Diane & Rob ~ Glessner's Gig

The Big Marketing Lesson of Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

Recently, I posed a question ina Linkedin Group of Sales Professionals, asking how many of them used Valentine'sDay as an excuse to reach out to their customers. Initially, many recoiled... saying it was 'tooicky' and they were concerned it might be misunderstood. Yet, as thediscussion progressed, we agreed that"any excuse to reach out is a goodexcuse" and with little thought, regarding the communication andhow it was framed for the client, a Valentine's Reach Out offered a great opportunity to nuture the relationship.

...And then....

A couple of days ago, I receivedan email from Dave Dee, Chief Marketing Officer with the "DanKennedy" camp. (I love DanKennedy's thinking and if you haven't checked out his stuff... you really should.)

In the email, Dave outlined the"Big Marketing Lesson" in Valentine's Day. Having just come off a lively discussion on this topic with my LinkedIn colleagues... I felt this would be helpful to share with other sales and business growing professionals....

...SOooooo....

Here is Valentine Day's BigMarketing Lesson

(courtesy of Dave Dee)

The other day there was anarticle that said the National Retail Federation is predicting that spending for Valentine's Daywill be the highest in the survey's history...And that spending will evenoutpace Christmas.

The big marketing lesson here issomething you can take to the bank, not just on Valentine's Day but every dayof the year and that is...Personal relationships influence consumers desire tospend money with you.

So how do you develop thosepersonal relationship with your clients, customers or patients? Simple. Youromance them using marketing tools. You'rea busy person. You don't have time to develop a personal relationship with allyour clients. So, you must use marketing tools to help you.

One tool that seems a natural fit when thinking of "Romance" ispersonal letters.

Think of it...a personal letteris the perfect way to establish a personal relationship with someone. Apersonal letter allows you to have a conversation with the reader (even if itis one sided). It allows you to not onlyconnect with your customer in a personal way by telling them something aboutwhat's going on in your life, but also allows you to update the reader with any newinformation you want him or her to have.

One of the greatest testimonials to how well this works comes from the story ofJoe Girard. Girard was named the worlds greatest salesman 12 times in TheGuinness World Records Book. During thisfifteen-year selling career, Joe sold an incredible 13,001 cars, all retail.That's an average of six cars a day. Alsonotable, he sold more cars by himself than 95% of all Dealers in North America.

One of Joe's secrets to selling so many cars was building relationships withhis thousands of prospects and customers. He did this by mailing them a letteror note - every month! This"romancing" is what caused his prospects or customers to call Joe when it was time for them to buy a new car.

So when should you send lettersor notes? Every chance you get. Forexample, you can send a personal "Thank You" note after each businesstransaction along with your bill or invoice.   You can send a personal note along with abirthday card or an anniversary card.   These little personal notes will do wondersfor establishing your relationship with your clients. It makes you a real personand gives you a "personal touch."

And because most of yourcompetition will send their bill, get their money and be on their way, withoutmaking an emotional contact, this gives you a tremendous competitive advantage. By using personal notes, you're going toset yourself apart from others in your market. You're going to touch your clientsemotional heart strings. And when your clients are ready to buy again, they'llcall you. You'll stand out from the crowd as an individual, someone who reallycares - a friend.

Another tool you can use is apersonalized postcard. Top salesman TomHopkins who is well known in the real estate market, has said one of the besttechniques he's used for creating loyal clients is personalized postcards. Infact, his clients often use him again and again.

Now, considering that people buyhouses every five to seven years building client loyalty is no easy feat. Tom often romances his clients forfive years or more, before they do business with him (now that's what you calla long prospecting cycle!)

Now everybody knows aboutsending out little "reminder" postcard to remind clients that it'stime to do business with you again. Thoseare nothing new. Those techniques will stimulatesome business, but they will not build a relationship with your clients.

Here's what he does: When Tom goes on vacation, inaddition to his regular luggage, he also brings two additional things with him.He brings his client list and a big stack of postcards. On the plane ride tohis destination, instead of dozing off or reading a magazine, Tom starts addressing his postcards with his clients' namesand addresses. He also writes a brief note on the back. The note might saysomething like...

Dear Mr. Client,
I was sun bathing on the beach in Mexico and I was just thinking of you. When I get back, I'll have a present for you.
                                               Tom Hopkins

Tom fills all of his postcardsout with the same simple message and mails them when his plane lands at theairport. He now has the rest of his vacation to himself. What's the present? The present is usuallysome inexpensive little gift that he'll buy for all of his clients. These little gifts will cost hardly anything.Giving the client a gift strengthens his relationship with them and also giveshim a excuse to drop by and see if they want to do some business. Pretty slick, don'tyou think? And guess what, it works too.

Looking for a way to romanceyour clients, customers or patients? WithValentine's Day around the corner - you might consider sending Valentine's Daymessages using some of those kid Valentine Cards. Imagine the fun you could drop into yourclient's mailbox by sending him or her one of those with a short note from you.

And I can pretty much guaranteenone of your competitors will be doing that - which will definitely make youstand out an move you towards developing your personal relationship with them.

What other ways can you think ofto romance your clients? More importantly what methods are you using or goingto start using?

Author: Dave Dee, Chief Marketing Officer
www.DanKennedy.com

Employee Engagement: 33 Ways to Engage Today

2012-02-08T05:37:00.000-08:00

Engage the Day

Here are 33 ways toengage today:

Focus on the work right in frontof you.

Savor your morning cup of coffee.

Connect to your peers.

Esteem your organization.

Laugh to keep perspective.

Stretch yourself to grow.

Stretch yourself for flexibility.

Appreciate your strengths.

Be mindful of your emotions atwork.

Recognize another person’s goodwork.

Recognize another person’shumanity.

Remove obstacles to progress.

Keep making progress.

Experience how progress can fullyengage you.

Change a bad day.

Limit work engagement to maintainbalance.

Innovate a new way of doingthings.

Hack your work to make it better.

Welcome interruptions.

Smile your way through the day.

Walk for 10 minutes to gatherenergy and change your mood.

Serve a customer like a bestfriend.

Respectfully stand up to a bullyat work.

Connect with a former co-worker.

Stay fully engaged with 45 minutechunks of work.

Read just one blog post to get anew idea about working.

Find a meaningful measure totrack your work.

Change what is no longer workingfor you.

Change your locus of engagementto refocus and re-energize.

Fully engage in your ownwell-being.

Model the spirit of a child atplay in your own work.

Share a meal with someone you canhelp.

Go to bed early to fully engagetomorrow.

Author: David Zinger

Original Source

By Chasing New Business, Are You Chasing Away Now Business?

2012-02-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. ~ Michael LeBoeuf

Manybusinesses focus so much time and energy chasing new clients that they forgetabout the clients they already have. This is a risky strategy at best; there’sno guarantee that the new clients you’re pursuing will come on board. And ifyou ignore your current client base, you risk losing clients who could providenew business in the future, through referrals and by offering you more workwith their companies. The fact is that you simply can’t properly nurturecurrent business when you’re so busy hunting down mere possibilities.

Everyday that you don’t spend focused on your current clients, you loseopportunities for future business. Follow these five fundamentals to maximizeyour current client base and reap its unique rewards.

1.Pay attention to your existing customers. If you don’t, you can be certain they will seek out yourcompetition, who are only too ready to pay attention to your clients. Itdoesn’t matter how good you are at courting new business if you ignore thecustomers you already have. Their disenchantment with your company may not bewith the technical aspect of your work, but will more likely be an emotionalissue. When your clients don’t feel cared for, even if you delivered what youpromised and technically did your job, you will lose business.

Youneed to manage clients once you bring them in, as success lies not in sheernumbers of clients but in your clients’ sense of well-being, trust, andsatisfaction with who you and your company are and how you treat them. Anorganization that devotes all of its resources to new business development butcan’t be bothered to sit down with current clients and do a monthly financialor project management review, or strategic and operational planning, is headedfor trouble.

2.Manage your clients’ expectations. If most or all of your attention goes to acquiring newbusiness, odds are you do not give current clients what they need from you interms of work performance. Deliver substandard work and they’ll go away. On theother hand, if you are actively looking at the needs of your current clients,are sensitive to what they expect, and give them your best, you’ll meet andeven exceed their expectations.

Ifyour clients want a report every Tuesday at noon, and you can’t deliver ituntil close of business Tuesday, call and tell them. Or promise somethingFriday and find a way to deliver it by Wednesday. Managing clients’expectations simply means looking at potential issues and handling them beforethey become problems—a strategy easily done if you’re properly tending to yourclients.

3.Be the solution for the future. Growing existing clients is far easier than prospecting fornew ones; you’ll spend less energy, time, and money. Demonstrate the breadth ofwhat your business is capable of doing, even as you perform the work you werecontracted to do. Show clients how you can serve them beyond what you’re doingfor them at the moment and they’ll come to think of you as a resource in thefuture—a business with the knowledge and talent to offer a solution or recommendationfor every need. With a satisfied current client, whenever something comes up,they won’t look to someone else to handle it. They’ll give the business to you,and even if they know you can’t do it, they’ll ask for your referral.

Forexample, a current client who’s been properly nurtured, whose needs andexpectations have always been met by your organization, might ask for youradvice about someone to draft a contract for them. Though that’s not yourorganization’s field of expertise, happy clients see you as the solution.You’ve met their needs consistently, and they come to expect that you will beable to do so repeatedly and into the future. So your reward is building yourbusiness without having to prospect for new clients.

4.Get in their face. In order to feel a sense of continuity, a connection, and a history,your clients need to know you. To make this happen, you need to be there,literally, where they are on a regular basis. You can’t sit behind yourdesk, e-mail the work to them, and expect to truly build a relationship—even ifyou do the work well. If you are an “absentee” business, clients are not goingto think of you, even when you call them on the phone. So, if you havesomething to deliver to a client, do it in person, rather than via e-mail, ordo both, so you make yourself available.

Usethe time you’ve spent courting new business to court your existing business;take loyal clients to lunch and woo them. Make client calls. The moreoften you can be there, the more often they will give you something else to do.You’ve cultivated your clients, and they believe you’ll be able to solve anyproblem for them, somehow, so you’re not stalking them or annoying them. Whenyou’re literally in their presence, they’ll welcome you and findwork for you, so the time and money it takes to be with them is nothingcompared to the benefits you’ll reap.

5.Ask for referrals.Satisfied clients will happily refer you to others who have problems you cansolve. There’s that new business you want so much, and you’ll come to it withthe endorsement of an organization that already thinks the world of your work.Don’t hesitate to come out and ask for referrals; it won’t occur to someclients to point you toward other organizations unless you ask them to.

Focuson the Now: If youfollow these fundamentals of current client cultivation, you’ll rarely have togo out and plow new territory: most of your business will come from existingclients. While you should still spend about 20% of your time and energy lookingfor new business, the bulk of it should be spent either working with existingcustomers to get new work, or pursuing new business from your current clients’referrals. Get out that new business proposal in the evening; during the day,pay attention to what you already have. You may find that the new businessyou’re looking for is right before your eyes.

By Marsha Lindquist

Original Source

If you are in sales and who isn't (really)....another GREAT resource you should check out is:

Focus On Your Customers' Need To Buy Rather Than Your Need To Sell

by David Brock

Thank-You Thursdays

2012-01-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and notgiving it.” -William Arthur Ward

Do you have gratitude in need of sharing?

Do you know someone in need of hearing that gratitude but, for whateverreason, you have not thanked them in far too long?

With all this pent-up appreciation you might clear your calendar for a whileand write several, sincere notes of gratitude. You will find the response to be, as you might expect, great. Somepeople really need reassurance that their efforts are valued and others simplyappreciate that you have taken the time to say “thanks.” It works out so well, when you do share yourgratitude, you wonder why you don't do it more often.

To avoid letting too much time pass again perhaps you should consider instituting a new campaigninto your calendar, Thank-You Thursdays, where each where each week you blocktime on my calendar to simply say, “thank you.”

Why Thursdays?

There are seven days a week to thank others and we should use them all. Sowhy specifically highlight Thursdays?

1. It’s Catchy: “Thank-You Thursdays” is catchy, so we’re more likely to remember it.

2. Time to Reflect:We will have most of the business week from which to identify contributions.
3. Before the Weekend:The messages are likely to be read before the weekend, supporting timelyfeedback.
4. Minimize Disruptions:Thursdays avoid any 3 and most 4 day weekends.
5. Morale Boost:Sometimes, we just need that boost to get us through Friday.

Who to Thank?

I realize we should thank anyone that has a positive impact on us, ourorganizations, our families or other stake holders. Yet sometimes we only thinkof the most obvious and direct contacts. Here are some reminders developed tobuild your list of thank you recipients:

1. Direct Reports:Your team should be thanked frequently.

2. Peers: Teammembers in the organization. Independent? Consider your professional network.
3. Bosses: Presentor past, as well as any mentors you may have.
4. Customers:Anyone who ultimately “buys” (literally or figuratively) your product orservice.
5. Family: Whenwas the last time you thanked your spouse, parents, children or siblings forall they do?
6. Companies: Isthere a product or service you particularly like? Did you ever send them athank-you note?
7. Non-Profits:Many NPO employees and volunteers work harder, for less. They deserve ourgratitude.
8. Representatives:Have you thanked your politician today? What about local government workers?
9. Professionals:Accountants, Doctors, Teachers, even Lawyers and other certified professionalsall deserve thanks.
10. Service Men &Woman: Have you thanked someone in the military recently? What aboutpolice officers or firefighters?

How to Say Thank You

Most of us have a variety of ways in which we can say, “thanks”. The bestchoice is probably to mix it up, especially so the same person does not receivethe same method too frequently. Here’s a short list of free and relativelyinexpensive options to consider:

1. In Person: Manypeople believe the face-to-face, direct thank-you is best.

2. Email: The mostcommon method and likely the one I will use most. Consider copying their boss.
3. Chat: Instantmessaging is good, real-time feedback, without having to be face-to-face.
4. Meetings: Ifyou’re in a meeting with people you want to thank, add a slide or speak to yourgratitude.
5. Twitter / Social Media: Most people likepublic recognition, social media is a great “anytime” platform for publicrecognition.
6. Certificates:Printable certificates are available online and enable recipients to retain anddisplay your gratitude.
7. eCards:Electronic cards are simple, yet creative ways to share your thanks.
8. Cards:Traditional, hand written notes are increasingly rare and appreciated. Trykeeping a box in your desk.
9. Flowers: Havinga bouquet of flowers delivered is a great way to communicate and display yourgratitude.
10. Meal: Why nottake them to lunch or treat the team to a pizza? Can’t meet in person? Send agift certificate.

Frequency

The best feedback is frequent, so we should say, “thank you” as often aspossible. However, here’s a couple guidelines to help frame the frequency:

1. Frequent but Meaningful:Yes, you should say, “thank you” often, but not so often that it becomesmeaningless. Make sure the gratitude is sincere and not concocted.

2. Degree of Interaction:If it is a member of your team, you should thank them more often because,chances are, they are doing more for you and the organization on a regularbasis.
3. Avoid Routine:Not to contradict the weekly Thursday intent, the idea here is not tonecessarily thank the same person, every week, at the same time. Forindividuals you thank regularly, don’t always wait until Thursday to share it –mix it up.

We may never been perfect about showing gratitude, nor “Thank-You Thursdays”make us perfect at this practice. However, it will help. Won’t you join thecampaign for Thank-You Thursdays? Thank someone now.

Questions: How do you say “thank you”? What’s the best way someonethanked you?

By Ben (Last Name Unknown)
Original Source

How to Be Known for Your Passion

2012-01-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

A recent post by Dan Rockwell really reasonated with me... for a number of reasons.

1. I have never wanted to be normal, average, like everyone else.   I believed I was created uniquely so I should be unique. I don't know how I got to this belief, but I did. I can't remember ever not thinking that I should aspire to be 'the best me I could be.' Even back in high school, when we were all supposed to want to fit in more than life itself... I relished comments from others, stating "I was weird." My high school yearbooks are filled with such comments, along with autographs of classmates and friends.

2. I have been in a few (actually I have never been in one where this was not the case) organizations, where I have been attacked mightily for standing tall in my job and in my field...striving to be excellent.   It is so true that the world wants you to sit down, be quiet, and be mediocre...despite all the rhetoric to the contrary. It's sad...very sad when you think of what we could be collectively if this weren't the case. "Thank God!" there are many who won't fall in line, despite the beating they take. They "take a licking and keep on ticking."
.
3.  When I get overwhelmed, which is easy to do in today's ultra-fast paced, ever-changing environment.., I go through periods where I feel I am "rowing my boat in circles" and I don't like it one bit. I find Dan's post very calming ... as he reminds us to take a deep breath and focus...don't be distracted by everything we are not... focus on what our passion is and then simply do it ...over and over...in better and better ways... We can't be known for our passion unless we focus on our passion. What a perfect attitude for effective leadership!

If you are like me in desiring to be the very best you can be, you will find that Dan Rockwell is an ally... a 'cheerleader-like' voice in the wilderness of messaging, to the contrary. He is in the minority... few people really want you to succeed, to this level, because they believe your success, your excellence, your passion will only serve to make them look bad. Their glasses are half empty...as are, perhaps, their minds and their hearts...and, very definitely, their personal vision.

His post is simple and efficient as it helps you to "reset" from tilt-mode and persevere with the passion and excellence that you were made to bring the world. Thank you, Dan!
Dan's post follows (in the color blue)

How to Stop Rowing in Circles till You Sink

Fitting in is the path to regret. Leaders don’t fit in they stand out. Bureaucrats fit in.
Standing out is dangerous in someorganizational cultures; you’ll get beat down till you conform. Conformityis death.
Positive impact confrontsthe sludge of stagnant organizations.

Something: People of impact are knownfor something.Reputation establishes identity, improves impact, and advances potential.

Stop rowing your boat in circles till it sinks.

Not Known: What are you known for? Whenpeople see you, what do they think? If you aren’t known for something:

You’re stuck in can’t, won’t, or I don’t think so.

You’re unfocused and spread too thin. Do fewer things so you can follow your passion.

You’ve lost your dream.

You can’t say no.

You need everyone to like you.

Clarification: Fame is not the answer. Be knownfor something in your circle of influence, that’s enough. For example, DougConant, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup, isn’t a movie star. But, he’s known forwriting 30,000 handwritten thank you notes during his ten year tenure.

Influence grows when you’re knownfor something. Could it be thank you notes?

Something positive:

Be known for positivity. Positive focus creates positive difference.

Transform a negative into a positive. Skillfully move through brokenness to wholeness.

Don’t get stuck in complications and deficiencies.

Fix something in the community.

Create solutions. Don’t be known as a nay saying scrooge.

Tell others what you want to be known for.

Bonus: Being known for something is intentionalnot accidental. Persistently, fanatically repeat what you want to be known for.

What blocks people forbeing known for something? How can they rise above?

What do you want to beknown for?

Author: Dan Rockwell.
Original Source

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

2012-01-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get Specific.When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers. To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills. Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals. To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken. If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D

Original Source

Being LIKED Versus Being VALUED

2012-01-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

The entire concept of “relationship” is being radically re-created today. Traditionally sales “relationships” were mostly about being “liked.” After all, we were told that people do business with people they like. So salespeople were good guys and gals. They were easy to get along with. They made customers feel good. They took people to ball games and had big(ish) entertainment budgets.

The challenge is that being liked is nowhere near enough today. In a world of zero discretionary budgets, if salespeople (and selling organizations) want a customer’s attention they must be valued. And there’s a HUGE difference between being liked and being valued.

