I have been involved in the sales & marketing industry for more than twenty years. Even today it continues to amazes me that most, and yes, I mean most salespeople tend to work H A R D E R rather than work S M A R T E R. Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It’s incorrect . . . it’s more like 90/10! What a mystery.
Type #1: The successful salesperson
Type #2: The average salesperson
Type #3: The unsuccessful salesperson
Regarding the salesperson’s energy/activity, here is an interesting fact: it takes the same amount of energy and activity for a salesperson to rise from average to successful as it does to sink from average to unsuccessful. It’s the type of activity and energy that makes the difference. An example: often I ask my student salespeople to do “mirror checks.” “Look in the mirror and ask yourself: is what I am doing right now the correct activity? Is it producing revenue, now or in the immediate future? Am I working hard . . . or working smart?” Working hard takes the same amount of output as working smart. If you are working hard, make changes in your activity and attitude and watch as new doors will open.
As it pertains to working S M A R T, there are many facets or methods that salespeople can follow. Most find themselves in chaos because they know how to sell and at the same time don’t know how to market or brand themselves. Great sales skills without the marketing muscle. This equates to working H A R D!
From salespeople just starting out to old hats who have been around the block a time or two – take note: here is a sure fire Work SalesSmart method to follow that will bring organized success and more revenue to the table. If you venture down this path, you’ll be a producer of this method, not an excuser. This will initially take some work, in some cases maybe only a few days of preparation! But the best news is, once you’re finished, your marketing muscle is in place and your can focus your time and energy to bigger and better clients.
1. Develop Your Personal Database
Create a database. In most sales related industries, new students start out within their very own warm market. After they have completed their first 100 names, I ask them to go after their second one hundred. Students are asked to drink plenty of filtered water before bed and keep a legal pad and pen on the night stand. It never fails, as they will always wake up in the middle of the night and remember names that they had not thought of otherwise. Additionally, when they data dump 100 names out of their head, another 100 will usually refill the void within the next 24-48 hours.
Do I expect my sales students to sell products to all 200 names in the database? Absolutely not! However, we want to turn all 200 into our sales advocates or sales deputies. And that’s not all. Most salespeople fall flat on their faces when it comes to adding to their own database. Prevention comes in the form of Chuck’s “One-A-Day Program.” I encourage all my sales students to personally add one name each business day to their database. That’s over 200 names per year added! What if they added two or even three a day? Get my drift?
Once the 200 is complete, then the next task is to database all pertinent data. My personal database includes the following fields:
I get asked this question all the time: “What do I do if I don’t have all that information?” CALL THEM and ask for it! Is this too much to do? No. Remember: once this forms into a habit, the sales student will never look back. But it does take time to turn this method into a daily habit. This is where many can create distinctions over their competitors – powerful database management skills.
Professional Pointer:
Call each client and wish them a Happy Birthday via a phone call versus sending a card – or you could do both!
2. Create Marketing Muscle With SalesMastery Tools
You must create a “tool box” of available tools to complete and be ready at a moments notice depending on the client or situation. In most cases, your SalesMastery Tools will deliver your information to a client from a second or third party platform – always more influential than a first party delivery.
Personal Business Websites (PBW):
PBW’s are highly under utilized in the sales industry. A few reasons is that many sales people have had a negative experience in setting up a basic website that did not do any good. Or, they have a dynamic website without marketing muscle behind it. Or, a web developer designed and produced the site without the benefit of sales/marketing and graphic design put into the mix. Your PBW needs to move beyond the business card website and your creation team needs to design the site around “drawing” clients to the site. You must give them a reason to show up and use your PBW.
Professional Pointer:
Make sure your website address is included on all marketing materials.
Business Cards:
Create a card or design that people will always remember. Jeffrey Gitomer once said that “the sign of a good business card is one that gets passed along to another person!” Be careful with placing designations on your cards, as those are customarily useful with those on the inside of your industry. Too many designations might come off as pretentious. Should you use your photo on your card? Yes, only if you use it as part of your overall branding/marketing plan. Avoid using glamour shots unless you look like that all the time.
Main Point Cards:
Main Point Cards are one of my favorite tools. They are the same size as a post card and are designed with your name, website URL, product and services on one side and on the flip side is a section describing why a person might want to use your services. I hand mine out at every event that I attend. PLUS, I add a main point card to every personal bill that I pay by check, or add one to my deposit envelope when I make a bank deposit. That’s not all; a main point card is added to every thank you card I send out. Make sure to keep plenty of these in your computer bag, portfolio and in your vehicle.
Professional Pointer:
Main Point Cards only make you money when there are not sitting in your mind as an idea. Get them made and hand them out!
Promotional Flyer:
An 8 ½ X 11 sheet of colorful paper, this tool should be a condensed version of your website. I encourage my sales students to place heavy emphasis on their personal and professional distinctions. It should include their picture as well as an offering such as a coupon or invitation for free information.
Press Release:
Used primarily as a tool for special announcements, etc. and more formal than a flyer, this is another great tool used to passively aggressively “drip” on clients and keep information in front of them. Keep in mind that most press releases are boring so try using your own creative ideas to “spruce” them up a bit. Press releases are highly effective when shared with media outlets & professional agencies.
Tri-Fold’s:
A great tool – midway between your PBW and your promotional flyer. Because of space limitations, you’ll need to compress information and use bullet points on most of your text. Make sure to use graphics and enough white space to make your brochure appealing and smart looking. Many brochures I have reviewed have been text intensive with too much information. Again, consider a free offer in exchange for a gift.
Media Kit:
A properly designed Media Kit will help you with the client who is extremely busy and would not take the time to look over your PBW. Should be 4-5 total pages in length, add graphics, organization and once again promote a free offering of something. You can turn your media kit into a PDF file and provide a direct link on your PBW or keep it in its own file that you could e-mail to a client.
Faxed Material:
Yes, there are still clients that use faxes. However, this one is simple. Print out your media kit and fax it to them!
Post Cards:
Whenever I go on a trip, I always pick up post cards from that specific area highlighting some attraction. I use the post cards as another tool to “drip” on my clients. Use the cards to send brief personal notes to your clients, highlight something on your website or print your best small ad on a postcard. A brief communication or ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
Post-It Notes:
When sending any information by mail, include a post- it note with a short hand written message and place the note strategically somewhere so when your clients sees the note it will be a surprise!
Newsletters:
It has been reported that it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one. You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Have your clients subscribe to your newsletter on your website.
Newsletters can also help create a distinction over your competitors. Create your own newsletter with your own identity. Be careful when purchasing “template” newsletters from resellers who sell the same newsletter to multiple users within your industry. These template newsletters are in-personal and they take away from your ability to build true intimacy with your clients. I equate template newsletters to a printed label on an envelope. A better choice would be to purchase the template newsletter for content purposes only, then recreate the information in your own style and words.
Professional Pointer:
You should always be on the look out for outstanding content 24/7/365. However, send your newsletters out infrequently. Less is best!
Fast Facts Profile:
Create a one page document that covers the main points about YOU, your company and services. Each Fast Facts should be some item that will buy you points when the client reads about them. From your educational accomplishments, to sales schools you have graduated from, to your family background, to the main points and accomplishments of your company’s products and services. Your Fast Facts document will save you time in building intimacy with your client. Make sure that your Fast Facts are included in all your initial documentation that you provide to a client, backed up with a faxable form. Also, included it on your web-site. What do you title the hyperlink? “Fast Facts” of course!
E-Mail:
Lots of caution here. With the advancement of spam, you really have to be selective on sending information. I have a basic 80/20 rule of thumb. 20% of my main clients and database I can send just about anything I want and I know I will usually not offend anyone in that group. The other 80%, only get my INFREQUENT newsletters.
