Health Upgraders

Consumers Are Individual Customers

The idea of mass marketing to consumers is outdated. Consumers are individuals and deserve to be called customers. The days are gone when marketers can think of consumers as a mass audience to “push” advertising out to. In fact, wise marketers will remove the word “consumers” from their vocabulary all together. You can’t have a relationship with a consumer, you can with a customer. Customers are individuals. The fact is that these days they’re more demanding than ever.

They expect more from you. They deserve your respect and expect to be treated like equals. The old fashioned general store knew how to look after their customers. The trick for the modern marketer is to take those old “values” and use the new technology to build a relationship that treats each customer as an individual.

Be First In The Mind Or The Marketplace?

It is better to be first in the prospects mind than to be first in the market place. Once somebody else gets into your prospects mind you can’t take away their position with money alone. We’re all quick to pass judgement and it’s difficult to change a mind once a mind is made up. You have to blast your way into the mind because people don’t like to change their minds.

Once they perceive you one way, that’s it. They put you into a category and file you away in their minds as a certain type of person or business. The only way to change that perception is to become a different kind of person or business in someone else’s mind so that the majority overwhelms the minority. You haven’t changed their mind, somebody else has.

Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perceptions. It does not matter if you have the best product or service, it’s what people think that counts.

Think Of Your Product As A Service These days there’s no shortage of “me too” products and short lived technological advantages. It can be difficult to find a point of difference for your product to own in your customers mind.

So, here’s a thought. When thinking about competitive differentiation for your product don’t consider only the physical aspects of your product. Instead think of your product as a service. What is the service it provides? What are the “experiences” it offers to a customer? The answers to these questions will be more fruitful in developing your marketing strategy than just focusing on the physical aspects.

Do you know that some of the greatest salesmen do it on the phone?

Yet, I keep hearing how cold calling is a nightmare, how they hate it, and how even some sales gurus say “cold calling is dead.” Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard from my own sales trainees, at least in the beginning:

1) RejectionAll I got was No’s and the phone slammed in my ear.

2) All I got was voice mail jail and no one ever returns my calls.

And there are others, but most come back to the same thing: the obstacle you are facing isn’t out there in the cold cruel world. It resides right between your own two ears. Your own beliefs are the obstacle. It isn’t anywhere else.

For this article we’re going to deal with the “all” syndrome and rejection.

A client and I once developed a cold calling campaign plan. He was to make 200 cold calls in the next week. We developed the general idea of what he was going to say, who he was going to call, and how he was going to say it. Then we practiced it until he sounded natural.

When we got together the following week, I asked,
So, how’d it go?
“Horrible, all I got was phones slammed in my ear, P.O.’d people and No’s galore. It just didn’t work at all.”

How many calls did you make?

“30, and after all those No’s, I gave up.”

How many appointments did you get?”

“Only one.”

So, what was your success ratio? How many appointments for how many calls?

“Let’s see, I think that is….1 in 30, or 3%.”

And what was our original estimate. Wasn’t it 1 in 25? So, how can you say that it was a failure? You weren’t far off.

“…….but….but…all of those No’s, 29 out of 30. That was mostly failure!”

Let’s see, at 1-2 minutes per call for No’s, and maybe 5+ for the yes, how many minutes did you spend to get just one appointment? Isn’t that around 60 minutes to get an appointment? Not bad if you ask me.
What would have happened if you had made all 200 calls?

“Maybe 6-7 appointments….Wait a minute, didn’t we target 8 appointments for the 200 calls?!?!”

How many calls were necessary to achieve your goal of 8 appointments a week? (This is probably THE MOST important question since it tells you clearly what you have to do to get the needed RESULTS).

Another thing would have happened if he had made the 200 calls: He’d have gotten better and better, gotten over his fear, and probably would have seen his call success improving toward the 1 in 25 calls, or even better.

I tell most of my clients that they need to make about 500 calls to get good at it. The trouble is that most never reach 500 calls, or if you do it takes them 2 years to do it, and by that time either the boss has eliminated you, or if you are a business owner your overhead costs have eliminated you.

