It's important for a salesperson to have a backbone of steel and a strong constitution. The wise salesperson prepares him, or herself for anything that may happen throughout the course of a business day and is not offended if a customer turns down their proposition, even if they get a door slammed in their face.

How to Deal With Rejection:

The rude customer will go about his day without any regard to your hurt feelings. By allowing yourself to loose your temper, or becoming resentful you will only be defeating yourself. Sadly enough, it just takes some people a little longer to grow up. Some never do. So don't let their bad attitude bog you down in self-doubt, or cause you to hold a grudge because grudges are held by conceited, self-pitying, angry people…and you don't want that to be who you are.

This is the time to call upon your self-discipline and strength of character. Keep a positive attitude and try to find some humor in such situations. You will come up against many different types of personalities in your business life.

Remember back to when you were a child on the playground. Where is the school bully now? If they haven't changed, no doubt they're living a miserable life whether they know it or not. The rude customer may be just having a bad day, or maybe they're a bully who never grew up.

The resilient salesperson doesn't waste their time and energy on such things. They move on to the next prospect with renewed vigor because they believe in themselves, their goods and in their ability to render a real service to their customer.

Don't start your day expecting to get turned down, or to be insulted by your prospects. If you are easily insulted and react negatively towards rejection, maybe it's time to take a look at your "real self." What has caused you to have such low self-esteem? Don't you believe you have a good proposition and in your ability to render a real service to your customer? Are you presenting yourself in a professional manner? Did you say, or do something to bring about this hostility?

How to Deal With Criticism:

Just as it's important to not let a rude customer's attitude, or rejection of your proposition offend you, you should not be offended by criticism of you, your company, or your goods. The trained salesperson prepares him, or herself for anything that might happen and handles these unfortunate events in a professional business-like manner.

Your competition may not only come from going up against a competing product, or service. You may have a product that's one of a kind in your field of business, but it is not the only thing people are spending money on.

Your job is to get your prospect to spend their money on "your proposition" not something else. This could be your toughest competition yet.

Never go into battle without preparing yourself for the fight. As in any war you must analyze your foe and learn as much about them as possible. You'd be foolish to ignore your opposition, or to under-estimate them.

Pre-Approach:

The pre-approach phase of the selling process gives you the opportunity to make sure you have all your bases covered, so you can have a level playing field and all the right conditions for making the sale. Use this time to analyze yourself, your business setup, your selling methods, your products and your target market. It's not enough to just know who your competition is. You must know all about their goods because your prospect sure does.

Note all the strong points of your competitor's products as well as the weak points in comparison to your offer. Write them down. Give credit where credit is do. Capitalize on the strong points of your competitor's goods by making yours even better. Look at their weak points and try to figure out how to improve upon them.

Knowing your competitor's goods will help you avoid mistakes they may be making. You want to be able to meet, or beat your competition at every angle no matter which direction they come from. If your prospect mentions a great asset of your competitor's product, or service, you want to be able to go one better. Here's an example of what I mean:

Mrs. Smith: "I saw an ad by the Jone's Company in The Evening Telegraph. They're cleaning three rooms of carpet for $69."

Salesman: "Yes. Mr. Jone's Company is offering a great deal on carpet cleaning. In deed, you can have three rooms of carpeting cleaned for $69. Our company goes one better than that Mrs. Smith. We will clean three rooms of carpeting for $59.95 and throw in another room free."

"And when it comes to our guarantee we can't be beat. The Jone's Company offers a 50% refund within 30 days if you are not satisfied. We offer you a 100% refund within 30 days if you are not satisfied and all of our employees are licensed and bonded and have been with us for a minimum of 5 years."

Mrs. Smith: "That's the best offer I've received. How soon can you start?"

Salesman: "I can schedule you for today if you'd like Mrs. Smith."

The salesman met and beat every aspect of his competitor's proposition because they did their homework during the pre-approach phase of the selling process.

Now you are under no obligation to point out the good features of your competitor's goods, or service, but it will be an advantage for you in many ways if you've done your homework. It's your opportunity to show your confidence in your own products, or service and to convey your unique selling proposition.

Never bad-mouth your competitor's products, or service. Your prospect will see this as a character flaw on your part and may think of you as resentful and untrustworthy. If you feel the need to bad-mouth your competitor's goods, maybe you feel your products are inferior to theirs, or you lack confidence in yourself as a salesman who can deliver a real service to your customer.

In the above example the competition paved the way for the salesman. His competitor unknowingly left the door wide open. All the salesman had to do was walk in and make the sale.

Stay mindful of the fact that your competition may also be looking at you, so keep re-inventing yourself. Keep polishing your offer and keep a keen eye on your competitors.

So you want to go into business for yourself? No boss, set your hours and do what you want to do? You might wan to look before you leap, there is a lot to consider when beginning a small business.

First, what reason do you have for wishing to strike out on your own? Do you just want to be your own boss? Are you looking for financial independence? Do you want creative freedom and to utilize your talents? Any one or more of these reasons are fine and may give you a jumping off point for your business plan.

Second, ask yourself what kind of business is right for you. What do you like to do? If you enjoy building things then a carpentry business may be for you. What technical skills do you have? How much time are you willing to put in to run your business? A new business will take a lot of hours worth of work to get it up and running successfully. Do you have a hobby or interest that is marketable? If you love scrapbooking, what about a store dedicated to supplies for fellow enthusiasts?

Next, ask yourself is what you have in mind practical. Will it fill a need? Can you supply better quality and services than other businesses in your area?

Now consider exactly what kind of business you would like. Will it focus on one area such as scrapbooking or a wider spectrum such as crafts? Decide on the products and services you wish to provide. Choose a name and a location. Where will you purchase equipment and supplies? How will you compensate yourself? And don’t forget insurance, financing and resources.

Now that you’ve made the basic decisions, you must consider larger possibilities. What legal restrictions, if any, apply in your area? How will you distribute earnings? Where is your capital coming from? How many employees do you plan on hiring?

How do plan to market your new business? Advertisements in local papers and phone books certainly. When placing these ads, be sure to provide information on the products and services you will provide. Let the public know exactly what to expect. If your business caters to a certain niche, advertise in places that will reach those people.

What about the financial part of your venture? Where will you obtain your startup capital? What about a monthly budget? Perhaps draw out a projected budget for the first year. What is your expected return on your investment? Will you do the accounting or hire an accountant? With all you will deal with at startup, hiring an accountant makes good sense. What about a lease or rental agreement? Don’t forget taxes! Local, state and federal taxes should be budgeted for.

Lastly, how do you plan to operate your business? You need a plan for day to day operations. Consider your options for hiring personnel. Plan for production or delivery of your product. There are so many things to consider when beginning a new business venture. These are some of the numerous questions you should ask yourself to ensure the smoothest possible start.

If you're looking to put a heavy burden on your new business, I can't think of a more effective method than to stock all the shelves in your garage with boxes of inventory that you HAVE to sell. There are a number of ways that you can assure that you will have to carry significant levels of inventory:

1) If you are going to be in business for yourself, producing your own product, make sure that you're selling a product that is time consuming and expensive to create. In order to minimize the time between order and shipment, you'll have to keep considerable inventory on hand. This is especially important to be sure you're ready for an increase in demand in case of a well performing ad or positive write-up in the paper.

2) Find a good source for some discontinued or overstocked product that you think you can still sell for a good price. You'll have to buy out their entire inventory: 1,000 or so pieces ... at $5 each. However, since you're sure you'll be able to sell them, you can put the order on your credit card or take out a business loan to pay for it. Think that sounds ridiculous? You'd be amazed a how often that sort of thing happens and then the product doesn't sell.

3) You could set up a distributorship with a network marketing company that requires a hefty initial payment to set up a distributorship. This initial outlay includes an awesome "start-up pack" of "essential" products for you to test and sell. Thus, you are forced to carry inventory before you've even built up a clientelle to sell it to. That is a perfect to get yourself stressed out right from the beginning.

4) Alternatively, you could try a company that requires a minimum level of sales each month in order to maintain your distributorship, in which case, if you don't sell all your product each month, you basically have to buy it yourself and stock it in your basement (to maintain your business volume) in hopes that you can sell it next month.

5) A neat little twist on this would be to hook up with a company that requires you to set up what is called an Auto-Ship, meaning you authorize them to charge your credit card for, and ship to you, a certain amount of product each and every month (normally significantly more product than you and your family could actually use in a month). This is a great way to put an extra burden on your business because you HAVE to sell the product that you received this month because you'll be paying for more next month.

I'm going to assume that you're astute enough to pick up on the fact that I'm not actually recommending that you attempt ANY of the above scenarios. There is just no way of ever knowing for sure how a business venture will pan out. Obviously, you have to go into the venture believing that it will be successful, but not all businesses are. In fact, I'd submit that most are not, for whatever reason.

The problem is, if it turns out that your business is not the huge success you had hoped it would be, but you have large amounts of inventory on hand, you now have TWO problems. One, your business isn't generating any money. Two, you have a great deal of money tied up in inventory that you may never be able to sell.

