52 Weeks of Sales Success

Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Week 1 Start Now 1 Do the Hardest Thing First 1 Tell Everyone You Know What You Do 2 Remain Positive 3 Work For Today, Tomorrow, and Your Future 3 Stick to It 4 Week 2 Stay Put 6 Week 3 Cultivate an Entrepreneurial Mindset 9 Procure Tools and Resources 9 Market Yourself 11 Hire Employees (Assistants) 11 Build a Sales Team 12 Week 4 Project a Positive Attitude 13 Surround Yourself with Positive People 14 Seek Out Positive Ideas 14 Banish Negativity and Self-Defeatism 15 Master the Art of Positive Talk 15 Week 5 Set Goals 18 Associate with Fellow Goal Setters 19 Set a Goal 19 Set a Deadline 20 Break Down Your Goal Into Milestones 21 Week 6 Devise a Plan 22 Essential Elements of a Business Plan 22 Business Description 23 Market Focus 23 Situation Analysis 24 Vision Statement 24 Revenue Projections 25 Budget 26 Start-Up Money 26 Week 7 Develop Systems and Procedures 28 Document Your Job 29 Identify Procedures 30 Delegate the Work 31 Week 8 Hire an Assistant 32 Recruit Assistants 33 Screen the Candidates 34 Visual or Virtual? 40 Retain Your Best Assistants 41 Week 9 Prioritize 42 Stephen’s Not-So-Secret Secret 43 Rediscover Your A-B-Cs 44 Day Job, Night Job 45 Week 10 Know Your Product 46 Use Your Productor Service . . . IF Possible 47 Recruit Referrals 48 Week 11 Know Your Clients 49 Who’s Really Your Client? 49 Use What You Sell 50 Participate in Consumer Communities 50 Consult with Other Departments 51 Learn Your Customer’s Business 51 Gather Feedback from Clients 52 Week 12 Recognize the Difference between Customers and Clients 54 Be a Salesperson, Not an Order Taker 55 Customer Service Is Key 55 Become a Problem Solver 55 Week 13 Under-Promise, Over-Deliver 57 Ask! 58 Uncover Soft Expectations 58 Follow Up 59 Think Total Service 59 Week 14 Leverage the Power of Your Disabilities 61 Identify Your Abilities and Disabilities 62 Identify the Positive in Your Disabilities 62 Week 15 Turn Problems into Opportunities 64 Look for Trouble 64 Become a Problem Solver 65 Look for Problems in Your Own Business, Too 66 Week 16 Brand Yourself: You, Inc. 68 Nailing Down My Brand 69 Assemble a Marketing Packet 69 Week 17 Engage in Shameless Self-Promotion 72 Focus on Self-Promotion 73 Make It a Priority 73 Start on the Internet 74 Distribute Regular Press Releases 75 Draw Free Publicity and Positive Press 76 Invest in Paid Advertising 77 Week 18 See Business Where It Isn’t 79 Identify Unserved and Underserved Markets 80 Train Your Mind to Spot Opportunities 81 Build Business Synergies 82 Week 19 Brainstorm Problem Solving with Your Staff 83 Ask for Help 84 Don’t Get Hung Up on Hierarchy 85 Foster a Problem-Solving Atmosphere 85 Think Ends, Not Means 85 Week 20 Focus on Your Clients’ Success 87 Your Success Is My Success 87 Success Breeds Success 88 Your Mission Statement 89 Week 21 Write Notes to Your Clients 90 Week 22 Launch Your Weekly Hour of Power—100 Calls in 60 Minutes 93 Harvesting Pearls Called Referrals 94 No Selling! 94 No Interruptions! 