Has the Internet changed the way we sell?

The salesperson has changed in a lot of respects.  The old school way of taking someone out for drinks and then closing the deal just doesn't happen much anymore.  In this day and age it almost seems easier to shoot off an email to someone and then tell your boss you called on them.  That's hardly a sales call.

Has the Internet changed the way we sell?

For a lot of people it has.  One of the most important aspects of selling is being intuitive and recognizing a person's body language.  The intuitive side of selling is huge, and many people under estimate it, often times ignoring how important it is in the selling cycle.  Without noticing the buying signals we wouldn't have a sale, or would we? 

The dictionary describes an order taker as someone who doesn't put in a diligent effort to increase existing business.  With business getting tougher and more competitive for everyone, it is important to continue to cultivate new business, increase the revenue from the customers you already have, and maintain relationships.  Shooting off an email is not the answer.

All of us are guilty of sending a quick email and getting it off our desks so to speak.  We can blame the growth and magnitude of the Internet for this new age of selling we are in.  One of the best TV commercials I have ever seen is when the president of United Airlines handed out plane tickets to his salespeople and told them they will go see their customers in person.

The Internet definitely has changed the way we sell. 

This is jury duty

I always get nervous for jury duty.  Today was no exception.  And much to my dismay, things haven't really changed that much in the way they herd you through at the Justice Center in Benton County.  Power is still the rule of thumb in this environment. 

Like always, I arrived early because you never know the unknown and you are much better off being there on time to get a feel for the landscape.  We were seated in the jury orientation room,  this is after you  take a tunnel and an elevator to get there.  Everyone checks in with a gal on the computer as they scan your jury number.  If you don't get in line, she will find you.  I chatted with a couple interesting gentlemen, one was a box maker for Boise (formerly Boise Cascade), the other the meat manager at Yoke's.  It was the highlight of my morning.

Then it's time to sit.  An hour and twenty minutes to be exact.  We received our jury numbers to put on our chest so it could be visibly seen by everyone.  One of the bailiffs handed them out and then went back for another cup of coffee.

Judge Matheson sat in for Judge Swisher and gave us our orientation because of a hearing that ran long.  He told us to focus on the importance of deciding "what happened" rather than getting caught up in what the attorneys from both sides will say.  "The witness testimony is the most important aspect", he said.

Ten minutes after Judge Matheson gave his orientation, Judge Swisher came up and informed us we could go home.  It was 9:30am, an hour and a half after we sat down.  The defendant did not show up for her trial and the judge informed us they issued a warrant for her arrest.

It sounds like this happens all the time.

So I'm off for the rest of the week.  We were instructed to call-in Friday after 5:00 pm to see if our number comes up.

This is jury duty.

Big Choices For Many Today

National letter of intent day is so exciting for so many people.  It is the culmination of a long recruiting year for coaches and schools, and it provides closure for those who have to make the difficult choice of where to spend the most important 4-5 years of their lives.

Years that will never be forgotten.

It seems the hype gets bigger every year as schools wrangle kids away from other schools, and it sometimes becomes a huge marketing blitz for their respective schools.  Players and parents are torn because the options can be so varied, depending on their focus and goals for the upcoming years.  Still, it is a very exciting time.

What a lot of these young kids don't know is how much the next four years will really impact their lives.  Will they achieve what they set out to achieve scholastically?  Will they meet that special friend or teammate that will be a friend for life?  How will they want to be remembered in their college days, a time that can be so stressful at times?

I remember when I was in college I stressed about my grades constantly.  We used to joke about "figuring out our grades" as we were studying in the library only halfway through the semester.  It was in college where I really learned to study and earn good grades.

To my surprise, in my professional life nobody has ever asked me about my grades in college.

So as players, athletes, and students make their big choice today they will keep a lot of things in mind as they look ahead to the next few years.  Will they win a championship at their respective schools?  Will they get drafted?  Will they make the Dean's list?  Will they look back and know they made the right choice?

These are all huge questions and thoughts that probably accounted for many sleepless nights the past few weeks, months, and in some cases, years.  And it all comes down to this one day.  National letter of intent day.

Don't let the sports hype fool you.  It's just a side show of what is really important.

The Future Is in Multi-Media Campaigns

OK..you are the General Sales Manager of TV or radio station.  If someone approached you with a multi-media campaign idea that would help generate $165,000-$220,000 in new and incremental revenue for only a $5,000 investment, would you sit down with this person?

It's amazing how many people won't.  And boy are they missing out.

Managers nowadays are so bogged down with their everyday routine that sometimes they don't want to take the time and look at the important campaigns and initiatives that could help them achieve one of their biggest years ever.  They often say, "we have too many initiatives going on right now". 

Is it an objection or do they?

The days of selling airtime exclusively are over for TV and radio reps.  There are too many mediums to choose from and providing more value for the advertising customers is crucial.  Creating a partnership is even better.  A multi-media campaign that combines airtime, a business to business controlled editorial magazine, and a web component are the perfect combination for success.  Magazines are sexy and provide your chance to "tell your story"---something you can't do in a normal thirty second radio or TV commercial.  You can also provide beautiful pictures and testimonials supporting your business, or maybe highlight a new product or service you might have.  Most stations are driving traffic to their websites anyway, another reason to take advantage of a multi-media campaign.

In a recent flood of calls I made for an upcoming marketing trip, it is amazing to me how many people aren't willing to take the time and spend thirty minutes and explore something that could change their year.  Their reps will make more money, the station will incur new and incremental revenue, and more importantly, they will be able to gain a commitment from clients, something very difficult in this economy.

So the next time you get a call from someone with an opportunity like this, set the appointment and take thirty to forty minutes out of your day.

It could mean the difference in crushing your budget forecast, or not making it at all.

Important Reasons Not To Cut Advertising

I hear it a lot.  " I want to cut my advertising twenty percent".  "We are so busy we don't need any more advertising".  Sometimes those are words that are really hard to swallow.

I'm not saying this because I'm biased and in the advertising business.  I say it because to grow as a company you need to build a list of new customers.  How can you do it if you don't advertise or promote your personal brand?  It's a really good question.

In this day and age there are plenty of ways to get your name out there, or drip feed the public about your products and services.  But you can't do it by sitting on your heels and cutting back what was instrumental in getting you there in the first place.  Here's a list of some of the drawbacks you will face if you cut your advertising or marketing dollars:

Your reputation could take a hit.  In my 25+ years of selling advertising, high end office equipment, cellular phones, and even trinkets like gift items, I have found that one thing holds true.  In the relationships that I have established and the people I have visited with, people often mentioned the businesses that weren't advertising anymore.  They referred to them like they were financially unstable.  You don't want to give people this impression because it's hard to get them back in the right mindset.

If you aren't moving ahead, you are probably taking a step back.  Again, you need to add new business, more butts in the seats, more people in the gates if you are going to grow and prosper.  Many people believe in the theory of increasing revenue with the customers you do have, but there are always the customers that disappear or go away.  You must replace them with new customers, thus new revenue flows.

Work to retain the competitive advantage.  If you cut ads, you cut market share.  Cutting costs during a recession is expected, but you also want to retain your competitive edge.  The only way to do this is to stay in the game and let people know you have drive to grow and succeed your business.

View your marketing as an investment, not an expense.  I can't stress how important it is to target and reach out to your customers.  Give them reasons to do business with you.  If you don't reach out to them, they have no reason to know if it's worth doing.   Treat your marketing plan to reach these people as an investment.

Know your customers.  Know them inside and out.  Know how economic times might be affecting them, and respond to their needs.  You may have to revise your products if you have to.  Develop a lower cost alternative that is a win/win solution for everyone, always with your customer in mind.  Make it easy for them to find you.

If you cut, how will they find you?

Live For The Future--Find Your Place

"Almost dying changes nothing.  Dying changes everything."

Have you ever heard that line?  It makes you kind of think doesn't it?  It affects all of us in our everyday lives.  I lost my Dad a little over a year ago and he has been such an inspiration to me ever since.  One of my friends best described him.  "He was a man with a project and always looking to the future".  He was always in the forward thinking mindset, and how he was going to fix things, rather than dwell on the horrible sickness he was living through.  His passion was building custom homes, and it shined through during his entire stay in the hospital.

For working professionals that are successful, this is their thought process.  They don't think about where they came from, but where they are going.  It's so easy for us to look back at all the negative things that have impacted our lives.  We learn from all of them, some were good exercises, while others we would just as soon forget about.

If you were told you were going to die on a certain date what would you do?  How would you spend the last precious moments you had?  Who would you go see?  What would you want to accomplish?

Most people focus on the relationships they have, or maybe places they haven't seen.  It's a great question to ask yourself and what you might do if you were left in such an uncompromising situation.  It sounds terrible on paper, but it is reality and it is a great question to ask ourselves.

We only get one chance.  Sometimes we need to ask ourselves some of these questions.  It will help you find your place in life and your real passion(s).

Live for the future, find your place.

Dream Big

Have you ever experienced that little bird that chirps in your ear "you can't do this". All of us have had the experience one time or another. That inner self that tells us we can't do something. Well, there's a way to get rid of that little bird.

Dream big.

It's perfectly OK to do so. Dig down deep and look for that inner self or your gut, that tells you that "you CAN do it". It's there, you just have to find it.

So how do we find it? First of all, think of all those things that bring joy to your life, or your passions. They are there, they are just waiting for the green light or the OK to move forward.

Some of us have a harder time than others finding these green lights, or go signals, but if we dig deep enough, visualize, and are aware of our affirmations, it's there for the taking. Our natural defense mechanisms will focus on all the negative things that could happen. They are our body guards, protecting us against any possible failure. We have to negate the fear of failure and visualize success and all the rewards that will follow. Fear happens to be our biggest motivator.

Affirmations are huge, visualization helps us recognize them. If we focus on all the important ways to get there, all of our dreams will come true. We can wipe away the fear of failure.

We can dream big.