Business Management - Marketing/Sales

I suspect, as salespeople, most of you really like to talk, too. But before we go putting words in our prospects’ mouths, we had better just shut up and let them tell us what we need to know.

It’s one thing to say, “Build your company’s reputation by taking advantage of the numerous media channels available.” It’s another thing to do it. As a place to start, here’s an outline of a simple “Printer’s Content Calendar.”

I was in Best Buy recently and had a technical question...I asked if he could walk me over and show me while I was there. His reply, word for word: “I can’t. If I do, I might lose my job.”

How you can be certain that your strategic plan will produce the outstanding results you need in this environment? Based upon our field research and customer interviews performed with both for-profit and non-profit organizations, you need to focus your efforts on “three must-dos” that will drive your organization to its next level.

Selling through retailers and wholesalers improves a company’s market reach. By supplying goods directly to retailers, especially retail chains, businesses can reach smaller customers that would be too costly to sell directly. Distributing through a wholesaler network is another distribution strategy to consider. Wholesalers can help you efficiently reach smaller stores that wouldn’t be cost-effective to target directly.

As you approach 2012, it may be a good time to think about your culture, policies, hiring practices, purple cows, and how you magnify these during customer interactions to wow them on every transaction.

If you are in a position to flatter someone—sincerely, honestly and specifically—you ALSO have to find a way to make it sound genuine, and not that you are just trying to curry favor so your services will be chosen.

It’s not about you. In almost any situation, remembering these four words and then rethinking the situation through someone else’s perspective—while keeping in mind what his/her wants are—will help you to close the deal. Unless it’s a teenager, and then all bets are off.

At our annual Print & Media Conference held recently in Chicago, I paid close attention to the attendee mood and the conversations. There was hope in the air. While the economy has taken big bites out of all businesses and reduced print buying staffs along with marketing budgets, there was energy and enthusiasm among the 100 attendees.

Samples can be helpful. Demos can be effective. But what is the primary tool used by salespeople? Words. Whether spoken or written, words make sales happen...or not. Too many salespeople (and marketers and advertisers) use the same words—words used so often they’ve become meaningless—to describe their products and services.

1. “Customer focused.” Talk about redundant; should you be anything but customer focused? If your goal is to imply that other providers are not customer focused, tell me how: faster response time, greater availability, customized processes or systems… tell me in concrete terms how you will meet my specific needs.