, and profitable relationship.

How do you move your position from remote engagement to a deeper relationship, such as trusted resource and advisor? Consider these tips.

1. Create Curiosity. Make yourself interesting and valuable to your customers and prospects by giving them information related to them and their interests. This information includes competitive information, industry-specific insights or news, or general business information. 
   
   These materials may have no direct connection to your products or services; they may not always have a direct connection to the customer’s business, but they must provide new insights of interest. Be a strategic resource: you should provide detail and thoughts on why the information impacts their organization and market. Research articles related to industry trends or concerns specific to your customer. Share insights from blogs, articles, or the latest business/leadership books – these can be leveraged across all of your customers and prospects. Customers often miss published coverage about their own company, and are appreciative when it is shared. Even when the subject matter isn’t of direct interest to your customer, you are demonstrating your insight and that you have your finger on the pulse of current events and thinking in business. You are positioning yourself as a credible information resource with insights that can help achieve their business objectives.
2. Be Curious. 
   
   The best sales professionals always have an authentic interest in their customers and the business reality in which their customers live and compete. It is often surprising how little sales professionals know about their customer’s worlds. In our everyday struggle to become more networked, we have to be interested to gain and keep access to the higher levels of an organization. Cultivate your own intellectual curiosity. Understand more than is required to hold your own in discussions with customers. Doing so will not only improve your insights and progress your position with customers, it will make your professional life more interesting and fulfilling.
3. Create Opportunities to Listen, Not Talk. 
   
   This perspective is often counter-intuitive to sales professionals, but it is the time spent listening, not talking, that deepens our relationship with customers. Think about the most significant relationships in your personal life. These were not cultivated with one-way conversations in which you continually talk about yourself, your assets, and your strengths. They are the culmination of reciprocal contributions and emotional investment. 
   
   Customer relationships are different only in that the investment may not be reciprocal at the outset; initially, you need to do the lion’s share of the work. Invest in the relationship. Stay focused on the customer. Nothing is more disingenuous than listening for advantage to launch into your own agenda. This is a one-way ticket to the exit. Every meeting or conversation in which you learn more about your customer – his/her competitors, concerns, goals, and personal interests – is a meeting in which you have increased the depth of that relationship and improved your position with the customer.

Don’t make the mistake of considering unanswered voicemails, emails, or even text messages as evidence of quality interactions, or assume  that customers are just busy and will get back to you when they have time. Although these  conversations of good intent get shared with sales leadership and added to the CRM as customer contact, no real progress was made in developing the relationship.

Scroll through your “connections” or “friends” lists. For each name, ask yourself what you know about the individual. Do you really know this person at all? The answer will help you understand your own professional gap and provide the starting point for deepening your customer relationships.

18 Phone Sales Skills Tips You Can Use Right Now

18 Phone Sales Skills Tips You Can Use Right Now - www.v4all.org 

1. Your tone of voice matters more than you think. If your tone of voice is flat and lacks any sense of enthusiasm, how do you expect the other person to ever show interest in your call? 

2. Use the person’s name. People always love to hear their name, so use it.  In a typical telephone call, I want to use the other person’s name (almost universally that means the person’s first name) three times.

3. Unless there is no other way, avoid negotiating anything over the telephone. Since you can’t see them, you don’t have the advantage of using body language as a tool to help you negotiate.

Click on above image for a free infographic on negotiating skills!

4. If you do have to negotiate over the telephone, use pauses and your tone of voice in the same manner as you would in a face-to-face negotiation. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into a quick negotiation just because you’re on the telephone.

5. Show the same level of respect to the gatekeeper or other any other person who answers the phone as you would show to the person you’re looking to talk to.

6. Use descriptive words that paint a picture when you’re talking. Remember, the other person can’t see you, so it means the picture you paint has to come with the words you say and how you say it.

7. Always have the person’s name and the name of their company on a piece of paper in front of you as you call. Last thing you want to do is to accidently forget who you’re calling just as they answer.

8. Limit the background noise. Some background noise if fine, but the last thing you want the other person to hear when you’re calling is loud music or the sound of informal activities going on in the background.

9. If the phone call is important, stand up when you make it. It’s amazing how much energy and focus you’ll have if you stand to make an important phone call.

