Can You Manage? You're the salesperson and the boss. First thing to do? Get organized!

A few years ago, a sales manager at an Atlanta industrialdistributor was relating the difficulties of dealing with his topsalesperson, who was late to meetings, rarely completed callreports on time, ignored most sales promotions and was a generalpain in the neck. In fact, it had become so bad that the two partedways, with the salesperson deciding to represent a competitor'sproduct line while working from home.

The salesperson admitted that, in his opinion, meetings, callreports and the like stood in the way of getting orders. If he wasdoing those things, he wasn't performing the one task he shouldbe: selling. Six months of working from home, however, made himrealize there was something to his old sales manager's methods.Working on his own, he could no longer count on assistants andcustomer service people to keep track of all the information heneeded to know. The salesperson also admitted even someone as goodas he occasionally needs a pep talk. In other words, he could use asales manager.

The first step to being your own sales manager is to becomebetter organized. When working for someone else, you probablydidn't have an organization problem when it came to your ownaccounts. You knew whom to call on and when, right down to the nameof every personal assistant you came in contact with at a company.Now, however, you'll have to keep more detailed writtenrecords.

Take, for example, call reports. Most salespeople consider theman annoyance at best. Now they take on added importance. Note allthe calls you make, the sooner after the call the better. The notesdon't have to be elaborate--just a simple summation of whom yousaw, when you saw them, the results and the questions raised.

Also, devise a rating system based on the amount of businessclients do with you. And note how much time you spend with eachclient and when to call them back.

The key is to look at the call report as an aid. Filling one outwill make you re-examine your sales strategies. You may findyou're spending too much time with customers who don'twarrant it, at the expense of servicing bigger customers or lookingfor new ones.

You should also keep a time log to give you a rough idea of howyou're spending your day. Compare it with your daily scheduleto see how closely you're sticking to it. You may findyou've made fewer sales calls than you planned or spent toomuch time on activities unrelated to sales.

Neither of these reports should be overly detailed. Just includeessential information that will help you sell more efficiently.

Other tips for being your own sales manager include thefollowing:

• Think long term. As a salesperson, your job was to get theorder and maintain the account. As your own sales manager, youhave to think about future sales. Whom do you project will beyour top customers in six, 12 or 18 months? How is their businesschanging? How is your business changing? Is your market becomingsaturated with competitors? Are there new opportunities you'remissing?

• Create a written strategy with weekly and monthly goals. Itwill be very tough on you financially--not to mention stressful--ifyou're constantly trying to just get through each day withoutgoing belly up. You must spend time anticipating and responding tochanges in the marketplace.

• Learn to be patient. As you do more planning and forecasting,you'll have to wait to see results. You no longer have thebacking of an established company, and customers will be slower totake to you. Don't be too quick to make a deal you havereservations about, and keep in mind, it will take some time tobuild a reputation.

• Set priorities. When you're working on your own, one of thebiggest challenges is to make yourself do the task you should doinstead of the one you want to do. For example, it's easier todrag out a sales call with an old friend than to make cold calls.It's easier to spend a little more time on the Internet orbuying office supplies than it is to process your direct mail. Itdoesn't mean you're lazy--it's natural. But forcingyourself to do the tougher jobs is what's going to make thedifference between success and failure.

• Be open to new ideas. Never thought of marketing on theInternet? Now you should. Thought publicity was someone else'sjob? Not anymore. Don't just rely on the old ways of doingbusiness. It's your company. Be creative.

*Learn to motivate yourself. You no longer have a sales managerto talk you through a slump. Instead, you're it. Whetheryou're motivated by a fear of failure, a longing for a betterquality of life or more money, use it. Don't lose track of whatmade you take the leap to being a homebased business owner. Ifyou're going through a rough period, call on some sureaccounts, talk to friends, commiserate. Just do something.

Bill Kelley is a business writer in Arcadia,California.

Fast Pitch

Hundreds of articles have been written on what to put in a pitchletter. This isn't one of them. Instead, it's a reminder ofwhat not to include:

• Overly solicitous greeting. As a rule, stick with"dear." It's not an eye-catcher, but it's muchbetter than a forced greeting ("Howdy, Steak-LovingBuddy!") or the clichéd "Dear Valued Customer,"which seems insincere even if it's not.

• Exaggerations. If you exaggerate, you instantly losecredibility with your prospects. Be complimentary without doing asnow job. Say something nice about the potential customer'sbusiness, but be cautious. For example, one letter writerproclaimed he liked a business product so much he found himselfspending time with it instead of his children. That's notbelievable--and even if it were true, what's the writer sayingabout himself?

• Dramatic punctuation and formatting. Exclamation markslose their meaning if they're overused!!! Underlines, boldface,italics and all the things your computer can do are not necessarilyeasy on the eye. In many cases, they will also add an air ofhucksterism to your company and its product or service. One letterI received from a mail order firm looked like a printout of all thefonts available.

• Information that won't help sell. All you needto put in the letter is a description of what you can do forcustomers and why they should choose you instead of yourcompetitor. As with phone sales, don't waste yourprospects' time with information they don't need.

• Odd closing. "Yours in sales," "Keepmarketing," etc., sound like you're trying too hard. Keepit simple and don't sound as if you're dying to sellsomething--even if you are.

Program Notes

Contact management software can help you keep your call reportsup to speed. Here are a few popular programs:

• Act! 3.0, $199.95 (Windows 95/NT); Act! 2.8, $169.95(Macintosh); Symantec Corp., (800) 441-7234, http://www.symantec.com

• GoldMine 2.5A, $295 (Windows NT 3.51); GoldMine 4.0,$295 (Windows 95/NT 4.0); GoldMine Software Corp.,(800) 654-3526, http://www.goldminesw.com

• Sharkware 3.0 Pro, $179.95 (Windows 3.1/95/NT);CogniTech Corp., (800) 947-5075, http://www.sharkware.com

• TeleMagic Professional 2.2, $99.95 (Windows 3.1/95);Sage U.S. Inc., (800) 835-6244, http://www.telemagic.com

Home (Not) Alone

By Julia Miller

So-called creative types are often thought to be the least ableto efficiently market their services. That's exactly why agroup of New Jersey professionals started the Self-Employed Writersand Artists Network (SWAN).

SWAN members include writers, illustrators, designers,photographers and multimedia professionals. Membership in SWANmeans learning how to market your services, negotiate fees, preparecontracts, manage taxes, follow legislation, buy new computerequipment and capitalize on the latest printing techniques. Meetingformats range from panel discussions to demonstrations of newtechnology.

"Being part of a group has really helped reinforce mymarketing tactics," says Robert A. Parker, a freelancebusiness writer who's been a member of SWAN for six years.Parker, who writes for a range of national magazines, has wonseveral regional writing awards from the International Associationof Business Communicators. Distributing mailers that mention theseawards to both existing and potential clients has helped him growhis business.

As a SWAN member, you're listed in a sourcebook thatincludes your address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, Website and your description of your skills. The sourcebook is sent to3,000 corporations, agencies, design studios and small businessesthat buy creative work. You'll also receive SWAN'snewsletter, Cygneture.

Over the past 12 years, SWAN has grown to nearly 150 members.Potential members must submit their portfolios in person. For moreinformation, call (201) 967-1313 or visit the SWAN Web site athttp://www.swannet.com

Slime Doesn't Pay

The key to effective self-promotion is being an honorablesalesperson. Sound like an oxymoron? Lawrence M. Kohn, president ofKohn Communications in Los Angeles and co-author with Joel Saltzmanof Selling With Honor (Berkeley Books), lays out severalstrategies for "selling yourself without selling yoursoul." Selling With Honor emphasizes the ways in which peoplecan both communicate value and build long-term relationships withclients:

• Be crystal clear about what you do. It's not enoughto say "I'm a good architect" or "I work hardfor my clients." Be specific. Write down every benefit andservice you provide.

• Ask questions. Before you tell people what you have tooffer, find out what they need.

• Be honest. If you're soliciting business throughcold calls, disclose your intention to do business. This alleviatesthe prospects' fear they're being yanked around by one moresalesperson posing as a friend.

• Stay in touch. It's important to realize there aresales cycles to most businesses. You can't force prospects intobuying if they don't have an immediate need. Instead, get theirbusiness card and follow up later.

E-mail Etiquette

There's little doubt that within the next few years manybusinesses will be targeting customers through e-mail. Here aresome pointers to keep in mind before starting an e-mail marketingcampaign:

• Get a good list. There are many sources of lists, includingYellow Pages-type books at libraries and bookstores. You can alsofind them online. Look for "opt in" lists, which arelists people have chosen to be on. That way you know you'resending your mailing to people who want to read it.

• Keep it short and to the point. People reading their e-mailwant to know upfront what they're reading and why they shouldbother to continue. One screen length should do it. Remember,people tend to be more suspicious when reading e-mail. Ifyou're vague or wordy, your message will be quicklydeleted--which is even easier than tossing a letter in thetrash.

• Have a point. Make sure you're asking prospects to dosomething--buy, send for literature, etc. This doesn't mean youshould do a hard sell. In fact, that's the last thing youshould do. Just don't waste their time.

• Let them out. If you tick recipients off by not giving them achance to get off your list, they could make your life miserable byconstantly sending you flame-mail messages.

• Create your own list. After you generate interest, startcompiling your own customized list.

• Start soon. People still like getting e-mail. Start a campaignnow, while people are still excited about receiving e-mail andwilling to look at it. Soon, much of it will be lumped in with allthe junk mail, and it will be that much harder to get yoursread.

Contact Sources

Kohn Communications, P.O. Box 67563, Los Angeles, CA90067, (310) 652-1442

Robert A. Parker, http://www.swan_net.com/rapcom