Remember if you join a fitness club that is across town you’ll spend valuable time and money just commuting. In the end you’ll also lose the stress busting effects of exercise when you’re caught in traffic on the way home. You may find that the light enters the room at a more appealing angle in the morning or that you can watch the stars in the evening. Maybe there are people you like to visit with at certain times of day or perhaps crowds to be avoided at other times. Whatever it is that makes you enjoy the very same stationary bike at different times is something that will keep you biking and that consistency will pay off handsomely.

Be sure to take snacks with you to the fitness center, spinning on stationary bikes can really get the appetite going and you’ll find it much easier to ignore the temptation of the smoothie bar or a fast food restaurant if you’ve brought something that is both healthier and tasty that you like. A good food item could be a pita stuffed with lettuce, and other veggies and a package of your favorite salad dressing to top it off. If you want to add a little protein take along some peanuts to eat with it. Don’t forget your water bottle.

To find a good facility with plenty of stationary bikes for its clients you can always check online for stationary bikes reviews to see what people are saying.

Read more stationary bikes articles and stationary bikes reviews news or visit our stationary bikes site.

To get the facts, I sought out the man generally considered to be the father of virtual real estate investing: Bryan Ellis.

“I began using the term ‘virtual real estate investing’ in the late 1990’s when I realized the clear similiarities in profit strategies, regardless of whether the “real estate” is “virtual” or “physical” said Ellis.

Bryan Ellis cites the similar strategies one can employe to make money from “virtual property” and “physical property” as a primary parallel of the two markets. “These types of assets - websites and physical real estate - can be monetized in very similar ways like buy lo/sell high, leasing/rental and advertising opportunities” he says.

The parallels really are obvious. Consider: A valuable piece of real estate is valuable largely due to the interest that other people have in that specific location. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

There are certain companies that are willing to accept this kind of behavior and allow top sales people to run roughshod over their organization and essentially do whatever they want. The best companies, though, focus on working with top performers to align the rest of their performance and behavior with the company’s culture and values and the company’s specific sales process and procedures. It’s the job of sales management to play to the strengths of each of their top sales performers to make sure that they continue to produce the results that are vital to the company’s success.

At the same time, sales management also is responsible for making sure that those top mavericks are brought into alignment with the company’s fundamental directives, as it relates to culture, behavior, following processes, reporting, etc. This is not an easy task for the sales manager and it’s one of the reasons why they get paid the big bucks. Often times, the most talented sales people are the most roguish and the most arrogant when it comes to following the company’s requirements. In particular, they tend to view themselves as superstars unto themselves as their own entity and not necessarily as a part of the team.

There are many things that can be done to break this habit of maverick behavior and bring these kinds of people into alignment. First of all, develop a corrective action plan that focuses on the person developing the soft skills. This can be done through the normal performance planning process. Second of all, sometimes it makes sense to assign a coach to an individual top producer; somebody that that individual respects; somebody who can mentor them and provide them with feedback in a way that they’re able to accept. This can be done by somebody on your team or it can be done by bringing in an outside executive coach or sales coach. Often times, a third party sales consultant or sales coach is the best way to go. The next thing is working through issues of culture and behavior on a regular basis through agenda items at your sales meetings and your sales retreats.

This will help you to emphasize to your team at large how important the other aspects of the job are, in addition to just producing results. There are lots of great books out there that can be used as well to help “Sales Mavericks” understand what it is that a company is expecting from them. We’ll give you examples in another blog post. So, if you have top sales mavericks who are also your top sales performers and you’re looking for ways to reduce your frustration and improve their adherence to the company’s policy and culture, you’re not alone. All of us have faced this in sales management, and it’s our job to make sure that we’re clear with these individuals about what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior and not be afraid to take corrective action up to and including termination if these people become too disruptive to the organization. Everybody is replaceable and even the top performers who believe that they walk on water should be replaced if in fact, they’re not capable of adhering to what a company needs in order for them to be successful.

About Cube Management:
Cube Management provides sales acceleration services to emerging growth and mid-market companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. The experts at Cube Management work across the entire spectrum of marketing, sales and business development to provide customized solutions that drive revenue and profit growth. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process & People to produce winning results.

I remember my first bike. It was blue with a bell attached to the handlebars and when you worked the little tab back and forth with your thumb, you would hear a tinny ring. All the kids in my neighborhood had bikes, of course they were two speed bikes, stop and go, unlike the many different bikes that are available now.

