Jewelry Retailers Reveal Their 2012 Wish Lists
Keywords: Jewelry Stores

What's on jewelers' wish lists for 2012? Yellow gold, platinum bridal designs, more custom work, and "lots and lots" of colored stones. Oh, plus a little help from the economy, thank you very much.

Household Appliances, Devices Making All the Right Connections
Keywords: Appliance Stores | Consumer Electronics

Is your refrigerator running? If you don't know, just ask it.

A vision of the future is taking shape that will allow communication with the ever-increasing number of gadgets in people's homes: A refrigerator suggests recipes based on its contents and keeps track of when the milk is going to expire. A wall-mounted sensor detects when a person leaves the house and turns down the temperature to a preset level. A homeowner who forgets to close the garage door can do so from across town via a smartphone application.

Daily Sales Tip: Actions to Control Your Sales Success

Have you planned how you're going to make successful sales? If you haven't, it isn't too late -- but you're already behind the eight ball. Here are 7 actions you must take and take now if you want to control your own destiny:

1. Flush Out All of the Tail-Chasing "Prospects" in Your System.
We all have "prospects" in our pipeline that take up time and energy but that we know in our hearts will never buy. Get them out of your system now. Don't spend any more of your precious time on them. Concentrate on real prospects, not the "hope someday." Vow not to spend any more time chasing your tail.

2. Get Organized.
Most of us spend as much or more time "organizing" each day as we do working. Take a day or two and get yourself organized and then 30 minutes each evening getting ready for the next day. Don't waste time "getting ready" to sell.

3. Know Who a Real Prospect Is.
If you haven't already defined your ideal prospect(s) in detail, do so now. Many salespeople waste a great deal of time chasing unqualified prospects because they haven't taken the time to define for themselves exactly who their real prospects are.

4. Focus Only on Real Prospects.
Even many who have defined in-detail who their real prospects are, find themselves chasing after those who don't qualify. Commit yourself to staying on track. Defining your prospect doesn't do any good if you allow yourself to wander.

5. Eliminate the Success-Killing Busy Work.
If what you do isn't directly involved with finding qualified prospects, making sales presentations and closing sales, or getting a sale completed, it's busy work. Busy work may make you feel like you're accomplishing something but it isn't making you a dime. If it doesn't make you money, don't do it.

6. Learn to Generate Referrals.
Referrals are the best, most cost-effective prospecting and marketing method there is. Nothing can beat referrals in terms of ROI, close ratio, and client loyalty. Yet, few salespeople generate many quality referrals. Less than 15% of all salespeople generate enough quality referrals to impact their business. Learn the process that really generates a large number of high-quality referrals and turn your clients into your marketing platform.

7. Create a Consistent Client Communication Campaign.
If you don't already have a consistent communication campaign for your clients and prospects, create one now. You should be touching each of your clients and long-term prospects 12 to 16 times a year. Use a combination of media -- calls, emails, newsletters, letters, postcards, etc. Make sure each of your communications brings value to your client. The key question to ask yourself before making any contact is "does this benefit the client or only me?" If it doesn't benefit the client, don't send it or don't call. Never waste your client's time.

Time is short. But implementing these 7 "musts" will get your sales on track.

Source: Paul McCord, President of McCord and Associates

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