Yesware

Yesware was created in 2010 as an e-mail service for salespeople. What it is, is a plug-in for your e-mail that you can use with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Templates are set out depending on the type of e-mail that you are sending (i.e. memo, sales offer, etc.) and will let you know once the e-mail has been opened and the links that have been clicked on.

Since it automatically tracks this data, there is no need to take the long and grueling time of entering it into a spreadsheet as that information will already be available for you. Itâ€s been vital for salespeople over the past couple of years and is a great tool for sales and marketing.

Reports and analytics make Yesware a valuable tool and will give you a monthly view of your e-mail statistics to help improve your profit.

Clearside

Think of Clearside as a cloud of sales information that can play a vital role in the development of your sales force and increase productivity, efficiency and of course the bottom line.

According to their official site: Sales teams start by uploading their sales collateral to ClearSlide, including everything from presentations, PDFs, videos, interactive web pages, and more. Sales can deliver this content through several different methods, including phone calls, emails, and in-person presentations. Sales teams can work together to share effective content and strategies, even with remote offices.

With that type of efficiency, itâ€s hard to imagine that there are many better ways to maximize potential. One of the hardest parts of sales is making sure timing and strategy are being used effectively and Clearside will make it much easier.

Salesforce

Salesforce will also take a cloud of a lot of different data to provide you with strategies that fit your company. There are different clouds that are provided, including the sales cloud, data cloud and service cloud that all utilize your customer relationship management effectively.

According to Salesforce, their Sales Cloud is designed to Improve sales productivity, boost win rates, grow revenue. With Salesforce Sales Cloud you get all the CRM capabilities you need to connect with customers and close bigger deals faster, anytime, anywhere.

Oncontact

Oncontact provides an exclusive web-only service and according to them,  (Our) CRM system is a 100% web-based solution designed to help sales, marketing and customer service departments exceed their expectations in an easy-to-use, productivity driven, customizable environment.

Much like the others, you can try Oncontact for free so try to give these a shot and see which one is providing you with the best service and highest profit. Not every strategy will be the same so they allow you the freedom to shop around. Consider these next time you are trying to drive CRM.

Little did I know that prospecting is a waste of time!

Yes, I said it. Prospecting is a waste of time for anyone looking to create real leverage in their business. Think about it. What is real leverage? Leverage in business is and has always been about time and cash flow. The more money you can make in the least amount of time is true leverage.

I know, that if a prospecting call takes ten to twenty minutes to complete, if I worked ten hours straight, that will only allow me to take around forty calls a day. Even with the highest priced product and best paying commission in the world, I would still only be able to make forty calls in a day, without eating anything!

And those of you who are experienced with prospecting, you and I both know that some prospecting calls last ten minutes, while others can last more than thirty.

I felt like a glorified telemarketer when I was prospecting. And the only thing that made me “glorified” was my income, because most telemarketers make around $8 to $10 an hour.

Let Me Explain Myself.

The reason I feel that prospecting is a waste of time, is because I have experienced something better. Over the past several years, I have experienced true leverage, the kind of leverage that isn’t dependent on my actions during the day. This is the kind of leverage that adds dollars to my bank account regardless of whether or not I decide to pick up the phone that day.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d still have my phone glued to my ear while at my children’s activities, during their doctor appointments, while at home in my office, while driving to the grocery store and everywhere else I’ve ever been. And don’t rule out the bathroom either! I’ve received calls there as well. Now, I didn’t answer the phone, but we’ve all thought about it. You’re lying if you haven’t!

When my kids were being loud, it got old telling them to leave the room all the time. They started asking my wife why I was always on the phone and when I would have time to spend with them. The “home based business lifestyle” wasn’t all it was chalked up to be with prospecting involved, at least that part wasn’t.

So yes, prospecting is a waste of time, because you don’t need it to make a lot of money. In fact, you shouldn’t want to call every single customer. You should want a customer that is already prepared to buy. You should want a customer that doesn’t require a pep talk in order to make a decision in their life to get started in a business such as yours.

I recall having conversations with my wife about this very thing. I kept telling her things like, “Man, I just want a business that makes money without ever having to speak with someone,” and “I just want people to click on something, and I’ll get paid.” So you can see why I’ve worked with Google Adsense in the past.

It feels nice to have found such a business.

The Good Part about Prospecting

I can’t completely badmouth prospecting because there were a few things I did gain from it. I gained a better understanding of excuses, resolving concerns and building connections. I learned how to be bold in my communication and even experienced what it would be like to be a phone salesman, because that’s what I really was. I also learned a great deal about international calling and time zones.

Now don’t get me wrong. In order to build a successful team, you’ll still be required to have phone conversations, build relationships and offer some mentoring and advice. So don’t think you can completely throw your phone in the garbage. You’ve still got some conversations to have in the future.

However, in a business model with the right leverage, you won’t have to do ANY prospecting, convincing or selling. If you’re already involved in a business like that, let me challenge you on that. Put your business model up against mine and we’ll see who’s wins. I’m up for it.

Or….if you’ve been looking for that business model, look no more. Fill out one of the forms on this site and you’ll be directed to a free video that explains it all.

Should you fake it ’til you make it?

So in this post, I want to set the record straight for those who are in fact “Lying” through their teeth but don’t know any better, are teetering on the edge of fakin’ it or are teaching their new recruits to wrongfully fake it.

“Fake It” – It’s Image Today

In today’s fast paced world, it’s all about how much you can get done in the least amount of time possible. How fast can you rise to the top and who can you step on to get there. And to get to the top, you have to feed people an image of who you want to become….not who you really are. Many network marketing companies are doing it the same way. They’re putting all the focus on the rich and wealthy lifestyle, the fancy cars and loads of cash! Work two hours a day and make millions, all from the comfort of your poolside chair. But what they’ve really done is created a monster. They’ve taken the focus from the actual product and have handed the industry over to those who put image over principles and standards.

I personally know those who have posed next to their dream car or home for a quick snap shot and later posted that image to their site with the words, “My new Jaguar!” Selling the fake image at its best.

Now tell me, if wealth is the product, then how effectively can I sell you riches if I’m struggling to make my bills…which is why I started looking for a home based business in the first place? I can’t…unless I lie about it. Who would buy the promise of wealth from someone who knows nothing of it. If I just got started in that business, as a newbie, I would feel like I had to put on a “fake it” image until I could start having results.

Putting on this fake image is more damaging than just lies. It will eventually take a financial toll. There are those who feel like they have to go out and buy that new hot rod, eat out at fancy restaurants and travel the world when their income can’t support it. They’ll find themselves up to their neck in debt before they know it, if they’re not careful…and all just to maintain an image they’ve created for themselves before their income reached that level.

A Lesson I Learned From a Salesman

Now, before I tell you this extremely important lesson, know that this salesman is the man. He gets results and is a good friend of mine. So, if my buddy reads this, I apologize ahead of time…but he already knows we don’t sell the same way.

Right or Wrong – When you’re selling something to someone, it doesn’t matter what you tell them about yourself, your personal life, your job, or even your religion….even if everything you’ve said was a lie….as long as everything you say about the product you are selling them is true.

If the end result equals a sale for you and a happy customer, does that justify everything else you just did? Sure, you may never see that person again in two lifetimes and everything you told the customer other than the product information doesn’t technically matter….but it’s a toss up.

LESSON – It will come back to bite you. That’s the lesson I’ve learned. If you’re lucky, maybe it won’t get you. But as for me and my house, we know it will. I can’t sell that way because I wouldn’t want to be sold that way!

“Fake It” – The Correct Image

“Fake it ’til you make it” really just refers to your leadership abilities. Act like the leader who is having the results, don’t lie about your results. The important message that you must understand is that people will follow you for where you are heading, not were you’ve been. Don’t ever feel like you have to put on a fake image to impress your future business partners and customers. In business, integrity is everything and I feel that the network marketing industry has taken a hit because of the improper use of the “Fake it” concept. And what you’ll notice is that the companies who sell wealth instead of quality products will never hold on. They’ll disappear. I’ve seen it.

And if all else fails, and you’re struggling with being the leader, just be excited. People will get started in your business, even though you’re the greenest one around. Just stay close to your goals and be yourself!

I’d like to hear from you. What’s your opinion on “Fakin’ it ’til you make it?” I’d love to start a discussion on it. Voice your opinions below.

As imperfect beings, we judge….a lot. Our first impressions aren’t exactly spot on sometimes. If a dirty, filthy guy wearing clothes that are all torn up and greasy walks by me in the grocery store, it would be easy to judge. But chances are, they guy isn’t a bum, he probably just finished working on his Grandmothers car. We can be quick to cast judgement before we have enough knowledge about a person.

The same thing happens in business. You can also teach people how much you are worth, or how much you deserve to be paid for your product or service. It’s the basic law of business: get the lowest possible price for high quality products. If you don’t tell your potential clients how much you want to be paid, then who will? If you don’t know, then you’ll get paid whatever your customers want to pay you. You’ll accept any offer and by doing so, you’ll give your product or service away for less than what it’s really worth. Every time!

