Lead Stories

5 Thoughts to Make You a Better Salesperson

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Created on 07 May 2013 Written by Marla Tabaka

Do you give up after a few sales calls? Expect new business to come from every networking event? It's time for a shift in mindset that you can take all the way to the bank.

Does the thought of hearing "no thank you" one too many times slow you down? Getting your products and services into the hands of future customers has its challenges, but when we add a fear of rejection to the mix, the challenge becomes monumental. What if you could see no as the magic word that gets you closer to the sale instead of letting it knock the wind out of your sails?

It’s entirely possible. Let’s begin by understanding why we take rejection so personally in the first place.
If you represent a product, you probably use it yourself and believe in it with all your heart, And those of you who are inventors have poured blood, sweat, and tears into developing your products, not to mention tons of money! For service providers the thought of rejection is especially daunting because your knowledge and talent are literally a part of who you are, making it feel truly personal. All of these scenarios make it only natural to embrace your business as an extension of your very being. Hearing no can feel like a very personal rejection.

But to realize your dream of success, a separation of self from your product or service is absolutely necessary. A simple shift in mindset will give you the courage and commitment to step boldly into the world of sales and move your product or service into the lives of the many customers who await them! Begin by taking on these simple mindset shifts and you may just become a sales machine!

It's not all about the sale

Sometimes we put the pressure on by thinking that our cold calls should result in sales. Remember the true purpose of cold calling: of course it’s always about relationship building in the end, but in most cases the goal is to end up with one of the following outcomes:

Permission to add the person to your database for periodic updates A plan to contact them at a later date when they may be in need of your service or product. A request to take them off the list altogether Simple, right? Understanding the purpose gives you permission to accept that not everyone is the perfect candidate. Those who wish to be removed from your list aren’t saying that they don’t like you or your product; it simply means that it’s not right for them at this time.

It's not personal

Remember that you are speaking to a human being who has feelings, moods, and concerns, just like you. If you do encounter someone who is rude or unpleasant, consider that it is not all about you. Do not take it personally! Most likely, this person’s mood has been pre-determined by all sorts of other circumstances. Allow them their space and get on with your day.

I'm already successful

Too often we base our success on the final outcome. Take on the attitude that the phone call or initial meeting is the success. You have taken a huge step! And the more you get out there, the higher your odds of success. Take the heat off by visualizing an outcome that is best for all concerned. Sometimes, a "no" is the perfect answer because the circumstances aren’t just right. It’s best to know this so you don’t get into something that is doomed from the beginning. No matter what answer you get from your prospect, celebrate the fact that you actually made contact and are one step closer to your ideal customer.

It's all about the numbers

Try to remove the emotion by seeing your phone calls and meetings as statistics. If you make twenty-five phone calls, odds are good that you will find one person who will want to learn more. If you effectively attend four or five networking events per month instead of per year you will build more relationships and increase awareness of your brand. Everyone hears the dreaded "no," but not everyone keeps plugging away at it. It’s like working up to 100 sit ups instead of staying at 20; the end result will be so much better. Get those numbers up there; love the "no" because it only means that you are getting closer to the yes!

I am not alone

Did you know that 44 percent of salespeople quit trying after the first "no?" Considering that 40 percent of all solid prospects say no at least once before buying, this is a sad statistic. You are not alone in your fear and frustration, but if you can buck up and be persistent you will succeed! Again, the proof is in the numbers!

No matter how emotionally connected you are to your product or service, they are only as good as your efforts to promote them. Respect the hard work and dedication that went into your company by transferring the same determination to your sales efforts. You can do it!

Marla Tabaka is a small-business adviser who helps entrepreneurs around the globe grow their businesses well into the millions. She speaks widely on combining strategic and creative thinking for optimum success and happiness. @MarlaTabaka

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WHY COMPANIES SHOULD HANDLE SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE DATING AND RELATIONSHIPS

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Created on 15 March 2013 Written by simon

WHY COMPANIES SHOULD HANDLE SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE DATING AND RELATIONSHIPS
By Muthuri Kinyamu

I know the title of this article arouses curiosity but am about to prove why you should handle and approach your
community on social media like you do with a girl/boy in the dating scene. I happen to have spent the weekend home alone, phone off, no Twitter, no TV, no laptop- nothing; basically cut out off the world! Well I was having that “ME” time to reflect upon many things when my thoughts drifted to my social life...dating and such kind of things!

The more I thought about it, the more my mind wandered to social media and how companies often try to build relation- ships. So I engaged my thoughts to come up with this article! So in this article I will explore similarities and lessons social media managers can pick up from the dating scene to guide them in managing brands on social media. This will be pretty simple so here’s how to go about it!

1. KNOW WHERE TO SEARCH.
For companies you need to know where your customers hang out, which platforms are they active on. Are you targeting the 18-24 market? Where are they? Are you looking for the 25-35 age group or the older ones? So at this stage you need to identify the social networking sites where to focus your social media marketing efforts.

2. TAKE THE MOVE!
• Be bold – Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, opinions and ideas with her. On social media don’t be neutral! Be a rebel or the hero. Neutral content/discussion doesn’t arouse engagement! Be very keen as you don’t want the girl to curse meeting you same thing, if your content isn’t great on social media, people will leave!

• Post less –Sharing everything on your mind or what you come across will push her away so is the community you have on social media! You don’t keep calling her and texting all day so the same works with social media! If you’re pushing serious content tweeting and posting in the morning may get you RT’s. Use the 1/9 tweet rule –Those who only share their own content are transparent and audiences online look at that as purely selfish and switch off quickly.

Get in the habit of sharing 9 tweets not about you or your business for every post about you or your business. This way you don’t spam people; the same thing applies to dating- you don’t talk endlessly about yourself! Do less of push marketing, no “Me, me, me’ kind of content.

3. SO WHAT NEXT AFTER THE FIRST DATE?
After you’ve went out for dinner with her, you don’t ask to take her to your house! Back to social media, once you get people to like or follow you, you welcome them, thank them then immerse them with content about your business and what you offer. You aren’t asking for a sale, you want to first build the relationship, give value, good content, keep your promises- when people ask for information, you give it on time, when you promise to call them, do it! After the first date, maybe you schedule the next one, you want to see her often right? So with social media, you may ask your followers to also LIKE your Facebook page and vice versa, check or subscribe to your channel

4. YOUR REPUTATION- WHAT DO OTHER PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU?
At this level if you had done your search in the right place, done step two and three well, a girl will ask her or your friends about you. Check your Face- book profile, ask your colleagues and people who know you more about you! She simply wants to get an opinion from people who know you before she makes a decision whether there’s a future in what you have initiated. With social media, a customer will search more about your business online, ask around for recommendations, also ask friends about your product or service or maybe read product reviews online. So this is where you monitor your brand mentions, address inquiries, read reviews and up your reputation management!

5. TAKE HER TO BED- CALL FOR ACTION!
Most probably after step four a girl will have made up her mind but you still have a chance to clean up your name! You know it guys, how we say we’ve changed, we’ve quit alcohol and we’re no longer players! With business, most likely your prospective buyer will have 2 or 3 options now; with recommendations to try out product B from company C. However you still have a chance to explain the benefits, value proposition and the uniqueness of your product/service. Address the fears the prospect has and do it authentically and in a genuine manner. Ensure you give value to spark initiative and encourage action!

The author is a Kenyan Entrepreneur | Social Media
strategist | SocialPro | Passionate about marketing. | @kenyanmarketer muthurikinyamu.blogspot.com

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DEUX ENTREPRISES DANS UNE SEULE, RÉSOUDRE LA COMMUNICATION INTERNE

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Created on 12 March 2013 Written by simon

DEUX ENTREPRISES DANS UNE SEULE, RÉSOUDRE LA COMMUNICATION INTERNE

Par Jean-Bosco NDIKUMANA

Les investigations faites dans une entreprise de production de divers articles au Burundi se traduisent ainsi : dans une seule entreprise cohabi- tent deux entreprises. La première entre- prise est celle des hauts cadres. Elle est dynamique, créative et prospère.