10. Never be the first person to hang-up the telephone. Always allow the other person to disconnect first.  You never know when the other person might just share with you one more important piece of information.

11. Be quiet when the other person disconnects. Many times a person will think they have ended the call when they have not actually disconnected.  You might just surprise yourself with what you hear from the other end.

12. Don’t be distracted by email or other items popping up on your computer while you’re making a call. Be focused. Because you can’t see them, it’s easy to become distracted with your eyes.  Allowing yourself to become distracted may easily cause you to miss a key point.

13. Reaffirm everything. Again, because you’re only communicating with your voice means you must very reaffirm everything.

14. Use open-ended questions as a way to build the dialogue. Just because you’re talking with someone on the telephone does not mean you can’t use open-ended questions.

15. Don’t make an important telephone call from a telephone that is not stable, whether that be a cell phone with spotty coverage or a weak handset. Quality counts and it represents you.

16. Always answer the telephone with both enthusiasm and at a pace (words per minute) that allows the other party to know exactly who it is they’re talking to. Too many times people who answer many phone calls each day get into a habit of answering quickly, resulting in their words slurring together, making it hard for the other party to hear who they’re talking to.

17. Keep a mirror on your desk to allow you to see yourself talking. It’s amazing how much energy you’ll put into a phone call when you can see yourself.

18. Talk with your hands, as it allows you to convey more energy in your voice. Use a high-quality headset to allow you to talk with your hands.

5 Sales Training Tactics that Really Work

5 Sales Training Tactics that Really Work - www.v4all.org

Today's post is by Matt Tuson, EVP of Sales at NewVoiceMedia. 

Do your sales training efforts change the behavior of your sales reps and make your business more money? In many cases, sales training amounts to a booklet of old-fashioned ideas that have little to no impact on your business culture. 

However, proper sales training is essential – not only as a way to ensure you’re getting the best out of your team, but also to make sure processes are uniform across the company. And training isn’t just about new recruits. Every member of your team needs training from time to time.

Here are five tactics for effectively training your sales team – from beginners to experienced sellers.

1. Role play is still effective!

Most people learn best if they’re actually doing something, as opposed to just listening. Role play can give your team practical, hands-on training that forces them to think on their feet. Here are some good situations to role play:

• how your team works in CRM
• how they overcome objections
• elevator pitches
• cold calls
• negotiation tactics

This is also a great opportunity to look for common selling mistakes, such as talking too much, over-educating, or failing to ask questions.

To make the most of role plays, record them. For example, ContactWorld for Sales allows you to record calls for training and legal compliance; this means you can analyze real calls with your team to see how they’re performing and whether they’re putting their training into action. Sometimes it’s only by evaluating what you do on a day-to-day basis that you can truly learn and improve.

2. Set up a peer mentor system

Peer mentoring is obviously essential during ramp-up for new hires, as there’s so much about the company itself to learn before you can begin selling effectively. But having input from a senior sales professional can also be useful later on in a sales person’s career.

3. Ensure your training covers why people buy

Too often, sales training covers the ‘logical side’ of sales – in other words, the features, functions and business benefits of the product or service and how to best communicate these to the prospect. While this is still important, sales training should also cover the emotional, political and subconscious forces that have an impact on the decision.

4. Build confidence with easy sells

Confidence is an essential skill for any salesperson. But, if you’re new in a job or you’re struggling to start out, your confidence – and, consequently, your ability to sell effectively – can take a knock.

For the first few months, focus new hires on products or prospects that you know to be an easy sell. Let your new sales team make sale after sale, and watch their confidence grow. When they come to tackle the riskier prospects later on, they’ll be filled with self-confidence, which will swing the sale their way.

5. Ensure training is consistent

Training needs to be consistent. This is because the only way you can get every member of your team to use a CRM the same way is if they all get the same information at the start. Experienced sales reps may be great at what they do, but, if the way they log progress on the CRM is different to everyone else (or lacking detail), they’ll be harder to manage and some information could get lost.

Without the right information, you’ll be missing valuable insights and will be unable to forecast accurately, which could have a direct impact on the business’ goals.

key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

Experts have been telling us for years that following up with your prospects and customers can increase your sales by 30%.

Experts have been telling us for years that following up with your prospects and customers can increase your sales by 30%.

