The Invitational Close by Brian Tracy

The Invitational Close is simple, low-key, classy and powerful. You use it at the end of a sales conversation to conclude the transaction. It is preceded by a Trial Close such as: "Mr. Prospect, do you have any questions or concerns that I haven't covered up to now?" Or, "Mr. Prospect, does this make sense to you, so far?"

Probe for Lingering Objections
You ask these questions to be doubly sure that the prospect has no final objections lurking in the back of his mind that would block the closing of the sales process. You then invite the customer to make a buying decision by saying, "If you like what I've shown you, why don't you give it a try?"

Invite the Customer to Buy
Inviting the customer to buy is very powerful. This is a gentle way of nudging the customer into taking action. "Why don't you give it a try?" If you are selling services, you can ask, "Why don't you give us a try?" If you want to be more bold and direct, you can simply ask, "Why don't you take it?"

Change Your Wording
One of my seminar graduates doubled his sales by changing his words in the endgame of selling. After his sales presentation he would ask the prospect if he had any additional questions or concerns. If the prospect said "no," he would then ask, "Well, if you like it, why don't you take it?"

He was amazed to find that many prospects could not think of a good reason not to go ahead with his offering immediately. Both his closing ratio and his income soared.

Action Exercises
Here is something you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

The next time you complete your sales presentation, simply issue an invitation to the customer to make a decision. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

You may be surprised at your success.

Work Life Balance: Three Tips to Help Small Businesses Work Smarter, Not Harder

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 13, 2011/CNW/ - Small business owners walk the work-life balance tightrope differently than the rest of us. Because their working lives are spent on their own business, they're more likely to put in extra hours and still feel they've got more balance than a typical employee. Intuit Canada, makers of QuickBooks accounting software, have released the findings of a national pool on work-life balance among small business owners and is offering expert tips to help them make the most of the time they spend on their business.

The recent national survey commissioned by Intuit found 88 per cent of the small business owners said they were satisfied with the balance between their personal and professional pursuits. The majority (84%) also feel they have a better balance than if they worked for someone else.

"Small business owners have told us before, work-life balance is as important to them as finding and keeping customers," said Barb Anderson, QuickBooks product marketing leader. "Through QuickBooks, we help them carve out time for balance by providing tools that help organize and manage their business finances easily and more efficiently."

Accomplishment Plus Control Equals Satisfaction

Work-life balance is often measured by comparing the amount of time spent on the job against time spent on personal pursuits. However, 97 per cent of small business owners and their view differs from the norm.

"Even though nearly half of respondents (46%) said they work beyond 40 hours a week, it's the sense of ownership over the work they do, the ability to set their own schedule and do what they want when they want that contributes to their sense of balance," said Anderson.

Three Tips to Find Balance Through Finances

"Working smarter, not harder is the key to making the most of the time small business owners choose to devote their work and personal lives," said Anderson. "We talk to entrepreneurs every day and invariably, those who embraced the right tools and strategies are better able to balance their schedules."

To help small busines owners improve their work-life balance, Anderson offered the following tips to help save time when managing finances:

• Get organized: Having your financial records scattered among a host of file folders or different programs on your laptop is inefficient. Financial management software provides a one-stop snapshot of money coming in and going out of your business so you always know where you stand.


• Stop stuffing envelopes: Send invoices through email and eliminate the time it takes to print, prepare and post them. In addition to cutting out the trip to the mail box, it gets invoices in the hands of your customers immediately.


• Save time with your accountant: Don't pay your accountant to spend time sorting through your shoe box of receipts. You'll make the most of your meetings by getting organized ahead of time, and getting the strategic advice you need to move your business forward.

For more information about the time-saving benefits of QuickBooks accounting software, visit quickbooks.ca

Elements of Change by Chris Widener

The key to achieving more than you currently are, no matter which area of your life or work you are focusing on now, is change. The old saying rings true: If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you've already got. If you keep eating and exercising the way you currently are, you will weigh the same a year from now. If you continue to sell to the same people on the same schedule, you will make the same amount of money next year. In order to move forward, we must change.

As I have worked with people, both in a professional setting and on a personal basis, I have found two things to be true about change. One, it is simple. Two, it is not easy. That is, the concept of change is simple to grasp. People or organizations are quick to say, "Oh, I know we need to change." Simple.

But where the problem starts, and why most people and organizations do not change, is because it is not easy to change. But, I believe, if the process is well thought out, and if we have the guts and determination to carry it out, change can happen, and we can move on to more fulfilled lives.

With that said, let me give you what I consider the elements of change.

Discontentment with your current state. The first step in the process of change is not want to be where you currently are. You must be discontent with it. If you are overweight, you must say, "I will not accept this anymore." If you are in debit, you must say, "I cannot tolerate this any longer." If you have broken relationships, you must say, "I will not live with this." This is a decision to change and not accept the status quo.

The picture of your preferred outcome. What is it that you want to change to? It absolutely is not enough to say "I need to change." It must be: "I am going to change to ..." This becomes the goal. I would encourage you to get a mental picture of it formulated in your mind. Get a real picture of it if it is that tangible. Perhaps write yourself a short essay, extolling the virtures of what life will be like when you get to the changed state.

New associations with the two states. You must begin to associate your current state you are in with pain, and the state you want to be in with pleasure. Let's take weight for example. We tend to think of ice cream, mounds of it, with pleasure. I know that I do. Especially chocolate chip mint. One night we went to a friend's house and we had some ice cream. Normal portions. I don't like to eat normal portions. I like huge portions of ice cream. There is an association of pleasure there. But what I did to overcome the urge to eat scoop after scoop was to associate huge portions ot being overweight, not the pleasure of the taste. I also associated not eating the ice cream with feeling better about myself. Then when it comes to exercise, I work on associating the exercise and weight-lifting with the pleasure of fitting into my clothes rather than the pain my muscles feel every time I do it. This helped me win the battle of the mind.

Develop a plan of short, simple steps. "I am going to lose fifty pounds in two months." "I will sell 500% more next month." These are examples of change that are good goals to have long term, but too big for the time allotted - and this plays havoc on change! If your goals are too big in too short of time, you will fail and become discouraged. Then you will quit and decide change can't be accomplished. Instead, you must have short, workable, attainable goals if you are going to see real change happen and stay. "I am going to lose give pounds a month for ten months." "We are going to sell 6% more each month this year." These are the size steps you need to take. Then you will build victory after victory.

Discipline yourself. Sorry, but this is where it is up to you. At the heart of change is the ability to discipline ourselves. I cannot lose your weight. Your mom cannot go out and make sales calls for you. The only real obstacle standing between your current state and your desired outcome is you! So do everything you can to get yourself motivated to change! Force yourself to get out of bed and get to work on your goals! Discipline yourself. Choose to make the right decision.

Reward yourself when you have made the change. That's right: reward yourself. You have worked hard and exerted a lot of self-discipline to get there! You deserve it!

How to Lose the Sale

You want to ‘win’ new customers, not lose them! So, let’s discuss some common habits of small business owners that should be avoided.

1. Spend most of the time talking about you and your company. Most salespeople from various industries begin their presentation by telling all about their company, their background, and wonderful qualifications. Most of this is irrelevant to your prospect. You are actually wasting the person’s time. It is more important to invest time in learning about their unique situation, by using open-ended questions. Then respond with a customized solution as to how you can save them time, money, or hassle.

2. Don’t listen to the prospect. Don’t waste time asking questions if you aren't going to listen to the responses. Cultivate a sincere desire to help the person, rather than ‘lying in wait’ to do your ‘presentation’. The best salespeople take written notes, ask probing questions and clarify their understanding of the client’s needs at the conclusion of each meeting. This enables them to create a proposal or deliver a presentation that addresses their customer’s concerns, issues and situation. Don’t dominate the conversation. Professional salespeople understand the importance of silence and have learned to become comfortable with it. Unfortunately, too many people talk far too much. You can actually talk yourself out of a sale.

3. Make exaggerated claims about your product or service. Under-promise and over-deliver. While this sounds simple, unfortunately the tendency of too many salespeople is to stretch the truth in order to close a sale. Unfortunately, this will usually come back to haunt them at a later date. Long-term relationships are more important to maintain their loyalty.

You may think this is pretty basic. Why not pay attention to your behavior during the sales process. Track how much of the time you are talking, and how much time you are actually listening. Avoid these costly mistakes. By knowing how to lose the sale, you can easily gain a competitive advantage by employing the opposite techniques.

Need some assistance in knowing how this applies to your situation? We can help! Contact me.

- Al

Allen Rigby CSP
Business Consultant, SEA Program
(705) 792-0989 or 1-866-963-7327

al@selfemploymentassistance.ca

www.selfemploymentassistance.ca