Thursday, April 29, 2010

Weekly Quote

Here is a quote from the master himself--Zig Ziglar. Just about everything Zig says is worth writing down and remembering. Here is is thought on motivation:

"People say motivation doesn't last! Well...neither does bathing--that's why we recommend it everyday." Zig Ziglar

As a salesperson or as a manager, we get beat up everyday. We hear a lot of "no's", we get involved in many confrontations and and face continual stress. All of these things can wear done the most motivated individual on the planet. This is why, I make time every morning to read something inspiring or motivating. I need to recharge my batteries before I face another challenging day. Many people see this as a waste of time, but I see taking the time to pump myself up as central to my success. Remember we are all responsible for our own motivation.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Hold them to their word

When a customer tells you to get back to them in a month, you should keep pushing them to take action now. If you can't get them to change their mind, do just what they ask. Many people use this stall technique because they know most sales people will never follow up. When presented with a firm stall, I immediately record the followup date in my appointment calendar. I note down who to call and the date and time when I spoke to the customer. When I call back I use this material to put the customer on the spot. I say something like "Mr. Customer when we spoke on the morning of March 28th you asked me to give you a call in a month to set up an appointment. I will be in your area this Thursday, would the morning or afternoon work better for you?" By reminding the customer of their commitment to you and because you lived up to your end of the bargain they are more likely to grant you the appointment. If you are vague and just say you are "just following up" you are very likely to hear another stall. You can be waiting for next month for the rest of your career. The specific details make the commitment real.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Feel-Felt-Found

Feel, Felt, Found is one of the oldest and most effective ways to handle an objection. Here's how it works:
Customer- I think your price is a little high
Rep-I can understand how you feel, you need to be focused on value. Many of my current customers felt that way in the past. When they looked further into what you get for your investment, just pennies per home, they found that advertising in my paper is a great value.

Feel validates the customers feelings and defuses the situation, Felt further validates the feeling and note the possibility of change, Found addresses the objection. You can change the words but keep the order of the steps.

You may think this is too "old school, I've trained reps on this in class and they often said Feel-Felt-Found was "hokey" but came around when I demonstrated the technique in the field and they saw how well it works. (Notice the sequence of the last sentence) Practice this and then try it on your next call, this is a true "oldie but goodie!"

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Monday, April 26, 2010

Things are getting better

Monday's USA Today reported that their quarterly survey of 46 leading economists found that the recovery is stronger than it was first thought to be and that there is little danger of the country slipping backwards. Seven in ten economists report that they are more optimistic than they were 3 months ago. the reason for the recovery, retail sales are up. retail sales are climbing at an annualized rate of 10.1%. Even the unemployment rate is dropping, though very slowly.

This means that know is the time for businesses to ramp up their up their advertising. Businesses which hold back will miss the "Recovery Train." Share the good news with your clients and prospects, and help them participate in the recovery with an aggressive program.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Selling Special Sections

Here's an idea for selling special sections that I learned from a Canadian Publisher. He lays out his tab with editorial before a single ad is sold. He leaves spaces for the ads he intends to sell. He produces a dummy showing the available ad spaces. Next he contacts all of his "sure thing" customers, the ones that buy into most sections, and sells them into the tab. When his reps hit the streets they have the mock-up with several key spots marked "Sold". This proves the value of the product and creates a sense of urgency.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Weekly Quote

Throughout my long career I have known many people with marginal skills who do very well and I have known people with outstanding potential who who fail at sales. What's the difference? I have noticed that the most successful sales people are always good time managers. They make every minute count. Here's a quote to keep in mind when planning your week:

The bad news is that time flies. The good news is you're the pilot!"--Michael Althsuler

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Paraphrase don't parrot

The paraphrase is a powerful sales tool. By restating what the customer said in your own words, you confirm that you accurately understand their message. It also demonstrates to the customer that you are truly listening to them. A paraphrase can also help you change a customer's way of thinking. When the customer says "Business has been slow," instead of saying "So you say business is slow" say "So what you're saying is you need to bring more customers into the store." The 1st statement essentially says things are bad and nothing can change the situation, the second statement restates what the customer said in terms of a solvable problem--not enough customers. This has the effect of getting the customer look at the situation in a different way. The 1st way is an end of a discussion, the second is the beginning of a conversation.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Constantly Collect Ideas

I am blogging tonight from the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I am on my way to teach at the AFCP annual conference in Tucson. Today I walked the south rim of the canyon, bought a few souvenirs for my grandson, took a lot of pictures and bought every local paper I could find. Whenever I am out of town or even out on calls in my own area, I pickup or buy every paper I see. When I get a moment I will go through the papers page by page looking for good ideas. I look for promo ideas, good ad layouts, powerful headlines and anything else i might be able to use. I keep an "idea" file with ads filed by business type plus sections labeled "promos", "headlines" etc. When I need an idea I consult my file and usually find something I can adapt to my need. (I also include design and copy ideas I find in national publications and magazines) Creativity is nothing more than having a stock of good ideas in the bank and knowing which one to pick.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Monday, April 19, 2010

The power of advertorials

I just finished writing 26 advertorial articles for various tabs my company is producing. This is a lot of work and ramped up my stress level a notch or two but i believe it is well worth the effort. When I owned a retail store I would run any ad that included a free advertorial (a paid article, essentially an ad masquerading as an article). These articles added credibility to my claims and always produced results. This is especially a good tool to use with professionals, Many professionals like to write the "Ask A Chiropractor" type of article. It strokes their rather large ego and conveys complex information in one shot. The easiest way to do this is set in as a regular ROP ad.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sunday, April 18, 2010

