There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing andsales professionals as to what really is the difference betweenmarketing and sales functions. More often than not, bothbusiness activity terms are used to describe any businessactivity that is involved in increasing revenues. For smallbusinesses, with limited resources, there often is no practicaldifference in marketing and sales functions, all revenuegenerating activities are typically implemented by the samepersonnel.

As a company grows in revenues and number of personnel, ittypically follows a logical business function progression of“specialization”, a process where the lines between moregeneric, departmental descriptions and functions became muchmore definitive and associated functional responsibilitiesbecome much more focused. Marketing and sales functions are noexception.

Marketing and sales functions are diverse yet veryinterdependent. Typically “sales” cannot exceed revenueobjectives without an effective marketing planning and support,and “marketing” directives ultimately becomes useless withoutsales to implement the plan.

Like many complex business issues, it is sometimes easier todefine something by what it’s NOT as it is to define it by whatit is. Let’s take a closer look at marketing to better definewhat sales is not.

Simply defining “marketing” as the “Four P’s”, product, price,place and promotion, based on your Marketing 101 class incollege is not practical in today’s global markets. In ageneral sense, marketing is more theoretic than sales, focusedon purchase causality and is more prescriptive in purpose thandescriptive. Marketing involves micro and macro market analysisfocused on strategic intentions where sales is driven more bytactical challenges and customer relations. Let’s take a closerlook at how marketing is truly different from sales:

Marketing responsibilities are distinct from sales in thatmarketing:

* Establishes and justifies the company’s best competitiveposition within a market

* Initially creates, helps sustain, and rigorously interpretscustomer relationships

* Locates and profiles potential markets and key participantswithin

* Generates quality sales leads

* Develops effective selling tools

* Formally analyzes and tracks competitor’s business strategiesand tactics

* Defines, prioritizes and justifies new product or serviceimprovements and developments

* Promotes an explicit company product or service image

* Facilitates information transfer from customers to the rest ofthe company

* Simplifies the customer’s product or service procurementprocess

A full time Marketing Manager would be responsible for thefollowing tasks:

New Product Rollouts:

Strategy development, program incentives,

timing and mediacoverage

Agency Evaluation:

Selection and evaluation of outside marketing contractors

Customer Database Management:

Software selection, training, maintenance of customer contactInformation

Market Research:

Market definition, prioritization, project management, datagathering

Pricing Analysis:

Pricing as a marketing tool…initiate and analyze competitor’spricing practices

Product Audits:

Establishment of a formal means to evaluate competitiveofferings

Public Relations:

Establishment, guidance and coordination of all areas of publicRelations

Trade Shows:

Definition, participation, prioritization and audit foreffectiveness of all trade shows

Product Promotions:

Strategy formulation, program composition, premium definition,all media coverage

Marketing Communications:

All printed / electronic communication: brochures, catalogs,price lists, case histories

Media Selection:

Assist in selection and prioritization of all media options:print, broadcast, multimedia

Internal Communications:

Establish and maintain all inter-company corporate communicationmeans

International Marketing:

Establish company presence in targeted international markets,audit for effectiveness

Strategic Planning:

Offer strategic information and alternative insights tocorporate management strategies

Board Meeting Participation:

Communicate and reinforce the company marketing priorities,strategies and tactics

Corporate Vision Statement:

Proliferate and reinforce the corporate vision throughout theOrganization

Corporate Identity and Image:

Create, maintain, improve and “manage” all corporate images andsymbols

To a “pure” marketer, the marketing role in a company is notjust a business function, but a business philosophy. Aneffective marketer truly believes “dominating” their targetmarket is “owning” their market. The more a marketer can do tomaintain market leadership the more effective they areperceived within the organization and within the industry.

As customer retention has become more of a business priority inour intensifying competitive markets, the marketing functionhas evolved from influencing potential customers to involvingthem the company’s business planning and advancement. Effectivemarketing also has blurred the distinction between product andservice and continues to apply more influence on the company’ssales representation priorities.

In conclusion, marketing and sales functions are deeply rootedin each other’s purpose and revenue growth intentions. Thereare few functional areas in business that relate more to eachother. So the next time you hear someone say the word “sales”,when the appropriate description would have been “marketing”,or vise versa, think of this article and choose from any one ofthese documented business functions to make your point ofdistinction!

About the Author:

Mark Smock is President of http://www.business-buyer-directory.com, theFIRST international business buyer directory of its kind.Business Buyer Directory provides a non-traditional means forproactive business buyers to locate businesses for saleworldwide that meet their exact registered purchase criteria.

Have you ever been in the position where you are getting, what you think to be, close to concluding the deal only to find your client comes up with objections?

Some would argue, as salespeople, we have not handled all the possible objections upfront, in other words we have not demonstrated our value proposition fully. However, in the real world objections at the last minute happen to all of us regardless of what we think we have done to conclude the deal.

What objection?

It is what we see as an objection and how we manage that objection that will give us the edge in closing the deal. I have been asked many times about how to handle objections and my initial stock answer is usually, “Have you fully demonstrated your value proposition to the client?” However, this does not serve a great deal of good if the salesperson feels inclined to think, “Of course I have.”

It may be true that the salesperson has indeed not identified some of these objections when going through the sales cycle, but that does not mean the end of the deal. The prospect is talking to us because they have a need and I would suggest that any objection is in fact an “Implied Need.”

Whilst the majority of objections are ‘Implications of Need,’ there are some that will be described as real; the ‘price objection’ and the ‘product objection’. These real objections are handled by reducing their impact with the value argument. Set them against the benefits that have been agreed already and their affect is minimised.

So, get into our minds that there are only two “real” objections behind why a prospect may not buy and you will find that any other objections can be handled – which will allow you to further demonstrate your value.

Prescriptive Reflex!

Many training courses promote the use of prescriptive reflex responses to the typical objections that a salesperson will encounter. Unfortunately such methods preclude us from seeing the objection as a positive contributor to the sale. As we have discussed,

objections are really needs in disguise and by using the ‘reflex statement’ we are in fact ignoring the prospect’s views and needs.

Before we go on, let me give you an example. Read the statement below and consider the reflex response from the salesperson.

Prospect; “Right now we do not have the resources internally to manage such a complicated solution.”Salesman; “If we could show you how easy it could be to make this possible would you buy from us.”

The prescriptive response from the salesperson will only harm the sales cycle. This is a wasted opportunity. There are real needs behind the prospect statement. In fact it is not an objection at all but a series of ‘implied needs’ which, if explored and developed, would enhance our chances of addressing all the customer’s requirements. Can you name all the “implied needs” in the prospect’s statement? Could you turn these “implied needs” into “benefit statements” which will help close our deal?

If you can’t see the implied needs, it does not mean you are bad at selling, it usually means that you may need to improve or hone your skills. Why not write down some of the “objections” you have encountered in the field over the last few months. Look at them and see if you can pull out the implied needs. If you want, email them to us and we will reply with the implied needs.

You could also read about BlueEskimo’s sales methodology, Real Value Selling©. It is all about the value proposition. This primarily describes the only reason, motivation or justification for an organisation or company to purchase any product or service. These values are also described as the ‘Buying Criteria’ – the reasons for choosing a particular product or supplier over another. These justifications are commercial and can only be described in financial terms, or the payback but not the price!

And if nothing else, next time you encounter an objection, remember it is only an implied need in disguise.

Kevin McLaren – Sales Trainer and business development

http://www.blueeskimo.com

The other day I received a call from a telemarketer selling a website “starter kit” for small businesses. If you are reading this right now, then you undoubtedly know that I have a website. Normally, I would quickly get the telemarketer off the line so I could get back to showing people how to make more money. But this call got my attention because I thought that this might be a potential service that I could recommend to my clients. So I decided to listen to this sales pitch to evaluate the offering and the approach that the telemarketer used.

Well the rep started by going straight into a sales pitch. She was using the age-old technique of trying to complete her benefits-loaded-sales-pitch before I knew what hit me. This technique is very similar to television, radio, or print advertising where if you show your ad to enough people with a pulse, then you will eventually find a few people who actually need the service.

Instead of getting annoyed with the sales rep, I decided to have fun with the call. Once she was done with her somewhat lengthy pitch, I asked her “Do you have any idea what I even want?” Well of course, she did not because she had not asked me a single question. I could tell during her pitch that she was tense by the sound of her voice. So I started to ask her questions about the service. She answered my questions very well. I noticed by her voice that she was getting more relaxed and comfortable by my asking questions of her. I guessed that she likely was thinking that she had a buyer or a hot-prospect on the line.

Once I had asked enough questions, I told the rep that this service was not for me as I already have my own website (through the conversation, she never asked this critical, obvious question). I told her that I would keep her service in mind for clients that might need a website starter kit. I could tell that she was distressed. She tried a final closing attempt on me by pleading “Well, don’t you

want to at least try it out?” I said “No way – do you have any idea what a pain the a%$ changing web hosting services is?”

Lest you think of me as cruel for wasting this poor sales rep’s time, I remind you that as buyers we do this to salespeople everyday when we consider making a purchase. Have you ever asked many questions of a salesperson only to go home, think over the decision, and then never buy the product? Many salespeople and entrepreneurs put up with this behavior from prospects because they exhibit this behavior themselves when making purchases.

• QUESTION: Who was in control of the sales call?
  
• ANSWER: The prospect (me).

• QUESTION: Why didn’t I buy?
  
• ANSWER: Because I had no pain that the service could fulfill.

If the seller had followed these 3 simple rules, she could have been on to the next suspect on her list, instead of wasting 20 minutes on a no-sale conversation:

1. Ask questions first to find a pain to solve. If no pain, then move one to the next suspect!
   
2. Don’t give away free consulting. Keep your leverage until you know that the prospect is likely to buy your product or service.
   
3. When you find pain, leverage this to make the sale. People will pay a lot of money for the things that they really want.

Too many companies don’t invest in the best for their sales-people. They expect you to be already trained in sales or a “natural”. Well naturals aren’t born, they are made. If your company isn’t investing in you, then invest in yourself. People who truly make things happen, are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown’s sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

Hopefully we are all adults here, so let’s talk about sex for just a minute. No, I’m not talking about porn sites, I’m talking about taking a look at what I call ‘Bedroom Marketing’ and applying the same principles to Internet marketing.

I don’t care if you’re a female or a male. Play this scenario out in your head:

You walk in the door and yell “Honey, I’m home. Take off your clothes and jump into bed because I really want you and I know that you want me too.”

I don’t know how things work around your house, but over in my neck of the woods it’s going to be “No Sale”. And why would you expect anything different? Let’s take a look at what was done wrong.

This was a high-pressure attempt to “make the sale” without any regard for the feelings or state of mind of the other party.

It was assumed that the other party was in the mood to “buy” and the pitch did not give the person any other option but to say “Yes” or “No” when a “maybe later” would have given the desired results.

