Month: February 2014

Categories
Success Attitude

“Why I Love Getting Bad News”

 

bad-news

Granted, it may sound a little odd, particularly from a sales person like me, in which case the following words may change the way you think about getting bad news.

You see, I’m a realist. We can always do our best; but nobody wins them all.

Bad news is great – But only when you get it early. Time is absolutely everything.

There seems to be somewhat of an obvious trend among sales people which tends to cause a lot of stress and unnecessary extra pressure at the end of the month.

FACT: We all put off things we don’t like doing.

For a lot of sales people it’s a confidence issue surrounding discussing key elements of a deal early enough or at all before asking for the order, which leads to inaccurate forecasting fuelled by avoiding asking the ‘tough’ questions.

By now you’re probably sick of me talking about qualification but this stuff is mission critical folks. You need to qualify Timing at the earliest reasonable point, whilst you have your customer engaged.

Why? It’s simple really. It’s the only way you can ensure your own expectations are realistic.

If you don’t, and the prospect doesn’t categorically tell you when they will place an order you’re going to forecast, your expectations are likely to be, well, something you’ve made up yourself. So they are most probably going to be wrong!

This means at the end of the month when you finally manage to speak again with a view to closing and you’re told it will be next week before they place the order, you’re left with a gaping hole in your target and no time to create more opportunities you could realistically expect to close in time.

What that means for us at TST is that it makes us extremely focused on devoting time to well the qualified opportunities that we know will close during the current month, and the rest of our time is spent proactively hunting new business opportunities that we can close in (x) timeframe in order to ensure we deliver our number.

It’s a disciplined yet extremely effective way to work.

We’ve talked before about how your objective should be the only important thing and for most of us in sales roles, this will often be our revenue target. So if you want to make serious money you need to work smart.

So how do you know when and where to focus your time?

Make sure you work good quality questions around timing and timescales into your repertoire. Asking ‘When will you place an order?’ and being told ‘should be this month’ is simply not good enough for you forecast that deal.

Remember to drill down three times where you can like the example below because we all know it’s too easy to just accept it when we get told what we want to hear on a regular basis.

1) When will you place an order?

2) Just so I understand what kind of process does that go through to get signed off?

3) Is there any risk of this slipping into next month?

Then just simply be smart with your time and focus your efforts on deals that will close this month. Prioritise. More importantly pick up the phone and start creating new opportunities before it’s too late!

Categories
Customer Service

I Hate My Customers – And What to Do About It

Frustrated Customer Service Agent

When a small business owner says they hate their customers, and I’ve heard this on several occasions, it’s time to find out why and make that hard decision to change direction or go out of business. 

Many years ago, I met and became friends with an enterprising couple who started an ‘old-world style’ deli in an upscale resort community. This was no ordinary deli, but a mini version of the prestigious English Fortnum & Mason food hall; unusual and  often expensive gourmet fare, usually only obtainable in sophisticated top-tier big city establishments.

By the time I met the owners it was obvious that disillusionment had set in. The business was more or less holding its own, but after 3 years really hadn’t taken off, as the owners had hoped.  To showcase the gourmet offerings, they served lunch onsite (a break-even or less proposition I later found out), an opportunity taken advantage of by many, who came for lunch, but didn’t feel inclined to take home any of the gourmet offerings to their waterfront mansions.

It gets worse; Roberto, the more vocal of the two owners, was actually voicing his displeasure of his affluent customers; calling them cheapskates! (among other things less printable). After I heard this, I pointed out over a late lunch where I was the only customer in the café/deli, that if he really felt this way should he even continue in business?

More recently I met a very accomplished horticulturalist who had started  a nursery & landscaping business in another upscale waterfront community, where many successful and newly affluent dot.com millionaires were building summer homes.

Her rant went along these lines….”they just sold their company for several 100 million and they complain they can get the exact same plant at HomeDepot cheaper, even though the box store is 50 miles away and my plants are far superior quality”…. My obvious comment was with an anti-customer attitude like that, should you remain in business?

I did the hindsight special, and analysed the start-up process both these businesses went through and I found a common thread:

Customer Profiling

Yes, they had profiled their customer they said, affluent, with funds to buy the very best…. but was this really enough? Check out how to profile your customer.

