Month: March 2012

Communication Skills

Your Story Makes All the Differences!

Post author By
Post date March 25, 2012

Did you ever think, I can’t believe I said that?

It seemed to be a pretty simply question…but…

Do you find it difficult to talk about what you do?

You know you’re really good at it, but you struggle to articulate exactly what it is?

You are not alone.

I was at my first ever official networking event.

I had just set up as a Coach. I had years of corporate experience and could talk about that pretty easily. But I had no idea how to describe what I do now.

I sat down beside the one person that I knew. He had introduced me to the group and assured me that it was a great place to meet new people and create new business opportunities.

My heart was pounding. Everyone had a minute to introduce themselves. At first I just kept thinking about what I was going to say, I could barely hear what others were saying. I was terrified. And quite sure that I was going to sound incredibly stupid!

Then I decided to simply listen to the others and hoped that that would inspire me to find what I was going to say.

And that’s when I noticed it.

That’s when I had this huge realization.

Most people in the room were quite uncomfortable and felt similarly to the way I was feeling.

They seemed to be really struggling to introduce themselves and a lot of what was being said was not very clear or enticing.

Then it was the turn of the young woman that sat 3 seats away from me.

She stood up, looked around the circle and with a huge, relaxed smile started to tell a story. She was a therapist and she told the story of a couple who had arrived at her clinic in distress and how she had facilitated a real breakthrough for them.

I was immediately compelled to speak to her and find out more.

The story had completed drawn me in and I noticed that it stayed with me for quite some time.

In fact, over the next few months, as I attended the networking group on a regular basis, I noticed that it was the introductions that included a story that I remembered. Not just when I thought about the group, but also when other people asked me for a recommendation.

Years have gone by since that young woman impressed me with her story.

Yet little has changed.

Wonderful and talented professionals everywhere struggle to tell their story.

It’s just not enough to be great at what you do; you have to be able to articulate it in a way that compels people.

Once you can tell your story, your ideal clients find you. It makes all the difference.

So, what story are you telling?

How do you manage to talk about what you do?

Customer Service

Customers Lie

Post author By
Post date March 24, 2012

Customers Lie!

We, as sales professionals, are constantly told that customers lie. They never address the reason customers lie nor do they tell what you can do about it.

Customers lie because they do not want to hear how stupid they are if they do not understand how your product or service will help them.

Customers lie because they feel you will take advantage of them if you learn some sensitive piece of knowledge.

Customer lie because they fear you will charge a higher price if you knew how painful the situation really is.

Ok, customers lie because they need to protect themselves. They lie because we, as sales professionals, have lied to them. I cannot tell you how much sales training I have received where the instructor would say something like, “tell them what they want to hear, even if it not true, to get the appointment. You can always fix it later.” We wonder why customers feel the need to protect themselves. I refuse to be party to this kind of mind-set.

As a sales professional, we need to change that. We need to act with the best intentions and the highest effort to do what is in the best interest of our customers. We need to understand their problems and help them solve it.

As a sales professional, we have to assume they are lying to protect themselves and it is our job to act with honesty, integrity, and while having the best interest of our customer in mind at all times so they do not have to (or feel the need to) protect themselves. They understand we are on the same team.

As a sales professional, we must understand how to build rapport quickly and effectively because building rapport is the first step in building trust.

As a sales professional, we must always treat the customers the way they want to be treated so they understand why your product or service is the right and safe choice for them.

If our customers are lying to us we need to stop blaming them and implement actions that allow them to trust us.

If our customers are lying to us we must look inside and see what we are doing they makes them want to lie to us. Then we need to fix it.

Sales & Marketing

Pinterest and Your Startup

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date March 23, 2012

Article Contributed by Danielle

Pinterest is the hottest new social networking platform, and is quickly becoming a great way to connect with friends as well as customers. If you are not familiar with the Pinterest concept, it’s easy. Users can “pin” websites as they browse, which creates a virtual bulletin board of interesting ideas they can share with friends on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.

Pinterest is mainly used to gather inspiration such as recipes, craft projects, fashion ideas and even decorating tips. Recipes and projects are a natural choice because when people try something like this, they want to share their successes with friends and family. Fashion ideas are pinned when users find a “must have” garment or just want to build a look book and browse all the pretty clothes. Grandiose home interiors and decorating ideas are popular. People pin thousands of DIY décor tips or photos of impressive homes with high ceilings, unique paintings, pool tables and pools.

So, the question that may come to your mind is, “How can Pinterest be used to promote my business?” Unlike Facebook or Twitter where businesses actively advertise to followers, Pinterest is a bit sneakier. The first way to use Pinterest to your benefit is add a “Pin it” button on your page. This is very similar to adding a “like” or “tweet” button. It encourages your traffic to add your content to their boards. But remember that Pinterest is highly visual, so if you want content to be shared it must have an intriguing picture.

Make your website pin-worthy. This may mean adding additional content. Generally Pinterest users are looking for things they can DO, which is what makes it such an interesting networking tool. By adding dynamic content such as recipes or projects, you are more likely to get pinned, and bring in new people to your website who will check out your preexisting content.

No matter what topic is the focus of your website, from poolside fun to pool tables and beyond, you can likely find a way to make it relevant to the Pinterest community. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If you enjoy the Pinterest network you may wish to become friends with many of your customers and website readers. This way they’ll see when you pin — a great way to encourage repeat visitors. Take time to check out what’s available and learn more about this popular new phenomenon which has web users talking and pinning up a storm.

About the Author

Danielle, who blogs on behalf of Sears and other prestigious brands, found her new favorite recipe (Starbucks Frappuccino Cupcakes) on Pinterest. She was also found by her newest client on Pinterest by pinning photos of her product offerings. Read her work at suitsandladders.co.uk.

Sales & Marketing

Where’s the Beef? Getting Clients with Email Marketing

Post author By
Post date March 22, 2012

Each quarter, I do my market research. A few things I look for are the trends, language and messaging the folks in my industry are using. The goal is to shed some light on what my industry thinks is hot and to decide what topics are becoming overused. I also look at programs being offered, both in subject and delivery.

I have a folder in my Outlook where the emails I subscribe to (for market research) pile up until I sit down to look for trends. When I did my market research the other day, I was pretty surprised. This folder, packed with over 500 emails, was 85% sales material. That’s right-85% of what should have been interesting, educational, relevant information that was of service to those subscribed to the list (and helped the sender highlight their expertise while creating preeminence) was instead trying to sell something. Ugh, I thought. This doesn’t say good things about the direction the business-growth industry took this quarter.

That brings me to the rule I always remind my clients about: the 80/20 rule. When you reach out to your list, 80% of your contact with them (emails, letters, etc.) and 80% of your content should be educational (aka the “beef”). Discuss what readers should think about and why it is important (but not how to do it). And 20% of your content is the “take”, which is the place for your call to action. Your call is a specific problem (a source of pain) they are having and a specific result they want to achieve, and the action is what you want them to do—hence a “call to action.”

Keeping your 80% of your content informative, educational and of interest to your readers allows you to build a relationship with potential clients instead of trying to shove something down their throats while telling them to buy it.

Whatever you’re selling, remember to manage your clients’ expectations. Be clear-there is no magic bullet. When clients sign up for a live event, webinar or coaching, or when they buy a book, a video, a program or a service, they still have to do the work required to be successful. Products sit on the shelves and gather dust very easily. Success from any program involves the client doing the work. There is no magic about it.

In other words, just listening to materials or getting on a coaching call is not going to bring success. In order to create a successful business, the client has to do the work. That’s the biggest challenge-getting clients to consume what you sell. And if there is any magic involved, it’s the magic in your clients, not in a system, program or book. In order to create success, your clients must be willing to do what’s necessary to achieve it.

Want More Clients? Grab a free copy of my Report “What You Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients”.

Tags attract clients, attracting clients, business coach, get clients, getting clients