There was no attempt at rapport building.(OK, Dr. Ruth doesn’t call it “rapport building” but you know what I mean.)

There was a failure to build the other person’s interest in and excitement level over the offered “product or service”.

So, if you wouldn’t expect that kind of approach to work with someone who hopefully loves and trusts you, why in the world would you think it would work with complete strangers?

You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all received an email that says something like:

“Wow, I just discovered the most amazing program. My sponsor has only been in for 14 days and he’s already made $144,000!!!!!!!!! This is so good, trust me I know a good thing when I see one. THIS IS NOT A SCAM!!!!!!!!! Just click here and pay a one-time $19.99 NO SPONSORING!!!!!!!! I’ll help you make money. This CAN’T FAIL!!!!!!!!!!! Just sit back and let the money roll in!!!!!!! I joined Monday and already I’ve made over $200!!!!!!!!!!”

The so-called marketer blows this ad out to 155,000 Safelists, FFA and Classified sites, and maybe SPAMs a few news groups along the way. Two days go by and no sales. The Marketer quits in disgust and tells everyone that Internet Marketing is a scam and no one is making any money. “Trust me,” he says, “I know, I tried.”

You think I’m exaggerating? One of the sites that I own is a Safelist Autoposter. We sell membership for $4.99 per month and our members can automatically post their ads to hundreds of safelists, with hundreds of thousands of members who have agreed to receive them.

Anyway, whenever someone cancels their subscription we automatically send them an email containing an Exit Poll form. We offer them the chance to win $50 in return for telling us why they quit. (We also recommend one of our other sites that may be better suited for them, but that’s another article.) We learn a lot about how to make our program better, but we also get to scratch our heads in wonder over responses like this one:

“I’ve been a member of your site for 10 days now and I haven’t sold a thing. The Internet is full of thieves and liars and you’re just one more of them.”

Out of curiosity, I checked the sales letter he’s been sending. Here’s what he wrote:

“You are paying too much for your long distense service. Send an email to (address deleted) and see HOW MUCH IT WILL COST YOU with mine.”

Ok, let’s take a look at what he did wrong besides failing to run his spell checker.

He made a high pressure attempt to “make the sale” without any regard for the feelings or state of mind of the other party. Not only was it high pressure, but it held his offer out in a negative fashion when he said,

“Send an email to (deleted) and see

HOW MUCH IT WILL COST YOU with mine.”

Sheesh, at least he could have said “how LITTLE it will cost you.”

What he did was the equivalent of saying:”Honey, I’m home and I’m dirty and sweaty and I had a garlic and onion sandwich which I’m still burping up every five minutes.”

“Take off your clothes and jump into bed because I really want you and I know that you want me too.”

Sure, that’s a home run proposition waiting to be hit out of the park.

He assumed that his prospect was in the mood to “buy” and did not give them any other option but to say “Yes” or “No” when a “maybe later” would have given you the results he was seeking.

In fact, he really didn’t give them any option at all when he said:”Send an email to (deleted).”

No one in their right mind is going to respond to an offer from a total stranger and give that stranger their email address. It’s no wonder he didn’t make any sales.

He didn’t take any time to build a rapport. He tried (and failed) to pull off a slam-bam-thank you-m’am (or whiz-whirr-thank you sir) and fell flat on his face. Try walking up to someone in a bar and saying, “Hi, are you hungry or horny,” and see how well you do.

He failed to build an excitement level over his product or service. He didn’t even build a mild curiosity level. In fact, his letter doesn’t even rate a twitch of the right eyebrow.

Hmmm, does all of this sound familiar? I wonder what would happen if he tried that on his spouse when he arrived home from work? No nookie there I’d bet, and no sale from his ad either.

I see so many people fail in their attempts to advertise their product or services. A lot of them tell the same story as Mr. No Nookie in the example above. Keep this in mind — Even though the Internet offers an instant medium for reaching people all around the world, the basic laws of sales have not changed. In order to close the deal you must:

1. Eliminate any high pressure attempts to make the sale. Stop using hype and, for Pete’s sake, use the exclamation point sparingly! Not only is an educated prospect more likely to buy, but they are also more likely to refer others to your site, and they are more likely to respond to future offers that you make to them.

Give the customer an option of saying “No”. Some truly interested prospects just won’t be able to buy right now for a variety of legitimate reasons. Make sure that you offer them the opportunity to join your e-zine or newsletter, or sign up for an autoresponder series. Do something that gives you the opportunity to stay in front of that customer until they are ready to say “Yes”.

2. Go slowly and get your prospect into the mood to buy. Don’t rush in there and yell “Give me your money”. Take the time to determine what the reasons are that someone will buy your product and weave those reasons into a word picture that elevates the prospect’s curiosity and enhances their buying mood.

3. Build a rapport with your prospect. People want to be talked to, not at. Show them that you are a friend and a expert in your field by EDUCATING them and not SELLING them. Combine this step with step #2, and you can write as long of a sales letter as you need (but not ONE WORD LONGER) without fear of losing the truly interested prospect.

4. Create a level of excitement over your product or service by explaining how it’s going to change their life, or save them money, or make them look more attractive, or whatever your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is.

What works in the bedroom works in the market place. Try it!

Len Dozois is a freelance article and copy writer and “Chief of Surgery” at http://www.CopySurgery.com.

A consipiracy exists in the world of selling. A cold calling conspiracy.