Ohhh, I think I just heard a loud groan from quite of few of you, along with, “Follow up? I hate following up, it feels like such a waste of time!”

So if that 30% number is really true, then why do less than 10 percent of salespeople actually follow up?  Well, we’ve got the “usual” reasons: lack of time, desire or it doesn’t work… and that might be true for some, but honestly? The simple fact is that most salespeople have never been taught how to effectively follow up.  And that’s probably not your fault.

Okay, so is it worth it to you if you could make one more sale a week?  What about getting one more qualified referral a week?  30% — that’d be a nice bump right? Yes? YES!!

Now for the disclaimer: there’s no magical follow-up formula, but use these three follow-up techniques and they’ll consistently net positive results.

1.  Find something you have in common with the customer, making your follow-up contact memorable. It could be hobbies, like interests (music, movies, sports, etc.) or philosophies. Just something that will let them know you can relate to them on their level.

2.  Make a friend of the customer – nobody minds being contacted by a friend. This doesn’t mean you have to invite them to your son’s wedding.  It might be something as simple as being more “neighborly” than “salesy”, sharing a joke and a laugh, or getting their advice on something you have in common.

3.  Speak to your customers’ goals, dreams or passions. If your customer loves cooking, send them a subscription to cooking magazine along with a quick reminder of how your product or service could give them more time or money to be doing what they dream of.

Essentially, you’re building a relationship with your customers and finding ways to connect with them only helps you reach that goal because it shows your prospect that you’re interested and willing to take the time to get to know them.

So using the 3 tips above, practice at least five different methods of follow-up – call, write, email, text or drop by. It really is that simple. We recommend you commit to follow up at least five times before you move on.

And finally, track the results of your follow up strategies – at least for a while – for two reasons:

1) to prove to yourself how beneficial effective follow up can be

2) so you can continue to do what brings you the greatest success.

What are you waiting for? Go get that 30% bump!

Success in Sales

Success in Sales - www.v4all.org

This website is based on two truths : Sales success is self-determined : and sales success is based on four requirements.

Success in sales, as in life, is self determined. That is, it has more to do with what you do on a daily basis than any other factor. It is not our product that determines our success. For every product available, there is a successful sales person. It is not our territory that determines our success. We can take almost any territory, place in a new rep and often see a 10 to 20 percent increase in sales. Likewise, it is not our age, sex or even our experience that determines our sales success.

Success in sales is what you do and how well you do it. Let's look at the four requirements of a succesful sales strategy. They are considered requirements because each step is linked and as you master each one, you become more successful.

Desire:

Desire is the starting point for all sales success. If you do not have a strong will to get better...you won't. We all know of sales professionals who reach the top of their fields because of a burning desire. You can develop and fuel your desire daily. The strength of your desire is shown by the goals you set and the quality of service you give to others. You build your desire through goals.

Belief:

Many of us handicap ourselves as sales people due to underdeveloped belief. Without belief, we limit our growth, our experience, our sales and our income. Because we are told of all the things we think we can't do well, we start to think in terms of can't. Belief in oneself is developed one day at a time through a continuing process. Self-confidence is built by putting learning into action.

Self-Management:

We do pay the price of success. We pay it in advance. We pay it with our time. When we do not spend our time on higher priority items, then we are by default spending our time on lower priority ones. It is only through learning effective self-management we are able to improve.

People Skills:

Simply put, we cannot succeed on our own. Our success is directly related to the degree we effectively relate to others. Future columns will contain a variety of challenging and profitable ideas that will help you to sell more. Using these ideas will cause you to become more aware of what you do that works...and what you do that does not work. It will make you acutely aware of the truth...that your sales success is self-determined!

Each profitable idea will be followed by a demanding activity for you to complete. Included with each idea will be a contract for you to commit to. These Self-Coaching Contracts are designed to help you act on each time-tested technique.

This information is not about knowing. It is about doing. Remember it's not what you know that makes you money...It's what you do with what you know!

Words that sell

It's true a picture is worth a thousand words, but a few carefully selected phrases can also paint an exciting portrait of your product or service, says the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA).

