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Its not too early to start planning for the sales results you want at the end of 2005. Here are seven things you can do to make sure youre in the Winners Circle at your Next National Sales Meeting.

1. Develop a system for everything. Theres a fundamental reason why companies like McDonalds, Disney, and FedEx do so well. They havesystems for getting things done. You can too. Think about systematizing all repetitive tasks. Quit reinventing the wheel everyday and youll close more sales.

2. Schedule your priorities instead of prioritizing your schedule. Read that line again and let it soak in. Keep two lists. One is thlong view and the other is the short view. The short view is what you should be doing today. These lists should be in writing. If you are creating these lists with an electronic planner – be sure to print it, so you can see it and refer to it often throughout the day.

3. When youre in the selling mode keep the A.I.D.A. principle in mind. A-ttention, I-nterest, D-esire, and A-ction. This model has been around a while because it works.

4. Rise and shine 30 minutes earlier everyday – especially if youre lagging in the sales quota department. Allocating an additional 30 minutes every day will enable you to plan more effectively, think more creatively, exercise more regularly, read more frequently, and outfox your competitors more profitably.

5. Hit the books. There are no excuses for not knowing something. None at all. It doesnt take time to succeed in sales it takes knowledge. For example, doing a Google search on these phrases yielded these results:

Sales questions – 56,400,000 Closing the sale – 6,030,000 Negotiating – 13,100,000 Sales tips – 25,900,000 Sales techniques – 16,300,000 Price objections – 1,420,000

Youll get a wealth of information just reviewing the first couple of pages created by your Google search.

6. Keep track of your success. Measure your success and be sure to measure what matters most. Applying a yardstick to everything you do is the quickest way to turn around your sales performance.

Pretend youre Swiss Cheese – and find the holes. Even if your numbers are good right now, theyll get even better when you track all key elements of your sales performance.

7. Poofread your work. Actually, it should have said Proofread your work. When youre running fast youre likely to make more mistakes. The more important the communication is, the more time you should spend proofreading and editing the copy. Youre always being judged and the customer is doing the judging. Reading your document “Out loud” will help you catch mistakes before its too late.

Focus on winning. Eliminate all distractions. Be like a horse withblinders on, when it comes to doing whats important first and yes it might mean letting some things go undone.

The only people who dont have to worry about exceeding quotas, multitasking, dealing with demanding customers, keeping up with technology, and handling a variety of annoyances and problems on a daily basis are resting comfortably in cemeteries.

Isnt it great to be on this side of the SOD?

Buckle up – the last 5 months will be a roller-coaster.

Enjoy the ride!

Jim Meisenheimer shows salespeople how to increase sales and earn more money. Get his FREE No-Brainer Sales Tips E-letter and his Special Selling Report, “The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do.” Go here now

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Article Source: EzineArticles.com


This Financial Services article was written by Jim Meisenheimer on 8/19/2005

Its not too early to start planning for the sales results you want at the end of 2005. Here are seven things you can do to make sure youre in the Winners Circle at your Next National Sales Meeting.