This is a guest post by Paul Archer.

On holiday in France last year we spent many an evening in the local cafes sucking up the atmosphere enjoying everything that is France. Next to us on one evening was a charming British couple and, as you do, we got chatting. The chap talked about life back at home and mentioned excitedly about coaching his local mini rugby team.

Now that’s exactly what I do on a Sunday morning so I began to tell him, with equal enthusiasm, all about my coaching. I told him all about it, never stopped, talked over him and dominated the conversation.

That’s not empathy and rapport building…I blew it.

They didn’t stay in the café very long making their excuses and disappeared into the night. Afterwards I realized what I’d done and knew that if I’d listened to him and allowed him to talk openly about his hobby…we would have got on better. Instead I just got talking about the same subject.

It’s easy to do this when the other person mentions something that you can say a lot about as well. Sometimes we all fall into this trap. I know, I did.

This is useful in sales, coaching and any communication situation where you need rapport and a trust before you can do your job.

Do people a favour and just let them talk.

Paul Archer is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He specializes in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. For more information on Paul and his training courses, visit www.archertraining.co.uk or his sales  blog at www.paularcher.com

This is a guest post by Paul Archer

1. Write down long, medium and short term goals.

Long-term are your visions and your strategy, medium term is the planning to get to your long-term goals

and short term are the “to do’s” that make the plans come together.

2. Don’t forget Pareto’s Law when planning your goals. We get 80% of our result from 20% of our goals.

Prioritize them.

3. Carry out a SWOT, at least annually.

Then set learning goals to maximize your strengths, minimise your weaknesses, eliminate threats and optimise your opportunities.

4. Mix your personal goals with your business goals.

The 21st Century is about balance.

5. Phrase your goal in a positive sense.

Aim towards something rather than away from something. For example rather than losing 12 lbs, think about gaining a better physical shape.

6. Stretch your self when writing your goals.

Just enough to make it a challenge, but don’t stretch too far -that’s when we pull our backs.

7. We’re supposed to put measures on our goals.

Sometimes this is difficult so privately create a vision of you achieving success with your goals. What will you see, hear and feel when you’ve been triumphant? Imagine the scene as vividly as you can. This way you’ll know when you’ve achieved it.

8. Involve others in your goals so tell them.

9. We know about SMART goals, try making them even SMARTER. E =exciting and R = recording them.

Now break your goals down into manageable actions. Set these quarterly and review them at the end of each quarter.

Paul Archer is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He specializes in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. For more information on Paul and his training courses, visit www.archertraining.co.uk or his sales  blog at www.paularcher.com

This is a guest post by Jill Konrath

This is a guest post by Paul Archer

I’m sure you’re making more prospecting calls at the moment, just like everyone else, so I’m guessing that you’re coming across barriers in getting to talk to your prospective customers.

If that barrier is a Personal Assistant who’s trained to stop you in your tracks, here’s a neat little tip that just might get you put through.

A UCLA survey showed that on the telephone a massive 84% of the message and meaning

is derived purely from your voice. This is a well known fact and was substantiated by Albert Mehrabian in the 1970’s.

I’m suggesting that you sound important so you can get through the gatekeeper.

Important people have deeper voices and say things in shorter sentences. Their tone of voice falls at the end of each sentence to accentuate their importance and they leave lots of pauses.

And most people when faced with someone who sounds ever so important will put you through without hesitation. Try it, it works and is also fun.

Paul Archer is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He specializes in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. For more information on Paul and his training courses, visit www.archertraining.co.uk or his sales  blog at www.paularcher.com

This is a guest post by Mike Brooks, www.MrInsideSales.com

I don’t know about you, but my email open rate is going the way of voicemails – rarely listened to, and quickly deleted.  What I’ve found, however, is that there are some techniques that can give you the best chance of getting your emails read and even responded to, but you have to be very specific in the way you construct them.

Follow these six email secrets the next time you write and send an email, and you’ll be on your way to the kind of response you used to get – and the kind that will lead to more business:

Email Secret #1:  Use the prospect’s first name in the subject line.

Think about it: what is everyone’s favorite word?  Their first name!  Have you ever been in public before and heard someone call out your name?  You automatically turned around and were receptive and ready to respond until you saw they were calling someone they knew.

You can get your prospect’s attention the same way by putting their name in the subject line of your emails.  To start with, doing so will distinguish your email from the hundreds of others your prospect gets, and because we are all drawn to our own name, it will draw your prospect’s eyes to your email like a magnet.  This is the very best way to get their attention and a great way to get them to read more.

Email Secret #2:  Customize the first few lines of your email as much as possible.  Many people preview their emails by reading the first few sentences in their email program before deciding to read the whole thing, so concentrate on writing a short and value laden opening that is addressed right to them.  Something like:

“Hi Barbara, Mike Brooks here with HMS software.  I’ve got some ideas about your networking issues for your new office that’s opening in Houston next month.  I think you’ll find it useful if we talk.”

Again, keep it short, customize it to what you know they’re interested in and provide immediate, specific value to them.

Email Secret #3:  Keep your email short and easy to read!  Nothing will turn your prospect off more than long, information packed paragraphs.

Their eyes will glaze over and they will hit the delete key faster than it took you to hit the send key!

Don’t let any of your paragraphs be more than three sentences, and if possible, make them just two sentences.  Recap the major ideas in short phrases, and make sure to engage your prospect by asking questions.  An example would be:

“Hi John, I was wondering if you were still having trouble recouping all the available cash from your current collection program?  If so, you’ll want to speak with me about our new itemized IT solution.

I’ve got some time next Tuesday or would later in the week work for you?

Please let me know either way.  You can see more info here (your website address).

If I don’t hear from you, I’ll follow up with a call next week.”

Email Secret #4:  Ask for a return response – whether they are interested or not.  This is a great way to end your email and a good way to get a response.  Just think about how nice it will be to finally take someone off your list who isn’t going to do business with you, and also how great it will be to find someone who is!

Simply thank them in advance for their consideration and let them know that you’re looking forward to their response on this – either a yes or a no.

Email Secret #5:  Promise to follow up by phone if they don’t respond.

Let them know that you understand they are busy, and that if you don’t hear from them, then you’ll follow up with a call in a day or two.

This really increases your response rate and you can be happy when you get a “not interested” response.  These prospects just disqualified themselves and saved you a lot of time and energy!

On the other hand, there will be others who don’t respond and they become your follow up leads.

Email Secret #6:  Proof read your emails before you hit the send key.

Because your prospect can’t see you, they only have your writing sample to judge you on, and if it’s filled with misspellings and poor grammar, what kind of impression do you think this makes?

It only takes a minute to proof read your emails, and I’ll tell you now I’m always glad I did.  I almost always make them better, and when I hit the send key I know I’ve sent out the best message possible.  Doing so allows me to make the best impression, and this once again separates me from my competition.

So there you have the six secrets to writing effective emails.  Believe me, following them will give you the best chance of getting through to decision makers and getting responses that will give you an understanding of where you stand.  That’s a whole lot better than chasing and wondering, isn’t it?

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s: “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts,” which is packed with word for word scripts and techniques that you can begin using today to make more appointments and more sales.  You can read about it by clicking here:

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/scripts.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

The following is a Guest post by Mike Brooks, AKA Mr. Inside Sales.

Because you only have a few precious seconds to make a connection and establish interest, you’d better have a good opening prepared in advance.

Besides being very busy, your prospects probably get a lot of sales calls every week, and many of them from your direct competition. So why would they want to talk to you? What can you do to separate yourself from all the other calls they get?

The answer is that you have to establish a real connection with your prospect and stop sounding like all the other sales reps who call them.

Here is what your competition usually sounds like (I hope you’re not doing this!):

“Oh, hi Mr. __________, this is _______ _______ with the MLT Group.

__________, we are an industry supply manufacturer and we help companies streamline their production process. We work with many companies in your field and save them between 10 to 15% on the cost of their storage and delivery process. What I’d like to do is ask you some questions to see how our process may save you that kind of money as well. Where are you currently getting your…”

Do you see how this opening makes no connection with the prospect? Do you see how it just starts pitching at the prospect and doesn’t acknowledge that the prospect might be busy, or not interested? Do you see how there is no rapport built here and how it’s a one sided conversation?

How do you feel when someone barges in on your day and starts in with a pitch like this? You’re probably thinking what most prospects are thinking: “How do I get this sales rep off the phone?!”

Now let’s look at the right way to open your call. Your goal in the first few seconds is to make a connection and get them to interact. You have to acknowledge that they may be busy or that you respect their time and you need to establish some rapport and separate yourself from all the other sales reps calling them.

Try this:

“Hi, ________ this is _______ _______ with (your company), how’s your Tuesday going? Great. Listen, _______, I know you probably get a ton of calls so I’ll make this brief.

Let me ask you, if I could show you a better way of tracking and shipping (or) and save you money doing it, would it be worth spending five minutes with me next week to show you how?”

Or,

“What is the one thing you could change that would have a dramatic impact on your productivity and that would save your company money?”

Or,

“If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about how you currently do (their business), what would it be?”

Can you see how this quick questioning approach is more effective than what you may currently be using now? Eighty percent of your competition still barge in on their prospects and open their calls up with a long explanation about what they do and what they offer, and pitch their products and services without checking in with their prospects or establishing any kind of connection. No wonder most people brush them off the phone!

You can separate yourself from this group instantly, starting today, by using the opening technique above. Once again, adapt it to fit your product or service, and then practice it until it’s natural and easy for you to use. As you do, you’ll begin to notice yourself struggling less, making more connections with interested and qualified buyers, and you’ll have more confidence and feel better about yourself.  Just like the top 20% do!

