4
February
2009
If you played baseball, do you remember getting into a batting slump and not being able to get a hit? It is going to happen and it happens to professional baseball players too. What sports professionals do to get out of a slump is the same thing we must do if we want to get out of a sales slump.
Perfect Practice and Focus
A baseball player who wants to improve hitting will spend time in the batting cage to hit more baseballs. While he or she is in the batting cage, a batting coach will watch and critique the swing of each bat. With technology, they can film the swing with slow motion actions to break down the swing. When the batting coach or batting experts can do this, they can analyze small details of how the batter swings at the ball.
The goal of batting practice is to correct the small details. Anything and everything that will improve the batters swing at the plate. The batter might be taking their eye off the ball as it streaks across the plate. The batter might be dropping their elbow as the ball approaches. It could be a leaning back and way from the ball instead of leaning into the ball. All of these small details can be corrected to improve the results.
If the batter is in a slump because they got away from the fundamentals, the player must retrain their body and approach so they return to the form that gets results. The perfection of practicing each move will get the results they want. This improvement strategy is the same in selling.
Practice and Perfect Your Selling Process and Approach
When a salesperson gets out of rhythm in selling and is not following a proven selling process, they can quickly get into a sales slump and not know why. Their confidence level will drop and the salesperson will begin questioning themselves. When this happens, salespeople need to re-focus on the fundamentals of the selling process. A selling coach can help in determining what is wrong. If you are able to record what you are saying on sales calls or the telephone so you can play back your words, you might discover simple ways to improve selling techniques. You might even hear it in your voice.
When I am on fire with selling, it is like a baseball player who is in a hitting streak. When this happens to you, you don’t want to change anything and you look forward to stepping up to the plate so you can repeat your actions. Your confidence will rise and it creates an unfair advantage of sorts against the pitcher. You will expect to hit the ball out of the park each time.
If we are talking about selling, your prospects will sense your confidence from your voice. Prospects will close themselves because they want what you have. I know from experience that when I have a high confidence level in what I’m selling and I have an expectation of closing business with my prospect, the closing is simplified. Following a proven selling process is also fundamental to success. I know when and where I am in the selling process of a prospect. When you have confidence in your selling process, you are one up on your prospects.
By Steve Martinez – the Sales Magician for Business Development
http://www.sellingmagic.com
sellingmagic 
Sales Development, Sales Lesson 
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31
January
2009
How to sell Bob, Chris, Taylor and Apple in the Future
Selling to a diverse group of people isn’t easy. This is particularly true when the groups are separated by generational differences and perspectives. I have a brother for example that refuses to join Facebook and I guess that I should be happy he has a telephone. My mother won’t join twitter and my grand daughter is too young to have a Facebook account. People prefer to communicate differently and we must adapt to this. It is critical that you understand the dynamics of who you want to sell to and how to sell them with the right marketing strategy and sales tactics. Let us examine a few common differences and think about how we can better reach each person on an individual basis.
Bob – the 70 year retired Plumber
Reading the paper and watching TV is how Bob gets his news. If you want to connect with Bob, you better use the paper and the telephone book or pay for an evening news ad on TV. A good recommendation from a friend is the best source for getting Bob’s business. If you try to send Bob an email, you are wasting your time and an internet connection is going to remain dormant in the house. Bob doesn’t understand where the traditional values went and likes to pay for everything with cash or by check. The best way to reach Bob is with a personal letter or note.
Chris – the 50 year old Fireman
As far as Chris is concerned, the Internet is a confusing contraption that crept into his world to show him just how old he is. The computer revolution began just as Chris was entering the workforce so he had to adapt, just not willingly. Chris uses the computer as a requirement and prefers the older methods of communication. Chris has watched his children adapt and grow with computers but would rather watch TV and read the newspaper. He tolerates the computer to connect with some of his friends and has slowly migrated to using Facebook so he knows what his family is doing. However, Bob will use the computer to research and find information and thinks of it as a tool to gather information.
Taylor – the 30 year old career woman
The world according to Taylor is connected through the computer and social networks. To some degree, if something isn’t connected to the internet, it is outdated. Taylor grew up with the cell phone and instant messaging. Taylor believes the best way to stay connected with friends is through Facebook YouTube and LinkedIn. When Taylor wants to purchase something, her network of friends and connections will influence the decision of what to buy. Taylor thinks that subscribing to a newspaper or using the telephone book is what old folks do because everything is on the Internet. Taylor likes to hang out with her friends socially at places like Starbucks and reads her friends posts and blogs. Taylor likes to experience life with a global perspective. Taylor rarely pays by cash or check and does most everything by credit card and frequently online.
Apple – the 12 year old student
The computer and the internet has always been part of Apple’s life. She doesn’t know anything different. However, the grounding of traditional values is refreshing to Apple and she has grown to appreciate life’s simple moments. Taylor has been taught about and is aware of the predatory nature the Internet can have and is balanced in her use of it as a tool. The multi-media world for Taylor is easy to adapt to and it seems like she was wired for technology with built in filters to make sense of how to use technology and still remain human to others. Apple has a high conscious level and value for nature, energy with the environment. These values are very important to her and impact her purchase decisions even if they are for a 12 year old.
I hope you see how these people are different and how they see the world from different perspectives. Because of this diversity, we can’t afford to approach everyone with the same ideals and marketing methods. It just won’t work and we must adapt to a personalize approach to increase the response we are looking for.
Personalized Marketing is Possible
Fortunately, the marketing and printing world has adapted and there are new ways to personalize everything and anything. The internet can become the best tool to reach certain clients and it can also be the worst way to reach others. We need to learn how to mix and match the right method of communications to reach each of our market segments individually.
Purls or Personal URL’s is one way to reach a mixed market. This involves using personalized postcards and personalized mailers to increase response rates. The concept is simple. People are attracted to and respond to a personal, old fashioned direct mail that directs them to a personal website. When you receive one of these, you are almost drawn like a magnet to the website, because it is personalized and it appeals to everyone, young and old.
The level of sophistication for these personal mailing is endless. For example, you can develop a target specific marketing message for Chris the Fireman if you put a fire truck on the cover of the mailer and use Fire fighting jargon. To reach Bob, a pipe wrench on the cover will appeal to his memory and invite an impactful response.
I hope you see how personalized, targeted mailings are a requirement for reaching a diverse market. When you want to increase the success of your marketing dollars, the best place to start is with a savvy business printer. Look for a company that knows how to leverage data and digital printing to reach your target market audience. The individual cost per piece will be higher. However, the response rates will be so much higher with personalization that you can reduce the number of pieces sent while you create a value proposition that actually makes personalization a value.
Test the Power of Personalization and Multi Media
One of the best ways of working with a business printer is to test market a few campaigns and see what works best. Because you can often measure the response rates by the consumer actions, you will know what works. Your business printer should be able to create different versions of your marketing mailings so you can determine what works best. Testing is important.
If you are trying to reach Taylor the career woman, you should try using appropriate images on the cover to attract her attention. You would do this instead of putting a golf club on the cover for Bob who enjoys playing golf. Changing the images for each target marketing group can have a dramatic impact on your results.
Using multi-media is also a key to success. When you can orchestrate a marketing campaign that has variable images to target each target market and uses different copy for each group and also blends email campaigns, and video with direct mail – you have a wining combination.
We aren’t done yet. Imagine adding the power of social networking to achieve your goal with Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and LinkedIn so you are reaching all the socially connected individuals. You could drive all your interested traffic with PURLs and your messages to a web page that closes the contacts with unique offers or video offers. Yes, this is how marketing has changed and it isn’t just the future – is how we expect to be reached. This is certainly how the youngest of our group, Apple, expects to be treated in the future.
By Steve Martinez, Your Sales Magician for Business Development.
http://www.sellingmagic.com and http://www.thegameofselling.com
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13
January
2009
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If you like fresh orange juice in the morning, join me on a morning walk. I live in California and hike to an orange grove. I will search for and select the juiciest orange I can find. Savoring the explosion of taste from a fresh, ripe navel orange is almost a religious experience. I’m not breaking any laws because my community allows this. During the harvest season, I enjoy this morning treat for weeks because oranges ripen at different times. If I visit the orange grove every morning, I will savor ripe oranges for months. The grove is large, so I can explore it to find the perfect, juiciest oranges from the best trees.
When you think about it, it is the same as a field of prospects. There are thousands, maybe millions of prospects out there. Somewhere, someone is ripening for your product or service. If you’re there, you can pick it and savor the bounty of a sale.
7 Steps To Prevent Spoiled Sales:
One of the sad parts of my hike is to see spoiled oranges on the ground. It is the same with my sales territory. If I’m not around when a prospect is ripe for my services, the opportunity will spoil. Worse yet, my competition will capture the sale. Here are some tips to prevent this.
• Visit the grove of prospects regularly and contact every tree for ripe opportunities.
• Increase your contact activity so prospects remember who you are and be consistent.
• Use more than one method of contact. Use the telephone, personal visits, letters and emails to capture the attention of prospects. They may contact you when they are ready.
• Learn the traits of a ripe prospect or someone close to being ripe. The best way is through key questions and asking for the order. They won’t buy if you don’t ask.
• Explore the depth of the grove and profile the best prospects to know when the best fruit will ripen. Measure the characteristics, so you can maximize your prospecting time.
• Develop a system that reminds you when to go back to the ripening fruit tree of sales.
• Finally, automate your selling system so it does most of this work for you.
When you follow these 7 tips, you reap the rewards of the tantalizing fruit of your efforts.
By Steve Martinez - the Sales Magician for Business Development
www.sellingmagic.com (951) 277-0080
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12
January
2009
We can learn a lot from professional and college sports. In both cases the objective is to develop a winning team that will achieve the ultimate goal of a national or world championship. When I have a favorite team, it makes the games more fun to watch. I love it when the stronger team loses and the more spirited team takes advantage of opportunities that develop. There could be a bad call, a fumbled opportunity or a lucky break that shifts momentum in the game.
In most cases the development of a championship team takes years and sometimes decades for the team to reach peak performance. In team sports it starts with the recruitment of players who will fill strategic positions. Building a winning team requires years of planning, coaching and time to nurture and develop. The successful teams start with a dream to reach the goal and take the first step.
Where to Start
I want you think about where you are today business. Are you building your future – strategically, dynamically with a long term plan? If you can’t look at a single piece of paper that has your business, sales or marketing plan, it isn’t too late. You can start today. The Chinese have a proverb for this:
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
The second best time is today.”
The To Do List
The best time to set your daily goals was yesterday. If you don’t have a plan, start a daily to do list of the things you need to accomplish today. Having a daily list of goals is where winners start their day.
The Business Plan
Three months ago was the best time to write your business plan. The second best time is today. If you want to be a winner, you need a business plan with sales and marketing strategies and tactics outlined. Just like in sports, there will be times when you must adjust your game plan, make the adjustments.
Blogging Plan
The best time for starting a blog was in 2005, the second best time is today. Blogging could be the business building tool you need that gives you two way communication with your customers and prospects. Having two way communications with clients is changing the way business is done. What are you waiting for if you don’t engage in social networking?
Sales Pipeline Plan
The best time to start a sales pipeline was last year. The second best time is today. It takes time for prospects to develop and you must plant the seeds and nurture the relationships. When you have a plan of action that performs these activities, you will convert more prospects into clients.
Referral Process Plan
The best time to start a referral process was 3 months ago. The second best time is today. Getting referrals is one of the best ways to retain and maintain clients and develop new ones. It takes more time and expense to create new accounts than if you have a referral process in your business. If you don’t have a plan, what are you waiting for?
If you find yourself at a point where you wish you coulda, shoulda but didn’t. Now is the time to take action. It is the winning teams that take action and the losing teams that wish they coulda, shouda. What do you want to be? Take the first steps to become a winner.
By Steve Martinez, the Sales Magician for Business Development http://www.sellingmagic.com
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9
January
2009
The journey this week is what I call, a fire extinguisher week because when I’m focused, excited and hot with activity I need a fire extinguisher around me to quench the flames. I hope you get the picture I’m painting. Just be sure to add a giant smile on my face.
It is Friday and I’m sorry the week is coming to a close. This might be a little foreign to some people. I really enjoy what I do and this has been a particularly great week. I call this a fire extinguisher week because I’m very busy coaching and sharing information that can help others. I feel like I’m on fire – a good thing. What is particularly nice is being a business owner with an opportunity to live my dream.
I know that when I help others achieve what they want, they will help me achieve my goals with new business and profits. The important point here is to focus on helping my clients reach success first.
I have been reading “The Secret”, a best selling book on how you attract what you want in life and stay positive. I am also reading Jeffery Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. Additionally, I have spent time in my Bible and made time for quiet meditation. I also spend time reading blogs from my friends and look for the positive things in the news.
When I nourish myself with empowering thoughts and exercise my positive attitude with a focus on helping others, life is great. Sure, there is bad news out there and some people believe we are in a recession. I just don’t want to participate and I like living a positive life.
One of the particularly interesting results of being positive is that it attracts business like a magnet. Let’s face it; nobody wants to do business with a loser or a negative person. We want to do business with successful people and companies with a positive outlook.
Be the Bright Reflection
Have you looked in the mirror lately? A mirror is one instrument that reflects what everyone else see’s. If you haven’t taken a good look lately, take a cleaning cloth to the mirror and dust off the grime that might be on the surface so you can get a clear reflection of YOU. You want to see what image you are projecting to those around you.
We live a life of attraction and if we are positive about life, good things happen. Good things happen when things are bad and we are positive. Yes, the world is in turmoil and we can’t control what happens outside our sphere of influence. I can and will do what I can to make a difference and I invite you to join me in making a positive impact on others today. There are a lot of folks out there that need a positive person in their life. Be that person and good things will happen as a matter of reflection.
What will you do today that will make a difference?
By: Steve Martinez, the Sales Magician for Business Development
http://www.sellingmagic.com 951-277-0080
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8
January
2009
This is advice and insight on how to hire a superstar salesperson. We go through the qualifications you should look for in a salesperson. We compare this list to that of buying a car so we can take the emotion out of the decision.
