Back-End Offers – Make Real Profits

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Often the real profits lie in back-end sales.
Once you have a customer, you simply offer additional products, add-ons, upgrades, a super-deluxe version of the original product purchase with all the bells and whistles. The customer is already “sold” on the product or service, based on your sales material or presentation.

The back-end offer should supply the answer to “what’s next?” It should be related in some way to the original product, and the most successful back-end products are higher-priced accessories that makes it easier of better for the buyer than simply having the original.

A back end product should further enhance the product that the buyer intended to purchase. Whatever the original product does, a good back-end product will make it faster, better, more detailed, more complete or easier to use and benefit from – in essence it is far more helpful to the prospect in satisfying his wants, than is the original, more basic product.

Keys to Success
The success of back-end products can be attributed to having a captive, highly targeted audience who is definitely interested in achieving a specific result or solving a specific problem. The add-on product makes it easier to solve the prospect’s problem, quickly.

Another factor is to further sell the customer while he is still in the buying mode and while he is feeling good about solving a problem or moving closer towards a goal.

Examples
To come with examples of back-end products simply ask “What product or service could I also offer that would be a natural match for what my customer is buying now? A self-publisher could offer a booklet on a specific topic. As a back-end, he could offer the same topic covered in greater detail and presented in a multi-media format complete with audio cassettes, videos, manual and CD.

Opportunities for back-end or additional add-on products are easy to find. A shoe store can offer shoe buying customers, laces, polish, protectants or, other accessories, based on the type of shoe sold. Ever visit a theatre to watch a movie and not order popcorn, chips, soft drink, or some other refreshment? Those items are all back-end products. First you bought your tickets, then you went to the snack bar.

My local video store now offers “tape protection” as an extra option. It’s basically insurance against returning a damaged video. Since most videos rented out these days are new releases, tapes being returned in damaged condition are a rarity. Yet, many people gladly pay the extra twenty-five cents to “feel” secure. A clever new profit center for the video-rental industry.

How?
Always be mindful of products, services or ideas that your customers will willingly pay for. Anything that can make it easier or hassle-free for the customer, could be a good candidate as an add-on product. Convenience is a wonderful thing and many will willingly pay you for it.

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10 Low-Cost Sales Boosters You Don't Want To Overlook

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You don't have to spend a fortune to boost your sales!  Take a look at these 10 quick and easy ways to send your profits to the moon without digging into you advertising budget.

1.  Test and Evaluate
Have you ever wondered just how much of your advertising budget should go toward experimenting with the latest marketing strategies?  Marketing gurus say... spend 20 percent looking for new and improved marketing methods, while the remaining 80 percent uses the "tried and true" marketing strategies to keep the profits flowing.

2.  Capture Attention on your Website
Use headlines that leap out and grab the reader's attention to moment they open your Web page.  Hey, they're just like you... if their attention isn't caught immediately, they 're ready to surf on the more exciting things!

3.  Use the Best-Kept Marketing Secret - Postcards
Postcards are quick and easy to read, not to mention the fact that you can shave off a great deal of wasted advertising expenses by targeting your market.  Hey, they're cheap and convenient for you, and they get read more than other types of advertising materials... a winner all the way around!

4.  Let Customers Sell You
Some things sound better coming from someone else.  Yes, it's hard to brag your business up as effectively as a satisfied customer.  Testimonials are evidence that you deliver what you promise.  Paste them across ads, your Website, and any other sales copy you happen to distribute.

5.  Just Ask
Great salesmen take the time to listen to the questions the customer has, identify their wants and needs, then ask for the sale.  That's right, they're not afraid to just ask them to buy!  Sometimes customers just need that little bit of pressure to cement the deal.

6.  Raise the Value
Sometime value is only in they eyes of the beholder.  You can raise the perceived value of your products by pointing out benefits that consumers may have overlooked.  While you're at it, raise the price.  Yeah, we all know that more valuable items have higher price tags!  Don't be surprised if your profits skyrocket.

7.  Make it Easy to Decide
Have you ever had a hard time deciding what to buy?  Uh-huh, you don't always come to a conclusion immediately.  Every time a customer walks out of the store without making a decision, you take a big chance on losing the sale.  Keep the options to a minimum to maximize the sales numbers.

8.  Break it Down
Got a big ticket item?  Break the price into bite sizes for more appeal.  Yeah, 90 cents a day sounds much cheaper than $325!

9.  Create Bonuses
An unexpected bonus with a purchase makes it seem like you got a lot more for your money.  Keep customers smiling when they walk away from the cash register, and they'll keep coming back for more.

10.  Handle Customer Complaints With a Little TLC
Don't waste time getting to the bottom of the problem.  Customers want to feel they are being heard, or they wouldn't take the time to complain to you.  Are you afraid that you'll be losing profit, if you have to bend too far backwards to accommodate them?  Think of it this way... an unhappy customer you turn into a happy customer will become a loyal customer.  Yeah, it'll pay in the long run.

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Why It Seems So Hard to Get Hired for Your Services!

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To answer this question let’s first take a look at the difference between promoting products VS services.
Products often have cool features that show results quickly. Talk about the benefits of a feature and how it’ll make your customer’s life easier and you’ll probably get a sale.

Services on the other hand, are intangible. There are no buttons to push or “before and after” pictures to see. Services often get categorized as “luxury items” we can usually survive without.  They are more challenging to sell because the “results” of a service can be difficult to quantify measure or prove.

Many “hard sell” sales trainers shy away from working with service providers. It is easier to train someone to sell products with features you can see and results you can prove.

After four years in the corporate world selling products (Electronic telephone systems), I transferred into yellow pages advertising.  Many of the “sales” techniques we used to sell telephones wouldn’t work at all in advertising!  I quickly found out that I needed new sales techniques to promote the intangible results of advertising.

Authors, Coaches, Consultants, etc. produce results that improve the human side of life and business and “Alternative Healers” deal with subtle energies that may take longer to produce quantifiable results.  To the average consumer, these are luxuries that, although desirable and beneficial, can be “done without” if money is tight.

Most of my clients haven’t got a clue how to tell people about the benefits and results of their good services. They feel frustrated and wonder why clients are so hard to get. Many are good at explaining how they work and what tools they use. The problem is that most consumers couldn’t care less about how you work. We care more about the benefits we’ll experience after hiring you. We want to be clear on what results you can deliver in exchange for our hard-earned money.

“What’s in it for me?” your customers are asking. It is time to stop feature-dumping!  Features only imply that a “process” is beneficial, or a “technique” is going to help…. As service providers we must be able to describe clear results to potential clients.

Success Story:
One client arrived in despair.  She had a great service as a professional organizer and sadly, few customers to show for it.

I asked her to give me the top 10 benefits of her good service…alas she (like many others responding to this request) provided a list of top 10 features instead.

She listed “features” that describe how she gets to a result. Features like:
- Customized quotes
- Office flow organization tweaking
- Created new filing systems
- Ergonomic layouts for offices, etc.
Sound pretty good, don’t’ they?  Sure, and her customers seemed interested and keen, BUT they were not following through and hiring her.

I helped her articulate a more effective sales list of the benefits and results of her good work. Results like:
- Added value of charging only her client’s specific needs
- Improved and streamlined office procedures
- To save time and decrease frustrations
- Ability to provide better customer service
- Increased efficiency with improved filing structure
- Less time wasted due to poor office layout
- Resulting in increased productivity all around.

We created a list of 6 good questions she can ask to uncover if a client needs organizational help.  Why waste time telling clients all about our services if they don’t need them?

Now, my client will always ask questions to find out first if someone seriously needs her service. If they do, she tells them with confidence about the results she can provide and is more secure asking for their business.  By following these guidelines you too can get hired faster with more confidence practically every time!

