In part one of this article we discussed the seven organizational resources that are critical to optimize and three questions you must answer in any prospects mind if you are to successfully market and sell your product or service. With that information in hand, it is not time to look at whom you should be marketing to. There are four groups to consider marketing to. – The Universe – Target Market – Prospects – Clients The “Universe” is everyone outside of your immediate presence. If you sold life insurance then the “Universe” would literally be all the people in your…
Continue Reading "Strategic Marketing™ – Part II"
Sales are often referred to as the lifeblood of an organization. But, it is impossible to have an effective sales program without a corresponding and effective marketing initiative. Most organizations just start trying things in the hopes that one will generate some leads and resulting sales. Like all facets of your business, you should take a strategic approach. You should have an elaborate and systematic plan of action. I begin by defining marketing as everything that happens before and after the sale to identify, acquire, magnify, and keep customers. In other words, any activity your company is involved in outside of the moment that the sale is made can…
Continue Reading "Strategic Marketing™ – Part I"
Over the years I’ve been blessed to have worked with some great sales professionals. I looked at these older and more experienced sales pros as my personal mentors. They taught me a lot, and they really made a big difference in my ability to build my businesses. One such pro, Mike, taught me three critical lessons. I want to share those with you today. 1. If you’re not in front of a prospect or customer you are unemployed. The bottom line is that if you are in your car, or behind your desk, or at the lunch counter, you are out of business. If you depend on selling…
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Recently I had a speech for a large home-builder. It was an annual meeting, and they wanted to send their management team off with a bang. I arrived at the Westin Hotel and was greeted warmly at the front door. The doorman escorted me to the room that I would be speaking in and made sure that all of my things arrived properly. Once in the meeting room, Mike, the hotel manager in charge of the event greeted me. He asked if he could be of service. There were a few things missing and he said that they would be…
Continue Reading "Are You Easy To Do Business With?"
Ultimately, if you are going to sell any product or service, there are three questions you must answer in your prospect’s mind. This is true whether you are selling face-to-face or running a display ad. No sale has ever been made without these questions being answered either directly or indirectly. The first question is: Why should I buy? This question is all about need. It is the sales professional’s responsibility to illustrate need to the prospect. You cannot wait for the prospect to realize that they need your product or service. You are the expert. You fully understand the benefits…
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You close your sales opportunities 100% of the time when you make a presentation, right? You don’t? Why not? It’s a simple question with a simple answer: objections! People don’t buy because they have objections. If, and only if you can overcome all of a potential customer’s objections can you then close the sale. I went to the baseball game last fall. My favorite team, the Cardinals, were playing the Padres. It was a sold out game, and for the first time in a very long time I went to the stadium without a ticket in hand. We hoped that…
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I recently registered a new URL. (It is http://www.samstips.com for those of you who are curious.) I used DomainBuddys.com to handle the transaction. When I purchased the URL, a screen came up that asked if I would like more information on tools that would add value to my new URL. I had the option of saying yes or saying no. Right before hitting the final submit button there was a “special customer” offer that made one of their services available at greatly reduced prices. After the transaction was completed I was taken to a thank you screen where another offer…
Continue Reading "Give Them a Chance to Buy"
At the beginning of the year, many business professionals set sales goals as a way of building their business. They might say, “I’m going to increase sales by 10% this year.” If you want to make significant strides in your business this year I would suggest a different approach. There are only four ways to increase sales. 1. You can increase the number of clients that you serve. 2. You can increase the average sale per client. 3. You can increase the number of sales or transactions per client per year. 4. You can increase your prices. Instead of setting…
Continue Reading "Synergistic Sales Growth™"
A recent Gallop poll revealed that 71 percent of workers are “not engaged” in their work. The longer a worker stays with a company the more disengaged they become. They begin to sabotage the company’s efforts, look for ways to hide out rather than produce, and lose interest in the organization’s success. Here are five ways for you to stay focused and to keep those working with you engaged as well. 1. Have a mission that is bigger than you It is easy to fall into the trap of driving a business by and for the bottom line. “We need…
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I’m sorry I was late to work. My right hand blinker is broken and I had to make left hand turns all the way here.
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