1. Do you understand the ins and outs of my industry/business? This includes everything from the latest trends to what top companies are doing to maintain their edge (and how your offer can help prospects do the same). Prospects want to do business with salespeople who they consider experts — consultants who are capable of offering solutions that help them overcome their biggest challenges.
2. How can you help me increase profits and/or decrease costs? Budgets are tight and competition’s even tighter, which is why salespeople who can quantify value and return on investment in dollar-and-cents terms are in a much better position to help prospects justify a new purchase (or a switch from an incumbent supplier).
3. What do you know about my company’s past buying history? This is valuable information that helps salespeople understand how the prospect’s buying history works and what his/her priorities are when considering a buying decision. Some things you may be able to glean from pre-call research, other things you may have to actually ask the prospect about. The most important part: Be sure to go through your own records to determine if the prospect’s company has ever done business with you in the past, and, if so, why the relationship ended.
4. What differentiates your offer from the competition’s? The first thing prospects do when considering a purchase these days is hop online and do some competitive shopping to see what other offers are available. Salespeople need to anticipate that and perhaps even construct their own competitive analysis which highlights all the areas where their products/services offer more value than competitors’.
5. How have recent changes in the economy/industry impacted our business? Buyers want solutions that put them on the cutting edge of their industry, and they want to do business with salespeople who understand why and how their industry is changing. Industry journals, organizations, conferences and trade shows are ideal sources of info like this. But social networking and online message boards/blogs are also a great, no-cost way to stay on top of the latest industry news and views.

Adapted from “Proactive Sales Intelligence,” a CSO Insights White Paper by Jim Dickie & Barry Trailer

Why they leave

The majority of customers take their business elsewhere because salespeople don’t listen to what they say or ignore them completely. They also object to salespeople who don’t do what they say they will or don’t follow up or follow through.

Here are tips that may help your salespeople remember to keep their commitments:

• Always do what you say you will when you promise to do it.
• Don’t make a commitment you may not be able to keep. Think about the amount of time you need to resolve a problem and make your commitment accordingly.
• Customers would rather have you commit to a realistic time frame than a time frame that sounds good but is unrealistic.
• If you make a commitment that you can’t meet, call your customer and explain the delay. Most customers are understanding as long as you are honest with them.
• When making commitments, try to avoid words such as “as soon as possible” or “right away.” These time frames may mean one thing to you, but they probably mean something different to your customer.
• Try to give a definite time commitment for your answer to a question or problem. Customers appreciate hearing a definite time and day rather than “I’ll call you back when I have an answer.”

Adapted from Award-Winning Customer Service (AMACOM) by Renee Evenson. Ms. Evenson has worked in customer service management for 30 years and is the author of Customer Service Training 101.

Why? There’s less competition out there because many companies have cut mobile marketing budgets. And in the void, anything you do is bound to have a greater impact.

B2B companies as a whole have said they’ll be spending 38% less on mobile marketing this year, according to a recent Outsell study.

Where do businesses plan to spend their budgets this year?

Most spending is staying closer to home: More than half of the marketers surveyed said they are investing a bigger chunk (about 7.5% more on average) of their digital budgets in their companies’ Web sites.

Also, investment in search-engine marketing, now about 15% of the budget, will likely rise 2% this year.

Increased spending is projected in three other areas:

• Webinar spending is expected to jump 26%
• video (153%), and
• social networking (43%).

Bank of America is putting an end to overdraft fees on debit card purchases. It’s a customer-friendly maneuver that could cost the company millions of dollars in revenue short-term, but may also help increase its marketshare over the course of the next few years.

The move means that debit card holders who attempt to make a purchase that would drive their account into a negative balance will now simply be denied, rather than subjecting them to a $30+ fee that only sinks them further into the negative.

Debit card purchases currently account for nearly 60% of Bank of America’s overdraft fees, a substantial amount considering BOA issues more debit cards annually than any other provider. It currently has more than 37 million debit customers.

Last year alone, banks made more than $20 billion on overdraft fees from debit purchases and ATM transactions.

The changes should go into effect this summer.

