Producing a Successful Business Plan To Start A New Business

Producing a Successful Business Plan To Start A New Business
Finance companies and banks demand a written business plan
before putting up financial support to a new business. All
medium and large companies inevitably prepare a financial
budget for the coming year. That should tell everyone that
not producing a written business plan is the first mistake
everyone starting a new business might make.

Starting a new business without a proper business plan is
akin to taking a blind walk in the dark without no road or
map to follow. It should not come as a surprise to learn
that the majority of new start ups consequently fail within
the first two years dashing the hopes and dreams of many
budding entrepreneurs.

The benefits to an entrepreneur in producing a detailed
comprehensive business plan when some-one is considering
starting a new business lie strongly in the thought process
that goes into producing that plan rather than the ultimate
plan itself. New start ups should regard a business plan as
a road map to get the show on the road.

A properly thought out and written business plan for a
small business should contain the details of how the small
business is going to get started. A typical plan might
include a short synopsis of the new business with sections
on sales and marketing, operations or production,
purchasing, personnel plus a financial section evaluating
those plans and putting real numbers on the written text.

The short synopsis should briefly describe the main
business and mention each of the main ingredients contained
within the plan to attain the objectives. The rest of the
business plan should support that synopsis and should be
factual rather than a sales document.

Sales and marketing should include an analysis of the
potential and forecast sales, competition and how the sales
will be achieved. Identify the sales channels that will
produce the sales and why they will produce the sales. The
sales section should specifically state the volume of sales
of each product over at least the first year and the price
at which each of those products will be sold and note the
sensitivity of all items to unexpected events.

The operations and production section is dependent upon the
type of business and will be variable depending on whether
the new start up business was providing services, retailing
or manufacturing. The production section is basically a
detailed picture of the vehicle that will be used to
generate the products to be sold.

Purchasing would include an analysis of how the products to
be sold would be sourced. Volumes should be stated and
sources of supply specifically identified with a real
purchase cost of all major items specified not guessed.

Personnel would include the names of the people involved
with brief details of their knowledge, qualifications and
previous experience. The personnel section would also
include details of people yet to be recruited if the work
to be performed is going to be critical to the new business.

The financial section of a business plan should contained a
forecast profit and loss account preferably each month for
the first year at least with perhaps a summary of the
second year. In addition to the profit and loss account a
cash flow statement taking into account capital introduced
and stock levels should also be produced.

The sales and production or purchasing numbers including
volume and prices contained within the report should be
reflected in the financial report. Each major critical
assumption within the plan should be subjected to a
financial sensitivity analysis that takes into account all
potential risks to volume and price levels.

The process of preparing a detailed comprehensive business
plan that has been properly researched has significant
benefits in itself. If the business has been researched and
thought through before the new business starts there is a
much higher can it will succeed and suffer fewer negative
surprises once the real work of generating sales and profit
begins.

----------------------------------------------------
Terry Cartwright, accountant and CEO at DIY Accounting,
designs Accounting Software at
http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/ providing accounting
solutions for small to medium sized business in the UK with
payroll software at
http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/payroll.htm for up to 20
employees

Is There Such A Thing As A Professional Salesperson?

Is There Such A Thing As A Professional Salesperson?
I want to be professional". I'd have a decent sized pot of
cash if I'd received a pound for every time a salesperson
has said this to me.

"I want to be professional".

What do they mean by this? Is there such a thing as a
professional salesperson? Does it matter anyway? And how
can you become a professional salesperson?

It always intrigues me every time a salesperson says that
they want to be professional. Do they mean that they want
to act professionally or do they want to be seen as more
professional by their peers or something entirely different?

Certainly, many salespeople do not see their chosen career
as a professional one, that's for sure...

Take the case of a young salesman I spoke to recently. He's
earning decent money, he has good promotional prospects and
he is well thought of by his company, his peers and in his
industry... Yet he is thinking of doing something else.
He's considering something "more professional", something
with a structured career in place. Perhaps going back and
studying again.

Whilst I think it is important that people follow their
dreams it would be wrong to change jobs simply because
selling might not be "professional". Particularly in the UK
people sneer at sales as a profession anyway. Maybe this is
because you don't need a degree to get into sales, perhaps
it's because there aren't any recognised qualifications,
exams or governing bodies or maybe it's just tradition. Is
it because of the old class system, old school ties or
maybe just because the people who run the country aren't
very good at it?

So let's knock this one straight on the head right here and
right now... Selling is a profession.

Dictionary.com defines "profession" as:

A vocation requiring knowledge of some department of
learning or science - selling then. Any vocation or
business - err, selling then. The body of persons engaged
in an occupation or calling - and , ummm, selling again! So
selling is most definitely a profession then. What's more,
selling as a profession has a lot to say for itself:

Money! From a monetary point of view people entering sales
can earn good money. With commissions, bonuses and other
benefits , very good money. I know salespeople with only a
couple of years worth of experience earning more than
lawyers with the same amount of experience (and they've
done years worth of training).

Opportunity. Selling provides huge promotional opportunity.
Every company needs sales and people who can sell well
wield a lot of power. Rapid promotional prospects are often
available to them. These paths to the top are often a lot
quicker than more structured and traditional professions
and paths where the path is laid out for you.

Fun. Selling is a varied and interesting job in which you
meet people, can travel and where every day can bring a new
task.

Challenge. Selling is challenging. In sales we deal with
people and people always provide challenges. Learning to be
flexible and dealing with different people in different
situations, from different backgrounds and with different
levels of experience is very rewarding.

But I don't think that the reality is really the problem
here. The problem is usually the salesperson's perception.
The issue is that they don't see sales as professional
therefore they don't see themselves as professional...

And this often means that they don't act as a professional!

Many salespeople do not do a professional job. Think of a
few personal experiences and you will immediately know what
I am saying. Because of the low barriers to entry many
salespeople will behave unprofessionally and do an
unprofessional job. That's just the way it is.

But you're not one of them!

There are unprofessional lawyers but that doesn't make all
lawyers unprofessional. There are unprofessional
accountants but that doesn't make all accountants
unprofessional. There are unprofessional surveyors but that
doesn't make all surveyors unprofessional. Far from it, in
fact.

Just because there are unprofessional salespeople does not
stop you from being a professional salesperson! And if you
want to get on in sales this is exactly what you need to be.

Unfortunately, many salespeople don't take action. They
don't do what is necessary. They mistake low barriers to
entry for low effort being required to succeed. Turning up
at 9, leaving at 5 and doing the bare minimum is not the
way to behave as a professional. Taking the easy route is
not the path to professionalism. Ultimately,
professionalism is not where you came from, which school
you went to or which career you picked - professionalism is
what you do consistently.

If you want to be a professional, if you want to be treated
like a professional, if you want to feel like a
professional then you need to take consistent action.

Here are my top 5 tips for acting like a professional...

1. Know your industry inside out

Professional salespeople know their industries inside out.
They're the ones who always have the information to hand.
They're well prepared, well read and knowledgeable. They
know how they fit into the industry, who the main players
are and who their competition is.

2. Know how to add value

Professional salespeople understand their products and how
they add value for their clients. They study case studies
and know how they can apply them for their clients. They
understand the differences between their and their
competitors' offerings. They care about their clients and
help them to make the right buying decisions. They know
when to stick and when to fold. They know how to add value
before, during and after the sale.

3. Study top performers

All professional people have role models. This can be
someone you know or someone you read about. It must be
someone who you consider to be a consummate professional.
Choose carefully and choose wisely. This does not have to
be a formal process but that does not make it any the less
important. Studying top performers, understanding how they
behave and why, is essential if you want to be a
professional. Modelling top performers can accelerate your
learning and improve your skills rapidly.

4. Create a study programme for yourself

When did you last read a book on selling? Or listen to an
audio? Or watch a DVD? Or attend a training programme? Or a
seminar? Now ask yourself the same question but add in "off
your own bat" i.e. not sent or given by your boss. For many
salespeople the answer is never! All accountants, lawyers,
doctors etc have self development plans. They have to
complete a certain amount of study to remain up to date.
Some salespeople tell me that they have never read even one
book on sales. How can you claim to be professional if you
don't study?