Many companies spend thousands of dollars on four-colour brochures only to lose the sale because they can't write a sales promotion or direct mail letter. Written correspondence is often the first impression your customer has of your company. Don't lose this opportunity to shine. To make that first contact count, CPSA offers the following tips:

Establish your objective for writing. There are many types of sales letters. You may want to send a direct mail piece that urges first-time customers to buy today. You may want to thank your existing customers by offering them a discount on your spring line. Perhaps your product needs a demonstration and you would like to set up an appointment. Each type of letter requires a different approach. Match the style and the tone of your language to the type of response you're looking for Grab your readers attention. A catchy headline and opening sentence are essential, especially in direct mail. Use exciting, engaging language that demands notice. Most important, demonstrate the benefits of buying your product or service: At ACME we understand that time is money, that's why we guarantee 24 hour service.

Use a call to action. The most important skill in sales is to know when to ask for the order. If you want your reader to respond then you have to explain what he or she has to do: Act now, call 1-800-123-4567 FREEwithin the next 10 days and you'll receive an extra 15% discount! Whatever your objective, make sure you clearly spell it out.

Accuracy is imperative. The most common mistakes in business correspondence occur in the address, the first thing the recipient notices. Make sure you have the correct spelling for each name on your list, their correct address including postal code, and if you're not sure whether a name is male or female, find out. The quickest way to turn-off Ms. Smith is to send her a letter addressed Mister.

>

The Product

The very first rule about selling anything is you have to believe in what you are selling.

How many sales people do you meet and you know straight away that they don't believe in what they are selling because you can feel it when people are lying to you.

I have quite often got that feeling from used car sales people because they often know they are selling you something that you will be having trouble with later. Most of the time people sell cars because they are having trouble with them or they think they will start to have trouble with them soon.

People will know when you are genuine and will be able to feel your enthusiasm for the product.

Personally I would never ever sell something that I did not believe in.

So you are going to sell a product that you believe in.

Next thing you need to do is your research. Do your "homework".

Find out as much as you can about the product and the sort of people you will be selling the product to.

If you are selling to a select clientel then you will need to understand them and be able to talk to them in their "language" using their terminology.

If you are going to be selling to a wide range of people then you will have to become adept in being able to pick people and then speak to them in their language. Being able to communicate on all levels is the key....

When you communicate to a person at their level they feel comfortable with you and will relaxe and lower their resistance to sales people.

If you talk to a person and use a lot of technical terms that are over their heads they will think you are trying to make them feel stupid and will resist what you are saying and think that you are lying to them.

Therefore its important to keep things simple...learn how to translate anything complicated into more simple terms..if the situation lends itself you can have paper and pen and you can draw things and write things down to explain it to people using visuals will help someone understand something a bit more complicated.

Research doesn't stop with just your product. You will need also to research all of your competition. You will have to understand them and their product so you can compare your product to theirs and explain to a person why they should buy your product instead of the competitors.

If it was a retail situation, I would personally be a shopper in the other stores and find out what their key selling points are and come up with counter selling points.

Engaging the Customer

You must first make your customer feel comfortable with you.

This takes quite a bit of skill.

For example if you were working in shop that sold beds and you had signs saying not to lay on the bed and made the environment uncomfortable then you would find it hard to make the customer feel comfortable. I would find something about the person that I could relate to and talk to them about it. It might be through observation, like noting a persons dress, aftershave or something that you like, if they have children then you should try to relate to the children as well as this will make a person feel more relaxed if you are comfortable with their children. You might be able to find something by asking questions about certain things. Once you have found something in common and you have talked briefly about it to the person/people you will find they will be more relaxed with you. Understand that the more relaxed a person is the easier it will be to sell them something.

Then you can talk more about the product that you are selling and you will also have a better idea about the best level to communicate to the person on.

The Close

I would have my invoice book handy and would be writing down the products that the person is interested in and making suggestions of other products that would compliment the ones that they are interested in.Of course, before one can close a deal, one needs a merchant account that is responsive to your business. Businesses can have different requirements when is comes to a pay solution.If you need assistance in securing a merchant sales account, then go through a specialist broker.EMerchant Brokers are one such firm.

Once you have a list you can add it up and give them a price (never your best) watch their reaction. If they are happy with the price then you would simply say "Do you want to pay for that with cash or credit card". If you have followed the other steps you will find it will all flow naturally and the customer will just go along with you. If they insist on shopping around then you would naturally understand that. You would give them a card with your name and number on it and write the products that they have suggested on the card. (Don't write the prices) Tell them to go and shop around but to come back to you before they made the purchase. Say to them bring me back some quotes and I will do my best to do better.

They naturally want to buy from you because they "like" you. When they do come back with other quotes all you can do is your best to better them. If there is no possible way that you can do better than another company's price, just tell them.Next: See how to use Network marketing to advantage.

key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle

The key to mastering any kind of sales - a big sales principle - is switching statements about you – how great you are and what you do, to statements about them – how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service.

Here’s the Secret: Take the word “we” and delete it. Delete it from your slides, your literature, and ESPECIALLY from your sales presentation. You can use “I” but you can’t use “we.”

Here’s the Power: When you stop using “we,” you have to substitute it for the word “you” or “they” and say things in terms of the customer. How they win, how they benefit, how they produce, how they profit , how they will be served, and how they have piece of mind.

“We” is for selling. ”You” is for buying.

Mandate for Understanding: Go through your entire presentation and  record it. Listen to it actively – which means take notes. Count the amount of times you use the word “we.” Take out the “we,” and begin to make value statements instead of selling statements.

Here’s the reality in plain English:

1. The buyer, the prospect, and the customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff. To transfer that knowledge, the prospect needs to understand and agree with your ideas, feel your passion, feel your belief, and feel your sincerity beyond the hype of your sales pitch.

2. You have to know their industry, not just your product.

3. You have to know their business, not just your product.

4. You have to know what’s new and what’s next, not just your product.

5. You have to know the current trends, not just your product.

6. You have to know their marketing, not just your product.

7. You have to know their productivity, not just your product.

7.5 You have to know their profit, not just your product.

3 Simple Tips to Increase Your Sales by 30%

Experts have been telling us for years that following up with your prospects and customers can increase your sales by 30%.

Ohhh, I think I just heard a loud groan from quite of few of you, along with, “Follow up? I hate following up, it feels like such a waste of time!”

So if that 30% number is really true, then why do less than 10 percent of salespeople actually follow up?  Well, we’ve got the “usual” reasons: lack of time, desire or it doesn’t work… and that might be true for some, but honestly? The simple fact is that most salespeople have never been taught how to effectively follow up.  And that’s probably not your fault.

Okay, so is it worth it to you if you could make one more sale a week?  What about getting one more qualified referral a week?  30% — that’d be a nice bump right? Yes? YES!!

Now for the disclaimer: there’s no magical follow-up formula, but use these three follow-up techniques and they’ll consistently net positive results.

1.  Find something you have in common with the customer, making your follow-up contact memorable. It could be hobbies, like interests (music, movies, sports, etc.) or philosophies. Just something that will let them know you can relate to them on their level.

2.  Make a friend of the customer – nobody minds being contacted by a friend. This doesn’t mean you have to invite them to your son’s wedding.  It might be something as simple as being more “neighborly” than “salesy”, sharing a joke and a laugh, or getting their advice on something you have in common.

3.  Speak to your customers’ goals, dreams or passions. If your customer loves cooking, send them a subscription to cooking magazine along with a quick reminder of how your product or service could give them more time or money to be doing what they dream of.

Essentially, you’re building a relationship with your customers and finding ways to connect with them only helps you reach that goal because it shows your prospect that you’re interested and willing to take the time to get to know them.

So using the 3 tips above, practice at least five different methods of follow-up – call, write, email, text or drop by. It really is that simple. We recommend you commit to follow up at least five times before you move on.

And finally, track the results of your follow up strategies – at least for a while – for two reasons:

1) to prove to yourself how beneficial effective follow up can be

2) so you can continue to do what brings you the greatest success.

What are you waiting for? Go get that 30% bump!

www.v4all.org 

Use these ten retail selling tips to make sure you get the most from yourself and your crew

Use these ten retail selling tips to make sure you get the most from yourself and your crew:

1. Set the expectation. Before you clock-in or even walk in the door stop yourself and do an expectation check. What are you concentrating on? Will customers be hostile, mean, penny-pinching lookie-lous or will it be a fun day helping people buy from you? One of the old sales pros used to say, "Garbage in, garbage out" so watch what you listen to or watch before coming to work as it might trap you into a negative world-view.

