"Power" up your selling skills

My secret weapon arrived in the mail today. This tool has helped me to become a better sales person and sales manager. It helps me to maintain my competitive edge. My secret weapon is Selling Power Magazine.

I have subscribed to Selling Power Magazine for many years. Because Selling Power is written for sales people by sales people, every issue is packed full of actionable ideas that you can take directly to the field. This month's issue includes articles on interviewing, motivation, risk taking, objections, listening, closing and much more.

As professionals we need to invest in building our sales skills. Selling Power is a good investment that will bring you an excellent ROI.

Keep smiling, Keep Selling.

Thanks Jim Busch

Why December Matters

December can be a challenging month for sales people. Many of our prospects are either busy or in full-on party mode. There is a genuine temptation to blow off December and join in the festivities. Don't allow yourself to be distracted by the siren call of the eggnog. December may be the most important month of the year for you.

You can not afford to write off one twelfth of your year. The contacts and appointments you make in December will ensure a good January and get your new year started off with a bang. If you slack off in December you will be starting January with your sales pipeline empty. This will make achieving you January goals extremely difficult and force you to play "catch up" all year long.

December is a great time to talk to clients about their goals for the coming year and to secure commitments for advertising. Many service businesses are slow this time of the year and you may be able to get more time from these customers. Your competition may be able to take December off, but you can't.

Keep smiling, keep selling.

Thanks, Jim Busch

Friday Quote

I like quotations because they bring truths into sharp focus. The following statement expresses something we all know but is often forgotten in the press of our daily activities.

"You're only really working when you're face-to-face with a customer. Everything else is only prelude."
Brian Tracy

As salespeople we only get paid for having substantive conversations with customers that lead to a sale. We have to spend time planning , attending meetings etc. but it is in our own best interest to organize your days to spend as much time as possible engaging clients. As an old telephone sales rep I disagree with the phrasing "face-to-face" and would offer the substitution "connecting" as more accurate. Keep close track of your time and do whatever you can to increase the percentage of time you are spending with the people who write your paycheck.

Keep smiling, keep selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Swimming against the stream

A local Pittsburgh auto dealer has decided to skip the current recession. At a recent Media Association of Pittsburgh meeting Mr. Jim Shorkey explained how he has consistently broken sales records for the past two years. When the auto industry started to slow down he ramped up his advertising. At the meeting he said that when he was told that US auto sales fell to 17 million, he said "Great, I want my share of that 17 mill!" As the local market began to shrink, he almost doubled his budget. By increasing his share, he maintained his profitability. At the same time he enhanced his sales compensation plan "because closing is harder in a tough market." When KIA USA told him that the Pittsburgh market couldn't produce the volume to support a large advertising investment, he decided it could. After 3 months he had doubled his sales and within a year he had the highest sales per capita of any dealer in the nation. Mr. Shorkey spends about 70% of his budget in print with the remainder divided between radio and TV. By refusing to buy into the economic hysteria spread by the national media and following a sound business strategy, Mr. Shorkey has proven the wisdom of advertising when times are tight.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day. Keep smiling, keep selling.

Thanks Jim Busch

A fun idea for Christmas

Here's an idea I got from one of our advertisers. It is a great way to bring in holiday business and have a little fun. They headlined their ad with these words:

"Sing a carol and get a 20% discount"

All a customer has to do is sing a few bars of Jingle Bells or Frosty to get their discount. I like this idea because it made them standout from the typical holiday ads. Another benefit is that it enhances the "customer experience," it makes shopping at their store fun. This "experience factor" greatly influences consumer's choice of where they will shop. All things being equal people opt for the more entertaining or unique store. Sometimes they will even pay a little more to go to a place that is more engaging.

Keep smiling, keep selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Mom was right!

When your mother said "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.", she was absolutely right. Research psychologists have recently identified a phenomenon which they called "Spontaneous Trait Transference." This is described as "In the mind of the listener, communicators are associated with the traits they describe in others." Simply stated, if you say your competitor is dishonest, you will be seen as dishonest. If you say your competitor is hard working, you will be seen as hardworking. This may seem a bit irrational, but it is supported by a lot of careful research. After years in sales and as an observer of human nature, I am only surprised when humans act rationally. The lesson to take away is that sales people must focus on consistently using positive language, to avoid using negative descriptions. Sales people should concentrate on the value offered by their products, not on the faults of opposing products. Mom also said "You are what you eat." for salespeople "We are what we say."

Keep smiling, keep selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Weekly quote

This week's quote is from Andrew Carnegie. Since I grew up outside Pittsburgh in the shadow of Carnegie's steel mills I have always been fascinated by this extraordinary man. Carnegie's greatest strength was his ability to sell. He understood what motivated people to buy and how to get them to do things his way. The first steel mill Carnegie built is still operating a couple of miles from my home. The plant is not named after Andrew Carnegie but is called the "Edgar Thompson Works." Mr. Thompson was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the largest buyer of steel in the world when Carnegie went into business. Old Andy know how to take care of his prospects.

Throughout his life, the people around Carnegie constantly remarked about his energy and drive. This quote says a lot about how Andrew Carnegie became literally the richest man in the world:

"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity"--Andrew Carnegie

Keep smiling, keep selling.

Thanks Jim Busch