Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category

• Are your sales suffering and you are not closing as many deals as you should?
• Do you truly want this year to bring a money breakthrough?
• Is it time to improve your sales skills so you are maximizing your performance?
• Are you setting yourself up for success?

Join me on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 6pm EST and learn how to quickly identify the biggest sales mistakes made by many inexperienced sales representatives and how to avoid making them.

During this free and highly energetic teleclass, I’ll teach you about the sales process and the biggest mistakes made by many in sales. I’ll also teach you tips to maximize your performance and convert more customers to your business.

Ready to cut to the chase and reserve your seat?

http://kelliedandrea.com/blog/marketing-mondays/

Whether in good times or bad, we all want to generate more leads that convert into sales and profits so we can build the business of our dreams and live a life filled with the freedom, fun and family. There are simple steps that you can take to immediately, even during our call that will help you open the valve and get your pipeline filled.

On the call you’ll learn:

- the simple actions you can take now to master the sales process.
- the authentic way to attract more customers into your sales funnel.
- the most important and rarely taken step that triggers the flow of opportunities

Sign up here
http://kelliedandrea.com/blog/marketing-mondays/

*SEND IN YOUR QUESTIONS*

Do you have a question relating to this week’s topic, “12 Biggest Sales Blunders and How to Avoid Them” with Kellie D’Andrea, The Customer Experience Coach?

You can email your questions in ADVANCE of the call. This is advantageous to you because you have an opportunity to get your question answered even if you can’t make the call.

Please send your questions to:

info@kelliedandrea.com

Just put Marketing Monday Question in the subject line and your question will be worked into the program.

In today’s information age, people are overwhelmed with information, data, and events to the point of being bombarded.  With the advancement of technology that overwhelmed feeling is increased tenfold by the quick access to everything.  So what does this mean when you are trying to command the attention of your audience, a prospect, an employee or a client?

With information overload in abundance, the attention span of most people is shortening requiring marketers to come up with creative ways to make messages stick and to use communication tactics designed for maximum impact.  A proven and influential technique is to use storytelling in your sales meetings, presentations and employee communication.  Studies have shown that people think visually.  When they are asked to recall a word typically it is not the spelling of the word that enters into the heads of the audience rather the image of that word enters into their heads.

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Throughout history, fortunes have been made by people whose first big break came from a friend of a friend or a close contact.  Long before computers and the internet, there was another way to make business connections – networking.  By networking with others, you have the ability to open opportunities and   make connections that could lead to your ultimate success. 

Business is an art based upon human connection and emotion and to effectively develop meaningful relationships, you need to get out from behind your computer and engage in meaningful conversations, support and introductions.

Here are some tips for effective networking:

• Openly engage with others:  Be proud of what you do and don’t hesitate to talk to others about yourself and your business but do not focus on yourself.  Master your elevator pitch and get involved in conversations and allow the other person to talk about what they do as well.  Once you find a commonality, leverage it for additional conversation.

•   Be visible:  Join meetings, groups, functions, and forums.  Any venue that brings together groups of likeminded people that allows you to network with others.  Trade associations, chamber of commerce and local business support groups are a great way to get involved.  Be sure to participate and to be active in your groups.  Get out there, get involved and meet people.

• Become an expert in your field:  Positioning yourself as an expert in your field will allow your reputation to flourish.  Networking will be easier because others will seek you out simply for your expertise on a particular subject matter.

• Give and you shall receive:  These are the BLAST marketing words of wisdom.  Offer free advice, suggestions and help to others looking for it.  Write articles, whitepapers and blog posts to support your credibility as an expert and give your information away freely.

• Keep a contact file:  Networking is about developing systems.  You should have a system for keeping information on the contacts you meet including contact information, discussion, personal information and what they do.

• Develop a follow up system:  Follow up is critical in networking.  Be sure to create a system that automates your follow up.   The key is to develop relationships so follow up is an essential piece of networking and allows you to set up subsequent meetings and discussions to help further your objective.

• Connect others together:  A master networking taps into his or her networks and makes connections for others to come together and do business together.  Take a look at your network and identify needs and challenges and make introductions to others in your network for the sole purpose of helping someone else with no expectation of an outcome.

Networking is essential to good business and has proven over and over again to be the catalyst for many successful deals.  Become a networking rockstar and continue to act in the service of others and to be genuine in your connections with others.  People will see right through you if you are phony and self serving but if you truly enjoy what you do and are authentic, you will become a successful networker.

©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?

You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D’Andrea is the creator of BLAST Marketing System  and publishes “The Marketing Edge” a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Interesting  in learning more, sign up for FREE Marketing Classes “Marketing Mondays” and learn how to position your business for success.  www.kelliedandrea.com.

Sales letters are a very effective way to get your message out. Whether you are sending out a direct letter or using email as your distribution strategy, to make your sales letter fabulous, you need to get your creative juices flowing and write something powerful that people will want to read. You must be compelling, conversational, and creative. Here are five tried and true methods for writing fabulous sales letters. Give them a try and watch your results soar.

1. The Big Question
The big question sets the stage for an answer. In your headline or in your opening paragraph, you should open up with a big and (sometimes) provocative question that gets the reader thinking and searching for those same answers. This will compel the reader to continue on in search of the answer. For example, “Have you ever wondered if there was something more to life? If I told you I had a program guaranteed to show you how to reach your goals, would you be interested?” Basic psychology tells us that when you ask a question, people will immediately try to find the answer. This creates an immediate connection with your reader and leads them to your answer – your product or service.

2. Storytelling
One of the best sales secrets out there is storytelling. When writing your sales letters, try to lead with a story that your reader can relate to. For example, when I started my business, I had no idea how to attract new clients. I was not a marketing person and wanted nothing to do with it, but I knew it was a critical element to my business. Then I purchased “Marketing 101” and instantly, my fears disappeared. I gained instant peace of mind, attracted new clients and watched my profits soar. The goal is to write a story that the readers want to hear- one that relates to their situation and creates empathy.

3. Free Offer
People love certain words and free is one of them. Offer your readers something free right up front and they will feel compelled to continue reading out of obligation. Although your offer is free, it is understood that you are offering it in exchange for them reading your letter. For example, on my own website, “Would you like a free 5 part miniseries on entrepreneurism? Then just go to www.kelliedandrea.com.”

4. Personal Testimonial
Another good technique is to connect right away with a personal testimonial from somebody your reader knows. For example, your friend James recommended we contact you because he thought our product would be helpful to you to reach your goals. If you operate a referral program, this is extremely easy. Just be sure to capture the names and the connections and once the reader sees the name of someone they know, the letter makes a strong personal connection.

5. Problem Identifier
Fear is a powerful emotion and the advertising industry has been using this as a powerful marketing tool for years. By creating a sales message that produces a fear in your readers, they will be more compelled to continue reading in hopes of finding a solution to that fear. For example, “Did you know that home values have dropped by 72%? Where is your security?” If you are in the financial services business, this may be an effective way to create fear and motivate your reader to purchase your products.

The overall objective to a sales letter is to “hook” your reader to take action. You have less than 3 seconds to grab their attention and less than 30 seconds after that for them to decide whether they will read, skim or dispose of your letter. You must take every action possible in order to keep your readers interested and these 5 methods are excellent was to do so.

©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Every business owner, even the really successful ones have been guilty of making mistakes in their business. The difference between the truly successful ones and those that aren’t are that they learn from their mistakes and are not afraid to take the risks to deploy strategies to take their business to the next level. Here are nine strategies for you to start using in your business today.

1. Don’t Work Without A Plan
You wouldn’t take a vacation without planning your days, activities and your budgets so why would you run your business without a plan. A solid marketing plan is the foundation to every successful business and if you want to achieve greatness, you must be thinking about how you are going to accomplish this each and every day.

2. Stay True to Your Mission and Be The Leader
Every business has a brand identity. A reason they went into business and an impression that they want to leave with their customers. Do not sway from your mission. To be the leader in your market, you must be the first to try new things. Do not do what your competition is doing by mimicking their marketing and advertising. Stand apart from the masses and be unique.

3. Consistency is the Key
Once you have a powerful message, shout it from the rooftops and shout it out often. Your message has to be repeated over and over again and in every communication the business sends out into the marketplace both internal and external – Your marketing material, your website, your employees and every client touch point should be screaming the same message every time.

4. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
To really accelerate your business, you must build a business based upon referrals. To obtain referrals you must master the art of the follow up. You business will grow from your existing client base either engaging additional services or referring you to others. Keep in touch with them often.

5. Don’t Be A Super Hero
Do not try to go at it alone. You are not a superhero and will eventually burn out quickly. Surround yourself with talented people and lead them to victory. You focus on what you do best and outsource other tasks to topic experts who can help advance your business.

6. Wow ‘Em
The best activity you can focus on is to wow your customers. Create an experience that they will remember. The best customer experience is generated by the details. Those little things that make all the difference in the world and usually doesn’t cost the business owner much to do.

7. Leverage Your Systems
From this point forward, you should be thinking about how you can leverage your business. Everything that you do should be able to support multiple efforts and activities. For example, if you are marketing, how can you use that same marketing in other venues. If you write an article, can you turn that content into other pieces like an ebook, a blog post or a white paper that you can give to your customers.

8. Network Every Day
Business is built by the people you meet. Make a goal for yourself to network each and every day. A good system is to commit to reaching out to five new people a day to introduce yourself and to see how you can assist them with no expectation of a returned favor.

9. Build Alliances with Influencers
Chances are there are other businesses that complement your offering. Align yourself with those other business owners and collaborate on how you can help each other’s business. This will give you an opportunity to reach a new market, offer new products and build your network within your industry.