Archive for the ‘sales training’ Category

The main purpose of golf training ebook reviews is to offer the reader a good insight into the various golf training ebook tutorials available on the Internet. Every golf training ebook has something different to offer in it’s approach to a workable system. Some will offer tips and techniques of swinging, chipping and putting and others will concentrate on golf fitness training or the mental approach to the golf game.

The benefits in reading golf training ebook reviews are many and varied. Firstly, they offer readers the opportunity to assess the potential of a cross section of the most popular golf training ebook tutorials, highlighting the features and strengths of each product. This is extremely useful for any golfing enthusiast who is seeking to better his/her game and needing some quality golf training advice. Deciding which of the many available golf training ebooks would be more likely to provide the most useful advice on techniques to raise the level of his/her play, can be a daunting task, so perusing through golf training ebook reviews can help the reader to make the correct decision.

As most golf training ebooks will typically offer advice on the different aspects of how to improve one’s golf, the reader should first identify the parts of his/her game that require the most improvement. Then, by refering to the golf training ebook reviews, they are able to narrow their search down to the golf training ebooks which offer the most relevant help and advice. Also, by visiting the product sales page they will soon get a clearer picture of the one golf training ebook containing the advice on techniques the reader will need to improve his/her golf game.

Of course, there are many so called ‘review sites’ that simply copy and paste relevant information from the product sales page, maybe changing a word or two here and there and the review ends up reading much like an advertisement for that product. This type of golf training ebook review will offer nothing in the way of credible advice. A good golf training ebook web site will typically be constructed by those who have obtained copies of each of the golf training ebooks on review, and actually test drive the systems described noting the effects of the techniques taught in each tutorial.

Apart from highlighting the useful content described in the various golf training ebooks, a good reviewer will also offer comments on many of the other strong points of each product, for example, how easy the lessons are to follow, does the tutorial offer step-by-step instruction, are the training tips accompanied by sketches, diagrams and illustrations and whether the product is supported by a 100% guarantee with a full refund if the system fails to make a difference.

Reviews of ebooks generally will often make a point of mentioning the number of pages in the complete publication. Although an interesting fact, this information typically has little bearing on the usefulness of the tutorial’s content. For example, a golf training ebook with as little as 20 pages will maybe teach you techniques that will slice 7 or 8 shots off your score, whereas a 100 page similarly presented golf training ebook may describe a system in much greater detail that will only cut your score by 3 or 4 shots. The number of pages in an ebook tutorial is mostly irrelevant!

Another obvious benefit of reading golf training ebook reviews is that the review sites often contain a comprehensive listing of all the golf training ebooks available on the Web, which can save the reader countless hours in searching the Internet. The web site reviewer/owner has already done the hard work of finding products and they are now all listed together which makes it far easier for the reader to make instant comparisons of the various available products.

So for those golf enthusiasts who are searching for quality golf training ebooks in an effort to lower their scores, they are well advised to find and use the information offered by a good golf training ebook reviews web site, which will often point them in the direction of the right tutorials to suit their own personal needs, rather than investing in a product that either fails to cover the particular aspect of golf that interests them, or worse still, teaches nothing they didn’t already know!

Trevor Taylor

Trevor Taylor
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/the-benefits-of-golf-training-ebook-reviews-498735.html

IT training certifications are a great way to advance in knowledge and education for various technology solutions that are pertinent in corporate networking architecture. CompTIA training has several different tracks of learning for the information technology specialist, or an aspiring career professional who wishes to dive into the technology industry.

CompTIA Network+ Certification
CompTIA’s Network+ Certification is one of the more popular IT training exams. The exam is focused on giving information technology professionals proper training for networking protocols and topology hardware. It gives you a basic understanding for networking installation, configuration, and troubleshooting techniques that are currently used in corporate architecture. The CompTIA Network+ Certification is the perfect way for aspiring information technology professionals to gain an education and understanding for important networking topics.

CompTIA A+ Certification
Another very popular IT training certification is the CompTIA training. This IT training certification gives professionals the education and understanding for basic electronics technology as well as solutions for proper computer troubleshooting and configuration. The exam is neutral and does not focus on any one brand, so it is openly used as an overall certification for hardware training. In addition to troubleshooting and configuration options, ComptTIA training offers proper networking security, safety, and environmental issues.

CompTIA Security+ Certification
Current networking solutions require efficient security to protect the data assets of the corporation. CompTIA training for its Security+ certification gives networking administrators an education in proper security technologies. CompTIA training for Security+ exams gives students a better understanding in access control, assessments and audits, cryptography and organizational security.

CompTIA Linux+ Certification
Linux is strongly becoming a popular operating system for personal computers and networked corporate computers. To educate and help validate the general knowledge of Linux installation, configuration, and troubleshooting, CompTIA training for Linux+ gives the information technology expert the proof of Linux expertise. It also gives a network administrator better understanding of Linux security, user maintenance, and an understanding of file permissions.

CompTIA e-Biz+ Certification
The e-commerce world has become the primary way to make money through a successful online business. CompTIA training for an e-Biz+ Certification gives technical and non-technical individuals a better understanding of overall e-commerce structure and business procedures. The CompTIA training track is not just for IT professionals. Sales and marketing professionals can also gain a better understanding for the e-commerce world and its differences in sales relationships with online customers and leads generation.

CompTIA PDI+ Certification
CompTIA training with a PDI+ Certification gives technology professionals a way to test and learn products involving document imaging and printing solutions. With CompTIA training in this area of technology, it gives professionals the necessary skills to incorporate into the network design with printers, copiers, scanners, multi-functional devices and fax machines. If the corporation is heavy into document imaging for any part of its business, this certification is perfect.

There are several other CompTIA training certifications to enhance your knowledge of information technology. The ones highlighted above are a great way to enhance skills and training for proper networking administration.

Howard Haines
http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/comptia-training-certifications-711609.html

With the downturn in the market, good staff are still surprisingly hard to find, particularly at the operator level.

A colleague in the hospitality industry, spoke about his challenges:

â??Good staff have become rare.  Everyoneâ??s competing for the same pool of labour. The young, often with limited education, unskilled and without any career in mind, are just working for a couple of months until they find something they like. Our organisation is understaffed. Sick leave is on the rise, morale is down, productivity and efficiency are low. On top of that, the supervisors are overworked. We are caught in a vicious circle.â?

What can he do?

The number one solution, both short and long term, is training.

Often people think of “training” as only skill and knowledge building.  However there are additional plusses from good training - motivation and a positive attitude. These can be even more important than the skill and knowledge development.

Training takes time and money - two resources that are in short supply at the moment.  However, both can be overcome with a little creativity.

Before thinking about the type, content, length of training etc, there is one principle that must be at the forefront of every manager’s mind:

“We are training our people to be the best in the business.”

This is irrespective of how long they may stay with you, how junior they are, how inexperienced, or how de-motivated they might be. 

It must be a case of:

“We attract the best people.  When they leave us, they leave with far more skills than when they arrived.”

People must want to work for your organisation - this requires that you build a reputation.  Your people must be seen as an asset rather than a cost. This can only start when the CEO and top people share this view - this attitude will show in their behaviour.  Those of you reading this who are in the sales business, have probably heard of James Levensonâ??s philosophy â??From the cleaning people to the CEO, everyone is an important salesperson.â?Â (Levenson gave a speech back in 1974 called â??And you think strawberries are for eatingâ?. Itâ??s one of the best sales leadership speeches ever given â?? look it up on the web, itâ??s still there!)

The type of training? 

Customer service training is the best because it incorporates all the skills that are transferable throughout the organisation, including management. Whatâ??s more, it can help the bottom line.

Who should attend? 

The training must start with the top team.  All the top managers must undertake the training first.  Then, each manager or supervisor in the organisation (including the CEO) must act as a sponsor to one training group - i.e.. he / she (in addition to having undergone the training first) must participate in the training of another group in the organisation.  The sponsor should be there to support the trainer, follow up with participants individually and hold short team sessions with people on how they have applied the training. (These meetings can be as short as 5 minute sessions. In one organisation, they were called the â??5 minute updateâ? â?? very powerful and motivating.)

Who should conduct the training? 

You may have a good internal trainer.  Alternatively, there are two choices.  A very good external trainer, or convert one of your managers into a trainer.  Turning your managers and supervisors into trainers (particularly in tough times) can be both a cost saving and a great boost to their personal skills â?? most people also find it highly motivating.

How long should the training be? 

Ideally at least a two-day workshop. However, in some businesses there is a lot of shift work and getting people together for any length of time is hard.  In these cases it may be necessary to break the training up into small modules of 1 to 2 hours.  Pay people to come in early or stay later. The benefits far outweigh the small costs.

Good follow-up systems, such as having the staff measure customer satisfaction (themselves, not the standard â??fill in the formâ?) adds greatly to the training effectiveness. In fact this is essential. At the start of the training, staff should be encouraged and coached in how they can measure their results. Then give them the responsibility of doing just that.

How to make the training cost effective?

Once youâ??ve run a pilot session, why not offer it to other organisations in your area?  They are facing similar problems to you, so why not get some revenue from your investment?  Yes, you can even offer it to your competitors!  With this strategy, you will start to build your reputation as the “best employer in town” - people should be saying, “I want to work there”.

How to get the best staff? 

Make sure to stress the training and career development you offer.  Even your adverts, should say “We don’t expect everyone who joins us to stay forever.  However, when you do join, we will guarantee you the best training and career development.  In addition, if you want to make a career with us, we can offer a great future”.

Why is this training â??toughâ??

Much easier to focus on and quantify, cost reduction. Cost management strategies, whilst important, can often send the wrong messages. 

