A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

A recent 6 month study conducted by an independent research group found that job seekers who apply to on line ads with both a resume and cover letter are 5 times more successful in landing interviews when compared to candidates who only include a resume.

So if you want to improve your odds of landing the interview make sure you include a cover letter with every resume.

If you need more help drafting a resume please visit our sales resource centre www.b2bsalesconnections.com/resource_centre.php

AIM HIGHER!

Robert J. Weese

B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com

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Email is becoming a very important business correspondence tool, however few people use it to communicate effectively.  Here are some tips:

• Keep your email short and to the point.  Always think to yourself, what is the purpose of this email?  Know what you want and what you are asking for, and then make a short and specific request for it.
• If you are responding to an email, always answer every question that was asked.  Just before you hit send, re-read the original email and make sure.
• Don’t make every email “high priority”.  Remember the old story about the child who cried wolf?  If you make every email urgent, none of them will be treated as such.
• Keep it on a business level.  Smiley faces and shortcuts like “lol” are not generally understood, nor are they considered professional.  Spelling and grammar also count.  Using all capital letters is considered rude.
• Don’t copy someone in on the email unless it is absolutely necessary.  This just clutters everyone’s inbox and can be confusing for the copied person because they may not be sure if they are supposed to respond or not.

For more excellent tips on email etiquette, check out www.emailreplies.com.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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Even the best resume in the world will not get you the interview unless the recruiter can find the information he needs to contact you.   Make sure all of your contact information, including name, address, phone and email, are front and center and not buried somewhere at the bottom in the text. 

Only list a phone number that you want potential employers to call.  Ensure that there is the ability to leave a voice mail because a recruiter will rarely call back twice.  It’s also not a good idea to have to leave it to your teenager to take messages either.

Lastly, many recruiters make first contact by email.  Check your inbox daily and turn your spam filters off.  Countless career opportunities have been lost because the email from the potential employer was never answered.

Make it easy for a recruiter to contact you, and you increase your chances of getting the interview.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnecitons.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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According to a study by the American Management Association, 28% of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail and one-third have fired workers for misusing the Internet.  Read this article to find out how you can protect yourself.

http://www.tesh.com/ittrium/visit?path=A1×97x1y1xa5×1x76y1×2449x1×9by1×244ex1y5×1c750×5x1

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com or www.linkedin.com/in/SusanEnns

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There is a growing movement in small and mid-sized Canadian companies that are searching for ways to connect with recently retired or semi retired business professionals. They are in need of people who can provide knowledge and experience in areas their own management team is lacking. 

(more…)

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If you are like most sales people, you have a shoe box full of receipts from last year.  Unfortunately, when tax time rolls around, you are going to have a big sorting job ahead of you. 

For this year, however, why not start the year off right?  I recommend throwing the shoe box away and replacing it with a filing system for your deductible expenses.

I am by no means an accountant, but here is a filing system that was recommended to me to organize receipts for sales representatives.   (more…)

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When you look at the calendar, there are really only about 5 selling days left in the year.  You are hurrying around, doing whatever it takes to close every sale possible before year end so you can make quota and earn your annual bonus.  However you are waiting until after the holidays to prospect for new business since most companies don’t want to start new projects at this time of the year. 

This “hurry up and wait” mode can be very stressful, as you struggle with how to stay busy.  No matter how we wish it wasn’t so, new business slows down during the holiday season.  Even still, there are plenty of productive activities sales people can do to keep busy at this time of the year. (more…)

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All job ads include the potential employer’s preferred method for you to apply for the available position.  Some prefer a resume by email, others still prefer fax, while others request you apply via the company’s website.  Whatever the stated method, you should apply as directed in the job ad.  Applicants who call a recruiter when a job ad requests another method do not necessarily appear as go-getters who “make things happen”.  They can actually appear disrespectful, unprofessional, and unwilling or incapable of following instructions. 

When applying for a job, thinking outside the box doesn’t always help, however you can never go wrong when you apply as directed.

For current job postings on B2B Sales Connections, visit www.b2bsalesconnections.com/job_postings.php

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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Twice a year we hear from sales people who say “it’s summer time no use in job hunting now”. The same thing happens at year end.  We regularly hear “no one ever hires in November or December so why should I be looking now?”

Companies are always looking and yes the numbers will drop in the summer and at the end of year but this provides serious job searchers with an advantage. If the number of people actively looking drops during this time then the number of competitors for that job has also dropped.  This provides a great opportunity for job seekers who keep looking.

Many companies hire in the New Year and the smart ones are gathering resumes and candidate profiles right now so they will be ready to hit the ground running when they are ready to start the hiring process.

 AIM HIGHER!

 Robert J. Weese

B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com

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I am sure you have heard the old adage that you are not born a sales people, you  need to develop and train someone to become a successful sales professional.  My family still swears that the doctor flipped me upside down, slapped my on the butt and handed me to my mother saying; “congratulations it’s a sales person”.

What was the road you took in becoming a sales person?  Did you look for a job in sales or did your first sales job find you? Do you have a good story about your journey to become a sales person?

AIM HIGHER!

Robert J. Weese

B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com

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