I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice. A commodity is any product or service where the target prospect is likely to be thinking: "I get contacted by (X) salespeople a day that sell (whatever they perceive your product or service to be). Why should I spend any of my time with you?" How can salespeople prospect successfully if their target prospects see them as just one of many possible (and nearly identical) sources for a product or service?...

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How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch. If you manage a territory that has existing customers, your first priority should be to introduce yourself to every single one of your customers. This should be a pleasant, low-key introduction along the lines of, "I just wanted to introduce myself and see if there is anything I can do to help you....

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Generous Donor Refused Picture this. You are a fund development director for a respectable school at a well-known state university. Someone calls and says they wish to donate $25,000 for a special scholarship fund in honor of her deceased brother, an alumnus of the school. What would you say? If you think like we do, you'd say, "So sorry about your brother. Thank you for selecting us. When can we get your check!" In this case, the fund development director responded, "Sorry, we have a minimum donation of $50,000....

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"We're in the relationship business?...airplanes are what we use to provide a service." remarked Colleen Barrett, President and COO Southwest Airlines remarked, Are you in the relationship business? Of course you are. Everyone who has to work with, deal with, sell to, convince, etc. is! Unless you're on a deserted island, you must connect with, interact, and influence people every single day. Winning relationships result when people make a positive connection. However, strong relationships seldom happen overnight....

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Sales managers are an interesting breed, effective sales managers are a rare breed. Managing a sales team is entirely different than managing other groups; their role requires them to have not only above average management skills, but also above average ability to manage the overall sales process. However, in many organizations, the weak link in the sales chain is the front line management. Yet when most organizations look to fill openings in sales management, they generally look within, that is promoting someone that is already selling for the organization in question....

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Issue one - A poorly defined sales process. 82% of all CEO's said their sales organization had a process that was poorly defined or a process that wasn't being followed. A sales process is like a road map. If you pay attention it helps you determine if you are in heading in the right or wrong direction. A well defined sales process does the same thing. It should be consultative in nature, have defined steps that allow both parties to develop a better understanding of each other and a set of questions that help you qualify or disqualify....

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Business development is important for every business and refers to the action of bringing in customers or clients that are likely to make positive contributions to a company's bottom line. Business Development is all about establishing relevant and subsisting relationships in the market place. Your existing client or customer base is the number one most important tool to increasing your firm's business. The most important relationships for any business are those that it holds with its customers....

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The Federal Trade Commission has rule that are supposedly in place to protect franchise buyers from fraud from franchisors who might attempt to mislead them into purchasing a franchise. Part of the franchise rules are addressing required disclosure paperwork. In this disclosure document, which is required to be given to franchisees 10 days before any purchase is made are the names, addresses, phone numbers of all franchisees in the system. For smaller home based franchises this means home numbers, addresses and personal information....

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I don't even like saying the word d---------g. I have literally obliterated it from my dictionary with a black marking pen. I'll bite my tongue until it bleeds, before I say the word. Earlier this week Bernadette, my wife, and I went shopping . . . something I love to do. Just kidding! We were looking for a 3-piece plant stand for our deck. We found one in a catalog and went to the store to check it out. Bernadette always asks the sales person if he can do better on his price. You'd be surprised how much you can save just by asking....

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Are you dog tired because of the way you manage your sales team? Many managers tell me that they cannot see a way out of traditional sales management methods that keep them working like dogs, including focusing strictly on revenue goals, staying late, traveling up to three weeks a month, tightly controlling teams, and constantly reacting to emergencies. There has to be a better way. Are you satisfied with the way your life as a sales manager is turning out? Is it giving you all that you wanted? If not, perhaps it's time to make a revolution....

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Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response. He was understandably frustrated. With more than a dozen very satisfied clients, he knows that the residential property management services he and his brother provide should interest more people, but he wasn't having any success getting attention or generating leads. Jose knew that to grow his business he'd need to do some marketing....

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