5. Look sound and act like a professional

To be a professional you need to look, sound and act like a
professional. Take a look around your office now. Who would
you view as professional? Who wouldn't you?! Now rate them
all on a scale of 1 to 10 and think about why you made
those choices (I'm not recommending you tell them though!).
It will be because of their actions. What they wear, how
they talk, the kinds of questions they ask, how intently
they listen, how focused they are...

So the answer to the question, "Is there such a thing as a
professional salesperson?" is a resounding yes! And, of
course, yes, we do care! So the only question worth
considering is, "What are you going to do to attain and
maintain your status as a professional salesperson?"

----------------------------------------------------
To join speaker and author Gavin Ingham's free Sales
Success newsletter and get a sales mini-course absolutely
free visit http://www.gaviningham.com now.

How to Negotiate a Higher Salary

How to Negotiate a Higher Salary
Who doesn't want a better salary? We all could use a pay
raise, but the problem is—how to get it? How should
you approach the boss? What should you say?
And—equally importantly—what should you avoid
saying in order to plead your case in the most effective
way possible?

The first step to making sure you make a good case for
yourself is to have all the knowledge you can gather up.
How much are other employees in your position making? Try
to obtain this information discreetly—don't just ask
your coworkers what their salary is. Be sensitive to the
fact that others may not want to tell you how much money
they make, and be respectful. Above all, try to make sure
that any knowledge you have on the matter is as accurate as
possible, so you can use it as leverage in your
negotiations.

But don't be too quick to use your coworkers higher
salaries as justification for your own pay raise. You need
to think about why you may be getting paid less. Is your
performance weak in any way? Are you substantially newer at
the company? Do you work fewer hours than others in your
same position? Do you contribute less overall? These are
all factors that may affect how much compensation you get
for your work.

If you think your lower-than-desired salary may be
attributable to a weak performance, the obvious answer is
to step it up in terms of your workplace accomplishments.
Make it obvious to all those around you that you deserve
more money. Always arrive on time, stay late if possible,
and don't goof off during work hours. Don't just do the
bare minimum, but rather go above and beyond the call of
duty at every opportunity you are presented with. It's the
overachievers who generally are given the greatest rewards.

When you go into your negotiation, arrive armed with a list
of your accomplishments to prove your work ethic to your
employer. This is especially important if the employer is
not someone you work with closely on a daily basis. You
need to show him/her that your contributions are
significant and valuable, as that is the key to making
him/her want to reward you with a higher salary. It's
especially beneficial to show how your work has increased
revenue, decreased expenses, made the company more
productive, created greater overall accuracy and minimized
error, and so on.

And what if your employer still won't budge on the question
of salary? There are other ways you can be compensated, so
don't give up yet. Asking for additional benefits is one
great way to make sure you are getting what you deserve.
For example, an employer may be much more willing to give
you an extra week of vacation or free night courses to
enrich your skill set.

----------------------------------------------------
Ken Anczerewicz is an author and publisher devoted to
providing time & money saving resources designed to help
career & job seekers of all ages achieve their financial
goals. You can check out his best recommendations for
creating your own income stream by clicking here now:
http://www.resourceriver.com

How to Pick the Right Network Marketing Company in 5 Easy Steps

How to Pick the Right Network Marketing Company in 5 Easy Steps
Ever wonder what's up with the growing numbers of men and
women joining the ranks of Network Marketing today? What
entices people from literally every walk of life to give up
their chosen professions and head into this arena to reap
financial rewards? Are you curious about a business style
that creates a level playing field of opportunity for
former CEO's and janitors? If so, study these five points
before you dive into the game:

1. Take time to get to know your would-be sponsor. Don't
think you have to meet this person face to face to learn
about them. You can tell a lot about a person by how they
talk so listen up on that next phone call and you'll
probably learn a lot. This is a critical first step because
no matter how good the company, if you don't resonate with
the person you'll be working with most closely, you should
definitely look elsewhere.

2. Investigate the product line thoroughly and if it
doesn't flip your switches, again move on. If you're really
going to run this as a business and not a hobby, you must
have a product you can be proud of. Enough said.

