Dear Customer Let's Help Each Other To Be Efficient

(What would you think of dispatching a note such as this one to prospects who have requested information and price quotes? Please let me know! â€"G- )

Thank you for your inquiry.

We sincerely appreciate it, and we are in the process of responding.

Here’s what we intend to do:

(1) Once we understand your needs, we’ll write a proposal.

(2) This proposal will contain our best price. We don’t negotiate discounts.

(3) If awarded your business, we’ll give our best efforts, for which we ask to be paid on time, without additional prompting.

(4) If at any time you believe we aren’t performing at an acceptable level, please tell us promptly, and we’ll make appropriate adjustments.

(5) When we have fulfilled our responsibilities, we will offer your name as a reference to future customers, who may wish to speak to you about our work. But we will not offer your name without believing that your reference will be pertinent and valued.

After submitting our proposal, we will not chase you, hound you, call you incessantly, or leave multiple emails or voice mails. That would be inefficient and bothersome, and it would force us to raise our prices for all customers, including you.

If you like our proposal, please let us know, promptly. If you don’t, we’d still like to hear from you, because it would save us time, and give us valuable feedback as to how we missed the mark, so in this way, you’d help us to improve.

If you like how we sound so far, we’ll be delighted to take the next step with you. Please let us know, specifically how we can be of service and what your needs are.

In the meantime, thank you again, for considering us!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Credit Repair Services

If you are in the business of credit repair services. You may have at one time considered purchasing credit repair leads. The benefit of purchasing credit repair leads, is that the customer is committed to having their credit repaired by a professional such as yourself. These customers are not playing games or surfing the net looking for information and merely contemplating the idea of credit repair, they are very serious about it, and they are waiting on a phone call. Wether or not you are an established credit repair business or a start up, credit repair leads are a good option when considering lead sources. So where is the best place to get credit repair leads? The obvious answer would be to find a credit repair lead company, but that isn't always as easy as it sounds. Yes, it is easy to find the lead company via the internet, but finding a good one with reasonable pricing is where the challenge lies. For starters, find a lead company that obtains their leads through web sites they own and operate themselves. Steer clear of the companies that buy their leads from other companies and recycle them. You never know how many times that selling company has sold the lead. Try to find a company that not only sells their own leads, but sells them at a reasonable price, exclusively, and in real time if possible. Make an attempt to contact someone in their customer service department. Ask them as many questions you feel to be appropriate. If you are not satisfied with the answers to your questions, or the quality of the service you receive, than move onto the next company. The quality of the service you receive is usually an indication of the quality of the lead you receive, so proceed with caution.

3 Tips For Getting Through The Voicemail Screen

How many times have you heard that you gotta get past the gatekeeper and get to the decision-maker to make the sale? Countless books and sales trainers have talked about this for years. Much of this advice was written for a world without voicemail.

Today's flatter organization has fewer administrative assistants for management, which means fewer live gatekeepers to screen our phone calls. The delegation of authority has also resulted in decision-makers being found at lower levels in the business than ever before. More and more decision- makers now use voicemail as their primary or even exclusive gatekeeping and screening tool.

Today I am going to discuss a few sales tips for getting through to your target in the world of voicemail hell. The first rule as always in sales is to be prepared, so you should have ready two or three major pains and visions that your product solves or enables. Make sure you have prepared at least one strong pain that your prospect is likely to identify with (pain elimination is a stronger motivator for most people than vision creation).

TIP#1 - Call At Weird Hours

People who screen their calls normally during the 8am to 6pm business hours will often pickup the phone if a call comes in at 6am or 8:30pm and they are working at their desk. With some of the insane hours people work these days, this can be very effective. They will pickup the phone generally thinking that the only person who would call at 8:30pm at night is their spouse or a friend. Who could possibly know that they are at the office at that sick hour? Try calling anytime after 6pm, and up until 8pm or 9pm when you really need to reach this person. If they are that important to the business, and that hard to reach, chances are that they work very late, very early, or both.

Getting the direct extension number of a Director or VP in a medium to large size company can seem like an impossible task. Some top people will have a direct extension that the receptionists won't give out. Instead, the best you get is a general department extension like 555-2000 (where there actually is a gatekeeper). Other times you get only the gatekeeper's voicemail (now you are really stuck in voicemail hell).

TIP #2 - The Wrong Extension Trick

Call another extension at the company randomly, say 555-2198 and ask for your target. You more than likely will get a person who is not experienced in taking outside phone calls. When the receiver of your call says you got the wrong extension, tell them that you have been getting passed around to the wrong extensions, the wrong people, the wrong voicemails, and that you are really frustrated - sound really distraught. Tell them you must return this call, but that you lost the direct number or that it was garbled on your voicemail. Ask them if they can tell you the direct number to dial so that you don't get passed around by receptionists into the wrong voicemails anymore. The key here is to sound distraught. You want them to feel a little sorry for you, so that they will want to help you. People like to help others in need. Armed with the direct extension number for your decision-maker, see Tip #1.

TIP #3 - Prepare A Commercial

You may decide that the best use of your time is to leave a message. If you want any chance of getting your call returned, you better make it good. My favorite approach is to tell a brief story to get the prospect's attention before they have a chance to realize that this is a voicemail from a salesperson and hit delete. Your story should contain a customer who had pain that your product solved. Start your story by saying "Hi Greg, Shamus Brown here. You know, XYZ company was experiencing an extreme... [fill in the blank with a strong business pain here]" Do not identify yourself as a salesperson or identify your company at the beginning of the commercial. Make the pain sound real bad - talk about the serious consequences of it. Then finish your commercial by saying "Greg, to find out how my company, ABC company, helped XYZ company eliminate this problem, give me a call at (530) 265-4099."

To leave or not to leave a message depends a lot on the nature of what you are selling and the prospect base that you are selling to. If you are selling to a small group of companies, then I would not leave a message until after being very persistent with the first two approaches. If you have a high number of potential prospects to call on, you could use the commercial approach on everyone. Be flexible and persist and you'll eventually make contact.

On a final note, the best way to get to a decision-maker is to get introduced to the person. Partnering with another company that already has an existing relationship with the prospect is very effective for leveraging in at a higher level. Selling someone else below first takes more time, but is often the way that business is done in the real world. These tips above will come in handy when you are at a loss for how to get a referral introduction.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales!

1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months. 2. You could upsell to your customers. When they're at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. They could just add it to their original order. 3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales. 4. When you sell a product, give your customers the option of joining an affiliate program so they can make commissions selling your product. This will multiply the sale you just made. 5. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to your products. You could include an ad on or with the product for other products you sell. You could make sales for the reproduction rights and sales on the back end product. 6. You could cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. You can include an ad or flyer for other products you sell and have other businesses selling for you. 7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. This will attract them to buy more products from you. 8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products for the original product they purchased. This could be upgrades, special services, attachments, etc. If they enjoy your product they will buy the extra add-ons. 9. Sell gift certificates for your products. You'll make sales from the purchase of the gift certificate, when the recipient cashes it in. They could also buy other items from your web site. 10. Send your customers free products with their product package. The freebies should have your ad printed on them. It could be bumper stickers, ball caps, t-shirts etc. This will allow other people to see your ad and order.

Timeless Principles To Steer You Through Negotiations

If you want a sure-fire way to succeed at negotiations Ââ€" whether itÂ’s with your partner over which TV programme to watch tonight, or with a business partner in some high-powered negotiations -- then learn these 7 principles of negotiations expressed through 7 timeless quotes:

Principle 1: Negotiating is an essentially human way of interacting. It is the way we progress. Adam Smith, the Scottish economist who wrote “The Wealth of Nations” put it this way: “Man is an animal that makes bargains. No other animal does this. One dog does not change a bone with another.”

Principle 2: Negotiating is not about dividing up a limited cake in ways that are divisive. It is about making a bigger and better cake. David Ghitelman says that the key to making negotiations work isn’t a scarcity mentality but an added value mentality: “Negotiating is about creating value, not dividing wealth.”

Principle 3: Conflict is at the heart of negotiation but only a positive view of conflict will result in a successful outcome. As Dean Tjosvold said: “Co-operative conflict builds people up, strengthens their relationships and gets things done.”

Principle 4: There is a time to speak and a time to shut up in negotiations. When you do more listening than speaking, you actually increase your power. Geoff Burch, the so-called “hell’s angel consultant”, put it this way: “If you’re talking, you’re giving information and therefore giving away power. If you’re listening and asking questions, you’re gaining information, the raw material of knowledge, and therefore gaining power.”

Principle 5: In power negotiations, when the stakes are high, let the other side believe what you want them to believe. But don’t lie or be dishonest. Sun Tzu, the writer of the oldest military treatise in the world, “The Art of War”, put it in these words: “All warfare is based on deception. Therefore when capable, feign incapability. When active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away. When far away, that you are to lure him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”

Principle 6: Recognise that you will only reach agreement by understanding the deeply-held needs of the other side. In Frank Romer’s words: “People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.”

Principle 7: You can only succeed in negotiations with a win-win attitude. To quote B.C.Forbes: “Any business arrangement that is not profitable to the other person will in the end prove unprofitable for you. The bargain that yields mutual satisfaction is the only one that is apt to be repeated.”

If you are new to negotiations or still struggling to master the skill, remember these 7 quotes. They are words of wisdom passed down the years and invariably learnt by the painful lessons of experience.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com For instant solutions to all your management training needs, visit www.managetrainlearn.com and download amazing FREE training software. And while you’re there, make sure you try out our prize quiz, get your surprise bonus gift, and subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter. Go and get the ManageTrainLearn experience now!

Collection of Jewelry from I800's through mid 1900's

A special collection of jewelry, some of European descent, from a New York Estate, has recently been offered to the public for sale. Quite a few extroadinary pieces, especially for collectors and researchers of the time frame are available. Body Copy: Recently "Ice Originals II", a collectibles and antique website, had the pleasure of acquiring a portion of a large New York Estate that includes jewelry items from the 1800's through the mid 1900's. Quite a few of the earlier pieces are of definite European manufacture, as they feature the European style clasps and hinges and definite European designs. There are some very interesting pieces, that appear as if they could have historic and research value, as well as the normal interest related to collectors. Several of the pieces feature hand chasing and enamel, inlaid into the gold. Several are watch pins, as well as sash pins, brooches, and some very nice cut steel and gold earrings. The art deco and art nouveau movements are clearly represented as well as some transition pieces. These jewelry items, each very well designed and crafted, are true representations of the jewelry of these early decades. The collection can be viewed at "Ice Originals II" which is located at: http://www.tias.com/stores/iceorig/ Anyone who is a serious collector, as well as anyone researching this period of jewelry in encouraged to visit this website and view these beautiful pieces. Along with all the items described, there is also a collection of hand carved shell and hard stone cameos, as well as cameo rings. Some of these pieces pre-date the 1860's, and have been so carefully protected and stored that they appear to be in nearly new condition! As said previously, these items are part of a New York Estate, passed down though a family, and only a portion of this beautiful collection has recently been placed up for sale to the public. Other pieces not for sale include an entire suite of mourning jewelry, made of jet, that is just phenomenal, as well as several pre-1860 pieces that are just perfect, in gold, and containing precious stones such as diamonds and rubies. Many appear to be custom made pieces and contain strong European influences, most likely originating in the UK or surrounding areas. The owner of the collection is not completely sure of all lineage of the family, so any viewers of the pieces up for sale are welcomed to email any input they may have on the items and their origins to the owner of the website, as the collection owner is eager to learn more about the items before they are sold. These pieces are offered on consignment basis to the seller, so therefore, prices are firm, although most are moderately priced, well within the serious collectors price range. Whether looking for that special gift for a special lady,interested in Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Edwardian design, or doing research of the time frames indicated this is definitely a visit worth your time!

HOW TO CONVERT MORE OF YOUR PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS

An obvious way to increase sales is to attract more prospects to your business. But it's easier and less expensive to increase sales by converting more of the prospects you're already getting into customers. Here are 2 proven tactics you can use to convert a higher percentage of your prospects into customers. Both are simple procedures any business can implement quickly for little or no cost. 1. DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR OFFER Most prospects who take the time to consider your product or service would like to buy from you. But they decided other things they want are either more important or more urgent. One way to capture many of these sales is to dramatically improve your offer. Create a "good deal" that's so enticing it becomes their first choice. You don't have to reduce your price to improve your offer. Instead, simply load your offer with bonuses. Whatever you offer as a bonus must have a high perceived value to your customers -- even if it costs you little or nothing. Loading your offer with bonuses is an effective motivator even when you increase the price of your offer to cover the additional cost. IMPORTANT: Always include an expiration date for your special offer. Give prospects the choice to either accept your offer within a short time or forfeit it. This will motivate many prospects to delay some other purchase so they can buy your product or service now. TIP: To create an absolutely irresistible offer -- include a special discount price AND a set of valuable bonuses in your offer. 2. DEVELOP A FOLLOW UP SYSTEM Most prospects won't buy the first time they hear about your product or service. You can increase your total sales by 50 percent or more if you periodically follow up with them. Your follow up procedure can be as simple as contacting previous prospects every month or two with a new offer. Or it can be more elaborate such as publishing a weekly newsletter with information and articles related to your product or service. PROBLEM FOR INTERNET MARKETERS: Many visitors to your web site want what you offer -- but they're not ready to buy right now. You can't follow up with them if they click away from your site before you find out who they are and how to contact them. THE SOLUTION: Post a free offer on your site for something valuable to prospects in your targeted market. Deliver it ONLY by email. This enables you to capture the email address of each visitor who requests it. For example, offer a free subscription to your email newsletter if you publish one. Otherwise, offer a special report, a source list or other valuable information they cannot get anywhere else. TIP: Try to get each prospect's first name too. Use it to personalize your follow up messages. People can't resist reading something that's personally addressed to them. You'll never be able to convert every prospect into a customer. But you can convert more of them than you do now by implementing these 2 procedures. And... these additional sales will be very profitable because you don't have to spend more money on advertising to get them.