Teamwork

An important part of sales is creating a team. If you truly want to reach special heights in sales and business teamwork will be the key. The first part of teamwork you want to foster is with your assistants, your sales team, your back office or anyone else that would work with you. Even if you are the boss you can create a better environment when everyone believes they are part of a team as opposed to feeling like an employee. When people are brought in as a team member they buy in and are willing to do more. An employee feels like it is their job and will only do what is required while a team member wants to dive in, stay late without being asked or do whatever is necessary to finish the job and get more than the required result. “Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”, Mattie Stepanek. When you create that unified front you create a team that will fight for and believe in one another and will pick up the pieces for each other this will create the teamwork you need to reach that pinnacle of success you are looking for.

This is the first part of the teamwork the second part is the teamwork you create with your prospects and clients. When you are prospecting whether it is a new client or an existing client you need to team up with them to help them solve their need. Everyone knows or has a salesman they don’t like because they never bring a solution but instead they bring a product to be bought and on occasion they buy but mostly they look for excuses to get rid of or not see them. However when you make a sales call and bring the features and benefits of how your products will fill their need you have now become a team member of your client and team members will never have a problem revisiting their client. “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.”, Napoleon Hill. So help your clients succeed through teamwork and watch your business grow.

Coaching up your clients

As a sales person, you do far more for clients than sell them something: One of your most important skill sets is to serve as a developmental coach. It is your job to play a critical, value-producing role that relies on your knowledge of what they are buying and their history, their beliefs and behaviors.

You need to be knowledgeable, motivated and well-intentioned. When you take time to identify the goals of your prospects you are on your way to the start of a rewarding client relationship. You succeed by understanding your clients’ fears, weaknesses, and temptations and providing solutions.

"Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don't have to do anything else. We don't have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen.", Margaret J. Wheatley.

If you want to edge out the competition you need to help clients plan for goals and stick with their long-term plans even when they have doubts. This kind of coaching is the biggest contributor in allowing you to cultivate the relationships you want instead of reacting to outside influences. Leaning to proactively coach your prospects and clients is a better solution than being reactionary. Stressing your role as coach in client appointments will promote you above your competition. Most of your client know what they should be doing but lack the time and discipline to get it done which is why they are looking for someone like you even though they don’t know it.

Time management

If you want to be a top sales person you must be very good at time management. In sales you may never know when that next sale is coming from but with good time management you can learn to predict it. Time management is about accomplishing more in a shorter period of time. In sales creating time for every aspect of what you need to get done needs to be prioritized.

If you follow these steps you will enhance your time management skills:

1. Create a to do list – every morning create a to do list it saves time when you know exactly what you want to accomplish for the day. It will help keep you organized.

2. Delegate your time – set aside time for certain things such as email, service issues, prospecting and appointments

3. Streamline – reduce outside distractions this will help keep you Focused – when you are working stay focused on work when you are playing stay focused on playing

4. Be efficient and prioritize – have a plan know what you want to complete first this will also make you proactive as opposed to reactive.

As Brian Moran the author of “The 12 Week Year” explains in his book most sales companies do well when everyone focuses on the “year-end-push” towards annual targets. However, you should decide to have that focus in mini time periods such as per day, per week or per month. When you utilize the time management skills above you will find more success coming your way.

Empathy

When you have an appointment and you are listening to your client do you tend to be sympathetic or empathetic? Do you understand the difference? Most unsuccessful sales people are sympathetic. They tend to feel bad for the client and are unable to process the information they received and therefore can’t create a plan that benefits the customer. Empathy is simply recognizing emotions in others, and being able to "put yourself in another person's shoes" – understanding the other person's perspective and reality. To be empathic, you have to think beyond yourself and your own concerns. In sales the best sales people are empathetic and use empathy to better understand the client’s needs. When you are empathetic you understand what the client is going through and it makes it easier to create a plan beneficial to them.

When you put yourself in your prospects or client’s shoes you can relate to their needs. An example of an empathetic sales idea is the feel, felt, found technique made famous by Tom Hopkins. “I understand how you feel.” This wording lets a customer know that you heard him or her and can relate. “Initially, other people felt that way.” You are letting him or her know that this initial thought is common, meaning that the situation can change. “What they found, however, was that after doing this then that happened. How do you become empathetic? You listen better. You might have seen that on this blog (http://vincentferrara.blogspot.com/2015/09/listen.html) already. Cover your mouth, don’t speak, listen and learn. Learn everything about your client or prospect, when did they meet, when did they get married, who their children are, what do they like to do when they aren’t working, all of these little things will make you a more empathetic sales person. When you have an issue with a prospect or a client being empathetic and understanding their needs, wants and a little about them makes it is easier to resolve their issue. Your empathy can’t be fake it must be genuine. So learn how to be an empathetic sales person and watch your sales grow.

Monitor

Are you always wondering why your results aren’t where you want them to be? I mean you monitor your appointments and you just aren’t getting the results you think you should. Most people monitor their results but miss the point they should be monitoring their activity. You generally don’t get the results you expect or want unless you monitor your daily, weekly and monthly activity. In sales and business, activity is what drives sales. Yes you might get lucky occasionally with a sale or two without the activity but to be successful in the long run you must have constant activity and that activity must be monitored.

Here are some examples of activities for a successful salesperson:

• Postcards – make sure you create a list so you can follow up with phone calls

• Birthday calls or birthday cards

• Quarterly, semiannual or annual reviews

• X amount of new contacts per day through all of your activities

• Referrals from outside sources

• Texting and emails to new and old prospects

These are some good examples of the activities every successful salespeople use but the key is the successful sales person is monitoring these activities to make sure they are productive and that they are working. When you monitor these types of activities you will create more qualified appointments, more qualified appointments mean more sales and at the end of the day more sales is what we all want.

Duplicate

Successful sales people and business owners understand that to create a winning sales system it needs to be duplicatable and repeatable. Whether it is for the sales person or a team of people a system of duplicatable and repeatable processes guarantee yours and others success. When you create a system you can duplicate you are designing a success system. So what does it mean to be duplicatable and repeatable? It means someone can watch you for a day or two and easily learn what you do to be successful. An example might be what your daily activity is or how many contacts per day you plan on making. Basically a duplicatable and repeatable system is nothing more than a plan that can be repeated day after day to obtain the results you want. If you want to create a successful team your duplicatable process doesn’t need to be a cookie cutter as you will hire individuals but it must be repeatable so that everyone can follow it and at the same time put it in their words and actions.

The definition of duplicate is to make or be an exact copy of something. If you are an individual sales person it isn’t about making a copy of yourself for others however it is about making a duplicatable plan for you to follow. Every day needs to be an exact replica of the day before or your weekly plan needs to repeatable. If your plan is consistent then staffs you work with, prospects and clients will notice and they will see a commitment they never saw before. Being duplicatable and repeatable is a strong commitment that you must make. When you create a plan that is consistent and repeatable and you commit to it you success will start to come your way.

Inspire

Who do you inspire? Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. You need to have inspiration to inspire others. Every day you inspire someone without even realizing it, it may be the fact you always seem to smile, it might be a kind word or gesture or it might be the way you work. Inspiration is enlightening and stress relieving. Why is it important to inspire? It is important to inspire others because you never know who is paying attention to you, it could be a potential client, an existing customer or a colleague looking to be inspired. When you inspire others you feel better about yourself in turn it helps you feel good about what you do. Thomas Alva Edison once said, “Success is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.” What he never said was without that inspiration you would never perspire to accomplish anything.

How do you get inspired? Do you listen to motivational speakers such as Zig Ziglar or Tony Robbins? Do you recite incantations every morning? Being inspired can come from simple things such as being a role model for your children, motivating staff or living a life of inspiration. How inspired do I need to be? You need to be so inspired as to inspire yourself to take action, to dream more, to learn more and do more. Being inspired will make you a better leader, being inspired will increase your sales and being inspired will change your life.

Choices

Every day you wake up with a choice. Your choice as you start the day is whether to make it a good or bad day. Yes it is your choice because you choose to make your day what it is. It is true there is outside factors however you need to choose to overcome them. As a coach of young men and women in their teens I am always telling then they can choose whether or not they have the right attitude to play their respective sports and that if they have a bad attitude they won’t function correctly. The same applies to adults out in the business world, if you wake up and allow outside factors to determine your day then you have made a choice for that to happen. There is a quote by Zig Ziglar that says, “Your attitude, not your aptitude determines your altitude.” You choose your attitude no one else does.

In addition to your morning choice of how your day will be, you also have other choices during the day such as:

• The choice to be in early

• The choice to work hard

• The choice to work smart

• The choice to work late

• The choice to make one more call

• The choice to have a great day

As you can see it is your choice to be what you want to be, to make your day as good as it can be. So wake up every day and make it your choice for it to be your best day until tomorrow morning when you will wake up to your new best day.

Opportunity

Life is about opportunity and if you chose a sales career or to be your own business owner then you understand the opportunity value. Most people who are business owners or salespeople take advantage of the opportunities available and a few don’t. The ones who don’t just didn’t get the opportunity that was available to them. Today’s blog will focus on the ones who do and who want to take advantage of the opportunities out there.

So how do you take advantage of the opportunities and what are they?

• As business owners and salespeople you have the opportunity to create our own schedule.

However, you better be diligent about your time management or you will be of those who don’t succeed.

• You work harder than someone who works 9-5 but you have the opportunity to make more money than someone who works a 9-5 job.

• Your income is limitless.

• You can go see your kid’s plays without taking an approved day off and still go back to work and make more money than the 9-5 guy can.

• You can have a great sales month in one day and still get more done. It is all up to you.

• You choose the customers you want to deal with.

As you can see these are the opportunities the self-employed small business owner and salespeople rave about. These are nice perks but don’t forget you are the one at the end of the day who has to make a sale to get paid so never misunderstand the opportunity. The 9-5 guy usually gets paid whether they make the sale or not so take advantage of your opportunity every day. The nice thing about today is it is not just another day it is the opportunity for another chance, a new beginning so make sure you wrap your arms around it and embrace it.

Value

Have you ever thought you had something sold to a prospect only to find out they went with someone else for a lower rate or even occasionally for a higher rate? The reason that happens is you failed to provide value. Joe Plumeri, CEO of Willis said, “Price is only an issue in the absence of value.” What is your value proposition? Every successful sales person has a value proposition which is why they are successful in the first place. So how do you create your value proposition? What makes a good value proposition is simplicity, make sure it is easy to understand. Your value proposition needs to convey a tangible result the prospect will receive when they do business with you. Keep it very short, simple and on the clients terms. Finally, avoid overhyping your product, service and your customer service.

Value is definitive and makes you different than all other sales people. When you add value price goes away or becomes less important to the prospect. Value can be as simple as adding free delivery or express delivery for no extra charge, it can be meeting your client at 6am because no one else will or it can be remembering a special date of the prospect such as a birthday or a work anniversary. Remember, value is the gap between what clients will do for themselves and what we will do for them. Sometimes because of your product you are the value, it is your knowledge and ability to convey that knowledge or it is your calmness that gives your prospect peace of mind. Whatever your value is it is more precious than price and it is up to you to create it and make the most of it.

Partnership

A partnership is an agreement between two or more individuals to share in the responsibilities of a combined venture. Have you ever considered that a sale is a partnership also? When you go on a sales call you are trying to create a partnership between you and the prospect. A good partnership brings the best attributes of both parties to the forefront. In sales, we are trying to have the prospect purchase goods, a service or an idea that will benefit them or their company and we are the partner delivering it to them. When we form partnerships we form trust and trust is an important aspect of selling. Opportunities increase when you help others win so a small win for a partner is a huge win for you.

Partnerships are built a little at a time. You must create the need and the want. You must show the benefit. When you show the benefit the client will see you as a strategic partner and not some salesperson trying to sell him something. When you involve your customers as partners you are inviting them to be collaborators and co-innovators. Your sales are nothing without prospects or clients and therefore it is an endless battle to attract new clients and retain the ones you already have. However, a client who feels they are in a partnership will stay a client and will refer others because they feel comfortable and not sold. So, create scenarios where the prospect wins and your partnership will be formed and lead to you being a successful salesperson.

Vision

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Jonathan Swift. What is your vision? Your vision is “the what” of what you want to accomplish. When you start your day do have a vision of what you want to accomplish today? Can you see yourself finishing everything and what the rewards will be for accomplishing your vision? Vision always comes first and it must be clear and concise. With a clear and concise vision you will create a business plan which will grow your business or increase your sales. As a business owner your vision not only needs to concise and clear it needs to be huge, beyond tremendous. It needs to be so big that it takes on a life of its own. If it’s not that big you won’t have the motivation to follow your vision and if you can’t stay motivated you won’t be able to recruit others to help you achieve your vision.

When you have vision you have motivation to muddle through on your worst day (those never happen to you, right?). When you have vision you see clearly what needs to be done and somehow it always seems to happen. When you have vision life becomes simpler, clearer. When you have vision you are able to motivate others. When you have vision others will follow you to the end of the earth to help you complete your vision or lead them to theirs. Vision is limitless. I want to leave you with this Ralph Nader quote, “A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.” Be the visionary and create the vision your business needs to succeed.

Listen

Why do we have two ears and one mouth? So we can listen twice as much as we speak. Do you practice that in your business or are you always the one speaking. An old sales adage is the last one to speak loses. What would your business be like if you listened more? If you listened more you would identify the client’s needs as opposed to selling them what they asked for. Clients always think they know what they need and want, they are impulsive and make decisions rashly. If you are to become a true professional you must sit, ask open ended questions, listen closely and then listen some more. While listening, identify what they are really looking for, inevitably it is always something more than the original thought. Make sure that you are listening and paying attention, take notes, look your prospect or client in the eye and look for telltale signs of what they truly need. A good listener will listen to not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only partially said. “Listening is being able to be changed by the other person." -- Alan Alda, actor and director. When you listen you learn about the prospect and you then present solutions to their needs instead of selling a product. The client understands you listened and identified areas they hadn’t expressed. So listening helps you become the trusted advisor the client is looking for.

Change

Change is inevitable, it happens whether you want it to or not. Individuals who embrace change and understand its place in the world will roll with it and even enjoy it. Those who don’t well they tend to fight it and flounder. Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Change is a wonderful thing it gets your blood going it makes you look at things differently and it is all about the way you look at it. When you accept change you face new challenges head on, when you fight change you fight the ability to advance. Some people fight change and never learn that change is constant so fighting it is useless.

How do you react to change? Do you embrace it? As you wake up being ready for change means being prepared for anything that comes your way. When change finds you, as it inevitably does, do you roll with it or let it defeat you. Recently, the company I work for made some changes that did not go over well with the field. Some complained, some quit, others acted like nothing happened and the leaders embraced the change and showed how to adapt to the change and continued on their road to success. It was ironic the leaders went about their business as if there was no change while others complained and let it affect them. The reason I believe that these leaders embraced the change and proceeded as if there was no change was because they understood that change is a process and not an event. I will leave you with this thought, “Change is difficult but not changing will be fatal.”

Motivator

Individuals who can motivate others tend to be better business owners and sales people. Motivators also tend to delegate better because they understand the importance of others producing. Motivators of others also tend to understand how to motivate themselves. When you have the ability to motivate others you become a leader, people look up to you, others want to follow you and you become a better leader.

Are you a motivator? Do others want to follow you? Do others look to you for leadership? Thomas Jefferson said, “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” If others look to you for leadership then you are a motivator. If you don’t it is easy to become a motivator and a leader of others. On a daily basis always be positive even when you are hurting don’t allow others to see it. Be generous with your time towards others, give more and share your ideas with others. Act on a daily basis people are motivated by people who do things. Believe it or not your business and sales will increase if you help other sales people. Good things happen to people who perform good deeds, they are noticed by others. If motivating others doesn’t mean you won’t be successful but it sure makes it simpler for you if you do.

Ask

What is the most important part of any sale?

Is it offering the best price? No, anyone can sell by price and usually someone comes in with a lower price at some point. (This is an entirely separate topic for another post.)

Is it having the best product? No, that helps and you should always be marketing the best you can offer.

Is it promising the best customer service? No, you should be doing this no matter what. Always provide consistent good customer service and you will have customers for life.

Is it over promising and under delivering? Absolutely no, it should be the reverse, under promise and over deliver.

Is it body language? No, important, very important but not the answer for this post.

These are all important parts of the sales process however it isn’t the MOST important. So, what is the most important part then? The MOST important part of the sale is to ask. You must learn to ask for the sale. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Do you ask for the sale and do you ask firmly enough?

Many sales people suffer from using feeble, dreadful closes that do not actually ask for the order. They will wait for the prospect to take the initiative and ask for the sale, they will ask the prospect what they think or use some inducement with the hopes the prospect will initiate the sale.

Asking for the sale is being confident and bold. A few strong ask examples:

So Mr. Jones here is what we have to offer and here is what it would cost then place the order form in front of Mr. Jones and ask him to sign here. Very aggressive but the client needs you to be aggressive and help them make a decision some times.

One of my favorite is the ABC close (and no I am not talking about the acronym: Always Be Closing – although you should). Give your client three choices with the middle one being the one that aligns with their needs. You must do this with conviction and it can be a very successful ask for you.

Most people will want to put off making a decision. It is human nature. However, it is up to you to help them make that decision and you cannot do that if you do not properly ask them to make a decision.

Entrepreneurship

Even if you work for someone do you have the entrepreneur spirit inside of you? Do you wake up every day looking to achieve more? When we are in sales we need to understand that we are owners even if you work for a big company. Make sure you own your thoughts, make sure you own your time, make sure no one else is wasting your time and make sure at the end of the day it was productive. When you have an ownership mindset you will see an increase in productivity and therefore an increase in sales. Whether you work for someone or own your business the mindset is the same if you want to achieve tremendous success.

I have outlined 6 steps to creating that entrepreneurial mindset:

1. You must set goals that exceed what you can accomplish.

Entrepreneurial people won’t settle for average. They see average as what everyone else is. Instead, they continually look for ways to stretch themselves, to create more, to recreate themselves and to become the best person they can be. They set their sights on goals that others have never even thought of. They set goals so high that even if they miss, they land higher than everyone else.

2. You must have an innate ability to focus intently on reaching the goals you set.

Everyone can set goals, but not everyone can stay committed to those goals. The difference is the entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t allow the top sales people to get sidetracked. Staying focused is the key. They know where they are going and what they are trying to achieve. They will turn away the good things so they can focus on the best things.

3. You must be willing to sacrifice to succeed.

When the going gets tough, too many people quit. Top achievers understand that sacrifice will help them reach the goals they have set. They constantly remind themselves of their goals. It is written somewhere and they remind themselves of the reward and that it is worth pushing through the challenges. Top sales people are willing to sacrifice personally in the in order to get the reward of achieving their goals. Entrepreneurial minds keep their eye on the big picture while average producers look at the obstacles.

4. You need to be tenacious.

Tenacity is being persistent. Successful entrepreneurial people aren’t easily moved from their goals. They understand that there will be tough times, financial troubles, that they will be tired and that they may even want to quit. However, they will keep on going because they know the prize is ahead, and they won’t quit before they get there.

5. You must have a heightened self-awareness.

Entrepreneurial minded people know they will not be able to do it alone. They use a “brains on tap not on top” mentality. They recognize their weaknesses and understand the basis for utilizing resources that the average producer doesn’t.

6. You must have a desire to help others achieve.

Top achievers know they can make a difference for others, not only their clients but other producers also. An entrepreneur wants to bring as many people to the top alongside them, not see how many they can leave in the dust. They understand the more successful their colleagues are the more successful they will be.

If you want to be successful remember these six steps and follow them religiously and you will be successful at anything you do.

Patience

There is a quote that says patience is a virtue that dates back to the fifth century. When you are patient in business people notice, they see you as not pushy, they like your demeanor and they tend to believe what you say more often. Patience is definitely a virtue in business as people don’t see you as a salesman they see you as a provider, someone who offers help or assistance. Patience has a calming effect on others. With patience you seem calmer, with patience you see the bigger picture and you become less desperate for a sale. Being patient doesn’t require waiting it requires waiting with a good attitude. Patient salespeople understand that the business will come to them as long as they prospect and do the things necessary to allow the business to happen.

Are you a patient business owner or salesperson? According to Bill Gates, “Patience is a key element of success.” Do you understand how patience will allow your business to grow? Patience in business creates referrals which produces more business. There is a saying, “if you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs you are a head of the game” , well being patient allows you to keep your head straight while others lose their patience and fail. Patient people tend to accomplish more because they understand time management, they see the whole day as the opportunity instead of limiting it to the time period of the appointment. So be patient the business is on the way.

Dreams

Everyone has dreams. If you are a small business owner or a salesman it is your job to help them achieve their goals. Dreams are important so helping your clients plan to reach those goals is what will set you apart from others. How do you help others realize their dreams? For starters you need to have your own dreams and you need to have a plan for achieving them. Then you need to carefully analyze what people really want. Everyone wants a million dollars and two houses and all sorts of cars but truthfully there is so much more to dreams. What people really want is the ability to have all that paid for and not have to worry where they are going to get the money for it. This is what I do for others, “I sell the dreams of a worry free retirement a worry free college and a worry free life without you in it! For example I make sure your family can live the same way they do now if God forbid you weren't here to take care of them or I make sure your retirement will be as good as or better than your life today!”

When you are setting plans for others dreams make sure you listen to what they want, identify what makes them happy and what makes their spouse happy. Dreams are never about numbers they are about feelings and emotions. When you are meeting with prospects or clients dig deep find out their hot buttons, listen for key words and let them explore all their options. Remember you are going to create the plan so let the dreams go wild. At this point it is your job to be a dream maker. Be creative use all your skills to create the realistic dreams for your clients. Create a plan that satisfies their emotions, that evokes their feelings and makes them feel good. When people feel good they will follow the plan you created. Make sure you are a dream seller and not a product seller. Believe in the dream for yourself, believe in the dream for your clients and watch dream selling drive your success.

Expert or not

Are you an expert in your field? Do you want or need to be an expert in your field? These are two of the questions many business owners and sales people ask themselves consistently. There is a fine line between being an expert and having expert knowledge. Some people will tell you to be an expert. However, I believe being an expert limits your scope while having expert knowledge allows you to share what you know. I have believed the motto, “brains on tap not on top” . You cannot achieve expert status in everything you do so it is better to focus your “expertness” on one or two categories and obtain knowledge to share from other experts to share with your prospects, customers and clients. When you do this you free up time to focus on what is important to everyone involved and clients will appreciate you for being concise.

What happens when a client asks you a question that is out of your area of expertise? Do you freeze? Do you stutter? Do you make stuff up? I hope you do none of the above. The best answer if you don’t have an answer is, “That’s a great question let get the correct answer for you” . Most people appreciate your honesty and truthfully don’t want you to know everything. They just want the correct answer to their situation and as long as you provide it to them they really don’t care if you knew it or obtain it from somewhere else. As a matter of fact most clients feel more comfortable with people who don’t know everything and utilize a team approach of experts. So obtaining expert knowledge is the ability to use others knowledge to further your own expert knowledge which you in turn then share with prospects to increase your sales and business. In conclusion, be the person with “brains on tap not on top” , to solve your client’s questions not the expert with a limited scope of knowledge.

Gratitude

Gratitude is the art of showing appreciation to others. In business gratitude goes a long way in making your clients feel appreciated. There is an old quote, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt. How do you show your appreciation to your clients? Most sales people don’t understand how to show gratitude and make their clients feel appreciated. Gratitude is a simple process. It is sending a thank you card for meeting with you, it is a happy birthday call to a client, and it is sending a Happy Thanksgiving card or a Happy New Year’s card. Anytime you put the client’s interest first you are practicing gratitude.

Gratitude must be sincere or your clients will know it. A client wants to know that you care showing gratitude makes them understand that. So, make sure you are showing your clients your gratitude because gratitude leads to referrals and referrals lead to increased sales. "Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy." Fred De Witt Van Amburgh. So as you can see the more gratitude you show the greater the potential reward for you and your business.

Getting Your Point Across

When you are speaking with staff, a potential client or a good client what you say at the beginning and the end of your conversation will be remembered longer than almost any other part of your conversation. This is why it is important to have a formula for when speaking with people whether it is a large group or a one on one. Remember to tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them and then tell them what you told them. Always finish your conversation with a summary repeating the main points of your conversation. Not everyone closes a conversation with powerful, stirring words that live on in memory so make your points are clear and concise so they are understood. Do not be shy, have a plan before you start that covers the topics you want to cover and stay focused on those topics. Speakers have a tendency to get off topic or distracted and then do not get their point across. Getting your point across helps you make more sales or acquire more business.

Another way to get your point across is to use story telling. Story telling can be very powerful because it intertwines your idea inside of a story your audience can relate to. It is important again to stay on point so that the story illustrate your key ideas and clearly links to the key message that you are making with your conversation. Don’t leave it to your audience to figure out for themselves, make sure you get your point across. So as you can see when you get your point across you will define where you stand and how the client benefits and in the end isn’t that the whole point of having a conversation in the first place.

Motivation

What is your motivation? Motivating yourself and/or your staff is the most important part of your day. When we self-motivate we get our minds straight and prepare ourselves for the day ahead. There are many ways to motivate yourself and others such as incantations, positive affirmations and exercise. When you have positive motivations you tend to accomplish more, your day goes better you make more sales. Start your day with comments like, “I will or I am”. Staying motivated is a lot easier when you stay positive.

I learned very early on money should not be your motivation for your success. Money should be a byproduct of being motivated and having success. One of the reasons most small business owners and sales people don’t succeed is they start their business thinking about how much money they are going to make instead of focusing on how they want their business to grow. Their motivation to succeed goes away when they aren’t earning the money they thought they would. When you stay motivated you will watch your business grow and sales increase

Perseverance

Perseverance goes a long way in determining a person’s success. Dale Carnegie said, “Burning enthusiasm, multiplied with patience and perseverance, always brings success.” How do you persevere? Do you give up easily? If you are then you are giving up just before you are ready to achieve that unbelievable success you have been trying to reach for oh so long. It is said that most people quit right before they achieve success, basically those people stopped persevering.

Perseverance isn’t being annoying or over selling. Perseverance isn’t forcing people’s hands. Perseverance is making that last call, perseverance is following up on the client you haven’t been able to close just yet and perseverance is not quitting until you succeed. When you persevere good things happen. When you make that extra call even if it doesn’t lead to a sale with that customer somehow you receive a call from someone you have been working on for a long time. When you persevere, life gets better, sales come easier and your business grows so persevere and never give up. A good salesman or business owner understands the best way to create success is to keep moving forward and never stop persevering.

Think

Did you ever notice when we make time to think creativity blossoms. Sales ideas come out of nowhere when we make time to think. When you want to create a new business, or a product, or you’re trying to determine how to increase your sales and revenue, it is important to find a quiet space or time frame for focused thought. In today’s world of high tech and always being connected it can be hard to find that elusive quiet or down time to think.

Here are some ideas of how creative thinkers find time to think of new ideas:

Turn off your devices and eat a meal by yourself. Your mind will then be free to unload any stress, relax and incorporate new ideas. Play a game and let your mind wander. Games such as Sudoku, other word games or even card games get the creative side of your brain moving. Create short breaks into your daily routine. I call them mental health breaks and they can be as little as one hour or can be a whole day. Find that place of solitude where the daily grind strips away. If you are a work out person go early when it is empty and combine your workout with music and watch the creativity flow. Make time for yourself by taking a vacation or at least a long weekend.

Why is it essential to create time to think? Thinking is what our brain does all day in our subconscious. The ideas are already there however we must create the downtime for the ideas to come to our conscious mind. When we allow the time to think and our ideas start flooding our thoughts we become innovative and we see our sales increase.

Connect

How well do you connect to others? In life and in business the key to successful relationships is connecting with others. There are many ways to connect with people and it is how you utilize those connections which will determine your success.

When connecting with others are you the type that is looking for something out of the relationship or are you listening and seeing what you can do to help that individual? The most important connection we make is the personal connection. This is the connection that carries the most weight and it allows the person we are connecting with to know us, to understand us and to feel comfortable with us. When you connect on this level people trust you. You become “their guy”. The greatest compliment you can ever receive is when someone says “I’ve got a guy” and they mean you! When you are “the guy” people refer you and with that referral they are transferring their trust in you. These are the greatest referrals and show that you have connected.

Have you become the bridge that allows others to connect through you? When you are “the guy” people will call you for referrals and ask if you know “a guy” . When you achieve this status your business is ready to explode. Connecting in these ways creates the trust you need to succeed. Make sure you are making all these connections and watch your business soar!!

Successful Saturdays

So in yesterday’s post I spoke of taking a day off as a reward for doing well. Today I want to tell you why it is imperative to your business to work Saturdays. The world has changed and more and more people work different shifts and different hours however the majority of people are still home on Saturdays and therefore it is still the best day to make prospecting calls, set appointments and to close business.

Successful Saturdays, as I call them, are built on working a few intense hours and staying focused on your plan for that time period. It doesn’t have to be a full day just make sure you treat the amount of time as if it was a full day. Successful Saturdays are not for follow up or service work although you should always complete service work if it is asked of you. Four to five hours on a Saturday is equal to eight hours during the week because of the availability of your potential prospects, customers and clients. So take Friday off if you earn it but work Saturday to increase your sales production!!!

Friday = Happy Day!!

Everyone loves Friday!! It’s the last day of the work week for most and it generally means two days off to relax and have fun. For business owners and sales people there are no set days off. You wake up every day with the thought I need to make a sale or bunch of sales. This might mean working Saturday or even Sunday. Business owners and sales people don’t have a specific happy day, however, you need to.

The best sales people work hard and play hard and they understand the need for time off. Everyone needs a release and you do too. Set goals which cover all aspects of your business such as prospecting, appointments and sales. When you obtain your goal give yourself a day off and when I say “take a day off”, that means turn your phone off also, the calls can wait. By giving yourself a day off, one you earned, you will feel energized, relieved and less stressed. A day off that you earn for yourself is a mental health day, it allows you to relax, take a deep breath and not feel like you missed anything. It allows you to return to the daily grind with a refreshed attitude.

