3 Quick Steps to Create Your Business Stimulus Package!

You should be VERY glad you are in a position as a business...nimble and able to adjust to what clients need at this time. Now more than ever you can’t afford to lose sight of the driving force of your sales opportunities. If you plan to survive and potentially thrive you have to stay relevant to your customers and make it easy for them to purchase your products or services.

So here we are…halfway through 2008. Are you wondering if you are going to make your revenue goals? Trying to read the mind of your prospects? Or maybe you are like many that cross my path, still doing the same thing you have done in the past…just working harder and expecting different results.

3 quick steps to create your business stimulus package:

1. Evaluate your offering. Are you still offering the same old packaging of 2006-07? Are your customers balking at the dollar amount or length of time projects take? If you are in a position to adjust your offering, I have some suggestions to keep your product or service in demand.
2. Generate better quality leads. Wait a minute…before you respond “I know, I know!” Let me give some insights to do this more easily.
3. Keep yourself motivated! Quit working with people who cost you time and money. Selling can create an emotional rollercoaster. You can’t afford the ups and downs at anytime…especially in this market.

Make it easy for prospects to buy.
What are your customers buying from you? How can you make it easy for them to say yes without dropping your price? Think about how you might repackage your products or services to make it easy to buy, while increasing the value and profitability. What does this look like?

• If you are a service provider, it might look like an “economy package” that utilizes some templates to deliver your services.
• Learn to reduce your time per customer by offering a valuable service at a level that gains a quick economic return (for your business and your prospect/clients/customers).
• If you sell products, you might create a bundle of products and services to create the same result above. Or consider adding a higher margin item to your bundle increasing the value for the buyer and you.

Buyers are shopping for value. Right now prospects are shopping longer to make sure they get the most bang for their buck. You probably are too. Consider testing your packaging with an “introductory” offer. You don’t have to be married to the package forever. Just test the results. If it works, keep doing it. If not, adjust your packaging. Ask your customers for feedback and find out what your market wants from you. You will be glad you did.

Want more quality leads?
Rethink your ideal customer. The market has changed. Who can you serve doing what you do well? This may mean letting go of some prospects so you can focus on those who have a budget, a need, and can see a return on investment for what you offer. To get more leads in general, you need to visible in one way or another to this group. Who are they and where do they show up, what do they read, listen to, etc.? What are ways you can be in front of them? Network, advertise, partner with other service providers, etc.

To help you focus, ask yourself:

• Who do I serve that might be in a growth industry? i.e. health, baby boomer transitions, etc.
• Are there customers in my database who could benefit from buying more of me or my services?
• Have the psychographics of my ideal client changed? Values, motivators, character qualities? If so, what are they? How can I connect with my prospects on this level?

Review your partnerships. As you rethink your ideal customer, consider who also serves this market. What kind of joint opportunities might you create? Have fun! For example, my ideal clients need PR but do most of it themselves. I am partnering with Nancy Juetten to offer her famous Publici-Tea™ in our area. This gives me another great resource to offer my prospects that complements my service offering. This gives my clients more of what they need to generate business growth. Idea for you…partner with your local non-profits or Chamber and add needed services and value for your community.

Be your own cheerleader!
Keep yourself motivated. Selling your business products or services has its ups and downs but now…even more so. Between the media, your network, and your customers, you hear enough bad news to really bring your spirits down. So what do you do? You put on a happy face, remind yourself this will pass…and fake it till you make it, right? The problem is that is only skin deep. Your contacts sense your lack of authenticity and it subconsciously seeps out your pores.

A bad day costs you. Almost more than the time you lose, consider the energy it takes to pull yourself back up from the dumps. This can be far too costly. Here are a couple of suggestions to keep you UP!

• Keep track of past successes.
• Save the handwritten compliments you receive and review them often.
• Hang out with people who are moving forward.
• Create your own support group. Not to commiserate but for accountability and encouragement.

While this unusual market place brings both unique challenges and opportunities I challenge you to utilize this market as launch pad for growth and change. You can not only survive, but thrive by paying attention, staying relevant, and continuing to make it easy for your customers to see the value of your offerings. Offer them simple and valuable ways to business with you. I guarantee you will create growth for your business by better serving your market.

In the meantime, network strategically!

Define your Terms to Create More Sales

Along my personal development journey I learned the value of defining terms. I use my personal story to illustrate the value of defining terms both personally and professionally.

I spent most of my life talking about how "hard" things were. And they were hard! I was a single mother at 22, survived a near fatal auto accident that left me with a handicap at 23, not to mention the other life stuff that goes on every day when you are working hard to make a living and raise a family.

An amazing thing happened when I redefined the word hard. It's curious...when I asked myself if my life was truly hard I had to admit, others had it much rougher than I did. What I discovered in truth is that I had some "challenges". There were some activities that were "difficult" for me. I did have to exert a littte more effort to get things done...but I could do them.

In that discovery I had an "Aha" moment...I could work with challenges and difficulty but hard things were just plain hard...and my speaking it made things even harder. So, I changed my vocabulary. When I would have habitually described a situation as "hard", I began replacing the word with a true statement. My attitude changed and, I swear, life got easier.

When it comes to doing business, I believe defining terms has been instrumental in building a profitable growing consulting practice, serving my clients, and creating business development curriculums.

For example, early on in my career I redefined selling.
Old definition: Selling is convincing someone to buy something they didn't need.
New definition: Selling is serving customers by discovering and matching a true need with a valuable solution.

When I quit trying to "sell" my customers and instead focused on serving, exchanging valuable information and connecting them to resources my sales increased immediately. Of course, I had to complete the sales process by creating an opportunity to purchase but that wasn't the end game...just part of serving.

