Merry Christmas - half price sale

Can you believe the year is almost over? I can't!

I grew up on Long Island and have a lot of great memories. Long Island had a record 25 inches of snow this weekend.

Glad I moved.

This has been a good year for me and I hope it's been a good one for you too.

My new Sales Trailblazer V.I.P. Selling Club has taken off like wild fire. In fact I will reach my charter membership goal in early January.

The charter members saved 28% off the regular membership price - so the regular membership price will kick in early January.

This has been a year unlike any I can remember.

Times are tough for many people and it's not over yet.

I wish I could send you a blank check, but of course I'm not able to do that.

But - here's what you can do. This is a big sales tip.

Make a copy of one of your checks. Write your name and how much you want to earn in 2010 - your goal. Date the check December 31, 2010 and sign it. Get 3 copies laminated.

Keep one copy in your car - on the visor. Put one in your briefcase and keep one on your desk. Look at it every day.

If you look at your goal every day - circle which one of these applies to you:

I can't

I can

I will

Here's one little thing I can do for you. Use this link and you"ll you see a list of 7 eBooks and 9 CDs - my customers say they're pretty good.

Here's your link. http://startsellingmore.com/half-price-sale.html

I'm going make them available to you (all of them) for half price - 50% off.

This special offer is good until Monday December 28th.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Sales Trailblazer Newsletter

Jim Meisenheimer has just re-designed and renamed his weekly newsleter.

It's now The Sales Trailblazer Newsletter.

Each issue will contain common sense, no-brainer sales tips and selling strategies for entrepreneurs and professional salespeople.

You can see the current issue here:

Do You Have A Dynamite Elevator Speech

Every entrepreneur and professional sales person needs
an elevator speech. Let me explain.

How many times a year are you asked the question, "What
do you do?" I'm sure you hear the question often
especially when you're working and at social gatherings.

When I ask people, "What do you do" I'm amazed at how
few people can articulate crisply, clearly, and concisely
what it is they do.

Last week I joined an organization called Y.E.S. which
stands for Young Entrepreneurs of Sarasota. I knew about
this organization for quite some time and I assumed
"Young" meant under 30.

It wasn't until I read an article in the local paper
which declared young meant anybody under 100 years of
age. So I joined right away.

It was a networking lunch and boy did I meet some
characters. The host of the event asked how many of the
attendees were unemployed and I was surprised to see
about 20% of the hands bolt upward . . .

Use this link to see the rest of this sales article:

http://startsellingmore.com/elevator-speech.html

Improve Your Elevator Speech

Every entrepreneur and professional sales person needs
an elevator speech. Let me explain.

How many times a year are you asked the question, "What
do you do?" I'm sure you hear the question often
especially when you're working and at social gatherings.

When I ask people, "What do you do" I'm amazed at how
few people can articulate crisply, clearly, and concisely
what it is they do.

Last week I joined an organization called Y.E.S. which
stands for Young Entrepreneurs of Sarasota. I knew about
this organization for quite some time and I assumed
"Young" meant under 30.

It wasn't until I read an article in the local paper
which declared young meant anybody under 100 years of
age. So I joined right away.

It was a networking lunch and boy did I meet some
characters. The host of the event asked how many of the
attendees were unemployed and I was surprised to see
about 20% of the hands bolt upward.

I got to talking to a guy and asked him, "What do you do?"

He says, "I sell insurance and I'm just getting started."

I couldn't resist offering some advice. Of course I asked
for his permission to do so.

Look I said everybody who sells insurance says, "I sell
insurance." I suggested, "You need an elevator speech"
and I told him what that was and offered an example.

You could say, "I'm in the protection business. I protect
and insure cars, homes, and commercial properties."

Now if I had more time I probably could make it even better.
He immediately said, "I like it - it sounds different
and professional."

Of course, I already knew that.

There were approximately 100 people at this networking
lunch. After the buffet lunch, the program MC asked for
a show of hands for everybody who was attending for the
first time. About 20 people raised their hands.

He said, "All first-timers will get 10 seconds to say
who you are and what you do." Sounds like an elevator
speech to me.

He just so happened to call on David, my friend the
insurance guy, first.

David says, "I'm in the protection business. I protect
and insure cars, homes, and commercial properties."

The MC gets excited and says that's perfect - that's just
like how we want everyone to introduce themselves.

Across the room, David looks at me and I look at him, and
we both knew he nailed it.

So what do you do?

You shouldn't have to think about the answer to this
question you should know how to respond without thinking
and without blinking.

Think of it as your "Elevator Speech." To be effective
you have to spend a reasonable amount of time preparing
your elevator speech.

Look - if I said to you "Take 20 minutes and describe the
kind of work you do" that would be easy. You would just
start talking, actually just start rambling on about all
the things you do at work.

Ah, but an elevator speech - that's different. This must
be short and sweet. So you'll have to play with the words
until you get it right. You can't do this in 10 minutes.

It’s a must if you want to have a spectacular career in sales.

Last year I held an "Elevator Speech" contest. About three
dozen people sent me their elevator speeches. Most were truly
pathetic and horrible. One person wrote a 1000 word essay.

One person however got it right and he blew me away with what
he sent me. He was the president of a small public-relations
company. Here’s what he sent me.

"Our business is making your business unforgettable." It's
simply brilliant and it's only seven words.

Let this be your model as you design your elevator speech.

Imagine there were four public relations companies competing
to win a large account. Also imagine each company was given
an hour for a presentation to senior management.

I'm sure several companies would come in loaded with PowerPoint
slides.

I'm also sure that people listening to the sales presentations
would be overwhelmed with data and information.

I'm also sure that very little of what was said and shown via
PowerPoint would be remembered.

But when the senior management team hears the elevator speech
"Our business is making your business unforgettable" they won't
be able to shake those words from their minds.

It will stick - and that's exactly what you want your elevator
speech to do, "Stick."

Those carefully thought-out words probably will also stick it
to the competition - and that's good too.

Give some thought to preparing, in writing, your own brilliant
elevator speech.

Make your "Elevator Speech" a good one if you want it to stick!

Well I hope you agree - that's an excellent sales tip
for you to take to the bank.

If you like this one, I have 56 more I can send you
immediately.

Get the details here:

http://startsellingmore.com/57-sales-tips.html

New Up-selling Sales Tips

Go see my newest article titled, "Up-selling Sales Tips" on my website.

I included some pretty unique ideas and reminders on the importance of up-selling throughout the selling process.

Go here to see the entire article:

http://startsellingmore.com/up-selling-sales-tips


Let's go sell something today . . .

Sales Trailblazer V.I.P. Selling Club

Excerpt from Lesson # 1 - titled Dream Big!


A good friend of mind just passed away losing a valiant
battle against cancer. He had lots of time to think.
If you had to imagine you were in his shoes during his
last days and started thinking about any regrets you
had for the way you lived your life, which do you think
you would regret more.

The things you did or the things you never did. That’s
an easy one. Most of us would regret all the things we
thought about doing but never got around to doing them.

People chase money and strive and struggle to attain
some level of success and happiness. Unfortunately most
people never experience it. Oh, they may get close – but
they don’t reach the top.

And do you know why? I believe it’s because most people
don’t dream big enough. Most people settle instead of
aiming for the stars.

Superstars become superstars because they already see
themselves in that role. They expect to become superstars.

They just expect it. They demand it of themselves. Sure
they work hard.

Even more important – they never give up . . .


Sign-up today to see the rest of Lesson #1.


More information here:

http://salestrailblazer.com

Up-selling Sales Tips

Go here to see my latest article titled, "Up-selling
Sales Tips.

Use this link to see it.

Japanese Proverb

Vision without action is a day-dream.

Action without vision is a nightmare.

If you're an entrepreneur or professional sales person
you must have written goals to succeed.

And each goal should have written action steps which
are designed to help you reach your goals.

Become A Sales Trailblazer

Dear Sales Professional,

The current population of the United States is 307,145,761.

Did you know there are 14,280,794 salespeople in the U.S.
which means almost one out of every 20 people is in sales.

You're all out there scratching to make a living during
these challenging times and yearning to earn more.

According to Woody Allen 90% of life is just showing up.

This may be true for mere mortals but not for professional
salespeople.

I hope you'll agree with me when I say, "Selling is so
much more than that."

In sales you have to be focused, energized and committed.

And let me add - trained to sell.

Take a wild guess what happens to corporate sales training
during a recession.

Yup - the annual kick-off sales meetings are history.

Sales training budgets are severely slashed or even eliminated.

Corporate cutbacks in staffing often mean you are being
asked to do more customer service work which often means
less time for selling.

Well - it's not a pretty picture and it got me thinking.

I'm a sales trainer and I know what works and what
doesn't work.

I've spent the last 8 months developing a sales training
program specifically for entrepreneurs and experienced
salespeople.

Regardless of your level of experience my new program
will enable you to out-fox and out-sell your competition
because it's based on common sense sales tips and
proven selling strategies.

You see, one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a
salesperson, is to put your own self-development on the
back burner.

This program isn't for everybody and it's certainly not
for the namby-pamby types.

This is for the serious minded sales person who's hungry
for new selling ideas.

It's for salespeople who want to sharpen the skills you
already have and acquire some new skills which will give you
an edge over your competitors.

I want to personally invite you to take a look at my
new Sales Trailblazer V.I.P. Selling Club.

You can do that by visiting this website:

http://www.salestrailblazer.com/

Someone once said "Selling is easy if you work hard at it."

This may be true - but you have to do it in an intelligent
way.

Please don't be too busy to get smarter.

Don't wait because charter memberships are limited.

Join a select few and become a Sales Trailblazer and learn
how to start selling more today and everyday.

Let's go sell something . . .

Jim Meisenheimer

21 years . . .

522 corporate clients . . .

72.7% repeat business . . .

P.S. - Here's that link again.

http://www.salestrailblazer.com/

Special Pricing

On 9.9.09 at 9 AM I'll be launching my new
Sales Trailblazer V.I.P. Selling Club.

Up until the official launch you can sign-up
and save 26%.

I'm doing this for sales managers and I thought
I'd post it on my blog.

It's a good deal for entrepreneurs and professional
salespeople.

24 lessons / 24 weeks delivered via email and
MP3 files - you get both versions for every lesson.

You can check it out here:

http://salestrailblazer.com


Jim Meisenheimer

Publisher - Start Selling More Newsletter

http://startsellingmore.com

Bombard Your Sales Prospects With . . .

Bombard your sales prospects and customers with benefits.

It's your benefits that sell, not the features.

Too bad not every entrepreneur and professional sales rep gets this.

If you're getting beat-up on your price it's because your sales prospects and customers don't see the benefits.

Benefits don't come by way of osmosis - they are presented by the seller.

Clearly stated benefits will increase your sales substantially.

Also - you can save 52% on my 6-pack of CDs, if you order before Labor Day.

Check it out here:


Let's go sell something.

Warm Sales Calls

Most salespeople dread making cold calls.

Who can get excited about calling someone
you don't know anything about?

Well, there is a better way you know.

Consider your best customers as a limitless
source for referrals. Like gold buried deep
into a mountainside it has to be mined before
you can get your hands on it.

Your best customers like you and your products,
otherwise they wouldn't be your best customers.

Don't ask for referrals, ask for introductions.

You're sitting face-to-face with a happy customer.
You know he's happy because he just told you he's
happy.

There's no better time to ask for an introduction.

You could say something like this.

"Your business is like my business it depends on meeting
new people. Would you be kind enough to introduce me
to one or two people like you who might have an
interest in hearing about the work we do?"

Just ask him to call these people right now.

There's no harm in asking - is there?

I hope you'll agree that's a pretty good sales tip
for you.

There are 56 more sales tips just waiting for you.


Let's go sell something . . .

A Good Selling Idea

It's always a good selling idea to ask your
sales prospects how they got started in their
work.

People just love talking about this stuff.

The person who asks about this shows genuine
interest - and that's good.

And then you can follow-up with "When did you
get started?"

Get the month and the year and add it to
your electronic calendar.

When you send them a "Happy Anniversary Card"
it'll be the only one they get!


Leet's go sell something . . .

Sales Tip - Happy Anniversary

How would you like you to surprise your
sales prospects and customers?

How would you like to do something no one
else in your industry is currently doing?

Well, here's a small sales tip for you
that will have a big impact for years to
come.

Ask your sales prospects and customers
this question:

Here's the sales tip.

Imagine you're calling on doctors.

Ask them, "How long have you been a
doctor?"

He responds, "About 20 years."

So to confirm you say, "You started
in 1989."

"Actually he says, it was 1988."

And then you ask, "What month did you
start?"

Then he says, "September."

Everybody know the answer to this question.

So now you know he's been a doctor
since September 1988.

Note this on your electronic calendar
and have it pop up annually.

When you get a reminder for an anniversary
date you can send a card that says
something like:

Dr. Bill

Congratulations on your 21st year in
medicine.

Sign it!

Think about this for a minute. How many
anniversary cards do you think he gets on
this very special anniversary?

Your right - zippo!

Your note says you're thoughtful and care
enough about the doctor to send it.

If your competitor has the business it
also raises an interesting red flag. The
doctor can't help but wonder why he got
a card from you and not from his longtime
current supplier.