Far better to run some team meetings and ask the staff “We are all going through a difficult time at the moment, what are your suggestions on how we can better manage our costs and still maintain our level of customer service?”  You might just be surprised at some of the suggestions you get. 

This happened with cleaners in a large university. Not only did they reduce costs, but they were soon running sessions for other maintenance people across the campus population of 12,000!  Two cleaners even made presentations to the Board of the university and to groups of up to 200 other maintenance and administration people - truly amazing results.

Tough times call for tough training!

Bob Selden
http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/tough-times-call-for-tough-training-731473.html

The worst thing you can ever do in your MLM business career is to think, ponder, worry or even get the idea that it’s unprofessional to promote! Here are some MLM training strategies for generating your own MLM leads, even if you’re on a tight budget.

Prospects are basically the foundation of any business, as they are the potential customers to the business. So just how do YOU find MLM prospects?

Let’s start out with a definition of the word promote, which is the most important word in finding prospects for your MLM business. The word promote means: to make known.

I was recently doing some MLM training with a person in my downline. She needed some help with her business, which was not growing. As I asked various questions I finally found the “nasty bug” that was stopping her network marketing business from moving forward. She didn’t want to come off as being or sounding sales-y. This stopped her from promoting.

HOW DOES EVERYONE ELSE PROMOTE?

A politician promotes how he/she can make a whole community’s life better; so he’s/she’s making herself known to the public by promoting and making known to as many people as possible what he/she can do for them. If you’ve noticed, politicians promote on TV, radio, signs stuck in the grass or on telephone poles along a busy street or maybe speaking at various group meetings.

A college promotes what courses it offers. It might promote on radio, might promote to high schools or through sporting events. A stockbroker promotes that he can help his/her prospect make money. A local restaurant will promote via radio, or mailing brochures or discount coupons.

THE WORST THING YOU CAN EVER DO IN YOUR MLM BUSINESS CAREER IS TO THINK, PONDER, WORRY OR EVEN GET THE IDEA THAT IT’S UNPROFESSIONAL TO PROMOTE!

You really need to know and understand promotion. The only way you can have prospects, therefore customers or distributors, is to promote. The only way for you to make money in network marketing is to promote. You can write down your dreams and goals and study them every night, but you’re as effective as a billboard in the middle of the desert. No one knows you exist until you make yourself known. So if you ever find yourself where your business isn’t growing or you don’t have enough prospects, enough customers, or enough distributors, what do you do? Promote!

WHY DO YOU PROMOTE?

The reason you promote is to create desire for your product. If you don’t create a desire for your product, it’s very difficult to achieve MLM success. How would you know that someone desires your product or business? Well certainly if you sent a postcard and someone called the number, that’s someone showing desire in your MLM Business. Even if a person called and asked, “How much is this,” it would still be someone showing desire or at least slight interest. If you called a friend and asked them to look at something and they said, “Send it to me,” that’s showing a desire. People sometimes refer to desire as “responses,” as in, someone responded to my promotion.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROMOTION

So now let’s talk about different types of promotion that create desire. You could promote your MLM Business in:

1. The Help Wanted, the Sales and Marketing or the Business Opportunity sections of a newspaper.

2. Advertising section of magazines.

3. Direct mail, such as sending out postcards to everyone in your zip code.

4. Door hangers.

5. Emails and banner ads on the internet.

6.  Networking. I’m sure you could have guessed that I would name that one. But you would be surprised at how many people, when mentioning all the ways to promote, miss that one. In fact, if you use traditional promotion with the mindset of just finding a network of people to work , you will fare far better than most who only measure their responses with how many people respond to their advertisement. You can turn one response from a promotion into thousands if you properly network.
One other place to find prospects for your business is to promote to MLM leads that you purchase from a lead company. The advantage of this is you’re only paying for those who’ve responded and you’re not paying for all the people who didn’t respond. If I send out 10,000 postcards and get 20 responses, then I paid for 9,980 post cards that didn’t get a response.

The advantage of writing your own ads of course is being able to target your specific audience with your specific product or opportunity message, which is VERY important and should not be underestimated. In contrast, when you buy leads, you’re buying general ads; perhaps people who’ve responded to wanting a home-based business. The other downside to buying leads is that very often, lead companies resell their leads to more than just you; so you’ve got extra competition to deal with.

THREE BROAD WAYS TO PROMOTE

Now it probably sounded like I just contradicted myself; I didn’t. I just saved you years of running in circles trying to figure out the advantages and the disadvantages to generating your own leads or buying leads. This is the game. You must promote. There are three broad ways to promote.

1. Networking: this costs the least. You’re going to have the costs of meals with prospects and the costs of joining clubs/associations. So I have rock climbing club fees, I have mountain climbing association fees, horseback riding fees, mountain biking fees; these are like $50-$100 dollars a year.

2. Buying leads: this is more expensive than networking, but less expensive than generating your own. It has some advantages and disadvantages: sometimes you get some hot leads; sometimes, you swear you’re calling a graveyard.

3. Generating your own: this is the most expensive, but has the advantages of targeting your prospects. Here’s a list of advertisements that I’ve run to promote my own MLM business opportunity:

* Some people earn Ten thousand dollars a year. And some people earn One million in the same year. Click here to see difference.

* Need more money; NOW!

* Does it ever break your heart to leave your kids at daycare?

* Looking for a FUN business?

* Go to the golf course when it’s not crowded.

* The truth about making money. A lot of it.

* WEALTH FORMULA. Click here (banner ads)

* Wealth formula that takes a lot of effort - but retires you in 4 years.

* Extremely well paying position available to right person. Must have sales & marketing experience. sales training a big plus.

* Immediate Need for Effective Sales Person. Unlimited earning and growth potential. Self-starter, sales writing skills and team player will be keys to success in this growing, hightech organization. Will be responsible for generating sales leads, preparing and giving presentations on company products and training sales team for (enter your business type. Example: fitness, high-tech or health, etc.) development company. Great benefits. Great FUN TEAM! Fax resume to:

BE “IN” BUSINESS

The bottom line is you must be using at least one of these three methods to achieve MLM success. If you’re not, you’re not in business; you’re out of business. What you should be doing, if you see the big picture and want the very big income, is you need to be doing all three. All the time. Ideally you’d start out by networking, which will create enough money to buy MLM leads, then you’ll generate enough money from the leads you purchased to generate your own leads. My point is, as soon as you start making any money, reinvest it in promotion.

One other MLM training tip: don’t measure your success by just your immediate responses. Any marketer who is of any value knows that how you measure return on promotion investment is based on the “life of the customer;” NOT immediate return. Get one leader from a MONTH or 6-MONTHS of promotion and it can pay you for the rest of your life. People often ask me, how much money did you make your first year in network marketing and I tell them, “I don’t know, I’m still earning it.”

Much respect and admiration,

Tim Sales

Tim Sales
http://www.articlesbase.com/mlm-articles/mlm-training-how-to-generate-your-own-qualified-prospects-with-10-proven-newspaper-ads-674274.html

Youâ??re struggling with your MLM or network marketing business mainly because you arenâ??t a salesperson. Only 3% of people succeed in MLM - this stat alone caused my wife and I to consider MLM (Network Marketing) Vs. Direct Sales.

Itâ??s ok, there are many people like you!  Iâ??m not a salesperson either, so believe me, when this direct sales opportunity came, I was elated. If youâ??re in an MLM, which most people are who visit my site, then you know what Iâ??m talking about.

But, like me, most of you have no idea what Iâ??m talking about when I discuss direct sales. So, what is it? Direct sales is where you actually sell a program and receive a commission for doing so.

Let me give you an example - this is MLM Vs. Direct Sales, the nitty gritty.

MLM â?? In an MLM (using the structure my wife and I have been with) you will sell a product and receive $30 for the initial signup, then $5 / month after that for as long as that person sticks with the product.

Direct Sales â?? In direct sales (using the structure of the company Iâ??ve been with) you receive anywhere from $20-$3200 for each sale with revenue on every level of the process while also receiving a $50 / month residual check. Ok, so direct sales (at least to me) seems like the way to go - which is why my wife and I stopped working on our MLM (although still with it, we just donâ??t sell it anymore) and began investing in our direct sales business.

Now, to the costs and the differences that lie therein â?¦

MLM:

Costs/expenses: $160 for signup and $130 / month after that for continued shipments plus a minimum of $50 / month in marketing costs (pamphlets, booklets, videos, etc.). Again, this is the costs my wife and I dealt with personally, so, over 6 months our total expenses were $160 (first month and distributor fee) + $130 / month over 5 more months or $650 + $50 (minimum estimate) / month marketing expense over 6 months or $300.

Total Expenses (6 months) = $1110 Income: Over 6 months, we signed up 3 people and received $180 for our efforts ($30 initial sign up fee * 3 signups = $90; $5 residual / month per member * 3 members = $15 * 6 months = $90; total = $180).

Total Income (6 months) = $180 So, for our net income (income minus costs/expenses) equals -$930 or negative $930. WE LOST $930. Nice return on investment over 6 months. That comes out to be over $2200 for a yearâ??s worth of expenses and a total lost of about $1800. NOT GOOD!

Direct Sales:

Costs/Expenses: $2500 startup (If this number seems large to you and too much for anything youâ??re considering, then stop reading this and wander away, this opportunity is NOT for you! For those who are interested in building a business, welcome to the exciting part of this article) + $200 / month for training, support, website pages, landing pages, marketing training and branding information, credit card authorization account for your websites (allows you to accept credit/debit cards), and more.

