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Cheryl A. Clausen Articles
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Reason Number 13 You Can’t Sell Insurance - Click To Read Article When customer retention is falling or returns and cancellations are increasing it doesn't take a genius to determine something is terribly wrong. The exact reason(s) these bad things are happening may be related to actions taken by someone other than you. Why this Common Sales Mistake is Costing You More Sales than You Realize - Click To Read Article The exact language you’re taught to use puts pressure on your prospect. This pressure increases your prospect’s anxiety, and reduces their ability to make a decision. Do You have a Strategic Sales Action Plan? - Click To Read Article Do you want to shake up your sales results? It's time to rethink you're approach and come up with a plan that will produce results. Could You Use Persuasive Selling? - Click To Read Article There’s a stark difference between persuasion and manipulation. No one has to tell you when you’re being manipulated. You don’t like it, and it’s a dangerous tactic to use. How to Deliver Your Sales Message - Click To Read Article I’m not talking about your sales presentation. I’m talking about how you get highly qualified potential buyers to know about you so they can reach out to you. This is about how to get better results with less work. How Well Are You Keeping Your Focus on Increasing Sales? - Click To Read Article Keeping your focus on increasing sales may sound a little odd to you. You’re in sales or own your own small business of course your focus is on sales, or is it? How to Use Inspiration or Desperation to Sell More - Click To Read Article While inspiration is a whole lot more fun than desperation they share something in common. Inspiration and desperation are both forms of motivation. Inspiration is positive motivation and desperation is negative motivation. You Have to Connect to Sell - Click To Read Article Do you have something lots of people need and want? Great. How will they know about it? How will they know to buy from you? Get Ready Buyers & Sell More - Click To Read Article The good news is you have potential clients contacting you. The bad news is you may have so many highly qualified potential buyers contacting you that you don’t know who to reach out to first. I know this is a problem you’ve been waiting to have. Increase Sales by Getting Strangers Coming to You - Click To Read Article When you were little weren’t you told, “Don’t talk to strangers?” Of course you were. The adults around you told you this to protect you from harm. 3 Keys to Increased Sales - Click To Read Article You only have to get within ear shot to peg a salesperson, right? Man, they’re so wound up you wonder if a spring is going to pop and pieces and parts are going to fly everywhere. They talk too fast. They talk too much. They think they’re the only one who has anything important to say. Who Else Wants to Hear Your Sales Message? - Click To Read Article The problem is no one wants to hear your sales message. They don’t want to hear it because they don’t want to be sold. Yet everyone likes to buy. Small Business Owners - What to Do to Increase Sales in 5 Steps - Click To Read Article If you wanted to move a string would you rather push the string or pull the string? Obviously it would be far more efficient and effective to pull the string. How to Make Getting Sales Success Easier - Click To Read Article Man, sometimes it feels like everything depends on you. If you let up for one second you’re falling behind. Can you keep up the pace? Are You Following-up for Increased Sales? - Click To Read Article The ugly truth is most salespeople have poor or non-existent follow-up. And you have all kinds of excuses for why you don't do it. What do Fishing & Selling have in Common? - Click To Read Article The simple answer is they both require the right tools and skill. Let me explain. How to Get to the Heart of Sales Success - Click To Read Article The last thing you want is an indifferent potential client. Trying to get an indifferent potential client to make a decision is like trying to push a car uphill with the parking brake on. Not a very productive thing to do. This is a Sales Emergency & You Can Win - Click To Read Article Yes, there is a sales emergency occurring right now all over the world. Buyers are holding on to their purses like their first born child. It would be easier to get Fort Knox to open the door for you than to get buyers to agree to a purchase. Solving the Problem of Increase Sales - Click To Read Article Some salespeople are highly motivated by hitting targets and achieving goals. If this is you, you relish winning awards and gaining recognition. Even though most people think all salespeople are driven by the motivation to get to a future goal it simply isn’t the case. Unlock Your Natural Abilities to Increase Sales - Click To Read Article Many of the myths associated with sales are believed simply because they’re repeated so often. Others have fortunately been debunked. At one time people didn’t think women could sell. How to Creatively Increase Your Sales - Click To Read Article You probably think creativity is something those artsy aesthetics types have. You may be surprised to know that creativity is a learned skill. Don't Allow the Economic Crisis to Infect Your Sales - Click To Read Article The crisis that devastated Wall Street has now infected every sector in the market. Plus it’s spread to every corner of the world. If you allow it the crisis will infect your sales possibly putting you out of business. A Target Market the Key to Selling More - Click To Read Article As long as you think you can sell to anyone you can expect a difficult future. Your future will be one where you’re always scrapping to find someone you can talk to about your offer. A future where no one is really interested in what you have to say. You've been Burned...Does that Mean You Stop Trying? - Click To Read Article Show me a producer who can’t earn a decent living as long as they have a full appointment book, and I’ll show you a bumbling idiot. If you hold enough appointments with enough people even the worst salesperson in the world will sell someone something on a fairly regular basis. Insurance Sales Planning that Works - Click To Read Article You’ve got a list of names. You’ve got a phone script. You’ve got a sales presentation. Now all you need to do is make 100 phone calls, hold 15 appointments a week, and write 4 policies. Wrong! Allow Yourself Genuine Sales Success - Click To Read Article What’s more important maintaining a professional demeanor, or allowing yourself to really care about your potential clients? Fortunately, this isn’t an either or choice. You can be both professional and sincere. Do You Just have to be Brave to Sell? - Click To Read Article It really steams me when some of the “sales gurus” suggest if you want to succeed in sales you have to overcome your fear of selling. They make it sound like a character flaw or something. Let’s separate the truth from the bunk. Help, I Don't Want to be a Salesperson - Click To Read Article When you hear the word "salesperson" do you cringe? But you realize if you don't learn how to sell you'll be out of business. Uncle Sam Wants YOU…How Does that Impact Sales? - Click To Read Article Once again Uncle Sam is about to put you in a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation. And the real kick in the pants is he even didn’t ask you, yet again. You have no choice in the matter yet you’ve been asked to back at least a $700 Billion dollar check. Kind of makes you want to throw up doesn’t it? Are You Asking the Right Questions to Increase Your Sales? - Click To Read Article The right questions probably aren't the questions you’re using now. Do you and your prospects feel uncomfortable with the questions you're asking? Marketing is a Contact Sport; Can You Deliver a Knockout Punch? - Click To Read Article Your best clients have lots of things to do every day, and lots of things that need their attention, and none of those things necessarily involve you. It can feel as though you’re invisible and your best prospects are walking around, over, or right through you without even noticing YOU. Get Leads Coming to You and Get Them to Act Now - Click To Read Article Rather than dialing for dollars and getting your name out there what you need is a steady stream of highly qualified prospects reaching out to you. This is especially true now when business owners and consumers are guarding their wallets like Fort Knox. You aren’t going to get those wallets open doing what you’re doing now. Sales Success or Dead Cat Bounce? - Click To Read Article Who doesn’t want to succeed in sales? And if you listen to some of the so-called experts you’d have to be nearly incompetent not to succeed in sales. The catch is you aren’t getting the whole story. How to Say it to Sell More - Click To Read Article You don’t necessarily respond to what you hear and what you read the same way your prospects do. The reason is because your prospect may not have the same underlying motivation to act or respond as you. I don’t just mean in a sales conversation. Do You have a Selling Attitude? - Click To Read Article Don’t confuse a positive attitude with a selling attitude if you want sales success. You can have the most positive attitude of anyone in your field yet absolutely stink when it comes to results. How One Ordinary Salesperson Could Get Extraordinary Sales Results - Click To Read Article You’d be very surprised if you knew the difference between you and the top producers. If you’re an average or above average producer it isn’t as if there are huge differences between the way you do things, and the way top producers do things. Yet, those small differences in approach have a huge impact on your results. The 7 Secrets to Improved Prospecting - Click To Read Article Prospecting is a core skill anyone in sales absolutely must master. Without prospects you have no one to sell to. Without someone to sell to you can’t sell. How Do You Find the Right People to Increase Sales? - Click To Read Article You know you need to find the right people. The right people are people who are more likely to buy what you have to offer than others. The right people are people you have a way to connect with and open a conversation. Could You Increase Sales During this Economic Crisis? - Click To Read Article It’s scary right now. Some of our oldest and most