Sales Tips for Salespeople by Salespeople: Handling Rejection

May 11th, 2012

Did you know that there are two kinds of rejection, active rejection and passive rejection?

1) Passive Rejection

  • No return Calls
  • Ignored Emails
  • Won’t take calls
  • “Forgets” meetings

2) Active Rejection

  • Abrasive
  • Rude
  • Hangs up the phone during conversation
  • Makes personal attacks
  • Attacks the product or service

Some salespeople can’t handle passive rejection, others active rejection. The key to surviving the sales process and growing as a sales person, however, is the ablity to handle all types of rejection, both passive and active.

So, how quickly can you get back on your feet and back into selling mode? Remember, any downtime away from selling is money lost. So it is important to get back in the game as quickly as possible. One of the most important attributes of any good salesperson is their ability to handle rejection, recover quickly, and move on to the next sales call.

Or, if you would rather avoid rejection, you can leave the sales work to Grindstone Business Development!

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

If you have any questions about how telemarketing can help you, contact the Grindstone Business Development Group by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Rejection – Two Ways it Might Impact Selling!

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Small Business Tips :: Telemarketing :: Outsourced Sales

May 2nd, 2012

As a small business owner, you wear many hates. You are the owner of the company, you are the head of human resources, you are in charge of daily operations, you are the head salesperson, and you are even the cleaning crew! But in order to successfully grow your small business, you must get help, but how? You cannot afford any full-time employees.

Well, what about outsourced telemarketing?

First off, forget what you think you know about telemarketing, which is the fastest growing industry in the world today.

Benefits of Telemarketing

There are two types of telemarketing – inbound and outbound.

  1. Inbound telemarketing refers to the manner in which a company accepts calls from consumers. This form has several advantages including higher volume of sales, greater profits, increased lead generation, reduced costs per sale, increased number of qualified telemarketing leads, increased number of appointments, increased customer base, higher number of closed sales, and maximum phone productivity. Inbound telemarketing is cheap and easy – often being outsourced to a third party.
  2. Outbound telemarketing allows businesses to make sales calls, to upgrade mail orders, do prospecting, or speed up cash flow to the corporation through accounts receivable collection efforts. Outbound can also be used to build retail traffic, get appointments for sales reps, and even re-sell customers who have cancelled their order.

Telemarketing is the future. So jump on board today and grow your small business.

If you have any questions about how telemarketing can help you, contact the Grindstone Business Development Group by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

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Stubborn Clients who Fail to Pull the Trigger :: Business Development Tips

April 27th, 2012

As a sales person, there are few events more frustrating than a customer or client who fails to pull the trigger, slowly stringing you along. Everything up to this point was positive. All the signs pointed to a sale. But then nothing happened…something went wrong. When it came time to close the deal, your client suddenly hit the brakes.

But you refuse to lose this sale. So what do you do?

The answer: a Compelling Event.

“A Compelling Event has an economic owner, a defined date, and is a direct response to a business pressure. The action is expected to deliver a significant business result (either improving opportunity/capability or reducing pain). The compelling event defines the reason for the economic owner to act.”

Dimensions of a Compelling Event

  1. Internal Pressure: Are there any forces within the prospect organization that are driving a decision to be made?
  2. External Pressure: Is there pressure from shareholders, regulatory agencies, or other 3rd parties that are creating a deadline?
  3. Personal Impact: How does the purchase decision impact the individuals in the prospect organization? Does professional advancement depend on the outcome; or the opportunity to achieve a bonus?
  4. Consequences: Are there any negative consequences of doing nothing? Are careers at risk?

Some sales decisions are easy, requiring no compelling event. Others, like the one we described above, need a little extra motivation. And, when this is the case, it is up to you to create that compelling event!

Leave the Selling to the Professionals

When in doubt, leave your company’s sales and negotiations to the sales experts at Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

If you have any questions about the Sales Process and Compelling Events, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Will This Deal Ever Close? A Compelling Event

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The Art of Successful Negotiations

April 20th, 2012

When you boil it down to its simplest form, sales is a two-part process.

  1. Building the Relationship: Before you even start to sell anything, you must first earn the trust of your potential customer. This requires you forming a working business relationship.
  2. Negotiation: Once you have built a relationship, you can begin to get down to business…negotiating! Negotiations can encompass a lot, including price, delivery schedules, support capabilities, financial targets, and much more!

The Art of Successful Negotiations

  1. Establishing Parameters: What are going to be the primary points of negotiating? Maker sure you research and evaluate information on leverage, values, sale prices, competition, and any other factors that will affect the negotiation.
  2. Setting Realistic Expectations: Also know as compromising. If you want double the price for the same product/service you sold a customer 10 years ago and they are expecting to pay slightly more than what they paid 10 years ago, you have a problem. To alleviate this problem, you and the customer must come up with a mutually beneficial compromise…say a 30% increase?
  3. Finances: Be sure you can adequately articulate and justify your price. Also be sure to know what kind of wiggle room you have to offer a discount. This will help immensely during your negotiation.
  4. Posturing: Where do you have flexibility to give and take? Can you offer a discount? Can you offer faster delivery or immediate installation? Be sure to know what type of maneuverability you have.
  5. Leave the Selling to the Professionals: When in doubt, leave your company’s sales and negotiations to the sales experts at Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including:

  • Direct telesales
  • B2B lead generation
  • Database updating
  • Telemarketing
  • Customer retention
  • B2B appointment setting services

Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

If you have any questions our Outsourced Sales, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

How to Negotiate a Complex Deal

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How to Boost Sales and Cut Sales Costs at the Same Time

April 13th, 2012

In today’s less than stellar economic times, business owners – like yourself – are always looking for ways to cut costs…especially when it comes to sales.

Tips to Help Boost Sales and Cut Sales Costs

  1. Positive Spin: Try re-branding sales training or work trips as “Vacation Rewards” for good work. Your employees will work harder, gain a nice weekend away, and you will benefit from increased sales and a more knowledgeable sales staff. It is a win-win.
  2. Lofty Goals: Sales people are motivated by goals. But do not make these goals easel achievable (they also cannot be unachievable).
  3. Link Compensation and Corporate Performance: Instead of tying compensation into individual goals, make them contingent on business goals. This will motivate your sales staff to work as a team to achieve the greater good. After all, your business’ success is not about individual performances, but about collective success.
  4. Outsource Sales: More importantly, outsource your sales to Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

So go back to doing what you do best and let Grindstone handle all of your business’ sales!

If you have any questions our Outsourced Sales, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

6 Easy Ways to Cut Sales Costs

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Tips for Improving your Business’ Phone Practices

April 6th, 2012

With travel costs through the roof, more and more businesses and salespeople are having to rely on phone calls in order to build rapport with potential clients/customers. The problem is that many salespeople do not processes the skills necessary to effectively build relationships and close deals over the phone. Many inexperienced salespeople (and even some experienced ones) talk too fast, mumble, blather, make remarks that would only make sense with an accompanying hand gesture, etc.

Tips to Improve Your Business Telephone Skills

1.   Record and Review: Record a few of your business phone conversations. Listen to hear what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. These strengths and weaknesses will be much more evident when you listen to yourself.

2.   Agenda: Know what you are going to say and have talking points ready. Nothing kills a phone call more than silence.

3.   Listen: Make sure you are actually listening to what your potential customer/client has to say.

4.   Pause Briefly Before Responding: Silence is bad. Pausing is good. Take a second or two to formulate an intelligent thought before responding to a questions or comment. Nothing sounds more unprofessional that “uuuuuum.”

5.   Leave The Telesales and Telemarketing to the Professionals: When in doubt, leave your company’s telesales and telemarketing duties to the professionals, like Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

So go back to doing what you do best and let Grindstone handle all of your business’ sales!

If you have any questions our Outsourced Telesales, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

How to Work the Phone: 6 Tricks

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Making Great First Impressions: The Key to Successful Sales Calls

March 30th, 2012

While sales has a lot to do about what you are selling, it has even more to do with how you sell that specific product or service. More importantly, sales is about building strong working relationships. After all, sales are conducted between people.

The secret to building a strong working relationship is making a great first impression!

