Selling To Small Business

New Year, New You

2009-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

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

O.K., I know it's hokey, but I've always been a believer in New Year's resolutions. It's a new year, a new start and what the heck; sometimes we need to reinvent ourselves. Sit down, put your assets and liabilities on a sheet, and decide how to capitalize on the positive and change or at least downplay the negatives.

First I have to set goals, where do I want to be next New Year's? I need to be realistic in my goals, but I also need to challenge myself. Too low, or too high and the goals do nothing to help me. I also need to break the goal down in to bite size pieces, so I can stop at each goalpost and adjust my direction. Once I've set the goals, I need to decide what I need to use from my current toolbox, and also what new tools I need to find and put in the box to succeed.

In my case, I always feel that I need to work on organization; my enthusiasm overcomes my sense of organization. My files need work, my reports need to be kept up better, and even my vehicle needs to be organized. I need to sit down and decide what stays, what goes and what devices and strategies I'll use to get my act together. It's important to my sales, because when I'm organized, I'm more confident, and my presentations are more polished, and my sales improve.

Every year I choose a facet of my sales that I'll read and study to improve. It may be sales techniques from books or off the Internet, but I search out things that'll help me and I make a plan to do the research I need. I also pick out sources for information on my industry and make plans to improve my knowledge base. It may be journals, magazines or books; again I subscribe to the sources, or buy the books or go to the library and get what I need.

Part of success is being part of a team; I sit down and analyze how I can improve my team. Do I need to build new or better relationships? Do I need to improve communications with the organization, or do I need to open a totally different channel, and work around a problem?

The next step is how do I change my style of doing business, what do I do in a call that's successful, and what needs work. After my study, what can I take from my research and meld in to my approach to sales. I don't feel you can just plug things in; you need to figure out how to make them your own. Early in my career I'd pick up something that someone said or did, and I'd try to wedge it in to my sales approach, and it always felt and look forced or uncomfortable. Once I sat down and analyzed why something worked, not just do what they did, I was much more successful.

I know it sounds like a lot to do, but the first step is commitment, decide you're going to do it, and you'll make it happen. I often feel that in the time I waste making up excuses why something can't happen, I probably could have gotten it done. Let's face it, it's your career and your future, you owe yourself the time and effort to be the best you can be.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The Name of The Game is Getting New Clients!

2009-12-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

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

This seems to be the biggest challenge for many people in this economy. I totally understand the issues around this and totally get it. The only thing that I don't get is that this has NOT been issue for me in my business. In fact, this has been my best year yet! Well how can than be you ask? Well, let me share with you in this season of thanks, two things that will help you make a difference and get more clients in any economy:

1) Do you really know the business you're in? You might say that you're a coach, a marketer, a musician, or whatever your business focus is. The reality is you're that's not really the business you're in. The business you're in is connecting with your clients, creating relationships and marketing to them. That's THE business you're in, you're the problem solver, the person that will come to their rescue and help that. The more you can get this and figure this out, the easier it will be for you to get new clients. The more you can reach your prospects on a more emotional level, the more you will connect and they'll want to work with you. The best way to do this is to speak like your prospects in your marketing copy. Use their language, speak to their issues. This is what separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones, knowing that you're a marketer 1st, and marketing your business will lead to your great success.

2) The best marketing that you can do that will lead to your success is called Direct Response marketing. It's different from image marketing. Image marketing is what big companies like Sony, IBM, and Starbucks do. They spend tons of money using image/brand marketing. This is what I don't want you to do. For you as an entrepreneur or a small business, I don't want you to spend a ton of money on your marketing, and the money you do spend, I want you to get the most value out of it. Hence, I want you to use direct response marketing when you start to market yourself. What this means is that everything you put out to advertise yourself has a way for your prospects to respond to you. The focus of your business is to get new clients and keep these clients for a long time. It's not to simply sell your services. Also, you want your potential clients/prospects to raise their hand and let you know that they're interested in your services. So how we do this is whatever you create, you're going to ask for your prospects info in exchange for something for free. What I call this is creating your incredible free offer.

You want to create something so compelling that they'd be willing to exchange their information to get it. It has to be something that they'd feel like a fool if they didn't get this free thing. This thing could be a free report, free audio, free video. The real key here is you need to really know your client so you can create something that they'd be willing to have. An example of a title would be- The 7 Horrible mistakes people make when they're hiring a career coach and what you can do to avoid them.

- For example if you want to do this online- When creating your website, to advertise your new business and services, you need to put your incredible free offer to give to prospects. You need to have an email auto responder like 1 shopping cart or like aweber which you will put on your website that will take these names and automate this whole feature of giving them your free report.

