Friday Sales-thought of the Week!

Steven Covey reminds us that when setting goals ... "Start with the end in mind." That is to visualize the end result that you hope to accomplish and start your planning process from there ... "With the end in mind."

If you have been in our industry longer than 10 years, you will probably agree that we have seen significant changes in the way we service our clients. The two most significant changes have been with communications and the "reactive" nature to our sales process today.

We all know that top producers in our industry are viewed by their clients as promotional marketing consultants or trusted advisors, not product vendors. In order to be viewed this way, you must uncover opportunities within an account that either increases revenue or solves a problem.

When you can't answer the phone, what does a caller hear? Does your voice mail message give each caller a sense that you are professional, enthusiastic and eager to get right back to them... or does it leave them wondering when and if in fact you will ever call them back?

How would you like to add a few BIG fish to your account list? Wouldn't it be great to find two or three or 50? Well you can do exactly that if you learn how to go Fishing for new accounts instead of Hunting for new accounts!

Many times we start presenting and selling before we have paid the price of admission or earned the right to proceed, and this can be a big mistake.If you don't know anything about the company you are targeting, and don't take the time to get to know the buyer as a person before you start presenting and selling, most likely you will fail.