tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59761564982198040092024-03-06T12:02:22.505-08:00Sales Leadership: Passion & Profit AlignedRightNow works with sales management and business development representatives to clearly define and align both individual and organizational goals. By using a systematic, proven sales process, your team will see new orders, gained market share and increased revenue as a result. RightNow helps define and implement a sales leadership strategy that will take your organization's success to the next level. For more information visit www.rightnowconsulting.comJoe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-59502249247798957292009-08-20T14:40:00.001-07:002009-08-20T14:43:18.489-07:00SF Market Trends - New Chart<img src="http://charts.altosresearch.com/altos/app?s=mean_dom:r,median:l,&ra=c&q=a&st=CA&c=SAN%20FRANCISCO&z=a&sz=i&ts=e&rt=sf&service=chart&pai=52846346&co=0&endDate=" alt="Real Estate Market Chart by Altos Research www.altosresearch.com" />Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-87893940834468519662009-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:28:43.988-08:00Great ExpectationsThe key and also the down fall the most of the managers that I've spoken to recently have involved setting clear and succinct expectations. From what I gathered to most effective managers us some of the following to maintain high job satisfaction, high retention and increased morale.<br /><br />Here are key components to setting clear expectations:<br /><ol><li>Be clear yourself – understand where you are driving to and what it will take to get there</li><li>Keep it simple – the best expectations are ones that you can translate easily </li><li>Write them down and repeat often – avoid thinking that people “should” know and make it clear, visible and say it often. </li><li>Provide Support – if you’re expectation is to do 10 sales calls a day or fulfill 15 customer service requests a week (both tangible and easy to measure) then make sure you’re creating the time and space for you’re employees to do those things </li><li>Be sure that you’re expectations are about what people can DO – managing by result is something we so often default to because results drive our business, but getting people focused on what they can DO and how often you expect them to DO it is critical for morale and for turning your business around </li></ol><p>Why do clear expectations matter? </p><ul><li>People thrive with clear expectations: most of the sales people I talk to are given clear results objectives, but nothing about the thing that they can control, which is the activities required to get the results. </li><li>You provide yourself or your employees a framework in which they are able to define success and link those things to their own activity </li><li>There’s a saying that people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers, well clear expectations can lead to higher job satisfaction and lower turn over</li></ul>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-92065015488657914062009-01-05T09:45:00.000-08:002009-01-05T09:47:44.380-08:00Six Things You Must Stop Doing to Reach the Top in SalesI found this article in an old archive and thought it pertinent to today's market... enjoy. <br /><br />Six Things You Must Stop Doing to Reach the Top in Sales<br /><strong><em>By Dave Anderson</em></strong><br /><br />In sales as in life, there are things you have to give up so you can go up. Making tradeoffs is part of paying the price to reach your next performance level. Following are five strategies for building a higher degree of excellence and consistency in your career.<br /><br />Stop waiting for something to happen and get busy to make it happen. Stop living passively and take action. You can't sit or wait your way to the next level. You'll have to climb there and that mean's you need to make something happen….today…..right now!<br />To develop an action-bias: Strike early each day and stay in motion all day. Resolve to go from order-taker to order-maker.<br /><br />Stop just putting in more time and begin putting more into your time. It's not important that you get everything done each day; what is vital is that you get the right things done each day!<br />Work within the disciplines of priorities or you work yourself to death : Identify your highest-return activities and schedule them. Identify your highest leverage customers and make time for them.<br /><br />Stop making excuses and start making results. You can go from failure to success but you can't go from excuses to success because excuses stop you from acknowledging what the real problem is: you. <br />What is the number one excuse you use to explain away your lack of greater success? Decide to give this excuse up now! <br /><br />Stop treating training like it is punishment. If you don't realize the value of training you are either arrogant, ignorant or both. If you don't think you need training, let me set the record straight for you: you're not that good! Professionals in any field never get so good they don't need to practice so don't think for a minute you're the exception.<br />The level of your practice will determine the level of your play: Which skills are you working on this week? Which product or services are you committed to learning more about this week? If you can't be specific, you need to get serious about the selling profession. You can't get more than you have until you become more than you are.<br /><br />Stop planting the seeds to your next rut during the good times.<br />When you find yourself in a rut it's not the result of something you did last night. It's a series of bad decisions and failed disciplines you've sown over time just now manifesting themselves.<br />The good times can put you to sleep. They make you believe that since you've “arrived” basic disciplines like prospecting, practicing and planning no longer apply to you. The results of this foolishness don't show up overnight but they will show up over time. It's inevitable. You don't have to do anything extraordinary to make a great living in sales but you must consistently do the ordinary things extraordinarily well.<br /><br />Stop hanging around with losers.<br />Don't hang around with an easy crowd because you won't grow.<br />Spending time with the fellowship of the miserable: whiners, complainers and gossips will cut your paycheck in half: at the least. Those you associate with on the job influence your values, attitude and discipline. Choose your associations carefully because eventually you become like them. Associate with people who elevate not devastate you.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-45690610444410576052008-12-10T10:27:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:02:35.932-08:00The Problem of Service<strong>The Problem of Service</strong><br /><br />No discussion of marketing challenges in sales would be complete without mentioning the problem of service. In many industries, service levels tend to decrease as volume rises. When the market is slower, everyone competes for the business at a feverish pace, motivated to action by fear and increased competition. As the market starts to gain momentum, service levels become strained. Order volumes swell and customers begin searching for other options, hoping that changing companies will resolve their need to have phone calls returned promptly and to have a less apathetic service level. Then as the market takes a breather, sales people and sales managers point to the constant outflow of customers that occurred which causes market share to remain stagnant, existing customers to leaving for greener pastures as they are being replaced by new customers. At the end of all of this, the company is left in a similar market share position where it was in the beginning, only with different customers.