SOCOM Sales Tips

Happy Independence day

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:48:00 +0000

// –> // –> How to keep people from putting the seat back on airplanes. Free Channel Sales Playbook SOCOM Sales Update Four Great Advantages To Working at Home The Emperor’s New Clothes Top 50 best sales articles Office Lingo - What does it all mean? 15 sales posts you want to read Free Conference Calls Great sales resources

Using Skype for Sales Calls

SOCOM Sales — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:17:12 +0000

I am a traditionalist when it comes to sales. I’m far from old school but I have become fairly set in my ways on what technology is best and works most often. Every now and then I get a little geeky and try out something new. This week the new tool I started using was Skype. Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people ...

Ideal Partner Profile

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:43:55 +0000

Finding great partners to work with is hardly an easy task. Great partners are not found over night, the truly great ones have been developed over time through communication, training and support. The hardest part of identifying new channel partners is who do you start with. Instead of going after every channel partner that fits your general demographic, get more specific by creating an Ideal Partner Profile. Example: Gold Partner: Size: >50 employees # of Sales people: 10 # of Technical people: 20 Company Revenue: $20M Certifications: Microsoft, VMware, Symantec, IBM, Vizioncore, ...

Looking for Sales Jobs in a Down Economy

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:41:19 +0000

The economy is in the tank. Not breaking news but it seems to have a very shallow light at the end of the tunnel for any time in the near future. I was working a good job in business development for a channel sales group and little by little the head count was being cut. I should have seen the writing on the wall but I was happy and getting stuff done so I didn’t think I had anything to worry about. Well, I was wrong. At least I can say that ...

Perfect Job Interview (video)

SOCOM Sales — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:36:53 +0000

With the economy in the tank, looking for and finding a job is more difficult than ever. There are many companies hiring but what is going to get you the job and not the person next to you in line? One of the first things a company looks at obviously is your resume. Without a great resume, your chances of getting in the door for an interview is slim to none. There are some great resources online about how to present yourself during a personal interview. The Brazen Careerist has an ...

Sales People DO NOT Produce revenue

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:32:51 +0000

I had an interesting discussion with a man today that owns his own software and services company. He would fit into that midsize area with only 180 employees. With the revenue that he explained to me that they were pulling in, it was pretty clear that the current economy wasn’t doing to much damage to his business (if he was telling the truth). He said something on the call that got me thinking. He was explaining to me that his large sales team produces the revenue for the company. The ...

The best professional business case

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:27:48 +0000

I am kind of a bag whore. I have five laptop bags and briefcases that I switch between throughout the year. I like to get a new one for myself around Christmas. I had to find one that I liked enough to spend money on. Though I like new business cases to carry my laptop and paperwork, I don’t exactly like to spend a lot of money on something I am going to hate in a few weeks. The OGIO bags are great products. One of the guys in my office ...

Building a Channel Sales Team

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:48:21 +0000

Building a Channel Sales team is not an easy job and getting one running is even more difficult. It is not an impossible task though. Many larger companies already have the infrastructure and just need to align them correctly. Smaller companies may need to bring on a few key people to bring the team up to speed quicker. Channel Sales Managers The Channel Sales Manager or CSM is the spearhead of the team. Broken into territories, these are field based sales people that know how to manage key accounts. Besides being a ...

Turn Challenging Questions into Sales

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:23:00 +0000

Make the sales process a collaborative one and you’ll find yourself in the position of trusted advisor instead of just another company trying to make a sale. One of the most difficult and feared situations in selling is getting hit with hard to answer questions early in the sales process. Questions such as: “Why should I buy from you?” and “What makes your product better than your competitor’s?” For most salespeople these questions are an irresistible invitation for what I refer to as the “Presentation Trap,” an open invitation from the ...

How to keep people from putting the seat back on airplanes.

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:33:29 +0000

I’m not an executive of The Big Three. I don not have a private jet to fly me around for business. I need to take commercial airlines just like most people. And like most, I site in the back of the plane. Nothing bothers me more than when some inconsiderate person sitting in the seat in front of me reclines their seat as far as it can go. Effectively deciding that they want to turn the next couple hours of my lisfe into the most uncomfortable flight ever. There are ...

Follow the LeadVine for More Money in Sales

SOCOM Sales — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:50:42 +0000

A reader sent me this link and though it nessassary to pass along. Many people in sales are looking for new and fresh leads that they can target for their product and services. LeadVine allow you to do this with thousands of other people just like you. LeadVine is an online social community that simplifies how companies find new customers. Search listings and make money with the information that you already have. How can LeadVine make you easy money? Everyday people come across information that is useless to them but useful ...

Determined to Succeed but Still Failing: Why?

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:22:00 +0000

You’ve probably heard the story of the golfer who steps up to the tee box and hits a wicked duck hook out of bounds. Embarrassed, he reaches in his pocket, tees up another ball and again, hits another horrific twisting shot left out of bounds. Now angry and determined, he walks back to his bag, gets another ball, tees it up again, and duplicates his first two shots out of bounds to the left. In a fit of frustration, he slams his club into his bag, aggressively flings his club over ...

The Neat Way to Track Receipts

SOCOM Sales — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:35:55 +0000

Being in sales or having a professional position where you have to travel for business means that you have to keep your receipts. Well…keep your receipts or do not get paid back from an expense report. I can’t count the number of times I have lost a receipt from a trip and had to fight the expense or just eat it and have the money taken from my own wallet. Keeping track of your business receipts is a must for any person on the road and there are many tips ...

Avoid Getting Your E-mails Deleted

SOCOM Sales — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:46:00 +0000

Avoid Getting Your E-mails Deleted From the E-Business Newsletter It’s easy to fall into bad e-mailing habits because the whole format can begin to feel casual. By now everyone knows to avoid writing in all caps and using emoticons, but people often make the mistake of shooting off overly chummy professional e-mails and forming a devil-may-care disregard for grammar and punctuation. Simple rule of thumb: treat e-mail the same way you’d treat phoning someone. Get to the point, but be polite about it. Here is a look at some of the subtler ...

LinkedIn Becomes a Social Media Tool

SOCOM Sales — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:18:19 +0000

I knew this day was coming. Linkedin is a resource professionals have been using for several years to keep in contact with old coworkers as well as build their networks for business use. LinkedIn has been rolling out some new features over the past year hinting that major changes were in the works. It looks like the next phase of LinkedIn features was released last night in the form of LinkedIn Applications. No longer will LinkedIn be seen as a boring text based log of who you have in your network ...

How to Take the Sales Out of Selling

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:10:00 +0000

It came to me at a peculiar time. I am a sales trainer and I was training sales people. In a moment of uninspired accidental brilliance (that’s an enormous exaggeration) I said something that made all the sense in world, but was completely contradictory in nature. “My ultimate goal for you,” I said to a roomful of seasoned professional sales people “is to completely remove the concept of ‘selling’ from who you are and what you do.” But wait a minute…..I’m a sales trainer…..a SALES trainer….and these are sales people…….SALES people……..and ...

Warming up to cold calls

SOCOM Sales — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:42:00 +0000

Why it’s time to rethink one of the most derided marketing tactics. Most marketing pros would say that Samantha Ettus is going about it all wrong. That’s because the CEO of Ettus Media Management, a New York City public relations and branding agency, spends a big chunk of her time working the phones, pitching herself and her clients to people she’s never met. According to the conventional wisdom, that’s a big waste of time. Cold calling, the experts agree, is annoying and irritating, an unwanted imposition on busy people. What’s more, they ...

Crafting an Opening Sales Statement

SOCOM Sales — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:16:00 +0000

You’ve got just eight short seconds to grab your prospect’s attention and land an executive sales appointment. This sales expert shows you how. By Tony Parinello Before you pick up the phone to make a sales call to an executive, I’d like to suggest you remember the following true story: A few months ago, one of my salespeople, Daniel, had some car problems, so I offered to give him a ride to work. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to do a little one-on-one role-playing, I suggested we go over some appointment-setting ...

The Right Voice-Mail Message Will Get You Through

SOCOM Sales — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:43:00 +0000

Today, nobody seems to be around to answer their phones. You spend time cold calling, and all you get are voice-mail messages. You know people don’t bother calling back if they think it’s a sales call. Because I kept running into this situation, I decided I had to leave a voice-mail message that would encourage prospects to call back. I found the best results came when I called people who are members of identifiable groups like the Chamber of Commerce. I could reference the group and gain some legitimacy for my ...

The Importance of Individual Sales Goals

SOCOM Sales — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:32:00 +0000

Achieving sales volume goals for your business is one of the biggest challenges any owner faces. Many factors beyond your control can affect that final number–the economy, the weather, the competition. But one manageable factor is the people in direct contact with your clients–your sales team. Some business owners ask every person on the team to meet the same sales goals. That’s the easiest thing for a busy entrepreneur to do. But not everyone is capable of achieving at the same level. Some salespeople are better with a certain product; others ...