Doug Kennedy, hotel sales trainer, consultant and author shares his advice with readers at Hotel News Resource on how to captivate the attention of today's busy customers while also taking the necessary steps to closing the sale.

"A clear charismatic opening will grab the attention of your caller early on," Kennedy says, "and make them want to engage while listening to you."

Other ways Kennedy explains to help make the sale include asking direct questions, recapping the conversation, and using vivid imagery.

read story from the Hotel News Resource

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Belief in your product and sales ability has got to be at the top of the list for ways to succeed in a sales career. You cannot fake belief and get away with it. In fact, sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer notes in his book, The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Resource, not only once but twice that belief in oneself and the product or service you offer is a rule to follow for sales success.

Of the 39.5 rules Gitomer lists, number two says to believe in yourself -- "If you don't think you can do it," he writes, "who will?" And rule number eight states "Believe in your company and product…Your conviction is evident to a buyer and manifests itself in your sales numbers."

Business columnist Shannon Belew for the Huntsville Times also believes that conviction and product belief are the main reasons for sales success. Belew shares with readers a friend's experience with "sales fright" and the good reasons for overcoming her fears.

read article from the Huntsville Times

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August 9, 2005


There are five barriers to effective listening according to an article written by SellingPower.com publisher and founder Gerhard Gschwandtner.

The first barrier is the common misconception that sales is a matter of persuasion and persuasion equals lots of talking. Quite the opposite is required. You need to uncover the client's needs by listening.

Using your listening time to prepare what you are going to say next is the second obstacle to effective listening Gschwandtner says. Listen to what they say, then collect your thoughts for a response. Setting aside "emotional filters" and gaining a healthy psyche to be able to honestly and objectively digest what the other person is saying is the third hurdle.

The fourth barrier involves the fact that we speak slower than we listen, so a listener could easily fall into the trap of "thinking of other things" or "daydreaming" as we listen, which could lead to missed information.

And the fifth barrier is the inability to absorb everything the talker has to say because we assume the talker will ensure we understand, he says.

Read more to understand how to effectively listen to your clients and increase your sales.

read story at SellingPower.com

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Trustworthiness is one of the most important traits you can display when dealing with your customers. If your clients do not trust you, they will not buy from you -- period. Many top sales performers that I have interviewed have made the comment that their success was due in part to the trust established between themselves and their clients.

How do you build that trust? Is there a better way to establish a bond of trust than genuine care and concern for the customer's needs?

A recent study published by Wharton professor of operations and information management Maurice E. Schweitzer and PhD student Jennifer Dunn found that irrelevant emotions play a major role in whether or not someone would trust you.

Depending on the customer's mood when you walk into their office and for no plausible reason, they might not trust you. It might be because they had a fender bender on the way to work, their neighbor hit their dog, or other negative experience. Then again, if they just got promoted, got married, or other happy experience, they will be more inclined to trust you. How they feel about you, is dependant on how they feel internally themselves at that moment, according to the research study.

read Paula's story at MortgageDaily.com
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August 8, 2005


Customer relationship management or the now infamous "CRM" acronym is an essential part of developing your sales career. If you haven't checked into the new computer programs that can help simplify and organize your sales process you may be losing out. With a competitive sales world that is constantly evolving, it is important to keep up with the technology that can help increase your sales and maximize your efforts.

Software programmers have simplified the process to help you organize your customized sales plan with various computer applications. Do you know which one would work best for you?

Sales trainer and "Sales Moves" columnist Jeffrey Gitomer discusses with readers at Bizjournals.com the criteria to use in determining which CRM program is the perfect fit for you.

read story from BizJournals.com