Customer development

If these two business owners had actually done customer development and circulated in the community, talked to potential customers, and done some testing, would they have opened their businesses in the first place? It’s often helpful to talk to other business owners with a similar focus, and Roberto said he did this a couple of years after he started, and guess what, he heard exactly what he should have found out before he started!

Passion

All of these business owners were passionate about their products; gourmet foods and horticulture, but little thought had been given to really understanding the particular customer they were targeting. Were they passionate about doing business with their customers? Probably not by the end!

Assumptions

In both cases the businesses made the assumption that affluence means their target demographic would pay the price for gourmet food and prime garden products. This proved wrong in both cases. Clearly, they overlooked some other, more important attributes of their audience.

Expectations

Both businesses had expectations that their customers would behave in a certain way and when this proved to be wrong, they felt resentment toward their customers, which eventually came out in their attitude toward the customers.

When you start in a business with a solid understanding of your customer, having done all the research and preparation it takes before you open your doors, you have a far better chance of being successful and not only loving what you sell, but also loving those you sell to. 

(needless to say, both the deli and the plant nursery/landscaper went out of business…..question is; did they learn anything?)

Categories
Operations

Why Embracing Diversity Will Make Your Taxi Company Successful

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The twenty-first century has seen the nature of taxi businesses change massively, with their purposes changing and evolving. Whereas taxis mainly used to be associated with picking old ladies up from the shops during the day, taxis are now used throughout the day and night, picking people up from the airport and helping drunk teenagers get home from nightclubs. The diversity of the market and the options available means that opening a taxi company is now a valid business opportunity. However, for it to truly succeed, you need to celebrate diversity. Here are some areas to consider:

The Nature of Your Drivers

Most customers say that if they feel uncomfortable in a taxi during a journey, they will never use the company again. By entering a taxi with a stranger, a customer is putting themselves in a potentially vulnerable situation. For this reason, you should be absolutely certain that your taxi drivers are aware of appropriate etiquette and political correctness before you employ them. As part of this, it is well worth drawing up a code of conduct and getting each driver to sign it before they start. This way, you should be able to guarantee a pleasant experience for your passengers.

The Safety of Your Taxis

Getting people from A to B as quickly as possible is an important part of the job and, the quicker the service, the more people you’ll be able to carry in the day. However, safety is your most important priority for the day as a safe experience for your passengers will result in a professional image that encourages repeat custom. If a passenger feels unsafe, it is unlikely that they’ll return.

Accessibility of Your Taxis

Finally, you’ll need to consider the accessibility of your taxis. Small city cars are great for fuel economy, but they are unable to carry a large number of people. Likewise, large vehicles are great for if you’re bringing a group of people home from a night out, but aren’t very practical during the day. Due to this, it is wise for you to have a mix of vehicles that cater for all times and situations. As a part of this, you have to consider other factors such as disabled access. Proper disabled taxis are a rather niche corner of the market, but it is a sector of the market that is well worth investing in. Purchasing one from somewhere like Allied Mobility once more shows your professionalism and allows you to cater for every possible need.

Categories
Teamwork & Leadership

Three Ways to Positively Win at Work

win_at_work

Article Contributed by Dr. Joey Faucette 

Regardless of who you pulled for in the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you have to admire Peyton Manning. This five-time MVP has recovered from adversity, been criticized and told his passes look like “ducks,” and yet holds numerous records and is humble with a sense of humor.

What are his keys to success?

He prepares for hours on end, watching video of the opposition.

He plays like himself. He doesn’t try to run because he’s slow. He is smart on the field and throws the ball accurately.

He prepares well and plays like himself. Great way to play football…and play to win at work.

Here are 3 Ways to Positively Win at Work:

Prepare and Play: Core Values

If you wait to choose your core values until the pressure of business is breathing down your financial neck like a blitzing linebacker, you’ll get sacked for a loss every time.

What are your guiding principles at work? If you prepare to be honest, or act with integrity, or to highly value your customer relationships, when the heat of doing business goes up, you play like yourself. You react out of your core values which you’ve chosen ahead of time, in practicing moments of quiet each morning. You don’t have to think. You play your core value game.

Prepare and Play: Priorities

Manning analyzes the defense’s set and implements the play with the greatest probability of success, all in a matter of seconds. He’s prepared by studying opponents’ game films and sets his priorities for what to first try on his observations.

What are your priority plays at work? You have a myriad of options daily for how you’ll do business. Your preparation—product development, market assessment, customer feedback, client relationships, etc.—sets your priorities. You know your first and best option, second and better choice, etc. for achieving your business dreams daily. You simply execute the plays.

Prepare and Play: Unique Contribution

Manning is a QB who calls plays quickly and throws accurately. Yet he can’t block for himself. Or, kick field goals. Or, play cornerback. He understands and prepares to fulfill his role on the team.

You have a role to play on your Work Positive team. If you could do it all alone, why would you be on a team? Perhaps you can do anything, but not everything…at least not all at once.

What is your unique contribution on the team? Prepare and play your unique position to the best of your ability. Line up in your space and give it your total effort.

Prepare and play out of your core values expressed in your priorities while making your unique contribution. And watch as you and your team win as you Work Positive!

About the Author

Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), Positive Success coach, & speaker who helps business professionals increase sales with greater productivity so they leave the office earlier to do what they love with those they love. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Looking to Expand Your Audience? Try These Marketing Techniques

ES_ExpandAudience

Article Contributed by Sophia Quinn

If only it were enough to craft a winning product or service that just sells itself. Unfortunately, competition is stiff and the only way that today’s entrepreneurs can get any traction is by aggressively seeking out and expanding their audience.

In this post, we are going to explore a couple of powerful ways that you can amp up your small company’s voice and grab the attention of new potential customers. We’ll cover one of the most powerful online tactics along with an old-fashioned offline strategy that still delivers plenty of value. 

Engage with Customers Online

Blogging and social media platforms present businesses with an excellent opportunity to expand their reach and tap into new audiences. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and a host of other social media sites are powerful tools on the 21st-century marketing stage. However, posts can easily go unnoticed if you haven’t gone to great lengths to build and engage with your social media fan base. Of course, it’s one thing to say this and quite another to actually achieve it.

The brilliance of social media marketing is the fact that your own followers are the ones out there sharing and ‘liking’ your posts and content. They’re doing the legwork for you. Assuming you have genuinely grabbed their attention, they’ll be providing your company with this service because they actually want to. In other words, they’ll do it for nothing in return. When your company’s subscribers and followers start pushing your marketing messages into viral territory – well, that’s when sales are going to hit a fever pitch.

Here are some tips for turning your company blog or social media account into a high-powered, audience-expanding marketing medium:

  • Don’t blather on about your product features or the inner workings of your company; this may be interesting to you, but the average person probably doesn’t care.
  • Provide links to relevant information and events, even if doing so doesn’t directly benefit your bottom line.
  • Get the discussion moving by asking and answering questions.
  • Offer preferential discounts and promotions to your followers (e.g. through a promotional code that they can use on your website); this is a real-value proposition, and people will take notice.

Provide Something of Value (For Free)

That’s right. Give stuff away. You operate a business, and your target customers understand that you’re in it to make money. That only makes this tactic all the more effective. Whether you’re passing promotional pens to advertise an upcoming sale or giving away product to loyal customers, the only thing that matters is that the items you put in their hands have some level of utility.

Tried-and-true promo campaigns like this have been around for eons, and they’re not going away anytime soon. The key is to understand the fact that the items you give away are – well, they’re more than just items. They serve a purpose in the hands of the recipient, and they also broadcast a clear and succinct message from your business. You can’t exercise total control over who gets their hands on these products, but you can certainly target certain demographics by carefully planning when, where and how you pass them out.

This tactic is backed by plenty of research. A survey conducted by the Promotional Products Association International found that nine out of ten people surveyed had at least one promotional product in their kitchen. More importantly, three-quarters of respondents were able to recall the product, advertiser and marketing message attached to a recent promotional product they had received. Those are encouraging figures, and they serve as an important reminder that brick-and-mortar marketing still has a powerful role to play in the Digital Age.

About the Author:

Article Contributed by Sophia Quinn of Dynamic Gift in Australia,  a dependable provider of quality promotional products. They not only have promotional pens and other stationery, but also mugs, power banks, and magnets.