10 Traits of the Worst Sales People

10 Traits of the Worst Sales People that you should always avoid:

 
bad sales experience
 

1. Lateness

Not being punctual for meeting and customer phone calls is a big no-non in the sales world. First impressions are also the lasting ones.

 

2. Poor Presentation

Presentation is the first thing that a customer sees. Make sure your shirt is tucked in, your top button is done up and your tie in the right place. As well, you want to make sure your tie is long enough to hit the belt line and your belt line is in the middle. Forgetting to put on a belt may cause your pants to fall too low, which also affects your presentation. As well, keep your files organized in a duo-tang or binder. Take them out only when needed.

 

3. Bad Temper

Good sales reps know how to control themselves. Bad sales reps, on the other hand, lose their temper over every small thing. Sales environments keep people on edge, with lots of pressure coming down from the top to hit sales quotas. A good rep is able to take that pressure that comes down from above, and put a positive spin on it while encouraging, and supporting their staff members.

 

4. Focus too much on making the sale

Bad sales representatives focus too much of their attention on the product or service they are selling and not enough on the particular needs and wants of the potential and existing client. No two customers are the same; each solution you propose must be customized to their needs.

 

5. Poor Organization

Sales people without organization will fail. They cannot inspire others, motivate performance, or create sustainable value to their team. The best place to find help in keeping yourself and your tasks and schedules organized is a On-Premise CRM tool.

 

6. Focus on Themselves Only

If a sales rep doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not win over the trust, confidence, and loyalty of their customers. Any sales rep is only as good as his or her customer’s desire to buy the products they sell.

 

7. See Experience as Tangible

Experience is definitely important, but when it doesn’t translate into better skills, better performance, and greater achievement it is useless. Experience that just “is” is a waste. Saying “I have more experience in sales” is like saying “I don’t need to justify my decisions or actions.”

 

8. Failing to Admit Mistakes

Failing to admit responsibility or mistakes should not be in the vocabulary of sales rep. Making sales for your business is hard. We’re human and we make mistakes too. When we make mistakes, it impacts everyone. There is nothing wrong with apologizing and moving past them.

 

9. Confusion

One of the worst things you can do in sales is not know when to close a sale. It’s not just a common fault, but a lethal one as well.

 

10. No follow-ups

Not following up on a hot prospect is bad practice in sales. It is courteous and good for business to see if the customer is still interested, wants to renew or is satisfied with the product/service they received.

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How To Pitch a Story to a Journalist

Journalists are very picky people and for good reason. You would be, too, if you had hundreds of people a day emailing you and asking if they could feature your story….Especially when every caller is thinking that their story is more important than the last person that called or emailed you.

Try implementing the following 5 tips to help build relationships with key journalists and boost the odds of getting coverage.

Write a catchy subject line. If you want to break through the clutter, you need to stand out. It also helps to noticeably indicate that you are sending a release or pitch, so the recipient knows it’s not an email that is meant to be in the junk box.

Personalize it. Avoid mass emails with no personalized messages. Research the journalists who cover your area and focus on what they want to hear. Target your pitch to the individual journalist and make reference to their individual work. Don’t overgeneralize.

Get to the point. Your pitch is going to a journalist, not the readers just yet. You don’t need to quote each person or list every source. Offer them the general summary (abstract); the journalist will decide what to feature and what not to.

Timing can be everything. Try to time your pitch with the relevant news of the day. If you are launching a snow-removal service, don’t start pitching in the middle of summer. For example, no one wants to be pitched about Christmas in March.

Be story focused.  Focus the story on the facts, rather than the opinions and speculations. If you want to add an opinion, put it in quotations. Follow the 5W AND 1H rule.

Sales people should also pay attention to these tips as they are applicable to those who do email marketing campaigns. InfoFlo is an on-premise CRM tool that offers an email marketing add-on to all interested enterprises looking to build their customer base this way. Each user with email marketing access can easily create professional email marketing campaigns and email templates, manage subscribers, and send to unlimited contacts all for one flat fee of $49/user.

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7 Ways to Appear Smarter in Meetings

Here are 7 easy ways to come out of a sales meeting smarter than your colleagues and other managers:

 

1. Draw a Diagram

It doesn’t matter if it is accurate or wildly inaccurate. In fact, the more inaccurate it is the better. The best sort of diagram is the Venn Diagram. Before you put your pen down, you’ll notice how colleagues will start to fight over how big the circles are or aren’t and what data should and should not go in the circles etc.