Your anniversary notecards will
differentiate you "Big time"
from your competition.


Let's go sell something . . .

Selling: Job Or Passion

Let me let you in on a little secret.

People who can tell you exactly how much time they have until they can retire are probably not passionate about their work.

They go to work but they don't love the work.

Nothing wrong with being a union worker. But every union worker can tell you how many years, months, and days they have until retirement.

Here's a wild thought for today - life is not a dress rehearsal.

You have one shot at it.

Here's my advice in a nutshell. I believe it applies during good times and even during recessions.

What are you passionate about?

What kind of work is associated with your passion?

If your work is your passion - it's not really work is it?

On the subject of retirement, why would you stop doing what you love doing?

Going to a job is hardly living your life.

Being passionate about your work is a whole different ballgame.

21 years ago I resigned my position as a vice president of sales and marketing for the Baxter.

Here's why I did it. I didn't want to reach the end of my life thinking "If only" or "It might have been."

So I made the biggest decision of my life to follow my passion. That also happens to be the best decision of my life.

If I can do it, so can you.

When you're passionate, it's easier to make every day in your life a masterpiece . . .

Selling Tip

When you're dealing with a procrastinator, ask him "What would have to happen for you to (insert what you want to happen)."

It always works.

Telephone Selling

The first step in the sales process usually involves using the telephone to get the first appointment.

How many times have you answered your own telephone and been truly impressed with the telephone skills of the person calling you?

Yeah right!

You have to master fundamental telephone skills if you want to be the top sales dog in your company.

My good friend Art S. is the one place to go to get everything you need to improve your telephone selling skills.

Go here and see for yourself.

I hope you have a personal business library and I hope you have one or two of Art's books on the shelf.

In my business, I have to make a sale before I can give a speech.

In your business you probably have to get the appointment before you can even think about making a sale.

What you don't know about the telphone could be crippling your selling results.


Let's go sell something . . .

Why Sales Training

Why sales training?

Why now?

Why not?

There's never a better time to acquire
new selling skills or to sharpen your
existing skills.

Your company can do or you can do it.

Think of it as your self development.

The emphasis is self. It's up to you.

On 9/9/09 at 9 AM I'm launching my
Sales Trailblazer V.I.P. Selling Club.

It's 24 lessons over 24 weeks and delivered
via email and MP3 files.

Earlybirds can take a look right now.

The Ultimate Sales Tip

I stumbled on the ultimate sales tip while waiting
for a plane. Let me explain.

I'm sitting at an American airlines gate waiting to
board flight 1679 to Chicago.

Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to do a one half day
sales training program for a dental manufacturing company -
a program I've done 28 times for them.

I was reading a chapter out of a copywriting course
titled, "127 More Secrets Of Direct Mail."

Then it happened.

I got to number 123.

It grabbed me by the lapels of my sports jacket.

It really throttled me.

It caught me by surprise.

It wasn't an entirely new concept for me.

It was the words. It was the language. It was
exceptional because of its brevity . . .

Go here to discover the Ultimate Sales Tip.

Never Underestimate . . .

I was re-reading one of my eBooks and came
across this and thought you might be interested.
Selling is easy only if you work hard at it.

Never underestimate the power of a smile.

Never underestimate the power of enthusiasm.

Never underestimate the power of a positive attitude.

Never underestimate the power of expecting the best
outcomes.

Never underestimate the power and importance of
self-management.

Never underestimate the power of continuous learning
and improvement.

Never underestimate the power of making mistakes
and learning from them.

And for Pete’s sake, never underestimate your ability
to become the person you’re capable of becoming!

Getting Referrals Is Easy

Hey - my good friend Art Sobczak just released this week's
newsletter. If you don't know Art - he's Mr. Telephone.

You should really take a look at his work. The follwoing
is from the current issue of Art's Newsletter.


ASK THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AT THE RIGHT TIME

A life insurance sales rep called me, gave a horrible opening
("I'm with ____ insurance, and would like to schedule a time to
get together with you to discuss your life insurance. Would two
or four o'clock be better on Tuesday?") After telling him I wasn't
interested, he said,

"I see. Do you have any friends I could contact?"

I answered that with about the same enthusiasm as I would
an IRS agent saying, "So, do you have any friends I can audit?"

So who IS the right person, and when is the right time?

Common sense--and experience--tells me it's someone who
just bought from you, or complimented you on your products
or services.

They're in a frame of mind where they're thinking
about how good you are, and how they gained from what you
provide.

Be on the lookout for, and seize the opportunities
you might encounter every day.