<br /><br />Creating consistent service levels is a group effort. Operations and Sales must be service driven and embody a customer-oriented work habit. Sales people must communicate with operations and customers, facilitating service level improvements. Sales managers need to be cognizant of service level fluctuations and help the sales force to communicate these fluctuations to the marketplace, while informing escrow and county managers about potential service weaknesses. When all these things work in systematic unison, service levels tighten and customer attrition slows.<br /><br />The successful sales manager is one who defines themselves and their company as different, builds a knowledgeable sales force, creates and implements accountability systems, and actively participates in the evolution of service levels. This is an extremely difficult set of tasks in many industries with little to no existing resources for sales managers.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-22426934916448590292008-12-03T10:26:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:04:56.445-08:00The Problem of Accountability<strong>The Problem of Accountability<br /></strong><br />Any comprehensive list of the consistent frustrations of many sales managers would have to include the problem of accountability. In many ways, the lack of the ability of sales managers to track and grade performance could be considered the largest inefficiency in the marketing arena of the title business. Too often, sales people focus on entire offices rather than specific target customers, or fill out general call sheets rather than activity-driven tracking reports. It is physically impossible to gauge a sales person’s actual performance without activity-specific business plans and individual target lists. These tools provide insight into a sales person’s strengths and weaknesses and provide aid to sales managers in both market share forecasting and profit projections. When sales people are held accountable to the right activities, their efforts yield more focused results.<br /><br />Accountability is a difficult discipline in an industry where business originates from so many possible areas. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether a business development officer, a sales person, or some other activity brought in a deal. More importantly, it is difficult to determine who controls a customer over long periods of time as the customer becomes attached to many people and services within an operation. Long-term efforts to secure customer loyalty are hard to track and difficult to quantify, causing many managers to live in fear of a seasoned sales person’s departure. Accountability systems solve this challenge by giving sales managers the ability to measure results, both short and long-term.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-64470272173915291232008-11-20T10:23:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:10:33.297-08:00The Problem of Knowledge<strong>The Problem of Knowledge<br /><br /></strong>The most elusive of all marketing challenges in many industries; the problem of knowledge, can be broken down into two major areas: a lack of knowledge about the customer and a lack of knowledgeable sales people. The lack of knowledge that most sales people have about the customer begins with assumptions that have trapped the their industry into buying business rather than justifying worth in other ways. For Example in many in the Real Estate Services Companies (Title, Escrow, 1031 exchange etc...), sales people make the assumption that customers do business with companies because of long-term operations-driven relationships. The truth is that some customers do business with their present company of choice because of a internal relationship, but most customers would change companies if a competitor could show them how to increase their business or efficiency. In a recent survey of 300 customers, RightNow Business Development Systems found that over 77% of would change services companies if another could show them how to operate more effectively. The overwhelming message that these customers are sending is that these companies should be providing success resources and “intellectual capital,” rather than trying to sell basic feature and benefit services. Orders are the compensation received for providing these resources. The trick is to help sales people to get past assumptions by asking the right questions of prospective customers, even when they think they know the answer. The best armor against assumptions is questions, questions lead to answers that the customer feels are important, building customer specific knowledge in the process.<br /><br />The lack of knowledge that sales people have about the customer’s business creates a significant barrier to developing new business relationships. Real estate agents have shared with me that “all service companies are alike” and that the best thing they can do is provide the basic service. In most cases, customers feel that sales representatives don’t know enough about their business to be helpful and consider the reps to be nice, but unworthy of respect. The most successful sales people in any industry are considered to be experts by their customers whose business savvy advice and opinions are necessary and important. While knowledge that sales people possess about business is often perceived to be important by sales managers, knowledge about helping customers to run a more profitable business outranks product or services knowledge ten to one in the minds of top customers. Because of this, one of the goals of an effective sales management program should be to find, train, recruit, and evolve this knowledge.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-38106955964737798662008-11-15T10:05:00.000-08:002008-11-15T10:05:00.991-08:00The Problem of DifferentiationFrom a previous post in October I thought some elaboration was called for with regards to the 4 problem areas that Sales Managers must deal with to be successful. Here's the first...<br /><br /><strong>The Problem of Differentiation</strong><br /><br />A sales manager must separate his or her sales force from the competition to be successful in building and retaining profitable market share. Many times, it is difficult to tell one company from another in any given geography. Every company has good escrow officers and bad escrow officers, similar title products, and roughly equivalent price schedules. To be different, a sales manager must identify a potential opportunity (or opportunities) in the marketplace that the competition has not uncovered and define their company’s “brand” within that opportunity. This can include things such as developing a computer training program for real estate agents, teaching agents to market their services on the internet, or any number of other unique ideas. The basic rule of thumb should be that nothing the competition does well is worth doing the same way. Great sales managers look for ways to define their sales force’s uniqueness in the marketplace rather than giving in to the urge to look like every other company. Differentiation from competitors is critical for marketing success.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-84176731372160988302008-11-06T08:53:00.000-08:002008-11-07T15:51:32.641-08:005 Inhibitors to SuccessA colleague of mine recently put this together and I thought it was so good I had to post it... Thanks to Anthony George.<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Five Inhibitors to Success</strong><br /><br />Reality continues to sink in. We have all recently felt the effects of the shifting market. In fact, we are reminded daily that ‘the sky is falling’ from a variety of sources: the media, the internet, the news and perhaps most notably, from our clients (or lack of!). During challenging times, sometimes we need to “let go” in order to “grow”. We need to stop doing the things that have gotten us here and focus on the things that will get us there. We need to step out and step up!