1. Being Industrious
Hard work always pays off. There is no single famous individual person in history who achieved several goals in life without working it off. Being industrious means working harder than anyone else, studying more than anyone else and even suffering more than anyone else. You have to understand the importance of delayed gratification as you work towards your ultimate goal. To begin hard work, you can begin by fixing your schedule, writing down tasks and functions of the day and finding the right people and resources that can assist you. Keep in mind that you have to be as independent as possible to finish more in the long term.

2. Discipline and Consistency
Discipline is what separates the leaders from the followers. If you truly want to make changes in your life, you have to understand doing things even if you do not want to at times, and maintaining excellent quality and optimum performance each time. Being consistent is intertwined with patience, wherein you continue performing well, regardless of the situations and hindrances, to render the results you want in the end.

Discipline and consistency are also interrelated, in the sense that discipline breeds consistency. If you continue practicing good habits and sticking to the functions that lead to your main goal, you will find it easier to do over time. You will change as an entire person and experience the opportunities that come with being dedicated.

3. Resilience
Problems are a part of every man’s life, but it is the resilient person who always prevails and achieves their goals. You need to learn from your past mistakes and convert these into more productive actions the next time. Learn to pick yourself up after each fall and put in double effort to become better. Some of the most successful people, as well as those who truly left a mark in history are known to have faced big difficulties and resentment before they let others understand their own way of doing things.

4. Optimism
You need to stay positive about your situation, regardless of the problems that you face. It is vital that you stay optimistic and always believe that you will get to your goal, no matter what. If you tell yourself that you will reach it sooner, chances are you will. It might help to believe in the powers of the Universal Law of Attraction which draws opportunities toward you just the way you intend to, and in the right intensity as you desired.

5. Patience
Some goals are very big and will take time to accomplish. Do not allow yourself to think that some goals are just too huge to be possible. Be specific and set goals that are attainable to your current situation and start working to achieve these. You can break it down into smaller tasks that are much easier to do within the given timeframe that you have.

Do you make eye contact when speaking or listening?
Yes, this is simple suggestion. Take a moment to think about how you feel when someone connects with you in this way. Do you feel really listened to? Does it seem that the person is focused on you and the message you want to convey? Adding a couple of head nods will also demonstrate to the speaker you are really listening and interested in what s/he is saying. Making these simple adjustments in your behavior will help improve your communication.

Do you keep from interrupting and the let person finish what s/he is saying?
One way to enhance your listening skills is to spend more time listening. One of the challenges inherent in listening is that we speak at an estimated rate of 125 to 150 words per minute and we think at the rate of an estimated 500 words per minute. That leaves a lot of time for a listener to wander off into his or her own thoughts, jump to conclusions or formulate a response before the speaker has finished saying what they want to say. One way you can stay focused and present in a conversation is by “listening” for the speaker’s non-verbal communication. One estimate has it that 75% of all communication is non-verbal. So, with the extra 350 or so words of thinking time you have available when you are listening, focus on the speaker and what they are communicating non-verbally.

Do your words and actions match?
Since communication occurs both verbally and non-verbally, it is important to make the message consistent. Send one message, not two. For example, have you ever found your posture rigid or tense while saying: “I’m fine, everything is just great.” There are two messages being sent. The body is sending one message and the words are sending another. Another example of this is a feeling you can get that someone isn’t telling you the whole story. Next time you have this sensation in a business or personal interaction, look at the person’s body language and/or facial expression. Are the non-verbal cues in alignment with the words being spoken? When verbal and non-verbal communication is in sync, the message is perceived as genuine.

Does your vocal tone and inflexion match the words you are saying?
How you say the words of your message is as important as the words you use when expressing yourself. Think of the phrase, “Thank you” and the variety of ways it can be spoken. Depending on how the words are emphasized it will change the meaning. The same phrase can mean authentic gratitude or sarcasm. Think about the phrase, “Come here”. A parent speaking to a misbehaving child will have a different vocal tone than someone in a business context using the same phrase. Even the word “yes”, can have many meanings depending on how it is emphasized. A soft “yes” has a different meaning than a “YES” that is enthusiastic and forceful. Matching your intonation and inflexion to the message you intend to convey will increase your effectiveness when you communicate.

