Archive for Sales
Two Mormons on Super Bowl Sunday
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A pair of Mormons visited me during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
I’m not kidding. Right after the Saints challenged the call on their two-point conversion, I hear a loud knock on our front door. Startled, I hustled to the door and peeked through the blinds.
And there they stood. Two young and extremely white guys with clear labels on their lapel and eager to chat.
Now hear me out on this. I’m not ranting about religion. That’s not the point of this post. I personally don’t agree with most tenets of the Mormon faith, but I’m always nice, always conversational.
Except in the middle of the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
I yelled through the door, “Not tonight, guys.” They kept pushing. I repeated my response, and then made it clear that I was watching the game. They kept at it, until I finally had to be rude and just turn around and get back to the game.
Whose Time Are You Wasting?
You’ve got to appreciate their zeal and consistency. But I think you have to question their timing and approach. There was no way I was going to open myself up to a lengthy discussion on the Book of Mormon while the Saints (no pun intended) were making history.
The lesson is clear: why would you ask for something at the absolute most inopportune time? Seriously, why bother? Surely these guys knew they weren’t going to get anywhere on Super Bowl Sunday.
And yet, many of us do the equivalent every day. We knock on our customers’ doors, shouting out our “call-to-action,” knowing full well they are comfortable and content in their proverbial recliners, in absolutely no mood to hear anything we’re saying.
But we do it anyway.
Forget wasting your own time; how about wasting your customer’s time? How long do you think they’ll tolerate that?
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FYI, I hope you noticed I made it a point to keep this focused on business and not religious preferences. Keep it that way in the comments, if you don’t mind.
What Obama’s State of the Union Teaches Us About Choices
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While watching Obama’s State of the Union last night, I was surprised to find myself really enjoying his speech. For the record, I didn’t vote for Obama, and I’m not his biggest fan (nor his worst critic). But I couldn’t help but, at the least, enjoy his delivery, and beyond that, maybe even some of his ideas.
So it hit me that I could choose how I wanted to react to this speech. If I wanted to be an Obama-hater, I could find plenty of sound bytes and fact nuggets to support my case. If I wanted to be an Obama-lover, I could do the same thing.
We don’t rely on facts to help us make a decision. We choose what we want to believe, and then we go find the facts to support it.
We choose whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice, and then make our case.
We choose whether we believe in global warming or not, and then make our case.
We choose whether we’re a Mac or PC, then make our case.
Oddly enough, most campaigns, promotions and sales tactics concentrate on a group we like to call the “undecideds.” That group doesn’t exist, and they aren’t worth chasing.
Instead, find the people who have already chosen to believe whatever you’re promising, and keep giving them reasons to feel good about what they’ve chosen.
Stop thinking your in the business of changing minds and rather in the business of helping people make their case. That’s your market.
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Speaking of choices, you could make what some think is a great choice and subscribe to Marketing In Progress. Just sayin’.
A Customer a Day
Posted by: | CommentsGetting new customers can seem overwhelming. While it’s fun to hear about all the interesting, novel, advanced ways your colleagues and competitors are getting new customers today, it normally leads to information overload before it leads to action.
Focus on leveraging one or two tactics that make sense for you and put them into use.
Regardless of the tactics you use, here’s a systematic program that hinges on the idea of letting momentum take root and then take off. If done correctly, it will lead to 2,379 new customers in the next year.
To start, focus on getting one customer a day for the first month. Obviously, that will get you 30 new customers to start. During this time, focus on doing the marketing tactics you’ve chosen completely and correctly. Don’t cut corners. Set the foundation from which to grow, and put systems in place that allow you to automate the process as much as possible. Your goal is to get the gears of your business churning.
In the second month, focus on getting two customers a day. Continue fine-tuning your tactics and processes. You’ll start seeing some benefits of your daily, consistent activity. By the end of this month, you’ve got 90 new customers (30 from the first month and 60 from the second).
In the third month, get three customers a day. By now, the gears are well-oiled and turning smoothly because you’ve given them the attention they needed. Your reward is they start moving on their own with less and less involvement on your end in the operational side of things. By the end of this month, you’ve got 180 new customers (30 from month 1, 60 from month 2 and 90 from month 3).
Do you see where this is going? The key with the first three months is to plant the seeds in the current season that will lead to a full harvest in the next season.
Carry out the progression. Get 4 customers a day in the fourth month, 5 in the fifth month, and so on for the full 12 months.
At the end of a year, you’ve got more than 2,300 customers.
If you were to start worrying today about getting 2,300 customers, it would absolutely paralyze you, because you’re not ready for it and you don’t know how to get that large a group. But if you can focus on getting one customer today, and then again tomorrow, and so on, you can eventually get to 2,300 customers.
What disciplines and programs do you put in place to keep your businesses gears turning?
