In the world of Golf it is said that "100% of all putts that fall short of the hole don't go in." The same is true in professional selling in that 100% of the orders you don't ask for you won't get...so ask for the order. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Think about it - just prior to a potential sale what do you really have? - nothing.  If you don't ask for the order you lose nothing, but you also gain nothing. If you do ask for the order you might lose...nothing, but you may gain something. Wow, the customer might actually say yes! What a great cause & affect.

Now that we have a better understanding of how to turn opportunity into income, ask customers and prospect to use your product. Show them why they should be involved with you, your company, and the products you represent.

This is where "sales leadership" skills pay off. As a sales person you must help the prospect make the buying decision. It is your responsibility to determine which products (you represent) are the best fit for their business. After all, who knows more about your product than you? To do this, you must have a solid understanding of your customer's business and how they go to market. With this knowledge you can then demonstrate how their involvement with you will enhance their company's ability to make a better product, generate revenue, grow sales, etc.

By definition marketing is all things related to Product, Price, Promotion, and Place (distribution - ie.sales). Or the 4-P's of marketing. So in the academic world sales is a function of marketing. In practice, marketing is branding and the activities associated with brand/product awareness. Many times marketing sets the stage for sales - in the case of special promotions. Marketing will dream up an idea (ideally with the input from the sales department) and the sales department implements or follows-up on the campaign. Or another way to put it - marketing loads the ammunition and sales pulls the trigger.

-Chris Calzone

It has been said that the world stands aside to let pass the man who knows where he is going. No truer words have been spoken in regard to sales goal setting. The successful management of any sales territory starts with a goal. It serves as a center pole lending both support and focus to all daily activity. Goals give our work purpose and meaning and are the driving force behind motivation.

When setting sales goals consider the following elements that should be part of any worthy pursuit. There are six basic elements within every powerful sales goal. A sales goal should be Identifiable, Specific, Meaningful, Measurable, Visible, and within ones Realm of Responsibility. When all elements are present, daily sales activity is focused, fulfilling, and directed toward achievement.

Too many sales people make the mistake of setting lofty goals of unknown origin with an unknown probability of success. Typically, erroneous "goals" are actually quotas handed down by management. By definition, a goal must be self-selected. It is an internal means of bench marking that can only come from within individual sales people. Sales managers who facilitate goal setting sessions must be careful not to select goals for their team but rather direct the exercise to ensure salespeople choose goals that will be productive for both the individual and the organization.