Are you aware of your barriers and filters?
Everyone has a point of view and at times it will affect how one communicates. Just think about the last time you were having a conversation with your spouse or significant other and then somehow, in a split second, you found yourself in the middle of an argument. How did things shift so quickly? One of you hit a trigger in the other, that’s how things can change so quickly. We all have triggers and in order to communicate responsibly in personal and business relationships it is imperative to know what they are. Everyone has an opinion and is a result of his/her background; the challenge when communicating is to become aware of how these two factors can shut down the communication process.

In the communication process the speaker AND the listener are equally responsible for the success of the interaction. And, because communication is a process, the roles are constantly shifting during a conversation. The speaker becomes the listener who becomes the speaker and so on.

These tips are just a few of the ways you can become more effective in your role as a speaker or listener. Remember, one of the primary needs that communication fulfills is the need to connect with other people. Incorporating any of these suggestions will give you greater access to connection, as well as personal and business success. I hope this helps in your future marketing decisions.

Author:David Bell
Source: Articlecity.com

There is an increasing pool of research-from respected organizations like Gallup and the Harvard Business Review, and also many newer research firms- demonstrating that the costs of a bad hire in B2B sales, more than any other functional group, are enormous.

Most B2B companies tend to grossly underestimate the negative consequences a bad sales hire can bring to their company.

Some of the costs to consider include:

B2B Sales Direct costs

• Lost revenue (lost and delayed business)
• Extra training and management required
• Costs of turnover (firing and replacing – from both time and direct hiring costs)

B2B Sales Indirect costs

• Long-term impact on market share and brand – lost customers and brand loyalty
• Impact on morale – leading to lower overall performance of other team members and higher turnover- and ultimately the loss of your best salespeople.

An Example of the Costs

Let’s look at an example for a company where the sales quota of the best salespeople is $1.5 million, and sub-par performers are delivering half of that ($750,000).

The annual impact of having a poor performer on the team can be estimated at $1,360,000 (including lost revenue, lost clients, and extra management costs). The costs of delaying action, to remove this individual, are $2.6 million over 2 years!

You must remember that B2B salespeople represent your company to your clients. Therefore, the impact of brand and market-share erosion over time, of a sub-par salesperson, can have grave consequences for your company.

Other Insights

CSO Insights, a sales research firm, puts out statistics it gathers every year from surveys it does with over 2500 companies.

They found that only 58.2% of B2B sales reps made quota in 2013 out of the 2500+ companies surveyed. That means that 42.8% of sales reps missed their quota.

That is a very alarming statistic.

A Typical Observation

CSO Insights had this conversation with a sales rep from one of their interview companies.

Sales rep: “Yeah, that program is great. Really powerful! In fact, the only time it doesn’t work is when I don’t use it”.

CSO Insights: “That’s quite an endorsement. How often would you say you use the principles you learned in the program?”

Sales rep: “Uh, maybe half the time.”

Now please think about that for a moment. If it works every time the rep uses it, why wouldn’t the rep use it all the time? Does he/she simply not need a win every time? Very unlikely!

It’s usually because the sales rep hasn’t had ongoing coaching to ingrain the sales training methodology into their daily routine.

Does Training & Coaching Pay Off?

Training gives a one-time boost in sales behaviour and results, but people quickly slip back into their old familiar behaviour without coaching reinforcement, and increases in sales are negligible.

However, with coaching after training, although there is a slight dip right after training, the sales people who received coaching keep getting better and better results.

Through all of my 40+ years of coaching, I have found that coaching costs very little compared to the increased results that have occurred. In many cases, coaching fees were less than 1% of the overall increase in revenues.

So, if you truly want to grow your business, you need to have your sales people trained and coached by professionals. And in most cases, this means hiring outside professional B2B sales coaches. You will see a very worthwhile ROI.

Conclusions

Competing at the top level is very exacting and can be very trying mentally. Anyone who has ever played golf knows that for sure.

