By Barb Girson

“Touch-Points Create Touchdowns”

If you want to expand your email list, first expand your mind. Don’t worry, not in a 1960’s sort of a way, but exercising some creativity will result in e-mail list building tenfold!

Fortunately, there is opportunity all around us. Every time you connect with a client or prospect, you touch upon the potential for an email list building moment.

So why isn’t every touch with a client or prospect an email touchdown? The key is to ASK.

Here are 10 examples of touch points for email list building simply by asking for an email address:

1. Point of purchase in a store

2. Making Phone calls

3. Networking events

4. Speaking events

5. Web sites

6. Email signature

7. Life-styling (out and about town)

8. Social Events

9. Referrals

10. Family/Friends

Two tips to help you collect email addresses:

1. When you receive someone’s business card, seize the opportunity to politely ask if you can add them to your list. Something I usually say is, “I have an email list that I use for a published e-zine up to 3x’s a month, which includes sales tips, articles and special offers for entrepreneurs and small business owners. If you want to be included, please put an “E” for ezine on the back of your card to let me know I confirmed permission.” In most cases, people will put the E on their card.

2. When you’re taking an order, offer to email the customer a receipt. This is another great opportunity to ask permission to join your list and to explain why being on your email list will benefit them. Not only is this a useful sales tactic, but it is also environmentally conscious by saving the paper used to print receipts. Caution: Just because someone says yes to receive their receipt via email, does not mean they have given you permission to join your list. Explicitly ASK.

Begin to pay closer attention to interactions we have. When we start to the see the world through a lens of infinite opportunities, our contact lists begin to look more infinite!

As we make our way through our days, weeks, months and eventually, another year—let’s recite a power business-generating mantra for not just MINDFULNESS, but (RE)MINDFULNES:

“Stay on your toes; Opportunity Flows” …

“Stay on MY toes; MY Opportunity Flows” …”

Stay on…

The next time we find ourselves in a crowded line at the supermarket, exchanging business cards at a networking event, or even visiting with extended family and friends, we shall remain firmly on our toes. When we stay on our toes, we are likely to score those email touchdowns, as we are email list building abundantly.

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30-Day Touch-point Touchdown Challenge

For the next 30 days, submit your “Stay on Your Toes; Opportunity Flows” stories.  

Every person who submits a story in the next 30-days, will receive a chance to have your story featured on my blog as well as an entry to win a copy of my new book: Email Marketing Simplified – Nurture Relationships, Engage Subscribers, & Build Sales. 

This book simplifies the steps of successfully incorporating email marketing strategies into your business.  Interactive and fun! This time-saving book will guide you through the email marketing development process quickly and effortlessly.

For more information, visit the Email Marketing Simplified book release page.

*Drawing will be held on June 15, 2013.

To Join Barb Girson’s email newsletter list (published up to 3 x’s/mo), visit MySalesTactics.com to learn more about Barb Girson’s strategies and tactics to help you gain confidence get into action and most importantly grow sales.

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About The Author

Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach(TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker & author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, and annual conventions & telecasts sales training programs. Custom programs /Coaching 1:1 available.

Barb Girson helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs gain confidence, get into action, & most importantly… grow sales. To sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass / join her free email list & get ‘Sales Strategies that Stick’ ezine, Visit MySalesTactics.com to learn more. Need a speaker for your next event? Contact Us.

The post Email List Building: 10 Examples –“Stay on Your Toes; Opportunity Flows” appeared first on My Sales Tactics.

Most of our eBooks, handouts and worksheets are set to print at 8.5 x 11 without any extra configuration.  However, we do have a few products that require different print settings for optimal printing.

For example, Email Marketing Simplified is a 6 x 9 book.  If you wish to print this eBook on your own, you will need to change your printer settings to “scale” the page to fit an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.  Otherwise, you will have a 6 x 9 page on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper leaving wide margins.

Printer settings can vary from printer to printer.  Therefore, you may wish to test print 1 or 2 pages prior to printing the entire eBook at once.

Below, you will find a screenshot with the settings adjusted for scaling the page (in this instance, the option was to “fit” the page).

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By Barb Girson

What’s the best sales follow up system?

What’s is your sales follow up system?

Quite frequently, I am asked these questions.  The answer is it, it is up to you—as long as you work within a system.

Often, when our performance appears to be failing, our system is failing. Success is often dependent upon our personal follow up system.

