A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

Do you carry a portfolio binder with you when you are on sales calls?  Make sure you add copies of reference letters, customer lists, and other testimonials.  That way you are always prepared to show them and build your credibility whenever the need or opportunity arises.

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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What do your customers have in common?  How many employees do they have?  What industries do they operate in?  How often do they use your product?  What related products do they also use in addition to your product?

When you start to track your past successes, you can identify commonalities that help you define who is most likely to buy from you in the future.    In doing so, you clearly define your target market,  ensuring you will spend most of your time talking to prospects that are most likely to buy.

For an automated sales tool that tracks your sales and clearly defines your targets, check out the Target Market Definition Tool at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/automated_tools.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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Do you need ideas for discussion topics for your sales meetings?  Create a file folder labeled “Sales Meeting Ideas” and keep it handy.  As discussion topics pop up during the week, just place a reminder note into the file.  On the day before the meeting when you are preparing your agenda, review your file and choose a theme for your next meeting. 

For example, if a new order process procedure is resulting in a number of questions from the sales people, you could write a note for your file to remind you to arrange for someone from the Order Processing Department to speak at your meeting.  Or if you read a newsletter with a great sales tip, put it in your folder so that you share it with your team.

As a general rule of thumb, if you receive the same question from two different sales people in a short period of time, it is an excellent topic for a sales meeting.  It’s not that the others on your team don’t want to ask the same question, they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Answer a question individually, and you will have to answer it several times, but answer it in a sales meeting, and you answer it only once.

For some sales tips that you can use in your sales meetings, check us out at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/sales_resource.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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“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra

Aim Higher!

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

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Do you track all of your prospecting contacts in contact management program?  Make sure you enter every call, regardless if they are a prospect or not.  Not only it is important for you to know where to go when, but it is also important to know where not to go.

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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“Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.” – Pythagoras

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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One thing I hear from sales representatives all the time is “My sales manager tells me I need to do more prospecting calls but the days don’t seem long enough.  I am already working long hours each day so I don’t know where I can find the time!”

To survive in sales, finding the time to prospect is not optional!  The best way to do this is to arrive at the office Monday morning with your week already booked.  (more…)

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It is dangerous to believe that every company in your target market can buy from you at any time. For example, it is unlikely that you would lease a new car today when your current lease still has two years left. Know how often your prospects buy your products. This is not the same as how often they use your products, but rather how often they renegotiate the contracts for their use. You use you car every day, but you only buy a new one every few years. Knowing where your targets are in their buying cycle ensures not only you being in the right place, but being there at the right time!

Aim Higher!

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

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“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” – Abraham Lincoln

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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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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