While by no means mutually exclusive, you can be valued and liked, these two attributes must be prioritized. If the goal is to be liked first and valued second (which by the way is the old school style – I’ll get them to like me then I’ll get them to value me), the behaviors will not support what’s needed to drive profitable growth today. You’ll be less likely to challenge or provoke. When the customer asks for a quote, you’ll be less likely to tell them they are not ready for a quote, and so on. You’ll be deemed irrelevant and, at best, you’ll be positioned to “catch” opportunities that happen to fit.

When you focus on being valued first and liked second, you’re far more likely to take on the behaviors to create demand. Rather than waiting for customers to tell you what they need, you’ll provoke their awareness. You’ll dig deeper, even if the customer is uncomfortable. You’ll talk to the people in the buyer’s organization that need to be talked to, even though your contact didn’t like the idea, and you’ll withstand the pressure of closing too soon, even though your customer is asking for a proposal.

Being valued means risking, even for a few moments, not being liked. Going forward, the only business relationships that will matter will be the ones where you’re highly valued, even if they like someone else a little more.

What can you do to increase the true value of your relationships?

Author: Doug Davidoff
Original Source

Where Is It That Most Businesses Fail With Lead Generation?

2012-01-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

Crawling over dollars to get to dimes.

They are too damn cheap!

That’s right. In most cases, across every industry, businesses try to acquire valuable new customers without giving the customer a compelling reason to provide contact information. At it’s most basic, think about the hundreds of websites you’ve visited where they ask you to sign up for their Enewsletter but do not give you a real reason or something of value to sign up. How often do you sign up? Or if you do, pay the Enewsletter any attention? I thought so.

Sadly, these business owners are wasting time, energy and money on advertising. They are also not capitalizing on traffic created to either to their website, phone or business. Many never even ask for any personal information and therefore can not follow up for future offers!

Here’s What You Need To Do To Increase Lead Generation Effectiveness:

Sit down for 10 minutes and think about the type of customers you are trying to attract to your business. Then create and irresistible offer – something of real value that will get those interested in your product or service to raise their hand and say I want more information or the great gift you are providing for giving up their personal information.

Don’ t be cheap on this! Figure out what the lifetime value of a new customer is to your business and spend more to get them than your competition. You’ll find that you’ll grow your list of prospects very fast.

So there’s two lessons here:

#1) offer something of value in order to get leads. Focus on what the customer values, not you. There’s a difference. People who get this, get sales.

#2) Spend appropriately. Do your customer lifetime value math. You can differentiate by spending more to acquire your most ideal customers. Do it.

Funny and true story on spending appropriately for lead generation:

The biggest customer of a company I know well accounts for about 30% of revenue annually. That’s $1,500,000 give or take. This customer was acquired by several four figure trips to strip clubs. I am not going to comment on the morality or business ethics of this, just the numbers. One $1,000,000 purchase order followed a $6,000 tab at the strip club. The ROI? Good enough don’t you think?

In fact, most CFOs figure 10% of customer lifetime value is a good number to spend in acquiring a customer. In the example above, the $6,000 was less than that for the initial order. That’s great!

I asked the senior management of this firm why they didn’t spend over $100,000 to land an ideal customer given that the customer lifetime value is in excess of several million dollars. They had no answer and the idea went over like a fart in church. Needless to say they remain a fringe player.

What are examples of spending in this way to acquire an ideal customer lead?

Targeting doctors and dentists with a B2B offer at their home address is one example. The list costs more.
Using “lumpy mail” to get your direct mail opened.
Optimizing “gift with appointment” using appropriately expensive and alluring gifts such as autographed baseball bats.
Even sales force design: investing by hiring experienced sales reps with Rolodexs and industry relationships and then placing them in territories the field, compared to an inside sales team cold calling.

Author: Tim Johnson
Original Source

Dogs, Cats, & The Customer Experience...

2012-01-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

Attitude Makes a Big Difference.

Does the following remind you of your customers? To offer an outstanding customer experience you need to consider, if not anticipate, your customer’s needs, attitudes, behaviors, motivators and preceptors. Hopefully they’re not as broad as these two examples:

The Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary

Day 983 of My Captivity

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

Author unknown
Found, originally, on this cool webite

How to become more effective in your business by summarizing your marketing plan

2012-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Good Marketing Offers Us A View Of The World.
Bad Marketing Offers Us a Product To Buy.
- Simon Sinek-

The basis of good marketing is trying to influence a group of targeted customers to use a specific product, service, or product line. This may include the five P's: product, placement, price, promotions, and people. The combination of these activities will make the basis of your marketing program.

To begin with pick just a few primary marketing activities that will make the bulk of your marketing program. Some examples you could use are web advertising, direct mail, or displays for trade shows. Figure out what will dominate your planning and prioritize around that. Make your choices carefully and try not to pick more than three main activities that will take the lead in your marketing. You can however use other marketing tactics that are commonplace as secondary supporting roles to your primary points.

If you use too many marketing tactics to one time you may find it difficult to maintain control. This is because you will have a hard time creating the funds and support to significantly make a big impact with each one individually. With so many other competitors fighting in the same market you'll have a harder time getting the attention of your potential customers if you dilute your efforts. Mailboxes, airways, and the Internet e-mail in-boxes are just packed full of offers, ads, signs and billboards, that elbow each other every day for your attention. You can counter this by concentrating your marketing into a single medium and buying plenty of visibility. This will give you the best chance of standing out in your market with the single greatest impact.

Don't fall into the trap of becoming too thin in your marketing by having a plan that spends all of your cash across new products, salespeople, and resources. Keep your focus and be careful, especially if your business is small to midsize. Your doing this because you may lack the deep pockets of really big marketers and the fact that you may not have a lot of capital on hand. With those kind of resources they can routinely use all types of different marketing methods to the fullest all at once without having to worry about going broke.

To work out the details of your plan, do whatever research is necessary. Figure out how you can execute your plan by drilling down to the specifics of it. Using print ads in trade magazines would be an example of this. If you have new products then let the retail store owners know about them and any store displays that you might have that they can use. Then decide what type of ads you want to run and the price associated with that advertising. This of course is after you figure out which specific magazines you want to use.

Now you can do the exact same analysis for all the items on your list of program components. Work your way down the list and through the details and have the initial cost figure for each component. Total all the costs and see if it comes out to a realistic number. You can always adjust the figures if they become too big a share of your projected sales. You want the budget to be in sync with your bottom line and practical compared to your goals.

The analysis process will be much easier if you incorporate a spreadsheet to keep track of your work. Just add the costs so that they reach subtotals and a grand total. Then subtract this grand total from your projected sales figures to get the bottom line. Now you will know where your money is going. For example, is the money being spent wisely on focused primary marketing or more on secondary marketing. This will give you great insight into your marketing and where your advertising budget is best utilized.

Author: Robert D Waltz
Original Source

Secret to Amazing Customer Service: Be Better than Average

2011-12-22T05:13:00.000-08:00

...Service is where it's at! Average is over!

Your secret weapon is customer service. Wait! It’s not a secret anymore. Just about every company I do business with claims they deliver customer service. My experience as I look back over just the last year is that for many companies it is their goal, yet not their reality.

Think about it. No business says, “Come do business with us, and we’ll treat you like dirt. We’ve got a great product, but don’t count on us for customer service. We don’t have great people. We hire the worst. We don’t answer the call promptly. We don’t return calls quickly. (And my favorite anti-customer service mantra…) We’re not happy until you’re not happy.” No business has that kind of a brand promise. No. They promise the opposite.

Here is the problem. It’s execution. The intentions are there, but the ability to deliver falls short. It takes getting the right people with the right mindset to deliver what is not only promised, but what the the customer expects.

And, speaking of what the customer expects, their demands are higher than ever. The reason is that they are educated. They see and hear advertising that promises good service. These ads depict people smiling and feeling good. Our customers want some of that! Companies promote it in their brand promise. Some deliver, but some do not.

It’s the ones that don’t that make it easier for the ones that do. The ones that don’t aren’t doing it on purpose. They just don’t have the system in place. And the customer service system needs a plan, the right people (hired), the right culture and a leadership team that sets the tone and the example.

It’s not that all companies that don’t deliver are bad. No, most of them are not bad. But, they are just average. Creating customer amazement isn’t that hard. You don’t have to “Wow!” the customer all of the time. You simply have to be better than average – all of the time. Tom Friedman’s new book “That Used To Be Us” sums it up in a simple statement:

Average is over.

Author: Shep Hyken
Original Source

End of Year Reflection

2011-12-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

Withonly a little over a week left in 2011, I wonder if you (like me) arereflecting on your 2011, as a means to create a better 2012 for yourself, yourfamily, and your business?

I know, I know... it is best to 'live in the present,' but the future isimportant and the memory of 'lessons learned' tend to hang around for a greatpurpose: backward reflection can guide forward motion.

Standing back from your whirlwind of activities and taking a year-end reviewcan help you focus on creating your best roadmap for success in the future. After all, we have the ability to design ourlives and businesses, based on the answers to key questions about what we wantto sustain going forward and what we want to change. As it has been said, in words similar to this,"if you don't purposefully plan and control your life efforts, someoneelse will and you will not be living your dreams (your life), but rather someone else's."

So spending some time with paper and pencil, in critical thought about whatyou want and who you are is essential... if you want to be and remain in charge of your own life. Mostimportantly, it will help you find specific ways to operate in the coming year that will be the most advantageousin achieving your goals.

I encourage you to make time in the several days to excavate the gifts of 2011.Here is a list of questions that will assist you towards an effectivereflection:

What happened this year that I want to record?
Where did I meet the targets I setfor myself and where did I fall short?
What behaviors helped me tosucceed? What behaviors caused me to fail?
What did I learn?
What unfinished business do I havegoing into the New Year?
What do I want for the coming year?What do I want to start doing? What do I want to stop doing? What do I want to achieve? Happen? For me? Forthose around me?
Why are those things important tome? What difference will they make in my life?
What would success look like in thevarious aspects of my life?
What decisions do I need to make?
What am I resisting doing?
What goals am I setting for myself?
What is my plan to achieve thosegoals?
What structures can I set in placeto increase the probabilities that I will succeed?

Take the time to relive your experiences, take responsibility for your results, celebrate your successes, embrace learning and set a course to propel you forward to success (on your terms) in 2012.

What If There Was a Recession And No One Came? 3 Tips to Grow Your Business Right Now

2011-12-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

Market Now and Consistently for the Best Results!

If you remember nothing else, remember this: even during thegreat depression, people still bought things. And not just food and necessities-- lipstick and entertainment were hot sellers. (In fact, that's where thecosmetic industry got its start.)

Why am I starting here? Because I know it's easy to getcaught up in a cycle of negativity right now but if you want to succeed youabsolutely MUST rise above it. People are still going to buy no matter what theeconomy is doing. It's YOUR job to position your products and services as theones they buy.

~So how do you do that? Here are a few tips to get youstarted.~

Dance with the one who brought you. In other words, now isnot the time to abandon the marketing strategies and tactics that got you here.A lot of business owners will be tempted to cut back, especially theirmarketing. This is a mistake. If anything, you should increase your marketingnow.

However, by increasing your marketing I don't necessarilymean increasing how much you spend. It's perfectly acceptable to find low-costor no-cost marketing methods to still keep the momentum going. One word ofwarning -- there's no such thing as a free lunch. Chances are you're going topay somewhere, and that payment could very well be your time. Before you rushinto doing something you end up regretting, take a hard look at the real cost.Would you be better off doing something that might cost more but doesn't suckup time you could be using to make money?

~Here are some tactics you can do right now to increase yourexposure

without necessarily costing you much (if anything):~

Start an email newsletter, or if you already publish one,increase the frequency you send it out. (Weekly is best. The more often yourlist hears from you, the more responsive they'll become.)

Hold a free teleclass. Make sure you come up with a reallygreat special offer to turn your listeners into customers.

Go buy a new dress and hang out on the social networkingscene. Okay, I'm kidding about the dress. But if you aren't making the socialnetworking rounds, you're missing major business opportunities. No it's not awaste of time (unless you let it become one). Now is time to start learning howto use social media for your business's benefit.

Do a little marketing each day. I know. Marketing isn't your"thing." Why would you want to do something each day? But the realityis successful businesses are built upon small marketing steps consistentlydone, not necessarily the big launch.

So what can you dotoday? Write your article for your newsletter? Contact a potential jointventure partner? Write a thank you note to someone who sent you a referral? Dosomething, even if it's only a 15-minute task, and you'll probably be amazed athow fast you'll start seeing results.

Systemize your marketing tasks. If you're like a lot ofservice professionals, when business is slow, you jump in feet first and do awhole bunch of marketing. Things pick up, you get busy, and the marketingstops. Eventually the work also stops because you stopped the marketing andyou're sucked into the feast-famine vortex.

So, rather then repeat that cycle, why not do something alittle different this time around? This time, while you're franticallymarketing and looking under every stone for work, why don't you also systemizeyour marketing? Write down everything you do, so when you're busy, you can handthat list off to a virtual assistant who can keep your marketing going for you?Now maybe you won't eliminate that feast-or-famine cycle but you'll definitelysoften it.

To sum it up, if business is slow right now and you'renervous about the economy, I want you to take a deep breath and STOP IT. Usethis time to transform how you handle your marketing in your business, whichwill transform your business.

Author: Michele Pariza Wacek
Original Source

Social Media! What Is It Good For?

2011-12-03T05:04:00.001-08:00

Is Social Media Really A Sales Money Tree?

There is so much hype that would have you believe it is.
Yet, usually, that result does not actually prove out.
If you have "Built It, and the Sales Haven't Come,"
you might consider its true value might not be
what you have been brought to believe it is.
The following post by Debra Ellis, might just open your eyes as to
What Social Media is really good for?

Social Media – Oversold andUndervalued

Social media isoversold as a marketing channel and undervalued as a customer connection. Salesby conversation are an illusion created by people more focused on buildingpersonal brands than exploring and developing a new channel. The new mediagurus adopted a “sell and destroy” strategy that effectively promotednetworking as the only future of marketing and blamed failed attempts by otherson insufficient awesomeness.

Creative valuations ofmarketing campaigns are part of the sell strategy. Traditional success metricslike sales, customer acquisition, and return on investment are replaced withfollowers, fans, likes, retweets, and comments. Creating viral content that generatesbuzz replaces increasing revenue and profitability as marketing goals. To theuninitiated, this shift seems ludicrous, but it has become the social mediastandard.

Questioning thisstandard activates the destroy part of the strategy. Anyone daring to ask fordata proving that social media works is belittled for being clueless. Questionsabout how to create successful campaigns receive answers like “Be awesome andit will happen” or “Remarkable content creates remarkable success.”

While actingmore like snake oil salesman than thought leaders, self-appointed social mediaexperts missed the real value of social networking – customers connecting withcompanies.

Instead of focusing onbuilding relationships one customer at a time, the emphasis has been onacquiring fans, followers, likes, and plus ones. This strategy worked to createan illusion of success because it provides a comparative view. Someone who hastens of thousands of connections appears more successful than those who haven’tbroken a thousand.

The appearance ofsuccess has created an environment where the objective is to create amega-network without concern for quality. Creating a viral campaign takespriority over generating a return on investment. Somewhere along the line thechannel that promised better one-to-one relationships has morphed into a massmarket.

Despite thehype surrounding viral campaigns, search, advertising, and direct trafficoverwhelmingly generate more and better quality website visits than tweets,posts, and shares.

It’s time to acceptthat the promise of conversations generating significant revenue is a fallacyand move on to activities that consistently deliver a return on investment.Resources are too limited to invest in activities that don’t increase revenueor reduce costs.

Your customers areonline. Where, when, and how they participate is a mystery to be solved. Theymay want to participate in your company’s community. They may want to be leftalone until they need service. Or, they may want nothing to do with yourbusiness. It’s the marketing team’s job to solve the mystery, establish thecommunities, and create content. Interacting with customers belongs to thecustomer service team. They know products, services, and how to make buyershappy better than anyone in the company.

Social networks providea new way to connect with customers. Using it successfully requires trial anderror experimentation to find the best way for your company to connect with thepeople that matter. A community filled with customers is an extension of yourmarketing database and an opportunity to turn transactions into relationships.This is where social media is grossly undervalued. Customer retention increasesprofitability better than any other activity.

It is a shame that oneof the best channels for connecting with customers is being ignored bycompanies because self serving individuals oversold the value of viralmarketing.

Social media isn’t a way generate sales by reaching millions ofpeople with a tweet or a post. It’s much better than that. It’s a way to get toknow your customers one at a time.

Author: Debra Ellis

Original Source

Goodwill Messages Retain Customers, Build Loyalty and (Over Time) Increase Sales

2011-11-29T09:25:00.001-08:00

Make it personal! Show your customers the love over and over.... :)

Savvy marketers regularly send non-promotional messages as part of adeliberate strategy to retain customers, build loyalty, and, yes, increasesales over the long term.

For the marketer focused completely on immediate promotions, suchnon-promotional mailings often are not even on their radar screens. Welcomemessages, thank-yous, informational updates, reminders and more --what we callgoodwill messages-- are simple to send, easy to automate, and once set-up costnext to nothing. Yet they can sail through the mailbox clutter and generateincreased revenue for years to come through repeat purchases by now loyalcustomers.

The key is the phrase for years to come. This is a long-term successstrategy. A welcome message or thank you for your purchase won't likely bringcustomers racing back to buy more that day, but it will reinforce the idea thatthey made the right decision to shop with you and increase the likelihood theywill make that same decision the next time.

Remember every marketer out there has them in their sights, trying to winthem away from you. Only by establishing ongoing goodwill with them, even whenthey are not buying, can you increase the likelihood they will return ascustomers.

And the beauty of such goodwill messages is that they are quick and easy.These are basic messages. You don't need elaborate, costly creative. You don'thave to build a fancy promotion. You can set it up so the messages to go outwith no human involvement, triggered automatically by a purchase or an event orsimply the change of the calendar. Out of all the promotional shouting yourcustomers are subjected to, these simple, personal messages indeed stand out.

Goodwill messages follow one rule: send communications your customers wantto receive at key times in their engagement cycles. When they have made a purchase,when they have joined your mailing list or frequent shoppers club, whenseasonal cycles repeat as well as when events merit an announcement.

The hardest part of goodwill messaging is not only abandoning the temptationof what makes money, but without that immediate return, measuring the results.Unlike promotional messages where you can easily count how many widgets move ina given timeframe, with goodwill messaging you will have to take a long view.You will need to test them and track how many become repeat customers, howoften they return, for how many years. Ultimately, we're talking aboutincreasing the lifetime value of a customer.

Source: http://www.dmnews.com/goodwill-messages-can-generate-sales/article/95977/

Promotional Marketing Victory: The Success Gospel According to " Our Best Clients"

2011-11-29T07:08:00.001-08:00

In tough times,like those we've experienced these last few years, weak players, in businessesof all kinds, fall away and strong players stand out. One thing we've noticedin this last recession & recovery, is that "our best clients" aregrowing at a much faster pace than their competitors...and we love it!

You might thinkthe reason we call them "our best clients" is that these accountsgenerally bring us our highest percentage of sales, and, although that maylargely be true, the real reason we consider them "ourbest clients" is because they truly "get it." Theyunderstand the power of promotional products and how they canbe used to grow their business. In the playbook of theseclients, promotional products are an investment,not an expense and they use them liberally to achieve their goals. But,understand they are used as a part of a plan!

They don't justwake up one day and say, "I think I'll order some pens for our salespeople to randomly give out here and there and, perhaps, spread somegoodwill." No, "our best clients" are very purposeful andgenerous in their use of ad-specialty items. They know they aren't just givingout trinkets. Why would anyone, in their right mind, invest in trinkets? Thereis little, if any, ROI on useless stuff (no surprise there!)

Whatdoes purposeful promotional marketing look like? Here are some critical adviceto get the most from your promotional marketing efforts:

Spendquality-time building your prospecting list. The list is the most importantpart. Do your research and determine who would be worth your investment andeffort, once you bring them on-board as a customer.

Segment yourlist. Divide your prospects into groups based on similar interests, needs,and demographics.

Develop acommunication strategy specific to each segment of your prospect list. Knowyour audience. Narrow and design your message(s) to speak to needs and desiresof each segment of your list.

Consider:How will you introduce yourself? What first impression do you want tocreate? How will you stand out from all the other messages they receive? Howwill you incentivize them to respond? Research by the Promotional ProductsAssociation International regularly shows that when a promotional mailingincludes a free gift, recipients are far more likely to respond positively. Oneexample of an effective way to use promotional gifts is to send a small gift bydirect mail along with an offer to receive a more expensive gift. For instance,you might mail a small desk calendar with an offer to get a free calculator ifthe recipient calls to make an appointment to speak with a salesperson at yourcompany. Send an item that your prospect will value and keep around so yourmessage is working for you between contacts.

Plan forthe long haul. If they don't bite the first time, how will younurture the relationship over time? If you have determined they are aprospect you want as a customer in the first place, you need to plan to hang inthere until they come on-board. What on-going value and offer can you bringthem each time you contact them? Each contact should build on previouscontacts. Educate them, over time, about who you are and what you can do forthem. Try multiple campaigns, messages, and incentives to keep their attentionas they get to know and trust you. There needs to be a strong, consistentunderlying theme or message that ties all your efforts together so yourprospect doesn't get confused. Trust always precedes the sale and buildingtrust can take time, but you won't mind a bit if you know the sale and thecustomer relationship is worth the wait and worth the effort.

In summary... Earningthe business of your best prospects involves making a commitment AND aninvestment. It requires good preparation and a consistentlyimplemented strategy. Little planning and a willy-nilly attempt won't bringhome any bacon worth having.

If you need assistance developing an effective plan, let us know.Glessner Promo has over forty years of combined experience in designingeffective marketing campaigns and employee engagement programs.

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New ShoppingTradition

2011-11-21T06:13:00.001-08:00

I recently received this in my inbox. I don't know how it got started or who wrote it.

I wish I did so I could give him or her a huge high five for pointing out the huge opportunities we each have to take small purposeful steps towards making a big difference and helping our own shaky economy.

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New ShoppingTradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.
...
This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift
certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses
to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

What do you think? Will you be a part of the new American Christmas tradition?

You Get What You Honor

2011-11-14T07:25:00.001-08:00

We love this recent post by Dan Rockwell
in his blog "The Leadership Freak"
We know you will too.

One Useful Strategy for Becoming More Useful

Peter Drucker encouraged leadersto ask, “How do we make ourselves useful?”

Daniel Pink’s research indicatesthree drives motivate us.

Autonomy: the desire to be self-directed.
Mastery: the urge to get better at stuff.
Purpose: making a contribution.

Combining Drucker andPink: Leaders are useful when theyhonor the contribution of others.

Honoring contributions:

Explain the positive impact others make.
Highlight the positive qualities others have.

Explaining positive impact isgood. But, highlighting the positive qualities that got the job doneis exponentially better. For example …

Saying, “I’m impressed with yourcreativity when you solved our production problem.” is better than, “Thanks forhelping us meet our production targets.”

People focus:
People get lost behind productionpressures; we make them cogs in the machine. Overcome “cog mentality” byrefocusing on people.

Refocus on people by honoring themmore than production.

Leaders who say, “It’s all aboutthe people.” and honor production over people are inconsistent hypocrites. I’mnot suggestion you stop honoring production. But if it’s all about the people,then focus on the people.

If you honor them, they willproduce.

Added bonus: When you honor the talents andskills of others, they will honor your wisdom with loyalty.

Too much: It’s impossible to honor positivequalities too much as long as you always connect honor with current,specific examples of performance. Always include performance. Excludingperformance lowers honor to a compliment. Compliments are good, but honor isbetter.

You get what you honor.

What are some useful waysto honor people?

Author: Dan Rockwell

Source: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/one-useful-strategy-for-becoming-more-useful/

Cold Calling Isn't Dead... It's Just Hard Work

2011-11-13T05:46:00.001-08:00

I have to admit that every time I see a post that says some form of"Cold Calling is Dead"... it kind of irks me. The truth is that cold calling is harder workthan most people want to do. I don't believe there is any one bestmarketing strategy. All of them involvesome waste (time, effort, money) to find our best prospects.

Cold calling is one approach and it still works if you do. I like itbecause I get to decide who my best targets are. Who do 'I' want to do businesswith? I decide that they are "worth" the investment to me. I don'twin them all... but I do win enough to be considered a successful salesprofessional. I'm a top ten producer ina company with over 3000+ dealers.

It's true, I admit it, cold calling is a tremendouswaste of time until ....IT ISN'T... (until I convert the prospect I want to acustomer).... and networking is a tremendous waste of time until IT ISN'T(until I leverage a relationship into a lead). Social Media is tremendous wasteof time until IT ISN'T (until it attracts a prospect to me) Attraction(Inbound) marketing (the latest rage) is a lot of work...blanketing contentover the WWW. Most of it doesn't connect, resonate, and attract...but some ofit does...so inbound marketing can also be seen as a tremendous waste of timeuntil IT ISN'T. On and on.

As I said... the advantage of cold calling is that one gets to purposefullychoose targets they determine are worth chasing. :) A smart salesperson worksall these strategies (and doesn't ignoreany of them) but if they find they are more masterful at one over the others...they'd be stupid to not put the bulk of their focus there. :) Cold calling is notdead or dying as one strategy that works for those who choose to "work ithard."

Bottom line... If you want to besuccessful, you can't get out of hardwork. I get weary of seeing offers thatpromise it will be easy or easier if we follow their program using social media,inbounding marketing or whatever. Whenyou get the program box you purchased and open it up... it will be atremendous waste of your money until...you put in the hard work.

Your thoughts?

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Holiday Gifts and Incentives Improve Employee Morale & Productivity

2011-11-10T05:46:00.001-08:00

Withthe holidays around the corner, companies are seeking creative gift ideas toshow appreciation to employees, business partners and customers. A recentsurvey reveals how even small gestures of gratitude with holiday gifts canpositively impact employee motivation and productivity.

Corporate holiday gifts can helpcompanies build and extend brand loyalty, foster stronger businessrelationships and thank employees for a year of great work. According to the survey,employees said receiving holiday gifts from their companies:

Improved employee morale (75 percent)

Made employees like their company more (60 percent)

Improved employee productivity (33 percent)

The survey also found thatgoodwill doesn't stop with employees as one in three people surveyed saidreceiving a gift from a business partner made them more likely to do businesswith that company in the future.

Corporate Gift-GivingMade Easy: Timely Tips for the Holidays
Picking out gifts for friends and family is hard enough; shopping forcolleagues and customers doesn't have to be. Here are some tips forpersonalized, easy and affordable corporate gift shopping, to help companiesleave a lasting impression:

Keep it personal. You wouldn't send a holiday card without signing it, so don't give a gift without putting your mark on it. Adding your company logo to gifts can help your company gain mindshare and visibility. More than 60 percent of respondents said they kept their gifts for more than six months, keeping the company top of mind.
Don't procrastinate. Start planning early so you have enough time to select and , customize gifts with branded images and ensure everything arrives before the holidays.
Get everything on your list and on budget. To help get the best value from your gift purchases, consider ordering items in bulk and selecting items that can be shared, such as food baskets.

Holiday gifts that are thoughtful andpersonalized can go a long way toward deepening business relationships andreminding employees you value their work and can create a positive impressionthat lasts far beyond the holidays.

Survey data by Staples, Inc.

Use the Customer Experience to Improve Your Sales Results

2011-11-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Customers are the reason we areall in business. The customer's reaction to your brand dictates success orfailure. And since nobody actually seeks to fail, it pays to know how yourcustomers experience you, your company, your product and your brand. Conventionalcustomer-satisfaction surveys have limitations; they tend to assess isolatedpieces of the overall experience, and might very well neglect what happensbefore the sale or during it. Here are five SMART Tips for evaluating yourcustomer's experience and using it to acquire more customers.

Tip #1: It's the Customer'sViewpoint, Not Yours.You've got to know what the experience is like from your customer'sperspective, including the good and the bad. Too many companies have falteredbecause (a) they didn't obtain the 'brutal facts' from their customers and/or(b) once they got those facts, they couldn't deal with them.

Tip #2: The Brand ExperienceStarts Early. Customersare exposed to information about you and your business long before they achieve'customer-hood.' Find out if your branding sends the right messages to thecustomers you want to attract and retain.

Tip #3: Make the Customer'sExperience Consistent and Continuous. Sales is only one Customer Touchpoint. The salesexperience should seamlessly follow the marketing experience, and seamlesslylead to post-sale service. Disconnects and differences in values, ethics andbehavior are no-no's. If you treat prospects like stars, make sure customersget the same treatment, or better.

Tip #4: Every Point is aCustomer Touchpoint. Thecustomer's experience is affected every time they experience your product orservice. The receptionist, the service tech, the inside sales rep, thefulfillment house, the chambermaid, the busboy - all impact the customerexperience. What would you need to know, in order to know it was the rightexperience?

Tip #5: Know What's Going Onat Every Touchpoint.Don't take it for granted that the whole scheme works as planned. Set uprealistic performance indicators, track them, report on them, and analyze them.Finally, face the brutal facts. Welcome the unwelcome, and work with it. Evenif the feedback is uniformly rosy, keep digging. There is always room forimprovement.

Author: Ellen Bristol Article Source:Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ellen_Bristol

Narrowing our focus just a bit...
Did you know that the Sales Experience is the biggest driver of Customer Loyalty.

In a survey of more than 5,000 business customers, it was found that of all of the possible factors that could drive customer loyalty — including brand, product and service quality, and price-to-value ratio — by far the biggest driver is something most companies don't even think about: the sales experience, accounting for 53% of the overall total.

Customer loyalty, it turns out, is more a function of how you sell than what you sell. Specifically, customers reward suppliers who "offer unique and valuable perspectives on the market" and "educate them on new issues and outcomes." This means businesses should spend significant time considering how they can improve the sales experience for their customers...since customer loyalty = increased sales!

Greg Van der Lynde's article on Improving the Sales Process Experience for Customers is an excellent read. Check it out! The Buyer Engagement Experience

Real Men Make Cold Calls!

2011-10-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

We Love this Post by Dr. Gary S. Goodman and could not agree more! Cold Calling works. Cold calling isn't easy. Rather than look hard for excuses not to do it JUST DO IT ANYWAY!

Shout it from the rooftops andrepeat it in sales training sessions. Tell novices and veterans, alike. Noexcuses will be accepted, like the runaway escapist alibi that cold calling"doesn't work." To be sure, it doesn't work for wimps, those thatwon't force themselves to place butt in chair long enough to make contacts. Ofcourse it fails if you never dial the phone.

That's like forfeiting a sportsevent by being a no show. You have the power to do that, but don't blame thegame of football, baseball or basketball for the fact you weren't there toplay, that you voluntarily disabled yourself.

You can only win when you playthe game. Cold calling works, when you work the calls.

The manly approach is to bedirect, and there are few channels in sales as direct as the telephone. Youselect someone to call, get them on the line, and make your presentation.

Sometimes you have to fightthrough a little resistance. We realized, at a major book publishing companywhere I was top salesman and sales manager, that 50% of our yeses came after wegot beyond one no, or more. If we retreated after the first expression ofindifference or negativity, we were kissing goodbye to half of all potentialsales.

A woman I talked to the other daysummarized the masculine approach in one directive:

KILL THE BEAST.

The Beast, as I interpret it, isthe person that can put food on your table, one that can give you a roofoverhead, and can clothe and educate your children.

The Beast is your prospect. Youmust invade his cave, taking him by surprise, if possible. Then, you must slayhim, and drag him back to YOUR lair.

But as a practical matter, thebeast is also YOU, your comfort zone and your pretend-fears, such as the fearof rejection. It is your laziness, a lack of urgency, low frustrationtolerance, and procrastination.

The Beast is your belief that youcan avoid the direct approach, that indirect selling and marketing will saveyou. The Beast is magical thinking; Cinderella waiting to be swept to the ball,floating in a cushy coach upholstered by inbound calls, social networking,nebulous news releases and publicity, a carriage whose steeds are"hot" leads.

All very lovely stuff, thisfluff, but it doesn't make money or profits. Passivity is for patsies.

"Man must wait with hismouth open for a very long time before a roast duck will fly in," says onewise Chinese saying. Fear not. You don't have to have total self-confidence ornerves of steel to succeed at cold calling.

You simply have to show up atwork, make the calls, improve over time, and repeat the process. Sooner orlater, you'll succeed. And one of the collateral benefits is that yourtestosterone might increase, as it reportedly does when men engage inresistance exercises. Man-up, and you'll become one!

Author: Dr. Gary S. Goodman
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman

Prospecting Made Easy

2011-10-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Does your company have peaks and valleys in its revenues? Areyou straining to keep up with the demand one month and laying off workers thenext? Do you find that your prospecting is inconsistent? If so the odds aregreat your marketing lacks a systematic lead generation and qualificationsystem.

Prospecting problems usually follow a predictable pattern. Whenit comes to generating qualified sales leads too many companies endure thefollowing roller coaster ride:

1. Salespeople and the marketing department work double timeprospecting to generate sales leads

2. Sales leads come rushing in and marketing staff rest on theirlaurels

3. Salespeople get busy with their follow up, close sales, andstop prospecting

4. Sales leads dry up and revenue dips and there is a mad panic

5. Salespeople and the marketing department work double timeprospecting to generate sales leads

6. Repeat

So what is the best way to set up a winning lead generation andqualification system that will result in predictable growth and enhanceprospecting efforts? Simply follow these steps and you’ll improve your marketing,power up your prospecting, and even out demand for your products and servicesin no time at all.

1. Create a common lead definition

Your marketing and selling staff will become more productive atprospecting by having them agree on a mutually acceptable definition of a saleslead.

Long ago IBM came up with a great acronym, BANT, to use as areminder of what constitutes a qualified sales lead. BANT means budget,authority, need, and time frame. By asking prospects proper qualificationquestions about these four key areas you can quickly determine whether they areworthy of time with your salespeople. You do not have a qualified sales leadif:

a) There is no current budget available or one that can beallocated

b) The person or group you are dealing with do not have theauthority to create a signed deal

c) There is not a genuine need that can be met by your solution

d) There is no firm date to purchase and implement your solution

2. Separate lead generation and leadqualification from selling

You will dramatically increase the productivity of yoursalespeople by separating the lead generation and lead qualification functionfrom the selling function. Have your marketing department qualify potentialsales leads and send only the ready-to-buy sales leads to your salespeople.

3. Use effective lead generation techniques

If you look at the majority of promotional media you’ll notice businessesare trying to sell their products or services using a one step approach. If youwere to call any of these companies and ask them how effective theirpromotional campaigns have been most would say, “Terrible, but thanks forasking.” You would then hear a long litany of complaints about how allpromotional media is a total waste of money.

To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan, the problem is not the medium,it’s the message. To maximize the effectiveness of your marketingcommunications and improve your prospecting results stop trying to sell yourproducts but concentrate on selling the positive outcomes brought by yourproducts.

4. Create a problem solving educationaloffer to maximize prospecting response

Unless you are trying to sell a simple product or service, likea suit jacket, a one step promotional message is not your best choice. As a businessyou will get far better prospecting results by using a two step approach.

The first step is to identify your best prospects with anattractive initial offer of free education. This free education should be aproblem solving report or a tip sheet that you can mail or email to therespondents. It must not be a sales pitch.

The individuals who respond to your offer have identifiedthemselves as prospects.

The second step is to have your marketing staff contact theseprospects and qualify them using your BANT questions. If they truly aresales-ready leads they can then be forwarded on to your salespeople.

5. Use a combination of media for bestresults

Once you have created your educational offer always mix yourmedia for best results. For example: Combining print advertising with targeteddirect mail and outbound follow up calls is very effective. Alternately youcould use an email blast to a list of opt-in subscribers in an online versionof a trade magazine with an education-based email offer and then follow up byphone. Also note that regardless of how you attempt to generate sales leadsmethodical telephone follow up will dramatically improve your results.

6. Use a follow up method that works

How soon after your prospects receive your educationalinformation should you follow up? Ifyou follow up the same day your prospects may feel pressured. If you wait acouple of weeks or more they may have completely forgotten your freeeducational material. Waiting two or three business days prior to following upwith prospects works best. This way prospects don’t feel like they are beingstalked or ignored.

Be certain to establish the rule of 100% follow up. Before apotential sales lead is discarded insist a minimum of four to six attempts havebeen made by your marketing staff to make contact.

Lastly, be sure to have a plan in place to nurture longer-termopportunities.

Author: Andrew Shedden

Source: http://broadfieldconsulting.com/prospecting-made-easy/

Success - Why Taking Action Achieves Results!

2011-10-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

"The prudent see danger and take action; the simple keep going and suffer for it."

In fact, business success is contingent on a simple truth, that is TakingAction is a secret to success! Action does not always require thinking.Actually, thinking often hinders action and learning. Hinders learning?That flies in the face of most of what we know, doesn't it? As children we wereoften reproached when we made mistakes: "You just weren't thinking! Don'tyou ever think about what you're doing?"

Then there's the most successful personal development book of all time tellingus to do what? ...That's right, "Think and Grow Rich". True, it is afantastic book and a must read for success minded people. But many of us get sotangled in thoughts that we can't get out of our "heads" and take theaction required for success

Socrates, one of the greatest "thinkers" of all time,said, "Action equals knowledge." Taking action - that is howyou achieve results. Take playing the piano for instance. We could thinkabout playing the piano but we will never become better until we start peckingaway at the keys. If you were to ask an accomplished pianist to think aboutwhat they are playing in the middle of a rapturous concert, the music wouldprobably fall apart into a series of painfully disconnected notes.

Same is true with typing. Ask a person who flawlessly types over 70words a minute to think about the key strokes, and you could probably watch themistakes pile up. Thinking hinders execution. Thinking can hinder success. Thefact of the matter is we can intellectualize all we want, but until we takeaction we will never accomplish anything.

Then there’s martial arts! A mantra in the martial arts says"Ready, Fire, Aim". Simply put, this means take action and correctthat action as you go. It is quite probable that many businesses never get outof the starting gate because of over-thinking and over analyzing. Most people wantall their ducks to be lined up in a row before they begin. This will neverhappen. The time will never be perfect. The key is to get started and then"keep on keeping on."
In the martial arts, students practice moves over and over and over again.They train their bodies to transcend thought and take action in the moment.Imagine a trained martial artist getting attacked on the street thinking,"Hmm, okay I'm being attacked. Should I turn my body this way or should itbe the other way? Okay, now I have to trap the assailments arms, tighten myfists, pull back, and strike." Of course this is not what happens in themartial arts. The key teaching in the martial arts is to ACT. NOW! ...Inspite of the mind's tenancy to analyze the situation.

The worst kind of thinking is fear of failure. The "What if"disease. "What if I fail? What if people laugh at me? What if I lose allmy money? What if, what if, what if? Fear is paralyzing. It stops the movementnecessary for success. Fear weakens our resolve, cripples our creativity, andultimately stagnates our successes.

Conversely, movement overcomes fear. When struck by fear, move. Dosomething! So, don't wait to explore your entrepreneurial spirit; start takingaction now. When those pesky thoughts creep up, and they will, scare themaway with the mantra, "Don't think, don't think, don't think, don'tthink..." and watch your dreams and goals cascade toward you.
What is the bottom line? "Don't think and grow rich" – “TakingAction is a secret to success!”

Author: Dane Infosearch
Source: http://www.daneinfosearch.com/BusinessSuccess_Success_Taking_Action_Achieves_Results!.htm

Your Employee Is Not An Asset!

2011-10-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Corporations today have derived different euphemisms to describe theiremployees. Some treat them as assets; others refer to them as human capital,while most stick to the time-tested description of human resource.

But how many companies look at their employees as simple human beings? Do youview your employee as a machine which needs to be overhauled and oiledperiodically in the form of increments, or as a living being with emotions,mood swings, joys, sorrows, pleasure and pain?

Your employee might be a resource, capital or an asset, but remember, he isfirst a human being.

A person spends a major part of his life at work, away from his family, whichis why it is important that he looks forward to attending office and enjoysspending time with his colleagues. As a boss, this is in your hands.

You treat your employee like a machine and he will respond mechanically. Hewill perform because you incentivise him with increments and bonuses, notbecause he shares an emotional bond with the company. Such workers, who performfrom the level of their body and mind, without giving their heart and soul totheir work, can often prove to be a liability.

Only a good boss can fire the passion in an employee. And who is a good boss?Somebody who has business acumen, leadership qualities and marketing skills?All this, and more. You can never be a good boss unless you are first a goodhuman being.

As you read this, sit back for a while and ponder: Do your employees respectyou because you are a tough boss, or because you are a decent human being? Andif your answer is the former, you have some soul searching to do.

All of us carry personal and professional baggage with us. Our personal livesreflect on our work and vice-versa. As a boss you have no control over youremployee’s personal life, but you can at least ensure that he carries a happybaggage home. After all, he spends a better part of his life with you.

Many a time you would have pulled up an employee for under performance on aparticular day, but have you ever given a thought to what could be running inhis mind. It could be as simple as a domestic fight or something as serious ashis father’s illness. But have you offered him solace?

How many times has your employee felt comfortable to sit across the table anddiscuss his personal life with you? Does he see you just as a boss or as afriend, philosopher and guide? Does he trust you enough to share his problemswith you? And if he does, do you give him a patient hearing?

It is not just sorrows that your employee would like to unburden. As the boss,are you among the first to know about a joyous event at home, like a newarrival or the purchase of a car? Or, do you remain distanced from the personallife of your employee?

It is the small things of life that matter. How many times have you taken timeoff to have a one-on-one discussion with your employees on their personallives—their parents, wife, children or even their problems. Is yourrelationship with your employee confined only to business or do you genuinelycare for his well being too?

Little gestures can often go a long way in winning over your employee’s trust,confidence, respect, and above all love. All you have to do is show that youcare. When was the last time you visited an employee who was hospitalised? Whenwas the last time you bothered about how your employee reached home from officelate in the night? Or, when was the last time you remembered and personallywished your employee on his birthday?

This does not mean you should forever mollycoddle your employees. Be firm whenneeded, but be reasonable. As a boss you too are human and may be given tobouts of temper. You may sometimes give him a shelling, but do not forget tomake up.

One question you should never forget to ask yourself every evening is: “Has myemployee gone back home today with a smile on his face?”

Employees do not despise tough bosses, what they hate is bosses without aheart. Several studies have indicated that when a person quits his job, it is notbecause he is unhappy with the company, but because he is dissatisfied with hisboss. Such people separate with a bad taste in the mouth and hold the companyin utter contempt through out their lives—all because you were a bad boss.

Yet, there are instances where people quit their jobs with happy memories andremain in contact with their former bosses for years to come. A good boss doesnot merely develop a working rapport with the employee, but a relationship forlife.

As Russel H Eving said: "A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A bossfixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asksquestions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting."

So, what are you? A boss or a leader?

Author: M. Gautham Machaiah

Source: http://gauthammachaiah.blogspot.com/2009/07/your-employee-is-not-asset.html

Trust Me. I'm a Salesperson.

2011-10-10T05:38:00.000-07:00

I am worthy of trust and I am a salesperson. Perhaps, not all salespeople are trustworthy, but I am. I wish I could wear a sign around my neck that says, "I am trustworthy" and that would be credible enough with the marketplace to build productive business relationships with potential customers.

Alas, when it comes to trust, often, salespeople don't start off on an even playing field. The title, salesperson, itself, tends to create distrust since a salesperson's motivation is often taken into question, at least, at some level, at some point in the sales process. Are we just trying to make a sale?(since our compensation is directly tied to it) or are we, genuinely, trying to solve our customer's problem to the very best of our ability? Are we out for ourselves or our customer? Customers, understandably, want to be #1 and an honest effort, by the salesperson, to serve them usually serves the salesperson "a win" as well.

There are a couple of truisms in business that we can't get around. The first - "Nothing happens until the sale" and the second - "Trust always precedes the sale!"

How do we, as salespeople, get over that initial hurdle of distrust that we, personally, likely did nothing to create? That was my question and the answer was create a strategy to help our potential customers learn to trust us. Following is the best advice I have found to build trust in potential partnerships between a business prospect who we might help and ourselves, the sales person for a organization that likely has a good solution.

Often, in business, a first contact with a potential customer is via the telephone so this is where we'll focus. First impressions are important. Using the phone, our prospect will judge us with the limited information they get from their ears. They will make a decision about you and whether you are someone they will continue to engage with, within seconds.

If your ultimate objective is making a sale and creating a on-going customer relationship, it is critical that you design your call to ensure your prospect likes and trusts you....since trust always precedes the sale!

People tend to like and trust those most like themselves. Rapport is the ultimate key to sales success. If you achieve a decent level of trust and likeability with customers, they’ll want to buy from you and every interaction will tend towards being easier and more productive. If trust is low, it will be difficult, and darn near impossible to make a sale.

The starting point of building trust is the first impression and people rarely move beyond their original impression of you. Many salespeople seem to 'wing it' in this area, thinking their prospect will either 'like them or they won't. Or, they underestimate the importance of strategic trust building to their sales success.

But it is just too important to leave to chance since trust always precedes the sale. Like everything, planning and preparation will increase your odds of success. Here are some tips to include in your trust building strategy:

1. Prepare and plan your call in advance. Think about your objective for the call: What do I want to accomplish on this call? How will I know I have achieved it?

2. Learn about your prospect. Look them, and their company, up online and try to ascertain what might make them tick, what their interests and challenges might be.

3. Script a warm initial greeting with shows you are grateful to have the opportunity to speak with them. Do not waste the customer’s time with remarks that that are not relevant to your business objective and the business relationship.

4. Script a relevant opening line that lets the prospect know you have put some thought into the prospect and their company.

5. Script business-related questions that lead towards productive dialog and move naturally towards the next step. Create the feeling of a easy-going natural conversation. Make it flow. Make it enjoyable.

6. Put yourself in a positive state of mind and visualize a real person on the other end of the phone. Always begin the call with a mindset that the call will result in a win/win for both parties. Both of you should feel good after the call. Check-in with your prospect from time to time, throughout the call, to make certain they are feeling that way.

7. Follow common rapport building best practices like:
1. Talking at the same speed as the other person. 2. Smiling to project a positive attitude and warmth in your voice. 3. Adjusting your voice tone, pitch, and speed so that it is similar to theirs.

8. Show genuine interest. Be curious. Learn everything you can about their needs and motivation. Some of the most powerful messages you can give to someone are “I am interested in you”, “I care about your well-being” and “You are important to me.”

9. Give them the gift of "really" listening. Focus yourself on the call like it is the only one you will make that day and avoid distractions, like multitasking email while you are on the phone. Take notes so you can repeat things later in the call that show you were, indeed, listening.

10. Use Some Self-Disclosure. Share bits of information about yourself than highlight areas you have in common with them. Doing this shows you trust them, increasing the odds they will trust you. Do this sparingly, however. People really like to talk more about themselves than you.

11. Use Empathy. In areas, where their story or situation is unique, demonstrate that you, at least, have an understanding of their position and can understand how they feel.

By using these tips...When you say "I am a salesperson"... you will give your prospects a strong sense that they can "trust you" and it will be deliberate and genuine. You will 'go further' and 'fly higher' by making the extra effort of having a real strategy to help your prospect trust you because... there is no way around the fact that trust always precedes the sale.

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Why is October All About Pink?

2011-10-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

The Business Opportunity of Cause Marketing

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and, as usual, you are going to see pink everywhere. These days, more and more businesses (large and small) are doing well by doing good. If you haven't given much thought before now to cause marketing, you might want to give it some strong consideration.

Cause marketing is a strategic marketing partnership where a company or brand teams up with a social cause or cause-related organization for mutual benefit. You can imagine how the social cause, in such a partnership, might benefit with increased awareness and donations. But have you considered how much a business can benefit by aligning itself with a cause?

Here's a short list of what's in it for you, the business:
• Greater awareness for company product or service
• Increased sales
• Access to new audiences
• Competitive advantage
• Increased brand image and awareness
• Higher employee retention
• Highlight to be used in employee recruiting

So you see...it truly is a win-win situation and it's probably an opportunity you don't want to ignore as consumers are increasingly interested in seeing the companies that they support with their business, in turn, support social causes. According to Cone’s 2010 Cause Evolution Study: 83% of Americans wish more of the products, services and businesses they use would support causes. In addition, 80% of consumers are willing to switch from one brand to another brand that is about the same in price and quality, if the other brand is associated with a good cause. 61% are willing to try a new brand or one they’ve never heard of if associated with a cause.

Yes, your customers are interested and so are your employees. Employees who are very involved in their company’s cause program are 28 percent more likely to be proud of their company’s values and 36 percent more likely to feel a strong sense of loyalty than those who are not involved, according to the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study.

Making cause marketing work for your business hinges on two basic things (and, of course, a lot of details): finding a cause that fits your company or brand, and launching an effective publicity campaign with the objective of helping that cause. Targeted corporate giveaways, that fit your company/brand, as well as that of your cause, can be a part of your program. Giveaways, that are meaningful (ie. something they will want to hang on to) to your audience, will result in both short-term results for your cause (use them as an incentive to participate) and long-term, top-of-mind awareness of your business's alliance with the cause. Think about it... How many cause-related t-shirts, hats, etc...have you seen other people wear? Just think the the residual advertising impressions long after the campaign? Wow!

...And, maybe the campaign is long-term. Everyone likes to be a part of a positive movement. Build a community around the effort and create more fans for your business (and more business for your business) by doing good in the world. The possibilities and potential of cause marketing, as a business strategy, are way cool! :)

By Diane Roodvoets

Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 6)

2011-09-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

Blog Series Intro: Marketing to Success in a Difficult Economy (Part 1)
First Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 2)
2nd Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 3)
3rd Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 4)
4th Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 5)

And last but not least....

Our 5th Strategic Marketing Driver for

Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy:

Maximize Word-of Mouth Marketing

Word of Mouth Marketing is 'people to people' marketing i.e. conversations. It is an unpaid form of promotion where customers tell others about their experience with a company, product, or service. The major benefit that word of mouth marketing holds over every other type of marketing is the power of recommendations. Our economy is influenced by personal recommendations. People trust the recommendations of real people and hold them in much higher regard than anything a company might say.

So when advertising budgets are tight, it makes a great deal of sense to take advantage of something that costs you nothing and performs better than anything else.

These days, WOM marketing takes place both off-line (face to face, phone) and online (blogs, email, forums, review sites, etc.) In fact, nothing is more 'WOM marketing' than social media. A number of recent consumer research studies show online customer reviews are becoming more and more influential over purchase decisions.

The implication is clear - to truly get the most out of the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising you must focus on generating more and more positive off-line and on-line reviews and recommendations.

"How," you ask? According to WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association), here's what effective WOM Marketing involves.

• Creating an improved product or service. Give your consumer something ~~good~~ ...no, GREAT.. to talk about. Innovate, and differentiate. Show your customers your unique WOW experience for your product or service... and then ask them to tell others about it. This basic WOM 101 is aneffective way to build excitement and honest recommendations.

• Offering over-the-top and memorable customer service. Provide excellent service and treat every customer with respect. People don't do business with companies who don't respect them anymore. They don't have to. Still, I believe that many companies don't do customer service well enough for you not to 'stand head and shoulders' over the rest, if you want to.

• Asking for and listening to customer feedback. Find ways to make your customers feel like part of your company's inner circle. Involve them, ask their opinion and then listen. Make them feel like their feedback and opinion matters. It does matter, whether you know it or not and/or whether you let them know you know it does or not.

• Providing tools to enable people to easily share information. Create a buzz through marketing activities. Stay in touch, provide them with specials and information that they will want to talk about. This will not only increase their visits, but it will get them (and keep them) talking about you.

• Identifying and targeting influential opinion leaders. Every organization, market, and community has such people. Find them, connect with them and feed them interesting (not boring) information regularly. Don't forget to appreciate, recognize and thank them.

• Creating and participating in communities. In other words, hang out where your customers hang out. Engage, interact, be authentic and give.

It has never been simplier to be a purposeful creator of WOM marketing for your business. It doesn't take much $$$.... only time and effort. Perfect for growing your business stronger in a difficult economy.

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 5)

2011-09-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Blog Series Intro: Marketing to Success in a Difficult Economy (Part 1)
First Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 2)
2nd Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 3)
3rd Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 4)

Fourth Strategic Marketing Driver:

Be Direct Marketing Saavy

Direct marketing - Direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting or enduring customer relationships.

Direct marketing is a science for managing customer relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. Calling direct marketing a "science" seems to make it suddenly more intimating to many, but a closer look proves that it is "just common sense" and worth every bit of the effort required to master it.

There are many benefits of direct marketing to sellers:

Direct communication with customers strengthens the customer relationship...and sales success is really "all about the relationships." Direct marketing is a excellent way to build immediate sales and long-term relationships with customers and prospects. Each communication can be used increase loyalty and maximize the lifetime value of each customer.
Direct marketing allows you to gather information about your customers. The more you know, the better you can provide additional value through new products and services.
Direct marketing is targeted and more cost effective than trying to reach out to "everybody" within a particular market. You only spend what is needed to reach you particular target group and you don't waste the majority of your budget trying to influence people who don't have a need or interest.
Yes, direct marketing is a "numbers game" but you can constantly tweak your efforts to improve response rates. When you send a special offer to your customer list, you get responses within a few days. That's pretty immediate results, so you quickly know what works (and what doesn't) and can adjust then test again. The goal is to get to the point where you can closely estimate what percentage of your target will respond to your offers. Such predictability is a beautiful thing, yes?

Being a specialized discipline, direct marketing is vastly underutilized by most businesses. Here's yet another way to out-shine your competitors. Recent studies have shown that the most effective and efficient marketing weapon companies have is email to existing customers. If you haven't figured it out already, you should be sending emails and promotional post cards to your customers and best targets, as a short-term tactic to build immediate sales and a long-term strategy to retain your customers.

You will achieve the greatest success by personalizing emails, offering relevant information (don't always be "salesy"...occasionally, just offer them information that will help them.), following direct marketing best practices. After all, if you are going to do it, you'd be much better off to study it and make every attempt to do it well. Few businesses have direct marketing as a core competency. Your mission is to find a way to make it one of yours.

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 4)

2011-09-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Blog Series Intro: Marketing to Success in a Difficult Economy (Part 1)
First Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 2)
2nd Strategic Marketing Driver: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Pt. 3)

Third Strategic Marketing Driver:

Manage Customer Relationships

“Achieving profitable growth is impossible without building a loyal base of customers.” Frederick Reichheld

Stay in touch and in front of current customers.

Many businesses focus largely on attracting new customers. The more profitable ones have a balanced approach. In addition to customer acquisition, they look to maximize the lifetime value of each customer and are actively managing customer relationships to create loyalty.

Managing customer relationships requires coordination and marketing discipline. It also requires a plan for how the entire company will work together to help move clients to loyalty.

Such loyalty doesn’t just happen - it comes as a result of creating a strong emotional bond with prospects and clients over time.

Here are some action tips to assist you in this area:

Spend time with customers. Make sure they are able to find what they are looking for and that you are there if they need any help.

Listen to suggestions that customers make. Implement the ones that make sense.

Learn about your customers. Nothing impresses a customer more or makes them feel important as much as knowing their name or some details about them personally.

Track sales and customer activities. In this way, the company can see how different customer types are spending and offer suggestions and upsell customer with the goal of helping them grow their businesses. Make it all about them.

Keep in touch. Phone calls, email, direct mail. Give customers the feeling that they are in a special group by giving them advanced notices and added benefits as customers of your business.

Next week: Strategic Driver #4 -Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 5)

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 3)

2011-09-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

Blog Series Intro: Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 1)

It's time to put a "kick ass plan" together to help you outperform your competitors during this recession/recovery and beyond. Strong businesses have great advantage over average, complacent, weaker companies when times get tough...so my goal is to grow a stronger business as a result of focusing my marketing efforts on certain strategic drivers.

The first of five strategic drivers I include in my plan is to Focus More on Delivering Value. Marketing to Succeed in a Difficult Economy (Part 2)

The second of five strategic drivers I include in my plan is to Continue Marketing Consistently

Don’t slash advertising - Companies that slash advertising in a downturn, leave empty space in consumers' minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads. When you are out of sight you are out of mind.

Court your Current Customers - Stay in touch with current customers with low-cost trickle marketing that emphasizes how you can help them continue to grow... ie....Referral programs, newsletters, post cards and personal calls.

Don't lose focus by chasing business you wouldn't normally want. If you try to broaden your core product or service appeal to please a wider audience, chances are you'll make your best customers less satisfied (don't diminish your focus), giving them one more reason to spend less. Do your best to stick to doing what you do best and enhance the value you provide.

Don’t forget free and nearly free marketing. Improving your web organic searches with more content containing your best keywords, steady social media, weekly or monthly e-newsletters and a few personal calls a day to key prospects can make a few extra connections that could mean the difference between a slow and good month.

Communicate value - During tough times, people are looking to get the most value they can from every dollar they spend. Value, therefore, is an important message to build into your marketing campaign.

Create emotional appeals – We really all make our decisions with our emotions and justify them with logic.

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Stay tuned for strategic driver # 3
:)

The Purpose Of Corporate Gifts In Marketing

2011-08-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

The image of a business as well as its relationship with clients are both strengthened by distributing corporate gifts. They are a time-tested marketing method. These gifts, if used smartly, can help an organization boost its sales quite significantly. They can be used for a specific event of the company or they can be distributed at the launch of a company’s new offering. As promotion tools, these gifts are very impactful as they serve a variety of purposes.

Corporate gifts are always cherished by employees. Receipt of such gifts frequently satisfy employees and help them realize their value to the organization. They ensure that high performance employees don’t feel their worth is not being appreciated, which may lead them to seek greener pastures elsewhere. But a lot of thought must go into selection of gifts. The gift must be of some use to or to liking of a person it is presented to. A personalized gift gives great pleasure to the receiver who values it even more.