When it comes to managing leads, some direct sales leaders prefer to set up a paper, notebook or note card system to track home party booking leads and recruiting prospects. Other sales professionals and entrepreneurs prefer to set up an online system using a spreadsheet or a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM system).

The truth is it does not matter which system you use. What matters is that it suits your style, needs and workflow.

We are pleased to announce our exciting discovery that provides a visual method to track and manage sales leads.  This unique system was originally built for project management and proves to be highly versatile.  This sales lead management software is called Kanbanery. We are suggesting this software as a new alternative that will enable direct sellers, entrepreneurs and sales professionals to self-manage prospects, sales leads and home party bookings with efficiency and ease! Kanbanery is a FREE and completely adjustable online resource to accommodate your sales process details.

The Kanbanery project management board is highly adjustable and easy to configure.  If you don’t already have a particular method in place for managing your direct sales home parties and bookings, then this tool enables you to create a board from scratch.  Also, if you need help in creating a sales booking system, you can choose to use one of Kanbanery’s pre-existing sales templates.

 Figure 1-1

As you can see above, this tool is an excellent way to help you simplify a sales process for booking direct sales home parties and at a glance see your hot, warm and cold leads.  So how does it work?

Simple! Assign your leads a status of ‘hot, warm, or cold’ based on their corresponding level of interest.  This user-friendly operation will allow you to quickly locate your best leads, while easily sorting through runner-ups and their less interested cousins.  After all, you want to devote your time to the most probable leads first.

In the example shown above, the process begins with booking leads.  From there, the leads can be moved into one of the following: “not right now,”  “follow up,” “do not call,” or “booked.”  You can change the labels accordingly to be meaningful to you.

This function creates a visual reference method to determine who will likely be the most receptive to your time and energy, and for whom to wave on. Each column can expand or collapse so that you can quickly see the important information on one simple screen.

For every lead you enter, the program generates a detailed, easily interpreted profile. In this profile, through the user-friendly functions of added notes, comments, deadlines, et cetera, you can begin to build a tangible, traceable history of your working relationship with each and every lead.  These details become the backbone of your professional relationships/friendships and will help you serve your leads, clients, and customers in more productive and meaningful ways.

Don’t forget, it is tools like this that enable us to execute the fundamental goal of sales with greater speed and accuracy: to align products and services that WE believe in with our customers needs, WHILE earning an income doing it. Kanbanery will surely ease the process.  Get booking and tracking today.  And as I always say, “Fortune is in the follow up!”

 Figure 1-2

For help and support to either set up your own follow up system or to motivate you to get your massive follow up done, register now for Unforgettable Follow Up – a full day of follow up strategies and action.

Related Articles

• Direct Sales Home Parties Booking Fitness Program
• Chronic Follow Up Sales Call Cancellations – What Entrepreneurs and Direct Sales Women Can Do When Sales Leads Cancel
• I Left a Voice Mail – Why Don’t They Call Me Back?
• Follow Up Do’s and Don’ts – 2 Unforgettable Stories

©2013 Barb Girson Original Work

All Rights Reserved

Edited by Robyn Brooke

What others are saying…

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About The Author

Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach(TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker & author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, and annual conventions & telecasts sales training programs. Custom programs /Coaching 1:1 available.

Barb Girson helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs gain confidence, get into action, & most importantly… grow sales. To sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass / join her free email list & get ‘Sales Strategies that Stick’ ezine, Visit MySalesTactics.com to learn more. Need a speaker for your next event? Contact Us.

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Now Available!

Barb Girson, an interactive creative speaker and author, has been featured in USA Today, appeared on CBS This Morning, Fox 28 News/Columbus, 880AM Radio and has been quoted in numerous other national/regional and local publications. Barb Girson is a sought-after authority speaking on women, entrepreneurs, email marketing & direct sales.

Email Marketing is a powerful marketing tool for growing sales. Entrepreneurs, sales professionals and small business owners—new and established—will gain easy to execute insights to improve your email marketing.

Email Marketing helps you to stay top of mind with your clients by simply building your subscribers and offering them something of value—such as information, resources, specials, products, news, and more. In return, you gain creditability, customers, and a venue to reach a large audience effectively and with minimal effort.

Inside Email Marketing Simplified you will find time-saving resources such as:

• 51 Calls-to-Action
• Top Key Holiday Words
• Email Troubleshooting Chart
• 12-Month Newsletter Planner Form
• Numerous Exercises and Worksheets!
• 101 Words/Phrases to Build Stimulating Subject Lines
• ABC’s – 37 Reasons to Use Email Marketing Strategies
• 154 pages to success!

Based on workshop feedback and professional experience, this book provides a wealth of knowledge geared toward getting your email marketing off to a great start.

Available Formats: PDF, Paperback

Printer Settings for PDF Version

Special Subscriber Offer – Join our email list during our launch and receive the paperback edition for only $17.99 and the ebook edition for $7.99 – code provided after sign up.  To be one of the first to read this book and receive special pricing, sign up for our ezine today.

Note: Flat Rate Shipping includes the continental US.  For international shipping, contact Sales@MySalesTactics.com for pricing.  Allow 2 weeks for delivery of the paperback version.  All sales are final.

Preview Book Content – Table of Contents, Sample Pages

You may also be interested in:

My Email Marketing Sales Circle – This personalized program provides you with the sales/email marketing strategies to make a memorable impression on your clients. Your ezines and newsletters will work more effectively to connect with your prospects & convert to sales.

The post Email Marketing Simplified – Nurture Relationships, Engage Subscribers, & Build Sales Book appeared first on My Sales Tactics.

By Barb Girson

As a direct sales company owner, team leader or direct sales manager, there are many leadership challenges you will need to overcome to build a successful direct sales business. While these include topics such as recruiting, training, marketing, recognizing your team, prospecting, and a variety of others; this article will provide strategies to assist you with successful direct sales team building.

# 1 – Leadership Challenge: Analyze Team Behavior Traits.

The results you gain through adequately supporting your team (advice, training, and goal setting) highly depends upon the individual’s behavioral style. Does your team member prefer sales strategies to be broken down systematically? Alternatively, would your team member prefer to create steps herself to accomplish a team goal? Does she thrive by jumping in and figuring it out as she goes? Is she bogged down by details? Does your team as a whole lean into the strengths of each member? These are the questions to ask to ensure that your support strategy compliments your support recipients.

# 2 – Leadership Challenge: Prevent Your Team from Running Hot and Cold.

Some team members expend all their energy in bursts, followed by none of their energy in bursts. This is a common and vicious cycle, as the energy crash can negatively affect sales bookings, home parties scheduled, and recruiting results, and ultimately lead to personal discouragement. As a team leader, you can better support your team by creating a higher level of consistency in your team’s daily, weekly and monthly direct sales routines. Coach your team to be self-pacers and to recognize and create consistency.

# 3 – Leadership Challenge: Keep the Ball Moving Forward.

After holiday home parties and New Year’s resolutions begin to fade, your recruits may do the same. Team motivation is one of the most important leadership challenges that each direct sales leader will address. As a strong leader, we must be proactive to keep our team engaged and to encourage them to not only meet, but to also exceed their sales goals. Remember to frequently remind your team to check in with their “WHY.” Why are they doing this? Why are they in this business? Why are they connected to their team? Lastly, keep the business fresh and fun. Humor reduces stress.

# 4 – Leadership Challenge: Bingo! Running Effective Team Meetings and Retreats.

Do your team members often leave your team meetings or team conference calls motivated only to become quickly deflated later?. Does your direct sales team go home sounding charged up, but post-meeting produce little to no change? What went wrong?

Ultimately, this is a case of goals being too distant and not concrete. The actions were not defined and specific. The problem with a lack of concrete ideas is that it leads to disengaged team members.

Alternatively, it is also possible that you are saying the same message over and over and having a numbing effect?

The team might begin to play what I call, “meeting bingo” based upon what the leader says repeatedly at every meeting. This is not very different from the drinking games played at political speeches, where audience members take a shot or sip when a buzzword is repeated. Similarly, what we get with the repetition of empty buzzwords untethered to a measurable action step is a short term shot of feeling good and nothing but a hangover the next day!

There is a big difference between saying “increase home party bookings”, “increase sales to meet your monthly goals or to advance in the compensation plan”, and a statement with measurable action and meaning such as, “meet a quarterly goal of 10 new home party bookings and become a Team Leader by April 30th.” As you recite motivating objectives for each meeting, be sure to include a monthly or weekly plan to break down that goal into manageable bites.

By proactively preparing for and overcoming these direct sales leadership challenges. You are on your way to building a successful sales team and to growing your home party business!

Looking for solutions to your leadership challenges?

Attend our next live teleclass session of S.T.A.R. Team Building. Unable to attend? Try the S.T.A.R. replay and listen at your own convenience.

Sign Up for the Ezine and receive this month’s subscriber special!

Related Articles & Resources

• Spring STAR Team Building Checklist To Be Bigger and Retain Better This Summer
• Be a Recruiting Talent Scout – 3 Steps to Finding Your ACE’s
•  3 Weak Leader Word Choices – Lead Your Direct Sales, Home-Based Team to Be More Responsive and Active
• S.T.A.R. Team Building

©2013 Barb Girson Original Work
All Rights Reserved

Edited by Robyn Brooke

What others are saying…

________________________________________________________________

About The Author

Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach(TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker & author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, and annual conventions & telecasts sales training programs. Custom programs /Coaching 1:1 available.

Barb Girson helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs gain confidence, get into action, & most importantly… grow sales. To sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass / join her free email list & get ‘Sales Strategies that Stick’ ezine, Visit MySalesTactics.com to learn more. Need a speaker for your next event? Contact Us.

The post Build a Strong Direct Sales Team – Overcome Leadership Challenges appeared first on My Sales Tactics.

By Barb Girson

As a company owner, team leader or sales manager, there are many leadership challenges you will need to overcome to build a successful business. Since these challenges include topics such as budgeting, marketing, human resources, and a variety of other topics, this article will provide strategies to assist you with successful sales team building.

Leadership Challenge # 1: Keep the Ball Moving.

After holiday parties and New Year’s resolutions begin to fade, your team members start to do the same. Team motivation is one of the important leadership challenges that each leader must manage. As a strong leader, we must be proactive to keep our team motivated and to encourage them to not only meet but to also exceed their sales goals. Remember to frequently remind your team of their strategic plan. Lastly, keep the culture fresh and fun. Humor reduces stress.

Leadership Challenge # 2: Change Team Running Hot and Cold to Warm.

Some team members expend all their energy in bursts, followed by none of their energy in bursts. As a team leader, you can better support your team by creating a higher level of consistency in your team’s daily, weekly and monthly routines. Coach your team to be self-pacers and to recognize and create consistency.

Leadership Challenge # 3 – Analyze Team Traits.

The results you gain through supporting your team (advice, training, and goal setting) highly depends upon the individual’s behavioral style. Does your team member prefer sales strategies to be broken down systematically? Alternatively, would your team member prefer to create steps themselves to accomplish a team goal? Does she thrive by jumping in and figuring it out as she goes? Is this person bogged down by details? Does your team as a whole lean into the strengths of each member?

Leadership Challenge # 4: Bingo! Run Effective Retreats and Strategy Meetings.

One of my clients relayed a story from a corporate strategy retreat in which the attendees heard the same lofty statements over and over again in effort to get the team motivated. However, once attendees went home, nothing changed.

What went wrong?

The team might begin to play what I call, “meeting bingo” based upon what the leadership team says repeatedly at every meeting. This is not very different from the drinking games played at political speeches, where audience members take a shot or sip when a buzzword is repeated. Similarly, what we get with the repetition of empty buzzwords untethered to a measurable action step is a short term shot of feeling good and nothing but a hangover the next day!

There is a big difference between saying “increase sales”, “bring in business”, versus something more measurable and action-oriented such as “meet a quarterly goal of $10,000″ with a monthly plan to break down that goal into manageable bites.

By proactively preparing for and meeting these leadership challenges, you are on your way to building a successful sales team and business growth!

Looking for solutions to your leadership challenges?

Planning a corporate leadership retreat? Need some fresh ideas? Looking for clearly defined actionable takeaways? Contact us for availability and fees to facilitate your next workshop, strategy meeting or leadership retreat.

Sign Up for the Ezine and receive this month’s subscriber special!

Related Articles & Resources

• 3 Year-end Strategic Business Planning Guidelines for Companies & Entrepreneurs
• My 10 Top Leadership Light Bulbs
• Consulting
• Speaking

©2013 Barb Girson Original Work
All Rights Reserved

Edited by Robyn Brooke

What others are saying…

________________________________________________________________

About The Author

Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach(TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker & author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, and annual conventions & telecasts sales training programs. Custom programs /Coaching 1:1 available.

Barb Girson helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs gain confidence, get into action, & most importantly… grow sales. To sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass / join her free email list & get ‘Sales Strategies that Stick’ ezine, Visit MySalesTactics.com to learn more. Need a speaker for your next event? Contact Us.

The post Understanding Leadership Challenges – Building a Strong Sales Team appeared first on My Sales Tactics.