Sales Executive student handbook (2)

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT from dēcernere, to decide. A bitter, sharply abusive I know the Truth and I will denunciation, attack, lecture you forcefully, or criticism Root: Diatribe from Greek diatribē, self-righteously, and pastime, lecture, angrily until you from diatrībein, to understand. consume, wear away An authoritative I have the power, you do principle, belief, or not. This is Truth. Do this. Do not debate or discuss. statement of ideas or “The earth is the center of Dogma opinion, especially Comply or else. There is the universe.” one considered to be no other point of view. “We've always done it this absolute truth. Root: Completely closed to new way.” dogma, that which ideas — Conformance, one thinks true, a submission. decree Many other incomplete forms of communication fail to achieve authentic expression. In addition to the power stance described above for each mode of communication, our spoken and non-verbal communications often contain many other messages that are transmitted on an emotional level rather than semantically. Expertise and Authority Authorities are rarely experts. An expert is someone who has a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field. Experts are often widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely in a particular domain is recognized by peers or the public. This may be the plumber, an automobile mechanic, physician, lawyer, engineer, author, researcher, juggler, athlete, researcher, gourmet, and many others. Note that expertise is domain specific. A skillful juggler is an expert on juggling but is unlikely to have any special expertise in other fields. Do not mistake a person who is famous and skillful in one area, such as a famous actor or athlete, for an expert in some domain outside the field they became expert in. In short, an expert is someone who knows more about some topic than you do. An authority is someone who granted the right to exercise power. This may be a team leader, committee chair, sports team coach, your boss within some organization, classroom 200

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT teachers, elders, clergy, government officials, police officers, referees, judges, and many others. Authority is often based on position in some organizational hierarchy. It is helpful to listen carefully and take advice from experts. It is often unjustified, and in fact a recognized fallacy to value the opinion of an authority over that of an expert. Be wary of an authority who is adopting a power stance when communicating on a topic they are not expert in. Be especially careful to evaluate the evidence provided when listening to an authority who may not be an expert. Assignment 1. Choose a communications event to observe closely. 2. Notice the communication style being used. Identify that style from the table above. 3. Describe the power stance used during the communication. 4. Is the speaker an expert on the topic? How do you know? 5. Is the speaker an authority because they have been granted positional power? Does the speaker exercise their authority wisely? 6. If an authority is speaking and an expert expresses disagreement, how is the conflict resolved? 7. Does the power stance being used establish a justified power relationship between the communicating parties? Responding We can respond to a communication with any of these styles: directly, responsively, and with confidence; directly, with hesitancy or doubt; directly, admitting we don't know; skeptically; gullibly; indirectly; with sarcasm; seriously, solemnly; with a joke; with an insult; by changing the subject; with an attack; by shaming, blaming, or humiliating the victim; condescendingly; kindly; cruelly; helpfully; needy; carefully; thoughtfully; curiously; humbly; arrogantly; carelessly; truthfully; dishonestly, disingenuously, or insincerely; with a dismissal; patiently; impatiently; quickly; slowly; with our full attention; distracted; by submitting to a demand; or by rebelling from a demand. Each of the following response styles shifts the power stance and other dimensions of the relationship. Request Forms Listening Modes Reply Forms  Statement; Provide  Attentive or  Information response, Information inattentive,  Question for  Inquiry; Request  Patient or Impatient, clarification, Information  Interrupting or not,  Question as a  Request action, statement, 201

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Demand action,  Believing or  Non-responsive,  Exclaim emotion disbelieving, defensive  Interested or bored,  compliance,  Understanding or  rebellion, defiance baffled  Respectful or disrespectful  Sharing a new insight Poison Phrases Meryl Reunion uses the term “Poison Phrases” to describe how we often antagonize people we communicate with while denying our personal responsibility. Recently she took an (unscientific) poll to identify the ten most offensive poison phrases. They are: 1) Shut up, 2) It’s not my job, 3) What’s Your problem? 4) Whatever, 5) Bite me, 6) I’m just a clerk, 7) If you say so, 8) I couldn’t care less, 9) I don’t care, and 10) I’m done with you. These are transparent attempts to artificially inflate your status at the expense of the person you are offending. They are examples of bullying and humiliation. 202

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Chapter 8 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS  Creating A Powerful First Impact sales strategy: what’s most effective? a great message! How do you create the best and most effective sales strategy? Most advice out there tells you that as long as you have a documented plan, a solid process, and a bullpen full of reps who know your solution inside and out, you’re ready. The problem is, most sales strategies are too internally focused. They succeed in documenting internal procedures but lose sight of the messages and skills your reps need to communicate value to your customers. Consider the following insights:  Research performed by Sirius Decisions shows that the number-one inhibitor to Sales achieving quota is an “inability to communicate a value message.”  In corresponding research in which Sirius Decisions asked executive customers about the quality of interactions with salespeople, only 10 percent said sales calls provide enough value to warrant the time they spent on them.  A Forrester Research study revealed that only 15 percent of sales calls add enough value, according to executives surveyed.  The Forrester study also showed that just seven percent of surveyed executives say they would probably schedule a follow-up. In other words, if your sales force can’t communicate value—why your solution is different, better, and worth more—your sales strategy won’t help you get more sales. So, what can you do? 203

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT In this article, you’ll learn 10 tips for building a sales strategy that actually works. Each one is backed by research and has been rigorously tested and proven to be effective in B2B selling situations. But first, it’s important to step back and clarify what it really means to create a successful sales strategy. what is a sales strategy? A sales strategy is defined as a documented plan for positioning and selling your product or service to qualified buyers in a way that differentiates your solution from your competitors. Sales strategies are meant to provide clear objectives and guidance to your sales organization. They typically include key information like: growth goals, KPIs, buyer personas, sales processes, team structure, competitive analysis, product positioning, and specific selling methodologies. Most of these guidelines are helpful for communicating goals and keeping your sales reps on the same page. Where most sales strategies fall short, however, is that they’re too focused on the internal workings of your organization. The actual skills needed to have winning conversations with customers—along with the messages reps need to be successful—are merely an afterthought. When you boil it down, the goal of every sales strategy is to make sure your salespeople hit their quota, right? And it’s the messaging element—what salespeople say, do, and write in order to create perceived customer value—that wins or loses the deal. To truly be effective, your organization’s sales strategy needs to focus on customer conversations. These skillfully delivered conversations are what creates a distinctive purchase experience, creates value for your buyers, and separates your company from the competition. With that in mind, here are 10 things to keep in mind when creating a sales strategy. 10 keys to developing a successful sales strategy 1. build a powerful value proposition in your messaging Most prospects either don’t recognize or can’t articulate the root challenges they struggle with on a daily basis. So, even if you sell a truly remarkable product, your buyers probably won’t recognize the real value you offer to their organization. That’s why you need to create your value with a powerful and persuasive message. In fact, Forrester research found that 74 percent of executive buyers will give their business to a company that illustrates a buying vision, compared to vendors among a group of commodity suppliers. 204

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT This isn’t just about touting your product’s features, hoping that your buyer chooses you over your competition. That approach only puts you at value parity with similar solutions, and it forces a competitive bake-off. Instead of talking about what you do and why you think you can do it better, create a buying vision that defines a new set of challenges which align to your distinct strengths. This powerful value proposition will uncover previously unconsidered needs for your prospect, create contrast, and drive the urgency to change using stories and insights. 2. create the urgency to change Most companies unknowingly position themselves for a competitive bake-off of features and benefits. They answer the “why should I choose you?” question for their prospects. But in doing so, they miss a critical first step. The truth is that the majority of buyers prefer to do nothing instead of change. In fact, 60 percent of deals in the pipeline are lost to “no decision” rather than to competitors. Staying the same is safe and comfortable, while change is associated with threat and risk. To break through Status Quo Bias and get prospects to leave their current situation, you need to tell a story that makes a compelling case for why they should change, and why they should change now. Successful sales strategy requires you to understand your real competitor—the status quo. Help your prospects make the decision to change before you help them make the decision to choose you. Answering these questions are what creates your unique value, differentiates your solution, and sets the tone for your buyer’s entire Deciding Journey. 3. tell a compelling and memorable story When salespeople prepare for conversations with prospects, they usually focus on getting all the facts straight about their offerings. But the most accurate information in the world won’t resonate if you can’t connect with your customers in a memorable way. 205

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Telling personal stories and using metaphors and analogies helps bring your message alive in a more compelling way than simply reciting facts and data. Storytelling paints a vivid picture for your buyers, illustrating the contrast between their current situation versus what’s possible, and connecting what you offer directly to their unique situation. Once you start sharing stories in your sales conversations, your customer relationships will become deeper and more rewarding. 4. speak to the deciding journey, not your sales process A sales process is a set of repeatable steps that a salesperson uses to lead a prospect to purchase. Typically, the sales process involves several steps like prospecting, qualifying, discovering needs, negotiating, and closing. This would be an ideal checklist to follow if all your buyers were robots being taken through an assembly line. But that’s just not the reality. Marketing and selling today isn’t a predictable progression that you’ve decided is how your prospects and customers should buy. What you’re really up against today is a Customer Deciding Journey—a series of key questions your buyers are asking as they look to address specific business goals. Instead of being “program-centric” with a one-size-fits-all sales strategy, you need to be problem- centric, addressing the specific needs of your buyers as they arise with situationally relevant messages, content, and the skills to deliver them. 5. don’t rely on buyer personas in your sales strategy Customer profiles and buyer personas sound good in theory. The idea is to collect common demographic attributes, attitudes, and behaviors of your target audience to help frame and target your messages. But when used as a superficial profiling approach, personas can lead your messaging astray. 206

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Persona-based selling assumes that the behaviors or actions of your target buyer are motivated by their internal characteristics. In reality, buyers are motivated by outside influences that challenge their status quo and convince them to change. These outside influences might include rapid growth within the company, inefficient or unsustainable processes, or broader changes that affect their industry as a whole. The real drivers behind behaviors and behavior change are the challenges within your buyer’s situation, not their professional disposition. So, instead of focusing your sales strategy on a lot of inconsequential attributes, speak to your buyer’s situation and why their current approach is putting their business at risk. 6. avoid the “commodity trap” in your sales strategy Too often, salespeople base their marketing messaging on the needs that prospects tell them they have. Then, they connect those identified needs to corresponding capabilities, in standard “solution selling” fashion. The problem with this approach? You fall into the trap of commodity messaging along with your competitors, who are likely constructing their value message in response to the same set of inputs. As a result, you sound just like everyone else, leaving your prospects indecisive and without any real urgency to change. Instead, you need to introduce Unconsidered Needs that extend beyond the identified, known needs and solve for those. Introduce prospects to problems or missed opportunities they’ve underappreciated or don’t even know about. Then, connect the Unconsidered Needs you’ve identified to your differentiated strengths, which are uniquely suited to resolve those risks. 7. lead with insights, not discovery questions Many salespeople try to be a “trusted advisor”—asking their buyers discovery questions, diagnosing the customer’s needs, and then presenting a solution that fits the criteria. But this approach does you and your customer a disservice. To be of real value to your buyers, it’s not enough to say, “Tell me what you want; I’ll get it for you.” Buyers want salespeople who will tell them what they should want. They want you to sift through all the information that’s out there and deliver insight into what they’re missing that will improve their performance. This means more than just finding data and statistics online. A fact without a story is just a data point. To make it real for your buyer, wrap your insights in a story that connects the dots for them and provides context within their world. 207

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT 8. align sales and marketing Too often, sales and marketing are siloed departments, each with individual goals that appear compatible. Marketing creates sales messaging and tools and generates leads for the sales team. Sales teams use the messaging and tools to transform those leads into revenue. But a lack of alignment and gaps in your process can sabotage your efforts. You might hear the following complaint from both sides: “We’re doing our job, but they just don’t get it.” The problem with these goals is that they foster an us-versus-them attitude and miss the big picture. Sales is a design point for better marketing. If Sales is the storyteller of your organization, then Marketing is the story builder. Ultimately, these two teams share—and must be aligned to achieve—one purpose: to persuade buyers to choose you. Get our State of the Conversation Report, The B2B Content Disconnect, to learn how to drive action and conversions with insights-driven content, before and after a sales rep enters the picture. 9. tailor your sales strategy for customer expansion Most sales and marketing teams spend the majority of their budgets and effort on customer acquisition and demand generation. Meanwhile, the majority of your annual revenue likely comes from your existing customers, through renewals and upsells. Nearly half of the companies surveyed by Corporate Visions invest less than 10 percent of their marketing budgets in customer retention and expansion. Clearly, your customers are highly underrated yet powerful growth engines within your company. And you shouldn’t overlook the potential of this untapped revenue stream. The challenge is, retention and expansion require a distinct messaging and customer conversation approach. Existing customers are in a different position than your prospects—one that carries a unique buying psychology. While customer acquisition is all about challenging the status quo to highlight the benefits of switching to your solution, customer retention and expansion requires you to reinforce your position as their status quo. In fact, research shows that using a provocative, challenging message when you’re trying to renew or expand business with your customers will increase the likelihood that they’ll shop around by at least 10-16 percent. 208

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT 10. enable ongoing situational training Most training and learning efforts are based on a collection of competencies, supported by a curriculum and catalog that gets scheduled on calendar-based interest and availability. But what does that have to do with helping the company’s business strategy, responding to shifting market demands and intervening to fix emergent needs when they arise? To be as effective and efficient as you need to be today, your sales training has to rise to a new level of flexibility, customization, and situational relevance. Using a flexible, on-demand training model enables you to deploy it at a moment’s notice to solve problems as they occur, and tackle initiatives as they arise. Training your sales team for situational agility equips them with the messaging and skills they need relative to the customer conversations they’re having. take your sales strategy beyond “best practices” Most of the so-called “best practices” out there won’t help your sales team succeed. Instead of following a fill-in-the-blanks template, create a strategy that communicates more value in your sales conversations. Only with Corporate Visions will you learn tested and proven customer conversation approaches for enabling buyers to choose you at every stage of the customer lifecycle. That’s why the best global B2B sales organizations come to us when they want skills training and messaging solutions that are backed by rigorous research and proven to improve results.  Starting A Conversation How to Start an Effective Sales Conversation? 209

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT What do you say the first time you meet a prospect? How do you engage a prospect in the first few seconds of interaction? Let’s say you make a cold call to a prospect. What do you first say to get that prospect’s attention and then engage that person into a productive sales conversation? Most salespeople wing the initial components of a sales conversation, but prospects will decide in the first seven seconds whether they want to continue a conversation with you. So, your opening or the beginning of that sales conversation is as critical as any other component to the selling process. How to Start a Sales Conversation Tip #1: Show expertise. 210

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT The first tip on how to start a sales conversation is all about showing the prospect that you know what’s going on in the marketplace. When prospects think a salesperson is going to provide some valuable information, they’re immediately going to listen. Salespeople should start off the conversation by saying something like, “Right now I’m seeing a lot going on in your sector that looks like the following…” to show prospects their value as an expert who sees what’s going on in the industry. This approach to how to start a sales conversation will have prospects sitting up and paying attention to see what they can learn. How to Start a Sales Conversation Tip #2: List common challenges? Once a salesperson has the prospect’s attention, it’s time to list three common challenges seen in the marketplace. The key is to make sure these are challenges that the salesperson can solve. For example, as a sales expert, I’ll say something like, “I see a lot of companies right now that are losing sales to low-cost competitors, frustrated with old-school sales approaches that simply aren’t working on savvy prospects, or just finding it more difficult than ever to set really good quality sales meetings.” All I’ve done is listed off three very simple challenges that are likely relevant to my prospect. What are those challenges that your prospects are facing that your company can help solve? Think about those, write them out, and start to incorporate them into your opening as you consider how to start a sales conversation with your next prospect. 211

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT How to Start a Sales Conversation Tip #3: Engage with a question? Of course, in order to know how to start a sales conversation that actually leads to sales, salespeople first have to get the prospect talking. A question is a great tool for engaging prospects. Simply tie off your opener with a bow by asking something like, “Do any of these issues ring true to you?” By listing off three challenges and asking a question like this, you’ll find that the prospect will say something like, “Yeah, actually, we are dealing with one of those challenges”—and just like that, you’re ready to dig into their challenge and your sales conversation is off to the races. How to Start a Sales Conversation#4: It’s never about you and your product? When you begin that sales conversation, your prospect simply does not care about you or what you sell. The only thing that prospects care about is themselves. So make the opening focused entirely on the prospect. How to Start a Sales Conversation #5: Lead with what you’re seeing in the marketplace? 212

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Your prospect is interested only in speaking to you, so long as you’re providing value in the conversation. The number one way that you can provide serious value at the beginning of a selling interaction is by sharing some of your expertise. This doesn’t mean you should conduct unpaid consulting, but rather, share a couple of trends that you see happening in the marketplace. How to Start a Sales Conversation #6: Engage the prospect immediately? As soon as you’ve shared some of the insights you see taking place in your prospect’s marketplace, it’s time to immediately engage the prospect in a conversation to learn whether those trends are affecting his or her business. Here’s an example of how I, as a sales strategist, might start a conversation with a prospect: “George, what I am seeing happening with a lot of organizations’ sales teams is that first, the rate of change in the marketplace is really confusing a lot of existing people on sales teams. I’m also noticing that many organizations are consistently getting beat down on price because of the overabundance of low-cost competitors. Finally, I’m seeing that many organizations simply are not getting a truly effective return on their investment in their sales team and in their sales culture. Do any of these challenges ring true to you?” By sharing a few of the challenges that I’m seeing in the marketplace and then engaging the prospect, I immediately pull the prospect into the conversation while at the same time showing that I know what I’m talking about, and showing that I am focused on providing value. 213

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT The last thing you want to happen is to lose the prospect in those first critical seven seconds. By applying these three simple ideas you’re going to start much more effective and productive sales conversations than you’ve ever done before. This very simple approach to how to start a sales conversation will accomplish a few key things at once. First, your prospect will see you as an expert who knows what’s going on. Second, you’ll engage the prospect in a two-way conversation. Finally, you’ll continue down a powerful sales conversation path based around challenges your prospect is facing that you can help solve. Follow these sales conversation tips in your next prospect interaction to set yourself up for success.  Assessing A Situation How to assess sales representatives? Use the following exercises to help you assess sales skills in your interviews with sales representative candidates. Feel free to modify them to suit your company’s specific needs. What do salespeople do? Salespeople vary in roles and tasks – from entry-level sales development representatives, to account executives who tend to have more years of experience. Regardless of their position, all salespeople share one common goal: to develop new business and revenue opportunities that support business growth. Good candidates for sales representative roles have excellent phone skills, time management abilities and an intrinsic motivation to win clients. They will also know how to close you, as an interviewer, by asking follow-up questions and being explicit about their interest in the next steps of the hiring process for the role. Here are skills all successful salespeople share:  Communication (both verbal and written): This is key for any salesperson to promote your company’s products.  Goal-setting: Strong candidates demonstrate that they’ve set and achieved goals, or sales quotas. 214