I hope you can take these two tips and run with them all the way to the bank. I use both of these strategies and many more. This is what's helped me grow my business to much success in any economy.

Are sales an artistic or scientific profession?

2009-11-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

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

Today I was at a sales meeting and I listened to a number of people discuss sales approaches and the mechanics of a sale. As I listened, I thought back to my former life and tried to decide was I working in a field that was an art or a science?

Are sales an artistic or scientific profession? About 15 years ago I took a sabbatical from sales and became the chef/owner of a restaurant, and in so doing, I learned that cooking was an art, while baking was a science. In cooking you can change the ratios of any item, you can replace one item with another, and you can change the cooking time or method, and you still come out with an edible product. Sometimes better than planned, other times, not so good. Baking is all about chemical reactions and ratios ; change a ratio or change an ingredient, and you wind up with an inedible mess.

People stood in front of our group and discussed their approach to sales, and it comes down to discussing physics, action and reaction, when you do this, it will cause the customer to react in this way. A number of teachers have distilled the interactions of customers and sales people down to a decision tree, you remember those, if this then that, or this? It is inevitable, no question and no doubt. Just follow the yellow brick road to Oz.

I really believe that it is much more of an art form, yes, all of the science can help you to get through a sales process, but to be truly successful, you have to go well beyond the science. If our customers had read all of the materials and knew the rules as to how they should react, then we would be successful every time, but regrettably the process doesn't always flow. There are way too many variables in the process for it to follow a scientific formula. As salespeople we need to have a sales plan, but we need to be able to read when the wheels start to come off, and we need to dip in to our tool box and pull out another tool.

I cruise the message boards of a number of sales sites and salespeople are always looking for absolute answers, cold call or not, dress for success, or not etc. again I feel that there are way too many variables to be able to make those kind of pronouncements. I really believe that our experience in the field every day builds a file of action and reaction events that we can fall back on, and that will allow us to be successful. I used to say that things I did were done by the use of common sense, one of my people told me it was only common sense because I had done it and realized what worked. I guess that's correct. Read those boards and see how many different and unique points of view that are put forward when a simple question is asked. Scientific theory doesn’t allow for multiple choice answers. I realized that in College, and that is why I changed from Engineering to Business Administration. In the Business courses, a reasoned argument could make anything seem correct.

I guess my point is that while study and scientific reasoning have a place in sales, don't let science become your God, keep your instincts and a sense of humor, you'll be happier and more successful.

How to get a small business owner to trust you

2009-11-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

Even though we don't think of them as such, doctors are small business owners too. They have offices. They have staff. They share the same problems most small business owners' have- and maybe even more in our litigious society.

Doctors are also difficult clients to obtain. They typically make, or are perceived to make, a healthy income and their practices have a lower probability of business failure than other businesses. As a result, they are pitched to. A lot. My own doctor is sold to so often that he takes pictures of all his pharma reps since he can't keep track of all of them.

As a result, they are a cynical lot when it comes to salespeople. Give me your pitch, Leave your business card. I'll call you when I am interested. Next. What makes it harder is that Doctors are so specialized in their knowledge that they have little time to learn the difference between your client management system or your competitors or the difference between this insurance product or that one.

Thus, one of the shrewdest sales strategies I ever experienced was an insurance agent who simply acknowledged that Doctors are a difficult sale and found a way around this obstacle. Quite simply, he encouraged all doctors to attend an insurance seminar with their accountants.

This strategy was successful for several reasons:

1. He understood that in a complicated field like insurance, the Doctor was going to refer to her accountant anyway so why prolong the sales cycle when you can invite the accountant as well?

2. Accountants are often the gate-keepers for Doctors so show you have nothing to hide by inviting the gate-keeper.

3. Earn the trust of trusted advisors of your prospects and you will have an ally on your side.

To put this in another context, remember your dating days? If you really wanted to impress that girl you liked, you would be nice to her friend right? They would put in a good word for you. Even though she may not trust you, she trusts her friend and her friend's judgment.

You better keep score...

2009-11-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

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

Do you keep track of your numbers, you know the amount of money that you spend on producing products, advertising, shipping and handling? This is huge in the Information Marketing business- "Know Your Numbers!"

You need to keep really good track of all these numbers:

1) Product Cost- Do you know how much your products are services cost? Are you making money or losing money? You better know your margins well. It might be time to reassess your prices and do an increase. Yes, you can increase your prices in a recession, don't listen to Wal-Mart or Kmart. The money is not in discounting your prices.

2) Advertising Cost- This is really key- you need to keep track of ALL your advertising, especially if you're doing multi-step direct mail campaigns, or postcard series, email newsletters, etc. There has to be a system that you put in place to know WHERE your prospects are coming from and how much it costs to acquire a new prospect. This way you will know how affective your advertising and marketing really is out there versus how much it costs.

3) Shipping and Handling (S&H) Costs- Lots of different studies have been done on how much to charge for shipping and handling. What's interesting here is people who've not charged for shipping and handling have gotten basically the same conversion rate as people who do charge for shipping and handling. Moral of the story is definitely charge for S&H. Things to think about- if you give them a refund, you might consider subtracting the S&H.

4) Refund Percentage- If you have a great product or service, this ought to be pretty small, like 10% or less. In this crazy economy it might be a little higher. The important thing here is to know what the number is and keep track of it to ensure it stays in the low figures.

5) Profit & Loss- This needs no explanation or you wouldn't be in business.

6) Other numbers you really need to get a handle on are- Your cost per sale, your total number of sales, and your conversation rate for your advertising and marketing pieces.

There's much more to this number thing and keeping track and score of them all. You just really need to get a good handle on these in order creating an even more successful business. So watch your numbers, or higher an expert to help you with them. Keep track of them and make important business decisions based on your all of these numbers.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

2009-10-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

Technology, a word that is the friend of some salespeople. A word that strikes abject fear in to other salespeople. Which are you? I started my sales career with a three ring notebook, with a page for each customer, I put in info each time I contacted the customer, until the page was filled, and then I stapled a new page to the back, and carried on. The notebook became dog eared, the pages fell out, info was lost and I was frustrated. Communication was a pager that told me who to call, and the nearest phone booth and a roll of dimes were the way to contact my customer. You learned where there were phone booths with desks, and good lighting, so you could sit down and do your work. Research on a potential customer was a trip to the public library, cold call info was yellow pages; you kept a copy of each phone book in your trunk, and pulled it out when you were working the territory. Orders were placed by handwritten forms, or called in to the secretary who typed it up and turned it in. Copies were on your desk, and you filed it all away in file cabinets.

Today, all my client info is on my laptop, and with an air card, I can get on the internet anywhere and anytime. Orders are placed by filling out forms on the internet, with copies in a computer file. I have two cell phones on my hip, one for company business and one for personal. I have a printer in car, so I can fill out and print contracts on the customer's site. My car has two electric outlets to power all this technology. Which is better?

Yes. I know that keyboard time, has replaced windshield time as the bane of a salesperson's existence, but think back to how difficult organization was in the past. You can now put together newsletters, presentations, and other communications and email them to any number of clients. We can then record our movements on a file in our CRM, and know what we did. We can stay in contact with hundreds of customers on a regular basis. We can use GPS to cut down lost time and energy.

I always fear that that I don't let technology disconnect me from my customer, I need to balance technology with the personal touch. I may email, but I need to be sure to make face to face contact, I may use the cell phone, but I need to be sure we're talking. I can't let leaving a voicemail, be sufficient contact with a customer, I need to be sure I reach and speak with the decision maker. Technology should help me to have a better relationship with my customer, not insulate me from my customer. I also need to resist the need to be a belt and suspenders type of salesperson. I need to embrace and trust that technology works. I don't need boxes full of files in my car, which are copies of things on my computer. I don't need to hard copy every email I receive, I need to let technology lighten my load, not add to it.

We always want to complain about change, and lament the good old days, but they weren't that good. We need to accept change, advocate for more change, and use the technology to the best effect that we can. Let's all prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

How to Find Your Starving & Very Hungry Crowd

2009-10-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

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

There's a great story by the late marketer and copy writer Gary Halbert. He often asked a group of people this question, "If you were to open up a fast food business, what would you want?" Some people said they'd want a great location, others said the best secret sauce. And what Gary said was, "You guys can have that stuff. All I want is a starving, and very hungry crowd." This IS exactly what you want- a huge massive starving and hungry crowd. You need to find people that are desperate or who will do anything to simply get their hands on your product or services and then all you need to do is give it to them. Your potential customer is that "Hungry Crowd."

So then the real question is what comes first? Do you create your product first, then find your hungry crowd and sell it? Or do you find that hungry crowd first and then create your product? Well, the debate about this one in the information marketing business is pretty hot and heated and almost as passionate as to what came first, the chicken or the egg?! The funny thing is that the majority of people I come across usually have already created a product or in the process of creating it and then they look to build their list and find their hungry crowd. The real truth and honestly THE best way to go about this is finding that hungry crowd FIRST. This is really the key. There's no need to spend all your time, money and effort creating a product to then find out that it's not a real "hungry" market and there's no real "need" for your product.

I'm going to spend a few minutes here this month and give you some excellent tips I've discovered on how to go about finding "your hungry crowd" first, then later in the coming months I'll give you some insights and great ideas on how to go about creating your product.

Here's step #1, after you have your product area, you need to do RESEARCH. Best way to do it is go online to Google. Put your key words right into the search area and check out the right side of the page. These are paid advertising, and also the top of the page there might be some ads. Are there products or services already being marketed to this niche? If the answer is yes, that's a good sign. It means people are looking for solutions to their problems and are willing to spend money to buy them. Look for trends, and top performers in your category. For example if you create a product on house training your dog, put that into Google's search engine and see what comes up. Sometimes there are too many products in a field. So if you decide you want to enter, I'd recommend buying the top products that are your competition and read through them and figure out what's missing from the product. Figure out your competitor's weak point. So when you create your product, make it incrementally different, than your competition and have a specific marketing hook that's different from them. Also, sign-up for their newsletters or free reports and see what they're selling, and how they're selling it. Knowing your competition is good.

Other places to do your key word research: www.technorati.com - search blogs for your topic or idea, www.Wordtracker.com (they have a paid and free service) You could also go to Google Adwords and see your search volume on actual words people are using surrounding your product idea. Just go to Google, on the bottom of the page that says "Advertising Programs." (If you have an adwords account already, you can read on!), then click on Google Adwords. Scroll down to "Create your ads" and click on "Get key word ideas." Add as many words as you can and hit "get key word ideas." When you get your results, look at the "global monthly search volume," and you can even sort by this column. This will give you a good idea on how many searches were done with these key words. Plus it will give you many other key words that people search. There's so much more you can do with this, however, I just don't have the space here. And there are also volumes of other great resources on Google adwords that could help you as well.

Something else to keep in mind is that very successful products come from these 3 Super niches:

1) Money in Business

2) Health & Fitness

3) Dating and Relationships

Look for markets that are evergreen; is it a fad that will last? Is this a seasonal market and do I have time to enter it? How much money can be made in these niches? Remember you need a little bit of lead time to create and then sell your product.

Next, do you have a sense of what it costs them NOT to have those problems solved? If not, find out. This can be a key selling point in your favor, you will appeal to this crowd on an emotional level, and you feel their pain and want to help. Do you know what they are willing to spend in order to solve their problem? You can find out by going to the web sites of the current vendors within the space you are pursuing. Check out the products and services they sell, paying special attention to the pricing.

We've just scratched the service on how to go about researching for your product idea. I hope this was helpful. I'll give you some more great stuff on research and product creation next month too! In the mean time, if you have any questions, email me, I'm happy to help!

The Value of Empathy

2009-10-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

I recently returned to practicing law having worked for a medium sized business on both legal and non-legal matters. At an entrepreneurial function, a contact of mine introduced me to someone as: "a real business lawyer because he actually understands what an entrepreneur goes through day-to-day."

A friend of mine runs a successful business with his vice-president handling the day-to-day end of it. I asked him how he ended up hiring this employee. As it turns out, the employee was his account manager for services he purchased. The employee asked him how he could join him and my friend responded: "run a business for a year and maybe we can talk." Sure enough, this gentleman quit his corporate job, ran a business for a year and contacted him. Impressed with his dedication, my friend hired him.

What do these two stories have in common?

Small and medium sized business owners place a high value on empathy. Specifically, they want to know that you understand the slings and arrows they go through every single day. If you have suffered them before or understand them, their level of respect for you generally tends to be higher which means a greater chance they may buy from you.

See how my friend handled his employee when he was an account manager? In essence, he said you can only work with me if you get out of the glass tower and understand the daily life of an entrepreneur.

One final story then some tips. Real estate agents often lease high-priced vehicles to give their clients the aura of success. I find that this tends to back-fire if you are wooing a potential small business client not interested in the currency of status. In fact, driving up in a high-priced car may provoke the opposite reaction as in: "I see where your commission is going-to maintain your life-style." Like attract like so understand the market you are serving.

The moral of these stories?

1. Don't be just a suit. Be a suit that understands small business.

2. Don't be afraid to show your entrepreneurial credibility. Working in or coming from a family of entrepreneurs gets you far.

