Successful Blog

How To Over-Deliver by Setting Expectations

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When I was about 13, my family went on a camping trip. Canoeing, roasting marshmallows, and hiking were on the agenda.

Allegany State Park

“Hiking” as a concept is not generally something a teenager will be keen on.

In my case, I was definitely more of a “find a shady tree to read under” type of teenager.

The rest of the family wanted to do this hike, so they told me it was “just a short walk, no big deal.”

By mile 5, I was aware I had been bamboozled. (Turns out it’s about a 6 mile hike.)

You really don’t want to hike several miles with an irate teenager. I proceeded to make the rest of the day miserable for everyone, because my expectations had been thwarted.

Whenever you’re dealing with your customers, vendors, business partners, and employees, it’s all about setting expectations up front.

  • Is your service going to lift my revenue by 10% in one year?
  • Is the meeting going to last 15 minutes?
  • Are you going to send me 2 customers a month in referrals?

Whatever stake you put in the ground at the outset is going to determine whether the other party feels the relationship was successful.

The people who bungle this rule the most are sales people.

“No, termites aren’t a problem around here.”
“Sure, the software has that feature!”
“My workshop will change your life.”

Over-promising and under-delivering are a two-headed monster.

So how does a successful entrepreneur stop himself/herself from getting carried away?

  • Be specific in your claims
  • Back it up with real customer stories
  • Have a documented process
  • Connect the sales team with the development and customer service teams
  • If you’re talking with a prospect, paint a realistic picture of how your relationship will work
  • When you’re talking numbers, be aggressive but not dishonest. Don’t promise that you’ll get them the top slot on Page 1 of Google search results.
  • Ask your customer what their expectations are, right at the outset.

And don’t ever take your teenagers camping.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Word Choices That Sell

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By Deb Bixler

In the world of sales, the successful sales professional is always trying to close a business deal.

The problem that some inexperienced sales associates run into is that they appear to be pushy when trying to close deals and that turns off the client. Instead of going in for the obvious close at all times, you should use smart word choices that make it a done deal by the time you are done.word choices

Never Offer Yes Or No Questions

Successful sales professionals practice their presentations constantly and one of the things they practice is avoiding yes or no questions. You never want to ask a customer a question that can be answered yes or no because that opens the door for a no answer. Instead, you want to use positive word choices that push the client for an answer that commits to a product sale.

For example, most sales professionals would simply ask the customer if they want a product in the color white. This is a question that can be answered with a no and it can kill a deal. Instead, you should ask the customer if they would like to see the product in white or blue. No matter what color the customer says, it enhances the idea that a sale is imminent.

Avoid Questions That Start With The Word “Can”?

Can I interest you in a better way to close sales? Questions that start with the word “can” will always be yes or no questions.

The better way to ask the opening question of this section would be to say “Would you like a better method to close sales or the secrets to make more money?” Remember, yes or no questions kill a deal and the word “can” is the most common way to create a yes or no question.

Learn To Love The Word “Or”

The simplest way to put it for sales professionals that want to learn how to push a customer to a close is that this or that questions mean money. Choose your words wisely and give your customers a choice, but never give them the chance to say no.

Positive word choices mean everything in sales!

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business using a party plan business model. She now provides education and services for work at home professionals at the largest party plan training center on the web: CreateACashFlowShow.com. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.

Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business using a party plan business model. She now provides education and services for work at home professionals at the largest party plan training center on the web: CreateACashFlowShow,com. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.

How To Get Over Your Fear of Sales

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Twenty thousand bees were swarming just on the other side of the wall.

They were honeybees, and no real threat to our family, but it was pretty much my worst nightmare come true. As the beekeeper came and scooped them off into a cardboard box, his little boy stood next to him, completely unconcerned.

(This is an actual picture of the actual swarm of bees.)

face your fear of sales

Many business owners and entrepreneurs feel the same way about sales that I do about bees. They approach it with stark, abject terror, or they try to get someone else to handle it. “I’m no good at sales.”

First, Understand that Your Fear Isn’t Rational

The most effective sales person is someone who is knowledgeable and passionate about the thing being sold. Guess what? That’s you!

