The Salesby5 Blog

1. It’s easier to give advice than take it. Usually the advice I give is also meant for me.

2. Focus is extremely underrated. The most successful people I know have the ability to focus and get things done.

3. Jobs, places, and things come and go. It’s the people we meet that make life special.

4. It’s my actions that define who I am, not who I say I am.

5. Learning to start my day over was one of the best lessons I ever learned.

6. Humility is the greatest trait I can have as a leader, partner, husband, friend, and father.

7. Having humility is easier said than done.

8. The more I try to learn from successful people the better my chance at success.

9. The only person who can decide if I’m having a good day or bad day is me.

10. The more teachable I am the more I know. The more I know the more I can help others. The more I can help others the better my life, and that’s why I try to remain teachable.

11. Work hard when it’s time to work, but go home when you’re supposed to go home.

Are you placing your least experienced employee in charge of your social media; the face of your company to millions? Too many companies are hiring inexperienced firms or college students to build and execute a social media strategy for their company.  Most of the students have either not been on Twitter, dislike it, or have little experience beyond Facebook and tagging drunken pictures of friends from the party last weekend.  Many of the companies in charge of Twitter strategies have less than 40 followers, just got a Facebook account up, or have no strategy/execution plan. Social media effectiveness is directly proportional to reach and making sure the person on the other end is listening and cares about your offering. Youth trumps age in athletics, but not with business strategy and marketing execution; that’s where experience trumps ignorance!

I challenge you to check the Twitter Grade of your social media expert.  This isn’t the final word on Twitter expertise, but it can help you in making a decision.  Take a look at our CIO, Nan Palmero’s Twitter Grader score.  You’ll usually find his score around 99.9x (it fluctuates a bit), and typically between #1 and #10 ranked person on Twitter in San Antonio.  Now, go back to http://twitter.grader.com and fill in the twitter handle of your company or the company or person you are considering hiring.  Is it below Nan’s dog, @clunkerspalmero? His dog just joined Twitter and has a rating of 94 out of 100. The difference between my present rank, (@erikdarm) at 98.4 and Nan’s at 99.95 is 43,377 people out of about 2,841,887!

Here is a quick understanding of Twitter Grader.  Twitter Grader measures the power, reach and authority of a Twitter account.  In other words, when you tweet, what kind of an impact does it have?  It is based upon the following criteria, although not all are equally weighted:

1. Number of Followers

2. Power of Followers

3. Updates

4. Update Recency

5. Follower/Following Ratio

6. Engagement

Here is my last thought. It’s time for me to visit my Dentist, Dr. Jay Roach.  Lately, though, the guy that cuts my lawn also seems to have experience in brushing and flossing and wants to handle my family’s dental care. I think I’ll let him take over our dental and orthodontic needs. After all, he has done a good job on our lawn.  Your thoughts?

photo by R4vi

The result of overpromising a product or service and under delivering in regards to business, is a disappointment. Deliver more than what is promised by exceeding the expectations. Sounds simple right? One of our core values here at Salesby5 is exactly that, “Deliver more that what is promised.”

Let’s apply this to dating. Men, it’s okay if you are not perfect; nobody is perfect. So when you talk yourself up to a women with hopes of winning a date, you have a greater chance of un-selling yourself. When one accomplishes great things in life, like having a successful job that they love, the car or house of their dreams, or simply having been blessed with a remarkable physique, it is something to be very proud of.  However, the time will come when that topic of conversation will come up, so please don’t show up and throw up all over us ladies when you first meet us. You are setting yourself up for disappointment. If this is a natural tendency of yours, focus extra hard on what she is saying, ask her questions, and listen carefully. This will help distract you from wanting to talk all about yourself.

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I am driving down 1604 and see this billboard.  This one amazed me in the most unique way. They gave 5 days out of 365 to appreciate customers? What happens the rest of the days? How do they track the billboard versus word of mouth versus any other advertising? There’s no way to know if Chik-Fil-A should do this every year for 5 days or attempt another strategy. So, how did it work?

This next billboard had a benefit attached of possible employment as well as a way to interact and they know if it worked. Now, if I worked for Walgreens (I’m very willing to help their marketing department make their signs smarter and more effective), I would add the following to the web address: http://www.walgreens.com/careers1604. Then, we know just about how many people took action due to this specific sign and if it worked in getting applications via the website. In June 2008 I wrote about “your website can be your best sales person” and part 2 was earlier this year. Part 3 is coming up with the best tips for Chik-Fil-A, Walgreens and you.

Happy Tuesday! Last week I premiered my “To-Don’t List” and discussed the first item, don’t interrupt. Item #2, don’t assume, is just as important. It’s very easy to make this mistake at the office and in dating. “Always deal with fact. Never assume” is at the very top of Salesby5′s Core Values. On our July 1st blog post, You Are Responsible for Your Own Orgasm, we emphasized that one of the top ways to de-motivate others in the work place is by assuming! Also when selling a product/service, don’t assume that people care. Hope they do, but ask questions!

Don’t Assume…

i. …a woman you think is a 10 also rates herself as a 10. I’ve found that men often don’t approach women because they think she is a 10 and they rate themselves as a 4 or 5. Gentlemen, this is not the case; let the lady decide for herself! She may be nervous and think you are a 10, go up to her and kindly introduce yourself. Get a feel for her personality and see if she is someone you care know better. Yes this is a risk, and it may not go perfectly, but you’ll never catch a fish if you don’t make a cast.

ii. …she cares about money or material items. Ask her questions, and more importantly listen to her answers. Don’t be thinking of a response instead of listening to what she is actually saying; learn as much as possible about who she really is. This helps prevent you from un-selling yourself by overselling and shows your sincerity in getting to know her, rather than just “closing-the-deal.” This sounds so simple, but men talking all about themselves, their money, and material goods, happens all too often, and it’s a commodity. Having an overt benefit and being different from other guys is free; it doesn’t require money or a flashy car.

iii. …her hobbies are your hobbies. Ask questions and find out what her interests are before assuming that she likes the same things as you. For some reason I get approached by men that feel the need to talk about their “fast sports car,” when in fact I am fascinated by driving big trucks and heavy machinery like backhoes, tractors, and bulldozers.

Between posts, you can also find Kya on Twitter.

It is September 4th of 2003. (I wrote blog posts on paper then). My wife and I were checking into a Disney resort in Florida with my 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son. I was scared of a tiny room that I had reserved and asked about an upgrade. It was going to be a $250 per night upgrade and I asked what was included. I was told “it is a little larger” with a small bedroom and an attached couch bed. I was having a hard time swallowing the $250.00 per night extra and mentioned this. Within a few seconds, the price dropped to $175.00 and I reluctantly said yes as I was told I could get the smaller cheaper room if I did not like it. I really wanted this to be fun, special and relaxing, right?

We get to the room to see what we got for the extra $175.00 and we had been completely undersold. We had a full suite with a fridge, kitchen, 2 full bathrooms and a full living room. It was 2.5 times the size.  The room had a porch which overlooked views of the giraffes and gazelles. I am pretty happy at this point and the family was too as we had friends coming in to visit us for the day and now had plenty of space.  But, there is more. The floor we were on had a giant living area, kitchen, bar, and two people at a desk who turned out to be concierges. I found that because we had the suite, we also had free dinner, drinks, South African wines, desserts, breakfast, snacks, lunch, French water, cokes, free tickets to events, free transportation and a person to take care of all of our needs as part of the suite.

I almost said no to the $175.00 as it provided only “a little larger room” and the real overt benefits were never mentioned. I wonder how many upgrades don’t get sold because of what comes with the room. Later, I went to thank the lady who booked the room. She had never seen it and others had not either, yet there was a whole floor of suites. They did not know what they were selling but viewed it as a tiny benefit. If you ever go to a Disney resort, ask about the upgrade, it may just be the best money spent.

Is there anything you are marketing, selling, advertising that you are not articulating the real value, the real experience. Real matters and your customers should not have to dig to find it.

photo by DJ Riel

We work with our clients in weekly meetings. The point is always to discover news, priorities and hurdles.  A recent meeting revealed that this clients sales and marketing staff was working with none of the decision makers but instead the decision makers assistant’s helpers.  Today I met with an incredible influencer and well respected Man in San Antonio. He listened, then said “Erik, I have a school who needs your company and I have this company who needs you.”  Are you hanging out with the right people who are telling others of the right people?

In previous posts, we mention that most successful entrepreneurs know that they have to market, but many don’t know where to start or how to cut through the clutter on their “to-do” lists. With many messages in your head in a day from “I need to pay the mortgage” to “finish the Powerpoint,” we have too much clutter. Jim Collins talks about the importance of a stop-doing list in “Good to Great.” He stated that one of the commonalities of the companies who were able to propel themselves from being just good to being great is that they all looked at what they were currently doing that they needed to stop doing. People subconsciously will remember what not to do because the list doesn’t compare to the clutter of the overwhelming amount of “to-do’s” they are trying to remember. In dating, the same applies. Today I will discuss my #1 on my “To-Don’t” List of six things NOT to do in dating.

“TO-DON’T” #1: Interrupt

Men, having permission before the you approach a woman for the first time will help prevent you from un-selling yourself right off the bat. You will know to not interrupt by the use/observation of non-verbal communication.

Examples:
I.   Don’t interrupt: If you see her at restaurant having dinner or drinks with another man. This is just rude.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

II.   Don’t interrupt: If she is avoiding any kind of eye contact with you. There’s a difference from her not seeing you and her completely avoiding making eye-contact with you. This means you are not invited to come introduce yourself to her. This may be that she has tunnel vision on her BlackBerry. She doesn’t want to be bothered and is not interested in mingling at that time. She may be trying to put out a fire at work by sending a very important email to her boss or customer (this happening at an inconvenient time is inevitable) or she may just be anxiously catching up on her unread Viigo posts. Approaching during this time will make her feel annoyed and obligated to talk to you. Obligation this early on is not a good sign.

On the contrary: She’s sitting at the bar in a restaurant unaccompanied by a gentleman, and she’s casually looking around scanning the crowds. If you are interested in her, and you aren’t in the vicinity of her “scan-zone,” nonchalantly relocate so that you are. Not too close. I recommend sitting slightly off center, across the bar giving her easy access to make eye contact. Don’t stare! Once she does, if she continues to make eye-contact with you knowing you are still there, you are getting warmer. Now once the eye contact continues and she acknowledges you with a smile and nod, after about a minute or so, walk over to her and make your introduction. “Hi, I’m _____ would you mind if I joined you for a few minutes? It’s okay to say yes.” Keep in mind: the few minutes may turn out being much longer, depending on the chemistry between you two.

Body language and non-verbal communication is listening, but with your eyes. 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Read her body language and listen.

Check back on Tuesday’s for Kya’s dating and sales tips.

Photo by Tony the Misfit

Remember the Isley Brothers song “Shout?” One of my favorite parts of that song is near the end when they’re singing very quietly:

(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now

Replace the word “softer” with “better” and you have a formula for success.

Some of the best businesses I know have a knack for making things “a little bit better now.” Years ago I worked for a manager who had this philosophy. No matter what you did or what you brought to him he would challenge you by asking, “How can you make it better?” Since you knew you’d be asked that you would try to figure out ways to improve whatever the situation was before you went to him. It was a brilliant way to keep making the company and the employees better.

You and your team can do the same thing. No matter what you’re doing, ask yourself how you can make it a little bit better now. This applies to displays, customer experiences, signage, employee coaching, and just about anything else.

It’s a good thing to do on slower days to engage the staff and improve the company. Ask “How do we make this a little bit better now?” I like the now part because it helps us focus on improvements that have an immediate impact and are usually the least expensive to implement.

On busy days keep asking yourself, “How can I work with this customer a little bit better now?” You’ll be amazed by how you’ll be able to increase your sales and how much fun you’ll have. The best part is that customers start feeling. . . you got it. . . a little bit better now. Then they go tell all of their friends and family about their fabulous experience and the buzz about the experience gets. . . Hold on now. . . wait a minute. . . .that buzz gets a little bit louder now.

And that makes you want to throw your hands in the air and SHOUT!

Blog credit to Doug Fleener, Photo by Carlo Nicora

You’re responsible for your own happiness or yes, ORGASM!

People motivate or de-motivate other people. You choose which role you’re going to play.

The top ways to de-motivate others in the work place, at home or in public are:

· Assuming! My motto, courtesy of Doug Hall, In God we trust, all others bring data! Never assume and always deal with facts.

· Judging others. Unless you’re a judge in a court room.

· Whispering about people

· Creating and/or perpetuating rumors. This is disruptive and un-sells others. Dave Ramsey is known for firing members of his staff that are involved in spreading rumors or gossip.

· Not acknowledging another person’s presence. Co-workers who do not say good morning . You’re a human, act like it.

· Not using the words “PLEASE” and “THANK YOU” It is amazing how forgotten these are!

Whether you work, go to school or you’re a stay at home parent, you’re either selling or un-selling. No matter the time of day, you are responsible for your own happiness!

photo by airnos