<br /><br />Here are five inhibitors you must STOP doing in order to grow your revenue and take your territory to the next level. These same five inhibitors can be shared with your clients/prospects to help them increase their sales and in turn strengthen your business relationships.<br /><br /><ol><li><strong>Stop standing still. Stop being passively paralyzed and get into action. Start moving now! </strong>Get into action early each day and stay in motion all day. Set your attitude the second you wake-up and resolve to become an order-maker not an order-taker. </li><li><strong>Stop worrying about how much work you need to do and focus on what you need to work on.</strong> Spend more time on doing the right activities, such as those that contribute to new revenue growth, that are going to get you the best results. Prioritize based on productivity. Drive your schedule based on highest-return activities instead of letting your schedule drive you. Spend more time with top producing clients and prospects.</li><li><strong>Stop complaining and start contending. Excuses will get you nowhere you want to go. Identify the real issues and take action to get results.<br /></strong>Write down your top three excuses for lack of greater achievement. Now tear up that piece of paper and let them go! </li><li><strong>Stop thinking of training as a luxury. Start thinking of training & education as a necessity for you and your organization.</strong> Now more than ever, we need to be the best and brightest professionals in the business.<br />Practice makes pros who out perform the competition. What is your current skill level? How effective are you as a sales reps? What is something new you’ve learned in the past week that will contribute to your success? </li><li><strong>Stop hanging around with nay-sayers. Don’t answer the calls from Pessimistic Pete and Debbie Downer.</strong><br />Spending time with losers will contribute to your losses. Cultivate a can do/will do attitude by associating with leaders who have a positive influence on your values, discipline and production. Reach out to other in and out of the industry that will pick you up and prime you for success.</li></ol>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-38771562578968927222008-10-09T13:51:00.000-07:002008-10-09T14:42:16.626-07:00Successful Sales Management - Four Problems to SolveOver the past couple of years I have spent a good deal of time helping my clients to handle the trials and tests of managing sales reps in the real estate services industry. I have observed from my experience inside the industry and out that sales managers often feel powerless and frustrated, searching for resources that often don't exist and are generally hungry for guidance.<br /><br />Many times sales managers find their way into that position through a variety of means, be it they were in operations and we needed a sales manager so voila! Or as a retention tool to keep a top producing sales rep, we promoted them to manager. Many organizations don't have the internal resources, training, or tolls which are designed to increase the effectiveness of sales management efforts. <br /><br />All of the above contribute to four core problems of managing sales efforts (and specifically in the real estate services industry).<br /><br />The four problems are (which I'll elaborate on in future posts, so stay tuned)<br /><ol><li>Differentiation (separating your sales team from the competition)</li><li>Knowledge (knowing your customer or knowledgeable sales people)</li><li>Accountability (focused on activity)</li><li>Service (consistency)</li></ol>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-43494803474075889142008-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:002008-09-23T07:25:51.937-07:00Peter Drucker - Management ThoughtsCouple thoughts from a recent article on the book – <strong><em>Management: Revised Edition, by Peter F. Drucker </em></strong><br /><br /><br />Drucker considered management to be a blend of action and contemplation. The words "think" and "thinking through" appear throughout. Managers must take the time to consider what they are doing and just as important, why they are doing it. He produced a vast body of work, nearly 40 books and countless articles, before he died in 2005 at 95.<br /><br />Many of his classic themes are on display, including:<br />•<strong>Management by objectives.</strong> Your organization's strategy for the present and future, converted into targets and assignments in such areas as marketing, innovation, human resources, productivity and social responsibility.<br />•<strong>The theory of the business.</strong> Collectively, it's the assumptions an organization makes about markets, customers, competitors, technology and other factors that make up its reason for being, or as he bluntly puts it, "what a company gets paid for." If your theory is outdated or no longer valid, you're headed for trouble.<br />•<strong>Management revolving around people.</strong> A manager's job is defined by relationships with colleagues, "upwards, downwards and sideways."<br />•<strong>Information responsibility.</strong> You must ask yourself what information you need to do your job and where you will find it. Related questions are what information you owe to others and what they owe to you.<br />•<strong>Getting out of the office.</strong> The key areas affecting your organization will inevitably take place in the outside world. Go out and talk to customers and find out who your non-customers are. Become a volunteer in a non-profit agency, not only for personal growth and helping others, but to work with and learn from people who don't necessarily see things as you do.<br /><br /><br /><br />a few good pearls from Peter Drucker... Hope you enjoyed.Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-44588652657671825042008-09-08T08:35:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:39:50.283-08:00Sales Scripts - Prospecting EmailsI've been getting some questions about prospecting emails so I've compiled a few that might be helpful.<br /><br /><strong>Prospecting Email Samples</strong><br /><em>Please cater these emails to your company and your territory…</em> Several Industries can apply<br /><br /><strong>Example 1 – for when the market tightens…</strong><br /><br />Hello Mr. Curtis,<br /><br />As you already know our market has shifted considerably. A large percentage of Realtors and Title Companies will not survive.<br /><br />I am grateful to say that the ABC Title is a leader in financial strength giving policyholders over “1 billion dollars- or insert appropriate amount here” in protection, and also provides valuable tools and resources to help Realtors be more successful.<br /><br />With the disappearance of so many of your competitors I would like to help you capture as much of their market share as possible.<br /><br />I am committed to help my clients not only maintain their success but to continue to grow their business by 10-15% over the next 6 months, despite the fluctuation in the market. Obviously, I won't know if we can reach this goal together until I sit down with you to better understand how you run your business and how I can help you build your business.<br /><br />The best case scenario is this: I will provide enough value to your business to increase your closings by 10-15% in 6 months and in return you allow me to close a percentage of your directable transactions.<br /><br />The worst case scenario is that our combined efforts do not result in an increase in your business and you proceed as usual.<br /><br />I have time available to meet with you on Tuesday August 3rd or Wednesday August 4th in the afternoon. I will need just 20-30 minutes of your time so that we can have a dialog about your business and explore possible ideas and solutions for increasing it.<br /><br />Please let me know what time works best for you. You can either email me back or call me at 515-xxx-xxxx.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />John Repp<br />ABC Company<br /><br /><br /><strong>Example 2<br /></strong><br />Hello Kay,<br /><br />Thanks again for meeting this morning, and I apologize for the confusion. I have attached the photos we took so that you also have a copy of them, and I have sent them on to Sam Smith with Broker Associate Magazine. I am so excited that you are going to be the "Cover Girl", it is very well deserved, as I know you are a great role model to my mother and I as well as many others in the real estate community.<br /><br />I would like to take you to lunch as I mentioned this morning. Please let me if you are available next Friday (the 20th), or another time that would work better for you.<br /><br />I recognize, and appreciate your loyalty and friendship with Ginger at Security. I want you to know that I am also here to help you as well with any of your title or business needs. I would love the opportunity to earn your business as your #2 or #3 title person, and to do what I can to continue to help your business excel further.<br /><br />One of the goals that I have set is to help successful agents like youreself to increase your busniness 10% to 20% over the next year. I believe that with a little better understanding of what you do now to be successful, I can help you increase your revenue and the amount of time you have to enjoy all of your CAR and board activities, as well as your grandkids a little more. Together I think we can achieve this goal.<br /><br />Thanks again, and I hope you have a fabulous evening.<br /><br />Susy Title<br />USA CompanyJoe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-50981503886344860382008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:27:55.038-07:00Real Estate Investors Invade CaliforniaHere's a press release we just put out... important information - timely, enjoy.<br /><br />If the real estate market is in a meltdown, California real estate investors haven’t gotten the memo. In fact, residential real estate investment activity has grown over 65% in the past year alone. <br /><br />Walnut Creek, CA, August 28, 2008. According to an analysis of current California real estate statistics, residential real estate investors are the most rapidly growing population of buyers in California. RightNow Consulting announced today the results of a research project analyzing purchasing activities of California residential real estate buyers. Preliminary July 2008 residential property data reveals that the percentage of residential purchases by investors has risen from 6.74% to 11.41% since July of 2007. This represents a 69% increase in year over year proportional activity. <br /><br />Despite fewer financing options and lots of bad publicity, investors are taking an aggressive stance. “We wondered whether investment activity might have increased in California given current market dynamics, but were truly surprised by these results,” says Dan Miller, CEO of RightNow Consulting. “Not only did the percentage of residential purchases by investors increase, but so did the number of investor transactions, increasing 16% from July 2007 to July 2008. Given that California median home prices continue to slide – down 3% from June and over 33% from July of last year according to CAR statistics – the dramatic increase in investor activity is surprising.” <br /><br />By any measure, the increase is an encouraging nod to the perceived long term value of California real estate. Despite the doom and gloom, for investors and home buyers still sitting on the sidelines, favorable interest rates and price declines might push the California real estate market towards a recovery a bit sooner than expected. <br /><br />[Research Methodology: Total monthly index records searched ranged from a low in July 08 of 67,329(preliminary data) to a high in July 07 of 160,275 inclusive of refinance activity. Refinance activity was removed, and non-owner occupied percentages of total purchase activity were calculated using property data provided by First American Core Logic. The final analyzed data set consisted of non-owner occupied purchases (excluding corporate owned properties) and included all CA counties, extracted from indexed property transfer records monthly from July 2007 to July 2008. Purchase transactions which did not require financing were excluded. Data analyzed and compiled by Laura Compton of RightNow Consulting.]Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-58413176852880866262008-07-29T15:46:00.000-07:002008-07-29T15:49:12.501-07:00Branding your self - Niche Marketing<p>Most title companies and title agents I’ve spoken with have not taken the time to really put down on paper what they will do to “specialize” or how they will service a particular niche differently. The differences may be subtle but going able to articulate those differences are very important to building a niche brand.<br /><br />As you read through some of the examples below – be sure to ask yourself the following questions, in doing so you’ll get a clearer idea of what niche you might want to go after.</p><ul><li>Could you create a division in your company specifically to serve the needs this niche? <br />How would you operate differently? </li><li>Who in your operation has the skills to services a particular niche? Or even more broad, what are the skills required to service this particular niche if any?</li><li>What services and adjustments would be necessary to achieve success? </li><li>What would you call it? </li><li>What kind of sales and marketing effort would best attract these clients? </li></ul><p>A few examples worth talking about given current market conditions and should help to illustrate this concept of developing a niche.<br /><br /><strong><em>Top Producers:</em></strong> Let’s say you have been noticing the national trend which suggests that top producing residential real estate agents (those in the top 20% of production in their market) are gaining more and more share of individual markets. This trend also shows that top producing real estate agents have increased their share of the market over 160% during the past twelve months). Creating a “Private Client Services” division that is more in tune with these high volume targets and clients can enable you to be the company of choice for this niche. </p><p><strong><em>Reverse Mortgage:</em></strong> Rapidly growing in volume and expanding in product type, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM is a great source of business. Over 100,000 have closed in the FY 2006/2007 according to HUD, and these are likely to grow at the current rate (over 35% growth in the past two years) or higher given the aging of the baby boomer population. Isolating this business as different and unique, serving its customers specifically, and branding that effort separately from your core products and services will give you a high return. Everyone might be closing reverse mortgages, but who is serving the needs of the clients in such a way that they become recognized as the provider of these services? Who is marketing themselves as the reverse mortgage expert? Might as well be you.</p><p><strong><em>Loan modifications:</em></strong> If you have mid sized mortgage bankers in your area, chances are they are performing loan modifications in order to stem the foreclosure tide. Although the national lenders have contracts which handle these limited title searches on a nationwide basis with title information service providers, there are opportunities at the local and regional level. Be sure to talk to your banker to see if your bank is actively performing loan mod’s in their servicing department and if so, get their title work.</p><p><strong><em>Credit Unions:</em></strong> One of the fastest growing locally sourced high quality areas of refinance transactions. Don’t overlook the multitude of Credit Unions, many of which out produce community banks at a rate of approximately 2 to 1 in certain markets (CUNA Stat.) </p><p><strong><em>Private banking and private mortgage services:</em></strong> The Private Banking and Wealth Management department of national, regional and local banks represent the majority of deposits in the United States owned by wealthy clients. Many of these people own lots of commercial and residential real estate and their banker can approve commercial mortgages as well as refer residential refinances and purchases. None of your competitors call on these accounts and your upside in terms of deal sizes and frequency is unlimited.