Besides the staff, clients too feel delighted to receive corporate gifts. It’s a way of thanking them for their relationship. Customers feel important when they are given such gifts. The item given should normally have the company’s name, logo or tagline on them. These gifts enhance the visibility of the company and remain in the recall of the customers.

Nice marketing items as gifts never fail to improve the relationship with company partners and customers. The gifts help in creating faith and loyalty in the customers towards the organization.

A benefit of having corporate gifts is that your prospects or customers will constantly recall your trade name. Always print your company logo on the promotional items for brand identification. If you have a catchy tagline, print it too. When they utilise your promotional items, they would think about your business, product or service. This is the advisable means of increasing your brand awareness.

The significance of corporate gifts calls for a careful selection of items to be gifted. Metal name card holders with the company’s logo or slogan inscribed on them, leather writing sets that also act as card holders and wine stands are some of the nicest and most stylish gifts that one can think of presenting in corporate circles.

Author: GalenWright

Source: http://www.narticle.com/importance-of-corporate-gifts-in-your-company/

Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economy (Part 2)

2011-08-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economy (Part 1)

And now for Part 2...

It's time to put a "kick ass plan" together to help you outperform your competitors during this recession/recovery and beyond. Strong businesses have great advantage over average, complacent, weaker companies when times get tough...so my goal is to grow a stronger business as a result of focusing my marketing efforts on certain strategic drivers.

The first of five strategic drivers I will include in my plan is to Focus More on Delivering Value.

"The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed." ~ Henry Ford

The concept of 'Added Value' is that the customer gains some additional benefit without having to pay for it - or pay very little, compared with its value to the customer.

Adding perceived value to your products or services is a way of enhancing what you are offering, without necessarily adding to your costs. It can also help to differentiate your products from those of your competitors. This makes direct price comparisons tougher for prospective clients, and can improve your profit margins.

Here are some popular 'Added Value' ideas:

• Guarantees: This can lessen a buyer's resistance by reducing perceived risk.
• Delivery: Dependability and Speed are highly valued by most clients.
• Service: Very important to customers, and a key way to retain customer loyalty.
• Credit & Terms: This can be highly significant to some customers.
• Packaging & presentation: The more professional and attractive the packaging, the more the perceived value of the product will be.
• Accreditation, certification: These can be of value, but reputation is equally important.

This requires creativity and a 'laser-like' customer focus when you develop your marketing programs and promotions. Begin by listing all the possible value-added services and products available in your tool belt. Brainstorm. Consider pairing complementary services/products. 'Think unusual' and consider adding unrelated "surprises." Look for those that can enhance the customer experience for little or no cost to you.

Then think “outside yourself.” Look to partners to help out. Barter. Negotiate. Make sure your offerings are delivering value to your customers (not just the partnership) and then package them so they stand out from competition. Creative genius (think "Steve Job") has never been needed more than now.

Use your "noodle," hustle, and innovate... You just gotta be different. What more can you add to your offerings to delight your customers?

Coming Attractions: Strategic Driver #2 of my 'Marketing to Succeed' Plan
Author: Diane Roodvoets

Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economic Times (Part 1)

2011-08-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a life-long Michigander. Michigan has been in a recession for a decade. The rest of the country, according to economists, had one in 2008-2009 and is now in recovery mode (albeit, barely). Unless you have been able to escape to an uninhabited island over the summer months, you sense we are in for challenging times for, at least, the short-term foreseeable future and, most likely, through the mid-term horizon (5-10 years).

It's hard to stay upbeat while we look ahead and envision having to continue to slug it out in the marketplace indefinitely. We are all weary and embattled already.

It helps to remember that there have been companies, industries, and people who have thrived in the last few years and there will, of course, be such winners going forward. Yes, it bears repeating...Even though there will likely be a substantial number of underperforming businesses in the months ahead, there will, likewise, will also be those that perform significantly above the current “norms.”

So as wearisome as this seemingly never-ending tough economy is ... I'll tell you what... I've made a decision ... (actually, I have re-committed to a decision I've made multiple times in the last ten years.) I am not giving up and I am not giving in. No raising of the white flag of surrender here. I am determined that I will be among those winners. I simply refuse to allow this environment, very little of which is of my own making, to thrust a "crappy future" on me. Each of the last ten years has made me stronger and, honestly, from what I have observed, I believe I am much smarter and more creative than our nation's leaders.

I have a "grand" vision for my future and for that of my business. It is the thing that gets me out of bed each morning and helps me to look beyond the grind and persist. If you don't have one for yourself and your business, it is highly critical that you get one. You're likely going to need it in the months and years ahead...to help you "keep on, keepin' on."

Every day for months, I've heard on the news and I believe it... that Washington doesn't have a plan. Honestly...how hard is creating a plan? Developing a plan is really the easy part. Implementing it...now that is the hard part. Geez. If creating the plan, in the first place, is such a hurdle... imagine the mess Washington might make of implementing one.

Fine, then...I will make my own plan. I going to go ahead without Washington ... and I'm strongly suggesting you do as well. So what, if our plans end up not being the best plan? A 'poor plan implemented' is better than the 'best plan unimplemented.' Really, in comparison with "no plan" Washington, how can we lose, with even the weakest plan we can put on the table, so long as we do something? Anything!

To develop a plan, all that is required is have a GOAL. (ok, ok... Washington can't agree on that either but we can for our small corner of the world.)

We follow that by making a list of every way we can think of regarding HOW it might be accomplished. To make this exercise as simple as possible, we can look at what has worked for those, who have thrived over the last few years, and incorporate a few of their strategies into our plan, as appropriate.

Then, we can consider opportunities, that may not have existed in good times, and add some experiments (you know, a few calculated risks) in those areas to our plan. Then, just get some opinions from others (those not too close to see the forest from the trees).

Finally, be the judge of what you think has the best chance and do it. Don't overdo the planning part. Just write it down and do it. Start and then persist...and persist...and persist. We can tweak the plan as we go along but we can NOT afford to be like Washington. We can't just sit around and argue about what to do. We need to act. Time is our greatest asset and it is of the essence...now more than ever.

In this environment, you have to be above average since our nation's performance on average is, more and more, projected to decline for a while. From what I am seeing, average people, average companies, and average leaders, including our servants in Washington, just talk. They don't do anything. How can you have any results, much less, good results... if you don't do anything?

I'm challenging every business, every person, every leader to stop waiting for Washington to do something. I'm skeptical they will do anything until Obama is out of office. He has too many people invested in his failure. It's time "we, the people" become micro-leaders and show Washington the way out of this mess. It's nice that eventually we can hold them to a higher standard and fire them at the voting booth if we want to. But do we really have the time, the luxury, to wait for that? I don't believe we do.

Let's all get off our own duffs, use our own God given talents, hold ourselves to a higher standard and act. It's not every one for themselves either... Our individual actions (together) can strengthen our collective economy. We are all in this together. I need you and you need me. Join Hands. Stand up and step up.

In the next few posts... I'll share a few marketing strategies that I am going to use to drive my business through the tough times ahead... Hopefully, we can start a dialog, in the business sector, regarding how we (not Washington) are going to get this economy off the dime.

Stay Tuned.

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Promotional Products + Direct Mail = Responses

2011-08-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

We receive so much advertising today, through the mail, e-mail, the Internet, television, radio, and billboards.

We receive so much advertising today, through the mail, e-mail, the Internet, television, radio, and billboards. We learn to tune certain messages out and choose carefully what we open out of our mailboxes. Many pieces of mail are sent straight to the garbage without a second look.

As a marketing professional whose job is to grasp customer attention and generate responses from direct mail strategies, this can be a challenging task. However, there are some possibilities that should not be overlooked. Promotional products can make the difference.

Its true. It has been proven- by leading experts in the field of market research. When a company includes promotional items along with direct mail sales letters, response rates increase dramatically.

Consider the following:

1. Mailed promotional gifts solidify your business name in the minds of prospective clients. They remember you. When children need back-to-school clothing, recipients are more likely to remember you based on the inflatable ball that you mailed.

Similarly, when the heating and air conditioning needs repair, that customized refrigerator magnet you sent serves as a reminder of your company. The need to search the yellow pages or ask around the neighborhood for names is eliminated when the public already has some exposure to your name.

Direct mail paired with promotional products enhances the memory of customers.

2. The combination of pieces creates feelings of gratitude in the customer. The studies indicate that when individuals receive an item of value, it fosters a sense of obligation. When customers open your packages to find gifts that they appreciate, they lean toward choosing you over the competitors based on the initial contact and favor.

3. Promotional products create curiosity. When recipients check their mailboxes and discover odd-shaped packaging or envelopes that obviously contain something of mystery, the wheels in their minds begin turning.

In the beginning they may have few intentions of responding to your offer. Nevertheless, the mystery contained in the packaging can be too much for people to resist. Upon discovering your item, the chances that they will connect with your company increase magically.

4. Moreover, free gift items contribute to an element of suspense. One effective technique involves sending a series of packages at various intervals each containing a unique and thoughtful item corresponding to the time sensitive opportunity.

After the first one has been opened and examined, it can be hard to resist subsequent arrivals. People want to know what is coming next. They begin to anticipate and look forward to the following direct mail pieces. Of course, this greatly affects their relationship to your business and its image.

While so many benefits exist, consider that there are ways to assist the ease of the intended outcome. Safeguard your efforts by checking in with some of the following ideas. You obviously want to see the fruits of your labor, and taking time to review the following suggestions can work to your advantage.

- Contact the local post office. Certain promotional gifts, though small, have the potential to puncture thin packaging. Ask about the appropriate methods of sending such items.

- Know the consequences of using oddly shaped containers. While tubes and oversized boxes are eye catching and can inspire curiosity, they can be an inconvenience if they force the recipient to travel to pick them up.

If a package fails to fit into a mailbox and the mail carrier leaves the notice indicating failure of delivery, the customer could become dismayed. They may be disappointed after traveling to pick the mail and finding the direct mail piece. This could be detrimental to your wishes of facilitating customer goodwill.

- Create professional packaging. Use computerized labels, standard envelopes, and avoid handwritten addresses or sloppy appearances. If you want your mail to be taken seriously, it must be presented with care. In addition to looking respectable, it should not stir any feelings of uneasiness or discomfort among recipients.

- Doing some basic demographic research could be beneficial. If you are taking the time to customize an item and pay for the shipping, make it worth your while.

Include something of quality to impress the prospective clients. It need not be expensive or large. However, a creative or thematic approach works well. Be sure that your graphic work appears professionally done.

Becoming aware of what does and doesn't work saves you trouble, time, and resources. These basic principles and gentle warnings should be of assistance to your direct mail campaign. Competitive businesses know that including promotional items seriously influences the response rates of sales letters.

Author: Rick Sheldon
Source: http://www.marketingbestpractices.com/marketing-articles/offline-marketing/direct-mail-marketing/promotional-products-direct-mail-response

Goal Addition & The Cult of Productivity

2011-07-31T05:29:00.000-07:00

Society wants you to be a goal addict, because it’s good for the economy.

It’s a cycle. Spend money on those motivational tapes and seminars now. Spend money on antacid later when you’re not getting the results you want. Blame yourself for sucking. Spend even more money on booze, drugs, and mindless entertainment to take your mind off of your failure to achieve everything now (or, for the more sophisticated, buy the technological gadgets which will finally help you get more organized). Lather, rinse, repeat.

It’s a cycle. It’s a game. And the house always wins, and though you may be a high roller today, you will always lose in the long run.

Goal addiction is great for the economy – but not so great for you. And you’re in deeper than you think.

'I can stop anytime I like" and other garbage you tell yourself.

How do you know if you’re a goal addict? It’s just like other addictions – there’s a pattern of destructive behavior and stuff you rationalize to yourself.

Here are a few warning signs:

Your default answer is “yes” when presented with a new commitment to sign up for – because you just know you can do it.
You’re falling behind in the things that matter (your physical health, your emotional health, and your family, for example), but you’re still cranking on things that have temporary value at best.
A significant amount of your daily stress comes from being behind on things
You think technology is going to solve your time management problems.
You are working your ass off, but not moving much farther ahead on your many goals.
You don’t actually have clear “finish lines” for your goals, so any success never feels like enough
You think of “juggling” your goals rather than focusing on them.

These are just a few of the signs of goal addiction, and if you’re seeing them in yourself, you need to seriously take notice.

Because if you don’t, a bunch of bad things will happen.

By trying to do more and more, you’ll also accomplish less and less.
By trying to please everyone, you’ll please no one.
Your stress level will continue to spiral upward.
Your life satisfaction will start to spiral downward.
Ten years will pass, and you’ll be really disappointed with where you are.
Goal addiction is a life killer – and it’s a sneaky one at that, because the goal addicted lifestyle sounds so attractive when it’s glamorized by …

The Cult of Productivity.

I’m not going to describe the ins and outs of the productivity-industrial complex today, but chances are you have been wooed by them for a while now. They’re the ones pushing the latest productivity gadgets or web apps or life hacks under the guise of “things that make your life easier.”

But all of these edgy solutions almost never, never designed to make your life easier. They are designed to sell products. They are designed to push trendy web services. They are designed to make catchy, “blog candy” top ten posts. They are designed to get you focused on something other than doing work on your goals, because “something other” is sexy and “work” is not.

Because “doing a million things” is impressive. “Doing less” smacks of weakness.
Because “optimizing” sounds intellectual. “Simplifying” sounds like you’re copping out.
If you’re not “too busy” these days, you must be doing something wrong - and while that’s bullshit, that’s still the way our culture sees things.

And the worst part of it is, you can be working for the productivity-industrial complex and not even know it - even your best intentioned work may be destined to help people run faster on their treadmill rather than helping them get off the damned treadmill that’s exhausting them in the first place.

God knows I’ve contributed my fair share. But I’m slightly older and slightly wiser now.

And I’m ringing this bell to get you to ask yourself the question too – Are you so addicted to achieving as much as you can that you sacrifice hitting home runs in the areas that really matter?

Chew on that.

It’s ok to say “Oh shit, why am I doing this with my life?” No one will think you’re weak.

Ok, that’s a lie. Many people will think you’re weak, that you can’t hack it in this fast moving society.

But just ignore them. They’ll go back to their tools, their stress and their antacids, and wonder why you look a little happier than you did before.

Author: Dave Navarro
http://www.rockyourday.com/goal-addiction/

Competing on Service: Ways to Beat the Competition by “Hugging” Your Customers

2011-07-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

The U.S. economy is still in a deep funk, and for many small business owners that means business isn’t exactly booming. Forced to do more with much less, the small businesses that have managed to survive and even thrive during these tough times have recognized one important factor: You can’t always compete on price, but you can compete on service. And the best thing about great customer service is that providing it doesn’t cost you an extra penny. When your competition is scrounging for customers, you have to hold yours close, and that starts with great customer service.

Today’s small business owners need to understand that cutting costs will not save their business. Remember, customers are concerned about their own financial security. When they walk into a business, they need to feel cherished and special. They need to be ‘hugged’ by great customer service. Customers don’t expect to get bottom-of-the-barrel prices everywhere they go, but they do expect to be treated with respect.

Great customer service doesn’t just happen. It starts with employees who have been trained in the science of service.

Your employees will treat your customers as they have been treated by their leaders. Treat employees in a respectful, caring manner, and that will be transferred to customers. The business research done at Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, and Darden Business School all finds that happy employees make for happy customers.

Many major companies, such as Southwest Airlines, UPS, Chick-fil-A, Best Buy, Yum! Brands, Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Levy Restaurants, Costco, Zappos, and Whole Foods, understand the importance of great employee relations. In the Best Buy culture, for example, customers are “kings and queens,” employees are “royalty,” and managers and leaders are “servant leaders” serving employees and customers. At Ritz-Carlton, employees are “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.”

Today, not every business is getting customer service right, but not every business is getting it wrong, either. Fortunately, for any small business owner looking to improve his customer service, valuable lessons can be learned from both the good and the bad. Here are examples from my own experience and what can be learned from the good and bad sides of customer service.

The Bad: The Local Coffee Shop

In tough economic times, small business owners should have a laser-sharp focus on great customer service, doing everything they can to ensure their customers feel respected and loved. After all, studies have shown that it costs much more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. So it is important that business owners do everything they can to keep their current customers happy. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.

I recently went into a local coffee shop to get my wife her favorite latte. I ordered, paid, and waited for the drink to be made. When the employee gave it to me, she said she was sorry but they had run out of skim milk and as a result the cup was less than 2/3 full. And that was it. She turned and went on to the next customer. I stood there thinking, But I paid for a full cup! Instead of making her problem my problem, she should have offered to refund part of my money, or even better, she could have given me a coupon for a free drink on another day. Nope. Nothing. Pay for a full cup; get 2/3s of a cup…better luck next time. Needless to say, I have not been back to that coffee shop.

Learning from the “Bad”:

Remember, disgruntled customers won’t complain; they just won’t come back. If you don’t give your customers the courtesy of taking the time to provide them with excellent service, they are not going to take the time to tell you how to improve your business. Remember, too, that in addition to not coming back to your business, unhappy customers will likely tell others about their bad experience. The ripple effect of just one bad customer service experience can be very damaging. Be sure your employees are providing consistently great customer service.

Provide special training for frontline employees. The employees who interact directly with customers are essential for your business. Their attitudes, communication skills, and style of service are what your customers are going to associate with your business. Make sure your employees are trained to handle the potentially stressful task of working with customers.

Make sure a customer is happy before moving on to the next customer. At many small businesses, like the coffee shop in the example above, customers value quick service just as much as they value quality service. But you can’t sacrifice one for the other. It’s important to make sure one customer is satisfied before you move on to the next guy. That can be as simple as asking, ‘Is there anything else I can do for you today?’ Remember, you’re not done serving the customer when you think you’re done. You’re done serving the customer when the customer is completely satisfied.

Compensate for mistakes. Never, ever shortchange your customers. If a mistake was made or some other circumstance is preventing you from providing the best level of customer service, find a way to make it up to your customer. I would have gladly continued going to the coffee shop in the above example if the store’s employee had offered to make amends for the fact that I was getting less than what I had ordered. But the employee allowed me to feel shortchanged, and that isn’t a feeling that any customer is going to want to repeat.

Provide solutions. Never make your business’s problem or an employee’s problem your customer’s problem. At the coffee shop, the employee who served me probably isn’t the one who does the store’s inventory. So maybe she didn’t think there was anything she could do to remedy the situation. But that really isn’t the case. Allow your employees to have the latitude to provide your customers with solutions when they can’t satisfy a need. For example, as I mentioned above, she could have offered a coupon for a free drink or even a free pastry. She could have told me about the problem before making my order and asked if there was a beverage I would like to substitute. Any offer would have been better than simply having a better-luck-next-time attitude.

The Good: Zappos.com

Companies that know great customer service do exist, and Zappos.com is one of them. Recently I ordered some shoes from Zappos that ended up not fitting. I sent them back using the provided prepaid shipping form. I immediately got an e-mail acknowledging that my shoes were being shipped back to Zappos, and I could follow their progress on the Internet. When they were received at Zappos, I got another e-mail telling me my refund was being processed and thanking me for shopping at Zappos. I sent them a response thanking them for the great service. Quickly thereafter, I got a personal e-mail from a customer service rep thanking me and telling me that Zappos loves its customers. She upgraded me to the Zappos VIP site. Wow! I felt cared about and appreciated. And guess what? I went online and ordered a different pair of shoes. Zappos truly gets it.

Learning from the “Good”:

Happy employees = Happy customers. Zappos understands that employee satisfaction translates to great customer service. I can’t say for sure if the customer service rep who upgraded me to the VIP site was completely satisfied with her job. But I can say that she took the initiative to go the extra mile for a customer when she really didn’t have to. She cared enough to provide me with high-level service, which makes me think that she also cares about the company where she works. Creating that feeling in your employees will pay you back exponentially.

Always respond quickly. Your customers are busy. They have big concerns of their own. They don’t deserve to be left wondering what kind of service they are going to receive or when they are going to receive it. Address customer questions and problems as quickly as possible. Even if it’s just a message to say, ‘I am looking into this for you,’ the customer will appreciate being told where they are in the process.

Make it easy to do business with you. Never make your customers jump through hoops to do business with you. Have a return policy that is easy to understand and that puts the interests of the customer first. Provide refunds quickly and efficiently. My experience with Zappos was great. Sure, the shoes didn’t fit, but everything after that was so easy that it made me want to do more business with them. That is the kind of customer service that can keep you afloat during tough times.

Keep customers informed of what’s happening. When customers know what’s happening with their order, it reduces their anxiety. And when they’re less anxious, they enjoy doing business with you. Zappos has a great system for keeping customers informed online, but it’s also easy to do in face-to-face customer service. For example, instead of just leaving the counter area, you might explain to a customer, ‘I am going to check to see if we have what you need in our stock room.’ Or if you’re handling a return and typing information into a computer, you might explain to the customer, ‘I’m just entering the date of purchase and the product number so that we can make sure we give you the maximum refund possible.'

Use technology to provide quick, efficient customer service. It’s the twenty-first century, and email, message boards, and online stores provide us with the means to provide service more quickly than ever before. Small business owners might sometimes make the assumption that customers don’t like to be communicated with online. And for some older customers that might be the case. But by and large, I think people appreciate the ease that online shopping and communication provide. As long as you make sure your messaging is detailed and easy to understand, your customers will appreciate the quick service these technologies provide.

Make your customers feel valued. Understand that each and every one of your customers is special. As the late business guru Peter Drucker said: The sole purpose of business is to serve customers. Make sure your employees understand this, and that above all else they must focus on making your customers feel valued and appreciated. As you saw with Zappos’s upgrading me to VIP status, there is never a bad time to throw in a special perk for a customer, to shake a customer’s hand, or to provide a metaphorical hug with great customer service.

Today’s small business owners must understand that their business is not about ‘me’; it’s about ‘them’: your employees and customers. Making cuts to employee perks or customer service perks is not a long-term plan for survival. It might buy you the opportunity to stay in the game a little bit longer, but it won’t make you a winner. In today’s economy, you have to do everything you can to hang on to your customers and to encourage them to keep coming back to your business. There’s no better way to do that than through consistently great customer service.

You might not always be able to slash your prices lower than those of your competitors. But you can make the experience of doing business with you superior to all others. Never be afraid to take your customer service up a notch!

Author: Edward D. Hess, author of Growing an Entrepreneurial Business: Concepts & Cases (Stanford University Press, 2011, and professor of business administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.

Source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/hugging.htm

Great Leaders Reward Employee Excellence

2011-07-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Nobody works for nothing. That is to say, people work because there's something in it for them. Financial remuneration, prestige, recognition, pride, a sense of doing the right thing. The preferred rewards for a job well done vary from person to person. But the need to get something for one's hard work is universal.

Great leaders know all about this. They realize that they cannot simply expect their employees to do their best work, day after day, year after year, without some sort of meaningful acknowledgement. They understand that to get the most from their people, they've got to recognize their accomplishments in ways that have an impact, that serve to reinforce hard work and encourage continued creativity and innovation.

Here are a few effective ways to reward employee excellence:

• Show them the money. That is, remunerate your high achievers in accordance to their worth. What value does an employee bring to the company? How do his efforts impact the performance of his team or department? What's the impact on the bottom line? Think about output, not input. Compensation (such as bonuses) based upon results achieved, rather than tasks performed, is both a powerful motivator and an effective reinforcement.

• Offer sincere thanks. A well-deserved pat on the back, a written letter of commendation, some private (or public) words of appreciation and recognition can be extremely effective.

• Provide meaningful perks. Offer some extra flexibility to work from home where feasible. Give your high achievers the afternoon off from time to time. Send them on a golf outing or to a show. Take them out to lunch at the restaurant of their choosing. The possibilities here are nearly endless.

• Help them keep up the momentum. A motivated employee will relish the opportunity to work on a challenging, new project. Success breeds success. Give your outstanding employees a say in where their talents will be used next. Encourage them to keep on growing.

• Develop them. Mentoring, coaching, and advanced training need not be viewed merely as a means of remediating poor or deteriorating performance. Invest your developmental time and dollars in your top performers. That's the way to raise the bar, accelerate the growth of your strongest performers, and drive your organization to greater heights of success.

There are innumerable ways to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of your employees. If you're not sure what approach to take with a given employee, remember this: You can always ask! What better way to engage her in the process, demonstrate your respect, and provide her with a meaningful and impactful reward for outstanding performance?

Author: Liz Bywater, PhD, founder and president of Bywater Consulting Group, LLC, an organizational consulting firm based in the Philadelphia area. (www.bywaterconsultinggroup.com).

Source: http://pressreleasesonline.biz/pr/Great_Leaders_Reward_Employee_Excellence.php

What Is Your Most Valuable Asset ?

2011-07-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that there are no results inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer.” ~ Peter Drucker

According to Dr. Theodore Leavitt, Dean of the Harvard Business School, the most valuable asset that a company has is its reputation. Dr. Leavitt defines reputation as “How you are known to your customers”.

In marketing and business, we refer to this as your “positioning” or “brand.” Your reputation is determined by the way that your customers and prospective customers talk about you and your company in the marketplace.

Customer service is those activities provided by a company’s employees that enhance the ability of a customer to realize the full potential value of a product or service before and after the sale is made. This will hopefully lead to customer satisfaction and repurchase.

The interaction anyone has at any level with your company, your employees, including you, gives a customer, whether current, potential,(or internal or external), an opportunity to make a judgment about you, your company, all companies like yours in the industry.

Whether you operate in the online or offline marketplace, one of your primary goals and that of your company should always be superior customer service, which will lead to loyal customers, prospects, and retention.

How do you want people to talk about your company ?

Do you want them to say that you have high quality products and services, excellent customer service, before and after the sale, that you are a high integrity company and that your people are some of the nicest people to deal with in the industry?

This brings us to the most important part of this post. It is the discovery that your personal reputation is your most valuable asset as well. Your personal reputation, the way that you are known to others and talked about by others when you are not there, is the most valuable asset you have in determining your success and happiness.

People who succeed over the long term are those who have excellent reputations. The people around them respect them and talk highly of them when they are not there. These people are known for certain qualities, especially integrity, honor, straight-forwardness, quality work and dependability.

So, your most valuable reputation is your character. It is your willingness and ability to make commitments and then to keep your word. It is your ability to deliver on your promises, to do what you say you will do, every time, without exception.

What could you begin doing, starting today, to make sure that people talk about you in a positive way after they have done business with you?

• Do you have marketing geared toward your current customers?

• Do you take the trouble to find out things they specifically and generally like and dislike?

• Do you ask what you might do to serve them better?

• Do you find out information about your customers?

Author: Marc Orn
Source: http://marckornblog.com/your-most-valuable-asset/

The Question that Changes You

2011-07-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

Questions That Change You.

Failures and questions:

Failure humbles you by demonstrating your lack of knowledge and ability. Failures, additionally, burst the bubble of perceived control. Failure breaks up old ways of thinking and doing.

Failures are followed by nagging questions. What would you do differently? What have you learned? These are good questions but they aren’t life changing.

Successes and questions:

Success lifts you by demonstrating your knowledge and abilities. Success establishes current ways of thinking and doing.

Successes are followed by confirming questions. What did you do right? What will you do again? As well as, how will you improve? These are good questions but they aren’t life changing.

Questions that don’t change you:

Thinking about strategies and methods enhances your knowledge and skills but that thinking won’t change you.

The question that changes you:

I asked a leader I’m coaching how his recent experiences changed the way he viewed himself.

The question that changes you is about “being” not “doing”. Engage in self-reflection by asking – How have my experiences changed the way I think about me?

Stepping across:

Your answers may encourage your heart and expand your vision. Don’t assume, on the other hand, you’ll always be lifted by the question that changes you. You may not like what comes to light. Self-reflection, whether comfortable or uncomfortable, opens the door to leadership based on being. Courageously step across that threshold.

You’ll find the path to personal fulfillment and fruitful leadership when being informs doing; when who you are frames what you do.

**********

How is your view of yourself changing?

By Dan Rockwell
Source: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/the-question-that-changes-you/

How to Be Amazing at Everything

2011-06-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

It’s not as hard as you might think to be amazing. Once you get the normal stuff under control–showing up on time, not being a jerk, remembering people’s names–the amazing part is just gravy. Of course, the “normal stuff” is hard.

Amazing people are not mistake-free Type A-ers. On the contrary, they make mistakes, but you don’t care, because they are masters of delivery. They come through early, and then they do something extra. Not too much (that’s for the Type A-ers). Just enough. Just enough to make you wiggle in your desk chair.

1. Inspire Confidence. Some 90 percent of the business or coaching blogs on the web that do well, do well by purporting to solve your problems. I have just done this by promising you that this post will teach you “How to Be Amazing at Everything.” You and I both know I probably can’t do that, but you’re intrigued and your expectations are high. Now, take this copywriting advice to the non-print world by advertising yourself and your company in a way that commands respect. Create an impression that forces people to develop an expectation that you’re a person of action and delivery, not a person of over-action and over-thinking. Inspire confidence and excitement. Confidence is step one. Delivery is everything else. If you don’t have anything to put under your "headlines or promise", you’ll be spam.

2. Then, plan to deliver and deliver: follow-through by following through on something. In other words, you can’t deliver if you don’t know what you’re supposed to, well, deliver. Michelle Rafter summarized Marla Beck’s advice in a recent post on the not-so-secret secret to balancing work and life as a freelancer. Wonderful post, start to finish. But this was the gem I loved: “You have to know exactly what you want for your life and business, and have a specific, doable plan.” The only times I’ve genuinely faltered are when I’m either (a) not acting in support of my plan, or (b) have no plan whatsoever. Have a plan so you can develop a system of work and life around it.

3. Be flexible. Remember, a “plan of action” does not equal “an absolute, fixed course of action.” I’m someone who has to constantly get out of my own way, because I’m an overachiever, not a high-performance leader. Self-doubt muddies my thinking and convinces me it’s reasonable to, say, promise my company can deliver six websites in three days–and the collateral damage is extreme. I have learned to stop doing this, but it’s an active process. As Les McKeown writes, it’s key to choose the optimal solution over the “winning” solution. Your coworkers and partner(s) will thank you. Consider what is optimal in life and in business, and pursue it with gusto while minimizing the road-kill along the way. (And let’s not forget who is the latest, greatest proponent of “winning” as a solution: Charlie Sheen. See? Winners don’t win.)

4. Get over happiness, and be happy. This is a the delightful, enduring message delivered Jen Gresham’s blog, EverydayBright.com. She drove this point home again recently in a fierce post, writing, “If we place too much importance on immediate gratification, we put off the work that’s required for big time emotional gains. But when we’re immersed in grand challenges, we forget to make time for the small joys in life or when we do partake, fail to fully enjoy them.” To put this a less friendly way, we’re sort of stupid, aren’t we? Pay attention. Balance hard work and simple joy. Expect to sacrifice along the way, and stop whining. The best part about this is that other people notice you doing it, and they like you for it–even if they don’t like you.

5. Go the extra mile, half-mile, or inch. This is important. There is always something extra you can do. Extra does not mean, “Burn yourself out to impress others.” Extra means, have that one thing that puts you over the top. How? Simple: when you have an idea and think, “I bet they’d notice that,” just do it. Right then and there. For example, a guy named Austin who goes to college sent me a survey via the contact form on this website. I bet about two of you have ever read my contact form. Austin is one of them, and he followed the silly directions on my form page to a T, which resulted in a big laugh from me and immediate sit-up-and-noticeability. So I answered his survey, even though I don’t really have time for surveys, and then I forwarded it to a couple people who don’t know or care who Austin is who probably also don’t have time, because I thought he was a firecracker. This happens once a year, people. Be the once a year guy.

Are you amazing? How do you ensure continued amazing-ness?

By Lindsey Donner
http://lindseydonner.com/2011/04/how-to-be-amazing-at-everything/

Your Guide to Getting More Word of Mouth Referrals

2011-06-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

When I work with business owners I always ask them where their customers come from. The number one response to my question is:

"Most of our business comes from word of mouth."

Call me a skeptic but I don't believe it.

Over 90% of the people I work with tell me this. It's consistent across all types of businesses and all stages of businesses. It doesn't matter whether they're a new business or an old business. They could be profitable or struggling.

They almost all say the same thing.

This leads me to believe that some people are living in fantasyland when it comes to their marketing. This can be a dangerous place to live when you're trying to build a successful business.

I think the reason I hear this so much is because it's what people want to believe. We all want to think our service or reputation or product is so great that people will line up at our door. It's the old "if you build it they will come" idea.

But it's not true. In most businesses, no matter how great you "build it" they will not come. At least they won't come to you until they know about you.

That's where effective marketing comes in.

Sure, word of mouth is a desirable way to get new customers. But too many business owners forget that word of mouth doesn't just appear out of thin air.

You have to create it. And there are just two ways to create it.

1. You use marketing tools to tell people who you are and what you do.

2. You deliver a "wow" experience for your customers so they tell others.

A good marketing campaign will create word of mouth. In fact, most word of mouth is created or amplified by effective marketing. (When I say "marketing" I mean anything you do to get the word out. It could be advertising, public relations, special events, salespeople, direct mail, etc.)

Some companies are so good they deliver "wow" experiences to their customers. This produces great word of mouth marketing for them. And they deserve it because "wow" does not happen very often.

It certainly does not happen in 90% of the businesses. If that many businesses gave us a "wow" experience, we wouldn't consider it a "wow" anymore so we wouldn't talk to our friends about it.

A big mistake people make is to separate their marketing tools and treat them like they're completely independent. They think word of mouth marketing happens independently of other marketing.

But it's not like that.

The most effective marketing uses a combination of tools to deliver your message. It's the combination and variety that gives your message greater impact.

So, as you think about how to get new customers, don't kid yourself that most of them come from word of mouth. They probably don't.

Instead, think about your marketing this way:

Decide who you want to reach.
Create a message they will respond to.
Find multiple, complementary ways to deliver your message to them.
Plan to deliver the message multiple times to the same people.
Budget for the long-term for best results.

Do your marketing well to create effective word of mouth marketing for your business. Then "wow" those new customers and you'll create even more.

Author: Kevin Stirtz

Source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/word-mouth.htm

Are You in the Top 2% Who Are Creating a Compelling Reason for Buyers to Meet With You?

2011-06-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

What differentiates the top 2% might just be
how they approach common challenges?

What's the biggest challenge facing salespeople these days? If you're like a growing number of sales people, you might say that the biggest challenge happens right at the beginning of the sales relationship. We hear it all the time—setting up an initial meeting with a prospective client is getting tougher and tougher. Even trying to set up a meeting with an existing client is becoming a challenge. What's going on?

At one time, you could secure a meeting by calling a potential buyer on the phone and saying, "Let's meet." But those days are gone. Companies have streamlined and reduced staff, meaning that everyone is stretched to do more work, with fewer resources and less budget. Bottom line: busy buyers will only meet with you if you give them a compelling reason to meet. Regular visits, drop-by visits, and "let me show you what's new" meetings no longer make the grade.

So, how are salespeople adapting? Are they meeting the new standard and creating compelling reasons to meet? The many buyers I've spoken to recently have some disappointing news. They tell me that less than 2 percent of salespeople are doing a great job of convincing them that they should take even 10 minutes from their demanding schedules for a meeting.

And, perhaps even more alarming: buyers are saying that when they actually do meet with salespeople, only 50 percent are doing a great job of impressing them during the meeting. Ouch—these stats are hurting the purpose and professionalism of salespeople!

In response, I've put together a few recommendations to help you join the upper echelon of sales people—those who are creating a compelling reason to meet and who then reward their clients with a purposeful meeting that provides real value.

1. Give your prospect quantifiable reasons to give you the time to meet. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes. What will they gain from the meeting?

2. Do your research. Be prepared. This applies to both phone calls and meetings. This is where the rubber hits the road. Forget "winging it"—those days are gone.

3. Customize your unique advantage. What products and services do you have that this customer would be interested in? And, most importantly, WHY? To craft more compelling messages, think this through and then practice incorporating phrases like: "We offer the only..." and "To help you... ."

4. Now, take it a step further. How can you make it more powerful for the buyer? Pique their interest by customizing your solutions for them. As an example: "We have trade show promotional solutions that will help you increase quality leads by 22 percent during your fall show." Be specific and name the trade show they are exhibiting at. This is where your research pays off!

5. Cut to the chase. Don't waste your client's time. Some buyers tell us that they don't even want to hear the words, "How are you?"

6. Ask for 10-15 minutes to set up either a telephone call or F2F meeting. And make sure you have your calendar open with optional dates so that you can quickly secure the meeting.

7. If you can only get through to voice mail, then leave a voice mail message. Then follow-up with a compelling email—and here's where you may have to be tenacious. After the email, send your prospect a LinkedIn message. Then revise your message a little and send another email, or try another phone call. Be creative—think about how many different touch points you could use to reach them.

8. Most importantly, set yourself up for success. Practice the power of self-conversation before you make these calls.

9. Harness the power of referrals. Whenever possible, use the name of a referral or reference a related company. Buyers tell us that this is one thing that actually gets their attention.

10. Use the power of promotional products to reinforce your unique message. Be creative and think of unusual ways to get the attention of this buyer.

Thought Provoking Question: Which technique will you hone and master to make it to the top 2%?

Author: Lisa Leitch, CSP, MAS
Source: http://magazine.promomarketing.com/blog/are-you-top-2-creating-reason-buyers-meet-with-you

On Innovation: How to Make Trouble Productively

2011-06-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of reasons not to make trouble in your job. Do what you boss asks you to do. Be part of the team, do what the company strategy says to do. Go ahead, if that makes you happy.

But what if you want something more? What if you really want to make a difference? What if you want to do something different?

You could always quit and start your own business. But your company has resources that can help you. And if you feel some loyalty (even in this day and age, such a thing exists), maybe you want to help your company.

I like to make trouble. Productively. I like to ask if things could be different. I like to start stuff. Poke the box, you might say. In case you are like me, here are the things I think you need if you'd like to make trouble, productively.

1. You need friends. You can't get far on your own. You'll need to reach out to people in other places in the company, not just the people you work with. IT...Sales.... Support.... Marketing.... Finance (yes Finance). So take every opportunity to reach out to these people and understand what they're after. This will allow you to connect for mutual benefit in the future. It really helps to have friends in high places -- if you get a chance to work with a senior manager, put extra effort into it. Do something for them, not just something that shows how great you are.

