Category: Sales

Ivan Misner asks when was the last time
you got a referral from friends or family? 

In my case,
recently from my fellow business minded friends
but never from anyone else. 

Why? 
Because they, like our customers, need reminding. 
They also need coaching. 
About what need our product solves or
even what our product is.  

Don’t assume that they know. 
I once worked for a property management company
with a popular car brand in its name.  
A decade later, I still get car buying referrals from a loved one.      

I read an interview with Clive Barker. 
It was obvious that the interviewer
hated the man’s writing. 

I watched a special on wine tasting
on a business show. 
The host hated wine and
grimaced during the entire taping. 

Does a host have to like
every topic being discussed? 
No. 
However, they do have to suck it up
and not let their dislike show. 

We all do things we don’t want to do.  
With a professional, however, 
you wouldn’t know it. 

Years ago, I walked into an open house. 
I took a look around and
commented on the kitchen cabinets
being two different shades of white. 

The real estate agent looked at me with admiration
and said “wow, you noticed that right away.” 
I felt intelligent. 
I felt good. 
I bought the house. 

Studies show that the average person
feels he or she is more intelligent
than the average person
(80% of students think
they will be in the top 50% of their class). 

This real estate agent used that bias to help land a sale.

Most people talk faster
when they’re nervous or excited. 
The quicker the delivery,
the lower the comprenhension. 
Not good during sales pitches or
presentations to executives. 

So how do you slow down?
Diane DiResta in her article
Slow Down Speed Talking
says that the problem
“is usually not saying the words too fast
but not putting stops at the end of a sentence.
People need a few seconds to process
what was just said.” 

Her advice? 
Silently count to two between each sentence.  

I was part of an online question
and answer session. 

One of the people on the panel would, sure,
happily answer each question but
would address the person incorrectly. 

I would send a question
with my writing name Kimber and
she would respond with Kimberly. 
And this happened with every single question. 

By the end of the session,
the group was openly hostile to her. 

Yes, the sales rule of using the prospect’s name holds true
but use the right name or no name at all.

A loved one is a movie reviewer. 
I’ve noticed that whenever
he gets free advanced screening tickets,
he finds at least one thing positive
to say about the movie,
no matter how bad it is. 

Why? 

Because he feels like an insider. 
There is a sense of ownership. 

How can you use this? 
If possible, offer your influentials and loyal customers
the option of obtaining a new product early. 

I received an email today
from a fellow named Steven
asking to buy an ad on one of my blogs.  

That was all the email said.  

No mention of what product the ad was for. 
No company name. 
Not even a last name. 
Just hi, lets become business partners
(which is what an advertiser is). 

Unfortunately I receive one of these emails a day
and they all get the same response (if any). 
No thank you.  
If Steven doesn’t treat me with respect,
then I doubt he’ll treat my readers any better.  

You often have to sell to your partners
before selling to your prospects.         

In “The Way To Wealth,”
Brian Tracy states that
the “purpose of business negotiation is
to enter into an agreement
such that each party’s needs are satisfied
and each is motivated to fulfill
his or her part of the agreement and
to negotiate with the other party in the future.” 

What does this mean? 

Agreements should be win-win,
should be followed through on, and
should be considered the beginning of a relationship. 
Negotiate for the long term.

Ramit Sethi at
IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com
interviewed Laura Levine from
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy
and asked why young people
don’t attend financial literacy classes. 

Her reply included 
“Because attending is a big admission
that they’re lacking education.” 

The fear of looking dumb,
the same reason your prospect
won’t ask a beginner question about your product,
that easy question holding her back from buying.

So volunteer the information,
put an FAQ on your website,
include a brochure. 
Make the information easy 
for the prospect to access
without looking dumb.   

As a blogger, I get quite a few freebie books.
The usual process is…
a PR person emails me,
asks me to review the book. 
I am sent the book with
a general cover letter from the PR agency.
I email them with a link to my book mention and
sometimes (not often) I get an email “thanks” back. 

Not so with Carmine Gallo. 

He emails me (he does, not his PR person)
says that he read on my blog
(and he names the blog site) 
that I loved 10 Simple Secrets (I did). 
Would I like a copy of his new book Fire Them Up!? 
No mention of a review, a simple give. 
I receive the book and
a pack of Fire Them Up! red hots are included. 
Then I get an email. 
Did I receive the book? 
Was there any problems with the shipping? 
Follow up. 
And I suspect that when I send him links to the posts,
I will not only get a thank you back but
he’ll personalize that thanks. 

THAT is how you win fans. 

BTW… skimming through the book,
it has enough information in the first chapter
to put it on the keeper shelf.
A great gift idea for that business person on your holiday list.