Sales by 5 Blog

Knowing When It's Right - Fitting the Culture

We've recently been interviewing students and new graduates for our coveted summer internship position.  You might be shocked at what you see.  We would ask questions and get a response like "yeah" or "uh-huh."  Some were chewing gum, had no eye contact and exuded entitlement, while others had sub-par email skills.  Today, we got what may be our winner, Bobby.  He was well dressed, had a great (one page) resume that gave us more depth into his life, spoke clearly and had a well written introductory email. 

We have a very special culture and guard it highly.  What if he doesn't speak to a client respectfully?  What if he drops the ball?  What if an email of his unsells?  We realized, though, that the culture of the organization is not only something to be defended, but it is also provides protection.  The culture doesn't allow for these things to happen.  Every new person is directed to the brand promise, core values and purpose of Salesby5.  Additionally, questions are welcomed hourly!

So, if communication is sub-par, a team member is on it to clean it up and explain how to avoid this in the future.  If a customer is not receiving the proper attention, someone else helps give them the right touch.  Everyone is concerned about keeping our quality at an extremely high level in communication and service. 

Now, let's say you start getting used to this and then you go to a doctor's office or a business who still thinks it is 1980.  They believe they are special, when they are really a commodity. It makes us appreciate what we do, how we do it, and how we'll never go back. Our culture and attitude is the salt and pepper of 2020. Call us and see!

We have serious fun at work.

Ten Days to Selling More with Less Effort - Selling It!

For day 10, we need to add a few last tips and cover the latest data.  Today, you should be able to articulate the benefit you have in 10 seconds or less. You should be able to stand out by not selling salt and pepper. You should be able to offer a dramatic difference from your competitors that is easy for a 5th grade student to understand.

Try the following and eliminate any old way that has not worked extremely well. You should be surprised at the change. If you have a question, e-mail me at [email protected], I will respond fast.

Tips:
#1 way people in business want to be communicated with today is e-mail.
#1 way people in business screw up a sale is THEY TALK TOO MUCH!
#1 way people lose a sale is letting a customer say "no" because the customer didn't understand what benefit they were being offered.
Latest data shows that if you have exclusivity and/or scarcity in the offering of your product or service you will have an overt advantage.

The best of the best have a coach, who is yours? If you think you know it all, you are easy to beat!

Use the tips above and tell us how it changed your sales.

Photo by The Justified Sinner - Flickr

Look to the Future for Success

Yesterday was about giving people something to talk about. They talk, so stop blending in and start being as you as you can be.

Today: A future focus is 10x more predictive of success. A person who asks "what do your customers want?" is salt and pepper. Your need to focus on what your customers want, from price reductions to time savings and communication enhancements are a priority. As Wayne Gretzky says "Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

Summary: What can you do today to help your clients with something they need or will need? What is it they will not need today or tomorrow, but 3 months, 12 months and 3 years from now?

Who asked for an ipod, tv or radio?

Photo by happylandfill - Flickr

Think Bigger!

When I sold the least, I didn't think big. A common phrase around our office is "think bigger!"

If you could have an event that gets real estate brokers to see a development and you serve food, beer and wine, that is salt and pepper. How about a broker event, on undeveloped land, that has large back hoes that brokers can use to tear down a house? What if you added prizes, like an LCD TV and a Nintendo Wii? Then, you top it off by serving premium alcohol, beef tenderloin and complete it with an incredible band? This event happened and pictures are coming. Did it sell space in the new 500,000 square foot development?  We'll see soon enough.

When you believe you are thinking big, go for more!

Photo by inalaf

A Good Attitude vs A Remarkable Attitude

If you ask most people, they would probably tell you they have a good attitude...and they're probably right.  The difference between good and great can really by understood when things don't work out as planned or when you feel someone has wronged you.  These are the situations that truly speak to your character and your attitude.  Do you rise above and still have a great attitude or does all the goodness quickly fade?  These situations allow you to either brand yourself as having a great attitude or one that is just good.  And guess what? a good attitude is salt and pepper.

What does this have to do with sales? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G

Free Estimates!

The company that takes care of my lawn has a sign on the doors of the truck in big bold letters: Free Estimates

1.       Lawn care in this city is a high commodity business. I live in a neighborhood where there are 160 houses with about 80 “lawn care companies” doing business.

2.       The statement of "free estimates" being big and bold is like a restaurant offering free salt and pepper!

3.       Imagine if he had a statement that says, "If your lawn could look better, fire us!" or "If you don't love us, fire us!"

Something that demands attention and stands out is rare, as that business is a high commodity where I live. What are you selling that has no difference or no dramatic difference?

Give 'Em Something to Talk About

Yesterday we said that People Talk, today were are giving you an example to help sell more!

One of our clients, Zap! Cars, sells electric vehicles.  He has a car, truck, ATV and motorcycle that are for sale. I have been able to try this electric ATV in my neighborhood with my kids and it is a great, quiet and compliant toy. The rules say no motor vehicles, but electric is okay, so that has become a new trend. Parents Dads are consistently asking me about this quiet ATV that I've been driving around with two kids. It has towing power and can climb anything in our off road trails we have thrown at it.

If you have something dramatically different and then you have a father and son go for a ride together on it, what happens the next 24 hours is incredible. See, feel, touch, experience just happened. It is sold in the mind of the child and the dad is looking for ways to un-sell it.

The point: If you have salt and pepper, forget it! If you have dramatic difference, show me, tell me, but most of all, let me see, feel, touch, experience what your product or service has that I can benefit from.

Tell us what you have!

TVs can teach you about your business?

Not too many years ago flat panel televisions were just being released to the public, some of them running as much as $11,000+ for a 50”!  These sets were extremely profitable and the level of exclusivity in owning them was high. Now, it is easy for grandma to run to Target and pick one up for hundreds of dollars – flat panel TVs are quickly becoming a commodity. Does this sound familiar to you in your business? Here are what TV manufacturers are doing about it – going BIG and going small.

Yesterday we witnessed a Panasonic 150” plasma that made a 6’3” gentleman look small in comparison. At the same time they were showcasing ultra thin plasmas next to them. Has your offering become generic? Do you need to bundle your products and services with other items to reflect new value in your offerings? Maybe you need to break your offerings into pieces and charge more for each part, while making it personal for your buyer. Your offering is the tip of the iceberg, reconsider your packaging and start breaking free from looking like everyone else. As Seth puts it, small is the new big.

Everyone Sells

We have yet to meet a company that doesn’t need more sales.  More sales can mean more services sold, more people attending your church, more cell phones pushed out the door.  Here’s the million dollar question:  Does everyone in your organization realize that they are in sales?  That’s right – everyone!  We worked with an insurance company that wanted to increase sales to new customers, which you know is the best and most profitable way of growing the company other than loyalty (loyalty is salt and pepper).  After a bit of probing and some pushback from Accounting and IT, we found that this 60 person company touches an average of 3,000 people per day.  With this many touches to clients and vendors, each person in the company has the opportunity to create remarkable experiences.  Think of a pleasant response to a less than friendly email, the creation of a client concierge department or maybe something as easy as a Thanksgiving card – a nontraditional touch.  How could your company grow and change if they looked at these touch points as opportunities to inspire customers and vendors?  How do you move people to become raving fanatics of yours?  Check out Keith Ferrazzi's blog, he talks about it too!

Are You Selling Salt and Pepper?

When was the last time you saw a restaurant advertising free salt and pepper?  We often ask our clients this question and always get the same grin – they know we are trying to tell them something, but they’re not quite sure what.  Advertising “FREE SALT AND PEPPER – ALL YOU CAN EAT!” is ridiculous and guess what, you might be advertising exactly that.  How many millions of dollars per year are spent on banners, posters and mailers advertising “Free Checking”?  If we asked what is special about your company, would your answer be your people, your customer service or your prices?  Is any of this truly remarkable; meaning would anybody want to remark about any of these things?  If they would, then what exactly is it that is fantastic?  Do your reps deliver cakes at 1 PM randomly as an act of kindness that brands your firm?  Does your customer service stay after hours to help you figure out your BlackBerry even though their job has nothing to do with technology?  Are your prices DRAMATICALLY lower or maybe dramatically higher than the competition?

What the world wants is new news.  If you have this, you are on the right path.  Now go out and tell people what the benefit is in working with you with 5^th grade simplicity in under 20 seconds!

Remember, even if you are best in class, you may not have stretched enough to do something remarkable where people want to talk about you.