2. Develop a reputation for excellence. A reputation for excellence is a huge help. Given the chance, work on high profile projects. Be the one that sends out emails to the whole marketing department, or the whole company, if that's part of the project. Ask a question at the company meeting. This takes years to build up. Look at the people who became respected within your company -- take them to lunch and ask them how they did it. Build a foundation. By the way, you can do this by rising through management, but it's independent of any promotions.

3. Don't whine, fix things. Your company does stupid things and has stupid polices. All organizations do. Whining about what's wrong may make you feel good, but it doesn't actually change things. On the other hand, coming up with ideas to fix things, and taking on projects that improve things -- that's will get you noticed. Whining will just get you pegged as a troublemaker. Resist the temptation.

4. Ask why. Asking questions is a great way to get noticed. It also is a great way to identify the places to make trouble, productively. You can't figure out what needs fixing -- you can't get inspired -- unless you ask questions. Especially questions of the form "Why couldn't we?" You'll identify the limitations (which will inspire more questions) or, you just might get the answer "I guess we could."

5. Work extra hours on the right things. I know, your job is a 50+ hour a week job just like the rest of us. Working an extra 10 hours a week on the same stuff you do all the time will just get your managers to think you're a hard worker. That might get you a raise, but it won't change things. Working those same 10 hours on your own project to make things different, that will change things and will get you noticed.

6. Develop a peer relationship with your managers. You can't do this if your boss thinks you're a loser. But you can't do it if she thinks you're a peon, either. I have gone into all my management relationships with the idea that I have something unique to contribute, and generally, my bosses have accepted that. You have to listen to your manager and meet her goals for your work, but if she's smart she'll let you spend a little time learning about and contributing to something more interesting -- as long as you get your work done. And don't embarass her with those activities -- if your boss hates you, you typically don't get the chance to innovate.

7. Get good at apologizing. If you push hard enough, you're going to make mistakes. But as the Jesuits say, it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. When I make a mistake that causes a problem for someone, I always apologize -- and I do it sincerely. Fear of offending will block your ideas -- ideas often offend. But be aware of those feelings, and say you're sorry.

8. Don't touch the third rails. There are things you just can't do. Your accounting department has rules for a reason -- don't break them. If your corporate counsel or legal department has a problem with what you're doing, you're going to have to stop. If you're affecting the company image, PR will want to know about it. These are boundaries to be aware of. You can't innovate very well if you've been electrocuted.

9. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Know what you're good at use it to your advantage. I'm good at writing and idea development. Maybe you have great client relationships, or you're good at training and speeches. Ask how you can use those skills in service of your innvoation. And the skills you don't have -- take every possible chance to develop them. I was once a terrible public speaker, before I got training and coaching. Some things you'll never be good at -- that's where your friends, who have those skills, can help you.

10. Don't be afraid to put your job on the line. If you're worried you'll lose your job, you'll never challenge anything. A lot more people lose their jobs for incompetence than innovation. People rarely get fired for trying something new and failing. On the other hand, people who live in fear don't have the guts to make change happen.

All these things will simply put you in a position to get the chance to innovate. It's going to be work. But you're going to love it. And once you get the reputation as an innovator, things get easier the next time.

Author: Josh Bernoff
Source: http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2011/04/how-to-make-trouble-productively.html

Sales People Need Lie Detectors

2011-06-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

It might be that the past is a blur and I don’t remember it as vividly as current events, or am I getting older and more mature (ha), but it does seem to me that people are outright avoiding and/or lying more. And not only people who you would expect this from (people who don’t know you), but people you think would respect you enough to be more honest. Customers of mine confirmed that they are having the same challenges.

Before I give you what I think the real answer is, here are some examples:

1) I spoke to a VP of Sales on March who I have known for years. We are business acquaintances. Not close by any stretch but respectful of each other. He told me he would like to discuss doing some work together but it would have to be after his user group in May. Thinking he was serious about his desire to work together, I suggested I could come to the user group to observe, and, I would offer my services at no charge if he paid my T+E. He said, no thanks, too late in planning the event. OK, so I called him the other day and he tells me he hired a “really senior guy” who will be handling things internally, and, by the way, HE WAS A REAL HIT AT THE user group meeting. Huh??????? So what is the story. Was he lying, evading, avoiding, using me in case nothing better came along, putting out feelers in case this guy didn’t get hired? Should I have qualified him further by asking “what could prevent this from occurring? Or was he just being a dick?

2) A client spoke to a VP she has worked successfully with before who wants to bring her in for a new company he is working at. He lobbies to do so, introduces her to people, has her send a proposal and then doesn’t respond to any attempts to discuss the proposal. After many attempts, he finally tells her that the requirements have changed to a more internal requirement. HUH??? Why not just respond to one of the requests to talk vs. evade and then bring the bad news. Is he just being nice? Is he embarrassed? Is there something my customer could have done differently but isn’t telling her? Is he a High iS behavior style and doesn’t want to hurt her feelings? Does he want to avoid a conflict? Is he TOO BUSY to respond? What the …..?

I think the reason is far more pervasive than these stories. Our culture is creating an environment where people are too busy, too fearful, too self-centered and the need for common courtesy is being thrown out the door. The new decorum is to evade, not respond at all, email, text or lie. This is a shame. Fortunately, there are still plenty more people who are honest, respectful and civil.

I guess one has to hone their skills and adjust their mind set to dig even deeper than you normally do, even with people you trust.

Ask more questions to really qualify how real an opportunity is and how interested a prospect is to work with you. Two of my favorite questions are:

1) to ask what could prevent this from occurring
2) on a scale of 1-10 (10 being most important) where does the project we are discussing stand.

You can also ask where the prospect stands on pursuing things. Finally, test their words with commitment for a few next steps.

Author: Jonathan London
Source: http://jonlondon.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/sales-people-need-lie-detectors/

Summer Sales Doldrums - What To Do

2011-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Many sales people and business owners bemoan their annual summer sales slump. Their numbers are down and they just can't understand it.

It's as if their whole business is paralyzed because sales dry up or customers are on vacation. In my experience, that's hogwash. When you take that attitude, you are selling yourself a bill of goods not worth the paper it's printed on.

There is no need to punish ourselves about this (perceived?) seasonal drop in sales, or slower pace of sales. Instead, it's important to realize the natural cycles people and businesses go through.

In sales for 15 years, I found July and August were totally different than the rest of the year. Peoples' heads are somewhere else - they don't want to be sold anything.

That said, there are a number of things those of us on the vendor side can do to offset this tendency.

1. These seasonal sales slumps are an opportunity to do aggressive marketing - which can range from: developing promotional copy ( web, direct mail,newspaper/magazine advertising)... writing articles for a publication... pounding the pavement for speaking engagements - small and large, near and far ...researching new niches ...use the "extra" time to identify new markets - visiting potential strategic alliances ...build your marketing channels.

2. Remember, that a week off always precedes an off week. Don't beat yourself up about it. You need the time off too.

3. Use this situation most wisely by allocating time during this season to seriously work on both your vision and your 3 year plan. From those two pieces, you can continue on to developing new strategies, promotions, products, services, and offerings.

My attitude is that these summer doldrums create the opportunity to build a new level of momentum in your business. That momentum can set you up for a strong and busy fall schedule.

So if sales and business activity are lighter or quieter in summer, take advantage of the time that is freed up to lift your sights to the long term vision you have for your business. Spend some time on the pieces that will get you there.

Author: Kerri Salls Learn more at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com
Source: http://marketchamp.be/877935-Summer-Sales-Doldrums-What-To-Do.html

We Remember...

2011-05-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

For love of country they accepted death... ~James A. Garfield

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. ~Benjamin Disraeli

The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. ~Thomas Campbell

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. ~Joseph Campbell

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. ~William Penn

The hero dead cannot expire: The dead still play their part. ~Charles Sangster

We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. ~Francis A. Walker

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

2 ½ Steps to Sales Success

2011-05-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

Effective selling is essentially a customer DISqualification process. You systematically define whether any given targeted customer justifies the time and cost of further pursuit.

You have just walked out of the office of a potential new major customer that you have anxiously been waiting to meet with for weeks and again, you realize you have no idea what is going to happen next as a result of your meeting. Worse yet, you again spilled all your beans by telling the potential client how they should solve their problems, hoping that they will LET YOU help them by throwing some business your way. You tell yourself, I think I'll get some business here because I know they liked me! Sound familiar?

Selling is Truly a DIS-qualification Process!

Most seasoned sales professionals will tell you that effective selling is essentially a customer DISqualification process. You systematically define whether any given targeted customer justifies the time and cost of further pursuit. You must clearly define if your potential customer clearly understands and sincerely appreciates the value of your product or service offerings to a level of justification that they can, and will, make a reasonable purchase commitment to you. If they cannot or will not, they do not qualify! Don't waste your time, move on!

This potential customer disqualification process is best implemented via a straightforward, 2 and ½ Sales Call Selling Process.

The 2 and ½ Sales Call Selling Process: It starts with setting up an appointment to meet face-to-face with a potential customer, (the half call). The next step in the process, (the first call) or visit, is best described as a fact-finding session . The final step in the selling process concludes with a second face-to-face session, called the Presentation Call , (the second call), where you present solutions to the problems surfaced in the fact-finding session. Warning: Mixing these two calls or sessions together or attempting to consolidate both visits into one session can dramatically reduce your probability of selling success!

Each of the 2 and 1/2 sales call selling sessions is based on a logical and linear information exchange process between you and the potential customer. Within each call or session you should try to get answers to the some fundamental questions.

The Half Call: Setting Up the Appointment: Who within the targeted organization would benefit most from your product or service offering? (Varies by company type and size) Does this person have the purchase authority to make a valid purchase commitment? (If no, call a management level above this position and get referred down ) If you must get referred to the person who has this purchase authority, can you use the referring person's name to get to the true decision maker?

• Do you have a clear understanding of exactly what you are going to say when you make your appointment request? (Try using a call script to keep you on track)
• Do you have the ability to sound confident on the telephone? (If not, why not?)
• Do you clearly understand that your sole objective on this ½ call is to secure an appointment, with the person(s) who best benefit from your product or service AND can make the purchase commitment NOT to make a sale?

The First Call: The Fact-Finding Session: Preparation is critical to achieving sales success. Do you know anything about this company and it's industry? Obtaining basic information here will go a long way for you to establish initial rapport and credibility with this potential customer (If not, do some research prior to the visit.) Can you anticipate some likely problems a potential client of this type and size will communicate to you? When the potential customer communicates to you their business problem(s) can you get more information from them about the problem(s), such as:

• Do they know exactly what the problems is?
• How long has the problem existed?
• What will happen if the problem continues?
• What have they done to date to address the problem?
• What were the results of those efforts?
• What is the $ cost of this problem?
• Are there budgeted funds available to fix the problem(s)?
• Can and will they commit budgeted funds to fix the problem?

Once you secured accurate answers to these eight questions, FOR EACH problem you uncover in this fact-finding session, then, and only then, can YOU truly determine whether this potential customer qualifies for the next step in your 2 and ½ Sales Call Selling Process, the Presentation Call.

The Second Call: The Presentation Call: Start this meeting with a brief review of your findings from your first fact finding session. Immediately establish that the purpose of this meeting is to come to a decisive next step to address the problems at hand, not to conclude with a, "We'd like to think it over" meeting conclusion. Communication of your presentation call conclusion expectations to the potential customer at the beginning of the meeting is critical to maximizing the probability of achieving your desired meeting objective to get a commitment!

• Are you prepared to only focus on and present to the business problems defined during your first visit in line with their communicated importance?
• Are you savvy enough to ask for a reschedule of this meeting if once you get there all or any of the purchase decision makers do not show up?
• Can you ask for a purchase commitment? (If one cannot be given, can you ask why?)
• Do you clearly understand what you achieved and what you didn't in this presentation call? What lessons did you learn that you can leverage in your next sales opportunity?

Having a structured method to qualify, or should we say, disqualify potential new customers not only improves your probability of selling success, but significantly enhances your self confidence during the process.

Selling your products or services does not have to be psychological warfare between you and your potential customer. Much of the success of selling is in your preparation of each of the 2 and ½ Sales Call Selling process steps and your continuous audit of selling process improvements, defining what specific selling tactics work best for you in any given selling situation.

About the Author: Mark Smock is President of www.business-buyer-directory.com , the FIRST international business buyer directory of its kind. Business Buyer Directory provides a non-traditional means for proactive business buyers to locate businesses for sale worldwide that meet their exact registered purchase criteria.
Source: http://www.salesopedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=353&fontstyle=f-larger

Tired of Rudeness

2011-05-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a girl gets tired. I don't know about you but I am just about as weary as I can be of how self-interested and self-centered our society has gotten. Fewer people, all the time, seem to consider the impact that their behaviors have on others. In this post, I'm not referring to the guy, who was darn-near yelling into his cell phone, in the next booth at Denny's... or even the table of seven at Red Lobster, with three loud young boys, who had no idea how to behave in public.

Today, I'm disturbed about how OK it seems to have become to let others down in a business context... since we are all so busy. Many people seem to be using the fact that they are busy as a handy excuse for not doing things they have committed to do or leaving people hanging, waiting for a reply that never comes.

If you poke the words "rude behavior" or "unprofessional behavior" into Google you will find page after page of entries about sales people being rude to customers. It seems we've all encountered our share of rude sales people.

Having been in the sales profession for almost three years now, I have to say rude behavior certainly goes both ways. In this post, I want to provide some needed balance to the conversation regarding sales people and rudeness.

As a part of the job, sales people do make a lot of unsolicited calls and emails. We understand that there are no promise of a return call or email reply for our unsolicited communications. We generally consider ourselves lucky to get a response. In such cases, we recognize it is not the customer's responsibility to reply. Although there are some "above the normal grade" people who will kindly reply to all inquiries and we accept that they are rare. Walking a fine line between being persistent and being a pest, it can take months, even years, to get a certain someone on the phone.

Ah! Finally, the prize.... a live conversation! During our first interaction, all we seek is an opportunity to continue the conversation over time and deepen the business relationship. It is early in the relationship. There are no promises exchanged to actually do business together. Even, at this stage, we acknowledge that we will be rejected multiple times by "send me something", "we're all set now", and "I'm too busy now... call back in a month" type stalls and brush-offs.

Salespeople live with rejection every day, but there is a line in the business relationship, once crossed, that the prospect or customer does have a real responsibility to us. It is once they've committed to spend, or have spent, some of our most precious resource... you know... the one, once spent, you can't get back.... OUR TIME.

Sales people are people, too. We count. I wonder if some people don't understand that. Perhaps, some people need to have "unprofessional behavior in a business context"clearly defined for them. Here it is....the unvarnished truth:

If you ask us to call you back and then don't return our phone calls, you are being rude.

If you request information and then do not respond when we contact you to follow up, you are being rude.

If you make an appointment with us and then do not show up, you are being rude.

Being too busy is not a good reason. It is just an excuse, and a poor one, if you have asked for something or committed to something.

Most salespeople are good, honest people who treat the prospect and customer as kindly and professionally as they know how. Remember the golden rule? Treat others as you would like to be treated. I'm sure when Jesus said that he wasn't excluding salespeople. That's all we ask for... a little of the same kindness and respect for our time that you, as a busy person, want for yourself.

Is that really too much to ask? Your thoughts?

By Diane Roodvoets

The 7 Principles of Business Integrity

2011-05-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters. — Alan K. Simpson

If I were to ask you what attribute is the most influential in regard to the success of a business, would you know immediately which one is the most important?

Based on my many years as a business owner and entrepreneur, I have discovered that at the very top of the list is the distinguishing quality of integrity. Without integrity at the helm of a company, a business is usually short-lived. In fact, when business integrity is present throughout the deepest layers of a company and not just at its surface, it becomes the heart and soul of the company’s culture and can mean the difference between a company that succeeds and a company that falters.

The Internet’s Immeasurable Impact on the Marketplace!
The importance of integrity has always existed among the business community, but in recent times has been shown as falling short. It is the Internet’s immeasurable impact on the global marketplace that is now making the expression of integrity, reliability and credibility extremely important. Furthermore, the consequence of global competition means that customers will simply not consider a company that shows any less than the highest level of integrity. Since there is a wealth of competitive companies easily available and accessible via the Internet, there is in fact no need to accept anything less than the best.

Where Does Integrity Start?
In an effort to build upon a foundation of integrity, the first requirement would be to establish excellent rapport with clients. Based on many years of study, the best and most practiced method for achieving rapport is by way of Relationship Marketing. Just as it sounds, Relationship Marketing is founded on the single and most critical characteristic, known as “Integrity.”

However, achieving true integrity with clients often leaves many an entrepreneur bewildered, grasping for techniques and strategies that guarantee their futures. But integrity is not something that can be grasped and then simply used. Integrity in its essence must be so ingrained within the nature of an individual, its company and the team members, that it remains steadfast no matter what. Without question, others sense it and find it very attractive.

The True Nature of Integrity!
Now you are probably asking yourself, what is the true nature of integrity? There are in fact some very basic principles that surround the qualities of business integrity. At its core, integrity begins with a company leader who understands the qualities of integrity which then filters down throughout the company into every department and every member’s approach and attitude.

In recent research performed by the Institute of Business Ethics- an organization which is among the world’s leaders in promoting corporate ethical best practices, it was found that companies displaying a “clear commitment to ethical conduct” almost invariably outperform companies that do not display ethical conduct. The Director of the Institute of Business Ethics, Philippa Foster Black, stated: “Not only is ethical behavior in the business world the right and principled thing to do, but it has been proven that ethical behavior pays off in financial returns.” These findings deserve to be considered as an important tool for companies striving for long-term prospects and growth.

The following 7 Principles of Business Integrity are the basics of integrity and a good starting off place to consider. By integrating each of these principles within a company environment, the result will be nothing short of a major rebirth of the enterprise.

Principle #1 Recognize that customers/clients want to do business with a company they can trust; when trust is at the core of a company, it is easy to recognize. Trust defined is assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of a business.

Principle #2 For continuous improvement of a company, the leader of an organization must be willing to open up to ideas for betterment. Ask for opinions and feedback from both customers and team members and your company will continue to grow.

Principle #3 Regardless of the circumstances, do everything in your power to gain the trust of past customer’s and clients, particularly if something has gone awry. Do what you can to reclaim any lost business by honoring all commitments and obligations.

Principle #4 Re-evaluate all print materials including small business advertising, brochures and other business documents making sure they are clear, precise and professional; most important make sure they do not misrepresent or misinterpret.

Principle #5 Remain involved in community-related issues and activities thereby demonstrating that your business is a responsible community contributor. In other words, stay involved.

Principle #6 Take a hands-on approach in regard to accounting and record keeping, not only as a means of gaining a better feel for the progress of your company, but as a resource for any “questionable ” activities; gaining control of accounting and record keeping allows you to end any dubious activities promptly.

Principle #7 Treat others with the utmost of respect. Regardless of differences, positions, titles, ages, or other types of distinctions, always treat others with professional respect and courtesy.

While it is most certainly an integral and positive step for a small business to recognize the significance of integrity as a tool for achieving its desired outcomes, that is only the beginning. What must truly be recognized for true success is that while certain precise universal principles lead to business integrity, it is in the overall mindset of the company and the unfailing implementation of these key elements that an enterprise is truly defined. A small business that instills a deep-seated theme of integrity within its strategies and policies will not only be evident among customers, associates and partners, but its overall influence cannot help but to result in a profitable, successful company. By recognizing the value of integrity, and following each of the aforementioned 7 principles for achieving integrity, your success cannot be far off.

