Archive for the ‘Sales Marketing’ Category

Since more sales would make your management life a lot better, take action with your sales force now.
Do not wait another minute hoping something will happen.  Don’t depend on conditions to get better.
They may get better, but they could also get worse.  Focus your attention on your selling team, and
selling productivity vs. selling expenses. Sales may not be your expertise, but sales is your life blood
so get involved and start applying pressure.  Here are some tips that can help.

1. Do not do sales training.  Not that you’d spend the money now anyhow, but because it won’t work
for what you need right now.  You’ve heard all the good arguments about investing when the market is
down so you can be tougher against competition and in position when conditions improve.  But this is
not real estate.  You need results now.  Besides you’re sales people don’t believe they need training
and you can’t afford time out of the field.

What you need now is performers – sales people with relationships who can get to the top people, who
are motivated, who can beat the competition.

More importantly you need sales managers who can train, coach, mentor, motivate, recruit and hold
their sales people accountable.  You do not need sales managers that can sell, yet this is what most
sales mangers default to during sales downturns.

Therefore you’ve got to slash the weak, burn a hole in your sales managers’ bottoms, and bring in the
Special Forces.  This is no time for a pump you up event.  It’s time for results or a ticket to the front
door.

2. Fire sales people and hire sales people.  You know you’ll keep your top producers but you’ll have
to get rid of the poor and mediocre.  Now here is what will make you sales team leaner, but delivering
more sales.  Eliminate more sales people and managers than you have to so that you can hire some
really good ones that your competitors have already let go. However, don’t pick who goes on your gut
feel or hunches and don’t hire using the same.
a. Evaluate your selling team analytically (sales people and managers), using a tool designed for
sales people and sales managers – not personalities or behaviors.  Even the Boston Red Sox manage
the team analytically and that’s how they won 2 World Series after 80 years.
see this website………….
b. Hire new sales people and managers using screening tools designed for sales that will predict
someone’s’ selling and managing success in your company.  The one I recommend is highly validated,
EEOC compliant and 96% accurate over 19 years.  It provides a recommendation, the candidate’s
critical strengths and major weaknesses for selling success.

These evaluations will cost a few hundred dollars per person and the screens can cost tens of dollars,
but they will be extremely valuable and guarantee selling success.  Besides they cost less than a sales
call, a customer dinner, or a flight to anywhere.  They are worth it so cut some other expenditure to fit
these in.

3. Get help for your sales managers.  Face it; your managers are as good as they will be.  I’m sure
they are giving it their all are not holding back.  Bottom line they won’t get better without help and if they
stay the same, today’s sales level is all you’ll get unless condition get worse.  You sales / market share
will not move ahead until the economy gets better.  Can your company handle this?  Are your bosses,
directors and shareholders will to wait?

You sales managers are the drivers who have to provide the coaching and motivation to their sales
people to get them to the next skill level.  You know your competitors are throwing everything they have
at stealing your customer or capturing anything out there.  Your sales people must be better than theirs
and the only way that will happen is if the sales manager shows the sales people how to sell in tough
times and holds them accountable to do it.  Again, if the managers knew how to do it, they’d be doing
it already.

So buy some coaching for your managers.  It can be inexpensive and can happen remotely or on-site.
This will pay-off quickly and be the trigger to move you beyond your competitors.
See

4. Bring in people outsider – consultants, directors, customers to help.  As with your sales managers,
all your internal resources and ideas have been tapped.  You need fresh eyes.  I know it is tough to
spend overhead, but it has to be done.  Times are different and while you’ve been focused on running
the business new perspectives have developed and taken hold.  You need to hear about them, and
then determine if and how they might fit into your go to market strategies.

If you’re really worried about cash flow, cut performance deals with the outsiders.  Consultants that
know they can deliver will be open to this idea.  However, if you do offer performance incentives in lieu
of fees, don’t be stingy on the upside or you won’t get anyone worthwhile to participate.

5. Get involved.  I’m not recommending micro management, but you need to be asking tough
questions and getting honest answers.  The more you’re people tell you “I don’t know?” the more you’ll
know they are in control.  Here’s why.  If one knows s/he doesn’t know, that person can now dig-in to
find answers.  If you hear a lot of good news or “Everything is OK boss,” you will know that person is
out of control.  S/he doesn’t know what s/he doesn’t know and that’s when the unexpected (usually bad)
happens.

Encourage “Don’t Know’s,” but be sure to follow them up with “What are you going to do about it, and
by when?”  Then check-up and hold them accountable.  The more you follow-up and present
consequences for not getting what they said they’d give you, the more you’ll get them to perform at
higher levels.  Be careful however, manage their game plans and schedules, not their activities.  It’s a
lot easier and less frustrating for you to let them manage their time and to-do’s and far more productive
for everybody.

