Sales Internship Opportunity: Campus Special

You work hard for them, they work hard for you!

Campus Special is the industry leader for print, mobile, online, and digital marketing solutions for local businesses looking to target college students. They work with over 500 college campuses, reach 7 million students, and service 20,000 clients nationwide. They have helped over 3,000 college students gain hands on experience in B2B sales with their ward-winning internship program. This is not your typical internship where students file paperwork, fetch coffee, sit in cubicles, and handle clerical tasks. They provide interns with an extensive marketing and sales-training program. Interns will work one-on-one with clients in a B2B atmosphere along with the accountability of reporting to their sales manager on a daily basis. Campus Special interns graduate the summer internship as young professionals. Interns will be selling space in Campus Special's coupon book, mobile apps, order food online, direct mail, and digital signage.

Campus Special knows it's a competitive world out there after graduation. This is why they have started an award winning career partnership program! Over the past 8 years, they have helped over 3,000 college students launch successful careers with prestigious companies in diverse industries. After graduating the summer internship program, interns have an opportunity that leads to working with one of Campus Specials 50 career partners. Some of those include ADA, Aerotek, Tampa Bay Rays, ESPN, Northwestern Mutual, Paycom,and many more!

If you would like to know more about this opportunity and how it can change your life like it has mine, please reach out to me!

A Sale Isn't A Sale Without Customer Service

I had written a previous post about relationships and how they greatly affect sales. Today, I’d like to touch base on customer service in relation to a sale. Customer service can be the make or break for a salesperson or a company. Poor customer service can lead to losing a major account. On the flip side, great customer service can lead to accounts becoming returning customers. The following are a few tips for salespeople regarding good customer service for their clients:

The Office: Customer Service Clip

Don’t leave a client hanging: The worst thing a sales person can do is make a sale and then completely ignore the client. Making a sale doesn’t mean you are done with the account. After you close the deal, it’s only the beginning of you relationship with the customer. From there on out, they will be confiding in you for advice, questions regarding the service you offer, and may even call if they didn’t receive what they initially agreed to. As a salesperson, it’s important not to blow your client off and just walk away with your commission. It doesn’t look good on you or your company.

Educate your client: Your client is going to have many questions. Make sure to teach them what they should and want to know about the product or service they are purchasing.

Reach out to your client: After a few weeks of making a sale, reach out to your client and ask how things are going! This shows the client you were genuinely trying to help their business and weren't just making a sale to meet your quota.  This simple act could lead to a very easy upgrade or up sale from a client!

Show appreciation: Make sure to always thank customers or clients for their business. Consider sending occasional handwritten thank-you notes or a personalized email.  Nobody dis-likes receiving a thank you!

The ABCs of Sales

If you're new to the selling field, you might wonder how some people find closing a deal easier compared to another. The top sellers in this field always focus on the ABCs- Always Be Closing. Yes, to new sellers this might be a scary thought, but in order to make sales; you have to be willing to take the initiative and close! The following tips are few guides to help you in your closing process!

Create a Sense Of Urgency: When I say, “create a sense of urgency,” I don’t mean push the prospect into buying. This could lead to no sale at all, if you upset the prospect by pressuring them to buy.  A good way to up the urgency is to give them a reason why they shouldn’t procrastinate. If you know they like your product or service and are willing to pay, don’t let them wait any longer. Be ready to give reason why they should buy today!

Be Assertive: Remember, you can’t just wait for a customer to say “yes” because most won’t be that blunt about their answer. So, instead of waiting, simply ask the prospect if they have anymore questions as you pull out the paperwork and begin filling it out. This also helps in giving the prospect a little nudge in the “yes” direction.

Look For the Signs: It’s important to know how to read your client. When you hear them say, “Wow, I like that” or “I want to know more about this (product/service)” or the big one “How much is this?” you know if you have them locked in.  All of these are important to understand when it comes to closing out the sale, especially if they ask about price. When you hear this question, you know you have a product they are really interested in, and it’s up to you to keep building the value for the product!

Don’t Be Afraid: This can be hard for new sellers, but’s important to never be afraid to close. Yes, your first few times you might feel awkward; but you need to stay positive; and try not to show the client you feel this way. When you have confidence in your product and yourself; closing will become easier, smoother, and second nature.

Remember…Always Be Closing!

Handling Rejection -"You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Don't Take"

We’ve all dealt with rejection throughout our lives. Whether it was trying out for a sports team and were cut, tried out for a school play and didn’t get a call back, or even interviewing for a job you didn’t end up getting. Having a career in sales means having to deal with rejections everyday.  Not every sales call is a success, so knowing how to handle rejection is extremely important. What are the secrets top sellers use in handling rejection? Using the following tips and video could make the difference with you being an average salesperson to a top salesperson! 

Don’t Take It Personally: They’re many reasons why a prospect may say no. It could be the value wasn’t built up to what they would spend. Use the rejection to review your strategy and what you can do to fix it.

Every “No” Leads to A “Yes”: When a prospect tells you no, don’t become flustered. That no is getting you closer to a yes. It’s important to look a head at your next sales call and remain positive. “You can’t let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”

Use the “No” As a Tool: It’s important to be able to take the rejection and use it to find out your weaknesses that you can improve. Being able to detect your weaknesses so they can be improved will only make you a better salesperson!

Don’t Take “No” As a Final Answer: When a client rejects you, take it as a “maybe”. Most prospects want to say no before you even begin to pitch. It’s important to be persistent, and always come back with new ways to build value.

Ask Why: When you are faced with a rejection, it’s important to ask them why they have chosen a different direction. This allows you to understand where the potential client stands with your company’s products and the value they believe the products hold.

Is Two Better Than One?

Sometimes, you will come across a prospect that just won’t listen to anything you have to say, or they can’t see how you are trying to help them. In this case, you can think about bringing in a team member to help shed some new light for the prospect.

However, you must be careful with this method. You don’t want to come across as attacking the prospect by bringing in a team member to help give the pitch. You must simply think of your team member as a supporting tool. Here a few reasons why double-teaming a sales call can be beneficial:

1. Having another team member join in on the meeting can help lesson the tension. The third party allows the pitch to come across more as a conversation that they may join in on.

2. Sometimes, having a team member can help build a stronger sales pitch. When I did my sales internship a couple summers ago, my teammates and I would team up when we needed help. We realized we could feed off of each other during the sales call, making our products more valuable for our prospect.

3. Double teaming allows you to learn from your team member. Everyone has their own way of delivering a sales pitch, but it never hurts to learn new approaches or strategies. I learned a lot from my team when we would team up on tough clients.

4. Finally, having a teammate their may help pump you up. We’ve all come across those days or weeks where we have a dry spell.  During this time, it’s important to remember you have to stay pumped up and positive. Having a teammate there who knows how you are feeling can help keep you motivated and positive!