Overcoming Discouragement
5/01/2008
Studies show that we have about 50,000 thoughts per day, and 90% of them are repetitive. Other research indicates that 77% of everything that most people think about is negative, self-damaging, and counterproductive....Continue Reading This Article >
Zen and The Successful Leasing Professional
3/17/2008
Zen leasing uses the Law of Detachment to achieve sales. The Law of Detachment says that in order to acquire anything in the physical universe, one must give up one’s attachment to it. This does not mean that the salesperson gives up the desire to make a sale. Rather, the salesperson gives up his or her attachment to the result. The Law of Detachment is more than a technique to increase sales volume; rather, it can be cultivated as a way of life. At this level the salesperson strives to present the truth as clearly and directly as possible. He has a sincere desire to help his client, and let’s the chips fall where they may....Continue Reading This Article >
Change - From Discomfort to Growth
2/14/2008
Successful people have formed the habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don’t like to do....Continue Reading This Article >
Timing and Chemistry
1/11/2008
Imagine prospecting a fabulous vendor on the very day they are contemplating changing leasing companies. You float out of that sales call as if you hit the lottery....Continue Reading This Article >
Treasure-Hunting for Vendors
11/20/2007
Most sales people dislike prospecting and put it off as long as possible. But if they change the way they look at prospecting and see it as a potential treasure hunt rather than an exercise in rejection they could increase their chances of success....Continue Reading This Article >
Doing The Right Thing
10/14/2007
When a credit analyst goes to decision a tough deal, sales reps don’t sit there thinking “I hope they’ll make the right decision.” They pray that the deal gets approved. Is it bad to pray that all your deals get approved? No. Is it bad to put your own individual interests ahead of what is good for your company and your customers? Absolutely....Continue Reading This Article >
Finding Your Niche
10/12/2007
I see many leasing sales people who are stuck in misery. They cold call day after day after day only to find meager results. They are trying to stand out in a crowded market place and they are not getting noticed....Continue Reading This Article >
A Tiered Approach
8/29/2007
We used Quick Trac for all our site inspections. A rival site inspection company wanted our business. I was the decision maker, and every time the sales rep called me I would brush him off. I’d say …”just send me some information” Or … “we’re happy with who we’re using”.
The reason I would brush him off was that I had no real reason to change site inspection companies, and I was busy. I had twelve direct reports and an annual budget of $100,000,000....Continue Reading This Article >
Sales Compensation: The Old rules No Longer Apply
5/03/2007
There was a time when almost every leasing company paid their sales representatives based on a simple formula. They were paid a percentage of volume generated. Over time, more and more rules have been put in place regarding rates, structure of deals, types of accounts, etc. but this basic formula has been used for many years and continues to exist for many companies even as our business becomes more and more complicated....Continue Reading This Article >
The Power of Questions
3/03/2007
When college coaches recruit high school athletes, they don’t waste time listing all the fine features of their university, why? Because students are only interested in what they’re interested in. They are not necessarily interested in what the coach likes about the school.
The same thinking applies to vendors and lessees. Some sales people dive right into a presentation. They "dump" all the information they can about their company and their programs, and they think they are selling....Continue Reading This Article >
Voice Mail Techniques: Getting Vendors to Listen and Respond
2/08/2007
Imagine having a great new list of qualified vendors and lessees to call! You are pumped up and ready to start prospecting. Then the inevitable happens, sixty-five percent of the time you don’t get through to the decision maker, you get voice mail. What do you say? Most sales people leave a message about the services their company offers and advantages of doing business with them. And most of the time the prospect never returns the call. Now what does the sales rep do? Should they call back until he picks up the phone? Do they try to go through the secretary? Usually a phone call is not returned because:...Continue Reading This Article >
Re-Look at Your Vendor Programs
1/03/2007
We've all heard about what's happened in the equipment leasing world over the last year or two. Many people are saying that there are fewer competitors out there and I believe that is certainly the case. Given that fact, you should spend time examining your dealer programs to make sure you're getting the most out of them. A couple of years ago, many leasing companies made concessions--rate or otherwise--to dealers that could have left for a competitor. If they have fewer options today because we are in a more realistic credit environment, then you should consider pulling back some of those concessions. It will certainly not be easy, and you shouldn’t do it across the board. But there are opportunities out there....Continue Reading This Article >
Prospecting & Football
12/25/2006
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day. The Eagles are now in first place in the NFC East Division. This is shocking to Philadelphia fans because four weeks ago, the quarterback, Donovan McNabb was injured and it seemed like the season was over.
I had another shock recently. While working with a sales rep I asked her what her primary objective was for an appointment she had with a vendor later that afternoon. She said she wanted the vendor to commit to using her leasing services exclusively....Continue Reading This Article >
Broker Commissions – Follow-Up Report
11/15/2006
In my initial article about broker commission three main questions were raised:
Why do funding sources limit the amount of points paid, sometimes as low as ten points or less?
Why are some funding sources who are trying to attract brokers willing to pay 20% or more?
Should there be a cap for the amount of points paid, or should it be determined on an individual basis?...Continue Reading This Article >
A Practical Discussion of Credit Bureaus and Their Scores
10/01/2006
Usually I spend my time talking, writing and teaching about sales related issues. Typically they center around topics such as motivation, sales techniques, goal setting, etc. Very often though, when I get to the question and answer part of my presentations, I am asked questions about credit. This is a topic that is near and dear to every sales person but because it is usually out of his or her control, it is not discussed as a part of most sales training courses. Even when it is, the training usually consists of selling the decline while trying to get the next deal from the vendor or broker. Because understanding credit issues is essential to success in this business I decided to do some research and write an article about an area of credit that is used frequently, especially in small ticket leasing, but is often misunderstood – the principal's personal credit bureau and associated scores....Continue Reading This Article >
Objections We All See
6/08/2006
In 1988 I would drive my Saab to a vendor’s location and ask them “Do you have any apps for me?” Inevitably they said “No, we don’t have any leasing deals for you right now, but you can stop back in a couple of weeks.” A couple of weeks would go by, I’d stop by again and they would tell me “No leasing deals now, but feel free to stop by again.”...Continue Reading This Article >
Continuous Partial Attention
6/06/2006
At a recent sales training seminar a rep had his laptop open while I was presenting. His manager told him, in front of everybody, to shut it. He responded that he was taking notes. The manager said he didn’t care and to still shut it.
Was the rep taking notes?
Or was he looking at the status of his NCAA pool?...Continue Reading This Article >
Information Underload
6/06/2006
The most appealing treadmill to me in the gym was located in the second row of aerobic equipment. I liked it because it’s the only treadmill positioned so that you can view three TV’s at the same time. On one particular day, all the televisions had the closed caption feature on. In addition, they had sports scores or stock quotes scrolling across the bottom (and sometimes tops) of the screen, and they flashed their own bullet points, names and titles. There was a minimum of three different things to read on each TV....Continue Reading This Article >
Sales Makes it Happen
4/30/2006
After talking to some sources I have found that the general range of points paid is from 3% up to 20%. Balboa and Main Street pay up to 20%.
I’ll take on the role of investigative reporter to provide you with more info on this subject. Please share your knowledge of typical points and deal sizes (I’ll keep you anonymous if you like), I’ll compile a summary and share the information in a follow-up article to make us all more knowledgeable on current industry trends....Continue Reading This Article >
B-Shield
3/17/2006
I flew to L.A. recently, connecting through Vegas, to train a terrific leasing company. On the third leg of the trip my plane was late arriving. I got off the plane in Vegas, looked at the monitor and it said that my flight to Philly had DEPARTED....Continue Reading This Article >
Three Ways to Spring Board Your Vendor Marketing Program
3/03/2006
As a Broker, you have noticed the changes in the leasing industry over the past couple years. If anyone questions this just go to leasingnews.org and review “The List”.
The industry is going though changes, has your marketing plan? Are you marketing to vendors differently than you were a few years ago? You are probably doing some direct mail, or sporadic broadcast faxing, but is that enough? It is if you want average results. If you want remarkable results, however, you must do more. When you put on your marketing hat you must concern yourself not only with who you will reach, but also how you will reach them and with attaining a satisfactory response rate....Continue Reading This Article >
Five Tips To Increase Sales NOW!
