Sales Secret: Take "No" for an Answer

Great article in Inc. regarding the secret to sales success: click here to read.

Essentially the article suggests that there is a direct correlation between sales success and the number of "nos" a salesperson hears. In other words, the more rejections you hear, the more sales you will make.

Salespeople are thus "happy losers." A "happy loser" is someone that is not deterred by rejection. Successful salespeople will take "no" for an answer because that will bring them closer to "yes."

Even when you land a sale, you should continue to press for "no" like the shoe salesperson who successfully sold you a pair of shoes but then asks if you need socks, a matching belt or another pair of shoes.

Move your business to the next level by embracing rejection. Take "no" for an answer and become a "happy loser."

Good stuff Inc.!

Photo courtesy of http://blog.rogersradiointernet.com/afternoondrive/2008/05/

Fit vs Fat

Obesity is not just a health epidemic; it’s a marketing epidemic as well.

In an attempt to communicate their value, businesses will try and cram as many messages as possible into one marketing piece. Everything gets bolded, underlined and called out. With so many marketing messages, it’s like having too much food on your plate: you can’t possibly consume it all.

This is what I call “Fat Marketing.”

The opposite is “Fit Marketing.” Fit Marketing means you restrict your marketing diet to a few simple messages. Less clutter means more impact.

Fit Marketing moves people through the sales funnel one step at a time. Fat Marketing tries to consummate the deal in one step. Fit marketing is clear and concise. Fat Marketing bogs you down.

Get fit with your marketing and you will move your business to the next level.

How do you get fit? Here are a couple of ways:

• E-newsletters: drive readership with valuable content, but stick with one message at a time. Don’t overload your newsletter with too many articles and too many calls to action. One article, one call to action is perfectly fit.
• Website: a website is mostly a source of information about you and your company. Keep it that way. You can’t do everything with your site, so don’t. Most important, your website will evolve so be prepared to analyze visits so you can optimize it and streamline it.
• Print Ads, Direct Mail: focus on one primary message. Be sure you ask yourself: “What one thing do I want someone to do once they’ve seen my ad/postcard/letter?”

This is just the start. The Fit Marketing concept should be applied to all of your marketing collateral because Fit Marketing is a long term approach to building a customer base.

So put your marketing on a treadmill today and shed some of that clutter!

Turn OK Marketing into KO Marketing

Let’s be honest: your marketing is just okay. It’s not knocking anybody out. It may be getting your message out there but it's not doing much else.

You want knock out marketing. In fact, you need knock out marketing. Okay marketing just doesn’t cut it nowadays. With so many messages and so much competition, your wasting marketing dollars if your collateral is just okay.

So how to you go from okay marketing to knock out marketing? Here are three ways:

1) Simplify Your Message: less is always more. Always. Marketers constantly struggle with optimizing their message. It’s both art and science. But the struggle should never be solved by adding more messages. Instead, take away messages. Cut to the core of what you want your audience to comprehend. Stick with one key, consistent message. You can always change your message if it doesn’t work. But don’t try and fit a bunch of messages into one space. Knock out your marketing with one swift blow.

2) Provide a Specific Call to Action: the reason a lot of marketing is just okay is that there is no call to action. If you don’t have a specific call to action in your marketing then there is no knock out punch. Focus messages on the specific actions that you want your audience to perform. If you want people to stop by your store, then state “visit.” If you want people to call, then state “call.” Unless you push someone to do something, they won’t do it.

3) Focus on Benefits, Not Features: sell the sizzle, not the steak. Right? Hair loss products are my favorite example of this. They rarely sell the features of their product and instead focus on the benefits. Dude swimming in the pool, surrounded by beautiful women…that’s what sells! Not the price, or the color. These are features. Learn from hair loss advertisements: if you want knock out marketing, then focus on the benefits.

Move your business to the next level with knock out marketing. Okay marketing is just, you guessed it, okay. You don’t want okay. You need knock outs. Your small business may depend on it.

3 R's to a Healthy Sales Funnel

It's a given that you will move your business to the next level with a healthy sales funnel.

So how do you keep a sales funnel healthy? Simple. Focus on the the R's: recommendations, referrals and repeat business.

Recommendations: offline and online platforms demonstrate that recommendations influence buying decisions. Ratings, testimonials and comments are powerful marketing messages. Get recommendations by simply asking: provide a forum to rate your product/service online or request quotes from satisfied clients to include in your marketing.

Referrals: the ultimate goal of cruise control marketing is referrals. Getting referrals requires three things: outstanding service, asking for them and giving them.

1) Outstanding Service:
Your business should deliver such a special experience that customers would want to spread the word for you. Wow your customers with excellent follow up like thank you cards or personal calls to just check in on them.
2) Ask for Referrals:
The best referrals are free ones but paid referrals are also viable. At a minimum, develop a consistent and simple referral system. Give out extra business cards, donate to a charity in the referrer's name or have a payout plan. Consistent and simple is easy to manage and the return on investment is very powerful.
3) Give Referrals:
The Golden Chain of Referrals starts with you. Give, give, give and you will get. Note that you will need to give at least three times to get.

Repeat Business: every business relies on repeat customers. The shortsighted business owner sees one transaction. The wise business owner understands the lifetime value of a customer. Customer acquisition is always more costly than customer retention.

Recommendations, referrals and repeat business will keep your sales funnel healthy. Focus your marketing efforts on these three R's. Ensure that all marketing messages enable more recommendations, referrals and repeat business.

Sweepstakes? Great List Builder, But…

Your marketing is only as good as your audience. In other words, the better your list, the better your marketing.

But “better” is a subjective definition of a list. Does better mean quantity or quality?

Quantity is for businesses that sell products/services for the masses. These businesses generally offer a commoditized and price sensitive product in a market with many competitors. For them, a “better” list means a longer list of prospects. Think soft drinks or pizzas.

Quality is for businesses that sell products/services for a niche market. These businesses usually sell a unique and differentiated product in a market with only a few direct competitors. For them, a “better” list means more qualified prospects. Think luxury cars or swimming pools.

Small businesses should fall into the latter category where quality of a list is paramount to quantity. A small business with a strong Marketing DNA will know that a targeted niche is more attractive than a mass list. More qualified prospects is always better than more prospects.

So should a small business build its list with a sweepstakes?

A sweepstakes can be a great way to build a list. Give away your product for free for those that sign up on your website, at a conference or in your store. If you gather these names and add them to your database, you are growing your list.

But the names you gather aren’t necessarily the most qualified. They are only people that have signed up for your contest. This doesn’t make them high-quality leads. In fact, they might just be freeloaders looking for a handout that would never purchase from you in the first place.

Sweepstakes responders are a skewed list towards those interested in the free prize.

You can still do a lot with your sweepstakes. If you are considering a contest to build your list, be sure that your procedure gathers actionable data. Think of ways to further qualify leads. For example, ask when the prospect would be in the market for your product or service. Or invite entrants to subscribe to your e-newsletter. Maybe include a multiple choice question about the best way to follow up.

Leads are great, but qualified leads are better. Move your business to the next level with quality not quantity.