Do you follow a sales process?

Congratulations if you answer “yes” and actually commit to a sales process. Evidently, you are responsive to the power of practicing a proven results oriented sales process. If you answer no, please examine the following benefits of an exceptional sales process and adapt them as your daily discipline.

Nearly all sales professionals deem themselves in control of the sales process. Conversely, it is the prospect that possesses full control. The sales person falsely assumes he/she controls the sales process. However, buyers have created a buyers process of their own which they abide by repeatedly.

Consider the facts. It is the prospects who ask questions, qualify sales people and as a result, dismiss them. These are the components of the buyer’s process. Revisit your last job as a sales professional. How would you rate your sales process? Did you ask the essential questions to qualify a prospect? Did you dismiss them because they were not qualified? Were you able to handle the sales process in such a manner to sustain a lasting relationship with said prospect?

These are valid questions and your answers should categorically advance your sales process. Turn your sales process around and put yourself in control. Build a strong relationship by simply allowing the prospect to sense control. A successful sales process emphasizes the ability to listen emphatically and to be genuinely interested.

All human interaction depends on rapport and trust to establish effective communication. Trust is one of the most important aspects of any sales process. Without trust, there is no communication.

As soon as trust is established, the parties progress to the next step in the sales process. They must set mutually agreeable parameters in order to move forward collectively and eliminate any unpleasant surprises.

Valuable sales process parameters are: allocating time for meetings; formulating objectives; documenting view points primarily of the customer followed by those of the sales professional; and attaining permission to ask questions and take notes. Maximize your sales process by forthright communication involving clear “yes” or “no” answers and eliminate TIO (think it over) responses. Demonstrate you do not want to waste the prospect‘s valuable time.

When you have earned the prospect’s trust and have established clear and precise parameters, the ensuing sales process is straightforward.

Follow a proven results oriented sales process and reap the benefits. You will benefit from control of the sales process and build lasting relationships which lead to referrals. You will formulate a secondary sales force, shorten your sales cycle times, increase margins and profits, and finally, contribute to the bottom line. A successful sale begins and ends with an altruistic sales process.

Visit www.BobU.com to download your complimentary White Paper “The New Economy of Buyers, Why Traditional and Consultative Selling Methods No Longer Work”

Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion

Goal setting is the foundation to self motivation and is applicable at all times.

Consequently, our awareness of today’s economy gives us a new perspective on goal setting.

Sales people must have a far more realistic approach and be steadfast in their determination and discipline.

Primarily, you need to identify the desires and dreams you want to become a reality in 2012 and beyond. Begin by taking some time to write or draw them out as clearly as possible. This is the first, and most important step of goal setting to fulfill those desires and dreams.

Did you know that only about 3% – 5% of the population write down or create pictures of their goals???

About 35% – 37% will say things like: I don’t know how; I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want but it’s just in my head; My work goals are set by the boss. Not sure what I want in my personal life; I might fail to reach it; What if I succeed? Can I cope with the changes that will bring?

More than 60% will say: ‘I don’t really have the time”. They’ve been too busy with the outside world, to give any thought to the inside world – where success, motivation and the heart of the most important person in the world resides.

The same applies to New Year resolutions—over 60%—will not see their resolutions through to reality, giving up within the first 14 to 21 days.

Will you be one of those statistics or do you seriously want to make your dream a reality?

Without exception, the tiny minority of people who do regularly write down their goals agree that the power in the goal-setting process is getting those bright ideas out of their heads – in writing out the words or creating the pictures.

Every time we read a story about a sports star or a top achiever in any field, they talk about their clear, well-thought-out and specific goals. Can you think of any exceptions??

Once your top priority desires and dreams have been identified, you must determine if you are willing to pay the price to make one, two or all of them a reality.

It is not about money when you choose to pay the price to make a dream a reality. It’s about being realistic. Your willingness to pay the price with hard work and determination must be identified as you set goals.

The price you have to pay may come in many forms. Your commitment may be in the form of money; change in habits; extra demand on your time and efforts; or additional education. Your goal may affect your family and other relationship(s). It may even impinge on your hobbies, sports or other activities. Are you willing to pay that price?

These are the demands you must identify with goal setting because if you are not willing to pay the price, you will not realize any of your desires or dreams. If you are not ready, it is best you avoid any goal setting and forego that New Year’s resolution.

It is imperative to be truly honest with yourself and understand the consequences associated with making your dreams a reality. Proceed only when you are willing to pay the price and ultimately, achieve your goals.

Finally, take action. Support your action with a very strong dose of “Discipline to do what you said you would do even when you do not want to do it.”

The Goal Log, the Goal Chart and the Monthly Monitor Chart, along with many other tools for Goal Setting is available in my book “Disciplined for Life, You Are the Author of Your Future”, and available at www.disciplinedforlife.com

This is a good practice and keeps us focus on our sales targets.

So why not apply those same goal setting and monitoring strategies on our personal lives so that we too can stay focused on our dreams and end up where we want to be.

Today, in most organizations, management devotes enormous energy to setting work objectives and conducting performance reviews for individual employees.

Corporations go through this time-consuming and costly exercise to ensure the most favorable results for their firm.

In professions such as sales, considerable time is spent questioning, listening, discovering and understanding the needs of clients in order to provide a recommended solution or action plan.

In contrast, how much time and energy do you expend discovering your own needs and desires, and then consciously setting objectives, developing action plans with measurable performance standards, and finally reviewing your own performance?

By engaging in such an exercise, you will be doing something about your life. You will be going to work on yourself, for yourself. This is where the real behavior has to start.

Allow me to refer you to “Disciplined for Life, You are the Author of Your Future”. The exercises in Discipline 5, 6 and 7 will help you to discover your dreams, organize them into a sense of priority and help you to determine if you are prepared to pay the price to make those dreams a reality.

For the purpose of this article, and your professional sales career, I will share Discipline 8 with you. In Discipline 8 you will learn how to set goals and create a goal logbook. If you would like a copy of a goal logbook, just ask me

The process, once you learn how to use it for yourself, is the same for setting your sales and career goals. Unlike organizations who want us to do it for them, I want you to do it for you.

When you believe in your dreams, nothing but self-imposed limitations will stop you from achieving them. Your first step is to define your dreams as goals. A goal is a specific and measurable result that must be achieved within specified time, resource and cost constraints. A goal is an end, a result, and not just a task to be performed. It describes the condition we want to achieve. Our goals guide our actions and help us plan at work and at home. When we focus on our goals, long- and short-range, our present is determined by our future…not our past.

Visualize your first goal. Clearly understand your destination. Now the steps you take will all be in the right direction. You can examine each part of your life in the context of what really matters to you. Your goals are an extension of your values.

Goal setting is the process you use to select, define and put into operation the expectations that you have for yourself. It all starts with you!

What are good selling skills? The opposite of telling is asking, the opposite of talking is listening and the opposite of selling is buying. These are definitive selling skills.

Buyers no longer have a desire to be sold. They want to be understood, engaged and empowered to buy. These are great selling skills!

Buyers will buy from someone who demonstrates admirable selling skills. They want someone who truly listens and genuinely cares.

Someone they can trust and who reminds them of themselves. These are the focal selling skills required in today‘s new economy of buyers.

An engaging conversation and a considerate attitude are top notch selling skills. One, who asks questions, listens empathetically and acknowledges customer concerns harbors sturdy selling skills. A number one selling skill is trust. Trust is gained by being buyer focused and building rapport with the buyer, creating a mutually ratifying relationship. These are highly beneficial selling skills for today’s new economy of buyers.

When sales people are telling, they assume they are in control. Telling is not a suitable selling skill. Sales people conducting themselves in this fashion lack basic selling skills and totally loose control of the sales prospect. The buyer is now asking the questions and initiating the control. The wisdom to know better is a selling skill.

Do you ever get rejected? Ponder that a moment as it applies to selling skills. If your answer is yes, you are not in control. Proper selling skills will not promote failure or rejection. Excellent selling skills will engage the buyer. Professional service and dependable sales skills are positive motivation. . Superior sales skills pioneer dependability. The buyer is assured they will benefit from constructive results. Hard work and perseverance are necessary to attain and maintain all those exceptional selling skills.

Want to be in control? Apply adept selling skills with all future buyers: ask questions and listen well

Sales people may believe they gain by offering plenty of information. Too much information is of no value to the buyer. It is time consuming and an inappropriate selling skill.

Buyers today want value. They want to be understood, to feel important, to build a comfortable relationship and to be heard. These are all apt selling skills and all sales professionals should exhibit proficient selling skills on a daily basis.

If your selling skills are not engaging as described above and the customer is dissatisfied, you may be asked to “please leave! Don’t waste my time!”

To succeed in sales today, you must do the opposite of selling. You must learn how to attract, engage and empower buyers to buy.

Learn How to Execute the Disciplines of Attracting, Engaging and Empowering the “Buyer Focused” Velocity Selling System, to Up Your Bottom Line

To download your complimentary White Paper “The New Economy of Buyers, Why Traditional and Consultative Selling Methods No Longer Work”, visit www.BobU.com

Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion

It’s important to be successful at what you do, maximizing your talents and leveraging your strengths. We need successful people in every facet of society for it to function properly – no one would argue with that concept.

There is a difference, though, in being successful and adding value to society, your family and all the relationships in which you are actively engaged. You can be successful at the expense of others, which many have experienced at some point in their lives; however, a person who adds value through their success, as Einstein ascribes, achieves that higher accomplishment of making society, home life or relationships better for everyone.

Think about the things you are striving to achieve. Are you working toward success at any cost, or are you adding value to others along the way? If you add value to others, they will value you in return and cheer for the successes you achieve in life.

Therefore, let’s understand how salespeople can add value.

Wikepedia defines Value added selling is one of several sales techniques that relies on building on the inherent value of a product or service. By its nature the value add technique is a more flexible and customized selling approach that requires input from a defined range of average customers. These customers will help the sales and marketing leaders to outline value positions that are likely to benefit the largest number of customers.

Tom Reilly, in his book Value Added Selling, describes value-added selling as a proactive philosophy of seeking ways to enhance, augment, or enlarge your bundled package solution for the customer. It’s promising a lot and delivering more, always looking for ways to exceed the customer’s expectations.

Based on the definitions above, you can see that being proactive, exceeding customer expectations, being flexible and able to customize your approach are important. However, there are other elements that also have to come into play first. They are the four universal needs of all buyers. Without those needs being satisfied, nothing will happen.

The 4 Universal Needs Of Buyers

Need 1. The need to be understood.
Need 2. The need to feel welcomed.
Need 3. The need to feel important.
Need 4. The need to feel comfortable.

First and foremost, a salesperson must be “buyer focused” with an immediate desire to establish trust. Trust is the basis of a great long-term relationship. If two people trust each other, like each other, and want to do business with each other, they will work out the details.

This step is not about you, your product, service, company or about making a sale. It is about the buyer and creating a relationship based on trust. This involves being curious while demonstrating integrity and empathy. This, is turn, will satisfy the buyer’s need of being understood.

Salespeople add value with their questioning, listening and problem solving skills, follow-up, accessibility, knowledge and initiative when focused on the buyer, not themselves, their product, service or company.
Initially, the value added salesperson is a doctor —he diagnoses the customer’s problems and then prescribes the right solution.

Value added salespeople define value in buyer terms, based on buyer needs, not seller terms or desires. If you define value in buyer terms, buyers pay for it with a higher selling price. Conversely, if you define value in your terms, you pay for it with a bigger discount.

Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The salesperson’s competence and attitude are primary drivers of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

Value-added selling is significantly different than traditional selling.

-Traditional salespeople sell products—value added salespeople solve problems.

-Traditional salespeople attempt to create the buyer’s needs—value added salespeople seek to understand the buyer’s needs.

-Traditional salespeople make deals—value added salespeople want to create a long term relationship and make a difference.

-The fundamental selling skill for traditional salespeople is closing—the fundamental selling skill for value added salespeople is engaging – probing, listening and empowering the buyer to make decisions.
Ask yourself this question – What can I do today to add more value?

Characteristics of Value Added Salespeople

Attitude – the foundation of all successful people – a desire to be buyer focused.

Integrity – ninety-six percent of buyers say that the number one thing they look for in salespeople is integrity. People want to do business with those whom they trust.

Empathy – this is the salesperson’s ability to ask questions, listen, understand and to view life from the buyer’s point of view.

Initiative – having an owner’s mentality and being proactive, being one step ahead of the buyer, not waiting for someone to tell you what you must do.

Knowledgeable – buyers report that what they want most in a solution is to deal with salespeople who are knowledgeable, or experts in their field. If knowledge is power then what you don’t know holds great power over you. Knowledge is empowerment.

Courage – this is not the absence of fear—it’s the management of fear. Value added salespeople feel the fear and do what they know they must do.

Discipline – Doing what you have to do, even when you don’t want to do it.

The Bottom Line: The key to value added selling is understanding buyers’ needs from their perspective— and defining “value” accordingly. Sell value, not price!

To succeed in sales today, you must do the opposite of selling. You must learn how to attract, engage and empower buyers to buy.

