Norman Davies' Blog

What does your price mean?

What does your price mean? 

 

 

The high cost of low prices.

Low prices can kill businesses! But everyday companies use price slashing as their first defense to capture or maintain business.

 

The reality of business is that discounters do not survive! Wal-Mart has been a huge success but the low price strategy almost always fails.

 

If your customer comes for price, they will leave for price and that is the customer that you do not want.

 

There are tremendous costs associated with gaining new business and the relationships must last in order for that business to be profitable.

 

For household supplies such as toilet paper and laundry detergent, I shop at three stores local to me - IGA, London Drugs and Shoppers Drug Mart. When Shoppers has Tide on sale I buy it there.  When IGA has Charmin toilet paper on sale for half price I buy it there.  For these items I have zero loyalty.  Now, the businesses may consider these items to be lost leaders to get me in the store, but that does not really work because all three stores are within four blocks of my home and I shop at all three regularly for the items at the lowest price.

 

Price does not buy loyalty.

 

Now Fletcher's Dry Cleaners, which is also within the same four block radius of my home is probably the most expensive dry cleaner in the city.  Fletcher's is also the best dry cleaner in the city. Because I buy quality clothing that lasts I see the value in taking care of those clothes and would not look to go cheap on cleaning them I have loyally used Fletcher's for more than twenty-years.

 

I see the value in dry cleaning!

 

If you are chasing customers who do not see the value in your business but only buy from the lowest priced supplier then that is not a good long-term client. 

 

Unless you have a particular price advantage that your competitor does not have, price should not be part of the selling strategy you use.

 

Use a formula to determine pricing that covers all of your costs of doing business and provides a reasonable return to the business owner. That is where your pricing should be. It is every businesses' responsibility to maximize profit. Price should be the last thing to move.

 

Of course it is also every businesses responsibility to become as efficient as possible and make every effort to lower the costs of providing the products and services at a level which, is acceptable to its clients and will maintain the company's position in the marketplace. It is not, however, the responsibility of business to pass on savings. In the case of public companies, it is the legal responsibility of the management to maximize the return on investment to the shareholders. Many business owners in smaller companies forget this, often paying employees better than themselves and cutting pricing when it's not necessary.

 

The goal of business should not be to be the biggest, but rather to be the most profitable.  Often ego gets in the way of prudence in this area.

 

Pricing is a delicate balance and must be looked at very carefully.  Once prices are dropped, it is very difficult to get them back up. Lower price strategies do work in the short term but in the long term these strategies weaken a business.

 

The better approach is to find and target customers who like you and value what your business has to offer. These customers are not as price sensitive and these relationships will provide you the margin to deepen service levels and improve the quality of your products and services.  These are actions that build long-term value in a business and in a brand.

 

The first step is to understand what your products and services are truly worth and then to take steps to communicate that value first to your sales team and then to your customers.

 

There is a businessman with whom I have traveled with on a number of occasions. During overseas trips we were both in a position to choose where we stayed, where we ate and how we traveled.  I preferred to fly business class and stay in four-star hotels and eat in modest restaurants. He liked to stay in the cheapest hotel he could find, travel economy, walk ten miles instead of pay for a taxi but could easily drop five hundred dollars on a dinner for two. 

We all choose how we spend our money and for each of us, different things matter.

The key is to realize that not every prospect should be your customer but rather that you should seek out the customers whose values match those of your business.  This is a recipe for happy customers and a profitable business. 

Build it and they will come!

Build it and they will come! 

 

 

These immortal words are from the movie Field of Dreams where novice farmer Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Cosner)  becomes convinced by a mysterious voice that he is supposed to construct a baseball diamond in his corn field. The film's underlying themes are the fulfillment of dreams, and how people can overcome any regrets they may have about the life choices they make.  A great movie!

If only life was Hollywood!

It amazes me that many businesses act just as if life were Hollywood.  New businesses open after making huge investments in building and equipment, but budget nothing for marketing.  Weeks after opening, managers struggle with the lack of business and try to find a few dollars for marketing.  The lack of an initial marketing budget can handicap a business for years.

 

Most businesses give little attention or funding to ongoing marketing efforts.  They attend a trade show here, they print a brochure there or they invest in a website that is tied to nothing else in the business.

 

Sales and marketing needs to be treated like any other other part of your business. It needs a fixed budget (percentage of sales) and it needs constant attention to be sure that the profile of your business is constantly being managed. 

 

Sales and marketing efforts take time to materialize and money and effort spent is not usually rewarded immediately.  

 

It takes time and it needs a plan. 

 

Without a plan it is unlikely that you will organize your efforts in a way that they can be leveraged against each other to gain the greatest results. 

 

A well thought out marketing plan takes a lot of time and work to prepare and should encompass all aspects of your business.  It should review and evaluate all potential sales and marketing strategies and should layout action plans for the best possible strategies. The plans needs to have a budget, forecasts and need to be measured and reviewed.

 

Without time, you may waste your money. Many business take the build it and they will come approach.  They put together their business and simply plan a grand opening event and wait for business to walk in the door. Even if your business is located in a high traffic shopping mall you will need to do more than this.

 

A sales and marketing plan should not be started when your business is ready to open. The planning should run concurrent with the planning for the rest of the business.  The first questions you should be asking is who will want what we will sell and how will we reach those prospects?  These questions and more need to be asked at the same time that you are that you are looking at building space, equipment and inventory.

 

Imagine deciding to get married.  You pick the girl, the church, the reception location, the honeymoon and book and pay for everything and then go ask the girl (who doesn't know you from Adam) to marry you? Of course you wouldn't do this.  You wouldn't because that would be absurd!  Right?

 

Then why do business people do exactly the same thing everyday?  They take the bride for granted - of course she will want me! Well, maybe the bride has different plans.  Maybe your prospects have different plans!

 

Have you ever walked into a new business in your neighbourhood and asked how long ago they opened only to be told 'ten years ago'?  Getting the attention of buyers takes time and it takes consistent effort. People do not pay attention to everything put in front of them and even if they notice you and are interested in doing business with you they may not be in a position to do business with you for months or even years. The sooner you start the process the better chance you have of succeeding.

 

We all tend to remember things that happened a few minutes ago but longer term memory is generally reserved for important matters. We need to be regularly and consistently in front of our prospects.

 

Marketing must start early and it must be consistent.  We need to be aware of buying cycles and realize that often our sales efforts will not pay off for three to six months later.  How many new businesses can wait that long?  We also need to be continually feeding the cycle. If you stop the sales and marketing activity for one month then you are likely to feel the pain with a very quiet month down the road.

 

Never take business for granted especially in the modern world with so many distractions and so many players chasing every available dollar.

 

More then one hundred years ago Kellogg's built a dynasty by outspending all of its competition to get the attention of the buyer.  It used innovative techniques and continued to spend aggressively, even now.

 

In the early part of the last century Kellogg's invented Corn Flakes but the market was quickly swamped by competitors. It survived and prospered by overwhelming its competitors with advertising and promotion. In 1912 the company spent one millions dollars on advertising and in some years spent as much as fifty-percent of its' revenue from sales on advertising and marketing.

 

Imagine what would happen to your business if you were to spend fifty percent of your revenue on marketing?

 

You don't need to spend a ton of money to get results but you do have to invest the time necessary to get noticed and stay remembered.  The process can never start too early! 

Your Brand Be Remembered!

Your brand

Be Remembered! 

 

 

Heinz Ketchup

Considered by many to be the best condiment to ever grace a simple food with its sweet, tangy, and ever so tomato-y flavour. It has historically been America's most used condiment and is estimated to be found in 97% of all American kitchens, a status equalled only by Salt, Pepper and Sugar!

 

Since 1873 Heinz Ketchup has dominated. That domination has created a company that is now worth nineteen billion dollars!  

 

I cannot imagine buying any other brand of ketchup other than Heinz. I like the flavour, I trust the quality, I know exactly what to expect when I dip a French fry into it before devouring.  

 

I have similar feeling when I open a can of Coca-Cola, enjoy a Campari and Soda, walk into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong or watch Oprah.  I know what to expect.  The quality and the experience is a given.  There is not risk in the purchase or the experience.

 

There is no fear!

  

That is the value of a brand!

 

That is the value of a brand and that is why every business and every individual needs to build their brand.

 

Build Your company's brand

 

Everyday I see businesses large and small that work hard to sell their products and services but do little to build their brand and their long term position in the marketplace.  All markets are competitive but what happens when companies put all of their energy into getting business today, this week, this month but do not work on their long term value? They commoditize themselves.

 

The worst thing that can happen for a company is to become a commodity.  Once a company is seen as a no-name brand amongst peers, the ability to choose its' own path is severely diminished.  Market forces take over and the buyers of your product will determine your price and your selling terms.  The value of your business becomes nothing.

 

Building a brand is done in a thousand different ways.  Investing in professional packaging, professional sales tools, relationships with consumers and resellers, a unique representation and a strong public statement are only a few of the steps to building a brand.

 

Every action that invests in your brand will make the sales process easier.  Strong brands have acceptance and power.  Can a major grocery chain dump Heinz Ketchup in favour of a house brand with stronger margins? Absolutely not!  Their customers would not permit that to happen!

 

That is the power of the brand and the same power is available to your business, probably to a lesser degree than Heinz, but efforts  put into building your brand will also strengthen your market position, your ability to sell, and your ability to keep your position when others chop prices.

 

Binney & Smith, the makers of Crayola were a client of mine for fourteen years. They are the highest cost manufacturer of Crayons in the world.  Every wax Crayon they produce is made in their factory in Easton, Pennsylvania. They have dominated their markets and fought off lower priced brands because of their brand position and their dedication to investing in that brand.

 

The tools do not have to cost a lot of money.  YouTube, news releases, Linkedin, facebook - have all been used to put Obama on the map - why not your brand too?

 

Build your personal brand 

 

Brands are not just for companies with products, brands are for people too!  Building your own brand means investing in yourself and investing the time and effort it takes to have a public reputation within your industry.

 

Is it worth while?  You bet it is!  Establishing your brand whether you are a one person accounting business or a salesperson or engineer working for a large company, can make a tremendous difference in your career.  Building your brand means that when the factory closes your phone rings.  People in your industry will be watching you and looking for an opportunity to offer you a role in their businesses. 