First, You Deserve to be Paid

Entrepreneurs tend to fall into a pit of low self worth when things aren’t going so well in their enterprise. So what do they do? They lower they’re prices thinking more customers will be attracted to the new “lower” price tag. When in all actuality, doing that just sends out a signal saying, “I’m desperate!”

Know one thing, you deserve to be paid. If you’re product can help people and is of value, you deserve to be paid for it. Don’t ever sell yourself short. Show the value and your clients will buy.

Get Good at Crunching Numbers

Here’s a great way to gauge whether or not you’re getting paid enough:

If the amount of the offer doesn’t excite you or open your eyes a bit, then it’s probably not worth your time.

During a conversation with a former business associate, he mentioned that at one point, he considered purchasing a Mexican restaurant here in town. But once they crunched the numbers, he would have been buying himself and $35k/year job. Currently, he makes well above that. The numbers didn’t excite him. Too much work for too little.

How Much Should You Be Charging?

Only you and you alone can set your price tag. It’s a combination of a few things.

1. Your Knowledge or Expertise
2. Your Confidence Level
3. The Value You place on your Product or Service
4. The Actual Value of your Product or Service

Whatever the price tag, just make sure the numbers excite you, and once they do, make sure you deliver the value. To me, it’s worth it to pay more for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese because I know that it tastes better and my kids will eat it. People pay more for value, even when offered a lower price. The price tag isn’t everything.

In conclusion, I’d like to give one more word of advice. When you hit the price tag that excites you and motivates you, there’s one great way to tell whether or not you delivered on value…..Referrals! If your customers recommend you, then you know you’re delivering.

For example, as a chiropractor, you now that you can get through 4 patients in a one hour period. At $50 each, that is about $200/hr. Now, assuming that a chiropractor has his schedule packed, he can make around $1400 a day with an 8 hour day and a lunch break. That sounds like a great income for most people right? But can the chiropractor make any more than $1400 in an 8 hour day of work? No! Not unless he applies a little more leverage into his business, which, requires hiring more chiropractors to work for him. Pay these other chiropractors $30/hr of the $50 and pocket the $20 for the extra hours. Pack the entire day with enough patients for two chiropractors and instead of making only $200/hr he is now making $280/hr. If the supply is there, this would be ideal leverage.

Now, let’s look at a different business model in Direct Sales. Know that Direct Sales pays you directly. When you make a sale, you make the profit right up front. So initially you make money. Let’s say you have a product with a $1000 commission connected to it. Make ten sales in a month and you have yourself a $10,000 monthly income and a 6 figure annual income. But in order for you to do that, you must give 60 sales pitches a week that are approximately 30 minutes in length, market your product and make trips to the bank. All of this takes time right? So you are looking at a 50+ hour work week!

So let’s add leverage to this business model. There are a few ways to do this and you will see that it will significantly increase your profits far beyond that of the chiropractors and most doctors with the same amount of sales volume. Create a system around your product so that others can market it as well. By doing so, you will mentor them and teach them to duplicate your results. In the process, you get their first two sales. So by making 10  sales a month, in a perfect scenario, you would get a minimum of 20 additional sales. This would keep duplicating as those 20 turned over to you their first two sales as well. This is endless! Leverage!

Also, throw in a few higher end products in the mix that end up being add-on sales. By saying add-on sales I mean products that add to your first product! Make these higher ticket items. So let’s say you have a $5,000 and $8,000 commission on these other two products and at minimum, 30% of your customers who purchased your first product end up purchasing your second and third products.

Let’s do the math.

• Ten sales a month at $1000 equals $120,000 a year. Let’s say this 10 include a few turn-over sales.
• 30% of those 120 sales will purchase the second product at $5,000 each equaling $180,000.
• Also, 30% of the 120 will purchase the third product at $8,000 each equaling $288,000.
• Total = $588,000!

To save on your time, have someone else do the sales pitch for you on one call a day and schedule all of your potential customers to that one call to cut your work hours down to around 20-30 hours a week, maximum! Imagine what your income would be if your conversion from the first product to the second and third increased to just 50%. That is a significant multiple 6 figure increase!

Now if you were wondering how you could make a multiple 6 figure to a 7 figure income working just 20 hours a week, you now know! But how many of you, even though this is all laid out for you, will shrug your shoulders and stay with what is comfortable to you? How many of you will settle for a paycheck or an 80 hour work week?

The answer: Almost all of you!