 

2. Encourage Everyone to Take a Step Back

All you have to say is “Can we take a step back”. There comes a point in almost every meeting where everyone is chiming, except you. Follow up your statement with “what problem are we trying to solve?”

 

3. Nod While Pretending to Taking Notes

Always come equipped to a meeting with a notepad and pen. Your rejection of the use of technology will be respected by all colleagues and managers. Take notes by writing down one word for every sentence you hear.

 

4. Ask: “Will This Scale?”

No one ever knows what scalable means, but it’s a good way to catch your colleagues’ attention and drive them nuts thinking what the word means. Then take the lead!

 

5. Ask the Presenter to Go Back One Slide

This will immediately make you look like you’re paying closer attention than everyone else in the meeting. Don’t have anything to say? Just say “I’m not sure what this means.”

 

6. Make Fun of Yourself

Colleagues love self-depreciating humour. Say something along the lines of “Maybe we can just use the lawyers from my real estate deal” Or “Gosh, I wish I was on vacation”. Everyone will probably agree and start laughing.

 

7. Don’t be Afraid to Speak Up

The more you can contribute to a conversation, a meeting, or other discourse, the smarter you’ll look. Do it with oomph and expression and everyone will love you for it.
What are your goals as manager or leader of your department or business? If you feel like you need to work on working smarter and more productive, contact Carmel Vision. We have just the right solution for your business needs. It is our belief that change does not always have to necessitate breaking the bank.

Download free trial of our Customer Relationship Management tool here.

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Indifference and its Purpose in Sales

Indifference is probably the most effective of all 4 impulse factors. I’ve made an incredible amount of sales on my ability to convey indifference alone! If you can portray GENUINE indifference to your prospects, they will be compelled to buy now and not even think about asking if they can buy it later.

This is a basic psychological fact and it can’t be denied. If you want to compete with the pro’s then you must master indifference in your sales pitch. You can’t get around it!!

I believe, indifference is best portrayed non verbally, it is instilled in the reader by the context of your written words on a sales page and not by the actual words themselves. Face to face or in “copy”, indifference is basically something you imply. The best way I can explain this is by saying that indifference is the “It doesn’t matter to me.” or “I don’t care.” attitude. It’s the aura that you project which makes the prospect feel like it’s of no worry to you if they choose not to buy. INDIFFERENCE IS VERY IMPORTANT IN SALES!

Indifference is the opposite of over-zealousness or being desperate for the sale. It is the cool, nonchalant twin of “Fonzy” from the tv show “Happy Days.” This is extremely powerful simply because you are making the prospect feel like you don’t care if they miss out on the product. Your job is just to show them the product and nothing more.

People inherently want what they unfortunately cannot have. That being said, if you make it too easy for them to have it or you try too hard, they won’t want to purchase from you.

“You have to PULL the string… Not PUSH it!”

For example, if you’re struggling to hit a goal, you’re probably frustrated and its showing all over your face. And if it’s showing all over your face, then you have lost all of your indifference. All the customer sees on your face is desperation, “please buy this from me.” You have to keep your business posture at all times and remain indifferent about the sale. You must portray that it doesn’t matter to you if they buy your product or not.

Many times, marketers and sales people make the mistake of getting overly excited when they feel they have a prospect on the hook. Don’t get too excited until after the sale is closed.

Experience has proven to me, that on the days where I was care free about hitting a goal I made more sales. That’s because I didn’t have desperation written all over my face.

It’s because I set out those days with fun on my mind. My body language was telling people: “I don’t care if you buy from me or not.” People will be drawn to that type of attitude and behavior. Prospects will want to buy from you just because they like who you are. I’ve had people buy from me when they didn’t even need or want my product but simply liked me. Bottom line, you are selling yourself!!

Did you ever have a crush on someone in school but the more you tried to talk to them the more they played hard to get? Then when you gave up on them and moved your attention to someone else suddenly the first person pops up and shows interest in you? That’s because you became indifferent to them and people inherently want what they can’t have!

Home shopping channels use indifference by displaying a picture of the next product that they will be selling. Almost as if to say “It doesn’t matter if you don’t buy this because we’re about to move on to something else anyways.”

“We’re just about done with this item but don’t worry because coming up we have …. ” Again this is impulse building through indifference. The sales people are not done selling this product yet, but they are already talking to you about the next one.

Have you used indifference in sales? Share your experiences with us and see how a comprehensive CRM software can fit into your cycle.

Contact Carmel Vision today. We have just the right solution for your business and sales needs. It is our belief that change does not always have to necessitate breaking the bank.