Depending on your type of business, you will learn what to look for and how to measure the selling skills of an ideal canidate.
Related links:
http://www.sellingmagic.com = website
http://www.sellingmagic.com/sales_journal = Blog
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4
January
2009
We can’t sell everyone. It would be nice, it’s just realistic. Here is a fun story about three people you might know. One is a business owner, another is a salesperson and the third is a sales manager.
We will talk about Bob, Kim and Chis in this episode of a sales tale. For more information on this story from a blog post, go to: http://www.sellingmagic.com/sales_journal
Thank You,
Steve Martinez
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3
January
2009
If you could sell like a farmer, would you increase your sales? We talk about how this strategy can be applied to your business and make selling somewhat automated in your business.
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9
December
2008
How to Hire the Perfect Salesperson
By Steve Martinez, your sales magician for business development.
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Wouldn’t it be great to find the perfect salesperson and hire them with a long term contract like a marriage? If you are like me, and I’m someone who has worked with a lot of salespeople over the years, you would have a list of qualifications before you hire anyone.
I compare the assignment of hiring a salesperson to looking for a wife. Since I’m a guy, there are certain characteristics that the ideal candidate must have and some of the items on the list are not as important. For example, a few decades ago, it was important for a prospective wife to know how to cook traditional Mexican food and clean and Iron. While this might have been high on the list, it isn’t important today given the amount of pre prepared food and house cleaning companies available. This is similar to how a salespersons criterion has changed and believe it or not, some selling skills are not as important as they were a few decades ago.
Over the years the importance of having a charming, handsome or attractive, sweet talking sales person representing you has lessened. The reason is that there are fewer opportunities for sales people to interact with clients both in person and over the telephone. Here are important trends to consider when hiring the perfect salesperson.
- The Internet has assumed the most important role of communicating new information to clients. When a prospect is interested in finding a solution to a problem, the client will Google search for it on-line and be pro-active instead of waiting for a salesperson to call. This means that the educational aspects of selling have diminished in many industries.
- Consultative selling does not require a sweet talking person. What is required is a salesperson that can ask good questions, listen attentively and determine the best solution for a client and follow-up with the proposal in a timely manner.
- Cold calling? Who does it anymore? One of the best ways to find new business is using information on-line and checking out your social network for recommendations. I’m seeing this more and more and if you aren’t using online information, you are missing opportunities. The goal is to increase your web foot print on line, so you get found.
The criteria that I forecast as important for a new generation or Web 2.0 salesperson is someone who understands the power of connections and can take advantage of sales automation. These qualifications would include how they are able to quickly articulate online with prospects and use social networking to build contacts. The ability to work like a detective, searching online, identifying and reaching target prospects is better than charm, good looks and a nice personality.
Well, that is my spin on hiring the perfect salesperson. Do you agree? Please share your comments and tell me what the biggest waste of time that salespeople do that can be done by technology or sales automation? Sellingmagic.com
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4
December
2008
By Steve Martinez – Your Sales Magician for Business Development
Don’t tell my you don’t have time to learn more about your clients and develop accounts. You have the perfect tools for this in your office. You just have to know how to use them.
Today, I held an interview with a new client to learn more about them. The interview was performed over the telephone because we are three thousand miles apart. The goal of this interview was to learn as much as possible about my client. Whenever I do this, I have to bite my tongue and count in my head – one – two – three – four, before I allow myself to interrupt the conversation. The temptation to talk and share is very strong and I will want to interject comments as they open up. If I listen, really focused listening, I will gain valuable insight about them and what their goals are.
TIPS FOR A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
- Schedule a specific appointment time for the telephone interview.
- Be prepared with 30 open ended questions to start the conversation.
- Don’t interrupt the client and count 4 seconds before talking.
- Pretend you are a reporter who wants to know every detail with clarity.
Because I do these interviews over the telephone and not in person, I must listen to every word they use to describe themselves and their goals. I will usually lock my office door and make sure that I’m not disturbed and I ask them to do the same. I can be thousands of miles away and I will learn more about them in an hour than I can if I sat across from them at lunch.
I prepare for this telephone interview with about 30 open ended questions and I document the answers as clearly as I can. If I don’t understand something, I ask follow-up questions for clarity. The questions are just a guide for the conversation and it is ok if the conversation stray off subject. I try to balance the conversation so they talk 80% of the time. At the end of the hour, you will know more about the client and they will have enjoyed a unique experience. You will have demonstrated sincere interest and empathy by simply listening.
Try it, it works and you will be surprised at how much you can learn by just listening and how powerful a telephone interview can be to develop relationships with out leaving your office.
Steve Martinez
http://www.sellingmagic.com
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