Blogathon Final Entry #48 The Peak
Here we are. The top of the mountain. I have walked across red hot 1200 degree hot coals (with Fred), but that only lasts a few seconds. This was a serious accomplishment for everyone involved, each entry required a new commitment to move forward. I cannot remember the last time I attacked a goal like this in my business with such tenacity (talent can be a blessing and a curse). Okay so maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but this was something everyone involved in the blogathon (bloggers and donors) can be really proud of.
Why I mention this, is I wonder how much all of us can achieve if we stretched ourself like this in all aspects of our life continually. Anyway, I ran out of things to say 5 blog entries ago…
Namaste
Shane Gibson
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008 |
The Redbull is Wearing Off - Blogathon Entry 47
I must say I started with Blogathon with the intention of eating lots of high energy foods, hydrating massively and stretching every 45 minutes or so to stay limber. That lasted about 3 hours. I have now shyed away from Flip Video cam as I definitely look like I stayed up for 24 hours +. I’m about 31 minutes late in finishing my last post but it still feels great to be rounding the last corner of this Blogathon.
As a sales person and a motivational speaker I like to move around a lot, and it was to my surprise that I was able to sit and focus for that entire 24 hours. My goal was $2500 but i think it looks like we raised $1700.00 (unofficial number).
And by the way I mean “we,” kind messages and encouragement from my virtual running mates really helped keep me going. (Thanks Duane Storey, Rebecca Bollwitt, Karen Hamilton, Ayeza Garcia, Isabella Mori, Danny Dang, Mehnaz Thawer, INVOKE, Barbara Doduk, TAGGA, Raul and Colleen Vince. you were all awesome) Then of course the RedBull ( 2 cans…. no Vodka) came out in full force around 4:30 pm today, I was pretty sure if I closed my eyes for a nap I’d be gone. Gregory Pinch who introduced me to the MSMF and Yam De La Pena who provided comedic relief played a big part too.
What I liked about this event was that it really proves that there can be a real connection socially (for good) online. I used my e-mail list, facebook connections, meetup friends, and even did a skype podcast with Fred Shadian today while he was on the island.
Keep Blogging!
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Marketing and PR, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog, Sales Training |
Sales Video Podcast - Blogathon Entry 46 - Brand
A sales video podcast on the impact that we have on our corporate brand:
This is blogathon entry number 46 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under * Sales Podcast, Blogathon 2008, Sales Training Video, iPhone Podcasts |
Guest Blogger Neil Godin - Blogathon Entry 45
The Situation
New York Times business writer Joe Nocera was at the receiving end of a mind blowing customer experience—and wrote to tell about it. Four days before Christmas, he realized that a $500 PlayStation gift for his son had not arrived. He tracked the shipment from Amazon and learned that it had been delivered and signed for—but not by him. Ouch!
The Idea
If you want customers to become your brand ambassadors, you’ve got to go “way” overboard on satisfaction. Amazon did. Satisfied that he did not receive the package, they sent a replacement immediately, and it arrived on Christmas Eve. Naturally, Nocera has been talking, and writing, about the experience ever since.
The Risk
The risk here is perceived, not real. Even if one or two customers went to great lengths to rip you off, you’d be ahead in terms of your investment in customer loyalty.
The Reward
What is your return/guarantee policy? If you are a consultant, do you guarantee results or no invoice is cut? If you’re a realtor do you guarantee to sell a home in 90 days or lose your commission? It’s the niche or the ditch—how will you make your guarantee a powerful differentiator?
The Call to Action
If you were Amazon, would you have done the same? What if the customer was an average Joe (or Jo) instead of a business writer (I wonder if that came up). Would you still do it? If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, look for an opportunity to go this crazy!
Neil Godin (a.k.a The Turnaround Guy) is a native of Vancouver, Canada, and is president of Neil Godin International Inc. A former business journalist, he is one of North America’s leading business speakers, trainers and writers. As a conference speaker and seminar leader, he has addressed more than 300,000 people from coast to coast.
