Timely Selling Strategies That Will Put More Coin in Your Pocket

p Today I find that many business owners, solopreneurs and salespeople are losing focus and getting themselves sidetracked by all the doom and gloom rubbish that spews out of the media day-in and day-out. They have slowed or stopped their a title=St. Charles Business Marketing href=http://www.marketingprofits40.com target=_blankbusiness marketing/a. They dont have a strategy in place for a title=Lead Generation Marketing href=http://www.marketingprofits40.com/Lead-Generation-Marketing.html target=_blanklead generation marketing./abr /nbsp;br /Well guess what? You canrsquo;t control the economy any more than I can.nbsp; What you can control however is how you behave in this ldquo;soft economyrdquo;.nbsp; Here are 5 simple to implement strategies that will save you time and put more money in your pocket if you truly begin using them.nbsp; Note: This will require you to stop or at least temporarily suspend your ldquo;Chicken Littlerdquo; routine.br /br /strong5 Selling Strategies to Implement NOW to Put More Money in Your Pocket/strongbr /br /strong1. Maximize your most precious resource, TIME, by no longer accepting TIOrsquo;s ./strongbr /br /A ldquo;Think It Overrdquo;mdash; I sometimes refer to these as ldquo;slow norsquo;srdquo; because the end result is a ldquo;nordquo; all the same itrsquo;s just that the process takes awhile; consuming your time, emotional energy and resources.nbsp; Your goal as a salesperson should be to get a decision as quickly as possible. A yes is great, a no is fine but a TIO should be avoided at all cost!br /br /strong2. Recognize step 3 of the Buyers System and understand how to neutralize it. /strongbr /br /Almost every buyer you work with whether consciously or unconsciously will use some form of this 4 step system to battle your selling system.br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; strongThe Prospectsrsquo; System/strongbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Step 1: Mislead the salesperson about their intent . br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Step 2: Gather information and the salespersons experience for free.br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Step 3: Act positive but dont actually commit to anything .br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Step 4: Hide.br /br /Four simple steps that neutralize all but the most powerful selling systems.nbsp; Step 3 is where those TIOrsquo;s and ldquo;slow norsquo;srdquo; I warned you about manifest themselves .nbsp; They sound something like this ldquo;George, this proposal is excellent.nbsp; I donrsquo;t see any reason, all things being equal, why we wouldnrsquo;t start implementing these solutions very soon.rdquo;nbsp; Sounds very positive, right?nbsp; But has the buyer really committed to anything?nbsp; More likely than not, George is being politely ushered out the door and out of this prospectrsquo;s life!nbsp; Notice how the prospect did this without raising a single objection?nbsp; Brilliant, eh? What George needs to do is ldquo;strip linerdquo; to get the buyer to show his true aim.nbsp; By saying something such as ldquo;Ms. Prospect, I feel as though Irsquo;m missing something.nbsp; Can you help me understand why you believe my solution fits so well into your situation?rdquo;br /br /This process will result in either the prospect showing her true colors or, confirming that she really does intend to move forward with Georgersquo;s solution.nbsp; Either way, a decision is firmed up, and a TIO is avoided.br /br /strong3.nbsp; Take control of the selling situation by using an up-front contract . /strongbr /br /A good up-front contract has at a minimum these four components.br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1. Thank the prospect for his time br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 2. Ensures that both parties understand the agenda of the meetingbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 3. Defines the roles both parties will play during the meeting.br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 4. Clearly defines the meeting outcomes and that a decision will be made.br /br /middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; What a ldquo;nordquo; looks likebr /br /middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; What a ldquo;yesrdquo; looks like.br /br /What does an up-front contract accomplish in less than a minute?nbsp; It removes any surprises and sets clear expectations. The up-front contract lets the prospect no itrsquo;s OK to say no, thus making the prospect less defensive (and therefore less likely to mislead you about their interest).nbsp; On a psychological level an up-front contract establishes an adult-to-adult conversation, a level playing field for you to conduct your meeting.br /br /strong4.nbsp; Connect emotionally with your prospects by understanding their pain. /strongbr /br /What do I mean by ldquo;painrdquo;?nbsp; Pain is not needs and wants, itrsquo;s not features and benefits, pain is deeper than this.nbsp; Pain has 3 components:br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1. The surface pain br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 2. The reasons why the pain existsbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 3. The personal impact the problem is having on the prospect.br /br /Most salespeople are great at uncovering surface pain, but fail to question more deeply and therefore fail to connect emotionally.nbsp; No emotional connection? Good luck… and I hope you have the lowest price!br /br /strong5. Attitude is everything. Beware of unpositive beliefs and take action to vanquish them./strongbr /br /Especially in dark and turbulent times you must protect your attitude and belief systems from the daily onslaught of negative reinforcement.nbsp; If you feel you are beginning to succumb to the negativity, try this technique for restoring optimism to your belief system as defined in Marting Seligmanrsquo;s tremendously powerful book ldquo;Learned Optimismrdquo;:br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1. Clearly identify the adversity you are facingbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 2. Next, outline your beliefs surrounding this adversity.br /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 3. Describe the consequences your beliefs are having on youbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 4. Now, vigorously dispute the negative thoughts yoursquo;re having. What other explanations exist for the adversity?nbsp; Remember,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; even though they are your beliefs, it doesnrsquo;t mean that they are correct or cant benbsp; changedbr /br /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 5. Once disputed, describe how you now feel and what actions you are going to do differently.br /br /This time tested model works well and when practiced consistently can restore your attitude and optimism quickly and effectively.br /br /There you have it, 5 Simple Selling Ideas You Can Put Into Practice Today to Put Some More Coin In Your Change Purse .nbsp; Now go out there and sell something!/p