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Casual Articles - This is One Technique I Guarantee Will Increase Your Sales and Customer Loyalty
The biggest mistake business owners make is waiting too long to sell. Have you ever heard, “I sold my business to early?” Compare that with the number of times you've heard somebody say, “I should have sold my business two years ago.” Unfortunately, waiting too long is probably the single biggest factor in reducing the proceeds from the sale of a privately held business. The erosion in business value typically is most pronounced in that last year before exiting.The decision to sell is often times a reactive decision rather than a proactive decision. An individual who spends 20 years running their business and controlling their outcomes often behaves differently in the exit from his business. The primary reasons for selling are events such as a serious health issue, owner burnout, the death of a principal, general industry decline, or the loss of a major customer. Exit your business from a position of strength, n
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especial
1. Alternatives to SellingThe IPOIf you business is large enough, you can consider an initial public offering (IPO) in which you will sell your company’s shares publicly on the open market. This can be a good alternative to selling the business, but IPO’s require the outlay of large sums of money that may be out of reach for your company. If you have money available to finance an IPO, research the IPOs of similar-size companies in your field and look at their track record and whether they experienced accelerated growth.An IPO for your company will mean that you will lose a significant amount of control. You will be face outside investors, strict Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and record-keeping rules. Your company information will become a matter of public record.Selling Corporate AssetsSometimes it becomes difficult to cut back or restructure your bus
Would you like people to do business with you because they like you, trust you, owe you, believe in you or some other very important reason? Each of these have varying degrees on importance and value when trying to secure and retain business in today’s competitive world. The idea I am about to share with you makes all of these inconsequential. So let me get to it.
The most valuable lesson I learned in my early career happened over forty years ago. I was failing in the insurance business - I didn’t sell anything in six months – I’m surprised it took my manager that long to terminate me. But, I’m getting ahead of myself so let me make a very long story short to illustrate the essence of this tremendous career idea.
In almost every sales presentation that I gave to prospects back in those days I kept hearing things like, “Tim you are really good at this.” “You are going to be really successful in this business.” “You really know your stuff.” “You have a great future in sales ahead of you.” Kind words from my prospects, YES, sales, NO. So in total desperation I met with a good friend who was also in the insurance business and one of the most successful and talented people in the country in the insurance business at that time. Larry was making over a million dollars a year selling insurance.
I shared my frustration and plight with him. I told him basically I was getting lots of compliments, but no sales. This is, as best as I can recall, his advice:
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especial
Industrial name plates are usually manufactured in materials like aluminum, brass, plastic or zinc. These name plates are used for warnings, information, nomenclature, working instruction, manufacturers’ information, date of manufacture, voltage usage, trade names, etc. Not only do name plates give an impression about the class of the manufactured goods, they also give minutiae about the product.There are different techniques applied to produce industrial name plates. The metal photo process creates the icon conserved in anodized aluminum. It could not be spoiled or wiped off even with the use of chemicals. This is an excellent solution for the naming of machines. There are also engraved aluminum, brass, stainless steel and zinc plates for similar purposes.Besides metals, plastic name plates can also provide a three-dimensional look. Plastic industrial name plates are complex. It is always advisable to use textu
Would you like people to do business with you because they like you, trust you, owe you, believe in you or some other very important reason? Each of these have varying degrees on importance and value when trying to secure and retain business in today’s competitive world. The idea I am about to share with you makes all of these inconsequential. So let me get to it.
The most valuable lesson I learned in my early career happened over forty years ago. I was failing in the insurance business - I didn’t sell anything in six months – I’m surprised it took my manager that long to terminate me. But, I’m getting ahead of myself so let me make a very long story short to illustrate the essence of this tremendous career idea.
In almost every sales presentation that I gave to prospects back in those days I kept hearing things like, “Tim you are really good at this.” “You are going to be really successful in this business.” “You really know your stuff.” “You have a great future in sales ahead of you.” Kind words from my prospects, YES, sales, NO. So in total desperation I met with a good friend who was also in the insurance business and one of the most successful and talented people in the country in the insurance business at that time. Larry was making over a million dollars a year selling insurance.
