All Amazing Articles

It’s time to visit a topic that may be uncomfortable for some, but something that must be discussed. Are you losing people with your voice? In a time where face-to-face meetings seem to be rare and more business is conducted via the telephone your voice could be hindering your success. On the telephone we do not have visual cues or body language to strengthen our position and message, all we have is our voice.

Not too long ago I had a young lady come in for an interview for an Account Coordinator position. Our office is in a loft format like many ad agencies today, so it’s an open floor design without individual offices. I heard the young lady arrive and speak with someone as she entered the office. I didn’t even have to look at her to know that she was not the right person for the job. Why? Unfortunately it wasn’t her skill level or education, it was her voice.

As an Account Coordinator working with an agency that does national business a lot of your time is spent on the phone. Professionalism, friendliness and confidence has to be vocalized using the instrument of your voice.

I realize that we are all born with our voices, but they can in fact be trained. If you spend a lot of time on the phone conducting business perhaps it’s time to assess your own voice skills. Your voice is in fact a tool. It’s a tool that can gain you business or lose you that next business deal.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business

Contrary to popular belief, to be a successful salesperson, it doesn’t matter how much you know about your product or service. It also doesn’t matter how much of an industry expert you are. It doesn’t even matter how great your mother thinks you are. The only thing that really matters to be successful in selling is your ability to shut-up and listen. On numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking, so it’s imperative that they have an arsenal of great questions to ask. Despite trying to follow this guideline, every salesperson seems to overstate the amount of time they believe they allow the customer to talk. The many interviews I’ve conducted over the years with customers and salespeople alike confirm this reality. Therefore, salespeople need to take a step back and consider their sales presentation.

To talk less means you have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn’t mean you need to develop complex questions. Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers. An example of a great short question is, “Why?” In my opinion, there isn’t a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information. Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, “Can you elaborate on that?” and “Could you explain more?” These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that’s just what you want. On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. Because they are not sure what you are looking for, they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion, “What did you say?” Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. Save that for your statements.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business, sell

• If your goal is to get the phone call returned, don’t leave information that would allow the person to make up their mind. Add a call-to-action to your message by providing a key date or something of interest that will encourage the person to return the call. You have to create a reason for them to call you back.

• Repeat your phone number twice. If the person can’t quickly write your number down, you’ve given them a perfect reason to not call back.

• Avoid asking ask the person to call you back at a certain time. This provides them with an excuse not to call you.

• Never state in the message that you will plan to call them back. Again, this only gives the person an excuse to ignore your message.

• Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For most people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–priority activities will get their immediate attention.

• Do not leave voicemail messages at odd hours of the night. Most voicemail systems offer a time stamp and the person hearing the message will immediately suspect you really did not want to talk to them.

• The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM and from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during these time periods, and the person receiving your message could potentially view you as one.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business, Sales, Sales Tips

There is a difference between dissatisfied or disgruntled customers and complainers. The former often only have to answer to themselves; the latter most likely will have to answer to others about the results of their experience.

Everyone has dissatisfied or disgruntled and complaining customers and clients. Businesses have them, organizations have them, government certainly has them, and, unfortunately both employees and employers have them.

Anyone offering ideas, information, skills, services or products has obligations:

1. The first obligation is to what is being offered – to make sure that what is being offered is presented in the best possible manner, given the limitations of time, space, effort, and/or money. These limitations should not be used as excuses for a poor presentation.
2. The second obligation is to give customers enough choices (more than one of two or yes or no but not so many as to confuse customers) so they believe that in making their decision to buy or not they have made the best decision. If customers sense they are not being given enough options, they will delay their decision until they find the right options to satisfy their needs.This is called giving customers a “marketplace,” a place where they see what their options are. A marketplace can be in time, location, space, size, color, material, effort, services, or money. There are almost 100 ways to make a marketplace.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business, Sales

Recently, a client of mine complained, “I’m really good at what I do. I shouldn’t have to market myself.” In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his accomplishments. “It feels like bragging,” he says. “Doesn’t it make me seem unprofessional?”

If thoughts like these often cross your mind, ask yourself this — who are the biggest names in your profession? In your line of work, who might be considered unquestioned experts, those with maximum credibility? Now, how did you get to know about those people’s work? Did you read an article or book they had written, hear them interviewed, learn about them on the web? Or perhaps you were told about them by others who had heard them speak or read their words.

The point is that these well-known people became well-known because they showcased themselves, usually in multiple ways. They shared stories, examples, and ideas about the work they had been doing with a wider audience than just their friends and family. You know about their work because they showed it off. And I’ll bet it never occurred to you to call them unprofessional for doing it.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business, Sales

We’ve all received them. We occasionally read them. However, most end up in the recycle bin . . . But why? They’re only a page or two long, and yet many direct mail sales letters are just as dead as the felled log they were fashioned from . . .

Okay, so you’ve targeted suitable companies, found the name and title of the decision maker for your product or service, and the Trojan-like envelope has made it past the always-suspecting secretary/assistant, and the decision maker has opened up the letter! What will your letter read like? The following checklist will hopefully ensure an image to set yourself apart from the pack.

• Ensure the message matches the needs of the target audience.
  Does your offer of products and/or services match the needs of the recipient? Don’t make your pitch to a company president if your message only applies to the marketing staff.
• Get to the point.
  If you begin your letter with general, hazy information – you risk losing the reader. It’s critical you make your point in those first few lines.

Continue reading »

\\ tags: Business, Sales, Sales Tips