"Anna Kanary's Sales class was exactly what I needed! As someone with very little sales background and who struggles to close the deal with potential clients, this class gave me the format, confidence, clarity and momentum I needed to get out there and get more clients!  Anna's expertise combined with her warmth makes this class not only exceptional but necessary...you will get more than you ever expected!"

Sarah O. Bloomquist, Personal Life Coach, Innermost Coaching, www.innermostcoaching.com

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Purchase Order Finance - Your Tool For Unlimited Sales

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Do you sell to the government or to large companies? Do you regularly get purchase orders that stretch your company’s ability to deliver? Lastly, if you had financing to cover all your supplier costs, could you sell more? Much more?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then purchase order financing could help your business grow.
Purchase order financing is a way of financing sales that has been gaining popularity with US and Canadian businesses. It offers a very simple proposition. If you have an order from a large credit worthy business (or government agency), then the financing company will provide you with the necessary funding to fulfill your supplier payments and make the sale. Call it sales based financing. It works well for resellers, distributors and wholesalers, although it can also be used in other industries.

Here is how purchase order financing works. Let’s say that you own a company that has been getting progressively larger orders, tightening your cash flow. After setting up a purchase order financing agreement, this is how your sales financing would work:
1. You get an order from a client
2. The purchase order finance company handles up to 100% of your supplier payments (by direct payment or letter of credit)
3. The order is fulfilled and the goods are delivered
4. The transaction is settled, once the client pays their invoices

As you can see, purchase order financing allows you to leverage the resources of the financing company and allows you to increase your sales. With PO financing, lack of cash flow will never be a reason to lose a sale.

As opposed to a business loan from a bank, purchase order financing is very easy to obtain and can be set up in days. The main requirement is to have valid orders from good commercial or government clients. Most banks won’t offer this type of financing, but you can get it from a factoring company. As a matter of fact, purchase order financing and invoice factoring are frequently combined to help reduce the costs of the transaction.

So, if your purchase orders are piling up, be sure to consider financing with purchase order funding.

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Setting Realistic Goals

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When we make a sale, or take one step closer to meeting our goal, we are overcome with a felling of achievement which motivates us to sell more.

I’m sure that anybody who is reading this article has been in the situation where they may have been given unobtainable goals from one of their bosses, sales manager’s, or some higher up somewhere in the company.
When goals are given that are unrealistic, the mission is doomed from the beginning. It immediately gives a feeling of despair to the sales team, which can be devastating to morale.

The sales team will do their duty and work as hard as they can to obtain the goals, but when they fall short, they will have feelings of failure, and will be reluctant to move on.

Simply stated, unrealistic goals, take the fun out of selling.

A personal story . . .
During my years in the banking industry, I managed a sales team in a small branch inside of a grocery store. This is what is known as In-store banking. It was estimated that seven thousand people came through the grocery store where my branch was located on a weekly basis.

With that statistic, my sales team was given a goal of opening up six checking accounts per day, among other things.

This would be a monthly goal of one hundred and eighty checking accounts per month. To me and my team, this was highly unrealistic.

Then, In-store banking was brand new to the banking industry, and these goals were being handed down by people who never once stepped foot in an in-store branch.

Please understand, I am not bitter about this, I am just stating the facts, and believe this to be an on going problem with companies.

This problem works both ways. Sometimes the goals being handed down are not enough, and a sales team will fall short of what their potential could be.

Needless to say, my sales team never met their daily, weekly, or monthly goals. We did however, fight the good fight and manage to hold our own. But morale was never what it should have been.

Every six months my team and I would attend the semiannual sales rally, where we would sit and watch as the other branches so proudly accepted their awards for meeting their goals. It pained me to watch my team walk away empty handed knowing that they worked so hard.

My point is, when goals are being set, they need to be realistic and obtainable. The more you or your team reach their goal the more motivated they will be.

Once you are reaching your goal at a steady pace, challenge yourself or your team, and raise the bar. Challenge them to reach higher on a daily basis

Keep in mind, when you raise the bar, keep this new goal realistic as well, you don’t want to become over confident and put your goals out of reach.

One last thing . . .
The goals that are being set, should be put in place by a person or people who know you, your staff, and your demographics. Not by somebody in an ivory tower.

If they are not being put into place by the appropriate people, suggest this idea to someone in your organization that you can trust.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.

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Sales and the Importance of Following Up

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Sales are the life force of any business. Here’s an outline of the key factors in getting them for your business.

Persistence

Business owners and decision makers are typically very busy people. Often, the difference between making a sale and not making a sale is catching the decision maker at the right time. One of the best ways to catch a decision maker at the right time is to catch him or her many times. Of course, you do not want to be contacting a prospect so often that you become an annoyance. Still, using a combination of phone calls, emails, faxes and snail mails you can ensure your prospect remembers your company when the time comes to purchase the product or service you sell.

Organization

One of the most important aspects of following up is being organized. There is a great variety of software to help you get your lead management in order, but all lead management software is not created equal. One feature to look for in lead management software is portability. Web based systems allow users to access their leads from any Internet connected computer. Another feature to look for is built in document management. Ideally, your lead management software will allow you to easily send emails, faxes and snail mails and document the contact automatically. A good scheduling tool is also a great asset to lead management software.

Follow Up and Consistency

Once you have contacted your lead, make sure to let them know when you will follow up again and follow through. Setting a time and day to follow up and then following through will build trust with your prospect. Just doing what you say you'll do is a huge source of confidence to prospective clients. After following up several times at the same time and day of the week, your prospect will come to expect your contact. Use this to build rapport. Become involved in your prospect's life and you are much more likely to make a sale. Use your lead management software to make notes about your conversations. Other wise, it is very difficult to remember the details of every conversation you may have. By following up and staying in front of your prospects, you will make more sales. The more familiar your prospects are with your company and products or services, the more likely they are to choose your company. Using the right lead management software can make the task of following up a breeze.

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Business Cards Are Excellent Salesman

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Since the 19th century business cards were widespread among people of all classes with a business to promote. The earliest form of business cards, known as tradecards, were used as advertising materials and as maps used to direct the public to the merchant’s store. Today business cards are among the most important marketing material that every business must have.

The business card is perhaps the best salesman that you can have. That is why it is essential that it contains much more than your name, address, and contact numbers and services. It should be designed keeping its purpose in mind – that is its being a powerful sales tool. So let’s start with the design. If you want to create a business card that contains a photo with gradient colors you can try using a glossy paper to ensure that the cards are printed as good as they look on the screen. Or else, you can get disappointed with the print out.
In addition, if your card design contains background color or images, you can use papers that have gaps between them as these gaps will allow you to make up for the unavoidable elusiveness of the printer paper feed system. However, most stock cards don’t have gaps so if you don’t want to have trouble with printing, make sure your photos, images and text are at 3mm off the edge of the card. This way the minor printer imprecision will not destroy your business cards.

When it comes to printing, make sure that the paper stock that you will use is compatible to your printer. As inkjet and laser printer uses different technologies, it is important that you only feed paper type that is attuned to your printer choice. So for instance you will be using a laser printer, using a paper with glossy coating can cause damage to the printer. Hence, the right choice of paper stock will greatly affect your business cards print out.

Now let’s come to the strategies you can utilize in business card distribution. Aside from the usual handing out of your business cards during tradeshows, conventions, meetings and the like, tucking them in your products before delivery can be a good idea. Say you are a florist. You can consider tying your business card around the flowers. Or if use bags in packaging your products, you can staple or tie your card on the outside of the bag. You can also include you cards in your letters and invoices. And if you are really crafty you can slip in your cards into your designs – you can include them in your greeting cards, emboss them with your rubber stamps or blend them with your other artworks.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to designing and handing out your business cards. You just have to know how to utilize these possibilities to your advantage. Remember that your business cards can be your best salesman, so make them represent you effectively.