The move may be a proactive measure to boost customer loyalty prior to the enforcement of a new federal reg on July 1st, which would force all debit and ATM providers to get account holders’ permission before they can allow overdrafts. In other words, cardholders would have the final say over whether they could sink themselves into a negative balance.

What do you think? Are these changes a step in the right direction, or will banks simply find another way to get around them?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source: “Bank of America Plans to End Overdraft Fees,” by Andrew Martin, New York Times, 3/9/10.

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Cold calls, long hours

Making cold calls and working long hours may be uncomfortable, but they’re also necessary for sales success. Successful salespeople understand that sometimes it takes present discomfort to achieve future gains.

New opportunities

Successful salespeople also understand and appreciate that the upside of dealing with difficult situations is learning and developing new sales skills. They often pick difficult tasks (or sales calls) over the easy ones, recognizing they’ll make them stronger as a salesperson.

Three key areas

Here are three areas that cause discomfort for salespeople. It’s a good idea to share these common sore spots with your staffers (especially the younger, less experienced reps) so they recognize they are not alone in dealing with them — and so they know how to deal with them.

1. Coping with losing a sale. When some salespeople lose a sale, they push it to the back of their minds and chose not to talk about it. But the first step in dealing with a lost sale is acknowledging it and learning what they could’ve done differently. There’s always tomorrow to turn things around.
2. Breaking out of a sales slump. When someone’s experiencing a slump, it’s critical that the person look carefully at his or her approach, strategies, strengths and weaknesses. The person must recognize that the key to breaking out of a slump is to maintain a positive attitude, prospect effectively, tailor presentations to individual prospects/customers and offer great after-sales service.
3. Dealing with customer problems. When customers call with problems, salespeople are tasked with a challenge: drawing on all of their resources and experiences to come up with effective and timely solutions. Those who become experts at problem-solving take on the role of troubleshooter, a role that builds customer trust and loyalty.

Adapted from “The 12 Clichés of Selling,” by Barry Farber

Why do so many small businesses overlook these simple ways to improve cash flow?

The ideas are recommended by Pam Newman, a Certified Management Accountant:

1. Cash and carry. Consider operating a cash-and-carry-type business — as much as possible — instead of worrying about receivables. Since invoicing and collections take up valuable time and resources, you offer financial incentives for customers who pay immediately. Just be sure to set the ground rules in the beginning so your clients know what you expect.
2. Prompt receivables collection. Any accountant can tell you that the longer your receivables are outstanding, the less likely you are to collect. A good rule of thumb is that you should always have a due date on the invoice and then send out a follow-up statement within 10 to 30 days from the due date, depending on what’s usual for your industry. If you haven’t received payment within 45 to 60 days of the due date, then a phone call should be made to follow up with your customer. Accounts that go past due 90 or more days should be taken to the next level of collections with an outside agency or an in-house collections specialist.
3. Vendor negotiation. Lots of vendors have payment terms that allow you to delay the payment until end of the month or maybe even up to 60 days. This allows you a little float time until you receive payment from your customers.
4. Customer deposits. Have your customers pay a deposit prior to the start of the job — usually at the time a contract is signed. You can also implement periodic payments throughout the contract vs. a single payment upon completion of the project, so that cash is flowing in consistently.
5. Revolving credit line. This is especially useful if the amount of savings from prompt-pay discounts is greater than the financing charge from the lender, or the lender’s financing charge is less than what your vendors might charge for late payments. This helps give your business a safety net so that you can continue to operate during those times when you are offered great specials if you buy today but may not have extra cash available.
6. “Rainy day” fund. Establish a savings fund to help you operate through slow times. Most businesses have swings in their business flow, and managing cash effectively can be a challenge. Store away extra during the good times to cover you during the slow season. This sounds easier than it is, but if you take out a percentage each month and transfer it to a savings account, then it will be “out of sight and out of mind.”

A new study from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business shows a steady increase in social media adoption by small business. The school’s Small Business Success Index™ (SBSI), sponsored by Network Solutions® and the Center for Excellence in Service, reports social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year.

