In part 1 of this survey, I want you to rate yourself on each "best practice" that defines "the perfect sales professional."
A "1"  means "not doing this at all."  A "5" is "I consider myself as good as anyone I know."  The sixth choice gives you an opportunity to say, "NA."  I do not believe this is a best practice" and here's why.  

THEN, ladies and gentlemen, you can really help me by by suggesting characteristics I may have missed.  Working together, we will produce the complete list of "best practices" necessary to approch sales perfection.

As my way of saying "Thanks for helping,"  when you finish this survey, you will be sent to a website where you can download "The Good Way to Sell."  In all modesty, It is an amazing document.

Question Title

* 1. Your Contact Information Please

So we can correlate "best practices" with "already successful advisors," please provide this information about you and your practice.

Question Title

* 2. When did you become an advisor

Question Title

* 3. How many households (clients, not accounts) do you manage?

Question Title

* 4. Assets under management

In the next section, I am going to list each of the "best sales practices" I have identified. I would like you to rank each practice according to how well you are doing.  Use a scale of 1-5.  A "1" is "not doing this at all." A "5" is "I consider myself as good as anyone I know."  Chose "6" if you think this is not a best practice at all. Please explain why.

Question Title

* 5. Dress for success  -- This is your personal appearance.

Question Title

* 6. Proper Credentials - at a minimum, you have a resume and references.  At best, you have a professional grade presentation folder.

Question Title

* 7. Work Ethic - You work hard, generally more than 40 hours/week.

Question Title

* 8. Emotional Impact - You impact clients and prospects emotionally.

Question Title

* 9. Basic Product Knowledge - Your knowledge of the products you sell is accurate. Rarely are you asked a question you cannot answer.

Question Title

* 10. Deep product knowledge - You now the fine details--dates, statistics, manager's names, track records that enable you to be recognized as an expert.

Question Title

* 11. Deep Product Knowledge - You know the fine details--dates, statistics, manager's names, track records that enable you to be recognized as an expert.

Question Title

* 12. Commitment Skills - Throughout your profiling and presentation, you create greater and greater degrees of commitment.

Question Title

* 13. Profiling Skills - You have and use many profiling questions to discover not only required information, but information that enables you to know your customer deeply and therefore discover and recommend correct solutions.

Question Title

* 14. Next Appointment Control - Once you complete the first appointment, you always set the next appointment.  You never say, "I will call you next week and set an appointment."

Question Title

* 15. Sales Proposal--You always prepare a written recommendation.  It is simple and short.

Question Title

* 16. Presentation Skills - Your presentation for each solution is short. It focuses on benefits not features.  It never uses industry jargon.  An important step in the presentation is to explain all the concepts necessary for the client to make an intelligent decision.

Question Title

* 17. Master "Gotcha Questions" - These are questions prospects and clients will throw at you to test you.  Best bet: incorporate your answers to these questions into your presentation so they do not come up.

Question Title

* 18. Question Answering Skills - There is a point in a presentation the prospect or client begins asking questions.  The best way to handle these questions is to answer a question in the fewest number of words possible and shut up.  This encourages the next question.  The end result of this process: the client has all his or her questions answered, which removes a major reason they tell you, "We need to think about it."

Question Title

* 19. Closing Skills - This is the question or statement by which you bring the selling process to a conclusion.  Failure to get a decision leaves the sales person with a pile of people who cannot make up their minds.  Sometimes it is necessary to force a decision with a close. Closing should never try to force a sale.

Question Title

* 20. CRM Mastery - Data Purity - You are a fanatic for accurate contact information.  You take every possible opportunity to verify phone and email addresses, as these change frequently.

Question Title

* 21. CRM Mastery - Materials Sent - This is a two-part skill.  You need a library of information to send to clients and prospects who are mid-selling cycle, especially when there is more than a few days between contacts.  And then, when information has been sent, you need a place in your CRM to record every item sent and when it was sent.

Question Title

* 22. CRM Mastery - You Follow "The Law" - Every contact with a client or prospect results in an updated record in your CRM.

Question Title

* 23. Now I really need your help. What characteristic of  "The Perfect Sales Professional" did I miss? A big text box follows. Have at it. And when you are done, click submit. And you will be taken to a page where you can download "The Good Way to Sell." It's my way of saying "Thank you very much."

T