That's good advice from Art.

You can get even more good advice on how to effectively use
the telephone from his books.

You can check them out here!


Make everyday a masterpiece . . .

Step Up Your Marketing

Selling isn't easy during the topsy-turvy economic times we're going through right now.

Everybody's watching their purse strings, which means good old-fashioned salesmanship isn't enough to build your book of business.

Most salespeople relegate marketing to their company's marketing department - and that's a big mistake.

You'd be wiser to see yourself as the CMO - chief marketing officer in your sales territory.

When you mix professional selling with creative marketing in your sales territory you'll see better selling results.

Here are four marketing ideas you can use to grab attention and build stronger customer relationships.

1. You can create an e-mail newsletter for your sales prospects and customers.

2. You can use Twitter to reach your contacts with your marketing messages.

3. You can use a P.S. on every e-mail message you send to promote a special offer for one of your products or services.

4. You can also prepare value added sales proposals instead of mundane bids and quotes.

Integrating marketing with your selling efforts will differentiate you from your competition in a big way.

It will also improve your credibility and rapport with your sales prospects and customers.

I suggest you step up your marketing if you want to step up your selling results.


P.S. - You might learn a thing or two from my CD titled, "5 Secrets To Winning Proposals."


blogarama.com

Ready Set Change

Jeff Stahler had a cartoon in the paper the other day.

It showed two guys talking. One guy says "I'm all for change."

In the next breath he added, "As long as it doesn't disturb the status quo."

That's funny!

And it got me thinking.

Occasionally during my sales training programs I will toss out this question to the group. "How many of you consider yourselves to be risk takers?"

Guess what - almost all the hands go up.

I then ask everybody to gather all their belongings and move to a new seat.

It's like a deer being surrounded by headlights - for some it's almost a panic attack.

Why would moving to a different seat cause such fear and panic?

Right - there's the risk of the unknown.

It's like the guy who says, "I'm all for change."

Saying you're all for change is not the same as being eager or even willing to change.

For the most part nothing new happens in the status quo - youg otta remember this.

I'd like to give you, what I believe is a good question to stimulate your thinking about change.

Change is good. Change is certainly better than the status quo.

If not for change I'd have two horses and a buggy in my garage instead of two cars.

Here's the question you should ask throughout every selling day.

"How can I do it better?" It's a great question that forces you to consider making minor adjustments in the way you sell.

Now you can say, "I'm all for change - as long as it involves making minor adjustments."

Ready set change!


Let's go sell something . . .

Tiger Woods Does It Again

Tiger Woods is an amazing person and an even more amazing professional golfer.

I think professional salespeople and entrepreneurs can learn how to be more successful in sales by observing Tiger's approach to golf.

In case you didn't know this Tiger Woods won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational by four strokes yesterday. He beat Padraig Harrington.

It was his seventh victory at the Firestone Country Club.

It was his 70th victory as a golf professional. He did it at age 33.

By comparison, Jack Nicklaus also did it, but not until he was 40 years old.

Here's the thing about Tiger. His focused. He's extremely focused. When he's playing golf, he always plays to win and not surprisingly he often does.

I watched him play yesterday for a couple of hours. You can see the intensity on his face. You can see it as he walks down the fairways.

You can really see it when he's standing over a putt - 100% concentration.

Here's what else I noticed. He plays the game without distractions and for the most part without interruptions.

I've seen other less successful golfers chitchatting their way around the golf course. Sure the fans enjoy this interaction. Nevertheless - it's a distraction.

Stretch your imagination for a minute. Imagine Tiger Woods is a professional sales person.

He would be prepared for every sales call.

He would rehearse what he prepared so he would be ready for the sales prospect.

He wouldn't bring his cell phone into the sales call.

He would be focused on achieving his very specific sales call objectives.

After the sales call he would go to the driving range, in his mind, and practice whatever skills need work.

Whenever Tiger steps up to the first tee, 100% of the time, he expects to win. He doesn't want to settle for finishing in the top 10 as so many other golfers do.

In sales you can be focused on every sales call.

And I might add - it's okay for you to expect to succeed every selling day.


Let's go sell something . . .

Sales Tips Plus

This is a new Blog dedicated to professional salespeople
and entrepreneurs.

I plan to fill this Blog with common sense sales tips plus
whatever else I can share with you to help you grow your
business.

Okay - let's get to work.

If you do what your competitors are not doing - you will
stand out!

Another way of looking at this is if you don't stand out,
you end up getting fenced in with the mediocrity brigade.

In essence - you're doomed.