HOW TO SELL MORE!

This week, I was reminded of a quote from one of my mentors,
Thomas Leonard, who observed that, "People love to buy
things, but almost no one wants to be sold."
Thousands of people are eager to buy what you sell. They
want the benefits, the convenience, the comfort or prestige
that you can provide. Human beings are an "acquisitive"
bunch. We want stuff!
Of course, consumerism can be abused, but buying and selling
is the process that creates the life (and the lifestyle) we
all want. The "desire to acquire" goes deep, and it's a good
thing.
So, if you aren't making as many sales as you would like,
let me suggest that the problem is not with your customers,
but with you. The problem is likely one of the following:
1. Not enough potential customers know about you or that
your product could enrich their lives. This is a marketing
problem, and as a business leader it is your job to solve
it. Let people know! Get out there and get in the game!
2. Or, the other possibility, is that you're trying too
hard to "sell."
Personally, I have a deep-seated aversion to being "sold"
anything. I see websites that seem manipulative or
dishonest. I see sales techniques that fail to build trust
or credibility, and definitely do not attract me.
But people are eager to buy benefits! They buy solutions to
their problems. They buy things that make their lives
better, easier, simpler, healthier or more comfortable. They
buy stuff that makes them happy. And they buy from people
they know and like and trust.
If enough people "know and like and trust" you, they will
listen when you offer a product or service that will make
their lives better. If they "know and like and trust" you,
they will flock to your door and you'll make all the sales
you need.

HOW TO GET MORE WORK DONE IN A DAY

How do you achieve employment security in a world where there is no employment security? I start with a question: do you consider yourself to be honest and at least reasonably intelligent? Okay. As an honest, intelligent person, do you, as a general rule, get about twice as much work done on the day before you go on vacation as you normally get done? Now, I am going to ask you a long question, so stay with me all the way through. If we can figure out why and learn how and repeat it every day without working any longer or any harder, does it make sense that we will be more valuable to ourselves, our company, our family, and our community? The answer is yes.
I want to make it crystal clear that I am communicating with you about you--I'm not referring to anybody else, but to you about you. You have undoubtedly already confessed that you are honest and intelligent.
Now, on the night before the day before vacation, do you get your laptop or a sheet of paper out and plan, "Now, tomorrow I've got to do this and this..." We've coined a very clever name for that--we call that goal setting. So, you set your goals. Then, you get them organized in the order of their importance.
Let me encourage you to make one slight change there. Get the disagreeable and difficult things out of the way first. Free your mind so you can concentrate on what else you have got to do. You get it organized. You accept responsibility. You make the commitments. You know that some people are about as committed as a Kamikaze pilot on his 39th mission--they just aren't serious about it.
Now, commitment is important whether it is to get your education, make one more call, keep the marriage together, or whatever. Commitment is important because when you hit the wall--not if, but when you hit the wall--if you have made a commitment, your first thought is "How do I solve the problem?" If you haven't made the commitment, your first thought is "How do I get out of this deal?" And we find literally what we are looking for. When you make that commitment, things happen. It shows that you really care about the other people on the job. It demonstrates that you are dependable. Even though you're leaving town, you're not going to leave an unfinished task for others to do. Your integrity comes through.
Have you ever participated in organized team sports? Did you ever go home one night and say to your parents something like, "Mom, Dad, you won't believe the game plan the coach has worked out. Man alive, it is incredible. We're going to kill those suckers tomorrow. You can count on it." You were optimistic simply because you had a plan of action, and likewise, you are optimistic that tomorrow you are going to be able to get all of the things done that need to be done before you can go on that vacation.
Now, some of us are born optimistic, and some are born pessimistic. For your information, the 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary does not have the word pessimist in it. It has the word optimist. Now, I am a natural-born optimist. I really am. I would take my last two dollars and buy a money belt with it. That's the way I'm put together. But the good news is if you are a natural-born pessimist, you definitely, emphatically, positively can change. You are a pessimist by choice because you are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind. You can change what you are; you can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.
Anyway, on the day before you go on vacation you not only get to work on time, you are a little early, and you immediately get started. You don't stand around and say, "Well, I wonder what I ought to do now." You can't wait to get after it. You want to do the right thing, so you get started in a big hurry. You are enthusiastic about it. You are highly motivated. You decisively move from one task to another.
Now, I am going to camp on this one for just a moment. Have you noticed that as a general rule, people who have nothing to do want to do it with you? It's true, isn't it? Now, on this day before vacation, when you finish one task, you move with purpose to another one. And people just will not block you for that two-minute gossip session or four-minute or five-minute or six-minute chat. I am absolutely convinced and have no doubt about it that the listener has more to do with gossiping than the speaker does because if you don't listen, nobody is going to gossip to you. They just won't.
When you move with purpose, people will step aside and let you go. I will absolutely guarantee that you will save a minimum of an hour a day in two-, three-, five-minute spurts of time. An hour a day is five hours per week is 250 hours per year. That is six weeks of your life that you've wasted and six weeks of combined time that you have wasted with people who have been gossiping with you. What could you do with six extra weeks every year?
Focus on the issue at hand. Discipline yourself to stay with it until you finish. Cybil Stanton gave me the best definition of discipline I have ever read in her book The Twenty Five Hour Woman: "Discipline isn't on your back needling you with imperatives. It is at your side encouraging you with incentives."
Treat every day like it's the day before vacation, and you will get more work done!

MARKETING AND PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS THE SIMPLE WAY.

As a business owner you will be aware that there are two sides to the success of your business. The first, of course, is that you need to be offering a killer product or service that people will want to purchase or use. The second is that potential clients and customers need to be able to find your service or product at a time when it might be useful to them - this is where a solid marketing strategy comes in.
The Simple Way to Market Your Start-Up
To ensure that your business has high visibility to those within the market that you are targeting, there are a number of simple marketing steps that you can take. Marketing strategies should encompass both on and offline platforms and should seek to capitalize on potential customers or clients. Tactics that you may wish to consider when marketing your business include:
•Creating a Media Buzz: If you want people to know about your business then there is no better way to get noticed than to be the focus of media attention. Think about what is unique, interesting or unusual about the product or service you offer and create press releases explaining this in an engaging and exciting fashion for distribution to print and broadcast press outlets as well as to the trade media. Remember that for a press release to be picked up there needs to be something unique about what you are saying or offering so try and use a bit of imagination when putting releases together.
•Engaging the Online Community: The internet is an essential part of any marketing effort and you will need a cohesive online marketing strategy to succeed in the marketplace. You will need an enticing website, as well as a credible online presence through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Create social media profiles for your company and ensure that you are active in communities that relate to your business. Think about blogging on topics that are interesting to your customers.
•Cultivating Real Life Contacts: While building business in cyber space is a great idea, there is still a lot to be said for meeting people face to face as a means of business marketing. Join a Chamber of Commerce or business network and attend trade shows and conferences. Think about offering people a promotional keepsake from your company to keep you top-of-mind after the initial contact, items from pens to branded USB flash drives can be given away as a marketing reminder.
•Capitalize on Customers: One marketing trick that is often missed by new businesses is the opportunity to continue to sell to those who have previously used their product/service. Keep up-to-date databases of client details and use these to send out marketing messages such as newsletters and offer to keep customers coming back for more.
•Become a Life-Long Learner: In today's fast changing economy, keeping your skills razor sharp is essential for business owners and home-based businesses. Gain the knowledge & expertise to leverage changing marketing trends to acquire new customers.

HOW HARD SHOULD YOU WORK?

For years, there’s been a drum-beat on the internet and
among coaches that we should work less and make more. The
theory is that by being smarter and more efficient, we
should make more sales, and have more profit for every hour
we work.
I like the theory. I’m not sure it’s that simple.
The reality is that the those who work hardest often seem to
make the most money. Beyond that, it seems to me that the
world actually prefers LOW prices, and that Sam Walton
(founder of Walmart) did alright by lowering prices and
making a bit LESS on every sale.
Now, obviously, we all want to be efficient, and we all
think we’re just a bit smarter than the next competitor. We
are all looking for an edge to get ahead, and I think that's
a good thing and I hope it never changes. But I also think
there is an obvious edge we tend to over-look.
Customers actually LIKE businesses that go the extra mile!
They PREFER companies that answer their phone. They do
business with people who give SUPERIOR service, and who seem
to care about customer satisfaction -- actually, I like
companies that refuse to "satisfy" me and seem determined to
AMAZE me! And all of that requires hard, hard work.
Here’s an old secret of success: focus on the life-time
value of a loyal customer. Focus on the value of a customer
who sees him- or herself as your partner, rather than as
just a shopper. When your customers refuse to deal with
anyone else, your fortune is assured. How hard should you
work? About that hard.