The Highest Form of Persuasion Revealed

Influence is a key element in mastering the techniques of Magnetic Persuasion. Influence is the highest form of persuasion. With influence, people are spurred on to action because of your character, not your maneuvers. Persuasion is what you do or say, but influence is who you are.
How does one gain this type of influence? How do you gain a strong enough influence over people that they will act simply because an idea came from you? How about having a strong enough influence over people that they are still compelled to move forward even when you’re not around?
Presence is the ability to empower and influence others into believing in you, trusting in you, and jumping on the bandwagon. You give them the energy they need to bring to pass the results you want. You help them see themselves in the future carrying out your vision. They become excited and energized by your passion and enthusiasm. They are magnetized and motivated by your charisma. They are lifted and inspired by your optimism and expectations. In essence, you’re a source of empowerment, encouragement, inspiration, and permanency to them.
For some, charisma is a mysterious attribute. It’s challenging to describe someone who exudes charisma because there’s really no way to quantify the effect this kind of person seems to have on others. It seems that you either have charisma or you don’t. Charisma is not leadership, assertiveness, or enthusiasm and it’s not exactly personality either. It’s its own unique characteristic. Charisma empowers others to like you, even if they don’t know much about you and even when there hasn’t been enough time to develop trust in you. If you have charisma, not only do people want to be around you, but, whether they realize it or not, they also want to be influenced by you. Charisma gives you power, allegiance, and devotion with your audience, without leaving them feeling powerless and it creates instant support. So, are you born with charisma or is it learned? The answer to both questions is yes! Some attributes are inherent; others can be acquired.
The word “charisma” comes from the Greek goddess Charis. Charis’ character was one of total beauty and charity. Today, the word has to do with an individual’s magnetism, intensity, vivaciousness, and so on. Gerry Spence’s said it best: Charisma is energy from the heart zone. If the speaker has no feeling, there is nothing to transfer. Charisma occurs when the speaker’s feelings are transferred in the purest form to another. Charisma is not a diluted feeling. It is not disguised. It is a raw feeling. Charisma is the passing of our pure energy, our pure passion to the other.
People who are charismatic often hold us in awe. Their energy prods us, motivates us, and inspires us. They fulfill our need to have heroes. We feel better for having met them, seen them, listened to them, and interacted with them. Why and how do they have this effect on us?
So, how would one go about developing charisma? Here are eight ways:
1. Develop self-confidence in yourself and your message. Don’t appear nervous or out of balance. Be confident that you possess self-worth and know your message.
2. Have a lighter side. Find your sense of humor and happiness. Have fun and don’t take life too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself.
3. Have great presence and energy. Project a presence of the Five C’s of Trust: character, competence, confidence, credibility, and congruence.
4. Have a definite opinion about your subject. Be knowledgeable and make sure that knowledge is based on a solid foundation. Develop a sense of the audience’s emotion and conviction for your subject.
5. Look good. Make sure your clothing, hair, shoes, and jewelry match your message’s tone. Dress the part.
6. Be able to inspire and uplift. Be sensitive to people and their needs. Develop rapport with your audience. Connect with them and become a great listener.
7. Be organized and easy to follow. Make your points connected and your structure clear.
8. Be dramatic, unique, and enticing. Be interesting to be around. Make sure the things you talk about are exciting. Tell spellbinding stories.
Conclusion
Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. It is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade.

__________________________________

By Kurt Mortensen
Go to http://www.prewealth.com/iq and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale! Take your test now at http://www.prewealth.com/iq
Kurt Mortensen teaches over a hundred techniques to give you the ability to effectively work with every customer that walks in your door. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Go to http://www.prewealth.com/iq and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis.

Affiliate Marketing

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Affiliate, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Affiliate.
Affiliate Marketing: Why is it One of the Most Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise your Business
When you think about Affiliate, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Affiliate are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.
Ever heard of affiliate programs? These are forms of Internet advertising that rewards the affiliates for driving traffic to the advertiser or for other transactions. The advertiser pays the affiliate to place a link on their website, and the affiliate sends traffic to the advertiser in return. Simply put, it's about paying commissions to people who help you make sales. It's that easy. NOT.
Affiliate marketing has its ups and downs. It could be draining if you are not armed with updated information and the technical how-tos. But this article's sole objective is to reach out to you and not to badmouth affiliate marketing.
Here are the following reasons on why web marketers go gaga over affiliate marketing as a form of Internet advertisement.
1. Low cost
Many are scared to go on a home based business because of the capital required. In affiliate marketing, you don't have to spend much to start raking in moolah.
2. Inventories not included
Product management fuss could be very stressing. An inventory is not asked to be maintained. The merchant does the maintenance required.
It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Affiliate. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.
3. Unlimited income through leverage
See how much you can learn about Affiliate when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.
When you have a paid job, your monthly income mainly relies on whether you go to work or not. With affiliate marketing, your affiliates could all just lead traffic to your site without having to lift a finger after providing them your ad copy and links. Though not every web marketer earns limitless, it still is a fact that all the necessary matters for the advertiser or Internet marketer are all there to be successful.
4. Go worldwide
With affiliate marketing, you are dealing with a global market place. All you have to do is choose a niche product and prepare all the necessary tools for your affiliates to lead traffic from just about anywhere to your website.
5. Low risk
The very main reason for Internet marketer's enthusiasm with affiliate marketing is its having a low risk factor. Especially for those with low budget set aside for advertising, affiliate marketing is just the way to do it.
6. No closing time
With affiliate marketing, your business works every single second of the day while targeting a worldwide market! What could be better than that?
But all of these will be put to waste if you don't have the right niche product and all the other important tools to make it big in affiliate marketing, i.e., well-SEO-ed website. So better work on this first before ever considering those benefits.
Brought to you by: Internet Income Resources http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/index.php
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Affiliate.

________________________________

by: Arthur Caby

I have been marketing on the internet for over 5 years with most of that time involved with Affiliate Marketing. Http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/

What To Do When Nothing’s New: Five Strategies for Success

Look at that throng of people crowding the trade show floor. People come from all over the country to walk these aisles, eager eyes flitting from booth to booth, scanning the exhibits for…what, exactly?
Research shows that the vast majority – 76% -- come to trade shows to discover what’s new and exciting. Maybe it’s a new product, or an innovative bit of technology, or a snazzy new application, or even an entire company that they were never aware of before. In an ideal world, every company would be constantly innovating, creating cutting edge products at phenomenal savings guaranteed to meet the customer’s needs.
But as you and I know, business doesn’t work that way. There are years when companies struggle to survive. Other years, it takes every ounce of effort just to maintain market position. And still other times, things might be fine, but the newest innovation is six, twelve, even eighteen months on the horizon.
Is it even worth exhibiting during these times? Do the results of participating in a trade show while your company’s in a lull phase justify the costs?
Absolutely! In fact, it is precisely at these times when not participating could hurt your bottom line. Businesses rise and fall based on the strength of personal relationships. There is no better place to form new relationships and maintain and reinforce existing relationships than at a trade show.
To do this, you need to create a positive impression with your exhibit. Demonstrate something new and exciting. Give the people what they want. How can you do that, you ask, when you don’t have any new and exciting products?
Here are five focus strategies the pros use when they’re in a similar situation:
1. Focus on Features: Purveyors of high-tech or complicated products often don’t realize how little consumers know about the items they purchase. For example, take the average word processing program. It has countless features – yet how many does the everyday user know about, much less use? Realize that your buyers may not even know what they don’t know. Here’s an opportunity to offer seminars, tutorials, or other interactive options centered on the more obscure features. This way, you’re demonstrating that you value your customers and want them to make the most of your products/services. You could win their loyalty for life.
2. Focus on the Future: If the next big innovation is in sight, but you’re not ready to spill the beans just yet, you’ve got an ideal opportunity to create a buzz. Some of the most effective excitement generating campaigns say little, if anything, about the new product, yet still create an impression that something noteworthy is about to happen. Signage, graphics, and literature all declaring “It’s Coming!” let the public know that you’re excited about the new product – and that they should be too.
3. Focus on Finesse: Is there a way to make your product new and improved? You’ll sometimes see this technique that I’ve called the Proctor & Gamble strategy. Every so often, you’ll see a new and improved version of a product introduced – laundry soap, shampoo, deodorant, and so on – yet you’d have to be a chemical engineer to notice any discernable difference between the old product and the new one. Still, consumers flock to the new, even if it’s only slightly different than the product they were previously satisfied with. If you can’t change your product, what about the packaging? Glidden changed their paint can while still keeping their actual product, the paint, the same as it ever was, and saw sales rise as a result.
4. Focus on People: Great products wouldn’t exist without great people. Consider putting a human face on your operation by centering your latest exhibit around the people who make, test, or use your product. Post Cereal, Reynold’s Wrap, and NAPA auto parts have all used this strategy successfully during periods when their product line was fairly static – and then carried the idea forward, altering it as needed to introduce new products!
5. Focus on Service: Many times, we’re asking buyers to make a huge investment to buy our products. If something goes wrong, the buyer worries that they will be left holding the bag on a very expensive mistake. Reassure consumers that they’ll never be alone if there is a problem. By promoting service plans, support networks, and other types of assistance, you’re demonstrating that you’ll be there for your customer – through thick or thin!