And now I invite you to learn more.

While Austin has continued to have one of the best real estate markets in the country, we will finish the year with lower sales activity, higher unemployment and real estate inventory levels, lower rents, and a deteriorating economy. Real estate sales are trending down, even with near 50 year low mortgage rates. Rents are following the same pattern.

Consumer confidence is very low. Consumers are holding cash and focusing on their immediate needs. This has impacted every industry. Though credit is harder to obtain, it is not the driving factor for the reduction in consumer spending. It is consumer confidence. Even if car dealerships are offering huge discounts and zero percent interest, consumers are keeping their existing cars and not going into debt for a car they don’t absolutely need.

We are seeing the same trends in the real estate market. Tenants are staying put and renewing their leases; homeowners are delaying home purchases on fear of job loss or price erosion in the real estate market; and it is getting harder to qualify for a mortgage as Fannie Mae changes its guidelines. For example, a borrower now must have a 740 fico score to obtain the best mortgage interest rate, assuming they have the down payment and reserves for a conventional loan.

For the past two years, we have consistently raised rents. This trend continued until the financial crisis hit us this fall. Many homeowners are not able to sell their homes at a desired price point and are forced to lease their homes and become landlords. Inventory of rental homes is at an all time high in Cedar Park/Leander and Round Rock areas.

We are dropping rents on all existing inventory. Properties priced below $1,100 month have weathered the storm better than higher priced rental properties. The most resilient rental homes are those priced below $1,000/month. Homes leasing at or above $1,200/month earlier in the early part of the year are now leasing for 10% less. As rents increase, the pool of qualified tenants decreases. We are also seeing tenants downsize and move to more affordable homes.

We have transitioned from a landlord market to a tenant market. Next year, we will renew most of our leases at the same price point and may drop rents to keep current tenants. I expect to see more rental applicants affected by job losses, financial troubles, and foreclosures as homeowners lose their homes and are forced to rent. I anticipate the days on market will increase as long as our inventory remains at high levels. Owners will need to look harder at applications to avoid long term vacancies.

Though Austin continues to have one of the best economies and real estate markets it the country, our unemployment rate has increased, and our real estate sales market is deteriorating. According to the Austin American Statesman, our unemployment rate was below 4% in early 2008 and 3.5% a year ago. It has now reached 5.0%. This is still below the Texas and national average. However, Austin is not immune from the national economic, mortgage, and financial crisis. November home sales were down 40% in Austin, a level not seen since 1997. Some areas were down almost 60%.

Long term, Austin will continue to have one of the best economies and real estate markets in the country. 2009 will be a year of recovery. Rents and home prices most likely will trend downward, and inventory levels will remain high. If the job market recovers more quickly, we will see the market stabilize. Now is a great time to purchase a home or take advantage of the down market.

If you have a current mortgage on a primary residence with a rate above 5.75%, it may be a great time to refinance your mortgage. Mortgage rates for primary residence are in the 4.75% range. Our office provides sales, leasing, property management, handyman, and mortgage services.

Article written by our Broker, Chris Warren, Smart Source Realty

This white paper introduces the common challenges in channel marketing campaign design, and provides proven ways of avoiding marketing inefficiencies and unnecessary costs.

Partner campaign tracking and performance measurement solutions are currently offered by very few marketing companies. Because this market trend is still very new, you must carefully study each solution — and each marketing partner — to determine the best fit for your needs.

The problem

Many small businesses in both public and private sectors have the misconception that CRM software and other business process automation solutions are only suitable for established market players with significant revenue (in the $10 million to $100 million range). This would be true if there is no strategy behind the marketing automation software and no resources to maintain the system. But, with proper planning — and a smart choice of marketing partners — smaller companies can easily make excellent use of the emerging technology.

The need

You need marketing processes automation, no matter how small your business may be for now, to maximize the efficiency of your marketing efforts and to lay the groundwork for rapid growth. By knowing more about your customers you can sell more effectively to them, directly. By knowing more about your reselling and referral partners you can sell more effectively through them — because you can measure and correct their performance according to your financial projections, the market acceptance of your product and service, and your market penetration strategy.

The marketing automation function of CRM software is therefore more than just a technological solution. With fully automated partner campaign tracking and marketing management technologies you can simply manage your whole business better.

