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Mike Brooks Articles

Written by: Mike Brooks

3 Rules for Successful Up Sells - Click To Read Article
If your product or service allows you the chance to up sell your customer at the point of sale (and seriously, what product or service doesn’t??), then you instantly double and even triple your income if you know how to properly suggest and get your prospects and customers to buy more.

The One Email Guaranteed to Get You a Response! - Click To Read Article
Use it this week and see for yourself how it works to get your prospects to get back with you and how it gets you deals. And then email me yourself with your results - I'd love to hear them!

The 3 Keys to Successful Sales Management - Click To Read Article
Look at your current selling environment and see which one of these keys is missing. Once you find it, you'll now know what to do!

MLB and Recording Your Calls - Click To Read Article
The bottom line is that if you want to get better then you have to record yourself and you have to study, learn and use better techniques. It’s what all other professionals are doing…

How to Beat Your Competition - Click To Read Article
Once again, these questions (and all the other ones I know you're thinking of right now) will reveal what your prospect's true buying motives are, and until you know them you've just shooting blind. Kind of like 80% of your competition does. Once you understand what it's going to take to sell them, you need to build the value of doing business with you and your company.

4 Ways to Get Out of a Sales Slump! - Click To Read Article
Any one of these techniques will get you back on the beam. If you combine all four of them you'll be out of your temporary slump in no time and you'll be closing deals like the top pro you know you are.

4 Secrets to Attracting What You Want - Click To Read Article
If you're looking for a way to create the life you know you are capable of achieving, then I highly recommend trying these "4 Secrets to Attracting What You Want." I know first-hand that they work, and I know they'll work for you, too.

How to Handle the “I don’t have the Time” Objection - Click To Read Article
Can you see how much more effective you will be by being prepared with and using these kinds of scripts? Believe me, it will separate you from the majority of your competition.

The 5 Secrets of Motivating Your Sales Team - Click To Read Article
Motivation seems to be one of the toughest areas to get a handle on. Many managers tell me that some of their reps are already motivated and don't need their help in that area (usually the Top 20%), but that the majority seem to need constant motivating, mentoring, counseling, or out right babysitting. Sound familiar? This article will provide you with proven, fresh ideas on how to get the most from your sales team.

The iPhone App I’d Like to Own - Click To Read Article
Your thoughts lead to your actions, and it is your actions that determine your results. But everything starts by your mental attitude, by what you dwell on all day long.

What the Top 20% Really Make - Click To Read Article
Often I get asked just what the top 20% make in actual income, and today I can tell you…

3 Keys to Reaching Your Financial Goal in 2011 - Click To Read Article
When it comes to setting and reaching these goals, I have found that there is a simple yet crucial 3 step process that virtually assures that I reach any goal. I’m going to lay it out here as it applies to a financial goal, but realize that this method applies to the success of reaching ANY goal.

Stop Worrying about Sales - Click To Read Article
Someone once said that worrying is praying for things you don’t want to happen. What a great saying, and, like all sayings, there’s a lot of truth in it.

What Are You Worth? - Click To Read Article
I’ve always thought that sales reps have an invisible dollar sign $ above their heads with a number that represents how much money they think they are worth. It is this financial image that determines how they perform more than any other single factor. It’s more important than what the economy is doing, or how their leads are, or what their territory is like or anything else.

5 Mental Attitudes of Winners - Click To Read Article
If you are serious about changing your career and your life, then get in the practice of working on your mental attitude first. Adopt these 5 mental attitudes of winners to powerfully change your ways of thinking and to permanently change your results.

Your Economic Recovery Script - Click To Read Article
What's so interesting to me is that many of the sales reps and companies I speak with are still mired in the old, "bad news" and they seem intent on wallowing in it. "Ah, things are still slow out there, and we're just not doing anything until they get better," they tell me. Because attitude is everything in sales (and life!), let me ask you, the reader, this question: "Are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?"

We Already Have More Business Than We Can Handle - Click To Read Article
Well, let's face it, nobody has TOO much of anything, especially business, and while 80% of your competition get blown off when they get this objection, the top 20% know what to say. After you read and adapt the three closes below, YOU'LL know what to say, too!

Three Ways To Qualify Interested Prospects - Click To Read Article
If you're in a selling situation where you get to call back leads that have expressed an interest in your product or service, then consider yourself lucky. Whether they come from traditional advertising sources or from the internet, inbound leads save you the time, effort - and often the terror! - of cold calling. While these leads are great to get they also present some challenges that many sales reps aren't prepared to handle.

Three Things You Must Do To Succeed - Click To Read Article
Just remember, 80% of your competition won't do these things, but if you will, you will smoke them in sales. In fact, you will become a Top 20% producer, and I'll bet that will make your 2011 successful, won't it?

Three Ways to Connect With Your Prospects - Click To Read Article
If you want to successfully connect with your prospect, and earn the precious few seconds it takes to establish rapport and generate some interest, then you must put yourself into the mind of your prospect and enter the conversation that's going on in their minds.

Three Interviewing Mistakes - And How To Avoid Them - Click To Read Article
Over the years, I've looked at thousands of resumes and interviewed thousands of sales reps. In fact, right now, I'm recruiting for several companies, and I'm amazed by how sales reps keep making basic, horrible mistakes that often times immediately disqualify them for any chance at landing a position. Often times, these mistakes even prevent them from getting an interview!

The Secret of Setting Successful Goals - Click To Read Article
So many people still ask me what the secret to successful goal setting is, so I thought I'd share with you one of the basic principles of goal setting. The most effective way to set goals is to start by using the SMART principles of goal setting.

The Problem With Affirmations (And What To Do About It) - Click To Read Article
If you have given up on affirmations because they never worked for you, then revisit them today and develop ones that you can believe in.

The One Real Key to Your Success - Click To Read Article
The exciting thing about this principle is that as soon as you truly understand and begin using it constructively with belief and expectation, you can turn your life, circumstance, your income, health, or anything else completely around. This law can be summed up very simply: "Everything in your life is an exact duplication of your consciousness."

The Most Important Script You'll Ever Use - Click To Read Article
Now get ready because it actually doesn't have anything to do with the objections. Nope. Rather, it is the script of what you say to yourself over and over throughout the day.

The One Secret of All Top Sales Performers - Click To Read Article
If a car salesman like Joe Girard can achieve the kind of results he did by connecting with his clients personally each month, what do you think you could achieve using this same proven system in your own business?

The Most Important Button on Your Phone - Click To Read Article
Have you ever needed to ask directions? You know, you're traveling and trying to get to your hotel, or you're in a different part of the city looking for a restaurant and when you don't know the way, you stop and ask somebody, don't you? When you do and they start telling you, what do you do? You listen, don't you? The person who is speaking has the information you need to get where you need to go, and I'll bet you even listen actively.

The Key to Staying Motivated - Click To Read Article
We all know that getting a lot of no's can be discouraging, and we also know how successful we are when we're highly motivated - nothing can stop us! So what is the key to staying motivated?

The Five Secrets to Effective Time Management - Click To Read Article
Any one of these Keys will make you more productive, reduce your stress, and help you squeeze more out of your day. Use them and you'll get more done - and you'll feel better!

The Biggest Mistake Sales Managers Make - Click To Read Article
If I were to ask you what the most important thing a sales manager can do to drive business, what would your answer be? Hire the right reps to begin with? Properly train them? Keep them motivated? Help them close deals? I'm sure you thought of these and many others, but I wonder if you thought about the one activity I'm going to share with you today.

The 5 Secrets of Great Vacations - Click To Read Article
What I've also found is that there are guidelines and "best practices" to ensure that you get the most out of vacations and breaks. After years of perfecting vacation, I offer, "The 5 Secrets to Taking Great Vacations -- enjoy!

The 4 Secrets of Leadership - Click To Read Article
If you are in a position of authority and wish to become an effective leader, then find ways of developing or strengthening these four characteristics in yourself. Remember, everyone is counting on you for guidance, and it is your ability to lead that will determine the ultimate result in your team or company.

The 5 Secrets of Setting Short Term Goals - Click To Read Article
If you want to see your life change in just 3 to 6 months, then follow these 5 quick rules for setting short term goals. As you'll see, accomplishing just one short term goal can change your life beyond your wildest dreams!

The 5-Step Method of Handling Objections - Click To Read Article
This is a Top 20% favorite and it works because you are not answering or dealing with objections, rather, you're qualifying and isolating first, then, once you've found out if it's a real objection or a smokescreen, you're dealing with it in the most efficient way possible.

Straight Selling - The Quickest Path To The Top 20% - Click To Read Article
What's one of the biggest differences between the Top 20% and the bottom 80%? The bottom 80% are still using stale, phony techniques that don't work, and they are still trying to trick the gatekeepers and assistants as they try to get to the decision maker.

Prospect Not Buying? Here Is What To Do... - Click To Read Article
I use this question all the time, and I'm never surprised by how a prospect will immediately reveal the truth as to what is holding them up and what is going to stop them from ultimately moving forward.

Opening Statements: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - Click To Read Article
I've worked with, monitored and heard thousands of sales reps over the years, and I've heard it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here, for your reading enjoyment and education, are my all time, Top 5 classic opening statements.

One Sentence to Establish Immediate Rapport - Click To Read Article
Making that connection is the most important thing you can do to lower or eliminate initial resistance and give yourself a real chance to see if what you're offering is a fit for the person you're speaking with. Here is the one sentence you can use that will give you the best chance to make that connection.

Leave Voicemail Messages That Get Returned! - Click To Read Article
Here are four sample voice mail messages you can start using today to separate yourself from the other 95% of voice mails that get ignored, deleted and never returned.

Knowing Your Numbers, Tracking Your Success - Click To Read Article
Overall, knowing how your numbers equate to your actual results and success is what each Top 20% producer thoroughly understands. You should too. Why not start today?

Insurance Sales - How to Overcome the Top Three Objections - Click To Read Article
In this article you'll find three rebuttals to the most common objections you get when closing on your insurance products. Remember, take the time to reword or rework them to fit your specific services or selling style, but after you do the key is to use them.

I Hope You Don't Open Your Calls This Way - Click To Read Article
Because you only have a few precious seconds to make a connection and establish interest, you'd better have a good opening prepared in advance. What can you do to separate yourself from all the other calls they get? Read on.

How to Write Winning Emails - Click To Read Article
Follow these six email secrets the next time you write and send an email, and you'll be on your way to the kind of response you used to get - and the kind that will lead to more business.

How to Use Layering Questions - Click To Read Article
Only the top sales reps use layering questions, and the reason they are so valuable is because they get your prospect to go a little deeper into an area of interest they have, or in an area of concern.

How To Successfully Handle Objections - Click To Read Article
Want an easier way to deal with the objections you get over and over again? Here's how to do it.

How to Sell A Pencil - And Your Product Or Service - Click To Read Article
This is one of the most basic of interview questions for sales reps, and the answer reveals so much about your previous training, your understanding of the sales process, and ultimately about what kind of sales rep you are.

How to Overcome the Fear of Cold Calling - Click To Read Article
Let's start at the beginning. The fear of cold calling, like all fears, is mostly in our heads. It starts with dread, builds to anxiety, and soon we're frozen with fear. The phone becomes a 200 pound weight, we find a million other things to do, and we pray for 5 o'clock. Sound familiar?

How to Overcome the "I Need to Think about it objection - Click To Read Article
Unfortunately, what many of you have found out is that your prospect actually is saying no - they're just saying it in a way that makes it difficult for you to handle it. Well that will end for you today. By using the scripts below, you'll see if your prospect really does need to think about it, or if he/she is blowing you off.

How To Overcome the "I'm Not Interested" Objection - Click To Read Article
Here's what to say to act like a Top 20% sales professional, and how to connect with and earn the right to present your product or service.

How To Make Your Sales Manager Better - Click To Read Article
The problem with most sales managers that they don't sell. And the problem with that is how can they teach and manage something they aren't doing themselves (or worse, can't)?

How To Make 2011 Your Best Year Yet - Click To Read Article
So what are you going to do to make 2011 better than 2010? What plans or goals did you have in 2010 that you thought would make it better than 2009? Did you stick with them? Did they work? What are you going to do differently in 2011?

How To Deal With Red Flags - Click To Read Article
One of the biggest mistakes 80% of salespeople make when qualifying is to overlook or not react to obvious Red Flags prospects give during the initial call.

