Poor time management? Lack of prospecting efforts? You are just seven days away from ridding your self of some bad sales habits. For more, watch this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Join our roundtable discussion on Nurturing Leads

Monday, May 20, 2013
12pm Eastern • 11am Central • 10am Mountain • 9am Pacific

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now
Click Here to Register

PagePath Technologies, in partnership with Synergy Solutions, announces the next in the series of roundtable discussions centering on many of the challenges related specifically to the printing industry.

Attendees will be able to discuss issues live with their peers, and to talk about challenges as well as solutions. Sessions will be monthly and only last a 1/2 hour. This next session will discuss challenges with nurturing sales leads. Future sessions will include:

• Customer Service/Retention
• New Development/Technology
• Social and Integrated Marketing Plans

Moderators will include

• Joe Kern, VP of Marketing, PagePath Technologies, Inc.
• Mark Boersma, President, Synergy Solutions
• Melissa Sienicki, VP of Pre-Sales, PagePath Technologies, Inc.

Registration is free and open to any print professional.

PLEASE COME PREPARED TO SHARE, DISCUSS AND HELP!

The fundamentals of sales never change. What worked well yesterday works well today. But what worked well back then? Find out in this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Improve your efficiency and productivity by watching this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Click the play button below to listen to the latest tip

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes – you get what you need.”

So it goes with print sales. We won’t always get a callback, make the appointment, meet a decision maker or land an order. But we can get what we need more often – if we try changing the questions we ask, and how we ask them.

One reason many print salespeople fail to reach their sales goals is they don’t ask outright for what they want – or they ask indirectly by beating around the bush.

Here are the kind of direct questions print salespeople ought to ask that can turbo-charge the sales process and help them reach their sales goals.

1. What do you like?

Back in Sales 101 you were probably taught to uncover the pain issues – find out what’s wrong, what the buyer is displeased with, and what she doesn’t like about the current situation.
There’s another question to ask before you pull out the scalpel and start probing: “What is it you like about the printer you’re using now?” That might seem like shooting yourself in the foot. After all, you’re giving the prospect a chance boast about the situation he’s in.

But it can pay off for two good reasons:

• It reveals what you must include – at a minimum – in the solution you plan to propose.
• You build rapport by allowing your prospect to discuss those aspects of the current solution or supplier that support his previous decision.

2. Can you afford this?

Have you been coached not to bring up money early on in the sales process? Many of us have. As children, some of us were taught that it’s impolite to talk about money. Still others have a “money ceiling,” where talking about dollars above a certain amount is uncomfortable.

Bunk. You shouldn’t be wasting time speaking with any buyer who can’t or won’t pay what your solution costs. So find out early on if you’re on the same wavelength. The sooner, the better.
That way you can move on, if need be.

After you’ve outlined the primary benefits, simply ask, “Here’s about what this costs. Should we proceed further?”

3. What’s the real issue?

Too often the knee-jerk response to an objection is a direct frontal assault. But it’s far better to acknowledge the prospect’s concern, and then pose a question that uncovers any deeper issue.

Example: The prospect says, “Your turnaround time on orders is 72 hours, but the others I’m talking to guarantee 48.” (Let’s say most customers you’ve been doing business with are fine with three-day turnaround.)

A good response would be, “Yes, that’s true. Help me understand what the consequences of faster turnaround would be for you?”

The prospect’s answer will reveal how big an issue it really is. An alternative is to ask something like, “May I ask why 48-hour turnaround is so important to you?”

4. How does that sound?

Something easy to forget is the value of “trial close” questions. We’re not talking about tacky manipulations like “Would you want that in red or green?” What we mean are questions used to gauge how your sales call or formal presentation is coming along.

Examples: After discussing a project or solution, you might ask, “Does that match what you had in mind?”

The answers point you in the right direction. They act like lane markers on the highway. Without them, it’s easy to drift off course – or, even worse, miss the exit ramp (that is, sell past the close).

Make sure your trial close questions are closed-ended, so they can be answered with a nod of the head – or one word. If the prospect hesitates or says more, that’s your clue to revisit the issue and probe further.

