BoatU.S. WorldPoints Platinum Plus Visa

Card issued by Bank of America, N.A. (USA)
Earn 1 point for every net retail purchase dollar spent and redeem your points for travel, merchandise, gift certificates, and cash§
Access to the MyConciergeSM service, a unique personal assistance service**
Absolute fraud protection against unauthorized use, online and offline
No annual fee

A flexible and unique rewards program that puts you first. Select from cash back, travel, merchandise or personal services that are yours for the picking.

BoatU.S. Platinum Plus® Visa® Cards.

• No annual fee
  
• Absolute fraud protection
  
• Online access and 24-hour service
  
• Access to the MyConciergeSM service, a unique personal assistance service
  
• Introductory 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR)† for Cash Advance Checks and Balance Transfers through your first twelve billing cycles.* (subject to a 3% transaction fee, no less than $10)
  

DID YOU KNOW?

	Whether it's your first time buying a home or not, you should familiarize yourself with the whole mortgage process. Numerous mortgage lenders will assist you in the process of acquiring a pre-qualified and pre-approved home buying application. Of course, your mortgage qualifications will be required by your agent to strengthen your deal in finding and buying a home. Here are some things to consider when buying a home. - Money Before buying a home, consider your financial status. Check your credit situation by getting hold of your most recent credit report at the credit center. You should know exactly how much money you have and how much you can afford to spend on a home. - Time Don’t expect to find a great home tomorrow if you’ve only begun your search today. Buying a home is like working on a school project. It needs ample time. If you think you’ve gathered enough information and resources within your time table, so be it. - The Right Agent If you believe in the comfort and rewards of buying a home, you will need to trust the agent who will do the work for you. In finding a reliable agent you will need to look at many sources of information to determine “who represents what”. It is always best to compare experiences, backgrounds and referrals of reputable people. - Needs vs. Wants Why confuse yourself between needs and wants when you can have both? Upon gathering information in buying a home, take into consideration the different types of houses available and decide what you want from what is offered. - Word Confusion Needless to say, when you buy a home you should familiarize yourself with the terms and words used during the dealing and negotiating with your agent and contractor. Also, try to keep a list of the questions you have that need further clarification. - Cue Cards You don’t want to forget even a single detail about the home you’ve selected, right? Why not keep little cue cards where the ‘plus & minus’ on each home or property you’ve seen is listed and recorded. - Points and Plus Learn how to bargain and get the best possible deal. - Safety and Security Be sure to get homeowner’s insurance. It may seem like a lifetime expense, but it will get you continued savings in the long run. - Final Check Do a final inspection or walk-through of the house before settlement and before the contract is processed. Consider the above points as helpful factors when you to decide to buy a home. Plan ahead and avoid the common mistakes that most home buyers make.

Abstract: This article distinguishes proactive selling from reactive selling and illustrates the technique and benefits associated with proactive selling.

Are you getting “no’s” bleed from customers saying no too often? Try asking questions that can’t be answered with a no. Try proactive selling.

Reactive Selling

Much of the time, we adopt a reactive posture with our customers. We “lob” a statement or benefit over the fence and wait for the customers to respond to the statement or benefit. Then we react to their response. Reactive statements include:

• “I’m calling to see if there’s anything we can help you out with today.” lob … wait … The response usually is “No, not today. Thank you.” Our reaction is “Well, if something comes up….”

• “Last week I sent you our line card and I’m following up to see if you’ve received it.” lob...wait... The response usually is “Yep. But I don’t need anything...” or “I don’t remember.” Our reaction is, “Well, if something comes up...”

At the very best, many reactive sales calls end with the rep – not the customer – doing something. Reactive sales calls result in the rep sending literature or setting up another phone call.

With reactive sales calls, you give up control of the conversation and reduce the possibility of making something happen.

Proactive Selling

Bring the customer into the conversation with an open-ended but specific question:

• “How familiar are you with our Pro-Act registry service?”

• “How familiar are you with our Inventory Elimination service?”

• “How familiar are you with the depth of inventory we stock?

This question should be targeted towards the customer needs but can be very effective for cold-calling as well. You retain control over the conversation and build the opportunity to qualify the customer.

In General

Also don’t forget to:

• Begin each call with a specific Initial Value Statement.

• Confirm that you’re speaking with the decision-maker. “Are you the one who makes the decision to buy/sell…”

• Ask if this is a good time to talk for a few minutes.

• If the customer has done business with your company, thank them for their business.

And Finally…

Proactive selling won’t work for everyone and won’t work all the time. But when you’re feeling like you’re getting “no’s” bleed, try proactive selling.