__________________________

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and tradeshow training. For a free copy of “10 Common Mistakes Exhibitors Make”, e-mail: article4@thetradeshowcoach.com; website: http://www.tradeshow-training.com.

What’s On Your Business Card?

It May Be Small, But It’s So Powerful...Your Business Card!
If you’re like most professionals, you have a business card. But, what does your business card *do* for you?
“Do”?
Yes, that’s right; what does your business card *do* for you? Does it help to actively create more business for you or does it sit—like most business cards—in a big stack of other business cards that nobody ever looks at?
If you want to maximize your marketing strategy into all areas of your business collateral, it’s time to make your business card work for you. The time when your business card was just a simple way to give your name and number has long since passed. Far from having to be just a way to communicate your name and contact number, a business card provides an excellent opportunity for you to make yourself memorable.
The key to any successful marketing campaign is being memorable. Advertisers spend millions of dollars figuring out exactly what needs to be done to create advertisements that stick in the heads and hearts of their consumers. When it comes to creating a unique and distinctive business card, you have the exact same goal. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, you need to stand out from the rest to define yourself as the best.
Here are just a few ways you can make your business card step up and be more than just a cardboard rectangle:
* Turn it into a mini-billboard advertising your services.
* Highlight your USPs on the back of your card.
* Offer a special, discount, special promotion.
* Create a unique shape or design that relates to your field so your card becomes a topic of conversation by those who have it. But, be careful not to make the shape or size so “unique” that it won’t fit in the typical places people store their business cards. If you go too big or too unusual, you might find that your card is thrown out.
* Hand your business card to everyone you meet; store clerks, gas station attendants, waiter and waitresses, secretaries…everybody!
* Place your business card in every piece of mail to your patients and local vendors.
* Spend a little more and turn your business card into a magnet. In this way, it can be carried in your wallet, but also stuck on that refrigerator for years of free advertising.
* Whether you’re starting a new office or are looking to revamp your image, a new logo will help you portray the true identity of your business through a professionally-designed logo.
* Make your card serve double-duty—use it as an appointment card, too.
* Be sure to include all the ‘usual suspects’ on your card, including name, profession, and phone and fax numbers. Additionally, be sure to include your e-mail and web address for that extra added impact.
As you can quickly see, your business card doesn’t have to sit idly inside somebody’s wallet never to be looked at again. It can work for you in powerful ways—promoting you, your business, and your services. Spend a few minutes designing your next business card and it can have big payoffs as your smallest, but most effective advertising billboard!

__________________________________

by: Dr. Christopher Cordima

Dr. Christopher Cordima is the author of three amazing new e-books for health care & service providers. Get More Clients with Newspaper Advertising, Postcard Marketing and Personal Injury Marketing. Visit http://www.pimarketingsecretsrevealed.com and Get a FREE Weekly Marketing Newsletter at http://www.marketingchiropracticweekly.com to increase your biz!

Sales : Using the Law of Expectancy

Studies in persuasion technology show that what you expect tends to be realized. I call this the Law of Expectation, which is also one of the tenants of sales.
As a sales professional, your expectations influence reality. I recently came across a movie called, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" It explains how our thoughts and intentions shape our reality. If you haven’t seen the movie, I urge you to do so. (You can go to http://www.whatthebleep.com/ to learn more.)
The movie explains that human behavior is directly related to how others expect us to perform. As an example, there was once a study in which first grade students were told that blue-eyed kids are smarter than brown-eyed kids. The blue-eyed children subsequently scored better on tests than their brown-eyed peers.
After several months they decided to bring the children together and tell them that what they'd told them before was wrong. This time, they said that all children are born with blue eyes and the more we learn the more our eyes turn brown, so brown-eyed children are smarter. Just as predicted, the blue-eyed children started to have trouble with their studies and the brown-eyed children improved.
So what might happen if you truly believe you're a great salesperson? What if you were to see, hear and experience every prospect as a great candidate? How do you do this? One way is to make a great first impression; it’s the moment where the Law of Expectation has the greatest impact on your performance. You communicate your expectations by your word choices, voice inflection and body language. When you expect your prospects to buy, all your actions will lead them in the right direction.
Before each sales meeting, try asking yourself, "How do I expect this sales process to go?" If your other-than-conscious mind feeds back a negative response, mentally rehearse the end result you want in full color with sound and feeling. You may want to imagine the prospect signing an order form or handing you a check. Now picture yourself smiling and shaking hands with your new customer. Know that you’ve just done a great service. When you spend time rehearsing success, you’ll be comfortable with it when it happens.

____________________________________

by: Patrick Porter

Dr. Patrick Porter is an entrepreneur, award-winning author, and motivational speaker. His electrifying keynote speeches and seminars deliver the real life, nuts ‘n bolts concepts he used to take his business venture to astounding heights. http://www.patrickkporter.com.

