August 23, 2009

Adwords Miracle User Comments - a Sober Analysis

Filed under: Living With Sales, My Commerce, Sales — admin @ 3:17 pm

Affiliate marketing resembles an auction. Merchandise is advertised on your site and for this, you’ll take a commission from every transaction. There is less effort involved, very few operating costs, it sells 24/7, and it’s simple to learn.

To begin with, you must make up your mind which merchandise or area you’d like to work in. To do this, discover solutions to issues a specific market segment is looking for, and which solutions will assist them. An easy method of doing this task is searching for unique highly drilled down words or phrases; broadly speaking customers look for these less, however they will convert far more into sales. These crucial keywords can be found by using applications such as Micro Niche Finder. Data gathered from this computer program or other programs and services results in related words and phrases in a list format giving valuable targets to get a good listing in the search engines and generate a lot of of traffic.

Micro Niche Finder information will also calculate how many searches each one gets, just how many different websites who exploit them, and how successful that competitor is. Ultimately, the data returned can help determine appropriate domains, subject matter for your internet site, and also point out the best items for you to sell.

Now it’s time to build a internet site; however it will take a bit more than that. It’s crucial to fine-tune your site to better your performance on the search engines. This is where SEO Elite information and other similar applications can be helpful. This application automatically analyzes competing web sites and will provide you with advice on exactly what you can do to get top position in the search engine results.

With SEO Elite the information generated from the computer software suggests where you should find appropriate links, what words and phrases to concentrate on, and a list of article submission sites to refer to. Succinctly, Seo Elite information is similar to the data that a specialist in search engine optimization might provide.

When you determine your niche, design your product promotion, and your internet site is finished, then you are ready to get your internet site up in the search results. You will pick up a regular paycheck and you’ll question why you didn’t try affiliate marketing before!

May 21, 2008

Tradeshow Success Tip: Build A Dramatic Display

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 3:37 pm

You are about to mount a major product introduction at the industry’s premiere trade show. The company wants to make a dramatic statement, and you want to own the exhibit hall floor with a creative, custom-built exhibit.

Truly the status trade show exhibit, the custom booth can be virtually anything you want it to be. As the term implies, the exhibit is custom-built to the trade show exhibitor’s exact specifications. You have a clean slate to capture the drama of your firm’s breakthrough product offering and you get to dazzle the visitor and out-perform the competition. With a custom-built trade show booth, there are virtually no limits to design, graphics, materials, size, elevation or AV components. The traditional custom trade show exhibit is the “piece de resistance” of the trade show display product field, where an exhibitor is willing to create high drama and powerful imagery for the sake of a truly powerful impact. Allow enough time to start from scratch to deliver the exhibit that will have award-winning potential. Understand the trade show schedule and allow four to six months for a large custom build and six weeks to 12 weeks for a mid-size island or smaller. One thing you will have to prepare for with the custom display is the cost. It is the most expensive to produce and has the highest operating costs due to size and number of packing crates.

If cost is the dominate concern, consider a custom modular exhibit that offers high quality exhibit imaging without the higher operating costs of custom displays. Modular construction takes advantage of a large inventory of interchangeable pre-designed and engineered components such as back walls, counters, display pedestals and exterior panels. Lightweight structural materials such as aluminum, Plexiglas and high-grade tension fabrics provide simplified assembly, space-saving packing and often 400% lower shipment and handling costs. The flexible design trend display components allow you to reconfigure the design or size of your trade show booth from tradeshow to tradeshow. Custom modular tradeshow exhibits offer design and image quality with substantial savings in operating costs due to less weight and size and number of shipping containers.

Another option is the portable system that offers trade show display versatility. Lightweight portable exhibits are ideal for trade show exhibitors who require ease of use and a variety of display configurations while presenting a distinctive creative image. Easily set-up, the portable system has a skeletal frame with attachable laminate panels, which simply clip together in virtually unlimited structural styles. Accessories such as bridges, counters, alcoves and backlighting enhance versatility of the interchangeable portable systems. The trade show portable systems can convert from tabletop to island exhibits in minutes and adapt to almost any trade show display situation with minimal effort. Usually your own booth staffers can transport and assemble the exhibit themselves saving time and the added costs of drayage and contract workers. Portable displays are an especially suitable option for the first-time trade show exhibitor and for appearances at smaller, regional trade shows.

Dick Wheeler, is President of Professional Exhibits & Graphics, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The firm is a full-service premiere trade show exhibit, graphics and management services company. Go to http://www.proexhibits.com

May 16, 2008

Training for Triathlons and Prospecting is the Same

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 11:58 am

The similarities between endurance athletic events like the Triathlon and Prospecting are almost scary. I had no idea they were so much a like when I decided that I should run Triathlons. It just seemed that this old body needed some rejuvenation, and triathlons aren’t as boring as just running forever, they add the possibility of drowning or crashing your bike!

