Open Journalism For All - News, Documentaries And Information Services

We’ve all had the superstar sales rep, who hits their quota every month and doesn’t need any hand holding, and we’ve all experienced the less experienced type that isn’t sure how to fill out a call report, much less make a cold call. Both can bring good results to the table if they are used effectively. Managing these staff members well is critical to the success of any sales team. By asking the right questions it will allow you to address the problems they are encountering on an everyday basis.

First, ask yourself, “who has the problem?” Most staff fall into one of two categories. They are either over or under achievers. Most good sales teams, the majority of reps are making their quota and have a good understanding of basic sales skills. However, staff that are in the underachiever group need a large amount of your time to see any type of improvement. Some will get better and others will not.

Second, “is this problem real?” You, as a Sales Manager, need to ask yourself if you are looking at the situation objectively and if it is serving as a distraction to your team. Sometimes the things that may bother you are personal and are not impacting the sales team. In other words, is it a behavior or a personal issue?

Third, “Where is the most work needed?” When dealing with underachievers, there may be a variety of behaviors that need to change, don’t try to change all of them at once. Focus on one new behavior/skill at a time, you may be surprised that once they achieve that skill some of the others may come along more easily.

Fourth, “What would you like them to be doing?” Have the rep focus on how to incorporate the new behavior instead of how to get rid of the old behavior. By simply replacing the bad behavior with a positive one the change will take place more easily.

Fifth, “How can you get your staff to not resist the change?” The best approach is to get them to see the results of their negative behavior. If they can understand how it is impacting their success, they can help create the solutions. By getting them to buy in, you are also teaching them the value of addressing problems down the road.

Finally, “How can you keep the change evolving?” Keep encouraging the new behavior and remember that it will take time. Reinforcement is critical to the change, so ensure that you don’t let your guard down. As a manager, it is your responsibility to help the change process to take place and without completing the process the new behaviors will not continue. Don’t forget that it will take place little by little, so be patient with it.

Tim Hagen owns and operates Sales Progress LLC. He has done sales consulting for over 15 years and has worked with organizations such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Bombardier Evinrude, and Dairyland Seed. He has produced sales increases between 15-35% in a variety of different industries. For further information visit our website at http://www.SalesProgress.com.

Are you wasting your money by brining visitors to a sales offer
that just doesn’t convert? Here’s how to pull more sales and put
more money in your pocket by using these simple secrets for
hard-hitting copy.

1) SELL THE BENEFITS: Forget about trying to explain your
product. Instead, give the customer what they want to hear. When
selling a computer monitor, you could say, “Big 19 inch screen”.

But that’s explaining your product. Try something that gives the
reader its strongest benefit, like “19 inch screen reduces eye
strain and provides a comfortable working environment for you”.

2) DEFINE YOUR LETTERS PURPOSE: Are you writing to entertain or
sale. Are you looking to pull a response or do you want people
to enter their credit card information. Define your specific
goal before you get started, and work hard to lead your
customers along your chosen path.

3) WRITE IN “EASY” WORDS: Hey, we’re not looking to win awards
here. We want to make some money, right? Don’t try to wow
readers with your use of vocabulary. Use words that even a child
can grasp.

4) KNOW EVERY BENEFIT: Before you even start, right down every
single benefit that a customer will receive with your offer.
Later, you can use these benefits for some hard-hitting bullets.

5) MAKE IT SHORT: While your letter doesn’t need to be short,
every sentence and paragraph should be tightly focused and
broken up into small, easy to chew on pieces.

As an example, take a look at this article. Sentences are short
and punchy. Some aren’t proper. But they get the point across
and make it very easy to read.

6) USE HEADINGS: You need to have one that hooks your reader in
the beginning to lead them in. Then, to keep them hooked, you
should break up your copy with a few subheadings that set the
hook even deeper to keep them reading.

7) UNDERLINE AND BOLD: Use this on words and phrases you want to
jump out. But don’t overdo. The principal quickly becomes
diluted with overuse and none of it will be read if it’s
splattered everywhere.
EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMER: If you can teach your readers
something then they’ll believe you to be an expert. And if you
can lead them to that, then chances are they’ll buy. We all want
to learn from the experts.

9) GIVE THE READER AN ORDER: Don’t leave choices to the reader.
If you do, they might choose to click away from your site. So,
use phrases like “Click Here”, “Order Now”, or “Go Here”.

