About the Author:

Do you handle an upset with confrontation or with relationship building that gets results?

Last month, I registered for a two-day intensive coaching session. I was a bit surprised to receive neither thank you note nor recognition of my registration. Even more surprising: the details weren’t forthcoming. I became concerned because hotel and flight arrangements were necessary and the date was the beginning of a national holiday.

The situation grew worse. I called the office several times on several different days and explained that I would cancel my payment if I did not hear from anybody. Not only did I not hear from anyone, I was treated as an annoyance. The coaching for which I registered was not inexpensive. The coach himself receives praises wherever he goes, so I couldn’t understand why he would allow such poor customer service. I arranged to cancel payment.

Wondering if this gentleman knew what was happening back at the office, I wrote Brian, the coach, a factual and detailed email describing what took place. I advised poor customer service will sink a thriving company faster than almost any other criteria. For final measure, I added, “I’m writing this as a friend because I admire what you stand for and do not wish to see you hurt.”

Within minutes of receiving my email, Brian returned my call.

Brian executed his response perfectly:
1. He first apologized
2. Brain then shared, “Never employ family; you try to help but it becomes tricky.”
3. In gratitude that I held a helping hand rather than expressing 4 letter words, Brian told me he would be my mentor for the entire year!

Brian turned an almost lost prospect into a repeat and returning client, who has already begun communicating how terrific he is.  When you strive to help people turn lemons into lemonade you get what you wish for!

It becomes a win-win for all concerned and a very Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

“When you wish upon a star” may have come from a Disney song, but it’s very applicable to today’s news and translates well to both entrepreneurs and job seekers. It calls into question your power of belief and today’s story is very inspiring.

The Lucille Packard “Make a Wish Foundation” enables children with life threatening disease to make their fondest wish come true. Today we learned of a 7 year-old girl, Kassaundra, who fought death twice and now lives with a pacemaker in her chest. Kassaundra embraces the spirit of life. Ignoring her less-than-perfect health, she plays softball and swims. But her passion is singing and dancing — she wants to be a movie star!

The Foundation granted Kassaundra’s request. She was treated to a fancy dress of her choice and a new hair-do. A chauffeur picked her up in a limousine. The Police escorted the limo while photographers and crowds followed her to the theater where she was to perform. Kassaundra was then led onto stage and performed to cheering fans — truly her wish come true!

I found three pertinent messages in this story for everything you undertake in life:
1. Find your passion and keep striving to achieve your dream.
2. Illness (and any other obstacle) is only a detour — find the strength to overcome.
3. Believe you will succeed. Work for it.

The business side of this: look how much attention you are able to attract when you hit the right stride. Your mindset, along with your plan of action (plus implementation of course), become your marketing-communication strategies which ultimately attract more sales. Prospects, clients, sales, and business development on auto pilot will be yours.

Begin wishing upon a star to find your Smooth Sale!

Have you ever found a lead on a scrap of paper after the prospect purchased from your competition?   Are you spending time recreating proposals because you can’t find a similar one you wrote a few months ago?  Do you run out of the door for an appointment at the last minute because you couldn’t find the brochures you really wanted to take?  Are you feeling overwhelmed?  If so, here are six simple steps to help you increase sales and decrease stress:

Make a date with yourself for getting your act together: Plan a minimum of three hours when there will be no interruptions.  Decide on a reward for yourself when you’re finished. Do anything you can to reduce your stress during the process – put on music, grab your favorite beverage, and get plenty of trash bags and recycling bins.

Take everything off your desk except what you must have or do: (A photograph or memento that reminds you of the reason you work is definitely OK!) Practice The Art of Wastebasketry. Research shows that 80 percent of what you keep you never use! Tossing or keeping is not a moral issue, but it is a practical one.  So how do you decide what to keep? Ask, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I didn’t have this piece of paper?” If you can live with the results of your answer, toss it or recycle it.

Get the right tools for your business: Half of any job is using the right tool!  Put three trays on your desk: (1) In (2) Out (3) File. “In” is for new mail – papers you have not yet looked at.  “Out” is for items that need to go elsewhere, such as the post office, or to another room. “File” is for papers you need to file outside the reach of where you sit. Eliminate paper whenever you can!

Implement The File-Act-Toss System: Clutter is postponed decisions.  The good news? There are only three decisions you can make about what to do with any piece of paper or electronic file.  (1) File it in a Reference File in case you need it in the future. (2) Act on it immediately or choose a date when you will. (3) Toss, recycle, or delete it.

Create an Action Filing System: If you say, “I have to do that,” follow up with “When?”  If there isn’t an actual date, creating an artificial one will eliminate items falling through the cracks.  When you continually postpone doing something, ask yourself, “What’s the worst possible thing that would happen if I didn’t do this?” or “Is there an easier way to do this?” or “Could someone else help me with this?” Create a system for retrieving the information you need when you are ready to take action.  (There are many possibilities. If you’re not sure how to do it, an hour phone consultation with an expert could change your world forever!)

Create a Reference Filing System: If your existing filing system (paper or electronic) isn’t working, start over!  In this day and age, fewer and fewer people are keeping paper reference files – it’s costly and not very productive. But don’t feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to scan all those old papers. Instead, create an electronic filing structure for the new information, and add the old only as you need it.  (If you have both physical and electronic resources, and you want a way to collaborate, check out iPEP (www.iPEPonline.com)

Will this system turn you into a perennially “clean desk” person? Unlikely! Messy desks are the natural outcome of a hectic pace. A place for everything and everything in its place? Forget that, but it is half right. A place for everything means than when you want to clean up your office to meet a client, or just because you’re just sick of the mess yourself, recovering is no big deal. Some quick decision-making will clean off your desk in a matter of minutes and bring back a sense of control.

About the Author:

It’s really not a secret but many salespeople and entrepreneurs, even job-seekers overlook the fact that you must always continue to build relationships with prospects, clients and your network. Opportunities arise most unexpectedly. So unless you have a good relationship, these will never materialize.

In hard core sales, it is customary to go knock on unknown doors. But in our social media or networking world, all you have to do is send a tweet, an in-mail, email, phone or walk up to someone and ask, “What’s new?” Two words bring the opportunity to change a lackluster month into a wonderful forecast for future sales. Approaching business development in a friendly manner makes all the difference. This is where your marketing/communication strategy takes hold for positive word of mouth to travel quickly.

Just this week, I promised myself (set a goal) to make 5 contacts per day in regard to my upcoming book, HIRED! Over the years, I met Deans of Universities, media connections, and career oriented people. Re-connecting with them produced goodwill for an upcoming conference, an opportunity to speak at another conference, a possible television interview, a book signing, and set meetings. As these progress, I will attract many sales.

But the biggest news was that I reconnected with a contact who was once interested in translating my first book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results” into Chinese. I used the advice above to check back by asking, “What’s new?”

When the question was returned and I answered, I immediately heard, “Please put me in touch with your new publisher and I will translate both titles into Chinese. I’m so glad you connected with me again!” Had I not re-connected the possibility of translation would have remained dormant. Now, there is a big opportunity ahead, given China is the leading entrepreneurial country at this point in time.

Take the leadership position to remain in touch with everyone and work for a common win. Working to build relationships will lead to a very Smooth Sale!

I had lunch the other day with a friend of mine who told me about his new job working for a company that makes maps for real estate companies.  It was actually sort of fascinating.  While the rest of the world is busy going paperless, they’re still peddling books of “tax maps” to people that presumably don’t know how to use the internet.

When I asked him what kind of marketing efforts the company is making to stay competitive he told me that they send him out in person to visit existing and potential clients and make cold-calls in his spare time from lists that he compiles himself through Google searches.  The company’s website contains no pictures of their products and he said that if he didn’t already know what the maps were supposed to be used for, he would have no idea from reading the description they have posted.

The whole thing is like a big case study of how to not survive in the rapidly changing world of modern business.  Poor communication, poor presentation, and a dying product.  It’s a wonder they were hiring at all, although apparently he got the job because the company was desperate for young blood and new ideas.

There are a lot of things to focus on at once here.  My friend said that if he were put in charge of “saving the company,” he would immediately go back to the drawing board with the product.  From there he could begin to tackle the visibility, communication, and marketing issues.  That sounds like a good start, but it is unfortunately a little unrealistic for a new hire to think that he’ll suddenly be put in charge of everything at once.

Instead, I advised him to focus on what he could control.  Namely, the cold-calls.  These were a constant source of frustration for him because he would spend all this time compiling a list of people to call during the day and then either would get hung-up on or completely ignored time after time after time.  After he had tried once (and been told they weren’t interested), the name became useless, making it even harder to make his list for the next day.

People are on their guard against cold-calls these days.  Many don’t pick up the phone if they don’t recognize the number calling; many others will make an excuse to get off the phone right away if they think you’re trying to sell them something.

I have found the best way to help with this is to send emails at least a day in advance of the call to prepare people for the fact that you will be in contact with them, along with a brief explanation why.  Some will ignore this, some will read it and choose not to respond, and a few (those who are already interested) will respond directly.  Then, when you do call, you can refer them to your email to give the call a little background.

That’s step one.  Step two is to have your “pitch” pared down to the bare essentials as people won’t want to listen to you for more than a minute if you’re unfamiliar to them.  It is impossible to sell to someone without understanding what their needs are, so your “pitch” should actually be structured as a series of open-ended questions to gauge their interest and get a feel for whether you can help them with what you’re offering.

Step three is simple: listen!  Pay attention to the language they use, the things they complain about, the way they’re doing things now — anything and everything that could help you help them.  Once you think you understand what they’re all about (and if you think you can help them), then you can open your mouth and start talking about your product.

Remember the last time someone tried to sell you something?  You were skeptical of nearly everything they had to say, even if you thought it sounded correct.  People want to find things out for themselves because they feel they can trust their own judgment.  So if you go right from asking them general questions about their business to talking up your product or service then they will likely start putting up walls again.

Give them the tools they need to find out about your product on their own.  Let them discover what it can do for them.  You can guide them through this, and you absolutely should make yourself available to answer any questions.  But it is important not to rush potential buyers, or to make them feel pressured.

I recommend simply suggesting they look at what you have to offer and then setting up a time to speak again about what they find.  At that point you can begin to move in for the close, focusing on all the key issues that you heard them mention when you were asking questions and listening carefully to their responses.  Every complaint or question is an opportunity to solve a problem for them, and the more you can solve the more they will want what you’ve got.

Of course, it helps to sell something that won’t be outdated and completely unnecessary in the next few years (if it isn’t already), but one thing at a time…

About the Author:

It was an unimaginable experience — a gigantic corporation that should know to train its employees much, much better.

A portion of my income is generated by delivering webinars.  Therefore, it is vitally important that my cable service be delivered without interruption. Unfortunately, my experience was such that I was motivated to change providers. I walked into the local store of the provider with all of the internet and television equipment in hand that required being returned. As fate would have it, the store was filled with new customers waiting in line.

I was cheerfully greeted — an excellent beginning but the excellence ended there. I was then asked to put the used equipment on the counter in the center of the store. Suddenly all eyes were upon me. Next I was handed a stationary phone connecting me to customer service - placed on the counter in the center of the store – and – in front of all the customers waiting to purchase!

This was an excellent strategy for discouraging their new prospects, current clients and future business development as I tried to discretely explain why we were terminating service. Why didn’t the employees escort me to a private room to take care of this? Emphasizing the company’s lack of forethought, this morning’s newspaper relayed that the very same company is not handling complaints of dropped calls on the iPhone appropriately. Apple is seriously considering Verizon as its next vendor. The marketing messages given by this company is “We’re too big and don’t care what you think!” Keeping this up, they won’t be too big for long.

In short, always take the leadership stance to be of the mindset of caring about your clientele and striving to build relationships. In turn, your clientele will take care of you making for a continued Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

When I picked up the phone to hear the mayor’s voice, my reply was, “you are a wonderful role model!” This probably is not a typical comment most politicians receive.

Yesterday was the day our state voted. I was tied up all day with appointments and so it was on my calendar to vote just before the polls closed.

Our incumbent mayor phoned the last hour of the polls being open and she followed Sales 101 perfectly by doing the following:

1. Thanking me for our support
2. Gently reminding me it was voting day
3. Having reviewed and checked her long list of supporters against the list of those who had not yet voted
4. Asking whether we planned to vote and then for our continued support
5. Thanking us once again for our patronage

Our mayor was gracious, focused on building relationships, asked politely for the sale, and then followed up. Her marketing-communication style and attention to detail continue to earn her repeat business, referrals, and testimonials. It was no surprise that she won the primary!

When you remember to focus on your prospects and clients and provide excellent customer care, your leadership skills become evident and you will earn the Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

Frequently, I write that the earmark of a dynamic business is the receiving of repeat business, referrals and testimonials. This is the area in which business development becomes automatic and sales pour in without much effort.

Many times, a satisfied client will be so preoccupied with their own work it will be up to you to keep a pulse on how they are doing in order to earn their repeat business. Additionally, they will not think to offer a referral or testimonial. You may always ask for the referral and/or testimonial – but it is in the asking that will make a huge difference in your outcome.

Make and receive requests with ease:

1. Never demand, and never assume a referral or testimonial will be given.
2. Graciously ask if the person will be willing to provide either.
3. Let your client know that either a negative or positive response will be fine so that you do not put them on the spot.

Someone recently not only demanded a testimonial from me but then proceeded to send a document outlining questions to be answered and exact instructions on how she wanted the testimonial to read. I found this very aggressive and it did not sit well with me.

The sad part is it gives pause to wonder if future business dealings should be conducted with this individual. I’m the one who frequently says that your words, actions and deeds have to be consistent because they form your brand. If aggressiveness is her brand then she lost me.

In closing, always be in the mindset of building relationships by understanding your prospect’s point of view first; build for the long-term and strive to over-deliver on expectations. This marketing-communication style will serve to put you in the leadership and expert arena and help you to achieve the Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

Most often marketing experts will suggest beginning with a small defined audience to quickly become the expert and leader in your field leading to a quicker conversion of prospects to clients. But what if you have been in business a long time and were to focus on the tiniest portion of your business that you enjoy the most – will that work in attracting more sales?

Last year was a tough one for most. This morning, 3 friends and I reconvened to bring each other up-to-date on our activities. I was completely surprised by the fact all 4 of us did exactly what I posed – we took the tiniest portion of our business that we enjoy the most and are promoting to the fullest. The surprising part is 3 of us are anticipating more revenue than ever!

My belief is the reason for our success is that we are each now focusing on what we truly enjoy. For me, the ebook webinars are a huge hit. The fourth person was in a very hard hit industry but her passion is swimming. She mentioned in passing that she knows how to instruct swimmers to swim faster. I exclaimed, “Why don’t you start charging for swim lessons?!” She answered, “I’ve been thinking about it silently, and now that you said it, I’m going to do it!”

When your clientele hears the passion in your voice and sees the excitement in your face, they become excited too, helping to build your relationship. This is the point where attraction marketing and selling work their charm. This works on anything you want in life, including interviewing well. It’s business development at its best and turns into a very Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

I had the good fortune to hear a marvelous speaker. She used her voice as a fine instrument. Her talk was filled with emotional stories both funny and sad. All the while her voice rose to a crescendo and then gently toned down to very soft notes of deep insight. Her talk was as moving as an opera.

However, in my opinion, her ending spoiled the impact. The speaker’s message was, “Stand in our own shoes to enjoy your unique journey into the spotlight.” It was a very powerful message. Everyone was nodding in agreement.

Alas, the speaker’s power diminished when she made an offer contradictory to her message. Her offer did not speak to standing in your own spotlight. Instead she offered a collaborative project designed to ride on her coattails. For me, the speaker’s offer ruined the entire message.

Had the speaker instead offered a package whereby she would help prospects in the audience achieve their own success, it is a safe bet that many more people would have quickly become her clients.