But in order to succeed at any level, people need coaching. This is true for executives, business owners, and especially for sales and marketing people.

You use coaching for two main reasons.

1. To help you learn new skills, and to perfect or change old ones,

2. To give you feedback on how you are performing those skills, and to correct mistakes.

Feedback needs to be timely, accurate, consistent, relevant, and individualized. The other four factors are fairly self-explanatory, but let’s have a look at what is needed to be accurate, and why it is important to be accurate.

In order to be accurate, you need to have some kind of measurement system in place to give you metrics about how someone is performing all the way through the sales cycle.

You need to measure things like;

1. Is she following up on leads? (I hope you have a good lead generation system)

2. Is he using the sales and marketing methodology that you have implemented? ( I hope you have one)

3. Does she qualify prospects well, so she’s not chasing people that aren’t going to buy right now?

4. Is he demonstrating your system properly, or does he do it too early or too late in the sales cycle?

5. Does she follow a correct proposal writing script that your company has implemented?

6. Does he follow-up properly with all prospects?

7. And all the way through the sales cycle.

You need to measure everything right through the sales cycle, until you either lose or win the business.

As you can see, in order for your company to meet its revenue targets in any year, you need to be implementing coaching in your business.

This coaching should also include the executives of your company, so everyone is on the same page.

It becomes pretty obvious that training with coaching pays off.

Are your sales reps, marketers and executives getting the training and coaching they need to understand sales and marketing better, and to able to reach quotas?

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ian_Dainty/59266

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8914931

Confidence is essential in our lives; without it, we will not make the first attempt to do what we really want. Confidence allows us to move forward despite temporary discouragement. So where does confidence come from, and how can we become and remain confident? Here are seven actions that will help to develop unshakable confidence.

1. Expand Your Knowledge
Gaining new skills for any endeavor – personal or career – is the first step toward confidence. Identify key areas where you need more confidence to be successful. Then expand your knowledge by taking courses, reading books, and attending learning events. Tele-classes are enjoyable and convenient for learning and discussing ideas with a peer group. Continuous learning is essential for maintaining a high level of confidence.

2. Experience Small Successes
Confidence also comes from experiencing small daily successes. They are like rewards for putting knowledge into action. They may not be the final goal. Yet they are important. Even a pat on the back from a colleague or a compliment for a job well done will boost a person’s level of confidence. Keep track of each small success you experience. You will begin to feel your confidence grow day by day.

3. Exercise Passionate Faith
Confident people have faith that the Creator has a special plan for their lives. They appear to know inherently that when they follow this plan, they will be successful. If you want to achieve something, you absolutely must believe that it is possible for you. You must believe firmly in your potential. A passionate faith will lead you to find and follow that purpose.

4. Enable Firm Resolve
There will be disappointments and set backs. It is natural to become discouraged at times. However, disappointments are not the end of the road if we view them as learning tools. Faith in your abilities will lead you past discouragement into a firm resolve. Resolve overcomes obstacles because it displays patience. Instead of giving up, you will meet challenges by continuing through difficult times. Keep your mind on your intended outcome, not on the obstacles. Think of reasons why you can, not reasons why you cannot. With time, talents develop and abilities grow. Then you will get a taste of what is possible — a measure of success that leads you forward with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm keeps you fired up to achieve more of those small daily successes.

5. Enlist Expert Help
Enlist the help of experts in areas where you need more confidence. Experts can be found though books, articles, videos, seminars, or via a phone call. A professional coach will help you stay focused on your objectives and hold you accountable for taking the necessary actions to complete your plans.
Confidence also attracts more confidence. Experts will support your plans and offer to help you in tremendous ways if you are enthusiastic and believe in your goals. Moreover, when you show confidence in others, they will show confidence in you.

6. Envision Confidence
Envisioning confidence begins to make confidence real in your experience. Imagine how you will feel and act if you already had the confidence you need for a specific situation. See yourself in your mind’s eye, acting with courage and conviction. Hold that picture in your mind, and your vision will start to become real.

7. Expect to be Confident
Expectation is faith in action. Now that you have imagined how confidence will feel, act as if you were already confident. Move assuredly and energetically as you go for your goals. You are now seeing, feeling, and acting in a confident manner. You will achieve what you expect. Expect to be confident, and you will become confident.
Give yourself time to increase your confidence by using these actions during the next several months. Get a sheet of paper now, and write down how you will apply each of these actions. They can make a tremendous difference by allowing you to move more quickly and assuredly toward your objectives. Today, you can begin developing an unshakable confidence that will bring you joy and success in every area of your life.

Author:Steve Brunkhorst

Thinking about sales can sometimes be scary and even intimidating especially when one thinks about competition. Nevertheless, how the company is able to bring in sales and do it successfully is one of the most rewarding feelings that both employers and employees share. Hence, thinking about sales is not just about attitude and strategy alone. Indeed, companies who are able to amass huge sales will agree that optimism along with enthusiasm is one of the main ingredients for successful sales.

Optimism and Its Benefits

Psychologists describe optimism as the basic characteristic that builds positive thinking. It is a psychological resource which unlocks a person’s capacity to succeed in his or her endeavor based on their ability to think that they can achieve it. Additionally, numerous studies have shown that optimism is a desirable characteristic which leads to lesser incidences of postpartum depression, stress and better life satisfaction.

In many cultures, optimism is considered as a desirable trait since it enables people to think positively regardless of the situation. Optimism serves as a catalyst in which people are discouraged from feeling hopeless and apathetic but instead strive for greater hope and action. In the same manner, optimism in the world of sales means that people are able to share their enthusiasm with their customers, knowing that what they have to offer benefits their buyers. This is simply not the bravado of selling but believing that the company’s products bring real results and satisfaction.

Optimism in Sales

When it comes to sales, optimism is taken to mean that sales people have compelling reasons and motivations to offer their products. This motivation is not solely seen in the dollars they can make but also the service given to customers. A sales person can have the most wonderful qualities but without optimism and enthusiasm, they are not able to get customer’s sentiments and trust. A sales coach can also train sales people to sell with intention and integrity.

Successful sales are also brought by people who are pro-active. These people do the necessary actions to make things happen rather than seat and wait for something. Being pro-active and optimistic means people are able to have positive outlooks even in the midst of rejections and down sales. People can benefit from having positive attitude by undergoing sales coaching.

Lastly, optimism in work means that people are able to balance their work life, family and leisure. Sales are important but it should not dominate a person’s life. Hence, putting sales with intent through sales coaching means that selling is done with sincere enthusiasm and bringing valued service.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Leola_S_Highsmith/1254360

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6868752

When you struggle to close the sale you think closing is the problem. But when you struggle to close the sale closing is a symptom of the problem not the problem itself. When you try to fix a symptom as though it were the problem the problem remains because you’re trying to put a band-aid on a wound that isn’t ready to heal.

Here are 5 reasons you may be struggling to close the sale:

1. You lack confidence in yourself and/or your supporting products.
2. You fear rejection and avoid it by avoiding asking for the sale.
3. You didn’t help the buyer to uncover a motivating reason for buying and buying now.
4. You didn’t understand the clients most important wants and needs and went down the wrong path offering a solution for problems that aren’t all that important to the prospect.
5. You didn’t do a good job of connecting with and starting a relationship with the prospect so asking for the close feels awkward, and isn’t likely to result in a “yes” decision.

When you struggle with closing you think you just need a perfect pitch, or the right closing lines and the problem will go away; but that simply isn’t the case. You can have a “perfect” pitch and “perfect” closing statements, and still blow the sale. Why, because a pitch and closing statements treat the symptom not the underlying real problem.

Review the 5 reasons you can’t close and identify where your struggles may be stemming from. This list isn’t comprehensive there could be other problems too that are keeping you from getting sales, but it will give you a good start. The first step to making closing a natural event is identifying the cause of the problem.

The next step is developing a plan for removing or overcoming the problem. Don’t think of your plan in terms of concepts think in terms of actions. When you know what the problem is, the actions you’ll take to overcome the problem, the only thing preventing you from closing is implementation of your plan.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/969061