Viral Sales Tips - Elevator Speech

Here it is, your viral sales tip, this week - the elevator speech.

Click here to watch the video or link to http://tinyurl.com/fnh3x

Click here to download the tip -or link to http://tinyurl.com/h4upe - feel free to send it to all your friends and associates.

To download right click 'save as' in media player.

Speakers Bootcamp - the next Speakers Bootcamp in London is on the 3/4 June and there are two places left, so book now. Click here to download the EBrochure and book. For bootcamps in Asia, Australia, South Africa and the USA, please email me for details.

Previous Sales tips

Centres of Influence or link to http://tinyurl.com/ghsq3

Referrals or link to http://tinyurl.com/jxxqd

Resources

or link to http://www.news.frankfurness.com/resources

Viral Video Sales Tips - Referrals

Here it is, your viral sales tip, this week - referrals.
Click here to watch the video
Click here to download the tip - feel free to send it to all your friends and associates (what do you think of my hat?). To download right click and - save as - to save the tip to your computer
Previous Sales tips Centres of Influence
Resources

Is your website working for you
By Frank Furness

When speaking to audiences around the world, I always ask who has websites and most of the people raise their hands. I then ask who generated a large or even small proportion of business from their website or generated some decent leads. Very few hands are raised. What is happening is that so many organisations have developed websites that are really worthless and it is like receiving the glossy brochure in the mail that goes straight into the bin. Most of the time, they will have a decent website, but it is not seen by anyone, it does not market the goods or services and clients don’t return because the website is not updated with new information or reasons for clients to return.
I now have six websites and developing another ten. The only purposes of my websites are to both sell products or services and give good solid information. Millions of people are looking for free information each day on the internet, so, how much free information are you giving to your potential clients. Give them articles or eBooks where you develop an online relationship. They will then see you as the expert in your field and in turn this will result in enquiries or sales.
Some of the essentials for a good website are:
Great content – provide good valuable content.
Links – develop a linking strategy. Have all you clients linking to your website and in return you link to theirs. Also, develop a strategy to link to other sites with high Google rankings. I use a great piece of software that finds me linking partners based on keywords and then automates the complete system for me to develop links. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/pmcfo
I also discovered an incredible eBook on linking strategies and Search Engine Optimisation that has really assisted me in getting high rankings for my sites. It is written by a recognised expert and if you would like to receive a free copy, please email me at mail:frank@frankfurness.com
Articles – Write articles with valuable information. There are thousands of magazines that are looking for articles. Find the magazines in your sector and submit them to the editor. As a footnote always have your contact details. Some years ago, I approached the Financial Times regarding one of their international newspapers. This resulted in me having my own column for two years in an industry newspaper that was distributed to forty two countries. I didn’t earn much from it, but the recognition, branding and business generated was incredible. It was low cost, no cost marketing (my favourite).
You can also use these articles to develop an online marketing strategy. In your website, have links to all your articles. Submit your articles to article directories. Have links within your articles and at the footnote back to your website. Not only will people all over the world be downloading your articles, they will also put them into their websites as a resource and these will result in hundreds of links back to your site which the search engines lobe and this will automatically increase your ranking and visibility. An article site that I use often is http://www.articles4business.org

One of the things that I discovered when I first built my website was that every time I made any change to the site, I was sent an account and this amounted up over time (my wife asked if I had shares in the website company). I changed website providers and now use an organisation called Advenzia - http://www.advenzia.com

The biggest advantages to me are that I now have a back office system where I am in complete control of the site; I can make changes, add articles, and add products at any time. I also have a full ecommerce system for selling my products as well as a great affiliate system where people can sign up as affiliates to market my products and earn healthy commissions for doing so. (If you would like to become an affiliate, please go to http://tinyurl.com/syb5l ). The system I have on my website tracks all affiliate traffic, commissions and is simple to use.
Take a look at a short video I produced demonstrating my back office system at http://tinyurl.com/kqfhk



Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Marketing with Newsletters
By Frank Furness

We all know how difficult it is to find new clients. When we have them as clients we have to do everything we can to keep them and provide them with great customer service.
What we need to do is develop a 10 touch plan so that we can be in contact with them at least ten times a year. Often we think that we have sold them our product or service and they won’t need us again. There is always going to be staff turnover, executives leaving the organisation and joining other companies and as long as we stay in touch, more business will follow. I recently returned from speaking in Sydney and this was as a result of a CEO selling his company in the UK and taking a senior position in Australia. By staying in touch he hired me to speak at the company in Australia.
So we either have to be with them face to face, on the telephone, by email, or the easiest way to keep in contact is by newsletter. I like to produce the electronic newsletter as the costs are minimal and I can see all the statistics of how many people open the newsletter, unsubscribe or link through to the website. (I’ve always been driven by ratios; I feel they are so important in selling)
Publishing a newsletter is a cost effective way to build your loyal customer base. You keep your clients updated about your business, latest offerings, as well as new products and services. It keeps you and your business visible
Good information gets distributed. So, a newsletter is a means of viral marketing, your clients will pass it on to their clients and before you know it the telephone will be ringing from new clients that you never even knew existed. When I sent out my first newsletter, I received a call the next day from someone who had been forwarded my newsletter and this resulted in a number of talks and training days with that company..

Here are some tips for producing your newsletter:
• Always ensure that you have a main article that provides information that your readers will find valuable. Your articles form the body of your newsletter. They should be informative and arouse the interests of your readers. Articles should be well written, and checked for spelling and grammatical errors. Your readers will be appreciative of the fact that you have given much thought and preparation to your articles. I always try to add value with good practical information.

• Keep abreast with the current developments of your field. Your readers want to know what is new and what is hot.

• Within your Ezine, throw in links to related articles that you have written or been featured in when appropriate.

• Offer testimonials from satisfied clients

• Give real life examples and show how you’ve helped clients

• Case studies always position you as the expert in your readers’ minds more than you coming out and saying so.

• Jot down eight questions your clients have asked you in the past

• Answer each one in a short article, as there may be many other clients who have the same questions in mind.

