Alive Presentations

May 20, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Sales

How To Make Your Sales Presentation Come Alive!

Just knowing the features and benefits about our products and services does not guarantee sales. To sell our products and services we must be able to tell stories and create pictures in the minds of our customers to excite their imagination. A story can either be dull and uninteresting or it can come alive. To put imagination into your sales story and increase your closing opportunities answer the questions below.

Get out the list of your product and service’s persuasive features and benefits to your customers. If you don’t have a list make one. Next to each feature and benefit put the answers to the questions below. (a feature is the characteristic about your product or service and the benefit is the result)

1. What’s the most dramatic statement I can make about this feature and benefit?

2. What’s the most arresting visual presentation of this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

3. What’s the most searching question I can ask about this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

4. What are the most interesting success story or sales examples I can give to back up the claims I make for this feature and benefit?

5. Which are my best, most impressively written testimonials, the ones most likely to get attention either because of the person giving the testimonial or of what it says.

6. What is the most dramatic action I can perform to hold and impress my customer while dealing with this feature or benefit?

7. What is the most compelling logic I can find in relating this feature and benefit to others?

8. What is the most effective demonstration I can make of this feature and benefit?

9. What customer participation can I devise, in this feature and benefit so that my customer becomes part of the act?

10. What practical test can I suggest for proving the validity of my claim for this feature and benefit?

To further increase your opportunities and kick start some life into your business, ask yourself, your staff and your customers these questions about your product and services:

Can the products/services be put to other uses? Can it be adapted? What else is like this? What other ideas does this suggest? What could we copy? What could be modified?, Given a new twist? Changed in color, meaning, sound, motion, odor, form, shape? Any other changes possible? Can it be magnified? What can be added? More time? Greater Frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Shorter? What can we substitute? What else instead? Other ingredients? Rearrange? Change the schedule? Reverse it? Combine it? Different Purposes?

Remember that you only get one chance to make a good impression. By putting some “zip” into your sales presentation you’ll close more sales and see your business skyrocket to the top!

Tags: , decisions, Goals, investing decisions, investment decisions, investments, make decisions, objectives, outcome, outcome frame, resources, steps, strategy

Who is YOUR Customer?

May 8, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Relationships, Uncategorized

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Perception is Reality…

How do Your Customers Really See You?

To keep both our internal (employees) and external customers happy we need to have a thorough understanding of their likes and dislikes. To make sure you are keeping them happy and delivering the best possible service ask yourself, your staff and above all your customers the following questions;

How well do we deliver what we promise?

How often do we do things right the first time?

How often do we do things right on time?

How quickly do we respond to your requests for service?

How accessible are we when you need to contact us?

How helpful and polite are we?

How well do we speak your language?

How hard do you think we work at keeping you a satisfied client?

How much confidence do you have in our products or services?

How well do we understand and try to meet your special needs and requests?

Overall, how would you rate the appearance of our facilities, products and people?

Overall, how would you rate the quality of our service?

Overall, how would you rate the quality of our service compared to our competitors?

How willing would you be to recommend us?

How willing would you be to buy from us again?

Tags: action steps, Become a better Father, business, Communication, CUSTOMER, Goal-setting, Goals, irrestible offer, leadership, marketing, PERCEPTION, proactive, Scott Hammond, speaker, Speaking, winners, winning

Marketing and Leadership

May 8, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Goal-setting, Sales

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Winners Do What Losers Won’t

Successful people have formed the habit of doing hard to do things.
Things that make them uncomfortable.
They do uncomfortable things anyway.
This is the biggest truth about success.

What’s marketing? Marketing is a series of planned, interrelated activities that when done right: 1) Identifies best potential buyers of your products and services – and aligns what you sell with their needs/wants. 2) Devises ways to attract the interest of these targeted best potential buyers to your business. 3) Presents irresistible offers to best potential buyers in the most cost effective and compelling ways possible.

A key reason why some business people are fabulously successful – seemingly without effort – is because they have Better Marketing Behavior.

So marketing is what you do to get people to give you money. It’s all the activities, communications, and demonstrations you can successfully strung together to produce a highly desirable event near the end called a sale. Leadership and communication are parts of marketing. What else? How about cajoling, coercion, and manipulation, are they part of marketing? Yes they are. Is building trust part of marketing? Of course, people buy from those they learn to trust. Is marketing lying? Can be, yes indeed, it can. But those who lie when marketing will not long survive, a sale of two perhaps but in the long run the liars will lose big time. Good marketing is not lying. It is telling the truth attractively.

