Sales Tip-Quoting & Closing Business - They Were Losing Not Winning</h1> <article> <h1>Sales Tip-Quoting & Closing Business - They Were Losing Not Winning</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:28:00 GMT</p> <br><p>I had the opportunity to review prospects Sales Pipeline. The comment the prospect made was:</p> <p>“We are doing GREAT, I am happy with everyone’s sales performance and sales volume along with hitting their quotas and gaining market share”.</p> <p>As I examined the quote log it was obvious that while the owner had strong feelings about the increased sales and the sales team hitting their monthly quota there were some staggering numbers that were alarming. Here is what I saw.</p> <table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Sales Rep</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p># of Quotes</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Quotes</p> <p>Closed</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Quotes Lost</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Quote Open</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Peter</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>10</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>2</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>7</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>1</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Jessie</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>13</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>4</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>9</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>0</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Mary</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>8</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>3</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>4</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>1</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Adam</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>17</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>5</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>8</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>4</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>Totals</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>48</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>14</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>28</p> </td> <td valign="top" width="64"> <p>6</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p>While the sales staff hit their quotas, gained market share along with increased sales volume for the month they were really losing when they had an attitude of winning.</p> <p>1- They closed 29% of what they quoted on.</p> <p>2- With an average cost of $235.00 to produce a quote they lost $6580.00 on the lost quotes</p> <p>3- The lost $6580.00 was wasted profit dollars.</p> <p>4- With an average sale of $10,000.00 x 14 quotes won gave them $140,000.00 in sales.</p> <p>5- With a 29% Gross profit their gross profit came to $40,600.00</p> <p>6- With an average sale of $10,000.00 x 28 quotes lost gave them a loss of $280,000.00 and $81,200 of lost gross profit.</p> <p>7- If they continue the current course of action they will close 1.74 additional pieces of business and capture an additional $17,400.00 and $5046 in additional gross profit.</p> <p>8- At the end of the day they closed $140,000.00 in sales missed out on $280,000.00 and may win an additional 17,400.00</p> <p>The question is while they hit their quota are they really winning? 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If you are hearing vague generalities the chances of you increasing your market share, sales and profits with this prospect are poor. The worse thing is, if you can shoot holes in the number one prospect in the pipeline business opportunity list chances are everything else in the pipeline is weak.</p> <p>If you are satisfied with the information from your sales person regarding the number one prospect business opportunity, keep going down the list to number two, then three, then four, through all five positions until you hit a weak prospect.</p> <p>This process will help you get a general idea of the quality of the sales pipeline.</p> <p>Here are four of many criteria to determine the quality of the sales pipeline.</p> <p>1-Your sales person is calling on the decision maker.</p> <p>2-Your sales person has discovered a compelling reason the prospect has shared, that is motivating them to buy.</p> <p>3-Your sales person knows the prospect is committed to solving the compelling issue.</p> <p>4- The prospect buys quality not just on price.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <h2><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Your Sales Tip-</strong></span><b> A healthy sales pipeline will support gaining more market share, increase sales volume and profits, and hit your sales quota. </b></h2> <h2><b> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Get Your Free Sales Pipeline Analysis </span></b></h2> <h2><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></b> </h2> <h2><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">CLICK ON THIS LINK <a href="http://www.turrisiassociates.com/how-to-close-more-sales-managing-your-sales-pipeline/tabid/297425/Default.aspx">http://www.turrisiassociates.com/how-to-close-more-sales-managing-your-sales-pipeline/tabid/297425/Default.aspx</a></span></b></h2><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Keep Your Customers,Build Sales and Not Get Shopped on Price.</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:40:00 GMT</p> <br><p>Over the past six months I made a number of purchases contributing to the sales volume at the Home Depot store in Hackettstown, New Jersey.</p> <p>The first major purchase was a log splitter. Not knowing what to buy and having a large selection to pick from, I was helped by Don Orfield.</p> <p>Don asked me a number of questions to understand what I was trying to accomplish. With his help I was able to select an electric portable splitter I could move easily by hand. By the way it does a great job.</p> <p>My next major purchase at Home Depot was a snow blower. Not know anything about snow blowers and having a large selection to choose from I was lucky to be helped by Don. We talked about my needs and with his help I made my purchase.</p> <p>After the purchase Don offered to have the snow blower assembled and would call me when it was ready. The day I picked up the snow blower Don had it ready with some gas in the tank. At first glance the machine looked very complicated to use.</p> <p>There were multiple handles and switches, a choke, and an electric start. Don took the time to show me how to start it up and use the controls. He said that watching someone demonstrate it would make it a lot easier when I got it home and read the manual.</p> <p>This year I needed to change the locks in my house. There was a combination of eight dead bolts and entry locks.</p> <p>I was told that a locksmith would charge about $85.00 per lock to match all the locks. I went to Home Depot thinking it would be cheaper to just buy all new locks.</p> <p>This time I was waited on by Matt Unkel. Matt suggested instead of buying all new locks I should go home and see what different types of locks I had and then come back.</p> <p>When I went back to the store I had two of one type of lock and an assortment of the others. Matt suggested I buy two locks. Go home and bring in the locks I had on my doors and he would re- key them for me.</p> <p>When the project was completed all my house locks matched and I spent less than one hundred dollars. Matt did not charge me for the rekeying of all the other locks. His words were, I see you in here a lot it is on us.</p> <p>Due to high winds in my area the brackets for the hot tube bent when the cover was up. I tried to buy new brackets. I thought my only choice was to buy a new system that would come to over three hundred dollars.</p> <p>I took the mounting brackets down to Home Depot thinking I would buy new aluminum pipe and build new brackets. I saw Don Orfield and asked if he had any suggestions. Don took me to the plumbing department.</p> <p>Using a pipe bender he was able to straighten the pipes. I purchased two new bolts, nuts and washers along with pipe insulators and I was back in business for under eleven dollars.</p> <p>From time to time I have purchased paint at Home Depot. Gerry Figurelli and Cate Oakley have always been there to recommend the right brush, match colors and do whatever it takes.</p> <p>There are some very important lessons from these experiences from a big box store.</p> <p><em>If you want to increase your market share, increase sales volume it takes more than a just trying to sell stuff. It takes an attitude of customer service and building relationships</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Don, Cate, Gerry and Matt were genuinely interested in me.</strong></li> <li><strong>They took the time to ask questions to determine what I was trying to accomplish.</strong></li> <li><strong>There were no sales pitches.</strong></li> <li><strong>They all made suggestions they felt were in my best interests.</strong></li> <li><strong>They gave of themselves. (On the day Matt worked with me he was getting ready to leave the store and stayed to help me. Don was just about to have lunch when I arrived with the bent hot tub cover brackets and helped me.)</strong></li> </ul> <p>I can buy a snow blower, a log splitter, a bolt anywhere. I know when I have to buy something I can go to Home Depot and get the help I need. My experience with Home Depot’s sales processes and systems was that it is built around customer service and customer satisfaction.</p> <p> I know when I have a problem there will be someone there interested in helping me.</p> <p>When the board of directors of a company, select people that know how to build relationships, they in turn will be building a customer base that will stay loyal.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Increase Your Sales in 2012… Part One</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:44:00 GMT</p> <br><p>My conversation with Bill went like this.</p> <p><strong>Bill:</strong> Hi Al, I wanted this session with you because while I had a good sales year and hit my quota, I feel I can do better. I don’t know how much to increase my sales numbers, sales quota and how many more business opportunities I can capture.</p> <p><strong>Al:</strong> Well Bill, you certainly have a positive attitude, can you expand on that?</p> <p><strong>Bill:</strong> Sure, I have a vision of improving my sales process, not to be overly challenging and yet increase my sales performance. I want to increase my sales volume, do a better job of pipeline management and have a sales plan that would help me increase my quota and sales for 2012. But I don’t know exactly where to start.</p> <p><strong>Bill:</strong> Do you have any ideas, sales tips or new concepts that would help me increase my sales and market share.</p> <p><strong>Al:</strong> I want to take you through a sales process that will help have a clear vision of how to increase your sales and market share. Are you open to some self improvement as a sales person?</p> <p><strong>Bill</strong>: Sure, Where do we start?</p> <p>Jumping ahead, Bill, at the end of our meeting had created a sales plan and sales strategy and a sales quota that represented a substantial increase in sales over his previous year and felt he was on the road to success.</p> <p>Like Bill you can discover what you can do to increase sales, profits and market share in 2012. Here is the process we went through which you can replicate.</p> <p>First determine how many new first appointments you had in 2011.</p> <p>Then figure out how many working days you have in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <ul> <li>Start with 365 days</li> <li>Subtract weekends 104 days</li> <li>Number of days left 261 days</li> <li>Subtract holidays 9 days</li> <li>Number of days left 252 days</li> <li>Subtract vacation days 15 days</li> <li>Number of days left 237 days</li> <li>Personal/Sick/Misc days 5 days</li> <li>Number of days left 232 days</li> <li>Sales meetings/planning days 24 days</li> <li>Number of days left to sell 208 days</li> </ul> <p>When Bill went through this process he realized he had 47 new appointments in 2011 in a 208 day period and closed forty percent for a total of 19 new accounts. Bill could not account for the rest of his day’s activities.</p> <p>Bill also realized if he doubled the amount of first appointments to 94 he still had and all other variables stayed the same he could close 38 new accounts and 114 days left.</p> <p>If he committed one day a week for phone calls which is 52, he still had 62 days left. Bill committed to attend 1 networking event each week and still have 10 days left over.</p> <p>With a commitment to increase his first appointments he still had time each day for follow calls, servicing customers and making new appointments.</p> <p>Every situation is different. But the exercise Bill went through should give you some insight on how to increase your sales. I would suggest you calculate how many working days you have in 2012. Then calculate how many first calls you had in 2011.</p> <p>You will have to engineer your own vacation days, holidays, sales planning and sales meeting days, and planning the other days mentioned above where and if they apply.</p> <p>Please let me know what sales plan you come up with and if there is room for increased sales and market share.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>6- Sales Tips -How to Get Out of the Quoting Game</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:18:00 GMT</p> <br><p>Susan called and wanted to know how to get out of the quoting game. The conversation went as follows;</p> <p>Susan: Al, when I am cold calling and find a business opportunity how do I get out of the quoting game and still win my market share of the business?</p> <p>Al: Susan, if you needed a product or a service and you had a good friend who was a sales person who sold that product or service would you go to them to make the purchase?</p> <p>Susan: Sure.</p> <p>Al: Would you go out and get a quote from someone else?</p> <p>Susan: No.</p> <p>Al: Why?</p> <p>Susan: Because I have a relationship with them, I respect them and trust that they would do the right thing by me.</p> <p>Al: Good. So how do you know they would do right by you?</p> <p>Susan: Well that did happen to me. I wanted to buy a hot tub and my friend asked me a lot of questions.</p> <p>Al: What kind of questions?</p> <p>Susan: John wanted to come out to the house to see where I wanted to put the hot tub.</p> <p> Was I going to use it twelve months out of the year or just in the summer?</p> <p> How many people would use it at any one time?</p> <p> What kind of a budget did I have in mind?</p> <p> When did I want to have it in use?</p> <p> And a lot more questions.</p> <p>Al: So how did you feel about the questions, what was your attitude?</p> <p>Susan: It was fine. I got the feeling he was interested in me and was trying to make sure I bought the right tub.</p> <p>Al: How would you feel if John just sent you a picture of the hot tub and a price?</p> <p>Susan: I would probably look around and talk with other people.</p> <p>Al: Really, why, I thought John was a friend?</p> <p>Susan: Well, if he just sent something out in the mail I would think he wasn’t that interested.</p> <p>Al: So Susan, since you had that experience what do you think would be important when dealing with a prospect that needed your product?</p> <p>Susan: Really learn a lot about what they wanted to accomplish. Let them know I was interested in them and they were important to me.</p> <p>Al: So if you wanted to get out of the quoting game what sales tips would you give someone?</p> <p>Susan: The sales tips I would give them would be;</p> <p> Don’t be so quick to just give a price.</p> <p> Go see them.</p> <p> Let them know you are interested in them.</p> <p> Let them know you really need to understand what they</p> <p> want to really help them.</p> <p> Make suggestions and not just sell.</p> <p> Make their agenda your agenda.</p> <p>Al: Susan that’s great, you are on your way. Would you like to set up another coaching session to take this session to the next level?</p> <p>Susan: Sure, let’s do it.</p> <p>What did you learn from my interaction with Susan? Feel free to add your comments below.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle Part - 2</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:38:00 GMT</p> <br><p>I received a call from Peter asking if I would debrief a prospect sales call. Peter was having difficulty getting in touch with the decision maker to book another sales appointment.</p> <p>Our sales call debriefing session went as follows:</p> <p>Al, I had a great first prospect telephone call. During the call I was able to determine the prospect had some issues that I could address for him successfully. From there we booked a first meeting two weeks out.</p> <p>When I arrived I met with the decision maker. During the sales call I made sure not to go into a premature presentation. Most of the prospect call was dedicated to the prospect telling me where they currently were in their business, where they wanted to get to and what they perceived was getting in the way of their business growth.</p> <p>After hearing all the issues I was able to determine my software would address all their issues and systems successfully.</p> <p>While I did not tell the prospect how I would fix the problem I did focus on what it would be like after I fixed their processes and systems. As we came to the end of our meeting the decision maker had to leave and wanted to get together again to continue our conversation.</p> <p>I told him I would call him to set up the next meeting. I have been calling for over two weeks and have not been able to get him on the phone.</p> <p>When I spoke with his assistant she said he was out of town and would be returning in a week. She also said he keeps his own calendar and could not book an appointment for me.</p> <p>I asked Peter what he saw as the problem. Peter’s reply was,” I can’t get him on the phone to make another appointment”. I had to let Peter know that not being able to get the decision maker on the phone was not the problem but was the effect of the problem.</p> <p>The real problem was Peter did not set up another appointment with the decision maker while he was on the sales visit with the prospect. And, as a result had elongated his sales cycle.