5. When can we start?

When you want a buyer to commit to something, you need to ask outright. Maybe it’s reviewing your proposal by a certain date, or scheduling a conference with the CFO – or deciding to buy.

Examples: “So we’ve agreed that you’re going to e-mail your team today and arrange a time and date for a follow-up meeting, right?” or “You’ll link me with the CFO by Friday of this week, yes?”

Of course the A-Plus commitment question simply asks for the order: “Are we ready to move ahead?” or “Can we start working together on this?” or “Let’s get going, yes?”
It may seem obvious, but way too many salespeople don’t actually ask for the order in a direct way.
That’s like taking the ball down field and stopping at the five-yard line. You only get points for scoring.

Source: From a posting by Craig James. To learn more visit http://www.sales-solutions.biz

For every dollar spent on print another $20 is spent using it. Find out how to use this fact to gain more appointments and more sales in this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

PagePath Technologies, Inc., makers of MyOrderDesk Web-to-Print,  in partnership with Synergy Solutions, recently held a 1/2 hour roundtable Webinar on Sales Challenges in the Printing Industry. There were many attendees, and the conversation was very beneficial to all participants. Below are the challenges that were discussed.

• How do you connect with the person who makes the decisions?
• What is the best way to find/generate leads?
• What are the best strategies you have used for cultivating leads?
• What are the best tactics for getting past gatekeepers to the right person

Are you experiencing any of these challenges? Please comment below and share your challenges as well as any suggested solutions.

Among the many distractions known as Social Media lies a useful tool for salespeople. Learn how to benefit from LinkedIn in this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

It’s time to grab a broom and a bottle of Windex and get your selling efforts ready for a spring push. Ideas for clearing out the cobwebs can be found in this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Though you could do a lot of complicated and expensive things to boost morale, your best buy could be on-the-premises food. Breakfast rolls or bagels are a surprise your people will enjoy.
According to Inc. magazine, Seamless, a company that specializes in making it possible for your company to order lunch, has a new survey out that demonstrates that the way to an employee’s heart is through the stomach.

While 78 percent of employees reported providing food for meetings with clients, companies aren’t providing that same level of service for their internal meetings. And while it’s important to keep clients, it’s also important to keep (and attract) good employees.

• 60 percent of the 1100 people surveyed said that having food at the office would make them feel more “valued and appreciated.”
• 45 percent said that the availability of free lunch would strongly influence their decision to accept a job offer.
• 60 percent said company meals encouraged them to eat with fellow workers, which could mean you’ll actually get more work from them, since business can be discussed over lunch.
• 41 percent felt that the best corporate gift was food.
• 40 percent said that having food in the office reduces stress.

Join us for a Webinar on April 22 at 11am CentralPagePath Technologies, in partnership with Synergy Solutions, announces the next in the series of roundtable discussions centering on many of the challenges related specifically to the printing industry.

Attendees will be able to discuss issues live with their peers, and to talk about challenges as well as solutions. Sessions will be monthly and only last a 1/2 hour. This next session will discuss challenges in sales within your printing company. Future sessions will include:

• Lead Nurturing
• Customer Service/Retention
• New Development/Technology

Moderators will include

• Joe Kern, VP of Marketing, PagePath Technologies, Inc.
• Mark Boersma, President, Synergy Solutions
• Melissa Sienicki, VP of Pre-Sales, PagePath Technologies, Inc.

Registration is free and open to any print professional.
PLEASE COME PREPARED TO SHARE, DISCUSS AND HELP!

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Which Pooh character are you and what can the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood teach us about sales? Bill and Kelly have some fun in this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

• The autocratic style. Also called the directive style, it calls for telling people what to do and expecting them to do it immediately. Usually, it works well with a new employee who has no experience in your field and needs a lot of direction.
• The participative style. It includes input from others and working with them in decision making and problem solving. It gives you an opportunity to judge how well they are developing.
• The hands-off style. It provides employees with the opportunity to determine a process and to affect the outcome. It works especially well with seasoned salespeople who take initiative. You will want to avoid second-guessing, which can harm the salesperson’s performance.
• The individualized style. You decide how much direction an individual needs in a certain situation and how much of your leadership is required.

An experienced person may not need much direction. But when circumstances call for it, you need to lay it on the line to solve a problem. Most bosses and managers can determine what type of leadership should be used in each situation and with each individual.

The tricky part is choosing the right style for the right person under the right circumstances. Post your leadership style in the comments below and let us know how that works for you.

The next three months will determine the extent and existence of your summer slowdown. Learn what to do to stay busy in the heat by watching this week’s Short Attention Span Webinar, sponsored by www.thesaleschallenge.com

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

PagePath Technologies, Inc., makers of MyOrderDesk Web-to-Print,  in partnership with Synergy Solutions, recently held a 1/2 hour roundtable Webinar on Marketing Challenges in the Printing Industry. There were many attendees, and the conversation was very beneficial to all participants. Below are some of the challenges that registrants said they were facing.

• How to market effectively to new/existing customers
• Lack of resource to help implement our self-promotion marketing plan
• Getting to the decision maker
• Getting prospects to communicate
• Where to put advertising dollars and how to get the most ROI
• Coming up with a marketing plan that works
• Tracking return on investment & improving conversion rate.

Are you experiencing any of these challenges? Please comment below and share your challenges as well as any suggested solutions.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

PagePath Technologies, in partnership with Synergy Solutions, announces the beginning of a series of roundtable discussions centering on many of the challenges related specifically to the printing industry.

Attendees will be able to discuss issues live with their peers, and to talk about challenges as well as solutions. Sessions will be monthly and only last a 1/2 hour. The first session will discuss challenges in marketing yourself as a printing company. Future sessions will include:

• Lead Nurturing
• Sales
• Customer Service/Retention
• New Development/Technology

Panelists will include

• Joe Kern, VP of Marketing, PagePath Technologies, Inc.
• Mark Boersma, President, Synergy Solutions
• Greg Witek, CEO, PagePath Technologies, Inc.
• Melissa Sienicki, VP of Pre-Sales, PagePath Technologies, Inc.

Registration is free and open to any print professional.
PLEASE COME PREPARED TO SHARE, DISCUSS AND HELP!

Title:    Printing Roundtable on Marketing Challenges
Date:    Monday, March 18, 2013
Time:    11:00 AM – 11:30 AM CDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

The same tactic can work in your shop to increase productivity and efficiency. More than half of human resources managers say showing appreciation for workers cuts turnover. And 49 percent believe it increases profit, according to a study of 815 managers by the Society of Human Resource Managers.

Some owners think thanking employees will encourage them to ask for a raise. They would rather just find faults because they think it feels more like being in charge.

Others really aren’t grateful to their colleagues and workers, an attitude that can turn an entire company into a no-gratitude zone. One management consultant says that if the boss never says thanks, a culture that emphasizes the negative can develop, one where people sit around and complain.

The workplace ranks dead last among places where people express gratitude. Only 10 percent say thanks to a fellow worker every day, and just 7 percent thank their boss.

Of course, thanking people takes a certain amount of skill. If the owner just goes around thanking everybody, it becomes meaningless. The appreciation has to be shown individually and sincerely for work well done.

How do you show appreciation in your shop?

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Spock:

McCoy: Logic? My God, the man’s talking about logic; we’re talking about universal Armageddon! You green-blooded, inhuman…
- Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

So in the modern corporate culture of emotion, which is the best commander: the dispassionate Spock or the angry Dr. McCoy?

According to author Anne Kreamer, the “dominant management paradigm is to eliminate emotions at work.”
So Spock then? Well, not so fast.

A 2007 study suggested the angry doctor would be perceived as the best hire, but only if the doctor is a man and only if he gets angry and never cries. An angry woman would be perceived as out of control or an angry person while a man’s anger would be seen as justifiable.

Management scholar Blake Ashforth once wrote that it’s fiction that organizations are “cool arenas of dispassionate thought.” Kreamer agrees, saying the truth is that “in the workplace, we are bombarded with emotions, our own and everyone else’s.”

In her book, It’s Always Personal, Kreamer’s research found that the most common emotion in the workplace was frustration. Kreamer found that frustration and anger are the culprits behind another, somewhat taboo emotional expression: crying. When people cry at work it is most often related to frustration and anger, not sadness.

But if anger is the often the cause of crying, for women, crying usually is not the cure. Although crying should biologically produce some feeling of catharsis, women who cried at work feel worse. “…as if they failed a feminism test,” Kreamer wrote in Time.

Not only were women tough on themselves for crying, they were hard on others, too. In Kreamer’s study, 43 percent of women thought people who cry in the workplace were ‘unstable.’ And 32 percent of men agreed.
Kreamer concludes “For the moment, there is simply no socially appropriate way for women to express legitimate anger in the workplace.”

On the plus side, in Kreamer’s study, 69 percent of respondents felt that when someone gets emotional in the workplace, it makes the person seem more human. Further, 88 percent of all workers felt that being sensitive to others’ emotions is an asset.

Do you see emotions running high in your print shop? How do you best address this issue?

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

This certification acknowledges Sienicki & Kern’s proficiency in inbound marketing principles and best practices. These principles include: blogging, search engine optimization, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

Sienicki & Kern join an elite group of Inbound Marketing Certified Professionals. Over 2,000 individuals have successfully passed the IMU program.

To complete the Inbound Marketing Certification, Sienicki & Kern completed 18 in-depth classes covering each facet of inbound marketing and passed a comprehensive certification exam. (View the full list of classes: http://inboundmarketing.com/university)

The courses are taught by a knowledgeable faculty of professors, including New York Times’ best-selling author Chris Brogan, Google’s Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik, Internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and international speaker David Meerman Scott, and more. (View all professors: http://www.inboundmarketing.com/university/professors)

This certification is administered by HubSpot.

About InboundMarketing.com
InboundMarketing.com is an online community and certification program for marketers. The site’s content teaches a new style of marketing that emphasizes business uses of social media, content creation and search engine optimization for marketing. InboundMarketing.com is hosted and moderated by HubSpot, Inc.

About PagePath Technologies
PagePath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. The firm pioneered the use of the Internet to place orders and transmit documents with an easy to use “point & click” system in 1996. MyOrderDesk was twice named “Product of the Year” by PrintImage International & “Best of Breed” by Xerox. PagePath is an industry leader in Web-to-Print portals.

More information on PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is available at http://www.PagePath.com, or by calling 866-770-7561.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)

Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath Technologies, Inc. Is a leader in Web-to-Print storefronts.

Joe Kern from PagePath Technologies presents techniques on developing an effective lead nurturing system for print sales. Joe is the Vice President of Marketing for PagePath Technologies, Inc. PagePath is a leading Web-to-Print software provider.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by
Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)
Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background
with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

PagePath’s vision is being committed to client profitability by helping each client – one-at-a-time – become the most productive and profitable printer in their market.  We accomplish this by being a strategic partner with each client and through the delivery of specific tools, techniques, and resources.

To support this vision, we are beginning a series of Webinars designed to assist printers in developing strategies that will help increase sales and profitability. The first Webinar is this Friday, Feb 22 at 11am Central Time. Registration is limited so please reserve your seat today.

One of the greatest challenges that printers are currently facing is the lack of solid new sales. Statistics show that sales often stall when companies do not have a reliable lead nurturing system in place. Joe Kern, Vice President of Marketing, and Melissa Sienicki, Vice President of Pre-Sales at PagePath Technologies, will teach printers how to develop a structured lead nurturing plan, as well as how to set goals to implement that plan. Both Joe and Melissa are Certified Inbound Marketers, and their knowledge, combined with years of print industry experience, offer a unique value to this session.

Title:    Increasing Print Sales with a Solid Lead Nurturing System
Date:    Friday, February 22, 2013
Time:    11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

The Short Attention Span Webinars are developed and delivered by
Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net) and sponsored by (PagePath Technologies, Inc.)
Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background
with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

• My Jobs page has been made responsive to display more effectively on smartphones and tablets.
• Email subscriptions from MyOrderDesk can be managed.
  • Choose the typese of alerts you’d like to receive!
  • My Account -> Site Settings -> Subscriptions

• Allow disabling of order forms.
• Display mapping order form quantity field in cart, checkout and job pages.
• Added cart total & quantity to View Items area on orders page.
• The new JobForms has an import field feature.
• The new JobForms has a font color option in the HTML editor.
• New carts are now named by person ordering, not “New Cart”
• “Save All” should work better with forms with many DocMart items

Plano, IL January 14, 2013: PagePath Technologies announced today the release of its new Formbuilder, as well as other key user interface enhancements, to its award-wining Web-to-Print storefront MyOrderDesk.

PagePath recently released major upgrades to the Formbuilder portion of MyOrderDesk, along with other significant features to the already-powerful MyOrderDesk suite. “Listening to our customers and building a set of tools that would help make them more productive were the keys to our latest effort,” stated Melissa Sienicki, Vice President of Customer Service. “The new release gives our clients an optimized interface for creating order forms. It also adds some pretty great graphic tools to improve the look and functionality of the forms for their customers.”

Some of the key features include a searchable order form list, a major interface enhancement to the Formbuilder, new HTML layouts and sidebars for end users, new web font integration, and much more. A complete release note list can be found at www.pagepath.com/ReleaseNotes. If you have additional questions about MyOrderDesk, email info@pagepath.com or call us at 866-770-7561.

About MyOrderDesk
PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is a Cloud Based solution that combines Web-to-Print, automated proofing, automated pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.

With MyOrderDesk, a print shop can provide its customers with time savings and convenient 24×7 ordering while the print shop enjoys increased production efficiency, reduced turnaround times, and increased profitability. A demonstration site of MyOrderDesk’s capabilities is available at http://www.PrintVia.com

About PagePath Technologies
PagePath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. The firm pioneered the use of the Internet to place orders and transmit documents with an easy to use “point & click” system in 1996. MyOrderDesk was twice named “Product of the Year” by PrintImage International & “Best of Breed” by Xerox.

More information on PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is available at http://www.PagePath.com, or by calling 866-770-7561.

So there you are, with phone in hand, calling potential customers.

The theme from Indiana Jones starts playing as you dodge assistants, voice mails, Caller ID, people hanging up on you, people telling you “not interested” without ever hearing what you do and then . . .

You actually get through to someone!

They listen to what you have to say and you actually have a dialogue. Things are looking good, there’s some degree of interest but for whatever reason, you still don’t get the appointment.

Bummer. Right?

And now the really lousy part . . . (click below to read Paul’s post.

http://ow.ly/gvNV1

Happy holidays to you all and to my fellow Christians, Merry Christmas. In addition, as this sales tip will span over two weeks, happy new year! I will be back with fresh material on January 7, 2013.

These next two weeks off for you an interesting opportunity. I mentioned it on the Monday of Thanksgiving and I want to reiterate my point.

Selling and Marketing Digital and Variable eWorkshop—Starts January 8, 2013

Improve your Time Management—Starts January 8, 2013

Given that both Christmas and New Year’s are on Tuesdays, that makes for two short weeks. However, they are not too useless weeks. Sure, I fully expect them to be quieter than normal however that does not automatically mean that no one is buying anything and it certainly doesn’t mean that you should stop trying to make appointments during this time.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week and next offering you the chance to spend your day on tasks that you normally would not get to during a full selling week. What should you do this week? How about improving your sales efficiency? Perhaps you could get together a list of large accounts to call on and do the subsequent research that I talk about in these tips and my Short Attention Span Webinars. Could you learn more about the various software programs that you use?

I am certain that if you think about it you will come up with several different ways to use this time so that when things get busy again you are more efficient and effective.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from me and my daughters to you and your family!

Take The Sales Challenge—begins January 9, 2013

Learn Where to Look For Prospects—begins January 9, 2013

Would you change some of your decisions?
Would you under bid that big job you lost just to get it?

What if you could have a system in place the would build a fence around your customers and increase access to new prospects and projects?

Doctor Who is a long-running British TV series that is currently invading the United States. In the show, the Doctor travels through time protecting and saving the people of the planet Earth.

At PagePath Technologies, we tend to think of ourselves in a similar light. We want to save and protect your business. We do this by living up to our vision statement of “Helping each client – one-at-a-time – become the most productive and profitable printer in their market.”