I don’t remember any of us being overweight back then. We rode bikes rather than watching some silly or violent program on TV. In fact, there was no TV, no McDonald’s, no computers, no Gameboys; the only video games we had were pictures in our heads.

During the daylight hours we didn’t have many sedentary games. We ran around in the yards playing imaginary games. It was great fun. At night the whole family would sit around the supper table eating and talking. The meal usually consisted of a meat, two or three vegetables, and dessert with tea or milk to drink. No one opted for bottled water, oh yeah, there was no bottled water.

The only time we had hamburgers was on Saturday nights, no fries. Instead of fries we had goulash. During the summer we cooked outdoors on a homemade barbecue pit made out of stone. There were no charcoal, electric, or gas grills, we used wood in the pit.

Some of the neighborhood kids were always invited to eat supper with us on Saturday night. We would eat on a wooden picnic table in the backyard. After supper we would play basketball or horseshoes, or some other game. We got plenty of exercise.

Maybe if we had kept on doing those type of things, we would not have so many lazy and overweight people now. Get some “kids” of all ages together and go for a bike ride at least once a week. When you are riding, maybe along the way you’ll ride upon a backyard barbecue pit where you can fix some burgers the old fashion way and pitch a few horseshoes after supper.

Rita Tate is the webmaster and editor for the website
My Pal’s Place www.mypalsplace.com/ [Re-print is permitted if a clickable link to www.mypalsplace.com/ is included with the article]

He groaned, “Why?”

“I enjoy it, I’m dealing with smaller enterprises, it’s local, and it’s a different business model,” I replied.

I couldn’t help noticing the low regard in which he holds coaches.

He said, “But, there are so many of them, out there!” and implied that everybody and anybody, thinks he can be a coach.

Of course, he’s right. The field is exploding, and there are absolutely no entry barriers.

You don’t have to become licensed, take classes, or gain accreditation.

If you’re breathing, you can coach.

The beauty of this is the fact that it’s utterly democratic, wide-open, and a veritable gold rush, for some, who can convince clients of their helpfulness.

The downside is obvious. Many coaches aren’t effective; they’re confusing the market, and diminishing the credibility of better practitioners.

The key question to ask, if you’re considering the services of a coach, is this:

“How have you earned the right to coach me?”

If they can’t cite appropriate experience and credentials, forget them.

If they say, “I’m a great listener, and it’s lonely at the top, so you can talk to me,” consider getting a cat or dog, instead.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

2) Listen with the willingness to be swayed to the other person’s opinion. No obligation to actually being swayed, but stay open to the option.

3) Listen without thinking about what you will say next. Take time before you respond.

4) Do not be invested in being right. Being right is not the point. If you must be right, you are not able to listen nor communicate because you have set up a barrier already. If you are always right that means the other person is always wrong. That cannot be true.

5) If your mind wanders, ask for repetition. We all are subject to distraction. Try to stay focused.

6) In all cases repeat back what you heard and ask if it is correct.

7) Listen to yourself. Find quiet moments and pay attention to what you are hearing from yourself. Does your body tighten up about certain issues. Body language is not something to read only in other people.

Say it honestly, but with consideration for the listener’s feelings. Be polite, respectful and sincere.

9) Understand and acknowledge that most things are not black or white, but somewhere in a gray area. Get comfortable with gray.

10) Have integrity and build trust. Don’t say what you don’t mean. Don’t promise what you won’t or can’t fulfill. Follow through with any committments you make.

Good listening skills take practice. Specific coaching may be necessary if you find you have communication issues with your boss, colleagues, subordinates, partners or personal relationships.

About The Author

Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners and teaches teleclasses on techniques to break through barriers to the next level. Dr. Lehavi offers a complimentary coaching session so you can experience how coaching can work for you. Contact Dr. Lehavi at DL@CoachingforYourNextLevel.com or on the web at http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com Subscribe to Mastering Your Next Level monthly e-newsletter at http://www.coachingforyournextlevel.com/newsletter.html

My dad gave me a whole dollar to spend.

At the store I found a Frankenstein model that I really really wanted. The problem was the model was 88 cents, I had a dollar and I didn’t want to waste the 12 cents difference.

Fortunately for me, Mike’s Mom explained that if I took the model to the check-out counter and gave the lady the dollar, she would give me 12 cents back.

I thought this was a pretty cool way to run things so I bought the model.

The model is long gone, but the lesson is not.

Once someone explained the concept of change to me, a new part of the world opened for me.

In my work with helping people to get the changes they want and need in their lives, I find that most clients do not understand the concept of change. Once people see how easy change can be, they get excited, begin to believe they really can change, and a whole new world opens up to them.

One of the most common places people get confused about change is the false notion that in order to change you have to make big, huge, and difficult changes for it to make a difference.

That’s just not true. A small change, the right small change, can bring big results.

For example, a plane flying from Atlanta to Hawaii could be off course by only one degree at the start and wind up in Australia.

Applied to our own lives, just one small correction in our course can make all the difference.

I know of a man who was very out of shape who decided to start running. The first day, he made one small change in his day. He ran from the mail box in front of his house to the mail box of the house next door and back. By adding one more mail box to each of his runs, he was able to run a marathon within the year.

Small change, big results.

Let’s take an example from one of my coaching clients. This person really wanted to start a savings plan but believed he did not have enough money to begin.

Experience tells me if you look in the right places, you can usually find a little bit of money.

We discovered that he was spending at least $2 a day on a soda and a candy bar on the way to work each morning.

That small amount of pocket change adds up to $10 a week, approximately $43 a month, which is more than $500 a year.

Put that small $2 a day into the right interest bearing places, and you are well on your way to a healthy savings plan, all based on the small change in a pocket.

Small change, big results.

So let’s put some hands and feet on this, and apply these notions in your own life.

Choose something you have been wanting to change - just one small thing to do differently. Give up caffeine, walk around the block each night, go to bed an hour earlier, listen to your kids, smile at your spouse, etc. All of these are small changes that can lead to big results.

Here’s my challenge:

test this out and see if what I am saying makes practical sense.

For the next week, choose just one small thing to do differently and commit to it.

At the end of the week, check out the results.

I’m willing to bet you’ll be surprised and motivated to move on to some more changes. Then you are on your way.

It may even open up a whole new world of

small changes, big results.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

They are happier and enjoy greater fulfillment in life than those who are desperation-driven. If you just check the help-wanted section of your newspaper, these types of people are always in demand. To be most effective, inspiration needs to be internalized. Motivation becomes long-term when the goal taps into inner drive and emotion. The key to finding success is being emotionally motivated with a purpose.

I have given success-oriented psychology and persuasion boot camps all over the country and I’ve met wonderful people at each one. People frequently come up to me afterward and tell me enthusiastically how they’re ready to take action and make changes in their lives. They seem so fired up that you could light a match with their energy. After talking to them, I feel convinced that nothing will stand in their way. But then an interesting thing happens. When I follow up a few weeks later, nothing has really changed for many of them. Their motivation seemed high, but just a brief passage of time found them totally unmotivated again. Several of these occasions made me begin to wonder why it is such a natural tendency that we lack the motivation to actually do the things we really want to do, even after we’ve made strong commitments to do them. Then I naturally began to wonder how one would take want and turn it into action. How could one become a Master Persuader and be able to motivate people to take action?

If you were to ask a group of people off the street if they want to be financially independent, to lose weight, or have better relationships, most everyone would say yes. But what are they doing about it? We know what we want, but what are we doing. Most of us start to generate sparks, but we just can’t seem to get the fire started. We want it, but we can’t motivate ourselves enough to actually do anything about it. Why? Because it involves work and energy and most of us don’t understand the science of motivation. We live in a world where we want everything now. We want a quick fix. We want instant gratification and quick results. Not only do we want instant gratification, but we also want it with minimal effort.

Gentle Motivation vs. Brutal Force - The First Step to Motivating Others

The first place to start mastering motivation is within you. If you can’t motivate yourself, how are you going to motivate others? As this chapter unfolds, you will learn ways to motivate those you are trying to persuade, but first you will learn how to apply these skills to yourself. Figure out what motivates you. You must first understand your own motives and desires before you can be motivated.

Motivation is based on the finding and fulfilling of unmet needs and wants. We all have universal human needs and wants that require being fulfilled in the same way. Of course, we all have different needs and wants as well. Two of the major keys to motivation are: knowing a person’s needs and wants. Then figure out how to fulfill them.

Many of us are familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. A renowned researcher and psychologist, Maslow proposed a “hierarchy of needs” demonstrating the human needs we are most motivated to satisfy. The base of the motivational order begins with the fundamentals of life. These fundamental, life-sustaining needs must be met before the higher needs can be targeted. When lower needs are not met, the higher needs are less urgent or persuaded.

•Self-actualization needs: realizing one’s own talents, gifts, and potential

•Ego needs: respect, status, and recognition

•Social needs: affection, companionship, and inclusion

•Safety needs: protection from physical harm

•Physiological needs: food, sleep, and safety

As the more basic needs are fulfilled, they lose their motivating power. We then have to work up the hierarchy and target needs in other areas. For example, if running water is something we take for granted then a glass of tap water is unlikely to spur us on to action. And conversely, if we can’t meet this month’s rent, then we most likely are not thinking too much about self-actualization. As Sigmund Freud said, “A man with a toothache cannot be in love.” To motivate, be sure you address the lowest unmet need in the hierarchy and then offer opportunities for those needs to be met.

Many think motivation is useless because it doesn’t ensure long-lasting results. This can be seen in what I call the Desperation Cycle. The Desperation Cycle shows how human nature influences us to take the easiest path instead of the best path. In persuasion, we need to pull people out of the Desperation Cycle and into permanent, long-term motivation. We all know we are creatures of habit. We are like water following the path of least resistance. As creatures of habit, we dwell in our comfort zones. This is a place where we don’t have to think or spend much energy analyzing our surroundings.

In this zone, we become complacent, comfortable, and resistant to change. We live by habit and routine. We don’t stretch or strive for excellence in the comfort zone. We consider change only when the pain of our current situation becomes too intense to ignore. Fear of the unknown and fear of making mistakes are also reasons why we stay in our comfort zone. We love our comfort zone because it is a safe place where we can reduce our mistakes and keep our failures to a minimum. Mark Twain said, “A cat that steps on a hot stove once will never step on a hot stove again but neither will it step on a cold one.” The comfort zone is safe and warm, but it keeps us paralyzed and unmotivated.

In the Desperation Cycle, we first feel safe in our comfort zone. Then fear even begins to creep in there. We realize we haven’t accomplished any of the things we need to do. Suddenly, we fear what we are becoming, where we are going. As we contemplate this destination, we panic and work frantically to save ourselves. This frantic rehabilitation lasts just long enough for us to see exactly how steep the hill is going to be, or how long the marathon really is, and then the excitement dies. We numb ourselves to these stark realizations and find ourselves lulled back into the comfort zone.

Reinforcement Theory suggests that people are motivated to avoid pain and seek pleasure. Bradac, Bowers, and Courtright asserted that the same is true when people are being persuaded. If a person agrees with a particular position, they will find it inspiring and will likely evaluate the source positively. If a person disagrees with a particular position, they will find it offensive and typically evaluate the source negatively.

Basically, there are only two things that motivate us in life: inspiration and desperation. We either move toward that which inspires us, or we move away from something that fills us with despair or discomfort. The majority of the world uses desperation as a motivator. It is like a cattle prod forcing you to move and take action. I can motivate anyone in the world with desperation. The problem is that motivation spurred by desperation does not last. Do you know any lazy teenagers? I promise you, I can motivate them - guaranteed. I’ll take them for a boat ride, and while I am in the middle of the lake, I’ll throw them off and hold their heads under the water. What will I see - besides bubbles? They’ll fight and struggle until they get that breath of air. Once they can breathe easily, they’re back to being lazy. When desperation is the motivator, people are in an “away from” mentality. This temporary motivation won’t last; it won’t reappear until threat or fear becomes prominent again. Desperation is rooted in logic. People are often so preoccupied with what they’re trying to escape that they don’t know where they’re heading.

Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report “10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands.” After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

3 questions that set you up for success (or failure)

1) Who do I call on?
2) What do I call on?
3) Why should I call them?

Here’s why:

1) Your average revenue per account is directly proportional to what companies you decide to call on.

2) The level of responsibility you call on directly affects your sales cycle and first appointment to proposal ratio.

3) And the reason you call on them directly influences your closing ratio.

Get the picture?

What this tells you is that you do have absolute control over your performance metrics.

However, you need to be able to clear on the “who”, the ‘what”, and the “why” to understand the most effective prospects to call on.

Your answers should relay:

Vertically by industry
Horizontally by title
and
Benefit-based by application.

2) Develop a ‘Targeted Selection Process’

Sales people without targeted prospects are like trees without leaves. Eventually, you wither and die!

Your target list is one of the most vital ingredients to begin your sales process. Getting targeted, prospecting data should be an ongoing project. It must be done prior to and independent from the act of communicating to set a first sales appointment.

Regardless of whose responsibility it is to accumulate this target list - (the sales person or the company) - it MUST be done ahead of time. Think of it as the preferred destination on your road map, and a necessary item to check off before you start your trip.

3) Understand & Identify your ‘Magic Number’

Your ‘Magic Number’ is the number of new appointments you need each week to assure your revenue goal is met each month. It’s a derivative of your sales cycle, average revenue per sale, 1st appointment to proposal ratio, closing ratio, and revenue goal.

It too is a dynamic number which is based on your individual competency ratios and performance numbers. So, it’s personal to you, and directly linked to your success.

Let me say that again.

You magic number is personal to you - and DIRECTLY affects your success.

By meeting or exceeding this activity number, you can routinely eliminate fluctuating sales results and virtually assure achieving your income goals.

4) Interpret your ‘Hourly Rate’

The lure of flexibility, the temptation of low supervision and the idea of freedom from a regimented time-clock makes professional selling a very attractive career choice for the dreamers, visionaries and idealists among us.

To borrow a quote from Phil Helmuth, two-time World Champion of Poker…”It’s the hardest way to make easy money there is.”

It’s true. We don’t punch a physical clock or necessarily have someone monitoring our time on the job. But we do have an internal clock of accountability.

It’s not accountability to our company per say, but to our desired results and to us.

It’s called our ‘Hourly Rate.’

You can calculate yours by dividing your income goal by 252, and again by 9.

Want to join the 100K Club?

You don’t need cumbersome time management courses to make the right choices in your daily routines if you are aware of what you are worth.

5) Block 90 minutes a day, for ‘Opportunity Creation’

If you want to leap over the heads of your colleagues - adopt this strategy:

Block off 90 minutes per day (Every day) to initiate contacts for new appointments.

You can slide it up and down during the week, but do not eliminate any blocks until you achieve your ‘magic number’ for the week. Consider this your weekly quota. Not in revenue, but in activity.

Use the 90-minute block for contacting targets, not figuring out what targets to call. Have your list ready and complete. Discipline yourself to daily routines to achieve weekly goals for assuring your monthly results.

6) Define & Measure a minimum
objective for the 1st appointment

Do you know what your objective is for your first appointment? What is it that you are trying to achieve? How are you measuring it?

Simply put…your objective should be to gain commitment to take the next step in the sales process.

This evaluation will lead you to a results oriented training process to improve your 1st appointment to proposal ratio. You should develop a ‘gateway’ definition and business rule to gauge how may times you achieve it. Then be sure to measure it and find a strategy to re-adjust your product or service.

7) Assemble a checklist of strategies & tactics between appointments in your sales cycle

Want to know the difference between a sales leader and a sales follower?

Just watch what they do during their “in between time”.

You may be shocked to know that the difference between excellence and mediocrity is what routines and processes a person puts in place between appointments, not just during appointments.

Use these tips from the X2 system to help you develop good habits between appointments.

1. Will you have all the decision-makers present for
the ‘closing ‘appointment?
2. If not, what can be done to get them involved?
3. Is there a perception of risk because of brand identity?
4. Fax over any pertinent industry articles and testimonial
letters from businesses similar to theirs.
5. Do they think you are expensive? Develop a ROI model
exclusive to their business.

And on it goes.

Meet with your team to brainstorm around each scenario that happens in the sequence of appointments, and develop Powerful Routines to raise your closing ratio and quicken your sales cycle.

Integrate ‘Customer Creation’ programs

The secret of being a “master of cold-calling” is NOT actually having to do it - Jeff Hardesty

If you’ve been in your sales position for more than 4 months and you’re still relying on cold-calling 100% of the time, you’re working way too hard.

The key to efficiency is to work smart, not hard….here are a few ways to leverage your success.

Set up a process of routinely asking for referrals at the end of your sales process, (win or lose).

Join or start a lead group.

Develop your own referral program.

Identify clients with customers that you can help.