95 Keep a Tally Sheet 95 Week 23 Master the 10-10-20 Technique 97 The Technique 97 Another Way to Network 98 Adjust the Technique 99 Week 24 Hone Your Networking Skills 101 Week 25 Market Your Home-Based Business 104 Bargain for an Advantage 105 Niche Marketing 105 Seek Feedback Constantly 106 Be Consistent 106 Set Aside Time Every Week for Marketing 106 Week 26 Master a New Technology 107 Week 27 Explore Marketing Opportunities on the Internet 111 Build Your Own Web Site 112 Build Communities through Blogging 113 Drive Traffic to Your Web Sites and Blogs 114 Add a Signature File to Your E-Mail Messages 115 Week 28 Reward Yourself 116 Create a Reward Collage 116 Reward Yourself before a Sale 117 Fine-Tune Your Reward System 118 Week 29 Find a Better Place to Meet Your Clients 120 Choose a Place with the Right Ambience 120 Set the Stage 121 Navigate an Office Meeting 122 Week 30 Improve the Way You Ask and Answer Questions 123 Ask Questions that Require Some Explanation from Your Client 124 Try to Answer a Question with a Question of Your Own 124 Break Down Bad News into Terms that Are Easier to Accept 125 Week 31 Perfect Your Tele-Sales Skills 126 Make a Lot of Calls 127 No Scripts 128 The “Mirroring” Technique 128 Have Something to Say When You Call 129 Week 32 Shadow a Top-Producing Salesperson 130 My Sales Mentors 131 Identify Prospective Mentors 132 Hire a Sales Coach 133 Week 33 Team Up with a Personal Partner 134 Choose a Partner 135 Develop a Plan 135 Meet with Your Partner 137 Week 34 Hook Up with a Mentor 140 Mentors in the Family 140 Mentors in the Neighborhood 142 Mentors in Your Office 142 Week 35 Jot Down Ideas for New Opportunities 144 Week 36 Nurture Relationships 147 Forget about the Money 147 Stop Hunting, Start Farming 148 Get Connected 148 Gather Contact Information 149 Keep in Touch 150 Give 150 Week 37 Launch Your Own Blog 151 Brush Up on Blog Basics 152 Test Drive a Blog for Free 154 Choose a Blog Host and Platform 154 Earn Higher Search Engine Rankings 155 Week 38 Try an Internet Lead Generation Service 158 Assess the Benefits of Lead Generation Services 159 Be Prepared 160 Week 39 Date Your Leads . . . or Someone Else Will 162 Create a System 162 Be the First to Call 163 Work on Your Follow-Through 164 Be Persistent 164 Date Your Clients, Too 165 Week 40 Build Trust in Online Communities 166 What Constitutes Social Media? 167 Tap the Power of Social Media Marketing 169 Week 41 Fire Your Worst Clients 172 When You Can’t Deliver 173 When The Customer Is Too Negative 173 When the Deal Doesn’t Fit Your Business Plan 174 Week 42 Attend a Convention or Seminar 175 I Learned the Hard Way 176 My First Convention 176 Attend Seminars and Workshops 177 Network 177 Week 43 Host a Seminar or Workshop 179 Identify a Need in the Marketplace 181 Create Your Workshop or Seminar 181 Promote Your Workshop or Seminar 182 Week 44 Master the Platinum Rule 183 Week 45 Expand into Multicultural Markets 185 Test Your Cross-Cultural Competency 186 Follow Your Customer’s Lead 186 Take a Comprehensive Approach 187 Week 46 Avoid or Recover from a Sales Slump 189 Avoid Negative People and Situations 189 Set a Start Date 190 Be Committed 190 Make Marketing a Regular Activity 190 Keep Records 190 Talk to Your Manager about Your Sales Decline 191 Learn from Past Mistakes 191 Get Your Family and Friends Involved 191 Learn to Cope 191 Week 47 Build Your Own Sales Team 193 What Is a Sales Team? 193 Realize the Benefits of the Team-Based Approach 195 Are You Team-Ready? 196 Take a Lesson from Your Dentist 197 Week 48 Sharpen Your Team Management Skills 198 Week 49 Close a Sale the Right Way: Six Follow-Up Steps 201 1. Save It! 201 2. When You Lose a Sale, Find Out Why 202 3. Stay in Touch with Them 202 4. Thank Them for Their Time 203 5. Ask for a Referral 203 6. Move On 204 Week 50 Become a Lifelong Learner 205 Week 51 Just Do It! 209 Plan 211 Delegate 211 Use Technology to Leverage Your Efforts 212 Know When to Take a Break 212 Week 52 Final Thoughts 214 About the Authors 216 Index 218