How To Close A Sale - Click To Read Article
If you do these things right, it'll be easy and natural for you to ask for the order often. And when you start doing that, you'll finally know how to close a sale.

How to Build Relevant Rapport - Click To Read Article
If you want to truly connect to your prospect and build the kind of rapport that will actually influence and lead to a closed deal, then you need to learn how build what I call, "Relevant Rapport."

How to Avoid Getting Economy Related Objections - Click To Read Article
If you're still getting the "We're just not going to do anything until the economy (settles down or improves, or whatever...), when you are closing the sale and asking for the order, then I've got some good news and bad news for you.

How Find Out What's Stopping Your Prospect From Buying - Click To Read Article
The problem with 80% of sales reps is that they will chase and chase unqualified leads because it seems easier than cold calling and looking for real buyers. "At least they took the information, or have a need," they say. The solution? Read on.

Getting Commitment Through Out the Buying Process - Click To Read Article
During any phase of the process, it's crucial that you continue to ask these kind of specific, direct questions. Here are a few that will always help you know where you stand - and what you need to do next.

Four Ways to Handle the "I'm too busy" Brush Off - Click To Read Article
Now here's the thing: while this may be true, it doesn't necessarily mean they don't need or aren't interested in what you have to offer. Like all initial resistance statements, what you must do with this objection is to quickly control the situation, assess whether or not your prospect is or can be interested, and then find a way to quickly qualify them.

Four Scripts to Overcome the Price Objection - Click To Read Article
Once you've identified what is really hiding behind this objection, then you are ready to deal with it. And here is, word for word, what you need to say to overcome it.

Five Ways to Have Sizzling Summer Sales - Click To Read Article
The fact is, top 20% producers still find ways to make their quotas in summer, and they also find ways to set up the end of the year so they exceed their revenue goals, earn their bonuses and have a great holiday season. And you can, too.

Five Secrets to Exercising Authority - Click To Read Article
The problem is that most managers and other figures of authority - Directors, V.P.'s, and Business Owners -- have never been taught how to properly exercise authority and command respect as leaders. If you find yourself in this position, follow this proven, 5-step method for exercising authority. It will not only get results, but it will establish, or re-establish, your role as leader of your sales team or department.

Emails and Voice Mails Guaranteed to Work - Click To Read Article
The voicemail discussion during the meeting led to what was working for emails as well, and I think we all got some really valuable ideas on what gets the most responses. Here they are.

Don't "Follow Up" On Your Leads! - Click To Read Article
Ask yourself this question - when you call a prospect or client back to close a sale, do you open your call up with, "I'm just calling to follow up..."? If you're like most sales reps (80% or more), then I'll bet you do, and, if so, then you're making a big mistake because you are setting yourself up for rejection and you're allowing your prospect to put you off.

Change Your Self Talk - Change Your Results - Click To Read Article
The problem is that most of our self-talk is negative. And even worse, we tend to believe our self-talk and that influences our performance - in a big way. For example, have you ever stopped to listen to your self-talk after you missed a sale?

A Simple Lesson From the NFL to Close More Business - Click To Read Article
In sales, too, you can become a better producer if you concentrate on the simple things and doing them better. Here are two things you can do starting today to increase your closing ratio and make more money.

5 Ways to Handle the "No Budget" Objection - Click To Read Article
Here are five proven ways of dealing with this objection that you can begin using today to break through your prospect's resistance and earn the right to present your product or service.

5 Ways to Have a Great 4th Quarter - Click To Read Article
One of the things you can begin doing right now to prepare to have a great 4th quarter is read and apply the ideas in this article. Use it as a check list to compare what you're doing - and what you're not doing - and then adjust your activities to cover as many of these crucial steps as possible.

5 Ways to Sound More Natural On the Phone - Click To Read Article
If what you sell for a living means you have to pick up the phone - either to set appointments, call prospects back, return calls to clients, etc., then you have to learn how to sound natural and how to avoid putting your prospects, gatekeepers, assistants, etc., on notice that you're trying to sell something.

5 Things I Learned last year - Click To Read Article
Here are the 5 things I learned that contributed the most to what turned out to be my most profitable year in consulting yet.

5 Closing Questions You Must Be Asking - Click To Read Article
All of these questions are crucial to ask during the close, and after you read them I encourage you to put these into your closing scripts and outlines. They will give you the feedback you'll need (and don't get because you're not in front of your prospect) to close the sale. To get the most benefit from them, begin using them today.

3 Ways to Improve Your Listening Skills - Click To Read Article
The most important thing you can do to begin making more sales is to start listening to your prospects. Once you do, you'll know exactly what to say - and what not to say - to get the sale. Here are three things you can begin doing today to become a better listener.

3 Ways to Build Rapport In 30 Seconds - Click To Read Article
Here are three techniques you can begin using today to create ease, build rapport and get the person on the other end of the phone to trust you.

The Only Qualifying Question You Really Need - Click To Read Article
Afraid of asking to many questions of your prospects? OK, then ask just this one question and let your prospects tell YOU how to sell them!

The 5 Elements of a Qualified Lead - Click To Read Article
People ask me all the time what I think makes up a qualified lead. It's simple, I tell them. There are five things that every Top 20% producer knows when he or she hangs up the phone with a prospect. Know these five things and chances are real good you're going to close this prospect. Leave one out -- or two out -- and chances are even better that you're never going to close this prospect. This article will not only tell you what these are, but they will tell you how to find them out!

How to Hire Successful Sales Reps - Click To Read Article
Many business owners and sales managers ask me if I have a proven system or a way to identify and hire top sales reps. They have tried everything, they tell me. Well, here's what they are missing, and what you need to do to find and hire Good Sales Reps!

How To Stay Firm On Price - Click To Read Article
Getting beaten up in today's economy on account of clients and prospects hammering you for a lower price? Here's how to stay firm on your price and still succeed!

The 3 Secrets of Instantly Establishing Interest - Click To Read Article
You have all heard that you have about 15 to 30 seconds to establish a connection or generate interest on a cold call, right? While some may say you have even less, the point we can all agreed on is that you don't have much time and whatever you say, it had better be good! This article will provide you with the most effective way of making that connection.

How to Handle the Price Objection - Click To Read Article
You'd be amazed by how many sales reps miss the golden opportunity to find out where their prospect is when they ask about the price. Here's how NOT to make the same mistake!

Should You Train Unmotivated Sales Reps? - Click To Read Article
I have been consulting with a lot of sales managers and business owners who need and want sales training, but they are concerned that the training might be wasted on some of their sales reps (sometimes as much as one-third of their team) because this portion of the reps are either resistant, or simply unmotivated. What should you do? This article will tell you!

The Five Secrets To Writing Killer Prospecting Scripts - Click To Read Article
If you prospect sales by phone, then you know what's it's like to get blown off, screened out, or just flat turned down. It doesn't have to be that way!! Use these Five Proven Secrets to Writing Killer Prospecting Scripts and learn how to succeed like the Top 20%!

The Three ‘Real’ Secrets of Hiring Top Sales Reps - Click To Read Article
Finding, interviewing, hiring and training sales reps costs hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. What's worse is that you never know who you're going to get. Assessment tests can be time consuming and expensive. Want an easier way? Use these three secrets and you'll easily increase your chances of finding and succeeding with Top Sales Reps!

The Most Important Word In Sales - Click To Read Article
What would you say was the most important word in sales? Read on and you'll find out...

Stop Managing the Pipeline, and Start Managing Your Sales Team. - Click To Read Article
While the sales pipeline is a vital part of the sales process, it is also where the most fundamental mistake is made, and this mistake costs companies millions (if not billions) of dollars every year. Learn what you can do to change this starting today!

Saving Gas and Selling More 5 Secrets of Top 20 Producers - Click To Read Article
Here are 5 things you can begin doing today to succeed as a sales rep when others are failing!

How to Listen like a Detective - Click To Read Article
Listening is the top skill of Top 20% sales producers. Here's how to develop it!

How To Qualify Warm Leads - Click To Read Article
The internet has changed the way leads come into a sales organization. The problem is that 80% of companies and sales reps still handle them the same old way. Here is the Right Way to qualify incoming leads.

How To Overcome the Smokescreen Objection - Click To Read Article
Most of the objections you get as sales reps aren't real objections - they're smokescreens. That's why when you answer them, you get another, and another, and another. Want a better way? Read and apply the techniques in this article and you'll stay in control and close more business!





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