Author: Robert Moment is a business strategist and author of It Only Takes a Moment to Score.

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/the-principles-of-business-integrity-2004-07

How to Edit Your Way to Your Best Life

2011-05-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

My earliest recollection of being attracted to the notion of “self-improvement” was when I was off at summer camp at the tender age of nine. How many kids do you know who have come home from camp with anything other than dirty clothes and candy wrappers? Well, not me! I came home clutching a book, titled “How to Make a Habit of Succeeding.” I admit I was an odd little kid among my peers: quiet, thoughtful, mature beyond my years …and a reader. (Anyway, those were the descriptors my teachers gave my parents at parent/teacher conferences.) It was from that seemingly insignificant start that a personal, and later, professional development activist was born.

Over the years, I’ve read that one book, at least, a couple dozen times and become a huge fan of all the great “Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy” types. I amassed a huge book collection. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of my addiction, I recently boxed up 600 books to donate to the local Friends of the Public Library, with not one fiction title among them. I have always loved to learn about what and how other people think and how their thinking made a difference in their lives.

As a part of my senior year college internship, we were required to journal, something I had never done before. At the end of each week, we were to reflect back on the week’s activities and answer several questions on paper.

What did I learn last week and how do I feel about it?
What was my greatest accomplishment over the past week?
What was my greatest misstep?
What would I do differently if I had it to do over?
What are my goals for this internship?
What are the next action step(s) I need to take to move me closer to my goals?

It was simple as that. As I went through this exercise week-by-week, I’ll be honest, I didn’t put ‘two and two together’ and realize completely how it was really serving and creating a more meaningful internship experience for me. It wasn’t until I was reviewing it weeks later, using it as a tool to develop my first resume, that I saw its true significance. As I read my journal in its entirety, I realized I had played a significant role in actually creating my internship experience. It hadn’t just happened to me. It was the mid-stream “editing” I did, as a result of self-evaluation, that personalized the whole thing to my needs, goals, and dreams.

To my mind, Robert Brault expressed the primary benefit of self-reflective journaling when he said, There are people who live their whole lives on the default settings, never realizing you can customize. To have a life that is “made-to-order” you need to spend some time determining what you want and, also, reflecting on how you are doing as you go along, so you can edit your actions here and there, enhancing your results.

Over the years, I have come to agree, wholeheartedly, with Joe Cordare who said, “To the question of your life… you are the answer, and to the problems of your life… you are the solution.” The trick is to become conscious of that and it is very difficult to do without some self- assessment.

Decades later, I still benefit from weekly journaling. I have, over the years, learned the value of asking better questions. I have recently added some good ones from a list by Rich Schefren (www.strategicprofits.com):

What can I do right now to make the week less stressful?
What have I struggled with in the past that might also affect the upcoming week?
What was last week’s biggest time sink?
Am I carrying any excess baggage into the week that can be dropped?
What have I been avoiding that needs to get done?
What am I most grateful for?

If you ponder his questions for just a bit, you can see how much your responses to them would impact your life greatly. I highly recommend you give them a try as a part of your journaling effort, should you choose to accept this life-long assignment.

I’d like to close with another quote, followed by a question.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. ~Douglas Adams

That is a significant distinction. Life is a wise teacher and often forces us on paths we don’t intend to travel. If you examine your life, you can still edit your way to where you want to be. Keeping a self-reflective journal is a fabulous tool for doing that. You only get one life. Are you worth the effort?

Your thoughts?

Author: Diane Roodvoets

Sales Skills: Passion as a Sales Tool

2011-05-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

We all know that Sales is really all about closing the sale. There is not a salesperson alive who does not use a variety of techniques to help them be successful with customers. However, I believe passion is the most underrated and underutilized sales tool in our arsenal because it is too hard to measure and no one has found an effective way to teach it. Why don't more people use passion to their advantage? It's simple. Passion exists in those who are humble, focused, and unlikely to advertise their expertise.

Passion is an effective sales tool because it isn't artificial and can't be faked for a long period of time. It is displayed in people who genuinely care and are willing to take the time to serve their customers in whatever manner is necessary. If your mindset is not to compassionately serve people, you can stop reading because the rest of this article is not for you. If you do have a willingness to serve and demonstrate concern, then continue reading.

Passion in sales is evident when the sales person takes the time to listen to their customer and attempts to really understand what it is they are looking for. It is displayed not only in the questions that are asked, but also in the tone of voice and body language that are used and the follow-up demonstrated after the sales call. Sales people who have passion are able to create long-term profitable relationships with their customers. They also routinely benefit from referrals by their existing clients and, on many occasions, these prospects come to them ready to buy. It's ironic to note that the individual characteristics that reveal passion are also the same characteristics that are demonstrated by many top-performing sales people. However, without passion resulting in a steady supply of new prospects, their status at the top is short-lived.

Before you rush out to practice your body language and tone of voice in an attempt to find passion, let me add the secret ingredient: heart. Passion comes from a genuine belief of wanting to help the customer in both good times and bad. It is at its truest form when things are not going well for either the sales person or the customer and the sales person is still willing to serve first and sell second. Don't get me wrong: having passion does not mean you're giving up profit indefinitely. It might mean you are sacrificing a little short-term gain, but when you are committed to having passion for your customers, you will achieve a higher level of long-term profit, not only from the customer you're serving, but also from the referrals they bring you.

Passion can actually be measured in a couple of ways. Begin by asking yourself this simple question: When the day is over and my customers are reflecting back on the people they've interacted with and the activities they've done, do they think of me in a positive light that contributed to them having a good day? It is important to consider whether your customers truly believe you are helping improve their day or simply contributing to the chaos of it. Another assessment tool is found in analyzing the number of referrals you get. Referrals are an accurate measurement of how your customers view you, even more than repeat business with a current customer. If they honestly believe in you, they recommend you to others. (Keep in mind, however, that if they don't like you, they'll still talk about you, just in a negative light.)

Passion in sales is underrated... (by salespeople, but certainly not by your customers so this represents another area of differentiation and competitive advantage for those who HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. :) )
Therefore, your ability to genuinely care about your customers, to show an interest in them, and to serve them will determine your long-term sales success.

Author: Mark Hunter works with companies and sales people who want to find and retain better customers. To find out more, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com.
Source: http://www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz/articles_week/sales_skills_passion.htm

Ten Ways to Build Trust with Online Customers

2011-04-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

Building trust online is just like any other kind of web marketing: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You build your social capital one interaction at a time. If you’re personal, personable and genuine every time you meet somebody on the web, you’ll go a long way toward earning their trust.

Here’s a list of ways to make strangers into friends and friends into a customers online.

Treat online customers as if they’re standing in front of you. The anonymity of the web sometimes makes us behave less personably to our fellow netizens. When interacting with others online‚ particularly when you receive criticism‚ ask yourself how you would react if they were in your office in a bricks and mortar business.

Abandon the superlatives and spin. The more intelligent your customer, the more heightened their distaste for unearned self-praise. Tell people what your product is, and why it’s good. Praise works much better when it comes from a third-party; that’s why media relations and user testimonials work so well.

Respect people’s time. Brevity is the soul of wit. Your customers will thank for not wasting their precious time.

Tell the truth. If you lie, you’ll get caught eventually‚ everybody does. Plus, the Internet never forgets.

Speak as individual humans. You can earn trust and calm critics by behaving like a person instead a company. Identify yourself and your staff on social media channels, so that customers are interacting with real people.

Obey the cocktail party rule. If we meet at a party, and I only talk about how awesome I am, you’re going to scurry away as soon as you can. Instead, talk mostly about other people, organizations and trends. Earn each opportunity to talk about yourself.

Pull back the kimono. When you talk about yourself, discuss the ‘how’ – manufacturing processes, marketing strategies and business models – as often as you talk about the ‘what’. You’ll be surprised how much people are interested in what transpires behind the scenes, and what drives decision-making.

Acknowledge every mention. Especially when you’re a small business, it’s important to recognize every time somebody mentions you online. Whether in a blog post, on Facebook or Twitter, ensure that you take the time to comment or reply. Online creators love this, and it’s an easy way to turn the ambivalent into advocates for you and your organization.

Embrace a sense of scale. Too often, companies apply a generic approach to their online news. A new Vice President of Marketing gets the same treatment as an exciting new product line. Stand back and evaluate your news with a cool head. Save your social capital for when you’ve legitimately got a great announcement.

Recognize your audience’s affinity. This is a corollary of the previous tip. Remember that it took that user just one click to join your Facebook group. They’ve expressed a tiny bit of affinity for your brand. You need to foster, not smother, that relationship. And remember that, sometimes, they’re just not that into you.

Author: Darren Barefoot is the co-founder of Capulet Communications and co-author of Friends With Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook.

Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/the-world/article/ten-ways-to-build-trust-with-online-customers-darren-barefoot

Grow Your Business By Being Visible

2011-04-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

What stands in the way of growing your business? The usual response is to do with external factors and things that are beyond your control, such as the economy and lack of buyers. This may be true to a degree and yet often what is required to grow a business is for you to grow as a person. You can continue to look outside of your business for the reasons that stop it growing or you can look inside your business and to yourself to see what it would take to make it grow. There are many ways that you may need to grow personally in order for your business to flourish and one of them is being able to truly connect with potential clients. You can probably list many things that you need to do and get right before you can start meeting with potential clients. This list may include a perfect brochure, sales letter, presentation or website. Yet again these are external and surface things. Yes, all of these things do need to be right and professional, yet many people hide behind these things before putting themselves out there and connecting with clients. You need to be out in the marketplace for people to truly get to experience you. After all, people buy people and not the glossy brochures. When you put yourself out there consistently you will be continually learning and growing. The opportunity to learn about yourself, your market, and what your potential clients need will enable you and your business to grow faster. Your marketing materials will evolve more easily and be reflective of the needs of your market. Instead of guessing what your market needs, you'll be there in the frontline experiencing it. Potential clients want the opportunity to connect with you as a person, an individual rather than just be impressed, which can be very surface. They want to see what you're really like, what would you be like to work with and get a sense of what's important to you. There needs to be a connection and in order for this to happen they need to experience you. There are many ways for you to put yourself out there rather than hide behind your desk, brochures or whatever else you justify to yourself that needs to be done first. You can be visible by: Networking Offering free samples Writing Talks Workshops Meeting for a coffee Participating in groups and communities Ask yourself, "What do I need in order to put myself out there more?" Listen to your responses and work out a plan of action in order to have what you need. Take steps forward each day that enable you to participate more. Perhaps you need more confidence, and this is built by taking action. Take an action step that is small enough that you'll do it and enough of a stretch for you that you'll build some confidence from actually having done it. Let them experience the real you, not some impressive person or a perfect image. Stop hiding and be the person who is willing to connect with others in a meaningful way. You and your service won't be right for everyone that you meet and that's okay. "Some will, some won't, so what, who's next". It's about having an attitude that keeps you moving ahead rather than getting stuck. What I want for you is to allow potential clients to experience you and your service. Now commit to action! I invite you to read these questions and answer them for yourself in writing. What will it take for you to be more visible? In what way do you want to be more visible? What specifically is the next step you need to take? Author: Wendy Hearn Source: http://www.business-personal-coaching.com/grow-your-business-being-visible.html

Marketing vs. Noise

2011-04-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

I have been an avid fan of the rock group, Queen, since 1975. As a group, Queen fans can be rather elitist in the sense we believe Queen's music 'rocks' above all other bands. We are intensely loyal to Freddie and the boys. Often, I would tell others when we were discussing music..."If it ain't Queen, it's just noise!" and in my book it was. My point, as it relates to marketing and noise, is this: What is considered marketing and what is considered noise is very a individual and personal thing.

Knowing your target audience is as critical to creating great marketing as it is to creating great music. That being said, if you get that right and play to that audience, you are on your way to marketing... rather than just making noise. Sadly, what is "noise" to you and I doesn't just go away. It competes with the marketing that was created just for us...and might well be music to our ears. We try not to listen to it but it distracts us. Just like the rock group, Queen, we as marketers must put together a consistent, quality and trusted "experience" that stands out and attracts our intended audience to us by looking deeply into their eyes and singing a sweet song to their soul.

As marketers, it may be helpful to review the differences between marketing and noise every now and then... to help us better ensure our marketing "music" is heard by those for whom our messages are created.

Marketing gets your attention.
Noise never penetrates the surface.

Marketing differentiates.
Noise emphasizes sameness, but louder and with a meaningless twist.

Marketing informs.
Noise tries to remind you of what it has said before, and fails.

Marketing develops a brand’s personality.
Noise just keeps it one of the crowd.

Marketing evolves.
Noise keeps banging the same old, useless, boring drum.

Marketing banks on ingenuity, where often less is more.
Noise relies on repetition…more is always more and louder too.

Great marketing is simple, immediately understood.
Useless noise attempts to be clever and obscures or misses the point in the process.

Great marketing focuses on a single clear message.
Useless noise tries to fit all the points in and says nothing in the end.

Great marketing tries something new.
Useless noise beats the same path, harder.

Great marketing can be inexpensive.
Noise, by trying to shout over the din, rarely is.

If your message isn’t simple, clear, and easily understood to you, how is anybody else going to get it? If your focus is to out yell, out flash, or out shine a competitor, is your product really different? Or are you just a me-too, with no real difference in the eyes of the market place?

Be meaningfully different.

Accept that your product serves some, but not everyone.

Make choices that define your product, and take a stand.

Make music instead of noise.

By Diane Roodvoets. Comparison List (marketing v. noise) by Evelyn Starr http://estarrassociates.com/marketing-v-noise-2/

Business Cards: Make Them Ask For Yours

2011-04-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

You walk into a meeting of five people, and the instinct is to immediately hand them your business card. Don't do it! Why? Because they didn't ask for it.

Let me explain why that's important. What happens when we give out our business card before someone asks? We announce: This is what I am doing. And maybe even: I want you to buy from me. By giving out our business card when people don't ask for it, we put ourselves and our businesses in the spotlight-- this might be gratifying for our egos, but it's not good for our positioning. "Get in touch with me when you need me" is a weak attempt to get someone interested in our product or service. Although most people will politely accept the card, they will seldom, if ever, call. But that doesn't mean that you should leave everything to chance.

Think in terms of earning the right to be in people's contact lists. This way you will be asked for your business card, which is an entirely different situation. As a result of your extra efforts, people will also keep your card, and maybe even refer to it instead of trashing it with the others they receive unsolicited. Strive to become a person that attracts others. That's very simple. It begins putting other people in the spotlight instead of ourselves.

Another necessary skill is active listening. Like it or not, people are much more interested in their own lives than in ours. And they love others who are genuinely interested in their plans, desires, headaches and values. If you encourage them to talk, you will be amazed at how quickly they will reciprocate and ask: "And what do you do?" Isn't this a nice prompt for handing them your business card? My favorite is asking for their card first. You simply say "Gee, this really sounds very interesting-- let's make sure we stay in touch. May I have your business card?" Usually this prompts them to say "Sure, and may I have one of yours?" It is that simple. And what if they don't ask? I do not offer mine.

Now, when I have their business cards, I also have permission to contact them. And that allows me to take the initiative, so most of the time I immediately follow up with a personal note and this time my card will be enclosed in the same envelope. Of course, that doesn't mean that person is going to call me. It doesn't mean that she will want to do business with me right away--quite the contrary. Most of the time it will take a lot more follow-up than that one note. But it is a pretty good way to begin a relationship, don't you agree?

Source: Promotional Consultant Today. Wanda Loskot is professional speaker and business coach for small business owners and self-employed professionals who love what they do, but hate selling. She offers free business strategies, marketing tips, teleclasses and other valuable resources.

Wish someone were paying attention?

2011-04-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

" I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention."

~ Diane Sawyer

How Are You Getting Your Customers’ Attention?

2011-03-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

“When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world” (George Washington Carver, 1864-1943)

We all experience the endless number of choices in today’s marketplace. As business owners, we often struggle to be heard above the cacophony of advertisements and commercials flooding society every day. Many beginning entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to be seen or heard in this economic era.

My suggestion is just what Mr. Carver suggests above. Take the common elements of business – target market, prospect identification, needs and desire, personal branding – and address them in an uncommon way to get attention.

Uncommon Way 1: Identify Ideal Clients The first step is to identify the type of person whose attention you really want. The Book Yourself Solid system teaches an uncommon method called the Red Velvet Rope policy. Imagine the new, hip club in town. People arrive in droves, wanting to know what it’s all about, only to find a humongous doorman with his clipboard and the red velvet rope. Only those on the coveted V.I.P. list get in. While we don’t want to come across as businesses that are going to bounce people who aren’t on our list, there are two ways in which you can benefit from this concept. From the business’s point of view, the customers allowed to enter are those who are ideal clients for the product or service. They will energize and inspire you instead of sapping your strength and dragging you down. These customers also enable you to do your best work. The customer will experience this synergy as well. Being the recipient of your best work, the customer will then proceed to talk about those results out in the world, doing your most effective marketing for you. Defining your ideal client and continually working to serve them is the beginning.

Uncommon Way 2: Five Steps To Why People Will Buy Once you’ve identified your ideal client, you must have products or services that provide deep-rooted benefits. The Book Yourself Solid system has five steps: 1. Know your target market 2. Understand the needs and desires of your target market 3. Identify clear, specific results you will provide 4. Offer investible opportunities – products and services 5. Provide deep-rooted benefits – financial, physical, emotional, spiritual Working through the answers to these five steps will clarify all the components necessary to get your customers’ attention.

Uncommon Way 3: Personal Brand – Who, What and Why Once you’ve found your ideal clients and have products and services that deliver the benefits they desire, you must know your personal brand identity. Personal brand can be stated in two parts. The first uses the information you have collected to this point. The second requires inward examination. Start with your “who and do what”. Simply, it’s who you serve and what you do for them. You combine your target market with the results and you’ve got it. The second statement is why you do it. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What do you stand for in the world? Take note that this might be the most uncommon task in this process and the most valuable. Generally people don’t like to state their personal mission and life values boldly. It’s much safer to talk about impersonal products and services. I believe that incorporating the why of your business just may be one of the most important messages to communicate to your market. In our Web 2.0 and Gen Y era, connecting to customers as real people is of the highest importance. Even if it only is the lens through which you connect to your target market, it is a necessary ingredient. Ignore this at your own risk.

Uncommon Way 4: Have A Conversation – No Pitches Allowed I don’t know many business owners that like the ‘elevator pitch.’ At best it is an impersonal, scripted, one-way speech forced into a timeframe. At worst, you could cause the listener to dismiss you, and your business, forever. Instead, incorporate the information from each section above into potential conversations with those that might be interested. When time is short, your “who and do what” statement is a great beginning. With longer stretches of time, the components of why people buy can be used in different arrangements to convey information about you and your work. The most important point to remember is that there is a real person in front of you. Avoid shoving information down their throats. Listen and be respectful, attentive and relevant to the conversation at the moment.

Uncommon Summary Most businesses out there are hawking a product. From what I can tell, their only true interest is to get my money into their bank accounts. They want profit. One of the most uncommon and powerful ways to get attention (and it is sad to think it’s uncommon) is to deeply care about the market you serve. This is an area where the small business and solopreneur have taken the advantage. Go back through the steps outlined above, hone your responses, and know how you impact your customers’ lives for the better. Finally, dig into the “why” of your life and uncover that spark that makes it all worthwhile, that will energize your life and the lives of those whose paths you cross. Author: Kirk Hoffman

Source: http://absolutearrow.com/customers-attention/