The Straightforward Sales Approach
What makes a good salesperson? Some would say persistence or tenacity – a person who never gives up. Many would say that great customer service and follow-up make for a more successful approach. When I consider this question, I look back on almost 25 years of my sales experience and the same principle I learned initially still rings true today – You must first sell yourself.
Typically, by displaying good character traits, applying a solid work ethic and being a straight-shooter will bring sales success. Once trust is established with any client; a relationship can blossom. What type of salespeople are potential clients more likely to trust? Someone who is misleading and self-serving; or someone who tells them like it is and delivers? It is great to possess good follow-up skills and service techniques; but without a demonstration of good character traits – those skills simply are not enough. Our goal, here at Harvard, is to establish loyal clients – not just satisfied customers. The difference is that a loyal client feels a bond based on values and reciprocation; while a satisfied customer simply goes away happy. Loyal customers are the true mark of successful company.
So how do we next demonstrate these crucial traits of exemplary character? Always be sincere, friendly, responsive and honest; know your product and your customer and always under-promise and over-deliver. We can achieve an overall comfort level with our clients through better communication. Improving communication skills does not just mean polishing up your presentation: it means becoming an equally effective listener as well. Knowing when to talk and when to listen is the key to promoting an effective, respectful and sincere relationship.
It must also be stated that most good salespeople will never assume that they can please everyone. If you have ever seen Arthur Miller’s play – “Death of a Salesman” – you will understand that it is just not possible to be everything to everyone. Knowing your limitations will tell you when it’s time to move on. Some salespeople fail because they assume they can sell their way through legitimate obstacles and objections; instead of truly listening and fulfilling the needs of the customer.
So how do we next define a “straightforward” approach to sales? Do you tell people what you sell? Have you ever been pitched by a salesperson in person or by phone who never clearly identifies what they are selling? It may take several questions to figure out what they offering. Starting any sales relationship with confusion is typically fraught with failure. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Too many salespeople use fancy words and phrases in order to avoid the dreaded rejection; so they dance around crucial issues. Again – the best approach is the straightforward one. Have confidence in yourself and your product and take the needs of your client to heart and fulfill them.
Another great tip for new salespeople is to seek out and identify the sales superstars, connect with them and emulate their selling style. I have been fortunate to not only have participated in excellent sales and service training programs – but I have also shared much time on the job with true sales professionals and their help has proved invaluable. Obviously, if they have been successful – their experience will give you proper guidance.
Being straightforward in your sales approach is like a breath of fresh air to most clients and they will see you as someone they can trust. If you want to achieve sales success, establish good character first!
Make the Wise Choice Because Service Makes All the Difference
Filed Under: INC Knowledge
Tags: Customer Service, INC Knowledge
As a Sales Executive for Harvard, I make hundreds of courtesy calls to clients every week. I divide my time between two groups. First, I call clients who have formed a company through us in the past two weeks to make sure they’ve received everything; they understand everything and are they are happy with our service. It’s not a sales call and we don’t try to sell anything at all in that call.
I also call my most potential clients who have shown interest in forming a Delaware company but have not yet made the decision to go for it. I make these follow-up calls to offer information and assistance with their questions and concerns. I definitely want your business, but I’m still not selling, I’m serving. At Harvard, we know that entrepreneurs usually need answers, not pressure, to move forward to form a new entity.
We take pride in offering this level of service and our clients appreciate our extra effort and genuine desire to help them. But even our smartest potential clients, with lots of choices, don’t always appreciate the value of our service.
Last week I made a courtesy call to a potential client and he brought up the topic of service. Upon receiving my follow-up email and phone call, the gentleman expressed a great deal of remorse for selecting another Registered Agent to form his company. He was told by the company he filed with that he would receive both a verbal and an email confirmation of his order – but he got no update whatsoever. He kindly informed me that although he had not spent one penny on our services – he had received much more service from us than he had from the registered agent he chose, because of a “cheaper” formation price. He even went so far as to say “I wish I had selected Harvard.”
Even as we spoke, he had real concerns about whether his company name had yet been approved and he wanted details on his delivery date and the process. He received nothing, nada, silence. This was not the first time I had heard this complaint.
When purchasing any product or service online there is a certain amount of the unknown associated with making the right decision. Although a website may be very informative and the pricing may appear too good to be true, the true test comes after the purchase when the Registered Agent must perform to the standard expected by the client.
I am constantly told how fast and efficient we are, and complimented on how sincere we are about our service to our clients. Our personal commitment to you shines through, no matter whom you talk to at Harvard.
The Registered Agent you choose DOES make a difference. You will pay them every year for the life of your company to keep you informed of your Delaware compliance requirements and filing deadlines.
Will you pay $50 per year with Harvard and our 30 years’ of personal service or $100s of dollars with other agents? Ask yourself, who will give you the most for your money.
Our Life-of-Your-Company FREE customer support is raising the bar for service standards in our industry because we care about your success. Our annual agent fee is the lowest in the industry and is guaranteed to remain FIXED at $50 per year for the life of your company. So make the wise choice and file your Delaware LLC or Delaware INC with Harvard Business Services.
Oh, also, between now and December 31, 2010 you’ll get $50 off on your domestic or international company formation. Use coupon code “year-end” on our web site or call me and mention this blog post!
($50 DISCOUNT GOOD THROUGH DEC 31, 2010)
Tips to Manage Change and Stress at Work
We all respond differently to stress and change. Most of us develop how we respond to these factors through specific life changing experiences that have occurred in our lives previously. Some may see a major event of change as a burden; yet others may see it as an exciting challenge and find inspiration. There are no set rules for dealing with stress and change. Effective stress management is not easy and it usually takes time and practice. Through examination of stress management challenges, we can develop some useful tips to help ease the effects of these factors. Hopefully, once you think about your own situation and your own tendencies toward stress; you can apply the best strategies offered.
1.) Set Realistic Goals and Allocate Time Effectively: Realistic Goals should be achievable and should offer a clear route toward success. Goals that are not attainable will bring the most stress and cause frustration and the feelings of failure. Setting realistic goals will keep you in control and offer direction. Also, scheduling more than you can handle is a great stress producer. Saying “NO” to issues that will stretch your capacity beyond reality is an effective way to avoid the stress of spreading yourself too thin. Proper allocation of your time toward each realistic goal will create a more manageable work plan.
2.) Validate Meetings: Validate and reconsider all meetings. That may seem like a strong statement – but if you consider that a study by The Wall Street Journal revealed that managers wasted 80% of their time due to meetings which either did not begin or end on schedule. Think of all the useful applications of that time. This is a personal pet peeve of mine. I used to attend daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings on a never ending basis and found very few of those meetings to be useful. Far too often, meetings become a stage for egos to perform and seldom do they offer useful resolutions. With all the technical advances we have achieved such as email and teleconferencing….are all these meetings really necessary? Not to mention the expense of travel and logistics applied to offsite meetings.
3.) Analyze… Before You Make Time Decisions: When you focus on the tasks at hand; do you handle the minimal tasks first or later? Most of us do exactly that. The sense of accomplishment we get from dealing with easy issues make us feel good – it is only natural. But when we do this we create a delay in focusing on the more important matters and this causes stress. Analyze the importance of each task and categorize them and allocate your time according to level of importance. Many business people use the following categories to help them organize:
A.) Not Urgent – Not Important
B.) Urgent but Not Important
C.) Not Urgent but Important
D.) Urgent and Important
4.) Stop Procrastinating – Easier said than done! We all put off till tomorrow what should and can be done today. This creates a great deal of stress as well. There are three basic reasons why most business people procrastinate: 1.) They don’t know how to do the task. 2.) They don’t like to do the task. 3.) They feel indecisive about how to approach the task. Procrastination may be alleviated by taking a large task and breaking it up into smaller more manageable tasks. Make a list of every task and update and prioritize them daily. Fight the urge to put things off and your day will be less stressful.
Are You Listening?
Are you a good listener? Do you apply active listening? Do you think more about what you are going to say than what the other person is saying? Are you easily distracted and only listen when the flow of conversation meets your agenda? If you were asked: Which interpersonal communications skill is most important in business? What would your response be? Certainly, a well crafted verbal approach would be most beneficial to most businesses, right? Actually, no…the most important communication skill in business is LISTENING.
Unfortunately, most professionals are lacking in this skill and it is critical to every business; both internally and externally. In fact, a recent survey of the academy of Certified Administrative Managers asked which managerial skill was “super critical” to business. The overwhelming response was “active listening”. Surprisingly enough it was followed by the ability to give clear and effective instructions, accepting responsibility and identifying problems.
Administrators and managers need to actively listen to their employees in order for proper discourse and feedback to occur. Sales and marketing professionals need to actively listen to their clients and prospects to determine needs and create relationships. Active listening will also enhance our personal lives as well; since nothing demonstrates care and concern as does effective listening to friends and loved ones. Listening is a skill which is vital; but is much neglected. Most of us are not good listeners. We have become conditioned to filter and apply passive listening skills – which will limit our success in both business and personal aspects.
Effective listening is becoming a big business. There are countless consulting groups and seminars which focus exclusively on the process of listening. Did you know there is actually an International Listening Association? It has members from several countries and promotes effective listening through the exchange of information, methods, experience and materials. This group is pursuing research on further development of active listening techniques and their application.
How can you become a better listener? In a book published by the American Management Association; the Ten Golden Rules of Listening are as follows:
- Look at the speaker
- Question the speaker to get clarification
- Show concern about the speakers feelings
- Repeat occasionally to confirm
- Don’t rush the speaker
- Have poise and emotional control
- Respond with a nod, a smile or a frown
- Pay close attention
- Don’t interrupt
- Keep on the subject till the speaker finishes his or her thoughts
Some of these seem very simple – but the next time someone is speaking to you; see how many you neglect or apply. Changing our behaviors and attitudes is the only way to improve our listening skills.
Current Best Industries for Business
Filed Under: Trend Report
Tags: Articles of Interest, Business Tips, Trend Report
Looking for the best new business opportunities? Wondering what industries will lead the way for new business filings in the future? Obviously, most business people should be; since these trends will affect their business opportunities as well. Based on a recent article in Inc. Magazine the five top best industries for new business are as follows:
- Environmental Consulting – Going green is no fad – it is a very real and growing industry and is valued at $17.8 billion and is expected to grow by 9 percent per year for the next 5 years. Every business sector can expect to be affected by the green wave. Expertise will be in demand for air, soil and water quality management.
- Translation and Interpretation Services – The old adage that “talk is cheap” does not apply to the new global economy and basically any service that can bridge the communication gap is very valuable. This segment grew at 18 percent last year and is a $2.7 billion industry. Budding segments within this industry would include healthcare, website translation and multi-language marketing materials.
- Home Health Care – Even with the current legislation – this segment is expected to expand by an average of 4.9 percent for the next 4 years. Out of hospital care and less expensive alternatives are very appealing to the growing elderly population in America. Physical therapy fields and non-medical home-care hiring are expected to be the leading segments.
- Mobile App Design – It all started with the iPhone and now with the iPad and all the web-enabled devices available – the market for mobile apps has never been greater. Demand will be high for programmers, developers and designers. According to the Dow Jones Venture Source – in the past three years – location based apps have received $656 million.
- Ferryboats and Inland Water Transportation – Yes – believe it or not – the old fashioned ferryboat is making a comeback. Sparked by a rise in urban highway congestion – privately run ferry services as well as tourist excursions are on the increase. A high concentration of success has been found in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes. As part of the 2009 Economic Recovery Act – the production of ferryboats and terminals is expanding. This industry grew about 17 percent last year. One new Coast Guard certified ferryboat that carries 150 passengers costs about $6 million.
While no new business venture is a sure thing – these trends certainly deserve some attention and those who are able to offer complimentary services to these industries are targeting a very real and successful goal. Whatever industry you serve – we at Harvard Business Services, Inc. are happy to serve you!
