E-Tip #383: 13 Telephone Tips To Increase Your Sales

Greetings!

With 2011 behind us, many salespeople want to increase their sales. Unfortunately, they typically don't know where to start or, for that matter, what they need to do.

Telephone Skills Should Be A Salesperson's #1 Area Of Focus In 2012.

When most salespeople initiate their first verbal communication with a prospect, it is typically done over the phone. That said, don't you think this should be an area of focus for your sales training? If your answer is yes, then you might not only find today's e-tip of particular interest, but also one that can make you and/or your business more money.

13 Telephone Training Tips For ALL Salespeople To Review.

1. Avoid All Background Noises: When making your calls, always keep background noises to a minimum. If you are a sales leader, make sure your salespeople have a quiet "sanctuary" to use at your office - this will help them tremendously when making their prospecting calls. If not, your salespeople will avoid making calls altogether.

2. Avoid Negotiations On The Phone: If you sell in a local or regional area, drive to the person's location - it will be to your advantage due to being able to judge his/her body language.

3. Avoid The "Price" Discussion On Your Initial Call: A lot of times people will ask you about "the prices you charge" on the initial call, especially if you are selling a commodity product or service. The best way to handle this is to give them a low and high price for what you are selling and then immediately explain that so much depends on X, Y and Z. Now the key to this technique is to immediately ask the prospect to take the next step in the sales process, i.e., face-to-face meeting or webinar.

4. Don't Look At Your Cell Phone Or e-Mail: It is easy to get distracted by our cell phones or e-mails; therefore, turn them completely off when making your calls. If not, you run the risk of being distracted or projecting the wrong impression by not giving someone your undivided attention.

5. Keep The Person's Name/Company Name In Front Of You: If you are making a lot of phone calls at one sitting, it can be confusing at times. To help you avoid using the person's wrong name or company name, use a CRM program like ACT! and have the person's name in front of you. Not only is it embarrassing to use the person's wrong name, but it also projects a poor image of you; two things you want to avoid.

6. Know Your Objective When Calling Someone: When making a call to someone, you need to have an objective, i.e., appointment or a webinar. No matter what, keep this in mind as you make your call. Doing so will not only keep you focused, but also keep your eyes on what you are really saying.

7. Paint a Mental Picture: It will help you tremendously when you are able to create a mental picture for a person.

8. Think Everyone Who Answers The Phone Is An Owner: The person who answers the phone is not just the receptionist. It could be the owner or a decision maker for buying what you sell. In fact, it is always good practice to assume this on every phone call.

9. Use A Headset: High performance telephone users know the value of a headset, because it allows them to 1.) Take notes using both hands (great when using a CRM tool), 2.) Talk with their hands, 3.) Walk around or 4.) Make changes to a document or 5.) Send off an e-mail to the person you are talking with.

10. Use A High Quality Connection: There is nothing worse than being on a poor connection with someone. This is why you should be making your calls on a wired line or on a cell phone that has a "5 bar" connection.

11. Use Open-ended Questions: Asking someone an open-ended question will help keep the conversation flowing versus a closed question. Case in point: Are you happy with your present source of X, Y or Z? or If you could wave a magic wand over your present source of X, Y or Z, what would you change? See the difference in potential answers!

12. Use The Person's Name In A Sentence: People like hearing their name, so use it. In most phone calls, experts all agree to use the person's name three times.

13. Your Tone Matters: The tone of your voice matters -- and more than you think. If your tone lacks enthusiasm, people know this and will react negatively.

Executive Summary: The key to your phone success hinges on many elements - elements that can be learned. So if you are the sales leader, spend some time just listening to your sales team make their calls. Not only is this a great exercise for you and your salespeople, but also one that keeps everyone focused on great phone skills. Because, if you don't have great phone skills, you run the risk of poor sales production. Don't believe me; go and listen to your top producer on the phone, and then listen to your less successful salespeople.

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E-Tip # 382: 6 Tips For Motivating Employees

Greetings!

Most managers have a misconception that money is the #1 motivator for employees. According to many psychologists who study work behavior, there are many things that motivate people to act; however, as one desire is satisfied, another one takes its place. Money and job security are two of the primary things people need, but there are more important needs that all people crave. These include love and esteem, which can be achieved by feeling recognized and appreciated.

One of the best ways to provide recognition and appreciation is through the use of rewards. To make rewards work for your business, you must first follow certain basic guidelines. Below, you can find tips for following these guidelines:

6 Tips For Motivating Employees With A Reward Program

Tip #1: Design Rewards Based On People's Specific Needs - When designing a reward program(s), take into account individual personalities and preferences. Once you design an appropriate award, make sure it also addresses the group's overall needs. For the most part, it does not have to be an expensive reward. For example, many people will be motivated, or go the extra mile, in order to have their name placed on a plaque.