• If you have been to any industry conference workshops or seminars where you’ve picked up some helpful hints, share these with your readers

• Offer a list of your top five to ten tips on a certain subject

• Recommend books or resources and offer reviews on some of these books. By the way, take a look at my new list of recommended books at http://tinyurl.com/s6j67

I have produced a short video to demonstrate how I develop my newsletter each month, take a look at http://tinyurl.com/fzwr6
I also use constant Contact for my electronic newsletter and find them to be terrific, take a look at their site and try them for free at http://tinyurl.com/onmsy

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Marketing with Newsletters
By Frank Furness

We all know how difficult it is to find new clients. When we have them as clients we have to do everything we can to keep them and provide them with great customer service.
What we need to do is develop a 10 touch plan so that we can be in contact with them at least ten times a year. Often we think that we have sold them our product or service and they won’t need us again. There is always going to be staff turnover, executives leaving the organisation and joining other companies and as long as we stay in touch, more business will follow. I recently returned from speaking in Sydney and this was as a result of a CEO selling his company in the UK and taking a senior position in Australia. By staying in touch he hired me to speak at the company in Australia.
So we either have to be with them face to face, on the telephone, by email, or the easiest way to keep in contact is by newsletter. I like to produce the electronic newsletter as the costs are minimal and I can see all the statistics of how many people open the newsletter, unsubscribe or link through to the website. (I’ve always been driven by ratios; I feel they are so important in selling)
Publishing a newsletter is a cost effective way to build your loyal customer base. You keep your clients updated about your business, latest offerings, as well as new products and services. It keeps you and your business visible
Good information gets distributed. So, a newsletter is a means of viral marketing, your clients will pass it on to their clients and before you know it the telephone will be ringing from new clients that you never even knew existed. When I sent out my first newsletter, I received a call the next day from someone who had been forwarded my newsletter and this resulted in a number of talks and training days with that company..

Here are some tips for producing your newsletter:
• Always ensure that you have a main article that provides information that your readers will find valuable. Your articles form the body of your newsletter. They should be informative and arouse the interests of your readers. Articles should be well written, and checked for spelling and grammatical errors. Your readers will be appreciative of the fact that you have given much thought and preparation to your articles. I always try to add value with good practical information.

• Keep abreast with the current developments of your field. Your readers want to know what is new and what is hot.

• Within your Ezine, throw in links to related articles that you have written or been featured in when appropriate.

• Offer testimonials from satisfied clients

• Give real life examples and show how you’ve helped clients

• Case studies always position you as the expert in your readers’ minds more than you coming out and saying so.

• Jot down eight questions your clients have asked you in the past

• Answer each one in a short article, as there may be many other clients who have the same questions in mind.

• If you have been to any industry conference workshops or seminars where you’ve picked up some helpful hints, share these with your readers

• Offer a list of your top five to ten tips on a certain subject

• Recommend books or resources and offer reviews on some of these books. By the way, take a look at my new list of recommended books at http://tinyurl.com/s6j67

I have produced a short video to demonstrate how I develop my newsletter each month, take a look at http://tinyurl.com/fzwr6
I also use constant Contact for my electronic newsletter and find them to be terrific, take a look at their site and try them for free at http://tinyurl.com/onmsy

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

How to develop a Powerful Salesletter
By Frank Furness

I am presently developing a number of websites. My main website is great, but it also confuses people. I’m selling speaking, training, recruitment services and 42 products. One of the changes I’ve made is that I am now developing one page websites to promote each product. I’m not the best at doing this kind of thing, so I use a piece of software called 60 second salesletters. I fill in the gaps on the questionnaire and voila… I have an instant one page website. I can import images, use any payment system for orders, change the colours and look. For me it is ideal because I know nothing about HTML, but can now make my own websites. Take a look at some of the websites that I have produced using 60 second salesletters:

http://www.coachingforspeakers.org/
http://www.walkingwithtigers.com/

http://www.ezimail.org/

http://www.businesscardscanner.co.uk/
http://www.articles4business.org/

It's a huge misconception that people don't read long salesletters. Billions of direct mail pieces have proven that people buy, in general, at a higher rate from long, benefit-laden salesletters.
While you may not personally read long salesletters, people who are honestly, genuinely interested in your product, idea, concept, or service will not only read long letters but also buy from them.
Many years ago a very famous advertising man named John Caples said "A letter can never be too long, it can only be too boring."
"60-Second Salesletters" forces you to load your salesletter with benefits. And this is what makes the copy and the letter interesting to your prospects. That's why they'll read it.
60-Second Salesletters" forces you to spell out the features and benefits of your product, with proven direct response principles plus an offer, guarantee, bonuses and so forth built right into it.

Create a separate letter for each of your products or services
Create multiple letters (as many as you want!) for each product so you can test to see which works best.
Use different letters for the same product to target different audiences who may be interested in the same product for different reasons
Develop different versions of your salesletters to use for follow-up promotions
Save as many different letters as you want -- or even drafts and different versions of letters -- and organize them in your personal archives
... And more! With the ability to automate your sales copy writing process and produce unlimited professional salesletters on demand, you can create a library of killer sales materials and watch its impact on every aspect of your business and profits.
Take a look at this great product at http://tinyurl.com/f5r23

