One for all you Internet Marketers out there!

Happy selling!

Harry

Frank Rumbauskas explains the top 5 reasons why cold calling is actually detrimental and will lose sales instead of gaining them.

Cold calling, once the only method of sales prospecting, no longer works in today’s world. Here are the top five reasons to avoid it:

1. Cold calling makes you look desperate.

We all know that people want to do business with those who are successful; however, cold calling makes you look totally unsuccessful! Prospects think if you’re cold calling, you must have nothing else going on, and they should avoid doing business with you.

2. Cold calling makes timing work against you.

How can you know if someone is ready to buy when you call them at random? You don’t! If you get leads from cold calling, there’s a good chance they’re looking to buy next year, not now. And most people you call at random will never buy, ever.

3. Cold calling limits your sales production by time.

Leverage is very important, and is missing from cold calling. In other words, you can make only one call at a time or knock on one door at a time. There is no leveraged system working on your behalf, and as a result, even if you get leads from cold calling, there are only so many hours in the day to do it.

4. Cold calling is the leading cause of salesperson turnover and lack of morale.

Endless surveys show that the requirement to make cold calls is the number one reason why sales people quit, and the lack of cold calling is the number one reason why salespeople stay. Cold calling is very demoralizing and has a very negative impact on sales performance.

5. Cold calling fails to get qualified leads and generates unqualified leads.

Managers tend to measure the results of cold calling by the number of appointments set; however, appointments gained through cold calling have the lowest close rate of all. People who respond to cold calls generally aren’t the busy, successful people we want and need to meet with.

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the hit sensation "Cold Calling Is A Waste Of Time: Sales Success In The Information Age". His training and products teach salespeople how to generate hot leads without cold calling and how to keep their power and remain in control of sales situations. For more information please visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Rumbauskas http://EzineArticles.com/?Cold-Calling---Top-5-Reasons-to-Avoid-It&id=181097

Happy selling!

Harry

P.S To get the first 10 chapters of Franks incredible book absolutely free, go to my site and sign up for my newsletter!

What is it that really gets up the nose of any audience, even one that is interested in what you have to say?

Following are the 'Top 7 Presentation Gripes' of audiences the world over and what you can do to avoid them.

Poor grammar and spellng errors (Yes I know - it was deliberate!)

Mark Twain once said: "I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way." Unfortunately not everybody agrees. So get it right and proof read. Don't trust spell check software either, as they don't always pick up the "Hear" and "Here" nuances afforded by the English language

Inconsistent style

A presentation fraught with accidental creativity. Different fonts and typeface sizes on every slide. Please stop this now!

Recycled presentations

The 'one size fits all' approach won't cut it with your audience or prospect. I have even seen a presentation done where the name of the competition was on the slide. Whoops! Don't let this happen to you. Treat each presentation as though it was the first time you have given it to this unique and special client!

Boring or uncreative slide design

The author is still struggling with the subtleties of the text box. Presentations appear to be by extreme beginners. There really is no excuse for this now. PowerPoint has some amazing features to help you have a bit of the WOW factor. If in doubt ask someone in your organization who knows how to do it, get them a beer or chocolates, and ask for help! At times I even use a plain white slide, not the usual (over used) templates and have found this to be a very welcome change, for all involved.

The meaningless pie chart and/ or graph

If you are going to use these, please explain why and what they really mean. Just ask: Is this information relevant and is this the best way to present it? Try and use an illustration that your audience can relate to in an effort to explain the factors involved.

Information overload

Where a company's entire history is crammed into one slide. Very close to this is where the presenter reads, word for word, the information on the slide. We can all read, what we need is for you to explain what it means in real life - make application of what is on the slide.

The 'waffler'

Once the presenter starts he can't - or won't stop! I am not speaking about well placed emphasis of main points, which is important - no this is where the speaker is bordering on falling in love with his own voice, or so nervous that he just can't/ won't shut up. Practice saying what you have to say by only using half the words you would normally use to explain the subject, and then you are getting closer to a waffle free presentation.

When you give your next presentation, keep these points in mind and your audience will thank you for it - and you never know - they might even ask you back!

Happy Selling!

Harry

Get the newsletter full of tips that will change your sales career at http://www.topsalesprostrategies.com

Hi

Just wanted to share a great article I read.

Book Yourself Solid: The Simple Selling Process
By Michael Port

As a service provider you may not want to think of yourself as a salesperson. You are in the business of helping others and you may not feel comfortable with the sales process. However, you need to let clients know that your service is available. Here are some ways to do so:

Shift Your Perspective

Start by building relationships with your potential clients based on trust. Remember that you are making them aware of something you offer that they are looking for.

Emotional Triggers

Selling is based on emotion. Here are a few generic emotional triggers almost everyone has:

• People want to feel accepted and needed

• People want to feel satisfaction from their accomplishments

• People want to feel admired and recognized for their accomplishments

People respond to the issue you’re uncovering because it creates an emotion pull and charge for them.

The Simple Selling Process

Remember that the selling process is more about your clients and less about you. The great part is if you are selling properly, all you really need to do is...

• Ask more questions than you answer

• Listen more than you speak

• Relate to your potential clients’ needs and desires

• Keep the conversation positive and empowering

The conversation becomes a simple selling process with the addition of just one key question:
Would you like a partner to help you achieve these goals?

With this one question you make yourself the key to the solution. Your clients do all the selling for you. They…

• Articulate the benefits

• Create mental imagery toward producing results

• Keep their self-criticisms out of the way

• Visualize results and gain confidence about what their life would look like

• Visualize you as the right partner to help them achieve these goals

Keep in Touch

Get a commitment for a next step. Think of yourself as a lifelong consultant. Tips to remember:

• Move the relationship forward

• Follow up and ask for small commitments

• Don’t give in and don’t give up if you know you can help

These are the easy steps to simple selling, and Booking Yourself Solid. Start small, end big, and remember, successful selling is really nothing more than showing your potential clients how you can help them to live a happier more successful life.

Michael Port is the President of Michael Port & Associates LLC and is known as the guy to call when you’re tired of thinking small. To spend some more time with Michael and to think bigger about who you are and what you offer the world go to [http://www.bookyourselfsolidvancouver.com]http://www.bookyourselfsolidvancouver.com.

Dr. Gayla DeHart, from Vancouver, Canada, is a Professional Coach with a Ph.D. in Psychology. She provides coaching services to single professionals who want to hone their dating skills, and offers a special package that includes an emotional intelligence (people skills) assessment, review, and post-date debriefing. Click here to contact Dr. DeHart ww.achieveexcellence.ca/contact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Port http://EzineArticles.com/?Book-Yourself-Solid:-The-Simple-Selling-Process&id=62056

Good advice

Happy selling!

Harry

http://www.topsalesprostrategies.com