</p> <p><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Sales Tip</span></b>: When you are on a prospect call or a customer call set your next appointment prior to leaving the prospect’s office. When the prospect books the next appointment with you, it confirms their interest and helps you control the sales cycle.</p> <p>Tell me in the comment box below if you ever faced this sales issue and what technique you used to address it?</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>Three Ways to Shorten Your Sales Cycle</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:33:00 GMT</p> <br><p>Long sales cycles or longer than expected sales cycles are one of the many causes of companies not hitting their sales quotas, and profit quotas.</p> <p>It will also determine whether they capture their market share within a specific time period.</p> <p>Three sure fire ways to shorten your sales cycle close more sales and profits and improve your selling systems.</p> <p>1-Make sure you are dealing with the decision maker and/or understand the decision making process for that prospect. These selling skill concepts will help you avoid dealing with someone that is just gathering information for someone else. Dealing with the information gatherer and not from the decision maker will make your sales cycle longer than it needs to be.</p> <p>2-Find out if the service or product the prospect is inquiring about is something they need and not just something they are thinking about. This will help you eliminate the tire kickers and the researchers that may not really want or need your product or service. You can always keep these prospects in your sales pipeline as a potential sale for the future.</p> <p>3-Ask the prospect when they actually see themselves needing or using the product or service. This will give you the drop dead date and also help eliminate the tire kickers.</p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>Should Sales Quotas Be Raised?</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:39:00 GMT</p> <br><p>I received a call from John. I could tell by the tone of his voice he was upset about something. The conversation went like this.</p> <p>“Al I am really upset with my company. They are never satisfied. No matter what I do it is never enough.”</p> <p>I replied, “John, slow down you sound like you are going to have a heart attack!” </p> <p>“Yeh, they are raising my sales quota again this year. Every time I hit it they raise it again. I am getting tired of this.”</p> <p>Here is what John missed:</p> <p>Sales people sometimes get upset when quotas are raised. This is an indication of a weak sales person. A strong sales person knows they need and want to hit sales quotas.</p> <p>Stronger sales people working on commission are not necessarily driven by the company quota but their own quota which is usually higher than the companies.</p> <p>These stronger sales people are not upset when sales quotas are raised because they are driven by the quality of life they want to create for themselves and their loved ones.</p> <p>They know the more they sell the more they earn and the better the quality of life they have.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>50 Characteristics of Top Sales Performers</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:01:00 GMT</p> <br><p>As we move toward the end of the year it is a good time to look at our successes and failures. If you have been in a sales rut or not hitting your quota.</p> <p></p> <p>You may want to measure yourself against some of the characteristics of Top Performers. The list below represents some of the more common characteristics of Top Performers. See how you measure up. If you are not doing some of them it is time to put a plan in place for 2012.</p> <ol> <li>Strong desire to be successful</li> <li>Committed no matter what</li> <li>Has a positive outlook in the face of adversity</li> <li>Have personal goals in writing that are tracked and monitored</li> <li>Prospects consistently</li> <li>Gets to the decision maker</li> <li>Gets appointments</li> <li>Is rejection proof?</li> <li>Is in control of emotions</li> <li>Attempts to close</li> <li>Upholds margins</li> <li>Takes responsibility</li> <li>Has a positive attitude</li> <li>Doesn’t need approval</li> <li>Comfortable talking about money</li> <li>Has a supportive buying cycle</li> <li>Bonds early in the sales process</li> <li>Discovers buyers budgets</li> <li>Discovers why prospects buy</li> <li>Discovers how prospects buy</li> <li>Have strong hunter skills</li> <li>Have strong qualifying skill</li> <li>Has a strong sales process</li> <li>Is open to coaching</li> <li>Recognizes that there is always room for improvement of sales skills and sales strengths</li> <li>Maintains a full pipeline</li> <li>Has a good model to measure prospect against</li> <li>Has set criteria for cold, warm and hot prospects</li> <li>Joins trade associations and participates on committees</li> <li>Is committed to prospects and customers success</li> <li>Provides solutions to customers and prospects while maintaining profitability</li> <li>Cross sells and up sells</li> <li>Has high retention levels</li> <li>Doesn’t accept put offs</li> <li>Attends networking events</li> <li>Prospects by phone or walk-ins</li> <li>Gets referrals</li> <li>Doesn’t quote inappropriately</li> <li>Schedules appointments that are not broken</li> <li>Doesn’t make assumptions</li> <li>Quickly develops and maintain relationships</li> <li>Keeps good records in a contact manager</li> <li>Has a high dollar tolerance</li> <li>Recognizes a non opportunity and is willing to walk away</li> <li>Asks good questions</li> <li>Knows how to handle people</li> <li>Has a presidential mentality</li> <li>Manages time effectively</li> <li>Makes appropriate follow up calls</li> <li>Is highly motivated.</li> </ol> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Get Out of A Sales Rut- Two Easy Steps</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:53:00 GMT</p> <br><p>When I moved to my home fifteen years ago I noticed some brush that had been beaten down by a herd of deer. Over the years the beaten brush became a trail and has actually became a rut in the ground about ten inches wide and five inches deep.</p> <p>Each day the deer travel the same path and end up in the valley below where they graze. One would say they travel in a rut but end up where they want to be and are happy with the result.</p> <p>If you have not hit your quota to date and feel like you are in a rut,</p> <p>You may want to consider evaluating the following.</p> <p> Do you feel you are in a rut because you are not happy with the way you are going about running your business but are happy with the result?</p> <p> Or,</p> <p> Do you feel you are in a rut because you are not happy with your results and do not know what changes to make or know what to do about it?</p> <p>If you are not happy with your results and are happy with your process I strongly suggest you look at your sales process anyway. There is a direct correlation between the process and the outcome. Or put in a more metaphysical context. “The Laws of Cause & Effect” is at play. The sales process is the cause and the outcome is the effect. </p> <p>I welcome your response.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>The 7 Must Knows if You Are Not Hitting Your Sales Quota</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:04:00 GMT</p> <br><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">If you are not hitting your sales quota the problem you are experiencing, while it appears now is not really happening now. The problem started some time ago, you are just experiencing the effect now. To begin to get this situation under control you need to look at many aspects of your sales processes, systems and strategies. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Sales is a scientific process and not a “If I through enough against the wall something will stick”. For the sake of space and time I will touch on a few of the items you need to look at.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">1.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Look at the quantity and the quality of the pipeline. Are there enough real opportunities, if closed would make up for what you did not close so far and carry you into 2012? </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">2.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">You must determine the length of your sales cycle. You sales cycle is critical in hitting your quota. For example, if you have a 90 sales cycle, anything you start working on in October until the end of the year will not close this year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">3.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Your close ratio is critical in hitting your quota. By way of example, if you have $100,000 of potential business in the pipeline and have a 50 % close ratio you will close only $50,000. If part of that $50,000 is part of a 90 day sales cycle the problem becomes even more serious.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">4.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Let’s look at you ideal prospect model. How well do the prospects in your pipeline match up to the ideal model?</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">5.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">How much data are you collecting from your sales people? When you look at your data base manager are you seeing notations like, “Called Bob, left message” or Bob told me to get back to him in two weeks, or they are not ready yet.Was your sales person so excited to be able to quote on a piece of business that it is now labeled HOT and there isn’t a shred of evidence to validate the claim of HOT? </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">6.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">If you are not hitting the sales number you hoped for, it is not the economy. Don’t let anyone try to convince you of that. If you have competitors that are winning business and there is a gap between available business and what you are winning you haven’t figured out how to win the business away from your competitors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">7.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">If you are not hitting your quota and do not address the real issues you will have the same experience in 2012.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>For addition help call me at 908-472-3848 for a complimentary Pipeline Analysis Session. No hidden fees,no committment on your part,no mumbo jumbo.</strong></span></span></p><br> </article> <article> <h1>7 Prospecting Lessons Learned during Halloween</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:50:00 GMT</p> <br><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Due to bad weather and road closings in our neighborhood the Halloween trick or treat holiday was postponed to this past Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">My younger son had decided to trick or treat in a townhouse community near our home instead of our neighborhood, not wear a costume. He told me he didn’t want to trick or treat in our neighborhood because the houses are too far apart and there were not enough houses to go to. He was going as himself. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">He also told me some people might think the Halloween celebration was last week and if he wore a costume they might not answer the door. If they saw a boy without a costume ring their doorbell they would be more likely to answer the door when they looked through the door window.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">When we arrived at the town house community we found that many houses were dark, no one answered the door at some of homes even those that were lighted. In other cases people came to the door and were eager to see the children trick or treating.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">On the way home after three or so hours of trick or treating, I asked Adam if he had fun even though there weren’t many people home. He said he had fun, it didn’t matter how many people were not home or answered the door, because there were many that were home and gave out candy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"> </span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">There are 7 Prospecting & Sales Lessons to learn from Adam’s Halloween experience.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">1.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">You need to have a large suspect pool to call on. (People or Companies that could possibly use your product or service).</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">2.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">When you prospect go as YOU; don’t wear a sales person costume.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">3.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Not everyone is going to be there when you call.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">4.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Some people will be there and not answer the door or take your call.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">5.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">It doesn’t matter how people are not there or won’t talk with you.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">6.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">There are plenty of people out there that will talk with you; you just have to put in the time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">7.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are going to do it, HAVE FUN.</span></p><br> </article> <article> <h1>7 Prospecting Lessons Learned during Halloween</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:22:00 GMT</p> <br><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Due to bad weather and road closings in our neighborhood the Halloween trick or treat holiday was postponed to this past Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">My younger son had decided to trick or treat in a townhouse community near our home instead of our neighborhood, not wear a costume. He told me he didn’t want to trick or treat in our neighborhood because the houses are too far apart and there were not enough houses to go to. He was going as himself. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">He also told me some people might think the Halloween celebration was last week and if he wore a costume they might not answer the door. If they saw a boy without a costume ring their doorbell they would be more likely to answer the door when they looked through the door window.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">When we arrived at the town house community we found that many houses were dark, no one answered the door at some of homes even those that were lighted. In other cases people came to the door and were eager to see the children trick or treating.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">On the way home after three or so hours of trick or treating, I asked Adam if he had fun even though there weren’t many people home. He said he had fun, it didn’t matter how many people were not home or answered the door, because there were many that were home and gave out candy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"> </span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">There are 7 Prospecting & Sales Lessons to learn from Adam’s Halloween experience.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">1.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">You need to have a large suspect pool to call on. (People or Companies that could possibly use your product or service).</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">2.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">When you prospect go as YOU; don’t wear a sales person costume.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">3.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Not everyone is going to be there when you call.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">4.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Some people will be there and not answer the door or take your call.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">5.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">It doesn’t matter how people are not there or won’t talk with you.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">6.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">There are plenty of people out there that will talk with you; you just have to put in the time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">7.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are going to do it, HAVE FUN.</span></p><br> </article> <article> <h1>Insider Secret Revealed- How to Qualify Faster & Better</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:40:00 GMT</p> <br> <p>From the first day of school we were programmed to answer questions when asked. Our legal system dictates we tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.</p> <p>Some sales people see the prospect as the authority figure and go into presentation or quoting mode too soon in the sales process. Other sales people wanting to be recognized as authority figures will make premature presentations or quotations and still don’t get the sale and wonder why.</p> <p>How to get out of this mess?</p> <p>We have been taught there are two types of questioning techniques.</p> <p> A-Closed end questions which give us Yes or No answers.</p> <p> B-Open ended questions give us a response in the form of information.</p> <p>In a recent survey it was learned sales professionals using open ended questions were still asking far too many questions and not getting enough valuable information to qualify an opportunity.</p> <p>Once these sales professionals learned how ask questions with a broader bandwidth they were able to gather more information in a shorter period of time. They were also able to qualify the situation in a shorter period of time.</p> <p>Here are examples of open ended, closed ended and broader bandwidth questions.</p> <p>1-Closed end question- Is this your only location? Closed end response. No</p> <p>2-Open ended question- How many locations do you have? Open ended response. We have 3 locations. (A little better response than question 1)</p> <p>A question with a broader bandwidth- What are you most proud of when you look at your company?