I make sure I hit my goals every week and take Friday’s off. What is going to be your day off?

Relationship building

Success in business and in life means different things to different people. However, one fact is universal, if you want true success you must be able to build truly magnificent relationships. The only way to create real success is to treat everyone you meet with kindness, respect and the way you would want to be treated. Don’t get me wrong you can have monetary success without treating others with kindness and respect however you will never achieve the long term success you are looking for.

The successful business owner and salesperson achieves the success they are looking for by following these rules:

Take the blame.

Be the proactive person, don’t say it wasn’t my fault. Accept the blame even if it wasn’t your fault and resolve it. When you resolve other people’s issues it helps to reinforce your relationship.

Listen for the need, understand the need and then present the solution.

This sounds so simple, yet most business owners and sales people miss this because they miss the clues. Sometimes your client is looking for guidance, direction or just an honest opinion and we are so in tuned with dispensing product or sales that we miss what they are looking for and what they really want is your advice. Giving the advice might not get you the business you want today but will build the relationship you need to get that sale at some point. Remember the relationship creates the sale.

Be the leader.

People who build great relationships don't just think about other people they lead them to where they need to be not where they want to be. We have all heard, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink”, but that’s not true if you build the relationship. When you lead the relationship people trust you and will drink if you lead them there.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Apologize when you make a mistake. Have you ever made a mistake, realized it and thought, “Its ok I don’t think anyone else noticed”? More people noticed but didn’t call you out on it and in truth they were looking to see how you handled it. Maybe that’s why they didn’t come back to you for business or maybe they lost a little respect for you. When you make a mistake most people will forgive you if you own up to it right away. You’re human own up to your errors and become that trusted advisor everyone is looking for. This is one of the absolute keys to building outstanding relationships.
Create mutually beneficial relationships.

There is no bigger turnoff than one sided relationships. If you show you only care about what you receive without giving something of HUGE value in return you are not creating a relationship that will last. The individual who builds great relationships doesn't think about what they want they think about what they can do for others. They understand that giving is the best way to create an outstanding relationship and a long lasting connection. When you approach relationship building as if it's all about the other person and not about you then you will create the outstanding relationships that will broaden your business.

Clarity

Are you clear when dealing with your staff and clients? When you have a clear transparent message it is obvious to everyone that you have their best interest at heart. Clarity in your daily dealings with your staff is a must because your staff is your first client. When you treat your staff as your first client then they understand how to treat your clients as you would. Clarity creates a vision and sets you apart from others.

Have you ever heard of an elevator speech? An elevator speech is what you would say to someone in 30 seconds or less about what you do. It can be considered a "commercial" for your business and the reason it is called an elevator speech because it should last as long as it takes people to ride from the top to the bottom of a building in an elevator. If you aren’t clear and concise you will never be able to get your “commercial” across to others.

Everyone would like to increase their sales and clarity of plan, clarity of what you expect from others and clarity of what you will do for others will help you increase your sales. When you or your staff are meeting with clients stick to the benefits of the products you offer. Make sure your points are clear and concise and you will see a greater percentage of customers agree to do business with you.

Poise

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel no matter what you do you are losing it? You are so rattled you are not even sure you will be able to get through the day. Every prospecting call is going wrong, every customer contact doesn’t turn out how you want it to and every client is demanding more service than you can possibly give that day.

So what gets you through the day? Poise is what allows you to succeed. Successful business owners and salespeople use poise to make sure they get through the day and transition to a better day the next day. Poise is being confident and having composure. Poise is being able to keep your head while everyone else around you is losing theirs. Sometimes our clients and or staff tend to lose their poise first it is our responsibility to keep our poise and keep the situation from getting out of control. It might be telling someone you won’t speak with them until they are a little or even a lot calmer. If you keep your poise your clients will recognize it and you will in turn have a better relationship with them.

Poise also shows a calmness surrounding you. People like people who are cool, calm and collected, just don’t be too cool that annoys some people. Have you ever been on a boat and marveled at how calm the seas were? Didn’t it make you feel incredibly calm and serene? When you can acquire those traits your clients and staff will see you that way. When everyone around you sees that you don’t lose your poise when something goes wrong they will follow your lead. If you can succeed at staying poised you will see an increase in your business, in your sales and in your life in general.

Trust

For a moment imagine your best client. All the years you’ve spent nurturing the relationship which has led to the formation of trust between you and your client. In the beginning there was no trust just a prospect who was willing to listen to you. Maybe they liked your personality because it matched with theirs, maybe they liked your persistency or maybe they just couldn’t find anyone else to sit with. As the years went on that first appointment turned into early morning calls with questions about college planning or late night calls whether they had enough insurance. Whether you have been in sales for one year or many years these calls are what help build trust between you and your client. Trust is built over time, sometimes many years and sometimes very quickly. If you are to build trust you must understand the client’s needs. You must listen and learn what makes them excited, what it is that makes them get up in the morning and live.

Zig Ziglar says, “If people like you, they will listen to you, if people trust you, they will do business with you.” So if you want to build long-standing relationships then take the time to cultivate the trust between you and your client. At the same time you better be creating that trust between the important people in your client’s life. The biggest mistake most salespeople and business owners make is they only build the trust between the client and themselves. What about the spouse, or the client’s children? Would you have earned enough trust with the spouse or children to continue that business relationship if something should happen to your client? The key to earning trust with a client is to building the trust throughout their family. When you have earned that trust keep building on it. Trust will not only earn business from your client it will also lead you to new business through referrals. People who trust you refer you to others. So learn to establish trust become your clients trusted advisor and watch your business grow!

Ownership

What is ownership? Ownership can be loosely defined as owning something such as a property, whether it is intellectual, land or a building. However, in the business world and sales don’t you own your time, effort and thoughts? It is important to understand the difference. As a salesperson we must learn to own our time. In other words, we must own the idea of taking the time to complete our daily requirements to succeed. Without owning our time we tend to fail at our daily prospecting or our daily appointments. So as you can see owning our time creates the vision necessary to complete your day.

