Tuesday, August 31, 2010

WIN A COPY OF "101 COLD CALL TIPS": Day 2

Since the blog has been live, I've encouraged readers to start using Twitter. For those of you who have taken my advice, log on to your Twitter account and post the follow message:

@Linda_Bishop just released her second book 101 Cold Call Tips. Purchase your copy today. http://bit.ly/cDlwnx

One fellow Twitterer who posts this tweet will be randomly selected to win a copy of the new book, "101 Cold Call Tips."

Monday, August 30, 2010

WIN A COPY OF "101 COLD CALL TIPS": Day 1

Happy Monday and welcome to a week-long of contests! Each day one lucky winner will be chosen to receive a copy of my new book "101 Cold Call Tips."

Today's contest: Promote Sales Is Not For Sissies!
  1. E-mail the salesisnotforsissies.com link to colleagues and friends
  2. In the e-mail ask your colleagues and friends to leave a comment on today's post stating who recommended them to check out the blog
  3. Whoever has the most mentions in the comments section wins a copy of the book!

GOOD LUCK!

Friday, August 27, 2010

HAPPY 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY - To us!

Sales Is Not For Sissies has been live for six months! In order to make sure I'm covering topics you are interested in, I'd be very grateful if you could take the time to complete this very short suvey. If you want to leave your contact information at the end of the survey, you will also be entered to win a copy of my new book "101 Cold Call Tips." The winner will be announced September 30th. CLICK HERE to take the survey now.

Also, don't forget to check back next week as we will be holding a different contest each day and giving away free copies of "101 Cold Call Tips."

KeFactors Fridays: Adventures in Cold Calling

I've decided the American workplace is increasingly impenetrable: Lawmakers fret ourborders are too porous? Well, they should get corporate policymakers to re-engineerborder patrol, because then even American citizens would have trouble gaining re-entry.

Assuming you access an organization that — commendably — doesn't use electronic greetings, what you get is that Darwinian holdout of a dying breed: the human receptionist. And, like the dodo, this animal does not understand it's already in God's waiting room.

Today's adventure went like this:

Me, the cold caller: "Hi, I'd like to speak with John CEO." (Name changed to protect blah blah blah).
Receptionist: "Who?"
Me: "John CEO."
Re: "What department's he in?"
Me: "Erm...he's your CEO."
Re: "Oh. OK. Hold on, let me check. Does he work in this building?"
Me: "If you're the corporate headquarters, I would assume so, yes."
(Muzak version of "I Wanna Know What Love Is")
Re: (returning) "OK, hon, I've done some research and it looks like Mr. CEO does workhere, but he's out right now. Would you like to speak to one of his assistants?"
Me: (unstated: "I'll speak to Donald Trump if you've got him in fishnet tights")..."Sure.Who would I be speaking with?"
Re: "Hold on, let me check."
(Muzak: "Mandy"...life is cruel)
Re: (returning) "OK, hon, I'm switching you to Delphine Admin. She'll help you."
Me: "Thanks."
Re: "You have a nice (yawn) day."
Me: "Thanks."
Next: (voicemail) "Hello. This is Paul Backwater of the Employee Picnics department.I'm sorry I can't take your call right now, but...."
Me: (ringing again) "Ma'am? I was supposed to connect with your CEO's office but got your Picnics department instead. Can we try again for Delphine Admin?"
Re: "Who?!"

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Customer Retention Tips - Part 2

Tips 6 -10 to help resolve problems when dealing with unhappy clients.

6. Understand the importance of the relationship. Some customers are more important than others, but all people should be treated with respect.

7. Acknowledge your contributions to the problem, even if the customer won't acknowledge theirs.

8. Understand "hindsight bias". Knowing how things turned out changes how we remember and interpret past events.

9. Don't rush to resolve a situation when it's complicated. Carefully consider long-term implications.

10. Stay focused on the most important thing--maintaining good relationships with customers.

All next week I will be holding contests to launch my new book, "101 Cold Call Tips".