Sell What They’re Buying
Posted by: | CommentsAs I’ve meandered through countless exhibit halls and trade shows over the past few months, I’ve discovered a disturbing trend.
The salespeople in the booth are often selling stuff the customer really doesn’t care about.
No, I don’t mean the product itself is useless, although that’s not uncommon. What I’m talking about is what the sales rep says about the product.
I’ve heard helpless sales reps rant and rave about their product’s . . . .
- display case dimensions
- scientific jargon that is familiar only to the rep
- ergonomics (that’s so 90s)
- being derived from rodent fecal matter and can be rubbed on one’s body for optimal results (my favorite)
No one buys your product because of its dimensions, and people get overwhelmed when you use words they don’t understand. And I’m pretty sure rubbing crap on your customer is never a good strategy.
You might not know right away what it is that your prospect is buying, but don’t ever try to persuade the to buy what you’re selling. You, Mr. Salesman, are the one who needs convincing. Take notes, notice what they respond best to, and keep hammering it home.
Start selling what they’re buying.
Telemarketing Gone Bad
Posted by: | CommentsI just got off the phone with a telemarketing rep for a business consulting group. During our quick 60 second conversation, I was disappointed not once but three times in their sales approach:
- The rep obviously got my name from a list of attendees for the National Hardware Show. Before even introducing his company, he started asking me questions about how things went at the show last year, and how my planning is coming along this year. Like I want to just spill my guts with everybody that calls me.
- He explained that his company can help with Internet promotion strategy, event planning, reducing tax liability . . . more than 300 areas of expertise. Sorry, but no one can be an expert in 300 areas. If someone starts throwing a smorgasboard of specialties at you like this, it means they don’t specialize in any of it.
- As expected, he asked for a rep to come out and meet with me. I have no problem with the question, but I’m not at a point to meet with an Internet guru/event planner/tax liability specialist. So I told him no thanks on meeting, but he could give me their website and I’d check it out. He didn’t give me the web address. Instead, he asked why not? I told him I didn’t want to meet with anyone, but I would check out the website and call them if I was interested. He finally relented (and after seeing the site, I see why he hesitated. I think they need to hire an Internet specialist).
So, the issues here are multiple. What’s the biggest lesson that sticks out to you?
5 Reasons Multiple Sales Channels Work
Posted by: | CommentsBrad wrote an excellent recap of some of his branding work at Hallmark.
There are lots of nuggets in this post, but what really stick out to me are his thoughts on adding new distribution channels while maintaining the traditional channels that got you to where you are today. In his example, Hallmark wanted to expand its presence by making a big push into mass retailers but not sacrifice their Hallmark stores and drugstore distribution. To pull one quote from the post . . .
Unleashing the power of the Hallmark brand in the mass channel resulted in substantial market share and profitability gains for Hallmark without taking away from the success of the card shop and chain drug store channels. (Hallmark card shops achieved consistent month over month sales increases for at least three years during this period, validating my held belief that the added marketplace exposure to the Hallmark brand would have a positive impact on all channels carrying Hallmark products.)
Any sales force is always going to moan over and/or fear the possibility of selling your product through another medium, be it a store front, the web, catalogs, etc. Few salespeople understand the importance of brand awareness and product exposure. They are all most interested in salesman awareness and salesman exposure. Naturally, your sales force is going to assume that having more channels of distribution is going to dilute their own chances for sales growth.
In my experience, this simply doesn’t happen, as long as the commitment to both the new channel and the traditional channel are both equally strong and appreciated. It can be destructive to the sales force when implemented poorly or when the new channel is strongly favored over the traditional channel. At this point, you have an altogether new strategy has been implemented, and that’s not what this post is about.
Increasing distribution options is just as much about increasing awareness in all channels as it is increasing sales in a single channel. Here are a few distinct reasons why:
- More exposures everywhere = more sales for everyone. Familiarity with a product is extremely important during the buying cycle. If the brand awareness is there, then that’s one less obstacle for the salesperson because the buyer has at least heard of your product. In addition, it sometimes leads to people finding you because they’re looking for the product due to exposure elsewhere. Not everyone buys a product at the same place they first see it.
- More introductions = more prospects for everyone. Part of the job of marketing is to make introductions to the proper selling agent. A good example would be the function of a website in a direct sales company. The beauty of the web is that it is accessible, it’s casual and it’s not an in-your-face sales presentation. But once the interest is created, the web can introduce the buyer to the appropriate sales channel/representative, be it a local representative, a nearby store or the online shopping cart feature.
- More success = more budget. This should go without saying, but if a company is committed to returning some of their profits back to the marketing budget, then high sales company-wide means higher support company-wide. This is another area where the sales force comes out on top.
- More options = more satisfied customers. Yes, you can “over-option” your product to where it just gives your prospect tired-head. But done correctly, where the customer receives certain areas open to customization, the customer sees value in what you offer. Some will prefer the no-hassle, low-touch channel of an online store. Others will appreciate the follow-up and hands-on approach of a local rep.
