Welcome to Sales Manager Interactive! If you’re a homecare sales manager, administrator, agency owner, leading sales rep or anyone with sales responsibility for your agency, you’ve come to the right place. This weekly newsletter will focus on important sales management topics like compensation, territory planning, recruiting and hiring, sales team motivation and much more. If you have an idea for a story please email me.

We're putting the finishing touches on the Sales Manager Interactive website right now. Soon subscribers will get access to all of the features listed below and anyone will be able to visit the main page and learn more about our revolutionary sales management training/networking program.

This newsletter comes to you courtesy of Leading Home Care and serves as the gateway to the full Sales Manager Interactive program that launches in beta test in November and in full on January 1st. What is the full version of SMI? Great question. Imagine a place where sales professionals can work collaboratively on the topics we mentioned above (and more!). Imagine a monthly “managers only” training teleseminar on similar topics where we leave lots of time to answer questions. Imagine a repository of knowledge and sales tools to manage your team to their next, best level of sales performance. Imagine input from a variety of industry experts. Imagine an interactive forum to submit questions 24/7. It’s like having your own consultant on call all the time! That, my friends, is Sales Manager Interactive. For more information, or to register and get the first two months free, visit the Sales Manager Interactive page.

Here are teleseminar/conference call topics for the first quarter of 2007.

January - New Year, New Goals

February - Effective Recruiting and Hiring

March - ABC Account Management

We are going to revolutionize homecare sales. That’s a pretty bold statement, isn’t it? But it’s true. As we build a team of the nation's leaders in homecare sales, we will share best practices, we’ll raise the level of sales professionalism in our industry and we will define the way that people look at home care salespeople. I won’t do it alone, I need you! For a full list of benefits of the new Sales Manager Interactive program, visit the SMI page on the Leading Home Care website.

Welcome to Sales Manager Interactive. You’ve taken another step toward becoming one of the elite in our industry. I congratulate you and look forward to working with you in the future. As always, I want to hear from you, so please send me an email.

Now go sell something!

How many people in your agency bemoan the number of meetings they have to attend? I actually did once attend a meeting designed to schedule other meetings... these things can get out of control!

When it comes to sales, effective meetings are vital for training, communication and guidance of the sales force. Here are some of the meetings I’ve used in my management career:

The One on One – This has probably been around since the dawn of time. You meet with one of your sales reps on a regularly scheduled basis to review action plans, discuss results and do strategic territory planning. I’m a big fan of the one on one since it gives you uninterrupted time with each person and you can totally focus on one sales territory. The frequency could be weekly (common) bi-weekly (somewhat less common) or monthly (common, but a lot can happen in 30 days!). I would like to meet with my homecare sales reps at least twice monthly in a focused environment. If time prohibits this, consider holding “windshield” meetings. That is, the time between calls, in the car on a ride day. I truly had my best success as a sales manager in this setting. People are more comfortable, you can use the previous or next call as a catalyst for discussion and for whatever reason, my reps always seemed to “let their hair down” while behind the wheel (or in the passenger seat). If you cannot have a weekly one on one with each rep, make sure your “windshield” meeting is part of your regular arsenal.

Monthly Sales Meeting – many agencies will have weekly sales meetings with the entire team... and that’s fine. The monthly sales meeting should focus on four key points.

1. Overall direction and results of the sales force/agency
2. Any common campaigns or messages to get out to referral sources
3. Something fun to keep the meeting lively
4. Training or role playing

If you can only get your entire team together once per month, make sure you invest that time wisely and get some training in. It’s much easier (and often more effective) to provide training in small doses rather than taking the whole team out of the field for two, three days or more.

Annual Sales Meeting/Retreat – I’m a big fan of working retreats. Not the kind where you swing from vines and wrestle alligators, mind you. The kind of retreats I favor involve some intensive training for the sales force, strategic planning for the year ahead (with everyone’s input) and some fun activities that make the retreat a meeting that people will enjoy going to. I use the 75/25 rule whereby 75% of the day should be work related and 25% fun/non work related activities. I also encourage team bonding with after hours activities (sometimes even a work related group project to help build teamwork). The annual retreat is usually a big investment of time and money for any agency, having fun and getting away are nice, but it’s better to make sure those big retreat dollars aren’t spent... they’re invested.

Proper sales meetings help build teamwork and skills, build confidence and allow the sales manager to assess their team all at the same time. Use the same careful planning that you would for a sales call on your next sales meeting and watch the room light up!

If we can help you plan and execute more effective sales meetings, call us at 1-888-668-9333 or email Michael for more information.

Whether you've been selling home care for ten years or ten days, Michael Giudicissi will help you become better at your job. If you're the director of a sales department, he'll help you train your current sales reps as well as new hires.

A message from Michael - "This is a great book for anyone involved in homecare sales. Of course you'd expect me to say that since I wrote it! Here's the thing, this book contains more training and information about homecare sales than many salespeople in our industry will get in their entire career. Buy it, read it and use it. Once you do, let me know how it works for you.

This e-Book is more than just bedtime reading! It's truly a sales training manual and workbook with exercises and examples for individuals as well as teams of sales people. You'll find ten exercises, worksheets, and resources including:

• Five role playing exercises
• "A Day in the Life of Physicians"
• "A Day in the Life of Case Managers"
• "Elevator Speech" creation guide
• Additional reading and resources list
• Dozens of real life illustrations and examples
• A blend of theory and practical tips
• Writing that is clear, concise, and conversational.

This manual is ideal for both certified home health agencies, as well as non-medical or private duty home care companies. Here is one of the early reviews of "Making The Approach":

"Got it - love it! Honestly, I never thought anyone would be able to accurately put into words all of the emotional issues, let alone key phrases and skills to get the job done in one piece. And, on top of that, it was actually an enjoyable read. Congratulations. We will be using this as our sales training foundation for new and current staff. Thank you Michael!!"

Joan Hatley
Senior Independence

Click on the link below. In a matter of seconds you'll be able to download this e-Book to your own computer. Literally, in the next five minutes, your ability to sell homecare services will improve. Inside of an hour, you'll feel like a veteran. And by the end of the week, you'll see results!

Check back here often to see where Michael will be speaking next. If you'd like Michael to speak at your organization or present a Sales Boot Camp in your area, email us or contact your state homecare association.

Home Health Line's Power Referrals Conference
February 21-23
Rio All Suites Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
Event Website

Sales Training Boot Camp
February 26 & 28
Northern and Southern California
Locations to be announced
Presented by CAHSAH

Here's what's new on the members only Sales Manager Interactive website. These tools are available to download for free to all subscribers.

• Sample Sales Rep Compensation Plan
• Sample Sales Manager Compensation Plan
• Sales & Marketing Scorecard
• Sales Rep Sales Activity Tracking Form
• Sales Manager Sales Activity Tracking Form

Want to know what we'll be working on next year?
Here are the subscriber's only conference call topics for the first quarter!

• January 2007 - New Year, New Goals
• February 2007 - Effective Recruiting & Hiring
• March 2007 - ABC Account Management

Visit a Preview of the Members Only Site.

If you missed the first two sessions in the "Making The Approach" teleseminar series, no worries! You can still register to listen to December's session "The Third Call and Beyond" and get the CD of the first two sessions free. Go now to the teleseminar home page to register for this powerful session and get ready to sell!