</p> <p>A broader bandwidth response-We are a third generation company. My grandfather started this company in his garage and we now have three locations servicing companies from New England to Florida. (Much better question and more information gathered than 1 & 2).</p> <p>A question with a broader bandwidth- That is fantastic. Please go on.</p> <p>Because of our locations we can distribute our products faster, lower our delivery cost and be more competitive in the market place, etc.</p> <p>Here is the Secret to Better Qualifying. Ask broad band width questions and get more information in a shorter period of time. </p> <p>If you would like to learn more about this concept you can reach me at 908-472-3848.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>The Secret to Closing More Sales</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:05:00 GMT</p> <br><p>History can teach us a lot about how to close sales. Hercules had twelve challenges. The first was to bring back the skin of the fierce lion which is equivalent in our world, to getting the order or making the sale.</p> <p>In an attempt to capture the lion Hercules, from a distance first took out his bow and shot an arrow at the lion which bounced off. This is equivalent to sending out a proposal from a distance and not having anything happen.</p> <p>When Hercules realized his efforts with the arrow failed he then took a club which was his follow up move and went after the lion. He struck the lion and the club broke. This is also representative of the follow up stage in the sales process. The quote is sent out, you don’t hear from the prospect and you follow up.</p> <p>When Hercules followed the lion into the cave and grabbed the lion by the neck he was able to kill the lion and was successful. The going into the cave is equivalent to getting involved with the prospect and building a relationship. When Hercules had the lion by the neck, the lion clawed at his body and tried to fight him off. When you are trying to set an appointment, get to know the prospect, are attempting to get closer the prospect fights off a meeting. You will hear just send me the proposal. I don’t have the time to meet.</p> <p>We can learn a lot from Hercules. He shot the arrow and missed. Hercules used a club still from a distance and that didn’t work. He got very involved when he wrestled the lion. So, don’t send out quotes (shoot arrows) and then follow up. Get in to the cave with that prospect which is their office, build a relationship and close the business.</p> <p>In closing you are not in the business of sending out quotes. That is not where the job ends. You are in the business of closing business.</p> <p>Hercules did not come back to his home land until he was successful. He did not blame the arrow or the club. He got involved. He learned from his failures, and did not quit.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Get Past the Gate Keeper & Cold Calling Reluctance Part 3</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:44:00 GMT</p> <br><p>How to Get Past the Gate keeper & Overcome Cold Calling Reluctance Part 3</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">There Are a Finite Number of People That Call a Company</span></p> <p>Here is a breakdown of the types of people calling a company on any given day.</p> <p> Employees Calling in Sick</p> <p> Friends and Family Members of Employees</p> <p> Customers</p> <p> Current Vendors</p> <p> Wrong Numbers</p> <p> Sales People Trying to Get to Decision Makers</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to Get Past the Gate Keeper.</span></p> <p>The receptionist has been viewed by many cold calling sales people as the ENEMY. The receptionist is perceived as the person with the power to let you in or not. He/She is not the enemy.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Receptionist Recognizes the Cold Calling Sales Person Just by Their Opening Lines</span>.</p> <p>Which is very different from a customer, current vendor or friend of an employee? The real enemy is the sales person’s opening line which in most cases is the answer to the key question; Can I tell him/her what the call is about?</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Here is lesson number three in getting past Cold Call Reluctance.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stop acting like a sales person making a cold call and relax.</span></p> <p>If you were calling a company to speak with your friend or family member you would be relaxed and would most likely not tell the receptionist what your call was about and you would just say... Please put me through to his/her voice mail. I need to leave him/her a message.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Overcome Cold Calling Reluctance Part 2</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:40:00 GMT</p> <br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Getting Past the Gate Keeper</span></p> <p>Based on a survey I conducted, a number of years ago, I learned the average receptionist in an average company receives between one hundred to two hundred calls in a day.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Unsung Hero</span></p> <p>I learned from asking many receptionists that almost no one person ever took the time to find out their name or exchange any type of pleasantry.</p> <p>The receptionist has a difficult job of directing calls, putting people on hold, getting back to them, taking messages and not to mention greeting people as they arrive for appointments and accepting deliveries.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to Stand Out From the Crowd</span></p> <p>When I make a cold call I always make it a point to ask the receptionist their name. Most of the time I will get their name which I then log in my Act data base for the next time I call.</p> <p>Occasionally, when I ask, “Who I am speaking with?”, I will hear, “This is the receptionist”, to which I reply, “I know I was just trying to be polite and address you by your name.</p> <p>I don’t imagine that many people take the time to ask you."</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A True Story</span></p> <p>The first time I called a prospect I learned that the receptionist name was Mary. When I called the fifteenth time and was still getting “He is in a meeting”, “Out of town”, “Not in today”, or “Left for the day”, I asked Mary a very tough question.</p> <p>“Mary, whenever I call Mike he is never available. If he is telling you to tell me he is out of town, etc. because he just doesn’t want to talk with me, please tell me.”</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How Mary Became My Ally</span></p> <p>Mary said the following, “Every time you call you are always so nice to me. Mike is really always on the run and hard to reach. Sometimes I don’t see him for days. I will give you his cell phone number, I know he is in his car. I am not supposed to do this but you have been so nice.“</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Thing to Remember</span></p> <p>You can create a relationship with the receptionist and she/he does not have to be your adversary.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #444444;">Try This Cold Calling Strategy</span></span></p> <p>Hello, Please put me through to, excuse me, who am I speaking with? This is Mary. Oh high Mary this is Al. Please put me through to Bob. I am sorry he is not in. That fine, just put me into his voice mail thanks Mary, make it a great day.</p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Break Through Cold Calling Reluctance- Step One</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:39:00 GMT</p> <br><p>If you are like me you hate cold calling. It is hard to get started; we come up with a number of other things to do that seem important. But we are just kidding ourselves. We are looking to avoid something. </p> <p>The first step in overcoming Cold Call Reluctance is to first recognize what is causing it. I have heard so many reasons why a good sales person won’t initiate a cold call or will stop making them. All the reasons boil down to the same issues which are we are afraid to fail, don’t want to be rejected or hear no.</p> <p>Everyone wants to feel good and it is natural to avoid making that dreaded cold call.</p> <p>You can have all the lead generation programs in place. It doesn’t matter if the leads are from mail, internet, or advertising. Eventually the call has to be made.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Here is lesson number one in getting past Cold Call Reluctance.</span></p> <p><em>Sales people will avoid cold calling because they do not want to fail. When you don’t make or stop making the cold calls you create the very thing you are looking to avoid, and become the author of failure.</em></p> <p><em>The first step in getting past cold call reluctance is to get past the fear. To get past the fear you must</em></p> <p><em>1- </em><em>Pick up the phone and call a prospect. Any prospect will do. </em></p> <p><em>2- </em><em>Your job is not to make an appointment or sell anything.</em></p> <p><em>3- </em><em>Your job is to get past the fear of the first call.</em></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p><em>My son Adam was in the pool having a great time. When he saw me inching my way into the water he said. “Hey Dad, don’t be a wimp just dive in.” The same holds true for cold calls. Don’t inch your way in. Just dive in, it is a lot less painful. Have fun and make it a great day.</em></p><br> </article> <article> <h1>Sales Process-How I Followed Up on a Request for Information</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:27:00 GMT</p> <br><p>I am sharing this sales process with all of you in the hopes I can make a contribution to your success. After you read the following feel free to use it in part, use all of it or just throw it away. After you read the following please give me some feed back in the comments section of this Blog.</p> <p>I received a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Request for Information </strong></span>from a person we will call Cliff. In the phone message Cliff gave me his name and company name. Cliff was requesting information about a number of our services. On the surface it appeared as if he was looking for a lot of free stuff.</p> <p>The first step in my sales process was to go to Google and look up the company. I was happy to see they were a $14.3 billion dollar company doing business in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida and their corporate office was forty five minutes from my office.</p> <p>I then went to their web site and looked at sales job opportunities on their site. There I learned they were looking for a high level sales candidate that would report directly to the president in an inside and outside sales position calling on High Level C Executives. You may find it interesting to know, I learned there average sale is in the millions of dollars range.</p> <p>The position required that candidate be willing to build strong relationships, identify business opportunities, manage sales promotional campaigns, identify new sources of sales leads, build a strong pipeline and close business.</p> <p>Sound good so far? Well there is more.</p> <p>I went to Google and looked up Cliff by typing in “Who is talking about Cliff X. I learned that Cliff is the president of the company and was able to obtain his phone number which I already had but now had his extension number and e-mail address.</p> <p>In addition to that juicy piece of information I learned he has a B.S. in accounting and is an attorney who graduated from a very prestigious college. Also, I can now go to my LinkedIn Group and see who knows him to get a personal introduction. In addition I was able to gather a history of his previous employment and his photograph.</p> <p>Now I am prepared to make my call on Monday morning and have a real conversation with Cliff and not just send out information and follow up.</p> <p>Do you have any insights, genius attacks or light bulbs go off? Did this help?</p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Improve Your Sales Process & Increase Your Sales Close Ratio</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:38:00 GMT</p> <br><p>Like any other business manufacturing or accounting process, there is a sales process. If you look around, everything on this planet has a process and system. If the correct process or system is followed, you get a favorable outcome; interrupt the correct process and the outcome changes.</p> <p>Plant an apple seed on fertile soil and nurture the seed; the seed grows into an apple tree and, in time, will give back fruit. Plant it on a rock and you do not reap the reward.</p> <p>If you plant a presentation on prospect soil that is fertile, it will grow into business. If you plant a presentation on prospect soil that is not fertile, it will not grow into business. It is that simple.</p> <p>To make a presentation, you need to know if the situation is fertile. The way to find out if you are on fertile soil is to qualify or disqualify the opportunity. To qualify the opportunity you need to ask the right and tough questions. Asking the right questions goes beyond the obvious ones.</p> <p>Today, while I was visiting a friend, he received a call from a potential renter. My friend has rental properties and had placed an ad on the internet to rent one of his apartments.</p> <p>The prospective renter called and wanted to know the rental fee per month. John was happy to have the caller and gave the renter all the details that included the rental fee and the size of the apartment.</p> <p>The renter is like the prospect, asking how much is it and John was like the sales person answering the question. In this case John assumed the renter was serious and on that basis made his presentation. Here are some of the questions John could have asked:</p> <ul> <li>Ø Why are you in the market for an apartment and why now?</li> <li>Ø What are you currently paying for rent now?</li> <li>Ø When do you see yourself moving into a new apartment?</li> <li>Ø What happens if you don’t find what you are looking for?</li> </ul> <p>There are many more questions that could have been asked. Notice how the same questions with a little tweaking can be asked with what you are selling.</p> <ul> <li>Ø Why are you in the market for XYZ and why now?</li> <li>Ø What are you currently paying for XYZ now?</li> <li>Ø When do you see yourself moving to XYZ?</li> <li>Ø What happens if you don’t find what you are looking for?</li> </ul> <p>If you want to increase your close ratio, your sales process must get you to see your prospects world through your eyes. Their experience must be cloned and in your brain. When you can do that you will be writing prescriptions that will cure your prospect’s issues.</p> <p>When you do not really understand your prospects real issues you will be doing a lot of following up and extending your sales cycle and decreasing your close ratio. Put the time in upfront to ask the questions and you will increase your close ratio and shorten your sales cycle.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>Why I Hung Up on The Sales Person</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:45:00 GMT</p> <br><p>The sales person broke the number one cardinal rule in sales.</p> <p>Rule: #1- Never get emotionally involved in the sale.</p> <p>This past Saturday I was swamped with phone calls to start a home-based business. I told each telemarketer:</p> <p>“I don’t know how you got my name. Thank you for calling but please remove my name from your list; I do not have any interest.”</p> <p>I have a lot of respect for telemarketers that pound the phones all day and meet with a lot of rejection. Having said that, by the seventh call in the same day on the same subject I was getting frustrated. In a firm but polite voice I said:</p> <p> “Look; don’t call me; take my name off your list.” And hung up.</p> <p>It is very unusual for me to be that direct, but there was something the telemarketer said that really disturbed me:</p> <p>“So what you are telling me is you don’t care about making money or taking care of your family.” All I could see at that point was sarcasm and an attempt to manipulate me. I felt my frustration level rising and hung up.</p> <p>Tell us how you feel about telemarketers that call you consistently?</p> <p>Please enter your comments below.</p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Quote Less and Close More Business - Part 2 Tip the Scales in Your Favor</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:23:00 GMT</p> <br><p>If you are quoting a project you may have a distinct disadvantage—and it is not your price. I want to show you a surefire method of outpacing your competition prior to quoting and increase your potential get the sales you deserve. </p> <p>With all due respect to you as a business professional, you live and work in a work bubble. Your bubble has some shortcomings you may not be aware of at this very moment. As you attempt to look outside of your world or work bubble you are influenced by everything you have done in the past and how you think today.</p> <p>On the other hand I live outside of your bubble, outside of your world. I can see you in your world and also the world around you. If you want to discover how to quote less and close more business…read more.</p> <p>Here is a theoretical situation. You want to close business make more sales and are quoting for a piece of work along with a couple of other competitive companies. One of your sales competitors is scoring high marks because it has:</p> <ul> <li>Quoted to your prospect in the past and won the business by being the low bidder. ( 25 points )</li> <li>Performed work for the customer and fulfilled or exceeded customer expectations. ( 25 points )</li> <li>Developed relationships with decision makers and influencers at multiple levels. ( 25 points)</li> <li>Positioned itself to be an advisor. ( 25 points )</li> </ul> <p>If you have ever quoted, had the lowest price and still lost the business you now know why. You were outpointed. Even if you had the lowest price you were at a distinct disadvantage. On the other hand, if you had the point advantage, your competitor would be in a similar position as you.</p> <p>The business strategy is to start building points and tipping the scale in your favor without dropping your price to get the business. The least expensive and most effective way to improve your position is by building points annd tiping the scales in your favor.</p> <p>I have identified a number strategies to be effective at building points prior to quoting on a piece of business which I have outined in my report<strong>,“Quoting, How to Tip the Points in Your Favor” </strong>,</p> <p style="float: undefined;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.turrisiassociates.com/how-to-quote-less--close-more-business-e-book/tabid/266335/Default.aspx" title="To receive your free report click here:" target="_self">To receive your free report click here<span style="text-decoration: underline;">:</span></a></span></strong></p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How to Identify More & Better Business & Sales Opportunities- 9 Tips</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:43:00 GMT</p> <br><p>In this article we will focus on a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>9 Step Process. </strong></span>How to Identify More & Better Business & Sales Opportunities. After reading through the nine steps you will have an organized approach to territory management, discover how to discover more potential business for you to close than you may have realized, and how you can be more selective in quoting while capturing more market share. <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">It is very important to read each step in order to get the real value of this report.</span></strong></p> <p><strong>1. Define the geographic area you prospect and sell into.</strong> The number one rule is to define the geographic area you have defined as your territory and manage how you travel through your territory.</p> <p><strong>2. Break your territory into smaller hub territories and grid territories. </strong>Your territory may be a town, county, state, many states or even international. A hub is a larger section of your territory while grids are subsets of hubs. By way of example a state may be your entire territory and the counties in the state are your hubs. The towns and villages within the counties are your grids.</p> <p><strong>3. Plan your prospecting activity. </strong>When making phone calls to set up appointments make your phone calls by grid so when you are in the territory on appointments you are decreasing your windshield time and increasing your time in front of prospects and customers. When you move from grid to grid work the next grid closest to the one you just left. If you have to travel back from one grid to another to have follow up meetings or if you missed someone your drive time will be shorter.</p> <p><strong>4. Know how many competitors are in your territory. </strong>In the geographic area you have selected as your territory determine how many competitors you have. I know I am asking you for a subjective number. The number doesn’t have to be exact. With the best of your ability write down the number of competitors in the space provided. (Number of competitors______)</p> <p><strong>5. What are the gross sales of the territory? </strong>Now within your defined territory, estimate the total sales for you and all your competitors for a twelve-month period. Now I know this is somewhat of a subjective exercise so let’s be conservative. Write down the number you best feel represents the group’s total sales in the space provided. (The collective total sales for twelve months (____________)</p> <p><strong>6.Know how economic and other factors impacted your territory. </strong>Pick a percentage number that represents a percentage you believe the economy is down. I would suggest you slightly over exaggerate the number. If you believe the economy is down by a certain percentage number make the number larger. Write the percentage you believe the economy is down in the space provided. ( %_________ ).</p> <p><strong>7.Know your gross sales for the past twelve months: </strong>Our next step is to take the twelve-month gross sales number you arrived at in step five and deduct the percentage you believe the gross sale number is down. For example if the total sales for you and your competitors over a twelve-month period was five-hundred-million dollars and fifty percent of the business evaporated as a result of the economy and other factors there would be two-hundred-and-fifty-million left. Write your number down in the space provided. ($____________).</p> <p><strong>8. Know the dollar amount of the net sales. </strong>Using the number you came up using the previous steps which is the calculation of your gross sales plus your competitors less the percentage down and write that number in the space provided. (___________).</p> <p><strong>9. Determine if there is a gap between your gross sales and the total of your sales plus the competition. </strong>Write down the total gross number of sales dollars in the last step in this space and then subtract your gross sales for the past twelve months and see if there is a gap. The gross sales of the group are ($___________) minus my gross sales ($__________) = ($__________).</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">I would be very surprised if there was not a gap. When a gap is present between your sales and the total sales of you and your competition it demonstrates you can be more selective in your quoting process and can go after the more ideal business opportunities.</span></p> <p> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">If you are not getting the quotes, you should go out and build relationships and a value proposition. Be perceived as the premier value provider that partners with their customers and get out of the quoting business.</span></p><br> </article> <article> <h1>How Secret Question & Strategy # 2 Closed a $40,000.00 Quote</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:01:00 GMT</p> <br><p><a target="_self"></a>In my last blog I discussed the use of “Why and why now?” as Secret Question #1 along with the effective strategy, “Before we begin…”</p> <p>Everything that I share with you, as in the past, will be what I have used myself and as a result had a positive outcome.</p> <p>In this week’s blog I will share with you:</p> <p>A - The benefits of the Secret Strategy #2 and Question #2.</p> <p>B - The Strategy and the Question.</p> <p>C - An explanation of how use to them.</p> <p>D - How I closed a $40,000.00 deal.</p> <p> </p> <p>A - You will benefit from this week’s Secret Strategy and Question five ways. You will:</p> <p>ü Stay in control of your sales process.</p> <p>ü Better qualify or disqualify the quote opportunity at hand.</p> <p>ü Make a decision to quote or not quote.</p> <p>ü Position yourself to sell value not just price.</p> <p>ü Understand what will happen after you submit your quotation.</p> <p> </p> <p>B - The Secret Strategy is: “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Let’s jump ahead…”</span> </strong>The Secret Question is: <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">“What would our conversation be?”</span></strong></p> <p>For the purpose of this blog we will assume you have been invited to quote on a piece of business. Early in the meeting—when you used the “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Before we begin…”</span></strong> strategy and “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why and why now?”</span></strong> question—you discovered the prospect had a compelling reason to want your product or services. We will also assume you did a great job of qualifying the opportunity and made a decision to quote.</p> <p>Wouldn’t it be nice if we could peek into the future and find out what the prospect would do after you:</p> <p>ü Went back to your office and prepared your quote.</p> <p>ü Hand delivered the quote at an appointment you set before you left your first meeting.</p> <p>ü Were able to review the compelling reason to do business with the prospect.</p> <p>ü Illustrated how your proposal was exactly what the doctor would order to satisfy all of the prospect’s needs. </p> <p>ü Worked within the prospects dollar allocation for the project.</p> <p>WELL YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THIS BY USING “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Let’s jump ahead…” </span></strong>and the Secret Question is <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">“What would our conversation be?”</span></strong></p> <p>C - At the point in the conversation when you are discussing quoting and you have agreed to quote that is when you would use “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Let’s jump ahead…” and “What would our conversation be?”</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Example: </span></strong></p> <p><strong>“<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Let’s jump ahead</span></strong> to our second meeting<strong>: <span style="text-decoration: underline;">what would our conversation be</span></strong> after I come back to meet with you with an outline of how I will address your compelling reasons to select us and how I am able to do it within your financial requirements?”</p> <p>The prospect could give you a number of responses such as:</p> <p>ü “I would compare your quote with the other quotes I received and then make a decision.”</p> <p>ü “I would move forward.”