Create A Sales Plan

In less than 30 days 2011 will be upon us. As you consider your business goals for 2011. Take time to plan your plan of action for sales. This article by Brian Tracy is a great reference.

Create Your Sales Plan
By: Brian Tracy

Nothing happens until a sale takes place. Your actual ability to sell your product or service to your customer determines your profit or loss, success or failure, in business. The sales process, to be effective, must be planned and organized in detail from start to finish. Every word and action must be scripted, rehearsed and memorized. Nothing can be left to chance.

Sales Recipe
Making a sale is like cooking with a recipe. You must use the correct ingredient and blend them in the proper quantity with the right timing. All successful companies have developed a proven sales process that can be duplicated over and over. By using a proven sales system, you can accurately predict the quantity of your sales, the average size of your sales, and the profitability of your sales activities.

Prospecting
It is important to speak directly or by telephone to people who can and will buy and pay in a reasonable period of time. Start with your ideal customer profile. Who is he or she exactly-in terms of age, occupation, income, education? Who is he or she exactly--in terms of problems, wants, needs, attitudes, and experiences regarding your product or service? If you could advertise for perfect customers, how would you describe him or her?

Marketing and advertising is aimed at telling your ideal prospect that your product will help them. The ideal prospect has an immediate need for what you sell. The ideal prospect knows you, likes you, and respects your products or business. The ideal prospect can buy and pay for your product if he or she likes it.

Establish Rapport
Establishing rapport and trust with the customer is a must. The prospect will not listen to you or buy from you unless he/she likes you and believes that you are honest. Be friendly, straightforward and believable. Be punctual, prepared and properly dressed. Ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. Make no attempt to sell until the prospect is relaxed and comfortable with you. Identify what the customer needs so you can better sell to them. Ask carefully planned, structured questions so that you can fully understand the customer's situation.

There is a direct relationship between asking questions and sales success. Plan your questions word-for-word in advance. Make no effort to sell or talk about your product. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Presenting Your Product or Service
Repeat back the specific needs or concerns that your prospect has expressed. Position yourself as a trusted advisor, dedicated to helping him solve his problem or achieve his goal with your product. Position yourself as a teacher-showing her how your product works to help her satisfy her needs. Match the customers expressed needs and concerns to the product or service. Focus on helping rather than selling. Conclude your presentation with an explanation of how the product is delivered or used. Invite questions.

Action Exercises
List three phrases or questions you can use or ask to determine if this is a qualified prospect.

Small Business Marketing on the Web

A recent article at Inc.com states the following information from a recent survey...

• 46 percent had no wesite at all
• Most who have a site says it's basic
• 80 percent provide only general information
• Only 45 percent provide customer service at their site
• Less than a third (30%) engage e-commerce
• Fewer than one in seven (15%) make appointments or reservations
• only 13 percent surveyed have a blog

If you would like more information about this article from Inc.com, and it's worth reading...here a link:

This link was create using http://www.shorturls.com/ a great way to shorten long web site names: Here's the link to the Inc.com site: http://alturl.com/ivi6z

The Dragonfly Effect - Try it in your business!

Proven strategies for harnessing the power of social media to drive social change. Many books teach the mechanics of using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to compete in business. But no boook addresses how to harness the incredible power of social media to make a difference.

The Dragonfly Effect, shows you how to tap social media and consumer psychological insights to achieve a single, concrete goal. Named for the only insect aht is able to move in any direction when its four wings are working in concert, This book, "Reveals the four wings" of the Dragonfly Effect and how they work together to produce colossal results. Features original case studies of global organizations like the Gap, Starbucks, Kiva,Nike, dBay, Facebook and startups like, Groupon and COOKPAD. Showing how they each achieved social good and customer loyalty.

Leverage the power of design thinking and psychological research with practical strategies. Revealing how everyday people achieve unprecedented results - whether finding an almost impossible bone marrow match for a friend, raising millions for cancer research, or electing the current president of the United States...or the next one.

Dragonfly Effect shows that you don't need money or power to inspire seismic change.

From Lana Howell's web post. We at Monday Small Biz Buzz would add...that this effect could be powerful for your business as well.

