Back to school idea

I have an ad in my file that offers a timely idea for physicians and dentists. The 4th of July marks the unofficial mid point of summer. Parents will soon be thinking about getting their children ready for the new school year. In addition to new shoes, lunchboxes and backpacks, they will be looking to get their kid's physically ready for school. While the kids are off for the summer it is a good time to schedule any necessary medical appointments. The ad in my file features a cute picture of a smiling little girl with an armful of books next to the headline:

"Her 1st exam of the school year should be with us!"

The ad then offers a dental examination special. This is a great way for professionals to grow their practices and attract new patients.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

"Note"able Organitional skills

One of the most powerful tools in your sales arsenal is a simple pad and pen. Good note taking skills keep you organized and moving in the right direction. The #1 complaint buyers have about sales people is "they don't follow-up or follow through on what they say." I don't believe most sales people are intentionally lying when they make a commitment, I think they are just disorganized. They just forget to do the things they promised to do. Good note taking can eliminate this problem. Some people may be able to do this on their Blackberry or I-Pad but I think a yellow legal pad is still the most effective way to capture the information you need to fulfill your commitments. Here are a couple of thoughts on this subject:

• Keep your notes in one place. Keep everything together on one pad or notebook. Place the customer's name and the date of the meeting at the top of the entry. This will allow you to quickly review your day.


• Leave the left margin blank. When you make a commitment or the client says something you need to follow up on, place a star in that margin. Doing this makes finding the key items from your day quick and easy.


• Circle all critical dates. This will help you to schedule follow -up appointments and actions.


• Use your notes to recap your conversation at the end of the call. This will avoid wasted time and often triggers the client's memory so that you learn something else about the situation.


• Send a follow up e-mail restating your commitments and reminding the customer of theirs.

Taking good notes is not a waste of your time, in fact it saves time. Good notes prevent expensive and time consuming mistakes that come from misunderstandings or forgetting a crucial date. Good notes make living up to your commitments easy and set you apart from the average salesperson.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

The I/You rule

To keep customers engaged it is important to talk about their favorite subject--themselves! When you talk about yourself you lose them. To prevent this from happening apply the "I/You rule". When speaking, make no more than one "I" statement for every three "You" statements. Of course this should be extended to statements about your company versus statements about their company. For example instead of saying "I'd like to show you something." say "Here is something you'll be interested in." In place of "My paper reaches every home in the area." say "John Smith Plumbing could every home in your service area." If you make a conscious effort to make the "I/You" rule a part of your sales presentations, it will soon become a habit. Using this rule in all your conversations, not only helps your sales grow but can help you build positive relationships in all aspects of your life.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Weekly Quote

"You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." Charles Bruxton

Have you ever wondered why some people get so much more done than others. As Mr. Bruxton says above, productive people make time to get things done. How do you make time? What raw material do you need to make time? Time is made by stripping away all the waste from your schedule. Time is made by recyling the time normally devoted to unimportant activites and using it for activites which help you to close sales. Be a time maker.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Seminar Marketing

As an alternative to cold calling, some companies are using seminars to attract new customers. Here's how it works--You secure a room and send out invitations to an educational seminar on a subject of interest to business owners. These sessions should also be promoted in your paper. You can draw on the expertise of your employees and do sessions on marketing, design or accounting. You can do research and do seminars on local demographics or the regional economy. Many outside speakers can be used for this at a minimal cost. Content is the key to making this work. Your seminar should be truly educational and not a sales pitch. You should not use these sessions to promote your products. The purpose of the seminar is to make contacts. As the "host" of the session you get to meet and greet local business people in a non-threatening environment. This would make these people more inclined to grant an appointment. This also positions you as a respected expert and a trusted source of information.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Qualifying prospects

The best sales people are all excellent time managers. They focus their attention on the things that will produce them the best results. This includes qualifying prospects, choosing to call on the businesses most likely to buy and ad. How do you decide who to call on? Here is an acronym that defines the qualifying process.

DELMAR

• D-Decision makers, can you reach the person who is authorized to place advertising.


• E-Established, is the business able to handle additional business


• L-Locally focused, is their service area a good match for my publications coverage.


• M-Marketing budget, do they invest in marketing and promotions.


• A-Afford the advertising, can they pay for the programs you recommend


• R-Rapport, are they open to listening to your presentation and considering a relationship.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Happy Half New Year

There are less than two full weeks left in the 1st half of 2011. Now is an excellent time to take stock of your progress and to talk to your customers about doing the same. Sit down and review your numbers and your goals, look for areas of potential improvement. If you don't have written goals this is a good time to establish them.

Talk to your customers about their plans and goals for the 3rd and 4th quarters. If they are not on target thus far, now is the time to make course corrections. If they cut back on their advertising in the new year, ask them about changes in their traffic. Perhaps it is time to reconsider this decision. Ask them how they feel about your performance and if they have any suggestions regarding what you can do better. This type of review will save you a lot of grief later. Ignoring a problem is like ignoring a small wound, treat if right away and it disappears, ignore it and it festers and gives you a great deal of pain. A proactive approach is the best way to achieve your goals.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Weekly Quote

"Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself."
Abraham Joshua Heschel

This is a quote to print out and post above your desk and/or keep a copy in your day timer. Read it every time you are tempted to take the easy route. Use it to keep your nose to the proverbial grindstone. The difference between success and failure in any endeavor is the ability to discipline yourself to do the right thing rather than the easy thing. Not only will you get more done, but you will extract greater pleasure from your accomplishments. Knowing that you took the high road rather than surrendering to your temptations sweetens everything that you do.

Have a great week.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

What does a good sales call look like?

What does a good call look like? Many people think the only way to identify a good call is a call that ends in a sale. The problem is that today, the "one call close" is very rare. In a tight economy customers usually need to be sold and reassured over a period of time. I believe a good call is a call where there has been an exchange of information, a call where you learn something new about the customer and the customer learns something new about your products. This also applies to calls on regular advertisers. Rather than just picking up their copy, you should try to find out something about their plans, goals and feelings toward your product. This is important because the customer's situation is in constant flux and it is vital to stay abreast of how they view you and your products. It is also important to share success stories and remind customers about your benefits. The old proverb "Knowledge is Power" applies doubly to sales people. You should view every call as an opportunity to collect and share information with your customers and prospects.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Lessons from that Admiral

David Letterman had an unusual guest this week--Admiral Mike Mullen. Mullen who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was a refreshing change from the usual vapid conversation Letterman has with self absorbed movie stars and TV personalities. The admiral told the story of his life and his career. He did poorly at Annapolis, graduating in the bottom third of his class. During his senior year he earn 115 demerits in his 1st month (150 per year leads to immediate expulsion) As a 26 year old captain in command of his first ship, he hit a harbor buoy leading to a court of inquiry and placing his career under a shadow for more than a decade. In spite of his early mistakes and these setbacks he remained dedicated to his military career. Admiral Mullen's rise to become America's top ranking military officer proves the old saying "failure is never final." His life demonstrates that no matter what we have done in the past, we can reach our goals if we keep our sights firmly set on the future.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Book recommendation

I just finished "Unthinking--The Surprising Forces Behind What We Buy" by Harry Beckwith. I found this to be an excellent book for those of us in sales and marketing. Beckwith touches on many psychological and cultural factors that affect the way we see the world and make buying decisions. He makes this information approachable to the layman by using real world case studies. This book can help the sales person understand the psychology of buying and how design affects the response to an ad. I strongly recommend Beckwith's book.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim B.

Have a good "staycation"

July is typically a slow time for advertising. Many advertisers cut back based on the theory that two many people are on vacation. This may have been a valid idea in 1968 but not today. The old fashioned two week vacation went the way of the automobile tail fin. Few people even take a full week's vacation using their time to create long weekends. This was the trend even before the economy contracted but the recession has kept even more people at home. Many people are taking "staycations" choosing to stay at home and visit local attractions and restaurants to save travel and hotel expenses. Advertisers who opt out for the summer months miss their chance to tap into this business. Talk to you customers about this and design some ads to attract "staycationers" to their business.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

The eight techniques of stopping power

I found this in a copy of "The Young & Rubicam Traveling Creative Workshop" which I picked up recently at a local library sale. This may be the best $1 I have ever spent as this book is packed with great ideas on selling and designing powerful advertising.

Here are the techniques they use to get people to read your ads My thoughts on each are in blue:

1. Open-minded narrative (picture or thought) in which the resolution is not presented. "The biggest problem in America today" Curiosity makes you read on.


2. Ironic twists on ordinary behavior. "Man bites dog" makes you want to know the rest of the story.


3. Play on words in the headline. "You have to believe it to see it."


4. Incongruity of visual elements and/or words by unusual juxtaposition of elements. This is Seth Godin's "Purple Cow" idea. We are attracted to things that break expected patterns.


5. Exaggeration "Without a doubt this is the best blog ever written" You want to read on to see if this is true or more likely to prove the writer wrong.


6. Simplification. A good example of this is lots of white space in a generally cluttered publication.


7. Shocking visual and/or headline. A local heating and cooling company is running ads headlined "You wife is hot!" in large type over a message in small type that says "buy her a new air conditioner" Gets your attention."


8. Participation visuals (e.g. tests, games, multiple visuals) Everyone likes to be challenged.

I think these are all great ways to grab attention for your customer's ad.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Fit to sell

For the last six weeks I have been trying to take better care of myself. I have tried to eat more sensibly by eliminating "junk" food and eating more fruits and vegetables. I have also started exercising again and am trying to get more sleep. I started this because my wife was concerned for my health. I have lost some weight and my clothes fit a bit better which I expected. What I did not expect was the impact on my effectiveness at work. I find that I have more energy and that my concentration has improved. It is hard to prove. but I feel more creative as well. In our stress filled business with its deadlines and rushed schedules it is very easy to get into bad habits. My experience over the last month and a half have taught me a valuable lesson--the better we take care of ourselves the better we can serve our customers. To maximize our effectiveness we need to maximize our health.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim B.

What's under your arm?

Most salespeople are very conscious of "Dressing for Success." We try to dress professionally so that our clients and prospects get the right impression when we approach them. Surprisingly, few of these reps give little thought to their "kit," the materials they carry on a sales call. Research has shown that salespeople who use visuals to sell are more successful than those who try to talk their way to a close. You should prepare a well organized presentation binder to support what you are telling your prospects. This binder should be tabbed so that you can quickly find the information you need. Having a neat, organized sales binder helps your presentation to flow smoothly. This also tells the customer that you are well organized and professional and that they can count on you to get their ad right. Along with your sales binder, the other materials you need (Product samples, insertion orders, forms etc.) should be neatly arranged in folders in your briefcase. Remember everything you do and everything you bring to a sales call is part of the "total package" that the customer sees and uses to make a buying decision.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Weekly Quote

As regular readers know, I am a great fan of Dr. Stephen R. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The Seven Habits was literally a life changing book for me and few days pass that I don't apply it's principles. The following is my favorite quote from Dr. Covey. I love this piece because it speaks to the possibility of change and growth in our lives. In place of "this is just the way things are" (Memory), we can say "I believe I can change things for the better" (Imagination). Here is the quote:

"I can change, I can live out of my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to the my limitless potential instead of my limiting past."--Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Now is the time for used car dealers

The summer of 2011 is shaping up as a "Golden Age" for used car dealers. There is a shortage of used cars which is driving up prices and increasing their sales volumes. Expert believe that this situation will end in the fall or winter of this year so they need to move quick. The shortage is causing buyer to expand their search so it is a great time for a dealer to promote themselves. This is also a good time for a "Buying clean used cars" ad. If they can buy from a private individual their margin is much better than if they have to compete for a limited supply of vehicles at the auction. Many dealers are flushed with cash right now, so it is a good time to start a relationship. Don't neglect new dealers as well, they are looking for buyers with saleable trade-ins.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling

Thanks

Jim Busch

What does the customer's office say about them?

Like many people, I feel as much at home in my office as at my house. My space reflects my personality and my interests. A quick scan of a person's workspace can tell you a lot about them. When approaching someone with a very "personal" workspace (Lots of pictures of kids, flowers etc.) you should talk about helping their customers. A person with an "ego-centric" workspace (Trophies, awards, pictures of them with celebrities) will respond to a message about "making people take notice" or beating the competition. A person with a "data rich" workspace (Many reports and printouts, charts and graphs on the wall) will want to see your circulation numbers and will respond to comparisons of cost per thousand. Finally, the person with a "cold" workspace (Few personal items, organized with everything in reach) will want to get right down to business without wasting time on "chit-chat." You should probably start the call with "I don't want to waste your time so let's get right to the point." Taking the time to observe a person's workspace and using the information you gain from doing so can save time and help get a call off on a good footing.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch