Category: Sales

Every time I’m interviewed,
I ask the interviewer
as many questions
as she asks me.

Why?

Because I know my answers.
I don’t know her answers.
Her answers might teach me
something new,
something valuable
that I can use
in my own life.

Larry King
shares

“I remind myself every morning:
Nothing I say this day
will teach me anything.
So if I’m going to learn,
I must do it by listening.”

If you’re talking more than
you’re listening,
you’re learning less
than the other person.
Ask questions
and listen to the answers.

I was asked to pitch
ideas (prospective products)
to a publisher (customer).
I was debating whether or not
I wanted to.

A writing buddy of mine said
“Why not pitch?
It doesn’t cost anything.”

That’s unfortunately not true.
Putting together a pitch
takes time, energy, sometimes money.
When we working on a pitch,
we’re not working on anything else.

There’s also the issue
that politically
it might be difficult to withdraw
after a pitch.

It’s more time efficient
to think about whether or not
I want this sale
BEFORE I pitch.

Think before you pitch.
There’s a cost to it.

I recently watched
I Am Evel Knievel,
a documentary
about the dare devil
and the master marketer.
That was what he was
— a master marketer.
(His story inspired me
to work on my own business.)

His break out stunt
was jumping the fountains at MGM.
He was a nobody at that time.

Why would the folks at MGM
work with a nobody?

He didn’t think they would
so he built his own hype.
He formed a fictitious corporation
and
phoned Jay Sarno, the casino’s CEO,
three times pretending to be
different lawyers for Evel Knievel.
He also called Sarno,
pretending to be
a reporter from ABC
and a reporter from Sports Illustrated,
asking about Evel Knievel.

By the time,
Evel Knievel called Sarno
as himself,
Sarno was interested in talking with him.
Evel was ‘in.’

I don’t suggest you lie about who you are.
The world is much more transparent now
than it was then.

But do take the time to set up
a sale.

There’s a meme
going around
Facebook
for writers.
It asks writers for
the title of their book
and a link to that book.

The bestselling writers
might have a hundred books released
but they only list one title
and one buy link.

The not-so-bestselling writers
state that they have X number of books
and here’s a link to their Amazon page.

Readers don’t buy X number of books.
They buy ONE book.
Then, if they like that book,
they buy another
and another.
Bestselling writers know this.

Choose one product,
preferably the best product
for that prospect,
and sell it.

When the new business development team
at a major beverage company
pitches new projects
to their executive team,
each team member presents
their piece.

No one presents financials
as enthusiastically
as the finance manager
who compiled those financials.

No one presents manufacturing details
as passionately
as the operations manager
who investigated those details.

Passion and enthusiasm
sells projects and products.

Carmine Gallo
shares

“Venture capitalists have told me
they like to see
how well a group of entrepreneurs
work together as a team
before they choose to invest.

If one person does all the talking,
it’s not nearly as persuasive as
watching a CEO give the high-level vision
while letting others discuss
more specific components
of the product or company.”

Share the presentation.
Spread the passion.

Why was singer
Ed Sheeran
a co-host of the 2015 MMVAs?

Because he asked.
Less than a year ago,
he was interviewed by
one of the VJs
and he specifically asked
to be a co-host for the awards.

We all know the phrase
“Opportunities aren’t given.
They’re taken.”
This ‘taking’ usually isn’t brutal.
It’s often a firm ask.

And often the people asked
are flattered by the request.
They might not say ‘yes’
but, if the ask is polite,
it will be remembered.

Ask for the opportunities
you want.

I recently participated in
a workshop held by
a large New York Publisher.

The digital marketing expert
from this publisher
was asked the first question.

His answer was wrong.
It was so wrong
that the audience was speechless.

After that answer,
people started to leave.
The remaining people
pushed back on every answer.
He’d lost all credibility.

The sad truth is…
EVERYONE involved in the workshop
lost credibility.

You’re not a human Google.
No one expects you
to know everything.

If you don’t know an answer,
tell the asker
that you’ll get back to her.

Don’t guess.

Do you need to offer
voice mail?

Many larger corporations
no longer believe they do.
JPMorgan eliminated voice mail
for many of their employees.
As did Coca-Cola.

Gordon Smith,
head of JPMorgan’s
consumer and community bank,
shares

“We realized that
hardly anyone uses voice mail anymore
because we’re all carrying
something in our pockets
that’s going to get texts
or e-mail
or a phone call.”

Voice mail is often
the last thing
people check
and there’s a cost associated
with offering it.

Do you need this expense?

If you’re serious about gaining sales
or being successful,
you have to learn how to deal
with rejection.

Steve the Copywriter
shares

“There is something
you DO need to cope with
– and it’s what kippers
99.999% of salespeople.

You have to deal with
endless rejections
“No, No, No…”

Most salespeople get “rejected”
more often in month
than others are in a lifetime.

It can be tough
and it does take resilience.

But you can’t be successful in sales
without the rejections –
mathematically it’s impossible
(don’t let anybody tell you differently).
It’s all about numbers.”

I get rejected every da*n day,
often multiple times a day.
I also ‘offend’ people
(because some people are offended
when you simply mention your products
– in my case, my books).

Learn how to deal with it.

I tell fellow writers
that I’ve personally connected
with every one of my readers (customers).

They think I’m joking.
I’m not.

Yes, once I’ve made that first connection,
my customers (readers) might not need
any more contact from me,
other than buying my products.
But that first connection is key.

Jamyla Bennu,
Co-founder of Oyin Handmade
shares

“Transparency is a very important goal for us,
and we like to connect with our customers.
I think a lot of small-business owners
feel that way
—a connection to a customer
is something they can offer emotionally,
which maybe a larger business could not,
and social media is a wonderful tool
in which to do that.”

Make a connection
to your customers.