Sales and Marketing Online Job search

IT Sales Jobs Offer a Fun and Rewarding Career in a Field You Love
If you're knowledgeable in the IT field but have many other interests when it comes to employment, you can combine your skills and desires with an IT sales job. Working in IT sales and marketing gives you an opportunity to specialize in the career field you were trained for while also working with one or more companies in other fields of interest.

An IT sales career involves several aspects of IT work, sales, and marketing. You might perform pre-sales tasks such as giving information about technical specifications and how these can meet a company's needs. You might be asked to demonstrate certain software to create interest among potential customers. You might also negotiate actual sales, which means creating a commercial agreement that benefits both your supplier and the customer. Another aspect of IT sales is the after-support, or technical support that is provided once the sale takes place. This may include hardware or software setup, problem solving, or even more involved training on how to maximize the features of certain software for the company's needs.

Traveling with an IT Sales Job

Some IT sales jobs may require you to travel. This works great if you love to travel and prefer to be out meeting people. With a traveling IT sales job, you'll visit companies either on a local scale or you might travel from state to state or even around the world. This will all depend on the supplier you work for and the type of customers the supplier serves. For example, a software supplier might provide software to banks, but the software is so versatile that it can be used in banks around the world. You might be asked to visit certain banks in person in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia or elsewhere.

If you work on a commission-only basis, you might be required to pay all your travel expenses. If you work on a salary basis, the company will likely pay for your business travel expenses. If you prefer a desk job, there are IT sales jobs in which most or all of your selling is achieved over the phone. You might even be able to land an IT sales job that allows you to work from home.

Diversity of Fields

IT sales jobs are so diverse because you can work with any type of company you wish. If you've always dreamed of rubbing shoulders with medical professionals, why not seek out an IT sales and marketing job in the medical field? Most career fields have a need for software or IT-related products. You might become an IT salesperson and be in direct contact with bank managers, doctors, attorneys, accountants, clothing manufacturers, travel agents, realtors, restaurant owners, pet store owners, or even farmers. The list of opportunities in the IT sales career field is endless!

Finding an IT Sales Employer

A great place to get started with your IT sales job search is online. You can visit a sales recruitment website that will put you in touch with top IT sales job recruiters in your area or in the areas you wish to work. A recruiter can help you find a suitable company with sales vacancies that's looking for an employee just like you. The recruiter will match your skills and career aspirations with potential employers, and even walk you through the interview process. All you need to do is keep your resume up to date and contact a recruiter that's experienced in the IT sales job field.

Even if you're still not sure about the type of career that's right for you, you'll also find recruiters for medical sales jobs, advertising sales jobs, media sales jobs, sales and marketing jobs, and many others. The key is to never be afraid of trying something new. Everyone gets nervous when venturing into a new career field, but keep in mind that you can always change careers later if needed. But you'll never know unless you give it a try!


To learn more about subjects like IT sales jobs please visit the web site at: http://www.salesrecruitmentjobsite.com

Sales and Marketing Online Job search

Easily Locate Sales Vacancies around the World with an Online Sales Job Website
When seeking sales vacancies, you might be tempted to sift through the thousands of job websites to find that perfect career. The problem is some of those job opportunities may be expired or already filled. Some might not be at your desired location. Others might not offer the salary or hours you want. That's why it's a good idea to narrow your search using a specialty job site. You can save lots of time by using a sales job website that offers specialized searches for exactly the career you want.

Features to Look For

A sales job search site should have a steady stream of updated sales jobs so you won't waste time applying for positions that are no longer available. Look for sales vacancies that clearly display the job posting date so you'll know how long ago the employer posted it. Find a website that's targeted for sales jobs particularly, but also versatile enough so you can glance at other sales opportunities as well.

A targeted sales job site will likely display sales vacancies in a variety of fields such as IT sales jobs, sales and marketing jobs, medical sales jobs, advertising sales jobs, media sales jobs, etc. Though there are various job types listed, they are at least all related to sales. You can easily focus on one particular career type and ignore the rest if the site has an advanced job search feature.

When seeking sales jobs, you might want to remain anonymous until you find a possible job match. Some sales job services will allow you to remain anonymous while searching for jobs. This means you can still create a profile and display your skills without revealing your identity. A potential employer can send a blind email to contact you, and then you can decide if you wish to have further contact with the company if you feel the job might be right for you.

Another feature is you can make your CV/resume public so potential employers can easily find you. Some employers don't want to wait for applicants; they'd rather search for candidates by skill and location to save time. Displaying your resume publicly will make these opportunities available to you. Look for a website that offers free registration to sales job seekers. You shouldn't have to pay to find a sales job unless the company is willing to offer resume creation services and others features of that nature.

Sales Recruitment Services

Also look for sales recruitment opportunities in your field of interest. Some sales job websites act as a go-between for you and sales job recruiters. The recruiters sign on for the service and may pay the job site to advertise their job opportunities. As a job seeker, you can find a recruiter that specializes in your desired field, such as IT sales jobs or medical sales jobs. The recruiter will use your profile and resume to match you with a hiring company.

Sales job recruiters not only help you locate a dream sales career, but also guide you through the interview process. The recruiter will set up your interview and tell you where to go, and with whom to speak. All you have to do is prepare for the interview and be sure to answer the questions professionally. Using a recruiter greatly improves your chances of getting hired. It can benefit you to use a recruiter if you need a job in a particular field or location quickly. Some recruiters can even help you find sales jobs in other parts of the world!

Seeking a sales job can be an exciting process when you have the help of a reputable job search site and recruiters that can connect you with top employers. Start your sales career search on the Web today!


To learn more about subjects like sales jobs please visit the web site at: http://www.salesrecruitmentjobsite.com

Become top in Marketing

5 Tips And Tricks To Becoming A Top Affiliate Marketer

Here are 5 tips to help you become that top producing affiliate marketer.

1. Have you ever wondered how you can get rid of that long ugly affiliate URL? How do they expect you to brand yourself online with that eye sore? You will need your own web site to do this.

First open Notepad, WordPad or any html editor.

Next, copy and paste the following code into the html editor:

html
head
titleThe Name Of The Affiliate Program/title

meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" CONTENT="0; URL=http://www.put-your-affiliate-link-here"

/head
/html

Replace "The Name Of The Affiliate Program" with the title you want for the page. Then replace "www.put-your-affiliate-link-here" with your affiliate URL.

Next save this in Notepad or WordPad as a .html file. This will change it from a .txt (text) to a .html (a web page).

Then open your web site editor (FrontPage, Dreamweaver) and upload the file to your web site by copying and pasting it to your web site.

Now you have a link that looks this: http://www.yourdomainname.com/affiliateprogram.html

Make sure you test the link to be sure it works.

it's that simple.

2. Pop-up On Exit

A pop-up on exit can be very valuable to building your opt-in list and capturing email addresses. When someone leaves your site this pop-up will appear asking them to sign-up for either your ezine, newsletter or article is exchange for their name and email address.

Some of the better affiliate programs out there offer their own "pop-up on exit" for you to put on your website embedded with your affiliate code. Just another way for you to make money with affiliate programs.

Copy and paste the following code between the head and the /head tags in the html part of your website.

SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" var exit=true;
function leave() {
if (exit)
window.open('http://www.yourwebsite.com/popup.html','', 'toolbar=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,

location=no,height=400,width=400'); }
// End --
/SCRIPT

Replace the "http://www.yourwebsite.com/popup.html" with either your own web page pop-up or the affiliate program's you are promoting.

You can change height and width also to whatever you prefer and works with your pop-up web page.All of the other options can be changed to yes or no depending on your preferences (toolbars=yes, scrollbars=no)

Next insert this code body onUnload="leave()" in the body after the color code so it will look like this:

body bgcolor="#CCCCCC" onUnload="leave()"

When you have these two codes inserted every time someone leaves your website a "pop-up on exit" will appear asking them to sign-up for your ezine article etc.

3. Be Different

When promoting affiliate programs don't be like everyone else. Be different. Whether you promote the affiliate program from an email follow-up or a one-page web site, offer your prospect something in addition to the affiliate program you are promoting.

Here is how to do this is: "If you by from me you will get the free report "15 Steps to..." or "If you purchase from me you will receive the eBook ... or "If you purchase from me today I will give you a free 30 minute consultation, a $200 value". Be creative, offer your services. Offer something that you know how to do to get them to buy from you.

4. Autoresponders And Email Follow-Up

Nobody said you had to publish a newsletter or ezine to build an opt-in list.

Offer an article you have written yourself. You can break it up into 5-7 courses and send it via autoresponder a few days apart. This way you have captured the prospect's name and email address in return for some valuable information.

Some of the better affiliate programs have a 5-10 day email autoresponder system already written and all you need to do is copy and paste it into your autoresponder. In the resource box at the bottom they will allow you to replace their link with your affiliate link promoting that program.

After you have started to build your opt-in list, you can promote different affiliate programs to them monthly. Also, offer them some good free quality content every so often.

Build a relationship and your prospects WILL buy from you.

5. Use Targeted Ezines To Promote Affiliate Programs

You just cannot get a better bang for your buck. Ezine advertising is probably the best way to promote whatever it is you are selling for the best money.

But an even better way of advertising in ezines is to use them to get subscribers for your opt-in list. Write an ad with an attention grabbing headline, some bullet points and why they should sign-up for your free report.

Then send them to an autoresponder address for retrieving your free special report or series. This way you can promote
your affiliate programs to your prospects through email follow-up.

The best way to do this is by purchasing a solo ad. This way
your ad goes out by itself with nothing else to distract your
prospects.

Apply these strategies and you are sure to be on your way to
top affiliate success.

Lisa Frenzel
http://www.marketersplanet.com

Marketing Techniques

5 SUCCESSFUL MARKETING TECHNIQUES
Copyright 2002 Bob Leduc

Here are 5 successful marketing techniques you can use to
increase your sales. All of them are simple to use. And
they're effective for building any businesses.

1. KEEP ADDING SOMETHING NEW

Every time you add something new to your business you
create an opportunity to get more sales. For example,
something as simple as adding new information on your web
site creates another selling opportunity when prospects and
customers visit your site to see the new information.

Adding a new product or service to the list of those you
already offer usually produces a big increase in sales. The
added product increases your sales in 3 different ways:

** It attracts new customers who were not interested in
your current products and services.

** It generates repeat sales from existing customers who
also want to have your new product.

** It enables you to get bigger sales by combining 2 or
more items into special package offers.

2. BECOME A VALUABLE RESOURCE

Look for ways you can be a resource for your prospects and
customers. Supply them with free information. Help them do
things faster, easier, less expensively. You get another
opportunity to sell something every time they come back to
you for help.

3. SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR COMPETITION.

Find or create a reason for customers to do business with
you instead of with someone else offering the same or
similar products. For example, do you provide faster
results, easier procedures, personal attention or a better
guarantee?

Determine the unique advantage you offer to customers that
your competitors do not offer. Promote that advantage in
all of your advertising. Give your prospects a reason to do
business with you instead of with your competition and
you'll automatically get more sales.

4. PROMOTE THE END RESULT

Your customers don't really want your product or service.
They want the benefit produced by using it.

For example, car buyers want convenient transportation with
a certain image. Dental patients want healthy and
good-looking teeth without suffering any pain. Business
opportunity seekers want personal and financial freedom for
themselves and their family.

Make sure your web pages, sales letters and other sales
messages are promoting the end result your customers want.

5. ANTICIPATE CHANGE

Change is the biggest challenge to your business success.
The days are gone when a business could constantly grow by
simply repeating what it did successfully in the past ...or
even recently. Aggressive, innovative competitors and
rapidly changing technology make it impossible.

Expect change and prepare for it. Don't wait until your
income declines to take action. Develop the habit of
looking for early signs that something is changing. Then
confront it before you start to lose business.

TIP: Insulate yourself against the impact of change by
increasing the number of products and services you offer
and by using a variety of different marketing methods. Only
a small portion of your total business will be affected if
the sales of one product decline or the response to one
marketing method drops.

How many of these 5 proven marketing techniques have you
overlooked or ignored? Start using them today and you'll
see an immediate increase in your sales.

Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for
small business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards", and several other publications
to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more info:
mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Postcards
Phone: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Key Marketing Facts

When you know the answers to these 5 key marketing
questions, you can create effective web pages, sales letters
and other sales generating communications. The answers to
these 5 questions reveal how you can get your prospect's
attention and motivate them to take the action you want.

1. WHO DO I WANT TO REACH?

Describe detailed characteristics of your ideal prospect. Be
very specific.

Once you clearly define the characteristics your ideal
prospect you can develop a powerful sales message appealing
directly to their unique interests and needs. Prospects are
more likely to respond when they feel you are talking
directly to them about their individual needs.

2. WHAT ACTION DO I WANT TO GENERATE?

Decide in advance what action you are trying to stimulate.
Do you want to get inquiries for your product or service? Do
you want to produce sales directly from your promotion? Or
do you want to build a list of qualified prospects willing
to receive frequent offers from you?

You can develop an effective promotion in a short time when
you have a clear understanding of the action you are trying
to generate.

3. WHAT IS MY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?

Identify why prospects should do business with you instead
of with a competitor selling a similar product or service.
For example, do you provide faster results, easier
procedures, personal attention or a better guarantee? If you
cannot think of a reason - create one. Add something to your
business you are not already doing.

Your competitive advantage can be responsible for fifty
percent or more of your sales. Make sure you have one - and
don't lose it. Keep checking on your competition and make
any changes necessary to keep your competitive advantage.

4. HOW WILL I PROVE MY CLAIMS?

Don't expect prospects to believe what you say. Make sure
you provide proof of any claim you make.

