Are you feeling motivated this week? Are the members of your sales team feeling motivated? They (and you) may feel as though business is crawling to a crippling halt but in reality you just need to find the business. I know I’ve said that before but I’m going to continue saying it until you get it. The economy is NOT slowing you down. Your mindset is.

So what are some things you can do to motivate your team?

• Start each morning with a very brief sales meeting. Make the meeting encouraging and don’t let anyone dwell on anything negative. Have a set agenda (a list of things you want to say), set everyone’s goals for the day, and then send them off to work.
• Make sure you pay attention to your employees throughout the course of the day. Salesmen don’t deserve to feel as though they’re being ignored for hours on end and a word or two of positive encouragement will go a long way. Make sure you check in on each member of your sales team at least two times every day and let them know you appreciate the work they’re doing.
• Have another very short meeting at the end of the day and let each member of your team share his or her greatest accomplishment of the day. Again, don’t allow anyone to dwell on anything negative.
• Make sure that you, as the manager, are motivated as well. Make contact with prior customers, learn about the industry, and make your own cold calls. Share your results with your team as well.

You, as the sales manager, need to not only make your own sales but keep your team motivated. If you can’t remain motivated yourself you shouldn’t be in the position you are in. A negative attitude will only drag sales down even more.

What do you do to motivate your team daily? Please share…

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Have you been losing business and wondering if it’s because your price is too high?

I beg you to take a step back and take a close look at your book of business before you go tinkering with your price points.

Why?

Because, in most cases, your price point is perfect just the way it is.

Yes, the economy is a bit rough and tumble lately and yes, people are shopping for the best prices whenever they can. The truth, however, is that most businesses are loyal – even during rough times. I urge you to take a look at your customer service team and how they interact with your clients, even if your customer says he is leaving due to price.

In many cases a customer or client will tell you that he found a better price (whether he really did or not) because it’s easier to say than, “I’m unhappy with you because of xyz…” Unless you had a very serious falling out, most customers leave without expressing their concerns. They feel as though it’s easier to move on to another organisation than it is to “cause a conflict” by registering a complaint.

I’ve found through my own research, and have seen several other salesmen recommend as well, that you should not change the way you price your products unless you can objectively prove that you have lost at least 10% of your book of business because of price and price alone. If a customer leaves, do a little digging. Check his file to see what his relationship has been like with your customer service team; call him and ask him if there is anything else you could have done to save your relationship.

Listen carefully to the answers. It won’t be difficult to determine whether or not price was the real issue at the end of the day. If it was – then go ahead and work with your marketing team to alter your price point a little bit. If not, take a step back and figure out how to prevent further losses due to bad business relationships.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

As a manager it is important for you to keep in touch with your sales team at all times. One of the best ways to do this is by hosting regular weekly sales meetings. Unfortunately, these sales meetings can easily turn into complaint sessions where your team gets together to lament over the state of the economy and their inability sell.

What you need to do is keep control over these meetings. Make sure your sales meetings are no longer than 30 minutes at a time unless you have a specific agenda or need to address a certain area of training. Make sure your sales team understands that attendance at these meetings is 100% mandatory and that no negative sales talk will be permitted.

As a matter of fact, make sure that every person has a chance to speak at these meetings. Each person should be asked to share one thing they did during the past week that had a positive impact on his sales goals or his relationship with a prospect or client.

Be prepared to praise your employees and then wrap up the meeting by reviewing your team’s sales goals and what you need to do in order to achieve them. Keeping a positive attitude throughout the process will ensure everyone leaves on a high note!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

As a sales manager, part of your job is to make sure that you are making an impact on the niche market you are trying to reach. It’s one thing to have a product and attempt to sell it but it is an entirely different thing to have a good product, target it’s development towards your niche, market it effectively, and then make sure it stays relevent.

Before you move forward with the development of your next marketing plan, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do we know who are customers really are and how to reach them?
• Have we anticipated what our prospective customers really need?
• Are the products and services we offer more advantageous to our customers than the ones offered by our competitors?
• Do our products meet the demands our customers have put before us in terms of both quality and functionality?
• Do the products and services we offer exceed the expectations our customers have of us? Ie., do we do our job above and beyond?

The answers to the above questions will give you valuable information to consider while formulating your next product or marketing plan. You’ll be able to use the answers to develop a well-thought out formula for marketing and sales success.

Remember – it’s more effective to know your market and tailor a product to suit their needs than it is to develop a product and then attempt to find a market for it!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker