Well here is a story that perked me up over my morning coffee! Jennifer Sharpe, a fifteen year old teen from Dearborn, Michigan quite possibly has broken the national sales record by selling 17,328 boxes of those deeee-licous Girls Scout cookies! We all have to start somewhere and what a delightful encouragement this is for everyone in sales. According to the article she had the help of her mother and a troop leader. She set up her "shop" on a busy street corner and was there everyday and evening, except for a brief short time off for illness.

The best part of this story to me is her mother stating that Jennifer, who was once very shy, has now developed a new confidence in talking to people. I wonder if she used any of the sales techniques developed by Markita Andrews, a previous Girl Scout Cookie sales champion? We can all remember the first time that we had to approach a customer -- how awkward it felt. I can remember that feeling like it was yesterday, but now I also realize how, through repetition, I overcame the problem.

Another part of Jennifer's story that jumped off the page was the fact she stated that "she loves the cookies"! This is a basic ingredient in selling...know your product. If you take a strong interest in what you sell, you will want to know your product inside and out. If you also love what you sell, like Jennifer, you cannot help but express that to your customers through your voice and facial expressions. It's like electricity and it catches on to everyone you meet. Today, take a new interest in what you sell...find a way to fall in love with it and your sales will increase!

As sales people we are always on the lookout to find new customers to grow our business. Sometimes we can make a lot of assumptions about who is buying from us and what their real profile is. Here is a quick list of how to identify who buys from you that will also get your creative wheels turning about where you can go to find them. They may not be who you think they are.

Have you ever been given a presentation by a sales person that was just so smooth and perfect -- even down to overcoming each objection -- that you would swear it was rehearsed? Did you ever think it was memorized? Yikes! Memorized? Yes, it could very well be so. There are some sales situations where it may be beneficial to script out a sales presentation. It does take a lot of thought and, of course, a lot of practice in order to be very natural. But when a presentation like this is executed correctly, it will be like a recipe for a sale. There are so many different sales presentation practices that you may have never considered them for yourself or your business -- including automated presentations. Take a look at this article and see if there might be a new idea for you in creating or perhaps improving upon your current sales presentation strategy.

Have you ever made a list of all the possible features and benefits of what you sell? Have you ever really put yourself in the mindset of your customer and took an objective look at what you sell from their point of view? What are the real benefits that your customer is out there looking for and will they find them in your product? These are just a few of the ideas that you'll start to explore when you answer a few questions about what you sell. Doing this can be your start in creating a sales strategy. Start with this list of questions and then brainstorm! You will be so pleased at what will be revealed when you attempt to define what you sell -- you'll possibly discover benefits and uses you didn't even know existed about what you sell!

When we start a new business, most new business owners will map out a business plan but seldom will map out a sales plan strategy. Part of your sales plan strategy is building your sales team. When you gather the information that you need to develop a sales plan you will at the same time start to lay the groundwork that you need to help build a sales team.

A few simple questions are all you need to answer about the product or service that you offer. Some of these questions may seem to be so simple that you may have never thought of recording them on paper. Try this and you will be surprised at some of the things that may have never occurred to you about your product or service!

We all know that first impressions can mean so much to an ongoing relationship with people. Doesn't it make sense to overcome this problem and nip it in the bud before you send off a bad first impression? Benjamin Franklin once said, "Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others." This is so true. We may not like or agree with it, but people are people and they will make assumptions about you by the way you are dressed and your overall appearance when you first meet. That impression can last a lifetime so why not take the time to make it a good one? Read more about the benefits of why a salesperson should pay close attention to dressing for success . The pay off is so great you'll soon be in the habit of looking tip top everyday!

There are times in business that sales can slow down. There are several reasons for this, but there are four reasons for a sales slump that happen more frequently than others. Believe it our not, you may be the reason that your own sales have slowed down. We often want to blame it on the economy or the company we work for but it may be that all we need to do to point that accusatory finger is to stand in front of the mirror. There is however, a simple way of how you can get out of a sales slump and all it takes is a little bit of patience and some re-tracing of your own steps.

When we are in sales we try to do all we can to be as professional as possible in the way we look, the way we act and in the way we talk. Sometimes it just can't be helped; you said something you shouldn't have and so the best you can do is to try and not to make the same mistake next time. But with some things you can plan ahead on the best way to phrase something. In fact, it is not only possible to do so, it is a good idea! Sprucing up your speech will make your words sound more appealing and often easier for your customer to understand. Start with this list of words and phrases that sell and then start adding your own to it. Get in the habit of using them daily and you'll soon notice that your are closing more sales with less effort! You don't say?

If you're like me, you probably carry your business cards on you somewhere and pass them out to anyone and everyone you meet -- whether they want one or not. Someone once told me to take them to sporting events and throw them up like confetti when ever there was a score! I can say I never actually did that. Although, with the amount of contacts I ever received from passing out my business cards, I may as well have been throwing them up in the air! But finally, I learned the real way to properly use a business card , and from then on my list of contacts and referrals began to grow and grow. This method is so simple you'll say to yourself, "I wonder why I've never heard of this before?"

I can almost guarantee that after you read this article you will be so excited to try it you might not sleep until you get to try it out. It is the most fun way to build your network and the fastest!

You may have heard of "opening lines" before, but have you ever stopped to think of how important they are when you only have those few short seconds to make a great first impression? What makes a good opening line? Where should you use them? How can you say in a few words something that will really make your prospect want to hear the rest of what you have to say?

Well, there are many methods for formulating an opening line and some of them can be pretty complicated. If you want a simple three step method that will result in your very own unique opening line and help take the "awkward' out of your first hello, then grab a pencil, put on your most creative thinking cap and read this article.