Another area of ownership that most business owners and salespeople fail at is effort. When we own our effort we never short change ourselves or our businesses. You must own your effort. An example might be when you are working you are working you aren’t playing video games, checking emails or taking longer than necessary lunches. Effort is focused on what you plan on accomplishing for the day. It may be seven new leads per day or x amount of closes per day. That is your ownership of effort.

Lastly, we must own our thoughts. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” To truly succeed in business as an owner or salesperson you must wake up every day owning your thoughts. Your thoughts allow you to succeed or fail depending on how you own them. If you wake up and allow negative thoughts to enter into your mind then you have failed at owning your thoughts. Think of your thoughts in such a way that only positive ideas and thoughts enter your mind when you complete this you will see how ownership of all things will help you to succeed.

Focus

Have you ever had a week where you didn’t close enough sales? You made all the correct prospecting calls. You had enough appointments and the appointments even went well but just didn’t end up in sales.

Did you consider that you might not have been as focused as you normally are? Focus is the difference between top producers and the mediocre producer. That additional focus the top producer has usually relates to the extra sales the mediocre producer does not. Sometimes even the top producer can lose his focus and therefore not have his or her best week.

So the question is, “How do I maintain that top focus?” Here is a list of ideas top producers practice:

1. First in last out - Top producers are usually the first in the office and the last to leave. They tend to make that one last call the mediocre producer doesn’t.

2. Make to do lists everyday – Top producers understand to stay focused you need to know what you are focused on.

3. Service issues first - Top producers don’t waste sales or prospecting time doing service issues. They get in early and take care of the service issues first so they can prospect and make sales.

4. Never stop prospecting – Top producers prospect even when they aren’t prospecting. They might mentally size someone up for future business.

5. Be organized – Top producers are focused because they are better organized than everyone else.

6. Close, Close, Close - Top producers ask for the business more, plain and simple.

4 great opening lines when prospecting

Great opening line for life insurance:
“Mr. Prospect, if it is this challenging for you to deal with these issues, with all the understanding and talent you have, what would it be like for your family if you weren’t able to help them? What if you weren’t able to come home tonight because of a fatal car accident?"
This is another great opening line for life insurance:
“How long can your wife and children afford to go without a paycheck?”
This one is great for business owners:
“Out of inquisitiveness, do you have an exit plan for your business? Someday, due to death, a disability or because you want to retire, you will exit your business. Do you have a plan to take your money out of the business on an advantageous basis?”
This one is very good for disability insurance:
Your Q.: Would $200 a month for your expenses make a big difference in your lifestyle?” Prospects answer: “No.” Your Q: “Would it make a big difference in your lifestyle if you didn’t have $5,000 a month for your expenses?” Prospects answer: “Absolutely — that would be a disaster!” Your reply: “Well, if you were to give me $200 per month, (which would pay the disability premium), I’ll make sure you and your family would receive $5,000 per month if you’re sick or hurt and can’t work. Does that sound like a fair deal?”

Confidence and Leadership

Confidence is the bane of every salesperson and leader. A salesperson must have confidence in their products, they must have confidence in their abilities and they must have confidence in their leaders. A salesperson that has confidence in all of the above will be able to establish credibility with other salespeople, earn the trust of their clients and become a leader. How do you guarantee your salespeople will have the confidence in your ability to lead them to become stellar performers and possibly future leaders?

1. You need to inspire confidence by paying attention to the little things. Leaders recognize team members for making contributions that aren’t part of their job descriptions such as helping someone who is struggling to make their numbers or offering to teach others the skills they use to be a top producer. Leaders recognize people for influencing those around them, who uphold the values and mission of the company and promoting the team vision. They also recognize talent and understand that confidence and loyalty is a two-way street.

2. Confident leaders and salespeople recognize the value of their teams’ ideas. They listen carefully, ”two ears, one mouth” to what their people say, and just as important, make sure they act on what they heard. Are you the type of leader who gives your team the opportunity to weigh in on certain topics but won’t act on their suggestions? A confident salesperson or leader seeks out team member’s opinions. They recognize and appreciate bold ideas and act on them.

3. Do you say thank you to your team members? How do you recognize someone for an exceptional job and show your gratitude for a job well done? Recognition and appreciation inspire loyalty and confidence in your leadership ability. You want your team to have superlative confidence in themselves which will make them feel like the rock stars they are or could be. Selling can be a tremendously difficult job. Provide your team the confidence they need so they can reach their highest levels.

The Perfect Client

CREATING THE PERFECT CLIENT RELATIONSHIP

Here are the five principles of customer loyalty and retention that you need to practice every day:

1. Know and understand the customer.

2. Value and respect the customer and their time.

3. Anticipate the customer’s needs first and foremost.

4. Know your own business and the potential it brings to your customers not to you.

5. Delight the customer, overwhelm them and make them feel like they are your only client.

By Vincent J Ferrara

Lucky

Luck

Good sales people are sometimes called lucky. Their colleagues who aren’t as successful will comment, “He’s just lucky. She is always in the right place or the boss favors him and gives him the best leads.” Guess what, they are right. Luck comes from hard work and perseverance. Luck is making that one extra phone call in the evening that the unlucky salesman doesn’t make. Success comes down to timing and sometimes the best salespeople get lucky. However, it is because they put themselves in the right place at the right time to meet the perfect prospect. You never know when people are ready to buy, or how something you say will create the buying signal they were looking for. However, luck is not a sustainable advantage.

So how do you make your own luck? How do you increase your chance of being in the right place at the right time?

Luck comes from outworking your competition. By being the best at following up on business opportunities and staying in touch with your prospective clients. Prospects become customers, customers become clients, and clients make referrals. If you don’t stay in touch with prospects they never become customers. How long or how many times will you stay in touch with a prospect to turn them into a customer? Luck is following up with that prospect for however long it takes for them to become your customer. In sales and in business, timing and referrals are everything and the salespeople who make that extra call or make that extra visit or follow-up with a prospect are truly the lucky ones!

Respect

How do you earn respect?

Respect can be earned many ways and lost just as quickly. Respect is described as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. When you share your abilities with others, when you expand others knowledge by sharing yours you earn others respect. Another way to earn respect is to respect others opinions and feelings. Respect for others allows you to grow as a person which in turn increases the respect you receive. Life is filled with challenges, it is how you respond to these challenges that determine your altitude and attitude and how much respect you earn.

In the world of sales, respect of others will help you increase your sales. By respecting and sharing ideas of your associates, paying attention to your clients wishes and following up whenever necessary you will earn the respect of others. By the way, “whenever necessary” is all the time if you truly want to earn someone’s respect. In the sales world, once you have earned respect it is up to you to retain it. You need to continue to listen and share what you have learned with others and respect will always be yours.

Evolution

Evolution

Have you ever seen someone speak and thought, “Man I would like to be as good as he or she is?” Did you know someone else is looking at you and thinking the same exact thought? It is called evolution and as humans we are constantly evolving. “The journey between who you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of really takes place!” – Barbara Deangelis. I believe this quote is the true story of evolving. Our entire lives we are evolving and becoming who and what we want to be and although we may never see it we are constantly at different stages of that growth and evolution. As we evolve life changes we become better, more consistent we improve everyday yet we still don’t see it.

Growing and evolving is a key component of every individual who wants to succeed as salesperson or as a business owner. When we stop evolving we stop growing and so will our business and sales. In business it is important to never stop evolving you must adapt to the changes around you and if you continue to adapt your sales, your business and you will continue to grow, evolve and change!

Success-Communication

Communicator

What type of communicator are you?

The best leaders are communicators and most of them aren't born that way. The best communicators are listeners, they truly listen to others and learn how to process information and then communicate that information with others.

If you want to become a better communicator become a better listener it really is that simple. A communicator understands listening skills are the most important skill because they show you care, that you are paying attention. Make sure you are really listening because people know when you aren’t and that is a turn off. When you listen your clients and your staff will come to appreciate your listening skills and in turn will communicate with you better.

Do you expect your clients or staff to reach out to you or are you proactive about communicating with them? It is very important that you set the meeting with prospective clients, exiting clients and your staff but instead of getting in front of them and speaking to them ask questions. Questions create answers, answers create solutions and solutions make clients and staff happy which leads to better communications for all.

A strong communicator understands at the end of the day that listening not speaking and is the key to a satisfied client and staff!!

irs tax rates and tables 2015

IRS 2015 Tax Brackets, Standard Deduction Amounts And More
Individual Taxpayers

Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns and Surviving Spouses

Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns

Head of Household

Trusts and Estates

Standard Deductions

Personal Exemptions.
The personal exemption amount also goes up for 2015. The personal exemption for 2015 is $4,000, up from $3,950 in 2014.
Phase-outs for personal exemption amounts (sometimes called “PEP”) begins with adjusted gross incomes of $258,250 ($309,900 for married couples filing jointly); they phase out completely at $380,750 ($432,400 for married couples filing jointly.) And now, onto more updates!
Family Related Tax Item Updates:
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2015, the maximum EITC amount available is $3,359 for taxpayers filing jointly with one child; $5,548 for two children; $6,242 for three or more children (up from $6,143 in 2014) and $503 for no children.
Phase outs are based on filing status and number of children and begin at $8,240 for single taxpayers with no children and $18,110 for single taxpayers with one or more children.
• Child & Dependent Care Credit. For 2015, the value used to determine the amount of credit that may be refundable is $3,000 (the credit amount has not changed). Keep in mind that this is the value of the expenses used to determine the credit and not the actual amount of the credit.
• Kiddie Tax. For 2015, the threshold for the kiddie tax – meaning the amount of unearned net income that a child can take home without paying any federal income tax – is $1,050.
• Adoption Credit. For 2015, the credit allowed for an adoption of a child with special needs is $13,400, and the maximum credit allowed for other adoptions is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $13,400. Phase outs do apply beginning at taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $201,010 and completely phased out for taxpayers with MAGI of $241,010 or more.
Education Related Updates:
• Hope Scholarship Credit. The Hope Scholarship Credit for 2015 will be an amount equal to 100% of qualified tuition and related expenses not in excess of $2,000 plus 25% of those expenses in excess of $2,000 but not in excess of $4,000. That means that the maximum Hope Scholarship Credit allowable for 2015 is $2,500. Income restrictions do apply and for 2015, those kick in for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for a joint return).
• Lifetime Learning Credit. As with the Hope Scholarship Credit, income restrictions apply to the Lifetime Learning Credit. For 2015, those restrictions begin with taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $55,000 ($110,000 for a joint return).
• Student Loan Interest Deduction. For 2015, the maximum amount that you can take as a deduction for interest paid on student loans remains at $2,500. Phase outs apply for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $65,000 ($130,000 for joint returns), and is completely phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $80,000 or more ($160,000 or more for joint returns).
Health Care and Fringe Benefit Updates:
• Flexible Spending Accounts. The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSA) edges up to $2,550 for 2015 (up from $2,500).
• Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit. For 2015, the monthly limitation for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass is $130. The monthly limitation for qualified parking is $250.
Federal Estate and Gift Tax Updates:
• Federal Estate Tax Exemption. Estates of decedents who die during 2015 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,430,000, up from a total of $5,340,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2014.
• Federal Gift Tax Exclusion. The annual exclusion for gifts remains at $14,000 for 2015. The exclusion from tax on a gift to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen is $147,000, up from $145,000 for 2014.
Miscellaneous Updates:
• Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For 2015, the foreign earned income exclusion finally hits six figures: it’s now $100,800, up from $99,200 for 2014.
• Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Exemptions. The AMT exemption amount for tax year 2015 is $53,600 for individuals and $83,400 for married couples filing jointly. That compares to $52,800 and $82,100, respectively for 2013. In years past, the AMT was subject to a last minute scramble by Congress to “patch” the exemption but as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), the AMT is permanently adjusted for inflation – that’s why you now see it in this list.
Retirement Updates:
• Elective Contribution Limits. The elective deferral limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan increased from $17,500 in 2014 to $18,000 in 2015. The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $5,500 in 2014 to $6,000 in 2015.
• IRA Contributions. The limit on annual contributions to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) remains unchanged at $5,500. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over remains at $1,000.
All together, the IRS posted more than 40 updates. You can read more about them at Revenue Procedure 2014-61.