Ceux qui y travaillent sont au courant de ses objectifs, s’en approprient, les transmettent aux travailleurs de la seconde entreprise qui doivent œuvrer pour les atteindre coûte que coûte et dans toute la dynamique de la rigueur. Toutefois, même au sein du groupe des travailleurs de la première entreprise, la communication et les relations sont la plupart des fois difficiles, ce qui fait qu’ils ne transmettent pas de la même façon les objectifs qu’ils connaissent pourtant bien.

La deuxième entreprise est celle des cadres moyens, des exécutants moyens et des exécutants du bas de l’échelle. Ces travailleurs sont maltraités par les travailleurs de la première entreprise sur le plan relationnel. En effet, ils reçoivent des messages parfois contradictoires, les objectifs de l’entreprise ne leur sont pas communiqués, les relations avec leurs chefs sont souvent tendues et ils sont toujours victimes de toutes les casses qui, pourtant, peuvent découler d’un mauvais management. Les relations au sein de cette catégorie de travailleurs ne sont pas également au beau fixe. Cette situation révèle trois sortes de diffi- cultés pour la seule entreprise qui existe en réalité :

• Incompréhension et relations difficiles au sommet de l’entreprise,
• Incompréhension et relations difficiles entre la base et le sommet de l’entre- prise et
• Incompréhension et relations difficiles à la base de l’entreprise.

Les travailleurs de la deuxième en- treprise font également une mauvaise publicité de leur entreprise au niveau de leurs familles de leur entourage, etc. Il est à noter que le dysfonctionnement du système relationnel au sein d’une entreprise peut altérer la qualité et la quantité de son rendement ainsi que son image de marque. La détection des deux formes de prob- lèmes de communication interne, néces- site des actions: Mais avant tout action corrective, un audit du système de communication.

Cet audit a également pour mérite de permettre aux dirigeants d’entreprises de savoir si oui ou non les deux aspects de la communication – information et relation – sont pris en compte dans leur système de communication. Mais le fait de réaliser que le double aspect de la communication est oui ou non pris en compte n’est qu’une étape ; par la suite, un certain nombre d’actions doivent être réalisées pour le premier et le deuxième aspect afin que cette prise en compte soit effective.

• Pour le premier aspect concernant
la circulation de l’information, les entreprises feraient mieux d’engager des spécialistes en communication capables de mettre en place de vastes programmes de formation des cadres et employés en matière de la communi- cation. Ces formations insisteraient sur l’efficacité des supports de transmission des instructions de travail, la gestion des messages organisationnels, l’encodage et le décodage des messages, les canaux de circulation de l’information, la gestion des rumeurs, les entraves à l’application des instructions de travail, etc.

• Pour le deuxième aspect concernant la communication relationnelle, les entreprises devraient s’attacher les services des psychologues du travail et des organisations ayant pour mission de mettre en place des stratégies permet- tant de créer une certaine proximité entre les cadres et les employés. On sait que c’est cette proximité relationnelle favorise la communication en entreprise. Ces psychologues devraient également être à mesure de mener des audits de la dynamique relationnelle des entreprises dans le but de mettre à nu leur système relationnel.

Un tel audit permet en substance de régler les questions de la cohabitation entre les struc- tures formelles et les struc- tures informelles et de la collabo- ration entre les services formels. Aussi, faut-il noter que ces spécialistes en communication et ces psychologues doivent travailler de concert pour plus d’efficacité. Le prochain article traitera de l’impor- tance de la prise en compte du double aspect de la communication.

L’auteur est un formateur et Ploidoyer pour PARCEM. Burundi.
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