Salesforce Activator from Mastermind

This is a review of a new Salesforce offering from Mastermind called Activator. This program is now part of the Salesforce app exchange and we recommend this product. Here is a quick review of how this system can improve a sales program.

I have been using the activator program for about 4 years and the application has changed the way I do business. I wouldn't be in business with out this sales automation tool.

1. - THE SALES FOLLOW-UP - IT'S GREAT!
The most powerful part of Activator is the automation of routine events that sales people are supposed to be doing. You know what I mean - the stuff sales people want to do - and so often don't perform these important tasks. I'm talking about important follow-up calls, sending letters and follow-up emails to customers. You and I want to communicate with customers so they don't forget about you or your company. The activator Sales Force application allows you to program these activities so they can be done with push button simplicity.

2. - YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO SELL!
Since the Activator Sales Force App is like a sales assistant for you, you can do more of the things you want to do. I can get done what used to take me a full day of communications in about 45 minutes and have time to get more done in a day.

3. - FLEXIBLE AND SYSTEMATIC SELLING
You can build and create campaigns for your business that really are automated. While other programs kind of try to automate sales, Activator is very flexible and truly automated once you have a sales campaign or an action plan developed that suits your business. You can expect to easily double your sales activities with this program. I'm not kidding! You really can expect to do more in less time because the system works like a selling robot for you. It has worked for me and I'm sure it will work for you once it is programmed the right way for you too.

4. - ADVICE and FOOD FOR THOUGHT
I love this system. It is like the engine of a powerful race car for sales and marketing your business. With that in mind, you will want a Certified Mastermind Consultant/Activator Consultant to help you get the most out of this sales and marketing engine. Try it and buy it.

If you would like to customize and implement this new program. We invite you to call us about how we can help you reach your sales goals.

Steve Martinez
President
Sellingrobots.com

Prospects aren't always ready to buy

Don't you just hate it when a prospect doesn't buy from you when you think they should? I know how I feel. The sense of confusion regarding - "WHY NOT' and many other questions cloud my mind. We have a tendency to expect prospects to see our viewpoint and when they don't make the move we expect, we wonder why.

Most prospects aren't ready to invest when we expect or want them to.

So, the question is, what do you do when they aren't ready to buy?

1. We can piss them off and hammer them with other options and try to close harder.
2. We can seek to understand their point of view and then offer a solution that matches better.
3. We can wait until they are ready and keep them on the drip marketing list.
4. We can question them and try to identify what is the hidden reason(s) they aren't ready.

Most of the time, an objection is really a question. It could be more than one question and the secret is to understand what is rolling around in their heads. The prospect could be waiting for just about anything and they could just feel that they aren't ready. In many cases, the prospect doesn't agree with you that you have proven your point and developed the value you have given them to part with the investment.

It could also be that they aren't ready - it could be that simple.

If they aren't ready, they aren't ready and you might be better off waiting for them, just not forgetting them.

Too many salespeople and businesses don't have a plan to keep themselves at the top of their prospect's minds so that when a prospect is ready, they will move forward with an opportunity. You have to create top of mind awareness. Be the one that has a plan, be the one that your prospects don't forget and you will win more deals. Create and develop a sales pipeline that creates and develops the relationship for you, automatically with a drip marketing campaign. Your prospects will ripen like fruit on a tree and you will generate a harvest of over flowing opportunities. You just need a plan that does this for you.

Maximize Time to Increase Sales

The holiday brings a shorter week and less time to do everything. Time is the one resource we can't save. We can only spend it wisely or poorly. As we approach the New Year, I'm reminded there are 525,600 minutes in a year unless it is a leap year. I want to maximize my time and make the most out of each day. Unfortunately, there are countless wasted minutes that cut into production time everyday. This wasted time will rob you of extra sales and can often be resolved with a little advanced planning.

Planning Your Day – Maximizes Your Time
One of the best ways to maximize time is to plan your week as if you are going on vacation next week. It is amazing how productive you can become if you have to get everything done or you can't go. One of your most important sales habits is to create a "things to do list" and prioritize the list. This planning list will maintain the focus of what needs to be done and make you more productive.

One important aspect of sales planning is to structure time for balance in life and what you must do each day. This balance will do one important thing. It will bring a smile to your face and keep you happy. I have found that it is easier to sell when I'm happy. Keeping the main thing, the main thing is also important. I don't know about your business, but in my opinion, the main thing in business is to keep customers happy and focus on solving their problems. When I do that, my problems seem to be less important and are taken care of by extra sales.

Automating Sales Activities – Gets More Done!

Another important area that will help you plan and maximize time is to streamline and automate your selling process or put another way, automating the routine sales activities that generate sales. To understand what your selling process is does take time. An evaluation of what steps you take for each sale will determine your selling process. Your selling process might be as simple as five steps; meet, qualify, present, close and follow-up.

The important thing is to have a productive selling process and focus on doing the things that bring you closer to a sale with each customer contact. If you have the opportunity to automate these activities, you will increase your chances of success. Just remember, if you automate chaos, your results will only lead to chaos faster.

The smartest investments you can make each and everyday is in planning your day. Focus on the activities that will bring you closer to a sale and you will have a great and productive day.

By: Steve Martinez, the Sales Magician for Business Development.
(951) 277-0080
www.sellingmagic.com

How to Break Sales Limits

What kind of limits do you place on yourself? For example, how many sales calls can a salesperson make in a day? The answer I came up with could certainly be improved. How about your answer?

If we asked a lumber jack how many tree's he could chop down, what would he say? The Lumber Jack would probably divide the amount of time available by the time it takes to chop down the average tree. It seems right doesn't it? This answer is based on the Lumber Jacks experience.

Now, let's change the formula to break new limits. Let's start by giving the Lumber Jack an automated laser guided multi-arm, diamond treated, self sharpening, and laser cutting blade and place him in a huge forest of trees. Now, how many trees can a lumber Jack chop down?

Once we change the foundation of our thinking, we break the limits.

Changing the Selling Foundation
When we first asked the question, "how many sales calls can a salesperson make in a day", you came up with an answer based on your experience. If you changed the foundation of your thinking, how would it change your answer?

• Automation Impact - What if you automated the routine sales tasks you need to perform so you had more time to make sales calls in a day?
  
• Presentation Impact – What if prime prospects came to you at a trade show or convention? How many sales calls could you make?
  
• Web Meeting Impact – How many sales calls can you make in one web meeting with a large Audience of targeted prospects?
  
• Duplicated Sales Call – What impact would a recording of your best sales pitch have of you on YouTube so millions could watch it?
  
• Social Networking Impact – How many more contacts can you reach with an enlarged social network on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook?
  
• Selling System Impact – What if you had a system that automatically emailed web sales presentations, surveys and asked for appointments?

I raised the question of how many sales calls a salesperson make can because the answer depends on your experience. Many of the routine sales tasks that sales people perform can be automated and improved with technology. You can break the self imposed limits of thinking by embracing proven CRM and sales systems that automate your sales activities. Break the limits of your Sales!

By Steve Martinez, the Sales Magician for Business Development
http://www.sellingmagic.com

The Viral Nature of Selling

The title of this blog is "Diary of a CRM Sales Robot". Today I am sick with a sore throat and a touch of the flu. I caught a virus somewhere and I'm taking my meds to get better. However, this won't stop me from sharing a few positive and viral thoughts about my journey in sales and what is happening in my world.

Staying Positive in a Negative World
Do you find it challenging to stay positive in the negative news of business? I realize that it can be tough. I get down occasionally with all the bad news too. Fortunately, I'm a guy that naturally see's things with a half full attitude even when the glass is much lower.

Yesterday I read news about Real Estate. Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that there couldn't be anything positive about Real Estate, right! Well, you are wrong. There are some areas in the country where home market pricing is rising instead of plummeting. If we look for good news, we will find it. As it turns out, there are definitely signs that some markets are positive. This is good news for all of us.

The Viral Nature of Positive and Negative News
Businesses are growing and some are failing because of what they do and how they have adapted to a changing marketplace. Good news can travel as fast as bad news. People are looking for good news and when they hear it, they want to share it. If you are not using referrals in your business today, you are missing one of the best ways to grow. Good news can travel as fast as a cold virus in a crowded market. You just have to spread the news.

Are you looking for positive news? My favorite place is the Top Sales Experts site. I go there regularly to find good sales articles to stay positive and learn. If you are going to stay positive in a negative world, you need to pump your attitude with the freshest ideas and thoughts.

Our business is growing and I want to share why it is growing and what we are doing to increase our footprint on the web. Today, I looked at our web stats and we are seeing a 35% increase in web traffic and people are calling us based on the referrals we are generating from doing business. Please share your good news about how you are staying positive in this negative world.

By Steve Martinez, your Sales Magician for Business Development
www.sellingmagic.com

How Sales Success = a Love Story

One of the questions I like to ask couples is how they met and fell in love. Each time you hear the answer, it is usually a very good example for a selling strategy that worked. Here are a few examples we can learn from and apply as winning sales strategies to become more successful.

Love at First Sight = Buyer and Seller Meeting at the Right Time
If you believe in love at first sight then you accept the value of a connection that just seems right when it occurs. The more networking opportunities a salesperson is involved in, the more chances there are for meeting the right prospect. However, it isn't just the quantity of connections as much as how well targeted the connections are. When both parties have the same goals and objectives in mind, there is symmetry and an electric connection of sorts is made.

Think of it this way, a buyer must be looking for what the seller has to offer when they meet. The challenge is putting you in this position as often as possible. This requires a selling strategy that takes advantage of your understanding of what your ideal prospect is looking for and making your business and service attractive to the prospect. When the right connection is made, you and your prospect will know it.


The Romantic Chase = A Persistent Sales Pipeline
Sometimes, a couple will casually know one another long before they meet. It could be that one of them desperately wants to know the other but goes unnoticed. That is, until the timing is right and they magically notice each other and fall in love.

In sales, most buyers are not ready to purchase when they are initially contacted. Developing a relationship can take weeks, months or years. Patience and persistence is one quality every salesperson should develop. The key to a thriving sales pipeline is to identify quality prospects and establish a consistent pattern of regular communications. When a sales pipeline is properly executed, you will develop long term relationships and generate new sales consistently.

Based on these examples, a business and a salesperson should place themselves in the right place to meet target prospects as often as possible. Salespeople should also create a method of persistent, long term follow-up with all prospects that qualify your target sales profile. Good Selling.

Why I Keep a Little Black Book of Sales Secrets

I was reminded today how wonder life and selling can be with a system.

I witnessed a client painfully trying to find information they had written but couldn't find.

When I first started selling, I was a mess of confusion and very disorganized. I was constantly looking for information I had written and couldn't find. Fortunately, a simple system of using a little black book saved my sales career.

Today, I fill 5 inch by 8 inch journals with secret information on and for clients whom I want to know better. Inside each book you will find telephone numbers, pass codes, sizes, document locations, maps to locations and random thoughts.

These little black books have saved my butt a number of times, particularly when I can't remember something that is really important. For example, the other day a client asked me what their password was to get into their account. My client should have kept this information in a secure location. However, since I was with them when they opened the account, I documented the information too. I searched for and found what my client needed quickly. It ended up that what we were looking for was in my third book back. I was a hero and a life saver for my client.

One Location – One Search
The reason I keep these small 8"x5", wire bound books, which happen to be black is simple. I can keep all my notes in one location. Before I adopted this method, I would have pieces of paper and notes posted all over the place. This was an insane way of keeping information. Now that I have one location for all my notes, I can find them quickly. If you don't have a note taking system, you should adopt one that works for you. My little black books are dated and contain ideas, thoughts, and goals which is literally a journal of my passage of time on earth.

Why Paper and NOT a Computer
Ok, you might be wondering why I don't keep all this information in a secure computer file. Well, I try to. However, sometimes I can't document the information in the computer. I might be on an appointment, on the telephone and I want to take notes. It is easier and faster to take paper notes. I can scan the information later and link it to my computer files if I want. The paper journals I keep don't contain highly secure information. However, if someone ever found my journals, they couldn't decipher them anyway. I have my own special code. For example, when I write "world" as part of a numbered pass code, it means 4. Four is the number of the world. I use short secret words that have special meaning for all my important pass codes. When I'm done with a project, it is scratched out, but not torn out. This keeps a permanent record of what I have done and where I have been.

Try it, if you have a special tip; please share it with me in the comments section.

By Steve Martinez, your Sales Magician for business development
(951) 277-0080 www.sellingmagic.com