Increase Profits by Bundling Your Cleaning Services

Anytime you place an order in a fast-food restaurant you're asked if you would like the "meal special" or "value deal". Instead of just ordering a sandwich you are now given the choice of a complete meal at a value price. Indeed, fast-food chains have perfected the idea of product bundling into an effective marketing strategy. What is bundling? It's a selling strategy that offers your customers a discount for buying two or more products or services. Packaging your cleaning services and products together can be a powerful marketing technique that allows you to sell more, and at the same time gives your customers added value.
For some businesses bundling seems pretty simple: a restaurant offering fries and a drink with a sandwich; a car wash offering a deluxe car wash with wax treatment; or a hardware store bundling paint rollers and a paint tray.
As a cleaning service you have an excellent opportunity to increase your profits by adding the sale of products or added services to the routine maintenance that you already provide to your customers. While you may not be able to address all of their supply needs, offering trash can liners, toilet paper, paper towels, soap, air fresheners, and ice melt will give your customers added convenience. They can easily order their supplies from you or you can offer to manage the supplies and restock when supplies are low.
When bidding on a new cleaning account, look at the supplies they're currently using, and then stop by your local janitorial supply house and get prices for the same or similar products. When preparing your bid, take a 10 - 15% markup on the prices you'll be paying for the products and include this on your bid. Explain to the prospect that you'll bill them for supplies used during the month on their monthly service invoice. By meeting their supply needs, your customer has one less thing to worry about and you have one more way to make a profit.
Another way to increase your profit margin is to bundle together similar services. When offering carpet cleaning, also suggest carpet spotting. Does your customer have a break room? Offer a package that includes cleaning the refrigerator, microwave or other appliances. You can even offer these services on a regular maintenance schedule, such as once or twice a month.
The change of seasons also provides an opportunity to offer added services. For your residential customers offer a "Spring-Cleaning Package". You might want to include window cleaning, blind cleaning and carpet cleaning. You do not have to give huge discounts when bundling services. Your clients gain value by being able to get all of their maintenance services handled by one company.
How do you decide what services to bundle together? Write down the types of clients you have and the services you are already providing. Do you clean banks, medical facilities, retail space, or residential homes? Make a list of the extra services you can easily provide that will benefit their business. Then offer those bundled services to your clients!
You can market your bundled services to existing customers by including a flyer in their monthly invoice. Take a few minutes to call your clients to check in and see if they have any concerns or if they are happy with the service you are providing. That call will provide an opportunity -- not only for feedback, but for you to let your client know about the products and services you can provide to them that will save them time and money.
Bundling services and products is one way to add another income stream to your cleaning business. It helps you to up-sell to your customers without having to spend much time or money on marketing. By selling bundled products and services you will see an increase in your profits and your customers will benefit from "one-stop shopping".

_____________________________
By Steve Hanson

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store
Steve Hanson is co-founding member of TheJanitorialStore.com, an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift. Read cleaning success stories from owners of cleaning companies at http://www.cleaning-success.com/

Why Business Must Practice Multi-Media Sales Techniques

As spring training gears up for baseball, professional ball players are practicing the skills they have developed over a lifetime to achieve perfection. These professionals are where they are today because they put in the time, energy and discipline of thousands of hours of practice. Their goal is to execute perfection during their practice sessions. Many of them practiced to perfection using video tools and special coaches to assist in their development. The commitment these individuals have made is beyond what many of us could imagine. Their practice efforts prepare them for perfection on the baseball field.
80% of Sales Professionals Stop Practicing
If practice is this important in baseball, why isn’t it like this in sales? Eighty percent of sales professionals stop practicing their sales skills once they reach a level of success they are comfortable with. Why? Most sales professionals believe they know how to handle objections and that the sales process hasn’t changed. They assume that what they have learned hasn’t changed and the success they have achieved will remain with them.
It is a good thing the professional ball players don’t think the same way or they will be replaced in the lineup. Sales professionals need to prepare for the 90 mph fast ball from clients and prospects. The landscape of business continues to shift and change with technology, trends and other factors. When sales professionals don’t practice implementing these new trends and learn what to say or how to demonstrate a solution, they lose.
A New Way of Pitching Sales is Growing
New technology for getting and reaching clients and prospects is changing the way we communicate in business. In one example, on-line ordering portals for business are growing in ways that are replacing salespeople. Pod casting is another way businesses are getting their message out and driving sales to websites. An RSS feed is another way to reach prospects or an industry with new information. However, only about 12 percent of the population knows how to use an RSS feed today. Expect this number to change quickly in the coming months.
With the growth and adoption of web meetings, streaming media including audio and video, salespeople can multiply their efforts and reach more contacts. The bottom line is that salespeople must practice and sharpen their sales skills using new technology and communication tools.
The Impact of a Multi-Media Generation
If businesses and salespeople are not practicing multi-media new sales capability, they won’t be effective. This means that if you are not developing and practicing new sales skills, you are falling behind. The internet makes it easy to learn about these new sales tools. You can join webinars, pod casts or telephone conference calls to learn more.
Consider this, professional baseball players don’t practice for just one pitch. They prepare for the fast ball, the curve ball and the sinker because they never know what the pitcher will throw at them. So, just as in baseball, every professional salesperson should practice new sales skills and be prepared for anything customers throw at them.

____________________________

By Steve Martinez
Steve Martinez is a pioneer in automating the sales process for business and salepeople developing customized action plans for business. http://www.sellingmagic.com

Has Your Packaging Gone To The Dogs?

Whether it's for Fido or for Morris, the market for pet products in "nontraditional" outlets (specific to retail outlets outside the traditional pet store venue) should reach nearly $4.2 billion by 2010, according to Market Trends. This area is expected to grow as pet products move into the luxury and "lifestyle" category such as diamond studded collars or designer duds for your pet. Companies like as Eddie Bauer and Louis Vitton are making luxury pet accessories and “must have” pet products. After all, your pet is the most important part of the family. (Just kidding!) But seriously, there is more money spent on things for pets than on babies - a lot more.

Remember last week when I asked "What's In You Bottle?" Well, it turns out that dogs have special bottled water too. "PetRefresh® is the only water available today that is specifically designed for the daily hydration needs of pets. Not a treat, but a core nutrient for better health." Also a new water product for dogs, OOH's "Pup Cups", is water in a cup for dogs on the go. They got great brand recognition by donating water to the Humane Society for Hurricane Katrina canine victims. I just love this one: K9 Water Co., a Valencia, Calif.-based company, is selling a line of vitamin-enriched bottled waters for dogs over the Internet. http://www.k9waterco.com/. A four-pack comes in four flavors -- Toilet Water (chicken), Gutter Water (beef), Puddle Water (liver) and Hose Water (lamb).
The humanization of pets is more than just as part of the family; they are living longer and healthier lives. There are all kinds of innovations in pet "goodies." The list of packaged things for your dog is endless. In fact, there is even a new word coined, pupperware, to describe this niche. Pupperware n. Dog accessories and toys, particularly ones demonstrated and sold at in-home parties. [Blend of pup and Tupperware.]
But just innovation and being trendy doesn't tell the whole story. People are concerned about a dog’s health too. Vitamins and minerals for Fido present a huge new segment. The big thing in "packaging" is ease of dispensing and use for DIY pet medications. There are a lot of new DIY products offered for when you can do it yourself instead of carting your dog to the vet. Just remember make the instructions simple and easy to read if you want people to buy your product.
Recently "Greenies" (a top selling dog treat) got in trouble with consumers because purchasers claimed the product packaging was not informative enough about the potential choking problem. I don't know the outcome but its important to note that the consumers blamed the package labeling as part of the problem.
Affluent boomers and other empty nesters are looking at Fido as an integral part of the family. They have money to spend and plenty of it so look for an influx of products geared towards this audience. A good example is Harley Davidson. They see money in the 50+ generation and have developed the companion dog products too.
Think about this unique marketing and packaging application too. Prepared meals for dogs, sounds good enough for humans to eat. "BENEFUL® ELEVATES PET FOOD TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH INTRODUCTION OF FIRST-EVER PREPARED MEALS™ FOR DOGS The difference is visible, as Beneful Prepared Meals showcase the eight, mouth-watering varieties and real food ingredients in clear, ready-to-serve, re-sealable plastic containers – a new packaging innovation in pet food. The new product is being launched regionally in 2006 in 50 percent of the U.S."
I just had to use this example, Bow Wow Breakfast Cereal for Dogs. It is a new line of dog food intended for morning consumption. The company that makes it claims it's specifically formulated to meet a dog's needs in the morning. The thing is pets don't buy this stuff; people do. So keep that in mind as you develop your product packaging. First, you have to appeal to the "human" side of the dog owner.
At the Marketing to Women conference at which I recently spoke, I used an example of packaging dog food that appeals to women. Pedigree Dog Food just implemented a reclosable zipper, something SHE will buy. So think "people" when packaging your products for the dogs. You have to first persuade the owner to pick your product up off the shelf. Make sure that in addition to your packaging "going to the dogs" it's attracting the people too.
Some predictions on "hot" packaging trends in the coming months: Baby Boomer Products Environmental Sustainability And Packaging Labeling And Ingredients Statements On Packaging (ongoing) RFID And Packaging

__________________________________

By JoAnn Hines
JoAnn Hines the Packaging Diva has been on TV, traveled to China, worked with the SBA and spoken at the White House (twice). Why do they seek her out? Because she knows how to package products so that people will buy them. When Faith Popcorn made her business trend predictions for 2006, she called JoAnn to find out what was going on in the world of packaging. Businesses large and small call upon her to solve their packaging problems.

Tracking For Profits

If you can't track it, don't do it.
Every high-performance venture needs a tracking system. A tracking system with well-designed metrics lets everyone know how well they are doing relative to their commitments. It is a guide to whether additional or extraordinary actions need to be taken.
It is one of the first things I set up with my business coaching clients because without a clear set of objective metrics it is hard for people to be clear about their results.
Establish intentions for your project, figure out the critical success factors, determine suitable measurements for each, and set performance targets for those measures.
For example, say your intention is to increase market penetration. The measure is your venture’s sales divided by total sales in your market. Perhaps your current market share is 10% -- good, you have a benchmark, and your new target is 25% by the end of the year.
That’s objective, measurable, and thus... achievable.
Make someone accountable for your project’s performance against each target.
Establish a timely tracking system for each metric, which easily gathers the necessary data.
Develop periodic interim performance targets, and a reporting structure to let everyone involved know how they are doing.
Your performance tracking systems can be kept with pen and paper, or they can be automated on your computer system. However you implement them, keep it simple and don't let the overhead of your tracking system become a burden of any kind.
Below is a very simple system I used to keep track of my page output while writing Faster Than The Speed of Change. It was kept on a computer spreadsheet, but could just as easily been pencil on graph paper. Whenever I was below the line I had catching up to do.
Start with 0 in the lower left corner, write units of measurement along the left axis, and dates of measurement along the bottom. Draw a straight reference line from 0 to your goal, and plot your performance against that goal. Of course the reference line need not be straight; set it up in whatever way reflects the time-relationship of your goals.
If you want to find out how you can set up a performance dashboard and completely systemize your entire business to make it "scalable and saleable" link to http://www.turnkeycoach.com

________________________________

By Paul Lemberg
Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life™. To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren’t sure what to do next, go to Paul's business coaching website.

Do It Once - Do It Right - Repeat – Automate

The dream for every business venture is to discover the secret formula for success in their industry. It doesn’t matter how they discover the secret formula. The goal is to have one that is not only perfect but is reliable, repeatable and one that can be automated. If you are like me, you prefer doing business with a franchise brand name you can trust. It is the reliability of a repeated experience we prefer. We expect to repeat the same experience from each visit regardless of where the franchise is on the planet.
Franchising Your Sales Formula
We can apply this franchise formula and use their secrets as we develop a personal sales formula for our business. We simply need to follow the same steps they apply. First we need to discover the repeatable sales success formula for sales in our business. This might be similar to discovering the perfect cookie recipe using the right cooking temperature for the perfect length of time using the ideal secret ingredients. Our goal for this assignment is to document then duplicate and automate the procedure. When we finish, we will have a successful sales action plan we can repeat and automate.
The success formula for sales is very similar to our cookie example. As you know, the recipe must be followed or the results will be different. You know what happens when we substitute an ingredient in cooking or fail to follow the recipe. The same poor results will happen in sales. Here are three steps to franchise your sales formula for success.
Document the Events
Document the exact sequence of events including all the ingredients. Treat this exercise like a cookie recipe. You will want to know exactly what you said, when you said it, who you said it to and what you sent to achieve your results. Every business needs this documented but it is amazing how few businesses or salespeople have an actual action plan for sales. Treat this as if you were creating the perfect cookie and each action made a difference in taste. Once you have a successful sales formula, don’t accept substitutions. I once learned a painful lesson when I used baking soda instead of baking powder for cookies. The results were terrible tasting cookies I couldn’t give away.
Duplicate the Action Plan
When we visit the golden arches they duplicate their success formula to achieve consistent results. This is why I enjoy my fries and milk shakes with them. In sales we must learn to duplicate our action plans consistently. If we send mailers in our sales plan as the second step, we should always follow and duplicate this sequence of events. We should be considerate of the timing of our events. If we learn that every four days is the ideal timing, stick with the formula. The key point is meticulous adherence to details of our action plans. We must think of it as franchising our success formula as we duplicate our action plans.
Automate the Sales Events
With the advancements of technology we have numerous opportunities to automate the sales process. There are countless ways we can use computers and software to create systems that automate the sequence of events in the sales process. When we automate the routine sales event actions, we will gain more time for high priority sales actions. We should evaluate and consider everything we do as opportunities for automation. There are ways of merging tasks together, eliminating some and delegating others. We should focus on the important sales tasks and keep the main thing, the main thing. We should always remember the salespersons role is to develop profitable relationships that generate sales through the activities they perform.

_________________________________

By Steve Martinez
Steve Martinez is the Founder of Selling Magic, a sales revolutionary company dedicated to teaching businesses how to increase sales by automating the best practices of sales. You can reach Steve at http://www.sellingmagic.com

Eliminate Your Prospect's Pain to Close More Sales

For many years, I actually believed my customers and prospects when they gave me excuse after excuse for not buying from me. With my customers, the excuses came when I tried to convince them to try a new product they were not currently using. But from my prospects, the excuses were for not doing business with me at all.
Why is it, you might ask, that one customer was willing to take a chance on a new product and another is afraid of being a pioneer? After all, it is the pioneer who runs the biggest risk of getting an arrow in the back.
There’s no single answer to this question, but many times the answer lies with the prospect’s personality. Some prospects are risk takers and others are so conservative that they will only try something new if everyone of their competitors in the community has already begun to use it and experienced no problems. Other times, the prospect simply has doubts that the salesperson has yet to overcome.
What’s the best way to find out the “real reason?” Ask.
Here’s one way to phrase your question:
“Mr. Prospect, you have told me that [new product name] is attractive, reasonably priced and that you believe it will save you labor dollars. Yet, you still don’t seem to feel comfortable testing [new product name]. If you don’t mind my asking, what is standing between you and giving [new product name] a try?”
Another reason we often find that prospects won’t give a new product a try is because the “devil they know versus the devil they don’t know.” In other words, what they are using now is working for them. They’re not getting any complaints.
Therefore it’s sometimes necessary to make prospects realize that they’re not as well off as they thought they were. Without first suffering some amount of PAIN, many conservative people simply won’t make a move to something new.
How do you make a prospect suffer some pain? Again, some well-designed questions frequently help.
“Have you ever taken time to figure how much labor it’s costing you to manufacturer [name of the product prospect is currently using)?”
“In what ways would it affect your company if one of your key competitors had discovered a way to reduce cost by, say, $1,500 per unit?”
“How much time would it save you if your materials were placed at strategic locations around the job rather than dumped in one spot?”
“How call backs would it save you if we were to completely encase each shipment in plastic to prevent weather damage, theft, etc.”
You have to help your prospects SEE themselves benefiting from your product or service.
By becoming a problem solver rather than merely a salesperson, you’ll find that your sales will really take off. So instead of selling products, try selling solutions to your customer’s and your prospect’s problems.

_____________________

By Bill Lee
Bill Lee is author of Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line and 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com

Can Your Superstar Sales Person Become Your Superstar Sales Manager

Finding the right person to fill the sales management role is a common quandary in wholesale distribution. It can be especially challenging when a decision is based strictly on sales territory performance without regard for the specific skill sets required to lead a sales force.. 2005 has been a good year in wholesale distribution with some industries recording double digit growth rates. With market cooperation like that, most sales people are smiling as they hit or exceed their quotas. Deciding on the right sales person to promote to sales manager can become a difficult and risky decision..
“We need a new sales manager. Let’s promote Tommy, he’s our leading producer in field sales.”
“No! We can’t afford to lose Tommy’s production in the field.”
“That’s not a problem. He can be a working sales manager and still call on his key accounts.”
Most of us should recognize that conversation but not many of us recognize the fallacies that lie within it. In wholesale distribution, it seems that the primary prerequisite for becoming a sales manager is being the top performing sales person. Promoting our top performing sales person to sales manager simply due to results is a big mistake. Personal experience tells me it has less than a forty percent chance for success. Our chance of success is decreased even further if we really believe that our sales manager can manage the sales force and still be solely responsible for a number of high volume accounts.
Different Skil Sets
l It is an undisputable fact that different skill sets are required to become a successful sales manager as compared to being a successful sales person. Selling is a profession that requires professionals. Managing a group of professionals with the type of personalities required to succeed in sales is no easy task. Yet, in my humble opinion, it is probably the most important management position you can hold in a company. Sales management holds the key to meeting company objectives. Effective sales management builds the platform for success. Sales people are not the easiest group in the company to manage. If they were they would not be sales people. Selling is not easy. It takes a special talent, self motivation, self discipline, a passion to succeed and the ability to accept rejection. The reality of the situation is simple. The majority of sales people are not managed well. Let’s look at some common sales management mistakes to help us develop the list of hints I promised that will increase your ability to determine which sales person at your company is likely to succeed as sales manager.
Mistake ----- Low tolerance for process.
Let’s face it, there probably isn’t a sales person alive that likes paperwork and administrative tasks. However, a Super Star Sales Manager will be process oriented. They understand that success in sales is driven by best practice and best practice is built around process. Sales effectiveness depends on predictable and repeatable best practice. The Super Star Sales Manager will create the kind of culture that negates the inherent aberration by sales people for process, structure, detailed and documented action planning.
HINT #1
If your star sales person embraces structure, pays attention to detail, is always current with required communications, documents his action planning process and doesn’t whine about administrative requirements passed down by corporate, chances are he/she will have a high tolerance for process. This means he/she possesses a basic understanding of structure and accountability. Everything isn’t locked up in their head just because they have been doing it a long time and have had great success.
Mistake ----- Weak coaching and mentoring skills
Relationship equity is still a primary ingredient for sales success. However, relationship equity with the customer is quite different than relationship equity with peers, subordinates and executive management. A Super Star Sales Manager will build enough relationship equity with their sales force to be able to provide effective coaching and mentoring in reviewing the sales person’s activities. They understand that you must manage activities and measure results. This coaching and mentoring process includes buddy calls, monthly territory reviews that provide support and resources to leverage individual sales talent. This process includes opportunity recognition and pipeline management. What does the sales person have in the pipeline? Can the sales manager provide proactive support and resources to increase the chance of success?
Hint #2
If your star sales person is reluctant to accept or seek out help, this may be an indication of the Lone Wolf methodology. Maximizing territory performance requires a team effort. Utilization of all resources and support is mandatory to grow market share and maximize profitability. Look for the sales person that is successful but recognizes that they are not alone. Look for the sales person that shares the credit for success, coaches the inside sales staff, recognizes the contributions of customer service personnel and others in the organization. This sales person has also gained the respect of his peers and is often seen giving advice and sharing ideas.
Mistake ---- Lack of development programs and leadership skills training
Leadership skills are extremely important to effective sales management. This is especially true when managing a sales force that leans more to the route mentality, is in a comfort zone, becomes complacent or is focusing on demand fulfillment as opposed to demand creation. The ability to recognize the need to adapt your management style not only to the situation but also to the individual is a key to gaining respect and trust from the sales force. This is a learned skill. Failure to seek out leadership skills training can be detrimental to success. A prerequisite to success in sales management is the ability to recognize talent and develop that talent. A Super Star Sales Manager will recognize talent and is willing to help develop that talent to reach its highest potential. They also prune the garden effectively. This means they hire well but fire even better. Failure to formalize a development program for sales management is a big mistake.
Hint #3
If your star sales person is not interested in attending seminars, doesn’t listen to self development tapes and hasn’t read a sales book in the past year, chances are they believe they are as good as they are going to get. Look for the sales person that is willing to be away from his territory, sacrificing commissions to increase his individual knowledge. This is the type of sales person that is a sponge when it comes to continuing education in the fields of sales. This person not only seeks company sponsored training but is willing to invest his own money and time in self improvement activities. They have a philosophy of continuous self improvement striving to be the very best that they can be.
Mistake ---- A Member of “The Lucky Territory Club”
Numbers alone don’t always tell the story. We need to analyze each individual success story. Just because a sales territory has performed well doesn’t automatically mean the sales person is a star. A ten percent sales growth sounds great but how good is it if the potential growth for that territory should be in the twenty or thirty per cent range. A ten percent sales growth in that territory sounds great but how good is it if the market in that territory actually grew by thirty percent and the sales person was in a comfort zone walking by opportunities daily.
Hint #4
When evaluating your star sales person for potential promotion, analyze the numbers thoroughly. Is the sales person the real reason for that territory success? Are the numbers as good as they appear when you consider all the factors? Determine how this territory was established. Is this sales person responsible for the long term growth of this territory or did they inherit it. Analyze new account development in this territory. Evaluate this sales persons prospecting skills. How many new accounts have been developed in the territory? What kind of penetration success has been demonstrated with existing accounts?
Hint #5
Look for the sales person that has the ability to think strategically. They are willing to sacrifice personal gain for the benefit of long term company success. (A rare quality). A sales person that may be a maverick and shoot from the hip occasionally but every risk they take is a calculated risk. Their personal objectives for territory performance are in alignment with the company’s strategic objectives in relationship to product development,, segmentation, vendor development and margin initiatives. Look for the sales person that has good communication skills internally, one that has learned to listen exceptionally well, a skill that often eludes some of the best sales personnel.
If you are ready to promote your star sales person to sales manager, pay attention to the hints listed in this article. If your star sales person measures up according to the factors discussed in this article, your chance of success increases dramatically. That means your Super Star Sales Person can become your Super Star Sales Manager. If they don’t measure up according to the hints discussed, look deeper into your sales organization for that sales manager or go outside the organization. There is no such thing as entitlement. Remember, different skill sets are required to be an effective sales manager.

________________________________

By Rick Johnson
http://www.ceostrategist.com Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership and the creation of competitive advantage. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information. CEO Strategist – experts in Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution and Sales Management Effectiveness. Jump start your sales force by getting Rick's new book -- Lone Wolf to Lead Wolf, The Evolution of Sales.

5 Ways to Beef Up Sales - Immediately

Last week, one of my clients—we'll call him Rick—had a demo scheduled with a prospect. The standard "show up and throw up" they typically did early in the sales cycle.
Trying to shorten the sales cycle, I asked naively, "Why does the customer want to buy? What are they trying to accomplish?" Rick couldn't tell me. I asked if he thought the salespeople knew. He said no. I gave him an assignment: he had to find out "Why," "Why now," and "What's it worth." Otherwise no demo.
In other words, no compelling reason to buy...No demo.
So Rick took a risk, and is rapidly moving to a fully-paid trial implementation.
Sure, long-term objectives and plans still matter, but I've been getting more and more inquiries focused on "what to do now." Entrepreneurs and executives alike are demanding help on how to improve revenues and profits right away.
How do you make the quickest difference? Focus the bulk of your energy on revenue generation. In other words, sales! And don't do it the same old way either, because -- as you may have noticed -- it isn't working that well.
Here are five ways for your sales force to bring in more business in short order. There are no magic bullets, but just last week I taught one of these techniques to a client (#2) and he used it to close a deal the following day! Use one or use them all. Each technique will have its own effect, and each will multiply the power of the others.
1. Sell return on investment, and sell it to the CFO.
Sales people are complaining that while the pipeline may be full, the deals are taking too long to close. Perhaps that's why the pipe is so full! What are the reasons for this? Companies have money, and in many cases they have needs. But many people are so scared THEIR customers aren't going to buy THEIR wares, they are loath to spend any money themselves. The result? They are only willing to spend money when they absolutely see near-term financial payback, and the CFO is killing many deals.
The solution? Sell the return on investment. Sell the payback. And sell it to the CFO. Arm your salespeople with two things: A series of case studies that document the returns from using your product, and a well-defined ROI process worksheet. Work with the CFO to build the ROI case so that he or she owns it. This is the only way they come to believe it. Make it their idea and instead of killing your deal, they will help you close it.
2. Forget USP. Determine your Usage Cases
Instead of focusing on why your product is the latest and greatest, clarify the ways in which potential customers will use your product to solve specific problems and produce tangible results. Then, instead of touting the "benefits" of your product--which often fall on deaf ears, anyway--engage your prospects in conversations about what costly and quantifiable problems they now have, and how they might use your product or service to alleviate those.
And, as sales guru Mike Bosworth says, don't tell them your offering IS the solution. You're a sales "guy" and they won't believe you. Instead, ask them if your possible solution might help them. If they believe it does, they have accepted your solution as truth. Then get them to tell you, in real dollar terms, what fixing that problem is worth.
3. Increase Sales Training. Use the 10% solution.
But don't expect any one salesperson--even your superstars--to be 100% at every part of your sales process. They almost never are. But there is a way you can raise the level of every person in your sales organization—immediately.
Use this process adopted from W. Edwards Demming's principle of optimization. Break your sales process into as many discrete--but meaningful--steps as you can.. Cold calling. Letter writing. Setting appointments. Identifying pain. Writing proposals. Presenting. And so on. Find out who in your organization excels at each step, and have those reps explain their methods and mindset to the rest of your sales force. Do all the steps at once in a marathon session, or one step at a time. Either way, the results will be amazing.
4. Use the 80/20 Rule. And get rid of the bottom 20.
There's no room in today's world for mediocre producers. Hold each member of your team accountable for reaching two kinds of performance benchmarks: results measurements, which include not only revenue, but perhaps new accounts and repeat business, and action measurements, which might include prospecting calls, appointments, and new contacts.
Not every sales person will be a superstar, but every one should pay their own way--and then some. Salespeople who aren't producing not only cost you money, they drag down the performance of your whole organization. You may not pay them very much, but why pay them anything? I suggest you do both yourself and them a favor, and let them go. Don't worry about having an empty desk: that warm chair was an expense your company doesn't need.
If you feel it isn't fair to "dump" them, or if your sales cycle is too long to measure short-term revenue results, give the problem reps a 30-day plan to increase their level of activity in specific ways. That's long enough to see an improvement if there's going to be one.
5. Track your results and work harder
Most entrepreneurial sales organizations fail to analyze their efforts. They have no idea how much effort--or money--it takes to create a new customer. The only indication they have of whether salespeople are "doing enough" is based on the revenue numbers. The answer? Track both activity and results, and use the statistics your garner to quickly raise performance. Break your sales process into a series of meaningful steps, counting each time a rep completes one. Calculate averages and set a benchmark. And while you're at it, analyze the percentage of deals that close whenever you complete that step. That knowledge can dramatically improve your sales forecasts.
Once you establish benchmarks--this one's a no-brainer--RAISE THE BAR. Yes, that's right, because the fact is, revenue isn't coming in fast enough. Do everything discussed above to improve your sales effectiveness--then do more of it. Just working smarter isn't going to cut it. You're going to have to work harder as well. And anyone who doesn't want to? See number 4 above.
I've developed a unique Sales Audit Process based on the work of W. Edwards Demming. This program is guaranteed to produce an immediate 10-25% improvement in your company's sales, or more. If you'd like to find out more about how you can increase sales right away, call me at 858-951-3055, or visit www.paullemberg.com/contact.html and send an email with details about your company's sales situation.

__________________________________

By Paul Lemberg
Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life(tm). To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren’t sure what to do next, go to Paul's business coaching website.

The History of Cigars

No doubt, cigar smoking is a pleasure. Over the period, it is considered as the symbol of status of wealth and class. But, do you wonder from where this fashion of cigar smoking came into limelight and who started this? According to research, cigars have been around for over 1,000 years. It was started by the original native population of the islands in the Caribbean as well as the rest of Mesoamerica in as early as 900 AD. In fact, a ceramic vessel at a Mayan dig site in Uaxactun, Guatemala have been found, which was painted with the likeness of a man smoking a cigar that’s says the glowing past of cigars.
Later Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus had introduced the smoking to Europe. With two of his colleagues Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, Columbus had taken puffs of tobacco wrapped in maize husks, thus becoming the first European cigar smokers.
During 19th century, the popularity of cigars was on its heights. In fact, all the states of United States had a cigar factory. Cigars were more popular than cigarettes making almost everyone a smoker, or lived with one. Later, in the early part of the 20th century, cigar sales were at its peak. According to a report, the weight of tobacco sold in the United States alone in one year would equal the weight of the entire population of 10 states combined. Found everywhere in the united states, cigars were priced as per the size of the pocket of the general population as earlier Americans were not allowed to buy the Cuban cigars.
Online Cigars MarketThe passion of smoking cigars increased with the time. There has been a tremendous rise in the number of cigar smokers now in comparison of past years. Order whether an oscuro cigar, the black one or choose the claro, light brown cigar, make sure you get the right cigar to enjoy that unforgettable experience that lasts forever. By buying cigars online, you can also protect yourself from the duplicate cigars that are common these days. In fact, it also gives you the facility to get cigars at your doorsteps too, no matters you are the resident of any corner of the world.
Cigars are the ultimate experience of smoking. From last 1000 years, the fashion of cigar smoking is in practice and still alluring many aficionados to carry on this great passion.
______________________________

By Rachna Agarwal

For more information on buy cigars online visit http://www.selective-cigars.com.
Author is a cigar industry expert.

Point Of Sale Displays

In a competitive market, point of sale displays help solve several of a marketer’s short-term hurdles. The impact of sales promotion measures is not durable like the results obtained through advertising and personal selling. Sale displays by and large are understood and practiced as a catalyst and as a supporting facility to advertising and personal selling.
Point of sale displays differs from advertising in many ways. Whereas advertising is mostly an indirect and subtle approach towards persuading consumers to buy a product, sale displays is a direct and almost open inducement to consumers to immediately try the product. Secondly, advertising normally has long-term objectives like building brand awareness or building consumer loyalty or repositioning a brand, sale displays performs an immediate task of increasing current sales. Finally, advertising helps sales by adding some durable and long-term value to the product, while point of sale displays aid selling by temporarily changing the existing price-value relationship of the product.
While continuing to use advertising to build long term patronage of the consumer, sale displays will come handy to give the occasional spurt required to boost up current sales. Marketing man resort to sale displays to meet several marketing needs such as introducing new products, overcoming a unique competitive situation, unloading accumulated inventory, overcoming seasonal slumps, getting new accounts, retrieving lost accounts and for persuading dealers to buy more/ increase the size of the orders.
The above categorization is based on the marketing problem to be tackled. If we look at the target group to whom sale displays measures are normally aimed at, we find four broad target groups, viz. the consumer, the trade or channel and influential groups. Bulk of the sale displays effort is aimed at the consumer and the trade.