2. Take care in how you look. Yes you can wear sneakers but no, you probably shouldn't. A sign at Piperlime's pop-up store in SOHO said it all, "It's time to give up lazy dressing altogether because its time to look fabulous again. Let's show each other and ourselves a little more respect. Let's put Saturday night effort into Sunday afternoon. Let's remember you get what you dress for so let's get dressed." Excellent points!

3. Watch what you say. It is a fact we love to talk about people. From the craziest Internet stories to celebrity falls from grace, gossip is more popular than ever. The danger is that it comes from a place where we feel better about ourselves at someone else's expense. That's the opposite of selling. You should feel better about someone as a result of them coming in your shop.

4. Don't judge. I know, this is hard but you can't judge a book by its cover or a customer by their clothes. When we do that to try to decide who is worth our efforts, we're oftentimes wrong and settle for crumbs when we can have the whole banquet.

5. You're there to serve. Knights of the round table used to kneel as an act of servitude to their master or to royalty. It was an outward sign of servitude toward another. [Don't confuse this with slavery.] The act of serving another goes back to biblical times and is mentioned throughout literature as one of the greatest gifts to humanity. In retail right now, we often have employees acting as King or Queen, that they are doing the customer the favor. This is wrong.

6. Know your close ratio. Keep count one day of every customer you encounter and every customer you ring up. Divide the two to find your ratio of sales to visits. At first, this might be 1 out of every 10. With practice, you'll find by being aware of all the customers you had to sell, you've made more sales.

7. Sell something you hate. Find the ugliest thing in your store you can. This shouldn't be hard. Determine to find five things about it you love using the feature "it has" to link to the benefit for the customer "so you." What you'll find is that once you give up your assumptions and personal bias, you can find several things to make a compelling case why a customer should buy an item.

8. Stop selling the easy. Sure it's 30% off and has free financing for twenty years. But is that selling? Something like that will sell itself - you're not stretching yourself.

9. Be willing to risk the sale. Sometimes, things just aren't going well. The customer is at odds with you and it just feels like you aren't on the same page. Ask, "Excuse me, but have I done something to offend you?" If you say it without malice or sarcasm most will apologize and give you a reason that has nothing to do with you. Without getting that out of the way though, you're just frustrating yourself and the customer. With addressing it head-on, you oftentimes make the bigger sale.

10. It's just a game. Selling is very fluid, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you blow it and many times you make it happen. The goal is definitely to sell everyone but lighten up, millions of orphans won't miss a meal because a customer walked out on you. Be able to look at a sale afterwards and say, "I could have done this better." Take stock and then move on because you have another opportunity to shine walking in the door. - www.v4all.org

10 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

YOU KNOW YOU NEED A GOOD “PERSONAL BRAND”. BUT HOW EXACTLY DO YOU GET ONE? WE’LL TELL YOU 10 DIFFERENT WAYS.
People have always had “personal brands”—everyone who knows of famous women like Amelia Earhart, Gloria Steinem, or Mother Theresa can describe who they are, what they valued, and their life’s mission. Although the concept is not new, the term “personal brand” has become a buzzword only recently.

So what is it, exactly?

Your personal brand is how people see you; how they’d describe you—similar to how people describe famous people or companies. It is the set of values and characteristics that describe who you are and guide your choices—in work and in life.

Your personal brand is what makes you, you.

Being aware of, and ultimately in control of, your personal brand is an essential component of building a successful career. It’s essentially a guiding statement that can help you make personal and professional decisions. A solid personal brand helps people understand who you are, what you offer, what you value, and the quality of work they can expect from you.

It is essentially your reputation.

In the past, your reputation may have been familiar only to those you actually know, such as friends, family members, and colleagues. But the Internet has made everybody’s reputation that much more accessible.Wondering how to be proactive about building your personal brand? These tips are a great place to start: 

1. DEFINE YOUR BRAND

Take out a piece of paper and write down the words and values that people would use to describe you. Be honest and choose words that are positive and authentic to who you are.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has said (in one of my all-time favorite quotes): “We think sometimes we’re only drawn to the good, but we’re actually drawn to the authentic. We like people who are real more than those who hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties.”  

I believe that you can only be happy when you are accepted for being who you really are. So, as you consider your personal brand, strive to be the best possible version of yourself, but don’t try to be someone you’re not.

