Quote of the Week

"To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes, the wise and the good learn wisdom for the future." -- Plutarch, Historian

The best salespeople look at their business as a never-ending education. When they make a mistake, they see a learning experience, rather than a failure. Keep this outlook the next time you stumble, and you'll be better prepared to deal with problems in the future.

The Final Four: More Ways to Become a Great Salesperson

Today is the final day in our series from sales trainer Jim Klein on how to become a great salesperson by changing your attitude. Check out these final four tips to live by, and be sure to read the other six from yesterday and Wednesday.

7. Treat Stumbling Blocks as Stepping Stones

So what if you didn't make that big sale, your girlfriend left you, your boss chewed you out or you made a big mistake. Your life isn't over. So keep your eyes on your goals.

What did you do right? What did you learn? How can you use this to make yourself better or stronger? What will you do different the next time?

Use it as a stepping-stone to take you to the next level. I've had some of my biggest periods of growth after major setbacks.

8. Help others to succeed

When you're gone, nobody will be talking about how much money you made or how many awards you won, they will be talking about the lives you touched and the difference you made.

Success is so sweet when you can share your knowledge and caring with others. Give of yourself. It will make the people you touch feel good and I know how it will make you feel. The sad part is when people come to the end of their lives and think about all the things they wish they'd done.

9. Reward yourself

When you sell that big account or reach a goal you set, reward yourself. Go buy something you've always wanted, take a trip, go out for an expensive dinner. Do something nice for you. You deserve it.

10. Tomorrow is a New Day

No matter what happened today, good or bad. You can go to sleep tonight knowing that tomorrow the slate is wiped clean. You get a fresh new 24 hours to accomplish anything you want.

Jim Klein is the president of From the Heart Sales Training, a company that wants to make all sales "from the heart," rather than "from the hip." Learn more and sign up for his Sales Advisor Newsletter at www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com

3 More Ways to Become a Great Salesperson

Yesterday we started a short series from sales trainer Jim Klein about things you can do to lead a better life - and see it reflected in your sales. Here are numbers four through six on his list.

4. Post Your Goals and Read Them Twice a Day

Post your goals where you'll see them at different times during your day. Put them on the bathroom mirror, in your car, your office, near your computer. Write them on a 3 x 5 card and pull out the card every chance you get and read them.

Make two specific times when you take them out and read them. One is first thing in the morning before you do anything else. This will start your day focused on your goals and their achievement.

The second is right before you go to bed. This practice will give your subconscious mind something positive to work on during the night.

5. Be Grateful For The Little Things

Find time every day to be grateful for all you have. We all have something we can be grateful for. Some of these are little things that we take for granted like our health, our home, our friends, the food in the refrigerator. Focusing on what you're grateful for will bring more of it in to your life.

I'm grateful every day when I wake up and my feet hit the floor.

6. Spend Time Doing What Matters Most

We waste too much time on things that bring little enjoyment into our lives. It's time to spend our time doing the things that matter most.

Have dinner with your family. Attend your child's play or baseball game. Help an elderly person cross the street. Take a walk and enjoy the view.

Some things are more important than money, status, power and prestige. Invest some of your time into those activities and see if it doesn't change the way you feel.

Jim Klein is the president of From the Heart Sales Training, a company that wants to make all sales "from the heart," rather than "from the hip." Learn more and sign up for his Sales Advisor Newsletter at www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com

Top 10 Ways To Become A Great Salesperson

"Being a great salesperson is more than learning new skills and techniques," says sales trainer Jim Klein. There's a lot you can do to improve yourself and your life that will be reflected in your sales. Today we'll start a three-day series with Klein's Top 10 Ways to Become a Great Salesperson.

Here are the first three:

1. Smile and Walk Tall

Changing your physiology is a great way to feel better about everything going on around you.

I want you to try an experiment. I want you to think and act as if you are totally depressed. Notice how you are standing. Your shoulders are slumped. Your head is down. Your face is sad and your breathing is shallow. Feels pretty awful doesn't it?

Okay, now I want you to imagine a time when you felt on top of the world, when everything was going your way, you couldn't lose. How are you standing? Your shoulders are back, head is up, your breathing is deep and you've got a big smile on your face. Feel the difference?

2. Surround Yourself With People Who Support You

One of the most important steps you can take in your life is to build relationships with people who genuinely care about you and will support you as you go through life.

I'm talking about people who will love you during hard times and celebrate with you during the good times. People who will be painfully honest and compassionately sympathetic. People who will make you laugh and motivate you and encourage you to be that person you were meant to be.

3. Read Positive Books at Least 15 Minutes Every Day

There's a wealth of information that has been written for you to absorb. What goes in your mind is what will come out. So fill it with good, positive information and good, positive things will happen in your life.

I suggest you start your own library. Go buy a bookshelf and set a goal to fill it with books you've read. Set up an account at Amazon or Barnes and Noble and invest in your education.

If you don't want to buy them, get a library card. They're free!

Jim Klein is the president of From the Heart Sales Training, a company that wants to make all sales "from the heart," rather than "from the hip." Learn more and sign up for his Sales Advisor Newsletter at www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com

Creating an Impact Statement

"You have a maximum of 90 seconds in a cold call to your prospect," says cold calling expert Leslie Buterin in a recent blog post. "What are you going to say that will compel them to invite you in for a meeting? What are the words to use? Where do you find those words?"

"You need a well-crafted impact statement," says Buterin. "The clear unmistakable words of a sentence that quickly convey the kind of impact your products/services can have as solutions to your prospect's pressing business problems."

To do this, Buterin suggests you "give your clients' words considerably more weight than the words you use. Unbeknownst to you, the way you talk about your business has become a kind of corporate-speak, a language that communicates something within your company, and a language that sounds like blah, blah, blah to your prospects."

So, how do you get a hold of your client's words for crafting your impact statement?"

"The fastest, most direct route is with a 5-minute phone call to several of your oh-so-happy clients," says Buterin. "Take care not to feed your clients the words to say. Simply ask your happy clients a few strategic, open-ended questions."

Here are a few examples of open-ended questions you can ask your clients:

a. Why did you choose to do business with us?
b. What did you get out of doing business with us?
c. If I ask you to quantify the improvement in your expenses, your revenues, what would you say, specifically in terms of increased revenues, decreased expenses, mitigated risk?

"Then, just sit back and listen to them," says Buterin. "Find out the verbiage your clients use and then use those very words to craft your compelling impact statement. There is tremendous power in using the words of your happy clients. Granted, their words are not necessarily the words you'd use in-house. However, their words are the ones that will grab the attention of your cold call prospects and compel them to invite you in for an appointment. A very good place to be."

Leslie Buterin is the founder of Top Dog Consulting and the author of Secrets to Scheduling the Executive-Level Sales Call. She works with sales professionals, teaching them how to access and sell to high-level decision-makers. Keep up to date with Leslie on her blog, www.coldcallingnetnews.com

Quote of the Week

"The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have." -- Charles M. Schwab

It's hard to be the small fish in a big pond. If your company is new to the market, or your competitors are just bigger, faster, or lower-priced, each day can feel like an uphill battle. When it's one of those days, remind yourself that those companies are missing one big thing - you.

Make yourself an asset to your clients in every way you can, and your clients won't feel the need to rush to your big-box competitor. If they have someone who's always looking out for their best interests they can rest easy knowing they're in good hands.

What do you do to show your clients how valuable you are?

Handling Delays

"Can you follow up with me in two months about this?" When a prospect asks you this, many people's first reaction is to find out what the reason for the delay is - and this is a good reaction. But once you know the reason for the delay, what do you do with that information? What's the next step in moving towards a sale, instead of just starting over in two months?

Telesales expert Art Sobczak has the advice you need to keep the sales moving, even with a delay:

"So let's say we do find out that January of next year will be a better time to speak with us, because, legitimately there is a 'future event,'" says Sobczak. "I define 'future event' as something that indeed is happening that makes waiting legitimate...they are adding more staff, rolling out a new product, making changes of any type, whatever."

"The star sales rep will not simply schedule a follow-up call at this point. He/she will continue on, trying to presell, or get a commitment of some type that would secure the future sale in advance," says Sobczak.

You might first ask,

"While we're on the phone, let's talk about what you anticipate doing at that point."

Ask other questions to help them realize the cost of delaying, if appropriate:

"Have you considered the opportunity cost of waiting?"

In the situations where their delay is indeed valid, position yourself to get whatever commitments you can today:

"Can we be the ones to provide this product for you at that point?"

Or, "Great, so I'm assuming that the next time we speak we can discuss details of implementing the program?"

"May I place the order for you now and just schedule delivery then, so that you can take advantage of today's prices?"

If they will not give commitment now that you will be the ones they will work with, at the very least ask:

"Can I be the first one you will contact when you are ready to move forward?"

"OK, if anything changes between now and our next scheduled conversation, will you please call me?"

"After finishing the call, confirm your understanding with a letter detailing the points," suggests Sobczak. "Then and there, schedule reminders to keep your name in front of them: post-cards, hand-written notes, even after-hours voice mail information messages with tidbits of interest to them."

Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople -- both inside and outside -- designing and delivering content-rich programs that participants begin showing results from the very next time they get on the phone. To learn more, visit www.businessbyphone.com