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Tips for Successful Negotiating by Phone

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Most of us negotiate something every day. Whether it's getting our kids to willingly clean their rooms, or hammering out an elephant-sized contract with more details than a politician has “special-interest” donors, our ability to haggle effects our results. Here are some useful negotiating tips.

1. Define Your Negotiables Other than Price. Inexperienced, unconfident, or plain old lazy reps take the easy route and drop price at the first sign of the other person seeking to get a better deal. Instead, first determine what you could offer, if needed, that has high perceived value to them, but little cost to you. For example, moving up the delivery date if they need it quickly, extending the warranty period . . . some distributors and suppliers like to throw in some products the customer isn't buying. This has high perceived value, and gets the customer to test the new product, which might pay off with future purchases.

2. Analyze Your Strengths, Their Needs. Before calling, list what you know they require and emotionally want, what you have, and what you want. You might know that this buyer always tries to pound you on price, but you also know you're working from a position of strength because you're the only one who has the quality of product he needs.
3. Set Your Objectives. Just like every call, define, “What do I want them to do as a result of this call, and what do I want to do?”

4. Aim High, Set Minimums. As part of your objectives, swing for the fence! Think big. Set the most favorable objective possible (one that is within reason). The richest sales reps I know can't believe anyone would think otherwise. Likewise, set minimums that you're willing to accept. You'll know how much you have to play with.

5. Prepare for their Possible Tactics. It's easier if you know the person. For example, knowing that Joe always starts with an outrageous request helps you prepare your counter-tactic. Otherwise, you need to dry-run through possible demands and tactics along with your responses so you're not blindsided into giving away something you didn't intend to.

6. Gather Information. As with all sales calls, the more you know the better.

7. Don't Give More Information (or Anything Else) than Necessary. I've seen sales reps offer price concessions that weren't asked for (“The price starts here, but I might be able to do a little better.”), and give up information that the customer used to ask for more concessions (“You mentioned another customer had additional training manuals thrown in free. I want those too.”)

8. Don't Split the Difference. It's human nature, but it costs you money. Let's look at the math. Your asking price is $50. They offer you $30. You counter with $40 and they figure splitting the difference is fair. Your tactic: come back with a pained tone of voice, “I might be able to do $46 or $47.” It's more likely you'll end up better than $40.

9. Trade Your Concessions. Get something in return. If you get them the better volume price, ask for a commitment for a blanket purchase order. One-sided giving rarely makes for a healthy relationship.

10. “If I, Will You?” A tactic to accomplish the previous point. Before agreeing to what they want, get commitment on what they'll give in return. “If I'm able to move your request to the front of the line, will you increase the order by 500?”

I believe I read this in an ad in an airline magazine for a negotiation seminar: “You don't get what you deserve; you get what you can negotiate.”

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Be Persuasive When You Sell

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When you are selling your products to clients, you don’t want to be pushy about it, you want to be persuasive.
Have you ever been around a sales person who seems to have everything going for him?
He has no problem talking to people, people like him, he seems to meet all of his sales goals so effortlessly.
This is not because he is lucky, or he was born with a natural gift when it came to selling. It is because he took the time and effort to make sure he went into the field well trained with the appropriate sales skills and product knowledge to make his sales seem as though they come without any effort.
This sales person, through hard work and sales training, has given himself the power of persuasion because he has the ability to find out what it is that his customers need.
When a sales person is being pushy with their product, it is a turn off to the customer. The last thing a customer wants, is somebody they just met up in their face who won’t stop talking. Pushy sales people come off rude, unprofessional and unknowledgeable.
From a customers point of view, a pushy sales person comes off as someone who just arrived from a one day sales training course on one particular product. Who is then sent out into the world to sell that product to anyone that will listen.
Most consumers can see right through this.
Persuasion takes subtlety. In fact, it is much easier to persuade someone to buy your product than to actually sell it.
Persuasion involves getting your customer to “buy in” to your product, or to see things from your point of view.
You must first get to know your customer. Take some time to ask a few personal questions. Such as where they live, what their occupation is, do they have any pets, etc.
People love to talk about themselves, so ask questions.
Once you get to know your customer, find out what their needs are. You can than match up your products to their needs.
Explain the benefits of your product, and give them a visual in their mind of themselves using your product. If you are selling baseball bats, give them the visual of using the bat to hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth too win the ball game.
Don’t do all the talking, listen to your customer. Listening is perhaps one of the most important sales skills you can posses. You can find out so much about your customer just by listening.
To persuade your customer to buy your product is to find a common ground with your customer. Smile, be courteous, answer their questions, learn what their needs are, listen to their concerns and try to alleviate them.
Once you have established what their needs are, tell them about the products you have that could satisfy their needs. Remember, don’t sell the product, tell them about the product, and what it can do for them.
Don’t think of it as selling, think of it as a normal conversation that you would have with one of your friends. Your sales will become more enjoyable, and they will also increase. Good luck.
This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.
Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

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A Favorable Juncture Of Circumstances

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Whenever decision-makers are willing to meet with you, you have reached a favorable juncture of circumstances. If you are then prepared to take advantage of this opportunity by building a level of trust with these individuals, there is a good chance that they will tell you enough about themselves so that you can easily recommend the appropriate package of your products and/or services that will meet their express needs.

Many top sales representatives feel that the sale is as good as closed if they can just obtain an appointment or meeting with a decision-maker. Their feeling is that their prospective customer must need their products or services or they would  not be willing to set an appointment in the first place. The following checklist has been developed to help you make the most of a favorable juncture of circumstances and build the trust levels that are vital to your overall sales success:

Smile! No matter what kind of day you are having, if you will smile it will give those people you contact a feeling of acceptance. It will also help you feel better about your day. Tape a smiley-face or the word “smile” on your desk or telephone to remind you of the importance of a smile on your face and in your voice. Top sales professionals use the technique of thinking of a funny story or the latest joke they have heard just before meeting a prospective customer. Thinking about the story or joke almost assures them of having a smile on their face as they meet a decision-maker for the first time. Make sure you are smiling as you call for appointments or are conducting a sales presentation.

Shake your client’s or prospect's hand. A warm, firm, friendly handshake goes a long way in building a trusting relationship. It tells your clients or prospects that you are a friendly person and that you are glad to see them. If your handshake is limp it can leave a negative impression. It can be equally as bad to grip someone's hand too hard. Remember you only have one chance to make a great first impression.
Ask an open-ended personal question. (Open-ended questions require an explanation and can rarely be answered with a “yes” or “no”). Psychologists tell us that when a person reveals something personal about themselves, it builds trust.

It’s vital for you to practice using open-ended questions to create a short period of small talk (the prospect doing 80% of the talking), at the outset of your presentation. Remember, people buy from people that they trust. When people start to talk about themselves, they start to build a trusting relationship with you so that later, as you discuss  your products and/or services, the things you say will be believed.
Research shows that people decide whether to follow the advice and buy from a sales professional in the first two minutes of the conversation. By following the track outlined above, you can make the most of your initial contact and truly turn each meeting of transaction into a favorable juncture of circumstances (a sales opportunity).

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Sales Success Requires a Tracking Process Part 3

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Today, automated sales tools, which help to increase success and improve the sales process. Tools for small business a person may be different from the forces of the emergence of a hundred people. Before taking control of sales and customer service, you must understand exactly what is covered.