Same thing with networking.
Old , old definition: Networking is schmoozing and positioning.
Old, new definition: Networking is relationship building, connecting people to people, and perfect elevator pitches.
New definition: Networking is a strategic marketing activity intended to increase exposure, build credibility, and create opportunities in addition to generating leads.

What I began to view my networking in light of the bigger picture, my sales increased exponentially. As a matter of fact I doubled my sales in one year using this new definition. Achieving this led me to clearly see and define another type of valuable networking activity; networking to build professional relationships or strategic partnerships.

Check this for yourself. How do you define these terms? Is it working for you?

Watch for an upcoming post on our definition of packaging, pricing, and target marketing.

Happy Networking!

Ramping Up Online Networking

I’ve decided to tackle networking online or “social networking.” I’ve been waiting in the wings for someone to figure it all out and showcase how this rapidly evolving medium can help me and my clients, the small business owner, save time, money, and increase impact. But that hasn’t happened yet so I figured it was time to throw my hat in the ring.

Over the last 18 months I’ve been invited to join many networks and personally have growing networks on Linked In, Biznik, and Plaxo Pulse. My sons use Facebook and MySpace. Others in my network use Naymz and Mamasource. Until recently I had not yet seen clearly how these mediums could impact sales, leads, and partnerships.

It’s taken me a while to come around to the idea that social networking might not be a waste of time. My initial skepticism seemed to be supported when I asked the people in my network who were using online social networking how it was working for them. They were as stumped as I was about how to use it to reach their business goals. Hmmm. Made me think. Is this a good investment of time?

Then I was contacted by people who found me through the network and wanted to sell me something. Oooh. That really didn’t sit well. Each time this happened it confirmed my belief that this whole social networking thing could be handled as poorly as networking in person. As a matter of fact, the only viable application I saw in social networking was for job seekers who were able to make connections that helped them learn more about the companies they were applying to and get introductions to key people within the organization.

However, I am beginning to change my mind. While sharing my online networking frustrations with a colleague, Elge Premeau, The eMarketing Strategist, she said “Kathie, you wouldn’t go to a networking event, stand in the corner of the room the whole time and then complain afterwards about how it didn’t work. So why are you doing it online? You teach people how to strategically network in person so take the same approach online.” My belief is that people do business (online or off) with those they know, like and trust. I am confident the fundamental principles that make for successful face-to-face networking are the same for online social networking.

A few weeks ago, I met the co-founders of Biznik, a social networking site I’ve been participating if for the last six months, and had a lively discussion about the correlations between face-to-face networking and online networking. I believe Biznik is going to be a major player in changing the face of online networking in a highly practical way! Biznik is unique. It’s highly targeted to independent professionals and combines an active online community, article publication, resources, and local face-to-face networking events. Is Biznik for everyone? No. But it has shown me how social networking can effectively about build relationships online.

So, now that I’ve got a grasp on how online social networking can be used as a strategic marketing activity, I’m going to write a brief, highly targeted, ebook on the topic. It will describe how to choose social networking sites, how to create an effective online profile and how to use social networking sites to build relationships with potential clients and strategic partners.I want to include plenty of real world examples which is where I need your help. I’m asking people in my network to share their stories about how they’ve used social networking and what they’ve gotten from the experience. Here’s what I’d like to know:

• Do you participate in social networking sites? If so, which ones?
• How much time would you estimate you spend weekly communicating, maintaining, and updating your online networks?
• What type of successes have you found through your use of online networking?

If you take the time to add your comments below, I’ll send you a complimentary copy of my ebook on social networking when it’s done.

More Sales Made Easy! 5 Steps to Boost your Impact

Sales increase is the buzz in the air this year. Tactics, opportunities, belief, excitement! As a business strategist I find myself dissecting this activity, yet again, to find it is the little things that make a big difference.

The act of selling is comprised of so many components (not to mention the changing markets) it is an activity that requires continuous attention. Here are some tips to tune up and make the process your own.

1. Map the sales cycle. i.e. lead generation, first contact, second contact, proposal, review, close. Make sure you identify all the steps. (My technique is to get out a chart pad and make a flow chart.) After you have identified the steps, check yourself. Where do you lose prospects? What can you adjust to better connect with the client?
2. Review your sales conversation. Are you using a presentation style, discovery approach or combination of both? Identify the key conversation components and review your vocabulary. i.e. opening questions, developing questions, qualifying questions, closing questions, power statements, follow up questions, sales presentation. Ask a peer for feedback on your process.
3. Check your belief system. What is going on in your head as you work through the steps of the sales process? i.e. Do you find yourself thinking, "Sales is hard", "Nobody is buying", "I need sales", etc? This is an area that can kill your sales results! If you find you are suffering from "stinking thinking", call a coach, get some training, ask your peers...do something! Until you fix this all the others will not create lasting change.
4. Re-define your target market. Are you talking to the right prospects? If you have been selling, review your best customers. Create a profile of your ideal target market. Focus on their demographics, geographics, and psychographics*. *values, character qualities, and motivators Make sure you are working with the right people!
5. Assess your frequency. Are you performing your highest payoff sales tasks consistently? Why not? Implement systems, block time, and find a way to hold yourself accountable.

When you need more sales, whether your sales cycle is short or long, fine tuning any one of these areas will create impact.

Need more sales training? Check out Jeff Schneider at Sandler Sales System. Click on the calendar to find out more about his Cold Calling Clinics and Sales Boot Camps.

Another great sales resource is the book by Ron Willingham, "Integrity Based Selling for the 21st Century: How to Sell How People Want to Buy".

We are looking for more sales tips! Let us your favorite.