TGIM--Making the most of Monday

This might sound a bit odd, but I love Monday's. I always tried to make the most of Monday by planning my day and doing my prep work on Friday or the weekend. I have always found Monday to be a great new business day. Prospects are refreshed by the weekend and ready to do business. Since Monday is the beginning of a new business week , they are ready to entertain new ideas. A lot of reps spend Monday getting ready for the week and end up wasting 20% of their selling time. I would always line up my best prospects for Monday morning because I like to start the week off with a good sale.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling

Thanks Jim Busch

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Weekly Quote

"Most accounts are won because nobody else is calling on them"--Harvey Mackay

This is a quote from one of my favorite business writers. Harvey MacKay's books are easy to read, fun and informative. His many years of sales and management experience is apparent in his simple, straight forward advice. Harvey's doesn't waste time coming up with eloquent sentences or fancy words. he just focuses on share the wisdom gained in 50 years of business success.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

How important is price?

How important is price? Sales people and customers usually have a different answer to this question. Most sales people think price is the most important issue in making a sale. This is why sales people are so quick to cut their rates. Researchers have found that buyers actually put price as their #8 concern. What is their #1--will the product do what they want it to do, will it fill their need. In a word, customers are looking for value. Why do they bring up price so often? When people don't understand the value of what your are offering, they fall back on something they do understand, price. As sales people we need to change the focus from price to value. When a customer brings up price, remind them what they are getting for their investment.



Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!



Thanks Jim Busch

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Seek out mentors

My dad used to tell me that I should listen to him because I wouldn't have time to make all the mistakes myself. The fastest way to build our knowledge is to learn from the experience of others. As a young sales person I would spend as much time as possible with some of the older more experienced reps. I kept a clipboard in my car and wrote down questions I had for them and challenges that I didn't know how to handle. Every so often I would buy one of my mentors lunch and run through the issues on my list. Those lunches proved to be one of the best investments I have ever made in my career. I didn't take all of their advice but much of it is worthwhile and I still apply much of it to this day.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Monday, April 12, 2010

Customers on the move

A lot of customers feel they don't need to advertise because "Everyone knows them." According to the research firm Melissa Data the average business loses 20% of their customer base every year. (Some businesses lose even more--the average for dry cleaners is 40%) According to the US Census Bureau 46% of Americans moved between 1995 and 2000. Every time someone moves businesses loses a customer. The old customers may know them but they need to advertise to introduce their business to the "new neighbors." By the way these newcomers are "hyperspenders," A USPS survey found that new residents spend an average of $7100 in the first few weeks when they are establishing themselves in their new neighborhood. Since they are new to the area, they have to rely on advertising to locate sources for their needs.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Set the agenda

A good way to start off a call is to set an agenda. Starting off a call by telling the prospect what you intend to cover and ask them if they have anything they want to add. Here is an example:

"Mr. Customer, today I would like to ask you some questions about your business to determine if their is anyway my publication can help you build traffic. I also brought along some example of ads run by other businesses like yours that I would like to share with you. Of course I will be happy to answer any questions you might have about my company."

Setting the agenda shows the prospect that you have a plan and that respect their time. It sets you apart from the less professional sales people who call on them.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Weekly Quote

This week's quote requires no long explanation, it expresses the basic truth of sales. It is our job to be memorable.

"It is not your customer's job to remember you. It is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don't have the chance to forget you"--Patricia Fripp

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thank you, Jim Busch

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Let your fingers do the walking to more sales

The local Yellow Pages is a great tool for sales people, I always carry one in my car. The phone book has a lot of information about potential advertisers. You can get copy points and a feel for the style of the advertiser. You can also see who their competitors are. Don't forget that Yellow Page advertising is very expensive. Find out when your local directory closes for the year. If you help the customer reduce his/her yellow page program, you can free up a lot of money for advertising in your paper.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Monday, April 5, 2010

Asking for feedback

Ed Koch was the mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. He was famous for walking the streets of the big apple and asking citizens "How am I doing?" He wanted to voters to share their opinion of the job he was doing as their mayor. This is good practice for a politician and an even better one for sales people. You should constantly solicit feedback from your prospects. Failing to do this could lead to a nasty surprise when an advertiser leaves your publication for a competitor. You need to proactively pursue this information. Most people try to be "Nice" and to avoid confrontation. Saying something like "Mr/Ms Customer, I want to give you the best possible service, please let me know where I can improve what I do for you." can draw out their feelings. Make sure the customer knows you are looking for genuine feedback and not just a pat on the back. This will demonstrate your dedication and maturity to the customer and will help you give better service to all your customers. In sales what you don't know can hurt you. Consistently asking for feedback will uncover problems early on, so you can fix them before they cost you an account.

Since we're on the subject of feedback. Please let me know what you think of my blog. I am always interested in ideas to improve it.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sunday, April 4, 2010

When are you at your best?

I am a morning person. I love to get into the office before anyone else is there so that I can get my work done without interruption. My boss on the other hand usually arrives at 8:45 or 9, but will stay until 6:30 or 7. We both work very hard but our cycles are a little different. You should plan your day around your natural cycle. Either way your goal should be to be ready to start making calls before 9am. If you're an evening person, plan and prepare the night before, morning people can do it bright and early. Remember the only thing we salespeople get paid for is talking to customers about advertising. Doing planning or paperwork during "prime-time" is like picking your own pocket. You should arrange your day to spend your days where it counts.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Weekly Quote

Here is a great quote for those of us in the advertising industry:

"If you make a product good enough, even though you live in the depths of the forest, the public will make a path to your door, says the philosopher. But if you want the public in sufficient numbers, you would better construct a highway. Advertising is that highway."
William Randolph Hearst


We're the people who build this highway. Have a great holiday.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch