oiltemp.info

Direct marketing sales letters need not be written by a copywriter but they need to provide qualified sales leads. Well thought out sales letters are the key step to closing sales presentations consistently. See how following 3 steps can provide closing sales leads and a cost effective direct sales marketing campaign.

1. First determine what you want your direct marketing sales letters to achieve. Acknowledge that getting sales presentations must be proceeded by advertisement’s goal of convincing prospects to read your marketing sales letters. Quality closing sale leads help result in great sales presentations. Visualize your goals before you begin writing anything. Do you want to generate inquiries (leads)? Do you want to get immediate orders and attempt to bypass the lead sales process? What worthwhile action do you want prospective clients to take? How do you want them to respond? Put your visualized goal in bold writing, and tape it to the front side of your computer. Refer constantly to your goal, as you develop your message. Everything you write should directly support this ultimate goal of closing sales.

2. Estimate how much response you reasonably expect from your direct sales marketing. Not every person is going to respond to your sales letter offer. Just what response are you going to nail down? Is it going to be 1/2%, 1%, or an incredible 3%? Note that scrubbing your mailing to the right prospects only, dramatically shoots up the lead inquiry quality. Aim directly at your best targeted prospects first, as you are going for action and results. You would never imagine how many people respond to everything and do nothing.

3. Gauge how much your campaign to conquer closing sales will ultimately cost. Adding list acquisition cost + printing & mail preparation + postage + time will give your answer. Light that candle in your head, until you brightly realize that the cost of upgrading your contact list is worth every nickel spent. Don’t have your entire campaign go up in smoke shopping for the lowest cost prospect list. The postal service has linked first class postage directly into your mind. Shake in the reality that standard rate postage is a pure money saver not affecting sales lead response at all. Outlay on a postcard is cheapest, but cheap lowers response unless you can drive home your message effectively. An envelope only needs to contain a one sided letter with possibly a reply card. Often the “tri-fold” gives just enough space and options to trigger to enhance curiosity to open it and read the contents.

Use these direct sales marketing guidelines, before mailing letters to potential clients to increase leads and close sales.. If you miss your available opportunity to give sales closing presentations, it is a given fact that you will not be closing sales..

If you are like many of our participants, you’ll probably agree that your worst negotiating nightmare is not managing a commercial deal, but negotiating your own salary! Want to know why? We’ve canvassed the Scotwork Australia team to explore common traps in salary negotiations and to suggest some practical steps to help you get a better deal in your next performance and pay review.

1. Be professional in preparation

Your preparation for a performance or pay review should be as professional and thorough as it would be for a commercial deal. You would never be unprepared when negotiating a commercial deal, so why would you take that risk with your own salary? Common pitfalls include not properly scoping your negotiating power, failing to document and properly value your contributions, and approaching the deal pessimistically rather than optimistically. Avoid these mistakes by doing your homework! Research the market for your skill set and create a file of similar or related positions advertised in the classifieds and online, so you are aware of what’s on offer. Remember that negotiating skills do not change fundamental market forces, but are used to get the best available deal in those markets.

2. Be clear about what you want

Be optimistic, but realistic. Care is needed here – we don’t want to encourage you into any “career limiting moves”! A comprehensive, creative yet realistic wish list will enable you to sweeten the deal, get what you want and provide repackaging opportunities. Think back to the course. Do you remember our strategies for using the wish list? Trade on value rather than cost – what is that Scandinavian study tour worth to you in terms of career advancement?

3. Beware: you may have a fool as a client

You are representing yourself, so the emotional stakes are high, which can often have a dramatic impact on your negotiating skills. Try to remain emotionally detached or investigate using an agent to negotiate on your behalf. If you can’t afford an agent, or it is inappropriate to engage one, act as any professional agent would: become an expert in yourself. There is no substitute for hard research on the job market, the role and your (current or prospective) employer. However, you also need to accurately document your skills, achievements and potential contribution to the enterprise and clearly communicate these to your boss or your prospective employer. What skills and expertise do you bring to the table?

4. Blow your own trumpet…

…because nobody else will. While the meek may inherit the earth, they will have to do it on award conditions. There is a natural tendency to be modest about our achievements. This is terrific in an acceptance speech, but has no place in salary or performance negotiations. You are here because the organisation has recognised that you will make a contribution to its success. To that end, be prepared to negotiate remuneration and conditions that reflect the value of your skills in the marketplace and the potential contribution you can make to the business. One final piece of advice on blowing your own trumpet: play a song you know well. Avoid the temptation to over-promise and under-deliver!

5. Recognise your power – and its limits

Timing is critical. Never negotiate the terms of your contract after you have accepted a position or agreed to revised conditions, responsibilities and opportunities. Always negotiate before you step across the line. After the handshake, your power and influence are considerably diminished.

6. Know the rules

It is essential that you understand the organisation’s system for salary reviews. What are the constraints imposed on your manager? Are there financial limitations? What attributes of success are you being measured against? Is there a gap between your performance and skill set and those required to reach the next salary range? How can you close this gap? How does the company measure your manager’s success, and how does your performance affect his/her result? Answer each of these questions long before you negotiate your contract. It is essential that you understand the organisation’s system and its constraints. In short: know the rules of the game!

7. This is not a one-off event

You should never perceive your salary review as an isolated event. It is part of a comprehensive process to assess your contribution and performance within the review period. Keep notes on your performance throughout the period and ensure your manager is aware of the wins you have had. See the review as your opportunity to highlight significant contributions you have made and address your future development needs. Evidence of your contributions gives you the basis to negotiate and make your case for a better deal.

8. Show me the money!

While recognition often takes the form of position titles and pay cheques, these are not the only potential currencies of the negotiation. Don’t forget that a part of what the organisation giveth in cash, the tax man taketh away. Use the negotiation to explore more creative currencies. These might include development opportunities, including short-term assignments, leading (or participating in) new projects, relocation to another part of the organisation, coaching and mentoring opportunities, secondments, study leave, flexible working arrangements, or that BlackBerry or laptop you’ve been eyeing. Your wish list must be long and creative; it should add to your career opportunities – and contribute to your quality of life – both inside and outside the organisation.

9. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Your salary review is an opportunity to discuss your career path and the plans your manager has for your next step within the organisation, taking into account your own plans and vision for the future. Use the opportunity to structure your manager’s expectations of your own career plans. Make it your negotiation. Understand the power and value you bring to the table and what is at stake. Remember to manage the issues and spend time discussing what’s most important to you, which is probably your future career and not just next week’s pay cheque.

10. Finally…

Take another look at the course notes in your negotiation training Scotwork organiser. Consider these with your performance appraisal in mind. This will assist you in reviewing the preparation agenda, structuring expectations, analysing the power balance, preparing questions and implementing the suggestions above.

Good luck, and remember: fortune favours the brave (and the well prepared).

Do Visual Presentations Work?

Visual presentations can be effective if they are adapted to the limitations of the human brain. The typical presenter must modify their writing skills to blend whole brain thinking into the formula. By doing this you can create an effective visual presentation.

What Happens in the Human Brain During a Presentation?

Most business tools that are used to create visual presentations focus solely on left brain activities. They tend to be extremely complex, displaying many statistics and graphics, overloading the left brain capacity.

The human working memory operates on two channels, an auditory and visual channel. Most people would think that a visual presentation would utilize solely the visual channel. However, this is not true. Anytime text is displayed on the screen, both the auditory and visual channels are used. The visual channel sees the information, but the auditory channel sounds out the words.

The Executive Presentation

Over 99% of executives either prepare their own visual presentations or have an internal administrative assistant perform the preparation for them. Less than 1% actually enlists the external services of a visual presentation professional that understands how audiences receive, process, and stores the information that they take in. With these statistics in mind, it is understandable that many visual presentations are not ranked as excellent.

To transform writing skills into persuasive visual presentation skills, you must obtain a complete understanding of why audiences respond negatively to visuals. To be successful, you must develop a broad set of design techniques and sensory communication skills.

Education is Key

Those that are not educated in the way the human brain works do not target their presentations to work with these characteristics in a positive way. Working toward giving your audience what they need and expect from a presentation in a manner that allows whole brain communication to be engaged elicits much more positive and successful results.

Learning to incorporate both left brain and right brain characteristics into a presentation will make a world of difference in your results. Acquiring and implementing the knowledge of the brain’s channels that are used and being cautious not to overload one channel will keep your audience engaged.

You Can Become an Excellent Presenter

While employing the services of an educated presentation professional can dramatically improve persuasive presentation results, learning the skills and employing them yourself will improve not only the prepared visuals but the overall delivery of the presentation. In this way you can avoid the pitfalls that cause audiences to respond negatively to visual presentations. You will engage the entire brain participation and appeal to both the analytical and sensory perception to produce an overall excellent presentation. This will be well received, processed, and retained by your audience members. It will also produce the kind of measurable results that you are hoping for, causing you to become a more efficient, effective, and confident presenter.