8/09/2005
We are half way through 2002. Are you half way toward your sales goals? After fifteen years of leasing experience – from training and speaking, to coaching and sales – I firmly believe that there is business out there for every member of the NAELB. How do you get your share? Here are five tips to increase sales NOW. Read and reflect on the ideas. Apply them to your business. Visualize the specific scenario in which you could implement an idea. Then try the idea. Just like the Stairmaster collecting dust in my basement, none of this stuff will help you reach your goals unless you put it into practice....Continue Reading This Article >
What's Right with Leasing
7/05/2005
Here are some of the words and phrases being used about the leasing industry today:
· Jeopardy
· Bloodbath
· Cherry picking
· Fund your own deals
· Razor-thin margins
· Desperate for revenue
· Higher losses
It is an easy time right now in our business? No. Are some leasing companies thriving? YES! How can you keep a positive outlook in the face of all this negativity? Take a look at the following:...Continue Reading This Article >
Leases, Loans & Sales... Oh My!
5/23/2005
One way to sell more equipment is to offer monthly payments on each and every proposal you create. By putting the equipment cost in terms of a monthly payment, the customer can conveniently acquire the equipment without writing a big check.
Most equipment leases are classified as either a capital lease or an operating lease. The terms operating and capital lease relate to the world of accounting—more specifically financial reporting....Continue Reading This Article >
Professional Relationships
10/13/2004
The annual UAEL & NAELB conferences are just weeks away. Both associations want you to attend, but they rarely give you any tips on what to do once you get there.
I went to my first NAELB meeting in 1995, and even though I was working for a funding source, I had a hard time striking up conversations. It seemed like everybody knew everybody else, I knew no one, and felt like a big loser.
Now I walk into an NAELB meeting and I’m comfortable, there are brokers who are my friends, and we’ve helped each other out over the last several years. What I’ve come to realize is that you can’t hurry love…or professional relationships....Continue Reading This Article >
Practical Ways to Land Vendors
7/28/2003
What can you do to boost profit and volume? In today’s market, your existing vendors are selling less equipment. So, one of the first things to do to boost volume is to land new vendors. It's as simple as that, and fortunately there is less competition out there today.
How do you land new vendors? I suggest comprehensive monitoring of your sales force. Are they making enough calls? Are they just talking to prospects that are friendly, but don’t have volume? Measure their activity level, the number of calls, length of calls, and also code the leads they are calling on. Leads can be coded three ways:...Continue Reading This Article >
The Future
1/30/2002
Indications are that the economy is improving. We are coming out of a very mild recession. The leasing companies that will make their volume goals for 2002 are the ones who come out strong right now.
When the economy swings fully back, you can count on the following:...Continue Reading This Article >
Surviving A Recession
3/30/1999
Many of today’s brokers and lessors have never experienced a recession, because of that they may get caught up in the negativity created by the media and feel helpless. The world is not coming to an end, the economy as a whole has just stopped growing for a brief period. A few areas will be hit significantly, most will not be affected that dramatically. There are ways that you can make sure that you are not dragged down with the unfortunate minority. In my opinion there are three key themes you need to focus on to make the best of market conditions we haven’t experienced in ten years. Prepare for tough times when you feel they are coming, react quickly and appropriately to what is happening and return to a focus on the fundamentals you may have strayed from during the easier times....Continue Reading This Article >
Fraud: 11 Red Flags that may indicate a fraudulent transaction
1/30/1996
Fraud has always been prevalent in the leasing industry. However, it’s numbers are increasing now that more applications are being generated electronically. The Internet has allowed us to better serve our customers, but it has also opened us up to new scams. While the internet makes it easier for your customers to reach you, it also gives people intent on committing fraud more access to their targets. Fraud is more prevalent when the perpetrator has the ability to find you. It is much less common when you are dealing with lessees and vendors that you have approached. The internet makes it easier for people you wouldn’t have targeted to find you....Continue Reading This Article >