Persistence

by Kellie Lalal

You know the old saying “persistence pays off”.  How many times do we question ourselves on whether we should continue to bug, bother or poke at someone for something that we want really bad?  We all know thou, that before we can get our own way, we must prepare the way to be successful.  In Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Little Green Book of Getting Your Way” he tells us to look to your kids or your cat for persistence clues.  When you look at either one of their actions, you will see that neither one gives up, ever!  A child will pull on your sleeve, ask the other parent, beg, pout and perhaps throw a temper tantrum to get what they want.  If an adult in business did any one of these we might question their maturity level (even thou we have all seen so called ‘adults’ act this way).  Now looking at your cat, they will jump on tables, rub your leg, meow loudly and scratch you till blood is drawn to get fed.  They don’t give up when they are ready to be fed!  All of these clues tell us that if we provide a compelling enough reason to the person we are asking, they will see our way and provide us the prize we desire. 

Persistence is a positive trait to have both in business and in your personal life.  My motto is “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.  Think about it and have a great Z day!    Here is the website for Jeffrey Gitomer.

B-I-N-G-O and Bingo Was His Name-O!

by Jill Dennis

I'm always amazed how strong my 5 year old son's memory is.  He's in Kindergarten now and his teacher has been teaching his class how to spell colors.  She writes short songs that include the spelling of a certain color of the day and puts those lyrics to the tune of a song that the children will know.  Right now he is singing a song about the color BROWN to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.  Singing those "color" songs has helped him to recognize the letters and words when he sees them on paper.  Your memory doesn't have to work as hard when you can hear something repeatedly. 

According to Roy H. Williams in his book The Wizard of Ads, there are only two kinds of ads:  echoic (sound) and iconic (sight).  Echoic ads are far more intrusive than iconic ads.  Hearing a commercial on the radio works along this same premise....hearing it is far more intrusive and the more often you hear the commercial the more likely you'll remember it.

The following quote from Roy H. Williams in The Wizard of Ads drives this point home.

"You hear even when you're not listening, but you don't see unless you're watching.  This is why you can sing hundreds of songs you never intended to learn , but you can't name the color of the car that sits in the driveway just five houses down the street from your home, even though you drive past it several times a week."

BEFORE You Advertise

By Julie Hein

I heard a story that really baffled me. A friend of a friend (FoF) went shopping for furniture after work. He was talking on his mobile phone when he entered the store. A salesperson approached him, and FoF shooed him away. FoF continued his conversation, while wandering the store. It’s a big place—thousands of square feet, just so you know that it wasn’t some tiny boutique-ish place.

When FoF finished his call, the salesperson proceeded to tell him that speaking on the phone is not proper behavior for a customer. After a brief conversation, FoF was invited to leave. TO LEAVE! He’s not a mouthy guy. Just busy. And he’s building a house, so he needs oodles of furniture.

So, before you advertise, be sure your house is in order. Make certain that your salespeople understand that the customer sets the tone for the interaction. A little patience could have gotten FoF’s salesperson a big commission check. And worse than that, he told the story to other people who told the story and so on. Tales of abject stupidity spread quickly.

Check in with your customers to see what you could do better. Have a friend act as a secret shopper. Have them call your number during business hours and see how the treatment is. Have them come to your business and look/listen everywhere, including the parking lot and the restroom. Find out what could prevent someone from spending with you and fix it.

Ask smart questions, they think you're smart. Ask dumb......

By Kim Peterson

Sales Truth:  Salespeople become known by the questions they ask.

Looking for a few Power Question lead-ins?

According to Jeffrey Gitomer's “Little Red Book of Selling”, try these…..

·         “What do you look for…?”

·         “What have you found…?”

·         “How do you propose…?”

·         “What has been your experience…?”

·         “How have you successfully used….?”

·         “How do you determine…?”

·         “Why is that a deciding factor…?”

·         “What makes you choose…?”

·         “What do you like about it…?”

·         “What is one thing you would improve about….?”

·         “What would you change about….?”

(Do you say, “What don’t you like about….?”

·         “Are there other factors…?”

·         “What does your competitor do about…?”

·         “How do your customers react to…?”

To use questions successfully, they must be thought out and written down in advance.  Develop a list of 15-25 questions that uncover needs, problems, pain, concerns, and objections.

Start practicing and by asking the right questions you’ll begin to see the real rewards!!

Next time I will uncover:  “The dumbest questions salespeople ask-and why they’re dumb”.

An In-Depth Comparison Of Social Networking

By Jeff Taylor

There are a number of different social media tools that your business can use to build your brand and promote your products & services.  Some of these sites are very strong vehicles to communicate with your customers and others are better used to drive traffic to your website or build your overall brand exposure.

Here is a link to a easy to follow guide to help you leverage the major social media sites.

Your :30 second commercial

By Kellie Lala

We have all heard that in sales you need a :30 second elevator speech.  What’s that you ask?  If you were riding in an elevator and someone asked you what you do, you have roughly :30 seconds to tell them.  This message is a powerful tool to have in your tool box as it engages the other person and who knows, they could be your next big customer.

In Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Little Black Book of Connections” he talks about the :30 second commercial.  He says that the key is “engagement”.  Be sure that at the end of the :30 seconds they know what you do.  Be proud of what you do, say it with conviction and throw in a bit of enthusiasm.  If they show an interest in starting up a conversation with you after you deliver your message, you can then ask them questions and be a good listener.  All of this can lead to getting an appointment, developing a new relationship and better yet-a new customer.   

Want to see some examples of personal commercials?  Go to Jeffrey Gitomer's website, register if you are a 1^st time use and then enter the word EXAMPLES in the GitBit box.  Start today and own it!  Happy Selling!

Top 10 Reasons Not To Advertise

by Jill Dennis

I know. An advertising consultant telling you not to advertise?  Crazy, right? 

Advertisers believe that if they reach the right people their advertising will be more effective. That's partially true but the assumption that an advertising salesperson can give you exclusive access to a particular group of people is simply ridiculous.  Every consumer is reached by multiple advertising vehicles every day.  The goal of advertising is to create a clear awareness of the business or product and it's unique selling proposition.  Don't mistake response for results.  Advertising isn't scientific.  It's not who you reach, it's what you say.......  

According to Roy Williams...

WHEN YOU NEED TO ADVERTISE IN THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY

STEP 1.  Concentrate on reaching the "right people".  There are plenty of "wrong people" out there who can't possibly do your business any good.

STEP 2.  Make sure you reach the largest number of "right people" you can possibly reach.  It isn't important how often you reach them.

STEP 3.  Don't worry about what your ad says.  The only thing that matters is whether your delivery is "smooth", "professional", and "classy".

STEP 4.  Fill your ad with kinds of phrases and claims you've heard in other commercials.  Your ad should sound like an ad!

STEP 5.  Discontinue any ads that your friends don't like.  Listen to what your neighbors say!  Any ad that makes people uncomfortable can't possibly work.

STEP 6.  Let a TV or radio ad run twenty to thirty times, then change it.  Everyone has heard it and understands it by now.

STEP 7.  Don't be concerned about whether or not your delivery vehicle is intrusive.  Passive advertising works just as well.

STEP 8.  Expect the public to have an intimate knowledge of your product.  Use language unique to your industry.

STEP 9.  Impress the public.  Prove your superior taste!  The public is paying strict attention and doesn't miss a thing.  Beautify the pages of the newspapers and magazines.  People care

             more about YOUR taste than about what your product will do for THEM.

STEP10. After completing steps one through nine, if you feel your advertising isn't working, what did you expect???  These are the steps for advertising in the worst possible way!