3. Any tips or referral to help your small business clients will put you ahead of your competition. After all, you are implicitly saying you understand the day-to-day life of your customers or potential customers.

Good luck.

Do you have a fourth quarter game plan?

2009-09-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

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

O.K., the fourth quarter is about to begin, another salesperson's nightmare. You have three months coming up with two major Holidays, three three day weekends, enough challenges for you? Of course, nobody buys anything in the fourth quarter, right? The budgets are all spent down, and no one wants to make a decision until the New Year. Let's see have I missed anything?

Now that we've got that out of our system, let's figure out how we are going to build a fourth quarter game plan. First thing is how we motivate ourselves to find the positives and get things in line. Why are you in sales? Most everyone is in the field because we are money motivated, we have Christmas and a New Year coming, and I know I want to be a great Santa for my family, and in today's economy I don't want to hit the credit cards, so I need to make some commission. I'm new to my company, and I want to be a leader when the yearend sales numbers come in. These are several of the motivations I have, list some of the things that will motivate you, put them on a piece of paper, put it where you see it every day, and use it.

Our clients are sitting out there waiting for us, and waiting to put us off till the New Year, so to get in front of them we have to find the "hot button" that'll open the door, what is it? Do we have a price that'll help them, or do we have terms that'll make the difference? At the very least, they'll have to put together a budget, and part of any budget is purchases, so they need to talk to you to get the numbers to plug in to the budget. You know your product, you know your industries, and you need to listen to your customers to find out why they need to see you. Prep becomes more important because the appointments are harder to get, so you need to be ready when you hit the door asking for the appointment, or making the presentation. Find the need, ask the right questions, and fill the need. Sounds easy, but it'll be a challenge, get ready.

You have an advantage over a lot of your competition; you have the motivation, and the plan to make it work. Many of the people you sell against have listened to all the objections and they've been sold on the fact that they need to just write off the fourth quarter, and start planning for next year. I watch a lot of football, and I've never see a team that writes off the fourth quarter and wins, but I have seen a number of miracle finishes because the team didn't give up. They watched what the other team was doing that worked, and they made adjustments that gave them the path to success, the same thing goes for me, I need to keep my head in the game and adjust to win. Keep positive.

Where do you find ideal clients?

2009-09-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

As we get back from summer, the question always arises where do you find new ideal clients this autumn once you have tapped your hot list?

The traditional line of sight is networking functions. For readers who are veterans of these events, you know the issues with networking functions are primarily three-fold:

1. The same people attend all the events;
2. There are more sellers and buyers (and the sellers are not listening to your pitch); and
3. Your ideal client is too busy building a business to attend a networking event.

This is not to suggest that networking functions do not have intrinsic value. They do. It is that they are subject to these the above limitations.

The same issues also arise at association or industry events but add to it trying to process the sheer magnitude of business cards you receive and the time it takes to determine whether the lead is hot, warm or not a lead at all. In many respects, association/industry events are better for educational/competitive intelligence than pure lead building.

Instead, I would suggest that one adhere to the saying "like attract like." Most entrepreneurs spend time with other entrepreneurs. We like to unwind in each another's company and reinforce the fact that other people are facing the same challenges as us.

Rather than starting cold, ask your clients to introduce you to leads. The key is to narrow in on what you are looking for in a lead. It is not good enough to say "I need business, do you know anyone?"

Instead, be specific as to a "want" and a "need" client. The question to be asked then moves from the general to the specific: "ideally, I am looking for a business grossing between $2-$10 million a year who needs to rebuild their network but I am just as happy being introduced to a client that needs to purchase some redundancies on their existing network."

Implicit in this approach is that you are showing some sense of vulnerability in asking others for help. The salesperson is not the all-knowing expert but an actual human who requires assistance from others.

For some, it can be a tough pill to shallow. But remember people buy from people and showing that you are human is not necessarily a bad thing. Many entrepreneurs are more than happy to assist others and a side benefit of this approach may be that your clients see you as more of a person than a talking head.

Best of luck.

How to Create a 7 Figure Business

2009-09-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

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

It was supposed to be a quick hour and fifteen minute plane ride to Cleveland from Newark. Then out of nowhere right before we're supposed to push back from the gate, this huge thunderstorm hit and we were grounded for over 4 hours, stuck on the plane. I used to travel a lot in my corporate days so I was ready with lots to keep me busy for the much longer plane ride to Cleveland. I was extremely excited to be going there because I was attending Dan Kennedy's 7 Figure Academy: 7 Steps to 7 Figures. I've seen Dan speak many times at conferences. Yet, this was the first time I was going to hear him speak for 3 days straight and it was all content, all Dan. So while waiting on the plane for the airport to reopen, I had ample time to catch up on my past issues of Dan Kennedy's Marketing newsletter.

I was able to read the 3 that I brought from cover to cover and the information he shares still amazes me. I've been getting his newsletters for 3 years, and I can always pick one up and find the exact nugget that's been able to transform my own business and also my clients. Well, I did eventually get to Cleveland, 3 hours late, but just in time for dinner with my friends that were attending.

I knew this meeting was going to help me transform my business and the businesses of my clients. In fact, I got so much awesome information on the first day, I could have gone home! Dan totally over delivered at this workshop. The investment in this workshop was well worth it for the 200 of us who attended. So I can't reveal all of Dan's secrets here, however I can share with you a couple things that I think you can certainly take to the bank in your business. I really want to help your business be incredibly successful. That's one of the many reasons why I love going to conferences and workshops: I always learn something new that I can share with you and my clients, so we can all have more successful businesses. Remember "a rising tide floats all boats."

Ok, back to how you can take your business from 6 figures to 7 figures... There are 7 Things you need to have and to do in order to make 7 figures. I'll share with you the top 4 that I think will be the most affective for you:

Tremendous Status - Think of this as being like Donald Trump, or Houdini. You need to have status, personality and high end connections and associations. What's the "you" you are selling to your prospects/clients? What makes you unique in your niche?

Incredible Value - Every business has tangible and intangible value. What's the intangible value that only you can bring to your business? How can you over deliver to your customers? Prospects?

Extreme Productivity - Most businesses have unused and unexplored capacity. Do you have a new element you can add to your business? A new niche? A new "done for you" product/service?

Maximum Leverage - What's your biggest multiplier that you can use to leverage your business? What are your income producing assets and how can you leverage them more? How can you leverage your customers? Intellectual property? Process? Procedure? Brand? Connections?

Overall, the best thing I discovered at this workshop is if making 7 figures were that easy, than everyone would be doing it. It takes courage, stamina, resilience, fortitude, brains, and really being able to leverage your business, your connections and think really big, way out of the box big. An example would be, instead of trying to figure out how to build your list, why not ask this question - "How do I get 100 other people to feed me their best customers?" The name of the game to move forward to 7 figures is to be able to leverage yourself, your products, your business, giving incredible value and figuring out how you can be extremely productive. So I give you permission today, to start thinking much bigger for yourself, and your business. Don't wait, take one action now towards a 7 figure income - you deserve it!

Up Your Sales Game

2009-08-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

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

I was out cold calling last month, and as part of the Michael Jackson tributes they played "The Man in the Mirror", and it made me think about Michael as a sales coach. If you want to change the world look at yourself and make a change.

The environment that we work in has a huge impact on our confidence and enthusiasm, unless you're a sphinx the negatives that you hear all day have to start to affect your ability to be a positive force. But, the downside of that is that as you become more negative you are reflected by your clients and you have all talked yourself in to not buying. That certainly isn't what any salesman wants to see happen. It's time to look inside, and see how you can change your world.

When you get up in the morning, review your short term goals, and as you're in the shower, plan how you're going to use the day to advance those goals. Pat yourself on the back for the things that you've done in the last few days that have advanced your goals. Keep doing the things that work and that make you successful, figure out how to change the behaviors that have held you back.

You're out of the shower and ready to get dressed, are you well groomed, and pleasant to look at? Let's face it, even though it's not fair, we all make our decisions based on our first impressions. It is said that you have 30 seconds to engage a conversation. If you don't look the part, and fit in with your client's world, they are put off, and instead of giving you a chance, they're looking for how to be rid of you. I've seen it at sales conferences where the pros look at those who come in dressed out of character, or with facial hair, or tinted hair, or whatever, and they laugh behind that person's back. Leave your individuality for the weekend and vacations.

We all watch the news and the talk shows during breakfast and on the drive to work, but don't let these discussions cause you to be negative for the day, if need be, it may be time to dump the talk shows and tune in some music. I've given up talk radio during the day in my travels; it's all so negative and argumentative. Jimmy Buffet is more positive than Sean Hannity any day.

When you get to work and face the emails and discussions that begin every day, rather than seeing them as problems, you need to get over the guilt and or frustration, what happened has happened, look for the opportunity to improve the situation, Pointing fingers, and assigning blame is counterproductive.