Total Expenses (6 months) = $3700

Total Income: Sticking to conservative numbers, suppose you sell the same amount of direct sales products as MLM products, 3. For one mid-level sale in the direct sales business you would receive $1220 in compensation.

You get $20 for the application fee, which is a fee that weeds out tire kickers or people who want something for free and donâ??t want to actually invest in a BUSINESS.

Next, you get $200 for the business in a box sale. The business in a box tool teaches those who purchase it how to leverage the internet to gather qualified prospects to buy into their business, this is the most extensive internet marketing training on the web today (you receive this too when you invest in this business).

Then, you are paid $1000 for a sale of the wealth building training kit, another box of tools to teach you how to reduce debt, build wealth, and live a healthy lifestyle.

Finally, you are paid $50 / month residual for each person you sell to that remains in the program.

Your income after 3 sales is $1220 * 3 = $3660 + $900 ($50 / mo. residual for 3 signups over 6 months) which added up all equals $4560.  For your net income (income minus costs/expenses) you come up with $4560 - 3700 which equals $860.

There you have it. In an MLM you receive less compensation, do more work, and do not leverage the tools of the internet to do your sales and still come in losing nearly $1000 after six months (like we did).

Or, you can use a direct sales system that teaches you how to leverage the internet to sell the products, have a call center make your follow up calls (the system we use has a call center at your disposal), get taught how to market and brand yourself on the internet with full training and support using a 30 day step-by-step marketing plan and make nearly $1000 selling the same amount over a six month period as your MLM. This was an absolute no-brainer to my wife and I, so we switched from our MLM to the Direct Sales business.

If you have questions about our transition, let me know. Iâ??d love to give you advice on how we decided on this.

Also, this is not a sales pitch, I just want you to know how we thought through the whole process. This was so obvious to us, we wanted to make sure that others had the opportunity to see what we saw!

Travis Fitzwater

Travis Fitzwater
http://www.articlesbase.com/mlm-articles/mlm-vs-direct-sales-729123.html

I remember years ago hearing from a phone trainer from Belgium, in his heavy French accent, “If you live off the floor, you’ll die off the floor”. He was right.
People will RV, and thank goodness there is nothing we can do to stop them. Part of our problem today is that there is not a lot of them coming in the front door. Don’t get, or stay, discouraged. Remember the harder we work the luckier we’ll get. I know that the sales and money are available to us if we just know where to look.

Diggin’ for Gold.
California is Gold Country and I enjoy prospecting as a hobby. Unfortunately, I get to use the analogy more than I get to go out actually looking for gold anymore but… Prospecting for gold is an art and a science, combined with hard work. You could just pack up your shovel, pan, sluice box and a strong back, head into the hills or a river and start digging. But more than likely you’ll end up with a sore back and an empty pan. Or you could do some research first. Discover where gold might actually be. Understand what geological features of the land to look for. Go where gold has already been found. Listen to people who prospect. (Don’t ask them where the gold is, they won’t tell you. Just let them talk…there’s a lesson there.)
We do all this, before we even pick up the shovel. You see, I don’t mind getting dirty. I just want to do it with a Purpose in mind and maximize my return.

So where is the “Gold” in the RV business. Well, like prospectors during the gold rush, many times it’s laying right at our feet. 3 key markets to look at are.

1. Repeat Business
2. Referral Business
3. Service Drive

Let’s look at the facts:
1. Repeat Business.
Math doesn’t lie. If someone bought an RV, there is a good chance at some point they will buy another. The average time for someone to trade in their RV is around 39 months depending on where you are. If you’re relatively new to the RV business and you have not built your customer base yet, there are still ways to tap this market.
If you have been in the RV business for a couple of years you should be taping this now. If you have been in for several years you should be taking, (or waiting for), very few walk in customers.
Do your own math. Find out how many RV’s you have sold during your career. Most sales people don’t know. After the deal rolls we maybe, maybe call the customer to make sure they are happy and that’s about it. I know as well as you do that it is all about “the deal today” but if I don’t continue to stay in contact with my sold customers I have placed my own self imposed limits as to their value to me, and my income. If we work smart, we “create” be backs, not hope we will get one. Customers trading in quickly is not unusual. I’ve seen it happen the same day. I’ve seen customers buy and trade 3 units within 6 weeks! Stop thinking that “you would never do that”, “you” are not buying anything. “They” are…let them.

Find out today how many RV’s you have sold at your dealership. Managers, get the sales people the info. If you have been with your dealership for a few years you may be shocked to learn what that number is. Say you sell 5 units a month. That’s 60 a year and you’ve been with your dealership for say, 4 years. That’s 240 sold customers.
240 buyers who liked you, believed you, listened to you, and trusted you. Now ask yourself when was the last time you called any of them? It’s not about the floor traffic…it’s about our attitude and work habits.
If you’re new to RV sales, get a list of orphan owners. Orphan owners are previously sold customers whos salesperson no longer works for the dealership. How big is that list? At one of my in house training dealers they estimated they had over 30,000. Most with no salesperson attached to them.
You work hard for your deals. How would you like to work half as hard for the next one, and make more money?