trusted financial institutions have collapsed. Big businesses, the ones who are suppose to be bullet proof are closing, or getting gobbled up by competitors. If You Can Answer Yes to These 5 Questions, Don’t Need More Sales Training! - Click To Read Article Most service sales people won’t last longer than 3 years. Of those that make it past the 3 year mark, 20% will barely hang on and 20% will be top producers. Are You Tracking for Increased Sales? - Click To Read Article How you track your sales funnel and sales cycle can significantly impact your sales success. All too often the way you track is complicated and cumbersome when a simple system would be more efficient and effective. Is that Top Producer Accidentally Successful? - Click To Read Article You’ve said it, I know you have. At one point or another you’ve looked at the results achieved by another sales person and you thought to yourself that person sure is lucky. Who’s Responsible for Increased Sales Anyway? - Click To Read Article As a sales professional do you take full responsibility for your actions? Do you take full responsibility for what happens to you? How are You Dealing with Apparent Sales Success Failures? - Click To Read Article There is only one way to fail and that is to quit, so everything that doesn’t work out short of quitting is just an apparent failure. You need to learn how to effectively deal with the apparent failures so you can get to the sales success you want. What Actions Aren’t You Taking to Increase Sales? - Click To Read Article Sales training isn’t getting you the results you want? Is it the training that’s letting you down or the actions you aren’t taking? Where's the Problem with Increasing Sales? - Click To Read Article As a small business owner or sales producer, you understand what it takes to succeed in sales. Yet, when your sales aren’t where you want and need them to be it usually comes down to a fundamental. Reason Number 11 You Can’t Sell Insurance - Click To Read Article You don’t know how to listen even though you think you do. You never had a class on listening in school, and you certainly didn’t learn how to listen from going to school. How Well are You Applying Effective Sales Skills? - Click To Read Article Have you read, studied, perhaps even trained on the sales techniques offered by the best salespeople out there yet they just don't seem to work when you use them? Are you frustrated and confused as to why and how that could happen? Does it Make Sense to Keep Doing What isn't Working & Expect Increased Sales? - Click To Read Article Persistence is good, but not if you're persistently doing the wrong things. That's just being pig headed and stupid. How Awkward is it for You to Ask Questions? - Click To Read Article Maybe you aren't asking the right questions in the right order for the right reasons? Asking the right questions is definitely a skill and the best sales people are very adept at it. What does Strategic Planning have to do with Insurance Sales Success? - Click To Read Article If you enjoy working hard, and struggling day in and day out to hit your targets then strategic planning has nothing to do you’re your sales success. But if you'd like to make more and work less then strategic planning has everything to do with your sales success. We Live in a Headline World; Will Yours Do its Job? - Click To Read Article You may not think headlines have anything to do with you or your sales success, but you’d be wrong. You’re exposed to headlines everyday whether those headlines are presented in a written format, audio format, or visual format. Insurance Producers - What Business are You In? - Click To Read Article You probably think that’s a pretty stupid question. You’re in the insurance and investment business. Oh, really? How 2 Beliefs Increase Sales - Click To Read Article While the way you think and what you believe is important when it comes to your sales success the beliefs of your prospects matter too. There are two beliefs your prospect must have, or you’ll never increase your sales success. Who Else Wants to Get Rich Slowly Selling Insurance? - Click To Read Article Unfortunately, many producers enter the business with dollar signs in their eyes. It isn’t because you’re greedy or afraid of hard work. Super Simple Increase Sales Secret - Click To Read Article Do you ever feel like you must be making things harder than they are? You very well might be. Fast Isn’t Fast Enough for Increased Sales - Click To Read Article There was a time when fast was good enough for most prospects. That era passed some time ago. Now we are an instant society. Are you an instant salesperson? Increase Sales with a Fine Tooth Comb - Click To Read Article What’s the difference between what you do and how you do it and how top producers do the same things? It’s all in the details. The stuff you don’t even notice or think about. The stuff you can’t even see. Sales Stops & Starts - Click To Read Article Do you have a costly sales habit? The habit of heavily prospecting until you fill your sales funnel, and then stopping your prospecting efforts. You do it because you get busy meeting with prospects and taking care of clients. 3 Simple Reasons that Will Help You Sell More - Click To Read Article Before you can sell anyone anything they must first have an unfulfilled want. Why do so many salespeople act in defiance of this simple truth? It’s a sure recipe for a lot of hard work with little to show for it. It’s an exercise in frustration, and a waste of time. The Second Sale You Have to Make for Increased Sales - Click To Read Article You already know the first sale you have to make is you have to sell yourself. In that you have to sell yourself on the value of what you offer. After all if you wouldn’t buy it you certainly can’t expect anyone else to buy it. Are You Making this Sales Mistake? - Click To Read Article The best laid plans of many business owners have resulted in failure because they tried to build a business around products or services no one wanted. What sounds exciting, meaningful, useful, desirable to you may have zero interest to your prospects. The only way you can know for sure is by doing your homework. How to Stop Using These 3 Sales Killing Words - Click To Read Article One of the problems with any profession is you tend to use language that sounds good and makes sense to you. Yet, that language is a turn off to the people you want to work with. And the real kicker is you don’t even realize the impact certain words have on your potential clients. Can You Use Closed Questions to Sell More Insurance? - Click To Read Article The quick answer is absolutely. Now let me explain. You Can't Sell if You Don't Get the Offer Right - Click To Read Article “The offer”, you say, “that’s the easy part.” Is it? Or is the way you present the offer keeping you from selling more? Could Your Pre-approach Letters be Missing the Mark? - Click To Read Article Most pre-approach letters are a terrible waste of ink, paper, and postage. They don’t add any value to the receiver. They produce poor results for the sender. How to Sell Green & Increase Sales - Click To Read Article Are you looking at the world around you and discovering ways to increase your sales? If not, why not? You are surrounded by opportunities all day everyday if you’ll just open your eyes and ears and put them to work for you. How to Avoid 4 Key Sales Objections - Click To Read Article As you’re holding a sales conversation with a potential client there are three conversations going on. The outward verbal conversation between the two of you, the inward conversation in the potential clients mind, and the one you’re having in your mind. Currently you monitor two of those three conversations. How to Deal with Skepticism & Get Sales Success - Click To Read Article Skeptics are a hard nut to crack. They have strong doubts about what you’re saying, and as long as those doubts exist they won’t buy. Overcoming a potential client’s doubt about whether what you have to offer will work or work for them is a challenge you can win. Take the Money Issue Off the Table & Sell More - Click To Read Article The money objection is one that makes many a salesperson cringe. It’s a common objection that won’t go away. You’ll never be as successful as you could be until you successfully overcome the money issue. The Unspoken Killer Objection You Must Remove to Sell More - Click To Read Article It’s really frustrating. You had a good sales conversation. The potential client seemed on-board. Then you get to the part where the potential client has to make a decision to move forward, and all of a sudden they stall. 5 Checks to Increase Your Sales Success - Click To Read Article No matter how ready you are to sell something you can’t sell anyone anything they don’t want. You can say all the right things yet walk away without a sale and not know why. However, if you’ll add these 5 checks to your sales conversation list you’ll sell more. The Secret Other Insurance Producers Won't Tell You - Click To Read Article If you’ve been in the insurance industry less than four years you’re holding onto a dream. The dream that someday you’ll have a full book of business with lots of residual income is what fuels your fire. The dream that someday you won’t have to work so hard to get appointments is what drives you to make one more call. How to Watch Your Words & Sell More Insurance - Click To Read Article The words you use have a dramatic impact on the people who receive them. Unfortunately, the insurance industry has a bad habit of using words that are counterproductive. The worst thing is you use and hear those words so often they are such a natural part of your conversation you don’t even notice them. What do You do about Slow Sales? - Click To Read Article Slow sales have little to do with the economy and everything to do with you. Now don’t get mad. Get sales. Sell to a Starving Crowd - Click To Read Article I’m sure you’ve heard the story about how Harry was such a good salesman he could sell ice to an Eskimo. While it might be a good story it’s just a story. If you decide to sell people something they don’t want you’ve picked a path for failure. Get Them to Act on Your Sales Offer - Click To Read Article How do you get a complete stranger to buy from you? That’s one of the biggest challenges you face. Your ability to overcome that challenge greatly impacts your sales success. How to Build a Sales Relationship - Click To Read Article There’s a natural progression that has to occur between you and your future