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

REMEMBERING NAMES CONTEST

The remembering names contest started yesterday! Read the post below from August 24th to enter.

Customer Retention Tips - Part 1

There are times when clients are unhappy. Here are ten tips to help resolve problems.

  1. Don't point fingers at fellow employees or customers. When you focus on placing blame instead of solving problems you make the situation worse.
  2. Give customers credit for good intentions.

  3. Don't slap labels on people. Calling customers "crazy" or "irrational" may make you feel better because you're superior, but it also blinds you from recognizing your flaws.
  4. Clarify, clarify, clarify. Human communication is an imperfect process. Work to understand at a deeper level.

  5. Examine your own motives as you go along. How pure are they?

Tips 6 - 10 tomorrow!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Remembering Names Contest

Yesterday, I shared a post from the Print Grow Pro blog about how company president Craig McConnell remembers names. Now, I want to know what trick you use to remember names. The winner will receive a copy of my book, "Selling in Tough Times."


Leave your "trick" in the comments section below. You have until Friday to leave a comment and the winner will be announced on Monday!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Remembering Names

Print Grow Pro is a company that provides sales management expertise and individual account executive coaching. The company president, Craig McConnell, also runs a great blog, which you can read at here.

Recently, Craig decided he was going to share with his readers the ‘tricks’ he uses to help him remember names. The first post is below. Don't forget to visit his blog for his follow up post on remembering names as well as other fantastic tips!


PrintGrowProBESTPRACTICES – Remembering Names #1
Posted on July 30, 2010 under
PGP BestPractices.

How good are you at remembering names?

I’m not great, but, for one simple reason, I am a lot better than I used to be: I make remembering names a priority every day (it has become a habit).

That being said, every now and then, as a PrintGrowProBESTPRACTICE, I’m going to share with you the ‘tricks’ I use to help me remember names ( I’d love to know what works for you); here’s #1.

This one is almost too simple, but I feel strongly that one of the reasons we fail to remember names is because we do not make a conscious effort at it (see, I warned you it was simple). When somebody tells you his/her name, by reflex you reply with a “nice to meet you” while your mind is busy judging the person’s appearance, worrying about what you’re going to say, or processing some other information. Consequently, your short-term memory registers the person’s name briefly and discards it before long. Commit to pay attention to the person’s name and deposit it in your longer-term memory and then, at the earliest opportunity, write it down or add it to your Blackberry with some sort of visual to insure you’ll remember it. Our brain can remember pictures a lot better than letters.

If that doesn’t work, try doing what Paul Reiser does: “I don’t remember names, I remember faces. You should be introduced by the face. Whatever it is you remember about that person. ‘Big Nose, Short Pants, come here a second. This is my friend, Hawaiian Shirt, Bad Haircut.”

Additional tips to follow along with a ’name remembering trick’ I learned recently from a young woman who works at a Krispy Kreme down the street from one of my clients here in St. Louis.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Contest Week - August 30th


Starting August 30th, I will be holding daily contests and giving away a copies of my new book "101 Cold Call Tips." Two of the contests require you to have a copy of my first book "Selling in Tough Times" and a Sales Is Not Sissies T-Shirt.

Both items are available at TT Books and the book is also available for purchase on Amazon.com.

KeFactors Fridays: Teamwork and Problem-solving

Take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4


The matter of how teams learn has been studied for decades, and nowhere does team problem-solving become more important than in customer service.

A customer is unhappy…often they don’t know exactly what’s wrong with a projector process, but they feel something’s not acceptable and they want the problem fixed. Or they’ve diagnosed the issue, pointed out the perceivable causes, and they want the problem fixed.

Setting aside team dysfunctions such as chronic distrust, finger-pointing, and extendedgrumbling, let’s consider the dynamics of a team that works well together.

