I often fly Southwest Airlines. With four flights in two days moving a variety of passengers from professional to blue collar workers of all ages, one thing stood out…how few people said “thank you” to the flight attendants when offered peanuts, drinks or when a request was fulfilled. I sat next to a lady about 70+ years old with a special request, Wheat Thins. She never said “please” or “thank you” after they looked for her. I should have thanked them for her.
After this experience, I asked one of the flight attendants what percentage of the time he thought he got a “thank you.” He said about 30 percent. I am now going to ask them all on every flight. Why? We need to remember the magic words of “please” and “thank you.” It’s the right thing to do AND it sells or un-sells!
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Last year, most businesses experienced people not making decisions. Two of the reasons they did not make decisions:
1. Buyers did not have to buy and they could prolong the decision to not spend money
2. Buyers did not have clarity from the seller on what benefit they might get. In fact, most indecision is caused by having only 24% of the knowledge and information needed.
Good news:
2010 can be better or even great, but your messages will need to reflect absolute clarity. You have 10 seconds to pitch. The sooner you have me selling ME on buying your product or service and you stop talking, you win.
Consider these tips to help you win:
Turn your features into benefits
The benefits are why I should care
The reason to believe you are able to deliver that benefit closes the sale
If you are not unique, you’d better be cheap. If you are unique you better be able to tell me how and why in 10 seconds.
As I return from Search Marketing Expo in New York, I am remembering the conversations with ad agencies, SEO experts and the many individual companies sent to find out how to be better found online. SalesBy5 represented client Pear Analytics with three workoholics and Pear had seven more, signing everyone up for Pear’s new program, SiteJuice. Here are a few lessons learned and relearned from this experience:
1. The attitude of the team is branding. It’s either selling or un-selling.
2. A crowd draws a crowd! We had other exibitors move closer to us to gain traffic.
3. The trade show is not about your booth, it’s about who you meet, who meets you and giving them a reason to believe that you can deliver on your promises. Our booth stopped people in their tracks and we probably spent less money than anyone on the 10′ x 10′ booth.
4. Many showed up and thought Pear was their competitor. We were able to quickly show them how we were a asset in making them money, saving them time then showing how they could increase clients but not the work load. We were prepared with blunt charts and statements that addressed each segment. The key was clarity for the Pro’s and the Joe’s working our booth. In the end, Pear Analytics received 171 new beta customers.
So my gift to you: As quick as you can, go to SEO Management Tool and fill out the form to use the tool. You will get a service that works 24/7/365 to make sure you are ahead of your competition in rankings and if not, it’ll tell you how to fix it.
I never thought I could write this post! But my dreams, my memories and most of all, my desire to inspire others encouraged it. Some of the people mentioned in this post have no idea that this happened!
It’s June 2009. I took my family to Lake LBJ, 85 miles north of San Antonio, to a great RV park that has incredible views and is surrounded by the lake. As fast as we can, we are in the water, dogs included. The next day, the Salesby5 Creative Director and awesome friend, Kyle Derr and his family arrive for a day on a boat, tubing behind the boat and fun. During the 3rd hour, we found the “party” sandbar right off of Horseshoe Bay. It was less than 3’ deep in the area where we parked and all eight of us got out and had fun. A few minutes later, Kyle realized that the boat was drifting far away and moving at a rapid pace. The anchor had not held. I dropped my life vest and started swimming towards the boat. I swim in our pool and play hard with my kids all the time. I figured I was up for the swim, it was just a little further, right?
The boat was continuing to drift. I did not know how fast I was swimming but soon realized that it was not fast enough to catch the boat. I looked back to ask for help from Kyle and saw I was over 40 yards away. No one could hear me and they were not looking in my direction. I kept swimming, seeing the white rope attached to the anchor and it was a good 7’ closer to me than the boat. I started hyperventilating and then I started to panic. I’d swam further many times, most recently with the kids on my back up the Frio river and down the Llano. This was different. I had no life vest, no one could hear me, I could not stand up, I had nothing but faith as I look back. For the first time in my life, I prayed for my life and my ability to get to the white rope. I was shocked that I could not hold my breath for more than about 4 seconds, I was not floating and was vertical in the water. The harder I would breath, the less oxygen I felt like I was getting. At this point, I felt I could not possibly get to the boat. Something was very wrong!
I did one thing right! I realized there was one thing, one thing that could save me. The white rope. I began praying and selling myself on making it to the white rope that held the anchor. The rope was closer to me than the boat and I knew that after what seemed like 20 minutes or more of swimming, the rope was closer. Not close, but closer. Well, I sold myself by focusing 100% of my brain on the white rope and I made it. The memories continue to freak me out and I thank God I am here. I never planned on telling anyone this story, but I realized that it will not go away in my mind. I think of it too often and there is a reason. The reason, in my words, is that you can sell yourself and others on whatever you choose in life. You choose to sell or un-sell. I sold myself and I am still in shock that I was able to do what I did in my state of mind and being at the time.
You are what you say you are. You sell you or un-sell you. I am at greater peace by sharing this in writing, as it has completely freaked me out for weeks. My 9 year old daughter and 6 year old son almost lost their dad to stupidity. It happens. I got some extra time. Thank you to anyone who uses this to help sell yourself or others!
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.
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.
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.
Today I had the pleasure of speaking to the wonderful audience of ESPN’s Paul Alexander on his segment called, “Bringin’ It.”
Whether in business or finding the right person to date, you are either selling or un-selling yourself. Men everywhere are missing scarcity, exclusivity, an overt benefit and dramatic difference in their pitch to date women. Many men become something they are not when around a female they are attracted to. Instead of being real, they will put on a fake front.
These are some of the most common attempts by men I meet:
1. “How do I get a girl like you?” This shows insecurity. Everyone has some level of insecurity, but never assume that a girl is out of your league. Ask questions, listen, and let the conversation flow. You may find that you two may have mutual chemistry after all. If you find that you do not, you can walk away feeling confident that you were real, polite, and a gentleman. You will have impressed her by doing just that. If you run into her a second time, I can almost guarantee you that she will approach you to say hello first.
2. “I make lots of money and have a boat, want to go on a date?” This may be true, however, instead of talking about yourself, try asking her real questions about what you really want to know (her name, etc), which shows interest in her, while not un-selling yourself. Here’s a suggestion: once the conversation gets going, nonchalantly find out if going to the lake is an interest of hers first. If it is, then at the end of the conversation, invite her (don’t be pushy) to join you on a boat ride sometime soon. This shows her that you listened when she spoke. Leave her with something to think about. Many men make it about them with talk of money, fame, cars, or bragging elements versus making it about the female. The ability to persuade someone to care starts with real questions that stimulates dramatic difference. The difference is about the other person and getting them to want to talk while you listen.
The sales data show that for over 20 years the #1 failure in not getting the sale is talking too much or showing up and throwing up. The latest data says that not listening now prevails. These are all same things that impact dating. Listening that I like tomatoes and asking for extra, or that I do not like tonic but prefer club soda. It matters because you listened.
Don’t be who you want to be, or who you think they want you to be, just be your REAL self! Do you have questions or comments? Please send me a message via the comments section. You can also reach me via kya AT salesby5 DOT com
Have you ever walked into a store and seen something on sale at an unbelievable price? If you’re like most customers your first thought is, “Wow. This is great.” But then it’s immediately followed by, “And I wonder what’s wrong with it?” Of course you’re skeptical. You’ve been told ever since you were a child that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Y ou might be so skeptical that you end up passing on a great deal.
Customers are naturally skeptical. It’s a defensive mechanism to keep from being taken advantage of or making a mistake. It can also keep customers from getting a great deal and doing business with a very good company.
Whether we know it or not, we lose sales to skepticism every day. One of the biggest challenges for independent retailers is overcoming customer’s skepticism of the independent’s prices. Most believe that an independent’s prices are much higher than the big box or national chains even though that is not always the case.
Skepticism also impacts our ability to make sales. When products are marked down customers often think there must be something wrong with them, or at the very least are something nobody else wanted – so why should they? Customers are also skeptical of brands they’ve never heard of. That’s always one of the biggest challenges when you bring on a new line in a segment where brand recognition is a key part of the decision-making process. You wouldn’t think twice about buying a Canon camera but you can’t say the same for a Rockwood Fosfate subwoofer.
The key to overcoming a skeptical customer is to proactively give them the necessary information to keep them from being skeptical. If an independent retailer prominently posts a sign telling shoppers about the price guarantee, the customer knows that this store is competitively priced, which may or may not be the case.
The same approach works with markdowns. If you’re giving the customer a great deal you need to tell them why. A “50% Off Our Top Sellers” or “50% Off Spring Clearance” will always be more effective than just a “50%” sign by itself. When working one-on-one with a customer you should also explain why something is “such a good deal.”
Several times a week I find this ticket in my pocket. The first time I saw it, I thought nothing of putting it back and holding onto it. It was an unconscious action due to what I read. I have no idea where this ticket came from, but I know that it is clear and concise in that I am supposed to KEEP THIS COUPON.
I watched a video this morning that was extremely forgettable on what marketing directors feel is important in marketing. The video rambled on about metrics and measurement but sales, profits, advocates and the final outcome were not mentioned. (Measurement and metrics are important components in the overall process)
What if your message is so clear and so simple that it causes unconscious action like my ticket? That’s the ticket!