The solution

Find yourself a credible marketing firm, that will help you to refine your marketing strategy, define the processes, prepare a spec for process automation, customize your marketing CRM tools, run the first few campaigns for you, and educate you on the various possibilities that the system provides. These companies exist and they will not only save you time, they will grow your business for far less cost than you can do on your own.

If you carefully plan your marketing activities and hire a credible marketing company, to establish and automate your internal processes for your future resellers’ convenience, then the question of whether or not to use a CRM solution loses its validity — it is an obvious “yes.” This is especially true if your marketing vendor will also market the programs to both your channel partners and customers to make sure that all processes are running seemingly effortlessly. Then, your marketing campaigns pay off by generating enough quality leads to guarantee an extraordinary return on your investment.

How do you budget this expenditure? A knowledgeable marketing firm, will have done it many times for other clients and therefore will have developed targeted solutions that are the most cost-efficient for their clients. But, if your marketing vendor charges you fat consulting fees — in addition to their technology solutions — drop them and find a more reasonably priced marketing partner; just make sure you don’t sacrifice quality.

What should I ask for my money?

Your best choice is a marketing partner that can offer you a one-stop-shop solution for under $10,000 — a company with an established framework that doesn’t have too many unknowns and gaps in their processes. Make sure that you are getting at least three CRM seats and consulting on how to run your campaign. Make sure that the campaigns are designed specifically for you, that your marketing collateral is fully tested, and that broadcast media is included in the price with wide coverage to acquire both a wide net of potential resellers and customers.

Conducting tests using partner campaigns marketing management technology

You must make sure that each and every marketing item, passed to your customers or partners, will work for you in the most efficient way. For that, you and your marketing partner must conduct ABC (also known as A/B split) testing and accumulate the metrics to measure each message, each design layout, each telemarketing script, and each partnership presentation.

Without a feature-rich system and well designed process, your results will most likely suffer from a high degree of approximation, and your budget — including the time and marketing dollars that you have spent on testing — will not justify itself.

Think long-term

While considering partner campaign marketing management technology, you are wise to validate what CRM manufacturers promise — because marketing platforms that are suitable for channel marketing are very rare. Many CRM companies promise marketing modules that can do everything, but after you spend weeks on learning the solution you will realize that practically none of them can manage partner relationships. Some CRM suites offer Google Analytics and AdWords integration in a sales force automation package. Others offer affiliate marketing scripts. But none of them will help you run channel marketing campaigns with a diversity of referral partners who have unique business models and multifaceted frameworks.

While considering a b2c or b2b marketing agency, to design, test, and market partner programs for you, consider your future exist strategy. If you are a public company, or a private company that is looking to get listed in the near future, make sure that your marketing vendor fully understands that both the campaigns and the software must be customized so that the entire bundle will become a powerhouse for turning your investors into committed referral partners. This of course will bring in more leads, more deals, and more future investors.

What return can I expect on my marketing investment (ROI)?

Return on your marketing investment will depend on the marketing solution bundle and the service provider’s expertise, as well as the quality of your product and the ability of your marketing management to make decisions beneficial for the company.

Marketing campaigns are investments. And like any smart investment, they need to be measured, monitored and compared to other investments to ensure you’re spending your money wisely.

Invest in finding best marketing program that will suit your budget.

Return on investment (ROI) is a measure of the profit earned from each investment. In simple terms, the calculation is:

ROI = (Profit – Investment)/Investment

As you can see, return on your marketing investment will depend on your business model and the number of partners that will find your opportunity lucrative. With the right product, the right marketing strategy, the right pricing, and the right technology behind your processes — and the right marketing assistance from a qualified marketing partner — your profits can skyrocket and your ROI can reach unprecedented highs, which will also help you to request a marketing budget increase and give your marketing team flexibility for future programs design.

Sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it? For a very small investment you can get a very large return.

So, who is the best marketing partner to design, test, automate, and market your channel marketing programs?

IdeaMama Af Network is a proven leader in referral program automation and marketing

No one is better at building channel marketing programs than IdeaMama Ad Network,  a unique internet advertising network , the sole provier of Pay Per Deal affiliate campaigns.

Our bullet-proof, battle-tested channel partnership strategies can be a critical component of your business growth — we can significantly boost your sales, improve your bottom-line, and excavate hidden profit goldmines tucked away in your business. You need every advantage you can get, especially in the current state of our economy.

Getting new leads from business referrals — isn’t it what every marketer dreams of?

Step 1.

We design your referral campaign and automate your marketing processes to track the performance of each partner and each campaign.

Step 2.

We test a few different marketing approaches that help you to sign up an army of motivated resellers and referral partners.

Step 3.