- More service = more value. The companies that appear to succeed with both retail store placement and individual stores or individual sales forces do so by providing more service outside of the retail store placement. Using Hallmark as the example, I know I can pick up a Hallmark card quickly at my local Target. (Actually, I must admit, I never look for a Hallmark card; I just look for a card, and it might end up being a Hallmark). However, if I need something special, I often go to my local Hallmark shop, because I know I can get more than just a card. I’ve gotten Christmas ornaments there, I know there’s more variety there and the staff are much more likely to help me out. They provide an extra service that I can’t get at Target, and I actually seek that out. The more specific the sales channel gets, the more it should be able to leverage service opportunities like this. The value will become clear to the consumer.
In my experience with direct sales/MLM sales consultants and industrial B2B salesmen, the argument over “chopping their legs out from underneath them” by exploring other sales channels is usually just the most convenient excuse for not succeeding. It rarely weakens the business, and when it does, that normally has more to do with buying trends in society and not the business.
The Difference Between Sales and Marketing, part 1
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s way too easy and way too common for sales and marketing to be seen as the same thing. After all, marketing and all its tactics are only as effective as the sales they drive. And sales can only be produced when interest and introductions can be driven by marketing.
But too many of us (us can be sales or marketing folks) have a hard time ourselves describing the differences between these two eternally linked departments.
I’d like to take the next few weeks and break down how I see the differences, starting with this first rule:
Marketing is more than sales administration, and Sales is more than marketing implementation.
In a sales-driven company, where the sales force beating the street is considered king, “marketing” could often be more appropriately named “sales administration.” Marketing makes fliers, and websites, and promotions, and product launch plans, and the sales guys take it and run. In addition, the sales guys make suggestions for (or demand) new products, new tools, new campaigns, etc. that will help them close the deal now, while often bending the brand to serve their immediate needs.
On the flipside, other companies might be too marketing heavy, viewing their sales force as mere pawns within the bigger picture. Marketing sets the rules, the planning, the approach, and expects the sales force to implement it to the hilt. And the sales guy, who naturally has the inkling to do his own thing, feels trapped, frustrated and stuck.
Neither approach is completely wrong, but neither approach fairly represents the form and function of both sales and marketing. The beauty lies in the relationship between the two areas, realizing it takes both to make the business succeed.
Sales Tactics I Don’t Understand
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Who ever started the lie that these sales tactics work?
- Why do used car salesmen think they have to yell at me in a dumb hick voice and tell me that “they don’t care how I git there, just git there.”
- Why do furniture store salesmen lurk in the interior ‘circle’ of the store while you shop the perimeter of the store, popping up out of their ambush with a sniper’s attention the minute you pause for one second?
- Why do cell phone kiosk salesmen in malls assault me every time I walk by, wanting to see my phone?
- Why do charity telemarketers always tell me they are counting on my donation this year just like they did last year, even though I never donated last year?
- Why do gym membership salesmen work on commission, when most people are looking for a gym that makes them comfortable, more than anything? (and there’s nothing more uncomfortable than spending time with most commissioned salespeople).
- Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses keep showing up at my door even if I nicely tell them I’m not interested in changing religions today?
The sad thing is that most of the above tactics are based in a motivated form of trickery, aggression, lying or all of the above.
Sales Tactics I Don’t Understand
Posted by: | CommentsWho ever started the lie that these sales tactics work?
- Why do used car salesmen think they have to yell at me in a dumb hick voice and tell me that “they don’t care how I git there, just git there.”
- Why do furniture store salesmen lurk in the interior ‘circle’ of the store while you shop the perimeter of the store, popping up out of their ambush with a sniper’s attention the minute you pause for one second?
- Why do cell phone kiosk salesmen in malls assault me every time I walk by, wanting to see my phone?
- Why do charity telemarketers always tell me they are counting on my donation this year just like they did last year, even though I never donated last year?
- Why do gym membership salesmen work on commission, when most people are looking for a gym that makes them comfortable, more than anything? (and there’s nothing more uncomfortable than spending time with most commissioned salespeople).
- Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses keep showing up at my door even if I nicely tell them I’m not interested in changing religions today?
The sad thing is that most of the above tactics are based in a motivated form of trickery, aggression, lying or all of the above.
Is Your Marketing Half-Full?
Posted by: | CommentsGreat post over at A Clear Eye, Tom Asacker’s blog.
He takes the classic example of a glass of water being half-full or half-empty and shows how many different people would look at it, including the government, a banker, a philosopher – you get the point. He finishes with asking how a marketer would answer that question.
I think the marketer should ask “Who’s Thirsty?” Every other marketing question will lean on knowing the answer to that. Then I think you’ve got to be disciplined enough to ask if this glass of water is what they really want, or would they be better off if you found them something else? The first step in marketing a product is determining if the product is worth marketing.
