Selling is a skill. It's not an exact science. It is rather a use of EQ than IQ. Here are basic tips on how to sell- the professional way.

First, be an active listener. One of the most common mistake of a salesman is that he/she talks to much. Study shows that at most the salesman should only do 50% of the talking, at best he /she should talk 30% of the conversation. Remember selling is a dialogue not a monologue. What does active listening entails? Here are the five active listening skills

• Listen for Message Content. Try to hear exactly what is being said.
• Listen for Feelings. Try to identify how the source feels in terms of the message content. Is this something pleasing or displeasing to the source?. Why?
• Respond to Feelings. Let the source know that his or her feelings as well as message content are recognized.
• Note all Signals, Verbal and Non-verbal. Be sensitive to both types of communication. Identify mixed messages that need to be clarified.
• Reflect back to the source, in your own words, what you are hearing. Restate the verbal and non-verbal messages as feedback to which the source can respond with further information.

After developing an active listening skills, we now go to the instant selling skills. Once the customer/client ask you to take a seat, launch a good ICEBREAKER. Making a good first impression is important. Prepare a non-business positive statement that you can sincerely state that will create a good emotional response. Capture the immediate attention of the prospect by stating the initial benefit statement on interesting topic. That would be a need, a problem, an objective, an attractive benefit that interest the customer. Relate the initial benefit statement to your product and/or company.

After you have caught the prospect's attention you may now begin your "one-on-one research" and that is PROBING. Getting the right intelligence is crucial to the sales professional. The pro knows he must first discover the specific needs, wants, concerns, problems and even the vision/mission and objectives of the customer. The customer knows what he wants, but "he may have needs he is not aware of". Your first task is to evaluate the customer's current situation, as completely as possible before starting to sell. You need to find out the following

• what are his attitude about your product? your company?
  
• What problem/s are keeping him awake at night?
  
• What important objectives does his company want to achieve? what other major concerns does he have for now and the immediate future?

The more you know about his current situation, the better you can match your product/service to his needs and wants. The product-oriented amateur never gets to know what is important to the client, and latter becomes quickly bored with the sales person's continuous babbling. By probing it will help you create an interesting dialogue with the customer, you can proceed even when you do not quite know how to proceed with the sales interview, continue with the sales dialogue even though the customer has turned down your request, or expressed disbelief about what you have said and set up situations whereby you can positively support the customer. A skilled sales person has excellent emotional intelligence, he is empathetic of the customer. He cant think and feel like him even though he disagrees. He has the skill to show the customer again and again that he understand the customer's situation, his joy, his worry his doubt and his concern.

After your one-on-one research with the customer it's time for you to close the sale. The typical amateur in selling is ineffective in closing the sale. If you do not get this most important part of the sale done, "all else go to waste". You must be adept at asking for the sale, for the commitment from the customer. But when is the right time to close the sale? It is really simple, it's when the customer expresses interest or states agreement with benefit you have just stated. Remember to talk about the benefit of your product and not the feature. The selling professional is "closing as soon as he meets the customer". He does this by assuming by manner and speech that the customer will buy. When the pro hears a positive response from the customer, the pro will briefly summarize the benefit important to the customer. Then he ask for the order with good closing statement.

After studying sales starts at 70 large US companies a consulting company concluded that the biggest difference between the exceptional performer and the ordinary one was: "the ability to listen". Top performers allow customer to do 70% of the talking. Compared to the ordinary sales people, these outstanding sales person are successful because they get more info from the customer, they achieve "better fit" between their product/service and the needs and concern of the customer and they develop a better relationship faster.

It was biblically written that in the beginning women was cursed because of the sin brought by Eve to Adan. They are to live subaltern to men, they have to bear the pain of conceiving and rearing a child, and in older times they are second class citizens. No voice and representation in the community, no right to suffrage, and in extreme cases a home-confined slave and sex object.

Looking back then, there has been an obvious evolution of that practices. Women nowadays are almost equal players of men in all aspect of life and society. They are now leaders of businesses, government and various institutions, a famous entertainment personalities, great writers and advocates. Cory Aquino, Gloria Arroyo, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin, J.KRowlings, Queen Sheon Dok (lol) to mention a few.

Apparently today, women are as great as men. But on the deeper side, they are "greater" than men. The curse was cast out long ago when Mary was chosen to bear Jesus. Behind every rise and fall of a men, there's always a women behind him. She may be weak but she's inconspicuously powerful. She may always be aggravated by men and may always cry but she has the charisma of being longed for above else. She completes a man.

Thank God for the women. We can't live without them (wink!wink!) :=). Hats off to you women, when we say "I give up" you always give us a string of hope by saying "it's not that bad". You may know less compared to us, but you can surely understand more!

I still recall a striking line from my teacher during my first day in journalism subject in my second year in high school, I'm little passive that time when i heard her said that "geniuses are born but writers are made". Not until I started my first blog that i appreciated that byword from my teacher.

Reading post from my fellow blogger of real day to day experiences, love hurts and felicities, stories of success, political views and even outburst of emotions have made me realized that indeed writers are made. I've noticed that those blogger who has been writing frequently has developed different style in writing in terms of topic selection, presentation of ideas and catching attention of readers. Although grammar usage is a common flaw (including me).

As much important as speaking, writing has been our primary medium of communication. In school you're required to write anything to enhance your writing skills, but you are evaluated as passed or failed depending the outcome of your grind. In work, depending on the nature of your job you are required to write with technicalities, your style will have the consequence of attracting or repelling clients.

Good thing that BLOGGING came to existence, It's a safe haven for those who want to developed their writing skills. Express your emotions, be critical, spread a news accomplishments, learn from others and have a refuge of frustrations and disappointment... Have a past time that develops something in you... BLOG!

The picture of success isn't the same for any two people. Different authors have written different concepts and views about that thing called "success". Quotes from many famous personalities has been culled during their speeches or in their written article. The ceaseless intellection of man would definitely bring forth diversity of views as experiences of each being where they infer those thought is unique.

Success, an everybody desired and a frequently used word. But is it virtually understood by most of us? I don't think so. Oftentimes it is wrongly equated to wealth, special feeling, specific and worthwhile possessions, power and achievements.

During the fame of Mike Tyson a future hall of fame boxer, he has all the money to buy what he wants and have lived an opulent and vicious life. Not so long ago he has filed a bankruptcy and is now back to his old poor days. King Solomon asserted " Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income."

Another misconception is that people achieved success when they feel successful or happy. Trying to feel successful is probably even more difficult than trying to become wealthy. An author said "that the continual search for happiness is a primary reason that so many people are miserable". If we make happiness our goal we are almost certainly destined to fail. We will be on a continual roller coaster, changing from successful to unsuccessful with every mood change. Life is uncertain, and emotions aren't stable. Happiness simply cannot be relied upon as a measure of success.

When we were a kid, chances are that there was a time when you wanted something badly, and you believed that if you possessed that thing, it would make significant difference in your life. For me, it was having a BMX bicycle that i can use during my grade school days, my peers would envy me while they're walking to school and i'm driving a bicycle. Later those years some of them have already got their own bicycle and i soon discovered that it didn't bring me the success or long-term contentment that i hoped for and expected. That process has repeated itself in my life. Possessions are at best a temporary fix and success cannot be attained or measured that way.

My favorite author, Abraham Lincoln said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power". In the hands of a person of integrity, power is of tremendous benefit; in the hands of a tyrant, it causes a terrible destruction. By itself power is neither positive or negative. And it is not a source of security or success. History tells us, all dictators and even the benevolent one eventually lose power.

Before i became a licensed accountant i had this view that if i passed the board exam and eventually become a CPA I'll be successful. But overtime i realized that my view fell short of the mark. It didn't provide me contentment, and i should say that success is not reaching destination..

In my own little way, i would like to adjudicate this misconception by giving a very good view which i came across in one of the books i read. James Maxwell in his book " Your Road Map for Success" said that though success differs for each people because we are all created uniquely as individuals, the process of getting there is the same for everyone. It's based on principle that do not change. He goes on further in his definition of success as a journey, knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.

It is very true indeed, no matter how long we live or what we decide to do in our life, we will never exhaust our capacity to grow toward our potential or run out of opportunity to help others. When we see success as a journey, we will never have the problem of trying to arrive at an elusive final destination. And we'll never find ourselves in a position where we have accomplished some final goal, only to discover that we're still unfulfilled and searching for something else to do.

Success is a never ending battle, if it's a journey, aim to make the most of your present one. After all it's ultimately you who will decide if you want a piece of that thing called "SUCCESS".