I shared my frustration and plight with him. I told him basically I was getting lots of compliments, but no sales. This is, as best as I can recall, his advice:
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especial
An autoresponder is a computer program that automatically returns a prewritten message to anyone who submits email to a particular Internet address. it will automatically email you a notification email that your subscription has been received and even automates the unsubscribe process.An autoresponder isn't used to answer all emails that require a custom response, i.e., a specific reply. They are used only when you want to send the SAME message to anyone submitting an email to a SPECIFIC EMAIL ADDRESS. Everyone subscribing to your newsletter can receive the same EXACT message. This automation will save you a great deal of time and increase your effectiveness, allowing you mailings to run on autopilot.Sequential AutorespondersThe beauty of Autoresponders is automatic follow-up. Most sales are made after five or more contacts, or when a persons need arises. The repetition of follow-up messages gre
In almost every sales presentation that I gave to prospects back in those days I kept hearing things like, “Tim you are really good at this.” “You are going to be really successful in this business.” “You really know your stuff.” “You have a great future in sales ahead of you.” Kind words from my prospects, YES, sales, NO. So in total desperation I met with a good friend who was also in the insurance business and one of the most successful and talented people in the country in the insurance business at that time. Larry was making over a million dollars a year selling insurance.
I shared my frustration and plight with him. I told him basically I was getting lots of compliments, but no sales. This is, as best as I can recall, his advice:
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especial
Know Your Closing PercentageThe Closing Rate is a benchmark to measure the performance of marketing activities. A business with a high Closing Rate is less dependent on advertising to drive traffic. As a new business owner you might have to guess at this number. Over time, this measure becomes more precise as you track and compare proposals and sales.Improving your Closing RateSeveral factors can contribute to a low closing rate including misdirected advertising investment or improper sales techniques. You can determine if advertising is properly directed by examining the quality of leads being generated. Are you attracting serious customers? Review your media mix. Be sure you are spending advertising dollars in the right places to attract the right customers. Low conversion rate may also be indicative of poor sales presentations or proposals. Improve you "Closing Rate" by an
I shared my frustration and plight with him. I told him basically I was getting lots of compliments, but no sales. This is, as best as I can recall, his advice:
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especial
Running a retail business is hard work. Trends are fleeting, and timing is everything. There isn’t much that “stands to reason” as the old saying goes. Seasoned buyers know what to look for when choosing a candle line, but there are new stores opening all over America everyday. How do those new owners decide which candle lines will perform best in their stores?I speak with retailers everyday that have candle lines on the shelves that just aren’t selling. “I just can’t seem to sell candles” a dejected retailer recently told me.Why? It is true that eighty percent of American Households burn scented candles. These households are buying the candles somewhere. Why not your store?What candle characteristics are customers looking for? I’ve asked hundreds of customers, and the answer is always the same. Customers are looking for a candle that is highly fragrant. They want fragrances that fill their ho
“Tim, when you give a sales presentation to a prospect, are you nice to them?” Do you give them the most important commodity you have, your time? Do you educate them? Do you give them the benefit of your experience?” My answers to all of his questions were yes. So Larry explained, “Here is what is happening. You are building a psychological debt with these people, essentially they owe you something and they don’t want to owe you especially if they have no intentions of buying so they want the debt paid before you leave. So they pay off this emotional or psychological debt with a compliment. Here’s the key, once you accept their compliment, the debt is paid.” Thus, no guilt in not buying from you.
Well, at the time I couldn’t feed my kids compliments, they wanted regular food so I said, “Larry, what do I do?” His response, “Refuse their compliments. You see, when you do not accept the compliments, the psychological debt still exists.”
“How do I do that, Larry?”
“Say to your prospect something to the effect, “If I were that good, we would be doing business together.” Or, “If I am going to be that successful, I would be better able to communicate the benefits of my proposal to you. I am sorry, but I don’t deserve that compliment.” By refusing the compliment the debt is still there. He continued, now, when you get a compliment and an order, you simply say ‘thank you very much.’”
This one piece of advice has done more for my success in sales and in business as a speaker and trainer than any other idea or education I have ever been exposed to. I have read every sales book I have been able to get my hands on. I know personally most of the celebrity sales trainers and I have a sales audio library valued at more than twenty-five thousand dollars and I can honestly tell you this one technique when mastered can have a galvanizing impact on your life and career regardless of whether you are in sales or not.
Using this approach consistently in your business will do two very important things for you. One, it will competitor-proof your business, making it all but impossible to lose business no matter what your competitor’s tactics are and two, it helps you easily take business away from your competitors.
Let me give you a few brief examples of how I still use this idea forty years after receiving this advice from Larry.
I read a great article in a business magazine that effectively addresses a current and difficult issue a client or prospect is facing. I send them
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