We market the program for you and attract partners that will boost your sales with a single investment. You take it from there and grow your company as fast as you choose to

Work with us and get bombarded by business referrals and new leads!

We are performance metrics fanatics; we are ROI measurement fanatics; and yes, we are creative fanatics too.

Our marketing process automation software and proven marketing methodology will help you collect and easily track the new leads that come from your new channel partners.

Sign up new partners every day — we’ve got it nailed!

Become a profit-pulling powerhouse! Let business come your way while you sleep!

About IdeaMama Ad Network:

IdeaMama™ Ad Network is the only affiliate network that can run highly priced B2B offers with a long sales cycle, as well as high-ticket B2C products. Therefore we offer very high payout to affiliates. We not only run your CP (pay-per-sale) programs on-line, but also solicit for you an army of referral partners and resellers who don’t have an on-line presence. No other network has an ability to manage off-line relationships. We can because we have an automated software system that enables referral partners to upload contact information of prospects and monitor the status of the leads, closely watching how they are moving through pipeline. We offer full transparency for affiliates and super-efficiency for advertisers. IdeaMamaAdNetwork.com provides each merchant with a full-blown, proprietary CRM solution to not only manage their channel partners, but also align the business processes of their entire organization — they will get top-rated, award winning sales, marketing and customer support automation solution to serve their new and existing partners and customers.

Do you know one of the best ways to make a great impression in your job interview and set yourself apart from other job candidates? Build a brag book.

Brag books can be very persuasive in an interview process (if you use them right). The fact that you’ve taken the time to put one together is an attention-getter, and the things you highlight in it are the “proof” that you are someone they want to hire. The skill you use in presenting your brag book showcases other “intangible,” but highly desirable, qualities such as your communication skills, energy, and enthusiasm.

What is a brag book?

A brag book is a folder or binder that serves to clarify your skill sets and set you apart from the competition. It can include letters of recommendation, “attaboy” notes (or any notes commenting on what a good job you’ve done), staff ranking, annual reviews (if you include some, include them all), rewards letters, your resume, types of equipment you’ve used or marketed, certifications or other educational courses, any financial or PowerPoint presentations, copies of articles you’ve written, brochures you’ve helped develop, and a college transcript (ONLY IF you’re just getting out). Change and add to your book as you go through your career.

How (and when) do you present a brag book?

Present your brag book like you would a product brochure. (You’re selling yourself and your skills, after all.) Have it segmented and easy for you to find information, so that you can deliver it in a controlled, confident, organized manner. Hiring managers will look at how you use your brag book. That’s their indication for how you’ll use product brochures, PowerPoint presentations, or other media with your future customers/clients.

It’s up to you do determine when the time is right in your interview for your brag book. Your cue might be when you hear “Tell me a little more about yourself,” for instance. You will be able to gauge how well your interview is going by whether or not you get to show your brag book, whether you are able to present all the sections, and by the reaction of the hiring manager to your compiled information.

Bottom line…

A brag book demonstrates initiative, professionalism, organization, an understanding of sales and marketing (although it’s certainly applicable to other career areas), and sets you apart from your competition–it’s the difference between “good” and “great.”

Hi! I’m Peggy McKee and you might know me as “the Medical Sales Recruiter” on my blog. I have worked all over the United States and held the titles of Regional Sales Manager, National Accounts Manager, Regional Product Manager, Systems Specialist and Account Manager (in the laboratory supply industry). In 1999, I moved to the Dallas area and founded PHC Consulting. PHC Consulting is well known for providing top of class candidates for sales, marketing and technical support positions (in the biotech, life science, and diagnostics industry). Check out my blog at http://phcconsulting.com/WordPress for more advice on interviewing, networking, resumes, or sales techniques. See my website at http://phcconsulting.com for information on the company and our opportunities available in all areas of medical sales, management, marketing, and technical support. Check out the http://30-60-90-day-sales-plan.com/ site to see other tools to use in the sales interview.

Interesting times for the Panama Real Estate market and also much confusion
 
There has been talk recently by agents and the myriad of Real Estate experts that Panama seems to be blessed with concerning the health of the Panama Real Estate market.
 
A Person would be looked upon as the “Village Idiot ” to say everything in the Garden is rosy but the market in Panama has changed and so too the agents that will be selling property for the forceable future.
 
The Pre construction market is all but redundant and this is the reason that we are hearing the overtures of doom and gloom from Brokers in Panama, lets face it the majority of agents came to Panama looking for easy picking selling Pre Construction property. There were plenty of buyers and lots of nice renderings available to entice buyers to sign contracts and write checks with the promise of huge profit increases and the ability to sell prior to closing or “Flip”. Finding punters was not a challenge and those offices with good cash flow could spend money on brochures and “Pay Per Click” advertising to find them.
 
However the market has changed and it is acknowledged that we have entered a new realm of selling Real Estate in Panama, those nice renderings have now turned into concrete towers and the wonderful drawing of Master Bedrooms adorned with fine furnishings have now become a condo with white walls, no furniture or even drapes.
 
Panama has finally entered into the secondary market, possibly sooner that expected but this is partly due to the ability to sell an contact inside a corporation prior to the completion of the building. This however also complicates sales figures and records because a corporation sale does not show on public record that a property has actually sold and for what amount. How can anyone really know what is being sold and at what frequency if there are no tangible records to prove this. This is a big factor when we look at sales figures in Panama, it is common knowledge that sales have slowed down but the numbers reported cannot be accurate.
 
With a lack of a true MLS in Panama the skill  to market and sell resale property is much harder to achieve than selling Pre Construction. How does one get a price comparison between to buildings? How do you find out the true selling price of units in the building?
 
These are all problems that agents and buyers encounter when looking at property in a re sale market. A common remark that can be heard from buyers is that a certain building is selling for $1,500 a sq meter so why should I pay $1,600 for this building. A good question but you must not compare “Apples with Oranges”
 
Agents and buyers must have an understanding of what they are buying and be able to do a comparison based on other available units. Question like quality of workmanship, appliances, A/C, warranties, HOA Fees, Amenities all need to be considered when calculating the price of the property.
 
Brokers and sellers attitudes will need to change, no longer can property be sold on the fact of a huge gain in the price of the condo.
Geoff Sinker from GLS Properties Services S.A. say” I am enjoying this market, as a small sized company in Panama is no longer have to compete with the bigger agencies here in Panama, this is now about expertise and experience in the Real Estate market. Its hard work but the rewards to me are much better”
 
It has also noted that certain developers have now adjusted there sales force to focus on selling resale property in Panama.
 
Panama is still a viable country for Real Estate, the occupancy level might go down slightly but when that level was at nearly 87% even a 10% drop means a very high occupancy level. If new buildings are cancelled as reported then there is less competition out there so the level of available condos remains the same.
 
Agents and sellers face a difficult time, but so do buyers when they try to ascertain the correct price they should be paying for a condo in Panama. The good news in all this being that there are still buyers out there.
 
For more details on Panama Real estate and resale property please visit http://www.afloridarealtor.com

Southwest Florida has some of the most sought-after high priced oceanfront real estate in the nation, but many buyers are also finding great deals here. A wide variety of new custom condos and homes in the area are being sold at surprisingly affordable rates, discounting the notion that only the wealthy can afford to live in cities like Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

In fact this trend can be spotted in high-end markets throughout the nation, and not because of anything wrong with homes in these areas. In many cases it’s due to a high percentage of “short sale” properties. A short sale can occur just before a property enters the foreclosure stage when the owner is behind or defaulting on mortgage payments. At this point the bank or lender may decide to re-sell the property at a discount, rather than go through with a time-consuming and expensive foreclosure.

During the most recent national real estate boom, high demand in hot markets like Southwest Florida drove prices way up and left many property owners with mortgages and property taxes they couldn’t afford to pay. The lenders who financed much of this speculation found themselves willing to take a slight loss in the short sale market for a couple reasons: a) with property slightly overvalued due to speculation, any resales would necessarily fetch a lower price; b) foreclosures take much longer to complete than short sales, require a lawyer in most cases, and risk leaving the lender with a much lower price if the property goes to auction.

Also known as a “pre-forclosure” sales, short sales represent a great opportunity for savvy buyers and investors. Those willing to do the little extra work can often obtain a discount of 20-25 per cent, without waiting for a further decrease in the market. So what extra work does a short sale require? It is a bit of a process, but knowing the steps can save you a lot of time and energy. Short sale transactions typically start with the original borrower who’s defaulting on the mortgage. It’s up to the investor to liase with the borrower and lender, and make sure all financial information is shared. The investor must also work to portray the short sale property as one that’s lost market value, and in need of improvements. A high contract bid for repair work on the property, forwarded to the lender, can be a convincing piece of evidence here. Finally, the lender will ask to see a contract between the investor/buyer, and the seller, to make sure the seller isn’t making any money from the deal – the “net cash” paid to the seller in this transaction should be the same amount paid to the lender.

Smart buyers can make a good return for their investment in a cooling but dependable market like Southwest Florida, and short sales are an effective strategy for this.

If you are anticipating putting your home on the market in the near future, or planning to buy a house soon, you should know that many aspects of the property market have now changed.

The rules have been changed slightly because of legislation, foreclosures, short sales and a general tightening of easy borrowing. This may increase the amount of down payment that is asked or expected. Your real estate agent may have to work harder to get you qualified for financing, so the pace of sales will slow somewhat.

It is a fairly well accepted fact now that we have made the transition from the fast moving market, to the slower one; the seasonal change just escalated slightly and will probably stay for longer.

The real estate agent will need to cut back on his expenses, so advertising costs will need to reflect value for money. It is normal protocol to arrange a seller’s realty contract with your agent and confirm in writing which marketing strategies will be used.

A marketing contract will usually itemize when and what strategies will take place. You will need a copy of this and you will check to ensure that everything happens in the order that it was agreed. If you feel changes need to be made part way through, you will need to have another chat with your agent and get his take on it.

Short sales are out there and gaining popularity. This is good news if you are a buyer, although sometimes the indecisiveness of these sales cause people to shake their heads and rush back to the traditional realty sales market.

A foreclosure sale is often settled more quickly, as with a short sale there are many people around the table, who all have to agree each step before you can all move on to the next one. If you have the time and the tenacity, you may pick up a bargain.

Many agents have had to ‘cut their suit according to their cloth’ due to the fall in sales. This economizing has been carried out by either giving the office staff other duties to perform, or by actually minimizing the office staff. If you are a seller, you may think that this means there is less efficiency in the office. In actual fact, it most likely means that there is more emphasis in attending to the prospective buyer, so your agent is still working for you.

Often when there is a plethora of prospective buyers, the house will almost appear to sell itself, and an agent with a lower commission will be able to push the sale through with the minimum of fuss,

However, in today’s’ market, the real estate agent will need to remover any obstacles from the sale of your home, and be available at all times to your buyer. It is not a healthy enough market for a buyer to choose a real estate agent by his commission rate, choose one that has a good selling history.

The last point is one that stands for any type of contract and in any type of financial climate. Read all the small print thoroughly on a contract and make sure you understand it all before signing! If you need clause explained, ask it to be written on the contract in layman’s language, so that you are signing it in the way you understand it.

In an effort to help you in your direct sales marketing and increasing home party sales, I thought I might share with you some simple yet effective marketing techniques that every direct sales rep and home party consultant should have under her/his belt!

What Is Permission Marketing?

Permission Marketing is many things.
It is a method of marketing also known and the 2 Step Direct Sales Marketing Method.

It is also a book written, by the marketing demi-god himself, Seth Godin.  

The premise of permission marketing as Mr. Godin expounds is to deliver   POWERFUL ADVERTISING THAT IS ANTICIPATED, PERSONAL AND RELEVANT.  You can only do so when you have been permitted to do so.  In effect it is the difference between rape and consensual sex!

Now before you get offended.  Let me explain.

A guy meets a girl that he is particularly interested in.  He then asks for her digits and she complies. The guy calls and asks the girl out.  She says yes.  He wines and dines her, and after a great evening…well if he is worth his weight in gold, we all know what happens next!

Now imagine a different scenario.  Guy meets girl, guy fancies girl, guy walks up to girl and tells girls that he wants to F*** her!  Girls slaps guy on face and walks away.  Guy left to lick his wounds.  No pun intended!

The worst case scenario of this brief example is guy sees girls he fancies and helps himself, no consistent obtained.  There is resultant trauma and the ill-effects cannot be quantified.  Is this really the image you want your business to be associated with?

Likewise many direct sales marketers go about building their businesses much like the guy who bluntly states his objective or worse the guy who by-passes all social cues and goes for gold uninvited.

There are three basic reasons why prospects don’t buy from you:

#1 They don’t need what you are selling.
#2 They don’t believe they have a problem that you can solve 
#3 They do not believe what you tell them.

Think about T.V., what is the most annoying this about television?  You guessed it, unsolicited sales pitches about products none of us are even remotely interested in purchasing.  Most TV shows last all of 30 minutes, but each 7 minutes of pleasurable viewing is interrupted by 10 minutes of commercials and advertisements.

What do most people do when commercial come on? We tune out, mute the TV, text a friend, take a bathroom break.  We have learned to ignore the unwelcome guests!

So how do you use permission marketing into your arsenal?

The FREE BOOKLET give away, and it’s outcrops FREE CD, FREE AUDIO, FREE HALF HOUR COACHING, FREE TRIAL RUN is a method of giving people information is called two-step direct marketing. It has been around for years.  And has gained more ground with the Demi-god Seth Godin and his book Permission Marketing!

