Action Reaction

My eight year old son was in a heated debate with my 14 year old daughter this morning as they got ready for school. I didn't know how the argument began or what the subject matter was even about until he came up to me and said, "If my sister wasn't born would I have been born." I thought for about five seconds and said "No, you wouldn't have been born." No sooner had those words left my lips did I hear from behind the bathroom door "Ha, I told you so." I thought my son would be upset, but he accepted the fact and went about playing with his new Lego Police Station.

As I drove into work I thought about my response. I'll probably try to put a positive spin on my answer as we eat dinner tonight. But I still think I told the truth.

As in life as well as your business, everything you do has a consequence. Without having to do a Google search, I recall a saying, probably from some Chinese philosopher that said, "Even the little butterfly's wings that go up and down affect the air current half way around the world." What you do today... sending a thank you letter, making that phone call, or even worse, not making that phone call, all have a part, whether small or large, on your success.

The greatest ideas you may have are worth nothing without action. Knowledge is not power, but knowledge put into action is the greatest power of all.

Take action today.

Give It Up

With Ash Wednesday upon us, Catholics are preparing to celebrate the 40 days of Lent. Giving up sweets, being a little more considerate, and abstaining from the most private of bad habits, are the focus for many preparing for the Easter holiday.

Taking religion out of the equation, what are you prepared to give up to make more time and to save more money for acquiring new business and surviving this "recession"? Are you wasting your day on non-qualified leads? Should you scrap your old website for one that actually sells your product or service? Is your Yellow Page advertisement too big and expensive? Can you save a few dollars by not sending your four-color brochure to every Tom, Dick, and Harry?

Tough times calls for tough measures. Look around and see what you can cut out, eliminate, and scale down to make you and your company better, faster, and stronger.

Stamp Prices Rise

On May 11th the price of a first-class stamp will go up a couple more pennies to 44¢. This increase is just another indication that you should be taking more advantage of technology to reduce your business costs.

E-mail is the most obvious tool for you to reduce postage, paper consumption, and time. Pay those bills on-line rather than through the USPS. Print internal copies on the backs of already printed material or use those backs for scrap paper. Shut off computers when not in use.

Some of my personal money-saving tips include... shaking the toner cartridge so I get the very last drop out of it, reusing folders a dozen times over, reading my local newspaper on-line rather than subscribing, not buying pens or pencils until my supply is completely gone, and keeping all of my to-dos/appointments/bills in a three-ring binder (not only a money saving practice but a time saver as well).

That's my two cents worth of wisdom for today... you'll need it on May 11th when you visit the post office.

I Wanna Go Fast

As in the famous words of Rick Bobby, the race car driver in Talladega Nights, "I wanna go fast" should be the mantra of sales professionals each and every day.

Admit it, we are the Blackberry generation... multi-tasking whenever we can... reading while exercising, talking while driving, texting while eating. There's no escaping it.

Our customers want things right away. I'm just as demanding... when I call a company to place an order or resolve an issue... I want answers fast. And god forbid I'm put on hold!

But there is a bright lining to the madness. If you are in sales and can be the first to respond to a prospect's request, there's a very good chance that you'll get the sale. To wit... I have a buddy in the construction business; if you know the industry or have ever had to call a painter, roofer, plumber or other tradesman you know what I mean. Many are "fly by nights" and rough around the edges (not all of them, mind you). My friend does extremely well year after year for one reason, and one reason only. He answers his phone. "I truly think my success is based on the fact that I answer the phone when it rings or when customers leave a message I call them back before the end of the day," he said. "It's that simple."

I can attest to his strategy. If I'm the first to respond to a sales lead I increase my success rate ten-fold. I've had customers say, "I guess you're getting the job because you're the only one who took the time to call me back." Sweet!

So the next time you think to return a call "after lunch," why not take a few minutes before you leave and dial that number. The other end may hold a wonderful and profitable opportunity.

Please Be Brutally Honest

Marketing plans based on hearsay and internal opinions waste a ton of money every year for many businesses. Product designs, colors, pricing, and placement are but a few of the miscues sales and marketing people make. It's not that they're unintelligent, it's just that most believe that they know what's best for their "baby"... they become emotionally attached - that's not good.

Traditional market research, focus groups, prototypes, redesigns, and revamping the unique selling proposition can drain a budget real quick. Fortunately there's help... it's called the Internet.

Scientific Marketing Services, the New Jersey-based marketing and multi-media resource agency for businesses throughout the world has come up with a low-cost web-based product called MarketLink™ that gathers information directly from your marketplace... year around.

Using the SMS MarketLink™ you get the straight, unadulterated scoop from your customer’s mouths straight to your ear. Sometime what you hear may not be flattering and may be hard to take, especially if it goes against what your sales people, dealers or others have been telling you; but you’ll always learn important facts that might otherwise be ignored, to your own detriment.

Are the comments always right? Certainly not, but they are always thought provoking, and they can help you identify wrong impressions and other subtle, and not so subtle problems in your marketplace, or with your customers... before it’s too late.

You can check out the program's details in this month's SMS e-jottings newsletter which is hot off the press. Send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you.

The Secret to Keeping Clients

All too often your clients and customers leave because of lack of communication. I'm not talking about regular contact activities such as a weekly call or the sending of a newsletter... although these simple techniques should not be forgotten. I'm referring to serious communication... one-on-one dialog. Whenever you get a new customer blatantly ask them "What do you want to accomplish?" If they respond, "I want more customers" or "to increase my sales" ask them "how many more customers will make you happy?" and "how much would you like to increase your sales by?" This is true communication. It's also communication that will make you a star. It's Goal Setting 101 - i.e., you never set a goal to lose weight, you set a goal to lose 10 pounds.

Try it out the next time you sit down with your customers. Ask the tough questions and be ready to produce results. It's only after this back and forth exchange will you truly be able to develop a reputation for getting things done and keeping clients very, very happy.

Move Please

Gloom, despair, stocks plunging, corporate profits down, Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, layoffs... when will it end? No one really knows. I don't care who you listen to on the TV or radio... the pundits don't know any more than you. And while times are tough and money is tight, you need to stay focused on what you can control.

Keep plugging along... keep making calls... keep prospecting... keep researching... keep writing... keep your head up. Most important, don't pay one iota to the "other guy". Stay focused on what's working for you. There has to be something positive going on in your life. Now's not the time to shrivel up and die.

This is the time for opportunity. Go out there and tell the other guy to move over!