What I’m talking about is the requirement by most sales organizations to make cold calls on your time and at your expense. They say that cold calls equal appointments equal sales, but that’s not true anymore. All sales managers are guilty of teaching it, believing it, and using it. “Increase your activity and increase your income” are the mantra. We’re told to do the sales math to “motivate” ourselves. Have you heard this one? “If you make five hundred dollars commission per sale and it takes five appointments to get the sale and twenty calls to get an appointment, then each cold call is worth five dollars in your pocket.”

Did anyone ever really believe this?

Hey boss, put your money where your mouth is! If that were really true, companies would pay us the five dollars per call! They don’t because that equation never works in the real world… for anyone. The simple fact is that we are only paid for completed sales, not for attempts. Directing salespeople to make more calls and increase activity is a weak excuse for a sales manager or trainer to justify his or her job. Cold calling is an expensive waste of your time. The reason companies have you cold calling is because it is a waste of your time and your money, not theirs. You only

make money when you sell something, yet over eighty percent of most salespeople’s time is spent looking for someone to sell to.

The bottom line is that we, as salespeople, cannot afford to continue fooling away our time on low-percentage activities like cold calling. It’s a way for companies to save money at your expense. We must focus our attention on activities that get real results in this new Information Age economy, and the effectiveness of cold calling fell dramatically when we left the old Industrial Age and entered this bold new era. Forget cold calling and learn how to market yourself intelligently, systematically, and automatically. Self-marketing is the key to success in today’s selling environment and the “secret” of all those top producers who obviously don’t cold call and won’t tell you what it is they’re doing to make those huge numbers every month. Remember, Napoleon Hill’s great work is entitled “Think and Grow Rich,” not “Work Harder and Stay Broke.” Don’t become a victim of the Cold Calling Conspiracy – learn to market yourself successfully and join the elite club of top producers. I did it and you can too.

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time: Sales Success In The Information Age. He is the founder of FJR Advisors, LLC, which publishes training materials that educate salespeople on how to generate business without cold calling. For more information, please visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself on the receiving end of a series of particularly heinous sales techniques – all of which were aimed at getting through a gatekeeper to a decision maker, and all of which ended disastrously for the sales reps involved.

I firmly believe that, to improve our skills and the relationships we have with our prospects and clients, it’s just as important to know what not to do as it is to know what to do. In that spirit, I decided to recount and dissect these painful experiences, in the hope of sharing with you where these sales people went so wrong – and what they could’ve done instead!

One word of warning: while I’ve chosen not to use any names in order to protect the potentially innocent companies who may be employing these sales reps (and may not be aware of the “techniques” they are using), the stories you’re about to read are, unfortunately, all true. Viewer discretion is definitely advised…

#1: The case of the anonymous acquaintance

First, a couple of weeks ago, I received a magazine article in the mail that detailed the benefits to sales people of taking a public speaking course. On second look, I saw that the article was actually an advertorial, complete with a registration form for the course at the end.

Attached to the piece was a post-it with a handwritten note which read: “Colleen, I thought you would find this interesting.” It was signed with an illegible initial – maybe a J? Maybe an I? – I couldn’t be sure. I had no idea who had sent me this “highly informative article,” but because of the handwritten note, I assumed I must know them. I looked at the envelope it had come in, and, sure enough, found no return address and an automated bulk mail stamp – sure signs of unsolicited mail.

I’d never heard of the company offering the seminar, nor anyone they were associated with. Clearly, they were trying to hide behind their anonymity because they knew, that I knew, that they did not know me.

Why is this crossing the line?Because by trying to pretend that they know and have a relationship with me even though they don’t, they are lying. To me, an approach that is based on a lie is the worst kind of mistake – and the absolute worst first impression – that any sales professional can make.

This lie is being used in the hope that I’ll feel guilty enough about not remembering who they are that I will call the company to find out, at which point they can try to sell me on their seminar. Will I be in the mood to be sold anything once I figure out their game? Will I ever buy anything from this company, or recommend them to my colleagues and associates? Am I likely to respond warmly to any follow-up call that might happen to come along?

The answer is NO! So if you’ve ever been tempted to try to lure new customers with a lie, first ask yourself this: if the customer or prospect finds out what I’m really up to, will they be mad, or will I be embarrassed? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then find yourself a different tactic – fast!

How not to cross the lineThe idea of staying in touch with your customers and prospects by sending them an occasional article or other information is a good one. But if you use this technique, make sure the following rules of thumb are applied consistently, and without exception:

The article is relevant to the prospect. The article is simply that – an article, not just a glorified advertisement for your product. The prospect knows you and you clearly sign your name so they can see it is from you. You identify who you are on the envelope. You make a follow-up call after they’ve received it.

#2: The case of the schoolyard bully

While on vacation in March, I received a frantic call from my office.

My assistant was panicked because she’d gotten a call from a man who insisted that he had a meeting set up with me for that day, and that it was “critical” that he talk to me. He also told her that he “had talked to me directly,” that this was “a follow-up meeting,” that I had “promised to talk to him” – and even that he had “time sensitive information” he had to get to me.

When she finally got me on the phone, explained the situation and told me what company he was calling from, I realized it was all a ruse. I had never talked to that rep or his company before. I did know enough about what they did, however, to realize that what they sold was not relevant to my business and I was not, nor ever would be, interested in the service they offered.

In other words, this rep hadn’t even spoken to me before, let alone scheduled a “follow-up” meeting. He also didn’t offer anything that would be so “critical” to my business

that I’d be glad to interrupt my vacation to talk to him.

