Christmas isn't just for retailers

Many of our customers are service businesses but this doesn't mean they can't promote their business during the holidays. Studies have shown that since the recession consumers are looking for more practical gift giving ideas. This opens an opportunity for service businesses to sell gift certificates or gift cards. Selling gift certificates offer a number of benefits. This can help cash flow in a slow period of the year and regular customers buying certificates to give to friends and relatives may introduce new customers to the business. Also remember that many gift certificates are never redeemed allowing the business owner to keep the purchase price. If a business doesn't have gift certificates, blank forms can be purchased at any office supply store.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

December Bah Humbug

I enjoy the holidays as much as anyone but in December I am a real Scrooge. As a sales manager I drove my sales people to keep making calls and as a rep I cracked the whip on myself. There is a strong temptation to blow off December, kick back and party a little but you can not afford to lose this month. The calls you make in December lays the ground work for your January sales. Your January sales set the pace for the balance of the year. If you let December slip away you may have to play catch up for the rest of the year. Another advantage of busting your butt in December is that your competition probably won't, this gives you a jump on them. Remember that December is 1/12 of your working year unless you're willing to give up 1/12 of your income, keep your nose to grindstone until the new year arrives.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim B.

The value of thank you

In my experience the the ethical and courteous thing to do is generally also the best business decision. Our parents taught us to always say please and thank you. Here's an interesting piece from Fast Company magazine on the profitability of listening to your mom.

"A ten year study by leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton of 200,000 managers and employees showed that saying "Thank you" correlates with bigger profits. This isn't surprising , because giving thanks is a great motivational tool; who doesn't like to be thanked?"

Make sure that you (sincerely) thank people for even the smallest kindnesses and services. It will help your bottom line and make your workdays much more pleasant.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim B

My very favorite business book

I am a very disciplined reader. I try to spend at least half an hour per day reading business books or other materials. This means that in the course of my career (Almost 4 decades) I have read literally thousands of books on selling and business. Some of these were terrible, some had a few interesting points and many were quite good. Of everything I've read, one book stands out above all the rest--Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I make a point of rereading this book every year and each time I learn something new. Covey's habits have not only made me a better sales person and manager but a better person in general. It is a book that shows a deep understanding of the human psyche and how we relate to one another. This book has been one of the top selling buiness books for over twenty years. I am in the habit of picking up copies of the "Seven Habits" at the used book store for my younger reps and I shared it with my children when they were in high school. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Verbal economy

This morning I was listening to an interview with the novelist Salman Rushdie who spoke of his time working in advertising. When asked what he learned during his advertising career to which he responded "Advertising taught me the value of every word." As an advertising copywriter he learned to get is his point across in a concise direct manner. This is a good lesson and one that has relevance to advertising salespeople as well as copywriters. When we are with a customer we have a finite amount of time. Their time and especially their attention span is very limited. Every minute you fill with meaningless "chit chat" is deducted from the time you have to present the value of your product. Obviously you have to observe the normal conversational niceties, but most clients are busy and appreciate a sales person who gets right to the meat of the interview. Having a goal and planning before a sales call will help keep you on point and focused. A focused a salesperson is more likely to keep the customer engaged. Doing this will save both you and the customer time.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks--Jim Busch

Weekly Quote

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Of course, I am very fond of the turkey dinner with all the trimmings, but I truly embrace the spirit of the day. I am acutely aware of all the kindnesses, large and small, that have blessed my life. Each day I make a concerted effort to thank the people who help me along my path. "Thank you" are two words that can never be overused. I thank you all for reading my blog and for all the support the people in our industry have given me. Here is a quote that I feel expresses the true spirit of the holiday.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

William Arthur Ward.

Have a great holiday.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Great Question

Here is a question that I like to ask to uncover a customer's USP (Unique Selling Proposition). If you ask a prospect what sets them apart from their competition you often get a shrug of the shoulders and a "I don't know." I use this format to set up the question and create a visual for the client: "Mr./Ms. Customer, imagine that I am the worst comparison shopper in the world. Before I will buy your product I bring you and all of you competitors into a room and set you all around a table. One at a time, I ask each of you "Why should I buy from you instead of one of these other guys?" What would you tell me?" Asking the question in this way usually generates a good response from the customer. I often find that what they tell me makes a great headline for their ad.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Overcoming "the budget" objection

We often hear "We'd like to advertise but its not in the budget." Sometimes this is true but more often this is a "nice no," a way to get rid of a sales person without having to argue. If the budget is gone they think you have nowhere to go. I like to counter this with questions. I ask the customer when they set their budget and how they determine how much to spend. I also ask how it is allocated. You may find that they don't really have a defined budget process and they just don't want to spend on your product. If they really have a budget, can they reallocate funds to cover your program by cutting back somewhere else. In the worst case scenario you learn when they set the budget so you can get in on the next cycle. By asking good questions you will uncover the real objection and force the customer to really consider your paper.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim
Busch

DWYPYWD

The title of this blog may appear to be written in some odd old forgotten language but it holds the secret to long term business success. DWYPYWD is an acronym for "Do What You Promised You Would Do!" This is the essence of customer service and it is at the core of integrity. In this post Enron, post bank crisis era, surveys have found that less than 10% of Americans associate the words "business" and "trust." Advertising people are held in even lower regard. In order to get clients to trust us we have to be 110% honest and accurate.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Gobble up pizza accounts

Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, but the days before and after are big days for pizza. The day before the holiday is busy because people are preparing for the next day's feast. The day after is the same because people are busy shopping and suffering from "Turkey Fatigue." Talk to your pizza and other fast food accounts about running specials around these days. I had a client run an ad last year with a headline reading "Tired of Leftovers?" This is also a good time for these accounts to sell gift certificates or to distribute coupon books for the rest of the season.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Weekly Quote

"If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost"--Zig Ziglar

I grew up as a sales person reading and listening to Zig Ziglar's advice. Though few young sales people today even know Zig's name but I think he still has a lot to offer. I read this quote many years ago and it lead me to start analyzing my calls, successful and unsuccessful, immediately after they take place. This post mortem helped me to learn from my mistakes and improve my skills.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Be a recording star

Selling is a performance art. Like all good performers, sales people benefit from rehearsal. Practicing your presentation polishes your sales skills and builds your confidence. I also like to rehearse my answers to objections and my closing statements. The more you think about and practice what you are going to say on a sales call, the less you have to think about it on a call. This frees your mind to listen to the customer and respond to what they are saying. I like to record myself and then critique my approach. This helps to identify weak spots in your sales presentation and allow you to fine tune your skills. This takes time but experience has shown that this will greatly improve your closing ratio.



Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!



Thanks Jim Busch

Twenty-somethings and print

We often hear that young adults have abandoned print for the Internet and mobile apps. A survey announced in the November 1, 2010 edition of Advertising Age shows how wrong this assumption really is. The article titled "Coupon Clipping Stages a Comeback" talks about how coupon redemption has surged since the recession. It quotes a National Newspaper Network study that found that 91% of consumers aged 25 to 34 use newspaper coupons. If these young consumers buy a newspaper for the coupons you can be sure that they will read a free and or community paper. It looks like print advertising will be around for a long time.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Let the customer set the pace

Psychologists and linguists have found that humans retain more information when speaking with people who match their conversational rhythm. As sales people we should listen carefully to the pace of our customer's speech and try to match it. If you are talking to a quick talking New Yorker speed up and when talking to a person with a Texas drawl, slow down. You do not have to mimic the person but simply train yourself to adopt their verbal pace. This will help you get your message across because conversational rhythms are closely related to the speed with which we process information in our minds. A collateral benefit of doing this is that it forces you to listen very closely to the client.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Quote of the week

"People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by heart which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it." Anthony De Mello

Many times I've heard reps say "I gave the prospect all the facts and he still didn't buy an ad." This never surprised me because I knew that customers don't base decisions on facts, they buy with their "gut." People will never buy if you don't engage their emotions. Always keep this in mind when talking to a customer.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Three ways of looking at an ad

Before talking to a customer you should consider your recommendation from three different angles. Obviously you should think like a sales person using your knowledge of your products and marketing to craft a good program. You should look at it from the customer's perspective. How will this help the business? How will it impact the bottom line? Doing this will help you explain the program as a sound business decision. Finally you should think like a reader. Will the program attract the consumer's attention? Would the offer or information in the ad motivate a shopper to patronize the customer's business. Thinking this way will help you to paint a clear picture of who the ad will attract for the business. Putting yourself in the shoes of your customer and the customer's customer will add credibility and power to your presentations.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Keep the focus on value

Today I was in the field with a rep calling on a hearing aid dealer. The advertiser was complaining because my paper did not cover all of his area. In questioning the client I learned that we covered about 85% of his market. Like many people he was focused on what was missing rather than what he had. I reminded the customer that we could reach thousands of readers in his service area for just pennies per home delivered. I reminded him that the area we reached was well worth the investment required. I used a series of questions to help the customer see the value he was receiving from us. I could not change the situation or change our circulation so I concentrated my efforts on helping the customer see the situation in a different light.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Americans are loving coupons

Coupon usage was in decline for almost a decade until the recession hit. Coupon redemption has steadily increased for the last 2 years. The second annual Benchmark Survey of Coupon Behavior found that 62% of online shoppers frequently look for coupons before making a purchase and 12% never make a purchase without looking for a coupon. Families are more likely to use coupons with 73% of moms joining the ranks of coupon shoppers. Much of the recent research on coupons has been focused on online shoppers but I believe the research holds true for retailers. Online or offline; shoppers are looking for a deal these days. Free and community papers are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this trend. Smart shoppers have always known our publications are the best source for great deals. The recession has turned almost everyone into smart shoppers.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch