You Are the Sale

In today's efforts to increase business in a sluggish economy there are many solutions available to generate sales. In the past year, I have attended webinars, seminars, sales strategy meetings, on-line coaching, and searches looking for new and exciting methods to increase business.

Some of these programs require payment and some do not, however they all seem to promise major results when following their method. The paid programs can charge anywhere from the hundreds to the thousands in fees which they claim are guaranteed to increase buying and help gain new customers. Often they offer communication methods that are geared to the high tech world and will help you reach massive audiences.

If you have any experience in sales at all, you realize that a sale is always a one on one proposition. The client or customer has a certain need for the product and you the sales person are the facilitator that brings the product from the market into the hands of the consumer. All for a fee or the retail value of the sale. So it follows if someone is offering a massive client response you might be willing to pay any amount to get this huge following. However, even if you do attain a "following" make sure you research the closing rate on the services which are being offered. Is it higher than the two to ten percent that is considered a terrific response rate? Couldn't you do better yourself by talking to ten clients and maybe getting a return appointment from five? If you did then you could command a better salary or commission than paying someone else to do the "marketing" for you. Also, if you notice many of these marketing and sales gurus are former sales executives. Could it possibly be that instead of selling again, they resorted to the easy way out by offering questionable methods to help you attain your goals?

If they were so successful , why are they not holding a ridiculously compensated sales position if all the claims to build business are true? Sometimes to me it seems that they probably just got tired of sales.

In this new economy everyone or company is a potential victim or prey of these techniques. With cost cutting accountants calling most of the shots, no longer is the corporation conducive to being creative with new sales structures or creativity. This could be precisely what is wrong with today's economy. Without selling or sales there is no business. So those that are willing to make the effort to help a company succeed should be compensated equally as those who claim to offer all the solutions for exorbitant marketing fees. Companies can increase their bottom line by hiring personable, professional and experienced sales managers that are able and willing to do a great job of selling one on one.