2. HAVE A SPECIALTY

Specializing in a skill that is relevant to your field—and being vocal about that!—will help you stand out in the crowd. Companies call this a point of differentiation—consider how your brand (in this case, you) is different from everyone else “on the market”. Why should people choose you over everyone else?

If you can’t think of a skill that’s your specialty, then learn one. This usually means that you have to learn on your own, but that’s easier than ever before—take classes, read industry specific publications, add a passion project, and volunteer for projects that will help you develop your niche. My specialty is blogging and freelance writing and I primarily got my current job because they needed someone who could create and execute blog strategies for clients.

Everyone hopes to be indispensable at work and having a specialty is an excellent way to provide extra value!

3. WRITE YOUR BIO

Write a short bio—or update the one you have!—so you have it ready. A professional bio is a necessity for freelance writing gigs, networking events, speaking on panels, and keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date.

Your bio might include your education, work experience, any published writing or press hits, awards you’ve received, volunteer work, and possibly even some of your personal interests.

(I personally love it when people add something quirky at the end of their bio!)

Just make sure to tailor your bio to your audience!

4. CREATE A BLOG OR PERSONAL WEBSITE

When I started my blog, I never imagined that anyone other than my closest friends and family would read it. I certainly never imagined that my blog might help me get hired for new jobs—and yet, that’s exactly what happened.

Blogging is a great, and often free, way to showcase your creativity and non-academic writing. Even if you don’t yet have your dream job, you can write about your dream industry—whether it’s fashion or the environment.

Although many people find blogging to be fun, it can also take a lot of time. If you aren’t interested in blogging, you can still create a personal website, using your name as the domain name, and highlight your skills and experience there.

5. USE LINKEDIN

LinkedIn is yet another Internet home where you can promote your academic or career changes and achievements. It is, essentially, your digital, public resume.

Speaker and strategist, Kelly Hoey, has said: “If you don’t brag about your career and your achievements, who is going to do it? You need to own your expertise and you need to put it out there. If you don’t own your accomplishments, someone else will. It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”

LinkedIn allows you to put your accomplishments out there for the world (and future employers, partners, and connections) to see. Also, if you set up a LinkedIn profile, it will be one of the first things that people see when they search for you online, so it’s another easy way to exercise control over your digital persona.

6. BUILD YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Whether you’re shy or outgoing, it’s important to be able to communicate well—particularly about yourself—as you build your brand.

I recommend taking public speaking courses, writing courses, and simply practicing regularly. Learn how to tell your story. One way to do this is to practice both a personal and a professional “pitch.”

Before networking events, I always prepare a quick summary of my personal and professional interests and experiences. It is really helpful to be able to quickly and concisely explain what you do, why it is important to you, and your extracurricular interests.

7. PARTICIPATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a perfect—and free!—platform for positively promoting your brand. You can share articles, blog posts, and work-related achievements.

You might also follow people in your industry and jump into relevant conversations by using trending hashtags or those that are most popular in your industry.

Just make sure that everything you post on social media is a good representation of your brand. I follow what I call the “The New York Times Test”: If I wouldn’t want it to end up on The New York Times, I don’t post it.

8. BUILD YOUR NETWORK

In order to build and share your personal brand, you need to also be building your professional network—both in and out of the office. Networking isn’t just important when you are looking for a job. If I’ve learned anything from my career profile series, I’ve learned that you can consistently learn from other people’s career paths and insights at every stage of your career.

So take advantage of the opportunities in your city and your industry to meet new people. You never know how that new connection might be of service to you—or you to them—in the future!

9. SAY NO

Now that you have your personal brand in place, protect it. Say no to opportunities, projects, freelance work, or social media posts that are not aligned with your brand.

10. DO GOOD WORK & LIVE YOUR VALUES

Your work and actions speak volumes about your personal brand—and you, as an individual. You can say you hold certain values, but your actions, your experience, and your words have to embody them.

In my office, we have a 360 degree annual review, which means that both your manager and a selection of colleagues all contribute by answering a survey of questions. When I had my annual review, I got a lot of insight into my reputation at the company.

One thing that stuck out was that almost everyone said that I am passionate about both the company culture, client work, and my career. I’ve always thought that being passionate is part of my personal brand, and it became clear through my review that I actually embody that.
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www.v4all.org