So, What to Do?

My recommendation? If you're considering starting your own business, do your level best to come up with a business plan that does NOT include carrying large amounts of inventory (preferrably none, but in some businesses that would be unrealistic). That way, if the business tanks, at least you're not also dealing with the added difficulty of having significant money tied up in potentially UNsaleable product inventory.

That means, electronic information products, affiliate programs, network marketing programs that require little or no inventory, service oriented businesses, etc. I think you get the idea. There are tons of business options that don't require stocking product. Try and make yours one of them.

You've decided that you need a better customer relationship management system ("CRM") for your small business. You need a good place to store and access your customer information just like bigger companies. You want to be able to generate meaningful reports and manage your marketing campaigns. But there are so many options in all price ranges.

So how do you choose the best CRM software for your company?

What is CRM, exactly?

In its simplest form, CRM is a database where sales and marketing teams store critical account data such as contact & account information, lead source, sales activity history, purchase history, and marketing campaign data and projections.

CRM can also be an important reporting tool. For example, you can use it to

* Generate revenue projections for a product, a sales rep, and your company as a whole
* Tie revenue to the original marketing campaign
* Pull up lists of leads and activities by sales rep
* View the number of leads you have at each step in your sales process
* Track your progress against your goals
* Manage marketing campaigns
* Capture leads from your website
* Minimize the time your team spends creating manual sales & activity reports


Choosing the right CRM

When you choose the right CRM software, you gain knowledge and power to keep your team on track and measure progress against goals.

* Best case: Your CRM matches your marketing, sales, customer service and retention strategies. It’s easy to use and provides reports that eliminate the need to generate tedious manual reports. It may integrate with other software like accounting and inventory, enabling your entire team to view important data and reports in real time.
* Worst case: You don’t have a solid system for managing customer information; it’s kept in various files or databases that aren’t linked. It’s difficult and time-consuming to create revenue projections, sales reports and marketing campaign reports. The result: lost revenue, productivity and opportunity. Even worse: you use paper files.


How to compare CRM software

The key to selecting the right CRM is to analyze your needs.

* Decide what information your team should be able to access and how they’ll use it.
* Identify who needs to use the system and where they’re located (i.e. in different offices).
* Determine what reports you’ll want to generate, particularly your revenue and pipeline reports.
* Identify the marketing programs you’d like to be able to run and how that information can help you better manage your accounts.


If you’ve outgrown your current system, you may be able to purchase add-ins to give your existing system more power. You may also decide to evaluate new systems to give you the true functionality you need.

Select a CRM vendor

Once you’ve defined your requirements, look for a CRM package that meets your needs. Remember that many systems come in several versions; you can start with a basic version and upgrade as you grow, but make sure the upgrade process is seamless.

Manage CRM implementation

When you’re nearing the end of your selection process, get ready for implementation.

* Create an implementation team.
* Develop a schedule for key tasks: configuring fields, migrating data, creating reports, training users.
* Create a solid training plan.
* Launch the software.
* Do followup training to ensure that your team uses the software as planned. Most implementations fail because employees don’t use the software properly.
* Gather feedback and modify the software configuration as needed; make it as intuitive and powerful as possible.

One of the most difficult things to do is to manage the sales floor of a large box store, especially when the corporate office keeps cutting your staff, apparently to cut costs and increase profits. Yet when a Box Store is understaffed you need to work a lot harder and this is not always as easy as it seems. Why? Well it is human nature when one person is talking to a sales clerk asking a question, that someone else will think to themselves; Maybe they can answer my questions too, I have been looking around for over 5 minutes.

Of course this means that the sales clerk must work twice as hard and they soon learn this and some of them go into hiding, looking busy stocking shelves or re-arranging shelves in order to do less work, without over taxing their brains. It is therefore smart to do two things you may not have considered as a Sales Manager; Hire only really personable and quick thinking sales staff for your floor; those with a little approachability and constant helpful nature and smile. Secondly, do not rely on the Secret Shopper Program to see if your sales people are up to snuff. If the company is cutting back your sales staff they are most likely cutting costs on the Secret Shopper Program too.

It is therefore recommended to have your friends volunteer to come into the store and report back to you. Most friends will do this and you can see if the sales floor staff is on top of things and knows what they are doing. If not please do yourself a favor and get rid of them, as they are doing your store no good and costing you a promotion for missing same store increases in your sales goals.

If you have a multi-level or network marketing company, the MLS mailing lists may be just the thing you need. There is a variety of MLS mailing lists, so it is possible to get mixed up the first time you are using them, but you have to find the one list that would best fit your needs. There isn't anyone willing to waste their money, so you better conduct a thorough research for lead providers before actually buying. It is always a must to have fresh leads. There is no one who would like to purchase MLS mailing lists coming from unknown sources or such lists which are old and the information is no longer useful.

Some of the people selling MLS lists might have already given them to many other companies and it's possible once you start calling people yourself that they will have already received many calls from others and will simply hang up. Everyone wants to avoid that. Searching the web is always a good idea when you need worthy MLS mailing list providers. You just have to log online, do an advanced search and compare what the many providers offer. It all depends on what exactly you are looking for - is it MLS companies providing health supplements or you are interested in skin care products?

The information that you might buy is also quite different - it can consist of phone lists, email list or MLS mailing list; there is a chance that it also may be a mixture of them. Don't forget to pay attention to what you are buying - you should get a list of people who not only are interested in home based business opportunities but also are ready to invest their money. In this branch the best you can purchase is MLS mailing lists of people already tried this or such who are willing to give it a go. That way you'll contact only people who are interested in what you are offering them, so they will be glad to learn about your products or services.

Mouth advertising and network marketing are the two base lines of multi-level marketing. However, when you've already tried with family members, friends and colleagues, then you should start considering purchasing MLS mailing lists. What is great about the providers offering them is that they also offer a sample group; you can buy and check for yourself if you are satisfied with the list. If you do that, you'll know what the best is for you and if it's worth the money you'll pay. There are also some providers who replace useless outdated leads. So, give it a try. Of course, it's all up to you how to build your own business but why not take advantage of some already successful tools such as MLS mailing lists.

Websites spoil us because they’re so easy to maintain. When a bright idea hits you or you need to make changes to your offers, it’s really easy. A quick call to your webmaster and, hey presto, in a matter of minutes, the changes are made.

Not so with printed brochures.

When your business shifts its focus, or you add additional services, or something happens that makes your printed materials obsolete or incomplete, it’s frustrating because of the enormous expense of having a new brochure written, designed and printed. You can end up with a pile of expensive materials that no longer serve you.

It happened to me in my first business and I can't tell you how ticked off I was at the money I'd wasted.

The solution? The one-sheet.

Professional speakers have known about this format and have been using it successfully for years. Basically it’s one sheet of high quality, glossy paper, printed on one or both sides, and it contains everything a potential client needs to know in order to take the next step. A one-sheet can include your central sales message, a photo, a short bio, a couple of testimonials, and your contact information.

They’re versatile in their use. You can create a one- sheet for each of your offers, or for each income stream if you have more than one, and place them in an elegant folder. Or insert one into your current brochure. You can fold them or hand them out individually or as a package. They’re easy to fax or email. A series of one-sheets makes it easy to mix and match a package for a specific client so they’re only getting information that speaks to their needs.

Most folks know that networking is a key to success. We want and need to know people with whom we do business, and most of us enjoy meeting new people for our social circle as well. No "networking" event is, in and of itself, worthwhile. It's what happens afterward that makes the difference. Networking isn't about getting business on the spot, it's about developing relationships that will lead to business, directly or indirectly, down the road. Networking almost always requires the long-term approach.

But how do you begin?

Joining a “networking group” can be an intimidating step, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some basics to get you started.

* Make time and do it. "Someday" and "later" have a way of never happening.
* Be prepared with something to say. Know what the big news story is, the key sports results, and have a positive or thoughtful comment.
* Be prepared to introduce yourself in 15-20 seconds. Without stumbling. This is usually called the "elevator speech." Make it interesting. If it's boring to say, it's boring to hear.
* Carry business cards and have them easily accessible…..
* ….But don't offer indiscriminately them at the beginning of a conversation! It's far better to chat for a while, to know someone about the person, and then to ask for his or her business card. What if, horror of horrors, they don't reciprocate and ask for yours? Not a problem. Send them one when you follow up after the event.
* When someone offers you a business card, look at it before you put it away. A card is our tangible persona. Notice it, accord it due respect, and then carefully put it away.
* Pay attention to the conversation. Don't be one of the "power networkers" always looking over the shoulder of your conversational companion, looking for someone more interesting.
* Listen. Really listen. When your companion is talking, that's your signal to listen to what they're saying, not to be composing your witty rejoinder. Listening is the antidote for nervousness, especially for introverts, because your entire focus is on the speaker – and his focus is on himself, too!
* Think about how you can help the person you're talking with. Make a contact, offer a lead, or just ask how you might recognize a terrific potential client/customer for her.
* Don't assume someone you're talking to can't help you. A conversation may not lead directly to business, but you have no idea who that person may know or where they'll end up next.
* Set your intentions before you go (i.e., I will leave with 3 business cards of people I plan to contact again). And aim for quality over quantity.
* Follow up afterward.

If you use these tactics, your first networking meeting will be a successful and, perhaps, even an enjoyable event that will encourage you to keep coming back.

In many ways, the keys to your success in business are right at your fingertips - literally. They are the keys on your computer keyboard.

Many people join Groups and Organizations in hopes affiliation will somehow help their careers, create a more visible Internet presence, or help them gain access to knowledge or people who can facilitate their success.

The problem with joining a Group or Organization is you'll never get anything out of it if you don't participate.

Even though a Group or Organization might have a large member population, it is an unfortunate reality that many Groups and Organizations actually have very low member participation.

As an example, I was recently asked to speak about building an on-line Internet presence at a Chapter meeting of the British American Business Council (formerly known as the British American Chamber of Commerce). This is one of the oldest organizations around having been formed in the 1950s, and is the largest transatlantic business network, with chapters -- and 3,500 member companies -- based in more than 20 major business centers throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

The local Chapter Director told me they have about 400 local members. I asked, "How many actually participate?" She responded, "Well typically about 30-40 will show up to a Chapter networking event, and the most we've ever had show up at a Chapter event was about 100 members."

Unfortunately many people find face-to-face meetings to be a bit intimidating from a social perspective.

This can be true especially where someone's career doesn't necessarily cause them to interact with a lot of people they don't actually know on a regular basis.

So how do you change this if you're one of those less participatory members I'm alluding to (or the Chairman of a Club or Organization with less than optimal member participation)?

Get on your computer, and find out how to participate in your Group or Organization's on-line forums.

If they don't have one, then ask the Chapter Chairman to start one. Tell them the organization could leverage the on-line forum in a way that would create more community amongst the membership and draw less participating members into more active but less socially intimidating participation than face to face meetings. As members start participating more on-line, they will be more inclined to participate off-line in face to face meetings where they will actually have the opportunity to meet members they've developed relationship with on-line. On-line forums would also bridge the gap between face-to-face events providing continuity to the membership community as well. And if you have the ability to do so, offer up your assistance as an administrator or moderator of the on-line forum. Just think of how many people you could build relationships with on line - through your keyboard - in that role!!

If you want to leverage an existing on-line forum that can support creating a stronger membership community, Ecademy's Club capability is a great place to start a branded on-line forum for your Group or Organization.

Ecademy will even set it up (for free) so you can charge a nominal fee for membership to make sure you're going to have enough chips & salsa for all the additional members that are going to show up for your next face-to-face off-line event if you choose.

The way that your company logo is displayed is probably the most important part of your over all business presentation and company image. Your logo must always be displayed in a crisp and clean way and if you fail to do this you have missed your golden opportunity to maximize your company’s first impression on the consumer or your potential client. Crisp and clean is what you should be thinking on your company signage, whether it is on a building, vehicle or on a four-color brochure.

Below your logo should be your simple and too the point message to your customer. It must be crisp also and add to your logo not over dominate it. All too often the company logo is blurred and over shadowed by words. Remember a company logo is a picture worth a thousand words and the writing below it is your main theme to guide the mind into channeling the thoughts of the consumer or customer.

If you will concentrate first on your logo and second on what is written below it you will be well on your way to a favorable first impression in your business presentation. This goes for everything from your business cards to your company website.

One of the easiest ways to destroy a business presentation is to over do the perfume or cologne, as it is distracting and even if the scent is one of high-price and quality, it also is a turn-off to a board of directors or decision making group? After all what are you trying to hide? Are you trying to mask the fact that your program or pitch stinks as much as your body odor? Over Done Cologne and Your Business Presentation do not mix.

What scents make the most sense? It is not so much the scent as it is the lack of a domination over your victims. Over doing the cologne or perfume is not a smart tactic and yet we see so many folks doing this.

Before my retirement as a Franchisor Founder, I had many people present ideas, concepts, products and services to my company and occasionally someone would come in with impeccable attire and over done cologne or perfume, it was such a turn off that rarely did I ever reward them with an order of any kind.

One time we had a gal, quite good looking come in and pitch us one some cleaning products to use in our franchise company. She was very nice, sincere sounding and yet all that perfume, just made me wonder what on Earth she was hiding? I even thought, I wonder if their cleaning chemicals would be that obnoxious. One of our senior executives asked her on a date, which she accepted but we never bought anything from that company.