3. Once you find a product you like, make sure the company
has a proven system for success. In other words, if the
products are great but there's no clear "how-to" path for
earning a paycheck, this is not the right company either.
You don't want to waste your time or your money stumbling
around trying to find that winning path all by yourself.

4. Carefully study the marketing plan of the company
specifically. Does it only consist of your making up a list
of friends and relatives to start approaching? Though this
"warm market" list can be a real asset to your business, it
shouldn't be the only marketing method and unfortunately,
it is with many companies. Instead, look for those forward
thinking companies that have developed a hybrid system of
marketing utilizing several different methods of lead
generation. The backbone of this system should include a
strong Internet component which can be harnessed to work
for you 24/7.

5. Study the time commitment required to be successful.
Most Network Marketing companies suggest a solid focused 10
- 15 hours per week minimum time commitment to get started.
Some companies also strongly suggest regular attendance at
local meetings for their distributors. If you resonate with
one of these companies, know that this requirement will
increase your time commitment in the form of various weekly
and monthly meetings you'll need to attend. This is time
truly spent away from your family vs. that spent working in
your slippers in the home office upstairs. If applicable,
be sure to factor in your baby sitter requirements if you
choose one of these companies.

Not everyone is cut out to run a home business - Network
Market based or otherwise. Success in this arena comes to
those with a burning desire to upgrade their lives and
their earning power and who also have the self motivation
and willpower to do it. But if you fit in this category,
this industry could become a gold mine for you. Just
remember to search for a sponsor you resonate with, a
product you like and a company that has a proven system to
success and you'll be well on your way to a 24 carat career.

----------------------------------------------------
Mentoring people to successfully run their own home
business is the passion of Business Coach Annie Thomson.
She believes you can take charge of your own destiny today.
What are you waiting for?
http://www.CoachYouToYourPrime.com

Internet Marketing - The New Kid on the Block

Internet Marketing - The New Kid on the Block
What is internet marketing all about? There are so many
companies in this industry, "Big Ticket to Wealth,"
"Wealthy Marketer," Powermall," and "Roadmap to Riches,"
just to name a few, that someone new to this field can
easily become overwhelmed. Surprisingly, many of the
campanies are new programs in the home business arena.
Nevertheless, they are competitive, bringing fresh ideas
and new tactics to the table that other internet marketing
companies have not been found to offer. For example, one
company states that it has incentives that makes the novice
or experienced internet marketer believe that he/she CAN be
successful working from home.Today let's explore some
internet marketing companies to determine if they have all
that they claim to offer its members.

After looking at what several companies had to offer to the
home business entrepreneur, there were minimal differences
that stood out to help make the companies unique. The main
similarities were that most companies online specialize in
software and an overabundance of ebooks that teach online
users how to market online and make money. Most companies
have everything from software to add audio to a site to
ebooks that revealed the secrets to effective marketing
online. Members obtain full resale rights of these
materials.

The primary difference is the large library of industry
specific videos that one company had to offer all members.
These videos, according to the CEO, can cost up to $1500
per minute. This company gives its members the opportunity
to resell these industry specific videos to website owners
at a fraction of the cost. It is revealed that these videos
can be sold to any type of business. For example, a real
estate agent to help in promoting the business online. Most
importantly each member can set their own price for the
videos; and keep 100% of the profits. This sounds great to
an inexperienced, newcomer, but, are these videos
glitch-free? Let's look at some realist issues that may be
encountered with these videos. What if your computer will
not play the videos properly or you are unfamiliar with the
process of downloading videos from the computer? How could
you benefit from this feature? So, newcomers should be
prepared to spend time and money to get these materials
ready for appropriate use.

All of the internet marketing companies researched provided
training and a support system to its members. There are
team trainings for all members, and resources that walks
the members through the steps to become successful online,
at ones own pace, be it fast or slow. Therefore, for
someone with no experience in internet marketing, it could
take weeks, months, or even years to start benefiting
financially from materials provided. One company did have
five opportunity calls per week and always invited
questions, comments, and concerns via any communication
modality (i.e., phone, email, or skype) 24/7.

Internet marketing companies seem to compensate there
members very well. There were four separate income streams
that some internet marketing company members had available
to them. Here are some highlights:

1) Members earn up to $900 for each of their personal
product pack sales
2) The company has matching override commissions. This
means that when a member sponsors and trains a new member,
both members benefit financially long term because the
sponsor receives a matching commission amount of up to $900
for every personal sale their members make. This is a
compensation plan that rewards team work.
3) Product sales from the library of industry specific
flash videos
4) Administration fees are paid to the members of up to $50
of the $75 monthly members ship fee.

The monthly membership fee entitles each member to the
additional flash videos and products the company adds to
the member library monthly. If a newcomer to internet
marketing is in a financial bind, it should be kept in ones
mind that there is a start up cost. Money profitted most
likely will not start rolling in the day, week, or even the
month that membership is started. After learning the
internet marketing techniques and applying them
consistently, however, this is a great possibility.

In conclusion, if an individual is motivated, trainable,
and works hard, this is definitely a career set up for a
newbie or a seasoned internet marketer to succeed. With the
ongoing trainings and support internet marketing companies
seems to be a perfect fit for anyone interested in
supplementing or replacing their income in an online home
based business. Most internet marketing companies offer
the right combination of products, commissions, teamwork,
and support for its members. On the other hand, the members
must bring certain prequalifications and materials to the
table, as well, if success is expected.

----------------------------------------------------
Carla Chase is a respected internet marketer and works with
other industryleading marketers. She personally devotes her
time, energy, and effort into making others and her team
successful online. To learn more go to:
http://www.csuccesswithchase.com

4 Things You Must Know Before Purchasing Your Next Skid Steer

4 Things You Must Know Before Purchasing Your Next Skid Steer
As you begin your search to purchase a new Skid Steer
Loader, you will quickly find that that there are many
manufacturers of skid steer loaders.

You will find that there are infinite options, from engines
to operator control options. As with the purchase of any
piece of equipment you need to start by purchasing the
right unit to complete the application you will be using it
in, don't ever think that because you have purchased the
largest or highest horsepower machine that it will complete
the job more efficiently.

Below are some of the key objectives for purchasing a new
Skid steer Loader.

1. Budget vs. financing. You will need to start the buying
process by determining whether you will need to finance the
equipment or purchase outright depending on your financial
situation. Even if you have available funds to purchase the
equipment, don't rule out financing. With current programs
manufacturers are offering 0 - 4% interest programs on new
equipment.

You may be able to put as little as 1% down and keep your
working capital for if or when you or your business is
having a slow time and the income isn't coming in the same
as it had been. The worst time to try and get money is when
you need it. With this decided, you will need to determine
a dollar amount or payment that fits your needs. Leasing is
also another viable option that many construction
businesses are utilizing. Typically, leases have better tax
structures, lower payments and can help you avoid too much
exposure on your financial statements because true leases
can typically be shown as an "off-balance sheet"
transaction. If a bank sees that you have too much debt,
they may begin to stop loaning you money. Leases can help
prevent that from happening.

2. Purchasing the Equipment that will best suit your
applications. This is by far one of the most important
steps of this process. You will need to provide the
equipment sales company with accurate information about the
type of work you will be doing, this will allow them to
provide information and pricing on the unit that meet all
your need on the job. Utilization is key when purchasing a
piece of equipment, the more task you can complete with
owned equipment the less you will have to rent equipment
from an outside source, again saving you money in the long
run. You will need to know information such as lifting
capacities(especially if you intend on using the equipment
to handle material), you will need to have an idea of what
the weight is of the material. Next you will need to
consider lift and dumping heights. If you need to load into
truck you will need to know how tall the bedsides are. You
will also need to know if you are restricted by the
physical dimensions of the equipment(are you working in
confined spaces that a large loader would not be able to
maneuver safely).