clients. At the time of the first point of connection you were complete strangers. They didn’t know you, they didn’t know anything about you, and they didn’t have any reason to want to know anything about you. Help Your Way to More Sales - Click To Read Article People buy because they want something they don’t have, they want to avoid something, or they want to solve a problem. They’re looking for someone to help them. Can you be the exact person to provide that help? Will You Choose Sales Success or Sales Distress? - Click To Read Article Now I know you’re thinking, of course, I choose sales success. Let me ask you a question then, “Do you know how to get potential buyers contacting you?” If you don’t then you aren’t choosing sales success you’re choosing sales distress. Is it Time to Change What You're Selling? - Click To Read Article What works now won’t work forever. Times change, the selling environment changes, the competition changes, and you have to change too. You have to put your thinking cap on and devise an approach to make what you have to offer attractive to potential buyers once again. Easy Way to Shorten Your Sales Cycle - Click To Read Article If a “yes” decision requires a significant investment you probably have a relatively long sales cycle. Some of you currently have sales cycles of 12-18 months. Long sales cycles require a huge investment of your resources: time, money, and energy. How to Improve Your Sales through What You Offer - Click To Read Article There’s a gap between what you offer and your understanding of that offer and what your prospects perceive you offering. You think you’re being crystal clear and that anyone can see how you can help them. The problem is anyone can’t see. They can’t and won’t connect the dots between what you’re saying and how what you’re saying applies to them. What You Need to Know to Sell More - Click To Read Article I’ve known salespeople who have struggled for months either memorizing a presentation they were given or writing one. What a waste of precious time. All the while you’re worrying about getting or having the perfect presentation you’re missing out on what you want most, SALES. Sales Mystery Revealed - Click To Read Article Sales can seem like a mysterious process when the process you’re following isn’t working. It’s especially frustrating when others following supposedly the same process achieve results while you don’t. Are you just a failure or is there something else at work here? Increase Your Trade Show Sales without Renting a Booth - Click To Read Article Trade shows for your best prospects are a great way to generate leads and increase sales if you know how to take advantage of the opportunity. You can reap the benefits without renting a booth. A Target Market the Key to Selling More Part II - Click To Read Article In part one I showed you exactly where to look to identify your target market. I told you what to look for and how to look both externally and internally to find a target market that’s right for you. Let’s continue with the other important considerations when choosing a target market. Are You Feeling like an Also-Ran when You want to be a Top Producer? - Click To Read Article You're sales training may not have included the keys to standing out. Standing out enables you to get the attention of the right people, and get known among those right people. Kick the Competition to the Curb & Sell Like Crazy - Click To Read Article As if it hasn’t been tough already it’s going to get a whole lot tougher. You either do what it takes to win, or you’ll get taken out of the game. It’s every man for himself. Quit Making Your Insurance Prospects Feel Stupid - Click To Read Article Does it feel awkward when you ask prospects questions? You ask a question and the prospect just kind of looks back at you. At best they may grunt and nod. How Often Should You Contact Your Prospects? - Click To Read Article A lot of salespeople struggle with this question. You want to contact them with enough frequency to make sure they don’t forget you. Yet you don’t want them to get annoyed with you and think you’re a pest. Use How What You Offer Works to Win More Sales - Click To Read Article Sometimes it’s hard for a potential client to understand how what you have to offer works. Sometimes they think they understand how it works when they really don’t. In either case their understanding may lead to objections. Make it Stupid-Easy to Buy - Click To Read Article What’s easy for you is hard for someone else. Most of you are notorious for thinking if you understand it, if you can do, anyone can. Wrong. Have You Ever Felt You Didn't Know How You'd Get Your Next Sale? - Click To Read Article Unless you’re already a top producer I suspect your answer is “yes”. It’s a problem that just won’t go away until you decide to do something about it once and for all. One Serious Sales Tool Everyone can Use to Increase Sales - Click To Read Article No matter what business you’re in no matter what you’re selling there is one sales tool you must know how to take advantage of. That tool is networking. The problem is far too many business owners, entrepreneurs, and even sales professionals treat it like a social event rather than the serious sales tool it should be. How to Sell