 

Is it easy?  No!  Does it happen overnight? No!  But it does happen!  A year or two of networking and promoting yourself and your expertise and you will start to see the difference in your career.  You will move from trying to get an appointment to being invited into the inner office.  Things will happen for you!

 

Again, it is not easy but start with joining Linkedin and connecting with everyone you know.  Join groups on linkedin and within your own industry. Volunteer for something, join Toastmasters and develop the skills to give a speech. Be passionate about what you do and people will be attracted to your energy and enthusiasm!

 

The building never ends! 

 

Crayola and Heinz have both been around for more than one hundred years, but they never stop building their brand. It is a constant daily effort that brings enormous long term rewards!

What is your story?

What is your story?

 

 

I was on a plane to Toronto some years ago ready to enjoy a book and get some of work done.  I was not a big one for chatting to strangers, as in my experience most airplane conversations have not been too interesting.  My experience on this flight was to change that perception forever.

 

The woman sitting next to me was a professional looking woman in her fifties and we exchanged pleasantries which, of course included our work. I soon learned that she had worked as a nurse on a cancer ward, going on to work for a cancer agency, and then began a great conversation. 

 

During our chat, we touched on the subject of euthanasia and she told me something amazing.  She said that when a cancer patient was near death, but the body was still clinging to life, occasionally the doctor would request a massage for the patient.  You see, an aggressive massage by two nurses would create enough stimulation that within an hour or so the patient would pass away.

 

What a story! I have remembered that story and that woman ever since. If she had not told me that story she would have passed in my memory.

 

What I also have learned over the years is that everyone and every organization have a story. I have a friend named Ross who is a quiet unassuming accountant. Some people might dismiss Ross, assuming he lives the life of a boring bean counter.  But Ross has a story - many actually. He is a true adventurer who has scaled ice cliffs in Antarctica and competed in the Paris-Brest-Paris cycling challenge an arduous 1200 km ride! And that is just the beginning of his amazing adventures!

 

Stories are a powerful method to connect with others. Many businesses use their web page to tell the history of their company but most just tell the cold facts. Facts are boring and easily forgotten but stories are remembered and, if well crafted, easily retold. 

 

From a sales perspective stories are positive and memorable and very difficult to sell against. I have made sales presentations where buyers have recounted my competitor's story, and there is little that I can say in response. Great stories become industry legends and go a long way to boosting a company or individual's profile and reputation.

 

Everyone has heard the story of how Post-It notes were invented.  The researcher was trying to make a permanent adhesive but failed and Post-it notes were born. That's memorable.

 

Stories are a hugely efficient way of constructing meaning, creating relationships and defining purpose. It is no coincidence that jokes, parables and fairy-tales tend to have the same deep structures and that these structures have a perennial power to fascinate. To get your ‘story’ across, there is no better way than by telling a story.

 

Any organization will be full of stories – some official, some unofficial, some positive and some negative. A company’s annual report is an attempt to tell the story of its financial year in a transparent and accountable manner. Its press releases, Intranet and notice boards and many other forms of communication all contribute to the corporate story. But the most important feature of a corporate story is that it is likely to be remembered – even long after the key names, facts and figures have been forgotten. The stories of an organization’s past successes and failures can continue for decades to shape its future.

 

What types of corporate stories exist? There are a number of broad categories of story, which are of special significance in a corporate context. These include:

 

Myths of origin – The stories about how an organization came into being, its founding fathers, its principles, its first struggles and triumphs. Many of the values of an organization will be derived – consciously or unconsciously – from these myths of origin.

 

Corporate prophecies – The predictions made about an organization’s future, which often reference stories from the past or stories about other organizations. 

 

War stories – The stories told about the heroes of an organization, past and present. These characteristically feature individuals confronting a dilemma. How they resolve that dilemma provides a pattern for the rest of the organization. War stories are frequently referenced during times of crisis to help people establish priorities and make decisions. They are also often used when inducting new recruits.

 

Amazing characters and events - The stories that tell of powerful or interesting individuals.  Stories of events, which highlight the staying power of the organizations through difficult times.

  

What was the dream the founder had? Who did he enlist to help the dream come true? How did he recruit the others? What did they do? What did they sacrifice to get where they ended up? What did they discover? What surprised them? What caused them to stumble, and what inspired them to try again? Were there any humorous or ironic moments? Did something serendipitous or unusual happen? Who else had tried something similar, and failed? Why did they fail? Why did the founders think they would succeed? Why is the company's product so important to customers? Which customers have had success with the product, and what are their interesting stories?

 

Memorable brands don't just happen. Someone does something to make them memorable. Someone gives the story life, and human interest.

  

The best stories contain little vignettes that give life to the facts, and paint a picture of human dedication, creativity, resourcefulness, bravery, and compassion.

 

Write your stories down and share them with your team. As a sales person, I have always looked for the stories that could help make my product more memorable. Stories are a powerful tool.

 

Breathe life into your story. The more life you give your story, the more your story will spread.

 

 

Think about it!

Get Ready for Christmas!

Get Ready for Christmas!

 

 

 

The projections are already in that the Grinch (dressed up as a Wall Street banker) has stolen Christmas. Many businesses count on Christmas as a major selling period.  Even companies that sold Christmas in January and shipped in September and October could be facing significant returns if sales don't happen.  Even if your business has nothing to do with the retail sector directly, the entire economy suffers when retailers suffers.

 

So, any solutions?  Well, chances are that business overall will be pretty flat but that does not mean your business needs to be flat. The reality is that businesses prosper and fail both in boom times and in recession.  The key is to do everything possible to make your business prosper.

 

Take care of your customers.

 

When times are tough people cut back but they still buy. When the price of gas was at $1.50 a litre this summer I did cut back on my driving (a little) but much of my driving is not a matter of choice.  So I still need to buy gas.

 

As consumers cut back on their discretionary spending, they will still spend money on core products - food, shelter and pet food.  Even on discretionary items we will tend to make adjustments but for most of us the change will be slight.

 

If we are lucky enough not to lose our job then chances are we will have pretty much the same income as we had last year. That is the case for ninety-eight percent of the population. What really affects us is worry and so we start to pay down some of that debt just in case things get bad for us personally. We cut back on the dinners out and the trips to the salon and try to be a bit more responsible with our money and where we spend it.  Overall, however, life goes on.

 

Things can be different for business owners and those who are self-employed or on commission. Those people can really take a hit and it can hurt or kill a business.  If you are in this category then it is important to take care of your customers so that you are lower on the list when it comes to the cutting back.  In fact, it can be an opportunity you to prosper!

 

If a business is buying widgets from two suppliers and their business for reselling widgets drops by twenty-five percent, they may decide to drop one line of widgets.  Then you stand to increase your business by fifty-percent if you can capture the entire account.

 

The key is to get close to your customers and truly understand what their needs are and make every effort to make sure you are there for them. 

 

Handle difficult times correctly and you could have your best year ever!

 

 

Take care of your team.

 

The key asset for most businesses is not their products but their people.  Assuming you have done the best possible job on your product-offering buyers will deal with people they like and who like them.

 

I have a true story you may not believe!  I used to be a regular patron of the Garden Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel.  Why?  Aside from its nice environment, it has great people.  The Four Seasons had well trained, long term staff that truly made me feel welcome.  The result was that I went back again and again.  About seven years ago I decided to get in better shape and improve my health overall - that was when I started running. But a heavy training schedule and Martinis didn't mix too well so I pretty much stopped going to the Four Seasons. I dropped in last year and the place had changed a bit along with most of the staff, but I did recognize a server who had waited on me a couple of times.  I will call him Peter (because I don't remember his real name - maybe it is Peter).  I sat down with my guest and, I swear on my sweet mother's grave, Peter walks over and says, "Mr. Davies would you like your usual, Vodka Martina with a twist?"

 

I almost fell out of my chair. Peter had served me two or three times, six or seven years before and he remembered my name, my drink and the way that I liked it!

 

That attention to detail is what makes businesses great and what keep customer's coming back again and again though good times and bad. 

 

Now you may say, "That is the Four Season's and when you charge twelve dollars for a Martini you can afford to remember someone's name."  But maybe the answer is really that when someone remembers your name and drink after six or seven years, you are happy to pay twelve dollars for a Martini.

 

A dry cleaner is a pretty generic business but I have been using the same dry cleaners since 1982.  Fletcher's Cleaners on the corner of Broadway and Arbutus is probably the most expensive cleaners in the city.  They are also good and will always make it right, but the main reason for my loyalty is a wonderful woman named Mena.  Mena has made certain that I have always been happy.  If a stain could not come out, she would re-clean my item until it did. If something got damaged she would replace it. I remember her when she was pregnant and now her daughter works there.  I cannot imagine I will ever stop using Fletcher's Cleaners.

 

Now here is the key point that I would like to make about both of these exceptional people. They are both employees.  Neither owns stock in the companies they work for but they put their heart into their work.

 

Take care of your people and you can have star employees like Peter and Mena. And your stars will keep your clients coming back.  Your stars will make certain that customers are so happy that price never becomes an issue.

 

There are lots of stars out there!  People will work hard and will go the extra mile if you treat them right and provide them with the training and support that they need.  Support your stars (both your clients and your staff) and your business will survive and thrive.

 

Take care of Your People!

 

Recession?

Recession?

 

 

"Get busy living or get

busy dying!"

 
 

 

This quote from the movie 'Shawshank Redemption' came quickly to mind as I read the various headlines decrying our future business prospects.

 

I have been selling long enough to have been through several recessions and some important lessons come to mind.

 

1) It is not necessarily bad news. Rothschild, the quintessential banking opportunist, said that the best time to buy is when there is "blood in the streets".

 

In other words, difficult times do have the seeds of opportunity.  Whether it is the chance to buy land or inventory cheap, hire top rate people who may not normally be available or negotiate better lease deals, now is the time to look for opportunities.

 

It is a time when the business we give to suppliers becomes more important to them. In good times our business may not matter so much but now we have the opportunity to get better prices or improvements to service levels.

 

It may also be a great time to hire top sales performers.  The top performing salespeople generally do not leave sales roles where they are successful. In difficult times, however, even top companies may not be providing an environment that will keep their best people.  Learn who the best people are in your industry and reach out to those who may be considering a change.

 

2) Many people hide when things get tough.  It is a common reaction for people who are facing challenging times to hunker down and be less active.  Make certain that this is not what is happening to you or your team. Reach out and stay close to your customers and prospects.

 

When others are being less active because of all the bad news in the economy, reach out and get noticed.  Focus on the activities that have brought you the best results in the past and continue to do those things.  Being more visible when others are being less visible will help raise your profile and your business.

 

3) Now is the time to suck it up and push forward. If your business is being effected by the slow down then quickly make changes to strengthen your position and reassign resources to areas of your business that will help you grow.

 

4) When everyone is waiting on the sidelines there is much less traffic. Often it is hard to get noticed amongst the many competitors.  During hard times many companies make the choice to cut back their marketing and sales initiatives.  Don't follow this route.  Move resources from areas of your business that are pure costs to areas that will raise your profile and increase your opportunities.

 

5) Do not immediately cut pricing. It is always important to be aware of pricing and to remain competitive. However, by maintaining or improving your service levels and increasing your contact with customers, you may avoid losing sales and have the opportunity to garner additional business from companies that choose to cut service first.

 

6) Keep you team tight. Many people have seen the value of their mutual funds drop by thirty percent and more over the past few weeks. Banks are making it more difficult to get loans and are watching the health of their existing loans.  Many on your team will be concerned and worried for their futures.  This worry is a killer for productivity. Be certain to communicate your goals and your plans to your team.  If you sense that some of your team are acting with less confidence, step in quickly to reassure them and to support their efforts.  Do not let your people feel alone or vulnerable.  Now is the time to plan meetings and activities that will build team confidence. If you are worried, don't let your team see it.  They need to see confidence!  Also, be certain that sales people do not communicate any weakness or difficulty to your customers.

 

Opportunity is out there - don't miss it!

 
 

 

The Number One Problem in Selling!

The Number One Problem

in Selling!

 

The number one truth in selling is:

where the value is clear,

the decision is easy!

 

 

The number one problem in selling is:

most salespeople lack a

clear, powerful message to

communicate that value!

 
 

We have all been at the receiving end of a powerful sales message that instantly delivers the value of the purchase to us.  Whether in person or through a radio, television or print advertisement, we instantly understand the value of what is being offered.  If we can afford it we buy it. It may be a truly great offer or it may be something that will have no real value to us, but the message is compelling and we are convinced of the product's value.

 

Where the value is clear the decision is easy. 

 

Most car repair shops have learned the key words that drive customers to complete recommended purchases. One mention of the word "safety" and we're already walking to the cashier.

 

Every product and every service has a compelling message that instantly focuses the buyers' mind on the value of the product.  The most successful salespeople and companies are the ones that have figured out what that message is.

 

Not all messages will work on all buyers but with effort, focus and trial and error the best messages and the strongest most winning phrases can become part of a powerful sales message.

 

Some of the phrases I have heard over the years include:

 

this is our best selling model

 

the girls will look twice when they see you driving that 

 

that suit truly makes a statement

 

personally, I wouldn't drive a hundred miles without

getting that fixed first

 

she will love that

 

this product outsells every other brand combined

 

every major retailer stocks this product

 

this is the brand doctors use

 

we sell to every Fortune 500 company

 

The list goes on and on. Every industry is different but the most effective sales people have figured out what works and they focus on that. 

 

Experienced and successful sales people learn to present their best message and quickly gauge if they are stirring any interest. If they are, they swiftly attempt to close the sale. If not, they try a second or third message.  If that brings no result, they thank the prospect and quickly move on. 

 

The best salespeople know what to say to garner the greatest interest and to quickly move on to the sale.  Once the sale is closed, they repeat the cycle over and over.

 

In my personal selling experience, I have used compelling and powerful selling phrases many times. In these incidences, I have outsold everyone else in my team and my industry.

 

So what is the trick?  How to find the words that sell? What is the key to unlocking that difficult territory and getting your product or service out the door?

 

1) Know your product or service inside out. Know everything about what you are proposing the client buys. Knowledge gives you credibility and, more importantly, provides you with an understanding of the value of what you are selling. Reading the brochure and your company's website is not enough.

 

2) Know your customers.  Listen, listen, listen and put yourself in their shoes. Spend time with your customers and know what their motivations and concerns are.  If you cannot meet with them directly, do some research.  Make sure you know what the current trends are.

 

3) Analyse each and every sales call. Every sales call can teach you something. The moment you leave a sales call, take five minutes to review how things went.  Take a notebook and write down what you remember about the call, how the person reacted and what they said?  Did you see something in their place of business that could be a clue to how they make decisions or whether or not they are having any problems? Any sign of a competitor?

 

Many sales people like to let a bad call go (especially if it was a rejection) and move on - trying to forget what didn't work. But it's what didn't work that's most important.  There is value in failure.  Every time we miss the target there is an opportunity to analyse where we went wrong and how we could improve.

 

4) Refine, refine, refine. Use the knowledge gained to get better and better. Work with your manager to review your sales failures and success to see if something can be learned.  Look around your own company to see if someone else has some experience that you can learn from. Sometimes the top performers are not willing to share their secrets but many will - ask and learn.

 

Every sales call should be slightly better than the one before.  Like tossing darts at a dartboard, each one, if reviewed, can take you closer to the bullseye.  Once you hit the target. you will gain confidence and knowledge that will make it easier next time.

  

If you are a sales manager then watch your best performers and see what they are doing.  Many managers ignore the best in their team thinking that they don't need any help and push their struggling salespeople for results.

 

The real answer is to spend time with your best salespeople. Work with them in the field, listen to their sales pitch, talk to their most loyal customers and learn why they are the best.

 

With few exceptions, the issue with under performing salespeople is not their sales ability or their desire to succeed or their work ethic. Most sales people are very capable of selling a product or service they believe in.  In most cases the company's selling problem is a marketing problem.  The company has failed to create a powerful selling message that inspires the salespeople to believe in what they are selling.

 

Most salespeople are sent out to sell to prospects or to cold call and generate leads with a vague message. If the salespeople are not convinced of the value of what they're selling then how can they convince anyone else of it?

 

If your company has not created a clear message that separates your firm from the rest then your sales team will continue to be in trouble.

 

To develop powerful salespeople, develop a powerful sales message.

 

How to develop a clear, powerful and effective message?

 

1) Listen to your best sales people. Do not ignore your best sales people.  Spend time with them and learn their secrets.  Use those secrets to train your under performers and pull them up.  There is nothing worse for an under performing salesperson to hear than empty phrases about doing better and pushing harder.  They need real tools to help them and your best performers already have them.

 

 

2) Combine and refine the best that has ever been done. Different sales people have different techniques and maybe your top performers all take a different approach. Gather all of the information on how your winners succeed to create a treasure chest of ideas, success stories, strategies and action plans. This will help support your entire sales team.

 

3) Make your message clear and support it with facts. Take the very best words, the most compelling ideas and the most powerful presentations and create something extraordinary. Create a package of winning statements and approaches to train your sales people. Use the best to get better and train all of your team to succeed.  You will find that this approach will even drive your top performers to excel beyond their personal expectations.

 

4) Train your sales force and share, share, share! I have worked with many companies but very few have any kind of regular training for their sales teams. Train your sales people on every aspect of your business and your product.  Bring in outside experts to help your team refine their selling and presentation skills.  Create an organizational culture that is about learning and growing and you will find that your sales team will become powerful, consistent and happy!

 

Today, the moment you finish reading this newsletter, sit down and begin to work on developing authentic, powerful, compelling messages for your salespeople and teach them how to use them effectively to create value in the eyes of their prospects.

 

Where the value is clear - the decision is easy! 

 

Are you getting better?

Are you getting better?

 

When I first started my own business way back in 1989 I quickly learned that with a little effort I could completely change my life.

 

I started my sales career right out of university selling printing papers. I then moved on to selling artist supplies. I liked my work, calling on art supplies stores all across western Canada. I traveled for 43 weeks a year and enjoyed meeting new people. I liked developing relationships with many business owners and the constant change of environment traveling brought. During that time, I traveled to almost every small town between Winnipeg and Victoria.

 

It doesn't take long in an industry before you get to know the competition. I got to know a great group of people who traveled the same territory as me and sold similar products.  It was great to have these connections and sometimes, good friendships.

 

Within a few years, my career developed from being an employed sales person to a self-employed agent to a business owner, consultant, writer and public speaker.

 

Many of those people with whom I sold, shoulder to shoulder, are still doing essentially the same work today.  I don't suggest they had any less skill than me, but many of them were prepared to accept the status quo.

 

I see this in sales organizations today.  Men and women who, although are not unhappy, have accepted their lot in life.

 

The world is made up of all kinds of people, leaders and followers, queen bees and drones.  Not everyone that we hire needs to be interested in building an empire but wouldn't our businesses be better served if we hired the strongest and most ambitious team we could assemble and gave them the tools to set the world on fire?

 

I have hired numerous sales people and support staff, over the years, and have always make an effort to hire the best possible. On occasion, I have guessed that the new hire would probably stay a year or two at most because they had career aspirations that my organization could not satisfy.  I never regretted such a hire. I would rather employ someone who would work with me for a year or two making an enormous contribution and then move on, than hire someone mediocre that would never leave.

 

It is my belief that when we challenge ourselves to grow, we get better. When we associate with those stronger than ourselves we get stronger, when we hire the best, our businesses get better.

 

I know that many people look at their businesses and wonder why things haven't changed for a few years (or maybe longer). They work long hours and put a great deal of sweat into their dream but nothing seems to move forward. They look at their employees and see people going through the motions; putting in the hours and keeping busy - but not getting significant results.

 

The answer is as old as humanity. 
 
If we want our lives to change, we must change.

 

If we want our business to change,

our people must change 

 

Sometimes just a 10 percent improvement in our performance and that of our team can make an enormous difference.  If you carefully look at your competitors that are doing better than you, you will find that they are often not head-and-shoulders better, but just an inch or two.

 

If our goal is to change our situation dramatically, then we need to change ourselves dramatically.

 

I have run several marathons and triathlons and can tell you that going from being couch potato to marathon runner takes more than an extra 10 percent.  Dramatic changes in business or in life often require us to take a completely different view of our world.

 

My experience is that those I have met who have achieved significant results in their life are not just marginally better performers than those around them. Rather they have a completely different way of looking at the world. Their views on money, performance, risk and challenges are so different from those around them that their results set them miles ahead.

 

Ordinary people and companies do this everyday.  Something sparks a fire, which sets them on a course that changes their lives completely. In three months everyone around them notices a difference.  In six months they seem to be in a transformation.  In two or three years we don't recognized them anymore.

 

This is a process that has been much recorded in individuals and in the businesses they lead.  Dramatic and completely unbelievable change is possible.  The process is a simple one.

 

1) Find something that you are passionate about. It is only with passion that we are able to change the reality and the circumstances of our world.  Getting passionate about your business and getting your sales team to be equally as passionate is not an easy thing to do, but it does make the world of a difference. It is passion that drives people to do the extra-ordinary.

 

 

2) Write down your goal and a detailed plan.  Formalize your plan and your passion.  Write it down in a business plan, marketing plan and action plan.  Share it with your team and be certain that everyone understands why it is important and how it will be achieved. Leverage every aspect of your life and your organization into making it happen.

 

3) Have faith in yourself. Believe in your goal! Many businesses that are great today would probably not have looked that good on paper. It is unlikely that others will believe in your goal as much as you do and so you need to have faith in yourself!

 

4) Surround yourself with winners. Winners are rare in life.  Most people are happy to stand on the sidelines and watch.  Then there are the critics who will find fault with everything.  Keep these people out of your life and out of your business. Surround yourself with positive people doing positive things!

 

5) Communicate your passion.  Nothing is achieved in this world without the help and support of other people.  Get passionate about your goal and learn to communicate that passion.  Join Toastmasters or hire a great communication coach like Vancouver's Geoffrey X Lane to teach you how to communicate the power of your passion. Communicate your passion daily to others in your team and to your customers.

 

6) Embrace failure. This is a tough one! Failure can teach us more about ourselves, and our passions, than anything.  It can hurt to fail but the lessons are strong and run deep. The key is to shake off the failure and grasp the lesson. Then you can move on stronger than before.

 

7) Assess progress and readjust. A jet plane flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong is off-course most of the way.  The wind is pushing it around and the automatic pilot makes thousands of adjustments every hour to keep it on target. Do the same with your goals.  Keep assessing where you have traveled and whether you are going off course. Make the adjustments in your plan and in your resources and keep on going.

 

8) Stick to the plan. Life gets busy.  We all have the day-to-day fires to put out and sometimes our passions and dreams get put on hold. Don't let this happen!  Keep your passion alive and never, ever give up.  Most overnight successes take ten years!

 

 

Get better today and everyday! Stick with it and you won't be in the same place twenty years from now! 

 

Life is a State of Mind

Life is a State of Mind 

Whenever I complain about my life, a good friend of mine says to me, "your life is someone else's dream".  A frustrating thing to hear, but I have realized there is no doubt that

 

life is a state of mind!

 

I first heard this line in a Peter Sellers' movie, where the main character,a gardener named Chance, walks on water, seemingly because he doesn't know that walking on water is against the laws of nature. As he is not aware of the laws he is not bound by them, or so the movie would have us believe.

 

The director is challenging our own sense of what we see and what we want to see. Are we prepared just to see the same view as others, or are we prepared to see beyond that.

 

In the last scene of the film, Chance walks through some woods near a funeral, and a series of Rand's (Chance's wealthy benefactor) personal quotations are read aloud while the coffin is carried to its final resting place. Rand's last quote coincides with the last image of the film, Just as the words "life is a state of mind" are recited, we see Chance walk on water. One possible interpretation of this scene then is the suggestion that perception creates our reality. As Chance perceives no problem, he is able to walk on the water with no problem, because "life is a state of mind."

 

 

 

A wonderful movie and one of my favourites of all time, but this is not a movie review newsletter.

 

What I would like you to think about as you watch the closing scene (blue links above), is that as business people, and more specifically, as salespeople, we determine our own fate. The way we see our situation can have a dramatic effect  on our results.

 

Sales people and companies that have big goals and, more importantly, big plans, can truly achieve great things.  

 

I have  worked in situations where my sales volume was five, seven and even ten times the average.

 

I have also worked in situations where I struggled to keep up with the lowest performer.

 

The reason was clear to me at the time and is clear to me now.  My performance was a direct result of my state of mind.  A positive, supportive and encouraging environment is one in which I thrive. In a difficult environment my energy and enthusiasm leave me like air from a punctured balloon.  For me, my life is reflective of the state of my mind.

 

I think this is the case for most of us.

 

If you want to be a top performer in the world of sales, this is what you need to do:

 

1) Find an industry you love.  If you do not like what you sell you will not be highly successful.

 

2) Find a company you respect.  If you do not believe or have confidence in your company, your prospects will sense it and your results will suffer.

 

3) Become an expert in the craft of selling, better than anyone in your company or your industry.  Most people don't read a single book after they leave school.  Be different! Read every book on selling that you can find. Listen to audio programs. Become an expert in what you sell.  Spend time in the factory, read up own your products.  Talk to your resellers and your customers. Your knowledge and competence will make you stand out.

 

4) Forget the laws of nature.  Just because everyone in your industry makes "X" means nothing.  Set your own goals and find a way to make them real. The haul-away business was nothing until 1-800-gotjunk came along.  There are hundreds of examples just like that. 

 

If you want to have a team of top performers then you need to set up a top-performing example:

 

1) Hire the right people and train them well.  Do not allow your staff to become stagnant.

 

There are too many companies and too many sales people fighting the inevitable.  If every step is a fight then you have the wrong people or the wrong system in place, or maybe even both!

 

Start right, build a winning sales system and win the game! 

 

2) Create a company that is awe inspiring.  Work on being the best and you will attract the best staff and the best clients. Be unrelenting in this pursuit.

 

3) Provide the perfect storm of supports to encourage superior results. If you support your team completely the results will come. People, like real estate, require investment. Nurture and support your team and you will get the reward. Sure, not all investments will not pay off, but that is true in all things.

 

4) Forget the laws of nature.  There are companies in boring established industries that are growing exponentially.  Your business can too!

 

Life is a state of mind and each of us have control over that state!

My Face is Red but a Lesson is Learned!

My Face is Red but a

Lesson is Learned!

 

The Power of a Different Point of View

I enjoy writing these newsletters.  Every Wednesday morning for the last 26 weeks, I have sent out a newsletter with my most passionate thoughts and ideas about sales and marketing. I plan to continue writing these weekly newsletters as the writing hones my ideas and fires my passion.

 

My focus has been on just getting each newsletter out there but a letter I received last week made me stop and think.

 

"Norman, I do not know you personally and I have no other agenda here but to help you.I have been receiving your news letters lately and have read the last 3 issues and have forwarded them to associates but it is riddled with errors and it makes me want to hit delete rather than read it.
You put yourself out as someone who can write marketing material, but your grammar sucks and you get peoples names wrong. 
 
Small stuff but !!!!!
 
Chip Wilson is the founder of Lulu Lemon, not Chuck.
 
The words Then and Than are different words,you seem to not know when to use them correctly.
 
I will still read your news letters...
 
David"  

 

My face was completely red! I do know the difference between "then" and "than". I did my undergraduate degree in English Literature! Yikes! The mistake about "Chuck" and "Chip" was the fault of my source which I should have double checked.

 

Yikes!

 

My problem isn't not knowing how to write, my problem is my inability to proof read my own writing.

 

 

 

When I do proof read my own stuff, my focus moves quickly away from how I am writing to what I am writing.

 

This is common problem which I have written about before in this newsletter. When we are too close to something, we cannot always see things clearly.

 

This is why the football coach does not play the game but watches from the sidelines, why doctors are not supposed to diagnose themselves, why business owners work with consultants and why newsletter writers should use the services of an outside proof reader.

 

The problem is that we are mostly rushing about trying to get things done and don't stop to take the time to realize that maybe an outside view would make us better. 

 

Well, within five minutes of receiving David's email, I found a proof reader and made arrangements to have this newsletter and everything I publish or that I provide to clients proof read. Her name is Megan and I believe she is bright and talented.

 

I have also scheduled the time to immediately get two newsletters "in the can" so that I am not writing and editing at six o'clock in the morning, just minutes prior to pushing the send button.

 

Another lesson here is that customer feedback is important.  David took a few minutes to tell me his thoughts about how I might do better.  I could have deleted his email and removed his email address from my database. No David, no complaints! That, however, would not make me better at what I do, or help me serve my clients. I might have told myself that David was a nitpicker who was just looking to be a critic and dismiss his email with the thought that if he doesn't like my writing then he can read something else.  I could have thought "don't sweat the small stuff", that it is about what I say, not how I say it.  Isn't that what many of us do in our businesses everyday?  

 

Well, that is NOT me!  I believe in my message passionately and I believe that I can help most businesses succeed in ways they never imagined possible.  That is my message and I want it to ring out clear.  And errors  will only serve to distract and detract from that message.

 

Thank you David! I appreciate your email and thank you for saying that you would continue to read my error- riddled emails.  I have, however, listened and acted!  Hopefully, the actions taken will solve the problem and I trust in Megan that they will.

 

The lesson I would like my readers to take from this - the reason I offer my embarrassment up on a silver plater -  is that every endeavour that is important deserves a coach to be its best.

 

The best businesses, athletes and performers make use of coaches and outside experts.  Why would your business deserve less?

 

Is the way you conduct your business embarrassing you in ways you may not even know? Do you lose customers and employees? Do suppliers not provide you with the support you need? It may not be your grammar that's the problem, but your business systems or lack of business systems that are holding you back. 

 

I have been involved with businesses that have received feedback from customers only to discount it and continue to do the same things that brought the negative comments in the first place.

 

As we all struggle to survive and grow, we often take short cuts and rush. This is understandable.  When the shortcuts and rushing become our normal way of doing business, then we need to ask if we are really saving time or just causing ourselves harm.

 

When I was ten years old, my friend's mother had a plaque on her kitchen wall that read:

 

 "The faster I go the behinder I get" 

 

That means more to me today than it ever has before.

 

My father also had an expression that he liked to use when he saw a delivery driver struggling with way too many packages, trying to get them all delivered in one trip. "A lazy man's load" he would say.

 

Your business may not be lucky enough to have someone like David as a customer to tell you to smarten up.  But if it is, be smart enough to listen!