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.::Book Review: The One Minute Closer by James W. Pickens is Worth Every Second::.

James W. Pickens writes his book, The One Minute Closer, for master closers and reveals closing techniques that he promises are "guaranteed to get sales." And he definitely knows who his customers (readers) are: salespeople!

One snippet in the book reveals how to sell to a salesperson. This technique states that salespeople are generally independent, positive, impulse buyers who like to feel as though they have the inside scoop on buying a product. Keeping this in mind Mr. Pickens constructs the entire book to make the reader feel as though he is becoming privy to the inside scoop on getting sales. Pickens uses phrases like "these closes are not for beginners, " "for the first time in print," and "if used in the right circumstances this close will get a sale every time." As a salesperson reading the book I was sold!

The book begins with an explanation of what master closers know about themselves. In a nutshell master closers exude confidence with humility and refuse to live below one's abilities. Master closers stay away from the words "I," "me," and "my" and prefer "we," "our" and "us."

Pickens also discusses what master closers know about their customers. This is my favorite part of the book because general thinking patterns about 34 different types of customers are explored along with explanations of how to sell to them. Great tips are provided on how to sell to salespeople (as mentioned earlier), accountants, pilots, artists, bankers, barbers/stylists, bartenders, coaches, dentists, electricians, engineers, clergy, farmers, lawyers, judges and the list goes on.

It was a breath of fresh air to read how one should treat customers - with respect, integrity and without judgement. Some simple techniques for establishing rapport quickly and getting to the root cause of objections are discussed. Some of the specific one minute "seal the deal" closes border on being theatrical and a tad hard to believe - but thought provoking nonetheless.

And Pickens does not ignore the behavior and actions master closers exemplify after the sale - a point noble salespeople know is the key to future business.

The One Minute Closer is written in a breezy format that gives the reader the ability to pick it up for a minute here and there and still retain the key points. If you're brave enough to try some of Pickens' one-liner quick closing statements then go for it! Just keep in mind one of the last quotes in the book, "Sometimes you have to make yourself humble to make yourself great."

.::Is Your Refrigerator Running?::.

Mine is, but it has the knocks. Because it is still under warranty the manufacturer has sent a local generic repair company out to fix it 5 times. And now, instead of being pleased with the warranty service I'm irritated. The repairman said he usually works on cars.

This brings to mind an ancient proverb: don't bite off more than you can chew.

It will be tempting when trying to jazz up your sales to take on ANY work or projects. Projects that are on the fringes of what you actually can do well (or even enjoy). Resist the urge to venture out of your specialty - it can set you up for failure and take you away from what you do best. Plus you will not be as accessible to your already happy clients.

What was it that Tom Peters said a long time ago? I remember, "Stick to the knitting."

.::Book Review: HOT PROSPECTS by Bill Good Makes Me Wish Life Was a Bowl of Cherries::.

Bill Good, author of HOT PROSPECTS (Scribner, 2008), knows the secret - he knows that reading a book about how to find sales prospects is just as painful as actually finding the prospects. Almost as bad as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! So he interjects enough humor to keep you engaged. The same sense of humor one has to have when cultivating prospects for one's own business.

Right off the bat he discusses the Old Way of prospecting vs. the Good Way. With the Old Way you basically take a "no" to mean "not yet" and proceed to bug your lead to death forcing him to say "no" until he slams the phone down in your ear. All the while wasting your time and energy on a prospect who just isn't (and never will be) interested in buying from you. The Old Way assumes that buyers are liars and that when they say "I'm not interested" that means, "Send me more info." With the Good Way "no" means "no" and the conversation ends immediately with a "thankyouverymuch."

Prospects are classified as being hot prospects (smokin' hot), red cherries (pretty hot), green cherries (might be hot some day but not now), and then a few more classifications which are basically the pits. Mr. Good advises working with the red cherries because they will be fun and interested in you. If leads are unpleasant don't deal with them. (What a concept!).

Information in the book is reinforced on his website. Mr. Good inconveniently hides the passwords in the chapters so that one can't "tell all your friends." This makes it a little tough for those of us who may be reading in an airplane, on the exercise bike or any other place where a computer isn't at our finger tips. To go back later and try to find the passwords is time taxing. If I were über-rude I would list all the passwords right here - but I won't. The information is worthy. Remember to read the book with a highlighter.

Two quick points that I highlighted:

People buy benefits, not features. (Duh, we all know that) - BUT the spin Good presents is that clients ask questions about features, not benefits. AND, people must ask questions to buy. They want to ask questions to demonstrate they are "reasonably sophisticated" and prove they are "analytical, not emotional buyers." The lesson here is to withhold features in your initial calls and presentations so that your prospects can ask questions about them. Don't leave your prospect with no questions to ask because then they will not buy.

Dripping. This is the series of "low-key messages and phone calls designed to keep your name alive" with a prospect. I've always called it my excuses for reaching out to touch a prospect. I blogged about this topic last year. A phone call, followed by a letter, followed by an email, followed by a postcard, etc. He presents dripping on the last 4 pages of the book. Be sure to read these pages even if you have to skip to the end.

Mr. Good reveals his extensive work with lead generation in the financial services industry. Depending on your business you may find some techniques not relevant to your industry. HOT PROSPECTS is a great how-to book complete with access to scripts, sales letter templates, sample direct mail letters and tons of checklists. You can always cherry-pick the sections most relevant to your business.

.::Watch out for Sins of Commissions::.

There's a great article in this month's Inc. magazine called Sins of Commissions. In a nutshell it says be careful not to provide sales incentive plans to employees that can be achieved at the expense of customer service, morale or goodwill. The author provides an example of a sporting goods store pushing $12 sneaker spray and how employees at the register told customers the spray was free but then discounted sneakers by $12. The net gain to the sporting goods store was ZERO - but someone at the corporate office was getting high-fives for boosting sneaker spray sales.

Some examples of incentives that could have adverse affects on sales are:

Contests to see who can achieve the "Most Number of Anything." Quality usually trumps quantity. Think through short cuts or business that might be sacrificed just to achieve the "number."
Short-term programs. Closing a quick deal can be done at the expense of customer service. Make sure an incentive program keeps the big picture in mind and promotes long term customer loyalty.
Complex incentive plans that frustrate employees. Keep programs simple.
Taking too long to provide the incentive program reward. Give people their stuff FAST - the faster the reward is delivered the greater the enthusiasm will be.

Even if you are a solo-preneur (like me) you could fall into these "sins." For example:

If you are focused on the bottom line you may cut costs in areas that give your customers less value.
If you are desperate for some sales revenue you make make promises that are hard to keep or make deals that don't provide adequate profit.
If you need to increase your client base you may take on a new client/account that isn't a good fit or drains your energy.

Watch out for the above sins and your chances of having long term happy clients will increase.

.::Write Handwritten Thank You Notes::.

When you get your mail each day what is the first envelope you open? For me, it's the hand addressed envelopes. I know for sure that these aren't junk mail.

Handwritten thank you notes are even more important in today's electronic world of email and text messaging. Here's why:

It's hard to throw away a hand-addressed letter without opening it first
They provide a personal touch that can't be communicated via email
Handwritten thank you notes are becoming a lost art. They are practically a novelty and almost certain to be read by the recipient

If a handwritten thank you note feels too informal for your recipient then type and print it on your letterhead. You can use a light and breezy tone - but if you type it, make sure the grammar, punctuation and formatting are in a professional business style.

Along with showing gratitude, thank you notes create additional opportunities to jazz up your sales by getting your name and company in front of your client. They are like a marketing brochure in disguise.

I love this quote by Tom Peters: “A two-line, largely unreadable scrawl beats a page and a half spit out by the laser printer.” So get to writing!

.::How to Lose a Sale::.

I love the Olympics!

And the Olympics remind me that sometimes we learn more about people by how they win and sometimes we learn more about people by how they lose!

If you saw the U.S. men's swimming relay team win the gold medal last night then you know what I'm talking about. After the French men's team talked smack all week about how they were going to "smash" the U.S. it was a pretty tough blow for the French to lose. But there the French were, standing on the medal stand receiving their silver medals and congratulating the U.S. team.

The same holds true for jazzing up your sales. Every proposal you submit won't be accepted. Every prospect is not going to buy from you. How you "lose" the sale can be more telling to your prospective client that you might realize. Here are some ways one might act when losing a sale:

Get ticked off, act dejected and tell the customer they are making a big mistake.
Resort to begging... "Please, just give us a chance to work with you."
Bash the competition... "Did you hear what XYZ company did to so-in-so? They are lousy and can't be trusted."
Badger the prospect after they say no by sending repeated emails or dropping by unannounced.
Tell the prospect you appreciate being given the opportunity to work for him and you hope he will feel comfortable contacting you any time. Use the sales loss as an opportunity to start a relationship so that your prospect respects you and your company for future business.

Which one of the above options do you think will win you the gold medal?

.::It's Always Better to Fess Up::.

I just returned from a great vacation to Colorado Springs! Among the many things we did was ride the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak. You'd think working for an elevator company for 12 years would have cured me of my fear of heights - but this took it to a whole new level. Over 14,000 feet high!

On the ride back down the mountain the train quit working. It came to a slow stop at a downward angle of around 25 degrees. It was pretty steep and it felt like we were hanging in mid-air looking straight down. What took place next is what made me think about how fast you can lose trust with customers when you don't fess up. After some lurches and stalled engine noises the tour guide cheerfully announced over the microphone that there was nothing wrong with the train and not to be worried. No one believed her! And she was not shooting straight with us.

Here are ways to jazz up your sales by fessing up:

Don't totally spill your guts. You don't have to reveal EVERYTHING that went wrong to your customer. Keep in mind that an angry customer will hang on your every word. Choose your words carefully.

Talk in terms of the future. Instead of going into detail about what and why something went wrong, tell your customer what you are going to do to correct the problem.

For example, don't say this: "My manager didn't show up to work today because his car broke down and so we missed the shipping cut off. I'm really sorry."

Instead, say this, "We will be overnighting you the product today for delivery tomorrow plus we will throw in one free extra for your trouble."

Don't blame what went wrong on anyone else. Regardless of who's fault it is, the customer had faith in you to get him what he needed. Accept responsibility for the mistake.

Couple the "fess up" with an apology and a voucher/coupon for more business from you or your company. Hopefully, this will help you keep from losing the customer all together by getting him back to you to redeem his freebie.

After 30 minutes of being stranded on Pikes Peak people on the train began to get angry and concoct stories about what could be wrong. We later found out it was a problem with the braking system - and that one of the 3 systems (3 for redundancy in case the other 2 fail) had quit working properly. For the remaining way down the mountain the tour guide ran the train from the front while the engineer gave her directions from the back (over the microphone for all to hear!). Everyone would have been a lot happier if we had known what was wrong. But instead we all stewed about it and then worried if our lives were in good hands. The tour guide should have FESSED UP!

.::Have a Sale::.

I love the 4th of July - not just because of the holiday and fireworks, but because I love sales. As a matter of fact, I already bought a new rug as part of a 4th of July sale.

But you don't have to wait until a national holiday to provide a special deal for your clients. I recently received a promotional flyer that was having a sale "in honor of the summer solstice." The summer what?

So, create your own "excuse" for a sale or special offering. Sort of like Hallmark holidays... (grandparents day, bosses' day, etc.). The more creative the better.

So, enjoy the weekend and hope you had a happy Stay out of the Sun day!

.::Just be Consistent::.

I think some people think that to be good at sales you need a dynamic personality, a great sense of humor and super quick wit. These qualities are definitely a plus!

But the real secret to jazzing up the sales of your business is to just be consistent.

Be consistent in the quality of work you provide. Clients will learn they can depend on you.

Be consistent in how you deal with clients. Don't be a moody! Don't appear down in the dumps. Have a positive attitude about your business - always.

Be consistent in your marketing efforts. Instead of spending a lot of money on one large marketing effort, like a mail-out or TV ad, spend smaller amounts of money on several marketing efforts over time.

Be consistent in your promises to employees. Your employees ARE your business to your clients. Make sure they feel engaged and appreciated.

Be consistent in your community involvement. Getting involved in trade associations and community groups is a great way to market yourself and your business. Being involved for just 1 year won't provide you with a jump in sales. You have to get involved and stay involved over time.

.::Don't Jump Rank to Make a Sale::.

How many times have you been trying to make a sale when you realize that the person you are dealing with does not have decision making authority? It happens all the time.

Here's a tip: Don't jump rank and go around them!

Here's why:

Even though your contact person doesn't make the decision, he is an influencer. You will make him mad by going around him or above his head - and then you are doomed.

The decision maker may have delegated the research on you or your company to this person because he doesn't have time to do it. Respect this chain of command.

What can you do?

Ask your contact person if it would be helpful for you to meet with the decision maker. But be careful not to insult their authority.

Ask if you can take your contact and the decision maker to lunch.

This one is a little dangerous - but you can have another person within your organization who has a higher ranking than you, contact the decision maker. He might say, "I know so-in-so and so-in-so have been working on this project and I just wanted to see if I can offer any assistance." I recommend this plan of action as a last resort.

We all want to talk to the decision maker - but it won't always happen. It's important to respect protocol and chains of command that your potential client has in place.

.::Jazz Up Your Sales with the Golden Rule::.

The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Observing the Golden Rule will jazz up your sales. Observing the Golden Rule in business doesn't mean that you have to put all your cards on the table, reveal proprietary information to your customers, or make promises that are impossible to keep. And it doesn't mean that you have to give your product or services away at below market prices!

Early in my sales career I struggled with sales negotiations whenever I knew the profit margin levels were high. The company I worked for thought it was great! But I sometimes felt it was wrong. Was I taking advantage of someone? Here's what I learned: if you do a good enough job explaining how your product/service will benefit a client the price they pay will be secondary in their decision making process.

Here are some ways to jazz up your sales with the Golden Rule:

Respect people's time (biggy!), values, personal situations, family situations.
Honor your commitments. If you say, "I'll be there by 3:00 tomorrow," then be there!
Be the first to admit it if you've made a mistake. Don't wait and see if your client finds out. Be up front so your client doesn't think you were trying to sneak something by him.
Maintain price integrity. Know that your prices are fair and stick to them. Your clients will talk to each other - be sure they are all getting the same "deal."
Talk straight. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Do a good job. Duh!

I still remember a customer of mine named "Dub" who was negotiating a big contract with my company. Dub had done everything salespeople hate: gotten several competitive bids, told me the price was way too high, broken down the price into several elements, argued with me on delivery and schedules, etc. Finally I was worn out and ready to forget it when Dub said to me, "Zan, this has to be a good deal for both of us. Your company needs to make money on this work, too." I was shocked! From that day forward I always shot straight with Dub - and he never called my competitors again.

The adage, "He who has the gold rules" is starting to lose ground. Even Corporate America is trying to abide by the Golden Rule. Companies are going green, donating money for disaster relief, volunteering their employees' time for worthy causes, and partnering with nonprofits. I love this article about what 49 business leaders say about the Golden Rule in Business. Take the time to see how you can abide by the Golden Rule and turn it into a marketing opportunity using cause marketing.

.::Donald Trump has it all Wrong::.

I admit I loved the Celebrity Apprentice show this season - but I disagree with Donald Trump selecting the unlikeable Piers Morgan as the winner. Piers won the challenges and raised the most money for his charity but managed to tick people off along the way. He came across as ruthless, arrogant and disrespectful; traits which he accused Donald Trump of having.

To jazz up your sales in the short-term you can take the "Piers Morgan, in your face, I'm smart and your dumb" attitude. Obviously it worked for Piers. But to sustain jazzy sales you have to take the "Trace Adkins, let's collaborate, aw-shucks, nice guy" attitude. People will only buy once from a person or a company they don't like. Customers learn fast. And just because you are likeable doesn't mean you aren't business savvy. Quite the contrary. Being likeable means you REALLY get the big picture.

I recently read the premiere issue of SUCCESS magazine where Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz says, "Success should not be measured in dollars. It's about how you conduct the journey and how big your heart is at the end of it." I'm not sure I agree with his comments about dollars (revenue is key!) - but I do agree with the intent of his statement. And that is, your character and integrity are ways to measure your success because they produce trust and loyalty with your customers.

.::Using Voicemail to Jazz Up Your Sales::.

Whew! I called someone today whose voicemail greeting went on for 75 seconds. It gave a lot of "If you are calling about X, then do this" type instructions. By the time I was supposed to leave the message I was so worn out that I forgot why I called. I literally hung up, collected my thoughts, remembered why I was calling and then called back.

In general, voicemail does not jazz up the sales of your business. Having a live person talk to your clients is always preferred. But for many of us voicemail is a necessity. So keep the following in mind when creating your voicemail message:

Keep your voicemail greeting to 15 seconds or less.

Make sure it sounds professional and upbeat. Be genuine, not fake.

I suggest this script: Hello. This is (NAME) of the (DEPARTMENT) of (COMPANY NAME). This is the week of (DATES) and I am in the office this week. Please leave your name and phone number and I promise to call you back today. If you need to reach someone immediately please dial “0”. Thank you.

Click here to read some great Voicemail Etiquette tips. I also enjoyed this article on voicemail etiquette.

But don't use voicemail as your phone screener if you are running a business. Customers get frustrated when they need you and get your voicemail. Don't give your customers an excuse to call someone who will answer their phone!

.::Jazz Up Your Sales by Showing Excitement::.

Jazzing up the sales of your business is fun (more money for you) and people want to buy from people they like so....GET EXCITED!

I just left a pack and mail store where everyone who worked there seemed ticked off and bored. And I was such a pain to wait on. It was like I was disturbing them. Sound familiar? It was making me cringe because they did so many things wrong!

Your excitement about your business transfers to the positive experience your customers will have and directly impacts repeat business. Keep the following in mind to show excitement:

Hire for attitude. When you have a business you can't always control the attitude of the people who work for you so consider that when interviewing potential employees. Hire people who have a good attitude vs. hiring for skill level. If they have a good attitude they will learn the skills.

Answer your phone fast. On the first or second ring as much as possible. Be eager to serve your clients.

Greet people. Wal-Mart has perfected this with employees designated to be greeters. But have you ever been to a doctor's office and the person slides the window open and looks at the sign-in sheet without acknowledging you? (Rude!) Even if you cannot help the customer immediately, always greet them.

Smile. So cliche - but this is critical. How many excited people have a frown on their face? When you smile it is human nature to mirror the behavior. Smile and your client will smile back.

Focus on your customer. Have you ever been to a store and seen 2 employees standing around talking and not helping you? Or have you ever been at the at the grocery store listening to the checker and the bagger plan their weekend? This is like answering your cell phone during a business meeting. It says, "I'm not excited about focusing on you, my client."

.::Persistence Pays Off::.

In my opinion, being persistent is the quality that separates the good from the great salesperson. To jazz up the sales of your business, be persistent.

Did you know that 80% of salespeople quit trying after hearing the first, "No?"

Tom Reilly, author of Value Added Selling, clarifies the difference between pushy and persistent. He says, “If you press for an order after I say ‘No’ because you need to sell something today, you’re pushy!” But, “If you press for a commitment when I say ‘No’ because I really need your solution, you're persistent.” It has everything to do with your motivation. Are you pressing for the customer’s benefit or for your benefit?

I'm glad that the builder I blogged about last month was persistent. Although from what I said about him appearing desperate you may think I'm contradicting myself! But we just closed on the house this week!

.::Don't Appear Desperate::.

My husband and I almost bought a new house last month. It was a brand new home that the builder was anxious to sell. The builder appeared desperate to unload the home by calling every day (sometimes multiple times in one day), quickly dropping his price and then suggesting we circumvent both of our realtors. After 1 week of this my husband and I got spooked about the deal and withdrew our offer.

You may be negotiating a great deal with a perceived "qualified buyer." Just because the buyer's decision time frame isn't fast enough for you doesn't mean they won't buy. But you can kill the deal by appearing desperate. Avoid the urge to harass a potential buyer or beg. The following constitutes begging:

Calling the buyer frequently to check on their decision.
Dropping your price without taking something away from the deal.
Calling a buyer's cell phone and not leaving a voicemail (caller ID - duh!).
Putting fabricated pressure on the buyer: "Can you let me know by 1:00?" or "We are close to selling out." or "This deal is only good until 5:00 today." If you make something up - your buyer will find out.
Becoming agitated with your buyer or questioning him. Confrontation kills most deals.

So it looks like we will be staying in our current house for a while longer.

.::Relationships are the Key to Jazzing Up Your Sales::.

Last week I attended my friend Greg’s 60th birthday party. Greg is a successful business owner and investor who recently beat lung cancer. During the toasts at the party many people mentioned how they had known Greg for the last 15 or 20 years and how wonderful their friendships have been. Many of Greg's closest friends were people he does business with and who do business with him.

This reminded me of the best way to jazz up the sales of your business: relationships. It's cliche' but true - "people do business with people" and "people buy from people they like."

Here are some quick tips for how to build relationships with your customers:

Find out about them. Ask questions like,
"Do you have big plans for the holidays?"
"Do you have a lot of family in town?"
"Seen the new Star Wars movie yet?"
"How old are your kids?"
Learning about your client gives you conversation starters for your meetings with them.
Socialize outside of work. If you find out you and your customer have a similar interest like hunting or fishing, plan a trip together. If your spouses have never met, invite your client and spouse out to dinner.

Use the mail. If socializing outside of work feels too much like schmoozing to you there are other avenues for building relationships. Read an article in the newspaper that made you think of your client? Cut it out and mail it to him with a quick handwritten note.

Give event tickets. A good way to socialize with your customer is to invite him to a sporting event. If this makes you uncomfortable consider giving your clients tickets to a local baseball or basketball game. You might say, "Hi Jim, I have 4 tickets to the Mavericks game tomorrow night and wanted to know if you'd like to have them?"

Stay in touch. Send your clients birthday cards or Happy 4th of July cards to stay in touch throughout the year. Email or call them occasionally to check in. Keep the emails or phone calls short and sweet. Be creative in thinking up "excuses" to contact your customers.
Know their business. You don't have to be an expert, but make it a point to understand a little about your customer's business. For example, if you own a cleaning company, make it a point to understand the cycles of your customer's business to know when will be the best and most convenient times for your cleaning crews to work - after hours, after the Friday night rush, before or after a big event, etc.

.::How to Write a Proposal that Sells::.

A time consuming part of running a small business is providing proposals to potential clients. Even a quick bid takes time. It can be frustrating when you have several proposals pending and no one is buying.

Here are some tips for jazzing up the success rate of your proposals:

Do the homework. Talk or visit in person with prospective clients to find out what they need. Ask questions and let the client do the talking. For example, if you are a lawn care company, you might ask:

What are your biggest concerns about your lawn?
Do you have any problem areas? Weeds, dead grass, etc.
What service are you using now?
Customize, even if just a little. You may have a standard proposal or quote form that you use - but whenever possible tailor the proposal to highlight the specific needs of your client. Use the same language and words of your client. In the lawn care example, if the client talks about the "north side of the yard" or the "area behind the air conditioner" - refer to it that way in your proposal.
Only provide a proposal when necessary. Writing a proposal takes time. If you see the client isn't a good fit for your service don't take time writing a proposal. Don't send out arbitrary proposals in hopes of getting business either. If you have met with a prospect and do not have a verbal agreement prior to your proposal submission - then your proposal probably won't be acccepted.
Give options. People like choices with different prices - specifically a high, medium and low price option. This changes the dynamic. Instead of saying "yes" or "no" to your proposal the customer concentrates on "which option do I want?"
Sell a little. Some call this showing value.

For example, using my lawn care example again, instead of saying this:
"Mow and weed side yard behind air conditioner."
Say this:
"In order to prevent unwanted ant beds and the potential of clogging the
air conditioner vent, we will mow and weed the side yard behind the air
conditioner. "
Don't quote a price too soon. What if you went to the doctor and said, "What's wrong with me and how much does it cost?" The doctor would spend time asking you questions, learning your history and examining you before making a diagnosis and giving you a bill. Try not to quote prices off the top of your head before learning what the client needs.

By the same token, if someone calls you and ONLY wants to know your price it could be a waste of time quoting them - unless you know your prices are the lowest. My accountant won't quote prices over the phone at all. She tells prospects she will be glad to discuss pricing after they meet with her. This weeds the "bargain shoppers" and helps her determine how she can best work with the prospect - which improves her proposal success rate.

.::Jazz Up Your Sales Using a Thanksgiving Card::.

One way to jazz up the sales of your business as the year winds down is to send a holiday card. To make sure your message really stands out send a Thanksgiving card instead of a Christmas card for the following reasons:

Your card will stand out because it's first. People receive an average of 21-42 Christmas cards but can you remember the last Thanksgiving card you received? You will beat the holiday card inundation and your card won't get thrown in the pile with all the other Christmas cards.
Consider sending a card with a Thanksgiving recipe or holiday decorating ideas. This will provide useful information that recipients will be inclined to save. Be creative about tying the message in with your business ~ it's okay to have a little fun with it. You might sign the card, "From us turkeys at XYZ Company." Here's a website with some clever Thanksgiving card ideas.
Make it personal. As difficult as it is to sign your name or write a short note in every card make an effort to do so. A preprinted name inside a preprinted envelope doesn't make anyone feel special and is less memorable. As a minimum - sign your own name.
E-cards are great if you have a good email list and especially if you market through an electronic newsletter.
Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful and showing gratitude. It just makes sense to acknowledge clients at this time of year.
Remember the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest retail shopping day of the year. Can you tie in a reminder about this shopping day and offer an "early bird" (no pun intended!) special?
If you want to send a gift consider a Thanksgiving pie. My real estate agent sends out a notification every year to her clients to pick up a Thanksgiving pie at her office 2 days before Thanksgiving. All I have to do is call her office and tell her "apple" or "pecan." What a great marketing idea! I feel special... she reminds me of her business... and it forces me to physically (and willingly) go to her office where she can make face-to-face contact. I love it! And guess who I think about when people ask me about a real estate agent referral?

.::The Cable Company Makes Everyone Look Good::.

I don't like rants - but after the hellacious experience we had with Direct TV last week I have to rant a little. We've all had the experience of waiting on the "cable guy" to arrive between 8: 00 AM and 5:00 PM. (I don't know of many other businesses that can get away with this arrival time window.) After having a appointment scheduled for over a month the cable guy didn't arrive last Tuesday like he was supposed to. We had everything ready, the furniture pulled away from the wall, wires hanging down everywhere and then nothing to show for it. 6 phone calls later and Direct TV tells me they can reschedule 10 days later. The short story is I blew a gasket and they made it out the next morning.

But guess what this bad experience did? It made the furniture delivery experience I had the following week a delight ~ even though 2 pieces were damaged and the furniture company had to redeliver it 2 days later. Here's where the difference was:

The furniture company called and gave me 1 hour notice and showed up in exactly 1 hour, they delivered the furniture in a professional manner and left. After noticing damaged pieces I called the store (The Dump) and within 30 minutes they had rescheduled the new pieces to be delivered 2 days later. Two days later I had the same 1-hour advance phone call and they arrived in exactly 1 hour. Yes, it stunk that I had to have the furniture redelivered - but the store did exactly what they said when they said they would do it.

This brings to light a critical point in jazzing up the sales of your business.... Just do what you say you are going to do! And if you are not able to do so, tell your customer ASAP. Sure they may get upset ~ but customers will get more upset if they feel they've been lied to. Full disclosure of a failure to execute on a promise is your best bet for long term sales growth.

.::Create a Win-Win-Win with Cause Marketing::.

Most of us remember what we were doing when we found out about the horrific events that unfolded on September 11, 2001. I think we all became a little more human that day as it became acceptable for people of all ranks to show grief and concern for people that we didn't even know.

Since September 11 corporate America has taken strides toward protecting the greater good. For example, just after the tsunami in Asia my company matched donations employees made to the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. Yes, companies are concerned with making a profit but now we are thinking about the environment, people in need and causes bigger than ourselves. This brings to light a new way to jazz up the sales of your business called Cause Marketing.

Cause marketing enables you to boost your sales and give back to your community at the same time. By aligning your business with a nonprofit cause you can enjoy additional PR and exposure from contributing to the cause, your customers feel good about buying from you because of your generosity and you experience personal gratification.

Here are a few tips for getting started with a Cause Marketing Strategy:

Pick a strategic cause that aligns with your business. A pet grooming service might align themselves with the SPCA. A new health food store might align themselves with the American Diabetes Association. It needs to be a win-win for both groups. What causes are your customers interested in supporting? One example I've heard is about a cleaning service offering to dry clean donated coats and blankets for free and donating them to the homeless during the winter months. Wouldn't you feel good about doing business with them?

Decide up front what you want to accomplish. Do you want media exposure? Increased sales? Better name recognition? Because you will be partnering with a nonprofit organization it will be important for you to know what you want from the relationship. Keep it a business relationship - get contracts signed, work out the logistics of using the nonprofit's name and logo and how often your name and logo will appear on their publications, finalize how the partnership will be promoted on your websites, determine how many articles the nonprofit will publish in their newsletters about you, etc.

Blab. Don't be shy about asking for acknowledgment from your strategic partnership. You should be proud of the relationship and glad to tell everyone about it. Remember, this is marketing!

Know how to measure your success. Set metrics to determine if your partnership is paying off. There is a degree of intangibility that will occur because you can't measure how many customers you retain from this campaign - in other words, it's hard to measure the "feel good" factor your current customers will experience by doing business with you. But, the primary goal is to jazz up your sales. Be open with your nonprofit partner about your goals and progress.

Cause marketing creates a Win-Win-Win.

You WIN by jazzing up your sales (and plus it feels good to help others)!
The community or nonprofit agency WINS because it receives your support.
Your customers WIN because they feel good about supporting a good citizen of society.

.::Make it Easy!::.

A few weeks ago I was reminded that to jazz up the sales of your business, one has to make it easy to do business with you. You have to make buying from your company a breeze.

It all started at an artisan's gallery in Plano, Texas where I found a wall hanging that would be perfect for my entry way wall in my house. The only problem was I wasn't sure if the dimensions would work for my wall and Plano was a 1-hour drive from my house. The manager of the gallery gave me a choice:

I could buy it that day and save 20% or

I could leave a credit card number and take it home for 24 hours to see if it worked in my house but could NOT have the 20% discount. (The 20% represented about $80 - which is substantial to me.)

That choice was just too hard to make! So I left the store without buying it. Didn't the gallery manager know that it would be best for me to take the wall hanging with me? She should have never let me leave the store without it. Once I got home I measured my wall and the wall hanging would have fit perfectly - but I was not up for another 1 hour drive back to Plano (2 hours round trip).

By giving me a choice the art gallery manager did not make this an easy purchase. Instead I fretted over it for a few days. And have since found another wall hanging for my entry way wall.

Here are some tips for making it easy for your customers to do business with you:

Return all phone calls the same day. Even if you have to tell someone you don't have their information or product yet - call them back the same day to let them know you received their message and tell them how you will proceed in helping them.

Answer your phone! Especially if you have a service business! If a potential client needs a service and gets voicemail, they will hang up and call someone else. Most new customers will not leave a voicemail.

Make it easy to get information about your company. Print your phone number, address and website on packaging, invoices, receipts, magnets, notepads, etc.
Empower your front line. Any one in your organization that has customer contact should have responsibility for helping your customers. Create an atmosphere where all employees are empowered. Even if the person who answers the phone cannot solve a customer's specific problem, he/she is responsible for making sure the proper person from your organization contacts that customer.

Don't give clients choices that could result in a loss for them. With my wall hanging scenario I could have lost $80 if I chose to have the option of returning it within 24 hours.
Be consistent. Many times a customer will have special requirements - like invoice dates, shipping schedules, etc. It is very tempting to want to work a "special deal" with a potentially large client - and there are times when this is appropriate. However, whenever possible, have consistency with how you do business. If a client needs an invoice by the 15th of the month and you invoice everyone on the 20th - resist the urge to have a special invoice date for the one client. This can set you up for failure later on.

.::Details! Shmeetails! Time to Focus on the Details!::.

"Don't sweat the small stuff!" I tend to believe this is a true statement when it comes to getting along with other people... but NOT when it comes to jazzing up your sales. The details are what separates you from your competitors.

Take the gift I just bought and then returned for my husband's birthday (this birthday ends with a "0"). It was a very nice watch. The jeweler called it a "time piece." Guess that's what expensive watches are called! The salesperson did a great job in helping me select the perfect "time piece" and then proceeded to the back of the store where she gift-wrapped it for me to take home to my husband.

I was excited to give it to my husband until he opened it, saw that the box was torn, the watch manual did not go with the watch inside the box and there was sticky residue from the price tag left on the inside of the watch band. Details! My husband thought the watch was second hand! If only the salesperson had tended to the details... by providing a box that wasn't damaged, providing the correct owner's information and cleaning off the sticker residue.

Here are some details that will help jazz up the sales of your business:

Send handwritten thank you notes thanking people for their business or for the referral they provided.
Think of something creative that will make your customer smile. If you provide bookkeeping services you might slide a post-it note into your client's books that says, "Great month! Keep up the good work!" If you provide a lawn service you might trim a few overgrown bushes for free. We just went to Disney Land and the hotel wash clothes were folded in the shape of different Disney characters.
Proofread everything. People will notice typos and bad grammar. Don't give them a reason to doubt your capabilities.
Know that you cannot always measure the results. Customers may not notice details - but they will notice the LACK OF details. For example, I recently bought a brand new car. When the tags came in I went to the dealership for them to put the license plate on my car. Instead of putting 4 screws in the plate - they saved 45 seconds by only affixing the plate with 2 screws. And it rattled all the way home! As soon as I got home I had to put the 2 additional screws in the plate. DETAILS! This was my final exposure to the dealership - and it wasn't good. Even though I love the car - guess what I will remember about the dealership?!
When a customer calls with a complaint then handle it NOW. Nothing hurts your sales more than an angry customer having even more time to stew over his dissatisfaction. Once you've handled your customer's problem - tell him! Call him back and let him know what you did to resolve the issue. Don't wait for him to find out later that you took care of the issue.

By the way, after I returned my husband's watch I went to another jewelry store and bought the same one! This time the salesperson focused on all of the details!

.::Don't Listen to Your Customers!::.

I love an article in the July 2007 issue of Inc. magazine by David Freedman called "Ask, and You Shall be Misled." The premise of the article is that customers can tell you a lot but sometimes they don't know what they're talking about.

Part of jazzing up the sales of your business is listening to customers and responding to their needs. So it's not easy to take customer feedback with a grain of salt. But consider that customer feedback may not always be representative of the population who buys from you. For example, if Microsoft listened to all of the "cranky message posters who dominate online chatter, it might have killed Windows."

The article points out that one danger of focusing on what customers ARE asking for is that you might lose sight of coming up with brilliant ideas that customers AREN'T asking for. Apple's customers weren't asking for a hand-held music player when Apple came out with the iPod.

So (and this is a tad tongue-in-cheek)... here are 4 tips for when NOT to listen to your customers:

The "squeaky wheel" isn't representative of your customer base.
Herb Kelleher, retired CEO of Southwest Airlines, was known for sending a letter back to a complaining customer stating, "Good luck in finding a new airline carrier." If a complaining customer is just being a pain in the &*!#, then it's okay to lose him. Responding to a squeaky wheel who has no merit takes you away from serving your good customers.

Part of a customer's complaint relates to the natural progression or necessity of your product or service.
For example, if your run an ice rink and a customer complains about it being too cold in the arena. Duh! This is like when your child complains of having homework - you aren't doing him any favors by excusing him from it.

Behavior doesn't reflect what your customer says.
I have had the same hair stylist for 10 years and she used to always cut my hair on Saturdays. A few years ago, in response to her personal work/life situation, she cut out all of her weekend appointments and was initially worried she would lose business based on what her clients told her. Guess what? She didn't lose any - and her business is busier than ever - AND she has cut out all evening appointments as well.

The customer is actually (gasp!) wrong.
In order to jazz up your sales the natural thing to do is try and accommodate your customers needs - and do what they ask you to do. But, sometimes what they want isn't possible and it is so tempting to over promise just a little to get the sale or diffuse a difficult situation. In this situation - go with the honest approach. Talk straight with your customer - they will respect you and your business even more!

.::Book Review: Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath::.

I just read the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by brothers Chip and Dan Heath. I loved it because as a small business owner you want your service and ideas to be "sticky" - that is, you want your product or service to be the one people remember.

By using their own principles, the Heaths outline their SUCCESs acronym (even though they admit it's a little corny) for how to make ideas stick. Here's how to use the SUCCESs principles to jazz up the sales of your small business:

S Simplicity

Find the core of your business by pulling out the most important idea or benefit you provide. Southwest Airlines is used as an example where former CEO Herb Kelleher informed his staff, "We are THE low-fare airline. Once you understand that fact, you can make any decision about this company's future as well as I can." When asked if he thought passengers flying from Houston to Las Vegas should be offered an entree he responded with, "Will adding (the entree) makes us THE low fare airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it doesn't then we aren't serving any #^&>? chicken salad."

Don't become a victim of the "Curse of Knowledge." Remember, not everyone knows what you know and you are not "dumbing down" your product by making it appear simple or explaining it in simple terms.

U Unexpected

Surprise gets your attention and interest keeps your attention. The fastest way to get some one's attention is to break a pattern. Doesn't some of the most juicy gossip come from hearing about someone doing something completely out of character or unexpected? Keep your ideas interesting but not gimmicky.

C Concrete

Here the Heath's use Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Grapes. You might remember it: after the fox tries repeatedly to jump up to eat some grapes from a vine without success he says, "I'm sure they are sour." This is a story that has survived over 2,500 years because it reflects a truth about human nature. It illustrates a concrete and memorable example of the theme: "Don't be such a jerk when you fail."

The best teachers I have had used stories about real life to teach their subjects. To jazz up the sales of your business use concrete examples of how a client of yours will benefit. Stay away from statistics or impressive industry jargon. And within your business set specific goals with measurable targets and use them to keep you accountable to your business plan.

C Credible

What makes people believe ideas? Or believe our service or product is going to do what we say it will do? Naturally sticky ideas will persuade people to believe incredible things.

Vivid details will boost your credibility. An example is used of a jury's opinion in the custody hearing of the 7 year old son of Mrs. Johnson. In one presentation, Mrs. Johnson "sees to it that her child brushes his teeth before bedtime." Another argument said that "Mrs. Johnson's son uses a Star Wars toothbrush that looks like Darth Vader." Jurors felt more favorable towards Mrs. Johnson when presented with the vivid details of using the "Darth Vader toothbrush."

So instead of saying, "50% of people prefer our football helmets," say, "6 of the 12 people on the football team prefer our football helmets." Stay away from a barrage of statistics about how great your service or product is and provide a few extra vivid details of the benefits.

E Emotional

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will." Mother Teresa

Here the Heaths present facts of a research study where people were asked to donate to an African charity. The first group received a letter quoting statistics about foot shortages, severe rainfall and the number of people starving. The second group received a letter that told the story of a single young girl named Rokia, how she was facing starvation and what she would receive from your donation. Guess which letter generated twice as many donations? Yep, the one that told the story of a single young girl.

When selling your product remember to appeal to people's self interest. Don't sell "the world's greatest seed." Instead, sell "the world's greenest lawn."

A discussion of Maslow's Hierachy of needs is used to show that not only do you want to appeal to who your customers are right now... but also to the people that they want to be. What motivates your customers? Keep in mind that your customers are not always thinking, "What's in it for me?" They will be thinking, "What's in it for the customers I serve" or "How will this service help me become the person I want to be."

S Stories

Stories stimulate and inspire. Take the example of Jared who lost over 100 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches for lunch and dinner every day for 3 months. Use testimonials to demonstrate the success of your product or service. And use people's real names, real circumstances, and photos.