Contact businesses that have services that compliment yours, and educate them to your collaboration program.
Use these ‘Customer Creation’ models and reap the rewards of a true entrepreneur.

Remember…the key is to LEVERAGE every available resource you have.

9) Pro-actively Procure Testimonial Letters

One of the most powerful ‘grass roots’ marketing tools is scenario-based testimonial letters. Set up a process in your daily routine to let loose when you hear opportunities for testimonials. They are abundant, and can be born out of both good and bad scenarios.

In fact, a ‘bump-in-the-road’ letter is 5 times more powerful than the standard ‘Golly-gee, you’re great!’ letter because it shows that someone had a problem and you fixed it.

Everyone knows stuff happens. So when you solve problems for people - get a letter. Strive to secure a testimonial letter from each of your customers or inquire about what you must do to get one. If you will do this, you will build an arsenal of “trust building” “customer getting” and “sales closing” tools that will be more valuable to you than gold.

10) Train for a High
‘Conversation to Appointment’ Ratio

Most sales organizations die a slow death from not setting enough “new” appointments on a routine basis. That’s because the average conversation to appointment ratio is between 5-18%.

Therefore, the most important competency to “train to” and “ratio to measure” in sales is converting conversations to appointments.

With the myriad of potential roadblocks in your way such as voice mail, gate keepers, and busy schedules…it’s hard enough to just get a conversation with your prospect.

So you must dedicate some training time to this core competency. Then you can improve your conversion ratio and you will need fewer conversations to achieve the necessary number of new appointments. Less hits, more appointments.

Less time, more commission.

Jeff Hardesty is President of JDH Group, Inc. and the Developer of the X2 Sales System®, a blended training system that teaches sales professionals the competency of setting C-level business appointments.
Jeff has been featured in numerous National publications such as Business First, Dartnell’s SELL!NG , Chief Learning Officer and Training Magazine with reference to Blended Learning Systems and improving sales teams Key Performance Indicators.

He travels the country conducting live X2 ‘Boot Camps’ and Train-the-trainer sessions helping sales organizations get more reps to Quota in less time, shorten new-hire ‘Ramp-to-Quota’ and eliminate Turnover costs due to low sales activity.
Jeff can be reached at jeff@convertmoresales.com.
To view a complimentary suite of sales training ROI calculators and determine your sales team’s Key Performance Indicators in line with your sales objectives visit http://convertmoresales.com/roi_calculators.php.

The average user doesn’t contemplate that the numerous
websites, free offers, giveaways or games they surf in a
day will damage their computer. And, nor does this average
surfer believe they could be downloading potentially
hazardous software that is going to cause their computer to
go on the blink, eternally.

The Internet is teeming with fantastic websites,
information, tools and interactive activities. Some of
these cost real money and some don’t. It’s easy to take a
freebie and feel like you got the better deal, but when a
lot of freebies come packaged with spyware to infect your
machine, the free price tag isn’t really worth it in the
long run.

Spyware is an umbrella term covering malware, adware,
viruses and worms. Virtually any type of software (benign
or malicious) will track, record and send your activities
(online and off) back to its source. Similarly, in the
beginning, adware was designed with the idea of preventing
end users from being besieged by unwanted advertisements.
However, those more interested in harvesting your personal
data, whether it is credit card numbers or other personal
information, have unfortunately warped the idea.

Prevention is the best remedy for all of these ills. Good
anti-virus software, effective firewalls and reputable
anti-spyware tools can save you time, money and a lot of
headaches later. Most users don’t think it can happen to
them, yet the best viruses and worms are so insidious, you
don’t even realize it is happening at first.

Benign programs that just want to know the type of items
for which you like to shop, can interfere with your
Internet connection, overwork your CPU and even tie up
valuable RAM. While it may not ‘mean’ harm, it will become
a nuisance when left unchecked.

With the numerous anti-spyware tools available on the
Internet and in your software stores, it doesn’t make sense
to stick your head in the sand. Ignoring problems on your
computer doesn’t make them go away. Because spyware can
come in so many forms and be potentially fatal, it doesn’t
make good sense to allow it the opportunity to inflict
damage before doing something about it.

Comparison-shop the various available anti-spyware tools.
There are many sites that cover current information on the
anti-spyware upgrades and latest problems. Educate
yourself to your options so that you can invest in the type
of software that will work for you.

Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest
discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest
removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily
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http://www.spyware-revealed.com