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10 Steps To Successful CRM Implementation

Here are our 10 essential steps to successfully transitioning to a CRM-centric enviornment:

CRM Software

1. Build Your Team

Your implementation team should comprise of the following people: a member of the executive team, a project manager, an IT administrator (if applicable) and 3-4 representatives from the front line and sales teams.

 

2. Identify and Document Existing Processes

All companies rely on a set of processes that help move their business forward. Part of initial deployment process will consist of asking yourself these questions:

  • How does my company collect leads?
  • How are our deals guided through the sales process?
  • How does my company maintain relationships with current customers?
  • How does my company identify our most important clients?
  • How does my company handle customer service inquiries?
  • How are contacts stored and shared?

The answers to these questions and others will help you gain an understanding of your current business processes and allow you to understand how a CRM solution can help improve and automate some portions of them.

 

3. Conduct a Gap Analysis

Conduct a gap analysis. Take a look at where you are currently standing, where you are willing to head and examine the gap between the two paths. Think of how you can close that gap using CRM tool.

 

4. Define Your Vision

Set high goals and make sure that they are viable and measurable. Example of goals may include better reporting, increased conversion, improved retention rates, more marketing leaders etc. Make sure to also define how CRM will fit into the overall direction and strategy of your organization.

 

5. Prioritize Your Goals

Plan your CRM implementation with a staggered approach that focuses on quick wins for your team.  Goals that you feel can be most improved with the implementation should come first. Remember, Rome was not built in a day and neither will be your CRM. In the implementation phase, your project team will need to determine what you want CRM to do for you. Think big picture.

 

6. Partner with the CRM Consultant

Buying and deploying a CRM tool can be made easy with the guidance of an experienced CRM consultant and vendor.  If you want to have the greatest chance at success and the highest ROI from your investments, it is wise not to go through the process alone.

 

7. Share your Vision

Share your vision with the rest of your team. It should be no secret that you are trying to improve businesses processes and make working more productive. Don’t forget to also provide training to staff who will be utilizing the software in order to ease their mind and prevent reluctance in adopting the change.

 

8. Data Migration

Depending on your current processes and the tools you use to store your data, data migration can be the most challenging and expensive part of the entire deployment. The cost of your data migration effort can be affected by a number of factors, including the size, complexity, and format of your existing backend database. A savvy CRM consultant can help you do it in the most cost-effective way possible.

 

9. Test

The second last step is to test the system thoroughly before it enters into production in order to avoid the heartbreak of failure or unexpected glitches.

 

10. Don’t Stop!

CRM is an ongoing effort that never stops and neither should you. To be successful you need to continually coach users, re-state expectations and introduce new features. Offer a “suggestion box” within CRM that users can request new features and then give them credit when those new features are rolled out.

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6 Leadership Lessons To Learn By Next Year

Here are 6 leadership lessons we should all learn by the start of 2016. This applies to all sales managers and sales representatives who are using CRM Software for lead management purposes.  The hope is to assist you in building confidence in your skills and make you one of the top sales people in your industry.

1. Make Time For Personal Growth

As a leader, you already know how important of a resource time is. As you work to grow your organization in 2016, you will notice that time will become even more valuable. Free up some time to learn, grow and lean in to what’s important to you, and inevitably, your business as well. As well, challenge yourself to be more open to opinions, ideas and suggestions from others.

2. Avoid Isolation

Effective leaders know that isolating yourself from the rest of your team is like shooting yourself in the foot. Being transparent about your goals, challenges and vision is important to developing a strong team as well as organization.

3. Understand Motivation

Effective leaders are motivated by different things and in different ways. Taking the time to figure out how you can motivate the various personality types in 2016 throughout your organization will make for more productive and satisfied employees.

4. Take Risks

In 2016, don’t be afraid to take risks. According to Seth Godin, if you never take risks, you will never succeed. Effective leaders know how to take calculated risks because they know that it is in the best interest of their organization. No matter what happens, remain confident in your ability to lead and be steadfast in your decision-making skills.

5. Preach Selflessness

Effective leaders will always put others ahead of themselves, take santa claus for example. They believe in working as a team and know that there’s strength in numbers.

6. Lead With The Why

Find the meaning and make connection between the work you do and why it affects a lot of people. Be sure to share  your vision with employees and clients so they can help spread it.

 

What are you doing to improve management and leadership skills? If you feel like you need to work on these two traits, contact Carmel Vision.We have just the right solution for your business needs. It is our belief that change does not always have to necessitate breaking the bank.

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8 Smart Time Management Tips For Managers

What makes a productive manager successful at Time Management? I went ahead and asked 300 managers in the Information Technology, Marketing, Pharmaceutical, Education and Property Management sectors and here are 8 common time management traits (or tips) that they shared with me. I now proudly share them with my readers here at Carmel Vision, the leading provider of affordable CRM Software Solutions.

Before you scroll down and browse through the tips, I encourage you to closely examine the image below and see how you fit in the picture. Once done, continue reading!

 

Time Management

 

1. They Listen

Failure to listen to others’ opinions, new ideas or sound advice benefits no one. Not only does it slow down your learning, but it allows others to ignore you and leave you in the dust.

 

2. They Finish On Time

The best way to measure how successful a person is with their time is to measure the percentage of the work they get done. Successful and productive people are always great finishers, on time too. They seldom forget their responsibilities and almost always make sure they meet their deadlines.

 

3. They Plan Ahead

Few things negatively affect productivity like lack of planning. Taking the time to plan and organize your day in advance negates the need to waste time and make adjustments on the whim.

 

4. They Do Not Let Technology Dictate Them

People who allow technology to control them as opposed to them controlling the technology are addicts. Technology should be an asset, not a distraction. If you know the telephone is a distraction, put it on silent and place it in the drawer. Suggestion: Customize your incoming calls so that only second time callers will go through; the rest will go to voice mail.

 

5. They Take Initiative

Biting off more than you can chew is one of the leading ways to over-complicate things in the most unproductive ways. Know your limit and play within it.

 

6. They Delegate Well

Leaders see delegation as proper alignment of resources such that the best talent is matched with the greatest opportunities or the biggest challenges.

 

7. They End Work At A Fixed Time

Successful people end their working day at a fixed time. Don’t let work fill up your entire evening and break other arrangements. You can also have two finishing times: one for an ideal day and another for the latest time that you won’t work past.

 

8. They Are Organized

Being organized helps you to be on top of everything both at home and at work. It’s your central tool to organize information, to-do lists, projects, and other miscellaneous items. 2 in 3 productive sales managers use a CRM Software tool to help them stay organized and on top.

 

What are your goals as manager of your department or business? If you feel like you need to work on some of the above-described traits, contact Carmel Vision. We have just the right solution for your business needs. It is our belief that change does not always have to necessitate breaking the bank.

Download free trial of our Customer Relationship Management tool here.

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5 Killer Tips To Achieve Your Goals Faster

Do you want to be successful? Of course, that’s a silly question to ask. Everyone does, but it takes a special someone to commit to it 100%. Here are 5 tips for helping you achieve your goals faster and become successful at what you do.

 

1. Share Them

One reason why many goals never get off the ground is because the person making them never shares them with others. It is a quiet goal that only lives inside of their minds. The one who wants to achieve their dream must tell that dream to many people. One reason: As we continually say it, we begin to believe it more and more. If we are talking about it then it could happen. Another reason: It holds us accountable. When we have shared it with others, it spurs us on to actually doing it so we don’t look foolish.

 

2. Commit To Them

Commit to accomplishing your goals you set out to complete. Make an inward commitment to yourself that this is what you want to do. This takes tons of courage, but it’s still only a decision. If you have to, write it down, tell someone, or make a promise to yourself. Whatever you have to do, decide to go into it 100%.

 

3. Do something every day

Momentum is key when it comes to achieving your dreams. Once you get started, you need to keep the ball rolling; the more things happen, the closer you will get to realizing your dream. If you just do things every so often, it’s going to take so much longer for you to get there and you’re more likely to give up. Do something every day, even if it’s something small. Doing something daily keeps your dream in your mind and it reminds you of what you’re aiming for. It’s easy to get lost in the routine of everyday life and not to make any time for realizing your dream.

 

4. Be prepared for all eventualities

Goals are not easy to achieve. By their very nature, they are things that need a lot of time and work invested in them for them to be realized. Roads are never paved gold: there is always going to be some setbacks on the way that you have to prepare yourself for. You always have to be prepared for every eventuality, even ones you would prefer not to happen, and you have to remember not to let these sway you on the wrong track. If you’re prepared for the worst, you can deal with more effectively, move on and put it behind you.

 

5. Be optimistic

Having a negative outlook is the main thing that can put you off realizing your dream. If you think you cannt do it, you won’t achieve it. If you think you can do it, you’ll have a much better chance of success. Get rid of any negative thoughts you might have and replace them with positive ones. Build yourself up with positive thoughts to motivate yourself. Keep telling yourself you can and will get there, rather than telling yourself you can’t and won’t ever get there.