Anyway, the only way to train for endurance sports like swimming, bicycling, and running is to set aside a specific time 5 days a week for training. In my case this is usually Long Slow Distance (LSD) work. This is how I can build a training base for endurance. I judge the level of my training by using a heart rate monitor that tells me how hard I am working. There is a range within which I should train for at least an hour a day.

My only other responsibility is to be sure that I am using the form that is most efficient for each of the events, so that practice really does make perfect. If you practice wrong, then you develop the skill “perfectly wrong.” I don’t want to do that.

Then, all I need to do it DO IT. If I calculate the correct heart rate zone, train on a daily basis, and practice the correct form, then I should be ready to perform in each of the Triathlons I enter.

The same basic factors apply to Prospecting. First of all Prospecting is an endurance event. You benefit most by Prospecting on a regular basis for a long time, long slow Prospecting - LSP.

Secondly, you need to make sure you are doing it correctly, the right form. We, of course, suggest our BLITZ CALL® System for Prospecting, but this works for whatever Prospecting System you use. Far too many sales professionals use a Prospecting method that is admittedly poor simply because they don’t know any other way. This tends to create Prospecting anxiety which means they don’t like to prospect and usually avoid it.

Thirdly, you need to calculate how many Prospecting calls you need to make to accomplish your goals.

The development of the system is probably pretty easy for most people and may even be fun. The problems arise when you actually have to Prospect on a regular basis.

One of the biggest obstacles for me in training is when I feel tired or have had a hard day and don’t look forward to spending two hours or so swimming, biking, or running. Or when the weather is really hot, when the afternoon temperatures have been in the mid 90’s with a dew point of 78! It becomes really easy to rationalize why I don’t need to train that day.

Also, think of all the reasons I should stay in the office and finish some work which is a good reason to skip today.

Nonsense. If I want to be able to walk away from the finish line having done my best, I need to prepare to some degree every day. You can’t develop endurance fast.

All this is exactly the same for Prospecting; you have to do it on a regular basis, day in and day out, week after week in order to accomplish you goals. You can’t sprint through the process; you must build a strong base from which to work.

When you start you will see that LSP is really not that difficult it just needs to be done on a regular basis. I will also expect to see more sales people on the circuit since you know that Training for Triathlons or Prospecting is the same.

Sell Well and Often

Bill Truax

Bill@BlitzCall.com

© Copyright 2006 WJ Truax

Bill Truax is a Sales Management and Field Operations Consultant living in Cleveland, Oh. He conducts Sales Team Assessments, Management and Leadership programs, and works with Field Sales Professionals and Managers both in the field and in workshops. He has written 3 books and recorded 2 CD’s on Prospecting and Making Cold Calls and conducts a variety of skill based seminars, workshops, and train the trainer programs.
Bill has spent literally thousands of hours in the field making cold calls with sales professionals to teach his BLITZ CALL System. When Bill is in the field he actually makes many of the BLITZ CALLs himself, regardless of the industry. This is to demonstrate that anyone can prospect you just need to know how.
Bill writes a Free weekly Prospecting Succes Tip for subscribers at his website http://www.BlitzCall.com The site also details all the materials and programs Trufield offers.

April 14, 2008

Increase Sales By Flying Under Your Prospects “Radar Defenses”

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 12:42 am

How do you persuade someone to do what you want them to do?

A whole world of marketing exists around us trying to do that every minute of the day. Do you even notice it anymore or, like your prospects, have you subconsciously set up a system of “radar defenses” against the daily bombardment of marketing messages? Take a minute and count up the advertising methods which fight, for your attention (and money) every day. Just the basic list includes:

  • Yellow page ads

  • Newspaper and magazine ads

  • Postcards, catalogs, and direct mail circulars in your “snail mail” box

  • Radio pitches interrupting the flow of your favorite songs

  • TV ads - about 20 minutes worth per hour now

  • Hundreds of storefronts, “mega” malls, and strip malls

  • Highway billboards by the thousands

  • Circulars hung on your doorknob

  • Illegal signs on stop signs and telephone poles

  • Legitimate email messages

  • Spam email or UCE (unsolicited commercial email)

Just these 11 sources can overwhelm your brain with marketing messages. Like trapped rats, people develop defenses against this never-ending onslaught. They throw up a wall or a “radar defense” that goes into action the minute they smell a “pitch” or a sales job. Don’t blame them. We all do it! So how can you get around this psychological wall against the constant sales and marketing messages? Well, the answer does NOT lie in hitting people with more frequent and obnoxious advertising or sly, sneaky tactics. You might get them to trust you for a minute, but it will backfire in the long run.