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Presentation: Inbound sales teams in particular rely on people with good presentation skills to pitch products.  Research: People with strong research skills will show they know their potential client and can prospect well to create a strong outbound sales strategy. What is a skills assessment? Communication skills assessment Exercise (verbal): Sell me a product that you used to sell in a previous role/ Sell me on a hobby or product that you enjoy. Exercise (written): You work as a sales representative at a sparkling water retailer. You’ve been emailing with an office client prospect who seems interested in your product. Here’s the latest email they sent you. How would you respond? What to look for: For the verbal communication skills assessment, look for candidates who take a consultative, rather than persuasive approach to selling. Candidates who engage you in a discussion about your needs, and how the product they’re selling can help you stand out. For the written communication skills assessment, look for candidates who respond clearly and turn the email exchange into an opportunity. A response along the lines of: “I’m pleased that you liked the product. I would like to try and find a solution for you — would you be interested in keeping the lines of communication between us open?” is good. Red flags: In the verbal exercise, if candidates run out of steam, or can’t clearly sell their product, they may struggle to sell yours, or keep prospects engaged. For the written exercise, candidates who fail to convert the response into an opportunity, or have grammatical errors in their reply back may not be able to pitch your products over the web or represent your company in the best light. Goal-setting skills assessment Exercise: You’re in the last week of the quarter and you are $5,000 short of your established goal. You have about $15,000 in the sales pipeline. What would you do by end of quarter to meet your goal? What to look for: Candidates with creative and proactive approaches to meeting goals will stand out. Out-of-the box answers, like “I’ll go through my current book of pipeline and see if there are any incentives to offer them to close the deal before the quarter ends,” or “I’ll contact people who’ve bought the product in the past, and those who I’ve had some good relationships with,” will stand out. 215

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Red flags: Candidates who are nonchalant about meeting sales quotas, or say that they will “hope for the best,” may not be proactive enough to meet business targets. Presentation skills assessment Exercise: You are on a remote conference call with an international prospect and are trying to present the benefits of your product. But you can’t understand what the individual is saying because of his/her thick accent. The prospective customer also cannot understand you because of your accent. What would you do? What to look for: Part of being a good presenter is thinking on your feet. Candidates who offer a solution to the communication issue – i.e., move the conversation to a text-based platform, offer to provide an email Q & A or identify a salesperson who can speak to the individual in their native language will stand out for their ability to present well. Red flags: In sales, engaging the prospective customer is key to any winning strategy. Choosing to continue the presentation, or providing no solution to deal with the communication issue may hurt your business. Research skills assessment Exercise: Suppose you are hired as a sales development representative for a company that creates a POS system for sales in retail industries. What companies would you prospect into? How would you find those companies? Who would you reach out to, and what would your opening call/message be? What to look for: This exercise tests sales aptitude in terms of candidates’ ability to research useful market information to create an outbound sales strategy. Candidates should show that they understand the prime market for the product — restaurants/retailers, in this case. They might take it a step further and identify up-and-coming businesses that could be in the market for a POS system.  Power of Time Management Effective Time Management Strategies for Salespeople What Contributes to Poor Time Management Time management is one of the most important skills for sales professionals. And yet, recent research shows very few sales reps use any sort of time management methodology (22%). If you’re in the other 78% and you’re reading this from your news feed, after scrolling mindlessly for 15 minutes—don’t feel bad, we get it. The Internet is making us all lose focus, and working efficiently is harder than ever. 216

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Thanks to mobile phones, we now have all the wonders of the Internet – friends, family, social media – right in our pockets. And it’s hard to resist the scrolling habit. If you don’t believe me—here, check out this cute kitten! Getting distracted by social media and the Internet can lead to procrastination. Schedules will end up getting held up, priorities become jumbled, and it will eventually lead to major blunders. You may forget schedules with clients or miss important updates or emails, possibly losing a chance to close a deal. You and your prospect will be wasting time. Effective Tips on Managing Your Time Effectively I’m definitely no expert in time management (did I show you that picture of a kitten?), so I asked six sales experts what their most effective time management strategies are, what are some of the worst time wasters, and what tools they use to increase sales productivity and efficiency. Time management is more than just ticking off the to-do list on your personal or team board. If you don’t utilize tools or set up your time well, then you won’t get the results you need to achieve long-term goals. 1. Make Technology Work with You, Not Against You There’s a huge debate right now in the public space on whether technology is good for us or not. While some argue it’s making us lazy, there’s substantial evidence on how it’s increasing productivity significantly in businesses. Surprisingly, some of the advice that sales experts offer today is to just turn your email OFF to be more productive. Email has been identified as one of the biggest time wasters, shows Teri Robb, Regional Vice President, Central US Sales at Check Point. Many salespeople live and die by their email, and end up distracted by the email on top of their inboxes (versus doing what is important and necessary). This may sound odd, but turn your email off for a few hours a day and get your sales work done,” said Teri. He added, “This will help you focus and prioritize. Many of those ’emergencies’ will have worked themselves out.” 217

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Technology needs to work with you to make your work more efficient – and it does this by automating admin and repetitive tasks. According to XANT research, sales reps spend an inordinate amount of time with administrative tasks—12.8% of their time. “In sales, it’s important to eliminate and automate monotonous and administrative tasks. We use tools like Salesforce, Drift, Join.Me, ContactMonkey’s email templates, email tracker and mail merge, Asana, Trello, Slack, and DocuSign,” says Mark Gray, corporate sales manager at Contact Monkey. 2. Get Organized and Use Templates A messy desk may be a sign of genius, according to some accounts—however, in sales, not being organized means that you might be wasting precious time you could spend with prospects. Improve your time management skills by utilizing templates for your work, whether it’s for emails, texts, or progress trackers. Email templates save precious time for sales reps, if there are common questions that customers have about products. “I have found that email can be a massive time drain for sales professionals. There are a few protocols we use to streamline our sales team emails,” He further said, “We use canned responses and setting up email into zones for efficiency.” “We provide each new member of our sales team pre-formatted canned responses as part of our sales funnel. Up to 40% of emails can be replied to with a canned response, some only requiring a small custom edit,” added Ian. 3. Prospecting with a Purpose Spending too much time researching a prospect is one of the major mistakes that sales reps make. If your pre-call research lasts more than a few minutes, you’re doing it wrong. You are spending way too much time in-between calls. You could have used the time spent on doing other activities to improve your sales performance. The “Time Management for Sales” study shows that sales professionals spend 12% of their time researching target accounts and prospects. Research, along with administrative tasks, were the most time-consuming activities for sales reps. It’s just another way to procrastinate before the cold call, say sales leaders. “Salespeople always tend to find everything to do but prospect,” said Grayson Lorenz, CEO and Business Development Lead for Power Digital Marketing. 218

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT He added, “Why is that? Because you get rejected non-stop when you are prospecting. Some of the biggest time wasters are responding to emails and spending too much time researching when the person you are researching may not even be a qualified lead.” He further reminded sales professionals, “Analysis paralysis is one of the ultimate killers of a sales person,” 4. Scheduling Daily Sales Activities To make sure sales reps spend their valuable time on what matters, you can schedule daily sales activities and set clear expectations about them. Sales cadence tools are a good way of automating sales activities and workflow for this purpose. What is Sales Cadence? This refers to the monitoring of a team’s progress through meetings. “I live and die by what the schedule tells me to do. This allows me to look back, see where I spent my time and improve it,” And if you think you need complex planning for scheduling tasks, you don’t. Sometimes a piece of paper and a pen work just as well as a project management software. “Tools for time management? Piece of paper and checklist – it might sound old school, but it’s the best time management tool I’ve implemented in the last three years,” said Adam Becker, Senior Director of Account Management at Octiv. You can also use a whiteboard for all your team members to see what should be the priorities for a particular week or month. This way, everyone is aware of what your team’s goals are. 5. Don’t Micromanage What is Micromanaging? This means a person in higher position controls every single aspect and activities of a group or organization. Finally, there’s something to be said about a team that needs permanent supervision about how to manage their time. If you can’t trust your team to effectively manage their time, perhaps consider your entire sales process has an issue—or your sales tools might be ineffective. Micromanaging your people will only result in frustration for you and your entire team. Your team may end up with low Morales if you don’t allow them to manage their time and processes on their own. “Give your staff the trust to manage their productivity. Ultimately, this will pay off through motivation and commitment,” said James Lloyd-Townshend, CEO at Frank Recruitment Group. 219

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT “Trust is one of the most valued gifts you can give your staff,” he added. 6. Stop Focusing on Small Tasks When you start your workday, you may have been taught to do the most impor tant tasks first. But some people like to tick off the small, unimportant things on their list first. After a long day of working on these small tasks, they start to think they’ve been productive. That’s just another way to procrastinate and avoid doing the most important tasks. David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, believes in using your mind for worthwhile activities instead of getting boggled by small, 2-minute tasks. If something comes up that will only take one or two minutes to do, then do it right then. You don’t have to schedule it for the next day. Your mind will then be free to focus on more important tasks, like preparing a sales pitch for your next client. If time is money, then wasted time will mean lost funds for your company. As a sales professional, not managing your time properly may spell disaster not just for your personal goals, but also for your team’s deadlines. Prioritize tasks, don’t get distracted with social media or other time-wasting activities, and stay focused on the most important tasks. Practicing good time management will help sales reps be more productive and take them several steps closer to their personal sales goals. Want to know more about how sales reps spend their time? Download the XANT research – “Time Management for Sales.” 7. Time Management Apps Bad habits are hard to break, and sometimes we all need some extra help to get back on track. Many time management apps on the market will help you organize your time more effectively and utilize your time to be more productive. Some are free with add-ons and some you pay for monthly or annual subscriptions. ‘Be Focused Timer’ is free on IOS/Mac and offers a convenient way to track blocks of work and lets you follow your past work history. You can set and manage your tasks, customize work interval duration and track goals to increase your output. 220

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT ‘Calendar’ time management app syncs your data across all devices and provides a virtual assistant that learns your schedule and plans meetings, invitations, and diary adjustments. One time-saving tool can even add meeting transcripts. The upgrade can also produce an array of analytics which allows you to see how your time is spent with people and in meetings. For those of you who like to work listening to music or have the TV on for background noise, this app is for you. available on IOS and Android, was developed by three neuroscientists to help you concentrate more and achieve flow. The app hosts a compilation of music and sounds to serve a particular neurological function; the tracks are designed to get you to focus. Successful investor and tech entrepreneur, Andrew Chen, from the San Francisco Bay Area says, “For me, time management tools are super important,” and uses them to clear his emails. 8. Take Regular Breaks Taking a break improves your productivity and allows you to focus better. It’s a simplistic notion that really works. If you think that working through your lunch break will give you an extra hour to catch up. Think again. Consider taking a short time out every hour or at least every 90 minutes max, especially when working on a computer. This will clear your mind and improve concentration, as well as give your eyes and body a rest. When you come back to your desk, you will be recharged and ready to deal with your next task. Bob Pose, Senior Lecturer at MIT says, “taking regular timeouts can help you refresh your focus and get more done.” The ‘Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours’ author, says the question to ask yourself is “what is the appropriate time period of concentrated work you can do before taking a break?” and not how many breaks you should take in a day. 9. Stop Multitasking, Get Better at Time Management Recent studies have shown that multitasking is a performance killer and may even damage your brain. According to experts at Stanford University, multitasking makes you perform worse, even if you think you’re good at it. Because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time, multitasking decreases your productivity and ability to perform. Doing two things at the same time makes your brain underperform both tasks. Multitaskers have more trouble when it comes to organizing their thoughts and sorting out irrelevant information. Professor Clifford Nass says that “Everything distracts” the heavy multitaskers. 221

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Presentation Skills Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success Whether you’re a high-level executive or an administrative assistant, developing your presentation skills is one key way to climb in an office-based job. Leaders make decisions based on information shared in presentation format, and hardly any business changes its mind without first seeing a persuasive presentation. Not all presentations take place in a formal meeting. Many presentation skills are relevant to one- on-one consults or sales calls. It is important for any office employee to know what steps go into creating an effective presentation and what presentation skills are most important to employers. Highlighting these skills will also help you stand out during your job search. What Are Presentation Skills? Presentation skills refer to all the qualities you need to create and deliver a clear and effective presentation. While what you say during a presentation matters, employers also value the ability to create supporting materials, such as slides. Your prospective employer may want you to deliver briefings and reports to colleagues, conduct training sessions, present information to clients, or perform any number of other tasks that involve speaking before an audience. Giving engaging and easy-to-understand talks is a major component of the strong oral communication skills that are a job requirement for many positions. Presentation Phases Any presentation has three phases: preparation, delivery, and follow-up. All presentation skills fit into one of these three phases. Preparation involves research and building the presentation. This may mean crafting the entire text (or at least writing notes) and creating any slides and other supporting visual/audio materials. You will also have to make sure that the appropriate venue is available and properly set up beforehand and that the projector works (if you'll need one) and connects with your laptop. You'll also want to practice your presentation as many times as you need to to feel comfortable delivering it with ease and confidence within the time allotted for the presentation. Skills related to preparation include:  Conducting research related to your presentation topic  Devising charts and graphs depicting your research findings  Learning about your audience to better tailor your presentation to their needs  Creating digital slides  Breaking up a presentation into parts of reasonable length 222

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Using statistics effectively to persuade an audience  Incorporating concrete examples and stories to illustrate points and maintain audience attention  Preparing handouts or digital references so the audience isn't preoccupied with note-taking  Promoting presentations effectively to generate an appropriate audience Delivery is the part the audience sees. A good delivery depends on careful preparation and confident presentation and requires its own distinctive skill set. Skills related to delivery include:  Delivering an attention-grabbing opening for a talk  Providing a summary of what will be covered to introduce a presentation and provide context  Using body language and eye contact to convey energy and confidence  Pausing to emphasize key points  Modulating vocal tone for emphasis  Articulating clearly and smoothly  Injecting humor  Speaking with enthusiasm and animation  Projecting confidence  Summarizing key points at the conclusion  Fielding questions to clarify points Follow-up includes properly breaking down and storing any equipment, contacting any audience members with whom you agreed to communicate further, and soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback. In some presentations, you may collect information from audience members—such as names and contact information or completed surveys—that you also must organize and store. Skills related to follow-up include:  Creating an evaluation form to solicit feedback from attendees  Interpreting feedback from evaluations and modifying content and/or delivery for future presentations  Organizing a database of attendees for future presentations  Interviewing key attendees to gain additional feedback  Emailing presentation slides to attendees Types of Presentation Skills Analytical The best presenters are constantly improving their skills. To get better, you must be able to look honestly at your performance, assess the feedback you get, and figure out what you need to do to improve. That takes analytical thinking. 223

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT More importantly, you need to have a firm grasp of the information you are about to communicate to others. You need to analyze your audience and be prepared to think quickly if asked questions that force you to demonstrate that you are fully aware of the material and its implications.  Problem sensitivity  Reporting  Surveying  Optimization  Predictive modeling  Problem-solving  Restructuring  Strategic planning  Integration  Process management  Ongoing improvement  Diagnostics  Dissecting  Evaluating  Judgment Organization You do not want to be the person who spends half of their presentation time trying to find a cable to connect their laptop to the projector. Many things can go wrong just before a presentation, and they probably will, unless you are organized. Presentation preparation also means keeping track of notes, information, and start/stop times. A presentation that's over in half the time allotted is problematic, as is one that's too long-winded. Finally, you will want to proofread and fine-tune all the materials you plan to use for the presentation.  Event planning  Auditing  Benchmarking  Prioritization  Recordkeeping  Scheduling  Attention to detail  Quick thinking Nonverbal Communication When speaking to an audience, the way you present yourself can be just as important as how you present your information. You want to appear confident and engaging. You can do this through 224

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT good posture, the use of hand gestures, and making eye contact with the audience. Practice your nonverbal communication by filming yourself doing a practice presentation and observing your body language carefully.  Active listening  Bearing  Poise  Confidence  Emotional intelligence  Respect  Facilitating group discussion  Awareness of ethnic, political, and religious diversity Presentation Software Microsoft PowerPoint is the dominant software used to create visual aids for presentations. Learn to use it well, including the special features outside of basic templates that can really bring a presentation to life. Even if someone else is preparing your slideshow for you, it will help to know how to use the software in case of last-minute changes.  Microsoft Office  Design  Keynote  Google Slides  Adobe Presenter Public Speaking You need to appear comfortable and engaging when speaking before a live audience, even if you're not. This can take years of practice, and sometimes public speaking just isn't for certain people. An uncomfortable presenter is a challenge for everyone. Fortunately, public speaking skills can improve with practice.  Articulation  Engagement  Assessing the needs of the audience  Consulting  Handling difficult questions  Controlling performance anxiety  Memorization  Modulating vocal tone Research Research is the first step in preparing most presentations and could range from a multi-year process to spending 20 minutes online, depending on context and subject matter. At the very least, you 225

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT must be able to clearly frame research questions, identify appropriate information sources, and organize your results.  Brainstorming  Collaboration  Big data analytics  Business intelligence  Calculating  Case analysis  Causal relationships  Classifying  Comparative analysis  Data interpretation  Deductive reasoning  Inductive reasoning  Search engine research Verbal Communication Public speaking is one form of verbal communication, but you will need other forms to give a good presentation. Specifically, you must know how to answer questions. You should be able to understand questions asked by your audience (even if they're strange or poorly worded) and provide respectful, honest, and accurate answers without getting off-topic.  Active listening  Focus  Empathy  Handling difficult questions  Assertiveness  Advising  Affirmation  Enunciation Writing You may or may not need a written script, but you do need to pre-plan what you are going to say, in what order you will say it, and at what level of detail. If you can write a cohesive essay, you can plan a presentation.  Grammar  Spelling  Vocabulary  Proofreading  Building outlines  Note-taking 226

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Document markups More Presentation Skills  Summarizing  Sales  Persuasion  Providing anecdotes to illustrate a point  Humor  Training  Rehearsing  Designing handouts  Recognizing and countering objections  Posing probing questions to elicit more detail about specific issues  Receiving criticism without defensiveness  Refraining from speaking too often or interrupting others  Anticipating the concerns of others  Product knowledge  SWOT analysis format  Supporting statements with evidence  Multilingual  Contracts  Working with reviewers  Consistency  Developing and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs)  Developing a proposition statement  Creativity  Logic  Creating and managing expectations  Motivation  Coaching  Analyzing Innovation What is a business innovation? Business innovation is an organization's process for introducing new ideas, workflows, methodologies, services or products. Like IT innovation, which calls for using technology in new ways to create a more efficient and agile organization, business innovation should enable the achievement of goals across the entire organization, with sights set on accomplishing core business aims and initiatives. Innovation often 227

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT begins with idea generation, wherein ideas are narrowed down during brainstorming sessions, after which leaders consider the business viability, feasibility and desirability of each idea. Business innovation should improve on existing products, services or processes; or it should solve a problem; or it should reach new customers. Recent examples of business innovation include the introduction of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, whose creator and namesake James Dyson declared in advertisements that he set out to build a better product by applying industrial cyclone technologies to the household appliance. Ride- sharing companies (Zipcar, Uber and Lyft) represent an example of a service innovation. Gillette has billed its Mach3 razors as containing innovative technology. Why business innovation is important The purpose of the business innovation process is to create value for the organization. That value can come from creating new revenue opportunities or driving more revenue through existing channels; from creating efficiencies that save time, money or both; or from improvements to productivity or performance. In short, innovation should lead to higher profits. Additionally, the results of an organization's innovation process should yield a competitive advantage; it should help the organization to grow and reach -- or, better still, exceed -- strategic objectives. Innovation vs. invention Innovation and invention are closely linked, but the two terms are not interchangeable. An invention is an entirely new creation. The process of business innovation can produce an invention, but the term is broader in scope and includes the application of an existing concept or practice in a new way, or applying new technology to an existing product or process to improve upon it. To better understand the difference, consider this: The telephone is an invention, but the smartphone is an innovation. Business innovation cycle Although there's no one-size-fits-all formula for business innovation, organizations that are continually successful at business innovation have a repeatable process to generate, test and develop ideas that can lead to innovations. The cycle is often broken down into four parts. It starts with articulating ideas around key areas (business models, marketing, process, products and service). The cycle moves through discovery then onto development and delivery. 228

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT The first phase focuses on the creation and recording of ideas as well as the preliminary evaluation of whether those ideas could produce value. The next phase centers on testing the ideas through pilot programs or proofs of concepts, during which ideas and their value are further evaluated. The last two phases center on scaling ideas, moving them into production and integrating them into normal business operations. Business leaders often use different names for each of these phases. For example, some label the first phase ideation and the last phase implementation, but the steps for each phase are basically the same. Some executives and managers further break down the cycle into even more phases, separating out items such as analysis, testing and review as separate steps. Models of innovation Business innovation can be grouped in various categories, or models. Some are self-explanatory, such as product or process innovations. Other types, and what they mean, include:  Business model innovation: the development and implementation of new, unique concepts supporting an organization's financial viability, including its mission.  Industry model innovation: the creation of a new industry or an organization's move into a new industry.  Revenue model innovation: improvements and/or changes to an organization's framework for generating revenue, a goal also encompassed in the term, business model innovation. Revolutionary vs. evolutionary Business innovation can also be classified as either revolutionary or evolutionary. Revolutionary business innovation yields a drastic change in a product, service, process, etc., which often destroys or supplants an existing business model. This is also known as radical innovation. Evolutionary or incremental innovation involves smaller, more continuous improvements that, while important, are not drastic enough to shift a company or market into a new paradigm. Disruptive innovation is a category that emphasizes the destructive aspect of revolutionary innovation; this term applies to business innovation that leads to the creation of a new market that displaces an existing one or, similarly, a significant upheaval in a category of products or services. The pros and cons of business innovation 229

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Business innovation, like most business initiatives, has both benefits and risks. Organizations should recognize on the negative side that the business innovation process can be a costly undertaking that does not always produce a return on investment (ROI); that ideas deemed likely to succeed could still fail; and that stakeholders -- whether they're employees, customers, partners or others -- could fight the changes required to be successful. On the other hand, organizations need to weigh those risks against the benefits of business innovation. Those benefits include the development of improved products and services, increased revenue and market share, organizational growth and new opportunities, and recognition as a leader.  Problem Analysis Five Easy Steps to Analyze Any Problem Throughout my career in finance, consulting, marketing, sales and general management, there have been a few constants I have learned and used again and again successfully. Allow me to share three of them:  First. Less is more. It really is. Reduce, consolidate, net it out. When you simplify, you will be far better received by your audiences. Example: Do a content audit and cut out 80 percent of the assets that customers and sales don’t need or use, or can’t find!  Second. Information is not power. Access to it is. Make sure the right information is at your fingertips at the moment you need it. For example, ask yourselves what customers really need and when they need it.  Third. Use a reliable methodology to simply and accurately define, analyze and solve problems. This is the subject of my blog post today – problem solving in five easy pieces. Regardless of functional area or level in the organization, we are frequently faced with problems to define, analyze and solve. As leaders, we need to easily understand and solve problems so we can move the business forward and drive intelligent growth and productivity. Following is a five- step process that can be implemented on one side of an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper or digitally, as you prefer. A consistent language of problem definition and analysis is the key. 230

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Key steps to problem analysis: 1. Problem: Is there a deviation from expectation? First, clearly define the problem. (A problem is a deviation from expectation or goal.) For example: We want a strong product portfolio innovation process to drive future growth. A problem statement could be: Our portfolio innovation process is not driving adequate market success. 2. Evidence: What’s the proof that the problem is real? How do you really know that the problem exists? It’s important to present evidence that proves the problem is real. In this case, we would cite specific examples of established competitors and startups that were first to market, leaving our firm behind. We would also cite customer feedback that demonstrates a failure to meet their emerging market needs or the organization’s lateness to market. 3. Impacts: Why do we care? How does the stated problem pass the “so what?” test? Here we state the impact the problem is having on our business or department. Using our innovation example, loss in market share, missed growth opportunities, and missed revenue and profitability targets are all relevant and significantly impact the business. 4. Causes: What’s driving the problem? It’s important to analyze the systemic causes of the problem. In this case, the causes could be: 1. Product development activities are based on incremental improvements to existing products vs. disruptive or major innovations based on market needs. 2. A lack of a consistent process to determine and vet high-priority customer needs. 3. Unclear roles, responsibility or accountability for product development processes. 5. Recommendations: Simple; just reverse the causes! As long as the first four pieces are done properly, the recommendations are obvious and simple – just reverse the causes. In our example: 1. Revise the product development orientation to take market needs into account, including disruptive innovations – not just incremental improvements to current products and services. 2. Define and implement a standard enterprise innovation process to consistently determine and act on customer needs. 3. Clarify roles, responsibilities and accountability for the product portfolio innovation process. If the causes are stated accurately and solved with the corresponding recommendations, the problem should be solved, or at least mitigated. Note that some causes could be problems in themselves, worthy of their own problem analysis. Any of the above causes could be problems with their own deeper causes and impacts. In this way, a logical argument can be constructed – an extremely useful and compelling way to solve the problems placed before us on a day-to-day basis. This approach to problem solving is highly actionable and ties back to my lesson of “less is more,” and it provides access to critical information when and where you need it. Try it out, and please share your feedback!  Successful Negotiation 10 Sales Negotiation Skills Every Sales Rep Must Master Sales negotiations is an awry business, it can be simple or complicated, courteous or brutal, fast or slow. Negotiations are termed successful when real and perceived differences are adjusted while preserving credibility, customer value, and profit margins. While there is no surefire approach to 231

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT barter positive results from a sales negotiation, one can decrease the chances of the negotiation getting derailed by developing the essential skills for negotiations. Even if the salesperson has properly qualified the prospect and was able to manage their expectations precisely, the deal could still end in a negotiation. The sales rep who took the role of a consultant should now take up the role of a negotiator to engineer the deal to a win-win agreement. In the midst of all that tension and contracts, negotiations can make things go haywire. But with the right skills and tactics, sales reps can turn negotiations to the direction they wish to take. 10 Essential Negotiation Skills for Salespeople Skill #1. Define the Absolute Bottom Line The bottom line is the limit you are willing to give in for getting business. The best way to be prepared for a negotiation is to clearly define your bottom line of what you are willing to settle for and beyond which is unacceptable. This will help reps to avoid getting manipulated by prospects. Accepting negotiations and compromises on the fly will leave you unhappy at the end of the day. Remember, when you are compromising, you are shedding a portion of the margin the company should have earned. The absolute bottom line is your worst case scenario, anything less should be blindly refused. Skill #2. Always Negotiate with the Decision Maker Salespeople make the common mistake of negotiating with people who are not the decision makers. The biggest and basic rule of negotiation is to always negotiate with the decision maker i.e, the signing authority. The problem with negotiating with others is that when you begin negotiating with the true decision maker, they’re likely to start the discussion with the discounted price quoted or agreed. This is again used as leverage by the decision maker to quote lesser, pushing you in a tough spot. Skill #3. Be Prepared before Negotiations Being prepared before entering negotiations account for 90% of negotiation success. The more and better prepared you are, the more likely is the outcome of negotiation to be positive. Prepare for detailed negotiations and plan strategies for every encounter. Knowledge is power, and power is always on the side of the person with the best information. Get all the information you can about the prospect with whom you will be negotiating, think through the entire negotiation process, and be fully prepared for any eventuality. Create a detailed description of what your prospect is looking for, this will help in revealing commonalities that lead to creative solutions. Skill #4. Build Value to Justify Price Before entering the crossfire, build value in your prospect’s mind by focusing on the underlying interests of your prospect. If you are able to quantify the values that can be gained through your 232

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT product/service, convincing the prospect will be easier. Give your price legitimacy by providing prospects with reasonable justifications. Remember, decision makers buy values and benefits, not features. Skill #5. Offer Alternatives to Cash Discounts that Cost Less Prospects typically throw in the price towel in every negotiation, demanding discounts and rebates in the price. And we can only hope that they are reasonable. To counter such claims and demands, offer prospects with alternatives to cash discounts that cost little or less in comparison. But make sure what you are offering have high-value perception for the customer. You don’t want to cut them short. Design a list of alternatives that resonates high value to the prospect. Skill #6. Get Something in Return for Discounts A straight price reduction is the most expensive discount a company can offer, and the hardest to avoid in a negotiation. So even if you try justifying the price or offer alternatives to discounts, there will be a deal where you will no other option other than discounts. But you can still turn that around. Since you gave up on price, ask something in return. Giving away discounts will invariably hurt your company’s bottom line, so make sure you get something in return. Some things you could ask for return include  Shorter payment terms/Prepayment  A larger order (Up-sell)  Purchase additional products/services (Cross-sell)  Opportunities for recurring revenue (business) Skill #7. Find the Alternative Solutions that interest your Prospect Negotiations are when prospects come up with a list of alternative solutions that they could look at for a better lead or for something else. Identifying the alternative solutions your prospect might come up with will give you a head start. Now that you have a list of the alternatives you can provide reasonable data and information to the prospect to demonstrate why your product is superior. Remember, better the deal on the table, fewer will be the alternatives. Skill #8. Use Silence to your Advantage Silence is a powerful tactic in negotiations. It gets the other party to think about what you just offered and reinforces the statements you made. ‘Silence’ can speak louder than words, but can also be counterproductive if not properly trained to manage silence. Silence creates a void which the prospect is forced to fill with words, words that are more likely to favor you. Make a statement or an offer, and remain silent. Skill #9. Be Patient If significant game-changing decisions are made that might need radical changes to what was previously agreed upon, don’t rush into finalizing. Request for a break to think it over and schedule 233

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT a follow-up meeting. Radical changes might catch you off-guard and rushing into decisions can only hurt both you and your company’s bottom line. So slow down, take a deep breath, and get back to them after you have evaluated the situation through. Skill #10. Know when to Walk Away If your prospect demands massive price reductions or radical amendments to the contract that is unprofitable to the company, walk away. Gradual withdrawal is a better way in which you send signals to the other party that you are dissatisfied with how the negotiation is going. Now that you know the Sales Negotiation Skills needed to be mastered before your next sales negotiation, you could also gauge how successful you were with these sales negotiation metrics.  Fewer Prices Concessions to get Business  Increased Margins and Revenues  Improved win rate in competitive situations  Shorter sales cycle  Stronger customer relationships that bond on value, not price  Greater power and influence throughout the Decision Making process 234

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Chapter 9 CORPORATE ETIQUETTES  Dress Codes Your Dress Code Provides a Guide for Employees A dress code is a set of standards that companies develop to help provide their employees with guidance about what is appropriate to wear to work. Dress codes range from formal to business casual to casual, depending on the needs of the individual workplace and the customers it serves. The formality of the workplace dress code is normally determined by the number and type of interactions employees have with customers or clients in the workplace. In workplaces that are frequented by clients who expect their counselors to exhibit professionalism and integrity, the dress is often formal. This includes law offices, financial consulting firms, banks, and some large businesses. However, even these organizations are relaxing their dress codes. For example, banking giant J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. now allows its employees to wear business casual attire most of the time. In a visit to a law firm, it was noted that employees were dressed in business casual but most had jackets hanging on their office doors. This allowed them to work comfortably yet stay prepared for unexpected client interaction at any time. Tech firms and start-ups generally favor casual dress; essentially what employees would wear to watch a sporting event or to grocery shop on the weekend. But, with 60% of millennial employees and employees, in general, favoring more casual dressing, employers who want to remain competitive in recruiting, are offering casual dress as a perk. In workplaces where some employees interact with customers or clients and others do not, an organization may choose to have two dress codes. A more casual dress code is normally adopted for employees with no customer or client contact. For example, manufacturing employees may dress casually, but front office staff might wear business casual work attire. A casual dress code is the dress code that the majority of employees want. Competitive employers allow this dressing for work. Depending on the organization, the dress code may be written in great detail, or in the case of a casual dress code, very little detail is necessary. Over the years, employees have seen a shift towards a more casual dress standard, even in industries that were previously very formal. Startups, in particular, tend towards a more casual dress code for their employees. Why Dress Codes Are Important 235

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT In some professions, dress codes are so strict that you call them uniforms. You want everyone to know who the police officer is, for instance. If your company sends out plumbers or cable television installers, your employees are showing up in strangers' homes to do work. A uniform identifies them as the person hired and not some random guy off the street who wants to look at your toilet. (Okay, not likely to happen, but still.) In other jobs, dress codes are important because you are representing the company. Employees that work at clothing stores are often required to wear clothes the store sells. Target requires khaki pants and red shirts so that their employees are easy to spot. Fast food restaurants require a strict uniform so that it doesn't look like customers have wandered behind the counter. For office jobs, the person who sits at the front desk might have a stricter dress code than the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Why? Because everyone who walks in off the street sees the receptionist, but you'll only see the CIO if you have an appointment. Many client-based industries, like law firms and corporate accounting, have formal dress codes. No one wants to meet with a lawyer wearing a tank top and Daisy Duke shorts. A suit is the chosen outfit, for both male and female employees with pants suits for women becoming more common than in the formal dress years. What you wear to work tells people a lot about you. Have you ever heard the advice, “don't dress for the job you have; dress for the job you want”? It's good advice because how people perceive you influences what they think of your work performance. What About Casual Dress? In a Robert Half Finance & Accounting survey, CFOs were asked their opinions about workplace attire. They confirmed that dressing up for work is going out of style: 61% said their employees abide by a somewhat casual dress code, khakis, and polo shirts or sweaters, for example. But, 13% of them said that jeans and T-shirts are the norm. As for the rest of the respondents, 4% said that attire at their offices is still very formal, as in suits and ties, and 21% describe the outfits worn to work as somewhat formal, either dress slacks or a skirt with a button-down shirt. 236

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT If you can trust television to be accurate, you can see the evolution of dress codes. Now? It's a much more casual world, and some famous heads of big companies dress very casually—Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, for instance, who seems to live in a hoodie. Even companies that used to require strict, formal dress have largely softened. You're more likely to encounter someone in cotton pants and a casual shirt when you visit a Fortune 100 company than someone in a suit. This is generally known as business casual and can vary greatly from organization to organization. Some companies allow jeans in a business casual office, others require pressed pants. Some business casual offices allow flip-flops while some require closed-toe shoes. (Of course, some closed-toe shoe requirements are for safety reasons instead of just dress codes.) Even if your company has no dress code, you still need an internal one. Sloppy is never appropriate—even if your job is feeding pigs. Don't push limits. If your dress code allows sleeveless shirts, don't push it to spaghetti straps. A good guide is to look at a senior person of your gender and use that person as a guide. If the VP wouldn't wear a mini skirt, you probably shouldn't either. Legal Requirements for a Dress Code Companies can generally decide how they want their employees to look, with some very important exceptions. First, the dress code can't discriminate. Men and women need to have similar standards. Second, it has to allow for religious accommodations if they are reasonable. Employers need to accommodate an employee whose religion requires him to keep his head covered or to wear a religious necklace unless there are extreme circumstances. If you're writing your company's dress code, it's ideal to double-check with your employment attorney before implementing it as policy.  Table Manners The 5 Types of Business Etiquette Workplace Etiquette These rules deal with your behavior at the office. Culture and expectations differ from company to company, so what's rude at one workplace may be normal at another. For instance, Hub Spot is dog-friendly, so my coworkers frequently bring their pups in with them. At a traditional office, showing up with Rover would probably annoy your colleagues -- and may even get you in hot water with upper management. 237

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Figure out what's acceptable and what's not by reading your company handbook, paying attention to how the executives behave (and following suit), and sticking by the standard rules (such as \"Don't heat up excessively smelly foods in the break room.\") Table Manners and Meal Etiquette There's far more to dinner and meal etiquette than knowing which fork to use. Luckily, once you've memorized these rules, you'll be well-equipped for any eating situation. I can't even begin to cover them here -- you should read a book on meal etiquette or watch some videos for a full briefer -- but every professional should know the following:  Put your napkin in your lap when you sit down  Order items in a similar price range to your dining companions  Don't start eating until everyone has received their food  Pass condiments and dishes from left to right rather than reaching across the table  Chew with your mouth closed  Don't snap your fingers at your server  After the meal is over, partially fold your napkin and put it to the left of your plate Professionalism Being professional means contributing to a pleasant, productive, and inclusive work environment. Professionalism includes an entire range of behaviors; however, here are the most standard:  Keeping your word: When you make a commitment -- whether it's big or small -- keep it. If you know that will be impossible, give the other person as much notice as possible.  Being punctual: Show up on time (or early).  Remaining calm: Even in heated situations, do your best to stay cool.  Acting flexible: Sometimes you'll have to stay late, show up early, change plans, move meetings, and more to make things work. Unless this is happening all the time, accommodate these changes without raising a stink.  Using diplomacy: There will be people you don't like -- prospects, coworkers, or both. Be kind and amiable anyway.  Accepting constructive criticism: Throughout your career, others will offer feedback. If you're closed off to it, you'll not only harm your professional rapport, you'll also lose valuable opportunities to improve. Communication Etiquette A large majority of our relationships hinge on good communication. Not sure what that entails? Let's break communication etiquette down into three categories: Phone Etiquette 238

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT  Don't speak too loudly or too softly. If you're worried about your volume, ask, \"How am I coming across? Do you need me to talk more or less quietly?\"  Never interact with your phone while you're with someone else. Keep it stashed in your pocket or bag at all times.  If you're on a conference call and you're not speaking, mute yourself so the others aren't distracted by the outside noise. Email Etiquette  Aim to answer internal emails within one day and external emails within three days.  Avoid overusing exclamation marks and smiley faces.  Default to \"Reply\" over \"Reply All.\"  Check with each party before you make an introduction. In-Person Etiquette  Steer clear of complimenting someone's appearance, since this can make people feel uncomfortable.  Maintain eye contact 60% to 70% of the time.  Match their speaking volume.  Show interest in what they're saying. 5. Meetings Etiquette Meetings are an important aspect of business communication that allow teams to share ideas, discuss strategy, and get on the same page about projects and priorities. Below are some strategies for maintaining proper meeting etiquette, whether you're meeting in-person or virtually:  Send a meeting agenda around when you invite people to attend so they can prepare for the discussion in advance.  Be mindful of time zones and the daily schedules of the people you're inviting when setting a time so nobody has to attend a meeting too early or too late in the day.  Set up lunch or ask people to bring lunch if your meeting is scheduled during a typical lunch hour.  Introduce new team members or first-time meeting attendees to the larger group. In-Person Meetings Etiquette  Give attendees up to five minutes to settle in before diving into the agenda.  Follow or set a clear agenda so people have time to think about contributions and ideas before presenting.  Call on everyone who wants to participate in the discussion, or go around in a circle so everyone can speak.  Don't speak too loudly so as not to disturb people working around you. 239

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Virtual Meetings Etiquette  Look at the camera -- not your own face or theirs -- so you seem like you're making eye contact.  Shut the door and make sure you're not interrupted by your pets, children, roommates, significant other, etc.  Before your meeting, check the area in camera range for inappropriate or overly personal items.  If you're the meeting facilitator, make sure all participants have the chance to speak or present ideas, even if they're tuning in remotely. These might seem like a lot of rules. And, well, you're not wrong. But rules have an upside: Once you know what to do, it's much easier to build and maintain a great professional reputation.  Hosting Corporate Guest 7 Tips for Hosting a Corporate Event When you’re already working for a company, finding the time to plan out a corporate event can be frustrating. On top of your normal workload, you also need to juggle finding the venue, planning out your presentations, making sure your employees can make it, figuring out events…it’s easy to let a lot of it slide until the last second, when you’re scrambling to make the best decisions for an impactful event. But don’t stress! Here are the best tips for hosting a corporate event that will help make your planning seamless and easy! Pick the Ideal Calendar Date Depending on what kind of company you work for, there never seems to be a “perfect” time to schedule a corporate event. A company’s calendar always seems filled, with everything from small client hiccups to large metaphorical fires popping up every now and again, throwing wrenches into even the best-laid plans. Still, even if there’s not a “perfect” date, there are always “ideal” dates: areas in the work month that consistently see a dip in busyness, or certain weeks that don’t need as much attention as others. Keeping in mind times close to the holidays where a lot of your staff may be busy – such as big calendar dates like the 4th of July or more local dates like the back to school season – is also important. Once you take into account all of this information, finding that handful of free and convenient evenings or weekends becomes much easier. 240

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Choose the Ideal Location When you find a location that works perfectly for your corporate meeting needs, it’s tempting to keep going back to that well over and over. If it’s not broken, why fix it, right? Returning to the same venue can have a lot of rewards. For example, you begin to establish a professional rapport with the business in question, which makes it easier to plan your event with them. It also makes it easier for them to help you, since they are more than likely familiar with your needs. While this is all well and good, you don’t want your corporate event to grow stale in the eyes of your guests. Change up your locations every now and again to keep guests engaged and excited to come. Treat the Venue Like a Business Partner No matter which venue you choose to host your event through, you want to make sure that it goes off without a hitch. The best way to ensure your venue’s staff cooperation is to treat them the same way you would treat a business partner. Let them in on all of the necessary information before, during, and after your event so they may help make your stay seamless and stress-free for everyone. When you have so much on your plate already, it’s easy to treat the venue like a provider of a service, someone who works for you rather than with you. This subtle shift in attitude could be the one thing standing between a great corporate event and a lousy one. Plan A/V Options in Advance Almost by definition, a majority of corporate events involve public speaking. Maybe even a video presentation, PowerPoint, or team-building activity that involves visual and audio components. These tend to be one of the bigger focuses of any corporate event, so you want to make sure that you have all of the technicalities figured out long in advance. If there needs to be a microphone, make sure you talk with the staff to figure out where it should be plugged into. How do the speakers work? If you’re showing a video, will a TV screen be used, or a projector? If you need to hook up your computer to the screen, how would you go about doing that? There’s nothing more frustrating than having to pause your entire event just because you didn’t have the A/V options figured out beforehand. Find a Way to Mix Work and Play It’s entirely possible that your particular work event won’t have much “work” going on (a company Christmas party, perhaps). That being said, a lot of corporate events are used to talk about the company, how it’s doing, and address any problems that need to be changed. 241

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT While it’s obviously important to talk business, it’s equally important to make sure your employees don’t look at your upcoming corporate event with impending doom. Be sure to find ways of mixing up activities in between the work. Have a Back-Up Plan Like with any event, any number of things can go wrong. It’s important to prepare for anything ahead of time and have back-up plans in place to prevent wasting the company’s time. If the connection between your laptop and the projector isn’t working, for example, one option is to have a presentation prepared in which you won’t need one. Another would be to bring all of the necessary cords yourself to use as an emergency spare. If the venue finds itself unable to host your event at the last minute, be sure to have another one you could call up that can fit you in at such short notice. If your post-work activities don’t work out, have others that are equally engaging. It’s all about making sure you stay on schedule and get as much out of this event as possible. Welcome Feedback Even the best of events can be tweaked for the future. Don’t hesitate to ask any of your employees how the event went. Ask them to get specific if they want to: what did they enjoy most? What about least? Was there anything they preferred about last year’s? What are they hoping for for the future? While the work everyone is doing is for the benefit of the company, the event is for your employees. By making sure they’re getting as much out of it as you want them to, you’re guaranteeing yourself a great event with motivated employees.  Modern Manners for Today's Business 9 modern business etiquette rules to improve workplace culture Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette, recently told the Huffington Post that business etiquette is “more than just the practice of good manners and following respectful protocol when 242

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT doing business with others — it’s the difference between a good businessman or businesswoman and a great one.” As a small business owner, you must lead by example. Effective business leaders understand that they set the tone for proper behavior in the workplace. Their ability to do so can affect morale and productivity more than any other action. Below, we’ve included nine tips and business etiquette rules that you’ll want to abide by in the office. Implementing these etiquette tips will improve your credibility with both your co-workers and peers in the business world. 1. Names are important When you meet someone, one of the first things you’ll do is exchange names. However, this is not a formality that you should brush past. First and foremost, you’ll want to include your last name when introducing yourself to someone. This is especially the case if you have a common first name, like “Chris” or “Sarah.” Addressing people by name is critical when forming business relationships, as it can make you appear much more genuine. It’s also a sign of respect. You should not initially use a nickname or address people in generalities. If the person prefers a nickname and asks that you call them by that name, go ahead and do so. And make sure you pronounce the individual’s name correctly when you say it. If the name is hard to pronounce, ask for further clarification during the initial meeting. Doing so is a sign of sincerity, demonstrating that you’ve taken an interest. 2. Make a good first impression Names are critical when meeting somebody, but there are also a few other things you can do to help make an excellent first impression.  Shake hands, giving a firm handshake. Handshakes should not be a “power struggle.” The grip should be firm but not bone-crushing. Handshakes should be a sign of mutual respect, not an effort to exert dominance.  Make eye contact when shaking hands, and maintain it throughout the conversation. Experts say you should maintain eye contact 50% of the time when speaking and 70% when listening and that you should hold it no more than five seconds at a time. Otherwise, you’ll come off as creepy.  Provide your business card, cell phone number, or another form of contact information at the end of the conversation. 243

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT In addition to your contact information, you may also consider sharing your social media profiles. However, if you do so, make sure that the profiles are professional. LinkedIn is an excellent social media platform for networking with business professionals. You should also follow up with people after meeting them. Doing so is common sense if you want to foster relationships, and you never know when a business relationship will benefit you or your company. If possible, send thank-yous that are customized and hand-written. In today’s world of email and texting, it’s tempting to shoot off a message from your phone and move on. But a personalized thank you or follow up shows that you care, and it will go a long way toward helping others remember you and your company. 3. Establish a dress code Some companies prefer that workers come dressed in suits and ties every day. Others don’t mind if their employees show up in slacks and polos. Whatever your choice is, make sure you establish a professional dress code for your firm. Defining a dress code will help bring consistency, uniformity, and professionalism to your work environment. Not every day has to be the same. For instance, you can have a Casual Friday. Or you can require employees to dress up more if there are essential business meetings on the day’s schedule. Just remember that when someone meets your employee, their outfit is one of the things that makes the first impression. So no matter what dress code you select, make sure it’s professional. Even casual dress can be professional. Also, remember that good hygiene can be part of your dress code. For instance, you can implement policies to limit beard or hair length. Make sure that you’re setting a good example by keeping your appearance maintained. You can ruin the most professional of dress codes and first impressions with a sloppy, unkempt look. 4. Make yourself accessible Sitting at your desk with your office door closed sends one message: Leave me alone. Instead, you’ll want to get out and talk with employees. If people feel comfortable in your presence, you’ll foster a positive workplace culture. You can consider implementing an “Open Door” policy so that employees can come into your office and talk whenever they’d like if they have questions. Another note about communication: It’s critical that you return phone calls as soon as possible. You want people to know that when they call, you’re easy to get hold of. Returning phone calls promptly is a display of classy business communication that can make a favorable impression. 244

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT 5. Avoid gossip Small talk doesn’t mean sharing tidbits from your personal life. Nothing good comes from exchanging gossip about money or relationships or office politics. You’re not “one of the gang,” nor should you strive to be. As the company owner, you’re in charge of setting the standard for proper business etiquette. You should not engage in office gossip and should seek to eliminate it from your company culture. 6. Adhere to a schedule Life as a business owner is challenging. You’re pulled in every direction. As challenging as it may be, you must adhere to a schedule and stress punctuality. Tardiness is disrespectful and is an easy way to lose business and credibility. Although things may come up unexpectedly, try to keep to your meetings scheduled with both employees and business partners. This communicates respect to those you work with. It’s not just punctuality for meetings and appointments that you need to worry about either. Showing up on time to start the day is one of the best ways to “set the tone” with employees. One YouGov study found that about one in five workers in the United States is late to work at least once per week. Showing up on time, getting to work, and setting the tone for the day can make a tremendous cultural difference for your firm. 7. Share your passion and share praise when deserved Enthusiasm is contagious. When you display a passion for the business, people respond in kind. They want to know what they’re doing helps grow the company you feel so passionately about — particularly if you frequently show gratitude for their efforts. Be sure to praise employees for a job well done, even if it’s something minor. Praise doesn’t have to be something you circulate among the company either. For example, imagine you have an employee who’s been struggling to show up to work on time. One week, they are on-time every day. Consider stopping by their workspace that afternoon and saying something along the lines of, “Hey John, just wanted to say thanks for making an effort to show up on time this week. It was noticed, and it meant a lot.” This type of positive reinforcement is necessary in today’s business culture and can go a long way toward improving morale at your place of work. You also shouldn’t be afraid to hold back praise when it isn’t deserved. Sometimes you may need to talk with employees, and it’s better to open with an employee and express how you feel than to 245

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT hold it in. If you don’t speak with the employee, they won’t know what they need to do to improve. Just remember that you’re talking with another individual. Show them the same respect you wish to receive. 8. Take emails seriously Emails are part of today’s business world. While you should always consider calling instead of emailing, it’s not always feasible. If you do need to send an email, make sure you take it seriously and practice proper email etiquette. Take a few minutes to proofread your email for:  Spelling  Grammar  Typos The email is an extension of you and your business, and once you press send, there’s no getting the email back. There are free tools available online, like Grimily, that you can install into your web browser directly. These tools aren’t perfect, but they’ll catch obvious spelling and grammar errors, and offer suggestions on how to correct them. Also make sure that you provide email addresses for employees. It looks much more professional for employees to send company emails from a business address instead of their personal address. 9. Keep diligent records You may not think of this as traditional business etiquette, but the onus is on owners to keep thorough business records. Owners should use reliable accounting software to ensure accurate bookkeeping. Owners should have no problem identifying when certain transactions occurred or what they were for.] Similarly, owners also need to keep thorough records when it comes to things like employee information. Disorganization is, at best, poor business etiquette. At worst, it could get you into a sticky legal situation. Good organization and recordkeeping are excellent ways to improve your company’s credibility and employee morale. Improve your business etiquette and culture Business owners need to pay careful attention to the culture they foster in the workplace. Workplace culture affects not only the people who work in your office every day, but also peers, customers, vendors, and investors in the outside world who you interact with frequently. The bottom line: Pay attention to how you conduct yourself at your place of business. The people who work for you will follow your lead — and mirror the tone you set, for better or worse. Practicing proper business etiquette and fostering good workplace culture can help your company reach new heights. 246

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT Chapter 10 INTERVIEW SKILLS  Sending Job Application What Is a Job Application? Definition & Example of a Job Application A job application is a form that employers ask job applicants to fill out to learn about their work history. These forms are often completed online, but some businesses still use paper applications. Learn more about job applications and what to expect when you complete one. What Is a Job Application? A job application is an official form that employers ask all applicants for a position to fill out. You may fill out the application through a third-party job listing site or by visiting the website of the potential employer. Some employers may ask you to fill out a paper application. Employers use job applications because they provide a consistent format with the same questions that must be answered by each person who applies for an open position. Employers can easily compare the background and work experience of each applicant.  Alternate definition: The materials you submit to be considered for a job, including your resume and cover letter  Alternate name: Employment application How Job Applications Work Unlike a resume and cover letter, which are written and formatted to highlight your most significant and impressive credentials, a job application is a list of questions that require factual responses. Some of the items you'll typically be asked to include are:  Your personal information (name, address, email address, and phone number)  Dates of employment  Positions held  Names and contact information for supervisors  Dates and subject area of degrees  Where your degree was obtained (if applicable) Fill out the application thoroughly, and proofread it for errors before you submit it. If you're given a paper application to complete, see if you can take it home so you don't feel rushed while filling it out. Job applications may also ask for the names and contact information of references and employers, especially direct supervisors. You may also be asked if your prospective employer can contact 247

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT your current employer. You can answer yes or no; employers understand that you may not want your current employer to know you're looking for another position. The job application may also ask for your Social Security number and your availability for work. At the end of the job application, you'll be asked to sign or e-sign the application. Your signature verifies that all statements on the job application are true. It may also allow the employer to verify the information and give permission for reference checking, background checking, and often, reviewing the results of drug testing. Some states don't allow employers to ask applicants about their criminal history, and federal law requires employers to look at each applicant's circumstances around what crime was committed and how long ago the conviction was.  Getting Appointment Letter An Appointment Letter also known as Employment offer Letter or Job Appointment Letter. It is a Legal and official Document issued by an Organization to a Qualified and Selected candidate offering a job and employment within the organization. “Qualified Candidate “means a Candidate or a Job Applicant who has applied for the job in the organization and has qualified all the round of interviews and finally being selected by the Management to offer a job to work with the organization. As it is an official letter therefore the appointment letter format should be formal and must be on company’s letterhead. Usually, Appointment Letter issued to the candidate well before his / her Joining so that the candidate can go through with all aspects of job offering with all other terms and condition thoroughly and can also tender his/ her Acceptance in reply upon by signing a duplicate copy of the Appointment Letter and submit back to the employer as a token of acceptance for record and all other future references. Appointment Letter Format A well-crafted Appointment Letter Format must give full disclosure to all employment clauses and other terms and conditions offered from the employer’s side so that the candidate convey his / her joining date by accepting all term and conditions. The followings Points should be covered in an ideal appointment letter format: 1. Company’s Letterhead with name & address of the organization (employer) 2. Issuance Date of the Appointment Letter 3. Full Name and address of the Candidate 4. Job Title / Position offered 5. Job Role & responsibilities 248

Sales Executive (BFSI) VILT 6. Nature of Job 7. Permanent b. Temporary C. Contractual 8. Office timing 9. Annual & Monthly salary 10. Perks and Benefits 11. Employment Terms & Conditions 12. Brief of various company policies 13. Reference or attachment of Employee Handbook or HR Manual 14. Time length of the contract / Appointment ( if any) 15. Date of joining 16. Checklist of Documents need to be submitted at the time of joining 17. Security requirements 18. Commitment or declaration 19. Provision regarding termination The highly coveted Letter of Appointment….!! It is the light at the end of the recruitment tunnel. All your preparation, all the tension, all the calls and all the rounds of interviews was done to get this…this little, but oh so important piece of paper. An appointment letter is a document given to a qualified candidate who will soon be employed in an organization where he/she applied. Before we proceed it is worth mentioning that the term appointment letter can have two different implications. When people speak of appointment letter they more often than not refer to an appointment letter from a company to employee, confirming employment. But an appointment letter may also mean a letter written requesting for an appointment. For example, while applying for a visa an individual will write a letter for appointment request to schedule the visa appointment. The visa appointment letter sample below will help clarify the difference. Now back to the letter of appointment. After all the formalities of the recruitment process have been completed and verified, and the candidate is selected, the company will issue an appointment letter for the job. The job appointment letter for a new employee puts formally, and in writing all else that was discussed at the time of employment. It clarifies and fills in the blanks, any questions or details the employee may still have about the job and gives him/her a clear idea about the daily work and day to day responsibilities expected of him/her. How to Write an Appointment Letter? If you find yourself in the position of having to write an appointment letter for someone here are a couple of things to remember. 249