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Morocco Magic

I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Marrakech in Morocco. I ran two workshops at the Entrepreneurs Organisation University. What really overwhelmed me was the positiveness and energy of these young and successful entrepreneurs. Some still in their twenties have already reached incredible heights.
People travelled from over twenty countries around the world to attend the university and the EO staff organised a memorable event. Each night we were treated to something really special and even now my body is trying to catch up with sleep.
On one afternoon we enjoyed a special 4 x 4 excursion to the Atlas Mountains and there were three others in our Land cruiser. One of the chaps was British and now lives in Las Vegas. Mark, at the age of 37 was living in Singapore and worth $75million and ready to retire and two weeks later worth minus $50 million when the markets collapsed. He struggled through the hard times and is now once again on the top of the world and builds multi million dollar casinos around the world. He enjoys suppers with Celine Dion and has a wonderful story about Michael Jackson. Take a listen to my interview with Mark, it will really motivate you to take a chance to become an entrepreneur and with the right attitude overcome any obstacle.
I’m still buying and reviewing a ton of software and giving feedback each month. A special offer this month is from Jay Jennings, the developer of Sonic Memo (I use his software for all my audio production) and he is giving away Sonic Memo Lite for free (normally $37). Download it now, it’s a great product.
I don’t know what it is about Leeds; its hotels spoil me for everywhere else. I have just stayed at 42 The Place…..and what a place. When checking in I was offered a glass of wine and then personally shown up to my room which was fabulous. There was a bowl of fresh fudge, a complimentary bottle of water and state of the art sound, television and internet system. The service throughout was excellent and if you’re planning a trip to Leeds, this is the hotel to book.
Staying in hotels so much of the time, I find most hotels impersonal, cold lacking in service. I have had such bad experiences that I have registered a domain www.hotelsthatsuck.com so if you have experienced a bad hotel please send me any photos and details as I will soon have the website up.
If you haven’t had a chance to see the last newsletter about the great tool that creates headlines automatically, take a look at http://tinyurl.com/qgke8
Also, remember that the next Speakers Bootcamp is in May in London, Please email me at mail:frank@frankfurness.com for details.

WINNING - How to Achieve Your Goals and Dreams
By Frank Furness

Why do a small percentage of people qualify at a top level every year while others sit back and wonder how they could ever achieve it.

There are many reasons, including Knowledge, Good Habits, Positive Mental Attitude and Excellent Skills, but research has shown that these top producers have definite goals and a detailed plan of action for attaining their targets.

So, why not you? It’s the ideal time to set up your Goals Programme and detailed Production Plan.

Start by setting up a Goals Programme (maybe the first time you’ve ever done this). Guidelines for setting goals are as follows:
Goals must be written
They must be your goals.
They must be achievable.
You need to stretch yourself to reach the goals.
You need goals in every area of your life.
Set yourself short, medium and long term goals.
Be prepared to change and pay the price of reaching your goals.
Realise that goal setting is an ongoing process.

You’re now ready to set up your own Goals Programme, so get some paper and start writing, following these steps.
1. Write out your Master Dreamlist. Open your mind and don’t limit yourself. Write everything you’ve ever wanted (Red Porsche, house in Spain, small waistline, 22-inch biceps, having dinner with Tom Cruise/Julia Roberts).
2. Copy your Master Dreamlist into the following categories and add to the list.
a. Family and Homelife
b. Financial, material possessions and professional.
c. Social and recreational.
d. Physical and sporting and health
e. Mental and learning goals
f. Spiritual and ethical.
Make sure you have goals in each category to lead a happy balanced life.
3. Now edit your lists and remove any goals that are not realistic or achievable (beating Linford Christie in a 100-metre race).
4. What you now have left are your realistic and achievable goals. Now for each goal, set a time limit (e.g. 31st May 1999, etc).
5. For each goal, identify any obstacles you may have to overcome or new skills you would need to acquire.
6. Make small (business card size) affirmation cards to review constantly. The goal must be stated positively (e.g. Before going to a client, have a quick look at your card, which may say, “I obtain 6 well qualified referrals from every prospective client I visit”).
7. Visualise yourself achieving your goals (Every great sports person does this, they’ve run the race 30 times in their minds before they reach the track). Visualise yourself receiving the letter congratulating you on qualifying ‘Million Dollar Round Table’. If your goal is a new BMW, go and test drive the car, get the brochures and put them on your office wall so that you can see it each day until it becomes a reality.

Example of a Master Dreamlist
Buy a Mercedes 500 SL
Family holiday to Hawaii
Buy a holiday home in Spain
Help my children achieve their University degree.
Qualify MDRT ‘Court of the Table’
Lose one stone in weight
Take my partner to dinner or movies once a week
Spend 20 minutes each day with my children, playing the games they want to play.
Pass my AFPC
Be recognised as the top Sales Manager in the Company
Go to church once a week/month
Improve my public speaking
Help a worthwhile charity

Remember ‘If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting…’
Insanity = To keep doing the same things and expect different results.

Learn more from our great resource ‘It’s all About You’

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Sales Tips by Frank Furness

THE TEN STEPS OF REFERRAL PROSPECTING

Ask for specific referrals to narrow the customer’s focus.
Gather as much information about the referral as possible.
Ask your customer for permission to sue his or her name.
Ask your customer for help in obtaining an appointment with the referral.
Contact the referral as soon as possible.
Inform your customer about the outcome of the contact.
Build referral alliances (this can be through sources such as tip clubs, centres of influence, key people in the industry).
Prospect for referrals just like you prospect for sales leads.
Rank your referrals as you do your customers:
A for hot (you know a lot about the referral and the referrer introduces you)
B for warm (you know little about the referral and you can use the referrer’s name).
C for cold (you know nothing about the referral, and you can’t use the referrer’s name).
Seek internal referrals (other departments, locations, divisions, branches and subsidiaries).

Also, Take a listen to our 5CD and DVD package ‘Sales Success Strategies’, filled with tips, techniques and ideas to increase productivity


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. Based in London, Frank is the President of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe and the current chair of the International PEG.
His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

Telephone Tips
By Frank Furness

Most people fear cold calling. The most difficult part is actually picking up the phone and starting to call. We would do almost anything rather than phoning, so we spend time looking busy doing things like emails and filing. The biggest fear is the fear of rejection. Here are some basic rules for making cold calls:

• Plan your calls
• Phone every day
• Phone when your energy levels are highest
• Know your script
• Be organised
• Be enthusiastic
• Set yourself mini targets
• Focus on results
• Keep ratios
• Have the right environment
• Always try to have referrals to phone than a complete cold call
• Do some research on the website about the organisation you are phoning
• Watch your posture – stand and call
• Know the most common objections and how to answer them
• Get ENTHUSIASTIC

Here is another phoning script. This works well if you have been referred.

Hello, is this Mr Jones, My name is Pete White from XYZ.
How are you today?
The reason I’m calling is that we specialise in helping retirees to
Plan their vacations (this is your benefit to the client)
And I thought I’d give you a call to see if you’d be interested in chatting about the various options available
Is ….. Something to which you’ve given much thought?

It doesn’t matter what they answer, you should always get the appointment. If they have thought about it, you’re in! If they haven’t given it much thought, then now is the ideal time to meet with you to discuss their options. Try it, it works!!

This is an excerpt taken from my new E-book, ‘Finding New Business’ which is filled with proven ideas on finding new clients. At 50 pages it is easy reading and is available as hard copy or an E-book for $16 or £10. Please email me if you’re interested.

Also, Take a listen to our 5CD and DVD package ‘Sales Success Strategies’, filled with tips, techniques and ideas to increase productivity

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Technology Tips – Voice Recognition
By Frank Furness

Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a technology geek and have the biggest collection of gadgets imaginable. It’s so bad that every time I speak in Hong Kong, the gadget shop owners know me by name. The great thing about gadgets though, is if you use them they can increase the effectiveness of your business greatly. Each month I will be featuring a gadget, software or e-book could will increase your effectiveness.
I don’t know if anyone else is like me, but sometimes when I have appointments where I try to sell my services, I sometimes don’t take notes as comprehensively as I should and sometimes forget important points. A great gadget that has assisted me is the Olympus DS3000 digital voice recorder. Every time I leave a meeting now, I dictate file notes on exactly what went on in the meeting and action plans to follow up. When I get back to the office, I plug in one end of a cord to my voice recorder and the other end to the USB port on my computer and it downloads automatically and saves it as a sound file. Now I can listen to it whenever I want to and not forget anything important. Even better, I have also bought Dragon voice recognition software and trained it to recognise my accent. The two programmes connect and the voice file that I recorded can now be converted into a word document. It’s fantastic, I use it for my emails, dictating letters when I’m travelling, file notes and even a book that I’m writing. It’s like having a free secretary. I bought my system from a great guy, Neil Winton at voice Recognition Systems and his email is neil@pc-voice.co.uk. Mention my name, maybe he’ll give me a discount sometime in the future.


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

RECRUITMENT Strategies
By Frank Furness

I have been working as a trainer and recruitment consultant for a number of years, specialising in the offshore financial services industry. During this time, I have had the pleasure of working with some excellent recruiters as well as some with no clue at all. Guess who attracts the best recruits? Professional recruitment is the lifeblood of any successful financial services company. Here are some tips that will help you attract the winners.

· Know what you’re looking for.
Have a profile of the type of person you want in your organisation, e.g. age, marital status, financial stability, experience.
· Have a track to follow.
Develop a questionnaire that will accurately evaluate the prospective recruit and reasons why they should join your organisation. I use a 4-page questionnaire that paints an accurate picture of the recruit and helps to evaluate whether he is the right person for the organisation.
· Use an impartial, proven recruitment tool.
I use the Sales Success Profile. The recruit completes a questionnaire. The answers to 50 questions are fed into a computer, which produces a 7-page report. This highlights the strengths and weaknesses in 13 selling skills. Important areas highlighted are whether the person is ethical, call enthusiasm, trainable or not, burned out, etc. This is also an excellent tool that highlights weaknesses and areas to be concentrated on when the person joins.
· Gut instinct.
Listen to your gut instinct. If the person looks fantastic on paper and sells them well, but your gut instinct leaves you feeling uncomfortable, don’t hire – 9 times out of 10 you will be right.
· Professional venue.
Most offshore recruiters fly in to the UK to recruit. Choose the best hotel or venue available – first impressions count. One of the most professional organisations that I work with uses the Dorchester and they attract quality recruits.
· Expectations.
Let the recruit know exactly what they can expect from you in terms of airfares, accommodation, commission, etc. Let them also know exactly what you expect from them.
· Detail the specifics of the job.
This may seem trivial, but is often overlooked. Let them know that they will be expected to cold call, detail the working hours and what time you expect them to be in the office each day. Tell them about the dress code, activity levels and any other pertinent details. Get them to agree to all the points.
· Passion.
Sell with passion. If the person is good, they buy you. I have worked with some people who are extremely boring, waffle endlessly and any strong recruit will immediately dismiss this company and look for a leader with enthusiasm. Remember, in their minds they’re saying ‘Would I like to work with this person’.
· Contracts.
If you like the person and offer them the position, courier contracts immediately. Recruits are impressed and once they have signed the contracts, they commit themselves.
· Follow up.
Most recruiters are excellent at what they do. The problems occur after the interview. After they have sold the position, they then hand the process over to an admin person. Many times this person has not been trained properly, doesn’t know how to deal with new recruits and doesn’t realise the urgency of the follow up. In my experience, this is the stage where the complete process most often becomes unstuck. It’s just like selling, if we leave the client for too long, they lose their passion to buy, or they buy from someone else.
· Keep your promises.
Follow up everything that you have promised with a letter. Meet them at the airport, welcome them, help them by joint calling and do everything in your power to help them to succeed. If you don’t, all the time and money you’ve invested in recruiting the person is in vain. High staff turnover and low morale follows.

Our great resource ‘How to Gain, Train and Maintain a Winning Sales Team’ details the 24 point plan to develop a winning sales team.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales resources have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/free_downloads.cfm
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter – http://www.frankfurness.com/page.cfm?WebpageID=10

Professional Speaking – How to break into the International Market
by Frank Furness

Choose your unique and specialty market. My market was initially the English speaking International Financial Services market. Over the years this has spread to include the IT and software market as well as any company in any country where people can understand English. Because of my delivery style, I have chosen not to work with translators (at this stage)

Marketing yourself – the key to success
· Identify clients you have spoken for in the past that have international offices. Get a referral to the decision maker in the overseas office. Email or send a letter and follow up with a phone call.
· Dial and Smile – Pick up the phone and cold call. When I started out, I identified companies and banks that have international offices and phoned the President. One of those calls resulted in a business relationship with a company that spends between $50k - $100k each year sponsoring me to speak to their clients around the world.
· Find five clients that will provide you with 50% of your work each year. I have five large international companies that each book me for between six and thirty talks each year. I also have two or three Companies that I am developing should any of the ‘big five’ drop out.
· Actively prospect when speaking abroad. When speaking overseas, I will scan the local papers, magazines and yellow pages for potential clients. I’ll then phone and establish who the decision makers are and endeavor to set up a meeting and sell my services. A lot of these Companies are open and receptive to meeting with you.
· Referrals – always ask for referrals. Apart from existing clients who I do repeat business with each year, I have over 200 potential clients that have been given to me as referrals. If you leave the client satisfied, they will always give you referrals – IF YOU ASK!
· Add on an extra day to meet with potential clients – Wherever I speak in the world, I add on an extra day to see potential clients and bureaus. I can normally fit in 5 appointments for the day and this always results in at least one extra booking. On a recent trip to Singapore I managed to give a keynote speech to a large Insurance Company and in the same day have five meetings with potential clients. One of these meetings was a cocktail party where I met with twenty of the most influential business leaders in Singapore.
This was only achieved because I had developed a center of influence in Singapore who had arranged the talk and all of the meetings. He is rewarded with a percentage of the fee, which makes it a win-win situation for everyone.
· Find the other offices – When speaking internationally, find out where the International client for whom you are speaking has other branches around the world. Find out who you should contact at the other offices to do the same talk. In January last year I spoke at a large software company in Dubai. The CEO from London was in Dubai at the time and heard me speak. After the talk he asked me to contact him to replicate the talk to their other international offices. They have offices in 33 countries.
· Network and socialize – Before going on an international talk, surf the net to see what social events are happening while you’re there. Then arrange an invitation, as you’ll always meet potential clients at these events
· Have fun and take a tour – If I visit a country for the first time, I’ll always take an extra few days to see the place. This normally includes a half-day bus tour. It’s amazing who you can meet on these tours. I’ve met and become friends with the Vice-President of one of the largest insurance companies in the USA and a grand old lady who turned out to be the wife of the owner of one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains.
· Bureaus – find out who the bureaus are internationally and meet with them. When I spoke in South Africa two years ago, I met with the leading bureau. This resulted in bookings from this bureau to speak in Sun City, Mauritius for both Cape Town.
· Web site – Pay a company to generate hits to your site. By doing this I have just secured a talk with a USA bank from the Internet. This has also generated three other enquiries, one with an International Company who needs someone to speak in five different Countries for them.
· Always meet with the decision maker at the event. I was recently booked to speak in Scotland to a company who had just merged with a German telecommunications Company. After the talk we spent some time with the German CEO and now following up to present the same talk to the German counterparts.



Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Double your Market, Double your Income
Keys to Conquering the International Speaking Market


Frank Furness

Your Business Plan
If you want to work the International Circuit, you need to plan for it. Work out how many days each year you want to speak overseas, the market you want to work and develop an action plan.

Your Unique Market
Choose your unique and specialty market. My market was initially the English speaking International Financial Services market. Over the years this has spread to include the IT, Software and any market involve in sales in any country where people can understand English. Because of my delivery style, I have chosen not to work with translators.

Marketing yourself – the key to success
· Identify clients you have spoken for in the past that have international offices. Get a referral to the decision maker in the overseas office. Email or send a letter and follow up with a phone call.
· Dial and Smile – Pick up the phone and cold call. When I started out, I identified companies and banks that have international offices and phoned the President. One of those calls resulted in a business relationship with a company that spends between $50k - $100k each year sponsoring me to speak to their clients around the world.
· Find five clients that will provide you with 50% of your work each year. I have five large international companies that each book me for between six and thirty talks each year. I also have two or three Companies that I am developing should any of the ‘big five’ drop out.
· Actively prospect when speaking abroad. When speaking overseas, I will scan the local papers, magazines and yellow pages for potential clients. I’ll then phone and establish who the decision makers are and endeavor to set up a meeting and sell my talks. A lot of these Companies are open and receptive to meeting with you.
· Referrals – always ask for referrals. Apart from existing clients who I do repeat business with each year, I have over 200 potential clients that have been given to me as referrals. If you leave the client satisfied, they will always give you referrals – IF YOU ASK!
· Add on an extra day to meet with potential clients – Wherever I speak in the world, I add on an extra day to see potential clients and bureaus. I can normally fit in 5 appointments for the day and this always results in at least one extra booking. On a recent trip to Singapore, I managed to give a keynote speech to a large Insurance Company and in the same day have five meetings with potential clients. One of these meetings was a cocktail party where I met with twenty of the most influential business leaders in Singapore.
This was only achieved because I had developed a center of influence in Singapore who had arranged the talk and all of the meetings. He is rewarded with a percentage of the fee, which makes it a win-win situation for everyone.
· Find the other offices – When speaking internationally, find out where the International client for whom you are speaking has other branches around the world. Find out who you should contact at the other offices to do the same talk. In January I spoke at a large software company in Dubai. The CEO from London was in Dubai at the time and heard me speak. After the talk he asked me to contact him to replicate the talk to their other international offices. They have offices in 33 countries.
· Network and socialize – Before going on an international talk, surf the net to see what social events are happening while you’re there. Then arrange an invitation, as you’ll always meet potential clients at these events
· Have fun and take a tour – If we visit a country for the first time, we’ll always take an extra few days to see the place. This normally includes a half-day bus tour. It’s amazing whom you can meet on these tours. We’ve met and become friends with the Vice-President of one of the largest insurance companies in the USA and a grand old lady who turned out to be the wife of the owner of one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains.
· Bureaus – find out who the bureaus are internationally and meet with them. When Frank spoke in South Africa last July, he met with the leading bureau. This resulted in bookings in November in Sun City and Mauritius for both Brendan and Frank.
· Web site – Pay a company to generate hits to your site. By doing this we have just secured a talk with a USA bank from the Internet. This has also generated three other enquiries, one with an International Company who needs someone to speak in five different Countries for them.
· Always meet with the decision maker at the event. We were recently booked to speak in Scotland to a company who had just merged with a German telecommunications Company. After the talk we spent some time with the German CEO and now following up to present the same talk to the German counterparts.

Be Aware of Cultural Differences
Middle East - Don’t show soles of your feet when seated, considered an insult.

China & Hong Kong – Hand over and accept business cards with both hands.

Japan – Don’t try to copy the Japanese way of bowing, you will never get it right and make a fool of yourself.

Malaysia & Singapore – Point with your thumb, not your index finger.


Adapting your talk
When speaking to English speaking foreigners, always speak slowly. Remember, English is their second language.

United Kingdom – The British, Scots and Welsh have a different sense of humor to Americans. They are passionate about soccer, rugby and cricket, hardly any knowledge of baseball, American football, ice hockey or basketball. They can appear to be conservative and don’t like too much rah-rah. When you get to know them they are great audiences.

South Africa – sport crazy, especially rugby and cricket with a great sense of humor similar to Americans. Enjoy lots of motivation and excitement.

India – possibly the best audiences in the world. They enjoy lively interactive motivated talks. You are almost guaranteed a standing ovation. They love to be photographed with you.

Chinese & Japanese – They are very formal and serious. They have a great thirst for knowledge. Make your talk less motivation and more education. If they like you they will generate a lot of repeat work. It is very important to learn about their culture.

Singapore – smart and elegant, but want value for their money.

Middle East – Gregarious and outgoing. Very emotional and love stories. If selling tapes or CDs, send them ahead of time. You will be x-rayed when entering the Country and they will take your tapes and watch them, very strict on morals.

Germans, Swiss, Belgium’s – very serious, less motivation, more education and don’t waffle – get straight to the point.

Spanish – easygoing and very laid back. Great love of life and a lot of fun.

Malaysians – Softly spoken, respectful and emotional. Also love stories and lots of humor.

Time Out
If you’re going to a country for the first time, take an extra two days to sightsee. We have seen and done incredible things while speaking internationally. Why not? It’s one of the perks of the profession.

Tips
· If speaking in a country for the first time, ensure you have all the details of the venue and mobile phone numbers of the organizers. If something goes wrong or your limo is not there to pick you up, these are essential.
· Check that you have the correct visas. Very serious immigration officials with machine guns once delayed Frank for four hours in the Czech Republic because of visa problems.
· Back of room sales – ensure you know what they use. The Far East is very advanced. Will only buy VCD, CD or DVD. Most of them don’t own an audiotape machine and consider it old fashioned. When working around the rest of the world, remember that videotapes should be in the PAL format and not NTSC as used in the USA.
· When checking into a hotel, ensure that the organizers have arranged payment. Sometimes they fax booking confirmation and not payment information to the hotel.
· Ensure that you have a rock sold, signed contract and receive payment before the talk. It can be difficult chasing your payments from 10,000 miles away.
· Allow for jet lag. If you have a 13-hour flight and a 10-hour time difference, you will not give your best performance without a rest. Take a natural herb tablet called Melatonin that sorts out the body clock immediately.
· Try to take day flights, you can get a lot of work done and arrive in time for a good night’s sleep

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com
NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Multiple Sources of Income through Technology
By Frank Furness

I love gadgets and technology and it has completely changed the way that I think and work. It also enables me to choose only the speaking engagements that I want to do while maintaining my earnings. It provides me with income while I sleep, an exit strategy and future pension for my business. Over the last eighteen months I have invested a great deal of time and money to discover what it takes to make technology really work and I would like to share some of these with you.

Digital voice recorder – I bought my first digital recorder when they first appeared on the market and now use the Olympus DS4000 which is superb. I use it to record my talks which I can then turn into saleable products. I also interview top personalities and insert these recordings into my talks and products.

Voice Recognition Software. – A few years ago I spoke one language and the recognition typed another. With a bit of training, Dragon 8 has 95% accuracy and saves me time. All my emails and documents are now dictated and my new book is being written using it. Thank goodness the one finger typing days are a thing of the past.

Audio CDs –I now have 13 audio products, mostly triple CD series. By the end of April I will have another eight, including two super products that will sell for £500 each. My first audio product was recorded on a £100 minidisk and resulted in a £35,000 order. With today’s technology, all my recordings are done at home using a Rode NT1000 microphone, Focus Trackmaster preamp and Adobe Audition software. I can now do all my recordings and editing when I want to and produce a massive amount of product. With a small amount of practice, this is not difficult to do, anyone can master it.

DVDs – I have 3 DVDs. Two were the results of being videoed at presentations I gave and one was where I hired a crew to film me. It cost me a small fortune to have these turned into DVDs. Now using Adobe Premier or Pinnacle Pro (£70), I can do this myself.

Websites – I have a great website, but it is a bit confusing. I’m trying to sell speaking, training, consultancy and products. I am setting up one page websites for each of these areas as well as a website for each product. I am not a ‘techie’ and don’t know much about HTML, but using ‘Header Generator’ and ’60 second sales letter’ software, I can produce these websites that bring in sales while I sleep.

Sales Copy – One of the most interesting things I have learned is the importance of having catchy headers and having the right sales copy. Once again, I use software that through wizards enables me to get copy that sells.

Lists – Last year I spoke in Hollywood with an Internet superstar, Joel Christopher. I became friendly with him and bought his programme on list building. I now have nearly 10,000 subscribers from all over the world and this is what sells product. You must start to build your lists immediately.

Ezine – I avoided having an electronic newsletter (ezine) for ages. My first newsletter last year resulted in 10 International bookings from people that I had never met, but my newsletter was passed on to them by my other subscribers. With so many newsletters circulating, content is king and is going to be the one differentiator between getting your newsletter read or deleted. I use a company called Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) for my newsletter. It is easily constructed and provides statistics on clickthroughs and resultant sales of products on my website. I use another piece of software called ‘Ezineannouncer’ to spread my newsletter globally and bring in a ton of new subscribers. Get your newsletters going now, even if it’s only being sent to ten people.

Affiliates – How would you like to have sales representatives all around the world selling your products? Well, this is fairly easy to do on an affiliate programme. I sell other peoples products and have people all over the world selling mine (including Dottie Walters in the USA, take a look at her website and you will see some of my products)

Teleseminars – How do you keep in touch with all your past and future clients and delegates that have attended your talks? The easiest way is to run teleseminars. Once again this is easy to do. I normally use three way calling and have an overseas guest. You can mute your listeners; have question and answer sessions and immediately afterwards have a CD product to sell.

Computer Recording Equipment – I have bought a programme that will record any telephone conversations that I have. This is great for interviews as well as recording briefs that I conduct with clients before I speak.

Websites – With today’s technology, you can add video and audio to your website. I use a company called Advenzia (www.advenzia.com) for my website as they have built in an affiliate programme and allow me to make my own changes whenever and wherever I want to. My last webmasters made a fortune from me by charging every time I wanted to make any small change. You must have the ability to make changes on your website

Interactive Marketing CD – Most glossy brochures go straight into the bin. For a number of years I have been using an interactive CD that I send to potential clients and enquiries. This has resulted in a 95% close rate as it can contain so much information: videos and audio of you presenting, TV and radio interviews, information on all your programmes, clients, testimonials and a lot more. With today’s technology, this is affordable and provides a great return on investment.

Video for PowerPoint – How would you like to be speaking at a convention, do a video interview with the CEO and have it as part of your presentation? This is easy to do with a simple video camera and software (I use Pinnacle Pro). Think about how you can use this type of technology to differentiate yourself from the other speakers and trainers. Even more impressive, how would you like it if the day after your talk, all your delegates can go in to your website and listen to the presentation and see photos and watch a video of the talk. Amazing and doable with a small amount of training.

Photos – This is the easiest thing to do. With digital cameras nowadays, you can easily insert photographs into your presentations.

All of these are just a few of the things you can do to enhance your business and provide multiple sources of income. Having spent eighteen months studying all this, I have mountains of information. To get your free eBook where I share some of this information, please download it from www.frankfurness.com/internet.cfm
Also, take a look at my one day seminar on ‘Multiple Sources of Income’ on my website or call me on +44 (0)1923 248200 or email me at frank@frankfurness.com
Frank Furness CSP FPSA speaks and presents globally and is the past president of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe

HOW TO WIN COMPETITORS' CUSTOMERS by Frank Furness

1.Think long term Don't give up when you hear, "I'm satisfied." Satisfaction may be temporary. Your prospect's needs may change, or you may provide a good reason for switching.

2.Develop a relationship Once you've mastered the relationship strategies, you will be able to determine quickly whether you can develop a rapport with a prospect, sale or no sale. By developing a friendship, you will be able to …

3.Study needs Take your time, do research, and ask a lot of non-threatening questions so you can find out your prospect's needs and how well they are being satisfied. The key is to find a need gap and offer a solution.

4.Sell yourself Personal chemistry is important, but so is the knowledge that you are an enthusiastic, earnest, professional, ethical, caring expert who would be nothing but an asset to know and do business with. Come up with new ideas for your prospects. Show them that you are on their team, sale or no sale.

5.Add value So many products and services are commodities that differentiation may be difficult. That is why you sell yourself. That is also why you have to differentiate your product with added value such as service and performance guarantees, superior services, and better delivery schedules - whatever it takes to be better.

6.Ask for a no-risk trial order Many customers are loyal to their suppliers, but will grant you a trial order if you ask for it. Make it a no-risk proposition. Ensure your prospect's satisfaction with some kind of guarantee, and bend over backward to make sure the trial order makes a very positive impression.

7.Ask for a portion of their business "Stealing" a competitor's customer may not be an all-or-nothing deal. You may have to do it bit by bit, proving yourself slowly as you go along. Ask for a small percentage of the prospect's business and you may find that percentage will grow.

8.Be persistent Nothing succeeds more than persistence. All things being equal, the persistent salesperson will win the account every time. Keep in touch with prospects, think long term, be a consultant and ally, and you will plant drought-resistant seeds

.©Frank Furness 2005 - Frank Furness is author of the 'Finding New Business and Clients' and many other resources that can increase your business on CD, DVD and Video NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm
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About the Author
Frank Furness is an International Speaker and author. Having qualified in the top half percent of salespeople in the world and researched over 500 of the worlds sales superstars, he now shares the secrets of success.
Book him to speak at your next convention – email frank@frankfurness.com

Establishing Credibility when Selling
By Frank Furness

Let me tell you a story. Many years ago in America, a large tobacco company’s account was up for grabs and every big advertising company was after this account. There was a small advertising company owned by a fellow called Ben Duffy and he was also trying to secure this account. He was up against big competition; some of the largest companies in the Industry and it would be a coup to land such a large client. Ben Duffy thought to himself ‘how am I going to get this account, I’m just a small unknown player with a small company, there’s no chance.’ He thought, ‘let me put myself in the position of this chap that I am going to see. Let me think about some of the questions, some of the things that might be on the prospective client’s mind’. He wrote out a list of fifty questions, and then narrowed those down to about ten. When he met with the client, he said ‘in preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and thought there may be some things you’d want to know about me, my company, what’s in it for you, what’s in it for me and as such I’ve prepared a list of ten questions. Well the chap from the Tobacco Company replied, ‘well, I’ve got ten questions myself’. They swapped lists, six of the questions were the same and he secured the account.

For years and years now, I’ve been using exactly the same method, using the Ben Duffy. In the expat community, I would go and meet with a client for the first time, we’d go through past, present, future to establish rapport and then use the ‘Ben Duffy’. I’d say to the client, “you know Joe, in preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and thought there may be some questions on your mind. Who’s Frank Furness, who is XYZ (my company), how long have they been around, what’s in it for me, what’s in it for you? Are these some of the questions on your mind?” You then nod your head and he’ll nod back again because these are some of the questions that are on their mind. An important thing is to learn this script verbatim. It’s got to form a natural part of your conversation. This is the scipt: ‘In preparing for today’s meeting, I put myself in your position and I thought you might want to know, who is Frank Furness, who is XYZ, how long have they been around, what’s in it for me, what’s in it for you? Are those some of the questions on your mind?’ Write that down and learn it verbatim.

They normally reply ‘yes sure, these are some of the things on my mind’. Now and now is the only time you will speak about yourself. And this is a credibility session, this is where you’re selling yourself, you’re selling your credentials and expertise. So if you’ve got a degree, if you’ve been in the business for ten years, whatever you have done well, this is where you sell yourself.

I would say, ‘I’m Frank Furness, I’ve been in the business for twenty years now, I’m a Certified Speaking Professional……... “ or you may say, ‘hi I’m Henry Smith, I’ve been in the business for some time now, I’m working for one of the best companies, I’ve been through incredible training courses. Prior to this I was a banker and I have my B.Comm degree…”

This and this is the only time that you sell yourself and the best time to sell yourself well is now.

Most companies give people a script that’s pages and pages long. I don’t know how they expect people to actually learn their scripts verbatim. So sell yourself first: then you would go into the company’s script. This is where you sell your Company, how long they have been around, various offices etc. Now, depending on your company script, you would carry on with the Ben Duffy. Your prospect wants to know that he’s dealing with a good company that has been well established, that has been around for a long time. I’d then say to him, ‘if you’re also wondering what’s in it for you, what’s in it for me; well what’s in it for you is simply that I just want to take a picture of where you are now, and where you want to be in the future and really just help you get there. What’s in it for me; if you like the way I conduct business, all I want is to be near the top of your preferred providers when you invest in our type of product or service.

This is part of our resource ‘Sales Success Strategies’ that have helped organisations and individuals globally to increase productivity and profits.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales resources have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/free_downloads.cfm
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

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Elevator Speech Tips
by Frank Furness

Your Elevator Speech must be short and concise and you must know it off by heart. It must come so naturally to you that you can repeat it in your sleep. Realise the difference between an elevator speech, which sells you and how you can help other businesses or people rather than a statement.

Introductory statements that are not elevator speeches include, “My name is Michael and I am a sales trainer”. “My name is Mary and I am a motivational speaker”.

None of these statements stimulate any conversation and will either drive potential clients to the other side of the room or bore them while they say to themselves, ‘so what’.

Remember every potential client is thinking ‘what’s in it for me. Remember if anyone can say so wiifm (what’s in it for me) after your elevator speech, you’re selling any benefits.
Rather change to, “My name is David and I help international expatriates with their offshore mortgages/help them retire early/maximise their investments.”

Remember your goal is to keep the conversation going and stimulate a response from the person you are speaking to. Your goal is not to talk about yourself and what you do but it is to find out what the other person does and what is important to them, i.e. what’s in it for them.

To prepare your elevator speech, first identify how you can help your potential clients. List at least five things that you could do to help your clients, and then list five reasons why people should be doing business with you. Make your elevator speech into two parts. Part one would describe what it is that you do, i.e. I help organisations to understand the selling process in a fun and educational way. Part two would describe how they would derive benefit from what you are selling them, i.e. so that they can exceed their sales targets – so that they can build a productive and motivated sales force. The part two should always include a phrase like, ‘so that’.

This is an excerpt taken from my new E-book, ‘Finding New Business’ which is filled with proven ideas on finding new clients. At 50 pages it is easy reading and is available as hard copy or an E-book for $16 or £10. Please email me if you’re interested.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Effective Presentations

Frank Furness


Increase you effectiveness by speaking and presenting well.

Having spoken and doing business in forty four countries around the world, one of the things that I have observed is the connection between good presentations and productivity. Achievers who present well can motivate students and teachers. The biggest fear that most people face when having to speak in public is nervousness. Here are some tips to help you:

1. Practice, practice, practice – in front of a mirror, with a recorder, with a video camera.

2. Don’t try to be perfect - realise that you will be nervous and just try to get the butterflies to fly in formation.

3. It is fine to be nervous - every speaker I know gets nervous before speaking. It means you care about giving a good presentation. Your nervousness produces adrenaline which helps you think faster, speak more fluently, and add the needed enthusiasm to convey your message.

4. Know your topic – be an expert on your subject. Anticipate questions and be seen as an authority on your subject.


5. Breathe - Before and even during your presentation, take a few deep breaths. Before your presentation, leave the meeting room and take a walk. Take some deep breaths and give yourself a pep talk.

6. Look for a friendly face in the audience – try to focus on the smiling face rather than someone with their arms crossed looking disinterested. Remember, most of your audience wants you to succeed.

7. Make eye contact – try to make every member of your audience feel that you are speaking only to them.

8. Focus on the message rather than the audience - What you have to say is important! People need to hear your message. Focus on that, rather than on your nervousness.

9. Enjoy the experience – there is no feeling quite like connecting with your audience.

This is taken from the great resource ‘Business Presentation Skills’

Frank Furness CSP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. Based in London, Frank is the Past President of the Professional Speakers Association of Europe and the past chair of the International PEG. Frank’s ‘Speaker’s Bootcamp’ has been attended by over 500 people on four continents.
His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. Download Frank’s free internet marketing book today at http://www.frankfurness.com/internet.cfm
For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. http://www.frankfurness.com

Easing tension levels when meeting new clients
by Frank Furness

You’ve just met with a potential new client and tension levels are fairly high. This is the stage for ‘small talk’ and developing rapport and a business relationship. So what do you speak about?
Well, think about it, who do most people like to speak about. They love to speak about themselves, so that’s what we have to do; we have to get them to speak about themselves. For many years now, I’ve used ‘past, present and future’. I’d walk into the prospect’s office, have a look around and say, “this is amazing, you’ve got this great position with this huge company, how did you get started?” Now nobody’s asked him that question for years and he is really proud of what he has achieved and how well he has done in the company. He would normally say, “Well, fifteen years ago I started as a clerk and I worked my way up……….” You just keep quiet and listen. The next question you would ask would be about the present situation. “So tell me about your position at the moment, how are things going?” and he would normally say, “well I’ve got fifteen people working for me, we’re expanding and opening three or four new branches………..” At this stage you just keep quiet and listen. Your next question is about the future and with this question you’ll learn more about your potential client than in any other part of the interview. “So where do you see yourself and your company in five or ten years time?” and you just keep quiet. What he will say now will give you all kinds of buying signals. He may say, ‘Well, I want to expand and open another three branches………’ Just think about the business you’re in and how you could help him. If you’re in recruitment, you know he will need new staff. If your business is computers, he will need new computer systems. Other requirements could be: property/rental, consumables, telephone systems, stationery, office furniture, accounting services, legal advice etc. This is where the clients talk from the heart. These are the emotions and the reasons why they’re going to buy from you, so remember that when you walk in, use ‘past, present and future.’ Also remember that logic makes people think and emotion makes them act, focus on the emotion when selling.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and sales management. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 870 240 6505. www.frankfurness.com

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