“Today I’m Selling” GIST

Here is the inescapable truth about doing business in 2009+.

You HAVE to be connected

You HAVE to spend a lot of time on-line

You HAVE to know what’s going on

You just can’t get by doing busy work anymore – you need to reach out and be reachable.

Gist is a brilliant product that tracks all of your contacts and prospects for you.  If they write a post, have a news event, are mentioned … you know about it without doing all of the work.

Nothing works better than a note to a prospect or customer, “I saw XYZ in the news … way to go!” … and you can do that in minutes a day using Gist.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO.LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” GMAIL VS. OUTLOOK

Believe me, I’m a huge fan of Microsoft and especially Outlook.  I have used it for years, I have about 10 plugins and have actually created several myself (for personal use).
Recently, though, I opened GMAIL and began to play around.  In about 10 minutes I had my inbox set up to automatically route emails to ranked in-boxes.   If you are not a customer, prospect, or close associate your email goes to various folders I can look at once a day or once a week.  If you are it goes to a folder that I look at several times a day.

I have finally released myself from e-mail addiction because I know that if there is an important email I’ll know about it (and find it quickly) – and the rest is not worth my time right now.

Brilliant.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” CLIPIOLA ROUND PAPER CLIPS

Everyone pays attention to small details.  When you use an elegant paper clip on a mailing or letter they notice.

When you use a cheep one they notice that too.

What’s a few pennies when it comes to differentiating yourself as someone who pays attention to details?

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” READ INC. MAGAZINE

I don’t have time for much of anything anymore.  You probably don’t either.

I like to, and so do you, get my news and pertinent information from people I trust who recommend it on Twitter … or from great BLOGS.

But I stop each month, take two hours, and scour through Inc. magazine.  There is real power in a magazine that a staff of 30 have spent two months compiling, editing, clarifying, and simplifying.  And it is written about, by, and for business owners with the one thing you can’t buy – experience.

There are not many magazines or papers that are worth the time to read anymore – but Inc. is one you always walk away from a more knowledgeable business owner.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” BASKIN-ROBBINS ICE CREAM

When you buy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream you get delicious ice cream and you support global warming reduction and seal fishing protection efforts of two very wealthy men.

When you buy Haagen-Dazs ice cream you get delicious, all natural ice cream and you support a family company started in NY that has made good and become a large international company.

But when you buy Baskin-Robbins you get delicious ice cream and you support a local small business owner and the college funds of the high school students they hire from your neighborhood.

The economy is tough enough … help your local small business owner out.  The seals are doing fine.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” SLEEP 7-9 HOURS, NOT 5

By now you’ve certainly read this month’s Inc magazine spread on productivity.  The magazine had its expected sprinkling of over-the-top go-getter’s who sleep 3 hours a night (Donald Trump is the most famous of these).  While vastly successful this is not a model I recommend for one important reason; it’s too simplistic.

What’s more important is how productive you are in the hours you are working – not how many hours you work.

If I sleep 5 hours I have a lot of time in the day – but I generally get way more done if I’ve slept 9.  You probably will too.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” CRAYOLA – NOT THE OFF BRAND

Let’s admit it; everyone’s kid is an artistic genius.  That first time they keep within the lines … or draw a human that has a head, a body, two arms, and two legs … it’s amazing.

For my family it was the first time my oldest son drew blood pouring out of a wound he’d inflicted on a robot with his light-saber.

Those pictures are worth keeping.  Not for the kids … but for you and me.  So we can pull them out 15 years from now and relive the great feelings.

You never know when that memorable picture is going to appear.  Why risk losing the opportunity for that great feeling by saving $0.50  on fake crayons?

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

“Today I’m Selling” LET YOUR KID BE

It’s very, very, very difficult being a parent in 2010.  The pressures to do everything “just right” are astounding.  Your kids have to eat the right foods, play with the right friends, see the right videos, learn sign language, learn Spanish, get into this pre-school, and play with these toys.  On and on … it’s too much and, most importantly, it’s doesn’t allow for the fact that we’re all human and we all are imperfect beings.

So stop all of the clutter for a minute and think about the one thing you want to make sure you do NOT screw up.  What’s the one thing, of all the things you can do for your kid, that you want to do right?  Well for me it is self confidence.  I want my kids to be confident, happy, outgoing people who don’t fear the world, fear challenges, or have a sense of disappointment with life.

If I do nothing else that’s what I’m going to do right and to do that right I lay off a little.  I let them make mistakes, I let them have fun, eat candy, make decisions and drop the ball.  I coach them along … but I take my time … I’ve noticed that over time they gain something much more valuable than learning Latin; the gain a sense of satisfaction for who they are and how they will be able to handle what life throws their way.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

.

.

“Today I’m Selling” BE AS HONEST AS POSSIBLE

Here’s the deal … when your old the only thing you’ll really have are memories of your life.  If you’ve been honest and good and tried to make up for the times you weren’t you’ll have pleasant memories.  If you haven’t you’ll be plagued with regret and disappointment in who you were and what you offered others.

Be selfish – give yourself a peaceful retirement by being honest, good, and setting things right whenever you need to.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

.

.

“Today I’m Selling” SUBSCRIBING TO A PAPER NEWSPAPER

Want a prospective customer to call you back?  Send them a newspaper clipping in the mail with a short, handwritten note, “saw this and thought of you.”

1. You stand out – no one else will do this
2. You come off as educated and well read (especially if the paper is the WSJ, the IBD, or the like)
3. You show them you know something about them and are thinking of them
4. Again, your competitors ARE NOT doing this.

There is a difference between being a well thought of smart person and being someone with a reputation as “exceptional”.  This will make you exceptional.

Buy the paper, read it every day with a pair of scissors, a nice pen and your stationary near by.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

.

.

“Today I’m Selling” BUYING A $1000 OVERCOAT

You see someone in a Porsche and you don’t necessarily think they are successful.  More often than not, in fact, you hear comments about their manhood, or their spouse, or their snobbery.

See a giant mansion and you get hear a lot of negative comments included in the positive.

See someone in a really beautiful overcoat.  I’m talking a $1000 camel or butterscotch color Italian hand-stitched coat and the impression is positive all the way.  That person looks successful, they look confident, they attract positive attention.

Image is important in business and there are few things you can spend money on that leave a sure impression.  A $1000 overcoat has all of the upside of a great car or office but none of the downside.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

.

.

“Today I’m Selling” BRUSH YOUR TEETH EVERY DAY

Don’t want to die of a heart attack?  How about avoiding Alzheimer’s disease?  New studies (they are still in the early stages but look promising) are showing a direct link between gum health (tooth plaque) and heart disease (plaque in your veins) and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease.

I’ve not been excellent at developing this habit either … but the facts are starting to tell a story I think we didn’t understand in the past.

Brush your teeth twice a day – if you don’t you’ll pay too dear cost later.

PS – if you’re interested this article is a good start

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) CREATES FINANCIAL WEALTH.

.

.

Today I’m Selling DO NOT REGULATE THE DERIVATIVES MARKET

Right now the derivatives (yes, one of the key financial instruments that brought down the financial markets in 2008) is an “over the counter” unregulated market.  Congress is working to find a way to regulate it but they keep getting stuck.  Even Alan Greenspan is fiercely pushing against regulation.

So I suggest we don’t regulate it.  Instead I suggest we develop a warning system similar to the one we use on cigarette packages.  It would read something like this, “Warning, this stock/company/institution has a portion of its assets invested in the OTC Derivatives market.  By depositing your money with this bank/company/institution you are putting your funds at what may be very high and unknown risk.  The United States government does not recommend you invest in companies who use these investment vehicles.  Deposit your money at your own risk.”

If the market does not want to be regulated that’s fine with me, but hiding the risk isn’t fair or appropriate.  I think it’s fair to the let the market set its rules for how it wants to operate as long as the US Government warns people they could lose everything if they do business with these companies.

I have a feeling the financial industry will be begging for regulation within 18 months of a warning like this.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) MAKES WEALTHY.

.

.

Today I’m Selling SHOEBOXED.COM

Okay, quick question:  On a scale of zero to ten how satisfied are you with the paper trail you have for your business expenses?  Good.  Now, same scale – zero to ten – how satisfied are you with your paper trail if you knew you were being audited next week?

Want to answer “nine or ten” to both of those questions?  Try shoeboxed.com.  It is a receipt scanning service that ensures you’ll never have to worry about proving ANYTHING to the IRS … EVER.  It’s all there.  I *love* this service.

Think of it another way.  The top-of-the-line service is $50 a month – that’s $600 a year.  You can make that back easily if:

• You’re paying a bookkeeper to sort and organize your receipts today.
• You ever get audited
• You sometimes forget about expenses and, therefore, miss the deduction
• Your accountant ever needs to see the expenses or wants you to deliver them to [him]
• You think that, at some point, you’ll want to get a loan, or an equity investment.
• You think that, at some point, you’ll want to sell the business.

Having all those receipts there, on-line, categorized and accounted for … it’s priceless.

.

“TODAY I’M SELLING” IS A SERIES DEDICATED TO PRACTICING YOUR SALES PITCHING CAPABILITIES. WE’LL POST A PRODUCT … WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST PITCH … AND THEN YOU GIVE YOURS. GIVE IT A TRY – IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO. LEAVE YOUR OWN PITCH IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WOULD CHANGE.  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND PERFECT (IN SALES) MAKES WEALTHY.

.

.

Today I’m Selling iPHONE OVER BLACKBERRY

Is it really true that you’re cool with the Internet being, “that thing that sits on a computer somewhere I have internet access”?  Remember 10 years ago when someone said, “you really need to get the internet” and you thought, “come on, I watch the nightly news, what’s the big deal?”

It’s all changed, right?

Well not having the internet in your pocket is sort of the same thing.  Too much is happening on the internet, too many things are stored there, too much of your life depends on real time status and information.  And the only way to stay on top of it all is to have the internet with you at all times … sitting in your pocket.

The only way to get the internet (the real internet, the full functioning internet) in your pocket is to have an iPhone.

Other phones are cool.  The Blackberry, for example, is very utilitarian and extremely useful for keeping up with colleagues, family, and customers … but it’s only that – a communication device – it’s not the internet.

When it comes right down to it the question MUST be this, “do I agree that the internet is important enough to me, to the decisions I make, and to my future that I need to have it with me or am I okay to only have access to it when some computer with some wire somewhere I left it is the way I get onto the net?”

.

“Today I’m Selling” is a series dedicated to practicing your sales pitching capabilities. We’ll post a product … we’ll give our best pitch … and then you give yours. Give it a try – it will make you better at what you do. Leave your own pitch in the comments section or let us know what you liked or would change.  Practice makes perfect and perfect (in sales) makes wealthy.

.

.

Today I’m Selling BLACKBERRY OVER iPHONE

Jean-Paul Sartre would be proud of me – but I think I’d like to propose a semi-transcendental view of a blackberry phone.  If you really stop and think about why you have a blackberry – it is to make sure you never waste any spare time.  Here are a few examples of what I mean:

• Standing in line at the grocery store
• Stopped at a red light
• On the subway or a bus
• During commercials of your favorite show
• Waiting for a meeting to start

You see?  What Blackberry has really done for us as a profession is give us access to all the spare minutes we used to waste.  Now we use them to get caught up on communication and news.

So what does an iPhone do?  Well, in much the same way it is there to ensure we don’t lose those wasted minutes … but the problem is it mostly fills those wasted minutes with unproductive, useless time-grabbers: playing a game, a song, checking Facebook, ordering flowers or a book, learning Spanish.  Kudos to the great design, kudos to all the applications.  But at the end of the day what we really need to do to be successful is use our time wisely.

A Blackberry saves my wasted minutes, uses them productively, and keeps me on task.  An iPhone?  Not so much.

“Today I’m Selling” is a series dedicated to practicing your sales pitching capabilities. We’ll post a product … we’ll give our best pitch … and then you give yours. Give it a try – it will make you better at what you do. Leave your own pitch in the comments section or let us know what you liked or would change.  Practice makes perfect and perfect (in sales) makes wealthy.

.

Today I’m Selling CROWDSPRING

In the fall of 1906 a British scientist and statistics professor, Francis Galton,  stumbled on an extraordinary truth.  While attending a county fair of sorts he saw an expose with a beef cow on display with the crowd being encouraged to guess its weight – typical county fair fun.  After the awards had been given and the exhibitor was shutting down for the evening Francis asked if he could have the tickets for his class.

When he went home, to his great shock and amazement, he realized that while no person had come closer than 10% of the correct weight the crowd of 780 attendees had guessed the right answer to within 1/2 a kilogram.

Francis spent the next 20 years gathering similar data.  Jelly beans in a jar, the weight of a bag of cotton balls, the eventual height of a pile of blocks: the results were always the same.  The crowd, on average, always gets the right answer.

Fast forward to 2010 and the age of the internet and the flat world.  Along comes Crowdspring a design website where the crowd designs your marketing material.  You post a project, give a budget and some basic instructions and about 100 designers from all over the world give you three or four of their best ideas for accomplishing what you’re trying to do.   The crowd gives you their opinion – you get the right answer.

Having a brand team in-house is a great and appropriate idea – but relying on one or two minds to develop a cogent, powerful idea isn’t.  Crowdspring is a very inexpensive, powerful, and enlightened tool that puts you back in the driver seat; you now see all angles and all options and you can pick the optimal output.

In real estate you get rich on the buy, not the sell.  Similarly in marketing you succeed based on the work you put into the idea and concept before you launch – Crowdspring gives you a leg up.

“Today I’m Selling” is a series dedicated to practicing your sales pitching capabilities. We’ll post a product … we’ll give our best pitch … and then you give yours. Give it a try – it will make you better at what you do.  Leave your own pitch in the comments section or let us know what you liked or would change.  Practice makes perfect and perfect (in sales) makes wealthy.

Worried About Hitting Your Sales Numbers?

Things to Do Right Away to Make 2008 a Success

As of Nov. 1, you, me and everyone in America have 40 days left to sell in 2008. Let’s take a look at the three techniques the top 5 to 7 percent of sales reps in America use during these 40 days. If you use these techniques you should expect to close more than double the business you traditionally close in November and December. The three techniques are: 1) Separate the red from the green apples; 2) Separate the prospects with decision-maker involvement from those without; and 3) Use intense focus.

What’s a Red Apple?

A “red apple” is the term we use for a prospect with an existing plan to make a change that requires your product or service. Buying is a decision to change; not all prospects have made the decision to change. If your prospect has a plan, a budget, and will choose you or one of your competitors, consider that a “red apple.”

If your prospect is only considering a change, studying the idea or in any way “kicking the tires,” he or she has not yet made the decision to change. It is possible the prospect will, and may, buy from you but it is also entirely possible he or she will decide not to change. These prospects are “green apples.”

Green apples should be considered valuable long-term investments. Green apples should not be considered 2007 opportunities. Ask the friendliest person in marketing to come up with a simple plan to keep green apples in the loop for the next two months while you focus on red apples.

Decision Makers

DMs, or decision makers, are the on/off switch of your sell. Spend 15 seconds with each red apple prospect (remember the green apples are already off your radar screen) and ask the simple question, “Is the DM in the loop?” If yes, you have a focal point for November and December. If not, take that afternoon to call your key contacts at these prospects and ask, “What does the timing look like for getting the DM involved?” If the answer is within a very short time frame, say a week, consider this a “DM prospect.” If not, bring a list to your friend in marketing and ask him or her to watch over those accounts as well.

You now have a list of red apples where DMs are engaged. This is a hot list. This is where intense focus becomes your best tool. As long as you can trust your ally in marketing, you need to physically and emotionally separate yourself from all green apples and any red apples where the DM isn’t part of your “cast of characters.” It is time to focus your energy where it matters most.

Am I Going To Hit My Number?

Now that you have your hot list, the question becomes, “Is it hot enough to hit my numbers for 2008?” HBS studies have shown that any prospect list with expected revenue of at least five times the needed revenue will give you more than a 75 percent chance of hitting your number. Our direct experience puts that number much closer to 100 percent. If you have a goal of $1 million for this quarter and you have $5 million in the red apple, DM-engaged pipeline, you should go ahead and put that down payment on the 911 Turbo you’ve been eyeing.

If you are not lucky enough to be in that position after this filter, you must do three things. First, try even harder. You have to close a high percentage of this pipeline so start getting up at 4:30 a.m., put away the NBA tickets and get busy; many, many clients have accomplished this goal without the five-times advantage. Second, re-work the non-DM red apples. See what you can do to get them on your hot list. Third, commit to yourself that you will never be in this position again and start saving up for the down payment on that 911 for next December.

Were you worried about $4 gas? How about your 10% sales close rate?

If I could find a way to get the part of your mind that was concerned about $4.25 at the pump to make the same connection to your 10% close rate, I could make you rich.  Fact is you shouldn’t just be concerned about a sub-50% close rate, you should be seeing red alarm bells going off.  $4 hits you in the wallet; what about the nine (or eight, or seven, or five) prospects that didn’t buy from you?  Four-dollar gas costs you and extra $100 a month; nine prospects not buying costs you $20,000.  Losing $20,000 a month is the equivalent of paying $320 a gallon for gas.

So why did those prospects not buy and what can you do about it?  There are two key reasons.  I discussed the first reason in a previous post … here is the second (of two) reasons.

REASON #2 of 2:

Those prospects don’t buy because you didn’t dollarize.

People make money to spend it – but companies make money to keep it.  Companies don’t buy products for entertainment value or to keep up with the neighbors.  Companies buy things so they can make more money.  If you haven’t shown the prospect how they are going to make money with your service, they are going to have a very difficult time separating themselves from their money.

To dollarize is to put things in dollars and cents.  Businesses speak in dollars and cents.  They speak in return on investment and profit and loss.  Businesses don’t speak in value; they have a hard time putting dollar figures around things like “you’ll have more time on your hands” or “you’ll have a faster network.”  Put it in dollars and cents and raise your close percentage.

KEY POINT:  If you only talk about the expense (otherwise known as price), your customer will never see you as a novel way to make more money – to be profitable.  Stop selling people on how much money they lose by buying from you; start dollarizing.

Four-dollar gas is no fun, but it is nothing like prospects walking away without buying.  Prospects buy when they are sick and you can heal them; show them how and you win.  Let me dollarize it for you:  take the average revenue from a new customer times the number that don’t buy each month … add the loaded cost of your sales rep times the percent of prospects that don’t buy:  that is your dollarized loss.  Convinced you need to work on your close rate?  Good, I can assure you these two principles work – my clients have a close rate much closer to 85%.