It all started with the “all” syndrome. In other words our belief that

• ALL we got was no’s,

• ALL we got were Voice Mails, and that NO ONE ever returned a call.

It’s the glass half full or half empty issue. That is a belief that in this case isn’t valid.

Use the Plan – Do – Improve/Optimize scenario.

• Plan what you are going to do,

• Do it (make sure to measure the results so you know what works and what doesn’t), make changes (new plans), and
• Go back through that loop over and over.

Let’s apply that to the scenario above.

• Develop what you are going to say, how you are going to say it and to who. Find the reasons why someone would even want to talk to you and develop it.

• Measure your success, measure how many successes you had out of how many calls. In most cases, it really isn’t as bad as everyone makes out.
• Now that you have the key measurementsfix them. That means, change what you say, how you say it, or who you say it to, and watch the numbers. Do they go up, or down? Capture what works, and learn from what doesn’t. You’ll see those numbers constantly moving up.
• Learn the best way from the experts…get every book you can, go to training classes, hire a sales coach.

You are always in control. Don’t be at the mercy of anything, someone else, the environment, the market place.

Sales Training — Get results not just Training

Some typical results

What is needed?

Skills or removing the barrier between the ears? We focus on measurable results.

Alan Boyer, President/CEO of The Leader’s Perspective, LLC

Helping People and Companies Worldwide Reach Further Than They EVER Thought Possible…FASTER

Check out our website, and sign up for our weekly newsletter “Hints and Tips to Increase Your Business.”

http://www.leaders-perspective.com
mailto:AlanBoyer@leaders-perspective

Studies show that much of communication is nonverbal. That means it’s not only what you say, it’s how you say it: your intonation, gestures, facial expressions and posture. Here are some Body Language Do’s and Don’ts to help your face-to-face prospect and customer meetings.

Do:
Stand tall and have good posture, your prospect will interpret this as confidence. If you do not feel that you have good posture, you can change it! Start working out, going to a gym, take dance classes or do what the models-in-training used to do to help their posturewalk with a book on your head!

Don’t:
Slump or stoop in on yourself. Your prospect will see this as you having something to hide and will be inclined not to trust you.

Do:
Smile. It changes your whole attitude and prospects will enjoy doing business with you. People like to do business with people they like. You’ll have a better time too!

Don’t:
Scowl or look stressed and unhappy–even if you are. Your problems are your problems, not your prospects. You’ll feel worse if you blow an opportunity.

Do:
Speak out. Have clear and confident speech patterns. Make your intonation go down at the end of every sentence, even if you are asking a question. Be careful, though, not to swallow your words. This speech pattern will make you sound more confident and your prospects will be able to understand what you are saying.

Don’t:
Mumble. Your prospects will not understand you and could see you as having something to hide. If it is hard work to try and understand what you are saying, your prospect will probably give up. People don’t buy from people they don’t understand and they don’t buy from people they do not trust.

Do:
Look your prospect in the eye. Eye contact is a valuable tool for building trust.

Don’t:
Look down. If you cannot meet your prospects eye, they will see you as someone with something to hide.

Do:
Dress appropriately in a businesslike manner. Prospects will see you as a professional.

Don’t:
Wear clothes that are too casual or inappropriate or clothes that are wrinkled or not clean. Prospects will not take you seriously if you do not take yourself seriously.

Do:
Shake hands firmly. You will seem confident.

Don’t:
Squeeze too hard or conversely have a “dead fish” type of handshake. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression!

© 2005 Wendy Weiss

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success,” is a sales trainer, author, and sales coach. Her recently released program, “Cold Calling College”, and/or her book, “Cold Calling for Women”, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free e-zine at www.wendyweiss.com

Peter worked hard. Damned hard. All day he toiled to sell blueberry muffins. And they were special muffins with forty blubberies each. But he only sold so many. Everyday, he’d fight a losing battle just to sell them all. At the end of the day, they weren’t fresh anymore and people didn’t want stale muffins. Then one day Peter doubled his profit. Yeah, just like that. He changed what he said and he sold twice as much.

“How much are those muffins, mate?” his customers would ask. “$3 for two,” he’d say. And they’d buy two instead of one.

Simple, huh?

It’s called bundling. We used to sell the Brain Audit for $xxx and PsychoBranding for $xxx. When someone bought the Brain Audit, we’d try to sell them PsychoBranding. Some customers bought and some didn’t. Then one day we used Peter’s combo technique. We sold both the products, the Brain Audit and PsychoBranding as PsychoCombo.

Boom! Our sales went through the roof. We were taking home twice as much money, and at the same time giving the client more value — more information. More ways to increase their profits.

McDonald’s does it all the time. We experience it all the time. Yet we never do it all the time.

Why ever not?

If you own a pressure washing service, which specializes in flat work and concrete cleaning contracts then it is important to concentrate your sales efforts on property management companies and facilities and maintenance directors for large corporate outlets and corporations.

When selling concrete washing service is it is important that you listen to the customer and find out what their real needs are and it is even better if you can walk the property with them and then make your bid. So often I find that concrete cleaning competing companies will try to bid jobs over the phone without walking the property with the property management Company or without getting a list of properties so they can walk the properties themselves.

When selling concrete cleaning contracts it is important that the customer understands that you will show up when the businesses are not operating and you will do so in a professional manner and make sure that no one slips or falls on the property.

Additionally you’ll need business insurance to cover this with up to $1 million liability and be able to additionally insure the property management Company and the owners of each property.

A concrete washing company salesperson needs to make sure that this is understood right up front otherwise the chances of getting a sales interview or even getting to meet the property management Company are slim to none. I hope you will consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Retailers face an intense competitive environment. With the growing availability of retail space there are more stores joining the marketplace. At the same time there is also a great deal of money to be made at the retail level.

Consumers have more disposable income to spend, and have become accustomed to experience shopping as a form of recreation.

Here are some strong selling strategies that can be used by retailers to produce more sales.

Retail Selling Strategy #1

Display the original retail price, or manufacturers suggested retail price, next to your price. Make the two prices very clear so that shoppers will realize what a great bargain they are receiving.

Retail Selling Strategy #2

Offer free promotional items. If you want to increase your retail sales you should strongly consider using promotional items. Promotional items should have a high perceived value, such as a free DVD or CD. Give them away with every purchase over a certain amount. You can offer a higher priced value giveaway for larger purchases.

A clever retail idea is to figure out what your average retail sale is, then offer a give away for sales higher than that average. This strategy should increase your average sale since people will want the giveaway.

Retail Selling Strategy #3

Offer a loss leader. A loss leader is a product which you sell to bring attention to your store. If customers are used to paying $1 for a pair of socks, but you sell them for .05 each, you will have customers lining up to buy them from you.

You will be losing money on the socks, but think of how many other items your customers will buy once they are in your store.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

Here’s a chilling thought. If you were to die tomorrow, would you have the same two regrets that many business people share?

According to a study, just before people die, if they express any regrets at all, those regrets tend to fall into two categories. The bigger, by far, is regret they didn’t do better by other people. Such as, they didn’t spend enough quality time with their children. Or they didn’t end the feud with their sister. Or they let pass too many opportunities to say “I love you.”

The second area is, people regret they didn’t try to do something. They regret they chickened out and didn’t try to open a restaurant, for example. Or they didn’t try to write a book. Or they didn’t try being an actor in addition to being an accountant. They looked into the future, got scared, and didn’t push ahead to make their dreams come true.

Starting today you can keep it from happening to you. Call someone you have been avoiding. Make a date with your kids — no matter how old they are — to do something special with them. If you’ve been dreaming about changing your career or starting a new business, then today, on your way home, drop into a bookstore and buy two books on your dream subject. It’s time for action.

Because of the miracles of modern medicine, the fastest growing demographic is people over 80. The odds are you’ll live a long life. Make it a rich and fulfilling life. Starting today, do better by other people and be willing to try more new things. Otherwise, you might live to regret what you didn’t do.

Doug Smart is the co-author of the book, “Reach for the Stars.” He is a management development consultant, professional speaker, and host of the daily motivational radio show, “Smarter by the Minute.” For more information, email Doug@DougSmart.com. Copyright 2005 by Doug Smart

If you are a loan officer or a mortgage broker, and you are currently using a mortgage lead provider, or you are considering investing with one, one of the most important things you should take into consideration, is the closure ratio.

If you are closing anywhere from 5% to 12% of the leads you purchase, than you are doing very well according to the industry’s standard.

Here are a few helpful hints to increase your closure ratio.

Keep in mind that a lead provider does just that, they provide leads. It is entirely up to you to make the sale. Just because you were provided with a fresh lead doesn’t mean you don’t have to work to close the deal.

Most lead companies will sell their leads up to five times, so you are competing with other loan officers.

So, if you come across an objection over the telephone such as “I am no longer interested,” it is most likely because they are dealing with somebody else at that point.

Here is something you can counter with . . .

Oh, that’s to bad, after looking at your on-line profile, I was able to fit you into a really nice mortgage program with one of our lenders.

I can just about guarantee this will get their attention.

If this approach does not work, e-mail them with some attractive programs that you offer, or mail them out a flyer with a list of your products.

Whatever you do, do not give up after the first objection.

Remember, home buyers, and people refinancing their existing homes are very apprehensive, they are embarking on perhaps the largest financial transaction they have ever made, so put yourself in their shoes.

So, the friendlier you come off, and the more knowledgeable you sound, the better your chances of making the sale.

If you fail to have someone answer the telephone, and you have to leave a message, make sure the message is short, friendly, and informative.

Ask them to call back at their convenience to discuss a great product you know they will be interested in.

Remember. It is all in the approach and the inflection in your voice. The lead provider can provide the lead, but you have to work to get the sale. Best of luck with your leads.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

Ever had a party online or offline, and had guests say “I love that item, but I can’t afford it right now”, or “It’s so hard to decide, I want all of this!”. This is a perfect time to sell all those items to your customer without them having to pay a dime.

If you aren’t using this idea already, make sure to put it into action immediately. Have a gift registry form ready to point those customers to should they want extra items they simply can not buy right now.

What they do is fill out their information, special dates (Birthdays, Anniversary, etc), and the products they want. Then, they fill out names and contact information of relatives and friends they know they will be receiving gifts from. You contact the relatives, stating where you received their information and what’s on the wish list you hold. Ask them if they would like a reminder before the special date, and which item they will be purchasing.

Simple eh? It’s a win-win situation for everyone! You make the extra sale, the gift-giver knows they are buying a gift the other person wants (no guess work or wandering around a mall!), and the one receiving the gift is getting exactly what they wanted but couldn’t afford.

This idea works easily both online and offline. Keep several forms handy if you are offline, so you can pass them out at parties or events (Pre-made forms available with the Direct Sales Success Kit). Online you will want to set up a page with an automatic form for your guest to fill out. For an example of an online form, visit:
http://www.soy-wax-candles.com/gift-registry.html

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About the Authors: Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank are two busy wahms, and the owners of Direct Sales Helpers. For more Direct Sales Success Tips, visit: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/newsletter.html

1. Sign-up to win web site awards. When you win, some award sites publish your web site link, name and description on their site.

2. Join online business associations or clubs. If you join, they will usually list all their members on their web site. It will give your business extra exposure.

3. Utilize a simple form of viral marketing. Write or have someone else write a small report with your ad included on it and allow others to give it away.

4. Improve your business by promoting customer feedback. Tell them you want their honest opinions about your business, good or bad.

5. Design your packaging so it sells your products. Utilize colors and lettering that make your product more attractive to your prospects.

6. Compare your product’s guarantee to your main competitors. Find a niche were your can design your guarantee to be more powerful.

7. Try not to assume your audience understands everything in your ad copy. If you have words they may not know the meaning to, define them.

8. Build alliances with other online businesses. You could trade links or ads, create joint venture deals, cross promote your products, etc.

9. Design your web site to be a valuable resource for people. Include original content, links to other interesting web sites, ebooks, software, etc.

10. Compete with the highly branded businesses by practicing good customers service, strong product quality and speedy service.

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