Archive for Sales
In This New World, You Better be Fast to Change!
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Some good friends of ours turned us onto to Red Box last week. And, for those of you who do not know what Red box is, let me explain. For one measly buck you can walk up to the Red Box at over 15000 locations and rent a movie. No lines, no check out person, just you, the Red Box, and one buck. That is it. Sounds pretty simple right? It is.
Now why do I like Red Box? Well, first off I would occasionally rent a movie from Comcast. It is easy and I never have to worry about returning the movie…but why can Red Box give me a movie for $1 and Comcast wants $3-4?? Highway robbery I tell ya!
Last night I thought about Blockbuster and Hollywood video. Does anyone go to these places anymore? And if so why?
So what does this have to do with you business? Well, times, they are a changing. If you think you have the market cornered, then you are deceived at your very core. There is someone, somewhere, plotting to do it better, faster, and cheaper than you. They are lying in wait to jump up and take your clients. They are opening up bank accounts to deposit checks, cash, and credit card payments that once went to you.
So you say, “is there anything I can do?” Yep, there sure is and here is a quick list of action items you can take right away…
1. You need to be constantly reinventing yourself for your market. People want something new. What is the latest, the greatest, the freshest. Take your product or service and give it an overhaul.
2. You need to be on the Honeymoon with you clients all the time. Never assume your relationship is so forged in stone that you no longer have to work at keeping it. You need to constantly woo and wow your best clients. They demand it and are looking for a quick divorce from you if you do not keep up.
3. You need to pay close attention to the competition. Running a small business does not mean go in a cave. Keep your clients close and your competition even closer. You need to know what they are up to and when they are up to it!
4. Don’t wait, do it today! Got a new product? A new Service? Get it out today. Stop waiting for it to be perfect, because it never will. Take massive action today! There is not time to think, ponder, and plan…just get off your butt and do it!
5. Stay lean and mean! If you think you need a large overhead to run your business then look at the Red Box vs Blockbuster. Which one would you rather own? A store with rent, overhead, and lots of employees…or a box that automatically takes money without you being there? I dunno…tough one. If you want to stay in the game, you need to control your expenses and come up with ways to do business faster with less money.
I gotta go and return my 1 dollar movie…man I feel like a good steward of my money…
Give Value, Give Value, That’s All Your Hear, but What Does it Mean???
Posted by: | CommentsI hear sales leaders, marketing scholars, and motivational speakers talk about giving value all the time. They say, “provide value to your customers and they will buy from you, refer you, and write your name in the margins of their notebooks…but what is this VALUE they are talking about??
Is it service? Is it convenience? Is it price? Who the heck knows? Well let me share with you a marketing and sales truth about value…
What is value to one person, may not be value to another.
Let me share some stories to illustrate what people find as valuable…
Last Christmas my wife got me several presents. Some shirts, some ties, but one stuck out more than any other…that was an I-pod charger for my car! It cost her 5 buck at target. Why did I find so much value in this inexpensive gift? Because my i-pod would lose its charge after 30 minutes in the car! I am trying to listen to Zig Ziglar and bam, no juice! It solved a huge frustration for me and I didn’t even know that an i-pod charger existed!!!
At our mortgage company we do a lot of purchase loans. People come to us to buy a home. We used to send out clients cookies after they closed. They came in a little tin with our logo on it. Pretty clever we thought! But, while clients liked it, they didn’t see it as real value. I mean come on? Are they really going to refer their friend because they get a tin of cookies? i think not! That is when it hit us. We need to give them something that THEY find valuable. Buying a home is fun, moving sucks! I remember moving into our home. I would have killed for a bar of soap or a handy wipe the day we moved. Everything was boxed up. I could not find my phillips head screw driver to save my life! And that is how the closing bucket was formed. Now, everyone who buys a home get a big bucket full of everything from tools to toiletpaper. If you need it the day you move, it is in the bucket. Needless to say it has been a huge hit!
Why? Because it is thoughtful, needed, and the clients see it as real value!
So how do you create value in your business?
- Ask your clients what their biggest problem is? The solution is the value!
- Listen for common complaints from clients. Solve them and that is your value.
- Put yourself in their shoes. What would you value from doing business with you? I betcha it won’t be a stress ball with your logo on it!
Oh crap! I Can’t Find My Keys!!!!
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my favorite quotes is from Les Brown. He says, “what you focus on the longest, becomes the strongest!” Now the question becomes, what is it that YOU should be focusing on? In the business of sales, the answer is easy…YOU should be focused on making sales.
I often tell the story of lost keys. We have all lost our car keys at one time or another. Do you remember the last time you lost your keys? Do you remember that sense of panic that ran through your mind? Where are they? Where were they last? What am I going to do????
That mindset is a great mindset for any sales person. You should get up every morning and say I have to find and make a sale today!! You should hit the ground looking for a sale with the same frame of mind that you take on when you realize you just lost your keys and must find them at all cost! Let’s take a look at how this can apply to your sales career…
1. You realize you must find a sale today!
2. You start asking great questions….
- Where did my last sale come from?
- How did I find my last sale?
- Where did I look for my last sale?
- Where is the most logical place that I could find a paying client?
- Who could I ask for a referral?
3. You don’t stop until every stone has been looked under and the sale (keys) has been made!
When we get really focused on the main thing, then we start to uncover the process and amazingly we find what we are looking for!
Now, go out and make a friend, because if you make a friend, you will make a sale! I guarantee it!
Those Pants Don’t Make Your But Look Big Because Your But is Big
Posted by: | CommentsWe have all heard the question, “Do these pants make my but look big?”And our normal response is no, but the truth is that for most people it is not the pants that make their but look big, it is really their but that is big. I have met a lot of people with big buts. They don’t want to admit that they have big buts. They would simply rather hear, “No your but is not big” than hear the truth.
Now before you go nuts, I am not talking about your derier. I am talking about all those buts that you use to keep you from pursuing your dream or passion. I have people ask me for advice all the time and when I give the advice, I usually hear something like this…
That sounds great…BUT
I would really like to start…BUT
Buy would that be awesome…BUT
Sure, I could do that…BUT
If you need a visual, check out this video…
You see where I am going with this one? It is their BUT that is so big that they will never get anything accomplished. So the question is not “do these pants make my but look big?” Instead the question is “What will you do to get rid of that big BUT?”