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting http://www.MrInsideSales.com

This is a Guest post by Alen Majer, CEO of The Science and Art of Selling.

Your mission as a sales person should be to find companies that have immediate wants and needs. This means that something happened or is happening to them – a move, a merger, new investors, etc. You have to look for any event that might create the opportunity for you, or better said you are looking for event that can trigger the sales for you.

It could be something internal or inside the company, like a new direction from management, a merger or an acquisition, rapid growth, or maybe a new product introduction. And it could mean the company is turning “Green” and needs new and different supplies and services.

It could be external or outside the company, like the new strategies of their competition or new legislation (Sarbanes- Oxley Act). Maybe even a natural disaster, which is a well-known external trigger for many customers.

Generally speaking, trigger events have effects inside the whole company. Suddenly new needs are recognized; previous decisions need to be revisited. Very often, management becomes aware of new priorities and changes the direction of the company.

Trigger events are extremely important when we are in the search mode, looking for our next customer, and when we need to identify our sales opportunities at a particular company from our target list.

Every company has something new happening. Maybe they improved or reintroduced their products or service. There could be new faces in the boardroom or on the sales floor. A new office may have opened up in the Midwest. A new vendor or strategic partner could have been added. Even new money or investor may come into the company.

Most important for a buyer is that the provider understands the buyer’s situation, needs and business.

Every change in the business environment causes a search for new suppliers or new service providers, and your main goal is to be in front of qualified buyers when they are ready to buy.

In these situations, I would say this is almost the perfect position for every sales person. You know there is something happening with the accounts from your list of targeted accounts and you know that as it happens – perfect timing is a key of success many times. This is equally true no matter if it is with small or large companies.

An example of the above is a situation where through your trigger event research you determine that your customer is planning to switch its ordering system to one of the new software solutions. So you know there is something going to happen. Whether the company is large or small, it can be perfect timing for you to be able to provide products and services to them using that kind of ordering/sales process.

How to use that information?

When you get the information related to a trigger event, you need to adjust your approach so the benefits of your products (or services) are closely related to the trigger event, and you are able to show your customers that you can create a value for them early in the buying process.

This is a good way to start working on the relationship and developing the customer’s perception of your value to them. This means when you speak with the decision maker and if you know exactly what this trigger event is about, you will be able to tailor your story and the benefits of your product in a way that sounds appealing and is related to the customers’ growth trigger event.

You need to adjust your presentation in the way to recognize that event and to present your offering in the most effective way.

Questions you will ask on your calls or meetings with prospects will be targeted towards their needs and you will be able to demonstrate your understanding of business situation. That should bring you a step closer to get the deal done.

You definitely want to discover their hot buttons and why they could be on the market now for your products or services. Also, you should find out why they are qualified now, at this particular moment, and why you should be very active with this prospect.

It is actually very simple – when you show your prospects that you actually care and you have done your homework and you know about trigger events happening inside their company (new CFO, merger and acquisition, bad 3rd quarter…) you also show them that you are interested about their issues, and most importantly concerned about their wants and needs.

You will create interest in their eyes because you are different than anyone else who contacts them, who is simply trying to sell something without really understanding their needs.

When you know about different trigger events it will be much easier for you to ask questions that lead to uncover customer’s needs and buying motives, and to put them in the market even if they feel they are not buying anything now.

If you try to make a sale without necessary information about your customers, you are just shooting blanks in the air, hoping to hit something. With full information about your prospect’s situation, you will be able to sell easier, and that is the main purpose of this article (and my blog) – to help you find your next customer in a much easier way for you, and yet maintain a professional, knowledgeable approach.

All needs are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

Alen Majer consults and trains entrepreneurs and salespeople how to harness their (sex) energy and use it for the success of selling. He is the founder and CEO of The Science and Art of Selling – a sales training, coaching and consulting company in Toronto, Canada; co-founder of Sales Academy – Croatia and Sales Institute of Croatia. Visit his blog at http://www.alenmajer.com.

This week is ‘Mike Brooks’ week on Telesales Magic! Here’s the third of five articles from Mr. Inside Sales himself! Sales Managers and Team Leaders – be sure to check back in with us tomorrow where Mike gives you tips on Motivating your teams properly in tough economic times.

I’m amazed when I hear sales people and managers tell me how slow summer is for their business.  It’s almost like they’re resigned to the fate of poor summer performance and are already thinking about how to make up their losses in the fall.

Now I understand that many people take vacations in summer – a week or so here and there – but they are working all the other time aren’t they?  Even if your particular business slows down during the summer months (trade show, etc.), that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-book business or build relationships, or get referrals, etc..

The fact is, top 20% producers still find ways to make their quotas in summer, and they also find ways to set up the end of the year so they exceed their revenue goals, earn their bonuses and have a great holiday season.  And you can, too.

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