</p><p><strong><em>Pre-foreclosure/Short Sales sales:</em></strong> Teach real estate agents to handle pre-foreclosure transactions, becoming the local expert in this rapidly growing market segment. In certain parts of the US, over 20% of all residential transactions are predicted to be “short sales” over the next year or two. Even if your area is less affected by this issue, it is still a great way to get introduced to real estate professionals around a hot topic. </p><p>A little time spent asking yourself questions about how you'll "specialize" in a specific niche might just be the next step to winning more accounts and adding to your bottom line.</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-24983335476853807322008-07-07T11:02:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:40:14.600-08:00Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 4<strong><span style="color:#000099;">Leadership and Management - Driving Results from the Top Down</span></strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>Do</strong><br /><br /><ul><li><strong>DO Make sure everyone in your operation knows the goals</strong> (Open, closed, clients, revenue)</li><li><strong>DO Focus on individual targets </strong>- offices can't give you business, individual agents or LOs can.</li><li><strong>DO involve everyone in your organization in the sales effort with specific action items, tasks and goals</strong></li><li><strong>DO make sure that everyone in your organization knows what differentiates you from your competitors</strong> - You're customers should be able to finish the sentence, "I use you because...." and your sales people should be able to help your customers articulate that</li><li><strong>DO make sure each person knows what their role is in achieving the goals</strong></li></ul><p><strong>Don’t</strong><br /></p><ul><li><strong>DON’T assume each person knows how to sell or ask for business</strong></li><li><strong>DON’T pay for customer service reps</strong>….incentives should be based on mainly new business</li></ul><p>Short and Sweet. Happy selling!</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-16002071907860479612008-06-30T10:57:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:40:56.166-08:00Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 3<strong><span style="color:#000099;">Execution - Sales Activities that Drive Results:</span></strong> here are some very specific tactical things that you should pay attention to...<br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><strong>Do</strong><br /><br /><ul><li><strong>After an interview with a target, schedule/calendar a plan for the next follow up</strong> – don’t leave an appointment without setting the next one</li><br /><li><strong>Make 1 hour of outbound phone calls daily</strong> to targets and other prospects of interest<br />(if you think about it this is only 12.5% of a 40 hour work week. Make it mandatory for yourself or for your reps. (you can make between 15-25 calls in an hour – if you use 5 call blocking)</li><br /><li><strong>Interview broker managers every other month</strong> to get speaking engagements and other opportunities</li><br /><li><strong>Sit with Closers while they make customer phone calls</strong> (they will not do it otherwise). Help create 'message' – empower them to make warm calls (not cold) – in fact here are 5 areas to call: Orphaned Clients, Lender in the middle, Non directing Agent, Best clients to ask for referrals, Cheaters</li><br /><li><strong>Internal public relations</strong> – regularly/daily inform your Closers of all sales activities<br />I have seen reps live and die by their ability to communicate with their closing/branch teams. It will be very difficult to over communicate what you’re doing as a rep to gain new business. It’s very easy to under communicate </li><br /><li><strong>Ask for the sale. Ask for the appointment. Ask for the next step.</strong> Don’t rely on “accidental” results. (Know and) ask for what you want.</li><br /><li><strong>Learn to Listen</strong></li><strong></strong></ul><p><br /><strong>Don’t</strong><br /></p><ul><li><strong>DON'T deliver anything if you can convince an EO to do it.</strong> Get EO to set drop off appt with agents.</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T spend time creating marketing flyers;</strong> or limit it to one hour a month.</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T spend more than 30 minutes on your email per day.</strong></li><br /><li><strong>DON'T do lunches,</strong> unless that is the only way to get a target to talk to you. Quite coffee houses are better. Best case scenario, get them to meet you at your office.</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T join committees or task forces that have little or no exposure to top producers</strong>, unless it is your first year in title sales, and even then be choosy.</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T talk too much.</strong> Know when to shut up. People like to hear themselves talk...ask questions that get your prospect talking and let them go...continue to ask follow up questions to show that you are engaged.</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T Sell the same way to every person.</strong> Be skilled in reading others, and then make sure you can flex your style to best suit your prospect.</li></ul><p>In sales it's all about the execution - make sure that you're DOING the right things with the right people.</p><p>Happy Selling!</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-91261537025243966522008-06-16T10:50:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:41:36.316-08:00Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 2<strong><span style="color:#000099;">Planning and Strategizing - Make it happen...don’t be happy with accidental results!<br /></span></strong><br /><strong>Do </strong><br /><ul><li><strong>Know what activities are most productive for YOU and understand your activity ratios...</strong>they may be different from other people on your team. Most top producing sales people can tell you their highest gain activities (things they do that pay them the most amount of money). In our business those activities typically are:<br />Asks (referrals and for orders directly)<br />Face to face appointments / interviews<br />Conversations with prospects<br />They can also tell you that metrics like, “I need to set 10 appointment to have 7 show up” and constantly tweek those metrics. </li><li><strong>Set goals and create a daily activity plan to achieve them...</strong>look for incremental successes to celebrate, not just the final “close”. Spend 10 minutes at the end of each day planning your strategy for the next day. Ask yourself how much different your days would be if you spent just a minimal time the day before planning what you’d like to do. Someone said, not having a plan is planning to fail… I think they’re right. </li><li><strong>Measure and track your progress and results, know where you are daily so you can tweak and adjust your plan. </strong>Don’t over do it (but I really meet great sales people or marketers that overdo tracking), typically it’s the other way around. Make it simple and just track the four things I mentioned above on a daily or weekly basis. The simpler the better. </li><li><strong>Have a daily contact and interview goal:</strong> minimum 2 per day. </li></ul><p><br /><strong>Don’t</strong> </p><ul><li><strong>Wake up without a defined plan/strategy for your day</strong> – based on our recommendations for what to DO – this goes without saying </li><li><strong>Go a single day without any selling activity.</strong> Keep your skills sharp and your pipeline full by making sure that every day has purposeful selling activity included.<br />Literally, if we’re not living for getting new clients and doing something everyday that puts us in a position to get a new client we’re missing the boat</li></ul>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-77053638550103330532008-06-06T10:41:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:42:20.608-08:00Do's and Don't of Sales and Marketing - Part 1I constantly get asked to describe the do's and don'ts of sales and marketing for our industry. As easy as the question may sound the answer I've discovered is somewhat complex. I've divided the the answer into four areas or four parts each having a brief list of what we consider at RightNow, the do's and don'ts of sales and marketing:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Attitude and Demeanor - Acting and Dressing “The Part”:</span></strong> this is about how to “be”, behaviours and attitudes that will positively affect, or detract from your sales results.<br /><br /><strong>Do</strong><br /><br /><ul><li><strong>Think and act positively.</strong> Negative self-talk will only reinforce negativity. Good sales people are by nature positive and this attracts (Law of Attraction) positive results. </li><br /><li><strong>Make sure your outer appearance matches your inner self</strong>...always dress professionally and make sure you look polished. Appearance matters, whether we like it or not – marketing and sales people are the “face” of your company. Don’t be afraid to set expectations or standards about how you want your companies image portrayed in the market place.</li><br /><li><strong>Constantly evolve your skills, mindset and perspective.</strong> Read voraciously, “interview” other top performers in other industries, try new things, recognize stagnancy, try and be ahead of the curve when change is imminent. Don’t be afraid to learn and keep learning, sharpening your saw (if you’re the president of a title agency on this call, ask yourself when is the last time you made a cold call or when on a sales appointment with a new prospect – hopefully it’s been recently, if not schedule sometime to make some calls this week</li><br /><li><strong>Be accountable to YOURSELF first.</strong> Remember this... “If it is meant to be, it is up to me.” You can only be accountable if you have committed to measurable objectives. Get clear on how much you want to make, how many orders you want (the results), then work backwards to the activities you need to do to get those results and hold yourself accountable to the activity that you can control.<br /><strong></strong></li></ul><p><strong>Don’t</strong></p><ul><li><strong>DON’T get stuck in price wars</strong>-it is not about price, it is about perception of value. This is easier said than done, but with few exceptions when we can demonstrate value to our customers, they are willing to pay more – and at the end of the day they’re not paying anyway…)</li><br /><li><strong>DON’T “buy business" or get stuck in that sandbox</strong>. If you’re in TX – P53 pretty much lays it out for you. Find ways to add value through your knowledge or tap into the knowledge of your company and it’s employees to create mutually beneficial relationships in an ethical way.</li><br /><li><strong>DON’T believe that anyone is off limits</strong>…everyone cheats! This is all about assumptions. Assumptions about our prospects without actually asking or finding out for sure leads us to inaction. It’s typically us looking for an excuse not to do something out of our comfort zone so for example instead of asking and hearing no, we assume a target is off limits and don’t ask.</li><br /><li><strong>DON’T do it ‘because everyone else is doing it’ </strong>Otis spunkmeyer cookies… need I say more</li><br /><li><strong>DON'T Work for someone else.</strong> Create the mentality that you are “self-employed” regardless of whether you have a base pay or not, and plan and work your day/month/year as if no one but you were responsible for the results you achieve and the money on your paycheck</li></ul><p>Next we'll dive into Planning and Strategizing do's and don'ts</p><p>Happy Selling</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-54214601796305682912008-05-27T10:54:00.000-07:002008-05-27T14:21:38.543-07:00Management Time Woes - Managing your Return on Time Investment70/20/10<br /><br />Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981-2001 has discussed his simple management strategy which served him well as he built GE into the success it became. According to Welch, all your employees fit into one of three categories, 70/20/10. Most fall in the middle 70%, employees that are generally meeting your expectations, neither flying above nor below the radar. About 20% fall into your most coveted employee category…those who are highly productive, highly motivated, and are a great cultural fit for your organization. The bottom 10% is just that, they either need to elevate into the middle 70, or they need to leave. Here are some strategies to consider in working with your people after you have identified where they fit.<br /><br /><em>Talent Strategies</em><br /><strong>Top 20 – Deepen the relationship</strong><br />Most of these people are vocal when the need something, but otherwise go about their business quietly. Because they don’t demand very much management attention, they can be vulnerable to recruitment. Make sure that you are creating purposeful strategy for retaining your BEST employees while at the same time taking action to move out the bottom 10%.<br /><ul><li>Create challenges </li><li>Create participation in leadership direction </li><li>Reward performance </li><li>Connect personally </li><li>Create opportunity </li></ul><p><strong>Middle 70 – Accelerate performance</strong><br />Many of these individuals need little to now management support to achieve mild success. Some of these people can blossom with the right support and mentorship and can become the next generation of Top 20’s in your organization. Pay attention to “influencers” in this group, and look for the leaders of tomorrow. </p><ul><li>Create individual expectations </li><li>Formalize coaching/learning </li><li>Implement skills enhancement/practice </li><li>Specify growth progression </li><li>Communicate progress regularly </li><li>Praise successes </li></ul><p><strong>Bottom 10 – Upgrade</strong><br />If you combine the mental energy you devote to these people, with the actual physical time and energy you have to commit to, these people take up an inordinate amount of your time, especially in relationship to their contributions. Simply, move up or move out...they can become “a cancer” in your organization. </p><ul><li>Execute written Performance Improvement Plans </li><li>Require skills development </li><li>Closely monitor progress within defined timeframes </li><li>Terminate decisively</li></ul><p>If you would like a talent scorecard that helps you identify and create action steps for your employees in these catagories please email us at <a href="mailto:info@rightnowconsulting.com">info@rightnowconsulting.com</a></p><p>Also remember that the 70/20/10 rule can also directly to apply to our customers and prospects. Think about it... would love your comments and your stories.</p><p>Happy selling.</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-14919698511841201512008-05-20T07:29:00.000-07:002008-12-08T18:52:07.393-08:00Coaching for Results<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWeR6uZf6U3lu5CtuLIMvy3GSgxY7w9EfzzFKK4aUcai2iksyr4P2O043mHMq_34P7v3uqEbCBTKiBF3ahu1k3Ih6MJ3jsKjft8waFZdhYopOWLXVZTxuowJji4OYQaklhcbwclHYYzSM/s1600-h/Coaching+Model.