The Selling Sherpa

Sales Tip of the Day: BLACK FRIDAY

According to ShopperTrak, there was a 0.5% increase in spending on last week’s Black Friday.

Is it because the economy is improving?  We all hope so.

But the biggest reason Black Friday sales are always the strongest of the year is because retailers have trained all of us to go shopping on that day.

Through consistent promotion and advertising, we have been conditioned to expect some of the best prices on that day.  Sadly, we’ve also been conditioned to expect some of the worst shopping conditions on that day.  

Yet, we still brave the lousy parking, terrible traffic, and frequently less-than-perfect customer service.  Or we go online to get the same items at the same price.

Black Friday rocks because of conditioning.

What are you doing to condition your customers to spend with you?

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Even the most professional salesperson (that's you!) should schedule time to share with family and friends.  So it is with me, as well.

The "Sales Tip of the Day" will resume on Monday, November 30.

During this time, I hope you celebrate the many blessings in life that give us all a reason to be thankful.

Thank you for being a subscriber, a fan, a friend.  

You REALLY Rock!
Pat

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Patrick Williams, Hit-Maker
Helping people and businesses be #1 in their market!
http://www.YouRockCommunications.com  ·  253-318-7503

Sales Tip of the Day: I THANK YOU

Early in his career, sales trainer Tom Hopkins made it a goal to send at least 10 thank-you notes every day.  By the end of the year, his business was virtually 100% referral.  The people he thanked sent him new customers because he made them feel appreciated.

Here are some ideas for how you can incorporate more “Thank You” in your day.

Thank a prospect for taking your call.
 “Thank you for talking with me on the telephone.  I know time is precious, and I’ll always respect the time you invest as we discuss the possibility of developing a business relationship.”

Thank a prospect for meeting with you.
 “It was a pleasure meeting you.  Thank you for the time we shared.  We’ve served many happy customers, and my wish is to someday serve you.  If you have any questions, please call.”

Thank a customer for making a purchase.
 “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to offer you our finest service.  I know you’ll be happy with your investment.  My goal now is to offer excellent service so you’ll refer others to me.”

Thank a non-customer for not making a purchase.
 “Thank you for taking time to consider using our services.  I’m sorry that your plans don’t include making the investment at this time.  However, if you need further information, please call me.  And I’ll keep you posted on new developments that may benefit you.”

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: PROMISES, PROMISES

You’ve wowed your customer time and time again.  They’re not just satisfied.  They are even more than loyal.  They are fanatical!  

And, they’ve given you the name and number of a friend as a referral.

So, how do you handle calling the referral?

Most salespeople might use something like, “Mr. Prospect, this is Bob Smith with ACME Products.  David Jones said I should call you.”

While that is the truth, it doesn’t stand out and it doesn’t say much about you.

A better way to begin a conversation would be,  “Mr. Prospect, this is Bob Smith with ACME Products.  David Jones asked me to call you and I promised him that I would.”

With one statement, you’ve established that you are the kind of person who keeps promises to your customers.

Just make sure always follow through on those promises, and your reputation will be rock solid!

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: DAY AFTER DAY

If what you sell can solve a prospect’s problem, you have a good chance to make a sale.

Want to know a sure-fire way to nail it?

Help your potential customers determine precisely how much money it cost them to go without your solution last year.  Then break it down to show just how much money they are losing day after day.
 
When they see for themselves that it’s more economical to use your product, service or treatment, they will become very anxious to buy.

By the way, this technique can also work when you show a prospect how much time they can save day after day.

After all, time is money.

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP. 

Sales Tip of the Day: TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE

This idea is purely for getting better engagement from your customer, especially if you are in the retail or restaurant business.

Find out which of your loyal customers are most likely to take a trip in the coming months.  Give them a nice shirt with your logo on it and ask them to take a picture of themselves in your shirt at their destination.  Promise them a gift, discount or some other item of value in exchange for that photo.

Then, tell them you will repeat the reward when they take another picture at a different destination.

With the photos you collect, create a “Wall of Fame” at your location featuring the customers who love you so much that they take you (well, your shirt anyway) with them travel the world.

You can offer special bounties for the first photo in front of any of the seven natural wonders of the world, famous buildings that are instantly recognizable, or while participating in activities like scuba, skydiving, or snow skiing.

Once you have a good collection on the wall, you can start selling shirts to the patrons who will want to get their photos on your wall, too.

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

Have you ever gotten a business card from someone and had trouble finding their phone number, email, or other contact information?  Maybe it was so they could make room for their photo, or their logo, or the huge list of features for their product or service.

Isn’t the point of a business card to give someone a way to contact you?

Make sure your contact information can pass what I call The 3-Foot Test.  If you can hold the business card at arm’s length (which is about 3 feet for average folks) and still read the phone, email, and web information, it’s fine.  Typically this can be accomplished by using fonts no smaller than 12 point.

You should pull out one of your business cards right now and see if it passes The 3-Foot Test.  If it doesn’t, get it fixed now.  

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: TIGHTEN UP

If you aren’t making as many sales as you should be right now, you might need to tighten up your time management.

Some of the things you can do include:

    • use “time blocking” to schedule your activities and stick with your plan
    • transfer voicemail messages to your ‘to do’ list and delete immediately
    • ask those who interrupt you if you can schedule a time later to discuss
    • learn to tactfully say no to meetings and events that don’t serve your goals
    • ask for early appointments to minimize the “late meeting” trickle-down effect
    • handle simple phone calls during lunch hour to leverage voicemail efficiency

Using these techniques can help you make the most of your prime selling time.

What else could you do to tighten up and avoid time-wasting (non-revenue) activities?

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU

Let’s go to the request line:

“What if you had a job where you developed a clientele, then left that position and didn't really keep in contact with your clients. Now, you have a new position and would like to re-contact them. What are some clever ways to do so?”
 - S.A.

A great question and, these days, there are a lot more people dealing with the issues created with changing companies, locations, or situations.

Depending on your sense of humor, and theirs, you can actually have a lot of fun with this.

Here’s a few ideas:

    • Hire a bakery to create cookies with your new company’s logo on it and have them delivered.

    • Leave an after-hours voicemail telling clients you are out of the witness protection program and will call them.

    • Send a series of post cards from exotic locations telling them you will be home soon and would like to catch up.

    • Send a birth announcement with a personal hand-written message about the birth of your new career.

    • Have custom milk cartons printed with a picture of you as the “missing person”.  Stamp “FOUND” across it and attach your new business card.

Most of all, develop some sort of regular communication that you can use to maintain contact with everyone if your rolodex, regardless of where you work.

That way, if you make another change later, it wont be quite as difficult working your way back to them.

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.

Sales Tip of the Day: CONTROVERSY

Do you remember the infamous Iron Chef/McDonald’s “subliminal ad” controversy that raged briefly in 2008?

During an episode of the popular Food Network program, an image of the golden arches logo on a red background with their tagline appeared for 1/30th of a second in the middle of the segment.  A viewer posted the clip on YouTube, then the story was picked up by a local Chicago news program, and then was discussed on television and blogs worldwide.

Although they were a sponsor, McDonald’s denied using subliminal advertising techniques, and Food Network claimed it was merely a technical glitch.

Personally, I think it was a brilliant marketing move.  The media coverage of the story gave McDonald’s, Food Network, and Iron Chef millions of dollars worth of free advertising.

When it is done right, a little controversy can turn into a major publicity stunt.  As long as you don’t break the law or cross moral boundaries, you are only limited by your imagination.  

The more outrageous the stunt, the more attention you are likely to get.

© 2009 YOU ROCK!™ Communications

THE REQUEST LINE IS OPEN! - IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A SALES OR  MARKETING TOPIC, OR HAVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU WANT HELP WITH, SEND ME AN E-MAIL WITH FULL DETAILS AND I MAY GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS IN AN UPCOMING SALES TIP.