The data storage medium of today

The SD card has the benefit that it is smaller and is used as a storage medium in digital cameras, for example. As a disc outside of such devices, it is rarely used, because not every computer has a Micro SD card reader. Therefore these cameras always are supplied with cable to join the device directly to the PC. The external drive has large memory space, the current ones have 1000 GB, or 1 TB in size. However, most need an external own power source, they are big and unwieldy. Better as this is the Memory stick. All PCs have one or more USB slots, the stick needs little power and is easy to carry in your bag. These 3 storage media are constantly refined and getting more and more memory space. The current speed of development is such that the capacity every year doubles. Still not in price. A year ago you got an external hard disk with 500 GB for about 100 . Today they are twice as large for the same cost.

Product knowledge is by far the most important key ingredient to posses when it comes to selling your product.

Before you sell your product, make sure you know it inside and out, you wouldn’t want to be caught without an answer if your prospect had a specific question.

Think about it, if you were interested in buying a product from someone and they couldn’t answer your simplest of questions about the product, how much faith would you have in it? Probably none.

Here are a few tips on how to get to know your product better:

1. Brochures and Literature

Obtain as much written information as you possibly can on your product. Read up on the features and benefits your product offers until you know them by heart. Keep reading until you can roll every detail off the tip of your tongue including any fee’s associated with the product.

Also, keep your brochures handy, open them up in front of your customer and go over the details of your product step by step. Customers love visuals.

2. Roll Play

Role playing is a fun way to get to know your products. You will need two of your associates to help you out with this.

You play the salesman, have one of your co-workers play the customer, and have one of your co-worker’s critiquing you.

Have your co-worker playing the customer ask as many questions about the product as he can possibly think of. When you are finished, go over the sales session with the person that critiqued you.

Also, take turns playing each character, playing the customer can give you a great perspective on their point of view. Think about it, how often are you the customer when it comes to buying your companies products? Never.

3. Use the Product

This is perhaps the best way to get to know a product. To actually own, have, and use the product, not only gives you the ability to know it inside and out, you will also be able to tell your customer that you have and use the product, and how wonderful you think it is. This will tell the customer how much you believe in the product and that you have confidence in it.

One of the worst mistakes a sales person can possibly make is to be unprepared.

Take a few minutes out of every day to get to know your products better. Make learning about them fun with the role playing, and concentrate most on the products you know least about.

Remember, the more you know about your product, the easier it will be to sell. Good luck.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

First off, you need to decide which products or area you would like to specialize in. To get this out of the way, you need to find out what a specific set of customers are going through, and what solutions are on offer to help them. An efficient way of achieving this quickly is to find groups of long tail keywords; more often than not customers search for these less, but a higher percentage of these end up in a sale.

If you’d like to look for these important words or phrases, it’s recommended that you use programs such as Micro Niche Finder. Info collected by this program or analogous applications and services makes associated words and phrases in a list format allowing you to get a high listing in the search engines and bring in an increased number of hits. Further info is supplied by Micro Niche Finder, for instance search frequency, the number of competing internet sites, and inforamtion on your competitors too. Finally, the data returned can help determine appropriate domains, help you put together your web site, and also identify the best merchandise to sell.

Constructing a site is next on the list; however you’ll plainly need to do more than simply that. Search engine optimization is an absolute must. Here Seo Elite information and other similar products comes in. Competing internet sites are analyzed by the software which then offers advice on improving search engine rankings.

In SEO Elite the information supplied by the application tells you where to look for links, which words and phrases to focus on, and even an extensive listing of article submission sites to refer to. Concisely, the data produced are much like to the data you might get when you confer with an experienced SEO specialist.

Once you settle on your target market segmant, set up your product promotion, and your site has been completed, then all you need to do is forcefully increase your search results. Earnings will roll in regularly and wonder why you ever doubted that affiliate marketing could work for you!

The term Core Competencies refers to those essential elements in the sales process that most directly impact your success. These elements are controllable and measurable, and sales professionals can be trained to be proficient in these areas. Unfortunately, many sales organizations and individuals lose focus – distracted by peripheral activities or sophisticated systems that track dozens of different activities when only a handful really matters.

Without a foundation built upon these essential elements or Core Competencies, and because of all the distractions and roadblocks an organization is susceptible to today, results can be mediocre or less.

Take a look at the following list of items that are prevalent in the sales cycle, and select the items that you believe are absolutely essential to your success.

- Closing Sales

- Developing Prospect Lists

- Setting Appointments

- Running 1st Appointments

- Working Qualified Prospects through the Sales Pipeline

- Post-Sale Marketing

- Developing Referrals

- Reporting and Paperwork

- Documenting Testimonials

Many of these tasks are important, but they are not all sales performance competencies. Yes, it is important and useful to ask for referrals and develop testimonials from satisfied customers, but your success hinges mostly on the mastery of – and attention to – the Core sales Competencies.

One simple way to determine whether an activity, routine or task is truly a core sales competency is to ask what activities are directly linked to revenue.
After all, revenue is how we sales people measure success. That’s our scorecard at the end of the month.

We can do that through a series of questions listed below.

Is it an essential component to the sales mission or is it just an ingredient in the recipe?

Separate necessary tasks in your sales day from key competencies.
Consider a golfer’s essential competencies from tee-off to last putt. Is the core competency the ball – or the club? Or is it the golf swing and putting stroke?

As an example, Prospecting for new business is a necessary sales system to put in place for routine success. Within your Prospecting system are individual components for lead generation; things like customer referral programs, vendor collaboration programs, affinity programs, target information seminars and association programs. These are not authentic sales competencies but tactical vehicles for lead generation.

The actual sales competency is the ‘Act of communicating the Business Reason to Meet’ once you are given the opportunity to have a face-to-face or telephone conversation with your intended target prospect.
And the measurement of that competency, or key performance indicator, is the ‘Conversation-to-appointment’ ratio; how many times you ask for the business appointment versus how many times you achieve it.

Can it be measured routinely and accurately with a napkin, pencil, and calculator?

Just as measuring your ‘Conversation-to-appointment’ ratio; how many times you ask for the business appointment versus how many times you achieve it, your first appointment to proposal ration is a key performance indicator which make it also an essential sales performance competency, because the objective of your first appointment is advancing your sales process to the next step. That might be a demonstration, a site visit, a survey or a proposal.

The degree that you perform your 1st appointment sales process to achieve your ‘Next Step’ objective is measurable and will give you diagnostic feedback to your competency level parallel to your 1st appointment methodology and process.

Can you set a realistic performance benchmark tied to revenue goals?

Let’s say you have diagnosed your sales performance competencies as converting target prospect conversations to appointments, converting 1st appointments to the ‘next step’ in your sales process and then closing the business from there. So that’s (3) sales performance competencies; Conversation-to-appointment ratio, 1st appointment to proposal ratio and closing ratio.

How would you go about setting realistic performance benchmarks that the team can aspire to and measure themselves against?

To do so you need (3) more sales performance numbers; your average revenue per sale, your monthly revenue objective and your weekly activity number. Your weekly activity number is a derivative of your (3) sales performance competencies and your average revenue per sale parallel to your monthly revenue objective.

Here’s an example of a sales manager in the document management industry. Her team’s average revenue per sale is $3400. She calculates she needs to maintain a 1st appointment to proposal ratio of 65%. The closing ratio is set at 40%. Their individual monthly revenue goal is $25,000.

The derivative of these performance numbers is a weekly activity goal of (7) new appointments per rep, on average.

Next is the reality check. Are these performance numbers realistic to meet? Do they have the necessary skill-set and supporting tools to meet all the benchmarks and achieve the performance ratios and activity goal?

If not, what adjustments are needed in line with the benchmarks and what training is needed to achieve them?

Can you apply “Pin-point Training” and “Powerful Routines” around each core competency?

We know what training is, but do we understand why training fails? Timely training is NOT a seminar or one-time event. It requires appropriate structures for learning and application, defining useful short-term objectives, measuring progress, working closely with qualified trainers for follow-up and support, and most importantly, organizational commitment from the ‘Top’ down.

‘Timely training’ is focused on one sales performance competency at a time until the appropriate benchmark of performance is realized.

So if you can say it is directly tied to revenue (or your end result), is a skill set that can be trained to for improvement, and can be easily measured, it is a Sales Performance Competency.

Perhaps a golf analogy will help illustrate the power of the Business of Core Competencies. A self-professed “poor” golfer with a chronic slice might attempt to correct the problem by adjusting his stance – actually aiming away from the fairway so that the slice hopefully lands the ball in the middle.

In contrast, a low handicap golfer with a persistent slice might address the problem by adjusting their grip, rotating their hips, or the adjusting the arc of their swing. In other words, the good golfers address the core competencies of the swing vs. adjusting peripheral elements.

Off the golf course, in the sales arena, the opportunity for you is to identify, train to and measure sales performance competencies and performance metrics, and not just chase after quota.

Jeff Hardesty is President of JDH Group, Inc. and the Developer of the X2 Sales System®, a blended training system that teaches sales professionals the competency of setting C-level business appointments.

Jeff’s sales performance improvement articles has been featured in numerous National publications such as Business First, Dartnell’s SELL!NG, Chief Learning Officer and Training Magazine with reference to ROI Blended Learning Systems and improving sales teams Key Performance Indicators.

He travels the country conducting live X2 Appointment setting ‘Boot Camps’ and Train-the-trainer sessions helping sales organizations get more reps to Quota in less time, shorten new-hire ‘Ramp-to-Quota’, accelerate new product roll-outs and eliminate Turnover costs due to low sales activity.

Jeff can be reached at jeff@convertmoresales.com.
To view a complimentary suite of sales training ROI calculators and determine your sales team’s Key Performance Indicators in line with your sales objectives visit http://convertmoresales.com/roi_calculators.php

Action – What action or actions did you take or not take and why? Since many individuals have been conditioned not to take action or are stuck in “analysis/paralysis,” accountability suffers because no specific action has been taken.

Commitment – Are you truly committed to doing what it takes? As a good friend and mentor once shared that the U.S. has a multi-billion dollar diet food industry. However, he continued “If individuals would engage in walking 30 more minutes each day, drink 8 glasses of water, reduce their daily food intake and avoid known fatty foods, would they or would they not lose weight? The answer is yes there would be weight lost. So, why is there a multi-billion dollar diet industry? The answer for most simply lies within the level of commitment of those individuals.

Choices – Are you making good choices such as prospecting, networking or professional development ? Growing your business is directly dependent upon the choices that you make. Are your choices growing your business or limiting your business?

Opportunities – Are you creating new possibilities for success? With so many ways to build your business, what opportunities will generate for you greater success? Look at each networking event as an opportunity to enhance your business. Set goals for meeting new people. Analyze the outcomes from those events. Consider forming strategic alliances with others to improve your business results.

Understanding – Do you understand yourself? Are you aware of your own strengths and feelings? Do you know how to leverage those strengths? How do you deal with your feelings? By better understanding what you what, what behaviors will help you achieve your goals, how you feel and what values are necessary to maintain your credibility, will bring additional benefits to your business as well as to yourself.

Numbers – What are your weekly numbers? The old adage goes if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Today’s technology provides a variety of tools to help you manage your daily performance numbers. By developing your own baseline for success such as 100 dials equals 20 contacts creating 10 appointments delivering 2 sales, you establish some mental boosters to help you stay focused and motivated.

Time – Are you making the most of your time? Time is a fixed commodity. By using down time, the time between appointments or phone calls, you can greatly enhance your results. For example, you can write 5 more emails, read 5 more pages or file 5 more pages.

Alignment – Are your actions in alignment with your purpose? Do you know what your purpose is? Your purpose along with your vision, values and mission statements act as filters and help you to make better decisions. For if the pending issue is not in alignment with your purpose, why are you even considering this issue?

Building Behaviors – Is your accountability a one time thing? Inconsistency derails many individuals and organizations. “Walking the talk” is critical to building a culture where you are respected for your demonstrated actions. Accountability then becomes your friend and not your foe.

Internalization – Are you working from the inside out? To be truly accountable, means that your actions are coming from your inside convictions and not just from some recent external event. Internalization also helps to strengthen the consistency of your actions.

Learning – Do you view failure positively or negatively? John Maxwell in his book Failing Forward explains how failure is an opportunity for success. If you permit failures to drive your behavior, you have lessened your own likelihood for success. Each day should present to you a new learning experience from which you can grow both personally and professionally.

Integrity – Do you demonstrate your values at all times? For example, will you take action when you know a situation is wrong or will you ignore the situation because you don’t want to lose a sale?

Team – How can you help others be more accountable? Today, proactive teamwork is a greater part of American business. Teams help achieve greater success, but sometimes team members lack some of the necessary skills. We often hear of the 20% of the team doing 80% of the work. Are your behaviors helping others to be more accountable or are your behaviors allowing others to shoulder more of the workload?

YOU – Bottom line, it is all about YOU, no buts, no excuses!

Leanne Hoagland-Smith is President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, The Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business and education experience, she partners with her clients to connect the 3P’s of Passion, Purpose and Performance to affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation with a variety of industries. Her ROI solutions align the strategies, systems and people to develop loyal internal customers leading to loyal external customers. She is the co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential:Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for June 205 release. Leanne also speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please call Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 or email leanne@processspecialist.com if you are seeking sustainable results for your business or yourself.

Copyright 2005 Leanne Hoagland-Smith, http://www.processspecialist.com

Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).

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During the last six months, you have been working intensively with the mill’s management to convince them of the value of developing an integrated supply arrangement with you. They have reacted positively to your ideas and you have developed a proposal that you believe fits their needs perfectly. Among other things, you will:

* manage Albertson’s inventory.

* stock all items with sufficient buffer stock to assure JIT availability.

* supply Albertson with OSHA-certified safety seminars on appropriate topics to be mutually agreed upon.

* provide 24 hour emergency delivery.

* invoice biweekly for items drawn from consignment.

You have submitted your proposal at a price that you believe fairly compensates you for your high level of service and for the special features included.

A week later you call the plant and are told, “We got your proposal and it’s excellent. However, we have to refer anything of this magnitude to Corporate Purchasing.” You call the Purchasing Department and speak to the buyer responsible for this contract. He says, “You’ve submitted an excellent proposal, and obviously you have done your homework. Unfortunately, we have something of an embarrassment of riches here. Two of your competitors also submitted excellent proposals. You should be aware that your pricing is extremely high compared to your competitors. As a result, at this time your proposal really is not competitive.”

You explain to the buyer how you’ve worked with the plant for the last six months to develop this proposal. You discuss at length your excellent service record and how you have gone the extra mile to meet the plant’s needs. The buyer acknowledges this but says, “Your competitors also have excellent service records but are willing to meet our needs at a much lower cost.”

Did you see this coming? You worked hard to meet your customer’s needs. You solved problems with your customer. You anticipated a win/win for everybody. Your goal was to avoid a price negotiation by differentiating yourself and focusing on your services and your added value to the customer. Now, at the last minute, price rears its ugly head. In fact, the purchasing agent says that price is the determining factor.

What do you do now? What should you have done throughout the sales process to prepare for the possibility of a serious price negotiation?

In our sales negotiation training programs we stress four key steps that will greatly improve your chances of making that sale while successfully negotiating to maintain your margins.

1. Be prepared for a price negotiation but don’t lead with your wallet.

2. Think like the buyer.

3. Be brutally honest with yourself as to what your added value is really worth.

4. Be aware that the negotiation starts when you say hello.

Let’s look at each step.

1. Be prepared for a price negotiation but don’t lead with your wallet. As buying organizations have become more sophisticated, many realize that the key factor is not price but total cost. Therefore, it is sometimes possible to avoid price negotiations if the customer sees enough value. We know of one manufacturer who was approached by an automobile company to take over production of certain parts because their current supplier was not meeting expectations. The manufacturer called in its machine tool distributor with whom they had had a very good relationship. They said to the machine tool distributor, “We promised the automobile manufacturer that we could do it. Now it’s up to you to make it happen. We’re not here to negotiate the price just make it work.” The distributor sold $10 million worth of machine tools at list price, including a full turnkey operation and the placement of a full time technician at the manufacturer’s location.

There’s a lesson to be learned: If you think there is a possibility that you can make the sale based on your added value and services, try to leave price out of the discussion. Don’t start with price concessions or discounts but focus on the added value.

On the other hand, with today’s ferocious pressures to reduce costs, buyers never forget that price is an important component of cost. Usually, buyers will want to have the best of both worlds. They want you to solve their problems, add value, reduce their costs, and in addition, give them a better price, which further reduces their costs. Don’t be surprised, don’t be shocked, and don’t be hurt. That’s just the way the game is often played. As you start the process, you need to move forward in such a way that while you don’t invite a price negotiation, if there is one, you’re prepared.

2.Think like the buyer. To negotiate effectively, take up residence in the buyer’s mind. Say to yourself, what might actually be going on vs. what they’re telling me? What they say may be the least important information. What they say to each other and what they’re thinking is the key.

Let’s go back to Albertson. We could imagine three different scenarios.

