Kevin Boyle

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Are you truly grateful, or just too busy to be grateful? Today I would like to talk to you about some great strategies and techniques I use on how to get more referrals!

“In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last.”               John Romero

 
Saying thank you to someone is one thing, but demonstrating appreciation is another.

So this week I would like to talk to you about acknowledgement and appreciation.

A common question I get asked is, Kevin, What can I do to get more referrals to help build my business?

It’s simple.

Acknowledgment and Appreciation.

It’s the little things that matter and if you are not doing these things then frankly you are taking your customers and clients for granted. Never a good thing considering how competitive the market is and how many choices today’s consumer has.
So how do you show Acknowledgement and Appreciation?

1) Hand written thank you cards/notes

After every deal my clients get a personalized thank you for the business. In my opinion this is as IMPORTANT to your business as prospecting and marketing. Think about it, who do you think is more likely to give you more business? Someone who has never used you before or someone who has used your product or service and had a great experience with you? The answer seems fairly obvious, but you will be amazed at how many sales people and business owners are too lazy to send out thank you cards.

2) 1 year business anniversary letters with something of value attached.

Not only do I thank clients for doing business with me, they get get an anniversary letter from me every year thanking them – plus I include some sort of special promotion – just for them – again personalized.

3) Christmas Cards

If you want to make a real impact – hand deliver them over a lunch. Christmas time is my favorite time of the year, and not just for the reasons you might think. I love visiting people and it’s a great time of the year to strengthen existing relationships!

4) The Follow Up Call

A 2 minute follow call cannot be stressed enough. There is simply no reason as a sales rep not to know how you are doing with your clients/customers. “Heh Bob, how’s everything? How did we do on our last order?”

5) Invitations to trade shows / conventions

I like to send customers 2 to 4 FREE invitations to trade shows and conventions and ask them if they know anyone in our industry that might also like to go. This way my client looks good because they are the one doing the inviting, and it’s a win for me because I get to meet more prospects who are introduced to me personally by my client base.

 
So the next time you are pondering “getting more referrals” think appreciation and acknowledgement!

Would you like to learn practical sales skills and strategies on how to get your foot in the door, book more sales appointments and dramatically improve your sales results?

Then go here…

Kevin Boyle
Author / Public Speaker / Sales Trainer and Coach
“The Secrets to Sales Mastery”

ps – Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any tricks or tips for getting more referrals? Please feel free to add your comments!

More great articles are coming your way!

How to get more referrals

Are you having problems overcoming price objections?

Do you know that in almost every single company that I work with most of the sales reps say they have trouble with price objections?

I have worked with companies in the same industries, in the same cities and their sales reps are saying the same things – our customers complain that our prices/rates are too high. So how can everyone’s prices and/or rates be too high?

The fact is it’s all a matter of perception and belief. One of my clients who has a very large and successful business with about 50 account managers was having the same problem. About half of his salespeople were having trouble with pricing objections. The reality was that his sales team was forgetting about the 5,000 clients who were using his service right now!

During the training, I urged each and every sales rep to pick up their cel phones and call their clients and customers and ask them, do you feel you are paying too much?

Puts things into a different perspective doesn’t it?

My advice to you is, don’t ever forget the people who believe in you. If they haven’t stopped believing in you and your product or service why have you?

For one, we live in a price conscious society. As a consumer it is the easiest way for me to compare products or services. There are also some who live by the creed “you don’t get what you don’t ask for” so for them it’s normal to ask for a better deal. They’re fishing, and their hoping you will take the bait.
 
Lastly, every purchase decision we make involves the risk of making a bad decision. I work hard for my money as I am sure you do. So as you can see, someone saying your price is too high doesn’t mean your price is too high.

What they are really saying is PROVE to me that buying from you is a good decision.

So taking things one step further, my belief is for someone to even mention price as an objection, means that you have a an interested buyer!

But it can mean one of two things:
 
Either your prospect or customer simply doesn’t believe you or your claims about your product or service or it’s in fact a buying signal.

The trick is how do you tell the difference? 

If someone is so concerned about not being able to afford your product or service, or that your price is not in line with other suppliers – does it not make sense that what they are really saying is – if your price was lower I would buy it.

So ask them!

Either you have a potential buyer or not. And either the real objection is price or it could be that they are just not convinced that buying from you is a wise business decision.

If you do have a “buyer”, present your products or services as worth more than they are (establish VALUE for the buyer) – it’s a mindset that I have before I even enter into the presentation.

I look at it as me being solidly planted on “my rock” – you have to have an unshakable belief in the value of the product or the service you are selling.
 
This is where market research will really pay off for you – you need to know what your competitors are offering – what their competitive advantages are and their weaknesses.

Other tools to have in your “tool box”:

1) Be up front, “Yes John, we can be perceived as being high by a person who hasn’t experienced the results of our program… (show them results). Could you see yourself benefiting from these kinds of results?

2) Show them testimonials from current and past clients who are happy with your service.

3) Show them value, take a piece of paper and write down how the results outweigh the costs.

4) Reduce price objections to the smallest number ie: If you spend $200.00 more that works out to about $16.00 per month.

5) Tell them you don’t want to lose a deal over a few dollars. Where else can I move that can help us put this deal together?

6) Make it easy for them to buy. Get creative in your billing/financing/terms – We can bill you 25% now and the rest in 30 days. (or you can offer financing).
And the best reason of all… “When you purchase this item, you also get me!”

Can you think of a better reason than that?

I honestly don’t believe in price objections. Studies show that the vast majority of all purchases are made for other reasons other than price. I know myself I am almost always willing to pay a little bit more if I know that I will get the results that I want. In fact, price rarely stops me from buying something if I think it will do what I need it to do.

So you have to ask yourself, maybe I just didn’t sell my product or service properly… maybe the price objection is a smoke screen because I didn’t sell my prospect on value. And ultimately that’s the bottom line, until you can show value, your product or service will always be over priced.

Would you like to learn practical sales skills and strategies on how to get your foot in the door, book more sales appointments and dramatically improve your sales results?

Then go here…

Kevin Boyle
Author / Public Speaker / Sales Trainer and Coach
“The Secrets to Sales Mastery”

ps – Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any tricks or tips on how you can overcome price objections? Please feel free to add your comments!

Other Blog Articles on Overcoming Objections Techniques;

Retail Objections: No thanks, I’m just looking…

Use Story Telling to Overcome Objections

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Thank you!

Welcome to my blog on how to get your voice mails returned. One of the most frequent question I get asked by salespeople and business owners is how many voice mails should I leave and at what frequency and of course, how do I get my voice mails returned?

1) My first rule on how to get your voice mail returned – is to leave one! If you are not leaving voice mails you are really doing yourself a disservice!

2) As far as frequency goes I would say every 3-5 days is enough to ensure that you look “serious” without looking like a “stalker”.

So let’s get in to the “meat” of the blog, would you like to meet a lot of new and interesting people?

If being able to get your foot in the door and winning over new accounts is critical to your success as a company and/or as a salesperson, then I hope so!

Yet, I work with a lot of salespeople and as important as it is, some salespeople would do just about anything rather than prospect for new business by cold calling. Some of my best friends and business associates I have met through cold calling. Think about it, most of your friends were strangers at one point or another.

Therefore, the first step in having success in “getting your foot in the door”  is your attitude.

Think of cold calling and prospecting for new business as a way to make new friends.

Secondly, the reality of today’s very competitive marketplace is that cold calling can be a very frustrating experience if you don’t have a strong Client Centered Value Proposition or a compelling message. That’s why many salespeople grow complacent or reluctant to prospect for new business by cold calling.

Your ”Getting Your Foot in the Door” strategy should be part and parcel of an entire prospecting strategy, a strategy that places you as “top of mind” with your prospects and also serves to educate your prospects as to why you would be the person to do business with in your industry.

Think of it as planting seeds.

Many sales people I work with express the frustration of having to deal with voice mail and I often get asked, “What is the secret of leaving a voice mail that gets returned?”

So let’s look at a sample voice mail.

