Improving Your Sales Results Successful in Making Sales Appointments

Making sales appointments is an essential part of the sales process in all direct selling situations. You need a sales appointment to give us a platform where you can apply your excellent consultative sales skills to the advantage of both parties. But making those awful sales appointment calls! Who wants that much rejection? They do not even give you a chance!

Secret Number 1 – Use Active Motivators

You do not like making sales appointments? No-one does, and you never will! Do not even TRY to like making sales appointments. Appointment selling will never give you the pleasure that a good sales meeting can generate. You will never get that satisfying buzz of sales skills well used. Even a successful sales appointment call, where the prospect is happy to see you, will be a brief and an unsatisfying telephone call. This means that a successful sales appointment call is not in itself a motivator. You must look for other ways to motivate yourself to make these calls.

Plan each batch of appointment calls carefully. Make a list of prospects, and make sure it is long enough to allow for the multitude of no answer or voice mails. Set yourself very clear goals for each session, and vary the goals from one session to the next. Variety in goal focus is more motivating than always having the same target. For example you might set a target of 60 dials in one session, 20 contacts in the next and 3 appointments in the third. Work efficiently and effectively until you achieve your target, and then give yourself a nice reward! Again vary the reward, a different reward for each day or each week. The idea is to really work at giving you active motivators to foster success.

Secret Number 2 – Sell the Appointment, not the Product

Most direct sales people work on a consultative sales type approach, where you are doing a thorough fact find and offering which of your products or services will add value to your client’s needs. There are lots of questions, and a good deal of selling the value of your products. In direct selling, this is good. In selling an appointment, this is NOT good.

Remember that when the phone rings at your prospect’s desk, you will drop in unannounced. It would be totally inappropriate, therefore, to begin the conversation with a load of questions. This will trigger a justifiable negative reaction. Equally, if you try to sell the benefits of your products on the telephone call, why should the prospect bother seeing you? Remember your skills lie in the direct sales meeting, and you really need that sales appointment to perform. What this means is, do not attempt to sell your products. Sell the appointment. The value statements you will make are the benefits to the prospect of YOU sitting in front of him.

To prepare for your batch of calls, prepare a list of benefits of the APPOINTMENT. Why is it good for the prospect to spend 30 minutes of his time with you? What will he gain? Why will he be better off? Practice each one of these aloud, using strong positive benefit language. Then choose the right ones to use on your calls today.

Secret Number 3 – This is a Short Focussed Call

The successful sales appointment call is short. By that we do not mean rushed. On the contrary, the beginning of the call, as you introduce yourself, should be confident and gently paced. Your typical call structure should be something like -

1. Who you are, your name
2. Who your Company is, your Company name together with a one line promotion statement. Here we are impressing the prospect, giving them a positive reason why they should bother taking the call from that Company.
3. Your reason for calling today. You have wonderful products, or you are in the neighborhood, are NOT good reasons why a busy person should see you. You want to present a one line teaser that will be of benefit to this Customer. It could be as simple as, we have just launched a new range of products, or, we have revised our pricing schedule to offer more cost effective solutions. The reason you are calling today, HAS to be a definite reason.
4. Engaging question. You have done all the talking up to now, so it is time for the prospect to be involved. You want one question open question that will illicit some information, but will not allow the prospect to shut down the call. This must be a very specific question for your line of business, and you really only want to get the prospect to say a one line response.
5. Sell the benefits of the Meeting. Here we ask for 30 minutes of their time, and give 2 to 3 benefits of this meeting.
6. Go straight to gain agreement. Move immediately to a close, offering a range of times and days

Practice your sales appointment calls until you get the timing right. Remember it is short, driving towards the close very quickly. When you get it right, record it so that you can capture the language and feel of the successful appointment call.

Small Business Considerations That Can Help You

Congratulations if you have just established your small business. You are now one of the elite they call entrepreneurs. Your office is in place, your staff are capable and being paid for. Great. But you might now need to ask yourself if you are prepared to handle the extra cost of business.

Yes, you read me right. There is an extra cost to business. See, in commerce, there are only two kinds of people. Those who thrive and those who survive. Many people don't even belong to any of these categories... and they think they are in business. But they are not.

You survive when you are able to stay financially alive, living day-to-day, hand-to-mouth. In short, you merely exist. You thrive when you flourish; your business makes money and meets all of your needs or at any rate, most of them. The point is, you are either growing or being stagnant. There is simply no sitting on the fence. Trade, science, and technology, the whole world is growing way to fast for you to be content by just setting up a 'little business' and being content with it. What happens is some other dude opens up competition across the street and runs you out of business.

How then do you put in the little extra? You have got to grow; you've got to expand your business. If you don't have the ready cash to effect that right away, apply for a loan as soon as you possibly can. There are literally thousands of institutions that specialize in just that. Some even go the extra length to help you in reviewing your plans; just so they can be sure their investment is protected.

Loans can be either secured or unsecured. Secured loans offer you almost anything you need in return for which you are to pay the money back within a stipulated period ranging from 5 to 25 years. And you also have to throw in collateral, to give the lender confidence in your desire pay back. Unsecured loans do not require collateral, and as such, the lender cannot conceivably lend you as much money. They also insist that you pay back within a shorter time range so that they are covered.

With a loan, you are able to meet the demands that the expansion of your business needs so that you not only survive, you thrive and thrive well. That is your extra edge; that is the extra cost of business.

An Overview Of Indian Import Export Business

The import export business in India is the subsequent result of globalization and the growth of trade relations between countries. Through these trade relations the Indian exporters have gained opportunities to expand their businesses overseas.

The Indian products have a huge demand in the foreign markets. The export business in India has been flourishing and according to reports it contributes a huge share to the development of the country. The Indian exporters have succeeded in with standing the stiff competition prevalent in the foreign markets through skilled manpower and quality products.

Some of the Top Import Export Sectors in India

Agriculture: The agricultural industry in India contributes a major share to the import export business as, unlike other countries in the world, agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Some of the most valued products in the international market include spices, wheat, rice, sugar, tobacco and tea.

Jewellery: The outstanding collection of jewellery in India is another important export industry. The Indian exporters have carved a niche for themselves in the field of jewellery both within the country and abroad. With intricate designs and exquisite masterpieces which speak volumes of the never fading Indian tradition, the jewellery from India are in great demand in the foreign markets.

Textiles and Apparels: Another sector which contributes a massive share to the country's GDP is the textile industry. According to recent reports around 30 percent of the total exports include the textile exports. The demand of Indian textiles, with its exemplary texture and colors, has increased its value in the international markets.

Leather Products: The Indian exporters find it easy to market leather products of the country because of its high availability and excellent quality. It is one of those industries which contributes to the growth and development of the nation. Most of the foreign branded companies have invested in the Indian leather industries. It is known to be one of the top export industries in India. The Indian leather shoes, wallets, belts, carry bags are popular in the global markets.

Chemical products: The chemical industry in India is another well known sector where the Indian exporters contribute around 7 percent to the country's GDP. India has made outstanding achievements in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals. Almost majority of the chemical products which include dyes, paints, medicines, soaps and other products are exported to foreign countries on a huge scale.

Furnishing products: India with its ethnic designs and traditional styles manufacture home furnishing products like curtains, bed linens, cushions and so forth. These products depict the cultural essence of the country. Since the textile industry in India is one of the best in the world, the Indian exporters make huge profits with the export of these accessories.

The export business in India has further accelerated with the use of business to business directories. With companies from all over the world listed in these online directories, foreign trade is automatically accelerated. The b2b directories in India list almost all the top notch Indian exporters which has facilitated in better business opportunities in the global market.

Bridging loans Sale of your home can wait

Finding a suitable built-up home is a tough task for any aspiring homeowner. There are so many parameters that a homeowner has in his mind that make locating a similar home very difficult. However, if you have already located a home that fits your ideal description then you should not wait for too long; your aim should be to complete the purchase process as soon as possible. Many a times people lose good opportunities just because they are not able to take timely decisions. You should check this tendency and not let any such opportunity go unexploited.

Once you have selected a home and entered into agreement with the seller, the next step is to pay the purchase price. If you are relying on the sale of your existing home for payment purposes then it may delay the purchase transaction. Your existing home can wait to be sold; you may take bridging loans and complete the new home deal. Bridging loans are short term facilities provided by the lenders so that you can fill the time gap between buying and selling of two properties.

Bridging loans may be 'closed' or 'open' depending upon the fact whether your home has been put on sale or not. If agreements have been exchanged then it is a case of 'close bridge'. If you are still to put your home on sale then it is a fit case for 'open bridge'. In this case, lender may ask you many questions because nothing concrete has been done on your part to repay the loan within a short time.

Unsecured loans in times of credit squeeze

Globally, the financial markets have been adversely affected by the credit squeeze having its origin in the U.S. sub-prime market collapse. Unprecedented increase in the default rates in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market is the main reason behind the credit squeeze, that has virtually spread to all countries. In times of globalisation and close business relations among various economies, a big turmoil like this is likely to have far reaching repercussions across the nations.

The lenders in the UK are trying to minimise their risk assumption by not entertaining the borrowers who are having bad credit problems and those with bad financial circumstances. Many of the leading lenders have already withdrawn unsecured loans from the market in order to curtail their risk. No doubt, unsecured loans are immensely popular with the Britons, but since the onslaught of credit crisis, the market for these loans is witnessing a worrying trend. The lenders have mostly withdrawn their unsecured range of loan products, making it difficult for the borrowers to access these loans. In sharp contrast, the lenders were offering loans at very relaxed terms and conditions just a year back.

Now-a-days, if you want to avail unsecured loans, you should have a good credit score as well as monthly income enough to meet the high cost of borrowing. The interest rates are on the higher side even though the Bank of England's base rate has dipped twice since December 2008.

Risk free financial tool for all your requirements

Gone are the days when it was difficult for borrowers like tenants and non home owners to generate finance to meet their urgent needs. As tenants have nothing to offer as security, lenders were hesitant to offer them loans. But there is a complete change in the scenario now due to the fierce competition in the UK loan market. Being a tenant is no more a justifiable reason to turn down the loan application. There is a special category of loan for tenants called unsecured loan available in the loan market now. The loan is specially meant for borrowers like tenants, but the homeowners who do not want to risk their home can also take the advantage.

As the name suggest, unsecured loan plans do not require any security. This makes it extremely feasible for both the tenants and homeowners. No requirement of security also implies that the processing time of the loan is drastically reduced. As there is no need of evaluation of any property, these loans are processed fast. Instant availability makes these loans one of the most sought after loan in the market today. With the help of the loan, borrower can easily fructify his needs and desires cheaply. The borrower can use the loan to cover the expenses such as buying a car, going for a vacation, to consolidate previous outstanding and for wedding expenses etc.

Borrowers with bad credit history such as IVA, CCJ, late payments, defaults etc can avail unsecured loan at a slightly higher rate of interest. The loan availability depends a lot on the repayment capacity of the borrower.