Sales Lessons From The Business Page
Sales Lessons From The Business Page
1. Know your markets – a few years ago an upstart company called Google decided to take on the big boy, AOL, for dominance of the Internet. While AOL was busy collecting fees from it’s consumer subscriber base in exchange for dial up access to the Internet and some proprietary content, Google’s geniuses realized that getting people connected was a very service-intensive business, requiring lots of employees and overhead. They also noticed that the trend was towards broadband connections, not dial-up. Google decided to become the number one destination once users were already connected and use that consumer preference to entice advertisers to fork over huge sums to get in front of those millions of eyes. Moreover, AOL’s business model was difficult to spread worldwide, while Google’s was blindingly simple. The result? Just recently AOL announced that they were moving to an advertising-based model in imitation of Google. The lesson- pay attention to what’s happening in the market and anticipate what your customers will be doing, not just what they are doing now.
2. Think the impossible – two years ago, very few people had heard of a little company called Mozilla. They produced a rival to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which had a whopping 99% of the browser market. Internet Explorer owed it’s dominance to the fact that it came pre-installed on just about every computer sold in the world. How was Mozilla supposed to compete with that kind of supremacy? A few week’s ago, Mozilla announced that it had gained 15% of the browser market with its 200 millionth download of its Firefox software. The lesson – just because someone else is bigger or richer, doesn’t mean you don’t stand a chance. Believe in yourself and do good work and you can achieve anything.
3. It’s not always about price – in the early 1970’s, when gas cost a fortune, a small Japanese automaker called Toyota began selling small, ugly, fuel efficient cars in the US. At the time, the Big Three Automakers laughed at the puny little Coronas coming off the boats from Asia. But Americans, feeling the pinch at the pump, began buying them in droves, despite the fact that they were expensive. Over a decade, those Toyota drivers noticed that their little “rice-burners” outlasted their friends Chevys and Fords, and Toyota began to develop a reputation for quality rather than just fuel economy. 30 years later, Toyota has just leapfrogged Ford to become the number two automaker in the world and is on pace to pass GM as number one within two years. The lesson – pay attention to what your clients want and provide it to them. They will pay higher prices for the things that they believe are valuable to them.
4. It’s all about leveraging relationships – a few years ago someone had the bright idea that local radio was too limited and played too many commercials. Satellite radio was born. As a way to sell new cars, Ford and GM jumped on the satellite radio bandwagon and began installing them as standard equipment in new cars. Subscriptions to satellite radio went up quickly but car sales didn’t. A few weeks ago, Ford and GM, finally wised up and realized that consumers actually wanted iPod docks, not satellite radio, in their cars. They both recently announced a partnership with Apple to install iPod connectors in new cars. The lesson – partner with someone who is already doing well and who has a market you want to penetrate. But be willing and able to reciprocate. Holding up your end of the deal makes it a win-win and likely to continue.
None of these lessons is anything new but sometimes we forget the basics. Be creative, think big, listen to your customers and build reciprocal relationships. If you keep your eyes open you’ll find lessons you can use in your sales career right on the front page of the newspaper - or on Google in your Firefox browser!
Sales Lessons From The Business Page - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
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I’ll admit it – I love watching the news. No not the part about murder and mayhem but the business news. I’m fascinated watching the way people’s emotions control the financial markets and how they make decisions. There are a ton of great sales lessons in the financial news as well. Here are a few from recent headlines.
1. Know your markets – a few years ago an upstart company called Google decided to take on the big boy, AOL, for dominance of the Internet. While AOL was busy collecting fees from it’s consumer subscriber base in exchange for dial up access to the Internet and some proprietary content, Google’s geniuses realized that getting people connected was a very service-intensive business, requiring lots of employees and overhead. They also noticed that the trend was towards broadband connections, not dial-up. Google decided to become the number one destination once users were already connected and use that consumer preference to entice advertisers to fork over huge sums to get in front of those millions of eyes. Moreover, AOL’s business model was difficult to spread worldwide, while Google’s was blindingly simple. The result? Just recently AOL announced that they were moving to an advertising-based model in imitation of Google. The lesson- pay attention to what’s happening in the market and anticipate what your customers will be doing, not just what they are doing now.
2. Think the impossible – two years ago, very few people had heard of a little company called Mozilla. They produced a rival to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which had a whopping 99% of the browser market. Internet Explorer owed it’s dominance to the fact that it came pre-installed on just about every computer sold in the world. How was Mozilla supposed to compete with that kind of supremacy? A few week’s ago, Mozilla announced that it had gained 15% of the browser market with its 200 millionth download of its Firefox software. The lesson – just because someone else is bigger or richer, doesn’t mean you don’t stand a chance. Believe in yourself and do good work and you can achieve anything.
3. It’s not always about price – in the early 1970’s, when gas cost a fortune, a small Japanese automaker called Toyota began selling small, ugly, fuel efficient cars in the US. At the time, the Big Three Automakers laughed at the puny little Coronas coming off the boats from Asia. But Americans, feeling the pinch at the pump, began buying them in droves, despite the fact that they were expensive. Over a decade, those Toyota drivers noticed that their little “rice-burners” outlasted their friends Chevys and Fords, and Toyota began to develop a reputation for quality rather than just fuel economy. 30 years later, Toyota has just leapfrogged Ford to become the number two automaker in the world and is on pace to pass GM as number one within two years. The lesson – pay attention to what your clients want and provide it to them. They will pay higher prices for the things that they believe are valuable to them.
4. It’s all about leveraging relationships – a few years ago someone had the bright idea that local radio was too limited and played too many commercials. Satellite radio was born. As a way to sell new cars, Ford and GM jumped on the satellite radio bandwagon and began installing them as standard equipment in new cars. Subscriptions to satellite radio went up quickly but car sales didn’t. A few weeks ago, Ford and GM, finally wised up and realized that consumers actually wanted iPod docks, not satellite radio, in their cars. They both recently announced a partnership with Apple to install iPod connectors in new cars. The lesson – partner with someone who is already doing well and who has a market you want to penetrate. But be willing and able to reciprocate. Holding up your end of the deal makes it a win-win and likely to continue.
None of these lessons is anything new but sometimes we forget the basics. Be creative, think big, listen to your customers and build reciprocal relationships. If you keep your eyes open you’ll find lessons you can use in your sales career right on the front page of the newspaper - or on Google in your Firefox browser!
Sales Lessons From The Business Page - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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