_________________________

By Josh Riverside
Point Of Sale provides detailed information about point of sale, point of sale displays, point of sale hardware, point of sale marketing and more. Point Of Sale is the sister site of Fulfillment And Distribution.

Advertising Specialty Distributors

Advertising Specialty Distributors sell and market the products of various manufacturers. These distributors cater to the needs of the people by making the finished Advertising Specialty products available. Advertising Specialty distributors are also known as promotional product distributors. If you are a new Advertising Specialty products manufacturer then the Internet is the best place to look for distributors.
Nowadays, the majority of Advertising Specialty manufacturers are in the business of distribution as well. These companies don’t want to hire any middlemen or distributors to sell their products; they prefer direct contact with the market. They generally manage the orders from large corporate houses along with the smaller businesses. Apart from distributing they also provide services like designing, imprinting and communication.
Generally, major Advertising Specialty Distributors contract with the companies who are either manufacturers or consumers. While looking for an Advertising Specialty Distributor, always look into its track record of the market coverage. This means its range of covering the market and people. If the shop is centrally located or in an industrial area, that distributor will generally have an edge over his rivals. Their main aim is to secure product acceptance and maximum market coverage.
Advertising Specialty products are more popular than ever; there are 15,000 to 20,000 distributors in the U.S. market alone. So if you’re new to the market or an old player who desires to make a mark, then try to go in for a big and established Advertising Specialty Distributor, who can take your product places. But make sure the chosen distributor fulfills all your requirements.

_____________________________

By Eric Morris

Advertising Specialties provides detailed information about advertising specialties, advertising specialty companies, advertising specialty distributors, advertising specialty manufacturers, and more. Advertising Specialties is the sister site of Outdoor Banner Stands.

Advertising Specialty Distributors

Advertising Specialty Distributors sell and market the products of various manufacturers. These distributors cater to the needs of the people by making the finished Advertising Specialty products available. Advertising Specialty distributors are also known as promotional product distributors. If you are a new Advertising Specialty products manufacturer then the Internet is the best place to look for distributors.
Nowadays, the majority of Advertising Specialty manufacturers are in the business of distribution as well. These companies don’t want to hire any middlemen or distributors to sell their products; they prefer direct contact with the market. They generally manage the orders from large corporate houses along with the smaller businesses. Apart from distributing they also provide services like designing, imprinting and communication.
Generally, major Advertising Specialty Distributors contract with the companies who are either manufacturers or consumers. While looking for an Advertising Specialty Distributor, always look into its track record of the market coverage. This means its range of covering the market and people. If the shop is centrally located or in an industrial area, that distributor will generally have an edge over his rivals. Their main aim is to secure product acceptance and maximum market coverage.
Advertising Specialty products are more popular than ever; there are 15,000 to 20,000 distributors in the U.S. market alone. So if you’re new to the market or an old player who desires to make a mark, then try to go in for a big and established Advertising Specialty Distributor, who can take your product places. But make sure the chosen distributor fulfills all your requirements.

_____________________________

By Eric Morris

Advertising Specialties provides detailed information about advertising specialties, advertising specialty companies, advertising specialty distributors, advertising specialty manufacturers, and more. Advertising Specialties is the sister site of Outdoor Banner Stands.

New Marketing And Promotional Ideas

New marketing and promotional ideas! Free! Most are related to internet-based businesses, but even those can usually be adopted in some way to other businesses. Here are half a dozen marketing ideas to get you thinking.
A one-hour coupon. Offline businesses that want to increase the traffic to their websites can announce an "internet coupon" good for a free drink (or whatever). The coupon would be up on the site for an hour, sometime on a Friday, say. Visitors will return again and again to try to be there at the right time to get the freebie. If you collect pay-per-click advertising fees, this repeat traffic might be especially profitable.
Free gift article teaser. A free gift is certainly not a new marketing idea, but it hasn't been done much in internet article "resource boxes." My click-throughs from articles increased when I started putting in the author's resource box, "For more information and a free gift, visit..." The gift is usually a short course, or an e-book. If you don't want to write an e-book, you can find one with free distribution rights.
Word links for sale. Maybe you have heard about the entrepreneur that sold a million pixels on one web page for a dollar each. Advertisers could buy a minimum of 100, and the image would link to their site. I've seen many copycats, but I haven't yet seen anyone selling words. This could be even better for advertisers, because they could buy the words that are relevant to their products. A page full of random words isn't pretty, but these things get publicity and traffic for their novelty.
Product user contests. If you have a product that's used in many ways or many places, this is a great promotional gimmick: a contest to see who has used their cell phone, watch, or whatever in the wildest place or the most unusual way. ("I took my walkman to the north pole!") Customers could post their stories and photos directly to your company web site. They wiould return repeatedly to see new stories, and the results of the competition.
Advertising on cereal boxes. A lot of time is spent staring at cereal boxes. Perhaps you could get a good rate on advertising on them. There have had some advertising, but no boxes covered in ads yet. Brokering ad space on cereal boxes could be a good business to get into.
Pay for article placement. Many of us distribute articles to generate traffic to our web sites, and many also pay to advertise. Since articles are especially good marketing tools, why not pay to have other webmasters put them on their sites? This is done for free now, but not often enough. Maybe offer a small one-time fee, with a minimum time commitment. Explain that leaving the article there forever can generate search engine traffic.
Put ads on private cars, advertising on sidewalks, have a contest to see who can get your product mentioned on and seen on TV - there are endless possibilities for new marketing and promotional ideas.
_______________________________

By Steven Gillman

Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: New Ideas (http://www.999ideas.com)

Ball of String Sales Supervision

How many times have you hired a new sales person and because he or she was experienced and successful somewhere else, they understand how to be successful in your organization? Moreover, did you take for granted that the new salesperson understood what was expected of them on the very first day they began with you? And unfortunately sometime later discovered they do not have your company’s sales process, policies, procedures and prices well understood?
In many ways you vest authority to your salespeople to make instantaneous decisions when in the customer and prospect presence. Unless your salesperson is fully knowledgeable (and that means tested in some fashion) about how it is done in your company, predictably a few things will come unraveled.
Try this the next time you bring a new salesperson aboard; that is try the “ball of string” approach.
As you verify assigned minor goals and objectives are being completed, you can let a little string off the ball to see how the increased authority and responsibility is handled. Then, as more difficult objectives are completed you let a little more string out, giving a little more opportunity to demonstrate their grasp of your company. After successive measurement periods you will have an understanding of exactly what the new salespersons' capabilities are so far. Now you are in a position to identify what skill set, additional product or company knowledge is required for enhanced performance - or if corrective action needs to be taken.
Why do this? Coaching your salespeople to improved performance involves understanding any present competencies, as well as those areas that need shoring up and improvement. When you turn your new salespeople ”loose” if you will, you will discover further along that what you had assumed at the start was most likely premature. They are not ready to be considered a full-fledged salesperson – at least not yet in your organization. Assuming they are up to speed too soon probably will require you to intervene, or worse yet perform triage in rectifying scenarios created from lack of company policies, procedures, processes, practices and product knowledge. Also expect to receive phone calls from your prospects and customers asking you ‘what is going on with your company anyway?’
Try the “ball of string” technique the next time you select and hire any new salesperson. Letting a little string out as you go and as objectives are meet ensures you know where the new hire is in their understanding of your organization. You’ll find you understand how well the basics are understood, as well as what you need to address with them so they continue to improve. Through continuous observation and coaching, you will always be able to judge what remains open for improvement; letting a little more string off the ball as you go.
And oh yes, lest we fail to mention, something for your own piece of mind.
Doing it this way will avoid being awake nights wondering when you personally must get involved in sweeping up the broken glass created by incorrect information about your company’s sales process, policies, procedures and prices with your customers and internal support organization. Moreover, the last thing you want to deal with is an upset customer that is barraging you with complaints about the new salespersons' sales style.

