The (New) Skills You Need to Succeed in Sales

by Lynette Ryals and Javier Marcos 

Seven Ways to Improve Your Email Response

Here are seven suggestions to help you craft more effective email campaigns and get better response rates.

1. Subject LineFirst impressions are critical in any form of communication. When people receive an email, the first thing they see is the subject line,

Selling Starts with Understanding the Buying Process

Sales processes usually are linear representations of a sequence of activities a salesperson has to follow in order to be successful. While the sales process might provide guidance to the salesperson, it’s inadequate for monitoring the progress of a potential deal. In the end, it does not matter what the salesperson has done; buying happens when the customer has reached a certain state of mind.

So we have to take the customer’s buying process into consideration. Most descriptions of buying processes focus on activities from the customer’s point of view. Understanding what the customer is thinking with respect to a potential purchase is what really matters. Considering the buying process as a type of change-management process has inspired the following simple, cyclical, four-stage model.

Fact or Fiction - Saving on Printing Costs

There’s a lot that goes on between clicking “print” and holding your high-quality printed page. Today, HP Supplies Guys Thom Brown and Michael Borg take us under the hood of the printer to show how ink, toner and paper work with the printer to create good-looking, long-lasting prints.

People always ask me about the best ways to save on printing costs like ink and paper. Well, there are many simple things you can do to get the most value out of your HP printing system, so today I want to share with you the truth on some popular tips and tricks that will and won’t help you to save money on supplies.

Networking a Printer: It’s Easier than You Think

I remember when having your own printer on your own desk wasn’t just a status symbol, it was a necessity. The reason was printers didn’t communicate with other printers at that time, never mind other computers. Like many former necessities, however, the need for dedicatedprinters has all but disappeared and in a way makes it easier to manage and customize to your needs rather than technical specifications.

Most of the advances in printing technology directly benefit smaller companies because they make

HP explains why printer ink is so expensive

There's a perception that ink is one of the most expensive substances in the world," says Thom Brown, marketing manager at HP.

Plan Your Sales Call Strategy

   

It's the question that goes through the mind of a salesperson during every call: How is the target reacting to my pitch?

Duplex Printing: Printing on both sides of the paper

Double-sided printing, also referred to as two-sided or duplex printing, allows you to print on both sides of the page, cutting your paper use by up to 50%. Find out how to determine your printer’s automatic duplexing capabilities, and how to adjust your printer settings to use them.

Automatic double-sided printing can cut your paper use by up to 50%!

Automatic duplexing benefits

Automatic double-sided printing allows you to print on both sides of the page without having to stand by

Top 10 Sales Trends for 2013

by Steve W. Martin 

What are the top business-to-business sales trends for 2013? Here's my list based upon my experience of studying some of the world's best sales organizations this past year.

HP: Winning in India depends on how much loss you can bear

One of the largest technology companies in the world, HP is facing stiff challenges, what with constant changes in its top management and strategies over the past two years. HP IndiaManaging Director Neelam Dhawan, who took over the India operations in 2008, has navigated the company through these tough times. In an interview with Harsimran Julka, she spoke on the year that was, and whether HP would cut PC prices in India to take on rivals like Dell and Lenovo. Excerpts:

HP India Managing Director Neelam Dhawan

How was 2012 for HP in India, considering we saw declining growth in PC industry?
I am glad this year is over. 2012 was a tough one, especially the first half, for a couple of reasons. We saw the forex rate going from Rs 44 to a dollar to Rs 55, which caused havoc with imports. The GDP growth of the country was really slow and political (and corruption) issues reported in the press against

The Best Sales Leaders Are Trend Hunters

Sales is all about hitting your numbers. The rapid fire, adrenalin-infused process of nailing monthly and annual sales targets comes with the territory. But who's aiming for targets two and three years out? It's not just a job for strategy; the best sales leaders are hunting for trends.

Future growth isn't about gut instinct or reading tea leaves to find the next big thing. Sales leaders we spoke to in writing the book Sales Growth systematically invested time, effort, and resources in figuring out where growth will come from next. Despite all the short-term pressures, the best are looking at least 10 quarters ahead. "In our international operations, we introduced a three-year sales planning process to get beyond the 90-day mentality of 'How will I make my number this quarter?'" says William Teuber, Vice-Chairman of EMC.

How to charge a high price and still get customers

That is indeed the power of a premium brand. And contrary to the popular opinion, you don’t always need to spend huge amounts in marketing and advertising to create a premium brand. Remember, any great brand is built over two steps: make your customer a promise of quality that the customer values, and then consistently deliver on that promise.Have you ever wondered why do you go to a specific store to buy a certain product? For example you may buy your sweets from a particular shop. Now, there may be other shops that sell the same sweets, but once you are convinced about the quality or consistency of one shop, chances are, you will be willing to drive out of your way

Top Reasons Salespeople Lose Business

by Steve W. Martin  

It's the question asked by anyone who's ever lost a sale: What went wrong?

Was it something I said? Was it something I /didn't/ say? Or was our product not up-to-snuff versus the competition?

HP launches multi-function printer at Rs 18,306

NEW DELHI, DEC 4: 

Hewlett Packard (HP) India on Tuesday launched Hotspot LaserJet Pro multi-function printer, an all-in-one with in-built wireless Internet, priced at Rs 18,306.Besides print, copy, scan and fax capabilities, the new printer will come with latest mobile printing technologies including HP wireless direct, HP ePrint and Apple AirPrint.

The company said it is targeting customers in the small office/home office (SOHO) or a small business (SMB) set-up through this new printer.

H-P's New Printers: A Big Launch for the Battered Company

Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ +2.41% plans to unveil a new line of printers for businesses Tuesday, one of the first fruits of Chief Executive Meg Whitman's efforts to invest more in research and development as she tries to turn around the struggling technology company.

What can we learn from our customers?

All businesses claim that they value feedback from their customers, but how many of these businesses actually learn from the feedback their customers give them?

The difference between listening to customer feedback and actually learning from it is the degree of involvement your business has in the process. Learning from customers can be and should be a strategic process that leads to transformational shifts in your product or service.

HP LASERJET ENTERPRISE 500 COLOUR MFP M575 SERIES

Overview

Impressive color and productivity—from a desktop MFP featuring an 8-inch touchscreen. HP Quick Sets enable one-touch workflows. Preview and edit images prior to scanning. Centrally manage your environment. Help protect sensitive business information.

Making your competition work for you

We live in competitive times and all businesses are invariably competing with rival firms for sales. For small business owners, the competitive threat is significant, not just from their peers who are of roughly the same size, but from large, all-powerful corporates or entities who can destabilize smaller businesses simply by venturing into their market.

Entrepreneurs and business owners therefore need to take a leaf out of the bigger companies when it comes to dealing with competition. Take the example of Linkedin, a hugely successful professional networking site that began to look a little outdated and less engaging when compared to Facebook and other networking sites.

HP Unveils New Printing Innovations That Digitize the Office, Help Reduce Costs

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 30, 2012) - HP ( NYSE : HPQ ) today announced new HP Officejet Pro and HP LaserJet printers and content management solutions designed to redefine business and government printing by enabling customers to reduce costs, increase efficiency and digitize the office.

The new offerings represent the largest upgrade to HP's commercial printers in almost a decade, signifying the integration of intellectual property (IP) and innovation from across the organization.

"Our customers need innovative technology tailored to their workflow that is simple and effective, and helps them conduct business," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, HP Printing and Personal Systems. "HP is offering new ways to print that have not previously been possible -- with superb speed and performance to drive a new level of office efficiency."

Kodak to discount printers and continue selling cheap ink

Kodak is exiting the printer business after their attempt to subvert the industry's typical business model failed.

Printers are the kind of purchase that people make based on price sensitivity. Few understand that the real cost of a printer is not its upfront expense, but rather the cost of replacement ink over its lifetime.