10) USE YOUR P.S.: Your P.S. will get read. Trust me. And the
way to make it work for you is to restate your offer in a
different light. That way, if your heading grabbed them, the
restate and added benefits of your P.S. can tighten your hold
and force them to read the rest of your sales letter.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

In my office, I have a fabulous collection of framed autograph pictures of movie stars like Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Farah Fawcett, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Drew Barrymore and even talk show host Jerry Springer (I’m a former employee of the show). Those who enter my office for the first time, both business contacts and friends, say, “WOW! How did you get those pictures!” You should see their eyes and how they light up like a light bulb. I’ll tell you one thing; it’s a great ice-breaker! Keep reading.

Then I thought to myself, “What a great idea!” Are you asking yourself, what is he talking about?” Then it hit me, why not contact sales prospects who have been either pictured or quoted in an online or offline medium.

A few more detailed examples include the following:

People On The Move Sections

Industry Leaders profiled on a website or in a newspaper or magazine

Names mentioned in advertisements

Awards found in press releases

Management listed on company websites

Why contact these people? This approach helps to reduce and remove your prospect’s level of resistance. It helps to make the dreaded task of cold calling actually FUN and something to look forward to each day! You will find that utilizing this approach helps to change your prospects attitude in a more favorable way. I mean people buy from people they like and people love to buy. Also, why wouldn’t these people take your call? I mean, who doesn’t like to being recognized? We all want our 15 minutes of fame right? This philosophy ties into Andy Warhol’s most famous words, “In the future everybody will be famous for 15 minutes!” So, I’m proposing that anyone in sales seriously consider using this technique. So let me guess, you are really excited now right? What now? How do you get started? Keep reading.

Great sources to find these leads include your local newspaper, a local or national magazine or even your local business journal! Be creative in your search, use www.google.com or www.yahoo.com to locate specific opportunities to find additional leads. You will never have any problem finding these types of leads and you will never run out of places to look. That’s another reason why I love this approach, the opportunities are endless!

One of most strategic places to begin your search is to visit www.prnewswire.com. What exactly is this site and why use it? PR Newswire is a press release service that companies use to distribute their news to large media outlets. What’s great about this site is that you can search over 50 industries, search by state, search over 40 subjects and even search by keyword. Since, breaking news may affect your industry, especially in the areas of prospecting for new business, you find important leads such as:

Personnel Announcements (if there is a promotion, maybe they are expanding the department

New Contracts

Acquisition, mergers and takeovers

New products and services

Real Estate Transactions

Awards

Joint Ventures

All of these areas mentioned above are opportunities for you to contact these companies to see if they may need your products and/or services. It’s an opportunity to be a creative thinker, it’s an opportunity to use a creative approach to win a sales prospect, it’s an opportunity to standout amongst a crowded room of sellers. Welcome to my world. The question that you may now be asking, “How do you open the call using my technique?” Keep reading.

Let’s say for example you do a search, and you come across a press release on a new product that will be introduced on a national scale in the next few months. The prospect that you may be calling may already be working with your competition, however, you don’t know that for sure right? In business, you are either proactive or reactive; my advice is it’s better to be proactive. It’s easy to say someone else has called on them, but I can guarantee you that you no one has approached them in this way! Thus, when you use my approach your prospect will remember you so that when you do call back they won’t forget how creative you were in contacting them. This will give you a strategic advantage in case they are not happy with their current vendor.

When you contact this prospect try saying the following, “Yes, I’d like to speak to the movie star (use their name here)?” Your prospect will most likely laugh and say something like, “Movie star, ha-ha, that’s me!” My name is ………and I work for (list your company here) and we specialize in …………..and I saw your name mentioned in a press release issued the other day. Your prospect will say something like, “Yeah, we issued that the other day.” You then say, “I actually didn’t think you would take my call?” They then respond, “Why is that?” You then say, “I thought you would be out signing autographs!” Your prospect will find this very funny and then you continue to go on (while they are laughing) with your sales pitch. Here you can state the reason for your call and that you have some creative ideas that you wanted to run past them that would help to compliment their existing marketing program (just one example).

This technique works great either on live call or just as effective on voicemail. In many instances, I have found that when you leave a voicemail message, they end up playing your message for their entire office. What a compliment! Keep in mind that your sales prospect gets tons of voicemails, why not be a little different right? Okay, so you want an example voicemail now? You can’t wait right? Let’s take the same example above and try saying the following on a voicemail, “Movie star (list their name), I didn’t expect you to take my call, you’re probably out signing autographs. This is ………calling from (list your company) and I saw your name mentioned in an article about your new product that will be introduced in the next few months. When you get back from your autograph sessions can you call me back at (list your phone number) I wanted to run a few ideas by you that your competition is not doing and that you could be doing to increase market share of this product. I’ll be expecting your call today, thank you!”

I have never received a negative response using this technique. Every sales prospect loves it and they always tell me how creative I am. What they are really saying is that I want to do business with you! One more thing, have I said how much I LOVE USING THIS TECHNIQUE! Have I made it clear how much MY PROSPECTS LOVE TAKING MY CALL! Why? BECAUSE IT’S SO DIFFERENT! Being different is a necessary element that will separate you from others who contact the same prospects. If you are looking for a way to STAND-OUT in a crowded marketplace then I strongly encourage you to this innovative approach to cold calling and sales prospecting!

Copyright 2006 MR. COLD CALL SEMINARS - All rights reserved.

___________________________________________________

Behind The Scenes With Mr. Cold Call

Daniel Arenzon, known as Mr. Cold Call, has developed a series of non-traditional cold calling and sales prospecting strategies to effectively reach key business decision makers such as C-Level and Senior-Level Executives. His techniques have been tested and proven as a result of making over 80,000 cold calls working for companies such as CBS MarketWatch, Futures Magazine and Dartnell Publishing. MR. COLD CALL has been quoted and featured in a variety of sales publications including an audio program produced by Selling Power Magazine called, “Accelerate Your Sales.” Arenzon has personally spoken at companies such as Brown & Bigelow, Smith Barney, UBS, First Southern Bank, Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, New York Life Insurance, American Express, Pre-Paid Legal Services, New England Financial, A.G. Edwards, Morgan Stanley and Docutek Imaging Solutions. For more information on Mr. Cold Call and to sign up for his free weekly cold calling tips please visit http://www.mrcoldcall.com

Understand different tattoo styles will help you make better
decision on selecting the best tattoo for you. The more you know
about the options available to you, the more informed decision
you will make.

Most tattooist specialize in certain style of tattooing, we can
summarize the tattoo styles to the three fundamental approaches:
Flat, which is characterized by a lack of detail; Traditional,
which is known for thick, black outlines and solid blocks of
color; and Fine Line, Which is distinguished by narrower, fine
lines and greater details.

Flat Tattoo

Flat tattooing signals solid blocks of color often in black,
with no shading, detailing or texturing. Shapes and simple
symbols are tattooed in one thick line and can be filled in or
left as an outline.

Flat tattooing is by far best represented by Tribal Tattoo
(http://www.tattoo-symbol-design.com/Tribal-Tattoo.php), it can
be found all over the world. Simple designs rendered in dark ink
have been used to show a person’s status, protect from harm and
enhance appearance.

If done well, flat tattooing can complement musculature and
result in very flattening, striking piece of abstract art.

Traditional Tattoo

Traditional tattooing is based on clean, simple design and
execution, and uses thick, black, outlines filled in with solid
blocks of color. There is little detail in the work apart from
what is absolutely necessary to convey the design, and this is
done with color and shading. Skilled shading and color laying
give the work depth.

Daggers, hearts, snakes, roses, eagles and butterflies are all
Traditional design tattoos.

Traditional tattoos can be seen from great distances and will be
still visible years from now.

Fine Line

Modern Fine Line Tattooing expanded the imagery and opend the
craft up to serious artistry. It is characterized by thin
outlines, precise shading, detailed designs, and focus on the
lines of a tattoo.

Good Tattoists will combine the best of different styles,
incorporate the clean, solid blocks of color that characterize
Traditional tattooing with the complex design of Fine Line.

Unfortunately, the DNC legislation has many small businesses that use telemarketers a bit concerned about their choice of direct sales tactic. However, there are still many ways to have your message get into the right people’s hands without annoying them. And the fact of the matter is, telemarketing, as a direct sales tactic, works. Here are some tips and ideas to get your sales flowing and customers thrilled that you called them:

Find New Target Markets -

Have you talked with your current customer base lately to find out what their demographic standing is, on a whole? Most small businesses only do this once every couple of years, instead of once every couple of months. Find out who is using your products or services, and who they are: age, sex, race, income bracket, family unit, rent or own, etc. You may find that you haven’t been targeting some crucial groups that use your business effectively. Then all you have to do is purchase a targeted telemarketing list, and you’re well on your way to garnering more customers.

Consider Outsourcing -

There are a great number of telemarketing agencies currently that would be pleased to contact demographically appropriate customers on your businesses behalf. Why not save yourself the time and hassle of doing it all yourself, and look into one of these companies. They may just save you more time and money than you originally thought. Plus, if they specialize in products or services that your company offers, the response rates may be more than a bit surprising.

Test, Test, Test -

Before you start calling a large number of potential customers, test your telemarketers, the scripts and the telemarketing lists you are using, first. Listen to your staff; they’ll tell you pretty quickly if something isn’t quite right. Then, tweak whatever needs it, and try again. Not until you are getting an appropriate response rate should you settle into a larger scale operation – and don’t forget to test again if your response rates dip.

Buy Quality -

If you want excellent results, you need to pay for them. Make sure you’ve purchased a telemarketing list from a reputable source that offers highly targeted customer lists only. Freebie lists, or ones that you borrowed from a ‘similar’ company just won’t work here. Without a great list that exemplifies similar characteristics of your current customers, your telemarketing staff will be frustrated in no time with their low response rates.

Chris Burns - American Profiles Mailing & Telemarketing List company. Providing telemarketing lists to the direct marketing industry since 1996.

A full service mailing & telemarketing list company with over 40,000 lists available. http://www.americanprofiles.net

Online counts and orders 24/7 http://www.mailinglistsusa.com

Over the last 50 years I must have seen thousands of ads, mostly 2 line classified ads in opportunity magazines, trying to sell the latest in a long line of “How to Make a Fortune in Mail Order” books or systems. Most have these have been the same ol’, same ol’, regurgitated 4 page claptrap priced from $5 to $20. Occasionally there has been a full blown course or manual for $97 to $197. Since the advent of the internet, these kind of publications have been transitioned to “How to Make a Fortune on the Internet”, but still the same ol’ regurgitated claptrap.

Are any worth buying? Perhaps a few, but the $19.95 type will only make money for the shysters selling them, not the suckers buying. There are one or two about that do teach the science (or art) of Direct Mail and perhaps one or two more that effectively teach how to make money on the Internet. But these systems are usually priced well above $100.00.

Some contain a few nuggets of gold, others, the more expensive ones, teach the technical aspects and some techniques, but I haven’t seen any yet that are complete. Let’s face it, Direct Marketing (by Direct Mail and Mail Order) is a complex business requiring many skills and to teach it properly would require a full-time University course or a set of manuals the size of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In practise, it is largely learned by experience and listening to others in the business.

Incidentally, what is the difference between Direct Mail and Mail Order? Very little. They both come under the umbrella of Direct Response Marketing. Direct Mail marketing is commonly initiated by sending out a mailing piece to thousands of people; they respond by mail, phone, internet, or in person. Mail Order can be advertised in the press or other media, including mail, but the response is usually by mail (hence mail order). So today, with all the media available, including the internet, the more descriptive term is Direct Response Marketing (DRM).

DRM is a business whereby the marketing message is delivered by advertising through one or more of the media, including mail, and orders or responses are sought by telephone, mail, email, internet or personal visit. Delivery is effected by post, courier, download (in the case of electronic products) and any other available means.

The overriding intention of DRM is to attract positive attention to the ad or mailing piece, cultivate a positive interest in the offer, provide information on how to order and pay for the product, and make an urgent call to take action. In other words, to promote a direct response.

One of the most common traps for young players in Direct Marketing is to produce or secure a product, then look for someone to sell it to.

Hey! I made that mistake too. I wrote this super book on the value of vegetable and fruit juices in health, with lots of recipes to treat many common ailments. It was a great book and I printed up a lot ready to sell. It would be a best seller, I was sure.

Not so! People ought to be vitally interested in their health, and should be willing to pay a measly 20 bucks for a book that would help them get healthy, right?

Wrong! People, lots of people that is, don’t buy that sort of book. I still have few copies at home, but most made it to the garbage disposal on my last move.

So, how can you tell what people will buy?

The answer is simple! Check out what people are buying now. To be reasonably sure you won’t be left with a garage full of widgets, you must identify what people want, and are currently buying. And sell more of the same or similar.

If 5,000 people a day are buying dog collars, chance are you can sell dog collars; or name tags to attach to dog collars. Chances are that people will buy other dog related products too.

If 50,000 people a month are buying books on how to succeed in an internet business, chances are they’ll buy a similar product from you.

The answer in short to the question what will people buy in DRM (including the internet) is this: “What they are already buying.”

If you go into the supermarket and walk down the aisles you’ll likely see a whole aisle devoted to dog food and dog products. Another whole aisle will be devoted to cat food and cat products. People love their pets. So you know that products related to pets are usually good sellers.

Keep going and you’ll come to another aisle devoted to babies. Yes people have babies every day, some say there are 120,000 babies born in America every month. So baby related products will be a sure winner.

Every month a similar number of people die, get married, get divorced. Can you see a market there?

Do you want to make it easy on yourself and find an almost endless source of markets for all kinds of products?

Then get yourself a copy of the SRDS, the world’s largest list of lists of people in all kinds of categories buying all kinds of things.

© 2005, Leslie H Sprankling. All Rights Reserved. Leslie H Sprankling is a Business and Marketing Consultant with 30+ years in business and the author of several books. Leslie is the author of “The Amazing Roadmap to Success in Direct Marketing” which is available now at his website http://www.better-n-chocolate.com/drm.htm. There you will find many other business and personal software programs & business publications to help you develop and grow your business that are not available anywhere else on the internet. Also, you can get many free business articles like this one, for your own use or for publication and distribution.

NOTE: This article may be freely used, published or distributed in ezines, newsletters or websites providing the articles remain unchanged in any way and this resource box is included intact. For more information or inquiries please contact Leslie at mityoaks@bigpond.com.

Are you constantly loosing ground to your online competitors?

Do they win all the sales, get all the great reviews and
generally ooze success? Well now it is time to fight back. Now
it is time to really start competing online.

The funny thing not many businesses are actively competing
online. Sure the big boys will always be in active competition.

But take it down a few levels and you’ll find that smaller web
ventures just do not compete.

The first business in your industry to start actively competing
online is going to come out a big winner.

Before you can effectively compete online, you need to know
everything about competitors. Only by knowing exactly what your
competitors are up are you able to compete.

Each of the search engines can tell you who is linked to your
competitors’ web site. This should give you an idea about how
they are advertising, and where they have mentions such as
reviews, articles and links. Make a note of this…these are the
places where you should be too.

Different search engines require certain information in their
search box to list links going into a site:

* Altavista: In the search box type “link:competitor.com” where
your competitor’s domain is competitor.com.

* Northern Light: In the search box type “competitor.com”
without the “www”.

* Excite: In the search box type “www.competitor.com”.

* Infoseek: In the search box type “link:www.competitor.com“.

* Hotbot: In the search box type “http://www.competitor.com”,
then change the pull-down menu to “links to this URL”.

You need to make the effort to be at least everywhere your
competition is. If your competitor is featured on a particular
site there is no reason why you shouldn’t’t be featured too.

If a web site features a competitor’s product, write to the
webmaster to see if they would like to try your product. Bribe
your way onto the site with free samples if you have to. Search,
infiltrate and destroy your competitions promotional territory.

Go to Dejanews (http://www.deja.com) and search for their
company or product names through the newsgroups. This will give
you a great idea about what people actually think about their
products and of any problems or success they have experienced
with your competitors.

You should also be able to find out where they are
advertising…this can be tricky as there are a lot of
possibilities. Check out the archives of e-zines and e-mail
lists to see if you can spot them. A good place to find e-mail
lists is at: http://www.topica.com/ http://www.liszt.com

You might even be able to find out what books your competitors
have been buying. Take a look in at Amazon.com’s purchase lists
and see if your competitors company name is listed. From here
you will be able to track what popular book titles have been
purchased through your competitors. Check it out at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/community/community.html/

If your competitors have affiliate sales programs, assume a new
internet identity and join up as a sales agent. From here you
should have access to a range of their marketing and promotional
material. As an affiliate you might also be sent regular e-mail
from your competitor offering information such sales details and
future directions.

Remember, before you even start to action an online marketing
campaign ensure you know how, where and why your competition is
marketing online.

For attendees of my Telesales Rep Colleges, and customized training programs for clients, I have a standing offer of evaluating their opening statements afterward. Here are a few submitted by the pros at Dobbs Publishing, a group of niched magazines for auto enthusiasts.

Joe Galloway faxed over several openers. The first one:
“Good morning Mr. Grabowski, my name is Joe Galloway. I am with Dobbs Publishing and Super Ford magazine. If I’ve caught you at a good time I’d like to discuss your mail order program to determine if we might be able to help increase your profitability in this area of your business.”

Not bad, but we can make it better. First, this opener touches on the time issue before mentioning the possible result the prospect will get. Although I like this method of respecting the listener’s time, I suggest it appear after the possible benefit.

Although the remainder of it has a better chance of creating interest than resistance, let’s spice it up by getting a bit more specific with the possible benefits.

Here’s a suggestion.

After introducing himself and the magazine, Joe could say, “I notice that you target Ford enthusiasts with your mail and phone order ads. Our magazine reaches proven direct marketing buyers, and if I’ve caught you at a good time, I’d like to discuss some potential opportunities to promote to Ford owners who you might not be reaching now.”

Here’s another Joe submitted.

“I’m Joe Galloway with Dobbs Publishing. We specialize in reaching mail order customers through seven very targeted automotive magazines. If I’ve caught you at a good time, I’d like to review the opportunities that these titles might afford you to strengthen your mail order programs, and ultimately maximize your profitability.”

I like the first part, but the second half got a bit wordy and formal. Let’s make it more conversational with “If I’ve caught you at a good time, I’d like to discuss some ways you might be able to get more catalog and mail order customers.”

A Call to an Existing Customer

Matt French submitted one for a call to a regular advertiser, with the call objective being to increase the ad size.

“This is Matt French from Super Ford Magazine. I’m calling this morning in regards to the current ad you are running with us. I’ve noticed you have quite a few products in your 2/3 page ad, and I was wondering, depending on how much you plan on growing your business this year, if you would have a few minutes to discuss the opportunities that exist in gaining more market share by increasing your ad size?”

First, referring to the customer’s existing situation is good, since it lets him know you’re actually thinking about him as opposed to just “smilin and dialin.” What I would avoid, though, is any mention in the opening statement about increasing ad size. They’re not ready yet; they’ll look at that as an expense, not at the potential return.

Here’s an alternative. “I was reviewing the products in the ad you’re now running with us, and came up with some ideas. Depending on what your growth and promotional plans are for the next year or so, I might have a few options worth considering to generate more revenue from your ads.”

Notice that instead of talking about increasing ad size, we mention increasing the revenue, which is really all the advertiser is interested in. After getting into the questioning part of the call, then we can make the recommendation on the larger ad size, and he’ll be much more receptive to it, since we will have explained how it will increase the revenue.

Overall, nice job guys.

Two months ago, I had the pleasure of working with the technical training group for one of my clients. You know these guys. They are the techies who teach your customers how to use the software and operate the equipment we sell. They often come along on demos just to make sure we don’t make total fools of ourselves. Unfortunately, too often we fear that they will stray from their role and start talking. Who knows what will happen then!

This group had asked me to teach them how to sell since they not only talk with their own sales people, but their customers are usually resellers and interested in sales, too. They believed that if they understood a little about sales, they would be able to do a better job helping sales people use their information as a tool to make more sales. They wanted to talk their language.

What a concept!
I talked with them on a teleconference today and I’m happy to report that they are doing great, except for one issue. The techies showed the sales people how to find customers for each product. They tied all the features and benefits into customer value points. They even showed the sales people how to do a demo that closes a sale. Bravo!

Then came the big question…
Tim said that some sales people consistently asked him to reduce each offering down to one sentence or ‘elevator speech’. They wanted canned lines for everything. He came back a little frustrated with these individuals, and I don’t blame him. I had taught them a consultative approach. One that was based on questions and intelligent responses that connected with the prospect, not canned pitches that require little thought or probing.

What would you say to a prospect who asked you, “What can that do for me?” Would you throw out a litany of canned feature and benefit statements, hoping that one or two would hit the mark? Or would you say, “I don’t know. Tell me a little about your needs and I’ll tell you how this might fit in your situation”?

Selling does not have to be complicated, but it does take some effort. Let’s can the canned responses and make the effort to connect with every prospect through knowing their needs.

Ps: Respect your technical support team. They just might be the best sales tool you have.

