Selling To Small Business

Reverse Engineering Your Success

2009-06-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

I am in the midst of starting a new sales job, and as I am setting my goals and getting myself motivated for success, I have sat down to come up with numbers and goals. To plan for my numbers I decided to work backwards to come up with my daily objective.

I am a money motivated person, so I came up with what I wanted to earn at the end of my first year, once I had that number, I made the calculation that at a 10% rate of commission, I'd need to come up with X number of dollars in sales. I then contacted successful sales people in the organization and asked them what the average sales amount was for them in the last year. I also asked what they were finding as a closing ratio. Once I had those numbers, I sat down and did the math, how many contacts did I need to make a day to get the number of opportunities to present that I needed, and then close the sales to realize my numbers. Of course, as I go through the year, I'll need to keep track of my numbers to see if I need to make midcourse corrections to reach my goals.

The next step was to sit down with my Sales/Operations Manager to integrate his objectives in to my game plan. We are selling a service, pest control, so I needed to sit down and get his input on what segments of the market he wanted us to market. I have found that in selling services it's important to get buy in from the Operations people, if they don't like the business you sell, they can sabotage your sale. Find the sweet spot and you'll be more successful than just selling in the blind.

Now that I've put together all of these factors I'm able to get up each morning and have a game plan in place as to where I'm going and what I'm going to do to get to my goals. Let's hope it all works out.

I was reading a book on Cold Calling, the nemesis of all salesmen. I've come to believe that we salespeople have made cold calling in to a boogie man that we always see as the ultimate challenge. The person that wrote this book gave a very basic premise, the premise being that no matter what, you'll sell a third of the people that you contact, no matter what you do, another third won't buy from you, no matter what you do, and the middle third can be manipulated by your salesmanship and abilities. While some days, those numbers seem very far-fetched, I'm willing to accept them as being very close to correct in a macro sense. So what that means to me is that I've got to get out there and pound the street and make the contacts. I'm working in a Branch Office that hasn't had a successful salesperson in quite some time, so I don't have a pipeline in place. In this type of situation it's critical that I build that base as soon as possible, so wish me luck.

3 Strategies to Effectively Sell to Small Businesses

2009-06-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Let's assume the following about the small business market:

1. Owner managers have no time for anything much less another sales pitch;
2. Owner managers seek value. If you, or what you sell, cannot provide value, it is seen as just another commodity; and
3. Owner managers are very lonely. Leadership is, by and large, a lonely endeavor.

How do you reach out to a target market with no time, seeks value and doesn't need yet another mouth to feed?

1. Provide information, not a sales pitch. Look at your sales literature and your pitch. Are you actually providing information beyond your good or service? Have you informed the owner-manager about their industry, some specialized knowledge they might not know (for example, here's a tax deduction all your competitors miss) or what problem you are actually here to solve? If you provide information, it is less likely they will see you as just another sales pitch. Try group seminars rather than one on one pitch and, more importantly, ask them to bring their gate keepers too.

2. Find ways to increase their sales. As opposed to inviting them to a round of golf (which, in the eyes of many owner-managers, is a waste of a day), find out who their sales targets are and invite the owner manager to lunch with these targets. If it results in a sale for the owner-manager, they will see you as a value added and not a cost centre. Plus, they can't exactly buy what you are selling without increased revenue right?

3. Be the bartender. The most over-looked pain of an owner-manager is loneliness. Other than their immediate family, they sit at the top and have few people to vent or complain to. Be the bartender and listen to their woes and actually try to help them. If you don't know how, introduce them to a follow owner-manager who may (entrepreneurs love to exchange ideas).

The key to all of the above strategies and tactics requires a true understanding of an owner manager's life. If you are just entering the market and do not know this well, sit down with your prospect and find out before you actually sell. It will make you a better small business sales and marketer over the long run. Good luck.

Success is All About Your Perspective!

2009-06-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

"When you hear no, then simply take another approach," said Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com. I had the pleasure of hearing Bob Speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference in D.C. this month. He was an inspiring speaker and had to overcome a lot of odds before he created an amazingly successful company. He attributes the success of his company to luck and perspective. He said he always had a good perspective. When he spent a tour of duty in Vietnam he simply took it one day at a time. He emerged from the war with some wounds. And even was honored with medals for his time in the marine core.

He really hit home how important it is for an entrepreneur and a business owner to get their head in the right place in order to be successful. He lives by and always follows his 16 rules that helped him create the success he has today. Here are a few of them:

- Get and Stay out of your comfort zone - "security is for cadavers"
- Never give up
- When you're ready to quit, you are closer to success than you think
- Whatever worries you, always accept what's the worse thing that can happen to you
- Always Focus on what you want to have happen - "as you think, so shall you be."

The rest of Bob's rules can be found at bobparsons.me - "Bob's 16 Rules." Listening to him speak was inspiring to me in particular, because I have a tendency to stay in my comfort zone. When I do that, I don't grow as fast and don't take enough risks. Being able to take risks and do things differently is a huge key to success and something I'm working on for myself. The other thing that struck me, was to always ask the question- "What's the worst possible thing that could happen?" Once you answer that, whatever you're going through really doesn't seem that bad at all. His best story though, was how he almost closed GoDaddy. The company was simply losing money. Yet, when he decided he was going to stick to his guns until "the ship" went down, that's when the company turned the corner and now they're a huge contender online today. They register a new URL every second and have registered over 3.5 million.

So, get your head in the game of your business - focus on what you want, not on all the problems. Do something to change your perspective and it will change your business. Do one thing today to get out of your comfort zone and I will too. Let me know what you did and how I can support you!

Why being your small business advisors pays off in the long run

2009-05-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

One of the running themes of my posts is that achieving true success selling to small businesses involves not merely being a sales person but being an advisor. Entrepreneurs are like Swiss Army Knives- they have to do a lot of different things using the same platform. But with so much going on, not every tool that they have is going to be as sharp as the last one they used.

Thus, they have to rely upon advisors for help. A short-sighted sales representative may think that they do not have time to sell and advise an account. Better to take the money and run right?

Consider this statistic which adds some concreteness to the saying "what goes around, comes around": entrepreneurs who regularly seek professional advice experience 76% higher revenue growth than a counterpart that does not seek professional advice.

To state the obvious, rapidly growing clients are what every account manager dreams of. However, what the study implies is that rapidly growing accounts are not found but, instead, cultivated through active participation in small businesses ready and willing to seek out advisors. The pay-off for all parties appears to be well worth it.

From my own personal experience, I often pursued clients that most other lawyers would not. They were considered too small, in non-traditional growth industries, lacked adequate capitalization etc. etc. However, as a broad generalization, smaller clients with shrewd, albeit broke, management, a willingness to learn and, most of all, a real passion for their business tend to grow exponentially based on a wide range of professional advice (despite its structural issues at start-up).

It is those same clients who I grew with that are also the most loyal and greatest word of mouth referrals. If you are hitting the sales trail and finding no success perhaps it is time to think as an advisor as well as a sales rep. Good luck.

It's About Delivering Happiness... (Part 2)

2009-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

"Everything is about the customer experience," exclaimed Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos. I had the ultimate pleasure of hearing him speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference, as well as talk to him after his presentation. He's a very inspiring, pragmatic and funny speaker. He had so many gems of wisdom that I almost ran out of room to write them all down. A lot of what he said really hit home for me, especially now with what's happening with businesses and the economy. I believe the philosophy he shared and the philosophy I keep reading about in Dan Kennedy's monthly newsletter will be the keys to companies staying in business. What's that philosophy?

Well it's about the customer and as Tony Hsieh said, "Zappos is about delivering happiness to their door." In his case it's delivering merchandise like shoes and clothing, while building long lasting relationships with their customers and having THE best customer service ever. Their main brand IS customer service. They go above and beyond for their customers. He gave us many awe inspiring stories and some funny ones too. I decided to try out their customer service and they were wonderful. Unfortunately my rescue dog Lily got a hold of my Keens and chewed the closure loop. I called Zappos to see if I could get it fixed or what to do since I purchased the shoes from them. They checked out Keens site and gave me all the info to get them fixed - wow, that was cool.

Here's what I'd recommend for you - ramp up your customer service by doing something special for your customers. Also, stay in their mind by constantly keeping in touch via direct mail, email or the phone. During these times don't be strangers with your customers. Also don't overtly "sell" them either. Ask them in depth questions to try to help them. Find out what they need or what their biggest challenge is right now or what they need help with. Go above and beyond for your customers so they will always remember you. Really show you care and mean it. Send them a gift once a year, food always works (I love Cheryl's cookies!), or send them a gift card or something they would appreciate. During these stress-filled economic times, those that will rise to the top think differently, take risks don't do what everyone else is doing and take good care of your customers.

Another idea is - give them a quick survey, check in on how they're doing and what they need now during this time. I've done several of these for clients and we've received some gems of info that are helping us create new products, and meeting client's needs because we know what those needs are!

What's Your Sales Approach?

2009-04-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

I love reading sales blogs on the Internet; you learn a lot about what your competition out there are thinking. I learn things that help me every day in my work, and they also make me think.

One of the discussions that seem to be the most active out there is the discussion of the best way to develop a pipeline of clients, does the salesperson use cold calling, referrals, or networking to get their leads? Everyone seems to believe there is one answer that will work for them every time. I just don't understand or believe that there can be one way that will work for every situation.

I think that as a hunter looking for new clients, I have to have a toolbox of different weapons that will capture different clients. When I sold uniform services, the primary tool and the most successful seemed to be cold calling, you go out with a list of potential businesses that you found on the Internet, and you go door to door, meeting and presenting. The majority of these clients are small business owners, they don't have the time or the inclination to talk with their competition, nor do they go to Chamber mixers or other networking opportunities. The successful salesperson needs to hunt them down to their lair and meet them face to face.

When I sold Commercial Pest Control I was successful in using all three approaches. Apartment complex management could be found in network opportunities such as Management Associations and Chambers, because they used these organizations to market their businesses and to collect information to help them manage their complex. The ancillary benefit to attending these meetings was that you could also get face to face referrals from a happy manager to other managers. Other segments of the market, restaurants and small businesses again need to be cold called, they don't have time to go out in social situations, and they're minding the store, full time.

These examples show that you can't be the person that chooses what will be the successful approach, you need to find out what approach is going to be the one that gets you in front of a qualified lead. Your clients are the ones that will show you how to get their attention. Those salespeople that think that they can become adept at one approach and that this approach will always work for them are fooling themselves. Sometimes I think that salespeople try to simplify things, we always want to have a roadmap that leads to success, and we always want to use this same map, no matter where we're going. Keep it simple seems to be the mantra of sales, and there is certainly a place for that during your presentation, and in your dealing with management, but in finding clients we need to spend the time and effort to think through and find the way to do this.

It's About Delivering Happiness

2009-04-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

"Everything is about the customer experience," exclaimed Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos. I had the ultimate pleasure of hearing him speak at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Conference, as well as talk to him after his presentation. He's a very inspiring, pragmatic and funny speaker. He had so many gems of wisdom that I almost ran out of room to write them all down. A lot of what he said really hit home for me, especially now with what's happening with businesses and the economy. Hence, I thought it would make a perfect post for this blog. I believe the philosophy Tony shared and the philosophy I keep reading about in Dan Kennedy's (If you don't know Dan you can go to his website http://www.dankennedy.com ) monthly newsletter will be the keys to companies staying in business.

What's that philosophy? Well it's all about the customer and as Tony Hsieh said, "Zappos is about delivering happiness to our customer's door." In his case it's delivering merchandise like shoes and clothing, while building long lasting relationships with their customers and having THE best customer service ever. Their main brand IS customer service. They go above and beyond for their customers. He gave us many awe inspiring stories and some funny ones too. I decided to try out their customer service and they were wonderful. Unfortunately my rescue dog Lily got a hold of my Keens and chewed the closure loop off. I called Zappos to see if I could get it fixed or what to do since I purchased the shoes from them. They checked out Keens site and gave me all the info to get them fixed - wow, that was cool.

Here's what I'd recommend for you in your business - ramp up your customer service by doing something for them. Stay in their forefront of their minds by constantly keeping in touch via direct mail, email, phone, or social media (like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.). During these challenging economic times don't be strangers with your customers. Also don't overtly "sell" them either. Ask them in depth questions to try to help them. Find out what they need or what their biggest challenge is right now or what they need help with. Go above and beyond for your customers so they will always remember you. Really show you care and mean it. Send them a gift once a year, food always works (I love Cheryl's cookies!), or send them a gift card or something they would appreciate. During these stress-filled economic times, those companies and entrepreneurs that will rise to the top think differently. Don't be afraid to take risks and above all else don't do what everyone else is doing! Your goal is really that simple - take good care of your customers.

Another idea is - give them a quick survey, check in on how they're doing and what they need now during this time. I've done several of these for clients and we've received some gems of info that are helping us create new products, and meeting client's needs because we know what those needs are!

Now is not a time to give up and tighten your belts when it comes to your customers. Go above and beyond, the name of the game is to keep your customers happy so they want to be your customer for a LONG time, maybe even for life.

Can Twitter and Facebook help you sell to small business?

2009-03-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Much has been made of Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools as new ways for business to reach their target audience. But is this nothing more than media hype or can Twitter and Facebook help you reach your small business audience?

It depends on several factors.

Given that Twitter and Facebook are both free applications and, since small business owners are value shoppers at heart, the barrier to entry is relatively low to reach your target audience; for curiosity's sake, many small business owners have become Twitter or Facebook subscribers just to see what all the fuss is about; thus, there isn't a large issue getting your potential audience to subscribe for the medium.

The ability to form groups or Twitter tweets also facilitates the ability to create community among other consumers of your good and product. Interactivity is always a constructive way to lower barriers between people.

However, there are also a few things to remember about the nature of the medium itself and your audience. As a personal finance blog pointed out, social media is about connecting people first and sales second. Thus, social media, unless your business is internet based, should not be seen as the primary selling tool to small business.

The other practical issue is the audience. Small business owners work long days and nights. I am not sure, practically speaking, that they have the time to log hours on Facebook or Twitter daily.

The bottom line is that Twitter and Facebook can be useful tools in selling to small business but it does not substitute face to face interaction and the process of building a relationship- the key building blocks of any successful sales strategy.

Sales in Today's Economy

2009-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

The economy is tough; just ask me, I have lost my job in the last month. I'm now in the world of job seekers and it has opened my eyes to a new approach to sales. I'm selling the ultimate product, myself, and I'm passionate about my product. If I followed the approach of many salespeople, that would be enough, just go out there present myself and make the sale, get the job. Today that just doesn't seem to work. In a bad economy you can't just roll out your resume, collect the interviews, and choose from among the offers that come back. In today's economy, everyone has hundreds of resumes for every sales job, and they get to cull through, pick and choose, and find only the best match. This means, as a job seeker, I have to be smarter. No matter how good my record is, no matter how outstanding my references are, I need to know more than ever to stand out. The same thing should be happening in your sales career.

Many salespeople seem to think that if you know your product inside out and work hard, you're going to be successful, and I believe, at one time, that may have been enough. I had a manager who used to say, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. That as long as you are positive and look straight ahead, you'll succeed. That is one approach, but I'm not sure that it's totally realistic.

I think there is a way to get to a new level. I believe that you need to spend time understanding the climate that you and your customer are operating in. I think you need to be tapped in to social networks, attending local business events, and keeping your ears to the ground. The more you know about the conditions in your environment, the more likely you are to be able to adjust your approach and answer the needs of your customer. Has your competition lost or fired a salesman, has your customer lost competition, or gained new competition? How has the community that your customer interacts with, changed in this economy? The more you know, the better equipped you'll be. You always need to be thinking about your customer and their business, if you take care of them, they'll buy from you. Salesmen need to be problem solvers, your customer is looking for answers, and they are expecting you to be a partner and give them answers that'll help them succeed.

As I write this blog, I'm watching the news and hearing about the rage over the AIG bonuses, and as a taxpayer I'm enraged myself. I feel that the company should never have made the agreements in the manner that they did, they should have been based on the company making a profit based on the employees contribution. I really don't think you can just decide to cancel a contract that was made in good faith, and pull back money that was promised. When you sign up for a job, you are given an agreement and that's the rules of the road. If you want to change the rules in the future, and then let's sit down and negotiate, and if it doesn't meet my needs, then we part company, no harm, no foul. The government is now the majority owner of the company, and they can make any rules that they want going forward, but they need to honor the contracts that were in place. If Congress decides to tax the money away from the people, or pull back the money, we're setting a precedent that could harm us all in the future.

Recognize your clients' pain

2009-03-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Gerhild Somann is a 67 year old retiree who is very upset. Ms. Somann, like most of us lost a lot of money in the stock market last year. That is not what has her upset per se. What has her really upset-enough to generate bad publicity-is the fact her investment advisors don't feel her pain and instead are trying to sell her product! Most of us do not know who Ms. Somann is until she became the feature of an article much discussed in personal finance blogs.

Is attempting to push more product worth all that bad publicity?

The point is that in bad times several things tend to happen: (i) everything that could go wrong, goes wrong; and (ii) you really find you who your friend are. If you sell to small business you have two choices:

1. Run for the hills, deflect blame and keep selling; or
2. Take responsibility, be there for your clients and become a trusted advisor and not "merely" a sales person or an account manager.

It is easy to do number 1. Your legal department will probably advise you to never, ever, admit liability of any sort. Your sales manager just wants you to close. Pursuing this course of action does nothing but reinforce the sense that salespeople are not trustworthy and, as soon as the sales dry up, they will abandon you.

If you treat your clients like a commodity to be dumped at the first sign of trouble, do not be surprised if that behaviour is reciprocated. Bad salespeople always complain that their clients are fickle and demanding but then they turn around and do #1. Any wonder why the clients treat them this way.

Number 2 is the hard choice but, over the long-term, the right one. I am like everyone else, feeling the pinch but you know who I pay first? My vendors who have stuck with me, show loyalty and understand I am going through some pain. The vendors who treat me like a number, I put on the bottom of my payables pile.

Always remember that entrepreneurs don't die, they just come back in different guises so a short term approach will not serve you well in this market.

The World's Famous Direct Mail Marketing Piece (or So They Say) & What You Can Gleam From It...

2009-03-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

Have you ever heard of Martin Conroy? Don't worry if you haven't. Because if you're not in the advertising world, its most likely you have no idea who he is. In fact, Martin is quite famous because of a letter he wrote back in 1974 for the Wall Street Journal. This is a very famous letter in the advertising world and considered a classic of direct-mail marketing. It's been reused and rewritten and reared as one of the best pieces of advertising among those in the marketing business. This letter was first sent out in 1974 and since then has been mailed continuously for over 28 years. It was sent to millions of people in the course of nearly three decades. It's alleged that it had a longer life than any other direct mail piece ever.

I'm mentioning this for a few reasons. First, I just wanted to pay tribute to Martin Conroy for his brilliant letter. He was an advertising executive and has since passed away. He was 84 years old. He was revered because he created the most enduring ad campaign of all time.

The beauty of what he created was in its simplicity. It was just a letter, a simple two page letter that was a subscription pitch for the Wall Street Journal. It was written in plain language and had an interesting similarity to a fairy tale. It's a wonderful story. That's the real key here, it's written like a story and is a very simple tale and interesting read.

The second reason I'm mentioning this letter is because something most interesting. The Journal never kept any statistics on the letter's effectiveness. As I've mentioned in previous posts about the importance of monitoring, tracking and testing your advertising, I'm amazed that this was never measured. In some ways because of its sheer longevity, the direct mail experts say that is its own testament to its effectiveness.

I just want to note here, unless you've got a lot of money to burn, I would highly encourage you to ALWAYS monitor, track and test your advertising! Here's a glimpse at the first paragraph:

"Dear Reader:
On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both-as young college graduates are-were filled with ambitious dreams for the future. Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion..."

Want to read more and see what ideas you can "borrow" for your advertising? Discover the amazing secrets of this great direct mail piece. Check out the WHOLE letter by going to this link-
http://www.MarketingImplementer.com/WSJ_Letter.php You won't be disappointed by what you discover.

This should be something you keep in your swipe file of good copy, great story and a direct mail piece that really worked. My philosophy is keep a swipe file of really good ads that work. When I'm creating something new, I get out my swipe file and generate some awesome ideas for some killer sales copy.

No Is Not a Complete Sentence

2009-02-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

I saw a plaque the other day that said that Teenagers need to understand the No is a complete sentence. After I got finished laughing at the sentiment, I realized that in sales, no should never be a complete sentence.

We have all gone on that cold call, and talked to the gatekeeper who has told us, No, we can't meet with the decision maker. We call the decision maker and they say No they don't want to meet with us. We meet with the decision maker and make our pitch, then get a No. This has happened to all of us, the difference is, how do we deal with that No.

A No at the door is either the end of a call or a challenge to get around the gatekeeper and reach the decision maker. How do we get there? We get a business card that has an email address that we can contact. We find someone else in the organization that can get us to the decision maker, or we try to charm the gatekeeper in to letting us through.

We get to the decision maker and they say no to a meeting, we again have a choice, we can back out and leave, or we can take the No as a factor of the decision maker not having enough information to see the advantage of a meeting. Given that scenario we need to figure out a way to get enough information to the decision maker so that they see the value of a meeting. Mailers, emails, testimonials, a call from a trusted ally are ways to make this happen.

We get that meeting with the decision maker, and as we're making our pitch and we start testing a close, we're getting No, do we take the No as a "No Sale", and walk away, or do we take the No as a lack of information on our part, that has led to the decision maker not seeing the value of our product? Of we see that as the problem, we go back, probe to find where we have agreement, and then we probe to find out why we're getting a No. Once we find that point, we can then give more information, support our information, and try another close. We continue to work through the process and keep working to get to the yes at the close.

I guess the point that I want to make, is that as a salesman, we need to not accept No as a complete sentence. Instead of hearing No, we should hear a request for more information. As salespeople we always worry about losing a potential customer because of being pushy, but we need to develop a non threatening approach that will allow us to collect the information that we need, to change that No to a yes, and we then need to present the information and get to the next step.

I had a Sales Manager who used to tell me that No mean's not just today, not No forever. I think as salespeople we need to realize that, and see No as a challenge and not as a roadblock.

Top 5 ways to lose a small business sale

2009-02-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Let's face it, in a downturn, a small business will find any excuse to close the door on you. It is hard enough creating relationships and proving value in this climate, why hurt yourself by committing one of the following sins when selling to small business.

1. Forgetting the speak English (or whatever the local business dialect is). Nothing turns people off more than jargon who are not in the industry. Small business owners want to understand you. Tell them how your good or service helps them in plain English, stripped of all the industry jargon.

2. Being a time-waster. Entrepreneurs are impatient people. They have so much to do during the day. Be very clear why you are meeting with them and how long the meeting will take. Don't take longer and don't get off purpose unless you have been granted permission.

3. Overly aggressive up-selling. Tolerated in good times. Hated in down times. Big businesses consider how small their profit will be in down times. Small businesses wonder if they will make rent next month. Measure a small businesses' needs carefully and avoid the upsell or you could be talking your way out of a sale.

4. You have every solution to their pain. "We have a software to solve your book-keeping issue and hardware to manage your operations and consultants to increase your revenue..." It may be true but the dialogue sounds all about you. Listen to their pain and empathize but don't try to take advantage of it by trying to sell all the time.

5. Disappearing when times are tough. People are judged by how they react in bad times not in good times. If you run for the hills when your client struggles, they will remember. All small business is personal. As I wrote in November, small businesses don't die, they just morph into other businesses so you could be losing a future customer as well.

Best of luck.

Lead Generation is King

2009-02-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

Don't you want to acquire and get the keys to the kingdom that will unlock your world of riches? You're probably wondering what exactly are the keys to that kingdom that will unlock the door? Well I won't leave you in too much suspense here- one of the keys to unlock your riches is LEAD GENERATION. This is one area that will bring the money rolling in.

Why is lead generation so important? When you're in the business of making money, the name of the game is building your herd of followers. You see my philosophy is you sell something to acquire a client to sell to for life. Most businesses don't operate that way. The sell products and services to make money. They don't cultivate, nurture and put a fence around their herd of buyers. In order to get a good stream of prospects knocking on your door, you need to generate leads or acquire people's names and information that are interested in what you have to offer. If you've ever heard of Seth Godin, he calls this "Permission Marketing." You're going out there in the world and asking for those people who are interested in your products or services to raise their hands and tell you that they're interested in discovering more of what you have to sell.

So having a way to generate leads (people in affect raising their hands) and start adding these people to your marketing funnel is king. A good example of this is Rory Fatt, who has a marketing business geared towards restaurant owners. When he started his business he advertised in key restaurant publications that his industry audience read. His ad was more like an Advitorial and the whole focus of the ad was for people to sign up to receive his free report. He amassed a wealth of names to then market his products to. In affect his free report was really a sophisticated brilliant sales letter.

The key here is to have a very affective lead generation machine. Whether it's a lead generation web page, advertisement or direct mail campaign. You also always need to have a free offer in your ad to get your potential prospects to give you their name and information-like give away a free report, audio mp3, CD, or maybe even a DVD. When you have a brilliant lead generation machine, you will get all those people who are interested in your product or services to raise their hands. Then you simply need to cultivate and sell to them!

New Year -New Plan

2009-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

As we enter the New Year, and the tough economic times, it's time to think outside the box in planning and executing sales. Your customer is probably scared to death, and if they're like mine, they make have a list of issues that lead them to believe they can't buy. Let's face it, that isn't going to work for us.

This is the time that you need to have a business discussion with your customer and point out that there is a new President on the horizon, an economic recovery plan in the Congress. They need to start planning on their own economic recovery plan. If they're going to stay in business, and we assume that they are, they need to continue to buy the materials that they need to do business. Use the information that you've collected from other customers to recommend what they can buy from you that will help them to be successful in their business. Be aware that they may not need as much of your goods or services, but they still need to do business. The second thing is that you need to use whatever incentives that your company can provide to help them succeed.

This is a time where relationships are built. The salespeople who are a team member and a consultant who is truly interested in helping with their business will become a trusted part of their business as things begin to improve. The salesperson that rolls in and doesn't listen or have any interest in their customer's survival will be out the door, and not in a position to reap the improving economy.

We all need to understand that the way our customer does business will change and evolve as this economy goes through its own evolution, but the government and business leaders have learned a great deal through other recessions and they will find a way to get us back on the right road. The U.S has always been, and will always be the greatest economy in the world. We all need to pull together to help get back on the road to recovery. Every person who buys something and sells something in this environment is helping to make America better.

As we look at the numbers in relationship to the population, this recession is significant, but it isn't as bad as the Great Depression. The powers that be were able to identify the downturn and get on to improving things. It'll all work out.

Find Your Hidden $$$ in Your Business

2009-01-06T11:55:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

It's a brand spanking New Year and I'm proposing I take you back to marketing lesson 101- "Find Your Hidden $$$." And no I'm not talking about money that maybe you hid in your mattress or put somewhere in a safe place for an emergency (or in the case of the markets melting again.)

I'm talking about the money that you have no idea about that's buried in your business. One of my favorite things to do with my new clients is really dig deep into their business. I do a marketing assessment and can literally find the hidden money in their business.

You're in luck this month because I want to share with you two of my marketing secrets to help you find the hidden money in your business:

Current Clients- This is the best way to find hidden money- because they already know you and hopefully had a great experience buying your product and/or working with you.

- Are you communicating to your current clients on a regular basis? You need to communicate with them at least 12 times a year as a minimum. Communicating with them 24 and even 52 times is even more beneficial.

- How are you communicating with them? Via email? Printed newsletter? Electronic newsletter? Via direct mail? By phone? There are several ways to stay in touch with your clients. Remember, you're in business not just to make money, but to make the sale to get a new client that you will keep and market to for life.

- Is your communication interesting, informative, entertaining and valuable? It needs to be at least informative and entertaining. Give them valuable information that can help them.

- Are you creating new products or services and subtly selling them in your communications? This is key- tie your communications into subtly promoting products or services. Constantly come out with new products/services or updated and revised ones to keep the pipeline fresh.

Referrals- This is tied to the point above about your current clients. Asking for referrals from your current clients is huge. The best time is when they are gushing tons of praise for something you've done for them. This is when they want to help you. Another thing you can do is simply email or snail mail them a nice letter asking for referrals and rewarding them with a gift card to Amazon, Starbucks or possibly donating money to their favorite charity.

These are only two ways to find hidden money, and there are so many more. In this economy, start with these two inexpensive things to get your business moving. If you're interested in discovering more, you can always contact me, I'm happy to help you.

Here's to an incredibly prosperous '09 for you!

Shannon.

Why Selling to Small Business is profitable in economic downtimes

2009-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Happy new year! Best wishes for a healthy, prosperous and rewarding year to all the readers. 2008 obviously ended on a down note: the stock market was down, unemployment up, bankruptcies up. Is 2009 going to be another bad year?

Not necessarily. Several studies, including a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/entrepreneurs-and-recessions.aspx have shown that downturns are often great periods to start business and that theses businesses become economically important in the long haul. How important? Microsoft, Southwest Airlines and Oracle were all started during economic downtimes.

Why? As the Economist recently wrote: "one reason why downturns tend to be good times to launch new businesses is because established companies abandon promising growth opportunities too fast. Oracle and Microsoft were both born in difficult economic times."

To extend this analysis further, big businesses tend to shrink to core competencies in downtimes and shed any division or product line not immediately returning its investment to the bottom line. In some instances, the "baby may be thrown out with the bathwater" and promising projects put aside and associated staff eliminated.

This often provides opportunities or niches that smaller, more entrepreneurial, companies (often started by the same people who were eliminated from big corporations) can commercialize without the threat of a larger competitor elbowing them out during the critical start-up phase. As the saying goes, change equals opportunity.

Thus, the challenge of selling to small business in downtimes then is not, contrary to popular opinion, that there is shortage of businesses starting but finding one that will grow organically over time.

However, there are always several things to keep in mind when selling to small businesses:

People want relationships not an up-sell. Find ways to help these companies grow which may not necessarily lead to a direct commission and you will earn your client's loyalty.
Sales cycles are slow. There is no readily available pool of capital and small businesses are not flush with money at the outset. Be patient.
Think singles and doubles and not home runs. Many start-ups that become successful are feeling their way around at first. Develop a relationship with smaller products or services rather than over-whelm them with the large items.

Just remember all sales, especially small business sales, are based on forming a long-lasting relationship. Best of luck.

New Contributor - David Colomb

2008-12-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: David Colomb
David's Posts - David's Blog

Hi. My name is Dave Colomb and I am a salesperson with over twenty years of sales experience. I deal with small business owners, and love the experience. I sell trinkets and gift items to small independent gift shops. I also have 12 years of experience as a small business owner, so I've been on both sides of the table. I've thoroughly enjoyed both experiences.

In today's economic conditions I'm finding that my clients are extremely nervous about their futures. We live in an area,(Northern California), where there have not been large layoffs, but foreclosures are an issue, and everyone is concerned about the outlook for 2009.

The way to work through these uncertainties is to be a consultant and a cheerleader for your customers. You need to point out the positives and the opportunities of the situation. It's fun to sit down with a customer and lament on how bad business is, and how tough things are, but who does that help? We need to go in to the business with a positive attitude and a plan to help our business succeed, and it is our business. As my first sales manager told me, nothing happens until someone sells something. We all need sales, but to get those, we need to be sure that our clients remain in business, and remain successful. That means we need to be a consultant who shares the information that we have acquired through our travels.

As for the cheerleader aspect of our job, we need to point out the positives that are out there. Energy costs have dropped to levels not seen in the last five years; this is putting money in the consumer's pocket. Yes, the consumer is careful in spending that money, but they'll still part with their dollars if they see product that excites them, displayed properly. We need to help our customers to be able to do that. We also need to point out that the positives in the local area, new businesses, changes in the community, things that could improve our customer's business. In the last week, I've run in to several business owners who are saying that they have decided to ignore the "depression", they're going to continue to do their business and deal with the economy in a positive way. Many city governments have instituted, "Buy Local" campaigns, cities depend on sales tax revenue and in many cases they have spent a great deal of money to attract small businesses to their community, and they don't want to see these businesses fail. Closures hurt everyone. Even major retailers such as Wal-Mart realize that local businesses are needed. Wal-Mart has put programs in place to help small businesses succeed. There are a number of people rooting for the small business person.

I think that what is going to do the most damage to small businesses, in the overall, is fear. As we all know, looking at the negatives drives people to make defensive decisions, and that leads to buying less and contracting their business. Responsible contraction is prudent, wild contraction will kill a business; we all need to remain positive and work together to succeed.

Getting to No

2008-12-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Small business owners are unfailingly polite. Most of the shrewd ones (i.e. the ones we want as clients) know not to leave any bridges burning so they say "please" and "thank you" a lot. Combined with the fact that our society considers it rude to say no, you have a lot of frustrated salespeople who have small business owners who say "maybe," "call me back in a month" and "let me think about it" when first contact is made.

The elegant "maybe" is sometimes a real maybe but I say "maybe" a lot as a way to get a cold call or a sales call off my back (full disclosure here!). As times toughen, I suspect we are all going to hear the word "maybe," or its variations, in 2009.