Tips for Making a Great First Impression

  1. Relax: If you are nervous, you will make the prospect nervous.
  2. Smile: Smiles make a difference and can help to break that initial tension.
  3. Handshake: A good handshake says things about you that words never can.
  4. Eye Contact: Making eye contact is a sign of respect and shows that you are engaged in the conversation.
  5. Be Yourself: If you are putting on an act, it will show. Be yourself and let the sale happen naturally.
  6. Show Interest: Listen! Listen to the client’s needs. Listen to what he/she has to say. Listen to everything. By showing an interest in the client, you are showing that you care about their needs.
  7. Be Confident: Being confident coupled with being relaxed leads to a projected self-assurance that is both interesting and attractive.

Happy Selling!

But if you would rather leave the selling to the professionals, contact Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including:

•      Direct telesales

•      B2B lead generation

•      Database updating

•      Telemarketing

•      Customer retention

•      B2B appointment setting services

Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

If you have any questions our Outsourced Business Development, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

MAKING A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION

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Is Marketing a Part of Sales, or is Sales a Part of Marketing?

March 23rd, 2012

As a small business owner, you do not have the luxury of hiring specialists for each and every business-related task you have. Because of this, many departments handle multiple roles within a company. And more often than not, marketing and sales get lumped together.

This got us thinking; is marketing a part of sales, or is sales a part of marketing? Is your sales team in charge of marketing or is your marketing team in charge of sales?

“There really is no reason to categorize something as ‘sales’ and some other thing as ‘marketing’ – that is exactly what restricts companies from developing their business,” wrote one business development expert. “Those are just words that refer to interacting with the customer at different stages of the information exchange between the buyer and the seller.

Sales and marketing are just flip sides of a coin. One is absolutely worthless without the other!

So how can you, as a business owner, better balance your company’s marketing and sales responsibilities?

Outsourcing!

More importantly, outsourcing to Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

So go back to doing what you do best and let Grindstone handle all of your business’ sales!

If you have any questions our Outsourced Sales Services, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

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Today’s Business Climate Demands Specialized Sales Teams

March 16th, 2012

In today’s tech-savvy business world, buyers are much more knowledgeable about what they want than ever before. And with the state of the U.S. economy, business owner’s and decision makers are being stingier than ever before, as well.

Because of these factors, the role of the salesperson is quickly changing. No longer is the best salesperson the best conversationalist – that smooth-talker who could “sell water to a well.” Instead, today’s sales process demands a joint effort – a collective sales team working together to achieve a common goal.

Successful and consistent selling does not come from great individual performances. True success is only achievable when salespeople work well together, in a collaborative and consistent manner.

Because of this, more and more businesses are opting to outsource their sales needs to professional business development firms with the resources and the sales experience to cope with today’s demanding sales process. So if you are looking to boost the profitability of your business, then contact Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including direct telesales, lead generation, database updating, customer retention, and B2B appointment setting services. Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

So go back to doing what you do best and let Grindstone handle all of your business’ sales!

If you have any questions our Outsourced Sales Services, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

A New World Approach to Transforming the Sales Team

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Outsourced Business Development

March 9th, 2012

As a business owner in a world that fears change, it is often hard to grow your business. This is because in order to grow, you must first change. This is the primary idea behind business development. But if this change is not handled the right way, it brings with it some very real risks, including: failure, embarrassment, unnecessary costs, and the loss of prospects.

In many cases, you must convince your own company to change so you can sell change to a prospect. You must convince both parties that even if your current sales processes are working, they can be improved upon. So, in order to be successful, business development sales people must manage this “fear of change” at both the prospect and at their own company.  This takes a specific skill set, a skill set that is not inherent in many individuals or organizations.

This is why many companies elect to outsource their business development needs to a professional firm – a firm like Grindstone Business Development.

Grindstone is a full service, outsourced Business Development Company providing professional sales support and complete sales outsourcing solutions to Domestic and International clients alike. Grindstone specializes in Business to Business (B2B) programs including:

•      Direct telesales

•      B2B lead generation

•      Database updating

•      Telemarketing

•      Customer retention

•      B2B appointment setting services

Grindstone recruits, manages, and maintains top level talent through a superior management infrastructure. Consistent communication, feedback, and strategy refinement are a core trait. Grindstone is an extension of each client’s business and operates at the highest levels of professionalism. Every client program starts with the goal of establishing a long-term ongoing partnership.

If you have any questions our Outsourced Business Development, please contact Grindstone – based out of Baltimore, Maryland -by calling 1-888-724-7463 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

A Word About Business Development

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