This is blogathon entry number 45 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Sales Articles, Sales Blog |
Selling in Tough Economic Times - Bill Gibson Guest Blogger
How to Gain market share in a tough economy
Many years ago I was a top producing local radio advertising salesperson in the Twin Cities market of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
On the East Coast of Canada the harsh winters literally crippled automobile sales. In December, January and February it is not uncommon to have sub-zero temperatures and three snow storms in a month that range from a half metre to a metre and a half of snow. One early November day I called on John Gwynne-Timothy, the new owner of a small car dealership called Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler. He told me that it did not make good sense to advertise in November, December or January because of the ferocious winters. Chrysler Canada had instructed him to put aside C$100 000 for each of the three winter months, strictly for losses. He was also told to cut back on advertising and save the money for peak season. I could understand their thinking – first you have to find the car under the snow before you can show it that time of year.
“The best time to gain market share is in a down economy” – Bill Gibson
My response to John was that with every adversity there is an opportunity and the best time to gain market share is in a down economy. I added that most of the competitive dealerships would also be cutting back on advertising and the buying of inventory during that period. The advertising noise level in the market place was far less in the winter months. This would make it easier to dominate the market with less spending. The other dealers also were not buying cars at the auctions and it would be the best time to buy.
Here was the strategy:
* He went to the automobile auctions and bought at low, low prices. (If you buy right, you can sell right).
* On Friday afternoons at 4 pm we cleaned out his huge service department and decorated it with colourful streamers, balloons and so on.
* We then brought into the service department many of the especially low-price used cars and new ones.
* On the Friday morning we hit with newspaper and radio advertising – all day Friday and all day Saturday. In the weekly and monthly magazines we advertised the Winter Sale Bonanza Friday and Saturday at Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler.
* We had live onsite radio announcers and upbeat music playing in the service depart-ment on the weekends and we sold cars until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday.
The final result was that Gwynne-Timothy profited C$100 000 per month in December, January and February. He budgeted for a C$300 000 loss and instead made C$300 000. In actuality, he was C$600 000 ahead.
“You can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy”
In February, the competition eventually tried to counter attack – after laughing at him for what they thought was a waste of advertising money in December and January – but it was too late. He already had momentum. This momentum carried over to peak months from March to October with astronomical sales. He had gained huge market share in the down months that positively impacted the best months.
Within a year Gwynne-Timothy sold his small dealership for a huge profit and bought the largest Ford dealership in Atlantic Canada. Today he is a multimillionaire, simply by being innovative and proactive in a down economy – in Canada during the winter months. The following graph shows that 20% of a smaller market can be larger than 10% of a big market. It is easier to gain market share in a down economy.
A few years later, as a consultant in Canada, I had another client named Terry Straker. At the top of the economy he was grossing C$200 000 a month with his bedding and bedroom furniture stores in Calgary, Alberta. The country went into a recession and competition got stiffer. Eighteen months later, at the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase.
How did he do it? He got innovative and aggressive. He knew cash was king so he negotiated hard when buying. He then increased his advertising in the right mediums that targeted his market. Through research he knew the best days and best weeks to advertise. He increased sales training to twice a week. He tied in with charities and ran innovative promotions.
Straker once ran a promotion called Mr Money, where he dressed his brother up in a Mr Money outfit, and on Friday he announced to the media that Mr Money was dropping C$5 000 from the roof of his biggest store on Saturday. The plan was to drop C$500 an hour in small bills for 10 hours. Ten thousand people showed up and he got massive publicity. He had the biggest day ever. The reason is that in a down economy people want money.
He used endless creative traffic building ideas. Among them was a promotion with Salvatore (Sal) Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother. Rocky II had just opened in the theatres.
“At the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase”
Even though the economy was down, Terry increased his sales by 400%. I acknowledge that, yes, with the new credit act, increased interest rates, hikes in petrol and electricity prices and the power crisis there could be tighter times ahead for many businesses in South Africa.
The solution is to believe you can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy and get creative, innovative and pro-active. Do not wait for others or external factors to do it for you. Take control.
About Bill Gibson
Bill Gibson lives in South Africa and is the chairperson of Knowledge Brokers International SA (Pty) Ltd. He is the author of the book Boost your business in any economy, and the writer and developer of several sales, marketing and entrepreneurial training systems. Bill Gibson can be reached at +27 11 784 1720 or info@kbitraining.com
This is blogathon entry number 36 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Marketing and PR, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog |
Dr. Denis Cauvier Interview
Following is an excerpt from a larger article on Dr. Denis Cauvier. I asked Denis to guest blog today and he sent me some great content on human resources and hiring sales people. Following us an excerpt from his interview in Bratislava Leaders Magazine. After Denis learned more about the blogathon he also pledged a considerable donation! (Thanks Dr. Denis Cauvier)
How has HR changed over the past 10 years?
HR has changed dramatically over the past decade. Some of the more significant changes are: demographics changes including the aging workforce and declining birth rates in most developed nations and at the same time exploding birth rates in most developing nations; the emergence of four distinctly different age groups working at the same time; the global nature of business with massive mergers and acquisitions as well as outsourcing of labour; plus technological advances affecting the need for skills and knowledge upgrading; the proliferation of internet recruiting, flexible HR policies, employment branding; plus an unprecedented talent and skills shortage that will continue in many countries for the next two decades.
What is the key to pre-screening and selecting the right people for a team?
The quick answer is to “pre-screen for competency and select for character”. What this means is that the entire pre-screening process should focus on answering the fundamental question, “does the person possess the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to do the job?” In other words, are they competent (able) to do the job? Once you are satisfied that the applicant possesses the requisite abilities then the selection process begins. It is here that you need to “select” the best candidate in terms of best fit with the company. To do this you must focus your energies on examining the person’s character which is made up of their attitude, and personality. The most insightful part of the selection process is the face-to-face interview.
What are some of the main reasons that some sales people are successful and others are not?
Contemporary wisdom suggests that the key to successful selling lies within the sales person’s skills, knowledge and selling techniques. Although I agree that these issues are all important, I believe that the single biggest contributor to selling success is the person’s attitude. Their attitude entails many elements, such as their attitudes: towards themselves in the role of professional selling, their attitude as it relates towards the selling process; their attitude towards the company they represent, the products and services they offer their attitudes toward their customers, and their team-mates. These attitudes will ultimately determine their level of selling success.
As a respected authority on customer retainment as well, how is it possible to turn a one-time buyer into a life-time customer?
People the world over complain to me that there is no customer loyalty and that a client will change suppliers to save even a tiny bit of money. I feel this is an over-simplification of the issue. Yes, people are always seeking bargains, but at the end of the day it’s value for money that will win out. I don’t believe that a company has to be the lowest priced provider; rather they need to fully understand the needs of their clients and then exceed the customer’s expectations. This is done by investing in client relationship building, having highly skilled and knowledgeable, sales, and customer service professionals, and constantly seeking ways to improve the life and or business of your clients. By adopting this “imbedded partnership mindset” you will become the supplier of choice for your key accounts.
In your best-selling book “the ABCs of Making Money”, what are some of the strategies that ordinary people can implement to create extraordinary wealth?
Actually, the answer to this question lies within the title of my book; it’s what I refer to as the “ABCs” approach and is doable by anyone who has the desire to succeed and is prepared to put the effort in. It all starts with adopting the right attitudes. By understanding the attitudes of successful, wealthy people, and then engaging in highly effective day to day behaviours (such as living within your means, investing your money at an early age, develop critical skills in the areas of selling, communicating, negotiating and priority management; and finally applying the principles of creating money by owning your business and developing numerous sources of passive income… the idea of earning money even while I sleep is very appealing to me!
This is blogathon entry number 33 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Leadership, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog |
Sales Podcast - Running Effective Sales Meetings
This podcast entry has been sponsored (donation MSMF charity) by Kristine Heckman of lifemark.ca (Ontario).
This podcast is on how to run effective sales meetings.