I certainly know that making the changes that I suggest is tough, but when we all decided to get in to sales; we realized we were in for the challenge of a lifetime. We also realize that sales are largely a mental game on both sides of the ball, you either sell the client on your program, or they sell you on why they shouldn't buy your program. It's time to up your game and become the winner you deserve to be.

Do You Really Know Your Customer and Their Emotional Hot Buttons?

2009-08-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

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

I was flying home on the plane yesterday after attending Dan Kennedy's 7 Figure Academy, 7 Steps to a 7 Figure Income, in Cleveland, Ohio. (The workshop was nothing short of mind blowing. I'd highly recommend checking out Dan Kennedy and pick up any of his books on marketing.) After I sat down on the plane, the man next to me started talking to me. He told me what business he was in and after he found out I was a marketing coach and consultant, he proceeded to whine about how his business was down and did I have any wisdom to share that might help him. As it turned out I had a ton of questions for him and I think I really helped him get a good snap shot on some core things he can do to get more clients now. So I thought this might make a good post to share with you - Do you really know who your customer is and what their emotional hot buttons are?

First thing above all else, you need to have an excellent snapshot of "who" your customer really is. You need details like how many credit cards do they have? Do they own their own home? Do they have a vacation home? How many cars do they drive? Are they foreign or domestic cars? What's their age range? I'd jot all this down on paper and make sure you have a very clear picture of who they are.

Next, I would encourage you to do this exercise- take some time out and talk to your potential customer for 15 to 30 minutes every day. The best way you will really zero in on who your customer is and what their problems are, is to talk to them. I'd talk to one potential customer every day for 30 days. You can find them anywhere, online, offline, maybe when you're out at conferences, or networking meetings, or even on Facebook and Twitter. The real key here for you is to ask these questions and REALLY LISTEN to their answers. Listen for their emotional hot buttons and take notes. (These hot buttons would be great to use in your advertising of your product/services.) The information you get will greatly enhance your ability to market yourself and really attract your ideal clients. Here are the questions:

1- What's their biggest fear/frustration in their business?
2- What are the problems this challenge is causing for them?
3- What keeps them awake at night? (This will help you get into the mind of your ideal client.)
4- What's their ideal outcome/result or goal they'd like to achieve in their business?
5- What would getting that outcome do for them? What would it mean for them in their life?
6- Based on what they've told you, the next step is... (This is where if you think they're a good match for you, tell them what the next step would be in moving your working relationship to the next level.)

In summary, you need to have a good snapshot of who your ideal client is, create a really good message that will really appeal to them. Go out and schedule calls with them, talk to them, listen for their emotional hot buttons. Use these hot buttons in your marketing and advertising. You want to reach them and talk to their fears, frustrations and what keeps them awake at night. You want you and your products/services to be the best and most perfect solution to their problem.

Sales Strategies

2009-07-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

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

O.K., here I am a 57 year old salesman, starting a new job. I walk in the door and find that over the last four years, the average salesman has lasted about four months. There is no pipeline to work from; it's like dropping in to a brand new territory where the company has never sold before. What do I do?

First, I sit down and looked at the features of the company I am working for, we aren't the cheapest, in fact, and we're nearly the most expensive in the market. We have a sixty year history in the area, and we have a catchy advertising catch phrase that people have remembered. It's one of those deals where when you walk in and introduce yourself, you get the tagline. That's a great hook to start a conversation, so that's something to start.

The next point is to match the company's features to the marketplace to find our "sweet spot". Since I'll need to do a bunch of cold calling to build a pipeline, I need to prequalify to find the most likely leads that'll lead to a sale, commissions are important. Once I find my leads, and develop them, I need to put everything in to a CRM so that I can follow and plan my attack. A salesman's first instinct is to hit the road and collect all the business cards and hope for the best, but I've found that having 450 business cards and no system isn't the best way to approach things. It's time to spend a little time getting organized , hit the phones and email to contact people and build relationships, keep all the notes in the CRM and hope for the best.

Time to turn to the service people who'll handle my customers when they interface with the customer. Since I'm selling a service, it's vital that I understand the people that I'm selling. I've sold service in the past, and I've learned that people may not remember the company that they hired, but in most cases, they remember the technician that delivers the service. So I make time to talk with my technicians, learn about them, and build a rapport. Technicians want to provide a service, and live by production numbers, so they want you to sell them, and they'll help you with referrals. In our company, technicians are expected to sell, so we also have to decide how we'll handle opportunities. Some technicians hate selling and are grateful to have me in the mix, others see me as a threat, so now we negotiate, this is a work in progress. I have to meet with the receptionists and office staff to build a relationship that has them on my side. I've brought in chocolate and other goodies, yes it's bribery, but I'm not above that.