Remember that the least desirable answer to any sales call is a "maybe". The best is obviously "yes" followed by a "no." The no allows you to at least move on. The "maybe" leaves you hanging.

Think of your high school crushes. If you asked them out on a date and they said "yes", you were in heaven. If they said "no," you were understandably crushed for a few days or weeks but you got over it and dated others. But the "maybe" was, in hindsight, the terrible answer since you could end up chasing this crush for weeks without any definitive answer when there were other wonderful people you could have dated.

There's nothing wrong with coming back to the maybe- at a later day. The usual question to a "maybe" is "when can I call you back?" You know what though? Whenever I was asked that question, I had no idea how to project into the future to give a definite date so the date was a guess.

Perhaps the better question may be not a date but an event in the future such as "when is your photocopying servicing contract ending?" or "is there a day you usually deal with administration?" If you anchor the date to an event rather than some forecast into an indefinite future, there may be a more accurate answer rather than a good-faith guess.

But remember the goal is to get to a "yes" or "no" quickly.

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Frustrations and Anxieties Are the Keys to Your Riches...

2008-12-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

No I haven't gone mad, at least not yet! Here's

the deal, knowing your clients frustrations and

anxieties are truly the key to your riches. Let

me explain a bit more. You see we all have

desires, frustrations and anxieties. The real money is being able to

pinpoint what these are in your potential prospects

mind. Then you take these desires, anxieties and frustrations and run with them in all

your advertising!

Here are some great ideas to take to the bank

with figuring out what these are:

Let's start with just some desires- We all desire similar things like:

- Sex appeal

- Security

- Health

- Love

- Relationships

- Money

- Status

- Friends

- Attractiveness

- Youthfulness

In having these desires, we also have fears and

frustrations around them, like a fear of losing

or not attaining any one of them.

So how do you use these and turn them into money?
First thing you can do is gather all the information you can about

your potential prospects frustrations, fears and

anxieties. You can do this by interviewing current

clients, sending out a survey or by attending

certain networking meetings and associations and

paying very close attention to what people are

talking about.

Don't be afraid to get into your potential

prospects heads. If you're sincere about helping

them get to their desires by solving their fears, anxieties and frustrations,

they will want to work with you. Find out how they're

currently solving these right now and how it's

working for them. The key with your advertising is to enter into the conversation

your prospects are having in their heads right now. If you can do that well,

your prospects will unconsciously think you can solve their problems for them.

Some examples of products that solve anxieties, fears and frustrations- products that help you lose weight,

whiten your teeth, get rid of grey hair, give you fresh breath. All of these types of products appeal to

solving your anxieties of being overweight, or fear of bad breathe, looking old or having bad breath.

Start to notice how companies advertise and how they really address your fears and anxieties.

Some of them are especially good at agitating your fears and anxieties, and then of course they

show you how THEY have the perfect solution to solve these fears, and anxieties for you.

Again, getting into the heads of your potential

prospects and then using your advertising to address their fears, frustrations

and anxieties will certainly enhance and line your

pockets with much deserved riches.

It Is Not The End

2008-11-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Undoubtedly, given economic uncertainty, some of your small business clients will stop buying your good or service or simply cancel or terminate your contract. Although this is obviously an upsetting event, how you act during the exit of a sales relationship is more important than how you entered it.

Remember that, in life and in business, you are judged by what you do and who you are when times are going bad and not good. Most successful entrepreneurs have had penalty of bad experiences with salespeople who "only care about the sale." The salesperson is gone as soon as they get their commission. Someone else can service the client right? That's not your job.

But an integrated brand takes the client from sale to exit. If your brand is truly small business friendly, you exit gracefully. You thank them for their patronage and you ask how you can help them. Even if this particular client cannot afford your good and services, a graceful exit may have you recommended to their colleagues as a salesperson who actually gets "it." It being the client being more than a commission figure but a person.

There's also something about entrepreneurs. They don't ever die out. They just morph into something else. Entrepreneurship is not a job but a life-style. You never know when they may call you up a year later and ask you to help them in a new business venture.

You want a good example? Take me. I just moved businesses again and guess who I called to be my IT service provider? The firm I hired when I still had my own legal practice another life-time ago, and who I had not spoken to in 16 months, because I remember them so fondly as being timely and profession.

The Scary Secret that Could Propel You Way Ahead of Your Competition

2008-11-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

If I were to ask you what business you were in, what would you say? Would you tell me you're in the interior design business, or that you're a life coach, or that you're in the technology or training business? Here's the real scary answer and it requires a MAJOR SHIFT in YOUR thinking this past Halloween. You're not in the business you think you're in. If you want selling to your clients and customers to be easy, if you want to make a lot of money and, if you want to propel yourself ahead of all your competitors then listen up closely here. You are in the relationship business. You are in the business of communicating information in an entertaining, fun way to connect with your clients and prospects and establish an ongoing relationship with them. You want to keep adding value to your current customers and prospects, as well as connect with them on a human level.

Here's an example of how you can add value- you need to communicate with your customers at the very least- once a month. A great way to do this is with a monthly printed newsletter. This newsletter needs to be a friendly communication that informs, educates, entertains and demonstrates your expertise. If a newsletter is too daunting, you could also use a large sized postcard or send out a monthly email newsletter that pulls people to your website. The ideas of how to do this are endless. The key is you need to establish a relationship with your clients and prospects and communicate with them on a regular basis. You always want your business or service to be in the top of their mind. The best way to do this is to establish yourself as more than a business or service. They need to get to know you, and feel they can relate to you. This lesson is huge and the businesses and entrepreneurs that "get this" are taking this all the way to the bank. Take some time out of your busy day to come up with some ideas today to start using this principal. If you do, you too can reap the rewards.