You must do two things instead:

1. First, you must establish credibility for yourself and your business as an expert.

2. Second, you must reduce their fears about doing business with you.

Doing these two things will get you past their defenses and allow you the opportunity to persuade them to buy your product.

So how do you accomplish these two “simple” things? What will win someone’s attention, raise your credibility, and lower their fear factor all at the same time? The one-word nswer really applies to most everyone.

Trust!

If a seller can get behind your defenses with information which makes you trust them, then that credibility will carry over into a sale much of the time. How can you get this credibility? Well, take this next fact as online marketing “gospel,” for many people have proven it’s effectiveness.

Fact: Publishing and promoting with free articles gives you one of the most powerful opportunities available to tip the buyer’s credibility scale in your favor. How can we prove this works? Quite easily actually. Take a break from reading this and go check out a newspaper or magazine for a minute. Which do you trust more, the ads or the articles? Most people will choose the articles hands down. Why? Because the articles don’t try to “sell” you anything. Instead, they hand out useful information for educational or other practical purposes.

Most of us grew up in a culture which says we can believe and “trust” what appears in the standard “news” or “information” format. In other words, if it appears in print, then we can believe and trust the author.

So go ahead! Use this lifetime of conditioning to your advantage in selling your products and services! Very few things will create an atmosphere of trust and confidence in people as reading one of your articles on a subject that greatly interests them. It shows you know your business. It also demonstrates you will do more than just try to sell them something.

Publishing articles literally lets you fly under their advertising “radar defenses.”

So remember these points when deciding whether or not to use articles to promote your business:

1. Few things create as much trust and confidence in the minds of potential customers as reading an article you wrote on a subject which specifically and intensely interests them.

2. Articles establish credibility quickly because, right or wrong, we’ve all been trained to trust the “news.”

3. An article, or series of articles, will differentiate you from the competition, who bombard people with nothing but sales messages.

4. Providing content-rich, non-sales-oriented articles will also help build and solidify your relationship with existing customers so they give you repeat business.

Jim Edwards - EzineArticles Expert Author

About The Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook, “Turn Words Into Traffic,” that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate link! Click Here ==> http://the-easy-way.com/traffic.html

April 10, 2008

An Introduction To Group Health Insurance Leads

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 6:03 pm

Years ago, talking to prospects about group health insurance was a tough sell. Health insurance agents used to settle on cold calling in order to make a sale. This was time-consuming and often resulted in dead-end rejections, since many groups had some form of health insurance through their employment and were resistant to signing up for additional coverage. But nowadays, if you are an insurance agent, finding prospects is not e a hard task, because you can purchase group health insurance leads from reliable companies.

Group health insurance leads are actual positive responses direct from the group of prospects themselves. They are actually interested in buying your health insurance policies as a group. These are generated through direct mail marketing and telemarketing. They are also pre-qualified and have passed through a quality control department to ensure reliability.

But if there are pre-qualified leads, there can also be invalid leads. These leads can only be considered invalid if they are not submitted by a group, submitted by competitors, and are submitted outside the service territory specified in the agreement. If you encounter invalid leads, you can submit a lead recall request. This request is then reviewed. Once approved, it will be reflected as a refund to your account.

Purchasing as many or as few leads that you can comfortably handle within two to three days can give a significant impact to your bottom line. But you have to find a reliable company that generates quality leads, because your time is not worth wasting on unqualified leads. The company you choose should use a script that you can customize to your products, location and types of client you typically serve. You should also enlist a company that uses highly trained telemarketers with solid knowledge of the group health insurance field and use a soft sell, relationship building approach.

Health Insurance Leads provides detailed information on Health Insurance Leads, Group Health Insurance Leads, Free Health Insurance Leads, Health Insurance Lead Generation and more. Health Insurance Leads is affiliated with Life Insurance Leads.

April 3, 2008

Your Business Approach Can Make or Break a Business Deal

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 11:20 am

Every sales presentation should start with the approach, or introduction. Your approach should be a well-defined statement that can be easily adjusted for any situation. Although getting the prospect’s attention brings fear into the hearts of some people, generally, it is not a difficult thing to do. But it can be easily lost with drawn-out, unnecessary chitchat.

The mission of your opening statement is to get the attention of the prospect. Without the prospect’s attention, the selling process cannot be started. Nervousness may cause the salesperson to hurry their sales presentation, leaving out critical information.

If a salesman is nervous it could be due to lack of confidence in their approach. They may know their approach is not effective and doesn’t create curiosity and interest. Or perhaps they are not sure of their sales abilities, or they do not believe the claims of the product they are selling are true.

If you fear meeting with the prospect like you would fear a death sentence, you will have defeated yourself before you ever get started. Your nervousness will show in your demeanor and voice. If you show your prospect you lack confidence in yourself, or your proposition, they will lack confidence in your ability to render them a real service.

Don’t approach your prospect like you owe them something, or like you stole something from them. Show them you have self-respect and confidence in yourself and your goods. You are not a beggar. You’re a salesman who helps to keep the economy moving.

Before meeting with the prospect (during the pre-approach phase) prepare yourself by thinking about the points you want to bring to the prospect’s attention. Discard any ideas that may harm the selling process. Calm your nerves. Ask yourself what makes you fear meeting with the prospect. If it’s because you don’t think your approach is good enough; then, now is the time to go over it in your mind and make the necessary changes. Realize the prospect is only a person just like you. No better and no less.

Your approach cannot be used in the same way with every prospect because everyone is different. Try to see yourself through the eyes of your prospect. Observe your prospect and adjust your approach accordingly. How you present yourself will have a great bearing on whether, or not you will have the opportunity to tell your whole story.

You are selling a proposition. Be clear and concise with your opening statement. First of all, don’t change your personality, or try to duplicate someone else. Just be you. If the prospect senses you are putting on aires, they may not trust anything you have to say.

The prospect granted you an appointment, so curiosity has already been started in the prospect’s mind, but now the curiosity that was started needs to be increased with your approach. The first 15 seconds will have an important effect on the rest of your sales talk. In that short amount of time the prospect can determine if you came to buy something, sell something, or render a real service.

So take the time to prepare a good introduction because a sale can be made or lost within those first few seconds based on what you say, how you say it and how you present yourself and your product to the prospect.

Copyright © 2005 Gloria Whitehorn-All rights reserved

About the Author:

Gloria is an article writer, business owner, author of two books, salesperson and seasoned mail order pro. Visit her site for information on a great part-time, full-time-anytime business. She knows what she’s talking about.

http://www.dovemang.com

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You have permission to reprint this article in your ezine or on your website as long as you print the complete article and leave all the links and resource box in place. You cannot modify the content in any way.

April 1, 2008

Sales Speaker Asks: Are You A Straight-Commission Personality?

Filed under: Living With Sales — admin @ 10:48 am

Take a look at a few dozen want ads for salespeople and I assure you that you’ll find plenty that offer no guaranteed salary.

They pay on what is called a “straight commission” basis. If you sell, you eat, and if you don’t you starve.

It is, perhaps, the ultimate form of merit pay: literally, you have to merit it, not through effort, but through results.

Most companies love to pay this way, because it all but eliminates their risks. They can be assured of several things when someone accepts straight commission compensation:

(1) They’re self-confident, and confident people sell more than the insecure.

(2) They’re willing to take total responsibility for their achievement; a rare attribute in today’s workers.

(3) They’re need and want less supervision and hand-holding.

(4) They’ll come to work, pre-trained; and of course

(5) They’ll pay for themselves right away, and cost-justify the company’s overhead.

If a straight commission sales rep doesn’t pan out, very little has been invested in him, so this means companies can give more job seekers bites at the apple, at a lower cost than if they were salaried.

And typically, straight commission payers are more willing to offer big commissions to the successful. So, the upside is significantly greater for the salesperson who can handle the challenge.

But can you hack it as a commission-only seller? Most people can’t.

First, they believe that a company that doesn’t guarantee them SOMETHING is either less than legitimate or is not confident enough that the job will produce a solid income for itself, let alone for the rep. Along this line, candidates often see salary, its size and related perks, as a vote of confidence in their skills. When the guarantee is big, there’s faith in the new hire, and this gesture instills confidence in the candidate.

But even more daunting to most is the fact that straight commission ushers in a variable reinforcement schedule. This month you may break the bank, but next month, you may have to borrow on your charge cards. Dramatic ups and downs aren’t warm and fuzzy for most folks who like to know they’re going to pay their mortgages or rent on time.

I believe the most important question is this one: If you had your druthers would you be in business for yourself or work on somebody else’s payroll? If you’re the independent type, then a straight commission plan could be your cup of tea, because it’s exactly how you’re paid when you’re completely on your own.

By the way, there’s another perk. In most commission jobs, employers realize they can’t insist you work their way, punching a conventional time clock. They must cut you some slack, allowing you a lot of freedom in how and when you work, because after all, they’re not paying you to warm a chair, but ONLY to succeed.

How you do it is really none of their business, and most of them, at least reluctantly, acknowledge it!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com & The Goodman Organization is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com