The SBSI shows that nearly one out of five small business owners are actively using social media in their business. Small businesses are increasingly investing in social media applications including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

Key social media usage highlights include:

• 75% surveyed have a company page on a social networking site
• 61% use social media for identifying and attracting new customers
• 57% have built a network through a site like LinkedIn, and
• 45% expect social media to be profitable in the next twelve months.

The school’s study was based on interviews with 500 small business owners. Technology priorities include:

• Company Web sites seem to be the top technology investment in the next two years, with small businesses either adding new features/functionality to their existing Web sites or building one from scratch
• The ability to showcase their products and services online to attract new customers is second in the hierarchy of technology investments, and
• Social media investments rank third in small business investments to be made in the next two years.

To download a copy of the Small Business Success Index, click here.

Seeking greater savings from their operations, many mid-sized companies have automated their cash management process. By taking advantage of this kind of technology, they’re able to…

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Here are seven attitudes that can reduce success and destroy sales:

1. I know more than my customers. Because salespeople are experts in what they sell, it’s easy to assume they know more than their customers. This is a subtle sales killer because no salesperson wants to deliberately demean or talk down to a customer. Their real goal is to pass along expertise. But that may not be the way it comes across to prospects and customers. Without realizing it, they may be making their customers feel uncomfortable.
2. My customers know more than I do. Some salespeople conclude that customers have a lot more industry-specific knowledge than they do. But in actuality many customers feel inadequate and try to cover for it by convincing salespeople of their expertise. The result is that some salespeople hold back and don’t give customers the full benefit of their knowledge and experience.
3. That account is solid. Some salespeople believe, “My customers think of me first when a need arises.” And once a salesperson holds a customer for several years, it’s normal to assume the account is “safe.” But no account is safe today. Even though customers may be satisfied with a salesperson’s performance, they are always ready to listen to a competitor. And complacency always allows competitors to get their foot in the door.
4. When there’s a problem to be solved, my customers turn to me. Many salespeople expect customers to turn to them when problems arise, because they’ve always been helpful and accessible. But that’s not enough today. It’s important to project a strong, clear “problem solver” image and reinforce it all the time.
5. It’s not worth investing a lot of time with this customer. It’s easy for salespeople to develop the habit of pegging certain customers as being “small time.” They even establish a ceiling on how much business they will do with the customer in the future. Eventually these customers will go elsewhere if they believe they’re being treated as second-class citizens.
6. To be successful, I have to concentrate on the big orders. A big sale is obviously a good sale. Big sales can also be killers if salespeople aren’t careful — because if a salesperson devotes all of his/her attention toward making that sale, it can leave little or no energy to serve other prospects or customers.
7. The only thing important to customers is price. This always sounds so hard-hitting and businesslike, but it has no basis. Anyone trying to build or sustain a business on price alone won’t be around long. An essential sales goal for salespeople should be to create a climate in which customers want to buy from them. When that happens, price alone becomes a secondary concern.

New research has uncovered the one trait most sales superstars share — and several others that differentiate the top producers from the bottom feeders.

The study, conducted by Psychology of Sales Reluctance authors George Dudley and Sharon Goodson, was based on interviews with over 1,000 sales execs across multiple industries.

It found the one common trait almost all of today’s sales superstars share is an innate willingness to prospect consistently, whether by traditional means or new outlets — like social networking and online forums.

The study also found these four key differences between top-producing salespeople and low performers:

1. Low performers often fear their cold calls will be seen as pushy or intrusive, while top performers assume their calls are welcome because they have info that can help the prospect’s business.
2. Low performers generally feel there are only certain hours of the day when cold calls should be made, while high performers feel any time is the right time.
3. Low performers blame poor results on non-receptive prospects, bad leads or poor market conditions, while top performers look at their own performance and key metrics to determine what needs adjusting.
4. New hires who get a job based on prior experience often don’t live up to expectations because they’re unwilling to learn a new system, while those who show a genuine enthusiasm about learning the new process tend to perform at a higher level.

What are some other things you think separate top salespeople from the rest of the pack? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Source: “The Psychology of Sales Reluctance” by George Dudley and Sharon Goodson (Behavioral Science Research Press, 2009)

After being issued the largest fine in OSHA’s history — $87 million — BP once again faces a multi-million dollar penalty from the workplace safety and health agency.

