Sunday, August 22, 2010

Is Sales Training Important for Your Company?

Without sales there is no revenue, no profit and even the best marketing program in the world will not prevent you from failing; therefore sales are the single most important part of any business. Granted, all aspects of business are important, but without sales you have no business. So unless you want to go out of business, you need to have a very well trained sales staff. Sales training programs where your agents learn, internalize and practice with real customers while in class is one of the best ways to make sure that your sales staff masters the techniques and methods that will increase sales.

There are many ways to get your sales force trained and depending on the size of your staff you may want to consider hiring a sales trainer exclusively for your company; I am not referring to hiring a full time an in-house trainer, I am talking about bringing a sales trainer exclusively to train your agents. And against all beliefs hiring a sales trainer it is not that expensive, especially compared to the additional revenue your sales staff will bring.


Every business operates differently and sells a different product or service. However, the sales process is the same: “lead generation (marketing or any other way), present and close” the method never changes regardless of the product or service we promote, however this is why it’s of paramount importance that the trainer has a clear understanding of your goals and biggest challenges you are currently facing, so they can be included in the training program.


Another important aspect of sales and (commonly overviewed as well) is repeat customers and referrals; make sure the programs includes techniques to keep your past clients as clients and referring you new clients.


One more thing you should also consider is the length of the training program. In my experience a two to three day class is best, keep in mind that your sales people will not stop working during the training; they’ll continue to work and generate new business.


There are companies that seem to think that training their sales staff is not worth the money or justify it with not having the budget right now. However, they make this decision to their own detriment. The company with the best trained sales force has a sizable advantage over those that do not. Another and often less expensive choice is online training and although it is cost effective we need to consider the other side as well. Because the trainer cannot see the people’s facial expressions or hear their comments, the risk of your agents not understanding and therefore not applying the techniques increases. Technology it’s fantastic and it has brought our lives to a different status however the human touch is always needed.


In summary, everyone in your company can benefit from some degree of training but specially your bottom line.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Oscar Marquez's Intro Video

Five Tips to Work Social Media

Over the last 36 months social media has become widely popular. Everybody is talking about it and many courses and programs are being offered.

Some salespeople are successfully getting referrals from their “friends”; however, many of them have also failed at it. Why? They just don’t get the way it works.

To help you avert the mistakes commonly made by salespeople when getting into Social Media Marketing for the first time, here are a number of success tips gleaned from 80 actual social media implementations.

1. Don’t Steal Other People’s Work

I see this all the time. Someone takes the time to create a group, sends them great information and builds a relationship with his followers. Then someone else wants to take advantage of this group that took the owner so much work to put together and starts posting promotional comments about his own company. Needless to say, these comments are always removed and the poster ends up looking like a spammer. If you want to succeed in Social Media Marketing, create your own group and post your own content, and don’t try to cash in on someone else’s efforts. Invest some time researching and looking for information that will appeal to the vast majority of your contacts.

2. Avoid Over the Top Self-Promotion

Don’t talk about yourself and your company all the time. People don’t care about that. Give them something of value, build relationships and get people to trust you. Let them know what you do but don’t try to sell them anything. They will call you when they are ready to buy.

3. You get by Giving.

Don’t you just hate it when someone sends you an email every other day asking you to do something (check out my website or register to get their free e-book) but they don’t do anything for you? Instead, see how you can help others. For example, join lead groups, and if possible send leads to other members (not other Realtors, I meant loan officers, movers, etc.); these members will most likely start sending leads your way. That’s how it works. The majority of the people take, take and take, they never give. Do things the other way around (the real spirit of social media) and you’ll be noticed.

4. Use Your Real Name and complete your profile.

I get about plenty of request on a weekly basis; the first thing I do is check out the profile of the person so I can figure out if they only want to have access to my friends and then spam them with solicitation or if they really are looking to network.

5. Do It Only If You Enjoy It

I love meeting people and networking. I love having conversations with strangers and exchange ideas. I am not always thinking about how I can make money out of the person I am talking to. If you don’t enjoy the process, you are not likely to be successful at it. People can read between lines, and they can tell if all you care about is their money.

6. Don’t Annoy Your Followers

In implementing your Social Media Marketing, send your followers a message or a request only if it will be useful to them. And don’t do it ten times per week. Sometimes in the same day I get messages, wall postings, emails or links from the same person about the latest money making opportunity or about how wonderful their company is! In my opinion, that’s not the way to get others to buy your stuff. Also, keep an eye on the number of people that unsubscribe from your lists. If that number is too high, revise your strategy. In another words don't SPAM.

I hope these 5 tips help you with your listings and with your new career; I would like to have the opportunity to share a cup of coffee and to establish a great business relationship.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Friday, October 9, 2009

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Sunday, October 4, 2009