Tip #2: Give A Reward For Attaining The End-Result - Rewards should be based on what was actually accomplished - but setting the bar too low or too high will have a negative effect on your team's performance, so plan accordingly. It could be a stretch, although attainable, to give people something to strive towards.

Tip #3: Give Rewards When Goals Are Achieved - Rewards and recognition should be given out immediately after the desired behavior is achieved. If you delay the reward or recognition long after the achievement is met, it does little to motivate an employee.

Tip #4: Involve Your Employees In The Design Process - Make employees part of the design process - especially with reward programs that directly effect them. People gain a sense of belonging and importance when they have input on the type of goals they should be achieving.

Tip #5: Have Regular Meetings To Keep Everyone Up-To-Date - If you have regularly scheduled meetings to keep all employees informed about the company's goals, it will help everyone feel as though they belong to the organization. Plus, it keeps them informed on the overall progress they are making - which is a great long-term motivator. This is a wonderful time to give recognition for any achievements, whether or not those accomplishments are connected to a reward program.

Tip #6: Listen To Your Employees - It is no secret that the #1 way to improve your organization is to ask your employees how to get things done better, faster and cheaper - your employees have the best insight on improving the operations, since they deal with the systems/processes on a daily basis. To keep your employees involved with the refining of your business, make a point to give full credit (as well as reward them with something tangible) to the ones who were directly involved with the idea.

Executive Summary: A reward program is a great way to motivate your employees. When creating such program, it is important to tailor it around your employees' specific needs and interests. Also, involve your employees in the crafting of the program, and meet with them regularly to keep them updated of the intended goals that warrant the rewards. Another important aspect of a rewards program is instant gratification; that is, be sure to not delay the distribution of rewards.

These tips are a great way to get the most productivity out of employees, while at the same time increasing morale.

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E-Tip # 381: Top 5 Mistakes Made When Hiring A Leader

Greetings!

What is the most common mistake employers make when hiring or promoting supervisors, managers and executives? It is simple: Employers commonly fail to define the roles most critical for successful performance.

So how can an organization create a better track record of success in talent management? By avoiding the most common mistakes and setting up processes that ensure a systematic approach to screening, hiring, and clarifying expectations for those in new positions, managers can implement more successful talent management recruitment.

Top 5 Mistakes Made When Hiring A Leader For An Organization

Below Are The 5 Most Critical Hiring Mistakes Employers Make:

Mistake #1: Inadequately Defining And Evaluating Roles - It is critical for a new employee to have a defined role with clear, measurable performance standards. In addition, your company needs to have a way to evaluate their performance in order to measure the success of the employee. It proves to be more valuable to meet with employees often - at least quarterly to offer feedback on their performance as oppose to the typical once a year evaluation.

Mistake #2: Insufficient Grooming Of High-Potential Employees - In order to create a succession of solid employees, it is important to offer coaching, mentoring and training programs to the next wave of leaders. By design, this will not only help existing staff members with a solid career path to travel, but it will also give potential employees a good understanding of your company's policies, procedures and work philosophy.

Mistake #3: Using Overly Subjective Criteria And Unreliable Assessment Tools - We all know that assessing how well an employee will do in the position before they are hired will never be 100% accurate. Many companies rely on personality tests and assessments to help make a final decision. Unfortunately, unless these tests have been through an extensive validation process, using them can be a poor indicators of how successful the new hire will actually perform in the position. Use a behavioral interviewing process; then trust your gut, your team's instincts, and reference check potential employees, adding these behavioral processes along with their test results, so you can make the best decision possible.

Mistake #4: Focusing Too Much On The Basic Requirements Of The Job(s) - Focusing only on managerial and technical skills for the job and not emphasizing less apparent talents, such as morale building or team building skills, can lead to selecting the wrong candidate. Look at the total person who you are considering hiring and their level of emotional intelligence as well as the impact they will have on the team dynamics.

Mistake #5: Giving Inadequate Consideration To People From Outside The Organization - There is nothing wrong with looking toward your current employee workforce to fill a leadership position. As a matter of fact, there are a number of advantages to hiring someone from within the organization. Despite this, many organizations fail to recognize how "new blood" in any organization can bring success. New employees can bring fresh experiences, ideas, energy and, yes, better results.

Executive Summary: When recruiting an employee for a leadership position, one needs to make sure that the roles and how they will be evaluated are clearly defined. It is also important to coach, mentor and train current employees, for they have the potential to step into leadership roles. Yet, while hiring from within an organization can be beneficial, it is also important to not dismiss the option of hiring from outside of the organization. Also, when assessing the success of an employee prior to offering him/her the position, it is important to implement a variety of assessment mediums and to consider less apparent talents, like morale and team building skills.

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