"Top producers don't need to be told to ask for referrals or follow-up on hot leads because they understand that prospecting is a necessity and not just an activity." John Boe (This article is used with permission. You may contact John Boe at 1-877-725-3750 or www.johnboe.com.)
Why is it that some sales reps consistently earn a six-figure annual income while other reps, putting in the same hours, selling the same products and trained by the same sales manager struggle each month financially to make ends meet? The answer to this question is painfully simple; the six-figure sales reps spend more time on the phone and never forget to ask for referrals!
Top producers don't need to be told to ask for referrals or follow up on hot leads, because they understand that prospecting is a necessity and not just an activity. The good news is that prospecting for new business, like any other skill, can be trained and developed into a habit.This week, we'll share three of John Boe's "Six Powerful Prospecting Tips to Build Your Business."
Tip One: Don't Forget to Ask for Referrals
When it comes to asking for referrals, timing is everything. Research indicates that the most effective time to ask for referrals is right after you've made the sale or provided a valuable service for your customer. Asking for referrals prior to closing the sale is a big mistake and may even jeopardize the sale itself. Once the sale has been completed, your customer will be on an "emotional high" and far more receptive to the idea of providing you referrals.
Tip Two: Train and Reward Your Advocates
An advocate is a person who's willing to go out of his or her way to recommend you to a friend or associate. Most customers are initially reluctant to provide referrals without some basic training and motivation.Once you're given a prospect, it's a good idea to take the time to role-play with your advocate to demonstrate how to approach and talk to their referral. A brief role-playing exercise will build your advocate's confidence and keep them from overeducating their referrals. During your role-play session, be sure to prepare your advocate to expect some initial resistance. This training will pay big dividends by making your advocate more effective and less likely to become discouraged when faced with rejection.Always take the time to thank your advocates and give them feedback on the status of their referrals. I recommend that you call them and then follow up by sending a thank you card and or gift.
Tip Three: Strike While the Iron is HOT
Prospects, like food in your refrigerator, are perishable and therefore need to be contacted quickly. Each day you let slip by without making initial contact with your referral dramatically reduces the probability of you making the sale. Develop the habit of contacting your referrals within two business days or sooner. Have a system to keep track of your referrals so they don't end up falling through the cracks. It's critical to have a computerized client contact management system to record your remarks and track future contacts and appointments. Relying on your memory alone is a very poor business decision that will cost you dearly.
We'll share the final three tips in next week's message.
Remember: Prospecting is the lifeblood of your business. Stay after it!
Jack and Garry Kinder
The KBI Group
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Protecting Your Resources
"A moment of time is like a piece of gold, but a piece of gold won't buy a moment of time."
The first line of defense in protecting your time is to identify precisely how it is eroded and then learn effective means of managing your time.
Over the next several weeks, we will offer proactive strategies for such time management issues as, "firefighting," failure to delegate, procrastination, delays, plus many others.
1. PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR DELEGATING
- In order to use time effectively, you should never do anything that can be accomplished by others.
• Determine what is to be delegated, then assign responsibility and give authority to others.
• Set deadlines and make sure that they are met.
• Give increased responsibility to assistants that is commensurate with their abilities.
• Provide thorough training and instructions to your assistant. This aspect is often overlooked!
2. PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING DELAYS
- Delays are sometimes the result of your procrastination or failure to anticipate a situation.
• Set up a schedule for following up on details or projects within a specific time period.
• When planning a project, anticipate delays. They are inevitable, so don't let them bother you. Do what you can and go on to something else if the delay can't be helped. Every agent must continually juggle several balls in the air at the same time.
• Communicate delays. When delays are caused by the actions of others, there may be a sense of anticipation or lack of control. For example, if the medical history of an applicant requires more information, the delay can't be eliminated, but calling and informing the client will make them aware of it. This reduces frustration for everyone concerned.
(Adapted from the article, "Protecting Your Resources: Time Management" by William L. Moore, Senior Consultant with Kinder Brothers International.)
Jack and Garry Kinder
The KBI Group
The first line of defense in protecting your time is to identify precisely how it is eroded and then learn effective means of managing your time.
Over the next several weeks, we will offer proactive strategies for such time management issues as, "firefighting," failure to delegate, procrastination, delays, plus many others.
1. PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR DELEGATING
- In order to use time effectively, you should never do anything that can be accomplished by others.
• Determine what is to be delegated, then assign responsibility and give authority to others.
• Set deadlines and make sure that they are met.
• Give increased responsibility to assistants that is commensurate with their abilities.
• Provide thorough training and instructions to your assistant. This aspect is often overlooked!
2. PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING DELAYS
- Delays are sometimes the result of your procrastination or failure to anticipate a situation.
• Set up a schedule for following up on details or projects within a specific time period.
• When planning a project, anticipate delays. They are inevitable, so don't let them bother you. Do what you can and go on to something else if the delay can't be helped. Every agent must continually juggle several balls in the air at the same time.
• Communicate delays. When delays are caused by the actions of others, there may be a sense of anticipation or lack of control. For example, if the medical history of an applicant requires more information, the delay can't be eliminated, but calling and informing the client will make them aware of it. This reduces frustration for everyone concerned.
(Adapted from the article, "Protecting Your Resources: Time Management" by William L. Moore, Senior Consultant with Kinder Brothers International.)
Jack and Garry Kinder
The KBI Group
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Opportunity
"There was never a day that did not bring its own opportunity for doing good that never could have been done before, and never can be again." W. H. Burleigh
"What is it called?" asked a visitor in an art studio, as he was shown among many sculptures. He had singled out one with winged feet and a face concealed by hair. "Opportunity," replied the sculptor. "Why is the face hidden?" the visitor asked. "Because people seldom know Opportunity when it comes to them." "Why are there wings on the feet?" "Because Opportunity is soon gone, and once gone, cannot be overtaken."
Preparation is the key for being ready to recognize and take advantage of Opportunities that come your way. It is said that "The victories of life are won, not in the fields or in the markets where the ultimate struggles take place, but in the obscure and forgotten hours of preparation. Victory lies within our grasp, long before the hours of final test come."
In selling, like all professions, spectacular results are always preceded by unspectacular preparation. It is a matter of becoming so good, so competent in your selling job that you actually force opportunities in your direction. The outstanding salespeople we have known are those who see their work as an Opportunity for personal growth and development. They prepare themselves for all the Opportunities that surround them every day. They are people of action who realize that indecision is the epitaph on the tomb of Opportunity.
Opportunities! Every selling life is full of them. Every meeting is an Opportunity. Every bit of knowledge gained is an Opportunity. Every prospect is an Opportunity. Every interview is an Opportunity. Every client is an Opportunity. Every proof of a client's confidence in you, and every single sale is an Opportunity. Every day for the professional salesperson is an Opportunity.
Make the most of every day's Opportunities and you'll make the most of yourself.
"What is it called?" asked a visitor in an art studio, as he was shown among many sculptures. He had singled out one with winged feet and a face concealed by hair. "Opportunity," replied the sculptor. "Why is the face hidden?" the visitor asked. "Because people seldom know Opportunity when it comes to them." "Why are there wings on the feet?" "Because Opportunity is soon gone, and once gone, cannot be overtaken."
Preparation is the key for being ready to recognize and take advantage of Opportunities that come your way. It is said that "The victories of life are won, not in the fields or in the markets where the ultimate struggles take place, but in the obscure and forgotten hours of preparation. Victory lies within our grasp, long before the hours of final test come."
In selling, like all professions, spectacular results are always preceded by unspectacular preparation. It is a matter of becoming so good, so competent in your selling job that you actually force opportunities in your direction. The outstanding salespeople we have known are those who see their work as an Opportunity for personal growth and development. They prepare themselves for all the Opportunities that surround them every day. They are people of action who realize that indecision is the epitaph on the tomb of Opportunity.
Opportunities! Every selling life is full of them. Every meeting is an Opportunity. Every bit of knowledge gained is an Opportunity. Every prospect is an Opportunity. Every interview is an Opportunity. Every client is an Opportunity. Every proof of a client's confidence in you, and every single sale is an Opportunity. Every day for the professional salesperson is an Opportunity.
Make the most of every day's Opportunities and you'll make the most of yourself.
You Can't Argue With The Films
"You cannot run away from a weakness. You must sometimes fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not NOW, and where you stand." Robert Louis Stevenson
When you lose a sale, don't blame the prospect; don't blame your sales manager; don't knock your competition; don't complain about your product - but rather take a good look at your mental attitude and your sales technique.
One time we heard Bill Glass say, "I remember my 12 years as a pro. When I would make mistakes in games, I would begin immediately to dread 'film day.' After the game was over Sunday afternoon and until we studied the films on Tuesday, I spent a lot of time wondering how I would look in the films. When I knew I made mistakes, I struggled with what my excuse would be when questioned by the coaches as to why I failed to do my job.
"On film day all the coaches and players would meet in a large room with one end covered by a huge screen. As the game films were run, there you were in living color, life-size and every move you made was clear for everyone to see. Suppose I missed a tackle, the coach would say, 'Bill, was that you that missed that tackle?' Invariably my answer was 'Yes Sir.' I found it always better to make no excuses but to simply admit to my mistake. There it was in living color for everyone to see."
If a player tells himself or the coaches that he is thinking right and preparing right, mentally and physically, for a game, but plays poorly, then it is obvious that he is not spending enough time with the fundamentals. You will play exactly as you think, prepare and practice. The same is true in selling -- your results will reflect your attitude, your preparation and how you practiced.
Just like the films don't lie, neither do your sales results. They record exactly the way you performed for the week, month or year. Over a long period of time your sales results will be in exact proportion to your sales performance.
Football players can't argue with the films. Salespeople can't argue with results!
How are you looking on Film Day?
When you lose a sale, don't blame the prospect; don't blame your sales manager; don't knock your competition; don't complain about your product - but rather take a good look at your mental attitude and your sales technique.
One time we heard Bill Glass say, "I remember my 12 years as a pro. When I would make mistakes in games, I would begin immediately to dread 'film day.' After the game was over Sunday afternoon and until we studied the films on Tuesday, I spent a lot of time wondering how I would look in the films. When I knew I made mistakes, I struggled with what my excuse would be when questioned by the coaches as to why I failed to do my job.
"On film day all the coaches and players would meet in a large room with one end covered by a huge screen. As the game films were run, there you were in living color, life-size and every move you made was clear for everyone to see. Suppose I missed a tackle, the coach would say, 'Bill, was that you that missed that tackle?' Invariably my answer was 'Yes Sir.' I found it always better to make no excuses but to simply admit to my mistake. There it was in living color for everyone to see."
If a player tells himself or the coaches that he is thinking right and preparing right, mentally and physically, for a game, but plays poorly, then it is obvious that he is not spending enough time with the fundamentals. You will play exactly as you think, prepare and practice. The same is true in selling -- your results will reflect your attitude, your preparation and how you practiced.
Just like the films don't lie, neither do your sales results. They record exactly the way you performed for the week, month or year. Over a long period of time your sales results will be in exact proportion to your sales performance.
Football players can't argue with the films. Salespeople can't argue with results!
How are you looking on Film Day?
The Situation is the Boss
"Selling is a business of dips, dives, diversions, changes, adaptations, and rolling with the punches. If we know that, why not make these detours work for us instead of destroying our energy?" Burt Meisel, CLU
Study the word PLAN. To us, it's always meant: Prepare Logically -- Adapt Needfully. In other words, make thoughtful, definite plans. Then, adapt and modify those plans as the situation might require.
Great salespeople, like effective performers in all walks of life, are those who are organized, flexible, and adaptable. They size up situations and, when the occasion demands, they quickly, effectively and confidently alter their original course and go to "Plan B." In the Navy, this kind of adaptability is referred to as "changing the course." In the Boy Scout training, it's called "improvising." In football, it's "calling an audible." In selling, it's adapting the prepared agenda to meet the need. In other words, the situation is the boss.
In every sales encounter, you must learn to adjust and adapt. When the prospect starts making objections and offering resistance, "call an audible" -- adjust and adapt. Display flexibility. Move ahead to achieve your goal - another satisfied customer.
Remember that in order to be able to adapt needfully, you must be prepared. Ad-libs are for amateurs. Preparation will give you the confidence to adapt, should the situation require it.
Prepare Logically -- Adapt Needfully!
Study the word PLAN. To us, it's always meant: Prepare Logically -- Adapt Needfully. In other words, make thoughtful, definite plans. Then, adapt and modify those plans as the situation might require.
Great salespeople, like effective performers in all walks of life, are those who are organized, flexible, and adaptable. They size up situations and, when the occasion demands, they quickly, effectively and confidently alter their original course and go to "Plan B." In the Navy, this kind of adaptability is referred to as "changing the course." In the Boy Scout training, it's called "improvising." In football, it's "calling an audible." In selling, it's adapting the prepared agenda to meet the need. In other words, the situation is the boss.
In every sales encounter, you must learn to adjust and adapt. When the prospect starts making objections and offering resistance, "call an audible" -- adjust and adapt. Display flexibility. Move ahead to achieve your goal - another satisfied customer.
Remember that in order to be able to adapt needfully, you must be prepared. Ad-libs are for amateurs. Preparation will give you the confidence to adapt, should the situation require it.
Prepare Logically -- Adapt Needfully!
Sell Courageously
"Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. The average individual performs far below potential. We possess power of various sorts that we habitually fail to use." William James
After Dr. David Livingstone had begun his now famous missionary work in Africa, a certain group wrote the great pioneer and asked: "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, please advise. We'd like to send others to assist you."
Dr. Livingstone sent this reply: "If you have those who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want individuals who are strong and courageous -- those who will come if there is no road at all!"
What a lesson in courage - especially for salespeople!
Courage is performing the task that would be easier not to do. Courage is accepting the responsibilities when it would be more comfortable not to accept. It's moving out on faith, when you know full well the risks and the pitfalls that will challenge you. It's marching ahead, blazing a new trail where there are no roads, and sometimes no maps to guide you.
Remember these truths:
"Courage is knowing what not to fear." Socrates
"One man with courage makes a majority." Andrew Jackson
Sell courageously!
After Dr. David Livingstone had begun his now famous missionary work in Africa, a certain group wrote the great pioneer and asked: "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, please advise. We'd like to send others to assist you."
Dr. Livingstone sent this reply: "If you have those who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want individuals who are strong and courageous -- those who will come if there is no road at all!"
What a lesson in courage - especially for salespeople!
Courage is performing the task that would be easier not to do. Courage is accepting the responsibilities when it would be more comfortable not to accept. It's moving out on faith, when you know full well the risks and the pitfalls that will challenge you. It's marching ahead, blazing a new trail where there are no roads, and sometimes no maps to guide you.
Remember these truths:
"Courage is knowing what not to fear." Socrates
"One man with courage makes a majority." Andrew Jackson
Sell courageously!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Power of Persistence
"You've got life to live. It's short, at best. It's a wonderful privilege and a terrific opportunity - and you've been equipped for it. Use your equipment, give it all you've got, work hard and don't quit." Norman Vincent Peale
Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss, a thirty-nine-year-old runner from Switzerland, demonstrated the meaning of persistence to the entire world in her dramatic finish of the marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
She had no hope of earning a medal. Her body's tissues were desiccated from the hours of running under a pitiless sun, and she'd fallen twenty minutes behind the leaders. Thirty runners had already completed the 26-mile, 385-yard event when Gabriela came lurching through the tunnel and into the coliseum.
The seventy thousand spectators went to their feet to cheer her on as she staggered in a weaving half- run around the arena. It took five agonizing minutes for her to complete the final lap.
When she finally crossed the finish line and collapsed into the arms of the doctors, the ovation she received was louder and more sustained than the one that had been given to Joan Benoit, the winner of the gold medal. The spectators recognized that, even though Gabriela came in thirty-seventh, she was a winner.
What relationship does that pain-wracked, dehydrated woman's struggle to finish her race bear to your performance as an agent? Plenty!
You are in a race every bit as demanding as a marathon. The conditions are totally different, of course. The crowd that will cheer you on at the end may be small, or even nonexistent. But you must keep running, day after day, even when there's no hope of getting a medal. Why?
Because, like Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss, you don't have to be among the top three to be a winner. You simply have to do your best every step of the way and finish as well as you can.
Study the history of any agent who achieves consistent, high-level production, and you will find that persistence played a major role in his or her success.
As Calvin Coolidge put it: Nothing else in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Persistence is a most valuable asset. Individuals who have and use this quality always get somewhere.
Jack and Garry Kinder
The KBI Group
Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss, a thirty-nine-year-old runner from Switzerland, demonstrated the meaning of persistence to the entire world in her dramatic finish of the marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
She had no hope of earning a medal. Her body's tissues were desiccated from the hours of running under a pitiless sun, and she'd fallen twenty minutes behind the leaders. Thirty runners had already completed the 26-mile, 385-yard event when Gabriela came lurching through the tunnel and into the coliseum.
The seventy thousand spectators went to their feet to cheer her on as she staggered in a weaving half- run around the arena. It took five agonizing minutes for her to complete the final lap.
When she finally crossed the finish line and collapsed into the arms of the doctors, the ovation she received was louder and more sustained than the one that had been given to Joan Benoit, the winner of the gold medal. The spectators recognized that, even though Gabriela came in thirty-seventh, she was a winner.
What relationship does that pain-wracked, dehydrated woman's struggle to finish her race bear to your performance as an agent? Plenty!
You are in a race every bit as demanding as a marathon. The conditions are totally different, of course. The crowd that will cheer you on at the end may be small, or even nonexistent. But you must keep running, day after day, even when there's no hope of getting a medal. Why?
Because, like Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss, you don't have to be among the top three to be a winner. You simply have to do your best every step of the way and finish as well as you can.
Study the history of any agent who achieves consistent, high-level production, and you will find that persistence played a major role in his or her success.
As Calvin Coolidge put it: Nothing else in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Persistence is a most valuable asset. Individuals who have and use this quality always get somewhere.
Jack and Garry Kinder
The KBI Group
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