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202468248345110786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="316" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWeR6uZf6U3lu5CtuLIMvy3GSgxY7w9EfzzFKK4aUcai2iksyr4P2O043mHMq_34P7v3uqEbCBTKiBF3ahu1k3Ih6MJ3jsKjft8waFZdhYopOWLXVZTxuowJji4OYQaklhcbwclHYYzSM/s320/Coaching+Model.jpg" width="313" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopSe-i6XQaZD7xqb_DO18QzV9c27K9h_hp6C2sgdGhAeUcJUuzaPyTYQ-0sgtUipLjZn5Kp9f6t7cYafKwrVS2z9QcMrS7dXatyAzcKjp_2bW6GKa7Rv34komtvL_hAW8E5SHqp_CFu4k/s1600-h/Coaching+Model.jpg"></a>Coaching/Counseling<br /><br /><div><br />We have developed the coaching model here, for use with performers all along the spectrum. Depending on where someone is (70/20/10) your coaching may be more collaborative and less directive, or more directive and less collaborative.<br /><br />Consistency is the key to successful coaching. In order to create a “culture of accountability” within your organization, you must communicate what you want, and then follow-through to assess progress and results.<br /><br />For your Bottom 10, define desired outcomes, meet frequently, give support/training if need be, and then act decisively. If you allow your Bottom 10 to stay, you unwittingly communicate to everyone else that lackluster performance is acceptable.<br /><br />Be prepared to deal with the following coaching challenges: </div><br /><div>Salesperson “too busy” to be coached<br />• Politely insist<br />• Go to them<br />• Make it fun<br /></div><br /><div>Not being prepared<br />• Delay the meeting<br />• Ask when he or she will be ready </div><br /><div>Talking too much:<br />• Reiterate time constraints<br />• Use a timer </div><br /><div>Bringing other issues into the session:<br />• Make a follow up appointment to discuss </div><br /><div>Not doing what he or she agreed to:<br />• Counseling </div><br /><div>At the end of the day coaching is about helping your people to succeed and having real conversations with them that ENABLES them to do the right activities. Coaching is one of the most powerful ways to motivate and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">demonstrate</span> thoughtful leadership.<br /></div><div>Let me know how it goes.</div></div>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-26355097635975612322008-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:002008-05-09T05:27:55.927-07:00Planning a Sales MeetingDo you ever dread going to meetings? Those extremely long meetings where all you want to do is check your blackberry the whole time that leave you feeling why am I not in the field with my customers or better yet, in front of a new one. Yeah, I thought so.... Effective sales meetings are valuable for everyone involved, not just a venue to cover requisite housekeeping issues.<br /><br />Here are a few tips for organizing your next sales meeting:<br /><br /><br />Determine a reason for your meeting...<br /><br />Reasons for Sales Meetings:<br />· Train or retrain<br />· Communications<br />· Motivation/Recognition<br />· Solve Problems<br />· Introduce a new product or contest<br /><br /><br />Encourage Participation: Extremely important and helps get buy in<br />· Tap everyone’s creativity<br />· Create team spirit<br />· Stimulate interest<br />· Reward and recognize<br />· Hone skills<br />· Increase motivation for self-improvement<br />· Evaluate salespeople in-depth<br />· Receive feedback on effectiveness of training<br /><br />Pitfalls to Avoid:<br />· Lack of form or content<br />· Overly administrative<br />· Generalizing problematic behavior/results<br />· Irrelevant topics<br /><br />Some things to consider…<br />· Off-site meetings<br />· Guest speakers<br />· Duration and timing<br />· Monthly meetings for everyone…weekly meetings for non-performers<br /><br />Meeting Topics…some examples: (don't try all of these)<br />· Industry updates<br />· Market/customer knowledge<br />· Cold Calling<br />· Setting Appointments<br />· Overcoming Objections<br />· Systematic and strategic follow-up<br />· Time Management<br />· Product knowledge/new product training<br />· Customer service<br />· Role-playing<br />· Building goodwill<br />· Contests and special promotions<br /><br />Ways to Make Sales Meetings More Interesting and Lively<br />· Show films or video<br />· Update product knowledge<br />· Create a game show<br />· Case studies/role playing<br />· Increase competitor knowledge<br />· Allow “show off” time<br />· Conduct brainstorming sessions<br /><br /><br /><p>Sample Agenda</p><br /><ol><br /><li>Icebreaker/Team Building activity</li><br /><li>Provide agenda and desired outcomes of meeting</li><br /><li>Representative reporting – Provide to sales reps (prior to meeting, ideally at least 1 week before) an outline for their 3-5 minute update. Include:<br />a. Report on prior months production…new clients, total orders, revenue, etc<br />b. 3 things that went well, and 3 things they need help on (take notes, because after the meeting, you can either pair people up to contact each other, or include in the meeting notes so some may take initiative and call each other)<br />c. Territory update: competition, branch challenges, opportunities, etc.</li><br /><li>Overall report out for your profit center. Include all measurements including total new clients, total revenue compared with prior month, retention statistics, etc…</li><br /><li>General company announcements</li><br /><li>Training or Guest Speaker<br />a. Consider having your reps take turns presenting their area of specialization<br />b. Ask a top performer to prepare 15 minutes worth of training</li><br /><li>Exercise (tied into speaker or training)<br />a. Role playing<br />b. Group brainstorming<br />c. Group Activity: Share best practices. (Getting interview, kicking off interviews, good interview questions, asking for business, prospecting). Have groups work together for 5-10 minutes, then have a report out so all the groups can hear what each other said. </li><br /><li>End the meeting with each representative giving their own personal goals related to revenue (orders), new clients, and interviews with Top 25 prospects. Have someone take notes. Compile notes, and send out updates monthly. </li></ol>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-10938089701014435982008-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:002008-04-24T15:05:43.389-07:00Books for Building and Growing Successful BusinessesBooks for Building and Growing Successful Businesses<br /><br /><ul><li>The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber (Business strategy)</li><li>7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven Covey (Sales/Management)</li><li>The Game of Work – Chuck Coonradt (Sales Management)</li><li>The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Pat Lencioni (Leadership)</li><li>How to Become a Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees – Jeffery Fox (Management, Leadership)</li><li>Everyone’s A Coach – Don Shula & Ken Blanchard (Sales Management, Leadership)</li><li>Execution – Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan (Leadership)</li><li>How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie (Sales, Leadership)</li><li>Guerrilla Marketing Excellence – Jay Conrad Levinson (Marketing)</li><li>21 Things I Wish My Broker had Told Me: Practical Advice for New Real Estate </li><li>Professionals – Frank Cook (General Real Estate)</li><li>The Millionaire Real Estate Agent – Gary Keller (General Real Estate)</li></ul>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-87747838831077869162008-04-10T11:55:00.000-07:002008-04-11T11:17:35.998-07:00Effective Client Business ReviewsBusiness Reviews<br /><br /><strong>Strategic objective</strong> - It is OK to tell your client what your objective is...if you want to insulate them, tell them, if you want a bigger share of their pie, tell them... this will help you:<br /><ul><li><strong>Insulating Your Best Clients from Competitors </strong></li><li><strong>Growing Your Share of a Low Revenue Client </strong></li></ul><strong><em>Tactics and guidelines</em></strong><br />Do client business reveiws no less than annually, but ask your best clients if they would like them more often; make it a scheduled meeting or call, not part of a file update or routine visit<br />Seek to understand their business and their goals, ask how you can help. <br /><br />Service review - Ask and understand their perception of your company’s and your customer service (this information helps you sell to new clients)<br /><p>Include 5 simple questions </p><ol><li>What are your goals this year and how do see me helping you to achieve them? </li><li>What one thing can I improve or refine? (Probe for an answer if they decline; once you get one, makes sure to ask “is there anything else?”) </li><li>How much of your current directable business would you say you send my way? Is there a way for me to earn a larger percent this year? </li><li>Would you be willing to help me grow my business this year? (When they say yes, and they will, tell them that you would like at least 1 referral per month; someone who is either experienced in the business or a seriously promising newcomer. Tell them exactly what you want.) </li><li>Can I count on you to talk to me first, if you ever consider taking your business somewhere else?