If you have the privilege of sharing your service or product with someone, remember that you’re helping them. You’re only going to gain them as a customer if you provide them with something they need. You don’t need to be apologetic, you don’t need to fret over your pricing, and you don’t need to worry that you’re “bothering” them if you follow up.

Don’t Learn Sales, Learn to Connect with People

One reason why entrepreneurs or consultants fear sales is because it seems to be mysterious and difficult. It’s no mystery. It’s all about uncovering a human connection with the potential buyer.

Yes, you need to be able to articulate your unique value proposition, but it doesn’t need to be a fancy, memorized pitch. Just ask them for their story, and then you get permission to share your story.

Enlist some Technology Tools

If sales isn’t your primary function, it can be daunting to keep track of the contact information, background notes, and requirements of your prospects. Fortunately, there are a lot of inexpensive sales and CRM tools out there that suit the small business owner. Nimble is fantastic for keeping up social networking connections with your contacts, Nutshell has very good pipeline reporting, and OnePageCRM is a one-stop-shop for the sales process. Check them out and find the one that supports your organization’s personality.

Get out of your comfort zone, and stop telling yourself that sales is scary. The next time a sales-related task comes up, use this visualization: you’ve just cooked a delicious meal, and the prospect is a hungry friend.

How would that visualization change the way you approach a “sales” call?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

How to Boost Revenue by Up-Selling & Cross-Selling

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By Jacklin Altman

Most of us recognize up-selling in its most basic form: “Would you like fries with that?” Cross-selling too, “would you like to pair that with a soda?” Sticking with that same example, if just half of the people asked say yes, think about that bump in revenue.

Seems pretty nice, doesn’t it?

Up-selling and cross-selling are valuable skills that you should engrain into all of your sales and customer service representatives. If a customer comes to you looking to buy a certain item, there is no harm in suggesting an upgraded version or attempting to cross sell an item that would pair nicely with it.

Who knows, they might love the pairing and always buy both from now on. They might recommend those items to their friends and so on. Now you’ve started a chain reaction that is sure to boost revenue.

Now, you see the benefits of up-selling and cross-selling but how do you go about it? Train your people. Have your customer service representatives be as well-versed in sales as your sales people. You will increase the efficiency of your workforce while simultaneously increasing your bottom line. There are many ways to go about educating your employees, and what you choose is entirely up to you.

You could go the old-fashioned route and hold a seminar where you, a sales rep, or a hired professional could teach up-selling and cross-selling tactics.

You could distribute reading material (though there is the chance that it will be ignored).

You could also try to pair your customer service reps with your sales reps to have your salespeople teach some of their best tips and tricks to your customer service employees. This will help foster healthy inter-workplace relationships, while also cross training your employees.

Additionally, your customers benefit. Their needs are better met when they receive better products and upgraded services, and more satisfied customers mean more customers, period.

A word of caution; avoid being too sales-y. People are quick to catch on when they’re being fooled, so don’t lie to your customers. Give them honest facts as to why your product is superior to others, and why they should buy an upgraded version or another item with it. If they politely refuse, don’t push it. You risk upsetting customers and scaring away business if you push too hard, so learn to suggest rather than force. Still not quite sure how to up-sell? Check out these up-selling and cross-selling tactics that work.

With you, your employees, and your customers all potentially benefiting, don’t delay. Train your customer service operators (as well as your salespeople) to up-sell and cross-sell to ensure that your company stays profitable and your customers receive the best products and services possible.

Author’s Bio: Jacklin Altman is the current Digital Marketing Specialist at LiveHelpNow (www.livehelpnow.net), a PA-based customer service software company. Jacklin handles new marketing initiatives, maintains the company blog, and handles customer outreach.

Planning Effective Sales Team Meetings

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By Deb Bixler

Your business thrives on making sure that everyone on your sales team knows what’s going on at all times. Whether you are introducing a new product or wanting to expand your service, your team needs to know your intentions.

As such team meeting planning is highly important to the strength of your direct sales business structure. Follow these simple guidelines to keep your entire team informed and involved so no key information falls through the cracks.

Plan Meetings At Same Time Every Time

home party plan meetingsSure, changes may come up that require impromptu team meetings, but in general try to keep your sales team meetings the same time every month or week. This way, your entire team will know that on a set date of the week or month a discussion will be held to discuss upcoming events and prior concerns.

A regular schedule insures regular attendance.

Make sure you email or message your team before meetings start to remind them of upcoming discussions.

Invite Team Discussion

If you begin each meeting with open discussion for your team, everyone will feel more involved in the planning of your business and you can get great feedback for what is going on in your business.

It’s important that your team knows they can speak their mind, so begin each meeting with an open discussion of concerns or questions of your team before you jump into what is on your mind.

Meetings Should Be Fun

Make meetings fun by offering snacks for the entire team and when ever possible keep the sales meetings or meeting sessions at an hour or less.

If you need to go over, let your team know beforehand so they can be prepared for a longer stay.

Provide supplies for your team to keep notes and thank each person for attending so they will know that their time is valuable to you.

Have An ‘Open Door’ Policy Team

Your sales team members need to know that they can come to you any time with issues, concerns, or suggestions for your business. The should not feel as though they need to wait for the meeting day to bring up concerns.

In having an open door policy, your team can feel comfortable to come to you outside of meetings in a private setting. Let them know that they can contact you personally, via phone, email or other avenues if they have anything come up that they feel is too important to wait for the next meeting.

You should always stay on top of situations and let your team know that their opinions are valuable to you.

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.

5 Keys to Properly Selling Your Small Business

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If you’ve started a small business from the ground up, then you know just how much hard work goes into making a business successful.

So, when it comes time to sell your baby, it’s important that your exit strategy is the right one in order for all that hard work to pay off.

With sale success in mind, here are 5 key strategies to properly selling your small business:

1. Patience is a Business Virtue

No matter how much planning goes into the sale of your small business, if you don’t wait until the most opportune time to sell, then you’ll likely end up disappointed. This is true for you, the seller, as well as the potential buyer.

In other words, it’s wise to wait until the timing is right and your small business is financially stable before selling. A business that’s successful on paper will result in a higher selling price. That said it’s also important to wait for a buyer who’s not only financially capable of taking over your business, but also business savvy.

2. Picking the Right Buyer

Most small business owners don’t just sell their livelihoods only to walk away and never think about the sale again. In fact, owners have a vested interest in their businesses long after the sale either in the form of shares, partial ownership, or on an emotional level.

Because of this, it’s imperative that you choose the right buyer to take over your small business. This means a financially stable buyer with experience in running a small business. On top of that, look for a buyer with the same passion you have for your small business.

3. Broker vs. Sell by Owner

Selling your small business yourself may sound like a good idea, especially considering the fees and commission involved with hiring a broker. But, if you don’t know what you’re doing in the sale department, then the money saved selling on your own may be more trouble than it’s worth.

So, take into consideration the paperwork involved with purchase agreements, nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, bills of sale, leases, and security agreements. If that’s something you can handle realistically, then a broker may not be necessary.

4. Finding the Right Selling Price

When it comes down to the bottom dollar, a lack in research could result in your small business’s selling price coming in too high or too low. A high price is bad because it scares away potential buyers whereas a low price makes you, the seller, look like you’re trying to get out of a business gone wrong.

So, it’s wise to consider everything from the competition to the economy to the industry your business is based in before setting the sale price. This, combined with independent research on brand specifics, will result in the right asking price.

5. The Why Behind the Sale

Beyond all the pre-sale preparation and planning, everything about selling your small business will boil down to one word and one word only: why? The buyer’s definitely going to want to know, so be prepared.

Ask yourself why you’re selling your bread and butter – if it’s because you’re moving on to new horizons or retiring, then that’s perfectly fine. But, if you’re selling because the business is failing, then that’s something the buyer needs to know. In other words, be honest with yourself and the potential buyer.

By keeping these key strategies in mind, you’ll have a hassle-free time selling your beloved small business.

Photo credit: sellabusinessflorida.com

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including personal health, the best accounting software, and small business.