Prepare to Impress Prospects in 10 Seconds

Source:eGrabber Newsletter

In sales, you usually have the first 30 seconds to get your prospect's attention. Many successful sales people will say that it’s not true - you have only 10 seconds. Given this, it is critical that you find a way to engage your prospect as quickly as possible. In the first 3 seconds, you would say your name and where you are calling from. What is important is the next 7-8 seconds; it should focus on why the prospect has to listen to your call. You can use this to

-     ask a pertinent question
-     place an elevator pitch
-     provide a startling/ interesting statistic relevant to the prospect's industry/ business

or basically say anything that would engage your prospect’s interest.

Remember, this tip can only improve your success rate in the opening round. Ultimately, your selling success will depend on the number of qualified calls you make - the more calls you make the more you close.

Do you Sound Like a Sales Person?

Source:  eGrabber Newsletters

Ask yourself these questions before you call your next prospect: Do I sound genuine, warm, and natural on the phone? Do I sound like a real person calling someone I care for, discussing something I am passionate about?

Most sales persons call from a list and make so many calls everyday that they have this mindset they're calling numbers and not people. Do you face this problem? For every call, visualize the person at the other end of the and pretend like you`re looking him/her in the eye.

But remember, sounding good can only get you that much good, you will have to combine that with good preparation and technique to make the sale.

The Art of Closing Deals with a Qualified Lead

Closing deals with a qualified lead is the ultimate goal for every marketing program. Both marketing and sales folks need to work hand in hand to keep things going well without any hiccups. However, you need to keep a few things in mind to master the art of closing deals with a qualified lead.

1. Use different modes of communication (emails, phone calls, direct mail) to grab your lead’s attention. Ensure that your marketing plan drives engagement throughout the buying cycle. 
2. 
   Use a mail merge tool to personalize emails and direct mails.
3. 
   
   Always treat your leads as your top customers. Treat them with respect and let them know that you and your company care for their needs and interests.
4. 
   
   Focus on the lead’s individual needs and segment your marketing process accordingly. This will help you demonstrate how your products/services can help your leads meet the specific requirements.
5. 
   
   Timing is very crucial. You need to pass the leads to the sales team at the right time, neither too early nor too late.
6. 
   
   Please ensure that your marketing team shares the appropriate information about the lead to the sales department.
7. 
   
   Identify the right time to close the deal by starting the sales conversation.
   
   Click Here for Contact Capture Software
    
    

2 Tips to Sound Different on your Sales Call

Source:eGrabber

Your prospects get dozens of calls from your competitors each week. Whats worse is they cannot distinguish one seller from the next because they all sound alike. To be successful with cold calling you must first learn to sound different than the other sales persons out there. Here are 2 tips to help you do that.

1. Change your sales opening (Ref tip on '2 Proven Sales Call Openings that Work' in the May 25 issue of our newsletter for sales and marketing professionals).

2. Dont talk about your product: Tell the prospect the opposite of what they expect you to say. Don’t talk about your product or service. Talk about what is important to the prospect.

Research Tips for Cold Calling Success

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Do you schedule a certain day and time each week for cold calling? or Do you make cold calls only when you feel like it? Research* shows that timing plays a very important role when it comes to cold calling success.

Here a couple of facts from the research to help you improve your cold calling success:

• Thursday is the best day to contact a prospect and Friday is the worst.
• The best time of the day to cold call is 8-9am followed by 4-5pm. The worst time to call is right after lunch

So, if you are looking to add new leads to your pipeline be sure to make calls early in the day and before you leave for the day. Use the hours in between for follow-up calls.

*Excerpts from a research report by Dr. James Oldroyd from the Kellogg School of Management

New Metrics to Help you Personalize your Messages

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

A recent survey showed that non-personalized promotions received a 0.5% click through rate vs 7% on personalized campaigns. Here are some of the metrics that marketers now collect and use to personalize their messages:

- Purchase history
- Abandoned shopping carts
- Web site behavior
- Product profiling
- Demography, etc.


Ask yourself: Do I use any of the above to personalize my communications with prospects and customers?

When you refer to a recipient's purchase history or preferences in your email message, it increases your message's value. It also provides opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell other complementary products.

2 Tips to Improve 'Re-mail' Open Rates

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Re-mailing involves identifying recipients who did not open your email ad the first time, altering factors that influence open rate, and sending the email again.

Here are 2 tips to improve the open rates during the re-send:

1. Change the subject line: Try something different. Craft a subject line that offers more value. Read articles on what makes a subject line enticing to readers and incorporate them.

2. Change the campaign time: Re-sends give you an opportunity to experiment with different times and days. If your business is B2C, you might find the response rates better during weekends.

Remember, re-mailing when done properly can boost your ROI considerably.

Focus on Growing your Mailing Lists this Year

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Email content that is stale and stagnant will not get the same enthusiasm from your subscribers as ones that are fresh and evolving. The same applies to your mailing list too. By constantly adding new subscribers to your list, you can maximize returns on your email marketing programs.

If for some reason your list had little or zero growth in 2009, then it is time to kick-start you list-growth for 2010. Here are 2 things you can start doing right away:
1. Make a list of key benefits that a person will receive by subscribing to your list - industry news, research reports, white papers, webinars, special offers, etc.
2. Place the benefits and a request to opt-in at a high-traffic area on your website. You can also present this to people you meet at trade shows and events, and follow it up with an opt-in email.

Remember to send a personalized 'Thank you' message once they sign up (the quicker the better; send one within 20 minutes atleast).

Use White Papers As A Powerful Marketing Tool

Surveys indicate that nearly two-thirds of prospects download a white paper as part of their buying cycle, while another one-third pass the white paper to a supervisor.

This goes to show that white papers are a powerful sales and marketing tool. In fact, their effectiveness is critical to the earliest stages of the buying cycle. White papers not only generate sales leads, but also help build credibility. While white papers can be successful as lead-generators, marketers should take care to see to it that they are designed to be educational in nature and not just a disguised sales pitch.

2 Tips to Build 'Genuine' Rapport with Prospects

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

If you are in an industry where competitive differentiation is thin, you should pay utmost attention to the following rule: "All things being equal, the prospect will choose the seller (or salesperson) she likes most".

So here are 2 tips to help you build genuine rapport with prospects:

1. Find common ground: Search your prospect's MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn profiles, etc. to find mutual interests - school, college, sports, teams, etc. - you can talk about.
2. Be yourself: Never try to be something you are not. Dont adopt a sales-like tone. Be natural and relax.

Remember, though rapport building requires you to create a less formal atmosphere, never cross the line of professionalism - dress, speak and act professionally.

Get your Prospects to Commit to Every Step in the Sales Process

Source: eGrabber Newsletter

The challenge that every sales person faces is: How do I get my prospects to commit at every step of the sales process? The key is to ask specific questions and get them to commit in their own words. Examples of such questions would be:

- Does it look like this might be the solution your company is looking for?
- What can you see that might get in the way of us moving forward with this?
- Who do I need to speak with in the other team/ department/ group?
- How much closer to a decision are we?
- How many other proposals are you looking at?

2 Key Things to Consider in Post Recession Sales and Marketing

If the forecasts are any indicator, the growth in our economy (post recession) is going to be a slow one and it will be some time before things return to normal. This is the time that is really going to matter for businesses.

Here are 2 key things to consider as you plan your sales and marketing, post recession:
1. Relevance: Are your products, the messaging and the needs you solve still relevant to the current market?
2. Competition: Understand how the recession has changed your competitive landscape - products, pricing, brand positioning, business model, etc.

Using the above can help you to effectively plan your sales and marketing.

Create Mini-Case Studies of your Customers

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Every sales person should keep testimonials on hand that address each key selling point - customer support, great value, ROI, ease of use, etc. If not, then you have to start asking for testimonials. While you are at it, you can use customer feedback to create mini-case studies. It is just one paragraph that briefly tells how a customer used your product to solve a problem.

Powerful case studies should mention a return on investment, savings in time or increase in revenue. They serve as key pieces of information that make your prospects comfortable in making a decision.

A simple format that you can use for your mini-case study is Problem >> Solution >> Result/Benefits.

2 Interactive Elements to Use in your Email Marketing

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Prospects in today's web 2.0 savvy world, expect marketers (businesses) to provide more transparency and interactivity in their messages. So, it is important that you enhance your email marketing program with components that encourage the recipient (prospect) to interact. Here are 2 elements that are easy to implement:

1. Videos: Create videos that make a compelling case to a prospect on why they should buy your product. Include feedback from existing customers in similar target profile.
2. Polls: Polls that are short and to the point elicit the most response. Keep your poll to two or three questions, and show the results.

Whatever elements you decide to use, make sure it is insightful and offers the recipient the chance to voice back her views.

2 Proven Tips to Convert Leads into First Meetings

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

A recent survey* showed that sales reps' ability to convert leads into first meetings have been dropping consistently in the last 4 years. One of the main reasons for this decrease in performance, as the survey notes, is a noticeable shift in the expectations that customers have when they do talk to a sales rep.

Here are 2 things you can do to remedy this:

1. Research your prospect before the first call and develop a customized sales execution strategy for every prospect.
2. Shift your conversation away from the product, and focus instead on the solution - how you can help the prospect solve problems.

The key is to plan for and execute the types of sales calls that will create a reason for the prospect to involve further in the buying process.

*Target Marketing Priorities Study, CSO Insights

Benchmark your Marketing on Recent Trends

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

One of the ways to boost your marketing performance is by benchmarking your programs based on the latest trends. If you do search engine marketing (SEM), consider the following recent data from a survey of online retailers in the country:

- sales from search-engine marketing rose 4% for online retail businesses
- the average cost-per-click declined $.05
- SEM ROI improved 4% for online retailers

Use these findings as a benchmark to gauge the effectiveness of your own SEM programs. Ask yourself: Were my SEM results in line with the market trends? Am I doing better or worse? If its the latter then you will have to decide on what steps to take to boost results.

Craft Compelling Sales Introduction Letters

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

There are many sales people who use sales introduction letters successfully as a primary prospecting tool. But studies show that, for a majority, this direct mail tool does not get the expected response. Do you feel this is true in your case too?

Here are some of the tips you can follow to craft compelling sales introduction letters:
- Keep it short; a one-page letter should work.
- Use customer comments and quotes from industry publications.
- Include a compelling offer and a clear call for action.
- The postscript gets high readership and so use it effectively.

A nicely crafted sales letter can help you see your response rates shoot up. So, use these tips effectively.

Resist the Urge to Under-price your Products

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

The urge to under-price your products or services will be especially high when the economy is down. Low sales usually has the strength to convince even strong sales people to think that their pricing is high for the market. But, under-pricing is no the solution; it hurts your business in other, more important, ways:

- Your product is perceived to be of lower quality
- Potential buyers see it as having lower credibility
- Your product does not realize its appropriate and relevant price in the market

So, it is always important to keep in mind the perceived value your product offers in addressing your customer’s problem and price it in relation to that. Remember, the economy has already started moving up and under-pricing now will have huge negative effects on your business both in the short term and long term.

Six Steps To Find New Customers

Step 1 – Clearly define your benefits statements

Potential customers want to hear about how your offering will help them. Typically they will want to move away from an undesirable situation, or move towards something they want. If your offering can help them do either of these, then they are potentially a customer. It is crucial that you talk about your offering in these terms – i.e. what it will do for your customer, rather than just what it is.

Step 2 – Make sure you know who you are trying to reach

With around 4 million companies in the UK, and over 50 million consumers, you need to work out who is most likely to need what you offer. This process is known as ‘targeting’, and is the next step to finding new customers for your business.

Companies can be targeted using a number of factors such as location, industry sector, and company size. As well as the type of company you want to sell to, you also need to be clear on which department or particular job titles within the company are of most interest to you.

On the consumer side, you will again need to think carefully about what types of people are most likely to benefit from your product or service. Marketers typically make use of demographic profiles as a way of describing a particular section of the consumer market. For example, you might want to target the single, female, middle-class, age 18-24, college educated demographic.

Step 3 – Decide on your ‘marketing mix’

Many people view marketing as a very narrow range of activities centred around advertising (trade press, local newspapers, radio). In fact successful marketing to find new customers is a combination of different activities. As well as advertising, you can include trade shows, email marketing, direct mail, on line marketing, telemarketing, and others.

Step 4 – Put together your activity plan

Success at finding new customers is like playing the ‘long game’. In other words, you will become more successful as you establish and continue your marketing activity. This means having a plan of what you are going to do each week to attract new customers. It is easy to allow your marketing work to slide towards the bottom of your priority list – resist that temptation!

Step 5 – Make sure you can measure your results

Finding the best ways to attract new customers is always to some extent a case of trial and error. There is no harm in this, as long as you are able easily to see which of your activities have worked well and which have not. In other words, you must be able to measure the results of your efforts. Many companies do this by, for example, asking on their website enquiry form where the customer heard about their company. This is invaluable information that you can use in Step 6.

Step 6 – Do more of what works, and stop doing what doesn’t work

This seems very obvious. However, our experience clearly shows that there are many companies out there who are continuing with the marketing they have always done – without knowing whether or not they are being successful at attracting new customers. So you need to review your results regularly, and do more of what works.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

Are you Adept at Web Conferencing Yet?

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Companies and sales teams face significant challenges in selling cost-effectively to businesses today. Old selling habits that rely on face-to-face contact is simply too expensive for most businesses in the current market. More importantly, surveys show that, customers prefer online interactions, over personal contact, when possible.

A web presentation in which you show your PC desktop and demo something relevant to the prospect has become more effective. It is also rather convenient to both than a face-to-face conversation in the potential customer's office.

You can also easily record these web conferences and review them later to improve your selling skills and techniques. So, get started on using web conferencing.