How to Make Meatloaf Out of Your Competition

When you're feeling down about the competition, sales diva Kim Duke suggests you keep this in mind: "Realize if you didn't have ANY competitors you very likely would have a product or service that NO ONE WANTS - and that's a pretty tough way to make a living."

"Back to basic economics," says Duke. "Supply = Demand. And why supply something if there isn't a demand for it?"

You want to make "meatloaf" of your competition? Then follow these 5 Sales Diva Ingredients for Healthy Competition:

1) Know them inside and out. Know who they are, what they do better than you and where they are lacking. Where do you excel?

2) Never say a bad word. Why? It makes you look like an idiot. Know WHY you're different and why the customer should choose you.

3) If you lose a deal - send a card. A thank you card that is. Be a gracious loser. No whining, pouting or getting angry. Ask your client what they would have needed from you to choose you. Then send them a thank-you card thanking them for giving you the opportunity to quote on their business. And then stay in touch with new relevant info. The odds are your "competitor" will do neither. You'll soon discover that your gracious loser status will often turn into Gracious Winner!

4) Out-smart them. Sell ahead by at least 90 days. Get out of the nasty habit of "selling in the month - for the month." Tap into your customer's budget before they have spent it with someone else.

5) Create alliances. You've heard this from me before. There are certain competitors who should be your best friend. You can help each other grow, pass business back and forth and motivate and challenge each other.

"Look, the world is an abundant place," says Duke. "So quit thinking small. Quit worrying about "what they're getting and I'm not." All your worrying does is shrink you and expand them. So STEP UP and start cooking yourself some business the RIGHT WAY."

Kim Duke is an unconventional, sassy and savvy sales expert who shows women small biz owners and entrepreneurs sizzling sales tips on how to increase sales in a fun, easy, stress-free way! Learn more and sign up for her free e-zine at www.salesdivas.com

Increase Sales by Building Relationships

"If you want to increase sales you have to establish relationships with people who are potential new clients, and deepen your relationship with existing clients," says sales coach Cheryl Clausen.

Building relationships sounds easy enough on paper, but when it comes time to build a relationship with a complete stranger, what do you do? For some, this could bring back playground horror stories, so take a big breath and read on. Clausen has some tips for you to build strong relationships with new and existing clients - even if you were never the most popular kid on the playground!

"Your sales outcomes are directly impacted by that first connection and the follow-up connections you make with potential clients and existing clients," says Clausen. Here are her tips:

Relationships demand you be the real you. You can spot a phony instantly and you resent anyone trying to be someone or something they aren't. So think of how you can allow the people you connect with to get a feel for, or sense of who you are. Your values and beliefs...what's important to you. You don't want to ram it down their throats - just allow the real you to come through whether you're sending a sales letter, making a phone call, writing your newsletter, however you're making that first connection.

Sometimes fun can be viral. If you're going to hold a barbecue for a few friends anyway why not include a few clients and share photos of the event in your newsletter? They'll show their photo to their friends thus spreading the word about you. Why not allow them to bring a friend and invite all your clients so they can mingle with each other? After all, the more people who know you the better.

What if they each shared a story about you? And you included those stories in some of your marketing materials. What if you had a contest for the best story? When you allow them to share and contribute you exponentially increase your relationship. You make them feel important and you validate why they like and trust you. The ideas are endless...

Your clients don't want to work with a stiff shirt big company. They want you to be a real person who cares a whole lot about them and their outcomes. Allowing yourself to be a little vulnerable, and giving them a closer look at who you are makes you more trustworthy and trust-able. They just want you to be human because they want to connect with you if you'll just help them...

Try out Clausen's easy tips for building relationships, and let us know yours as well!

Cheryl Clausen, the Increase Sales Coach, works with clients in all areas of sales and marketing - to increase your sales. Learn more and discover the "7 Secrets Top Producers Know That You Can Put to Use in the Next 9 Days" at www.increasesalescoach.com

Task Oriented vs. Goal Oriented

"One of the worst habits to get into is becoming a Task Salesperson," says Scott Sheaffer. "A Task Salesperson loses sight of their sales goals and sales skills. They primarily focus on the mechanics of sales. This can happen to us without even knowing it."

I read this post and felt it was very timely after Tim Rohrer's article last week about salespeople's busy work. Sheaffer writes about task-oriented salespeople vs. goal-oriented salespeople, and helps us further examine the differences. See which category you fall into, and then work to make sure you're always goal-oriented.

Scott R. Sheaffer, CSE, ATM, writes the Sales Vitamins blog. He lives in Dallas, Texas and has worked in sales, sales management and sales training for over 20 years in companies ranging from small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies.

Quote of the Week

"We are judged by what we finish, not what we start." -- Anonymous

In today's business world it's easy to be side-tracked by competing priorities and waylaid by emergencies. But our prospects and customers still want us to live up to our promises. After all, over-promising and under-delivering is exactly what most buyers expect from typical salespeople.

So remember, finishing what you started, delivering on what you promised and following up on the details, no matter how trivial, will win huge respect in your clients' eyes.

The Instant Recap Technique Revisited

Yesterday Wendy Weiss told us how to use the "Instant Recap/Guilt Technique" to follow up with a client. The "Instant Recap" brings your prospect back to your last conversation and the "Guilt Technique" explains why you are calling. You can also use this technique when following up with a prospect who was originally contacted by someone else. Weiss suggests you use this technique as follows:

Instant Recap
"Hello (prospect's name goes here.) This is (your name) from (your company.) You spoke with my colleague, (colleague's name goes here) on (date goes here) and discussed (fill in whatever was discussed.)"

Guilt
"You asked us to call you to discuss (fill in the blank with your next step.)"

Try this out the next time you're taking over someone else's account to start out the conversation. You'll establish a connection and get the sales process going much quicker than if you "just called to follow up."

Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, "The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script," and/or her book, "Cold Calling for Women," can be ordered by visiting her website. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com.

I Just Called to See How Things Are Going

Sales conversations all around the world start out with, "I just called to see how things are going." Wendy Weiss recounts this sad sales conversation in hopes we can all learn from it:

Sales Representative: "I just called to see how things are going."

Wendy: "Things are going fine. Why are you calling?"

Sales Representative: "I just called to see how things are."

Wendy: "Things are fine."

Sales Representative: "OK. Well I'm here if you need me."

Wendy: "Why should I need you?"

"'I just called to see how things are going' has to be the lamest follow-up question of all time," says Weiss. "Although, it is running neck and neck with, 'I just called to follow-up.' Neither question elicits any information, neither moves the sales process forward and both are frequently annoying to your prospect who has absolutely no idea why you have called."

"The rule is: Never make a call to your prospect without having a goal in mind. When you hang up the telephone, what do you want to have accomplished? Do you want to gather information? Do you want the prospect to commit to some action? Do you want agreement on the next step in your sales process? Once you have your goal in mind then you can figure out the appropriate
approach."

"Here's an approach that you can use to set up your follow up calls," says Weiss. "I call it the 'Instant Recap/Guilt Technique.'" It goes like this:

Instant Recap
"Hello (prospect's name goes here.) This is (your name) from (your company.) We spoke on (date goes here) and discussed (fill in whatever you discussed.)"

Guilt
"You asked me to call you (or 'We agreed that I'd call') to discuss (fill in the blank with your next step.)"

The "Instant Recap" brings your prospect back to your last conversation. Your prospect may or may not remember that conversation and when you are prospecting, you don't want to count on your prospect's memory. Help your prospect out by recapping your last conversation.

The "Guilt Technique" then explains why you are calling. There had been a previous conversation, outlined in the "Instant Recap" and now you are doing what you had promised to do, call your prospect.

Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, "The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script," and/or her book, "Cold Calling for Women," can be ordered by visiting her website. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com.

How to REALLY Bring Value

We talk a lot about bringing extra value to your clients but what does this really mean? Dictionary.com defines the term "value" as "relative worth, merit, or importance." Notice in the definition it says "relative" worth. This means the value should be specific to the particular client.

"Real value is the sincere approach you take in helping people overcome challenges personally and professionally, which in turn truly does bring relative worth, merit and importance not just to them, but back to you," says sales trainer John Costigan.

"More importantly, how do you bring 'relevant' value and worth to your customers and to others around you? It's simple, and easy, and will totally 'blow away' everyone you encounter."

Costigan suggests you bring value to your clients through books - not just books about your company or industry, but books that are about 'them' and their challenges, personally or professionally.

As the publisher of the bestselling Top Dog Sales Secrets, we couldn't agree more.

"For example," says Costigan, "a person going through dramatic changes within their own company who is challenged with adapting should read Spencer Johnson's "Who Moved My Cheese?"

"Or maybe they are always running late and they feel time is managing them instead of the other way around, then send them, "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss to give them tips on regaining control of their day. Or if they are going through the "teen" years and are being challenged by one of their kids, "How to Say It to Your Kids" by Dr. Paul Coleman is a wonderful book. Or maybe they feel they are in a rut and just want to do something different, then give them, "Awaken The Giant Within" by Anthony Robbins," says Costigan.

"Lincoln on Leadership," by Donald T. Phillips, is a wonderful book that can help any manager, vice president or CEO on managing people better. Or go laugh your butt off reading Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," a NY Times Best Seller that will have you rolling out of your chair. Sometimes the best medicine you can give someone is the gift of laughter."

"There is one trick though," says Costigan. "You can't recommend these books unless you've read them. Once you have, you have built what I love to call, "Your Library of Assistance." It's the knowledge base to help others in time of need. Once you see someone who has challenges, (and we all do), buy them the appropriate book and make their day."

Why? 1) It helps them. 2) It feels great. 3) I bet your competition isn't doing it!!

Now THAT'S value.

John Costigan, president and founder of John Costigan Companies, conducts sales training classes around the world for a list of clients that reads like a 'who's who" in the corporate world, including Hewlett Packard and the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes. To learn more visit www.johncostigan.com