</p> <p>The important point here is you would have flushed out the future before you prepared the quote and could then decide on your next course of action.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Note:</span></strong> <em>There are many ways we could move forward that are too numerous to mention in one blog. Additional training will be offered in future webinars which you can elect to join that will be focused on qualifying prospects better and closing more business.</em></p> <p>D - I want to share real life examples of how I used this strategy and question to close a $40,000.00 deal.</p> <p>I was invited to quote training for a bank’s branch managers. The bank had three quotes from other training groups and was looking for one more quote.</p> <p>When I used the Secret Strategy and Question “<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Let’s jump ahead…” and “What would our conversation be?”</span></strong></p> <p> I was told they would compare all four approaches to training and the associated fees. I was also told they had been reviewing three quotes and needed to move forward. There was a company they were leaning toward.</p> <p>As I assessed the situation: It sounded like there was a 25% chance or less of me getting the business and if I wanted the business and wanted to deliver a value proposition I needed to change the odds in my favor. As scary as it may sound this is what I did:</p> <p>I suggested that the bank not use me to quote since they had already reviewed three quotes, were in a rush to move forward and apparently had a favorite.</p> <p>I then suggested that I review the quotes for them and make a recommendation of whom I would use if I were the bank. In return, if there was an opportunity in the future, I would hope they would consider me. They agreed and I analyzed all three quotations.</p> <p>In all fairness the competition all had made valid suggestions, but each had left some important training components out of their proposals. When I pointed out the short comings I was asked what I would do.</p> <p>I showed how I could combine something from each of the three proposals, add my own training modules and have a complete training package that would satisfy the needs of the bank.</p> <p>After I made my suggestion I was asked if I would do the training which resulted in a $40,000.00 contract.</p> <p>I used a strategy and a question which resulted in a $40,000.00 success. I also know if I did not use the strategy and question I would have bid and lost.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p><br> </article> <article> <h1>The Secret Question to Better Qualify a Quoting Opportunity</h1> <p>Al Turrisi — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:55:00 GMT</p> <br><p>We all get requests to quote and send out information. What you will read here can improve your sales process and your ability to better qualify a business opportunity.</p> <p>There are a few secret questions and strategies I have used in the sales process that have proven to be very powerful. I will give you one question and one strategy at a time so you can get comfortable using them and then be better prepared for next week’s question and strategy.This question has opened the door to incredible amounts of valuable information I might never have gathered if I had not used this secret question and strategy.</p> <p>After I give it to you please don’t dismiss it or just log off. I will give you very specific ways I used the question and strategy—and how it helped me. I will also give you some samples to work with this week.</p> <p>Here we go…..</p> <p>Question #1: “Why and why now?”</p> <p>Strategy #1: “Before we begin…”</p> <p>This question and strategy on the surface may seem bizarre or over simplified. You may say I know why they are contacting me; I am with my prospect, the sales process has already begun, why should I say <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">“before we begin…”</span></strong>? They have a need, they want to buy, etc., and you may be correct. Read on.</p> <p>As a child do you remember saying, “It wasn’t me; it isn’t my fault; I didn’t do it!” I believe it is universal to say we have all used those statements. It indicates from childhood there was a little bit of a sales person in all of us. And we believe the presentation hopefully will make the difference.</p> <p>Well, if the truth is to be told, <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">the best sales people are the sales people that know how to position themselves. They know how to ask the powerful and sometimes difficult questions at the right time, even when there are risks.</span></strong></p> <p>When you ask the question “Why and why now?” <span style="text-decoration: underline;">you are tapping into the heart of the motivation of the individual and the reason they are doing what they do.</span> You will learn information you would never have believed you would hear.</p> <p>I was interviewing a potential vice president of sales. At the beginning of the interview I asked the candidate if could ask him some questions about his resume. He gave me permission and then I turned his resume over on the conference table and said, <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">“Before we begin,</span></strong> I am curious <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">why</span></strong> are you in the job market <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">and why now?”</span></strong> I learned so much about the individual he actually disqualified himself. The candidate told me he planned on being in New Jersey for a year or so to help his sister. He then planned to move back to his home in California at the end of that period but needed an income while in New Jersey. My client was looking for someone that would stay with the company for a longer length of time.</p> <p>In the candidate’s mind we weren’t starting yet so the information I was given didn’t count. The candidate also had a need to justify his actions to me.</p> <p>On another occasion I was contacted by a very large banking institution in New York City. They had asked if I could provide them with my training philosophy and some training outlines for them to review. They also told me they had over 500 hundred branch people they wanted to train. I was impressed that they would contact me and did my best not to get emotionally involved. I later learned that their statement about the 500 people to train was just bait for me to bite on.</p> <p>I asked the Secret Question and used the secret strategy.</p> <p>Here is what I said, <strong>“<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Before we begin,</span></strong> I am just wondering <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">why</span></strong> would you be contacting me about my training philosophy and training materials <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">and why now?”</span></strong></p> <p>I was told each year they contact training organizations to keep up to date on any new training trends and read one of my articles. They were interested in my training programs.</p> <p>I was also told: “We will take a look at what you send us and if we see value in it we then design our own programs and deliver them to our organization through our human resource department.”</p> <p>I said a very polite, “Thank you for calling me, but I am not interested in participating.”</p> <p>The person I was having the conversation with heard, <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">“Before we begin…” and in her mind the information she was sharing didn’t count because we had not begun yet.</span></strong></p> <p>This is a very important point. How many times were you contacted, courted by prospects that seemed interested only to be left in the dust.</p> <p>I am on your side. It takes guts to really qualify an opportunity. It is sometimes scary to ask tough questions because of the fear of losing something. I strongly suggest you look for ways to use this Secret Question and Strategy.</p> <p>Samples to play with:</p> <p>“I would be happy to provide a quote. <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Before we begin</span></strong>,</p> <p>I am curious as to <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">why</span></strong> you have contacted us <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">and why now?</span></strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">”</span></p> <p>“I would be happy to tell you what we do. <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Before we begin</span></strong>, I am curious <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">why</span></strong> would you want our information <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">and why now?”</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">This information is for you to use and it is free. If you find value in this Blog you can help me by telling your friends and colleagues and send them to my website to sign up for my Blogs.</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; float: undefined;">You will help me and them. The link to my website is <a href="http://www.turrisiassociates.com">www.turrisiassociates.com</a></span></strong></p><br> </article> </main></body></html>