2. Referral Business.
How do you get referrals? ASK
Ask and ye shall receive.
Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door shall be answered.

I don’t make this stuff up! It never ceases to amaze me what people will do if you ask.
So who do you ask for referrals from? Everybody.
When do you ask for referrals? All the time.

I run a web video production company as well as my sales training company.
It started from me doing my own personal videos for training and marketing purposes.
A friend of mine in a different industry saw what I was doing and asked me to do some work for him. Not only did I take the job, but I did it for free. I owed this man, for many reasons. He’s one of my mentors. Someone I would trust with anything or anyone.
This type of human association is worth more than all the gold in the world. More on mentors another time but suffice to say this person did not come into my life by accident.
It felt good to repay his guidance with hard work, a good product and good service.
He has since sent so much business my way I can barely keep up. He has put our business on the map. Now the clients he has referred to us, have begun sending us referrals as well.
We don’t have to look for any clients. We do good work, provide a good service, provide tremendous value, and they just keep coming. I am a firm believer in referrals.
I spoke at the RV Dealers Association Convention this year, because of referrals.

You see it doesn’t matter if your customer buys from you or not, or if they qualify or not.
None of these have anything to do with asking for referrals.
If they buy, tell them thank you, and ask them for referrals.
If they don’t buy, tell them thank you for coming, and ask for referrals.
If they can’t buy, tell them your sorry, and ask for referrals.

I’ve been in the RV business for a long time so here’s a little truth.
I don’t care what other trainers have told you.
I remember going to classes and they would talk about asking for referrals and tell me most everyone would give me a referral. I remember thinking, what planet are you on?
Most people will not give you a referral. Get over it.
I come from the RV sales line and did very well and I know most people won’t cough up a name and number, period. Setting unrealistic and unachievable goals is foolish.
Your job is to ASK EVERYONE. The right way.
Some will, some won’t, so what, next. The few you will get will be worth all the no’s you will ever get.
Referrals have a higher closing ratio ( 6 times the walk in customer ) and usually decent gross profits as well. A warm relationship, an appointment coming in, beats a fresh up any day of the week. It is usually not just an easier sale, but a more pleasant experience for you and the customer alike.
I personally know a salesperson who sells 5+ motorhomes per month without taking any ups because of repeat and referrals alone. He got in one dealership and stayed there.
Check out our Phone Skills PowerPoint Video Training to get more repeat and referral customers with high quality phone skills.

3. Service Drive
This is an untapped gold mine. If you have a service department talk to your sales or service manager and ask how many customers come through the drive in a month.
Depending on the size of your dealership and how long the dealership has been in business, it is not unusual for me to hear numbers like 200-400 per month. Yours maybe more or less but that is not the point. The point is who is out there. Qualified buyers, that’s who’s out there.
Figure out, realistically, how many customers you could touch in the service department per month. As an individual salesperson, taking out the weekends, then your week days you are off. You have about 2-3 days per week to do this. Go meet 1-2 people each day.
You have the time. I know it, you know it. Take action and watch what happens.

Let’s say you meet 5 new people per week. Remember, all you need to do is offer someone a cup of coffee and start a conversation with open ended questions. That’s 20 opportunities per month or 240 opportunities a year you got because you stayed away from the updesk, got off the internet, stopped texting your buddy (who doesn’t pay your bills) etc. If I gave you 240 more opportunities, qualified RV owners, do you think you would make a larger income? The closing ratio on these types of customers is high but let’s say that it was typical of a walk in customer, 10%. That’s 24 deals per year.
Now you do the math. How much is your average voucher times 24? Probably between $8,000 and $25,000 per year. And that is just the service drive.
We didn’t even count the money from repeat and referral business. We do this in our sales training classes in more detail

If you know what you are doing in RV sales you could make a living and rarely take an up.
Work smart and eliminate the frustration. The RV business, regardless of our present temporary economic condition, is a great business that will allow you to take care of yourself and your family, if you Sell On Purpose. If you focus and take action, you just got a big raise.

May the bottom of your pan…. always be yellow.
(That means filled with gold for you city folk

Now Go Sell Something!

Chuck Morgan
http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/how-to-generate-sales-and-income-when-floor-traffic-is-down-part2-742892.html

Itâ??s amazing to me that most sales people, mangers and corporate officers believe they know what their prospects and clients are thinking and wanting.  On the surface and/or in general terms they may be correct sometimes.  However, itâ??s not the vague generalities that win sales.  Besides, when in a selling situation you donâ??t know if you are working with the rule or the exception.

As Iâ??m mingling at a networking meeting an elderly gentleman stops me and offers a hello.  He asks me who Iâ??m with, so I say, â??I help people develop business.  So what are your major issues as it relates to business development during this economic down time?â? And he says, â??Getting more business.â?

Then I ask him, â??Do your current clients have business that youâ??re not getting?â?Â  At first he says yes, but then quickly moves to tell me how heâ??s getting all the business from one of them.  So I say, â??What about getting more from the others?â?

Well, somehow he dodges this question and tells me what his company has that others donâ??t.  â??We can react within a day,â? he says.  â??Our competitors need 1-2 weeks.â?Â 

So I tried to say, â??What if your other customers are not in a hurry, then what?â?  But he didnâ??t answer this.  He just kept bragging about what he felt made his company special. 

So here are two points to learn from this story.

1. You may feel you have a differentiator - fast in his case, but be careful.  Not everybody wants what you think they should want?  In his case fast is a macro differentiator.  This can be used in marketing campaigns to attract leads that want work to begin with a few days.  However, once someone shows interest, youâ??ve got to move to the micro differentiators.  These are the issues and concerns that the individual wants solved and/or the desires s/he wants you to deliver.  Fast maybe one of them, but there may be others.  So just in case another competitor can do it fast also (because they have extra capacity during the slowdown), youâ??d better have some other deliverable that the person wants that you do well.
2. Not everybody wants youâ??re macro differentiator even though you think they should.  So when youâ??re going after a project and you want premium pricing, you have to find those that have to have youâ??re macro differentiator.  Actually this will be one of the criteria of you Ideal Customer Profile.  You want customers that need your services delivered right away. 

   For those that donâ??t, youâ??re going to need other differentiators or else youâ??ll have to be the low bidder.  So, are there other things you do well?  Of course there are.  Start documenting how well you do them and what experience you have doing them.  Then when someone says they want services like you have, but not for a few weeks, and they want it done accurately with quick follow-up if needed, you can tell them how accurate you are and what your follow-up program is, as you back it up with numbers of jobs, testimonials and other proof.

The moral of this story is that in a recessionary period seek customers that fall in your sweet spot, but also open your thinking to other things you do well.  Document those other things and market those strengths also.  You donâ??t have to be the best or the only, just good.  And, the best place to start is within your existing client base.  You want 100% of the business from 100% of your clients.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Would you like to see something tangible that gauges the skills and behaviors of your sales people?  Just click this http://www.sammanfer.com/cleveltest.htm  C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders. 

Sam Manfer
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/sales-management-training-differentiating-your-business-during-this-recession-677250.html

Sales programs and sales training courses can prepare a sales professional for advancement, and keep a sales manager prepared to manage, train, and motivate their sales staff for continuous improvement and a continuous increase in sales.

Sales courses from sales training courses and sales programs will give the new sales manager the background needed to fluently handle the transition from a staff sales professional to a respected sales manager. For a sales manager to be respected, and thus effective, the sales staff must be able to look up to the sales manager for insight, fresh ideas, consultation, management and motivation. Sales programs for sales managers supply the sales training needed to develop a well-respected sales manager that continuously develops and improves with his staff.

Sales programs with sales training courses for sales managers offer training on advanced sales skills as well as sales managerial skills. If a company will not pay for sales manager training, it is still in the sales manager’s best interest to continuously improve his / her skills so that he may effectively perform their managerial responsibilities. Whatever sales and managerial skills are gained can be carried throughout the sales manager’s career.

It is, however, in a company’s best interest to make the investment in sales programs and sales training courses for their sales management. Sales training is contagious. Sales skills gained through sales courses from sales programs will be passed on to the sales staff â?? assuming the sales manager has refined their communication skills to include one-on-one mentoring, sales training, and on-the-field evaluation and follow-up. If sales training skills have yet to be gained, there are sales programs and sales training courses for sales managers that can train the sales manager to train the sales staff. Investing in sales programs and sales training courses for sales managers is making an investment in your sales manager â?? and getting a profitable return from your sales staff.

Training courses from sales programs can provide sales managers with the skills they need to manage job constraints that are unique to sales management. Sales programs and sales training courses are available that train sales managers in advanced time management skills, territory management, assessing the strengths and weakness of the sales staff as individuals and as a team, coaching, influence, staff communication, and setting sales goals for a team.

If the sales manager has gained the responsibility of hiring and firing with the newfound management position, sales programs for sales managers can also provide traditional human resource training. Sales programs and sales courses are widely available that can train sales managers to screen potential members for the sales staff, interviewing techniques, evaluation techniques, the legalities of discrimination and sexual harassment, the selection process, and the new hire acclimation process. Sales courses from sales programs for sales managers can also include training in evaluating staff for sales performance reviews and effective staff-management communication skills.

Sales programs and sales training courses are an on-the-job necessity for sales managers. A company that invests in sales training for their sales managers will see the return in the higher efficiencies and stronger selling skills that widen the on-the-job time frame to allow for building more profitable sales that would otherwise go unrealized due to inefficiencies and lack of skills. Sales programs and sales training courses for sales managers will get the sales managers managing the sales staff more efficiently, so your company can spend more time managing the higher profits from the increased sales that accelerated due to your investment in your sales manager’s training.

Lina Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/sales-programs-and-sales-training-courses-for-sales-managers-721004.html

Sales courses and sales training is necessary in today’s informative and competitive environment. With every investment, there is a cost and a return. An investment in sales courses and sales training for your staff is no different. Sales training without a return on your investment may benefit your staff when they need credentials for a new job, but it won’t benefit your company. Sales courses must be chosen with an eye for return.

Investment in sales courses and sales training for your staff demonstrates that you are committed to the betterment of your company and your staff. However, if you choose sales courses and sales training programs that give little credence to your sales staff’s current knowledge and abilities, your sales training motivations will falter into resentment from your staff. Sales course content that is merely a reiteration of the staff’s current knowledge is wasted investment and will be received with deaf ears. Involving the sales team in the efforts places of sense of ownership of the sales training results, which further motivates the sales team to apply the training they have received to effectuate change. Benchmark your sales before training, and track sales for a year or two after the sales training. Training applied is ROI earned.

If you want to see a return on your investment into sales courses and sales training for your staff, involve your staff in course evaluation and selection, evaluate sales courses on their own merits and compare them to your objectives, consider long-term results of training, follow-up on the training, and consider the company’s financial expense involved with the training investment.

Determine whether individual sales training or group training offers a higher return. If the needs of your sales force members starkly contrast with one another, individual training would be more effective. If consistency is imperative, group training will be more profitable. In each scenario, be sure to evaluate salaries and any decrease in sales for the day. In many cases, an office can run more efficiently when individual training sessions are granted rather than group training sessions. Whether you are investing in sales courses and sales training for individual training sessions or group training sessions, consider the costs of location, travel, gas and lunch reimbursement.

When you choose sales courses and sales training for your team, look for value-added benefits. Sales courses may offer sales training follow-up as a value-added benefit. Many sales courses offer train-the-trainer sessions, saving your company from the expense of repeating the sales courses and sales training for new employees. If you have a fast promotional system or a high turnover, a train-the-trainer program can offer substantial savings and benefit and increase your ROI. Ensure that the sales training courses will train your sales staff with material that can be applied continuously throughout their career with your company.

Sales courses and sales training can offer a high return on your training investment if careful consideration is given to need, objective, input, selection, follow-up and expense Sales training is an avenue for continuous company improvement. Continuous company improvement is imperative in today’s fast moving business climate. Smart investing in sales force training will give your company a competitive advantage and keep your sales in the fast lane.

Lina Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/sales-courses-and-sales-training-investment-and-cost-720994.html

Sales training from sales programs are profitable investments for new business owners. A sales course from a professional sales training program will give you the edge you need to refine your business plan to excellence, develop masterful sales strategies, and turn your new business into a small business success.

Sales training was not created to educate only full-time sales professionals. Every business serves to seek a gain. The gain might be for profit, or it might be to serve others or spread a message. Every gain requires sales techniques to promote the object that drives the gain. A sales course from a sales training program increases that gain when the training and knowledge gained from the sales course is applied to every day practical business decisions. Taking a sales course from a sales training program will provide the new business owner with the arsenal they need for small business success.

The basics of sales are obvious â?? find the customer, reach the customer and sell to the customer. Nothing could seem more obvious. The basics of business are obvious. Find a need and fulfill it. As a new business owner, you are well aware that to turn a new business into a small business success you must go beyond the basics. By taking a sales course from a sales training program in basic sales, (or advanced sales if you already have a background in sales), you will be able to learn and apply the knowledge gained to the sales and marketing strategies of your business development. Sales training will give your business the push it needs to turn marketing plans into sales results. But it is up to the learner to take the educational knowledge from the sales course and be able to personalize it so that it creates an asset to your unique business needs.

A sales course from a professional sales training program can provide the basic foundations of traditional sales techniques as well as keep you current with the new business trends in sales methods. There are sales training programs that offer a sales course in creating and maintaining a client base, pursuing a sale and making a successful sales presentation, developing an effective call to action, and the art of closing a sale. These are all traditional topics â?? however throughout the revolution of the technology and business models, traditional topics have gained fresh content. A textbook of yesteryear will not provide a new business owner with enough practical business applications to drive today’s new businesses to reach the gains that are at the top of strategic goals.

Sales training programs are a valuable investment for new business owners that are seeking the training they need to promote their business and increase business gains. Taking a beginner sales course or an advanced sales course while running your new business can motivate you and inspire you to apply your new knowledge to your sales and marketing strategies. The training you receive will be with you for life. If you apply your sales training sales course effectively, and continue with lifetime education â?? your new business will be on its way to becoming a lifetime small business success.

Lina Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/sales-training-and-a-sales-course-for-the-new-business-owner-720981.html