How to Ensure That Your Prospects Are Happy

The hours we pass with happy prospects in view are more pleasing than those crowded with fruition. -Oliver Goldsmith

In making a sale, the salesperson needs to find the fit between the prospect and the product or service (or both) that he or she is selling. The challenge is that even if the salesman, for instance, find the fit between the two, the sale doesn’t happen. Why? It’s because somewhere along the sales process the prospect resists due to some sort of dissatisfaction. To eliminate hesitance and rejection, here are some ways to turn the tables in your favor.

How to make your prospects happy

1) Get your prospect to like you

2) Get your prospect to trust you

3) Show the prospect that you care

1) Get your prospect to like you

Perhaps, this is the most important and most practical tip to guide you in making your prospects as delighted as possible. Wait up. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be uberly likable so he or she will consider doing business with you.

You need not tell a prospect compliments especially if you don’t mean any of them. When we say get him to like you, it means being friendly and nice. It’s in the way you dress, talk, act, interact, ask questions, etc. How you conduct yourself, in general, especially in front of the prospect impacts your likability, affecting the sale in the process.

One way of getting your prospect to like you is through seeking common grounds. It means doing your homework even before meeting the person for the first time. In these times when everyone you might know is on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you cannot afford to go to a meeting unarmed with even the basic information about the person.

In fact, just a minute of browsing on the person’s Facebook wall will give you an idea of his or her interests, attitudes, beliefs, preferences and all other things. The caveat is you need to know the name of the person. Likewise, there’s a thin line that separates persistence from stalking.

On the other end, if digging up information on social media is not possible, why don’t you take your research a notch higher? For sure, you’ll know where he or she works. Start from there. The bottom-line is to find commonalities up front.

Prospects tend to hear out those salespeople who took the time knowing a thing or two about them mainly because these people deserve it.

2) Get your prospect to trust you

Likability is essential, but trust is important. Common sense dictates that no person will do a business with someone they don’t like. To like the person, however, he or she must demonstrate that he or she can be trusted.

After all, we are talking about making a sale which means money is involved. Would you entrust your hard-earned money to someone you don’t like? Not. The goal should be making the prospect feel that they can put their faith in you.

Now that’s tricky. What you can do is to build your credibility slowly. Be on time and be consistent about it. Keep your word. When you promise to have the quote ready by this date and time, the prospect is expecting to get the quote on that specific day and time.

If you said you will call on the 15th, make sure that you make that call. Send a handwritten note. It is more personal that way. Be accountable. Put simply, grab all those chances where you can show your reliability. If any those chances don’t come up, create the opportunity.

Remember that any action or lack of action on your part contributes to making a sale successful or not. Once you are unable to build the reputation of integrity, other prospects would know about it. Negative experiences spread faster than positive experiences.

People tend to know more about the former than the latter because a negative experience reaches twice as many ears compared to a positive one.

3) Show the prospect that you care

They are not your diversion; they are your target. Well, at least, that’s what goes on in your prospect’s mind. You are there just because you need him or her to buy from you.

One thing that you can do to is to demonstrate to them that you are after their best interest, that you are there to offer a solution to a particular problem. You need to do this more specifically if your presence is unsolicited, which is mostly the case.

Better yet, delight them with your expertise. At times, caring could mean showing how to check if their gadget is in optimal condition or not, how to maintain their gadget properly, how to maximize the use of such, etc. You really need to understand what your product or service can do to add value to the life of the prospect.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to make them realize that they need the product that you are selling. Also, be transparent about the weaknesses of what you are selling in particular. Everyone appreciates transparency.

Some experts would say to give a gift to your prospect. However, it can be considered impolite and unnecessary. Some prospects would feel compromised and obligated to do business with you just because you presented them with something. Thus, proceed with caution if you are considering this move.

These dynamics can change any hesitant prospect into a happy customer. If you are sensing that your prospect is not happy with the conversion at all, take the time to address the situation and do everything in your capacity to remedy such.

It’s not only about winning the customer, but also avoiding the negative WOM (word of mouth). We are after the first, you know.

Driving sales start with treating your prospects with care, treating them nicely each step of the way. Discover how Vender App can help you nurture these prospects into leads. Download the app now!

60 Best Thoughts A Salesperson Should Think About

Taking yourself to procrastinate is rather easy. When you are feeling demotivated, the necessary next thing is to look within. Thoughts – both positive and negative – are very powerful. The goal is to dismiss the negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones; one way towards becoming your best self.

Here are some of the best thoughts that a salesperson should keep in mind.

Best thoughts for a salesperson

Believe you can, and you’re halfway there. – Theodore Roosevelt

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John R. Wooden

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe

Just do it. – Nike

That can-do attitude!

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain

Well done is better than well said. – Benjamin Franklin

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. – Peter Marshall

Someone needs to start something.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice. – Wayne Dyer

It is not the position, but the disposition. – J. E. Dinger

Opportunities don’t happen; you create them. – Chris Grosser

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky

It’s either this or that.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. – Thomas A. Edison

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. – Og Mandino

When life gives you a lemon, you should make a lemonade. – Ron White

Just keep trying.

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. – Victoria Holt

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. – Bruce Lee

Fools learn from experience. Wise men learn from the experience of others. – Otto von Bismark

Let your past make you better, not bitter. – Jackie

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars. – Norman Vincent Peale

Learn from mistakes.

When someone tells you “You can’t”. Turn around and say “Watch me!” – Justin Bieber

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. – Neale Donald Walsch

I can not do everything, but I can do something. – Edward Everett Hale

Do not limit yourself. – Mary Kay Ash

Always do what you are afraid to do. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never doubt.

You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches. – Dita von Teese

Don’t make someone a priority, who only makes you an option. – Maya Angelou

Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you’re waiting. – Joyce Meyer

Wise up!

Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. While, great minds discuss ideas. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. – William Jennings Bryan

True nobility is being superior to your former self. – Ernest Hemingway

Once you experienced excellence, you will never again be content with mediocrity. – Thomas S. Monson

Choose to be great.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James

Strive for perfection in everything you do. – Sir Frederick Henry Royce

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value. – Jim Rohn

When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. – Benjamin Franklin

Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy. – Bob Kelso

Know thy worth.

You were born as an original. Don’t die as a copy. – John Mason

Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. – Margaret Thatcher

No one ever discovered anything new by coloring in the lines. – Thomas Vazquez

No one can play your role better than you. – Sagar Ugale

I’m too busy working on my own grass to see if yours is greener. – Anonymous

Be original.

He, who doesn’t hope to win has already lost. – Simon Bolivar

To respond is positive, to react is negative. – Zig Ziglar

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. – Tony Robbins

The future depends on what you do today. – Mahatma Gandhi

Be proactive.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. – Will Durant

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going. – Sam Levenson

Success is how you bounce when you hit bottom. – George S. Patton

It can only get better.

A moment of gratitude makes a difference in your attitude. – Bruce Wilkinson

At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets. – Steve Maraboli

When you take things for granted, the things you are granted, get taken. – Phil Hennessy

What we do for ourselves dies with us; what we do for others remains and is immortal. – Albert Pike

Appreciate.

Either you run the day or the day runs you. – Jim Rohn

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. – Albert Einstein

Success is doing common things uncommonly well. – Henry J. Heinz

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up. – Regina Brett

Do something today that your future self will thank you for. – Anonymous

Win.

Laughter is a smile with the volume turned up. – Anonymous

Rules + Regulations – Relationships = Resentment + Rebellion – Josh McDowell

Have fun.

Above are some of the best thoughts to draw inspiration from and live by. Remember, life can be a bliss only if you know how to live a blissful life. In sum, it’s all up to you. We all have a choice, and know that, each of these choices has an impact to our lives.

Treat yourself for more words of wisdom for the salespeople by using Vender App. Download the app now!

Buyers’ Biggest Pet Peeves – What Makes Them So Annoyed!

Have you ever wondered why the salespeople are so annoying at times? Well, we’ve all been there. Guess what, this is not to justify them salespersons, but while they understand the tendency to annoy other people, they have to win their business. While the sales force is the main driver of profitability, leads converted into customers are the lifeblood of any business, for that matter.

Now, to humanize the process, here’s what every salesperson needs to know – the buyers’ biggest pet peeves and what he or she can do instead.

Things that annoy the buyers

1) The generic outreach

Nowadays, the sales industry is heavily scripted. A salesperson, particularly those who are cold calling, has a canned response to every comment or question of the prospect. This is the complete opposite of a buyer’s yearning for personalization. A buyer wants to be put first. Thus, the sales personnel should not treat him or her the way he or she would treat everybody else.

Likewise, generic outreach campaigns reflect the lack of initiative on the part of the sales team. There is no effort whatsoever on the part of the team members to get to know the person. In this day and age, it is often possible to know who you are dealing with through social networking sites, for instance.

What you can do

– Discard the script

– Develop your pitch based on the needs of your prospects

– Invest in research before you make contact

– Get to know your prospects by getting their names beforehand

– Look into their websites, personal social accounts, etc. if they have any

– Simplify the process by using a tool such as the Charlie App

– Customize whenever and wherever possible (case in point: first name in email salutation)

2) The same old cold calling

Until today, while there’s personal selling involved at the mid-part of the sales process, the top approach of the salespeople is cold calling. There is still a virtue to cold calling despite the fact it only converts 1 to 3% of the prospects. The bottom-line is it converts. However, the sales team often got it all wrong. Even when the prospect already said no, they keep calling the person to the point of irritating him or her.

It’s a lose-lose situation — the salesperson becomes ineffective in the process, jeopardizing his own salesmanship and the prospect loses his valuable time attending to something that he is not even interested in the first place.

What you can do

– Turn the cold call into a warm outreach

– Build familiarity even before starting a relationship with your prospect

– Connect with them through their social profiles

– Observe his or her behaviors on these platforms then, start a conversation around the updates, shares, posts, etc.

– Answer their questions, perhaps through directing them on your or other people’s blogs

– Research what your targets are interested in, what they are looking, what they don’t like especially when it comes to a product or service

– Don’t pester them

3) The cash cow hunter

Sales-making is at the heart of the matter here. Nonetheless, no target buyer would want to feel treated like being leached. For the buyer, the salesperson is only there because he or she is another sale to make as if there’s a dollar sign on his or her forehead.

That’s very unprofessional on the part of the salesperson, failing to understand that each prospect is unique with unique challenges, pain points, goals, and issues. These uninitiated sales representatives only obsess with closing the deal and not necessarily solving the problem of the prospect.

What you can do

– Be honest and upfront (especially about the price)

– Don’t force your product, service or both down to your prospect’s throat

– Offer real value

– Build trust and credibility

– Demonstrate sincerity without faking it

– Follow-up with the client after he or she signs the contract

– Send thoughtful email messages

– Offer your insights

4) The robotic and routinary

In the real world where the sales rep and prospect actually engage, the latter cannot build confidence to whoever he or she cannot connect with. Building trust could be exhilarating on the part of the salespeople especially those who often hear their executives tell them to “know your metrics.” But, it is an essential aspect of the sales process.

What these sellers don’t understand is they themselves are the ones who are “dehumanizing” the process. When your prospect raises an objection, what do you do? Rummage through your script to find the right answer? Can you even consider yourself as a friendly and approachable salesperson? If you can’t, then there’s the problem.

What you can do

– Forget about quota

– Don’t regard your prospect as a mere number

– Don’t alienate them

– Don’t incentivize them

– Be tangible

– Reference your learnings from the first meeting

– Smile

5) The mind-numbing demos

Presentations and demonstrations are fundamental to closing a deal. Target buyers may consider listening to you and when they do, make sure what you are going to say is worth their time. Sitting a prospect in a room and expecting him to listen to your untailored demo is the ultimate no-no.

What’s more, when the person asks a question and you answer it yet you failed to adapt the demonstration with the flow of conversation, then you aren’t really listening to him. What’s worse, you deliberately ignore the question and move on with your pitch. There’s nothing more depressing than listening to a sales rep that doesn’t take a cue from what the prospect is saying and not saying (body language, people).

What you can do

– Hear them

– Explore the issues raised by your prospect

– Be transparent; don’t lie to them through omission

– Don’t be a know-it-all

– Listen to them

– Don’t interrupt the buyer when he or she is speaking

– Pay attention to their questions, suggestions, and concerns

– Again, customize whenever and wherever possible

– Expect the unexpected

Salespeople are notorious for annoying their prospects. Self-centeredness is the epitome of a careless, unprofessional and ineffective salesperson. So, don’t be a part of the ever-growing list of annoying salespeople. Above, you can see a list of do’s and don’ts. In connection with this, please stop whatever you are doing and ask yourself – Am I an annoying salesperson? If you think you are or are just too egoistic to admit it, change for the better.

Don’t be like the other salespeople who are only good at annoying their buyers. Speaking of buyers also, categorize them based on priority levels using our app. Vender App is the next best sales app you will need. Download it now!

12 Google Calendar Hacks to Improve Productivity

At times, all you need is a formidable force to help you achieve your performance goals. And sometimes, it can be in the form of as mundane as your calendar. Well, yes, calendars are necessary, but what you don’t realize is it’s the organize in organized chaos. Schedules can get hectic. These are the moments when Google Calendar can become handy. If your use of Google Calendar is limited to creating an event and sending invitations, then you are in for a big surprise.

Google calendar hacks to know

1) Make multiple calendars

On first use, Google will provide you with a general calendar (My calendars). If things get confusing as you use it, you might as well create specific calendars for major projects or teams. If this is not an option, you can always create a personal calendar to keep all your own, non-work-related schedules in a separate calendar from your work-specific calendar. Just click the drop-down arrow on the left side of My calendars, then click Create new calendar. Color code the calendars so you won’t get confused which is which.

2) Put specific locations

When we say locations, we mean very specific locations because Google Calendar integrates with Google Maps. Easy. The Where field is the first box after the Event details. Now, your meeting can start on time because no one will get lost going to the location.

3) Find an appropriate time

Everyone can get really busy, scheduling a meeting can be a real complex. What do you do? Simply, just find out when all participants will be available. Click Create. Put the event details such as title, date, and time. Next, enter the names or email addresses of the participants. Below the names is the link Suggested times. Click it to know when they will be available. Alternatively, you can click the Find a time link right beside the Event details.

4) Add a video call

If you need to set-up a conference call, you can also do so through the event itself. Google will automatically set up Hangouts when your event comes. The participants simply need to click Join once they are ready to do so.

5) Add attachments

If relevant documents are needed for the event, you might as well provide the attendees copy or copies of the said document through attaching it to the event you are creating. Before you do this though, you need to enable adding attachments. Click the gear icon on the main Google Calendar page. Click Labs and you will be directed to the features page. Look for Event attachments. Tick Enable. When you head back to making an event, the Add attachment link will appear.

6) Add other features

While at it, you may want to look at all other features that you can use such as Jump to date, World clock, and Next meeting, among others. Here’s a complete list of all the available features that you may utilize and what they do. Know that, Google Calendar Labs may change, break or remove the feature at any time.

7) Email event participants

After hitting Save, suddenly you remember that you have to remind them to bring a laptop on the meeting day. You can do this by emailing your guests. However, only those who replied Yes to your invitation can receive the email. The Email guests link is located above the names of the guests, across Guests. Once you click this, an email composer will popup. You just have to click Send after typing your email message.

8) Enable gentle notifications

Popups are rude and irritating because they take over your screen just when you are doing a crucial task. Gentle Notifications is Google Calendar’s answer to this. When it is 10 minutes before the event, you’ll receive a notification in the form of a blinking tab in the background coupled with a pleasant sound. As an alternative, you may also use desktop notifications. Just go to Labs and enable the feature.

9) Use keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can save you time just when you needed it most. So, it would be better to learn about them. In Google Calendar, move around the calendar, change your calendar view and make changes to an event. Just make sure that you Enable keyboard shortcuts on your settings. Select Yes and click Save.

10) Share a calendar

Google Calendar allows calendar sharing. You simply need to click the drop-down menu of the calendar that you want to share with others. Click Share this Calendar. Below My calendars are the Other calendars. Click the drop-down menu for the options. You may add one of your co-worker’s calendar, add a calendar by URL, import your other calendars or Browse Interesting Calendars.

11) Invite people outside of Google Calendar

After creating an event, you can invite as many as 200 people. At the Add guests section of the event page, you may type the name or the email address. If the name or email address is included on your contacts, it will appear. For those who aren’t listed on your contacts, you can also add them as guests to your event through typing their email addresses. They will receive an email notification to which they can reply Yes, No or Maybe. The links will be in the email. Note: If you need to invite more than 200 people, invite them through Google Groups.

12) Track responses

Upon receiving an email invitation, again, the guest will be given three options – Yes, No or Maybe. In the Guests section of the event, you may see the list of your would-be attendees and their responses. In the event that one of your invitees said he or she hasn’t received an invitation, remove the name or email address and then, add it again. Alternatively, you can ask him or her to check the spam folder or the email notifications setting for new events.

These are just twelve of the calendar hacks that can make your life easier. There could be more, so why don’t you explore Google Calendar yourself and share with us your recent discovery.

For more productivity hacks and tips, head to our blog section. While at it, download the app. Vender App works seamlessly with Google Calendar.

30 Sales Blog That You Must Read

You should be building a good targeted list instead of relying on your cold emails to disqualify leads. If you’re not sure whether or not you’re talking to a potential customer, don’t send the email.

Learning is a fundamental aspect of every salesperson’s professional development. In this digital day and age, one way to do this is through reading blogs. However, with all the sales out there, how would you know which ones are worth reading? Perhaps, you can refer to the list below.

Sales blogs you should read

1) Smart Selling Tools

Sales Tip: Listening is an act of learning. What’s earned salespeople a bad name is that they listen with their head and not their heart. If you truly hear what your prospect is saying, you’ll respond with sincere interest, thoughtful questions, and an honorable intent. And those are three qualities that will differentiate you from your competitors.

In: Don’t Spook Your Prospects: 5 Surefire Ways to Keep Your Prospects from Fleeing in Fear by Nancy Nardin

2) The Sales Blog

Sales Tip: Different businesses, different industries, and different customers can all have different sales cycles. This is not to say that most sales organizations couldn’t stand to improve their ability to compress their sales cycle time; most could.

In: Closing Faster by Anthony Iannarino

3) Partners in Excellence Blog

Sales Tip: Prescription has become the big buzzword. In prescription, we spell out the things salespeople need to do to maximize their success. A sales process is prescriptive.

In: Are We Getting Better as Sales Professionals by David Brock

4) A Sales Guy

Sales Tip: Discovery questions are designed to get to the known. Provoking questions, on the other hand, are designed to get to the unknown. They are designed to challenge the customer and get them thinking about what they are doing, why they are doing it and what alternatives they have.

In: The ONE Question to Get More Sales by Jim Keenan

5) Your Sales Playbook

Sales Tip: I’m not saying we should avoid opportunities for growth, I’m saying that we need to be realistic and NEVER hold strengths hostage while we focus too much energy on weaknesses.

In: 4 Things to Do If You Suck at Cold Calling by Paul Castain

6) Heinz Marketing

Sales Tip: Common seller misconceptions all circle around a theme: a lack of communication and understanding between buyers and sellers. Sellers can overcome this gap by differentiating themselves from the competition through specialization, by helping clients articulate and define their business challenges, and by educating their target audience. Sellers who follow these steps will find themselves generating more business with both potential and existing clients, and poaching clients from firms that have not yet addressed the gap.

In: 3 Common Misconcewaysptions That Are Killing Your Sales by Matt Heinz

7) Fearless Selling

Sales Tip: Just because someone says you are too expensive does not mean your price is too high. It is much more effective to ask, “What do you mean by that?” or “Compared to what?” This usually gives you additional insight into their true objection which means you can often close the sale without discounting.

In: The Top 7 Reason People Say “You’re Too Expensive” by Kelly Robertson

8) Score More Sales

Sales Tip: You must find ways to inspire yourself. For goal attainment in professional selling, you must know WHY you are at work. If you do NOT have your “WHY” then there is NO REASON for you to work hard (or smart) the rest of the day.

In: The Power of Goal Setting in Sales by Lori Richardson

9) Jill Konrath

Sales Tip: We don’t want to lose good prospects – especially after we’ve invested so much time and effort working with them. So we mistakenly – and irrationally – keep thinking they’re going to close. Usually, they don’t. The longer it takes to close a sale, the less likely it’s ever going to happen.

In: How Badly is the “Loss Aversion Syndrome” Hurting Your Sales Success? by Jill Konrath

10) Selling Fearlessly

Sales Tip: The born salesperson possesses two instinctive attributes others must work their butts off to develop. First is the gift of gab. If you’re a born salesperson, you instinctively know it; if you’re not, take heart: what isn’t intuitive today soon will be, if you’re determined enough to make it happen.

In: Are Salespeople Born or Made? by Robert Terson

11) The Sales Hunter

Sales Tip: The real value of insights is when the sales manager is acting as a sales leader in the field, helping to develop their salespeople and customers. This is the impact the sales leader is paid to have.

In: 5 Questions You Must Ask About Your Sales Process by Mark Hunter

12) Sales Training Connection

Sales Tip: But today, sales reps are selling complex solutions – requiring them to do more account strategizing and call planning before meeting face-to-face with customers. They also have to be prepared for the back-and-forth business conversations with customers inherent in “getting the solution right” as well as navigating more complex decision making processes. That’s why top sales reps take the time to understand how a deal impacts stakeholders and take more time in planning and preparation.

In: Are Your Sales Reps Spending Too Much Time in Front of Customers? by Richard Ruff and Janet Spirer

13) Fill the Funnel

Sales Tip: Purpose. If you do not first define your purpose in making a call, you will not achieve a positive outcome.

In: Defining Purpose Is First Step In FirstCalling by Miles Austin

14) Top Sales Dog

Sales Tip: If it takes you seven or more attempts to reach a prospect, that prospect is 45% less likely to convert than those you reach in six calls or fewer.

In: How Many Follow-Up Calls are Enough? by Michael Boyette

15) Sales Benchmark Index

Sales Tip: The sales team needs leads from marketing to be successful. And the marketing team needs feedback on those leads to improve quality going forward. The two strategies are perpetually connected. You must have a sales strategy that is aligned with the other functional strategies in 2016. It’s the only way to systematize revenue growth.

In: What Sales Leaders Need to Know About Marketing Strategy by SBI

16) Predictable Revenue

Sales Tip: You must focus on QUALITY, not quantity, of actions, calls and leads (fewer, bigger, better). This includes having a well-defined activity funnel, and measuring results-based activities (such as “Number of Scoping Calls Completed Per Week”) and never measuring dials.

In: Why Salespeople Don’t Prospect by Aaron Ross

17) Powerful Sales Training

Sales Tip: Hype appeals to the imagination, both on the part of the salesperson and customer. The problem with hype and imagination during the sales of product is that both always exceed whatever features/benefits said product might convey in reality. Nine times out of ten, this is a recipe for an unhappy customer.

In: How to Avoid Hype When Selling by Alan Mayer

18) Smart Calling

Sales Tip: Action is the best way to overcome the fear of anything in sales.

In: Solid Sales Wisdom Does Not Go Out of Style by Art Sobczak

19) Inside Sales Experts

Sales Tip: But far too often, we squander all that preceding effort by confusing, boring or annoying prospects while generally failing to move the sales process forward. You are the presentation – not the slides.

In: Sales Presentations That Don’t Suck by The Bridge Group

20) The Center for Sales Strategy

Sales Tip: Brand yourself online. Social selling involves you taking ownership of how you want to be perceived by those who may potentially buy from you. That means you may need to think of the audience on LinkedIn in a different light. It’s not about networking with people who may want to hire you someday. It’s about networking with people who might want to buy from you someday.

In: Three Simple Steps to Start Social Calling

21) The Funnelholic

Sales Tip: Today’s top sales performers look for an edge from technology, not exclusivity. They use technology to create a better buying experience for their customers and to streamline their own sales process.

In: 4 Habits of a New Generation of Top Sales Performers by Craig Rosenberg

22) Point Clear

Sales Tip: Lead nurturing and initial qualification calls to prospects may lie with marketing automation or inside sales qualification specialists (unless it is outsourced). But the actual, final management of the prospect is square in the lap of the individual salesperson. The responsibility for addressing prospects’ needs remains a major part of the sales job.

In: To Manage Sales You Must Manage Sales Leads by Dan McDade

23) Sales Pro Insider

Sales Tip: None of these tactics help a mis-hire. How, then, do we select sales candidates that can and will really sell as needed? Use an effective and proof-based selection process as an aid. Just like a sales process moves the right opportunities through the pipeline, a hiring and selection process effectively moves the right candidates through to a successful hire.

In: Selecting Top Sales Candidates: How to Determine if They Can (and Will) Really Sell by Nancy Bleeke

24) Sales Journal

Sales Tip: Aiming for success in sales but failing to put together a decent compensation plan amounts to a similar outcome; going on a trip with no plans in mind. A sales compensation plan (SCP) should be purposefully and carefully drawn up by the sales organization and must align company-wide goals with sales performance and behavior.

In: The Importance of a Good Sales Compensation Plan by Naviga

25) Sales Wars

Sales Tip: A properly-defined pipeline and its stages help you organize your sales process and create effective tools and benchmarks for your sales team, making it much easier to predict the future success of your sales force. In fact, by using KPIs it’s possible to get within five percent forecast accuracy, meaning that you’ll always know not only how your team is currently performing, but also what roadblocks might lie ahead.

In: The Value of Key Performance Indicators for Tracking Sales Growth by Quota Factory

26) Sales Folk

Sales Tip: You should be building a good targeted list instead of relying on your cold emails to disqualify leads. If you’re not sure whether or not you’re talking to a potential customer, don’t send the email.

In: 4 Reasons Vanity is Ruining Your Cold Emails by Heather R. Morgan

27) Salesforce Blog

Sales Tip: Team selling is just like it sounds: A group of highly motivated players — field sales, inside sales, channel sales, sales operations, and sales strategy — each tapping into their unique skills to win the sale.

In: New: An Interactive Guide to Winning More Sales

28) Sales Hacker

Sales Tip: The difference is that a demo is not merely a walkthrough of the features of the solution, but a highly contextual demonstration which specifically addresses the business challenges the prospect is looking to address — with the added touch of showing this with their data loaded into the system.

In: Using the Sales Process to Create a Competitive Advantage

29) Sales Engine

Sales Tip: Being a salesperson is tough. You deal with rejection and missed opportunities more than you’d care to admit. It will serve you well to inject a little positivity into your working situation and your coworkers will thank you for it. In this case, the class clown wins over the Debbie Downer. It takes a lot more motivation to be productive when your coworker walks into the office and grumbles to you about how badly they want it to be Friday already. Lighten the mood on the phone with your prospects and with your coworkers so you can all hit your sales targets.

In: Your Lazy Attitude is Killing Your Sales Numbers by Craig Wortmann

30) Jonathan Farrington

Sales Tip: An effective sales team understands the big picture and the context of their team’s work to the greatest degree possible. That includes understanding the relevance of their job and how it impacts the effectiveness of others and the overall team effort.

In: So, What Makes a Successful Sales Team?

Staying on top of the game is a monumental task. These blogs will be the driving force behind making such a task easier. These blogs aren’t just good reads, but highly valuable reads that every salesperson must be aware of.

Vender App has its own blog where you read more on sales and productivity tips. While at it, download the app and discover how easy it is to improve sales using the right platform.

Top 20 Habits to Boost Productivity

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. – Paul J. Meyer

And our biggest bottleneck? Our H-A-B-I-T-S. The premise is that if you want to be productive, you need to possess productive habits. It’s either you develop the right habits, or you lose your job eventually. But the question is – how will you know which of your habits are productive and which are not? You’re in for a treat; below is a list of productivity-boosting habits that you must start developing the soonest.

Habits to boost productivity

1) Create a morning ritual

How you structure your morning will determine how your entire day will play out. For instance, wake up at the same time in the morning, drink a glass of water, do a 15-minute exercise, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work. No phone calls, no email checks, no social profile checks, nothing while doing all these. All the things that you should do every morning must be about you and nothing else. Setting a morning routine will give you more flexibility to make more productive works throughout the day.

2) Set weekly and daily goals

Goal-setting is the utmost productivity habit that must become second nature to you. It’s not only about the long-term ones. Instead, the short-term ones are equally important. Thus, set weekly goals, review them daily and set daily goals based on these weekly goals. The most important part of this process is tracking the accomplishments with precision so you’d know how far you are from reaching a particular goal. Put your daily and weekly goals where you can see them so you won’t be swayed by distractions when they are slowly creeping in.

3) Create to-do and anti-to-do lists

A to-do list is the structure of your working day with the most important at the topmost part of the list. Some people don’t stop working until all the items on their to-do list are already crossed-out. You can do that or allow some flexibility in your daily planning to do minor jobs as they come up. An anti-to-do list, which was coined by Joel Gascoigne, founder, and CEO at Buffer, is the list of accomplished tasks that are not on your original to-do list. In this way, even if you’re not able to accomplish everything on your to-do list, you won’t feel any less productive because you are.

4) Set three important things to do

Why only three? Our brain remembers three things very well, and it is capable of scanning the environment to look for associations, resources or opportunities that are useful to any or all of these most important things. Anything beyond that number is considered an overload. So, before you go or leave work, think of the three most important tasks that must be completed. Write it down if you want or save it on your phone. And, don’t forget to devote a solid 90 minutes of your 8 hours per day to do these most important tasks. That’s just around 20% of your working hours.

5) Do the most difficult thing first

As humans, our energy and creativity are limited and so is our willpower. We are at our most creative after waking up in the morning. That’s because our brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex is at its most active upon waking up. Knowing this, organize your schedule to do the hardest tasks from sunrise to noon so you can maximize your brain capabilities. Delegate the harder tasks after the lunch break and the hard tasks after 4 pm.

6) Do that “one thing”

Gary Keller, the author of The ONE Thing, suggests doing that “one thing.” It’s a prioritization tactic wherein you have to choose one major task to do, which when completed will render other items on your list of to-dos as easier to do or completely unnecessary. As such, that one thing must create a domino effect to make your day more productive and less stressful. List down everything that you need to do and determine which one will have an impact to the rest of the items on your list, then do it.

7) Focus on a single task

Multi-tasking is just like procrastination, only less intrusive. Multi-tasking actually makes a person less capable of finishing a task. And, it is not about the quantity but the quality of the completed tasks. When you multi-task, you might finish all your to-dos, but it’d take you longer to finish each of them. Rare are those times that all these finished tasks are of high-quality when done through multi-tasking. Just focus on finishing one task before starting a new one. If the task on hand is a major one, consider injecting some breaks so you may respond to things that matter like urgent calls. When you do, make sure you set a time limit to attend to each then, go back to the task you’re doing immediately.

8) Do the brain dump

When doing a particular job, there will be little tasks that’ll be floating on your mind. Put it on paper. Experts say that the most intelligent people carry a pen and paper in the pocket where he or she can write ideas and insights whenever he or she encounters it. Not to mention, the benefits of handwriting including prevention from being distracted and better learning. After jotting it down, you can forget about it. Your mind will relax because it knows that you wrote it somewhere, freeing up some mental energy to devote to the task on hand.

9) Manage energy, not necessarily time

Time management is essential. However, managing energy is more crucial because it directly affects one’s performance. Lower energy level means lower productivity level. Did you know that your energy level drops after eating lunch? That’s because 50% of energy in your body is now being used to digest the food that you’ve just eaten. If possible, eat smaller meals and healthy, energy-boosting snacks throughout the day. In this way, you may manage your energy better and thus, manage your time much better.

10) Allocate breaks strategically

Any person’s productivity declines if he or she will not take a break from time to time. A productivity habit, and a rule of thumb as well, is taking a 5 to 10 minutes of break every 2 hours of continuous working. This doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your workstation every chance you get. Instead, closing your eyes, reading a non-work related article, taking a nap, etc. These can re-energize the mind towards a more productive work afterward.

11) Use an app or apps

Apps are computer programs specifically designed to operate on mobile devices. One of the main advantages of using an app is organization; an app may act as a depository where you can log everything from a to-do list to business card directory to mind maps. Using an app empowers a person having control over his or her own productivity. The feeling of being empowered alone can make anyone feel more accomplished than having little to no control over your own performance. What more if he or she accomplished the tasks for real?

12) Minimize context switches

A context switch is anything that takes your focus away from what you are currently doing. Apparently, context switching is another productivity killer that you might not be aware of. Did you know that it takes 30 minutes for a person to get back to the level of concentration he had before the onset of the distraction? Refocusing is difficult. So, if you have to let the people around you know that you cannot be disrupted between 9 am and 12 noon, then do so.

13) Declutter the workspace

In some instances, creative thinking arises from chaos. While you may pretend that you don’t notice the disorganization, it definitely hurts your capability to focus on the task you are doing. You might find comfort in your own mess, but it can be a real obstacle. That’s based on a study published in Harvard Business Review. According to it authors, a person who works on a messy desk tends to be less efficient and more frustrated than a person working on a neat desk.

14) Minimize the noise

Our mental energy depletes with each time we entertain a trivial task. Simplify your life. For instance, turn off the app notifications while working. Better yet, turn off your phone. A 2015 study entitled The Attentional Cost of Receiving a Cell Phone Notification reveals that a notification can distract and impair a person’s ability to focus on the task on hand. Even if our phones are on vibrate mode, the buzzing sound alone is enough to make our minds wander and away from the task. Simplify your life by decreasing the noise so you’d be able to free up your mind from the unnecessary distractions.

15) Take a power nap

Dozing off while at work is another productive habit. In fact, some of the tech giants such as Google and HubSpot have built their own napping facilities for the benefit of their employees. Naps reverse all the negative consequences of sleepiness, drawing the napper to perform and focus better at work.

16) Meditate, not medicate

No matter how you approach it, meditation has immense benefits that mustn’t be underestimated. A 15 to 20-minute meditation declutters the brain, leading to becoming less distracted so you can focus more. While increasing our productivity, it also reduces the stress and anxiety levels. Thus, when feeling overwhelmed by having too many things to accomplish for a day, don’t take paracetamol; meditate instead more so when you are feeling dips in focus and energy.

17) Learn to say no

Not easy, definitely, but if you are working on an important task, the last thing that you want is a distraction that keeps you from finishing it. Fight the impulse to accommodate all requests. Some workplaces impose a rule that when a staff is wearing an earphone or headset, it means “keep off.” Nonetheless, if you are going to say no, do it in the most polite manner possible and offer an alternative briefly if applicable.

18) Do not procrastinate

While it is easier said than done, there is really no good to procrastination. It is the absolute productivity killer. We all have the tendencies to procrastinate; it’s inherent to all of us. However, we should learn how to combat such natural tendencies. Create goals and milestones. Commit to the 15-minute rule or the only time to do whatever you want to do. Change the environment to change the behavior. Anything to break this bad habit will do.

19) Reject negative energy

Negative energy refers to anything or anyone that brings you down – people who complain, people who gossip, and things that distract you. These are just some of the vindicators of negative energy around that you should reject at all costs. Distance yourself from all these because they’ll only suck your energy until you have very little to devote to your tasks.

20) Get enough sleep

Being productive throughout the day, most often than not, starts with a good night’s sleep. The sweet spot is between 7 and 8 of hours of sleep every night as identified by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. That’s true for both men and women. According to Dr. Lallukka Tea, the main researcher, undersleeping or oversleeping impacts one’s productivity negatively. Hence, stay on the sweet spot.

People who manage to complete several tasks each day possess no superhuman powers. They’ve just mastered a few of the core habits above that enable them to be as productive as they can be. Two things. First, let go of your bad habits. Second, start developing good ones. There remains the fact that our minds work very differently. However, it only takes 21 days to form a new habit. Make each day count.

You cannot underestimate the value of an app as one of the effective ways to boost productivity. Vender App is here to help. Download the app now!