The next step is to learn the "tribal knowledge", that's the practical way that works to get things done within the organization. We've all read the organizational chart, and know how the book says things work, but we've all been in organizations and know that the chart isn't the way it really works. There are people you work with, and people that you work around. That's the nature of the beast in any organization, and I need to know that. Tomorrow I meet with the Corporate Sales Manager, and hopefully, a lot of those questions get answered. Stay tuned.

What's My Secret to Marketing Implementation? 3 Simple steps...

2009-07-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

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

I get asked this question a lot - and what they really want to know is how do I get so much accomplished for myself and my clients? I actually love this question because it really gets to the heart of people's frustrations with getting things done.
What is my secret?

Step 1 - Ask yourself these questions: What are you trying to accomplish in your business? What are your goals, long term, short term? If you're having trouble figuring out what your goals are, or what you want to accomplish in your business, it might be time do an overall marketing analysis. This is incredibly helpful because it gives a really good snapshot of where you are with your business, what's working, what's not, and what needs to change. It's all about gaining clarity and focus for your business. The more clear and focused you are about what you want to accomplish in your business, the easier it will be to do it.

Here are some questions that I use when I do a marketing analysis for my clients:

-Describe in detail what products and/or services you deliver.

-Who is your ideal customer? Describe them - what do they read, do they own a home, have a credit card, what are their hobbies, etc.

-Why would a customer choose you over your competitors or over not doing anything at all?

-What's working right now in your business?

-What's not working in your business?

-What would you like/need to do differently in your business to create more prospects/clients?

Once you answer these questions, you'll have a much better picture of where you are and what you need to do to increase your prospects/clients and in turn, increase your profits. The real key is to analyze your business, come away with some clear goals and direction, as well as figure out where your holes are in your business and what steps need to be taken to seal them up. I've done a number of these analysis' for my clients and the biggest takeaway is that I always find areas of lost or hidden money. Often times it just takes a few tweaks to turn the faucet of your sluggish business into the steady stream of a fire hose.

Step 2 - Take all your answers and create a plan of action together with your goals and how you will accomplish them in the next 6 months to a year.

Step 3 - Put your plan into action. These last two steps really seem to trip people up. The biggest part of this secret is you must take time to work on your business, to put a plan together. If you're a pilot flying a plane, you have to have a map and controls so you know where you're going, that's the same for any successful business. And the other crucial part is to simply take action! Remember you can't do it all yourself. It's time to find some good talented people who can help you. Promise me you'll stop doing it all yourself! Go find a good virtual assistant, copy writer, web master, transcriber, etc. I've found many talented people on guru.com or elance.com or craigslist.org. I also have a bunch of resources at my fingertips, including doing a marketing analysis for your business. I'm happy to help you, just send an email (info@marketingimplementer.com ). So, go take some action!

Do Small Business Owners Like to Play Golf?

2009-07-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

Albert's Posts - Albert's Site

With the summer upon us, the obvious question turns to whether it is an effective sales technique to take your small business clients golfing?

Golfing is typically seen as a great way to develop business simply because you have your client or potential client to yourself for 3-4 hours straight. Given that the venue in which you are developing this relationship is outside of the office, it is also a good opportunity for your client to not be focused on their day to day worries and focus on larger strategic issues with you.

Having said that, in my experience, I have found: (i) very few small business owners can golf; and (ii) if they do, they don't play very often. More often than not, small business owners spend so much time running their business that they do not have too much time to develop a golf game or could find more productive means to spend 3-4 hours; the practicality of the situation being that if a small business owner had 3-4 hours of free time, they would probably spend it with family.

Golf seems to be one of those business matters where there is a large business/small business split. Most small business owners, unless they have to golf to woo their own big business accounts, like to use their business development time in other activities (there are obviously exceptions to the rule).

Remember, in most cases, that the small business owner is the ONLY manager and there's no such thing as a day out of the office. Taking them out of the office for 3-4 hours may be seen by some small business owners as a poor use of time and, by association, you are seen as a time-wasting element in their lives.

Instead, I would suggest as a practical summer small business development tip to invite your small business accounts to a lunch on a patio and invite other small business owners to be in attendance. It is typically under-estimated how alone small business owners feel. The ability to create an event where they can interact with an opportunity to exit at the end of lunch, or to stay longer, will be greatly appreciated.

Speaking of the summer, there will be no column in August since I am off for several weeks. Enjoy the summer.

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.