Teleseminar Reminder
Here’s a reminder, just in case my last post about the free teleseminar this Wednesday (Feb. 1st) didn’t find its way to you.
Brad Fallon and Anthony Blake, are going to put niche expert and author of the Strike It Niche ! ebook, Michael Holland, on the hot seat.
Michael is going to reveal niche marketing secrets that he uses to quietly earn a six-figure income online. Here are some of the things you’ll learn:
- How to find high-profit potential niche markets…
- Why more than 90% of new web sites are doomed from the start and what you can do to avoid this fate…
- Which type of web sites you should be creating ‘Today’ and why…
- The key ingredients to every successful niche business…
- How to get lots of laser targeted traffic to your niche web site…
- And a whole lot more !
You’ll also get the scoop on some actual high demand, low competition niches he’s never shared with anyone.
But Michael has another motive as well. He’s tired of the gurus making it seem like earning money online is complicated. It’s not, if you use the right approach and don’t get sidetracked.
Anyway, Michael can explain what he means a lot better than me. So, hurry over to this url now and reserve your seat on the call now because only a limited number of slots are available….
Seth’s New Logo - Love It Or Leave It ?
Well, I’ve seen several other people talking about Seth Godin’s new logo, so I thought I’d jump in and try and get a Trackback and some traffic from it…like they’re doing !
Previously, he had the top of his head up there and now he has a graphical representation of what could be the top of his head. Not a big change to me. Seth’s not an incredibly handsome guy, but then again, neither am I, so having his mug up there isn’t that great of an idea.
I think, since it’s his blog, I’m gonna let him change it as often as he likes, to whatever he likes and not worry about the graphics, just try and learn from his witty writing and remarkable sense of marketing, Seth-style.
Long Live Seth’s New Logo !
Need A Sales & Customer Service Presentation ?
I had the distinct pleasure on January 18th of hearing Hal Becker speak on the topic of Customer Service & Sales.
He was our keynote speaker at the Carolinas Brick Forum 2006. His topic was ” Success In Customer Service “.
His might have been the best presentation I’ve ever heard on the topic, and I’ve heard, read and given over 100…easy.
The guy was just down to earth, common sense, plain and simple. He’s been there, done that and sold the shirt for charity. Which by the way is where the proceeds of his books go.
Hearing this, I bought the 3 ( and got him to autograph them ) pictured below :
Here’s a snippet of his world, to try and entice you to click thru to his website and hire him to come and make your world a better place :
Xerox’s #1 salesperson among a national sales force of 11,000 at the young age of 22…
Founder and former CEO of Direct Opinions, one of America’s largest customer service telemarketing firms…
Author of the national best seller “Can I Have 5 Minutes Of Your Time?,” “Lip Service” and ” Get What You Want “…
Received the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award. He is one of only eight people in the world to be given this honor…
Inc. Magazine voted Hal as one of the nation’s top speakers in the areas of sales and customer service…
Hal is a CSP - or Certified Speaking Professional - which is the highest earned Designation presented by the National Speakers Assocication…
Devoted over 25 years to the science of sales and customer service…
Survived terminal cancer at 28 years old and now helps other patients and their families cope with their disease…
Founder of the Cancer Hotline of Cleveland and donates proceeds of his books to this cause…
Now, do yourself and your organizationa favor, call him, write him, email him or drive to Solon, OH and visit him, but get him for your next meeting. You will not be sorry.
Hope we get to see you again next year, Hal, you were great.
Free Teleseminar - New Niche Marketing Course
I’ll get right to the point because I think you’re going to love this. One of my friends is going to be doing a teleseminar to talk about his newest project.
For the first time ever, Brad Fallon and Anthony Blake, have collared niche expert and author of the ebook Strike It Niche !, Michael Holland, on a free teleseminar to be held next Wednesday (February 1st).
Michael is going to sing like a trapped canary with a bad crack habit !
He’s going to reveal niche marketing secrets that he uses to quietly earn a six-figure income online.
Here are some of the things you’ll learn:
- How to find high-profit potential niche markets…
- Why more than 90% of new web sites are doomed from the start and what you can do to avoid this fate…
- Which type of web sites you should be creating ‘ Today ‘ and why…
- The key ingredients to every successful niche business…
- How to get lots of laser targeted traffic to your niche web site…
- And a whole lot more !
You’ll also get the scoop on some actual, high demand, low competition niches he’s never shared with anyone.
But Michael has another motive as well. He’s tired of the gurus making it seem like earning money online is
complicated. It’s not, if you use the right approach and don’t get sidetracked.
Anyway, Michael can explain what he means a lot better than me. So, hurry over to this url now and reserve your seat on the call because only a limited number of slots are available….
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Story With A Moral..Or 3
In the essence of the way Liz over at biz.erati does some of her posts, I’m going to tell you a little story that has 3 points/lessons/truths for you.
Sorry, if you’re offended by the word crap, you might not want to read any further.
There once was a young bird who left his home up north a little too late in the year for his first trip south for the winter.
He got caught up in a blizzard with howling north winds that chilled him to the bone.
He couldn’t fly any further and fell to the ground in a cattle field.
There he lay, freezing. Near death, he saw a large bull come over. The bull saw his plight and decided to help the little bird, so he crapped all over him.
The warmth from the crap brought up his body temperature. He soon felt like he was gonna live. The joy he felt made him break out in song !
A large farm cat that was in the barn heard his song and came out to see what the fuss was all about.
Seeing the little bird there in the crap, the cat couldn’t pass up an easy meal, so he swatted the little bird out of the crap ( and the crap out of the little bird ) and devoured him on the spot.
There’s 3 lessons here.
1) Everybody who craps on you isn’t your enemy.
2) Everybody who helps you out of the crap you’re in isn’t your friend.
3) When you’re in deep crap, sometimes the best thing to do is keep quiet.
Free eBook On Press Release Strategy
Via Seth Godin I just found a fantastic new ( free ) ebook about creating a press release strategy.
I’m in the early stages of creating a new blog for a company and I’m in the early stages of reworking the marketing of several ( physical ) golf products, so this was as good a find for me as I could hope for. Or dream about.
David Meerman Scott has done me a great favor and if you need info on this subject, I highly recommend that you go to his blog and download this ebook.
I’m gonna add him to my Blog Roll, but I doubt he needs my link. I feel like it’s the right thing to do, since he’s done me such an incredible favor.
Go subscribe to his feed and/or bookmark his site and get ready to learn !
Speaking Of Taking Notes
I mentioned my obsession with notes and stenopads in a previous post, so I thought I’d take that a little further and see if I can help you make more sales and/or give better customer service, thru taking notes.
At a previous assignment, the first time I watched the Customer Service employees answer the phone and take orders, I was shocked to see them taking orders that amounted to thousands of dollars, on scraps of paper, the back of other notes, etc.
I went to the supply room and got three stenopads and brought them back to those three knuckleheads and instructed them in the fine art of taking notes and orders. Sadly, I had to teach them the proper questions to ask, too, but that’s for another post.
The salesman who doesn’t take notes and doesn’t review then throughout the day, has less of a chance of success than one who does.
Going over previous pages of notes has kept me from making a customer angry and costing him money on many, many occasions.
It’s easy for me to say that it has made me many, many friends and many, many dollars too.
Customer service employees would do well to keep a notebook with an entry for every call they make and take.
I did just that I I wasn’t in customer service very long. If I had to choose between several employees, it wouldn’t be hard for me to spot the one who possesses the greatest chance at success. It would be the best and most thorough note taker.
Taking notes throughout the day also enables you to have something to talk to your customers about.
I make a note of every potential opportunity I see that might be of interest to my customers. That lets them see that I’m looking out for their well being and want them to succeed. The more success they have, the more they can buy from me. Win-Win.
Also, taking notes and asking questions when you’re with a customer shows them that they are important to you and makes it easy for you to get back to them with answers to their concerns.
Go to your local office supply store and grab a package of success, I mean stenopads, and get ready to win more of those sales.
Take Pride In Your Appearance
If you want more sales, you have to take pride in your appearance.
When I was first learning my craft, a competitors salesman stopped by our office one day and spent some time talking with my boss.
As he was leaving, my boss pointed at him out the window and told me to never, ever look that sloppy and dirty and expect to sell. ” He couldn’t sell me water in the desert “, was how my boss described him.
If I’m going to be out of town, even for just a trip a couple of hours away, and calling on customers, I try to keep a backup shirt with me.
I tend to get my lunch on me more than in me. Usually it’s when I try to answer my cellphone and eat at the same time.
If I have a big sales presentation to make, I like to get a haircut and shoe shine, before I go. To be good, you have to look good. And feeling good about yourself helps your confidence.
I don’t like to change my appearance with a different haircut or shoes I’m not comfortable in, just before a big sales call. Kind of superstitious, but it works for me.
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that appearances don’t matter. They just don’t want to put forth the effort it takes or they’re cheap and don’t mind looking like a B-Team player.
Also, don’t go into a presentation in a 3 piece suit with people who wear business casual. Never over-dress and make the situation tense.
I’ve always wondered why some of the guys who announce golf for a living are made to wear suits and ties to interview golfers. Really, it’s hot, there’s sand traps and water. There’s no hardwood floors or carpeting to be found.
Even in my day to day work, where I wear slacks and golf shirts most days, I hate for a vendor to come in wearing a suit and tie. Rarely do I buy from one like that and I’m sure other people feel that way too.
Make sure you look ready for the day and stay looking as good as you can, even if you have to wear two shirts a day.
Keep a second pair of shoes in your office or trunk, if you end up on a jobsite on occasion.
Never over-dress for the presentation.
Don’t listen to those that aren’t as serious about their job as you are.
Enjoy the success this will bring. Winning is the best revenge.
Take Pride In Your Work
If you want more sales, you have to take pride in your work.
I make calls to and take calls from other salespeople everyday. If they treat their customers like they treat me, they don’t take pride in their work.
If they think it’s okay to not return a call until the next day, they’re fooling nobody but themselves. I make a note of the time I placed the call next to the notation in my handy-dandy stenopad. I go thru those pads like a tank thru sheetrock. I keep a note on every call…made and received. I don’t tear out that page til the matter is handled completely.
I make calls to other people in my organization and sometimes don’t get a return call for up to 24 workday hours. That’s 3 full days, on occasion. Unacceptable.
I get into a situation, on occasion, where I can’t answer or return a call for 1-2 hours, but never, ever 3 days.
At least return the call and let me know that you’re working on it and will get back to me.
And never check your voicemail without a pad to write down all the messages you get. If you depend upon your memory, you will let someone down and they will remember it.
Some of my customers buy from me, rather than people who are less expensive or more convenient, because they know I will always, always return their calls and will never, ever leave them hanging.
Take pride in your work. Call people back. Never think, ” I’m doing a good enough job.”
The Customer Is Not Your Competitor
Early in my sales career I didn’t know that I should be my customers best friend. I had no idea that I should be on the lookout for ways to help them find more work. Nobody ever told me about the rewards that would come my way if I were to be friends with my customers and lookout for their best interests.
I wasn’t as successful then as I am now. Sales were also fewer and farther between.
Do you want to make more sales ? Do you want them to come to you easier than they do now ? Me too.
Here’s a way to make this happen.
Don’t fall for the foolish advice that tells you to get them before they get you. They aren’t the enemy. They aren’t out to get you. Well, not all of them anyway. The best sales you’ll ever make are the ones where the phone rings and you get an order that you never asked for nor even did any real work for. The orders that come this way are sweet. I get business every week from long-time customers that still believe in me and my methods.
Do what’s best for the customer. Show them that you’re there to do what’s best for them. Listen to their concerns, look for ways to help them get business so that they can buy your product.
I advise my customers, on occasion, to pass on a potential project. Sometimes it’s because of some inside info I’ve acquired, sometimes it’s just gut instinct. Many, many times the customer and I have both been glad we didn’t try to crash the party and get that contract. Every time that happens, it just bonds us even tighter.
The best relationship is Win-Win. The only way to make that a reality is if you are your customers best friend. Not their enemy. The minute you create a doubt as to whether or not you’re on their side, those easy, sweet deals are gone and you have to go back to working for every purchase order. Not a fun way to make a living.
Never try to outwit, outsmart or outmaneuver your customer. Always try to outgive them. Give them more service, more benefits and more reasons to call you and give you those easy, sweet sales.