For example, collect and use testimonials from satisfied
customers. Provide research data supporting your claims. Get
endorsements from experts your prospects are likely to
recognize.

5. HOW WILL I CREATE URGENCY?

Most prospects do not respond the first time they see your
promotion. Instead, they delay making any response - then
often forget about you.

You can convert many of these procrastinators into buyers by
giving them a compelling reason to respond immediately. For
example, give them a special price if they order now - or
include a valuable bonus if they order by a specific
deadline.

TIP: Develop a series of 4 or 5 different special offers.
Use them one at a time with an expiration deadline. When one
offer expires, replace it with the next offer and a new
deadline. Continuously recycle through the same series of
offers. This enables you to create urgency using special
offers without taking time to create new ones.

You need to answer to these 5 key marketing questions before
you can create a motivating web page, sales letter or other
sales generating communication. The answers to these 5
questions will reveal how you can get your prospect's
attention and stimulate them to take the action you want.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses just like yours
find new customers and increase sales. He just released a
New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards and several other publications to
help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information:
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards"
Phone: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Is Marketing For You ?

Do you ever get frustrated with your marketing? Are you putting in a lot of effort but not getting the results you want? Don't you wish you could just hit a switch and get a better response from your mailings, sales calls and web site?

You hear a lot about breakthroughs; is it all hype, or can you really create a breakthrough in your marketing and sales? I know that you can.

I spent last weekend skiing in Vermont with my spouse, nephew and his finance Sonia. We were all having a great time on the slopes, except Sonia. Sonia doesn't have as much experience as the rest of us and was struggling to keep up. Her problem wasn't one of effort. She was working much harder than the rest of us, fighting each turn and slowing her progress down the hill. In a few minutes, I showed her how to tip her skis to make easy, graceful S shaped turns that took advantage of the new shaped skis. After making a run or two, she was skiing twice as fast with less effort, and having more fun.

You too can experience a breakthrough in your skiing, golf swing or in your marketing. If you are like most business owners, you advertise, send out mailings, make sales calls and have a web site. This is what you do to market your business; the way you do these things will make the difference between success and failure.

What would constitute a breakthrough in your business? Like Sonia, you may be inadvertently working harder than you need to be to get the results you want. With a few changes to your marketing strategy and techniques you could be getting a lot more attention, generating more qualified leads and converting more prospects to clients and having more fun.

Here are five ideas to get your marketing headed for a breakthrough:

1.Focus on your target markets' primary concerns in your sales calls, your brochure, your ads and on your web pages. Your prospects' problems and wants brought you together; use this to keep prospects' attention.

2.Use questions to get the conversation going. Whether you're on the telephone, writing web page copy or writing an ad, ask your prospects questions to get them thinking about what they want and how you can help them.

3.Give something away that your prospects need. The more helpful information you give away to prospects, the more business you'll receive in return. Give away ideas they can use and help them understand when and how to use your products and services.

4.Build a mailing list of people who want more of your ideas and information. Use the list regularly to stay in touch and you'll increase your credibility the perceived value of your goods and services, and your sales.

Other Breakthrough Ideas
-When people are at the point of purchase, prompt them to buy additional products and you can double your revenue.
-Call people who have bought your products after a couple of weeks to get feedback. There is a good chance they'll be interested in buying additional products or services.

Whether you want to become an expert at marketing, skiing or cooking, the key is to let go of methods that aren't working for you, and learn and apply the techniques used by the experts. Nine times out of ten, the problem is in getting the basics right. You can achieve a breakthrough in sales when you understand and apply these proven marketing principles and techniques.



About the Author

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

Tactics

Many businesses overlook these 4 simple but highly effective
selling tactics. How many are you using?

1. Avoid "What To Buy" Choices

Promote only one product or service at a time. It limits
your prospect's buying decision to a simple "yes" or "no".

Don't complicate your customer's decision making process by
including a "which one" option. Some customers will have
difficulty making a clear choice. They will avoid the risk
of making a wrong choice by making NO choice - and you will
lose a sale unnecessarily.

You can develop separate promotions for each product or
service you sell. Or you can combine several products and
services into one package for one price. But always make
your prospective customer's buying decision a simple "yes"
or "no". It produces the maximum number of sales.

2. Offer Many "How To Buy" Options

Offering choices of WHAT to buy reduces your sales. But
offering choices of HOW to buy increases your sales.

Offer many different ways for customers to buy from you. The
same method is not convenient for everybody. Prospective
customers are more likely to act immediately when their
favorite way of ordering is available.

For example, many online marketers only accept orders
online. They could easily increase the number of sales they
get by including options to order by phone, fax and postal
mail.

3. Use A Simple Buying Procedure

You can get more sales by making it easier for customers to
buy from you. Look for ways to make your buying procedure
easier and faster.

For example, many online marketers use a shopping cart to
process their orders - even when they are selling only 1 or
2 items. Don't force your customers to endure the
complicated process of a shopping cart just to order 1 item.
Some of them will abandon the process ...causing you to lose
sales unnecessarily.

Use a simple online order form instead of a shopping cart
when you only offer 1 or 2 items.

4. Follow Up Every Sale With Another Offer

Customers are very receptive to more offers immediately
after they buy from you. Offer them another product or
service related to the one they just bought. Many will
accept your offer, producing an easy sale for you.

If you don't already have additional products or services,
find or create some.

For example, offer instructional material related to your
customer's original purchase. It can be a printed book or
e-book, a group of books or e-books, a training course,
computer software, membership in a fee-based web site or any
other type of instructional material related to their
original purchase from you.

Tip: Look for an affiliate program selling the kind of
instructional material you can use. All you have to do is
sign up as an affiliate and announce the product or service
to your customers. The affiliate program handles everything
else and pays you a commission for each sale you generate.

How many of these 4 simple selling tactics have you
overlooked? Start using them now. They will produce an
immediate increase in your sales - with little or no
increase in your expenses.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find
new customers and increase sales. He just released a New
Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast
With Simple Postcards and several other publications to help
small businesses grow and prosper. For more information:
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards"
or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Marketing Opportunities

Marketing your business with email is an art.

It's very easy to get accused of spamming nowadays.
Add to that the filters ISPs are using, and your message
may not get through.

If you do it right, email marketing can become a very
effective method of marketing your business.

Before you consider this method, there are three tools
I consider absolutely crucial to your success.

1. Educate yourself.
Get accused of spamming and you could destroy your
reputation forever.

Learn everything you can about email marketing and
implement those strategies in your marketing campaign.

Here are two sites you can use to educate yourself about
email marketing:

Email Results - http://www.emailresults.com/ - This site
offers a newsletter, a directory of lists, and plenty of articles.

Email Education - http://www.emaileducation.com - Also
offers articles to help you learn how to use email to market
your business. You'll also get information on the latest
trends in email marketing as well as the latest news.

2. Email Formatting Utility
Once you've written your email, you want to make sure it
looks professional.

Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Make
sure it is easy to read.

You can use this utility to format your emails to the right
width. It's not perfect, but it will save you plenty of time
because you can format your text at different widths.
Overall, it does a very good job.

http://www.jbmckee.com/formatit/index.htm

3. Anti-Spam
Before you send your message out, you want to check to
make sure it can get past the filters frequently used by
ISPs.

There's a simple and easy way to check your message.
SiteSell.com has created a new feature called Spam Check.

Basically, you can send a your email as a test message and
find out how the filters rank it. Then, you can make changes to
your email before sending it to your list.

http://spamcheck.sitesell.com

Email marketing is a time consuming process. Done right, it
can be a very lucrative tool in your marketing arsenal.
These tools will help you make your email marketing efforts more

About the Author

Jinger Jarrett will show you "How to Really Start Your Business in
30 Days". Get her free ecourse now. http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com

Hiring the best people

As we know most developed countries are having a tough time selling their products. Now, more than ever, they are looking for talented Salespeople that will push their product forward above the competition like nothing else has. Basically, what these firms are looking for are Sales Heroes. A Sales Hero is that individual that does all the hard sales, contacts those clients that have never wanted to even listen to the Company and gets the sales closed. Finding a Sales Hero is not easy. A sales hero might be a hero for one firm but a complete waste of time on another. But still, they do exist. These people are very talented, above all things, in the art of speaking to people. They can become friendly in a very short space of time with just about anybody they meet. This friendliness results in sales. We would all rather buy from someone that we see as a friend than from a completely correct salesperson trying to impress us with a new product or service. But this rather unique individual has to be very motivated to start with. Most companies will not motivate them enough or just don't motivate them the way they should be motivated. It's good you offer a Sales Hero a brand new company car, but you must offer him other creature comforts so that he feels he is part of a team and notices company is going to take care of him whatever happens. It's not good he only feels you are giving him things while he brings money in, he must feel that you are doing it because you appreciate him. This might sound a bit weak but this is exactly the way he does his sales. So what you are doing is selling your company to the Sales Hero. Of course, this attitude must continue if you do manage to hire him. If you make him feel good and then a month later come up with only figures and sales reports he will see through you and know you are just like all the other companies that hired him before. What we can never be too sure about if it is really worth hiring a Sales Hero. If your company only contacts through this person with your clientele then, if he leaves, you can be pretty sure he will take his clients with him, or give them to your competitors. The Sales Hero type will always be offered new exciting job offers from other companies looking for a hero so it won't be hard to keep him with you for a lifetime. One of my other articles is precisely about how we should try to contact our clients directly, not only through the main Salesperson or, in this case, Sales Hero.


About the Author
John Kenzy works helping out in an Internet Marketing in Spain As a hobby he flies model helicopters and manages a Spanish hobby forum. Foro de helicopteros rc

Sales and Marketing Training

We've done some study to help you understand how your sales prospects process information, how they will react to your personality, and how they will make decisions. We've outlined seven clearly identifiable personality types, and carefully analysed the three that you'll encounter most frequently. We call this summary the Thought Map, and it's one of the most advanced weapons in the sales guerrilla's bag of tricks.
Most of us adopt one of these phases as our primary personality genre, but we may shift from one phase to another, depending on the relationship, the environment, or stressors. Whenever people interact, they invariably do so from one of these phases.

Let's look at an example. A senior superannuation salesman, and a sales guerrilla at heart, was introducing a new superannuation plan to employees of a northern Queensland city, but he couldn't seem to generate much interest. The fund was good, and this sales professional had worked long and smart to get it approved by the local government.

During the enrollment period, he sat in a small room in the local government office waiting for the staff to come by to hear about the new plan and sign up for it. In the first week, only five people came to hear the offer.

The first employee was so shy she hardly said a word. She sat with legs crossed, hands folded in her lap, and listened to the presentation. She didn't ask a single question or even offer her name, let alone sign up. She seemed afraid of meeting any stranger. "My manager asked me to come over and pick up some brochures," she said as she left.

The next was aggressive and evasive. She asked pointed questions about dividends and rates of return, then stared out the window as he answered. She expressed concern at "being sold a bill of goods," but she was certain she knew how to deal with salespeople. "I'd look like an idiot," she said, "if I signed up for something like this without analysing it thoroughly." She took the brochures and left.

A third employee was polite and seemed to take a sincere interest, nodding his head in agreement with everything. He was a gentleman, agreeing that it was a good investment, and that he had a real need. He even showed the sales guerrilla pictures of his family, and talked about his plans for the future. He was very apologetic in the end, but he didn't sign up. From his objections and questions, it was obvious that he really hadn't heard half the pitch.

The fourth was direct and distant, as if the only reason he was there was that he'd been told to go. He wanted facts and figures, not the big picture of a comfortable retirement he was hearing. "How do I know that this is the best plan available? What guarantee do I have that your company will achieve this rate of return?" he asked. He challenged the company's track record and the salesperson's credibility.

The fifth employee was nice. She seemed confident, relaxed, and genuine. She asked relevant questions, listened attentively, and, to her ultimate benefit, she signed up. As she was filling out the application forms, the sales guerrilla wondered what made this person so unique.

He asked other employees about her. Everyone who worked with her talked about how good they feel when she was around. She's always fair, they said, and she cares about people and their work, and she shows it. She's always willing to do her fair share of the work, and more. The guerrilla was beginning to understand. With her view of the world, he could see why she was able to recognise the benefits of the new plan without feeling anxious about the salesperson's reaction.

The salesman decided to follow her example. If I were really committed to being fair, caring, and sharing, he wondered, what would be the fairest way to get this information to all the staff, to show them that we care about their quality of life after retirement?

That gave him an idea. It would be unfair, and perhaps even unlawful, if all the employees were not given an equal opportunity to learn about the plan and a chance to accept or reject it. He raised this question with the HR Manager. The HR Manager agreed, and issued a memo via e-mail to all employees.

Everyone would be required to attend a group meeting in a meeting room where they could hear the whole presentation and ask questions. After the meeting they could either sign up to the new plan or sign a waiver saying that they had heard a complete explanation and decided to decline.

With this new strategy, over 70 percent of eligible staff enrolled in three weeks. The salesman repeated this approach in other towns all over Queensland. His fair-for-all-concerned approach increased sales dramatically, rocketing him to top producer in his company.

By observing one of the principles by which guerrillas operate, this salesman was able to find an unorthodox way to deliver his message to a large number of prospects, and discovered greater personal and financial success. He started to wonder if there was a way to be more effective with prospects like the first four he had met.



About the Author
For sales training in Brisbane visit sales-training-australia.com. For SEO training, visit seo-training-australia.com. Mention this article and get a 15% discount.