Why use the Free Giveaway?

You’ve heard it said that the money is in the list?  Well the truth is that the money is in the relationship you build with your list!

With this you can give your prospective clients what they want INFORMATION. Then they can make an educated decision and more than 50% of them are going to choose YOU. Because you were the one person who took the time to educate them, now you get to be the person to cash

*You will create a landing page/opt-in page to capture name, email, phone number, physical address.
* Use a guest book system
* Sign up sheet if you are hosting a direct sales home party

Once you deliver your free gift, in essence what you have done is overcome your prospect barriers for buying and now you are in the arena of permission email marketing.

If you are currently collecting names of these type of prospects, good for you. If you’re not, you must start. These prospects are qualified people by virtue of the relationship you build with them – you couldn’t buy this list of names from anyone. It is very important to your company’s continued growth that you collect them.

Good marketing systems are about knowing what it takes to get new clients. A proven system that always works day in and day out.

Lately it seems that I’ve been having conversations with several clients about not just marketing, but sales. There’s a fine line between marketing and sales.  Marketing’s role is to create awareness, excitement and desire for you product or service.  Hopefully it will generate some good, solid leads for you.  But that’s only half the battle.  Most of us will still have to transform that lead into a signed deal.  And that means we’re going to have to sell, too. 

 I decided to go right to the source for advice on this one.   Greg Cox is VP of Sales and Marketing for Dale Carnegie Chicago.  He leads one of the most successful Dale Carnegie sales teams in the world.  And, he has personally coached thousands of folks on how to be better salespeople.  So I sat down with Greg to talk about sales advice he could give to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and my fellow marketers.  

What’s one thing that entrepreneurs should keep in mind when it comes to sales? 

I believe many entrepreneurs lose sight of the importance of selling.  It’s easy to fall in love with your product and assume everyone else will love it.  Many people naively think that the product is great, the market is ripe, and therefore the sales will come.  But, business owners with a fantastic product, a solid cost model, and a ripe market, can still fail if they can’t sell. 

Today, our customers are jam-packed and overwhelmed with information.  They need to understand why they need OUR product, and our responsibility is to help them see that value.  For some of us, that means stretching our comfort zone to sell.  But articulating our product’s value proposition is the lynch pin of business success. 

What’s one common sales mistake you see? 

Most times we’re faced with prospects who are preoccupied or indifferent.  So we need to repeat our message often.  Even more important, we need to pay attention to them and put the spotlight on them – and what they need.  Remember, it’s not about us. There are too many examples of companies that were so caught up in themselves that they lost sight of the customer and ultimately failed (remember dot coms?).

How do you combat the “your price is too high” objection? 

If price is a big issue then usually one of two things are going on.  Your prospect may not be truly clued in to the value of what you’re offering, which means that you haven’t done a sufficient job of helping them understand the value proposition.  Another possibility is that they’re negotiating for a better deal.  That doesn’t mean they don’t want your product, they just want to test you to see if you’ll go lower. But keep in mind:

Price will matter to the extent the relationship does not.  

Your success goes way up when the level of the relationship is strong, you understand your client, and your solution then fits like Cinderella’s slipper. 

Any other words of wisdom? 

Salespeople aren’t born.  It’s a myth.  Too often I hear “I’m not a salesperson.”  And usually, that’s because they feel they don’t have the gift of gab.  Forget that.  It’s not about talking or being born with a certain type of personality.  Sales success is something that comes by design.

Good salespeople use a repeatable process that gets predictable results.  It allows them to engage a wider range of clients, have more success when the markets swing up or down, or when dealing with a personality different from their own. Successful salespeople ask great questions, are great listeners, and then act to shape a solution based on what they’ve learned. 

I’d like to thank Greg for his insights. If you’d like to learn more about the process that Greg mentioned, give the folks a Dale Carnegie a call. 

Top Ten Email Marketing Mistakes made by Small Businesses

Email marketing isn’t complex or new. Yet we see the same
mistakes being made over and over by the marketing executives,
sales professionals and owners of small businesses.

If done correctly, email marketing is a very effective medium to
generate new leads, and build continuous contact with your past
customers and prospects. It can easily help you to yield new
sales and help you meet your targets.

Take care of these top 10 mistakes and you are on your way to
new sales!

1. Underestimating Current Customers List – This is by far the
biggest mistake we see. Marketers just disregard their current
customer list, and leave money on the table. Even worse, most
have no systematic way of capturing their customer’s email and
contact details in a common list.