So, Allons-y! Let us begin to help you with your biggest challenges today. Click here to complete the form and someone from PagePath will contact you. You will also receive a free Business Grid download upon completing the form.

Although doing their jobs, employees seem to lack a passion for the business.

Quoted in INC.com, from his new book Stand in the HEAT, Glenn Carver gives some worthwhile suggestions.

1. Hire for the fire. Look for enthusiasm and desire. Passion is something employees must bring with them. You can rarely create it.
2. Recognize initiative in employees you already have. Initiative and risk-taking isn’t always rewarded in corporate culture. Employees often think that initiative is breaking the rules and is a negative. But to have an entrepreneurial culture, initiative, even small initiative has to be rewarded.
   Remember that negative comments will decrease people’s willingness to take a risk. But you can create a culture of initiative, self-reliance and independence with a regular diet of praise and recognition.
3. Talk about profit and success. People don’t really understand how companies make money. Teach your employees about how the choices they make contribute to the cost of the product. Teach them about how profit runs a company and how it creates a future for each of them.
4. Even a basic understanding about how the company works will help your people see how their own decisions are investment choices.

If you are an entrepreneur or thinking about how to become one, Stand in the HEAT has some great advice.

Traditions are observed. Everyone is eager to kick back, laugh, catch up on what everyone is doing and comment on how the kids have grown. TVs are turned on early in the morning to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Football games are available for the rest of the day. This year, the networks give fans an NFL triple-header; no station switching necessary.

Local stations may broadcast Turkey Bowls, high school games held on Thanksgiving or the day before; every state has them and thousands are in attendance. Many gatherings hold their own backyard games, and rivalries enhance the fun.

The need to connect with loved ones and to express gratitude is at the heart of this day of feasting. It may be over a dining room tablescape of china, crystal, candles and a filled cornucopia and attendance at a church service. The day may include staging of a deep-fried turkey barbecue in the backyard. Fancier arrangements may include turducken (chicken and duck stuffed into turkey) or, for vegetarians, tofo turkey.

Not a cook? Enjoy a classic holiday menu at a local restaurant. Or pick up an already prepared turkey with all the side dishes offered by many grocery stores and restaurants.

Appreciation, the gift of time and the spirit of thankfulness all contribute to a great family day.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are sponsored by PagePath Technologies
developed and delivered by
Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net).
Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background
with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

The Short Attention Span Webinars are sponsored by PagePath Technologies
developed and delivered by
Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net).
Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background
with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

Forgive me for being blunt but here goes . . .

When was the last time you took the time to get better at your craft?

And just out of curiosity, why wouldn’t you take the time (if you aren’t already) to get better?

Read More…http://ow.ly/f7X4j

The Short Attention Span Webinars are sponsored by PagePath Technologies
developed and delivered by
Bill Farquharson (AspireFor.com) and Kelly Mallozzi (SuccessInPrint.net).
Both Bill and Kelly come from a print background
with nearly 50 years of combined sales experience.

Millions of people have been affected by the recent superstorm/hurricane that hit the Northeastern United States. PagePath Technologies would like to show our support and prayers to everyone that has been affected by this storm. We also encourage each of you to offer your support through thoughts, prayers and donations to the American Red Cross relief effort. Our resolve, fight and support will help us get through this together.

Donate to the American Red Cross. Click Here

But the deal is just coasting. How do you close it?

Here are some thoughts from the sales training firm Richardson:

• First, treat closing as a process. Depending on the product or service, it may come after one meeting or after a series of meetings and negotiations. Sometimes “closing” means moving to the next level.
• Set an appropriate closing objective for each meeting. It must be measurable, like getting a map of the company’s decision-making process or to write the order.
• Ask questions that clarify the situation and confirm that what you’re selling matches what the customer needs. Ask the customer if it sounds right to him or her. Ask what timeframe is needed for delivery.
• Seize the moment. If you have a productive dialog and you’re sure the customer is ready to buy, then ask. Just do it, say Richardson advisors quoted on Inc.com.
• Celebrate your effort. Whether you close or get shot down, remember that the only real failure is failure to try. Fill your days with victories, large and small, and you’ll have more confidence next time you are ready to close.