Why is this crossing the line?Once more: he lied. As far as I was concerned, that spelled the end of any business relationship he and I might ever have had.

To make matters worse, in order to get though to me (the “decision maker”), he tried to instigate panic in my assistant (the “gatekeeper”) by confusing her into thinking she and I had made a mistake, and I would have to be disturbed.

He knew we’d never spoken, and that we did not have a meeting scheduled. He was simply hoping that I would feel so guilty about the possibility that I’d made a mistake that I would be willing to cancel whatever else I was doing to take his call. He was probably also hoping that same unwarranted guilt would make me feel I “owed him” enough to listen to his pitch.

Whenever you use a tactic that requires making someone else feel bad simply to get what you want, you’re crossing the line not only between appropriate and inappropriate sales techniques, but also between being a smart or stupid sales person – and, to my mind, between being a decent human being and a schoolyard bully.

Just ask yourself: if your prospect found out what you were doing, would they want to have a relationship with you?

How not to cross the lineAssistants can be used effectively to secure appointments and get decision makers on your side. However, you should never attempt to manipulate them or their relationship with your prospect. If you do get a gatekeeper on the phone, try the following, and see how much farther it will take you:

Show them respect at all times. Treat them like the decision maker, and try your opening lines or lead-in questions with them. They may be able to point you towards other decision makers in the company who could be important to your sale. Ask them when is the best time to reach the decision maker. Ask if they can schedule 15 minutes of time with the decision maker for you. Always thank them for their help.

#3: The case of the “close, personal friend”

Finally, just a few days ago, a sales person called our office claiming to be a “close, personal friend” of mine. My assistant asked if I knew her, and while I didn’t think so, I decided to have her put her through to me anyway.

A couple of minutes into her pitch, I interrupted the rep and asked, “excuse me, do I know you?” She answered: “Not now, but if we do business together, I guarantee we will become good friends.”

Needless to say, we didn’t do business together, and we aren’t likely to at any point in the foreseeable future.

Why is this crossing the line?Say it with me now: because she lied! Even worse, it was a really stupid lie!

Did the rep really not think that, as soon as she had me on the phone, I’d realize she wasn’t the “close, personal friend” she was claiming to be? Either she was hoping I would think her “idea” was clever, or that I was so stupid I can’t remember who my friends are. Any sales tactic that makes the prospect feel like you must think he or she is an idiot simply can’t end well.

Before you try any technique like this one, please ask yourself: if the prospect finds out what I’m doing, will they want to be my friend? Or will I be happy with the consequences of earning a bad reputation, and a lost opportunity?

How not to cross the lineEvery time you call a decision maker, have a compelling reason to speak to them, and make sure your opening line or leading question is tuned to their needs, and offers them value. Then they will want to take your calls, without your having to lie to get them on the phone.

If you want to develop commonality with your prospects without resorting to trickery, try the following simple – and honest! – approach:

Use a REAL reference from someone you both know. Tell them a third party story about a customer you’ve helped who is in their industry, and/or who is in their same position (Director, VP, etc). Offer a piece of information that shows you know something about their business or industry that you can help them with. One of my clients who sells to the medical research industry, for example, leads with “your research into XYZ disease caught my attention…” When it comes to being honest and being branded a liar, the line between what’s appropriate and what isn’t, isn’t so much a “fine line” as it is a gaping chasm. Fall in, and you may never be able to find your way out.

Consider yourself warned.

Colleen Francis, president and founder of Engage Selling Solutions – a thriving, successful company with an internationally acclaimed sales-training approach that motivates and inspires sales and marketing professionals everywhere to achieve their maximum potential. Colleen’s clients range from Fortune 500 companies, to small- and medium-sized enterprises, to public-sector organizations.

http://www.engageselling.com

CRM…strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you answer this question about your company’s CRM initiative? It depends on how honest you are in answering some other questions, including:

Do your people have real decision-making power to provide great customer service?

Do you have the right people with the right knowledge and skills?

Are you including people across the board, not just in your customer service and call centers?

The bottom line is that people skill sets need to be similar to the technology they are using — information sharing needs to be fast, focused, integrated.

Let’s Start With the Leaders

For CRM to become the strategic engine, not just a tool that people opt to use when they choose, managers and leaders need to demonstrate the new vision through their day-to-day actions. Leadership is about making a vision happen. If you want your CRM strategy to be the engine that drives growth and profitability, take a look at what your leaders are doing and how they are behaving.

The heart of strategic change is when the leadership makes the conscious choice to focus on actions that matter. When an organization undergoes significant and fundamental transition, leaders must be teachers and role models of the new actions and behaviors. Leaders who successfully transition to new operating values and practices are those who recognize they are on a steep learning curve and adopt a personal learning ethic that others can model.

What About Everyone Else?

Just as any change needs good leaders, making CRM the strategic engine requires good followers. People need to have the knowledge and skill sets that

will translate the vision to a seamless customer experience. Having the skill to build personal and professional networks of information and knowledge will allow managers and employees to think and act in less linear ways. There is a need to learn to behave as integrated teams, not individual contributors or functions.

Teaming, problem-solving behaviors across job boundaries, knowledge-discovery skills, personal networking outside the department, and building relationships to share knowledge and information are rarely seen metrics on employee performance evaluation forms. Yet these are the skills required to drive the CRM strategic engine. Those skills need to be valued, encouraged, and rewarded by the organization.