This is blogathon entry number 30 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under * Sales Podcast, Blogathon 2008, Leadership, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog, Sales Training, iPhone Podcasts |
Question 3 from Darren Stevenson Voyageur Oil and Gas Corp.
Sponsored Entry - Voyageur Oil and Gas Corporation - Darren Stevenson CEO
Question: Dear Shane “stop presenting, stop selling, be prepared to leave” do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Answer: Dear Darren,
Darren this is very connected with the previous question you asked. It would be too much of a cliche for me to urge sales people to be solution finders and not product peddlers or pitch artists. Now with that said I will say this: many people even when asking questions or listening are still selling or presenting.
Standing in front of a room full of executives with their custom graphic designed PowerPoints they roll through their clever presentation based upon the research and previous needs asessment they did on the company. Even at this point, a final presentation, not engaging the client in questions, dialogue, and involving them in collaboratively defining what a successful solution will look like can be fatal for a deal maker. (Maybe fatal is a little extreme, but it is a deal killer).
“Be prepared to leave!”
This is a bold statement that is powerful. Prospects can smell weakness and desperation. If we are willing to do a deal at a low margin, bending over backwards for them to get the deal this causes all kinds of challenges:
#1) People like to do business with top organizations and top sales people, and they rarely grovel for business
#2) If the client does business with us, generally the repeat business will also be at a low margin.
#3) If you’re supposed to be in a leadership position as a solutions provider it will be tough to implement because the client won’t respect us.
Being willing to walk away from deals that aren’t ideal or that are one sided in the clients favor is an attribute of a big deal closer. Bill Gibson likes to say: “You don’t get out of life what you want or deserve, you get what you negotiate.”
This is blogathon entry number 29 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Leadership, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog, Sales Training |
Question from Minto Roy of Careers Today Canada Radio
Blog Entry Sponsored by Minto Roy (donation to MSMF foundation) of Careers Today Canada .com.
Dear Shane,
What advice could you give to employers that are seeking to hire top sales performers in what is still an employees’ job market (especially when we refer to top sales producers)?
Dear Minto: There are several factors that we need to look at when recruiting top performing sales people. The first step in my opinion is to:
Write up a complete description of the type of sales job it is, including the following:
- Amount of phone selling, cold calling, proposal writing, group presentations.
- Geographical area
- Amount of travel
- Amount of time away from home
- Level of independence
- Hours expected to work
- Work culture of the company
- Reporting and paper work expected
- Client entertainment factor
- Type of customers or potential customers
- Level of acceptance by the customer in reference to
- the company
- the products and service
- the industry
- Level of selling
- Product/service focused
- Relationship marketing focused
- Customer and solution focused.
- Size of average sale
- Length of the selling cycle and any other important factors you can think of.
- Trade show selling and seminar selling etc.
With the above job description in mind, carefully describe the characteristics, behaviors, values, skills, experience and abilities you require in this person.
Secondly realize that top producers are rarely ever unemployed. Being in the recruiting business you know that top producers are constantly being courted for other job positions. My suggestion is hire in advance, network where these producers work and play, and even offer finders fees to your own internal sales team if they find you a winner.
My last thought is winners like to win, and they like to win quick. If you’re recruiting top performers you better have a sales opportunity and a process that enables them to hit home runs early. Showing up to a disorganized sales environment with no sales process or culture is something that will quickly repel most top producers.
Thanks again Minto for your contribution to the MSMF Blogathon!
This is blogathon entry number 28 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Blogathon 2008, Leadership, Sales Articles, Sales Blog, Sales Management Blog, Uncategorized |
Peak Performance Podcast Part 3
This is part 3 of the 3 part guest podcast with Fred Shadian on Peak Performance. This podcast discusses how to overcome failure through the power of focus and the discipline of life long learning. Thanks Fred for your donation to the MSMF foundation.
This is blogathon entry number 25 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.
July 26, 2008 · Filed Under * Sales Podcast, Blogathon 2008, Leadership, Sales Training, iPhone Podcasts |
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