7 Keys to a Winning Sales Pitch

Getting your prospect to ask for the order is entirely determined by every conscious activity that goes on before the sale. According to Jay Abraham, renowned business and marketing expert, whether you are writing or speaking to a prospect in person or through your telemarketers, the symmetry of a winning “sales pitch” is always the same. For the message to produce a sale, Jay recommends you do each of these seven things:

§  Say something that gets the prospect’s attention.

§  Tell the reader/listener/viewer why he or she should be interested in what you have to say.

§  Tell them why they should believe that what you say is true.

§  Prove that it’s true.

§  List all the benefits of your product or service.

§  Tell the reader/listener/viewer how to order.

§  Ask them to order right away.

How To Boost YOUR Self-Esteem

The expression ‘Self-Esteem’ was first used by American psychologist and philosopher, William James, in 1890. He viewed self esteem as ‘one’s mental perception of (his) qualities, not physical features.

There are various definitions of self esteem, but in essence, it is the value we place on ourselves as individuals and in relation to others. Literally, your self esteem is the esteem in which you hold yourself

We can measure our self-esteem as confirmed by Maurice Rosenberg. If our self esteem is too low, it means we see ourselves as less valuable than those around us.

So we are encouraged to improve our self-esteem in order to become more confident, happier, and better able to lead a full and rewarding life.

If our self-esteem is too high, we are probably suffering from ‘unearned’ esteem, and see ourselves as better than those around us. This has been associated with bullying, violence and aggression to others.

Our goal is to achieve the right level of self-esteem that is not dependent on individual events or achievement. A balanced and healthy level of self-esteem is one that shows respect for ourselves and respect for others.

A good and healthy level of self esteem will enable us to:

·        maintain calm, rational thought processes and behavior.

·        cope with disappointments and criticisms;

·        attempt new challenges;

·        seek out new relationships,

·        avoid defensive, aggressive, bombastic or nervous tendencies;

·        work towards our futures with a level of confidence and belief in our abilities.

So in order to achieve the benefits of a healthy level of self-esteem, the following ways could prove very helpful:

ü Use positive affirmations or self-talk about who you are and what you can do. For example, say ‘I’m rich’, ‘I’m healthy’, ‘I’m blessed and a blessing’, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’, ‘I have an ageless body’, ‘I have a timeless mind’, ‘I’m making a lot of money’, etc.

ü Feed your body with hygienically rich foods. Feed your mind with inspirational and motivational materials. Feed your spirit with the Word of God.

ü Drink lot of water to keep your body alive.

ü Exercise: Take a walk. Swim if you can. Jog some miles. Stretch at the gym or anywhere else, even your bathroom. etc

ü Smile! Even when you do not feel like it. Smile to yourself. Smile when you come in contact with others. And watch your self-esteem grow!

ü When attending in a group event or meeting, try to stand or sit in front.  

ü Nurture an attitude of gratitude. A good habit for your self-esteem is to be grateful for at least one thing every day. Be grateful you can breathe. Be grateful for every part of your body. Be grateful you have a strong God. Gratitude is the secret to receiving more out of life. Being grateful means that every day is your birthday!

ü Dress purposely! Boost your confidence as you wear your clothes every day. A neat appearance can literally make our day!

How to Make A Practically Successful Deal

Deal-making is an important part of everyday life, wherever we are, or whatever we do. In business, the ability to turn a good deal into a great deal can add a lot to your self-esteem and personal achievement, not to mention your financial power.  But deal-making is an art and can be learned.

Below are some timeless rules in deal-making that successful deal-makers have known, as recommended by Jay Abraham:

Rule 1: Put your payment obligations at the end of the deal, not at the front. Tell your negotiating partner that you’ll pay any risk you have within 15, or 30, or even 60 days after the deal is done and the results are known. By doing this, you’ll preserve huge amounts of your own cash, and you’ll be able to work on the other company’s money for months – if not longer.

Rule 2: If a deal is risky, structure it so that you won’t have to commit too much money in the early stages

Rule 3: Start the negotiations by offering less than you’re willing to give. You won’t know how much negotiating power you’re leaving on the table, or giving away, until you try this approach. Too many business people go out with their best offer first, and have no negotiating leverage left, except to eat further into their already meager profit.

Rule 4: Always ask for joint tenancy of all the customer lists or buyer prospect names resulting from any customer “list” deals that you do. Those names are worth a lot of money. You can sell your partner the right to forego your right in using the names if they turn out to be valuable, but you can’t get the right to the names after the fact.

Rule 5: Add the right to assign your interest to others in any deal you negotiate. That way, you can sell your rights off, lease them, or finance and trade them to somebody for a cash lump sum – or for some of their assets.

Rule 6: If the negotiations involve a highly original idea of your own, get your partner to acknowledge your proprietary interest in the concept in a letter of agreement, or contract, before you start dealing. If you wait until later, after the fact, it might be impossible to get that concession.

Rule 7: Don’t start the deal until a “contract of agreement” is fully discussed and signed. Don’t start, don’t reveal too much, don’t make your assets available, don’t make your operation open to the other party until you have an irrevocable, binding and fully stated agreement. Take my word for it, you will regret it if you don’t.

Rule 8: Always reserve the right to audit the other fellow while the deal is in place.

Rule 9: If you lack talent in negotiating, bring in someone who has that talent, but will wield it for you in a non-bullying way. (Don’t use a lawyer, but pay the person who does assist you a percentage of the deal if that’s what it takes to motivate them.)

How To Determine The Marginal Net Worth Of A Customer

According to Jay Abraham, the concept of marginal net worth is the total aggregate profit of an average customer over the lifetime of his/her patronage – including all residual sales – less all advertising, marketing, and product or service fulfillment expenses.

Let’s assume the average new customer coming in your front door brings you an average profit of $75 on the first sale. He/she repurchases three more times a year, with an average reorder amount of $300, and on each $300 reorder you make $150 gross profit.

Now, with the average patronage life lasting two years, every new customer is worth $975.

I arrived at the $975 by adding the $75 initial profit to the three additional purchases per year (at $150 profit per purchase) times the two years they remain a customer.

So here are the steps to follow to calculate your marginal net worth:

Step 1: Calculate your average sale and your average profit per sale.

Step 2: Compute how much additional profit a customer is worth to you by determining how many times he or she comes back. Be conservative.

Step 3: Compute precisely what a customer costs by dividing your marketing budget by the number of customers it produces.

Step 4: Compute the cost of a prospect the same way.

Step 5: Compute how many sales you get for so many prospects (that’s the percentage of prospects who become customers).

Step 6: Compute the marginal net worth of a customer by subtracting the cost to produce (or convert) a customer from the profit you expect to earn from a customer over the lifetime of patronage.