Scenario 1 — Plant: “This proposal from Baker is great. We’re going to save all kinds of costs and solve all kinds of problems. I know they appear a little pricey, but the cost savings are worth it.” Purchasing: “Have you looked at any competitors?” Plant: “We’ve looked at two who say they can do it and have offered a much lower price, but their services really aren’t there and we don’t believe they can produce the cost savings.” Purchasing: “Would you mind if I use the fact that you got two competitive lower cost quotes to try to bring Baker’s price down?” Plant: “No problem, as long as you promise that we will get a contract with Baker without losing any of the services and added value they have promised us.” Purchasing: “You have my guarantee.”

Scenario 2 — Plant: “This proposal from Baker is great. We’re going to save all kinds of costs and solve all kinds of problems. I know they appear a little pricey, but the cost savings are worth it.” Purchasing: “Have you looked at any competitors?” Plant: “We’ve looked at two other competitors. They’re almost as good as Baker and they are cheaper.” Purchasing: “How much more do you think Baker is worth than the best of the two competitors?” Plant: “We think they’re worth about 10% more.” Purchasing: “O.K. We’ll try to get Baker down so that they’re no more than 10% above your best competitor, and of course we’ll try to get them even lower than that. If we can’t get them down, then we’ll go with your No. 2 choice.” Plant: “Sounds good to me.”

Scenario 3 — Plant: This proposal from Baker is great. We’re going to save all kinds of costs and solve all kinds of problems. I know they appear a little pricey, but the cost savings are worth it.” Purchasing: “Have you looked at any competitors?” Plant: “We’ve looked at two other competitors that can do the same thing Baker can. They all appear to have the same quality and would produce the same cost savings.” Purchasing: “Then you don’t care which one we go with as long as we get the best price.” Plant: “Yes, they’re basically the same, so go with the best price.”

The buyer will almost always want you to believe that Scenario 3 is happening. But is it really? The profitability of your sale may depend on your ability to determine which scenario really is in operation.

3. Be brutally honest about the worth of your added value. If it comes down to a price negotiation, your added value is worth only what the buyer is actually willing to pay for it. Say, for example, that the only difference between you and your prime competitor is that you have a better reputation in the marketplace. Is that of value? Of course. Is it important? Absolutely. Is it worth anything? That depends on the buyer. If a one buyer says, I’m willing to pay 2% more to go with Company A because of their better reputation, then it’s worth 2% to that buyer. On the other hand, if another buyer says, I’m not willing to part with any hard, cold cash because of Company A’s reputation, then for that buyer it is not worth anything.”

For each sale where you have one or more potential competitors, you need to do a value-added analysis in order to figure out the most the buyer would pay you vs. your competitor. Let’s make up a simple example where you have just one competitor, Company A, and let’s assume there are just four different components of value: service, reputation, delivery, and problem solving ability.

Based on your knowledge of the customer and the competition, you believe the customer thinks that you have a better reputation, provide better service and have better problem solving capabilities, but that your competitor is a little better on delivery. Furthermore, although your customer likes your reputation, they won’t pay more for it. They like your service and feel that’s worth up to 2% more. They believe that your problem solving capability has helped them overcome significant difficulties and that that’s worth 4% more. On the other hand, you have had some delivery problems. While not fatal problems, the customer would be willing to pay your competitor up to 2% more for their better delivery.

Your value-added analysis would look like this:

Value Added Item Vs. Company “A” and The Most Your Customer Would Pay Extra for That Added Value

Reputation 		0%;
Service 		2%;
Problem Solving 	4%;
Delivery 		(-2%)

Under this scenario, your customer would be willing to pay you up to 4% more than your competitor. Of course your customer will often say, as our Albertson purchasing agent did, “You guys are all the same. You all provide good quality except your delivery isn’t very good. You’ve got to get much more competitive with your pricing.” If you’ve done the value-added analysis and it’s accurate or reasonably accurate, you can see behind the purchasing agent’s mask to what is really going on.

4.The negotiation starts when you say hello. At this point you may be saying, “Everything you say is true but if I’m the Baker sales representative talking to the Albertson purchasing agent and he says to me, ‘Your competitors are lower and you have got to cut your price,’ what do I do now? That purchasing agent isn’t going to tell me their real scenario, what they said to each other, or what they really think our added value is worth vs. our competitors.”

Correct. If the first time you thought that there might be a price negotiation was when you were talking to the Albertson purchasing agent, it’s too late. You don’t have the information you need, and it’s going to be difficult to get it.

And that takes us back to our first point. Be prepared for a price negotiation while you try to avoid one. The negotiation starts when you say hello. The time to start finding out who potential competitors might be, how your customer views them vs. you, the problems they’ve had with competitors, whether anybody can do as good a job as you can, etc., etc., is from the very beginning of your discussions with your customer.

Have as many contacts with your customer and with as many people in your customer’s shop as possible. Ask direct questions, indirect questions, feel people out gently, and try to get a picture of their whole situation.

Prepare vigorously for a price negotiation, and at the same time do everything that you can to avoid one.

© Michael Schatzki – 2005. All rights reserved

Michael Schatzki is a master negotiator who, for over 20 years, has provided sales negotiation training and coaching for thousands of people in the U.S. and globally. More than 75% of Mike’s programs are for satisfied, repeat customers. The Negotiation Dynamics® system really works. Mike can be reached at (888) 766-3530. http://www.NegotiationDynamics.com.

You will hear
I need to think about it
I want to sleep on it
We don’t jump into things
I’ll give you a call tomorrow

Why?
Fear of making the wrong choice
Some people are lazy or don’t want to change
Some feel stress and push away
Don’t see all the benefits
Being Nice and don’t want to say no
They really do
Need to talk to partner
Analytical personality

Handle The Procrastination Upfront

It is really great to see somebody who knows how to make a decision. I appreciate your time I know you are really busy and I know how valuable your time is, I’m going to get right down to business. I’m sure you realize my schedule and that my time also is valuable. So with this in mind, I’ll explain all of the facts and if you have any questions, I will be delighted to answer them. If we feel this business and investment fits your needs, I expect you to tell me. On the other hand if you feel as though it doesn’t, please tell me and I’ll be on my way.

Let’s make an agreement, Mrs. prospect, I’m not a high pressure consultant, so you don’t have worry about me trying to get you involved with anything you don’t want. All I want to do today is show you how to increase your income in your business and how it will work for you. Please do me a favor and let me know today if this is a good fit. Fair enough?

Smoke Screen

Do you mind if I ask what aspect of this business you are going to give careful consideration? (think over) Is it the quality of the service? Is it something I have forgotten to cover? Could it be the financial aspects?
If they say yes – handle the concern.

No Nonsense

Look, Mr. Prospect, you and I have spent a couple of hours together, and we both know that this is the right choice for you. There is no reason why you shouldn’t buy today…..

Humor

Mr. Prospect You’re not telling me this just to get rid of me, are you?

End of Your Rope

Mr. prospect either this is a good idea or it is not a good idea so lets make a decision right now (be silent) and they will sign and the others won’t and you won’t have to waste time.

Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Beware of the common mistakes presenters and persuaders commit that cause them to lose the deal. Get your free report 10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands and explode your income today.

Conclusion

Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!

Kurt Mortensen teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income.

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report “10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands.” After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

Repeat business is the life-blood of any business worth its salt. Coupled with a structured approach to increasing market share, looking at the ‘window of opportunity’ and delivering services with excellence and cultivating positive customer perceptions would appear to be a recipe for success.

Have you ever stood at the front counter of a business and overheard employee dialogue or noticed that some employees appear to convey displeasure with their jobs?

As a person, and practitioner, interested in people it has often been my observation that many Franchisees need to wake up and realise that people management is not that complicated or as difficult as they may have thought. There are a few simple things that can be done to build an environment of high trust amongst employees.

However, it appears that not all franchise owners practise what they preach. Many espouse that ‘we treat our employees as valuable assets of the business’. This has always been a great source of amusement to me (because experience has often demonstrated otherwise).

Some people engage subtlety in intimidating staff, constantly making nit picking comments, refusing to lead by example and reducing staff numbers to the point where the bear minimum of staff are left to serve in the business. This begins to seriously effect employee moral, customers are disenfranchised and owners wonder why profits are down.

Take this true, real life example which I was actively involved in some months ago (names and details changed to ensure privacy).

Aunty Marges was a Brisbane Franchise that appeared on the scene several years ago. Aunty Marges specialised in quality cookies, cake and coffee. A husband and wife bought two of these Franchises.

The new owner’s employed 4 staff in one particular location. Staff was rostered on at different times throughout the day with one of the owners helping for part of the day. The roster started at 7.30am and normally finished at 6.00pm

It was a busy business located in a popular shopping centre, was a pressurised environment. The owners had over-extended their borrowing capacity.

Janelle, a teenager had been employed along with the other 3 employees to work in the business.

Janelle was known to be a hard worker who went out of her way to up-sell, interacted well with customers and took her job seriously. Despite being in her last year of college she took her responsibilities seriously.

One morning the owners called a staff meeting where they admitted that they were over-committed and requested that employees put in an extra effort. When staff left they were not replaced.

The friendliness soon began to disappear and the owners began to leave critical notes scolding employees and placing more demands on them. As a result staff began resigning.

One night as our family was over at Janelle’s place the telephone rang. It was for Janelle. The business owner (the wife) rang up and was obviously berating the teenager on the telephone.

Janelle went to her room sobbing and came back some time later to tell her parents and our family what had occurred.

Over the next four months this became a consistent occurrence. Finally Janelle had enough and I was asked to speak with the owners, which I did.

Why is it that some people seem to have a moribund fascination in causing other people pain and afflicting them with a life a drudgery and frustration. Our teenagers need positive role models instead of having roadblocks placed in their paths.

Why is it that we consistently hear about businesses that seem to pay lip service to ‘our employees are our most valuable assets’ behave abominably and wonder why the books are down?

What is Workplace Harassment?

Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 employers have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of all workers by managing risks at the workplace.

1. A person is subjected to “workplace harassment” if the person is subjected to repeated behaviour, by a person, including the person’s employer or a co-worker or group of co-workers of the person that-

(a) is unwelcome and unsolicited; and.

(b) the person considers to be offensive, intimidating, humiliating or threatening; and

(c) a reasonable person would consider to be offensive, humiliating, intimidating or threatening.

A recent draft statement released by the Queensland Government includes some examples of behaviour, where repeated or occurring as part of a pattern of behaviour, may be considered workplace harassment includes the following.

Abusing the person/s loudly, usually when others are present;

Repeated threats of dismissal or other severe punishment for no reason;

Constant ridicule and being put down;

Leaving offensive messages on email or the telephone;

Sabotaging the person’s work for example by deliberately withholding or supplying incorrect information; hiding documents or equipment; not passing on messages; and in other ways, getting the worker into trouble;

Maliciously excluding and isolating the person/s from workplace activities;
Persistent and unjustified criticisms, usually of the nit-picking variety;

Humiliating the person/s through sarcasm, criticism and insults, often in front of customers, management or other workers;

Spreading gossip or false, malicious rumours about the person/s with an intent to cause them harm;

Singling out and treating person/s differently from others, without good reason

Effects of Workplace Harassment on the Employees and the Business

Workplace harassment has detrimental effects on workers and the workplace.

Workers who are harassed can become:

distressed, anxious, withdrawn and depressed

physically ill, sleep deprived

aggressive, vengeful

less self-confident and develop low self-esteem.

Workplace harassment may result in:

loss of trained and talented workers;

loss of profits;

reduced productivity and morale;

an unsafe working environment; and

legal costs for a workplace.

Employer Costs – (off your bottom-line)

Employers who engage in these behaviours may face stiff penalties and the full weight of the law.

• Costs to the employer include high staff turnover, which inturn places added pressure on owners to spend longer hours in the business.

• Low morale which decreases productivity

• Workplace investigations by the OH&S people

• Higher workers compensation premiums where the claim has been proven

• Legal penalties and damages awards in some circumstances

• Mediation Fees

• Becoming known as a ‘bad’ employer

• Indirect costs (often significant) added to the bottom line.

• Incurring the displeasure of the master franchise holder.

It has been my experience that on average an employer will be out of pocket through direct and indirect means by $25,000 for one incidence.

Prevention

You can effectively manage workplace harassment by adopting some of the following procedures

Recognise your strengths and weaknesses and educate yourself and your employees.

Make a commitment to treat staff with respect. You have a vested interest in doing this.

Introduce a workplace specific harassment policy for all levels of management and staff.

Arrange for an in-house seminar on workplace harassment and have employees sign to say they will comply with the policy.

Deal with all complaints immediately, confidentially and thoroughly.

The place where Janelle previously was employed continues to be an unhappy place, the owners are stressed and the master franchise holder is unhappy with the owners.

Do not ignore workplace harassment and think you will get away with it. You can find other helpful articles at www.biz-momentum.com

Philip Lye is the founder of Biz Momentum providing strategic human resource management to help you grow your business. He is an expert in workplace team building and prevention of workplace conflict. Drop by today and find helpful information at http://www.biz-momentum.com. Send us your question for an answer from us.

1. Some workshop attendees really don’t want their lives to change nor does a greater level of achievement appeal that much to them. Therefore, they do nothing as a result of the training and their number of sales remains the same as they were before attending the training session.

2. Other trainees get excited about the techniques for improving their lives and begin setting goals that get them fired up for short periods of time. They don’t place enough importance on the procedures, however. Without the daily discipline of reinforcing the ideas and methods they have learned, they quickly fall back into a more comfortable routine and soon, like the first group, are doing nothing more to achieve their sales goals.

3. The third group of workshop participants open up their minds to the concepts taught and carefully set new sales goals. They then commit to follow through on them and systematically work through the comfort zone barrier to obtain their objectives. These are the participants who ultimately achieve much higher numbers of sales and improved closing ratios.

Whenever you try to change your attitudes or your habit patterns, you run smack into a personal comfort zone. These are the natural barriers or roadblocks of your mind. It’s the part in each of us that silently says, “I like things just the way they arecomfortable thanks!” Once you’ve settled down for the night in a big easy chair with your shoes off to watch television or read a book, it’s difficult to put your shoes back on, get dressed up to go out again.

Selling used to be a whole lot more comfortable. But the marketplace changed all the rules on us. Now you have to sell rather than take orders. You have to set goals and track your progress. You have to get out of that easy chair, put your shoes back on, turn off the television and get going all over again.

If you look closely at why change makes you uncomfortable, you can begin to overcome your natural resistance to it. When you have to change how you do thingslearn new behaviorsit will take a lot of practice (spaced repetition) before you feel competent in the new activity. When you feel less confident about your actions, you have a high degree of discomfortit’s only natural. It’s the fear of looking foolish.

Think about how employees felt when the company installed a new computer system, or when the government required another form to complicate reporting, or when you first learned about the internet or when PDA’s were first introduced. PDAs, the internet and computers still make, some people extremely uncomfortable, even fearful.

Change is a fact of life. How you react to it is a matter of personal choicea matter of attitude. Unfortunately, fear of looking foolish is not the only comfort zone barrier you face when trying to achieve specific goals. Another obstacle occurs with well-meaning friends, co-workers and relatives. They’re the people who often, unintentionally, discourage you from trying to attain our goals. Motivational professionals call them “dream stealers.” They’re the ones who find the flaws in your character or in your plans. They point out to you all the reasons why something you want to try won’t succeed. The barrier they create is one of criticism or fear and it’s a tough one to break through. It’s a lot easier and more comfortable to go along with the crowd. When dealing with nay-sayers, you must remember that they don’t want you to become more successful than they are. The way to get through their barrier is to affirm to yourself that change is possible and that you will allow no one but yourself to control your personal success.

The fear of failing is yet another barrier. This barrier occurs when you think about what you don’t want to happen in the future or dwell on what may have happened in the past. To allow this barrier to creep into our thoughts is to misuse your imagination. Your attitude about failure should be that it is merely a stepping-stone to success. If you never fail, it means you have never taken any action.

Your comfort zone barriersthe fear of looking foolish, the fear of criticism, the fear of being successful and the fear of failureare quite simply attitudes. They are the negative mindsets you allow yourself to have. You can become as successful as you allow yourself to be. So start today to break through your individual barriers. Set your goals and program your mind for success through positive affirmations and positive attitudes.

“What lies behind us and what lies in front of us, pales in significance when compared to what lies within us.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

To obtain dozens of ideas, proven methods, and field-tested systems to help you overcome your own Comfort Zone Barrier, check out my new book, Organizing For Sales Success at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/organize.htm .

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. an Ohio consulting firm specializing in sales and sales management training, personal coaching, advisory services and publishing. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Service Linen Supply, Bank One, Jefferson Wells International, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of the “best selling” Building & Closing the Sale, Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching, telemarketing, and personal productivity manuals. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden’s latest books, 101 Sales Myths or Organizing For Sales Success, go to: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/books1.htm.

NOTE: You can contact Virden at: virden@TheSellingEdge.com or check out his detailed biography at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/bio.htm