And they lament the fact that the economy is doing badly, or
that it is extremely difficult to convince new customers. A
consolidated email list can be easily used to market new
products to existing customers or to get repeat orders if done
regularly and consistently.

2. Dropping Prospects Half Way – It is a proven fact that a new
prospect will take an average of 5-7 different interactions
before they build enough trust on you, your company and your
products or services before thinking of buying from you. So if
you drop prospects after meeting them once or twice, thinking
that they are not qualified or do not seem interested, you are
losing sales too quickly.

Continue to hand hold them, and stay in continuous contact will
help you in the long run, as you will be familiar to the
prospect. People love to do business with people they know, and
not strangers.

3. Not interested in Educating the prospect – The marketers are
so focused on sales, that they do not spend enough time with
their prospects to educate them. Remember that if you service a
prospect well, they will most likely convert to a paying
customer sooner or later. Have patience. Use email to market to
them regularly with information, education, free offers etc.
until they build enough trust to buy from you.

4. Using cheap lists – Using 300,000 emails from a $100 CD is
bound to fail. These email addresses are mostly defunct, and
most are acquired through snooping and email extraction from
forums. Most will not be from your target market anyway. Just
sending a blatant marketing message is a sure-fire way to get
yourself banned from major Internet Service Providers.

You can either buy a good list of your target group from reputed
list brokers, or start compiling your own house list of all past
and current prospects, customers, vendors, suppliers,
contractors to market to them, and take their help to market to
their associates.

5. No specific Target – One big, long message for everyone is no
longer smart or effective. Nothing works the fast way. Now the
trend is to do personalised, 1 to 1 marketing. If your standard
message is for all prospects in all industries, chances are that
it does not address anyone needs.

It is best to send several small, targeted emails to focus
groups, which you can track to see what works in which industry,
and who opened which mail. With this potent arsenal, you can
focus your efforts on those chose few to spend your time upon,
and generate sales with a much bigger ROI.

6. Boring Marketing Message or Ad copy – A long repetitive
message is no way to capture the prospects attention. You can’t
even watch a boring movie even if you paid for the tickets, so
who is going to read your unasked for marketing email if you are
not addressing the problem.

Most messages spend countless paragraphs talking about what they
offer, their products, services, and me, me, me. There’s nothing
in the message to catch the reader’s attention. You need to talk
about the problems faced by your target market, their industry,
and their issues. Once you establish a bond by acknowledging
that you know about their problems, they will be more amenable
to your message, and products.

7. Marketing message is not consistent with other Company
Collateral – Many marketing firms just send out a message,
without making sure that it is consistent with the other company
material. It is not even properly linked to the company’s
website, and does not incorporate the complete office address,
telephone, fax, contact information. Just giving an email
address is not sufficient to build trust and prove that yours is
a genuine offer.

8. Marketing folks don’t have time to update anyone about their
initiatives – Most of the time, the services folks, the
receptionist and other employees of the company are not even
aware of what marketing is up to. So when a prospect calls the
office to talk about the offer made in the email, neither the
receptionist has a clue, nor the employee from the service
department. None has seen the email, and have no idea who to
refer this prospect to. Here goes another lost sales.

Marketing efforts need to be integrated over the entire
organisation, and everyone should understand the need &
importance.

9. No system to measure response – Marketing just continues to
send out message after message: No ROI, no measurement of
efforts, and no mechanism to evaluate the response of past
messages. No wonder these efforts hardly bring in any results or
prospects.

A systematic measurement system is very important. With emails,
you can tag each and every link, email account and email sent,
so that when it is opened or clicked, you can immediately know
who is interested, who is keen to buy, what product, and how
eagerly.

With a good measurement, you can call those few that spent time
with your message, or on your website, and by knowing their
browsing behaviour, you can customise future messages for them.
Market something that they have shown interest on, and you are
closer to another sale.

10. No clear goal or strategy – Start with the right goal and
strategy. Your first goal should be to establish trust and
credibility within your target market.

Secondly, get the prospect interested enough in what you are
selling, so that they are willing to give you their contact
information.

Thirdly, your marketing message should be sent out regularly so
that the prospect expects it, waits for it, and it shows that
you are consistent, reliable, and trustworthy.

Remember, marketing exists to generate leads, prospects and help
sales and delivery teams to close the deals, & not for any other
purpose. So focus, and strategize on these lines.

Email marketing has been proven time and again, if done
correctly. Big companies like IBM, Amazon, Hp are using it
effectively, and smaller companies are catching up fast in
understanding its marketing reach.

With its lows cost, and effectiveness, email marketing helps to
build long term relationships with your target audience. Use it
wisely, and ye shall reap its rewards.