Category Archives: Rep Tech

Stage Creep

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Most CRM software systems on the market today include a field for “Stages of a Sale.” The number of stages in a sale can vary according to industry and sales methodology. Whether the number is 12 or five, it is critical that the sales team clearly understands the criteria for each stage, as well as what does not qualify for the stage.

Salespeople in firms that use CRM tend to feel pressure to have their pipelines reflect movement from stage to stage. This pressure creates an open door for “stage creep,” where salespeople try to fit their situation into the … Read the rest

Avoiding Technology Overload

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Technology is great. It helps us to get more done, connect with others more, and has advanced the living standards of human beings dramatically. Medical and dental technology are so far ahead of where they were even a few years ago, that we don’t want to go back.

But there is a dark side. Technology can be overwhelming.

This often happens when we have expectations that are pressing, based on our desired outcomes. Health care professionals and psychologists have long told us about the dangers of taking on more than we can handle.

I like studying this phenomenon, particularly as … Read the rest

Sandler Training Takes Some of the Mystery out of Social Selling

Sales professionals are increasingly finding value in building their own leads and pipeline through social selling. According to the Sandler Training, “We’ve found that many sales professionals struggle with this mysterious task called ‘social selling.’ It’s the kind of thing they know they should do — the kind of thing they are often told they’re doing incorrectly — and maybe even get frustrated with themselves because they sometimes don’t know what to do.”

In “LinkedIn the Sandler Way,” Sandler Training and LinkedIn Sales Solutions share secrets to uncovering ideas for prospecting and selling online. These “secrets” are only secret in … Read the rest

Make Your E-Mails Stand Out From a Cluttered Inbox

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E-mails don’t have to be a shot in the dark. With these tips you’ll not only get your e-mails read, but they could lead to some business, too.

Sending e-mails is an integral part of selling in today’s world. But at a time when your prospects are receiving hundreds of e-mails every single day, it is easy for yours to get lost in the crowd.

What’s even more frustrating is, because this technique is relatively new in the realm of sales prospecting, up until now there has been very little data to show which prospecting e-mail techniques actually work.

But … Read the rest

How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough

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Life can be tough at times. Any successful business person knows that. It can sometimes get really draining and sometimes we don’t know how to move forward.

If you’ve ever had some of those times that are very tough and you wonder how to keep going, I want to share some thoughts with you that have helped me and others.

You might have heard the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This has been attributed to both Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F. Kennedy, and to Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. Whoever said … Read the rest

Authors Tout Need to Use Social Media — and Its Tools

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If there’s any doubt that experts tout the benefits of using social media and its accompanying tools, those doubts can quickly be put to rest with even the quickest perusal of the latest sales books.

Four of those books recently came to the attention of Agency Sales, and while each of them offers a slightly different take of the value of social media, all of them highly recommend its use by independent sales representatives.

First up is a past contributor to these pages, Mark Hunter. In his book, High-Profit Selling (published in 2012 by American Management Association, 274 pp., … Read the rest

Where to Invest in Social Media and Get the Best Return

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In today’s whirlwind of social media exists a seemingly endless string of opportunities available for investing. But where is the best place to invest in social media to get the best return?

You can put money into Facebook advertising, LinkedIn advertising and now we have Twitter advertising. Let’s not forget about YouTube advertising that is also available. In addition to all that, we have some of the more traditional Search Engine Optimization tools (SEO), Google Ad Words and more.

Plus, don’t forget about the options you have for putting ads on your own website linking to products you’ve created, ads … Read the rest

Back to the Future —
Wait, We’re THERE!

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“It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”
— Popular quote attributed to a Danish philosopher.1

This is 2015. It is a momentous year for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is the very year that is celebrated by the greatest time travel movie series of all time — Back to the Future. That series starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doctor Emmett Brown.

In the movie, Back to the Future Part II, Marty, and his future wife Jennifer, are taken from 1985 by Doc Brown … Read the rest

Unexpected Ways Businesses Can Use Smartphones to Drive Profit

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No matter the product, service or industry, mission or corporate philosophy, nearly every business is bottom line-driven. And, there is no shortage of ingenuity as to how companies try to glean more profit out of existing processes. Every so often, a new technology emerges that radically changes the productivity landscape and industry’s related profitability potential in kind. Some notable advancements, of course, have included the assembly line, telephone, fax machine and the Internet. Today, there is a ubiquitous technology poised to revolutionize how business is done: the smartphone — but not for the reason you may think.

While everyone concedes … Read the rest

Leapfrog the Competition With Creativity

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Competition is abundant. Whatever field you’re in, there are competing forces offering your product or service — or a good substitute.

Price competition is often the way many choose to beat the competition. That is not the best way to compete. There is a much better and more profitable way to do business.

It wasn’t that long ago when many would joke about their “crackberries.” These were the ubiquitous Blackberry cell phones that inspired technology addiction jokes, and many felt that the Blackberry brand would always be the dominant force. No one could dislodge them.

