Motivating your sales team during a downturn

Christmas may mean a well-deserved, if brief, break from sales targets and field calls, but how can you motivate sales staff as a sales manager once they’re back from the Christmas break? In an article entitled “How to motivate sales teams during a tough economy” on the US website, salesopedia.com, article author Mike Brooks explains that it can just take a few simple, relatively inexpensive ideas to motivate your team.

Prizes such as a mountain bike for a first anniversary on the team or a BluRay DVD player for the team member with the most monthly conversions are suggested. Such ideas cost a few hundred pounds but can reap much more in terms of increased motivation and increased business. If you would like to know more about motivating your field sales team in the New Year and beyond, read the whole article at http://www.salesopedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2107

Are you ready for the New Year? Sales trends for 2012

Many external factors can affect your sales figures and performance from new technology to the global economy. A feature on ‘Sales Machine’ - the business blog from CBS in the United States – looks in more detail at how your customers mind set and business position may change in the New Year.

Customers and clients demanding flexibility in all aspects of the sales contract is one of their Top 5 trends. With customers trying to plan for either the economic revival or another dip, they are looking for flexibility on terms from inventory to volume commitments. The feature also warns sales managers to expect discussions on intellectual property. In “Who gets the kids?” it looks at how to negotiate when companies undertake joint ventures in either processes or products.

For all five of CBS’ top sales trends read the whole feature here. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505183_162-57330429-10391735/5-b2b-sales-trends-to-watch-in-2012/

Sometimes you just have to get it down on paper – or at least on email.

Sales is not all about getting your point over face to face. Often, the key parts of your pitch – product benefits, customer service and even price points and discounts all need to be communicated in writing. Whether it’s on an email, text message or , when writing bids and tenders, actually on paper, using words to get the maximum impact is very important. From accurate spelling to punchy sentences that sell, most people have something to learn. ‘Emphasis’ is a business writing skills company offering courses for companies and individuals. Their one-day ‘High impact bid, tender and sales proposal writing’ course covers areas such as ‘using executive summaries to sell to decision-makers’.
Alternatively, take a look at their blog for many useful tips on writing techniques for sales and business. There’s even a spelling test to try. Will you be embarrassed or embarassed? To find out which see www.writing-skills.com

To script or not to script – how do you prepare your telesales team?

Do you use a script for telesales calls – for your team or maybe when you’re on your own pitching a new client?

According to advice from the Tangerine Dream telemarketing consultancy on their blog, a well-prepared script is highly recommended for effective telesales and marketing. This detailed feature offers great advice from the maximum length of the script – never more than 350 words – to the importance of reading it out many times in practice to keep the language natural.

Key points to include are an introduction, the concept or product in no more than ten words, references, product benefits and very importantly an effective closing statement. The key advantage for the telesales team in having a script is consistency in getting the right marketing message across to your target market. For more details on getting that script up to scratch read the whole article at www.tangerinedreamconsultancy.com/blog

Give yourself a hand in sales management

Do you have your customer in the palm of your hand? Richard Newmann, director of UK BodyTalk, an organisation that promotes body language in order to get ahead in business, urges clients to remember the "hands up or hands down" rule.

To see how you can change your body language incredibly simply with just this one piece of advice, watch the short video "Handy Tips' on the UKBodyTalk website. A clip from one of Richard's business presentations shows particularly how to use this techniques when it comes to sales presentations and handling the awkward question from a customer who doesn't believe your figures.

As well as the 'Handy Tips' clip, look out for the 'It's not charades' clip from this expert in body language. With presenting yourself being an everyday part of sales management, see what you can achieve with a safe, and effective, pair of hands. www.ukbodytalk.com

How watching TV can help your sales career

Watching TV could be more productive for your sales management career than you might have thought.

SellingSuccess.tv is a comprehensive range of short videos covering all subjects from field sales coaching to tendering and negotiating skills. Connected to the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISSM), sellingsuccess.tv describes itself as 'the online tv channel for sales professionals' and is free to view after online registration.

For sales managers and sales executives already familiar with its short but information packed videos, look out for the latest titles such as "Why should customers buy from you" and a series on presentation skills. It also looks at the ever increasing range of professional qualifications available to further your sales career.

With some videos on motivation and body language lasting just a few minutes, they might be just what you need to review on the road before approaching a new customer. The full selection of videos can be seen at www.sellingsuccess.tv

In Travel Sales? New report launched at World Travel Market 2011

Sales executives in the travel and tourism industry - do you know how
your customers are making their buying decisions?

With the start of World Travel Market Expo 2011 in London this week, Reed Travel Exhibitions chairman, Fiona Jeffery, launched the latest World Travel Market Industry Report 2011. One key increasing trend highlighted is the importance of social media in customer’s product selection. 40% of U.K. holidaymakers used social media to select a holiday last year with one third changing their hotel choice after consulting popular social media sites such as Facebook. Up to 10% of people surveyed swapped resorts after looking at peer reviews on social networks. The report shows travel industry professionals in sales and marketing citing social media as becoming more important than PPC (pay per click) and online advertising. See the latest news coming from this year’s huge travel trade exhibition at the Excel Centre in London at www.wtmlondon.com