It wasn’t a death, injuries or explosion that brought OSHA to this BP plant. It was inspected just because it was a refinery.

OSHA often reacts to catastrophic workplace accidents by starting National Emphasis Programs (NEPs) to inspect businesses with similar hazards.

Example: After the Imperial Sugar plant explosion near Savannah, GA, in 2008, OSHA initiated an NEP for combustible dust hazards.

As part of an NEP targeting refineries, BP’s plant near Toledo, OH, has been hit with just over $3 million in citations.

OSHA used per-instance citations and classified many of them as willful, a categorization that carries larger fines.

More than half of the fine — $1.82 million — stemmed from 26 per-instance, willful violations.

A list of OSHA’s current NEPs is here. A list of regional emphasis programs is here.

1. Return on expenses: A recent IHS study found that for every 1% companies cut out of their travel and expense (T&E) budget, they experience a 1.7% decrease in sales. With that in mind, if you’ve cut your expense budget over the past two years, it may be worth seeing if there’s a correlation between the budget decrease and sales results. More importantly, try to find out what type of return specific expenses are yielding. Could salespeople be making one trip rather than three? Which trade shows really yield returns? And, most importantly, can you make a case to upper management that cutting expenses in certain areas has actually hurt your ability to generate more profits?
2. Net profit (not to be confused with overall sales): A lot of prospects are pushing companies on price these days. Some sales organizations have responded by offering more concessions — like price breaks. It’s a short-term strategy, but it’s also a slippery slope that eats into a company’s profits. It also sets a precedent where prospects will always expect more for less. Idea: Managers may want to compare their department’s overall net profit, as well as their reps’ average profit per sale today versus what it was a few years ago. That’ll help determine what’s changed and why.

Are there any other metrics companies should be looking at? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Instead, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is on the offensive, defending her agency’s plans to regulate GHG emission from cars, trucks, factories and eventually, small businesses. Her message: Environmental rules spark innovation and create jobs.

She bluntly warned that current efforts in Congress to thwart EPA plans are short-sighted and worse, anti-job.

Jackson’s fighting efforts to stop her agency from regulating GHGs. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has rounded up 40 co-sponsors of a resolution seeking to block EPA. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is trying to delay EPA action for a year or two. Similar actions are pending in the House.

But Jackson thinks these are wrongheaded ideas. “At no point in our history has any problem been solved by ‘waiting another year to act’ or burying our heads in the sand,” she said during a National Press Club address March 8, clearly channeling Tom Petty’s country-rock hit, “I Won’t Back Down.” She urged these politicians to work on a productive energy policy that prepares America for a carbon-regulated world.

She has plenty of history to back up her claim that environmental rules pay off. In the past 30 years, EPA rules have reduced major air pollutant emissions by 54%.

Yet at the same time, Jackson pointed out, America’s economy grew by 126%, even as “more cars went on the road, more power plants went on line and more buildings went up.” Environmental rules are a win/win proposition, she said, because they spark investment and innovation, and that creates jobs and a cleaner and healthier environment.

Rather than stick their heads in the sand and hope global warming goes away, politicians and business leaders, Jackson says, should recognize that, worldwide, consumers are demanding green products.

“Companies must respond to parents who refuse to buy bottles with BPA in them, or that leech dangerous chemicals into drinking water. Industry can try to resist and ignore EPA, but I know — and they know — that they resist the forces of the green marketplace at their own peril.”

However, all the heat EPA’s been taking over pending GHG rules has pushed the agency to moderate its plans. Jackson recently said EPA will initially target only the very largest facilities. EPA’s planning to set the regulatory GHG threshold to 75,000 or even 100,000 tons per year (tpy). These power plants and large industrial facilities would see rules in 2011: direct emission control mandates under the Clean Air Act, not an emission cap-and-trade program.

Facilities emitting 50,000 tpy would see regulation in 2013. It’s not clear just when EPA would regulate small facilities.

Out lawmaker Maryland State Sen. Richard Madaleno Jr. (D) sent a letter to Northrup Grumman advocating the defense giant’s move to his state.

Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland are all vying for the company’s HQ, which will house its 300 top executives.