Having started several businesses, I found one or two person company, simple tool, the better. For a company, I started with Outlook contact information and business. As we became more sophisticated and had to share knowledge, we used a free online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. This allowed more people to follow the customer information and tracking input from our telemarketing team rented. I know that other start-ups have been using Wiki, or shared spreadsheet. The more customers you have and the more your business the most advanced tools to improve the effectiveness of your sales effort.
automated tools are wonderful as successful marketing and / or promotions. Maybe you start with a newsletter (using tools such as rapid and constant contact page). This is followed by a special offer on your blog. Then you can send an updated offer announced on Twitter. Monitoring the success of this campaign may be linked to your automated sales tool and to help you to renew the program for better focus and achieve spectacular results. To start using a CRM tool, start with the simplest tools and easy at first. Next, find what you like and dislike.

Extract the sales process, you reveal what the minimum requirements, and you can remove some of the tools are too simplistic for your needs. It is each department and / or the person who touches the customer to contribute, as he uses the instrument. Use a small portion of their sales staff if you can segment them, one solution is to test the short period of time. Then you can add a couple of other units being tested. Finally found a tool everybody can use and accept. The usefulness of the tools are only as good as the information is stored, and everyone must participate.

With the right tools, you can listen very carefully to what the client says and touch them when necessary. Can provide the right information when they want and create a desire for your product. Automated tools can help track sales and keep your company name at the top of the minds of customers. The result is more sales, and sales efforts more effective.

Article Source: Kenny Blog

Sales Success Requires a Tracking Process Part 2

Previous article: Sales Success Requires a Tracking Process Part 1

The focus of your selling cycle is to match the buying cycle of your customer. The first step the customer goes through is identifying that they have a need to solve a problem. Your sales force must identify the customer's problems before they can start their selling. Listening is an important attribute at this stage. By listening to what the customer says, types in an email, posts on a blog or a tweet, or places in printed material, you can learn plenty about your customers.

Once the customer has found that they have a problem, they gather information. During this stage of the buying cycle, specific information must be fed to the prospect. Too much irrelevant information forces the prospect to look elsewhere for a solution. The whole company can be involved in providing the right information such as product benefits and features, demonstrations, trials, customer support, referrals, etc. During this gathering stage, the desire for a solution builds within your prospects, as they want a solution. Experienced sales people will build upon that desire and direct it towards their solutions. Tracking the interaction with an automated tool will increase the efficiency of your sales process.

Knowing the buying cycle is paramount for success and you need to map this cycle to your unique customer. Some significant points to know about your ideal customers are:

• Industry
• Geographic coverage
• Size (revenue & employees)
• Company history
• Lifestyle
• Psychographic (Values)
• How do they buy?
• What problems do you solve for them?
• Who are their ideal customers?
• What are their key products?
• Who else sells to them?
• Why would they buy you over your competitors?

The more you know about your customers, the more you can please them during the buying cycle and after they have purchased your product. Knowing the correct information, you can follow up with them with the right information at the right time. Your touches to your customers will determine the relationship with them.
As you touch your customers, you need to understand who else touches them (departments and other employees in your company). In addition, it is important to know how and where the touches take place, and how these touches correspond to the buying cycle (need, information gathering and desire). Tracking this process is helpful for success, and today's automated tools can do just that.

You know your customer, you know their buying cycle, and you know what your company strategy is. The interaction between you and your customers is a series of touching and listening. Listening to your customers and prospects is getting more complex every day, as you must track what they are saying verbally as well as electronically (websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Do you have a process in place to listen to your customers? The more listening you do, the better you can touch the prospect and provide what they need and want. The goal is to create a great flow of the appropriate information to capture a larger share of your customers' wallets.

You need a proper tool to help you track your interaction with customer. History of message flow between you and your customers should be logged which will help you achieve your goal. A simple sales tracking tool like Sales Tracking Portal will help you greatly. Check out and register for free at its official website.

Article Source: Kenny Blog