</li></ol><p>Business reviews have been extremely powerful rention and sales tools in my sales and marketing career and would love to hear how you're using them to deepen your relationships with your clients. </p><p>Happy Selling!</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-74512617614800338622008-03-24T11:50:00.000-07:002009-02-03T12:41:56.666-08:00Prioritizing your accounts...As a sales person I’m always waging the classic war against time. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, and I’m only willing to work during my waking hours, I have to be smart about where I allocate that time. This is especially important for those of us who are paid on performance – if where we spend our time doesn’t pay, we don’t get paid.<br /><br />Sound familiar? In another context we need to look at how we prioritize our account to make sure we’re maximizing our return on our time invested (ROTI)<br /><br />Take a look at your entire client list and rank them into the following catagories<br />A - Low maintenance/high revenue (Coddle and protect, leverage for referrals)<br />B - Low maintenance/low revenue (Grow share)<br />C - Low or high maintenance/low revenue (low producer) - Dump them or resist any time investment whatsoever<br />D - High maintenance/high revenue (Selectively dump/recruit layers from leadership)<br />E - High maintenance/low revenue - Dump them<br /><br /><br />Don’t forget to assessing “aggravation” factor...is it worth it (think of all the mental and physical energy exerted, how can you better spend that time) In some cases it’s worth “firing” a client that is not yielding a return. Get focused and spend "appropriate" amounts of time with each client segement. Work with A's, B's, and D's and dump your C's and E's.<br /><br />Happy Selling!Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-2347362122750817172008-03-13T10:04:00.000-07:002008-03-18T16:16:38.417-07:00War against time...<p>As a sales person I’m always waging the classic war against time. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, and I’m only willing to work during my waking hours, I have to be smart about where I allocate that time. This is especially important for those of us who are paid on performance – if where we spend our time doesn’t pay, we don’t get paid.<br /><br />I know that I spend my time in essentially three different areas: </p><ol><li>Administrative work (expense reports, tracking results, planning, attending meetings – I never let this take more that 15% of my time)</li><li>Maintaining my current clients (where I spend a majority of my time - 60%)</li><li>Prospecting (purposefully going after new business – the rest, 35% or so)<br /></li></ol><p><br /><strong>Administrative</strong> work I must do or I’d get fired eventually for not doing it.<br /><strong>Client Maintenance</strong> I will never forget since those are the people I like (usually) and they pay my bills.<br /><strong>Prospecting…</strong> Ah there’s the trick, it’s the most elusive time of all, spending it purposefully focused on getting new business. It’s the first time that goes out the window in lieu of a client need or at the drop of a hat. It’s talking to people that I don’t currently do business with – let’s be honest, I’d much rather talk to my favorite clients over someone whom I don’t know and may tell me to got lost.<br /><br />If I don’t focus my time on prospecting I’m lost, I’m beholden to where-ever the market takes my current clients – oh and by the way, it’s a fact that current clients are always a dwindling species (they move, they cheat, they get unsatisfied with service, they don’t forget mistakes, etc…).<br /><br />Take control of your business, take control of your time by guarding your prospecting time with your life… you’re future paychecks certainly depend on it.<br /><br />Next I’ll talk about how to effectively work with your clients and how to prioritize accounts and how to do business reviews to check in and leverage your best relationships.</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976156498219804009.post-70348999730656465272008-03-12T11:55:00.000-07:002008-03-12T14:16:09.019-07:00The Key to Sales Success - Listening<a title="http://www.briantracy.com/articles/read-article.aspx?aid=" href="http://www.briantracy.com/articles/read-article.aspx?aid=15">The Key to Sales Success</a><br />By Brian Tracy<br /><br /><em>A vital key to sales success is listening</em><br /><br /><strong>Learn to Listen Well</strong><br />A vital key to sales success is listening. The ability to listen well is absolutely indispensable for success in all human relationships. The ability to be a good listener in a sales conversation is the foundation of the new model of selling. It leads to easier sales, higher earnings and greater enjoyment from the sales profession.<br /><br /><strong>Being A Good Talker is Not Enough</strong><br />Many salespeople have been brought up with the idea that, in order to be good at your profession, you must be a glad-hander and a good talker. You have even heard people say, "You have the 'gift of the gab'; you should be in sales!"<br /><br /><strong>Focus On the Other Person</strong><br />Nothing could be further from the truth. As many as seventy five percent of all top salespeople are defined as introverts on psychological tests. They are very easy going and other-centered. They would much rather listen than talk. They are very interested in the thoughts and feelings of other people and they are quite comfortable sitting and listening to their prospects. They would much rather listen than talk in a sales situation. Poor salespeople dominate the talking, but top salespeople dominate the listening.<br /><br /><strong>Practice "White Magic" With Everyone</strong><br />Listening has even been called "white magic." It is too rarely engaged in by business people. When a salesperson develops a reputation for being an excellent listener, prospects and customers feel comfortable and secure in his or her presence. They buy more readily, and more often.<br /><br /><strong>Practice the 70/30 Rule</strong><br />You've heard it said that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and he is supposed to use them in that proportion.Top salespeople practice the "70/30 rule." They talk and ask questions 30 percent or less of the time while they listen intently to their customers 70 percent or more of the time. They use their ears and mouth in the right ratio.<br /><br /><strong><em>Action Exercises</em></strong><br />Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.<br /><ol><li>First, resolve today that, from now on, you are going to dominate the listening in every sales conversation. Become comfortable with silence.</li><li>Second, practice the 70/30 rule in every sales conversation. Listen 70% of the time and only talk and ask questions 30% of the time.</li></ol><p>Wise words by Brian Tracy...</p>Joe Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02427093140447209600noreply@blogger.com6