You might also be interested in my article, “20 Questions That Uncover Your Value”. To get a free copy, simply email article17@waterhousegroup.com.

Happy Selling,

Steve

Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group (http://www.waterhousegroup.com), a sales training company that helps companies increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at 1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com.

Obtaining merchant status will help to increase your sales.

Consumers are becoming creatures of convenience; when dealing with businesses—large or small—they desire ease of transaction. That most frequently translates into the ability to pay for services rendered or product purchases via credit card.

Small businesses are often denied merchant status because they can’t prove to the bank that they are good risks. You must establish and demonstrate a track record before a bank or independent sales organization (ISO) will agree to back your business. Even today, some banks also hesitate to provide merchant status to companies without storefronts, to mail order firms or to individuals with a past history of personal or business bankruptcy. Although thankfully, it is getting easier today than it was even 15 to 20 years ago.

In this article we will help you to understand the reasons you may not be able to obtain merchant status, so that we can help you find ways to more favorably present yourself and your business as candidates for merchant status.

1. Start with your own bank. When shopping for a merchant account, the first place to stop is your own bank.

When banks look at an application, they consider three critical things: the principals, the product and the process. In other words, they need to know about you, what you are selling and how you are selling it. Be sure to take the time to carefully develop your proposal. It can really pay off. Show your bank that you’re serious about obtaining merchant status and you take your business very seriously.

In spite of your best efforts, the bank may still turn you down. The next step is to approach other banks in your area. If you’re still running into roadblocks, there is another option.

2. Investigate ISOs selling on behalf of other banks. ISOs serve as a liaison between banks and merchants. Your odds of getting merchant status from an ISO may be greater than from a bank, but the costs—and risks—may also be greater.

Most ISOs are legitimate businesses, but it pays to be wary. The first thing you should ask any service provider is what banks they represent. When considering an ISO, a merchant should know which bank they are working for, and should check with MasterCard and Visa to ensure the ISO is properly registered. Keep in mind that this service you are buying can have a significant impact on the cash flow of your business, and don’t be shy about asking for references.

A good bank or ISO should provide reliable and trouble-free processing, with responsive customer service whenever you have a problem, all at a fair price. What’s fair depends on the risk level of your business and the terms being offered by competing ISOs. Make sure the merchant bankcard provider you choose fully supports you as a merchant with a variety of services, like check guarantee, acceptance of all major credit cards, debit cards, etc. Also make sure they fully support the equipment or software they sell you. If they don’t, ask them who does and how much extra this costs. Some programs may be appealing, but require hidden costs for assistance.

3. Clearly understand the costs involved. To better grasp the issue of costs, you must understand how credit card sales are processed. Simply stated, when you conduct a charge transaction, you will receive the cost of that sale, less a previously agreed-upon discount (from two to more than five percent), from the bank or service company. The more stable your business is, the lower your discount rate will be.

Fees are a substantial cost: ISOs typically charge fees for minimum activity, if yours doesn’t reach a pre-determined amount; fees for each transaction made, above and beyond the two to five percent discount; and fees for processing customer statements. Another cost is that of equipment. Most merchants today use an electronic draft capture terminal to process sales, which you can lease or purchase. It is more economical to purchase the equipment, but your choices will be limited by the ISO you choose. You might be able to purchase a used terminal from your ISO or buy a new or used terminal from another source. Check with your ISO first!

If you have a personal computer and a modem, there are several software packages currently on the market that perform authorization and draft capture. Make sure that any software you buy is compatible with the system used by your ISO.

4. Caveat emptor. As with any other business decision, carefully consider your options and shop around. Research the requirements, costs and services of banks and ISOs offering merchant status, and talk to other business people who are already offering credit card service. There are many reputable companies out there and, of course, there are also bad apples. As a merchant, ask questions about any company you are choosing to use. The company should be willing to answer any questions you might have, as well as to tell you openly if they can’t!

While the information presented might seen very disheartening to your getting merchant status, listen to this. Many individuals who have filed bankruptcy and have terrible credit have received merchant status.

While you may pay more fees going through an ISO, it is worth it to be able to say, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. For those of you doing any kind of consulting it is a big plus. If you eventually sell products, again it is a great convenience for your customers and many times will close the sale.

So, GIVE YOUR CLIENTS THE PLASTIC OPTION!

Copyright 2004 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our “how to” Home Business Solutions Digest, it’s like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com