There are two skills you must master for your marketing to work right. The two skills are leadership and communication.

What’s leadership? It’s getting people to do things they’re afraid to do, or don’t know about, or don’t understand, or never thought of, or don’t think can be done, or things that someone might think others can do them but not them personally, or things that make them feel uncomfortable, or things that people just don’t want to do at all. If you can successfully lead people you’re a powerful person. And you can lead people, because leadership is a skill that can be taught and learned. You can develop the ability to get people to support your ideas and to go along with what you want. You can use this ability to get others to do your bidding, to support you, to give you their money, their energy, their resources, their heart and soul, to put themselves on the line for you, and to rally around you in all ways that they can and to do so wholeheartedly, with genuine enthusiasm, as if whatever you wanted from them was indeed their own idea, as if the actions and belief systems you get them to embrace were their own. That’s leadership.

What’s communication? It’s talking; it’s also writing, using images, lots of non-verbal communication too but for our purposes, it’s mostly talking. Communication is talking with the intent of instructing, supporting, sharing, understanding, imparting values, entertaining, influencing, and helping people make decisions that are good for them and good for you too.

WHAT GOES WRONG?

No written plan,
No research in the plan,
No test of strategy,
Plan not implemented, or only sporadically,
Poor organization, can’t be productive when we’re not organized,
Lousy follow up, no tracking,
Can’t close the sale, make the deal.

MARKETING BEST PRACTICE “Know Your Audience”

Know what they need and want,
Know what they are willing to pay for,
Know where they are,
Know what will attract their interest,
Know how to cost effectively reach them,
Know how to close them.

DEVELOP AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER

Specifically what are you offering that satisfies the highest needs/wants of your audience? What’s your offer?
How will you present your offer? What will you say?

DON’T BE PASSIVE

If you sit and wait for opportunities to come to you, you’ll wind up taking whatever comes along, even work you may not like much, from people you may not like much either.
Your pipeline might full up, but will you be happy? Probably not.

IF YOU’RE PROACTIVE…

If you seek out the exact kind of buyers you want, and proactively go get them, you’ll fill your pipeline with rewarding work.
You’ll like your new customers.
You’ll like your life better!

Courtesy Richard Borough

Tags: action steps, Become a better Father, business, Communication, Goal-setting, Goals, irrestible offer, leadership, marketing, proactive, Scott Hammond, speaker, Speaking, winners, winning

The Ups of Downs…Refined and Revised Toastmasters Speech May 2008

May 7, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Family, Fathering, Scott Hammond, Speaking

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THE UPS OF DOWNS

1.RING……… HOSPITAL…ULTRASOUND STORY…PREGNANT WIFE

(THE $1M QUESTION WAS IN OUR MINDS…MR TM, FELOW TM & GUESTS)

2. INTRODUCTION…What would be our LESSONS WITH GABE?

3. RING…JONI’S WATER BROKE/BIRTH…Recovery and I went home

4. RING…JONI FROM SACRAMENTO…JONI IS CALLING ME TO SAC

· Joni is SUPERWOMAN

5. MEETING WITH STERILE DOCTOR /NEXT DAY

· DOWN YES…MARRIAGES FAIL WITHIN 1 YEAR/FAMILY IN PERIL

· MY HEART BROKE THEN

· HAVE YOU HAD YOUR HEART BREAK? WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

· WHAT I DID WAS…WALK

6. THE WALKS AT UC DAVIS… GABE NEVER FATHER, FOOTBALL OR ENGINEER…TEARS, PRAYER, NEGOTIATE, ANGER THEN…

· RELEASING CONTROL, ACCEPTENCE, FAITH, and DECIDING LOVE

7. 9 YEARS LATER…MICAH STORY…NO GOOD BAD DAY…

· ALL BOY, 3 YEARS, MELTDOWN TANTRUM,” MICAH STOP!”

· GABE IN A SPECIAL NEEDS MOMENT OF GST (STORY)

· JONI…I DON’T KNOW ABOUT MICAH.I LIKE DOWN SYNDROME/GABE

8. GABE HAS TAUGHT US…HE HAS BECOME OUR TEACHER …

GABE HAS SPECIAL NEEDS OF INTELLECT…NONE OF SPIRIT

SO VERY…LOVING, GENTLE, AND KIND

· SLOW DOWN…BE HERE NOW…BE PRESENT…ENJOY LIFE AND GST

· MEANS TO BE HERE NOW, BE PRESENT AND ENJOY THE MOMENT

· TO …SMILE MORE OFTEN…LET ME SHOW YOU (DEMO)

10. LET’S TRY IT TOGETHER….

· LOOK UP…SMILE…LOOK …BREATHE…GET IT…FEEL IT?