The Human Rights Campaign has given Northrup its top rating for several years for its protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.

Sen. Madaleno says the company’s GLBT record is a better match for Maryland, where the attorney general has announced the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Virginia has a state constitution amendment barring gay marriage. Washington, DC, has begun performing gay marriages.

A spokesman for Virginia’s governor said companies can enact the same corporate policies for their employees in Virginia as in other states. Volkswagen and SAIC, which have protections for gay workers, recently relocated to Virginia.

Telling prospects about the benefits of a product or service before taking the time to learn what they really want and need.

The remedy: Solution selling — investing time, before making sales calls, to understand every prospect’s situation, perceptions and problems.

When used effectively, solution selling will pique prospects’ interest sooner and increase the chances of closing.

But before preparing sales calls, salespeople must first determine their prospects’ level of interest. Chances are prospects will fall into one of these categories:

1. Latent. These buyers are not consciously aware they need your product or service. There are many possible reasons their need may be latent. Maybe they tried to solve the problem before, failed, and became convinced it wasn’t worth solving. Maybe the prospect just doesn’t understand what your product can do. But whatever the reason, it will be difficult to make a sale if the pain remains latent. It’s important to point out that the problem is worth solving and can be done in a way that yields a high return on investment.
2. Visually impaired. These prospects are consciously aware there’s a problem but don’t see a solution — or don’t feel an urgent need to find one. In this instance, it’s a good idea to work to get the prospect to agree that he or she does have a serious problem before mentioning your products or services.
3. Looking for help. These prospects know they have a problem that needs to be solved but just don’t know who or what to turn to for help. That’s where you come in. Start by acknowledging their problem and explaining what you can do to help.

Adapted from “Customer Centric Selling,” by Michael T. Bosworth

1. Be focused. Put everything you’ve got into what you do every day.
2. Believe in yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.
3. Be tenacious.
4. Trust your instincts.
5. Maintain your momentum and keep everyone moving forward.
6. See yourself as victorious and leading a winning team.
7. Be passionate about what you do.
8. Live on the edge. Do not become complacent.
9. Leadership is not a group effort. If you’re in charge, then be in charge.
10. Never give up!

Do you think Trump’s advice is on target? What would you add to this list? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Source: “Top Ten Tips for Success,” by Donald J. Trump, 9/11/09

1. They don’t like conflict. Salespeople don’t like conflict. And prospects and customers don’t like it, either. But closing involves some sort of conflict, when one party must ask the other party to take an action of some kind. What follows can include arguments, disagreements, stalls, objections, pressure or silence. Some salespeople are nervous about being too pushy and turning the prospect or customer off. But they mustn’t be, it’s part of their job — and buyers know that.

2. They forget that the “sales clock” has started and don’t slip into their role as a salesperson. Sure, a great way to start sales calls is to engage prospects in conversations about topics (unrelated to business) that interest them. But at some point during a call, the salesperson must slip into his or her roll as the salesperson — turning the discussion toward business.

3. They have trouble becoming high-pressure closers in the middle of a presentation. Some salespeople dislike traditional selling styles that put undue pressure on prospects, so they over-compensate in the other direction and end up not asking prospects to take any action. They back away, not asking for commitment. Salespeople who don’t ask for commitment may avoid the awkwardness of applying pressure to prospects, but they probably won’t close many sales.

4. They tend to not have enough irons in the fire because they don’t do enough prospecting. If salespeople aren’t constantly looking for new prospects to fill the pipeline, all their great closing strategies won’t do them any good. If salespeople aren’t focused on prospecting, having a great closing rate won’t matter — they still won’t be closing enough.

Source: Ted Barrows, President of Barrows & Associates, Bristol, RI

The notices kick off the first round of inspections for 2010, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted 1,652 inspections in the last six months of 2009. The most recent notices went to employers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Employers who receive a notices have three days to get their I-9 documentation in order for federal inspectors.

The fines for faulty documentation run from $100 to $1,100 per violation.

Note to HR and Payroll directors: Inspectors will be looking at paperwork for “recently separated” workers, as well as current employees. So make sure you have appropriate documents for employees who’ve left in the last few months.