My Lifelong Love of HO Model Trains

There is no doubt that the HO scale is the most popularly used scale when it comes to model railroading. It all started in the late thirties, when the HO scale was introduced by the British. Around twenty years later, the popularity of HO scale model trains caught on in the United States and the rest, as they say, is history.

The most commonly asked question regarding HO scale trains is “What does HO stand for?” As we all know, one of the largest scales in model trains is the O scale. HO stands for “half of O” or fifty percent of the size of the O scale trains. As compared to its actual equivalent, the HO scale train has a ratio of one is to eighty-seven. Other model train scales are the Z scale, the G scale, the S and the O scales. To get an idea of the HO scales size in comparison with the other scales, just remember the Z is the smallest scale, which has a ratio of one is to two hundred and twenty.

This makes the HO scale trains large enough to boast of the actual trains wonderful features and designs, while making it possible to bring the model train into your home right in the living room. Meanwhile, the smaller scales such as the Z scale trains allow you to have a birds eye view of the scene you are trying to recreate. Not only are HO scale trains amazing to look at, but they are one of the easiest to work with as well. Novices have an easier time working with bigger pieces and the smaller scales need more advanced and technical knowledge, and not to mention hand-eye coordination skills.

Because of the lover affair of most model train hobbyists with HO scale model trains, there are now clubs and organizations that specialize on working on HO scale model trains as a hobby. Some even have online websites and forums that you can join so that you can exchange tips and ideas on building your HO model train set and railroad plan. The best part about joining these clubs is that you will be able to exchange ideas with others who are also building similar train sets. You can get inspiration on your next train project and learn which mistakes to avoid so that your project will go along smoothly.

Apart from getting the technical details of your this scale train set correct, you should also scour history books and the internet for photos on how the actual train set that you are recreating looked. Look for photos regarding the fashion of the people at that time, what they wore and what luggage they brought along. Knowing what ads were put up on the train station at that point in time is also a sure fire way to make your model railroad set more interesting. Again, the possibilities are endless when you have a lot of imagination and a lot of time to invest in model railroading.

Street Smart Sales Training Tips To Stop Costly Lost Sales

Discover how you can quickly and easily get the priceless, secret, modern selling skills that the best salespeople jealously guard and are unwilling to share. And, be successfully closing the deal at better margins, every time.

Sales Training Tip:

Selling skills and closing the deal come about after the human interconnection and trust and respect are built up not before. Closing is the sharp end of the selling process. It is the part where even the slightest hiccup means that you will be feeding the ducks instead of sipping champagne that evening.

Salespeople without the street smart consultative skills who cannot close are merely commercial visitors, and there is no line on any corporate balance sheet with any upside financial benefit for corporate visitors.

Unless you are good at sealing the deal, you are not paid.

Nor is the company who employs you paid. However, to get to the point where you can successfully close, you must have first applied all the right sales techniques from your modern sales skills that you may have picked up from your last sales training session and done everything correctly.

Sorry but, there are no magic closes that can make up for poor prospecting, poor qualifying, poor discovery, poor demonstration, poor product knowledge, and poor handling of objections.

Sales Training Tip:

Business to business selling is all about preparation. With business to business sales skills it is all about preparation your sales training. You must know how to ask for the order and have confidence in yourself, your company and your product and service to be sure that what the client is paying you for will reap them a financial reward far greater than the amount you are asking for.

A dynamic, never to be forgotten, business presentation has to captivate your audience and be a vital part of closing the sale. They don’t care about the presenter, or their sales training or skills, nearly as much as they care about themselves and their company.

But, if the presenter is poor at closing the sale they will think poorly of your company. Like I have recommended with your modern sales skills, practice your delivery repeatedly.

Pick Sales Training that allows you take out all the imperfections. Sales Training from street smart sales professionals – not theoretical sales training.

Sales Trainings Tip

Remember the KISS!

Most of all when honing sales skills remember the principle KISS, keep it simple salesperson. Be natural, work the audience one at a time, in a natural manner. Leave humour out of the close, they haven’t got time to laugh at this point; this is the serious end of the business presentation.

Use a simple prop that masks sales skills but conveys a powerful message and exemplifies a key point or theme. Talk about them and your solution and when closing the sale express all benefits as Return on Investment. (ROI).

Sales Training Tip

Never leave the client wondering. Most of all never leave people wondering what you said. Explain terms and acronyms if you must use them at all while closing the sale. It all comes down to what your audience walks away with in the end. Did you deliver another boring business presentation?

Or, did you use your sales skills gained from all those sales skills courses and persuade or motivate everyone to action? When closing the sale I prefer to soften the word ‘sign’, which rather conjures up thoughts of ‘signing your life away’ in the prospects mind by using the word authorize’.

Take these suggested statements, adapt them to suit you, then commit them to memory and practise out loud until you can recite each one of them verbatim in your sleep. Closing the sale will then become automatic.

Now, what are you waiting for?

Some salespeople with modern sales skills and all the sales training they need just sit around waiting for the right psychological moment to make a sales call.

Well congratulations you have just arrived at that precise moment. You are in closing the sale business. Selling takes courage, but often the things that take the most courage bring the biggest rewards. Now, what are you waiting for?

Make it your best year ever, and answer the question posed at the beginning of this article

Sales Training Tip

Sales training requires passion & expertise to ensure you get maximum value & return on investment.

Sales Training Tip

Pick training that provides…

  • Real world proven Sales Training tools, methods and strategies to reach sales stardom in any economy
  • An innovative sales productivity plan for salespeople to work to.
  • Modern sales skills that ensures they know exactly how and what to do in all sales circumstances and conditions.
  • A refreshed attitude for sales success that you deserve
  • Street-smart sales skills, sales tips, and sales techniques for closing sales every time.

Before you know it you will be out there and start closing the sale more often!

You will be the Sales Star before you know it!