Your Services When the Economy is in Crisis - Click To Read Article One thing you can say about an economic crisis. It sure puts everything in perspective. Unless you’re selling food, water, air, shelter, or utilities all of a sudden you’re a luxury. Guess what gets cut first when the chips are tough, luxuries. Fail to Plan to Increase Sales & Plan to Fail - Click To Read Article You've heard it before, but you don't understand the impact and implications. You can't get the results you want if you either don't know how, or won't take the time to plan to get them. Are You the Next Unemployed Salesperson or Business Owner? - Click To Read Article Unless you’ve stuck your head in the sand trying to pretend like all the bad things are going to go away you realize you’re living through history. You’re living through the history of the worst economic time sense the Great Depression. What will you look back and say? What Mistake Ends Your Hopes for Increasing Sales? - Click To Read Article Your sales are down, your self-confidence is gone, and you feel like you’re beating your head against a brick wall. Maybe you should just quit. When Sales are Down these are the 3 things You Don't Want to Do - Click To Read Article At some point in your business your sales will be down. When this happens you have a natural desire to do the very three things that will keep your sales down. Where are all the Increase Sales Opportunities? - Click To Read Article You pass up more opportunities each day than you could ever handle. Anyone who wants to be a top producer knows there are two aspects to sales success. Help I have Trouble Sticking to My Daily Sales Plan - Click To Read Article Do you start your day with the best intentions? You plan to make so many calls. You plan to do some things to market yourself. You plan to talk to so many potential clients. 9 Signals Foreshadowing Rejection - Click To Read Article If you’re at all normal you don’t like getting rejected. Sometimes it’s over quickly and other times you think things are going well until…wham you get clobbered. With the way things are now you’re getting rejected more often and more quickly than ever before. How to Increase Sales for Your Service Business through Your Website - Click To Read Article Many business owners have a common misunderstanding about what their website is supposed to be doing for their business that is costing them missed opportunities to directly increase sales. Most business owners have the misguided notion that their website is a marketing tool. How is Fear Impacting Your Sales Success? - Click To Read Article The fear you focus on is the fear that is getting in your way and keeping you from sales success. Most sales producers harbor fears related to: talking to people, rejection, or failure. Could You Increase Your Sales Watching a Guy Selling Cookware at a County Fair? - Click To Read Article Even though there are big differences between selling products and selling a service when someone does a superior job selling there are lessons to be learned. When you watch a top producer selling anything there are tremendous lessons to be learned from the obvious to the subtle nuances. Why Do You Buy? - Click To Read Article What makes you buy one thing and not another? Is it because of price, quality, uniqueness, or is it something else? Hot Way to Sell More Insurance - Click To Read Article You have a burning desire inside you that leads you to act. This desire is so strong you seek out opportunities to fulfill it. Help, I Urgently Need to Increase Sales - Click To Read Article Whether you’ve been selling for a while, or you’re new to the business you may find yourself in dire need of sales. The more desperate you get to increase sales the worse you do. Sell Them What They Want - Click To Read Article Imagine you’ve decided you want a red mustang. You can just see yourself zipping around corners hugging the pavement. You see heads turning in admiration as they watch you whiz past. You can almost feel the wind in your face as you cruise along with the top down. You envision heads turning staring at you and your red hot car when you stop at the traffic light. You know they’re thinking if only it could be them. Selling Insurance in the Land of Opportunity - Click To Read Article Okay, so right now it looks like the land of barren desperation. You get a “no” before you even open your mouth. Your appointment book is empty and if something doesn’t happen soon you’ll have a matching bank account. So what’s this baloney about the land of opportunity? Fear is Making it Even Harder to Sell Insurance - Click To Read Article As if selling insurance hasn’t always been a challenge you can thank our friends in Washington D.C. for making it even harder. Yep, thanks to the government’s failure to sound the alarm before it became a crisis, and ineptitude dealing with the crisis once it hit Uncle Sam has created a very special new client for you. Your new potential clients are scared to death and guard their wallet like a junk yard dog. How to Sell Insurance – Really - Click To Read Article Here’s the million dollar secret. Stop selling insurance. No one wants to buy insurance. Like this article? Share it with your friends
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