Learn How to Execute the Disciplines of Attracting, Engaging and Empowering the “Buyer Focused” Velocity Selling System, to Up Your Bottom Line

To download your complimentary White Paper “The New Economy of Buyers, Why Traditional and Consultative Selling Methods No Longer Work”, visit www.BobU.com

Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion

I was thrilled about being invited to do that, as I have never done that before. However, the awards were randomly passed out to a variety of business personalities, and not necessarily in a way that reflected their character or what they stand for.

Well, I opened mine to read what I was awarding. It was discount retailer of the year. Immediately, I told the backstage organizer that I cannot award this, and that created a wave of problems for them and the other business personalities, which was not my intention.

In sales, as in any profession, I teach people to be ethical. In this case, I would not have been ethical in presenting something that I do not believe in. Every retail client that I have worked with has had that problem and they have learned how to deal with discounts, and basically do not discount. If they do, they do it for the right reasons – volume, loyalty rewards, brand association, visibility, media coverage, etc.

What would have happened if I presented this award and my global retail clients, like Bulgari or Emirates, who I have trained not to discount, and by chance they saw a video of me presenting an award to Discount Retailer of the Year?

Would I have been ethical? Would they continue to do business with me? Would I be better off, worst off, or would it not matter at all?

This is a serious problem in every business, not just retail. How do you deal with it?

I believe that any behaviour that is recognized or rewarded gets repeated. Is discounting a behaviour that deserves recognition and praise? Is it something that business owners, entrepreneurs and sales people want to promote?

Or, is it something you would like to eliminate and learn how to eliminate it.
I invite you to give me your opinion and in two weeks, I will summarize the replies and share them back with you.

By the way, my closing quote at the forum was- If it is to be, It is up to me.
When discounting, are you selling, or are you giving your value away?

E-mail me your reply and enter to win $100 worth of educational products from BobU.com

B– Break Away
Break away from everything that stands in the way of what you hope to accomplish with your life.

C–Create
Create a family of friends whom you can share your hopes, dreams, sorrows, and happiness with.

D–Decide
Decide that you’ll be successful and happy come what may, and good things will find you. The roadblocks are only minor obstacles along the way.

E–Explore
Explore and experiment. The world has much to offer, and you have much to give. And every time you try something new, you’ll learn more about yourself.

F–Forgive
Forgive and forget. Grudges only weigh you down and inspire unhappiness and grief. Soar above it, and remember that everyone makes mistakes.

G–Grow
Leave the childhood monsters behind. They can no longer hurt you or stand in your way.

H–Hope
Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the task.

I–Ignore
Ignore the negative voice inside your head. Focus instead on your goals and remember your accomplishments. Your past success is only a small inkling of what the future holds.

J–Journey
Journey to new worlds, new possibilities, by remaining open-minded. Try to learn something new every day, and you’ll grow.

K–Know
Know that no matter how bad things seem, they’ll always get better. The warmth of spring always follows the harshest winter.

L–Love
Let love fill your heart instead of hate. When hate is in your heart, there’s room for nothing else, but when love is in your heart, there’s room for endless happiness.

M–Manage
Manage your time and your expenses wisely, and you’ll suffer less stress and worry. Then you’ll be able to focus on the important things in life.

N–Notice
Never ignore the poor, infirm, helpless, weak, or suffering. Offer your assistance when possible, and always your kindness and understanding.

O–Open
Open your eyes and take in all the beauty around you. Even during the worst of times, there’s still much to be thankful for.

P–Play
Never forget to have fun along the way. Success means nothing without happiness.

Q–Question
Ask many questions, because you’re here to learn.

R–Relax
Refuse to let worry and stress rule your life, and remember that things always have a way of working out in the end.

S–Share
Share your talent, skills, knowledge, and time with others. Everything that you invest in others will return to you many times over.

T–Try
Even when your dreams seem impossible to reach, try anyway. You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish.

U–Use
Use your gifts to your best ability. Talent that’s wasted has no value. Talent that’s used will bring unexpected rewards.

V–Value
Value the friends and family members who’ve supported and encouraged you, and be there for them as well.

W–Work
Work hard every day to be the best person you can be, but never feel guilty if you fall short of your goals. Every sunrise offers a second chance.

X–X-Ray
Look deep inside the hearts of those around you and you’ll see the goodness and beauty within.

Y–Yield
Yield to commitment. If you stay on track and remain dedicated, you’ll find success at the end of the road.

Z–Zoom
Zoom to a happy place when bad memories or sorrow rears its ugly head. Let nothing interfere with your goals. Instead, focus on your abilities, your dreams, and a brighter tomorrow.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes because that means she is at home and not on the streets.

For the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, window that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive.

And finally… for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

Each day we go out into the world where we are faced with the many external influences that are not part of ourselves, not under our control, and that causes us to react in the way we do. Influences like the weather, the news, the traffic, the crowds of people or the lack of people, and the comments we hear.

When you wake up to a rainy day, versus a sunny day, do you see things differently?

When you get caught in traffic, how do you react?

When faced with an obstacle, or failure, what do you do?

How you react is under your full control. You have that freedom of choice. You can react as favorably to a rainy day as you would to a sunny day, appreciating what good the rain does, or you can complain about the clouds.

When you get caught in traffic you can get upset, which does you no good because you cannot control the traffic, or you can use the time to visualize your dreams.

When we face an obstacle you can be discouraged and even quit, or you can seek out the hidden opportunity, knowing that at least you will learn from the experience.

The problem is that most people are not taking control of what is under their control: their thoughts.

The secret is to take control of your thoughts. We all work with one infinite power. We all guide ourselves by exactly the same laws—the natural laws of the universe. The law of attraction, the most powerful law in the universe, states that whatever is going on in your mind, you are attracting to you. The law of attraction says like attracts like, so as you think a thought, you are attracting like thoughts to you.

Your thoughts of today author your tomorrow.

The law of attraction began at the beginning of time. It has always been and it will always be. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, the law of attraction is forming your entire life experience, and this powerful law is doing that through your thoughts. You are the one who calls the law of attraction into action, and you do it through your thoughts.

A state of mind cannot be purchased, it must be created. Your states of mind are your thoughts. You can improve the quality of your life by managing your thoughts, by reframing them so that they empower rather than depress you.

As an adult, you have absolute control over your own thoughts. Your thoughts control your attitude and determine how you react to situations. Your thoughts are you! You are the author of your future.

You have created your own fears, your own limitations and barriers. You are who you are based on what you have thought about in your past.

Because you have the ability to control your own state of mind, you can overcome habits and even fears. You have the capability and the right to accept or reject your thoughts. It’s called willpower.

If you fail to control your own mind, how can you control anything else?

Control your thoughts or your thoughts will control you. There is no halfway compromise. Mind control is a result of self-discipline and habit. Keep your mind busy with a definite purpose backed by a definite plan.

Your thought process and your reactions make the difference in your life. To take control of your life you must first identify the things you have no control over versus the things you do have control over.

There are a lot of things in life that we cannot control such as the weather, the traffic, and what people say about us. Why do we let these things get under our skin? If we cannot control it, let it be.

This is a simple introduction to discipline.

However, we do need to manage what is within our control; for instance, our thoughts, our attitudes, our self-talk and our reactions. In order to exercise control, we need to be aware of certain influences.

Most people do not possess this type of discipline.

Our habits usually exist without our knowledge. However, if we introduce discipline as a daily ritual, we consciously become aware of what we are doing. We can then determine if this particular discipline is effective or ineffective. We can begin to map out a simple life plan. We can take a step forward.

Once you are able to establish the difference between effective and ineffective habits, you can take the next step. Many people assume they can simply quit a habit, but unfortunately it is never easy or simple. Bad habits cannot just be stopped; they are usually replaced with other habits, hopefully better ones.

Therefore, if you identify an ineffective habit, how can you replace it with an effective discipline? For example, if your habit is to procrastinate, then discipline yourself to complete a job and reward yourself accordingly. In other words, out with the bad and in with the good.

Take action.

You can fail but understand that any mistake is a learning opportunity and an act of courage. In order to get to where you want to go, you may take one step forward and two steps back. However, if you maintain discipline in your life, you will eventually get there and will reap the benefits.

Every accomplishment deserves praise and recognition. You know you have to fail often to succeed once. You also know that success is based on good judgment, and good judgment comes from experience. The best experiences evolve from failure.

Another discipline is giving yourself permission to fail so you may learn. Once you learn your lesson, recognize its worth and reward yourself. Any behaviour that is recognized and rewarded is repeated.

What an inspiring discipline.

The important message is that you can take control of your life with a little discipline. Discipline is defined as a commitment to the most important person in the world. It means doing what you have to do, even when you do not want to do it.

The discipline I’m suggesting you add into your life right now is awareness.

But note, any discipline will alter your life for the better. Begin today to live the life of your dreams and let discipline lead the way toward a successful future.