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5 Ways To Overcome Negative Thinking in Sales

“See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.” ~Dalai Lama

By a show of hands – how many of us go for an hour without experiencing negative thoughts? How many of us go for a whole day without having negative thoughts running through their heads?

The reality is that the great majority of entrepreneurs and sales representatives think and speak negatively without realizing it. For some, it’s their social conditioning, while for others it is because they have become desensitized and do it to fit in to the culture.

Our advice to all entrepreneurs, sales managers and sales representatives is to be careful about what you think most of the time because you will attract it whether you want it or not. We have also come up with 5 tips to help you overcome negative thinking and increase your positive outlook on the work that you do:

 

1. Become Conscious of the Things that go Through Your Mind

Don’t become alarmed over the number of negative thoughts that are running through your head. If it happens and you notice it, then let it go and avoid talking about it aloud to colleagues, friends and managers. As well, think of the ways in which you can change your negative thoughts into something positive. For example, you can change “I am not getting any sales today” thought into “The sales environment is challenging but I am up for it.” Give it a try!

2. Change the Way you Feel

This is the most difficult part of the process. To unfreeze the feelings you want replaced and refreeze the new ones, begin by visualizing the outcome(s) you desire. The outcome must be real and measurable and something that you can achieve in a decent period of time.

3. Take Affirmative Action

If no action is taken, change will never take place. Actively go about your day and apply what you have learned every time there is an opportunity. It will be difficult to do so at beginning, but if you have the perseverance and the strength, you will be able to over come your negative thinking.

4. Surround Yourself with Positive People

Call upon a friend or colleague who you know could give you constructive, yet positive feedback. When you’re stuck in a negative spiral, talk to people who can put things into perspective and won’t feed your negative thoughts. Two negatives, don’t always make a positive.

5. Read Positive Quotes

Every Monday, in honour of #MondayMotivation and #MotivationalMondays, I add a post-it note with a positive quote to my board. This board serves as a reminder to me and my colleagues to stay positive, especially during the most pressing times.

 

Becoming successful in sales is never easy, but everyone has to start somewhere. The first step to sales success is to embrace productivity and realize that the change is for the good. The second and most crucial step to sales success is to invest in the right software that will help you stay motivated  and A+ player. Download a free trial of  InfoFlo CRM Tool here.

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7 Tips To Encourage Your Customers to Buy

Sales is the lifeblood of any small business. Without sales, you have no customers — and without customers, you have no revenue. Here are 7 useful tips to help your customers buy your products or services.

1.  Use The Power of “Limited Stock”

Do not underestimate the power of the last item on the shelf! When there is limited stock, last remaining items on the shelf can be a major enticement/bribe for customers to buy them. The fear of running out of something that may be needed can encourage an undecided consumer into immediately making up their mind.

2.  Don’t Pressure Customers

When speaking to your customer or visitor, do not come out as too keen or over zealous for their business. Show them that you are prepared to walk away rather than appear over enthusiastic about them making their decision right there and then. Doing this removes the pressure and allows them to take their time and make the right choice that they will not regret later. They may even leave, reflect and return on another day to make that very same purchase.

3. Schedule Some of Your Prospecting at Off-Peak Hours

Calls that are made at 8 am or 6 pm will be received by decision-makers that are more willing to talk and have a lot more time on their hands. And never under estimate the value of leaving voice mail messages at night when everyone has left to go home. Your message will be the very first one that your prospect will be hearing in the morning, thereby increasing the odds of them returning it.

4. Always Ask the Right Questions

If you want to recommend thee most appropriate products and services that your prospects will value and will meet their needs, you have to ASK the right questions. If you ask the right questions, your prospect will let you what they are looking for and how they need to be sold.  Prepare a list of questions that will help you determine what is better for the client. Use a checklist or survey to help guide you in the prospecting process.

5. Follow Up and Follow Through

Follow-up and follow-through are two of the most important predecessors of prospecting success. Just like gardening, if you don’t water the seeds, the garden will not grow or flourish. And so it is with prospecting, if you don’t remain in contact, you will never turn the lead into a sale.

6. Set Priorities

When you delegate a task, always give a due date and a relative priority, in relation to the things already on the task list. Use a task manager to help you prioritize the tasks you need to complete during the day.

7. Believe in Yourself

Finally and most importantly, remember to believe in yourself. Why should anyone buy anything a person who doesn’t believe in what h/she is selling? There’s a reason why confident salespeople are more successful. Make sure your one of them. Click here to read about the mysterious mind of a sales manager.

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