Keep the fire burning!

Think of your business as a campfire...When sales are going strong and customers are coming through the door a lot of business owners tend to stop or reduce advertising.

What happens is their campfire (advertising) has died down or in most cases burnt out. So when they see the slowdown, all of the sudden they grab a gas container and start dumping gas on the fire to get it going again. Frivolously spending money on a quick fix. If the fire is already out, this won't work will it? You need to start the fire again from scratch.

A better approach would be to find out which pieces of wood burn a long time and give you a great base for your fire to keep going (ROI). In other words don't let the fire burnout. Keep it going steady and instead of adding gasoline, just throw on another log here and there. Not only will it keep a steady flow of customers coming through the door (and save you on advertising money), they might hang out enjoying the warmth and even invite some friends to come with them. Who doesn't like roasting marshmallows and making s'mores??

Viral Advertising

What are some ways to make Viral Advertising, also known as Word of Mouth Advertising or Buzz Advertising, work?

1. Join networking and leads groups

2. Go to Chamber of Commerce events

3. Get involved in the community

4. Say "Hi" to your neighbor

5. Host a party for professionals

6. Conduct a free seminar

7. Have a 30 second commercial already laid out, when you talk to someone you want to be able to explain to them (in 30 seconds) why they should talk to you again

8. Visit different types of groups, Rotary, Lions Club, Boys and Girls Club, Youth Sports, Organizations within your industry, you need to also become a member and become involved in your community. For the community not for sales (although sales will also come)

9. Most Important...Take the absolute best care of any customer or contact that you come in contact with. If you treat your people good, they will return the favor.

10. Pass leads and business to people you can trust, that have your same integrity and that your referral can benefit from also, creating a win-win-win situation.

Don't be afraid to talk to anyone that you think can benefit from your service. Keep in mind that you need to know when to back off and not bug the person. Remember negative comments are spread much quicker than positive ones. Be likable and not the guy or gal everyone tries to avoid. Maintain a great attitude and keep a smile on your face.

Are you a leader or a follower?

Here are three rules to follow if you want to be a leader:

1. Always look the person you are talking to in the eye.
This is the only way you are going to you are going to gain respect.

2. Never be afraid to ask for anything.
If you don't ask, you will never get it.

3. Never respect anyone who does not respect you. Why would you, if they don't, they don't deserve your respect. But this is a two-way street.

Who are some of the people you consider great leaders? What are the attributes of great leaders? How about: integrity, honesty, desire, drive, respect, courage, intelligence, resourcefulness the list could actually go on forever. I believe one of the greatest ways to lead is to lead by example and respect everyone you are leading and they will respect you in return.

Make S.M.A.R.T.R. Goals

When you set goals do you have goals for your goals? Are you setting goals just to set goals or do you have a plan? You should set smarter goals, or S.M.A.R.T.R. goals.
S. Specific

Make sure your goal is clearly defined. So there is no mistake what the task is.

M. Measurable

You goal needs to be clear cut with measures. You need to know exactly what your trying to accomplish.

A. Attainable

Your goal needs to be realistic and reachable. Set goals that you can reach if you really push yourself.

R. Relevant

Does your goal make sense and fit into the big picture?

T. Timed

You need to have a clearly defined start and finish.

R. Rewarded

What is your reward for reaching your goal?

With all that in mind, set goals that you have a chance of reaching, that fit into the overall concept, follow your timeline and enjoy your reward.

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule is very interesting. It can be used for so many things and it actually make a lot of sense. Think about this: 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your actions. If you had 100 salespeople in your office I am willing to bet that 80 percent of the sales come from only 20 percent of the sales force. In addition, 80 percent of your income will come from 20 percent of your customers. Also approximately 20 percent of the population makes up about 80 percent of the wealth.

Ask yourself this, can you eliminate 80 percent of your tasks? No. Can you eliminate the bottom 80 percent of your clients? No. Can you eliminate 80 percent of your sales force? Of course not. Nevertheless, use the 80/20 rule as a guideline to prioritize and focus your efforts. Think of this, if you eliminated 80 percent of your 20 percent, then you would still have 100 percent of your 20 percent that you would have to split up 80/20 again. Use the 80/20 rule to your advantage to focus, but not eliminate. There are very important things you do during the 80 percent that lead to your 20 percent results.

Prospecting is one of them. If you make 10 cold calls, chances are that you are not going to close 2 of those. However, in order to keep your pipeline full you have to make the cold calls to supplement your networking and incoming leads. Brand new prospects can sometimes be the easiest to close and sometimes the most profitable. You also have to do paperwork, make copies, send e-mails, return calls, send thank you notes, etc. etc. That is all stuff that fills in the 80 percent of your time but it is also important.

Where the rule really becomes important is when you are lacking sales or income. People tend to focus on the 80 percent because it is easier or they fear rejection. When you are lacking sales, focus on the 20 percent to get back up to par, then work on the 80 percent and get caught back up. Outsourcing is another way to take care of the 80 percent, have someone else do it for you.

Happy Selling.....

Do they put you in the BOX???

Are your potential clients putting you in the same box they put everyone else in? Do they say things like "I don't need your service.", "You guys come in here all the time.", "I don't need to switch.", "I am good where I am.", "All of you guys are the same." Etc. etc. etc.

Are you the same as everyone else in the box? I hope not. If you are then you need some major help. If you are not, then what you need to do is differentiate yourself from your competition (or your perceived competition). Do you dress professionally? Does your competition wear Polo's? Then wear a dress shirt with tie. Does your competition where a shirt and tie? Then wear a suit. Do you thank people for meeting with you? You should. Think about what you can do to add value and separate yourself from your competition. Make sure you are telling your potential clients, networking partners, referrals etc. why you are different.

You need to do the ground work, pave your way to success. Send a hand written thank you note, send a small gift after you close a sale. Do the things your competition doesn't do.

What does your competition do that you dislike? Make sure you are not doing the same. The box is a bad place to be. I know I hate it when someone tries to put me in the box. Once you are there, it is extremely difficult to get out. Differentiate, separate, contrast, discern, individualize, set apart, severalize, single out, distinguish, Differentiate.

Good Selling.....

Customer service - Satisfaction vs. Loyalty

Best selling author Jeffrey Gitomer says "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." What does he mean? I think that satisfaction is the minimum standard you should accept. You should be attempting to get customer loyalty. Gitomer defines a satisfied customer as "One that felt OK about dealing with you. Their needs were met. The product was OK. The service was OK. The experience was OK. They are satisfied (happy) with their purchase. They may not talk about the experience. They may or may not refer someone to you. Their overall feeling about you is between neutral and positive, and their experiences with you have not been negative. Not bad --but not great.

He defines a loyal customer as "One who feels GREAT about dealing with you. Their needs were met and/or exceeded. Your delivery was GREAT. The service was GREAT. The experience was GREAT. They are ecstatic with their purchase. They will proactively talk about the experience. They will proactively refer someone to you. Their overall feeling about you is wonderful and their experiences with you have been memorable. WOW!

I don't know about you, but I would much rather have loyal customers out on the streets working as a marketing and sales department for me. What is the absolute best form of advertising? Customer referrals and word of mouth advertising initiated by your loyal customers.

Here are some statistics about customer service:

• A typical dissatisfied customer will tell 6-10 people about the problem.
• A typical satisfied customer will tell 1-2 people.
• It costs 6 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an old one.
• Of those customers who quit, 68% do so because of an attitude of indifference by the company or a specific individual.
• About 7 of 10 complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor.
• If you resolve a complaint on the spot, 95% of customers will do business with you again.

Source of Statistics: The NACD Leadership Series