Well, along came this uppity … Read the rest

Examining the Psychology of Social Media

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There are positive, negative and even in-between answers when independent manufacturers’ representatives are asked whether social media is for them or if they’ve found ways to use it to their or their agency’s benefit.

On the positive side, agents report the marketing benefits of keeping their agency’s name and brand in front of principals, customers and prospects through regular use of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. One agency in the Southwest reports success in announcing weekly and monthly specials on its Facebook page. A Midwest agency describes gaining attention through regularly posting Twitter communications of its agency’s activities and a third … Read the rest

Gauging the Value of Social Media

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If there is any doubt concerning the contribution that social media can make to the selling process, those doubts should be put aside. At least that’s from even the most casual reading of business books that come across the Agency Sales editorial desk. Even the smallest sampling of these books indicates that authors, educators and consultants see social media as a critical tool and one that independent manufacturers’ representatives ought to carefully consider.

For instance:

•   Technological trends that impact selling that manufacturers and representatives and others ought to be following include these: newsletters, video e-mails, website chats and Internet … Read the rest

Become an E-mail Prospecting Ninja in Three Easy Steps

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My client Alex used to be a prospecting dinosaur. His prospecting mindset involved picking a random window of time to make cold calls, and then hoping the prospects would be by their phones. Even if he got through to prospects, they had absolutely no clue who he was. For that reason, he was lucky to get past the first seven seconds of a call.

He would then follow up with a long-form e-mail that never got read, and would start the process over with each new prospect.

Not so anymore. Thanks to technology, all that has changed.

Alex has entered … Read the rest

Outsourcing, David Ricardo and You

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“What are you doing that you don’t have to do?”
— Mike McKinley, professional speaker

You don’t have to do it all. It sometimes can feel that way. You have to hunt for leads, make the appointments, close the sales and maintain the relationships. You also like to have control over things. You like to manage details about all the “stuff” happening in your business.

Well, let it go. Let it go and prosper. Let me explain.

You have expertise in certain areas. That is why you are in business for yourself. You have a few things where you have … Read the rest

Digital Tools for Successful Salespeople

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I was recently speaking to a client about an upcoming presentation I am scheduled to do for his company. He’s a successful salesman and was recently promoted to chairman at a large company. We were talking about what is essential for successful salespeople today.

My client expressed frustration that some of his more seasoned salespeople don’t embrace technology as a sales tool, relying exclusively on their social skills to connect with customers. He wants a sales force with both tech savvy and a knack for conversation.

I agree! In my experience, salespeople who leverage technology succeed more.

To help you … Read the rest

Get What You Want in Business and Life

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Want to get more in life?
Want to have more of the things you want?
Here is the simple (but not easy) process.

The late, great Zig Ziglar was right when he said you can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want. However, the real crux of the matter is “How do you help enough other people?” What do you do to help them? What value can you provide for them that they are willing to pay you serious money?

That is where you have to be prepared. Zig would be the first … Read the rest

Digitally Speaking

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I sat there staring at one of the eight screens on my desk: laptops, cell phones, tablets, and more. I had been mandated to create awesome content for the online newsletter that we’ve been pushing out (almost) every week for over a decade.

I did what came naturally and instead of typing, pulled out a legal pad and began to write down all of my random thoughts on the subject — in cursive! You remember cursive, don’t you? It’s that special code that only we baby boomers can now break, as the succeeding generations have abandoned it for digital.

My … Read the rest

Social Media Myths and Musts

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OK, OK, OK. So ya’ know that ya’ need to get involved with social media. All right already! But, WHAT do you do to improve sales and what is simply a waste of time, money and effort? That is the question.

Knowing these three myths and three musts (plus an important bonus!) will help you successfully embrace social media.

Myths of Social Media

  • You have to be on every platform

Baloney! You need to be on the platforms that will work for YOUR system in YOUR operation for YOUR customers. Period. End of story. You need to have tools and … Read the rest

The Power of Taking Decisive Action

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“Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German poet and dramatist

You know it is true. As an entrepreneur or salesperson (and aren’t we all in today’s warp-speed economy?) you know that results only happen when you take wise, decisive, results-driven action. Losers in life sit and plan and strategize forever. Then when things don’t work out just right, they complain that it wasn’t their fault but someone else who caused the problem. They spend their creative energies trying to … Read the rest

Tips for Maintaining Profitable Performance

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Building mutually beneficial relationships is the best way to long-term profitable business growth. It goes beyond the quick fix and short-term. This is the mentality that ensures your business not only has a good week or quarter, but decades of business growth.

Several components are built into the model for establishing, building and maintaining profitable business performance. These components are integral in the process of what I call R-Commerce. It is not about the E-Commerce (the electronics). It is about the R-Commerce (the relationships). These relationships are the roots of your business tree which grow deep to produce the bountiful … Read the rest

Success Principles Learned From Zappos

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I’m always looking for great ideas to share with you about how to be more successful in your business and personal life. Well, I hit a bonus when I recently visited the headquarters for Zappos, the online sensation selling shoes and many other items. This is a company that is known for its dazzling customer service and the outstanding leadership of its CEO, Tony Hsieh.

It was Gina, my partner, who came up with the idea. I thought it was not bad, but we’d be too busy. Boy, was I wrong! What a great enlightenment we had from the moment … Read the rest

iPhone App Bolsters Outsourced Sales Forces’ Efforts

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photo of John DavisMANA member designs an iPhone/iPad app for agents and principals that includes MANA content and supports the outsourced system of selling.

One MANA manufacturer member describes his representative network as a “force multiplier.” In other words, by deploying this network he is able to reach many more customers and have greater impact on those customers than if he had tried to make those sales calls directly. And he’s learned by experience that the best use of his time is working to support his network rather than trying to do their work for them.

Representatives who sell through wholesalers or distributors … Read the rest

Authors Provide Primer for Creating a Social Media Presence

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While many independent manufacturers’ representatives and their principals have already created a solid social media footprint to communicate with customers, others have yet to venture into an area that’s a complete mystery.

That’s why Born to Blog: Building Your Blog for Personal and Business Success One Post at a Time, by Mark Schaefer and Stanford Smith, has arrived at just the right time.

Schaefer and Smith, who have created blogs for everything from Fortune 500 companies to small retailers, schools, government agencies and nonprofits, define blogs as “…the content engine driving the social web. In addition to providing a … Read the rest

Social Networking, Open Source and Your Business Success

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Social networking is a logical extension of Relationship Marketing or what I call R-Commerce. It is the desire for people to connect with others who share similar interests, values, ideas and can help each other. It is also a symptom of how marketing has changed.

In the old days (not that long ago), marketers would craft their message and push it out to the masses. Vehicles used included television and radio advertising, newspapers and other tools. These were good for taking your message and sending it to the masses.

Today things are different.

The old model has been turned upside-down. … Read the rest

Legal Risks of Using Facebook to Screen Job Applicants

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Like many employers, you may be mining social network sites (which, for simplicity’s sake, we’ll refer to collectively as “Facebook”) for personal information about individuals applying for jobs with your organization. While it enables you to unearth information that no resume or job interview would reveal, using Facebook to check up on job applicants feels, well, kinda dirty. But is it illegal?

Short answer: No, as long as you follow certain limits. Here are the limits and how to stay within them.

In a widely cited Microsoft-sponsored survey of employers, 70 percent of the respondents admitted to rejecting an applicant … Read the rest

The New School of Demand Generation

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Based on conversations with clients I find many do not measure the number of new customers activated on an annual basis. To be sure, managing your existing customer base is important, but churn is a fact of life, so we must always develop new business.

This article outlines an important form of demand generation — the sales continuum and how your sales team can actively work new opportunities to win the coveted new account.
The sales continuum is important both from a sales execution and marketing standpoint. In sales execution, sales producers know precisely where their new business opportunities reside … Read the rest

Follow-Up:
The Ultimate Separator Between Success and Failure

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Follow-Up. This is a critical, and often neglected, skill for success. It is imperative in today’s busy world. Your prospects are swamped with all kinds of communication that they need to address. We are all so swamped with so much to do that we have to engage in massive filtering on a regular basis.

So How Can You Follow Up Without Being a Pest?

You can’t just keep calling with some lame response like, “Uh, I’m just calling to see if you got my dull and boring e-mail from last week.” Ugh! We all have been accustomed to the unwanted … Read the rest

Key Steps for Leveraging Social Media Marketing to Drive Real Results

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Investing in marketing campaigns can be a nerve-wracking decision for many small- and medium-sized businesses. CEOs and marketing directors know that when you have limited resources, you must be strategic with your budget, and every marketing investment has to pay off.

This is why social media campaigns tend to be the first thing cut. Although free to set up, they take valuable staff resources to manage, and the ROI is not as apparent. While launching a social-media campaign likely won’t bring leads and sales pouring in your door tomorrow, when you implement a few social-media success strategies, you’ll find it … Read the rest

Cutting Edge Technologies All Meeting Planners Must Embrace

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When you ask most meeting planners what kind of technology they typically use at their events, they’ll reply with things like “using a big screen for main stage events” or “PowerPoint projectors for every breakout session.” Those things are important, but they are just the tip of the iceberg for meeting planner technology.

Unfortunately, many meeting planners (aside from those who specialize in the tech industry) shy away from technology. They may be familiar with some of the new technologies available, but they don’t use them consistently and end up missing out on important opportunities. If you don’t embrace and … Read the rest

Must-Do Steps for Success in Social Media

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Things are different today. What was an “endorsement” years ago meant something different than it means today. Meanings change with time. Words are fluid and ebb with the flow of time. We have to adapt and change.

This makes an impact in social media with LinkedIn “endorsements.” If you’re on LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen this. You are asked to “endorse” a person for a particular skill. I’ve heard people object to this, sometimes vehemently. “I barely know Herkimer so how can I “endorse” him?” Why am I asked to “endorse” Esmeralda when I don’t have a strong relationship with her?”… Read the rest