Sales – Page 57

Quantum Of Solace Lessons

Quantum Of Solace director Marc Forster
is not a James Bond fan
and
James Bond fans tell me
it shows.

The James Bond brand
is
a sophisticated playboy spy,
beautiful Bond ‘girls’
and clever gadgets.

Quantum Of Solace walks away from all of these
(with the possible exception of the beautiful Bond girls).
James Bond has a tough time with the ladies,
he is rough around the edges,
and there are no new toys for men to drool over.

In order to keep your customers happy,
you should like them,
or at very least,
understand why they’re buying your product.

Letting Things Go

My auto mechanic uncle
uses the oil spray
WD-40
for his arthritis.
He swears it works.

Is that what it is designed for?
No.
Will it do him any harm to use WD-40 that way?
No.

Not everyone will use your product
the ‘right way.’
Not everyone will interpret your words
the way you want them to.
Not everyone will agree with you.

You can spend your time
correcting them
or trying to convince them

if the answer to
“Does this matter?” is no,
you can simply let it go.

Fight the battles that matter.
Let the petty skirmishes go.

When Prospects Ask About Price

I have a specific information product I want produced.
I went to one small independent developer
and asked for a quote.
I got a two liner back
with a number larger than I desired.
End of discussion with that developer.

If he had asked what I was trying to accomplish
or had been in anyway interested
in me and what I was doing,
I would have seriously considered
paying the price.

That’s the point
Grant Cardon makes in
Selling Is The Secret To Success.
It isn’t about price.
It is never about price.
It is about having the right solution
to the prospect’s problem.

If you find yourself
haggling on price,
you haven’t convinced the prospect
you have that right solution.

Cadbury, Chocolate, And The Recession

We’ve heard of the lipstick index
(lipstick sales, an affordable luxury,
increase during a recession).
Cadbury is also claiming chocolate
is recession proof.

“Chocolate is an affordable treat and
one of the last to be scratched off
people’s shopping lists.”

I’m creating
my own affordable treat product.
Short romance stories priced lower
but at a higher per word margin.

Could your company produce
something similar?

On Hold

I called a car dealership today,
inquiring about a wire transfer.
I was put ‘on hold’
as the saleswoman looked for the information.

The hold didn’t take.

I heard her refer to me as
“another loser”
as well as other less than glowing terms.
I heard her coworker’s equally
disrespectful reply.

Then she came back on the phone
sweet as apple pie.

Two lessons from this.
First, learn how to use the hold button.
Second, even if you use the hold button,
act as though the customer
can hear every word you’re saying.

Because she just well might.

Sales At Saks

I walked into a Florida Saks
a couple of weeks ago
and there were sales signs everywhere.

I was taken aback.
This is a high end retailer.

Why would they have sales?
Saks CEO Steve Sadove stated
in the June 30th BusinessWeek
“The high-end consumer likes a deal
like everybody else.”

I agree but
I’m not a fan of competing on price,
especially with high end products.
I think it is a short term tactic
with long term repercussions for the brand.
There are other ways to offer a deal.

Unique First-Person Stories

Sam Horn, in POP!,
shares her most important presentation lesson.

“Without a first-person story,
it’s all rhetoric.”

First-person stories add emotion,
interest, individuality
to a presentation.

How to make your story zing?
Have it be your story
(or one of your customers).
Collect them.
Write them down
(keep some details to add color).

The right story for the right occasion
is easy to find
when you have a binder full of them
and
because the story belongs to you,
it will ensure no one else is telling it.

United Isn’t

Everyone in the world
can reserve a flight
on United.com.
They simply can’t pay for that flight.
United.com only accepts
American credit cards.

If you are international
(as most serious travelers are
– some of us are homeless),
you have to book on the United country site
your credit card belongs to.

Yes, I know, madness.
Especially if you have multiple credit cards
with multiple addresses.

The world is global.
Make certain your website is also.

Labor Day At IKEA

What is the biggest holiday for
discount furniture maker IKEA?

No, it is not Christmas.
It is Labor Day,
that long first weekend in September.

Why?
Because college students are relocating
and buying… student furniture.

IKEA deliberately drops their fall catalog early.
That draws the regular shoppers in.
The students,
waiting to move
and short on cash,
plan their buys.

Then Labor Day,
they visit IKEA.

Post Show Follow Up

I went to the
Consumer Electronics Show
in January
armed with stacks of business cards.
I gave all of them away.
I’ve received calls/emails
from two vendors.
Two.

Is this surprising
after the businesses worked so hard
to get my contact information?

No.

In the superb
yet poorly titled book
Instant Income by Janet Switzer,
(it is about small business sales and marketing)
she shares
“It’s said that an astounding
80 percent of leads are never contacted
after a show.”

Follow up.
It IS expected.