“Hello, (pause) my name is Bob, I work for Lumin’s Print Shop. I’m just calling to see if you would like some information on our latest promotion this month. If you would like some information on how we can help you I look forward to hearing back from you. My number is (555) 555-5555″

Can you see the mistakes Bob made? Before moving along to the next section – why don’t you reread Bob’s voice mail and count how many errors you think he has made.

“Hello” – The goal of a voice mail is “to get a person to call you back” Voice mails should be personable and always begin with the use of the person’s name.

The correct way – “Hello, Dan…”

(pause) – One of the key tools in ensuring your success with cold calling, is your CONFIDENCE. You should be practicing what you are going to say and how you are going to say it prior to making your call to ensure that you have a smooth delivery.

“My name is Bob” – Hi, my name is… sounds like something you would hear at a speed dating event or at a group therapy session. You want to project an image of position and status. In our society, perception is very important.

The correct way – “Hello, Dan. This is Bob Simons… “

“My name is Bob” actually counts as 2 – because Bob didn’t leave his last name. “Bob” or “Susan” is found on the name tag of your bank teller or the gentleman who bags your groceries at the local supermarket. “Bob” or “Susan” is NOT the “go to guy” who is your peer in business.

“I work for…” This is another way for Bob to imply to his prospect that Bob just isn’t that important. Bob is just another employee or worse just another “salesperson”.

The correct way – “Hello, Dan. This is Bob Simons from Lumin’s Print Shop…”
Or “Hello, Dan. This is Bob Simons of ….”

“I’m just calling….” – Implies that the call is casual. That there is no real reason to return the call.

“…If you would like some information on our latest promotion this month. If you would like some information on how …” – I think Bob got so nervous he repeated himself.

“My number is (555) 555-5555” – ALWAYS leave your phone number twice. Most people have 3, 4, 6, 8 or more voice mails. Their busy and generally hate to have to replay their voice mails to write down your phone number. Make it easy for them!

The correct way – “Hello, Dan. This is Bob Simons from Lumin’s Print Shop. If you would like some information on our latest promotion this month. I look forward to hearing back from you. You can reach me at (555) 555-5555. That’s Bob Simons at (555) 555-5555.“

No salutation at the end. People like the personal touch. It’s important that you are courteous and mindful of proper business etiquette.

The correct way – ““Hello, Dan. This is Bob Simons from Lumin’s Print Shop. If you would like some information on our latest promotion this month. I look forward to hearing back from you. You can reach me at (555) 555-5555. That’s Bob Simons at (555) 555-5555. Thanks Dan.”

So how many mistakes did you find? Did you expect to find 9?

Bob actually made 11 mistakes and the last 2 are absolutely crucial to getting your voice mails returned. Do you know what they are?

Tell you what, I have a deal for you – if you can tell me the 2 remaining critical mistakes Bob made in getting his voice mail returned I’ll give you a copy of my book “The Secrets to Sales Mastery” absolutely free (I’ll even pay for the shipping!) and I will autograph the copy for you!

Email me at kevin@salesmasterybook.com with your answer or you can call me directly at (604) 525-5185.

Getting your foot in the door and winning over new accounts is a learnable skill. If you’re not experiencing the results that you want, you might be making mistakes that you are not even aware of. Prospecting for new business doesn’t have to be “just a numbers” game. If you know what to say and you structure your pitch properly you can and will get that appointment.

And if all else fails you can always try the “Hail Mary, I don’t have a hope” approach : “Hi Dan, I know you desperately want to place an order with us, but you’re probably trapped under your desk and can’t reach the phone… Don’t move, I’m coming to get you!”

Kevin, I need your help…

Kevin Boyle
Author / Public Speaker / Sales Trainer and Coach
“The Secrets to Sales Mastery”

ps – Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any tricks or tips on how to get your voice mails returned? Please feel free to add your comments!

Other Blog Articles on Sales and Marketing Techniques;

The 5 steps to a successful close

Marketing Blunder #76

How to slay your dragon and get what you really want out of life!

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Thank you!

ps. Do you need help with cold calling?

How to cold call anyone, anywhere, without fear of rejection! Stop your prospect from what they are doing, get their full undivided attention and have them instantly build rapport with you!

CLICK HERE and become a cold calling master!