Bankers, Farmers, Agri-business and Capital

By Benjamin Gisin
Financial consultant to farmers, lecturer and former banker,

At its peak in 1935, America, had almost 7 million family farms. Today there are a little over 2 million, a 70 percent loss. So how did it happen?

The background most people have from education and media is insufficient in being able to support an understanding of how it happened. This is not a criticism, but a statement that education and media don’t understand how it happened either. So if you like exploring outside the box, you will have fun with this one.

So why understand the capital in capitalism? Capital, and the processes that unfold downstream after capital is created, are what have driven America to cleanse itself of most family farms, job security and millions of jobs.

If you don’t understand capital, you won’t understand how capital can suddenly checkmate your farm.

In its purest form, capital is money. In its purest form, money is what banks owe. Now this requires a little more explanation that will be forthcoming in future discussions.

The nation’s banking system is at the heart of where capital is formed. So consider for a moment how the banking system’s primary role has been as the final undertaker of the family farm as opposed to its much weaker role in sustaining the family farm. There is great wisdom that will come over time from contemplating this.

Most all bank employees, like farmers, are innocent cogs with little or no understanding of the larger accounting matrix into which their life’s energy is given.

We must be careful in blaming bankers for creating the capital that we so eagerly pursue in our everyday constructions of a capitalistic world. The real blame may be in our shortcoming of never really questioning why capital saves farm numbers in small increments, while it cleanses the world of farm numbers in large increments.

Stay tuned for Discussion #2

Gisin’s 20-year banking career culminated as the senior agricultural approval officer for the nation’s 7th largest ag bank. Since 1997, he has and continues to consulted farmers facing challenges in the credit markets. He lectures nationally on banking, economics and the processes of capital.

Bold type has been added by our editor at Monday Small Biz Buzz

Small Computers, Small Price...Big potential

If you're looking for a new computer and don't want to surrender the desktop. Check out this link for an affordable computer, high power and and energy saver.

http://alturl.com/hjj68

How to Negotiate Effectively

Here's a great article on negotiate effectively. It's a skill we all need for business and especially small business.


http://www.inc.com/magazine/20101101/how-to-negotiate-effectively.html

Shopping for auto insurance - Personal or Business

Whether you’re a first time buyer of auto insurance or already have it but are looking for a better deal, you should be asking several questions.

First, is the person from whom you’re buying (your agent) a visible, established member of your community someone you know and trust?

Second, is the company from whom you’re buying well known? What is its reputation? What about price?
Because there are hundreds of companies competing for your business, prices vary – sometimes a lot. It may pay you to shop. Be sure the premiums you’re quoted are for equal amounts of coverage.

How about service? Price is important but saving money won’t mean much unless you get the service you need - when you need it. If possible, ask other clients of your prospective agent how they’ve been treated,especially when they’ve had a claim. Find out how the company handles claims. Is the method convenient for you, no matter where you have an accident?

How about solvency? Is the company you’re considering still going to be in business when you file your claim? Your state department of insurance has financial rating information on all of the companies that do business in its state.

Once you’ve decided on a company and an agent, there are more questions to ask. How much coverage do you need? The required minimum amounts of liability coverage may not be enough for you.

Consider your needs in light of your assets and income. How much can you afford to pay if there’s a big judgment against you because of an accident? What about deductibles? Deductibles lower your premiums - most commonly for collision and comprehensive coverages - but increase the amount of loss that comes out of your pocket. How much additional risk are you willing to take in order to save?

Should you carry collision and comprehensive coverage? As your car’s value decreases, you might consider dropping these coverages and pocketing the savings on premiums. But consider if the savings are enough to offset the risk of footing the entire cost of repairing or replacing your car.

Auto insurance is not a generic commodity. It is a product that should be tailored to each individual. Your agent can help you answer these questions and help you tailor your auto insurance to your specific and unique needs.

By Tammy Sluter

Tammy Sluter is a State Farm® agent in Rexburg Idaho. Tammy will be a featured contributor from time to time on Monday Small Biz Buzz, Tammy can be reached at: http://online2.statefarm.com/b2c/sf/agent/12/1393