Another key is properly equipping the unit that you
purchase. Think about things that you may need or want as
far as options. Many time consumer will buy a base model
machine to later find that they better utilize the
equipment if it were equipped with heat and air
conditioning or foam filled tires, many times consumers are
restricted on the attachment they are able to run based on
whether or not they have high flow hydraulics opposed to
standard flow hydraulics. Transport is also a major
concern, do you have the capabilities of transporting the
equipment from project site to project site without buy
larger truck and/or trailers.

3. Comparing various models. When you begin comparing
different models, be sure you understand how the various
manufacturers rate their equipment, when you are comparing
horsepower rating be sure that you are not comparing net
horsepower to gross horsepower. Some manufacturers rate
their machine by gross horsepower and others rate theirs by
the net horsepower, the same will apply with lifting
capacities. The rated operating lifting capacities are
figured as a percentage of the machine tipping load, again
the different manufacturers rate their machines
differently, some will use 50% of the tipping load and
others may only use 30%. Just be sure to compare apples to
apples for the best value. Another good idea is to ask
about resale on the equipment, Ask what a comparable
machine that is a few years old would be sold for, this
will give you a rough idea of what you may be able to sell
this unit for when it is time to upgrade.

4. Warranty and Service after the Sale. When purchasing a
new piece of equipment be sure to ask about warranties, you
should determine what is covered and how long the warranty
is in affect. Be sure to find the closest warranty repair
center before you purchase. Ask if a service loaner will be
issued in case of mechanical breakdown. You may also want
to ask if the dealer stocks parts for the unit. Before the
sale is final be sure to ask the dealer how they would
handle the situation if a month or so after you purchase
the equipment, you decide that you are not satisfied with
it.

----------------------------------------------------
Will Burke has been selling construction equipment for over
9 years and is a specialist in compact equipment. For more
information please visit http://www.buyhaydenequip.com .

Don't Underestimate Irresistible Forces and Let People Cover Up Their Effects

Don't Underestimate Irresistible Forces and Let People Cover Up Their Effects
Irresistible forces account for a lot of our success and
lack of success. That isn't obvious if you read annual
reports and business stories. Most leaders take credit for
any success and blame problems on those pesky forces.

That's harmful because it encourages bad habits that make
dealing with irresistible forces much less successful.

"Throw Me a Towel" --The Cover-Up Stall

It isn't unusual for apparent failures or setbacks to
receive the so-called mushroom treatment (put it in a dark
place). Yet unexpected problems and successes contain the
seeds of opportunity to build from the power of
irresistible forces. Too many organizations treat these
circumstances as though something shameful has just
happened, which would be better off left alone and not
talked about.

In the late 1990s, European consumers grew ever more
concerned about the safety of new American foods produced
through genetic engineering techniques, provoking a
widespread backlash against these products. Monsanto had
been a leader in the development of these new technologies.

In the interests of retaining competitive advantages, the
company had kept its work as secret as possible. The
company even kept the use of its products a secret from
consumers in many cases in the United States.

Obviously, Monsanto hoped that concerns about the safety of
these products would just go away if they kept a low
profile. The opposite result seemed to have occurred, as
the secrecy was interpreted by some as meaning that the
company having something dangerous to hide from consumers.

"Let's Take a Chance" --The Underestimation Stall

Organizations sometimes should take on the most extreme
irresistible forces because their great volatility can
provide competitive insulation, as long as a uniquely
dependable method is applied for dealing with the
volatility. Ignore or underestimate that volatility, and
you will be toast.

Be sure you can handle more than the volatility you take
on. Only a handful of companies specialize in putting out
petroleum fires at well heads. In case you have not run
into this business before, the best way to extinguish such
a fire is to walk into the middle of the inferno carrying
explosives and then to detonate them. This explosion uses
up the oxygen that the fire needs, and the fire often goes
out. If not, another explosion may do the trick.

When the Kuwait oil fields were set aflame by the
retreating Iraqi armies, these companies had little to be
concerned about from new firefighting entrants. Few people
had the skill and courage to take on that irresistible
force. This same challenging opportunity could easily have
proven disastrous for others who were less capable.

These stalls occur and persist in enterprises because human
psychology often fosters a knee-jerk response to
irresistible forces. By becoming a stallbuster, you'll
learn to use irresistible forces to create exponential
growth and success for yourself and your enterprise.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

Motivate the salesman by helping him

Motivate the salesman by helping him
The bigger tire firms restrict the dealers not only to a
narrow profit margin but sell through countless
distributive outlets, including their own stores. This
further depresses both prices and profits. We, however,
gave the independent tire dealer territorial exclusivity.
We made sure the salesmen understood this.

But that still wasn't enough. The retail salesmen had been
selling the well known tires so long, they had forgotten
how to sell. Our client was an unknown name and the
technical advantages of its tires were hard to teach to the
salesmen.

We recognized that we had to conduct more than the usual
product training and indoctrination program, and we had to
do it fast. First, we wrote up some specific tire case
studies that incorporated professional selling skills.
Then, instead of having cumbersome meetings, we did the
unusual. We rented a large van and outfitted it with video
training equipment.

We drove from store to store in our van to do our
motivational training. We found that the salesmen had been
reluctant to commit their reputations to our product
because they were weak on its technical advantages. We
wanted them to have solid selling techniques backed up by
sound product knowledge when they faced prospective
customers. We wanted them to have the reeling of
successful experience even if it was in a role-playing
situation.

We spent more than an hour with each salesman going over
the technical details, going over the sales cases we had
written, and role-playing selling tires to each other and
putting it all on videotape right in the van.

Then the salesman would review his performance and analyze
it. After that, we erased the tape. We did that because
we wanted the salesman to feel secure. Letting his boss
see the tape would have only made the salesman anxious.
And that is something you don't do to your best customer.

All this was long, hard work. We put thousands of miles on
our van, traveling from one end of the country to the
other. Why? Because those salesmen were our best
customers. If we could motivate them, build their
confidence in our tires sell them then they would sell the
product. Essentially, this is what you do with your best
customers. Removing the impediments to the sale is the
first job of a company. And that first impediment is your
salesman's reluctance to sell or his salesmanship
deficiencies.

Further proof

Here's another recent experience of ours that points out
the value in treating your salesmen in the same way as you
would your best customers. Our client was a large
distributor of steel, industrial hardware, electrical
appliances, and plumbing supplies. Each salesman had a
geographic territory and sold all lines. Our research
showed that the salesmen were skimming only the surface of
potential sales. Their sales line was too broad for any
one salesman to be fully versed in all the products.
So, instead of dividing the line by category and then
having different salesmen call on each firm, we did the
opposite. We divided the salesmen according to a specific
kind of account steel mills, coal mines, contractors, and
so on.

Soon we found we were getting deeper penetration in each of
the lines because we were "market targeting." The more a
salesman knows about a specific user/customer, the more he
sells and the happier he is in his job. This approach
enables salesmen to suggest new lines and pare the
customer's inventory of lines he has less use for. Company
profits and salesmen commissions increased markedly.
Moreover, each customer felt that our salesmen were now
experts in his industry. He was confident that our
salesmen had the solutions, not just the catalogs.

What we did was to implement the attitude that our best
customer is our own salesman. By targeting our sales
strategy according to specific markets, and making each
salesman an "expert" in his own area, we gave the salesman
benefits and advantages just as we try to give to
customers. Everybody comes out ahead.

Industry's best customer

There are many reasons why industry isn't terribly happy
about salesmen. They cost money to maintain, they complain
a lot, they sometimes inflate their expense accounts. But
salesmen are the ones who move the products to the buyer,
who make the sales that keep industry solvent. Yet, if
industry wants high profits, then it must motivate its
salesmen to an above-average degree.

One of the best ways of doing that is to treat the salesman
the way he treats a customer. The salesman does not treat
a customer as if he were an employee, and neither within
reasonable limits should industry treat a salesman that
way. He is the vital link between production and profit.
If you do an excellent job of selling the salesman on your
products and on ways to sell them better, he will almost
inevitably do an excellent job of selling to customers.
That's why I say that industry's best "customer" is the
salesman, and he should be treated accordingly. Get him
sold and you can sell the world.

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Thotsaporn is the owner of http://www.financemarket.org
where he provides finance information and resources.