Letterhead & Envelopes:
Keep these congruent with your overall theme and appearance. Use graphics and logoslogo’s that are eye catching. One suggestion: dress up your envelopes and even your letters with something out of the ordinary, like special decals or stickers. One of my favorite “attention getting ploys” is to take a letter sized envelope that I am sending and on the outside of the envelope I place a small 3×4 bright orange sticker that says “Fragile – Handle With Care!” This usually prompts a positive response from the receiver.
Professional Pointer:
Hand written notes on your envelopes will go a long way in catching the attention of your clients. Example: “To My #1 Client!”
Thank You Notes & Cards:
Everyone sends them so how do you make this tool a distinction over your sales competitors?
Second Offers:
Send a second offer to your clients immediately after they’ve purchased something from you. How about a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their next investment and by mentioning “this note” they may take advantage of a particular offer.
Professional Pointer:
To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.
3. Your Personal Branding:
As stated before, your personal branding needs to be congruent with your sales tools. Colors and graphics, keep them in line with each other. Here are three other suggestions you can use in creating statements that go along with your personal branding.
a. Create Your Own Purpose Statement
An example:
“My purpose is to contribute to God & Mankind by utilizing the utmost in values and integrity, while offering wisdom with everyone I come in contact with.”
b. Create Your Own Action Statement:
An example:
“Set the example by exceeding the standards.”
c. Create Your Own Tag Line:
An example:
“… By the way, it’s all about performance!”
These statements will go a long way in creating those positive impressions with your clients and getting them to know you and be more comfortable working with you. These statements can be included with your PBW, and on most of your marketing tools.
4. Corporate Mentality versus Entrepreneurial Mentality:
Working SalesSmart versus working H A R D means that you must develop an Entrepreneurial Mentality with most of your thoughts, action and activities. An example of this came in a recent sales training when we had spoke about the mentalities – and why salespeople need to be entrepreneurial. Towards the end of the training, the student said that he wanted the company to provide him with computer this, phone that, etc., etc. SalesSmart Salespeople will create their own destinies and not place too much weigh on the corporations to take care of those types of things. Be creative, be proactive and take responsibility for your sales tools that will help you drive your personal revenue. If you wait on help from your corporation, you might find yourself waiting a long time.
5. One Last Professional Pointer:
When developing any sales tools, apply the following three questions to each tool after completion.
a. So What?
In other words, will this tool and the way it’s designed have a positive impact on my client?
b. Who Cares?
Will my client care about the message that I am attempting to communicate?
c. What Does It Buy You?
Look at the specific sales tool or the specific language, or color, etc. Does it buy you anything? Does it sell against you? Is it too controversial? If something appears to be borderline, then don’t use it.
No single marketing effort works all the time, so make sure to change up your tactics and approach. Your clients will tune out after awhile if you promote only one tactic. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value and distinctions to your clients. Work SalesSmart with your marketing – plan carefully. Get feedback from clients and adapt your efforts accordingly.
When it comes to your overall marketing campaign, know this: That’s exactly what it is, a marketing campaign very similar to a political campaign. Market yourself, your products and your personal talents shamelessly. In order to market shamelessly, you will have to learn exactly what you offer that matters most to your clients. Get creative and leave your own self imposed limitations behind. If you don’t step up and do it, WHO WILL?
Higher PROFITS and higher levels of Sales EFFICIENCIES - typical results that are experienced by Chuck Bauer's clients. Chuck has over two decades of sales experience and on a daily basis you will find him consulting with many sales organizations and salespeople nationwide. He is a highly sought after speaker and a member of the National Speakers Association. His information is widely published in many print and internet based publications. He is an instrument rated-private pilot, committed body builder, and mountain biker. Chuck is typically in the following cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Arlington, El Paso and does sales consulting in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Sales Coach Chuck Bauer is on the LOOKOUT for HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL Sales People — Sales Managers, Sales Executives, Event Planners, Business Owners — who want HIGHER PROFITS and EVEN GREATER SALES EFFICIENCY. If you know ANY of these people or companies in the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Arlington, or El Paso areas who would be interested in any of Coach Chuck's programs or services, CLICK HERE to find out about Chuck's REFERRAL INCENTIVE BONUS.
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