Training in Sales & Marketing

While autos can go a day or sometimes more before a fill up is required, introverts who sell will discover accelerated sales results with a daily routine centered on three areas: release techniques, comfortable marketing activities and targeting those activities to identified prospects.
One area to fill up is your own beliefs about what success you want. Most of us, salespeople or not, have beliefs that hold us back from being all we want to be. We have an internal dialogue that is like a noisy clanking engine. Statements such as, "I'm not worthy, It doesn't matter that others are succeeding, I'm different," or any number of beliefs keep on ticking in our mind. You need to find a release technique to set your day up for success. Some most effective ones include the Sedona technique, Emotional Freedom Technique, meditation or even writing love letters. It doesn't matter what technique you use. What matters is that you use one daily.

Another fill up is to identify appropriate marketing activities. What's appropriate? First, select a mix of activities that satisfy short, medium and long term sales goals, then act upon the ones that you enjoy - the ones that you are most comfortable with. Let's say it's the fourth quarter of the year and you are quite close to making your sales goal. The priority, the emphasis, would be on short term activities that get you the fastest results. This would include activities like: follow up with all prospects, contact all current clients to cross sell, and asking for referrals from clients. The fourth quarter is not the prime time to be using speaking engagements or article writing to attract new prospects quickly. When you need fast results, select and act on low hanging fruit sales actions. Whatever activities you select, start with activities you like the most to keep your attitude high.

A third fill up activity is to constantly be defining your perfect client. Have you noticed when driving that if you take your eye of the road for just a second or two, you may tend to drift out of your lane? Well, when you take your thinking and talking about your perfect customer off in a different direction, you tend to drift away from your perfect clients. Part of your daily routine can include a fill up in your mind and talk about just who is your target client. The book, Attracting Perfect Customers, by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez, offers a strategic model for this. By achieving clarity on your perfect customer, wherever you are networking either in person or online, your message will be attractive to those you want to hear it. You won't drift out of your lane.

Extroverts tend to be energized by many activities going on at once, and a daily fill up may not be required, but extroverts would still benefit from a routine kind of attitudinal and marketing activity fill up.

If your tendency in selling is more toward introversion, then the three fill ups - releasing negative beliefs, acting on desirable marketing activities and focusing on your target client - are more important to use on a daily basis.



About the Author
from Pat Weber - America's Sales Accelerator Coach, specializing in Introverts and Shy people at http://www.prostrategies.com

Successful Sales and Marketing

Do you exceed your sales target every month? Do you close nearly all your conversations? Are colleagues jealous of your commission? If not then you could benefit from Sales Training.



Here are 7 tips for successful selling which you can use to improve your sales figures right now.



1. Identify Potential Customers

You need to identify potential customers. This is the same whether selling in a shop or over the phone. Questions regarding how the product or service will work for the customer should be picked up on. Questions like "Will this printer work with my computer?", "Do you have them in blue?", "Can you deliver it tomorrow?" are all buying signals.



2. Preparation

Preparation is vital in sales, and the old saying "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" should be remembered. Product knowledge and an awareness of the market and competitors are essential.



3. Effective Communication

As a sales person, you need to communicate effectively by listening to the customer's needs, asking the right questions and looking for buying signals. Customers may not know the technical terms or latest product or brand names, but this doesn't mean that they don't know what they want.



4. How and why people buy

Knowing how and why people buy will ensure that you use the right sales techniques with the right sort of products and people. People buy out of desire or necessity. Your approach to selling a plasma TV to a young professional couple will differ from selling plumbing services to somebody with a flooded kitchen.



5. Establishing customer needs

Customers buy for different reasons. Some people need to have the latest products; others only buy when they can't repair or make do with what they have already. Just because somebody is not the typical buyer of the product, doesn't mean the product isn't right for them.



6. Objection handling

Objection handling is the process of dealing with potential customers who give reasons not to buy at this time. The product might not be what they want or need, the price is not right, or they might need to compare other products or suppliers before deciding. An objection can be a very strong buying signal - it is the only reason they are not buying right now.



More questioning to ensure that you have fully understood their product requirements or budget may be necessary. Perhaps the customer hasn't fully understood all the features and benefits of the product or service, or wants more information.



7. Closing the sale

Some sales people don't identify buying signals, and miss out on sales. Make sure you ask questions to encourage buying signals. "Would you like to order today?", "Do you prefer the red one or the blue one". However, trying to close too early on in the sales process can put a customer off.



As a successful sales person, especially in a retail or telesales environment you will need to be able to cross sell and upsell. Cross selling is selling items such as batteries for electrical devices, warranties, and accessories. Upselling involves convincing the buyer to spend a little bit more money to get a better or more suitable product.



If you are an employer why not offer sales training or telesales training to your sales team? If you are a sales person why not ask your boss for sales training to make you even more successful?






About the Author
Why not let SalesTrainingIntl.com help you design your own bespoke Sales Training Course tailor made to meet your needs? Whether you are involved in Retail Selling or Telephone Selling, let us design the training you need today.

Tips on Selling & Relationship building

Selling a product properly is very important. It is a simply activity which is often complicated. Sales of a product mainly depend on the relationship of the buyer and the seller. Better the relationship, better the sales. And at no point of time should the buyer realize that money is the motive behind the sale of the product. Because once this happens, the sale for the product dies. But a proper attitude can go a long way in improving the sales. Exchanging ideas with the buyers and having a lively conversation with them will certainly help you match your business objectives. The most important secret behind effective sales is to know the buyer. Get into a conversation with the prospective buyer. Ask him general questions from the point of view of a friend and not a as sales person. Ask questions like married or not, for how many years, work involved in, position at work, etc. Ask the buyer to give a description of the company where he works. Such a friendly chat works magic in the true sense. The buyers will develop a bond and trust with you. You will be like a fresh breath of air in their life. And this positive attitude with the buyer will reflect in your sales as well. And an improved business will only give a further boost. Next, continue the relationship with the buyer. Show to him that you are not only interested in selling him your product but also want him to be your friend. Thus, follow your relationship with your buyer. Get to know his interests and the kind of stuff he is interested in. Also get to know about the people in his contact who might be interested in your product. Thus, try and expand your business chain in this way. Also, never forget or delay any follow-up promises made by you to the buyer. Such an incident will create unnecessary doubt in his mind and your hard built image in his eyes will start blurring. Proper follow up can make or break a sale. It can also help repeat business and get referrals and testimonials. Thank You is a word, if said from the heart, directly touches the art. Thank You is basically a word of appreciation which is always appreciated by the person you say it to. Thus, two words can make a huge difference between profit and loss. Always be grateful that a person has bought from you. It is this thankful nature which will reap you large dividends in the future. Also, provide the customer with some benefits in the form of discounts and gifts. This is a very good strategy which instantly pulls people towards your product. Although these discounts and gifts reduce your profit margin, they give a super-boost to your sales. So there are a few simple steps one needs to follow in order to make his sales full and perfect.


About the Author
Jon Elton owns and operates a Car Home Life Insurance Quotes website to help while making decision about insurance. He also operates a Cheap Car Auto Insurance site to help taking decision about auto Insurance.

Branding Yourself For Marketing

I was at a career fair representing Ford recently, and one thing struck me: there's a lack of truly decent personal presentation skills out there.

For example, to any number of college seniors who said they were interested in getting into sales, I said: "Great. Sell yourself to me."

The reaction I got was a stunned look, followed immediately by a rambling choice of words that didn't really convince me of much. Well, maybe they convinced me of something, but it wasn't to hire them.

I had just made a presentation to Brand Camp University, so perhaps presentations and personal branding was on my mind, but it got me to thinking: there could be a number of people who might benefit from some suggestions.

I know I've got a lot of followers on Twitter and here on the blog who are college students (hello Golf Management program at Ferris State (what a cool major!); hello students of Barbara Nixon at GSU), so I thought I might help out with some specific suggestions to consider.

Before I get into the steps I recommend, here's the deck I presented. I hope to have the video of my presentation at a future date.

Marketing Careers

Marketing is a very broad field that offers a large number of opportunities. It is also very stable, since marketing is a basic part of promoting various products and services to the public. In fact, being skilled in marketing can allow an individual to reach the highest levels of an organization, and a number of studies have indicated that many CEOs have specialized in marketing prior to becoming top executives. When it comes to salary, marketing will vary from one company to another. However, the starting salary in most marketing positions will be just a bit lower than what one would be paid in the engineering field.At the same time, the starting salary for a marketing position can exceed finance, accounting, the liberal arts, and economics. If you are successful while working within an entry level state, you can be promoted to a much higher paying position within a short period of time. Many people have become successful in marketing, even those who normally would not have considered entering such a field. Recent trends show that more women are entering the field of marketing, even though they’ve traditionally worked in the fields of retail. Another thing which makes marketing a great field to enter is the number of industries that use it, and the truth of the matter is just about “every” industry needs marketing.A pharmaceutical company which wants to sell a new drug will need to market it. The NFL will need to market the next Superbowl event. A musician that wants to succeed will need to market his music, and an inventor who has created an invention will need to market it in order to gain profits. Marketing is essential in any organization that is profit driven, and many that aren’t. Even non-profit organizations may need to make the public aware of an event, and marketing is a method by which this can be accomplished. The success of the Internet has led to the subfield of Internet Marketing, and even many traditional brick and mortar firms are now marketing to audience over the web.

Advertising is one of the most important marketing jobs that a marketer will perform. It requires a great deal of skill, as well as planning. While the compensation for advertising tends to be lower than the other marketing sub-disciplines, the opportunity for growth is much larger because a great emphasis is not placed on either the age of the advertiser, or how long they’ve been employed with the firm.

Jo Best

A Career in Marketing

Over the past few years marketing has become one of the most popular career fields among college graduates. If you are interested in taking up a career in marketing you will not have to look to far in order to obtain the necessary information. There are plenty of details surrounding this industry, and all you have to do is find what you are looking for.

The first thing that you may want to know about marketing careers is what they entail. The fact of the matter is that there are many different types of marketing careers that you may be interested in. If you are not sure as to what types of careers you can choose from you will never be able to make the right decision. The field of marketing covers everything from high level executives to assistants. In addition, you may even want to open your own marketing firm so that you can call the shots. When it comes down to it all of these choices are yours.

Another thing to know about a career in marketing is that there is a lot of competition. Liked mentioned above, more and more college graduates are deciding that a career in marketing is right for them. This shows that there is a large demand for marketing professionals, but at the same time it also means that you will be up against quite a bit of competition. If you want to land the marketing career of your dreams and beat out the rest you will have to do something to set yourself apart from the crowd.

To find more information on marketing careers get in touch with an advisor, or simply search the internet. If you are in college your advisor should be able to point you in the right direction, and if not you can do all of your research online.

Overall, a career in marketing may be the perfect choice for you. As long as you are qualified you should be able to find plenty of jobs that would suit your needs.

Marketing Yourself for Employment

Marketing the Real YouC.J. Hayden, MCC
I often wonder how the practice began of pretending to be someone else in order to market your business. You know what I'm talking about -- it's the marketing face, the selling voice, that you often put on in order to attend a networking event or make a sales call. Who taught you to do that?
I have a suspicion where we learn this behavior. Most of us spend a lifetime observing showroom salespeople, product spokespersons in the media, and hucksters on street corners. What we see demonstrated there is artificial enthusiasm, manipulative use of language, feigned interest, and in some cases outright deception.
Sounds awful, doesn't it? So why copy any part of this distasteful way of selling?
Psychologist Abraham Maslow said, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Perhaps we believe this is the only way we can sell because it's the only way we know. I'm not accusing anyone of consciously deceiving prospective clients. What I'm suggesting is that what we do unconsciously and automatically is to behave inauthentically around them.
Intuitively, many of us feel as if something is wrong with this way of operating. When we have to sell ourselves, we find it unpleasant, disagreeable, even repulsive. But what if all those negative feelings were simply because we hate the artificiality and manipulation we think must be a part of selling?
Imagine what it would be like to go to a business networking event as yourself. No facade, no pretension, just plain you. When someone asks your reason for coming, you tell them the truth. You don't have to claim you wanted to hear the speaker (if you didn't). You can come right out and say, "I'm hoping to make some contacts that will lead to business for me."
You wouldn't have to invent reasons to start a conversation. You can walk up to someone who looks interesting and say, "Hi, I haven't met you yet." If you're shy around strangers, you can tell the first person you meet, "I'm sort of a wallflower and feel awkward at events like this. Could you introduce me to some folks?"
Now imagine placing a follow-up call to a prospect where you are completely honest. You could say, "I have some days open on my calendar soon and I'm wondering if this would be a good time for that project we've been discussing." Or, "We haven't talked in a while and I'd like to find out if you're still planning to start the new training program this year."
I see so many professionals and consultants struggle with trying to find an "excuse" to call a prospect. You don't need some manufactured excuse. You know the reason you're calling. Most of the time THEY know the reason you're calling. Just say what it is.
Let's extend this same principle to making a cold call. Instead of stumbling around awkwardly trying to make a polished -- but unnatural -- sales approach, imagine yourself saying, "I'm not much of a salesperson, but I'm really good at what I do. Can we have a conversation about what you need and see if I'm the right person for the job?"
If you've been working from a cold-calling script that makes you flush and get a tight throat every time you read it, throw it out. Come up with one really good opening line that feels authentic and gets directly to the point. Then decide how you will answer -- honestly -- some of the typical questions prospects ask you. My bet is that your calls will immediately get easier.
In fact, the more you become honest, direct, and authentic in all of your marketing, the more appealing selling will be to you, the more effortless it will become, and the more success you will ultimately achieve. Because most business results from building relationships, and how can you develop a relationship with someone when you never reveal who you really are?
C.J. Hayden, MCC
About the Author
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Since 1992, C.J. has been teaching business owners and salespeople to make more money with less effort. She is a Master Certified Coach and leads workshops internationally. Read more of her articles at www.getclientsnow.com

Effective Marketing

Copyright 2006 Mary EuleMarketing is a creative, ever-changing orchestration of many activities needed to accomplish the overall strategies and objectives of a business or organization. As I said before, it is the heart and brain of every business.In order to understand marketing’s role within a business, it is useful to consider its interrelationships with other business units. Although, by no means complete, it does show how marketing plays an important role in all business areas.For example, if you’ve developed a sound marketing strategy, it will address the following issues:Product/services offerings… and how they will fill the unmet needs/wants of your target audience Optimum pricing… based on competitive offerings and your prospects’ willingness to pay Hiring, training and compensation requirements… particularly associated with sales personnel, customer service representatives, and contact employees Bill accuracy and design Operational processes and systems… especially as they relate to the overall customer experience Sales/Distribution Channel IdentificationIn this way, excellent marketers act as objective filters for all company information, practices and policies… particularly those which impact the customer experience.One of the best ways to describe the role of marketing within any business is by creating a mission statement with supporting objectives. They should look something like this…The Marketing Mission is to: Tirelessly anticipate, research and communicate marketplace wants… then ensure that all functional teams are committed to delivering the promised customer experience, plus one, 100% of the time.That translates into the following marketing objectives, which are to: Develop, manage, communicate, and implement versatile, inter-departmental programs designed to achieve a company’s strategic vision, mission and objectives“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” Stephen CoveyCulture and Leadership StylesIn order to allow excellent marketing to “happen” business owners must create an environment and develop a leadership style that enhances its growth.Below are some of the most important of these. Leaders must act as catalysts for change by:• Adopting and communicating an attitude of service• Demonstrating ideal behaviors and tolerating nothing less• Understanding and encouraging healthy conflict• Creating a climate where truth is heard and valued• Confronting the brutal facts of reality• Making sure the right people are hired, not just people• Placing their employees’ ambitions over their own• Becoming and staying constantly curious• Never forgetting their passion and visionBelow is a list of my own 10 Fundamental character traits that Fantastic leaders consistently demonstrate. They are:1. Fair: Good leaders arm their subordinates with the resources necessary to ‘win’ first and then judge performance accordingly. They trust and empower their employees and insist on the truth at all times.2. Fostering good relationships with colleagues, vendors, customers and employees.3. Focused on prioritizing and achieving their objectives. Additionally, they have set clear goals by breaking them down into smaller, unfrosted ‘executionable’, measurable goals. They differentiate between long- and short-term objectives and ensure that employees understand the part they play and their responsibility for making it happen.4. Firm: Leaders are firm, but kind. These traits are not mutually exclusive. Leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate.5. Feedback providers: Leaders must have the courage to provide employees with continual, specific feedback – whether positive or negative. They should also ask for coaching and provide an environment which encourages the surfacing of pertinent ‘conflicts’. They insist on the truth at all times and use it to expand peoples’ capabilities.6. ‘Follow-Throughers’: They take a hands-on approach and do whatever is necessary to ensure that agreed-upon activities are happening. This is made easier because they develop and communicate scalable procedures and systematized processes. 7. Fit: Leaders must be fit for the job and its responsibilities. They are knowledgeable, hard working, experienced, committed, and competent. Additionally, they are self-aware, authentic and persons of integrity. They keep their egos in check and are humble and self-confident enough to encourage and accept challenges and points of view that are opposite of their own.8. Flames: Great leaders exhibit the passion that fuels the company’s vision…. becoming beacons of energy and enthusiasm. They love what they do and it shows! They are the light that ignites others into action and helps make dreams become realities and the impossible… possible.9. Fun: It’s okay to laugh and be a little silly at work… and studies have shown that it actually has a beneficial effect on employees’ attitudes and the amount of work that gets done. Take your work seriously, not yourself.10. Flexible: Stuff happens! Welcome change, expect change, and prepare for change.
About the Author
Mary Eule specializes in helping small and medium-sized businesses get and keep profitable customers. Formerly a Fortune 500 marketing executive; founder of two successful small businesses and award-winning speaker, Ms. Eule is President of Strategic Marketing Advisors, LLC. and co-author of a new book, "Mandatory Marketing: Small Business Edition".She has a BA in Journalism/English from the University of Maryland and earned her a master’s degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University. Log onto her website: http://www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com for free articles, newsletter and helpful marketing tools, tips and templates… and/or to purchase the book.

Career Advice

Posted by Sean Ellis at 10/8/2007 12:16 AM and is filed under uncategorized
Through years of building marketing teams, I've been surprised at how few people really understand their unique talents and weaknesses. Understanding and leveraging unique talents can propel your career forward faster than anything. But watch out. You may get promoted into a role that relies on your weaknesses. Taking the time to understanding both is well worth the effort.

Watching my daughter play soccer this weekend reminded me of my early days of self discovery. Like her, my lack of coordination was compensated by high levels of determination. I didn’t want to be a star athlete, just above average. It wasn’t until high school that I found a sport/position that didn’t require high levels of coordination to be successful. As a defensive lineman on the football team I could claw and scratch my way to success. Of course it helped to have some talent to find angles to stop a runner and discipline to stay in position. But my success in football was primarily based on finding a position that didn’t rely on my key athletic weakness – limited hand-eye coordination.

I followed a similar path in academics. With a B average in high school I barely scraped into UC Davis with a physiology major. I thought I was on my way to achieving a lifelong dream of becoming a doctor, but I quickly hit a hurdle in chemistry class. Despite non-stop studying I could not wrap my brain around chemistry. I couldn’t visualize it or rationalize it. My brain just didn’t work that way. And I could see organic chemistry looming in the future. The horror at the thought of failing pushed me to the brink of a nervous breakdown. When I spoke to my guidance councilor she suggested I consider changing my major. This would mean giving up becoming a doctor, but I agreed. It remains the hardest decision of my life, but it was also one of the best. A business path was much more aligned with the way my brain functions. I quickly discovered in economics courses that I could get twice the grade for half the effort of my peers. My academic success could never have happened if I didn’t work to understand my strengths and weaknesses.

This academic success opened doors for career opportunities. Marketing was very intuitive for me and I was able to quickly rack up some early marketing successes. In 2000 I leapt at the opportunity to run European operations for Uproar, following its NASDAQ listing. But I quickly discovered that as President of Uproar Europe, I had very little time left to focus on marketing. While I was decent at general management, marketing was my unique strength and true passion. After Uproar was acquired, I vowed to continue to hone my marketing skills and to avoid general management.

Unfortunately many people think their only career objective should be to work their way up the organization. Warning - avoid promotions that don’t leverage your strengths.

The Target Market in Marketing

When I teach small business classes on marketing strategy, I often ask participants the question, "Who are your customers? Who will buy your product?" I am often surprised that otherwise savvy small business people either have no idea who will buy from them, or they assume that 'everyone' will.

Assumptions like this can lead to wrong decisions, wrong pricing, wrong marketing strategy – and ultimately, business failure.

The most successful small businesses understand that only a limited number of people will buy their product or service. The task then becomes determining, as closely as possible, exactly who those people are, and 'targeting' the business's marketing efforts and dollars toward them.

You, too, can build a better, stronger business, by identifying and serving a particular customer group – your target market.

One of the first things you need to do is to refine your product or service so that you are NOT trying to be 'all things to all people.' Become a specialist!

For example, in my business, an eco-tourism company, we made some specific decisions early in our market planning. As a charter boat business, we knew that there were plenty of fishing charter operators in the area, and 'party boats' as well. So we decided that we would offer sightseeing or special event charters, and that we would not allow alcohol on board, or fishing rods. Yes, this decision eliminated a percentage of the market – but it also gave us a 'niche' that we could capitalize on, and expanded our market in a way that other charter operators could not take advantage of.

Next, you need to understand that people purchase products or services for three basic reasons:

To satisfy basic needs.
To solve problems.
To make themselves feel good.
You'll need to determine which of those categories your product or service is the solution to, and be prepared to market it accordingly.

Your product or service may fit more than one category, too – our charter business primarily targets folks who just want to feel good – spending a day out on the water, relaxing and being waited on. But it also targets people who have visitors coming from out of town, or even overseas, because we represent a solution to the problem of "What will we do while our company is here? How can we entertain them, or show them our area?"

The next step in creating an effective marketing strategy is to zero in on your target market. Continue on to the next page to learn how to use market segmentation to define your target market.

Marketing Careers

Whether the economy is in ‘boom’ time or in recession or when the ‘green shoots’ of recovery are beginning to show, Marketing continues to be one of the most important business activities and therefore, a sound career choice for anyone who is prepared to make the commitment and work hard.

If anything, marketing gains in value in difficult times because with demand falling, the challenge is on to find new markets and additional customers for the products or services created by the business. It is only by intelligent marketing supported by an able sales force that businesses can move the surplus of manufactured stock or, in the service industries, take up the excess supply capacity.
Careers in marketing are highly sought after as individuals are normally rewarded according to ability rather than age. One way to ensure you stay ahead of the pack is to become professionally qualified. More and more companies are insisting on good professional qualifications for members of their workforce because they provide a recognised standard of assurance that they are employing people with the necessary skills.

Many new entrants are graduates, often with business or related degrees, although personal qualities such as interpersonal and communications skills and the ability to work in a team are just as essential. Other vital skills for future marketers include management and information technology as well as financial and analytical skills.

Often business graduates face a familiar dilemma. Time and again you hear of applicants being told: “Come back when you’ve got more experience.” From the stage to the City, the difficulty is the same - how do you get experience without that crucial first job? A growing number of specialist undergraduate degrees are focussing on marketing but employers still report a shortage of graduates with hands-on marketing experience and associated skills. Communication and interpersonal skills, budget management and the ability to listen and negotiate evolve as much from hands-on experience as through academic learning.

A graduate who has worked on the University newspaper, or has run a campaign for a student society will have practical experience of meeting deadlines and managing budgets. Graduates should think of joining or setting up a Student Chapter that promotes the discipline of Marketing to fellow students under the auspices of the local CIM branch and a designated budget.

Many graduates go on to study The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s professional qualifications in marketing at both Certificate, Advanced Certificate and Post-Graduate diploma level.

In 1998 the Chartered Institute of Marketing was granted the right to award Individual Chartered status to eligible members, raising marketing to the status of other chartered professions, such as accountancy and surveying. Working towards becoming a ‘Chartered Marketer’ demands a mixture of qualifications and experience, as well as a commitment to continually updating your professional skills.

Individual Chartered Marketer status can potentially benefit everyone working in the marketing profession. For young people in particular, who are either considering marketing as a profession, or who have just begun their career, it provides a level of professional status they can aspire to. These days, personal development and professional progression is about much more than studying for exams. Chartered Marketer provides a stamp of approval for all the training and development that young marketers are doing. It’s a real and tangible goal to work towards.

There are no magic wands, and being a Chartered Marketer won't propel an individual up to CEO level. It does, however, show an individual is serious about their profession, and the early adopters are making themselves more visible in the long term. In an interview situation, all other things being equal, the Chartered Marketer will always have the edge.

Personal qualities required to build a successful career in marketing include intelligence, integrity, enthusiasm, creativeness, and the stamina to cope with the challenges and demands arising from such a responsible role. There is, however, room for most types of ability, expertise and personality within the different specialist areas, which make up this generic career area known as marketing.

In fact the marketing mix incorporates a whole host of specialist disciplines including market research, product development, marketing planning and control, pricing, distribution, promotion (including advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion and public relations), selling and after sales service. These disciplines cover every sort of marketing and promotional activity that you can think of – from using the Internet for promoting goods and services, to planning events and exhibitions or developing good telephone and customer service skills.

For marketing, CIM is the Government Approved awarding body for qualifications (UK), the international benchmark for standards, and the body supporting lifelong career development linked to CPD and Chartered Status. The Moor Hall Headquarters is based at Cookham, near Maidenhead where Members and non-Members of the Institute have access to one of the largest Marketing libraries in Europe as well as residential, conference and training facilities. Visit the CIM e-centre web sites at www.cim.co.uk or www.connectedinmarketing.com for more information about membership, marketing qualifications and Chartered Marketer status, or email us at marketing@cim.co.uk

Marketing Executive Opportunities

A Marketing Executive Position is an entry-level or junior-level job that involves working on the various functions of a marketing department such as sales, advertising, promotion, media, product development, and market research.

The role and responsibilities of a marketing executive are based on the given organization’s structure. If the organization is small, then the marketing professional has to perform multiple tasks: planning sales activities, preparing market surveys, preparing reports on competitors’ strategies, assisting in promotional activities, etc. But if it’s a large-scale organization with different departments, then the marketing executive may be given a single, specific job and be expected to excel in that field only.

The responsibilities of a marketing executive include achieving sales targets set by the company; building relationships with suppliers, consumers, etc.; and maintaining and updating market research reports and sales reports. Marketing executives also need to consistently follow up with sales teams, media people, and consumers. Marketing executives also assist marketing managers in planning budgets, selling products or services, and in coordinating promotional events.

Almost all organizations have a marketing department, whether they are in retailing, banking, manufacturing, IT, the healthcare industry, media, etc. Marketing executives can therefore find plenty of job opportunities in such companies.

A strong candidate must possess a bachelor’s degree in business studies/administration/management, marketing, or the equivalent thereof. Experience in a related field is also helpful. Good communication skills are also desirable for the position of marketing executive or marketing coordinator.

Resource: Marketing Executive Jobs