Author : claude whitacreYour customers want the same things we all want; After the basic need to be fed, warm, and safe from the weather, we all want:

To be well liked
To be thought of as clever
To be thought of as attractive
To be thought of as special
To be accepted by our group ( friends, church, hobby, occupation any group we hold important)
To feel like we got a special deal from the local merchant
Our family to love us

See how universal these things are?
Notice they were all about the customer (or more specifically, the person wanting these things) None of these "wants" are about things We all have inner needs, and these needs are pretty universal

Did you notice that the above list of customer wants doesn\’t include buying anything? The reason customers buy is because they have the belief that owning what you sell will help bring them closer to satisfying one or more of their desires

Also notice that none of the things we want are truly altruistic? Helping other people may help us satisfy one of our desires, but the desires themself are entirely selfish

Wanting things for other people usually is way down on the list of things we want & think about Our customers are the same way It isn\’t that we are evil, it\’s that we do things for other people either out of obligation or because it makes us feel better about ourselves in some way

How does this help us as small business owners?
We can treat customers better We can, by our actions, make them feel better about buying from us We can laugh at their jokes a little more often We can listen to their stories without rolling our eyes in boredom We can treat them like new friends We can treat them like we want to be treated ourselves

The great Zig Ziglar said that you can get anything you want if you help enough people get what they want There is power in that thought

Can you make your customer feel a little more important than they felt when they first came in your store? Of course you can Can you make hem feel more clever? Sure, just credit them with a good idea or a good question when they ask a question Any small business owner can do that

Can you give them a feeling that they got a special deal, just for them? Of course It doesn\’t have to be something big Almost any little extra will do Any little extra effort will do Small businesses become bigger businesses by giving just a little extra Nothing creates BUZZ like treating you customers like real friends And the core of that idea is giving a little more than they paid for

Do you remember the last store, restaurant, or business you visited that made you feel pretty good about going there? Think hard Treat your customers like that

Appeal to a customer\’s self centered needs first, and your needs will always be taken care of It\’s one of the few ways to get rich Give more than you take

That\’s it for now
Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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Author : claude whitacreThere are many reasons why an advertisement doesn't produce a profit Here are several reasons ads fail, and how to make them profitable

Using "Image Advertising"
Most image advertising is generated by an advertising agency Image ads are created to sell the ad to the advertiser, not sell the product to the consumer Image ads are effective in one way They make the local advertising more effective It\’s easier to sell something if the name is known Credibility has already been partially established But you still need the local advertising to get the customer off the sofa and into the store Image ads create familiarity Local ads create the desire to buy the product now Great ads create the value in the product, and a reason to buy now

High expectations
Some exceptional ads will generate profits at ten or twenty times their cost But most successful ads break even with just a little profit made If your ads break even, you have created a new customer at no cost Most successful companies are happy if their ads break even They are buying their customer for free The vast majority of the profits are made on the relationship you have established with the customer, not from the first sale But making a profit on the first sale is easily done if you follow a few simple rules

Customers don\’t see your ad
If you\’re in the wrong section of the newspaper, you won\’t be seen by your most likely buyers If you\’re on a radio station that plays Heavy Metal music, and you sell hearing aids, your most likely buyers won\’t hear your ad You have to advertise where your customers are

Customers don\’t read your ad
This may be painful to hear Nobody will read your ad if they aren\’t compelled to by your headline Your company name is not a headline It creates no interest It creates no demand A headline needs to grab the reader\’s attention, and create instant interest, or the reader won\’t read the ad
Slogans are not headlines "We service what we sell" isn\’t a headline Read magazine covers Everything written on the cover is a headline They are designed to make you want to read more
Look at a newspaper Every article has a headline The paper itself has a headline Would you ever read an article without a headline? No Headlines are a way for the reader to skim through the paper (or TV, Radio, Direct Mail) to find something that grads their attention and interests them Every successful ad has a headline, and it\’s always at the top of the ad

Ads create no value
This is a major cause of ads failing The reader has to see, in the ad, how they are benefitting If you are selling a product for $500, you better show at least $1,000 of value in the ad

Ads are trying to be cute
The first place many creative ad writers go is the Clever route Cute, funny, clever ads are fun to make and feel like they should work Here\’s why they don\’t; Clever ads make the reader-listener-viewer think about the ad You want them thinking about the product Have you ever seen an infomercial? Do they use jingles? Sing songs? Tell jokes? Nope Have you ever had a sales presentation? That\’s what an ad is, a sales presentation in print Profitable sales presentations focus on three things; Benefits, benefits, and benefits The customer is asking "What\’s in it for me? What do I get? How does it benefit me?"

"Clever" entertains Giving the customer an irresistible offer sells And isn't that what we all want?Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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Author : claude whitacreThere are several points to consider if you want to start a small business to build mousetraps Of course "mousetrap" is a metaphor for any new product I just picked mousetraps because it was catchy These points will apply to that thing you sell too Just watch

1) Do people really want a better, and more expensive mousetrap? Is there something about the mousetraps sold now that people don\’t like? For example, do people get their fingers snapped by the tripping mechanism? Do they hate the idea of picking up a dead mouse to dispose of it? Is it the sight o the dead mouse? The smell? Just the idea of mangling a perfectly innocent mouse?
If so, there is a marketing and advertising opportunity here

2) Is your market growing, or shrinking? Are there more people buying mousetraps than last year? If so, you have an opportunity to ride the wave with a slightly cheaper version of the current mousetrap You may consider writing an article about the evils of mice infesting you home You could write to the local newspaper about how mice cause more damage every year than termites If the number of mousetraps sold every year is sharply declining, is it because there is something better out there killing mice? If not, building a better mousetrap, with dwindling demand, is a sure way to go bankrupt

3) The world will beat a path to your door? Really? How will they know that you even have a better mousetrap? If there are any paths that are beaten here, it\’s you beating a path to the marketplace First you have to identify the people who would buy a mousetrap at all What causes mice to invade a home? Are there demographic biases to where mice like to live? If there are no mice in California (for example), marketing your better mousetrap there would be a total waste Is there a mouse-outbreak anywhere? Do floods give rise to more mice? Hurricanes?
Is there a type of home where mice are more of a problem? One story? Basement? Fireplace?

4) Do people really want to kill mice? Would a more accepted product be one that repels mice? How about something that repels mice, and gets rid of the smell (assuming that dead mice smell) at the same time? Is that something people want? How about a way to treat the wood or insulation so that mice hate the taste, and won\’t come in at all?

5) The biggest problem I see with the quote "Build a better mousetrap " is that it assumes that the right way to sell something is to just decide what you want to build, make it good, and then let people figure out that you have it, that it will do the job they want, that it\’s worth the price, and that a mousetrap is what they want That\’s got everything in marketing in reverse
Great marketing is : Finding out what people want (what problem they have), making sure that there is a demand in place for this solution, seeing what else is out there to solve that problem,
Figuring out if they will like your product better (not they should like it better, but actually will)
And then how will you market the new solution? What type of advertising and marketing works now to sell a comparable solution? Can you find list of people that already need and want what you have? Who else is building a better mousetrap, and how do they sell it?

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door? Maybe, but that\’s not how I would bet
Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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Author : claude whitacreSelling by seeing referrals is easier than cold calling, advertising to sell is even easier So why in the world would I advise you to cold call for new business? Here is a truth that most salespeople never think about In your town, there are between ten and a hundred people today, that really want to buy what you have I mean they are looking for you at the same time you are looking for them Your goal in cold calling is to find those people You are not calling people to try to convince them to let you see them, you are calling to find the people who are already anxious to buy

So now speed comes into play You want to get through as many calls as you can in an hour These calls will become effortless, because you don\’t care about the outcome You are not selling, you are sorting So you are polite, friendly, and get to the point right away

The best cold calling pitch I ever heard was from a man selling long distance service This is about 10 years ago He called and said "I can give you long distance nationwide for three cents a minute Do you want to hear more?" No long greeting, no fake small talk, just that opening line I sais "Yes" And he proceeded to make a sale The promise he made turned out to not be real, but it doesn\’t matter He had the sale Had he told me the truth, I would still be with him today, I\’m sure

For years I was going to buy more life insurance I got married, and wanted to bu a million dolar life insurance policy I told my wife that I would buy from the first guy that called me Nobody called, not for a few years One day I decided to buy online I was filling out the application what a man walked into my store and said that he was with an insurance company that was well known, and he asked who I had my life insurance with I said "YOU!" It may have been the biggest sale in his career

You want to be there when they are ready to buy

You can also keep calling them until they are ready to buy A fast phone call from you may well get a "Not now" from the prospect But if the prospect gets a short call from you every six months, eventually he will ask you a question, or invite you in After all, you now have a relationship of sorts

Making these sort of rapid fire cold calls may get you an appointment every hour or two Maybe only one appointment after four hours of calling But this appointment will be with a high quality prospect who is prepared to buy

One point you need to know You should make these calls yourself You\’ll be the voice they hear You\’ll be able to decide, right there, if you wan to see them or not If you are the one making the call, and you have called six times to get the appointment, it will be you they have the relationship with Don\’t farm this out

You need to make these calls as fast as you can If you only make three or four calls in an hour, you will never make this work, and time will drag for you Try to knock out twenty five contacts an hour

You\’ll still want to get referrals from your customers, see past customers and other methods But cold calling like this will get you new customers, new sources of fresh referrals, and more money for you Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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Author : claude whitacreDid you ever work as a salesperson in a large sales organization? If you have, you\’ll remember the rah rah sales meeting complete with company songs, slogans you repeated in unison, and the big sales contest Sales organizations rely on these events far more than any other profession

Do doctors, dentists, plumbers, engineers, CPAs, teachers, electricians, retail store owners, truck drivers, or florists have rah rah meetings before each day of doing their job? No Why? Because they are fully trained They are completely secure in their ability to do their job
In most cases (but not all) sales motivation is a substitute for real training Sales company CEOs love these types of meetings because they think motivated salespeople sell more, and they do, for about a day

Sales motivation doesn\’t last for the same reason laughing at a joke doesn\’t last The emotional connection to the moment lasts, well, for only a moment

What lasts? Comradery Feeling like you are a member of a close knit group Company picnics help in this area Soldiers will fight in battle a little because they are defending our country and a lot because they never want to let their fellow soldier down

One of the smartest investments I ever saw was a company weekend in Texas There were 1,500 company reps there The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders entertained us (They are tiny girls, all the exact same size) There were "on time drawings" for $1,000 New cars were given to top producers And there was beer and barbeque for the whole weekend They filmed highlights of the event, and sent all attendees a copy, complete with Texas music, and full of shots of virtually everyone having a great time with their group We left bonded to our fellow salespeople The stories that we told about that weekend echoed for a year A few million dollars well spent, I think Do you know who wanted to go the next year? Everybody The motivation that meeting provided, lasted

A reality for most of us is that selling is something contrary to the way we were brought up For many of us, trying to get someone to give you money, even for a fantastic, needed product, is an unnatural act So companies try to motivate us past that uncomfortable hurtle

Here is an exercise I used in a sales meeting that made a big difference Try it
I had every salesperson in the room write out a list of features that our product (we only sold one product) had We all joined in this discussion The list was long, maybe 150 features
I then had everyone privately list all the benefits to each single feature Personally, I came up with more than 500 Almost everyone had 200 or more in total
I then asked everyone to check off the single benefits that would, by themselves, justify buying the product In other words, if the product gave only that one benefit, I would personally buy it I came up with six The answers were private I then had them count groups of benefits until the group of benefits would persuade them to buy I think I personally had thirty or so groups of benefits that would justify my buying

Then I said "Now you are armed You now have more reasons to buy than any prospect has to not buy " I told them to keep this list (most were several pages) and look at them often if they don\’t feel motivated to sell that day I helped well enough to include it with every group of salespeople I\’m training

Activity replaces the need for quick motivation I always paired up a new salesperson with an experienced one The experienced rep could brag about how he did things (a genuine need in some people), and he would show the new guy that selling wasn\’t dangerous, evil, dirty work The new guy made the experienced guy actually work The older rep had to work, to show the new guy how it was done Win-win

Selling is also a pro-active profession Making cold calls isn\’t fun for any of us except the purest sociopath Making calls is fraught with rejection More people say "No" than say "Yes" if you call on them And the national Do Not Call lists make calling strangers harder

So we designed our marketing so that prospects called us You may not have the motivation to pick up the hone to make a call, but you have to pick up the phone to answer it, no matter how motivated you are And when they call, you just about have to make an appointment, or you would be rude Sales success is practically forced on you

And when prospects call you, it\’s a completely different dynamic It\’s vary hard to hang up on you, if prospect call you They can\’t call you a "Pushy Salesman" if they called you

We just offer a great gift if they will take a look at our product They call, and we set the appointments for when it was convenient for us We found that the more in demand the gift is, the better our sales The better the referrals, and the more money we made

Learning how to qualify prospect changes everything in the selling world Instead of you trying to figure our how to sell your product, you ask questions to decide if you want to show your product

Learning how to show the prospect how your product or service fits them perfectly is a key to generating a high volume of sales I would simply point out every feature that applied to them, and show them the benefits that applied to them I would either ignore or just briefly state the features that didn\’t apply to them directly

A truth is, if the product is everything they want, and they sit on the edge of their seats because if fits them so well, and the value they see is twice the asking price, closing is an afterthought

Salespeople need skills The motivation comes after selling becomes easy
Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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Author : claude whitacreBuy what you sell Do you sell a product or service that is used my most people? Then you need to buy what you sell Very soon after you start selling, you\’ll be asked by prospects what you use You\’ll be asked if you own what you sell In every instance, your answer will either help or hurt your chance at a sale And don\’t lie There are a thousand signals you give off when you lie And most are visible on your face and in your body language If your lucky, buying what you sell may even count in generating sales commissions and count for contests If not, your brother needs one Buy it for him and borrow it forever

Listen to your sales manager Your sales manager has the experience to save you lots of time in your learning curve Do what she says until you know more than she does Her job is to help you make more money So it\’s a win-win

Ask to ride with an experienced rep Make sure that this person is the most successful person in the office A week should do it Offer to carry things, buy the coffee, and promise to keep quiet while they are selling Nothing you add will help them in a sales presentation The benefit you get is that you\’ll see that selling isn\’t unpleasant, nobody really yells at you, selling is a completely natural act, and you\’ll pick up pointers on how to make sales
Don\’t offer to go with the losers who aren\’t making money They can\’t help you and will kill any drive you have at the beginning If you hear them say "Oh, that doesn\’t work" it\’s a tip off that they aren\’t going to be of help to you

Don\’t hang out with the losers You\’ll be able to spot them right away They don\’t work hard, and they always blame someone else for their failure, usually the company They hang out together, and will do activities all day that have nothing to do with selling The unpopular guy, the one that\’s always out selling and breaking company records that\’s who you talk to

Stay with the company you are with The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence Why? Because you aren\’t looking closely As long as your company keeps it\’s promises to you, and provides a great product or service, you will always be better off staying with that company Legends aren\’t born by moving from company to company Reputations are killed by moving around The longer you stick with a company that keeps it\’s word, the more momentum you build with your customers Longevity with a company builds trust in the mind of customers Starting over, always starts with Zero Bloom where you are planted

Practice your prepared presentation As long as the company has a planned presentation, you should use it Soon you\’ll begin to see how every part of the presentation works to build the sale and speed up the selling process Eventually, you may not use the company presentation But to discard it because "It\’s just not me" is like an actor saying "Shakespeare? I\’ll wing it"

Use company visual aids Company visual aids, if provided, establish a credibility in the mind of the consumer You look more solid if you have company visual aids A presentation with visuals will keep you and the prospect on track toward the sale It will make sure most of the prospect\’s questions are answered before they become objections A company prepared presentation adds credibility to your company and in you Sharp looking visual aids create a sense of "Permanence" to your customer\’s vision of your company They look more "Official" than a presentation without visual aids Not using your visual aids is like having a hammer and saying " I can put that nail in better myself" and just throwing the hammer away Your visual aids are tools They make your job easier

Track your sales and sales activities Keep records of what matters to you I used to keep records of my sales commissions I knew where I was by the day, week, and month I knew if I needed to work harder, or if I could take a day off This income schedule included the sales calls and presentations Wouldn\’t you like to know how much money you earn for every sales call you make, whether they buy or not? How much you earn for every hour of sales activity? Just never lie to yourself These records are far more powerful as sales motivation than any motivational sales meeting What you measure, you can improve

Sell to your warm market Who else would you trust to take care of your friends and relative\’s needs? People want to deal with people they know and trust Wouldn\’t you want to buy from someone you know? If you get referrals from relatives, even close ones, you\’ll very quickly be talking to people you never met

Get rid of the Beginner Myths These vary by industry and type of selling In my industry (I sold in prospect\’s homes), the myth\’s were 1) They would buy later and 2) You didn\’t need to see both husband and wife together I couldn\’t break new people of these beliefs I just had to let them find out for themselves, and remind them after a few weeks of selling Your industry myths may be different

Be a selling student I was asked once about my education I finished high school That\’s it
Here is a reality that I like to point out When most people graduate from high school, that means they stopped reading and studying when they were 18 years old A college education means you stopped reading and studying when you were 22 or 24 years old That\’s the main difference
Study books about selling from people who made their fortunes selling, not books by people who think they know what selling should be like A hundred dollars invested at amazon com can build you a great sales library After a year of studying your sales craft, and applying what you learn, you\’ll be ahead of the rest of the pack, I promise
Small business advertising expert Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or you can just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.comSubmitted By ArticleUnited.com Submission Services

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