Recognizing patterns. The team has solved complex problems before—in fact, it’slearned from those scenarios, and that knowledge has been faithfully stored in the team’smemory or some sort of company database.

Defined roles and quick responses. The team is so expert at problem-solving, everyoneknows and does their part—often with a great deal of skill, so not a lot of time is wasted.

A history of team successes. This sort of team is often analyzed for the ingredients of their effectiveness, praised at association conferences, showered with professionalrewards. Thus the team knows its knowledge is solid and unbeatable.

The video illustrates “intentional blindness”—made aware of one task, another facet of the picture was missed.

And therein lies the problem—or problems.

1 . “You’re only as good as the problems you fix for us.” Service recovery is oneof the few opportunities we get to show our customers what we can really dofor them. If anything, customers expect a reputable team to fix problems morequickly and skillfully. Pressure’s on.
2 . Misdiagnosis. The team is too quick to diagnose the problem (recognizingpatterns) and arrive at a solution. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis is easy when timeand money are running short, and customer displeasure is high.
3 . Failure is a stranger. The team springs into action but when its efforts arenot met with success, a great deal of time is wasted in dismay and growingfrustration—“But this worked with the XYZ account…why didn’t it work now?”


Complacency may be the biggest disease in corporate life today, creating formsof “intentional blindness.” We often have to detach from not only the problem but also our usual problem-solving dynamics to fully perceive everything that’s happening in the picture. Next time your team is confounded by a problem, bear in mind—keeping your eyes on the ball may not be the only fix.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Online Presenting


Citrix put together a white paper on the 7 Biggest Online Presentation No-Nos. If you ever conduct online presentations, you may want to check it out. It's posted on my resource site, Linda Bishop Online.


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Guest Blogger: Linda Lindsey - Selling Yourself

Final thoughts from Linda Lindsey on selling yourself:

Focus
I think it’s tempting to shotgun your experience and try to find a job, any job, to stay afloat. But hiring managers are weary of unfocused candidates. If you don’t have a clear picture of your goals, how can you have a clear vision of the company’s goals?


Figuring out what you love to do, what you are willing to do, and what doesn’t interest you is imperative when selling yourself. Self assessments can assist you in your quest but many times a simple 2 column list is all it takes to start narrowing your focus.

Recognizing the qualities that have helped you to excel are imperative. I am a good communicator. I love to write. I handle pressure well. I can handle multiple tasks and I instinctively know how to prioritize. I didn’t care for the pressures of management and the mundane reporting and analysis that keeps me too busy to be creative. With that information in hand, I went from Chief Marketing Officer to Copywriter and I’ve never been happier, in fact, I was promoted to Creative Director within 8 months. In one slight career shift, I stripped away all of the negatives and I can focus all my energy on the things I love. You can’t sell yourself until you know yourself. So, go find yourself.

About Linda Lindsey
An Atlanta native, Linda Lindsey has been in the marketing and advertising arena for over 19 years and serves as Creative Director for Brightree LLC. Linda has firsthand knowledge of the "no-holds-barred" marketing advances that drive businesses to try bolder, more profitable techniques to win new customers.

Linda's broad range of expertise includes developing and executing marketing and communications programs for a wide range of companies including Ricoh Americas Corporation with a niche in software solutions and a passion for nonprofit organizations seeking to be heard through the immense media clutter. Linda has owned her own marketing consulting firm for years and her award-winning approach communications to prospects in a way that helps them move them further along the buying cycle.

Linda was awarded a 2007 Direct Marketing Association ECHO award and was recognized internationally as a Diamond Contender for the "best of the best" for her demand generation campaigns. She also earned a 2008 Gold Davey award for copywriting. In June of 2010, she completed her term as President of the Business Marketing Association, Atlanta Chapter.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Guest Blogger: Linda Lindsey - Selling Yourself

More on selling yourself from Linda:

Passion
Within a few minutes after meeting me, you will quickly realize that I am very passionate about marketing. In my spare time I enjoy reading about marketing because at a core level it is interesting to me. I find the sociology and science behind marketing fascinating. If you aren’t passionate about what you do, you should reconsider your line of work. A former boss of mine quit her job three months after she hired me. She left because she saw how passionate I was about what I do and she realized that she lacked that passion in her job and she needed to get it back.

Positivity
One of my favorite sayings is, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit by me.” This may work in social situations, but it is a deal breaker in an interview. Negativity about former employers, co-workers, work situations, or any subject for that matter makes a very bad impression. Role play answering a variety of standard resume quesitons in a positive manner. The truth is: No one leaves a job because they are well paid and well respected. Keep answers to those questions short and especially sweet.


About Linda Lindsey
An Atlanta native, Linda Lindsey has been in the marketing and advertising arena for over 19 years and serves as Creative Director for Brightree LLC. Linda has firsthand knowledge of the "no-holds-barred" marketing advances that drive businesses to try bolder, more profitable techniques to win new customers.

Linda's broad range of expertise includes developing and executing marketing and communications programs for a wide range of companies including Ricoh Americas Corporation with a niche in software solutions and a passion for nonprofit organizations seeking to be heard through the immense media clutter. Linda has owned her own marketing consulting firm for years and her award-winning approach communications to prospects in a way that helps them move them further along the buying cycle.

Linda was awarded a 2007 Direct Marketing Association ECHO award and was recognized internationally as a Diamond Contender for the "best of the best" for her demand generation campaigns. She also earned a 2008 Gold Davey award for copywriting. In June of 2010, she completed her term as President of the Business Marketing Association, Atlanta Chapter.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Guest Blogger: Linda Lindsey - Selling Yourself

Over the next few days guest blogger Linda Lindsey will be sharing her insights on selling yourself.

From Linda:

After reading through hundreds of resumes in my search for an event manager, it became clear to me that most people do not know how to sell themselves.

Here’s who stood out and why:
  • Any candidate who read the job description and wrote a clear, concise cover letter customized to the job requirements – I was surprised that less than 5% of candidates used this strategy – As an employer, I want to work with someone who helps me do my job, not someone who forces me to figure out why they are a good candidate

  • One candidate emailed, faxed, and mailed her resume – this person made sure they were noticed – and they were the only candidate who did the research necessary to find our address and send a copy of their resume postal mail

  • One candidate compared her experience to a mythical fable – I was captivated instantly by the unusual approach

Ultimately only one candidate will get the job, but these candidates worked hard to stand out and begin the process of selling themselves. A great resume submission strategy may get you noticed, but selling yourself really begins in the interview.


Confidence
Someone once told me that as a marketer, I could expect 50% of what I do to fail. There aren’t a lot of other occupations where you can fail half the time and still keep your job. In marketing, it is the failures, not the successes that have taught me the most and I share my failures openly. I take ownership of the failure and I extract the lessons I can apply to the next campaign. Being confident enough to talk about my failures as well as my successes helps a potential employer or client get to know my point of view and gives them the confidence they need in my abilities.
About Linda Lindsey
An Atlanta native, Linda Lindsey has been in the marketing and advertising arena for over 19 years and serves as Creative Director for Brightree LLC. Linda has firsthand knowledge of the "no-holds-barred" marketing advances that drive businesses to try bolder, more profitable techniques to win new customers.

Linda's broad range of expertise includes developing and executing marketing and communications programs for a wide range of companies including Ricoh Americas Corporation with a niche in software solutions and a passion for nonprofit organizations seeking to be heard through the immense media clutter. Linda has owned her own marketing consulting firm for years and her award-winning approach communications to prospects in a way that helps them move them further along the buying cycle.

Linda was awarded a 2007 Direct Marketing Association ECHO award and was recognized internationally as a Diamond Contender for the "best of the best" for her demand generation campaigns. She also earned a 2008 Gold Davey award for copywriting. In June of 2010, she completed her term as President of the Business Marketing Association, Atlanta Chapter.

Friday, August 13, 2010

KeFactors Fridays: The Waiter Rule

The word “context” is frequently used by those in the helping professions, to suggest that care be taken to understand an individual in a bigger-picture way—in the full context of his life, and not merely via a single aspect, such business identity. Western cultures tend to be “low-context,” preferring to focus in on specific aspects. In contrast, certain Asian cultures are “high-context,” believing it’s important to comprehend the character of the whole person, so it would not be impolite to ask a new business associate where she is in birth order, a bit about family history, and how or why she chose her career.

As emotional intelligence and soft skills gain importance in how we conduct business, we’re going to see a more intuitive, high-context approach to selecting candidates for jobs and suppliers for business relationships. This will require a more articulated, well-defined customer service attitude—ie, zero-tolerance for abrasive jerks.

For example, many leaders take cues from “the Waiter Rule.” Recently one of my clients took a new supplier to lunch to discuss a potential business relationship. Up until the lunch, the supplier had been genial, friendly, and alert. Things looked promising. But at the restaurant, the supplier let down his guard and was rude and condescending to a waitress who’d gotten his order wrong.

My client was startled by the change in behavior and, needless to say, the guy didn’t win the account.

Or, to quote CEO Bill Swanson of Raytheon: Watch out for people who have a situational value system, who can switch the charm on and off depending on the status of the person they're interacting with. Be especially wary of those who are rude to people perceived to be in subordinate roles.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Webcast Tomorrow - Sign Up Now


Have you signed up for tomorrow's 30-minute webcast, "Three Fatal Errors that Cost You Business"?? Here are ten reasons why you should.
  1. Sessions are short--only 30 minutes long--but packed with information.
  2. They are recorded. Get the Windows media file for later viewing.
  3. It's convenient. Webcast training means you can watch from your desk. Or gather the team in the converence room to watch and discuss.
  4. It's relevant information.
  5. It's researched.
  6. The strategies are practical and can be put to use immediately.
  7. It's low-cost. Individual sessions are $35, or buy 4 sessions in series and get the 5th session free.
  8. You get the PDF of the PowerPoint for quick review.
  9. You want to be the preferred supplier in all your accounts.
  10. You want customers to focus less on price and more on the value of the service you profide.
Date: Tomorrow, August 13th
Time: 1:30 to 2:00 PM EST
Cost: $35


Click here for more information and to sign up.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Has this ever happened at your company?


You're working with a customer. Everything seems to be going well. Then, all of the sudden, the buyer stops buying and won't return calls. What happened?


Often mistakes that cost customers have nothing to do with products or services. They're communication miscalculations.


Something said or written in an email is misinterpreted. Perhaps bad news was delivered badly. Or a buyer felt your company made them look bad to their boss or let them down in an important way.


In today's competitive world, no one can afford to lose good customers. Prevent it from happening with the insights in this 30-minute webcast, "Three Fatal Errors that Cost You Business."


Date: THIS FRIDAY, August 13th

Time: 1:30 to 2:00 PM EST

Cost: $35


Click here for more information and to sign up.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Customer Retention Tip

Sometimes it's harder to get the second order from a customer than it was to sell them the first time.

Here's why:
  • The first job gives the customer the benefit of experience. Did your quality and service meet or exceed expectations? Or did the customer get less than expected?
  • During the buying experience, did your relationship with the customer get stronger? Did rapport and trust grow? Do they like you more now? Or did the buying experience make them like you less?
  • When they customer paid the bill, did they feel happy with the value they received or experience buyer's regret?
  • If there were problems, did they get resolved to the customer's satisfaction?

Silence doesn't always indicate 100% satisfaction. Call the buyer after the sale is complete. Find out if they're happy. If the answer is "yes" then ask them how else you can do to help them today.

Thanks to Fred Greer, Account Executive at Standard Press for this topic. If you have a specific topic you'd like me to blog about, post it to the comments section below or e-mail melissa@thoughttransformation.com.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Three Pain Identification Tips


Sell faster by identifying and eliminating pain.
  1. Focus on big pain, not petty annoyances. Customers won't change suppliers because they're irritated by occasional small problems.

  2. Be sure the person who has the authority to purchase recognizes the pain and will spend money to eliminate it.

  3. Know why it is urgent to solve the problem. If it's not urgent, then why should the customer buy today--or even this year?

Friday, August 6, 2010

KeFactors Fridays: Customer Self-Service Doesn’t Mean No Service

Note to readers . . . Lucy references a specific kind of technology, but this story applies to every company automating processes to improve profitability and claim technology “makes it easier for our customers.”

Few things in life are as fascinating as the denial suffered by humans who’ve invested in technology, and how they insist it will work despite problems cited by customers.

In recent years, for example, commercial printers have invested in FTP sites to enable clients to upload project files. FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol” — such a site allows the printers’ clients to upload large files via the Internet quickly and securely. This means a project can be delivered to the printer 24/7, without transportation costs, particularly at the clients’ convenience. And yet I’ve only known a handful of FTP sites to work smoothly. Why? The reasons are spectacularly human.

Printers would change their upload procedure without notifying their clients about it: in other words, it took a failed upload to make that clear. When an upload was successful, seldom is an email automatically sent to the client confirming it.

Even more staggering, if an upload wasn’t successful, it meant the client had to persist in calling to ask, “Did my files come through?” only to receive that half-blank, “I don’t think so...let me check...no, they didn’t come through...can you resend?” The last part of that conversation could take hours to resolve. I’ve wondered how this made the printer look to their customers, about their commitment to service after the sale.

I’ve experienced upload complications that took up so much time, a courier could’ve been sent to pick up a disk for less money than was consumed by wasted time. I’ve also encountered technical people who wanted me to run through a variety of upload alternatives, without considering the impact on my time. Why is this important? The point is to get the work, not mire your customers in your technological wonders.

Put your ear to the ground and assess if your technology may in fact be annoying your customers.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Does your selling message need a “Biscuitville” makeover?


I was traveling in North Carolina. It was early morning and I was looking for fast food. Something grab-and-go that I could eat on the way to another appointment.

I asked the hotel desk clerk, “What’s around here for breakfast?”

“There’s Burger King,” he said.

I know Burger King serves breakfast, but I was fuzzy on the menu and dismissed them. “Whatelse?” I asked.

The clerk thought a minute. “Oh! There’s Biscuitville. It’s right up the road.”

Perfect! I bought my breakfast there and how I made the decision illustrated a critical selling principal. Clearly stating what you do helps you sell it.

Think about that every time you meet a potential customer. What do you say? How could you “Biscuitville” your approach so it’s easier for buyers to say, “That’s exactly what I want!”

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

How to send a thank you

Jeff Lees is a senior manager at SendOutCards. Recently, I referred him to another friend of mine. About a week after the referral, I got a box in the mail. It had a card in it along with a bag of toffee. The card thanked me for the referral. The toffee turned that card into a “wow” moment and created a memorable experience. I learned from Jeff and the next time I get a referral—or a testimonial—I am going to make darn sure the party who helped me gets a bigger token of my appreciation.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Webcast Training on Relationship-Building Strategies Starts This Month!

On August 13th, Thought Transformation and KeFactors partner to present an important series of 30 minute webcast sessions. These sessions focus on practical strategies to strengthen relationships and grow sales. The cost is low--only $35 per session or BUY 4 SESSIONS AND GET ONE FREE!
The first session "Three Fatal Error that Cost You Business" is on August 13th at 1:30PM EST.


Click here for more information and to sign up.