New Facebook Page Launched – More Goodies and Pictures I’m Sharing With You
Sep 17, 2009 Books, Business Tools, Career Advice, Sales Management, Videos, career coaching, podcast, sales tools
Keith Rosen | Create Your Badge
We just launched a new Facebook page and I’m excited to invite you to connect with me here. The plan is to offer some additional resources, videos, pictures and materials that you can find exclusively on this new Facebook page. I look forward to connecting with you here! Here’s the link:
One thing this Facebook page already has that you can’t find anywhere else are all of the pictures I’m taking documenting my eight country tour, of which you can already find pictures from Ireland and Prague.
It’s been an incredible journey filled with new experiences which I can’t wait to write on. While I’ve certainly built in the additional time to explore the richness and culture each country has to offer, the primary objective is to deliver my management coach training program to CEO’s, Directors, VP’s and managers, especially sales managers; based on my last book, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions. (Currently we’re also doing a huge book event this week which you can find more about here and how you can get additional Bonus Gifts from The World’s Top Thought Leaders.)
The result so far? My peripheral vision has been expanded exponentially, as I continue to be fascinated by the subtleties and nuances in cultural differences, in management style and in organizations across the globe.
However, one thing has been consistent: People are people; wherever you go. People share the same core needs, same dreams; our core values still remain. And one thing is for sure; coaching is a UNIVERSAL language. (Maybe this can be a conduit to world peace? No, I haven’t lost my mind fully as of yet!)
Next stops, Dubai, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Columbia! A few more countries to be added shortly. Looking forward to connecting and sharing this amazing and ongoing journey with you!
Tags: Books, coaching, facebook, podcasts, social media, training, Videos
Where Do Buyers Go When They Say, “I’ll call you back?”
Apr 17, 2009 Books, Sales Training, sales tips, sales tools
Where do buyers go when they say, “I’ll call you back?”
Why do buyers seem so foolish through our eyes for not making a buying decision, when it’s obvious that they have a need that our solution can resolve?
The sales model only handles half of the buying decision – the solution resolution phase. But it has never managed the buying decision phase – that place that buyers go when they go inside, figure out the internal issues they must manage to bring in a new solution, and make sure that there is buy-in for adopting a new solution. And the internal issues are not necessarily related to what we think of as the Identified Problem, or ‘need’. It might involve an historic fight between two departments that have duplicated staffing rather than clean up the fight. It might involve a set of rules that render your solution prohibitive, regardless of the need. It’s the sort of knowledge that only insiders can handle because it’s idiosyncratic to the culture. And as outsiders, we are not privy to it.
Indeed, a buyer’s need sits within a tangle of elements that have created the Identified Problem over a period of time, hold it in place daily, and fight hard to maintain the status quo because otherwise the system would be out of integrity. Think of an iceberg that has a problem with the tip: until the entire iceberg gets engaged, no change will happen. And in the process, it will fight hard to maintain all of itself rather than be diminished or changed.
Sales hasn’t known how to go inside a buyer’s environment and help manage all of those issues. It’s pure systems theory: systems fight to maintain themselves rather than change. And until or unless the system is able to manage the elements that would threaten the rest of the system, no change can happen. That’s why we don’t close 100% of our obvious sales; that’s where buyers go.
And even though we understand the area around our buyer’s Identified Problem, we have had no way of making sense of those idiosyncratic issues that are outside of our solution space and awareness. And until buyers manage these issues, they cannot make a decision.
My friend and colleague, Sharon Drew Morgen, author of the NY Times Business Bestseller “Selling with Integrity” and 6 other books on her ground-breaking Buying Facilitation Method, has developed a model that gives sellers the tools to help buyers recognize, align, and manage all of those elements within a buyer’s environment that need to be addressed before they can make a purchase. It’s the area that sellers have never been able to influence until now. Through books and guided study programs, Buying Facilitation is available to learn. Consider adding it to the skills you already sell with. Not only will it help your buyer make sound, quick buying decisions, but it will make you a true Servant Leader to your buyer, working together to match their values and align their criteria so they discover the solutions that their cultures will accept.
After my conversation with Sharon Drew just yesterday, I strongly suggest making this part of your skill set as well as your mind set that’s going to offer you a competitive selling edge that you may never have considered before. You can learn more about Sharon Drew Morgen, her programs and incredible books at newsalesparadigm.com and buyingfacilitation.com.
Book Release: The Race To Success. Are You In The Lead?
Mar 17, 2009 Books
In today’s ever changing world, everyone is struggling to find more time. Each day millions of Sales Professionals start their day behind and never catch up. In The Race To Success, author Cheryl Clausen challenges you to think differently about time and in doing so she turns the whole concept of time management upside down.
With more than 20 years of coaching experience, Cheryl A. Clausen is a recognized author who has published more than 500 articles on the topics of time mastery, marketing, and sales. One step at a time, Cheryl shows you how to move from being time strapped to time abundant, into a future in which you enjoy both personal and professional success. This book is for those serious about using their time to produce the greatest results; results you can’t even imagine at this moment. Results that will change your life and your business forever.
You can find out more about Cheryl and her new book here.
Beat Your Sales Slowdown
Mar 5, 2009 All About Selling, Books, Sales Training, sales tools
Selling in today’s economy is tough and likely to get tougher. It’s time to work smarter not harder.
Here’s one solid investment in yourself and your future. Top Dog Sales Secrets, published by SalesDog.com is the ultimate “tough times” sales book because it gives you an advantage over your competition.
Here is some of what you will learn:
You also get over $3,000 worth of powerful sales tools with your purchase. Your sales toolbox contains downloadable e-books, audio programs, video sales training programs, income-increasing special reports and white papers, all yours at no cost from top sales and business growth leaders – including me. Some of these tools are worth far more than the price of the book.
Don’t stress over tough times. Action is the answer. Check it out here.
P.S. The publisher guarantees your “extreme satisfaction.” Take a few moments right now to learn more. It’s also available as an e-Book.
How to Sell More by Reducing Risk
Mar 4, 2009 All About Selling, Books, sales tips, sales tools
Times are challenging for many businesses, and sales professionals have to help customers and prospects manage risk so buying will continue.
Those salespeople who help businesses successfully manage risk will be able to elevate themselves above the fray of the marketplace to be seen as bringing greater value to their customers. Your customers need to minimize all kinds of risk in many different areas.
I mention this because I recently learned about a brand new eBook by the Sales Bloggers Union (salesbloggers.com) that deals with this very topic. “How to sell more by reducing risk” provides eight different perspectives of risk written by eight of the top international sales bloggers.
They’re actually giving it away for free. Click here to download the free e-book and see what you can learn to maximize your sales.
Tune Up Your Prospecting Strategy, Get Your Cold Calling Game On and Secure More Leads and Appointments
Feb 21, 2009 All About Selling, Books, Cold Calling Tips, How To Close The Sale, How To Sell and Sales Tips, Sales Coaching, Sales Training, sales articles, sales tools, tele-sales, telesales
Refine Your New Business Development Strategy to Win New Business
Use this checklist here
Do you prospect effortlessly and have a steady flow of new business? We all need more selling opportunities. To find them, we need to connect with more qualified prospects.
Sometimes new isn’t always better. Here’s an incredible tool I created years ago when I came out with my cold calling book. I’ve used this countless times to help coach salespeople and companies to develop and fine tune their cold calling approach and strategy to schedule more appointments with the right decision makers that will accelerate your selling cycle and ultimately close more sales.
Managers love this checklist because they can leverage this as a tool to help coach their salespeople and uncover the more elusive gaps in their follow up, warm calling or cold calling approach. Remember, coach the process, not the result.
Use this appointment setting and new business development checklist to discover what it takes to cold call or prospect like a pro and see if you’re set up for success or failure. The Prospecting and Cold Calling Tune Up is a checklist that contains all of the components needed to develop a masterful prospecting and follow up system that’s been proven to bring in new business, fast.
If your prospecting system does not contain the listed components, then you can find everything you need to develop a masterful prospecting system by clicking here.
This prospecting and cold calling checklist will help you identify what you need to refine or develop in your approach to retrain more customers and get into bigger accounts, set up more qualified appointments with decision makers all the way up the C-Level chain to the CEO, get more voice mails returned, set up a step by step prospecting and cold calling strategy that works, close more sales and help your salespeople fill their sales funnel with more qualified prospects.