_________________________________

By Don McNamara

Don McNamara is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and is President of Heritage Associates, Inc. http://www.heritage-associates.net
Heritage Associates is a full service sales management consulting, training and coaching company. Don also speaks and writes on the art and science of superior sales management and top sales performance.
With over 30 years sales experience from the field level to executive sales management, in his career he has been an individual contributor, corporate sales training manager, regional manager, national sales manager and vice president of sales. Don is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, where he serves as Professional Development Chair and the National Speakers Association.

Overcoming Call Reluctance

Everyone in marketing faces it at one time or another - reluctance to pick up the phone and make calls. Logically, it makes no sense to feel that way. We believe in our product or service. We have a script that’s either been given to us or one that we’ve carefully written out. We have a list of prospects that are at least somewhat targeted. We know that when someone says “No”, it’s not directed at us. And still… the phone weighs a ton.
OK. You decide that the pain of being broke is greater than the pain of “cold” calling, so you commit to making calls each and every day. Or at least commit to try. Or try at least some days each week. For a while anyway…
We’ve all been through all of this before, and guess what? IT DOESN’T WORK! We’re still reluctant to make the calls we know we need to. So what’s the deal? Are you just “bad” at calling? Is it that calling only works for some but not most of us?
The answer, of course, is that calling can work for any one of us. It’s a matter of finding the right “key”(s) to open that door of calling success. We need to address why the typical “cold” call isn’t effective. We’ll start with the obvious issue. Calling strangers causes most people some amount of anxiety. Why does it make us feel so anxious and apprehensive? I’ve found that there are four reasons that cause people to feel anxious about calling. If any one of them exists, anyone would feel anxious about making a call. Here they are:
1) We feel that we sound like a telemarketer. Somewhat unprofessional and/or insincere.
2) We aren’t sure how to effectively start the call.
3) We aren’t sure how to effectively steer the conversation.
4) We aren’t sure how to comfortably and professionally end the conversation.
Let’s look at each one of these issues separately and find out how to put them behind us.
1) We feel that we sound like a telemarketer
What makes a telemarketer sound like a telemarketer? Think about it for a moment. You know the drill – we’ve all received telemarketing calls both at home and at work. What is it about that call that marks it as a telemarketing call? There are several factors that make us cringe at these calls. First off, telemarketers are either overly friendly to start with or they sound completely disinterested. Both make the caller sound insincere. Secondly, telemarketers talk and rarely ask. The call is all about their product and service and not about the person who received the call. Thirdly, they usually plow through their script, not allowing us to get a word in edgewise. And fourth, it’s always evident that they’re reading a script to you rather than speaking to you as a person. Those four factors generally mark the call as a telemarketing call.
How do you keep people from viewing you as a telemarketer? Simple. Don’t do those things!
a) When you call, don’t be overly enthusiastic and don’t be disinterested or matter-of-fact in your tone. Speak in an appropriate, natural tone and manner.
b) As you get into your conversation, ask questions. Be consultative. Remember, this is about your prospect, not about you.
c) & d) Practice your script so it is as conversational as possible. I always write out my script so it reads as naturally as possible. It’s usually not perfect writing but it is always natural and easy to say.
2) We aren’t sure how to start the call
The thing that annoys most of us when a telemarketer calls is that they dive right into some sales pitch without even knowing whether we have the time or interest in hearing about what they have to say. The most effective way to be viewed as a professional is to act like one. As an example, here is the way I start my marketing calls:
“Bob? Good Morning. This is Michael Beck. How are you today? (pause) Bob, I’m an executive coach (pause – I want to make sure they understood what I just said) and have worked with insurance managers for a number of years. Do you have a few minutes to chat?”
As simple as the above exchange is, it serves a number of important purposes:
a) In short order, I’ve told him who I am and what I do.
b) I said his name two times. (People love to hear their own name. Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”)
c) I began to establish credibility. (“I’ve worked with insurance managers for a number of years.”)
d) I asked permission to take some of his time.
3) We aren’t sure how to steer the conversation
We ended the start of our phone call with a question: “Do you have a few minutes to chat?” There can only be three answers to that question – “Yes”, “No”, or “What is this about?”
• If the answer is Yes, you’re off and running.
• If the answer is No, you could say you’ll call back or ask when a good time to call back would be, but why not use the opportunity to get more information? Since you’ve already told him who you are and what you do, why not ask: “Would you like me to call back?” The answer will either be Yes or No! Either way you should be happy. Either you’ll know not to waste your time trying to reach a disinterested prospect or you’ll have a somewhat pre-qualified prospect on your list!
• If the response is, “What is this about?”, have a short explanation of why you’ve called prepared, something like: “I wanted to share some of what I do, find out what your initiatives are, and see whether what I do could help you reach your goals faster and easier.”
Pretty straightforward isn’t it? …
If you approach the meat of your conversation in a way to see if you can help your prospect, rather than sell them something, it’s quite easy to have a stress-free, effective conversation.
No matter what the goal of your call is, at some point the discussion needs to draw to a close with a “trigger” question. “Can we set up an appointment to go over this in more detail?” or “Here’s what we should do next…”
4) We aren’t sure how to end the conversation
How you handle the end of your conversation will determine you well you protect your attitude. We ended the middle of our conversation with a question (see a pattern here?). There can only be three answers to your question – “Yes”, “I need more information”, or “No”
• If the answer is Yes, again you’re off and running.
• If the answer is a request for more information, have a simple process ready to provide prospects with additional information and/or credibility-building materials, get a commitment for a follow-up call, and set it up as an appointment in both your calendar and theirs. Don’t leave the follow-up as a vague process. Inotherwords get a phone appointment and avoid endless voicemails and phone tag.
• If the answer is No, my preference is to thank them for their time and candor, ask them if they’d like me to give them a call back in 6-12 months, and then hang up!
Let me close with a couple of perspectives that have served me and others well over the years.
One perspective is that if you find that any one prospect means a great deal to you, it’s a sure sign that you aren’t finding enough prospects. Put in more effort. Then everything else takes care of itself.
The other perspective that I have found helpful pertains to rejection, and is illustrated in this story:
Imagine you have a recipe for fantastic chocolate chip cookies and bake them to perfection. They’re absolutely delicious! You take a tray of these cookies around to people, asking them whether they would like one. The first person takes one and loves it. The next person you offer the cookies to declines - they are full, don’t like chocolate, or don’t want sweets. Here is the key question: “Does the fact that the second person didn’t want your cookies affect the quality of the cookies or the skill of the baker?” Clearly the answer is no. Their decision doesn’t have anything to do with the cookies or the baker. Their decision was about what’s going on in your their life, not yours.
When you create an effective phone process – knowing how to get into and out of conversations – and understand that a “No” truly is not about you at all, calling becomes more comfortable and it becomes easier to make many more calls. The result? Financial Success!
Copyright 2006 Exceptional Leadership, Inc.

__________________________________

By Michael J Beck

Michael Beck, "The Insurance Coach" is an Executive Coach and Recruiting Activist, and helps insurance professionals succeed faster and easier. He can be reached at 866-385-8751 or mbeck@theinsurancecoach.com Visit his website to learn more: http://www.TheInsuranceCoach.com You can subscribe to his newsletter here: http://www.theinsurancecoach.com/Subscribe.htm