Don’t Take New Roles For Granted

To move CRM deeper into the ethos of the company culture, clear and unambiguous roles for leaders and employees need to be communicated. When people have a role beyond that of being an individual contributor, accountability, involvement, and interest in making CRM the strategic engine all increase.

The key is communicating what new roles leaders and employees are expected to fill. As social scientists and consultants, it has been our experience that there is always a portion of leaders and employees who can’t or won’t adopt the new vision. This is why there are always tough people decisions involved in a large system change initiative.

Copyright 2002 Dailey & O’Brien, Inc.

(c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Marketing educator, Kelly O’Brien, is creator of the “Create a

TurningPointe!” Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step

program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing

guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com

Closing the sale, that mystical, elusive, magical moment when your sales presentation climaxes and the “Tipping Point” is reached, is really just the beginning. Your relationship with your new customer will grow from here. Or will it? That, my friend, is up to you.

Getting the order is great! Getting paid is even better! Enjoying the benefits of a new, long-term customer relationship is priceless. As political strategist James Carville would say, “It’s the relationship stupid.” This new, fledgling relationship must be cultured and grown like any other. Careful attention and concern must be administered. Time and attention must be invested and cultivated for all to benefit.

In this day and age, most customers assume quality, they assume quick delivery, they assume a competitive price, but they demand proper attention. Your level of customer service must be finely tuned so that the efforts made by you and your company are perceived to be quite individualized and properly applied. Customers may forgive errors, but they will not forgive lack of attention. Mistakes, properly and quickly addressed usually will not hinder the relationship, even if a compromise is required, but if you forget about them after you receive that order, it may be the “kiss of death” for the relationship. You will be vulnerable to the next salesperson that comes along to court that customer.

How do you pay proper attention to your customer? The answer varies by industry and needs, but there is a baseline which

I believe to be a common denominator among most customers. At the very least, include each customer contact in your newsletter or ezine list. Ask your inside customer service personnel to make a quick monthly or quarterly phone call “just checking in” on the pulse of their general satisfaction. Send a customer survey annually requesting their input on your customer service performance. Send a regular, personalized email announcing some new product or service that they might be interested in learning more about. Mail a copy of a news story or clipping from a newspaper or industry publication where your customer or contact has been featured. Include a short note complimenting them.

If you really want to separate yourself from the other competitive companies and salespersons, send a short, personalized, hand written “thank you” card or note after receipt of the order. This effort almost never happens and you will be remembered for it.

The close of the order is indeed the opening of the door to your long-term relationship with your new customer. Treat them well, never forget them, be attentive to their needs and keep asking for additional opportunities to be of service and you will have a profitable, growing, long-term customer relationship.

Daniel Sitter, author of the highly anticipated book, Superior Selling Skills and the popular, award-winning e-book, Learning For Profit, has extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and personal development over a successful 25 year career.

http://www.learningforprofit.com

First of all, get your mind out of the gutter — I said”back-end”, not “rear-end”, O.K.?

You see, today I’m going to teach you about getting”back-end” sales and why you must make them.

And, if you’re still struggling with your back-end sales,and you can’t seem to nail down “what” to sell as yourback-end product, I’m also going to give you a uniquemind-set to use, so that by the time we’re finished…coming up with a back-end product should be a cinch!

We’re going to talk about 3 things:

1. What is a “back-end” sale?

2. Some specific examples of back-end sales! And…

3. How to make a back-end sale even when you think you can’tget one! (And why there’s ALWAYS a sale to be made!)O.K., so without any further adieu…

What’s A Back-End Sale?

A back-end sale is, your “sale after the sale”. Meaning,it’s what you sell one of your clients or customers, afteryou’ve sold them you’re “main” service or product.

You see, most people are so possessed with just “getting” anew customer, once your sale is made and your euphoria isgone… you’re so excited, you just start thinking aboutyour “next” piece of business and you leave a bunch of moneylying on the table by not helping this new customer ofyours out, even more.

The truth is, you’re not finished with that first customeryet — not by a long-shot.

What you should be thinking about, is… your “back-end”sale.

In fact, you shouldn’t ever think of selling anything unlessyou’ve got a back-end sale behind it.

Why?

Well, just think about it: What’s the toughest time to getmoney out of someone?

The first time, right?

And what’s the easiest time to get money out of someone?

Either the same time they’re giving you money or afterthey’ve given you money, right?

Back-end sales are the sales you make just after yourcustomer gives you money.

Listen, in business there’s very little “low-hanging” fruitto pick off the trees. So please don’t leave one of thefew opportunities you have to make some “easy money” leftlying around unattended, O.K.?

And sometimes, the only low-hanging fruits you get tostretch your arm out and snap off that beautiful bountifulfruit-tree, are called a “back-end” sales or “upsells”.

Whenever you sell someone something, always think aboutanother logical sale you can make to your customer, eitherat the same time (an upsell)… or shortly afterwards (aback-end sale).

Just start getting yourself into that mindset –re-programming, or re-training your thinking so this becomesyour “norm” — and over time you will become SERIOUSLYwealthier because of it.

Let me show you some specific examples here so you can seewhat I mean:

Here Are Your Back-End Samples:A few weeks ago I took my older son to the Incubus concert.

Aside from having a fantastic time, sharing some qualityfather-son “bonding”, we were able to teach see some solidback-end marketing being done at the show.

For example, after forking over $70 bucks for the tickets…once we were at the show, I also got the pleasure ofdroppinganother $35 Dollars on a t-shirt for my son.

If I wanted, I also could’ve bought a $25 Dollar baseballcap… a $15 Dollar program… and a $20 Dollar CD.

