Business, Sales & Marketing

Since 1967 selling has been a focus in my life. Whether as a commissioned sales professional, sales manager, or business owner. Over these many years I have found eleven constants that can help anyone who aspires to be a million dollar sales professional. Over the next few months I will share one of these each week.

As many of you who visit this site are interested in selling and in managing sales professionals I encourage you to send me your ideas.

Tip #1

 Read and study as if your career depended on it. I don’t know of another activity that that can help you more than by continually improving your mind by reading and studying. Each of you should seek out specific training in your profession and industry but for overall knowledge on the career of selling these are some of my favorite books.  

a.      Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”  Most people are not organized and don’t plan their work so they often finish their day accomplishing some things but not the most important things. At the end of each day we should reflect on what we completed and then make a list of the ten things we need to accomplish tomorrow and rank them from top to bottom by order of importance. If we only finish four of them they will be the four most important and that will make for a successful day.

b.      George S. Clason, “The Richest Man in Babylon“  

c.      Charles “Tremendous” Jones, “Life is Tremendous” was probably the most influential sales professional in my career. I met Charles in Dallas a few months before we started the company. You can read about him for yourself on his web site at:                                    http://www.executivebooks.com/cjones/index.html  He was the most successful insurance salesperson of his time and I learned two things that changed my life. One was that I should always reflect to my customers that things and especially business were Tremendous, hence his nick name. If I expected them to give me orders then they had to believe that it would be good for them and that they needed to expand because business was good. The second lesson concerned his work ethic. When he started his selling career he set a goal to make a sale each and every day. At the end of the day if he was unable to sell anyone insurance he bought a $1,000 term policy on himself. He remarked that at the end of his first year he was not the top sales person in his company but he was the most heavily insured. The lesson learned is that if selling is your business you need to treat it as such and be serious about your success.  

d.      Earl Nightingale was another influencer on my work ethic. I purchased his books and tapes and in college I even sold them to earn money. I would recommend that everyone purchase his books and tapes and give copies of them to their children and grandchildren. They not only encompass a wonderful work ethic but a life ethic that will bring you success and contentment. You can learn more about him at his web site:  

http://www.earlnightingale.com

I especially recommend purchasing “THE STRANGEST SECRET” it is the only recorded message to ever receive a Gold Record. This is the original 1956 Gold Record recording, written and narrated by Earl Nightingale. In his message, Earl explains the universal truth of why we can only become what we think about. Two of his best stories are “Acres of Diamonds” and his story of a ship captain and what he did in planning for his voyage these are just two of his great life lessons critical to selling success.  

Are your sales results what you want? Have some of your best customers gone silent? Have some of your best contacts moved or been promoted leaving a stranger making the buying decisions in your best accounts?

 Studies have shown that 20% of a customer list becomes obsolete each year. This means that each year 20 of your best 100 accounts theoretically will move, go out of business, your contact will get promoted, leave the company, or change jobs. This means that if you are not prospecting for new accounts and replacing the important 20% each year you may find yourself not making the money you thought you would earn.

There are many methods to protect you from this busines phenomenon.

• One is to make deeper penetration into your accounts. If you know more people in the decision-making and purchasing departments you may create a relationship with the successor to the person you are currently selling.

• Secondly, if your good account moves or closes you need to be prospecting for new accounts to replace them.

• Networking and asking your customers for referrals is a powerful tool for finding others who may want what you can do for them.

• Joining a lead club is another effective method of finding companies moving or expanding.

• Attending the Chamber of Commerce meetings in your city is another way to find out who may be moving.

• Subscribe to the business journal in your city and look for companies moving or expanding.

• Search the want ads in your local paper to see who is hiring new employees, as they are companies that are expanding.       

Remember this is your business and you need to work harder than those who would take it away from you. Good luck and good selling.  

 

Click the link below to read a great article in the Wall Street Journal’s Small Business Report regarding search engines and how small businesses are taking advantage of them to gain a strong web presence. 

This ties in perfectly to Indoff’s Partner Marketing Sites!Successfully, launched in 2006 Indoff has over 80 successful sites selling products and services in all for of their divisions, Material Handling, Office Interiors, Office Supplies, and Promotional Products.

With close to 400 sales professionals working in 49 states and Mexico Indoff is the only company that can not only help a customer with a problem over the net but can send a sales, engineering, and instillation team to the client for help.

The web is becoming the main resource for companies in solving their problems and sourcing their suppliers. Please take a moment to view some of these sites by visiting www.indoff.com  

http://startup.wsj.com/ecommerce/ecommerce/20070501-spors.html

I was very impressed that Mitt Romney has decided to endorse making tax exempt all investment income for low and middle income Americans. Please take a look at his New Hampshire website for more information on this interesting pro business candidate.  His site is http://www.newhampshireforromney.com

It has always been disappointing to me that in this country we can’t do a better job of preparing young people to create and build successful businesses. 

Our school systems spend little or no time on encouraging our youngsters to start businesses and no time on how to finance and run them. In fact most high school graduates don’t have the first idea of how to balance a check book let alone finance and run a business.

One particular rude awakening I discovered, at the ripe old age of 24, was that the more our business sold the more money we had to borrow to finance the business. It seems logical now but back then I had no knowledge of this important principle.

One of the best books I found recently and that I strongly recommend to anyone who currently owns their own business or is thinking about starting one is “The E-Myth Revisited”.     

You can pick up a copy at Amazon http://www.amazon.com

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. (by Michael E. Gerber (Author) “If you own a small business, or if you want to own a small business, this book was written for you…”

Owning and operating several businesses during the past forty years has been a wonderful experience. I have learned what works and more importantly what doesn’t work. During these many years of owning and operating several businesses I felt it would be good to share my experiences with others. 

In this process I am hopeful that others with similar experiences will comment and share their opinions and ideas so we can mentor others younger and those wanting to enjoy the prosperity that this country gives to those who try.