Category: Sales

How To Close Deals And Keep Projects On Schedule

A top salesperson
I know
contacts prospects
at least once a day
while
he is pushing a deal forward.

THIS is how
he closes deals.
He makes contact every day
and ensures
his deal is top of mind
for the prospect.

I contact key people
every day
while I’m managing projects
also.
If I don’t ‘sit on them’,
nothing is done.

This is especially true
now,
when SO many people
are dealing with
COVID brain.
Their memories are sh*t.
They are scattered.
They need someone
to keep them focused.

That someone is us.

Contact prospects,
customers,
key partners
every d@mn day.

How To Follow Up With Prospective Customers

A loved one,
a skilled salesperson,
is waiting for a huge deal
to close.

He follows up
with this prospective client
EVERY day.
His goal is to ensure
his deal
is their priority.

How does he do this
without coming across
as pain in the a$$?

He asks them
variations of
“How can I help you?”

He positions himself
as their assistant,
as an extra person
on the task.

Follow up
with prospective customers
today.

Salespeople Work For Their Customers

The current business environment
for skilled salespeople
involves moving companies,
on average,
every three years.

Quotas usually increase
every year
until
they are no longer achievable.
At that point,
the salesperson either moves
voluntarily
because their commissions have dropped
or
they are let go.

Experienced salespeople
know this.
They know their employer
will change every few years.

They also know
that the big value
they bring to a new employer
is their customer/client relationships.

The customer/client is the constant.
They give salespeople career security.
They bring salespeople commission income.

Skilled salespeople work
for their customers/clients.

As a business builder,
as their possible employer,
embrace this truth.

Ensure what is best for your business
is also best for the client/customer.

And don’t ever make
salespeople choose.

Because, if they are intelligent,
salespeople WILL choose
their clients/customers.
Every d@mn time.

If They’re Not Interested In A Sample

Every year,
I give away a free short story
to newsletter subscribers.
This is exclusive
to them.

I wait for a couple months
and then I archive
any subscriber
who didn’t open
the past 6 newsletters
or
click on any of the links.

If they’re not interested
enough
to click on a free story,
they likely aren’t interested
enough
to buy any of my stories.

I pay per subscriber.
It saves money
if I move them
off my list.

The people
who refuse your sample
aren’t your customers.

Focus on the other people.

Skip The End Of Shift Gatherings

It is tempting
to reward employees
today
with an end of shift
gathering
– drinks or food
or something similar.

Resist that urge.

Employees have been
working long hours.
They’re tired.
They want to go home
to sleep
and/or spend time
with their loved ones.

A better thank you
would be to send them
home
with a small gift
– maybe a sleep mask
and soothing foot cream
or
a board game
they could play
with their families
or
a mug
with a hot chocolate mix.

An after hours
work event
isn’t a reward
when we’ve been working
long hours.

Reward employees
in another way.

The Last Minute Shoppers

Customers who have left
their shopping
until today or tomorrow
for December 25th gift exchanges
are a different type
of customer.

Last minute shoppers
often struggle
to find the ‘perfect gift.’

They need someone,
a scapegoat
if the gift goes wrong,
to tell them
they HAVE found
the perfect gift.

This could be customer reviews.
“Sally says this is the perfect gift
for all the Moms in your life.”

Or it could be a celebrity endorsement.
“Does your loved one watch
The Kardashian?
Because Kim Kardashian loves
this product.”

Or it could be the salesperson’s views.
“I used this face cream
and I loved it.”

Give those last minute shoppers
the confidence
they need
to finally make their purchases.

Bring In Treats

If you’re building
a holiday-gift-feasible
retail business,
you are likely
extremely busy right now.

Your employees
and other partners
are tired.
Yet there are still
sales to be made.

Bring in a treat
for them.

This could be special coffees
or beautiful gift bags
to make their own holiday shopping
easier
or an extra ten minutes of paid lunch.

You know your employees.
Bring them something
THEY would like.

Give them the energy
and enthusiasm
they need
to make your customers
happy.

Communicating Price Increases

I gave my readers
(customers)
5 months warning
about the increase
in prices for my Romance Novels.

This did a couple of things.

It prepared the readers
mentally for the price increase.

They had time
to grumble about it
(which they, surprisingly,
didn’t do with me),
to get angry or upset
and then to calm down
before my next book (product) released.

It also gave my readers
an opportunity
to buy the existing books
at the lower price.
That bump up of sales
at the end of the year
was VERY much welcomed.

And it relayed
that I was being open
and honest with them.
Readers (customers) might not
take any action
upon hearing about
a price increase
but they like knowing about it
in advance.

Consider giving your customers
notice
of price increases.

Have You Increased Your Prices?

In 2023,
for the first time ever,
I’m increasing
the prices
of my Romance Novels.

I received
NO pushback
from readers
on this price increase.
And I’ve seen
NO decrease in pre-orders
for my 2023 releases.

Why didn’t I receive
pushback?

2022 was the year
almost every business
increased their prices.
That included
publishers and writers.

I was one of the few
exceptions.

Readers expect me
to increase my prices.
And readers, being human,
also like being right.

Increasing my prices
makes them happy.

Increasing your prices,
if you haven’t increased them
in years,
might make your customers happy also.

Your customers are likely
expecting the price increases.
Don’t disappoint them.

When NOT To Ask For Feedback

When I release a book
in November or December,
I assume that book
will receive very few reviews.

They might receive ratings
because giving a rating
often takes one click.

But they won’t receive
reviews.
People are super busy
in November and December.
They don’t have the time
or the brain bandwidth
to communicate in words
what they liked
or didn’t like.

Don’t waste
your time or money
sending customer satisfaction surveys
or other types of feedback mechanisms
this month.

People are too busy
to complete them
and
they will merely irritate
your customers.