Catalog Independent Sales on the Rise
Creating a catalog for your customers can be labor intensive, and the costs can be prohibitive. Catalog creation, printing, and mailing a snazzy catalog might not be the best route in our current information-saturated world. Consider the massive amount of mail a customer receives in a week. What are the chances of your catalog ending up in the trashcan? Pretty high -- in some cases around 70%. Also consider that many customers now shop on the Internet. Sending a catalog is often just a reminder to the customer to go to the product website and shop online. They may sit and look through the catalog, but most people don't want to fill out an order form, mail it and then wait for the order to process.
I Can Sell Snow to an Eskimo - I ll Show You How
I'll admit it! Sometimes I catch myself brainlessly surfing the internet clicking link after link of what could only be described as a pattern of chaos. I'll read article after article and to my amazement, I will actually click on some of their links to see what they have to offer. This got me to thinking. Why do I follow up on some articles or emails and not others? I did quit a bit of research and found that there are certain strategies that anyone can use while pitching an idea or selling a product that gives you absolute selling power. Using these techniques will make your life a whole lot easier.
Business Lessons Learned at the Mall
Normally in this column I dispense highly-intelligent small business advice in response to thought-provoking questions submitted by future and fellow entrepreneurs. This week, however, I have a couple of questions for myself, one of which makes me wonder how truly intelligent I really am. Q: Dear Me, I recently took my teenage daughter shopping at the mall. The experience raised two questions. (1) What business lessons might be learned from such a foray into teen commerce; and (2) What the heck was I thinking? -- Sincerely, Me A: Dear Me, great questions! Let me answer them in reverse order since the second question is probably the one causing you the most concern.
Why We Should Aim to Sell Better Books Online
Which is better in selling books? Making money or growing in your book selling knowledge. I suggest learning more about your higher valued books for expertise. Specifically speaking, we live in the age of recommendation not necessarily the age of information. People are over run with information. Many people are looking for someone to cut through the chatter and help them make a buying decision. Recommendation from a trusted source, or a perceived trusted source, is a welcome relief to many online buyers. If you have a person at your eBay store or website holding out their credit card asking what they should buy, wouldn't you be just too pleased to help them?
Six Tips to Smash Your Cold Calling Sales Targets
When I first started making cold telephone calls I absolutely murdered every prospective sale by committing every classic mistake in the book. I couldn't get even get a single sale in a whole month. I had a positive attitude and was naive enough to think that all you needed was a positive attitude, a script and prospects would be eager to buy. I learned the hard way that I a positive attitude alone wasn't going to cut it. I needed some professional help fast, so I searched out a professional telemarketing company to observe what the top performers were doing differently. As a result of employing these techniques I went from 0 sales a month to 2 to 3 sales a day.
Be Impressed, Grasshopper, Not Impressive
"Master, " the Young Professional addressed his mentor, "You have told us that in order to hire us, a client must Like us and Trust us." "That is correct, Grasshopper, " the Master replied. "I understand how I can earn a client's Trust, " continued the Young Professional, "But how do I get him to Like me in the short time I might be in his presence? " The other professionals snickered at this simple question, but they were secretly glad their classmate was so bold as to ask it, because they did not know the answer either. The Master smiled gently and explained, "To be liked, you must try to stop being liked.
Turn Good News Into a Sales Pitch
I recently read an online article by Eric Chabrow on CIO Insight titled "Computer Jobs Hit Record High". While there can be negative news about employment readily available, I thought I'd share with you some signs of a sector with strong economic numbers that might bode well for you and your sales. The article states "unemployment among computer-related jobs hovers near historic lows as the U.S. information technology workforce tops 4 million for the first time." It also says that "the number of workers employed by IT services firms rose by 56, 100 this past year to 1, 414, 400, a 4.1 percent increase, according to last month's BLS establishment survey of some 160, 000 businesses and government agencies covering about 400, 000 worksites.
Business Building is About Long-Term Relationships, Not Quick Sales
While many are after the quick sale, that often results in a one-time sale, and could even hurt business in the future. How? By ensuring that your word-of-mouth advertising is negative rather than positive. Think of the real estate agent who covers up some defect in a house or property in his or her zeal to close the sale - or advises you to purchase a house that's more expensive, even knowing that you'll struggle to make the payments. Think of an ad rep who urges you to buy in to an expensive ad placement without counseling you on effective ad content - or advising you to get professional help for that content - or telling you that this publication really isn't the right place to advertise your particular product or service.
The Number One Article on Selling More to Your Customers
I don't know about you but if I were to open up a small business... .my number one goal would be to make money. I'd like to take a cruise and dine in the finest of restaurants whenever my heart desires. Oh, and let's not forget... buy only bottled water and daily massages for my boxer, Boula. I can hear some of you gasping already: "I can't believe she just said that?! " Yes, I said it and if you could see me right now... .I'm saying it into a megaphone while standing on the edge of my roof. Whether you want to admit it or not... ..you want the same things too. And I'm here to tell you that if your number one goal as a small business owner is not to make a profit (unless you have a money tree in your garage!
Killer Questions
1. How much time have you allowed for our meeting? 2. To understand how I may be of value to you I have to ask you some in depth questions, how do you feel about that? 3. What do you currently have in place to protect succession, capital & revenue? 4. Would you like the opportunity to get greater value from your superannuation? 5. When was the last time you reviewed your business insurers? 6. If you could wave a magic wand, what would you wish to happen from this meeting, which would make you pleased that we met today? 7. How (when) did you start your business? 8. What good things have happened to your business in the past 18 months?