How many Tigers do you have in your organization?  How many Phil’s?  How many struggle to make the cut?

If you think about it, this makes perfect sense.  Tiger was consistent throughout the playoffs and throughout the year.  Phil was not.  Tiger Woods, the consummate in consistency, work ethic, and diligence, plus a lot of skill, stays the course.  He works golf as a process, continues to get coaching, and continues to come in usually first or second, and always within the top 10.  On the other hand, Phil Mickelson has a ton of skill, but not overly diligent in his work ethic, and just within the past two years has embraced coaching.  Tiger produces every time he plays.  Phil has moments of greatness, and then ends up down in the pack at other times.  In all fairness to Phil he did have personal problems this year.  However, over the long run he’s just not that consistent yet Tiger is.

Think about your salespeople, (or yourself, if you’re a salesperson).  Does your salesperson, or you, close the sale, 7/10 times, or do they score big every once in a while?  Which would you rather have?  What are you willing to invest, if anything, to get it?

Selling is a process and like golf, it requires training, practice, coaching, and reinforcement.  Unlike golf, there is no reward for a second or lower place, which makes selling effectiveness even more critical. 

The process of selling may sound simple — prospecting, presenting, addressing objections, and closing.  However each of these is as complex as driving, hitting long irons, pitching, chipping and putting — and for those of you tried it, you know just how complex it is.  The big difference between professional golfer and professional salespeople is that in golf every person that makes money was trained and practiced long and hard before he or she made a time.  Most salespeople learn to sell on the job and unlike golfers, rarely get on-going coaching.

So consider these:

• Which of your salespeople are Tigers?  Which are Phils?
• Are you satisfied with each of their performances?
• Do you have a selling process that can be managed to and structured to make both salespeople and sales managers accountable?
• Have your people, or you, been trained to sell effectively or were they “experienced” when you hire them?
• Do you have an on-going coaching program?
• Are you willing to invest to improve your sales team?

Success is not an accident.  There are many golfers with the talent of a Tiger or Phil that can not get on any money Tour.  In addition to having skill, Tiger and Phil work extremely hard to stay where they are.  They train, practice, pursue coaching and compete aggressively.  Likewise, your salespeople, or you, must do the same to be successful in selling — train, practice, pursued coaching and learn to compete aggressively.

And now I invite you to learn more.

 Bonus Tip:  Free Book – “TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER$” – The Complete Guide to C-Level Selling – hardback version.  Network, get past gatekeepers, interact with executives, secure commitments and sell more than you ever thought possible.  Click http://sammanfer.com/Book/freeoffer.htm  to learn more about this fantastic offer.

Sam Manfer is a sales force development expert and makes any sales manager or sales person feel comfortable and confident getting to and talking with powerful decision makers. For his free “Selling Wisdoms” e-zine and articles on overcoming all the problems with C-Level Selling visit www.SamManfer.com .

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/clevel-selling-are-you-a-tiger-a-phil-or-struggle-to-make-the-cut-1282828.html

When you read the ads that talk about all the free money you can get and all the highly profitable grants, you should think twice: can these minority small business grants be real? The answer is simple: "no". There is no such thing as grants offered for free, without interest or paying back specifications, in case you are interested in opening a small business. There are, however, grants that are allocated to organizations that fight for good causes – but these types of foundations are non-profit ones. If you want to find out more about the type of organizations that can actually obtain funds, also known as minority small business grants, then you should know that they must be dedicated to improving one aspect of the community. An area which does not have running water, for example, welcomes people with viable projects and these people can count on the government’s support.

But obtaining free money is not easy at all, since there are many criteria of eligibility. For starters, you must have a very perfect-looking credit card history and you must prove that you are part of an ethnic group – even though these grants are also allocated to women and in this case, they are known as small business grants for women. The most popular business ideas that can get the government’s support regard heath and education, but also environmental aspects and animal care.

Some people claim, on various blogs or in certain communities that they have obtained substantial funds from the government, which they refer to as minority small business grants. Well, these people actually refer to loans, and not exactly grants – which means that the money needs to be paid back and there is also an interest involved. However, these minority small business grants, or, better said, loan programs, can be quite advantageous, financially speaking and they seem to appeal to people who need funds in order to continue their education or to purchase different goods.

Even though the above facts might sound a little too discouraging, the facts are that these programs do exist, but are simply misinterpreted. If you think you are eligible, meaning that you are part of a minority group and if you have a non-profitable business idea in mind, then you can start thinking about applying for minority small business grants. Minority small business grants seem to have gained a lot of popularity, yet not many are aware of their true meaning and purpose. But since you have found out what exactly these free funds represent, you can start thinking whether they worth your interest or not. Act to your advantage!

Author: Sam Ness
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: WordPress plugin Guest Blogger

As you might have expected, there are certain requirements when it comes to being eligible for small business grants for women. Firstly, you need to own a minimum of 51% of your business, in order to be a suitable candidate for one of these minority small business grants. The second most important thing you must be able to present to the government representatives is a clean credit history. Obviously, this is not such an easy thing to achieve, especially since you can not simply “delete” an unclean and flawed history in a few seconds. If you really wish to obtain one of the small business grants for women, repair all you can before applying for the money grants.

The next thing you need to o is to think about a strategy. A very well organized, powerful and impressive business plan; to be more exact. Well, you are a woman, so you should get creative and organized in order to create the best plan ever. A good idea is the best starting point in these situations. If you have a strong and original, worthy idea to begin with, then have high chances to get the desired small business grants for women. But maybe you need some help: which ones are the most desirable concepts and businesses that appeal to the government? Well, the state is willing to allocate money for good causes only. And, for example, education, health or environment protection classify as noble, positive grounds for getting small business grants for women.

Another idea you should definitely take into consideration when conceiving your business plan is the fact that you should take a look in your community and observe its lacks: what does your region or town need? Maybe a center for helping the children or the elder ones – these types of causes always seem to gain the interest of the government and you have great chances to get your small business grants for women. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, you can start thinking about hiring a specialist to help you create a strong case that would appeal to the committee. Whatever it takes, the small business grants for women are worth the effort.

So – what are you waiting for? Get started today; apply for small business grants for women in order to get your grant money as soon as possible. After obtaining the small business grants for women, your only worries should be spending the funds for your great causes. Good luck with your project!

Author: Sam Butler
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger