This morning (Monday, September 24, 2007) I started my day as I always do; going straight to the sports section of the NY Times. Attached to the front page was a flap the length of the paper and about 1/3 wide. It had the NBC logo with the words “Tonight 9pm”. Pulling the flap to the side, you saw the entire line-up for the first night of the new season for NBC.

What a great idea! NBC decided to hit its target market, sports fans, in a way they have never been hit before; being forced to view their line-up before reading the information they were after. It was great positioning. They found a way to get through the clutter. They have differentiated themselves. Don’t you as a sales executive struggle with this on a daily basis?

But wait, it gets better! After finishing the Sports section, I now turned to the second section I read on a daily basis, the Business Section. It too had the same flap. Then I looked at all the sections and realized they all had the flap. NBC was targeting everyone. Every area of interest had the line-up for tonight’s shows. They have blanketed their market with the message to ensure no matter where you went in the NY Times, you saw their line-up.

What I don´t know is if NBC did this with all the newspapers in NY; or any where else in the nation. But listen, it got my attention. It worked. And now I am telling you about it so if you did not see the same thing in your newspaper where you live, you now know about it.

How would you like to have this word of mouth advertising? Well, it too can happen to you. All you have to do is follow these 7 simple steps:

1. Make It Unique—sales people are always doing the same things to the same people. Everyone is talking about the same features. What can you do to spice up your message and make it different? How can you create a flap that will get your customer´s attention? The answer lies not in your features, but the outcomes you offer. Tell people what they will get in terms of results from working with you. Differentiate yourself from the same old tired remarks on why you are so good. What is it going to do for me, the customer? You want to make it so unique that people like me will shout out to the world what you are doing. That’s how you get word of mouth advertising.
2. Make It Simple—sales people tend to get cutesy about how they describe what it is they do. Simplicity sells. Complexity stiffens. Make it easy for people to understand and buy. NBC made it simple—pull the flap, see the schedule and move on.
3. Blanket Your Market—sales people in general do not have enough activity supporting their sales goals. The magic is in the mix. You need to make enough phone calls and on-site visits to support your percentage in terms of closed deals. You need to constantly be in contact with your market via newsletters and other venues to keep them up to speed on what’s happening in the market. Sales are all about timing. You want to be top of mind when the need arises for your customer. NBC was top of mind throughout the entire readership of the NY Times. Are you blanketing your market with your sales coverage?
4. Break Through The Clutter—Besides being unique, you need to change the way you think. A sales executive I was coaching could not get through to the president of a company he was trying to sell. I told him to look up the web site. Make a color copy of the home page. Overnight it to the customer with a letter as to why you are the one who is going to help him keep his advertised promise to his customers. The letter was read, he got the appointment and today he is the leading supplier. This approach was different from making a call or sending out a brochure. What are you doing to break through the clutter?
5. Make It Visually Exciting—NBC’s flap was colorful. It was striking. How striking and colorful are your conversations with your customers? Are you talking about them (which is of more interest to the customer) or are you talking about yourself? Are you using action words to paint a visual picture of how things are going to be better by using your products and services? Are you creating an exciting picture with your words and written materials that stops people in their tracks and make them look and say WOW!!!
6. Less Is More—There was a lot of empty space on both sides of the Flap. You saw NBC, the logo, and Tonight’s Line-up on the front. On the back, you simply saw the line-up. There were no added words that took away from the simple message NBC was trying to communicate. Are you keeping your message to the point?
7. What Is Your Point?—Many times I hear sales people going off on tangents or telling stories that have no point. You need to take your customers down a road that is logical and leads to a point you are trying to make. Obviously, the ultimate destination is the sale. But you won’t reach that destination if you don’t clearly communicate your points. Expecting the customers to understand your points through their own translation is a dangerous game to play.

Kudos´s to NBC Marketing. While marketing and sales are not the same discipline, sales people can always gain valuable lessons from other disciplines.  

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Do you know when to hold ‘Em and when to fold ‘Em? Poker players of all skill levels are flocking to Poker Boot Camps to make sure they have the upper hand when they are gambling with their hard earned money. These 2-3 day boot camps are held in groups of 60 or less by two academies, including one run by the World Series of Poker. The cost ranges from $1,695 to $4,300.

What does this have to do with you? Everything! Like poker players, you are playing with your earnings when it comes to sales. You need to stay on top of your game and make sure you take advantage of every move possible to beat out the competition. You want to make sure you are the one taking the chips off the table.

Whether you have been in sales a long time and simply want to hone your skills or you want to acquire new skills, come to the Titan Sales Boot Camp . It is cheaper than a poker boot camp And it produces results faster, helps you make more money and is less risky. A few seats remain for our last Titan Sales Boot Camp in 2007 - Oct 29/30. Sign up today !!!

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Making mistakes are part of life. Learning from mistakes and not repeating them is what separates successful people from wannabe´s. Take Tom Coughlin, head coach of the NY Giants football team. Known as a stern and harsh coach, he decided to change his ways. While his previous approach served him well in the past, it has led to failure in the present. Most players today will not respond to stern discipline alone. Ask Tiki Barber, NY Giants star running back who retired last year in his prime. While a budding television career and lack of passion were part of his reason for quitting, so was his relationship with Coach Coughlin.

Tim Mara, co-owner of the Giants, urged Coughlin to allow more of his “real self” to show; an approachable person with a good sense of humor. He was urged not to lead so much with an iron fist. In training camp, he did this. Players no longer had to wear pads for both practices each day. One day, he put them all on a bus and went bowling. He no longer snipes at reporters. You may ask if this going to pay off with better results? That is still to be determined as the season is about to start. However, Coach Coughlin knew something different had to be done. As he said, “It is not about saving one´s job. It is about learning from your mistakes and trying new things to achieve different results”.

In managing sales people, I always looked for the ones who were making mistakes. I valued them more than the ones who never made mistakes. Those who never made mistakes tended to be the one’s who weren´t willing to try new things. They stayed within their comfort zone. For the one’s who did make mistakes, what I looked for was to see if they learned from their mistakes. They typically out performed those who did not learn from their mistakes or never made any.

Most bosses will accept errors of commission. It shows your willingness to do things “outside of the box”. It is errors of omission that could put you in hot water with them. What type of mistakes are you making? Take the time to reflect on this. Doing the same thing over and over will only produce the same results. Analyzing what is working and not working, and coming up with different strategies will turn your mistakes into gold.

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There are certain phrases you have heard in your life that have stuck in the forefront of your consciousness. One such phrase for me is “Staying In Communication”. It is a phrase that a colleague Paul Dominguez has drilled into my mind over and over again. Communication is the single, most important attribute one can refer to as the reason for any success or failure in business. Increasing sales and revenues is a direct result of staying in communication. Here are 3 situations in which staying in communication is critical:

1. Timing: Nido Qubein, Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Co. and President of Highpoint University, claims communication is the key to success. Everyday he reaches out to 4 people whom he wishes to keep in contact with. Usually, it is with hand written notes. It can be with a phone call. Either way, he is always communicating and staying in touch with dozens of people every month.Whether you are sending a thank you note or an article of interest, you need to stay in front of your customers, colleagues and people of influence. Timing is everything in sales. Staying in front of your market allows them to think of you when the time comes to make a purchase for products and services you sell.
2. Breaking a Slump: When things go wrong there is a natural tendency to withdraw. Problems are very often overblown by your own mind. By reaching out and talking to others, you may well realize that things are not as bad as you think. You could also gain insight on potential solutions to your problems. Either way, staying in touch with others is essential to breaking a slump.
3. Rewards and Recognition: There is no greater feeling than when someone hears positive comments about their performance. Recognition is the number 1 motivational tool out there. It even trumps money. While money is important to many people, it is purely a form of recognition. Reach out and tell people how well they are doing. You can even congratulate your customers when they do business with you. Imagine receiving a note that says “congratulations on your decision to….”.

The more you stay in communication, the more successful you will be.

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Have you been victimized by a Sample Bandit lately? Sample bandits are the prospects that are always asking for demonstrations, samples and quotes yet never buy from you. The important thing to remember is: you cannot be victimized by these bandits if you are not a willing participant. You can control who wastes your time and who doesn´t.

Not every request for a quote, sample and demonstration will result in a sale. On the other hand, not everyone is a sample bandit. How do you figure out who is wasting your time and who isn´t?

The secret is in your ability to qualify the prospect.

There are several issues that need to be qualified before you agree to generate a quote, sample, etc. When you consider how much time it takes you to generate a quote, send a sample or give a demonstration and multiply this time by the number that did not result in business, you will be amazed at how much time you have wasted over the period of a year. Giving samples, generating quotes and providing demonstrations are not bad for business, just only do this for qualified prospects and not with everyone you meet. Time is a precious commodity. The more time you spend with qualified prospects, the more you can expect to sell and earn.

What qualifies a prospect to receive a sample, quote and/or demonstration?

• Timing—You have heard the famous expression that timing is everything in life. It is so true in sales. No matter how good your product/service is, even if the price is great, if the timing is not right, the sale is not happening.

  Sometimes, pricing or a good argument can nudge the time frame up a little bit. Find out when the sale is expected to happen. If the deal is not expected to happen for a couple of months, wait to generate a quote.

  If you feel there is a chance to motivate the buyer to do the dealer sooner, make sure your value proposition is strong enough to motivate the change in timing.

• Disqualification— Often customers will use your samples, quotes and demonstrations as a method of disqualification. Make sure your samples, quotes and demonstrations are being used for the right purposes and not as a tactic for knocking you out of the game.
• Justification—Customers will sometimes request quotes from a certain number of vendors just to show they have looked at several choices, even when they know who they want to work with. Don´t allow yourself to be a justification! Some sales execs go forward in the belief that any quote allows them to get a foot in the door. You get a foot in the door by doing the right qualification and needs analysis followed by a strong value proposition. The concept of handing in quotes, samples and doing demonstrations does very little to strengthen your position without a properly qualified customer.
• Positioning—Many sales execs go out of their way to time their presentation. They try to be the last demonstration so they can have the final word and last source of impact. This is a good strategy. However, you still need to do the proper due diligence to succeed in your positioning.
• Numbers Game—-Some sales reps act like a high speed quote and sample machine because they are followers of the old maxim that sales is a numbers game. Sales is a numbers game—-the more qualified accounts you deal with, the more sales you will generate. Quotes and samples do not constitute a justifiable numbers strategy without the proper due diligence.

If a customer does not have a qualified situation that will justify your investment of time and resources, move on to the next prospect. Every minute and dollar you spend is not retrievable, once spent it is lost forever. Only you have control over your time and money. Don´t let anyone else spend it. Protect it and only give it to the people who deserve it. Self discipline in this area is crucial to your sales success. Otherwise, the Sample Bandits are waiting and will pounce on you the moment you show up. They will bleed you of all the time and money you have.

It’s time to say “NO” to the Sample Bandits!!!

Do you want to avoid being a victim of the Sample Bandits? Learn how to qualify accounts better and close more sales. Reserve your seat today in the next Titan Sales Boot Camp.

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