Analyze the cause and effect in your customer interactions and watch your customer loyalty and sales soar!

My nephew, almost 12, went to day camp this summer. He had a great time, although at the end we discovered that his counselors (college age) teased him. Awful. Custom is to tip the counselors because they earn a nominal wage without the tips. My nephew told my brother and sister-in-law that he did Not want to give any money to his two counselors because they abused him. For example, they put ice down his shirt. They pressed a slice of pizza against his face. Then, they had the Audacity to tell my nephew that they needed the tips to help pay for college. Unbelievable.

Yes, this treatment and behavior IS egregious and You may think this would never happen in your company, but let’s consider a few scenarios…

1. Your employee has a fight with his/her spouse, partner, children or parents. What kind of mood will the employee be in today?

2. You hand out Christmas Bonuses and Raises (salary increases) and Jack is annoyed that his raise was a “bit light.”

3. Your employees find out that their healthcare premiums are going up by 15% when their wages increase by only 5%.

And on and on…

Analyze your people carefully. Though this may seem trite, Keep ‘em happy…

Analyze the potential impact your employees have on your customers and the health of your business.

Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

My son Mike (now 9 1/2), as you may know, is a very accomplished soccer player, top 5% in his grade. Recently, he joined my Sunday game. Ages range from Mike who is the youngest player to Tony who’s almost 60. What’s more, half the players are from Peru. Outstanding.

As you can appreciate, the first time young Mike stepped on the soccer field he was a bit anxious. Very Understandable. But once he found his spot and worked his magic, he came into his own and on a relative basis, he was very competitive. After a while, Mike started playing “his” own game, his own style. He even scored two goals.

The key to his success was self-confidence! And that’s the most important ingredient to successful selling - self-confidence!!!

To gain self- confidence as a sales professional, the key is to build your self-confidence.

1. If you are just beginning your career as a sales professional or you haven’t closed a sale in a while, make a sales call on your favorite customer.

2. Consider closing a sale with an existing customer. If they already know your product or service, it should be easier to sell them more.

3. Close a sale with the smallest and most popular product or service you offer. Hopefully, this will meet with the least resistance.

4. Set up a sales call with a new prospect and set the goal to showcase your offering, Not to close a sale.

To build your self-confidence, practice your sales pitch and sales technique and take “baby steps” until you are ready to call on the President and boost your sales commissions.

Good luck and send me an email if we can help you brainstorm!

Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner®

Technorati Tags:
soccer, soccer player, top 5%, sunday game, sunday soccer, sunday soccer game, youngest, youngest player, peru, peru soccer players, appreciate, anxious, understandable, find your spot, found spot, spot, work your magic, magic, come into your own, relative basis, very competitive, competitive, play your own game, play game, game, his own style, own style, style, playing style, selling style, score goal, socer, soccer, soccer goal, sales, sale, sales professional, career in selling, close a sale, sales slump, break slump, break sales slump, call favorite customer, customer, sales call, call existing customer, close sale, small product, small service, easy sell, easier sell, easier sale, easy sale, lower resistance, resistence, lower resistence, sales block, popular product, popular service, sell popular product, sell popular service, best offer, self-confidence, build self-confidence, confident sales professional, confident sales person, sales person, sales commission, practice sales pitch, sales pitch, sales technique, practice sales technique, baby steps, President, the President, sales commissions, boost sales commissions, increase sales commissions

The other day, I visited my friend Eddie at Le Mer Seafood in Armonk, New York 10504. See July 15 post (link at the bottom of this post).

Eddie told me that he visited the new steakhouse in town and he saw a former customer who had moved his offices from across the street from his Le Mer Seafood to the nearby office park. The former customer purchased lunch for his entire staff every Friday, but now with the “move” lunch at Le Mer Seafood required a car ride. Too cumbersome.

Eddie greeted the customer; the customer explained the story (the move) and Eddie said, “He would deliver lunch with 1/2 hour’s notice!”

Presto - a $100 order out of the blue.

While I am sure you know the power of networking, here are a few ideas to help you leverage your efforts and win more business:

1. Maintain a list or database of your customers and especially your top customers.
2. Keep in touch with them regularly through letters, postcards, a blog, a newsletter, special coupons, special offers and telephone calls (if appropriate).
3. Even though it may be tiring, show up at the places where your customers go. Woody Allen said, “80% of Life IS Showing Up.”
4. Follow the press in your space: in Armonk, the Chamber of Commerce sends out email announcements.
5. Take a booth at the local parade, carnival or town festival. On a grander scale, this could be a trade show.

Reach out and ring your cash register.

Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

http://revenueminer.com/blog/2008/07/sales-secret-1-free-advertising-yields-1000-profit/

Technorati Tags:
Ler Mer Seafood, seafood, armonk, new york, armonk new york, 10504, post, blogpost, steakhouse, former customer, customer, new customer, moved, moved offices, office park, delivery, deliver, food delivery, delivery service, food delivery service, purchase lunch, buy lunch, deliver lunch, staff, friday lunch, free lunch, car ride, cumbersome, notice, half hour, network, networking, contacts, network of contacts, building network, expanding network, networking power, order, $100 order, $100, presto, out of the blue, win business, more business, win more business, grow business, expand business, customer list, customer database, top customers, best customers, customer loyalty, loyalty, letters, postcards, blog, newsletter, special coupons, coupons, special offers, telephone calls, appropriate, tiring, show up, Woody Allen, follow the press, follow the media, news, customer news, chamber of commerce, armonk chamber of commerce, email announcements, booth, carnival, town festival, trade show, trade show booth, ring cash register, cash register, advertising, customer promotion, word-of-mouth, personal selling, direct selling, door-to-door selling, door-to-door salesman, door to door selling

Technorati Tags:
restaurants, restaurant, dine out, eat out, restuarant trade, restaurant business

Yesterday morning, my son Mike and I played soccer in our traditional Sunday game. Then I grabbed my favorite: well done bacon (burned!), egg and cheese on a roll for breakfast at my local deli. Umm.
 
A young man who was a senior at Syracuse University was also ordering. I asked him what he wanted to do (career goals and aspirations). He was majoring in economics and wanted to go into finance but the market was really lousy Now so he intends to pursue another field.
 
Boo!
 
If you’re committed, keenly interested, in a particular field, Go For It! Now.
 
Don’t let the naysayer, the negative Nellie’s or the doomsday team ruin you and quash your spirit.
 
Leaders build skyscrapers that last a lifetime.
 
Put another way, in today’s lousy finance environment, [yes there are fewer jobs offered] but at the same time, I suspect that many applicants are running for the hills – pursuing other careers. So fewer people will join the troubled field.

I believe that when you start your career or your business during the Lousy times, the bottom of the cycle, you learn, you tough it out and you have to overcome obstacles that wouldn’t exist during the good times (the boom). So, start when you’re ready, for example, now, and you’ll position yourself beautifully for the next upswing.
 
Pick your spot, a field that really piques your interest and Go After It!
 
Entrepreneurs, start your engines now!
 
Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

Technorati Tags:
soccer, sunday game, soccer game, bacon, well done bacon, egg and cheese, egg sandwich, bacon egg and cheese, breakfast, syracuse university, career goals, career, career aspirations, economics major, finance, finance career, lousy market, bad market, field, profession, nay sayer, negative nellie, doomsday, dooms day, quash, quash your spirit, ruin your day, don’t ruin your day, leaders, leadership, skyscraper, skyscrapers, last lifetime, lifetime, lousy finance environment, jobs, job, offer, jobs offered, more jobs, applicants, job applicants, other career, new career, new job, troubled field, cycle, bottom of cycle, cycle bottom, swing, tough it out, overcome, obstacles, overcome obstacles, good times, position self, boom, boom times, pick your spot, spot, pique your interest, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, engines, start engines, start engines now

Proofread Everything You Write Before You Send a Letter, Email, Brochure, etc. Listen to Every word you write.
When you launch a written piece that’s not “perfect” you tarnish your image and reduce your selling power.
 
When you work on a document for a long time it’s likely you become blind; We do. In other words, you lose your independent perspective. It often becomes difficult to distance yourself and take a removed, objective view.
 
Look for spelling errors (typos), grammar errors And incorrect words.

In marketing, some words are More powerful than others Even a one-word change in your pitch can make All the difference between winning and losing the sale. Some words may offend your audience, especially foreigners, different cultures.
 
Or, maybe you are in a hurry to dash off an ad or promo; perhaps you’re facing a deadline.

Take your time, do It right. Read, reread and proofread your material. Read it aloud and ask someone else to read your ad or letter aloud to you. Close your eyes and focus.
 
55% of our business is marketing and copywriting (the rest is business development), and when we write sales letters and marketing materials, we find Loads of mistakes, even After we run spell check. That’s why we take our time, allow for extra proofreads and re-drafts in our scheduling. Because, Yes, One Word, can and does make the difference between winning and losing the sale.
 
Today, I received this marketing email from a member of my chamber of commerce:
 
“Be a Guest at Your Own Pary with Chef Dominick!!!”
 
What IS a “Pary?”
 
A “party” I presume. I think Dominick’s mistake is a poor reflection on him.
 
Other consumers might think that his brand of “pary” is special. I don’t know but I am not inclined to find out.
 
Anyway, a one-line email from someone I don’t know explains nothing about his food, flare or unique selling proposition. He didn’t pique my curiosity about him or his service.
 
Okay, I’m going to return to proofreading a business plan for my client.
 
Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

Technorati Tags:
sales secret, sales secrets, sale, proofread, proofreading, write, send a letter, letter, letters, email, brochure, email marketing, listen, listening skills, every word, word, write, written piece, perfect, not perfect, tarnish image, tarnish reputation, reduce selling power, selling power.blind, independence, independent perspective, perspective, distance yourself, objective, view, objective view, spelling, spell, spelling errors, errors, typos, grammar, good grammar, grammar errors, grammatical errors, incorrect words, change, pitch, marketing pitch, sales pitch, close sale, close the sale, winning the sale, win the sale, lose the sale, offen, offend audience, foreigners, foreign culture, promo, ad, advertisement, face deadline, deadline, take your time, do it right, reread, proofread, material, read aloud, marketing, marketing and copywriting, copywriting, mistake, mistakes, loads of mistakes, spell check, spellcheck, proofreads, redraft, redrafts, re-draft, re-drafts, make the difference, make a difference, difference, chamber of commerce, chef, catering service, restuarant, restaurant business, pary, poor reflection, reflection, image, one-line email, one-liner, food, flair, usp, unique selling proposition, value add, curiosity, curiousity, service, catering service, business plan, client

Publicity Secrets: One of the best ways to expand your business, make more money and gain credibility in your marketplace is through publicity.

Publicity means getting coverage in the media (press coverage) as a story or source of information.

What’s more, publicity is FREE, especially compared to advertising.

Publicity is more powerful than space advertisements because space advertising is viewed as purchased content (biased views) and is often overlooked and ignored by readers and listeners.

Publicity is so powerful because if a journalist features you in a story (writes a story about or around you or your business) or quotes you as a source of information, as an expert, you gain tremendous credibility.

You can get publicity by writing to a journalist or editor of a newspaper, blog, magazine or trade association publication (letter to the editor).

You can write an article or booklet and secure valuable publicity as an author.

Aren’t you an expert in your field?
Don’t you deserve to get at least your fair share of publicity?

We have used this very technique to sell over 60,000 copies of our books and publications and build our business development consulting practice.

To discover how you can get publicity and put you and your business on the map, right now, for FREE you can get your copy of The Revenue Miner’s amazing audio program: “How to Promote Yourself and Your Business with Writing.”

We are offering this classic audio program to You now at no charge because we want you to know that one of our services is writing press releases, which is a cornerstone of building a publicity campaign.

Act now because this special offer is good only while supplies last.

Send your request and mailing address to The Revenue Miner, PO Box 758, Armonk, NY 10504-0758 USA. Please include $5 to cover shipping and handling. We accept checks (payable to Career Advancement Center), cash and US Postal Money Orders; international Revenue Miners please send $7 to cover shipping and handling.

Good Luck. See you in the media!

Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

Technorati Tags:
publicity, publicity secrets, best way, best ways, expand business, new business, advertising, ads, advertise, publicize, grow business, make money, make more money, gain credibility, credibility, marketplace, press coverage, press, media, media coverage, source, source of information, information, quality of information, information quality, info, FREE, FREE publicity, compare to advertising, publicity vs advertising, advertising vs publicity, power, powerful, more power, more powerful, space ad, space ads, space advertisements, content, journalism, jounralist, story, story about you, write story, quote, quote you, quotes you, quoted, get quoted, expert, purchased content, bias, biased, biased view, overlooked marketing secret, listen, listeners, listener, read, reader, ignore, write, author, publish, published, write article, write book, write booklet, expert, free audio, free audio program, how to audio, free CD, free cassette, business development, build business, media

The greatest sales secret is positioning (placing) your products and services right in front of your customers’ eyes. Make it simple, clear and easy…as follows:

The other day, I had a meeting near Wall Street; on my way out I stopped at Trinity Church at Wall Street and Broadway. I have always admired Trinity Church and especially think it’s cool after the first National Treasure movie, part of which takes place there.

The security guard told me the Church was consecrated in 1846 and pointed me to a display (shelf) where I could get a brochure that included a brief history.

Cleverly, the brochures were on a counter/shelf display alongside maybe 15 or 20 other booklets and pamphlets with intriguing titles. There were several “collection boxes” (slots) built into the display. Pure brilliance! Who would dare steal something in a “House of God?” The booklets offer great advice and are very valuable, but how guilty would you feel if you didn’t make even a small contribution?

Okay - 3 booklets caught my eye and $6 later, I walked out, booklets in hand!!! I never intended to spend any money there; what an upsell!

Bullseye. Great Upsell!

-Give away something free, ideally useful information, and position that item next to your for sale items.
-Position other for sale items at the point of purchase, cash register, checkout line or webstore shopping cart screen.

Hey - webmasters, supermarkets, other retailers and (now I discovered) Trinity Church do this.

Why not You!

To increase your sales, visit: http://www.revenueminer.com/products–services/products–services/

Eric Gelb
The Revenue Miner

Technorati Tags:
sales, sales secret, positioning, product positioning, product placement, services, product, service, products, customer, customers, new customers, more customers, simple, clear, easy, wall street, trinity church, broadway, wall street and broadway, national treasure movie, security guard, guard, consecrated, 1846, display, brochure, brief history, booklets, pamphlets, booklets and pamphlets, titles, title, intriguing title, collection box, collection boxes, slots, brilliance, steal, dare steal, dare, contribution, charitable donation, value, value proposition, upsell, money, spend money, intend, caught my eye, eye catching, eye catcher, house of god, god, house, free, free information, information, for sale, for sale items, items for sale, point of purchase, point of sale, pos, cash register, checkout line, webstore, shopping cart screen, webmaster, supermarket, retailer, you