Lucky Me!

My point is… each of these related items being sold at theconcession stands are “back-end” sales to the up-frontticket sale. And in actual fact, when it comes down toit… the concert itself, is a back-end sale.

The original sale was made when I bought the Incubus CD inthe first place.

As an aside, you want to hear some curious differencesbetween going to a concert today, versus going to one in1981, which was the year I graduated high school?

Well for starters, when I went to concerts at Madison SquareGarden, kids were passing around loose joints.

Now, they’re passing around their cell phones and capturingpieces of the concert “live” to show their friends inschool tomorrow morning.

Another difference I noticed, was… I never had anopportunity to sit in the “good seats” when I was a kid, andso of course, back then I rationalized… “It didn’tmatter — I was there for the music.”

But you know what? The truth is, 4th row center really isbetter than the nosebleed section!

Anyway, let’s take a look at a couple more “back-end”examples.

Here’s one: Ever buy something online, and then aweek-or-so later, you get a coupon e-mailed to you, or anotice about a sale on a “similar” item?

Of course, right?

Well, that’s your “back-end” sales pitch?

And it works because you have a tendency to “want” indroves.

For example, if you buy some bodybuilding supplements,chances are you’re going to be very open to buying some more”amazing new” supplements or some “unique inside secretsthe Russians have been hiding about their strengthtraining”, soon after that.

Make sense now?

This all has to do with the 3 Magical Elements you should beusing to nail down your offer list, but we’ll talk aboutthat next week.

Another example would be when you buy retail items,especially when your sales person gets paid a commission, asopposed to… let’s say an hourly department storeemployee, where you’re lucky if they’re even conscious orcivil.

When you go up to the counter, don’t the best sales peopletry to accessorize your outfit?

Scarf with your blouse ladies? Handcream with your perfume?Tie with your shirt fellas? Appetizer with your frozenmargaritas?

Each of these items (the scarf… the handcream… thetie… and the appetizers) are all upsells to your originalpurchase.

Are you starting to get this concept here a little better?

Good.

And what about when you buy a book or a CD on Amazon.com?

You know how, once you put your book into your shoppingcart, they show you “people who bought this book alsobought…” and then there’s a bunch of titles listed?

Well, that “pitch” is a back-end pitch, and it’s followingall the rules:

They’re pitching to you when you’re already agreeing to paythem some dough…

They’re pitching you a similarly-priced item…

And, they’re pitching you a relevant item! If you bought abook on parenting, they’re not going to recommend somethingthat has to do with the history of rubber tires in lowerSlovenia. They’re going to recommend another book to helpyou raise your little guys.

Think those back-end pitches don’t work?

Au contraire…

Let me tell you a little story about those Amazon back-endpitches.

Back in 1988, Joe Simpson wrote a book called “Touching TheVoid”.

Joe was a British mountain climber and “Touching The Void”was his story of the near-death experience he had, whileclimbing up the Peruvian Andes

mountains.

Now even though Joe’s book got pretty good reviews, itdidn’t really sell very many copies, and in fact, 10 yearslater it was nearly out-of-print.

O.K., now roll the clock forward 11 years later to 1999.Jon Krakauer writes “Into Thin Air”, another book about amountain-climbing tragedy — this time about a climb thattook place in 1996 along Mount Everest.

(And by-the-way… did you know Mount Everest is located inNepal, which is a small country about half the size of NewMexico, just in between India and China? I didn’t knowthat.)

Anyhow, for whatever reason, Krakauer’s book becomes a hit.

All of a sudden, from out of nowhere… Joe Simpson’s 11year-old and for all intents and purposes, “dead” book”Touching The Void”… starts selling again.

But this time it’s selling…

Like Hotcakes!

How well did “Touching The Void” start selling this timearound?

It sold so well, Random House (the publisher) had to crankout a whole new edition, just to keep up with the demand forthe book.

Then because of all the new online activity, offlinebooksellers began a flurry of new in-store campaigns… andbefore you know it, it’s on the New York Times BestsellerList…

For 14 Freakin’ Weeks!

Not bad for a book that was all but written off 6-monthsearlier, is it?

And how did this happen?

The answer is simple: Amazon.com recommended “Touching TheVoid” as a back-end sale to people who bought “Into ThinAir”.

Incredible, huh?

The moral of the story is… back-end sales and upsells maybe the easiest money you’re not getting if you’re not doingthis right!

You must start training your mind to always think ofselling, like a “1-2″ punch from a heavyweight boxer.

You tag ‘em with your jab, and then immediately afterwards,send ‘em an solid uppercut, like this: “Front-end,back-end… front-end, back-end… front-end, back-end.”

O.K.?

Lastly, let’s take a look at…

How to make a back-end sale even when you think you can’tmake one!(And why there’s ALWAYS a sale to be made!)

There are some professions where you think, “Hey, I can’tget a back-end sale here — I can only get one sale becausenothing’s “left” after that.”

Well ye of little faith… come hither… settle down… andlisten very closely to what I’m about to say… becausewhat you really need to do is just start looking at thingsdifferently.

Sometimes, you need to look at your business, as a series oflittle “mini-systems” all put together.

When one system ends, another one begins…

Each of your systems are going to have differentend-results, but the overall goal is always going to be…

To Stuff More Greenbacks Into Your Fat Little Piggy Bank!

Make sense? Comprende? Comprenez-vous?

Good. I was running out of languages to use.

Anyway, here’s an example of what you’d probably think is atraditional “one-shot sale” kind of business, and howyou’re going to get a back-end product out of it.

I’m talking about the proverbial real estate broker.

Imagine you’re a real estate broker. You’re probablythinking, “After I sell someone a house, what could Ipossibly sell them after that?”

Well, you’ve got a few choices here:

If you look at your business a little differently, you don’tlook at what you can sell them. Instead, you look at “Whatother sources of income can you get out of them?”

Like…

Referrals for example!

Let’s look at the numbers here to see what I’m talkingabout.

If you sell a home or a condo for $200,000 and you splityour 6% commission evenly with another realtor, you wind upmaking $6,000 Dollars, right?

Right.

Now what do most real estate brokers do after theirtransaction is over?

After they help you buy or sell your home — if you’re LUCKY– they send you a nice fruit basket that costs $50 bucks,and then every Christmas after that, they send you a cheesycalendar with their picture on it.

And usually when you get the cheesy calenday, you look at itand then you toss it in the garbage.

(Or else you give it to one of your older relatives thateither lives in another country, or that you don’t reallylike very much. True?)

But what if instead of doing this, you take 10% of yourcommission, and buy your clients 2 round-trip airlinetickets to Las Vegas, or somehwere else they’d really enjoygoing?

And then, instead of the cheesy calendar you send out atChristmas, what if you sent them a monthly newsletter called”Craig Garber’s Low-Cost And Easy Two-Minute Tips ToKeeping Your Family Home Looking Like A Million-DollarEstate!” (except you’d put your name on your newsletterand not my name, of course)

Don’t you think if you did these 2 things alone, you’d haveyour clients endorsing you all over town emphatically,each-and-every single opportunity they could?

These folks wouldn’t be clients, they’d be hard-core membersof your fan club, and ANY time they heard someone wanted arealtor, they’d do absolutely EVERYTHING in their power tomake sure it was you.

Plus, what if you reminded them every month in yournewsletter, you’d pay them $500 Dollars for every personthey referred to you, who ultimately either bought or solda house using you!

How much of a raving fan would each of your clients be inTHAT case?

So you wind up spending $1,100 Dollars to get a new clientthat’s going to put at least another $6,000 Dollars in yourpocket!

Sounds like a winner to me, doesn’t it?

And, these new clients will be much better than your averagerun-of-the-mill clients, too. Remember, these clientscalled on you for your expertise, and they don’t need to be”sold” on anything.

They’ve already been “pre-sold” on you. You’ve been soheavily endorsed by the people who referred them, they’regoing to do everything you tell them to do, includingworking with you exclusively, and you’re going to love it.

And here’s yet another way you could make some back-endsales. What if you had articles in your monthly written bylocal people like designers… furniture store managers…pest control operators… caterers… landscape artists…insurance agents… accountants… and other people whocould help your clients.

And each of these articles contained a special offer, onlyfor people who read your newsletter.

Then, whenever someone called and used one of those coupons,you’d have an arrangement with the vendor that says you get”X” percent of the gross purchases, or a flat referralfee, or free pest control, or whatever.

See the back-end potential of this “one-shot” business now?

Remember, with a little thought… a hell of a lot ofambition… and a willingness to take action…

Everything’s Possible!

Now go sell something.

P.S. Check out all the prior archives you’ve beenmissing, right here at:http://www.kingofcopy.com/tips/tiparchives.html

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

In many sales organizations, the heavy investment in existing sales practices makes dismounting unfeasible, and these creative strategies are adopted instead:

1. Providing motivational seminars, tapes, and group sessions, to encourage riders to stay on their dead horses longer.

2. Threatening riders with termination when they can’t get their dead horses moving.

3. Providing riders with stronger whips.

4. Determining how more successful organizations ride their dead horses. Then, adapting those methods as the company’s new “Best Practices.”

5. Determining that riders who don’t stay on dead horses are lazy, lack drive, and have no ambition – then replacing them.

6. Appointing an intervention team to reanimate dead horses and assure that all riders are in compliance with approved riding standards.

7. Awarding professional certification plaques to riders who learn the best techniques to stay on their dead horses for long periods of time.

8. Reclassifying dead horses as “living-impaired.”

9. Directing management to find new and better ways to inspire riders to charge their dead horses into battle.

10. Teaming several dead horses together for increased speed.

11. Donating old dead horses to a recognized charity,

thereby deducting their full original cost. Then using the savings to buy new dead horses.

12. Proving that the reason for diminished sales results is a combination of macoroeconomic circumstances and increased competition from other dead horse teams.

13. Developing contests and incentive plans to reward the best dead horse riders.

14. Enacting a strict dress code so that their riders look “professional.”

15. Prohibiting riders from purchasing and riding their own live horses since that is not in accordance with the company’s time-tested methods.

16. Promoting the most persevering of dead horse riders to manage and train new riders.

Did you chuckle as you read this? Salespeople stuck riding dead horses need a good laugh. Sales managers who read this and laugh in embarrassed recognition need to abandon their dead horses-now.

If you’re ready to abandon the ‘tried and false,’ if you’re ready to commit to a sales process that really works, you’re ready for High Probability Sales Training.

©Jacques Werth, High Probability® Selling – All rights reserved.

Jacques Werth, author of “High Probability Selling,” is an internationally respected Sales Trainer and Sales Consultant. HPS graduates are excelling as Top Producers in over 70 industries. Visit http://www.highprobsell.com to read more articles, preview the book, and learn more about High Probability Selling.