· BREATHE, RELAX, SMILE, A HAPPY PLACE?

· LADIES AND GENTS WELCOME TO GST….GABRIEL STANDARD TIME

(MR. TOASTMASTER……)

Tags: Become a better Father, Down syndrome, Scott Hammond, Toastmasters

25 Customer Service Tips

May 6, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Sales, Uncategorized

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25 Ways to Keep Your Customers for Life
by Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP – www.arnoldsanow.com

In today’s fast-changing and competitive environment, excellent customer service is essential for success. In fact, the only way to differentiate yourself and to become less of a commodity in the marketplace is through good customer service. The strategies for keeping customers for life can be honed down to some basic steps that any business owner can use. To get customers, keep them and to get enthusiastic referrals follow these 25 proven techniques:

Reward your customers. Send them a gift, provide them a lead, generate business for them, etc.
Use your customers’ services and buy their products. If you want to increase loyalty, there is no better way.
Send thank-you cards. Make sure they are handwritten and sent promptly. Peter Drucker attributed much of his success to the fact that he sent out 12 thank-you cards every day.
Return phone calls promptly. Since so many people don’t return calls, you automatically look good when you do.
Do what you say you are going to do.
Do things when you say you’re going to do them.
Underpromise and overdeliver.
Be accessible. Make sure you are available and willing to help customers whenever there is a problem. Your business should be open to meet the convenience of your customers and not only for your convenience.
Be credible. If you can’t establish that trust right away, customers may start to look at your competitors.
Appearance counts. Perception is reality, and the reality is that people do judge a book by its cover.
Show empathy. Remember the best customers are your currents ones. Stay in touch and continue to service their wants and needs.
Have a “Goof Kit.” If you make a mistake, it’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry.”
Promote customers’ products and services. By getting business for your clients, you ensure you will have a customer for life.
Do things for the customer’s convenience not yours. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to do business with you. The easier you can make it for your customer to do business with you, the more business you will have. Determine all the ways you can eliminate the hassle factor.
Send an invoice periodically with a “no charge” on it. This will help your customers remember you. And if it is unexpected, it will have a much larger impact.
Have a customer advisory panel. Only by knowing your customers’ wants and needs can you successfully grow your business and be totally customer-oriented.
Hire mystery shoppers. To really find out how good your customer service is, hire someone to go out and use your service from start to finish.
Be a resource. No matter what your customer needs, try to find it for them — even if it has nothing to do with your business.
Shower customers with kindness.
Speak your customers’ language. If you use jargon your customers can’t understand, they won’t use you.
Have a great attitude.
Treat your employees well. If they are treated poorly, there is a good chance your customers will also get poor service.
Give your customer what they want, when they want it and how they want it.
Give back to your best customers. If you run a special price or product offer for first-time customers, ensure your current customers are offered the same opportunity.
Don’t show an attitude of indifference to your customers. In a recent study on why people give up on a company, 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customers by the owner, manager or employees – 68 percent!

Conclusion

“Customer service is more than just smile training — it’s about treating people the way they wanted to be treated,” “It’s also about giving the client what they want, when they want it and how they want it. It really comes down to the fact that good communication and human relations skills equals good customer relations.”

Tags: action steps, Become a better Father, business, Family, Goal-setting, Goals, needs, people more important than money, sales goals, sales success, Scott Hammond, speaker, Speaking, success, teamwork, wants and needs, wiifm

8 Keys to Sales Success

May 6, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Sales

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8 Keys to Sales Success

There are many ingredients necessary for success in sales. Here are 8 keys to help you achieve your sales goals.

1. Determine the wants and needs of your customer’s first then work backwards to develop the product or service.

Many times we make the mistake of showing customers products or services we like or offering things we have available. Only after asking probing questions and listening very carefully to the answers should we offer suggestions. In other words, “To sell Jack Jones what Jack Jones buys, you need to see Jack Jones through Jack Jones eyes. The quality of the feast is determined by the consumer not the chef.”

2. What’s in it for me? (WIFM)

What is the customer really buying from you? By listening and understanding we can close more sales by focusing on the benefits (results) and not only the features (characteristics) of what we’re selling. For example, if you’re a travel agent who sells cruises, by stressing certain benefits such as love, relaxation, etc. you get the customer to dream and really desire the cruise.