Make it rain more than ever before. Adopt to the new rules of engagement and win in today’s economy. Tune up your approach here.
Winner of the 2009 Stevie Award for Sales Eduction Leader of the Year
Feb 16, 2009 Books, Business Tools, Executive Coaching, Interviews, Live Events, Sales Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Training, management articles, sales articles
The other day, results were announced in the 3rd annual Stevie® Awards for Sales and Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in customer service and sales. Stevie Award winners were announced during a gala awards dinner at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
I’m excited and humbly appreciative of winning the 2009 Stevie Award and being recognized as the Sales Education Leader of the Year. To me, this is not only an honor but a responsibility I have to you. I look forward to continually earn the right to hold this title and further my commitment to support sales executives, managers and salespeople world wide through my writing, training and coaching. And today, distinguishing and positioning yourself as an invaluable part of your organization is more essential than ever. This can only be achieved by developing yourself into the sales leader you can be.
Below is the ‘official’ press release.
KEITH ROSEN WINS 2009 STEVIE AWARD FOR SALES EDUCATION LEADER OF THE YEAR
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – February 10, 2009 – Keith Rosen was presented with a Stevie® Award for Sales Education Leader of the Year in the third annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business Awards.
Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” winners were announced during a gala banquet on Monday, February 9 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Nominated customer service and sales executives from the U.S.A. and several other countries attended.
More than 500 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition. There are 27 categories for customer service professionals, including an Award for Innovation in Customer Service and Customer Service Department of the Year; as well as categories for sales professionals, ranging from Sales Education Leader of the Year, to Sales Training Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year.
The Executive Sales Coach and sales strategist for many of the top sales and executive teams in the country, Keith Rosen has written several best selling books, including the award winning Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions. This book was recently named the 2008 Sales Leadership Book of the Year and received a gold medal at the Sales Books Awards just last month; a perfect complement to the award Keith has won here at the Stevie Awards.
Members of the Awards’ Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie Award winners from among the Finalists. Finalists were chosen by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.
“This year’s honorees demonstrate that even in challenging economic times, it’s possible for organizations to continue to shine in sales and customer service, the two most important functions in business: acquiring and keeping customers,” said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards.
Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of honorees in all categories are available at stevieawards.com/sales.
About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at stevieawards.com.
Tony and David’s Five Critical Objectives Of Your First Phone Call
Feb 13, 2009 Books, Prospecting, Cold Calling and Networking, Sales Training, sales articles
Tony Parinello recently released a new book which is more timely and relevant than ever before. Entitled, Five Minutes With VITO-Making the most of your selling time with the Very Important Top Officer, authors David Mattson, CEO and a partner at Sandler Systems, Inc. and Tony Parinello have been generous to share some chapter excerpts with me that I now have the opportunity to share with you.
Presence is everything when it comes to selling. How you come across, that is, how you ‘show up’ and present your case to the prospect can make the difference between the beginning or the rapid end of your very first conversation with them. Regarding of how you’ve connected with your prospects; through cold calling, prospecting or by other marketing means, here are Tony and David’s five critical objectives of your first phone call.
Excerpt from Chapter 22
Five critical objectives of your first phone call
Your first phone call with any prospect is a critical factor in determining whether or not you will eventually make a sale. Because of this, it is crucial that you remain focused on the real purpose of this first conversation.
Critical Objective #1
Make a great first impression.
Your first phone call is about bonding and building a business relationship. Never use an icebreaker. It is a shallow attempt to reduce tension and a total waste of time. Get straight to the point. Don’t go into any technical details about your product or service unless you’re asked. Forget that you need to make a sale. Sounding desperate is going to bring a quick end to your conversation.
Critical Objective #2
Communicate with unshakeable confidence.
Pick up the phone, take your shot, stick to what you know and remember that if you fast-talk your prospect they will hang up. Remain confident and concise throughout the conversation.
Critical Objective #3
Focus on what is relevant to your prospect.
When you’re making a pitch, your prospect is going to be asking him or herself, “How does this apply to me and the economics of my operations and/or the wealth of my shareholders?” Make sure your product or service is a clear answer to this question.
