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Part Four - Prospecting for More Sales

Part Four - Prospecting for More Sales

Client Contact System

As I mentioned earlier, people like to be remembered. If you can recall their names and some personal details it will be appreciated. So you should look for techniques that will help you improve your memory.

One simple way to do this is to keep a contact system. There are many simple or sophisticated CRM programs around that you can use. Or another very simple way is just to keep a card system. The purpose is the same whichever "system" you use.

When you meet someone new make a special effort to remember the details of most importance. Listen, carefully, then when you get a chance, record name, spouse's name, number of children and interests on a card file. Other details such as address and telephone numbers can be added later. If the person concerned does become a customer you can use the card to remind you of the details which will personalise your contact with them. And you should also use the system to record what is said on each occasion you speak to them.

The contact system has a number of purposes. It helps you to improve your memory and to maintain cordial contacts with the people in your personal network. Most of all, however, it puts you in command of information which will make you more efficient. A quick glance at the information will remind you of your previous contact with this person so that you know what was said and what happened as a result.

Remembering details creates confidence and trust, and a contact management system, conscientiously maintained, will ensure that you do remember them.

Visibility

One of the greatest assets you can have is visibility; visibility in the market place.

Even if you had the greatest products, the greatest service, in the field it won't do you any good if your prospective customers don't think of you when they set out to make a purchase. So you have to think of ways of making yourselves visible in the market within which you work.

The most obvious way to do this is to advertise. Use local newspapers and radio stations, and the yellow pages - but if these options are not open to you, which they may not be depending on the size and nature of your business, what other ways are available to promote yourself?

Today, as you will have heard many times, sellers need to be pro-active rather than re-active. You have to go out and make calls. If customers don't know what you are selling then they won't think of you when they are looking for the type of product or service you are selling. You have to be visible and so does your product/service.

Continued in Part Five





Part Four Prospecting for More Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Lawrence Atkinson's Website.

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David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

John Brennan
John Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website


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Lawrence Atkinson
(Visit Lawrence's Website) Lawrence specialises in sales training and sales coaching, with over 20 years experience as both a trainer and a coach. He has lived and worked in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and more recently the Pacific Islands. He is a Fellow and former Director of the Australian Institute of Training and Development and holds Fellowships with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Institute of Management, and the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He is also a Justice of the Peace. His many experiences in a variety of sales situations present an interesting background for his training and coaching interventions and provide Lawrence with an ability to relate to and train people at all levels, across a variety of cultural and industry settings. This includes, for example, training and coaching business owners and managers, senior relationship managers, business banking managers, financial advisers, retail sales people, electrical sales engineers, accountants in PNG, new Australian exporters, importers and exporters in Fiji, and a video production company in Bahrain! A Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, he loves to work with people to see them succeed.

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