3. Add value to every contact

We are all in business for the long run. To build a solid business we must develop long-term relationships. To do this we need to show trust, respect and value. This can be accomplished by always thinking about what “extras” we can give our customer. Also, to make the “extras” pay off they need to be something the customer doesn’t expect. For example, after I finish delivering a seminar, I will give the person who hired me as well as the attendees an autographed copy of one of my books. By not expecting this, it provides them with the WOW feeling. Every time we meet they know that I’ll always be looking for more ways to give them more value then they expect.

4. Practice teamwork

To win in selling, you have to be able to play on different teams and you have to learn to play different roles. For example, when I’m working with a customer, I become an extension of their team. If I can help them develop solutions to their various problems and concerns then I become an indispensable member of their team.

5. Watch your appearance

Remember the old saying; “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Unfortunately everybody does. To make sure I’m on the right track, I dress in the parameters of what’s appropriate for each client. I’ve seen many salespeople lose sales because they let style get in the way of substance.

6. Focus on winning every sale

Success is one customer at a time. Focus on trying to make a sale to every customer you meet. Never stop selling until the customer says either yes or no. You must be 100 percent determined to win. If you have the determination, you will do everything in your power to out service your customer, outwork your colleagues and outsell your competition. Your determination creates strength; your doubts only destroy it.

7. Become an information resource to your clients

Let your clients know that you can help them with any concern they have no matter what area it is in. If they need something or someone find it for them. For example, someone recently called me about doing a seminar on increasing your memory. I don’t do this, but I told my client to give me one hour and I’ll find someone to meet his or her needs. By doing this I become a valuable resource for them. Now, if they need anything they call me first. This not only increases my value, but also gives me more opportunities for work.

8. Don’t overeducate your prospect

Don’t tell the prospect everything. If you give too many choices or make everything seem too complicated, they will tend to “think about it.”

Courtesy of…. Arnold Sanow – www.arnoldsanow.com

Parenting is Like Sales?

May 5, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Family, Fathering, Relationships, Sales, Scott Hammond

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How Sales Parallels Parenting

Everything we do from our communication style, our dress, to our understanding of the customers wants and needs can affect our success or failure in closing sales. The way you close a sale depends as much on the product/service you’re selling as it does the customer you’re dealing with. There are many reasons why sales don’t close … here are 7 of the most common mistakes.

1. Not asking questions. Too many times we pre-judge or jump to conclusions about what our customers want or need. By asking open-ended questions to determine such things as lifestyle, hobbies, spending limits and previous experiences we can get a true picture of what our customer really wants. By understanding the customer we can then focus on the right products and services to offer.

2. Not communicating in the communication ingredients important to the customer. If we communicate to everyone in our primary communication style then we will lose about 75% of our sales. In other words everyone is different and therefore everyone needs to be treated differently. For example, some people just want the facts and details about a product or service where others may be more comfortable if you tell stories or anecdotes. So, to persuade, motivate and influence others, communicate in the ingredients they find important.

3. Interrupting the prospect. Whenever you interrupt someone, sensitivity, commitment, closeness and rapport are lost. In addition, by interrupting we may miss what benefits the customer is really seeking

4. Not paying attention to the prospect. To develop the like and trust that are essential in developing any relationship we must give our full attention to the prospect. Taking calls, talking to other customers, looking bored or uninterested can detract or enhance from the relationship we develop with our potential customer.

5. Showing no empathy or sympathy. Empathy means putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. For example, if a potential customer wants to go on an adventure trip we offer, but has had bad experiences in the past, we must first understand those experiences before we can discuss why our trips are a best buy.

6. Not selling benefits .. only features. Understanding the difference between features and benefits is crucial to your success. Features are about you, your product and service. Benefits are the specific results your product or service offers to your client or prospect. When meeting with a prospect we need to address the buyer’s critical self-interest questions such as, “so what?”, “who cares?” or “what’s in it for me?” You see people don’t buy things, they buy results like happiness, making and saving money, saving time, comfort, safety, security, and easier ways to do things.

7. Pressuring Prospects. People don’t like to be pressured. They like to buy but they don’t like to be sold. By planning your presentation carefully and understanding the wants and needs of the potential customer, you’ll make more than your share of sales.

Special thanks to Arnold Sanow — www.arnoldsanow.com – speaker@arnoldsanow.com

Tags: Become a better Father, compelling presentations.sales as parenting, Goals, parenting, parenting as sales, passion, Sales, sales presentations, Scott Hammond

Compelling Presentations

May 4, 2008 by Scott Hammond
Filed under Sales, Speaking

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How To Make Your Sales Presentation Come Alive!

Arnold Sanow- www.arnoldsanow.com