Critical Objective #4
Establish an up-front contract.
A conversation with a prospect is all about commitments of time, attention and resources. Be up-front with what you are offering them, and what you are asking for. Lead your prospect towards making additional commitments to you, but make them feel like they are in control of the terms.
Critical Objective #5
Make a great last impression.
What you say at the end of your first conversation matters almost as much as what you say at the beginning. Make sure your prospect hangs up the phone eager to speak with you again.
To order the book or for more information, click here.
Tony Parinello’s Four Critical Tips for Writing Sales Letters
Feb 7, 2009 All About Selling, Books, Prospecting, Cold Calling and Networking, Sales Training, sales articles
Tony Parinello recently released a new book which is more timely and relevant than ever before. Entitled, Five Minutes With VITO-Making the most of your selling time with the Very Important Top Officer, authors David Mattson, CEO and a partner at Sandler Systems, Inc. and Tony Parinello have been generous to share some chapter excerpts with me that I now have the opportunity to share with you.
Since writing a powerful sales letter is a key element of your successful selling strategy, here are Tony and David’s Four critical tips for writing sales letters that deliver results. Enjoy!
Excerpt from Chapter 20
Radical Tactics for Explosive Results
Throw your old selling strategies out the window – it’s a whole new world out there.
When the economy changes this much, this quickly, it can leave even the best sales people with dry pipelines and smaller deal sizes. This doesn’t mean that prospects have stopped buying or that it’s impossible to make as much or more than you made last year. You can still hit your numbers if you know how to adapt.
The best sales professionals are flexible and intuitive. They recognize that a shift in the economy or their industry requires a shift in their selling strategy. Their success is achieved by trying something new rather than clinging to what worked in the past.
Instead of hammering the phones twice as hard as you used to, ask yourself “Who is spending money right now?” Don’t be surprised how high up in an organization you have to go to find someone who can make a purchase. Your usual suspects probably have lost their budgets, along with their authority to make most decisions.
Today’s real prospects – the ones with buying power – have titles like CEO, owner or president. So says experts and authors David Mattson and Tony Parinello, the authors of Five Minutes With VITO, Making the most of your selling time with the Very Important Top Officer.
The people at the top are the people you should concentrate on selling to, because they are still buying. Stay focused on the strengths of your product or service, but understand that these prospects value things differently today then their subordinates. You won’t get VITOs interest by talking about features and functions or anything else that falls short of helping the company 1) make money, 2) increase productivity, or 3) reduce defects and other drains on profitability. It doesn’t matter if you sell IT services or cleaning products, the person at the top wants to talk to you if you make a clear case for positively impacting the bottom line.
Now more than ever it pays to be persistent, unconventional and smart when you’re prospecting. In order to get attention, you may need to break some rules.
Four Critical Tips for Writing Sales Letters That Deliver Results
Four critical tips for writing sales letters that deliver results
Writing a powerful sales letter is a key element of your successful selling strategy. Variations of this letter can be used for contacting every prospect on your list. You cannot afford to make a mistake on this versatile tool.
Critical Tip #1
NO logos. NO letterhead. NO slogans.
NO corporate branding.
Your sales letter should not include anything that easily identifies you or your company. Force your prospects to read your letter before deciding whether or not they know you – or want to know you.
Critical Tip #2
Keep it on one page.
Sure, you have lots that you want to tell your prospect. The problem is that your prospect will not read more than one page of information. Keep your sales letter short, to the point and leave lots of white space.
Critical Tip #3
Use eye-catching headlines.
If you want your sales letter to be read, it should be easy to scan. Your prospect isn’t going to spend time looking for the most important information. Make your headline brief, direct and to the point. Thirty words max.
Critical Tip #4
Never fold your sales letter. Don’t use your company’s standard envelope. Hand-write the address.
In order for your prospect to read your letter, they have to notice it first. Use a large 9×12” envelope with a handwritten name, title and address, and a return address with no company name or persons name. Do not put anything else (such as pens, business cards or oddly shaped objects) inside. This is not direct mail, it’s the beginning of a business relationship.
To order the book or for more information click here.
Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions Wins 2008 Sales Leadership Book of The Year
Dec 30, 2008 All About Selling, Books, Books by Keith Rosen, Career Advice, Executive Coaching, How to Manage Your Team, Sales Management, coaching for managers, management tips, training for managers
(Special offer below to celebrate this achievement. Get the book 37% off, my coaching playbooks for free and hundreds of dollars worth of additional materials here. )
I just found out that my latest book, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions has won the prestigious Book of the Year gold medal for the best Sales Leadership book of 2008. Thirty-five judges reviewed these books over a sixty-day period, utilizing a common scoring process to make their decisions. I’m humbly appreciative of this award and look forward to continuing my quest to deliver rich content and value through my writing and coaching.
The rules of success in the new economy certainly apply to how you manage and develop your team of fearless prospectors and rainmakers. There’s a new technology of leadership needed to build a team of sales champions today. To drive positive, measurable change and keep your competitive edge, managers must learn how to quickly and effectively coach, motivate and retain their top performers.
I was recently asked by author Lee Salz, what managers need to do to most effectively impact their team. Here was my response:
“To have a profound impact on the success of your team, the leader must change first. After all, avalanches roll downhill. It’s a new economy and the rules of business have changed overnight, The areas most impacted – sales and leadership. Now more than ever our society is consumed with fear. We are living in a period of intense fear and leadership in many organizations is fear based. Managers need to shift away from fear based management and develop more of a collaborative coaching culture. You cannot inspire others when you are afraid and you can’t be inspired when you’re full of fear and worry. Conduct more frequent one-to-one meetings, build greater accountability by relinquishing your role as Chief Problem Solver and have less tolerance for mediocrity.”
“How do you lead your team differently today compared to the way you did just six months ago? Have you benchmarked the most effective sales and leadership practices? Are you coaching the right people or are you still being seduced by potential and attempting to coach the uncoachable? Ultimately, management needs to adapt, innovate and evolve or suffer from corporate inefficiency, rigidity and declining profits.”
Back in May of this year, this book made Amazon’s Best Seller list and was the #1 Best Selling management book. Still holding strong in the top 10 I’m grateful for all of my partners, bloggers and readers who helped contribute to this book’s success as well as those thought leaders who supported this project, such as Dr. Denis Waitley, author of The Seeds of Greatness and The Psychology of Winning and Anthony Parinello, author of Selling to VITO.
Brian Tracy had this to say about my book. “There is no other single activity to boost sales that works better than sales coaching and this book is the best ever written on how to do it well.”
Tom Hopkins wrote, “Few management books are specific to salespeople. Keith Rosen’s book is a great one to study and apply or pick up here and there when you have a special need. His coaching ideas are clearly explained and easily executed.”
And Dr. Tony Alessandra said, “Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions is a well written, easily readable, practical book for anyone who manages salespeople. Excellent content is combined with real case studies, coaching templates and action steps that make this book a must read and a desktop reference for every sales manager, executive or business owner.”
You can read more about the incredible consortium of thought leaders who have endorsed my book on this page. In addition, they have generously contributed hundreds of dollars of their own content which you can access for free when you purchase just one copy of this book.
Which brings me to something you’ll be interested in. In addition to all of these resources you’ll get, I’m also giving away my suite of Coaching Playbooks absolutely free when you place an order for Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions. (John Wiley & Sons, Hardcover) Learn More Here.
The book by itself is a great value, even if you can get it for 34% off. Additionally you can get hundreds of dollars worth of valuable materials from some of the greatest business minds around such as Dr. Tony Alessandra, Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Jim Cathcart, Jill Konrath, Jonathan Farrington, Michael Nick, Lee J. Colan, Ph.D., Lee Salz, CanDoGo.com, SalesDog.com, Landslide, Salesopedia.com, Salesconx, SalesGravy.com and more.
Look at the resources you get here.
Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions provides you with a proven, systematic process that creates world class teams and gets your people selling more than ever before. Don’t wait any longer for a miraculous turnaround. Doing more of what you did yesterday is going to keep you stuck where you’ve already been. Develop the missing discipline you need to coach your salespeople into sales champions. Learn More at the official site for Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions.
You can also order the book here.
Start the New Year off strong. Wishing you a prosperous, spectacular and healthy 2009!
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