8 Secrets to Creating & Using Successful Sales Letters in Your Business

2008-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
Shannon's Posts - Shannon's Site

Do you use sales letters in your marketing and advertising to your prospects and clients? Using simple sales letters is the most reliable and powerful method of selling anything. The most successful businesses use sales letters to make loads of money.

In this age of the internet, so many people use email and the internet to sell, which are both great vehicles. However, I really think the direct mailed sales letter is a lost medium. We're all too caught up in the inexpensiveness of sending emails and getting people to go to our websites.

I would recommend using a variety of media in selling your products and services- email, web and direct mail. I would strongly urge you to use a printed sales letter, especially if you're aiming at smaller businesses. This is really the workhouse of all your media.

A simple letter if done well, written like you're speaking to them, and is personalized, and has an offer and reason to respond, will develop rapport and will get your prospects to contact you.

Here are some key things every sales letter has to contain:

1) Killer Headline- Every sales letter has to have headline filled with a benefit that will get the attention of the reader to want to read more.

2) A photo of you- Most especially if you're in the service business, a picture is worth a thousand words.

3) Here's how the copy should flow- Start off by addressing a problem they are having, then agitate that problem, than finally offer them a solution which will be your product or service.

4) Don't forget to have an irresistible offer in your letter (one that will make them respond and take advantage of your offer) and only 1 offer- don't confuse your prospects by offering them a free report a discount coupon and an invite to your seminar- talk about overload and convoluted message!

5) Always give them more than one way to respond- web, email, fax, or call a 24 hour hotline

6) Always have a deadline to respond by- within 12 days, no later

7) Always have at least one testimonial in your letter, 2 - 3 are preferable

8) Always have at least one PS that summarizes your offer. (I usually have 3 - 4 PS's.)

Sales letters are really a simple and easy tool to get new prospects. One thing to keep in mind, don't just send one letter. You're leaving money on the table- always send them out in a series of 2 - 3 letters.

You'll increase your response rate by sending at least 2 or 3 direct mail pieces. So start writing!

To Your Success,

Shannon

Always remember it's a Process...

2008-10-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

You ever feel you are being pushed into a sale? The constant phone calls. The strong-arm tactics. The general bullying. What is your immediate reaction? To do the opposite as the desired result. You want to NOT buy no matter how great the good or service.

The credit crisis and the general turmoil in the economy seems to have made some sales-people snap and forget that selling to small business is, ultimately, a process of building a relationship. Perhaps some of succumb to the general panic that the earth will shallow the economy whole. But let us not forget that, in good times, anyone can make a sale and in bad times the true professional salespeople emerge.

I am often reminded of a story once told to me of a vendor who sold to the automotive industry (back when it was actually profitable). They were not on the approved vendor's list of a particular automotive company. However, impressed by the moxy of the owner-manager, a senior executive of the automotive manufacturer made the vendor a deal-meet with me every week for one year for one hour each. If you attend every week without fail, you will be placed on the approved vendor's list.

Sure enough, the vendor did so. Some weeks they spoke of business. Other weeks they spoke of their families. Some weeks they had a Seinfield-esque conversation about nothing. At the end of 52 weeks, the senior executive kept his promise and placed the vendor on the approved vendor's list. Given the size of the orders the company made, they instantly became the vendor's largest client.

Here's the twist in the story though- it turns out this executive made the same deal with every potential vendor and people never took him up on it or gave up after a while.

The morale of the story is that sales is a process and not an end per se. There's a reason why they call it a sales cycle. A cycle is a process of stages. Thus, lest you press the panic button over the ills of Wall Street, just remember to continue to believe in the process of a sale.

Seller or Server?

2008-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

My investment advisor left me a message last month informing me that one of my stocks had increased their dividend and wondered whether I wanted to buy more stock. I am a bit of a business news junkie and, obviously being a shareholder, I had a certain vested interest in seeking any good news out about stocks I own (and given the state of the stock market these days, good news is few and far between). But the call got me to thinking whether these types of calls are welcome. As a service provider, it may be seen as good client service but for the client it may be viewed as either a welcome call or a nuisance.

It really depends whether the client needs a seller or a server. A seller, as the name implies, is great at pitching product, exciting potentials to buying and closing the deal. Then, the seller moves to the next deal. The emphasis is more on closing than building the relationship (although both are a priority).

A server may not be great at closing a sale at first but is a very good at guiding the client through post-sales. These are typically people who make great customer service representatives or account managers.

Obviously, I am over-simplifying for ease of analysis and I do not want to suggest that sellers and servers are mutually exclusive sales personnel; a good salesperson can be both. But you have to think about who your client is and ensure you have someone who may be a better seller or server being their representatives.

Sellers tend to be better with clients who are knowledgeable about the product and know what they want to buy and are looking for the best deal on that product. They tend not to need a lot of service post sale since they are pretty knowledgeable.

Servers tend to be better with clients who have to buy the product or service out of necessity and require a lot of after-purchase service to help them get the most out of the product or service. A good example would be a small business that has to buy a server for their network and the owner-manager is not tech-savvy. In this instance, a good account manager could walk them with the technical aspects of the product and ensure their frustrations are minimized so they will upgrade with that company.

Many small businesses need servers. Owner-managers tend not to have the depth of skill-set or managerial experience around them to resolve issues in a wide variety of fields. In many respects, many owner-managers are the jacks of all trades so, outside of their competence, some require servers to give knowledge and expertise. A good server in many respects acts as their informal advisory board.

The key is assessing the need of small business owners are determining whether or not they need someone who can be more of a seller or someone who can be more of a server.