People Love It
Of course there are exceptions, and some e-mail is better received than others, but generally speaking, “You have mail” are welcome words when opening your e-mail program.

Yesterday’s Inbox
The same was true in times past when all mail came to your physical mail box. The more there was, the better you liked it.

“Thank You.”
When was the last time that you went shopping, came home and opened up your e-mail to find a simple “Thank you” e-mail from one of the stores where you shopped? Such e-mail would likely be well received, especially if it came from someone you did NOT buy from, and does NOT have a “sales pitch” as a part of it. A link to your web site is enough. Everyone likes being appreciated.

CRM’s
I talk with many companies that have Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) in place to gather e-mail addresses and other customer information, but in too many cases it stops there. Or, they go into a data base somewhere with good intent to send e-mail about upcoming sales, promotions or new merchandise. In some cases even that doesn’t happen.

Pick One!
A good way to get e-mail addresses is to have a weekly or monthly drawing of some sort with winners posted on your web site. Be sure that you do not ask for too much information on the drawing ticket; name and e-mail address is all you need. I dropped my business card in a fishbowl at a cafe recently and got a return e-mail telling me who the winner was (not me), but offering me a consolation prize of a free bowl of soup with my next purchase.

Get it Together!
The names in your data base are pure gold. Get creative; e-mail is free, and properly used can be the most effective and inexpensive marketing tool of all.

Ask For the Money
Everyone has heard the old adage that when you “assume” you make an ass out of you and me. In most cases that’s true, but there are times in selling when you must assume the sale and ask for the money.
Once you have overcome any objections and are certain your customer wants what you are selling, do not “ASSUME” that he or she will whip out the credit card and say, “I’ll take it.” Simply ask, “Will that be cash or check?” Your customers will not be shocked to hear that they need to pay for it.

Make Yours Sincere and  Effrective

When you smile at someone, be sure that it is it seen as sincere?
The best way to do that is to really mean it!

“To be persuasive you must be believable; to be believable you must be credible; to be credible you must be truthful.”
-Edward R. Murrow

Your smile is a huge part of the first impression that you make when you meet someone. First impressions are lasting impressions, and you only get one chance to make it.
Make the right one the first time.
Smile with your heart, not just your lips.

Get the Money Now
When the iPhone4 was about to be released I ordered mine on line and got it in the mail the day before the long lines formed at the stores. I wanted to do the same with the iPad2, but learned that I could not order it on line until they were on sale at the stores, and that the delivery time would be 4 to 6 weeks.
I didn’t want to wait that long and wasn’t about to stand in line for 9 hours, so I chose to hold off buying it. That was on Friday; 3/11. On Saturday I stopped in at the Waikiki store and was told that they sold out. I asked when they would get more and she said, “We never know.”

Cool Covers
I had a meeting at Ala Moana the following morning (Sunday) and was attracted to the store by their cool cover display. It was 8 AM and the store was full, but when I tried to enter I was told that they open at 9 AM and the people in there were taking a class. I asked if they have any iPad2’s left, and she said, “Yes, come back after 9.” I did, only to discover that all they had left was the 32G Verizon model. I wanted the 64G AT&T model. I passed, and he said, “Try us tomorrow, we get shipments every day.” I left thinking that if he had said, “We can take your order now and call you as soon as it arrives,” I would have handed him my credit card.

AT&T
On Monday I dropped in at the AT&T Store where my account is and was told that they don’t have any yet, but that they can order it for me and I’ll get it in the mail in 5 to 7 days. I said, “Okay, but I would like to se the covers to select the one I want.” He said that he needed to go in the back to see if they have any ready to show. When he returned I told him that I have to be at Ala Moana in the morning anyway, and I will wait to see if they have any in stock. He said, “That’s a good idea.” I arrived at the Apple Store at 8 AM on Tuesday and a long line had already formed outside the store. That gave me time to think about it and in doing so I came to the conclusion that I don’t even want it. With my MacBookAir and iPhone4 I have enough, and the iPad2 wasn’t going to allow me to do anything they don’t; in fact less, and I would have one more thing to haul around with me. In spite of my decision, part of me still wishes someone had taken my money on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday when I wanted to buy.

By Curtis Wilson Cost

This is a re-print of a memo that Curtis Cost sent to his staff:

Many years ago, I had a tennis-lesson-from-hell at the Maui Country Club. Steve, the club pro, came up to the edge of the net and asked me to hit the one stroke I was absolutely certain I could return successfully within his reach every single time. He would hit it back to me and we would count how many hits we could accumulate before missing a ball. He fed me a ball and we started rallying and reached 10 or 15 before I missed one. Steve re-approached the net and said again, “Hit the one ball you know you can hit each and every time.”
The next rally got to 30 or so before I missed another. Steve once again approached the net but this time he raised his voice. “Hit the one ball YOU KNOW you can get back safely!” His tone was a little unnerving and I started to wonder what gave him the right to speak to me like that. After all, I was his client, not his subordinate. Our next rally got to about 35 hits before I hit another a little out of his reach. All of a sudden, Steve threw down his racket and marched up to the net and yelled at me. “CURTIS, HIT THE ONE YOU KNOW YOU CAN HIT BACK SAFELY EVERY SINGLE TIME!”

I stood there completely aghast as he walked back to pick up his racket. He turned and calmly fed me another ball. I was beside myself. I could not believe the nerve of this guy. I decided that I would report his abuse to the club’s board of directors. When the ball reached me I hit it so focused on not missing another one that I hit a safe little dink, just to make sure it went back to him. I did this again and again, focusing and concentrating on my footwork, bending my knees, stepping through the ball making absolutely sure I got it back to him. We reached well over a hundred hits. At that point Steve grabbed the ball out of the air. “Exactly! That is exactly what I’m after. That focused little dink you’re hitting is the one I’m looking for. You need to be aware that you possess it. That’s the shot you need to rely on. It’s the absolute minimum and essential shot that will get you out of trouble.”

I walked away intent upon reporting him to the club officials. He had clearly crossed the line. On the other hand I DID learn what he meant for me to learn. There is a place to go to, mentally, which has a different focus. I didn’t know that I possessed a shot which I can hit every time if I focused and concentrated on removing all the unnecessary variables. I would not have found it if Steve hadn’t taken it to such extremes. In my quiver of tennis strokes, this is the one on which my game is now based.

My motive in telling this story has to do with The Boss goals in the Morning Report. When you set your Boss goals, you need to use the same strategy.

The Boss is an instrument to HELP you, not demoralize you. If it is demoralizing you, the goals are not set right. Set your goal at something you KNOW you can daily attain. It’s okay for it to be low, but it MUST BE REACHED EVERY SINGLE MONTH. Remember, it’s an average. You might make up a few bad days with one good day. But it is vital that you commit to a number and maintain it.

It’s also equally important to use the diagnostics Ron Martin provides to improve your performance to higher levels, such as the Sales City Express.

Everything yields to focused concentration and attainable goals. It’s a proven system you can rely on. The charts are illuminating if you use them, but they must be used to do any good.

Ask others for tips and advice. Make Pro-active, No-Pressure Selling the focus of your time at work. Read a chapter in the book before starting each shift. Rehearse the steps with every customer.
Set reasonable and reachable goals and commit to them.
-Curtis

“Who Do You Know…?”
One of my “sermons” is “Asking for Referrals.” I was just confronted with the fact that I don’t always practice what I preach. When Shirley Pai Hilton, the owner of Pacific Imports International called on me recently to help her increase sales in her company, I asked her how she heard of me. She said that she originally found me on the Internet and that she gets my Daily Motivator. She then said that she noticed (on my website) that one of my clients is a good friend of hers, but that he did not mention me to her. When we met, we discovered that two other people she knows are on my client list. They had not referred me either.
There’s no better form of advertising than a good word from one of your existing customers, but you may have to ask for it. People know others that have needs similar to theirs, but like you, they are busy and may not think about you. So, think about yourself and ask, “Who do you know…?” It’s a “Win-Win” question.

Building Trust
Although I personally have had a lot more success with selling than I did with dating, I have noticed many similarities. Whether it be asking someone out, approaching a customer, asking someone to dance, or closing a sale, in most cases one person probably would like to get more out of the relationship than the other would; or is ready for. Consequently your words early in the “relationship” are crucial.

Six Things You Should Never Say on a First Date
“So how much do you earn?”
“I’ve never had any luck with dating.”
“Sorry I’m Late, I forgot my meds.”
“Have you had any work done?”
“Let me tell you about my ex.?
“What Do You think of a big church Wedding?”

To see the entire article from E-Harmony.com CLICK HERE:
PS
No, I have not been visiting E-Harmony, this article was posted on Oceanic Cable’s Home Page today.

Six Things You Should Not Ask When Greeting a Customer
“May I help you.”
“Is there something in particular you are looking for?
“Are you finding everything okay?”
“Would you like to try that on?”
“Do you have any questions?”
“Is there something I can show you?”

While these questions may seem harmless, and even effective at times, they also can shut you down. Questions demand answers, and sometimes the answer may feel like a commitment the customer is not ready to make. The rule when asking questions is NEVER ask a question that MIGHT get you an answer you DON’T want to hear. Ask questions that are safe for the customer to answer and you will gain permission to proceed.

I do not remember where I read that, but I surely do remember the meaning, as well as the impact that it had on me. I sometimes see an experienced salesperson land a new job with a company where a well established, proven selling system is in place, like Pro-Active, No-Pressure Selling. At the interview these “experienced” salespeople claim that they understand the “new” system and appear eager to learn and use it. Then, rather than do as promised, many of them will fall back on the way they originally learned to sell.
Learning is not an event; it is a process that never ends. Techniques and technology are always evolving. Everyone should always be open to newer and better ways to sell, or do anything for that matter.

Thinking Together
Napoleon Hill’s Master Mind Alliance concept was; “Whenever two or more minds come together, with a common goal, and in a spirit of harmony, there is an invisible mind created. That invisible mind is more powerful than the sum total of the individual minds, and it feeds the individual minds with ideas, hunches, motivation, inspiration and all of the things it takes to be great.”
Make note of the two essential elements that must be present for this phenomenon to work; a common goal and a spirt of harmony. Without those two elements you might have anger, resentment, ego clashes and self serving ideas that are not easily accepted. Does that sound familiar?

“That was MY Customer”
When two salespeople argue over whose customer it was, I like to remind them that it was the company’s customer, and that they both work for the company. I have been asked to “settle” far too many “after the fact” disputes between salespeople who were both there at the time, but I wasn’t. Who do you believe? If forced to make the call I ask, “Okay, who did the customer give the money to?” Would you drop your tip on any old table in the restaurant after receiving great service? Probably not. It is oftentimes quite obvious to the customer who made the sale, and it’s not always the first person that said, “Hello.” Selling starts with a good greeting, but it doesn’t stop there.

Teamwork Works
It usually takes more than one person for a company to succeed. Without the company succeeding there is no opportunity for anyone. Everyone on the team is important to the success of the company. When emotions run high, step back, take a deep breath, count to 10, and ask yourself what’s best for the customer and the company. The answer is usually evident. When it isn’t, be the one to take the high road.  

Who Gets In?
I have the opportunity to meet and watch numerous salespeople selling various items under all sorts of circumstances. One thing that remains constant is the top sellers. It is common see the same people at the top month after month, even though they are selling the same product at the same prices to the same types of customers as everyone else is. If you were to put these top sellers all together you would quickly see that they are quite different, just as those at the bottom are. They have different looks, personalities, ambitions, educations, and different approaches to selling. They also have some things in common, and these are things that are oftentimes missing in those that are consistently farther down in the rankings. At the top of the list is how they measure up attitude wise.

Winning Attitude
This is the biggie! Top salespeople manage to maintain a positive attitude and determination to sell in spite of whatever else is going on around them. They blow off the constant rejection from customers and negativity from low producing colleagues. They never allow non buyers to steal their enthusiasm or self esteem. They convert rejection and negativity into added determination to succeed. They make up for missed sales with added sales later in the day or month.
If your ambition is to be a top seller, give yourself a “Check Up from the Neck Up” every day. Keeping the right attitude will get you to the right altitude!