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	<title>Business Strategy For Small Business &#187; Sales</title>
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	<description>Dedicated For Small Business to Win The Competition</description>
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		<title>Mats Shopping Portal Website</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[CobaEurope.com is one of these amazing websites where you can shop various kinds of mats for all your specific needs. Unlike other stores that only able to provide you certain kinds of mat available, entering CobaEurope will save you much of time purchasing any kinds of mats available in the market. Shortly speaking, exploring the [...]
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>CobaEurope.com is one of these amazing websites where you can shop various kinds of mats for all your specific needs. Unlike other stores that only able to provide you certain kinds of mat available, entering CobaEurope will save you much of time purchasing any kinds of mats available in the market. Shortly speaking, exploring the mat collections at CobaEurope will give the benefits of exploring the entire market out there.</p>
<p>Take a look at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cobaeurope.com/products/entrance-matting" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Entrance matting</span></a> section available in the site and you’ll easily to find lines of mats that will perfectly be placed at your <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> space or office entrance. For you to know, they had always updated the collections regularly so you’ll end up with some new options to explore. That is so amazing how you can easily to find some latest mats collections by only few clicks of the finger.</p>
<p>Have you been around to many stores and failed in finding specific <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cobaeurope.com/products/coir-doormats" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coir mats</span></a> that suit your preferences? Now you may try CobaEurope dot com. All you need is just clicking through the collections or you may explore it based on the category and other specific search options available on the list. Find also some great deals over the high quality <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cobaeurope.com/products/doormats" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Doormats</span></a> provided inside.</p>
<h4>Incoming search terms for the article:</h4><ul><li><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/mats-shopping-portal-website.html" title="&quot;notify me when new comments are added&quot; inurl:shopping">&quot;notify me when new comments are added&quot; inurl:shopping</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/mats-shopping-portal-website.html" title="notify me when new comments are added outlets shopping">notify me when new comments are added outlets shopping</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/mats-shopping-portal-website.html" title="shopping portal site">shopping portal site</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/mats-shopping-portal-website.html" title="shopping portal website">shopping portal website</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/mats-shopping-portal-website.html" title="shopping portal websites">shopping portal websites</a> (1)</li></ul><p>Related posts:<ol>
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		<title>Five Things to Consider when Choosing Sales Team Outsourcing Company</title>
		<link>http://www.santagnese.info/five-things-to-consider-when-choosing-sales-team-outsourcing-company.html#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.santagnese.info/five-things-to-consider-when-choosing-sales-team-outsourcing-company.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:05:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[All outsourcing companies can make a sales outsourcing team and serve great promises. However, just like other companies, not all of the sales outsourcing companies are serving us high quality service. Well, even though we have found some potential companies, it does not mean that the companies suit our needs. Therefore, we should not trust or choose [...]
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>All outsourcing companies can make a sales outsourcing team and serve great promises. However, just like other companies, not all of the sales outsourcing companies are serving us high quality service. Well, even though we have found some potential companies, it does not mean that the companies suit our needs. Therefore, we should not trust or choose a sales outsourcing company immediately, there are so many things we have to consider before making a deal with a specific company. When we are choosing a sales outsourcing company, we will definitely choosing one with high reputation and I believe that some of us will also check the company’s track record or financial condition, but it takes more than that.</p>
<p>First, when we are choosing a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.salesoutsourcing.org/">sales outsourcing</a> company, we have to make sure that the company suits our <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> need. If we are having an international <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> scope, but the sales outsourcing company is only able to serve national coverage, then it will be useless to use the company. Second, we have to choose a company that has a high experience handling our <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> sector. Such company will have an excellent understanding on the field, so it will be so easy for them to decide what effective strategy we need to market our <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> or products. Third is strategy. Make a consultation with the potential company and find out whether the strategy they will apply in our company is logical or not.</p>
<p>Fourth, we have to check the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.salesoutsourcing.org/">sales team outsourcing</a> company’s clients. If it is possible, then it can be very helpful to find out further about the quality of the company. Last, but not least, we have to check the company’s sale process. Make sure that the sale process is effective and have a good continuity. For the effective sales team outsourcing company, make sure to check SalesOutsourcing.org page.</div>
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		<title>How Would You Use Point of Sale Software?</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:15:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[To the average consumer going into a business they would have no idea how point of sale software is ensuring that the transaction they are making is faster, more accurate and possibly beneficial to their shopping experience. By scanning a product or keying special codes into a computer, point of sale software is making everyone’s [...]
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>To the average consumer going into a <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> they would have no idea how <a target="_blank" href="http://retailbycrs.com/" target="_blank">point of sale software</a> is ensuring that the transaction they are making is faster, more accurate and possibly beneficial to their shopping experience. By scanning a product or keying special codes into a computer, point of sale software is making everyone’s life easier and that includes the retailer who is making the sale.</p>
<p>When a purchase is made in a store, it’s the <a target="_blank" href="http://retailbycrs.com/" target="_blank">point of sale software</a> that runs programs to recognize the type of transaction and input the information into the main data bank of the store. These programs allow the vendor instant access to what is happening overall in sales as well as how their stock is being affected. It’s a tool that will offer the opportunity to see what inventory items are selling and where the turnover is and what is lacking. This type of point of sale software is a great business tool for a sales based company.</p>
<p>Other types of point of sale software are the remote touch screen terminals. These can be seen more and more in service based industries like restaurants. Servers can enter details of orders and note payments into the system which will attribute all the customer interactions they’ve had into a personal file. The manager can easily sort out the numbers at the end of a day or shift and make sure that all bills have been accounted for and can also pay out tip money to the waiter or waitress. This kind of point of sale software also works in other scenarios like a grocery store for example. A cashier will open a till with a certain amount of money already in the register. Over the course of their shift the point of sale software will keep track of how much the cashier rang in and will note whether the numbers were cash, credit card or debit and will know how much money should be in the till after the cashier rang out. A manager can easily check to determine how much money should have been in the till at the end of the shift and can quickly verify the figures.</p>
<p>The security and the speed with which any questions about discrepancies in the daily balances can quickly and easily be traced and rectified is one of the appeals of the point of sale software. It is a great tool for any operation where multiple staff members are responsible for money coming in and going out. The computer never lies and knowing that, it becomes a deterrent to internal theft as well.</p>
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		<title>Five Ways To Sell Your Product Or Service</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:21:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home based business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[word of mouth]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Are you trying to make your small or home-based business go, but not getting as many customers as you want? It can be frustrating. You know you've got a winner, but the email isn't coming, the phone isn't ringing, and nobody is walking through the door.
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Are you trying to make your small or <span id="IL_AD1">home-based <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a></span> go, but not getting as many customers as you want? It can be frustrating. You know you&#8217;ve got a winner, but the email isn&#8217;t coming, the phone isn&#8217;t ringing, and nobody is walking through the door.</p>
<p>Before starting my own home-based business, I was a <span id="IL_AD5">real estate agent</span>. In many ways, Realtors are the original &#8220;free agents.&#8221; You write your own ads and find your own customers. Here are five things that I found work for just about any business.<br />
<span id="more-191"></span><br />
1. Advertise! Whether you buy classified ads in e-zines, have kids distribute fliers around your neighborhood, or call 10 people each day, your business won&#8217;t go without a little publicity. Make sure your ads talk directly to your prospects&#8217; most pressing problems. That&#8217;s a surefire way to get their attention and interest.</p>
<p>2. Include your price in the ad. Ever see an ad with no price and figure, &#8220;I can&#8217;t afford that. I&#8217;m not even going to ask?&#8221; You&#8217;d be surprised how many people feel just like that. Include your price and you&#8217;ll see an immediate increase in the number of people who show interest.</p>
<p>3. Make yourself available to interested prospects. I know you can&#8217;t be in all places at all time, but let prospects know how you can be reached, then answer their questions as fast as you can. In real estate, the biggest business day of the week is Sunday. I can guarantee you there were many sunny Sunday afternoons when I would rather have been on the golf course or at home with family. But he or she who hustles gets the sale.</p>
<p>4. Build a reputation for good, honest value. No matter how much advertising you do in the media, most of your clients will still come from word-of-mouth. On average, when someone feels like they<br />
got a good deal from you, they&#8217;ll tell 10 friends. And a recommendation from a friend is worth more than 50 high-priced TV commercials. We believe friends.</p>
<p>5. Above all, don&#8217;t give up! Advertising experts tell me that the first ad never works. You&#8217;ve got to advertise, make those calls, follow-up on that interested prospect over and over again. Persistence is the key to sales. Not getting sales? Your best bet might be to try one more time.</p>
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	Tags: <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" title="business" rel="tag">business</a>, <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/home-based-business" title="home based business" rel="tag">home based business</a>, <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/word-of-mouth" title="word of mouth" rel="tag">word of mouth</a><br />
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		<title>How to Create Your Sales Promotions Run for You</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:32:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales management]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.santagnese.info/?p=182</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not every sales promotion runs as it's intended or as successfully as its developers trust it will
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Not every sales promotion runs as it&#8217;s intended or as successfully as its developers trust it will. Back in 1955 Quaker Oats had one of those not so successful ventures. To tempt customers to purchase more cereal they made what they believed was a big offer &#8211; one square inch of Yukon Territory. The cereal manufacturers purchased 21 million of these mini-plots from the Canadian government for $10,000.00. When the promotion did not pan out, Canada took the land back for $37.00 in back taxes!What can you study from this failure? One thing is very clear. Even big organizations with extensive <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/sales-management" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with sales management">sales management</a> and <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/marketing-research" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with marketing research">marketing research</a> can bring in mistakes. The second lesson is an invaluable one that proves itself time after time. Here it is.You must be perfectly certain that whatever you offer as a premium or incentive with your product must, absolutely, be something that is desirable enough to be sold successfully on its own. To live and thrive on its own merit and worth! In fact, you need to be totally sure that the offer you provide is at least as valuable to your customers as your core product might be.These incentives should be things that provide more product or more service, cut risk or enhance the opportunity for your customer to receive greater value, cut costs, service their customers better or help them apply your solution easier, faster or better.What about some cases that might be of some value to you? Let&#8217;s take a look at a few:<br />
<span id="more-182"></span><br />
* An air-tight guarantee or warranty</p>
<p>* Enhanced service or support levels</p>
<p>* Free upgrades for a period of time</p>
<p>* Extra product for significant savings</p>
<p>*Special, better or more favourable conditions</p>
<p>* Vouchers, certificates or access codes for ongoing purchases</p>
<p>* Risk reversal with you assuming all of the risk with guaranteed refunds, rebates or additional bonuses for failure to exceed customer expectations</p>
<p>There is little doubt that my older brother might be right when he kids me by saying &#8220;It&#8217;s free? Give me two. What is it?&#8221; But, by the same token, he might not be totally right either. Examples? What if I offered you a free air conditioning unit with your purchase, but you lived in the Arctic? How about a few out of print, DOS software manuals free with your purchase of a computer? How about a certificate good for $5.00 to a restaurant where the cheapest entrée is $50.00? None of these are great bonuses, are they?</p>
<p>Here are some guidelines that you may want to consider when offering bonuses or premiums to lure your customers to buy or buy more. Let&#8217;s look at seven:</p>
<p>* The incentive must be a logical extension of or represent a worthful addition to your basic product or service. It must match.</p>
<p>* It needs to be something that represents a clear value worth having. It can&#8217;t be something that is either obsolete, did not sell or is apparently being thrown in for your disposal instead of providing a true value to your customer.</p>
<p>* You need to validate your offer with sales and sales management aids/tools, promotional aids and the like. These sales and sales management tools need to be bright, fresh and professional so that your effort has the appearance of being an institutionalised commitment and program</p>
<p>* The product or service you offer needs to be something that customers truly have demonstrated a desire to buy &#8211; not something that is just a gimmick or a cute <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/marketing" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with Marketing">marketing</a> idea.</p>
<p>* Do your best to place a hard dollar value to whatever your premium or incentive is and what it&#8217;s worth.</p>
<p>* Explain exactly why it&#8217;s worth the price you&#8217;ve placed on it.</p>
<p>* Place a time frame, terms or minimum purchase levels that the buyer must meet in order to qualify for your highly desirable incentive.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that there are definite times when some form of incentive or promotion is necessary. Maybe for a new product initiation, to jump-start stagnant sales, to aid salespeople and sales manageers in producing better value or to significantly enhance a product or service&#8217;s value. But my advice is simply this &#8211; think through your strategy and its execution very carefully. There are times when a poorly designed strategy can do more harm than it benefits. After all, you don&#8217;t want to purchase something to give away only to have to give it back, eat it or have it cost you more money, do you? I know I don&#8217;t. Neither did Quaker Oats!</p>
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		<title>6 SALES OBJECTIONS AND MISTAKES SALES REPS MAKE</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:24:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[6 SALES OBJECTIONS AND MISTAKES SALES REPS MAKE
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>1. Putting Words Into the Prospect&#8217;s Mouth</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;I need versatility.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;You know you need to have flexibility to move your funds from one account to another.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/consultative-sales" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with consultative sales">Consultative Sales</a> Rep: &#8220;Could you explain to me what you mean by versatility?&#8221;</p>
<p>The logic here is simple but powerful. Your version of &#8220;versatility&#8221; (moving funds from one account to another) and the client&#8217;s version of the word may be miles apart. The consultative rep listens for words that may have a broad interpretation and attempts to bring focus to the objection.<br />
<span id="more-162"></span><br />
2. Insulting the Prospect</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;I find your prices are very high.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;If I understand you, you are not interested in quality, is that correct?&#8221;</p>
<p>Consultative <span id="IL_AD1">Sales Rep</span>: &#8220;I understand price is critical in any decision. In order to make sure that we are comparing <span id="IL_AD4">apples to apples</span>, can you tell me what you are comparing our price to?&#8221;</p>
<p>Countless sales are lost to price simply because many <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/sales-reps" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with sales reps">sales reps</a> make false assumptions that belittle the client. A consultativesales rep , through questioning, seeks to learn exactly what the prospect is evaluating and then educates him/her. For example, your price may include a warranty and the competitor&#8217;s might not.</p>
<p>3.  Avoiding the Issue</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;Quite frankly, your service is useless.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;What are you looking for in service?&#8221;</p>
<p>Consultative Sales Rep: &#8220;I understand. Obviously something has happened to make you feel that way. Can you tell me about it?&#8221;</p>
<p>Instead of being defensive or asking what the client is looking for in terms of service, the consultative sales rep recognizes that this objection will not be answered until the prospect has the opportunity to &#8220;purge&#8221; himself. Finding the cause of the dissatisfaction gives thesales rep an opportunity to correct the problem or future problems. Questioning does not necessarily ensure a sale will be made, but it does begin to position the rep and the company as responsive.</p>
<p>4.  Demand to Demand</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;<span id="IL_AD2">The <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/return-on-investment" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with return on investment">return on investment</a></span> is too low.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;What kind of return on investment are you looking for?&#8221;</p>
<p>Consultative Sales Rep: &#8220;Rate of return is very important. What are you comparing us to in saying that the rate is too low?&#8221;</p>
<p>This response is similar to #2. Consultative reps acknowledge the customer&#8217;s objection and then seek to narrow the scope. As it stands, this objection is vague and cannot possibly be answered effectively without some comparative basis.</p>
<p>5.  Shifting Responsibility</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;Your delivery standards are too slow.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;I wish there was something I could do, but my hands are tied when it comes to shipping. Five days is the best I can do.&#8221;</p>
<p>Consultative Sales Rep.: &#8220;I can see that delivery is critical to you. What has made you feel that our standards are too slow .  . .?&#8221;</p>
<p>The consultative sales rep does not blame others. He/she seeks understanding so that solutions can be developed. Sometimes that takes guts. Asking &#8220;why&#8221; the product needs to be delivered in X days requires an element of courage. But it is the type of question that gets the customer thinking. For example, you might hear, &#8220;We&#8217;ve always had delivery in three days.&#8221;</p>
<p>Is this a standard of habit or of necessity? If it is a standard of habit, perhaps you can offer some value-added service that the extra two days might bring (for example, a lower price because expedited shipping is not required).</p>
<p>6.  Contradicting the Prospect</p>
<p>Prospect: &#8220;You guys always seem to be on strike or experiencing work delays.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mistake: &#8220;No, that&#8217;s not correct. Did you know we have not had a work stoppage in 18 months?&#8221;</p>
<p>Consultative Sales Rep: &#8220;Yes, in the past we have had work delays, and over the past 18 months management and union have worked together to solve this issue. Can you tell me if you have experienced any delays so that I can investigate further?&#8221;</p>
<p>In this situation, the sales rep acknowledges the prospect&#8217; perception of a problem and then seeks to explain and investigate. By using the word &#8220;and&#8221; instead of &#8220;but&#8221; to explain management and union efforts, he consultative sales rep does not demean the prospect&#8217;s evaluation. Further, the consultative rep seeks to determine if something has occurred recently to prompt this remark. Ultimately, it gets the customer to focus on the reality of the present rather than the events<br />
of the past.</p>
<p>Practice with your own objections. Use these ideas and approach objections from a problem-solving, consultative perspective.</p>
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		<title>Sales Letter Copy Secrets: How to Use Hidden Psychological Triggers</title>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:13:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Well, completely unknown to the ad agency, they had almost stumbled onto a breakthrough marketing concept. Telling people the reason why you are doing something is one of the most powerful influencers of human behavior.
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Do you remember the stupid <span id="IL_AD4">beer commercial</span> a few years back with the tagline &#8220;Why Ask Why?&#8221;</p>
<p>Well, completely unknown to the <span id="IL_AD5">ad agency</span>, they had almost stumbled onto a breakthrough <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/marketing-concept" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with marketing concept">marketing concept</a>. Telling people the reason why you are doing something is one of the most powerful influencers of human behavior.<br />
<span id="more-142"></span><br />
Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. in his book <em>Influence: The <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/psychology-of-persuasion" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with psychology of persuasion">Psychology of Persuasion</a> </em> talks about an experiment by Harvard social psychologist, Ellen Langer, that concluded people like to have a reason for what they do. Her experiment consisted of people waiting in line to use a library <span id="IL_AD1">copy machine</span> and then having experimenters ask to get ahead in line.</p>
<p>The first excuse used was &#8220;Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I&#8217;m in a rush?&#8221; This request coupled with a reason was successful 94 percent of the time. However when the experimenter made a request only: &#8220;Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?&#8221; this request was only granted 60 percent of the time. A significant drop!</p>
<p>Okay now for the shocker.</p>
<p>It may seem like the difference between those two requests was the additional information of &#8220;because I&#8217;m in a rush.&#8221;</p>
<p>That&#8217;s not the case.</p>
<p>Because in a third experimenter, the experimenter asks &#8220;Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?&#8221; There&#8217;s no reason mentioned or new information presented, just the words &#8220;because.&#8221;</p>
<p>This time a full 93 percent of the people said yes simply due to the word &#8216;BECAUSE&#8217;! And it didn&#8217;t even matter that there was no reason given. Just the word because triggered a magic response.</p>
<p>More psychological &#8216;triggers&#8217; that can massively increase your sales letter success, whether you’re writing online sales copy or direct mail copy.</p>
<p>Max Sackheim, famous for the long-running ad &#8220;Do You Make These Mistakes In English&#8221; and originator of the book-of-the-month concept, says &#8220;Whenever you make a claim or special offer in your advertising, come up with an honest reason why, and then state it sincerely. You&#8217;ll sell many more products this way.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here are two examples:</p>
<p>• Instead of yelling &#8216;SALE&#8217; like so many other stores would, John E. Powers, one of the top copywriters wrote this ad giving prospects a legitimate reason why they should spend their money at a Pittsburgh department store in severe financial trouble: &#8220;We are bankrupt. We owe $125,000 more than we can pay, and this announcement will bring our creditors down on our necks. But if you come and *buy* tomorrow, we shall have the money to meet them. If not, we shall go to the wall.&#8221; This ad was responsible for saving the store.</p>
<p>• Another ad written for a different merchant by Powers proclaimed, &#8220;We have a lot of rotten raincoats we want to get rid of.&#8221; This sold out the merchant’s entire inventory of raincoats by the next morning.</p>
<p>And this powerful sales letter and ad copy strategy works just as well today.</p>
<p>Using this secret weapon, I helped a <span id="IL_AD3">medical equipment company</span> produce a massive 1,073 <span id="IL_AD1">percent <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/return-on-investment" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with return on investment">return on investment</a></span> simply using &#8220;reason-why&#8221; copy.</p>
<p>The premise was how we can sell a product for the incredibly low price of only $477. Regularly this product sells for about $695 to $895. Then the ad explained that the price was so low was because the manufacturer wanted to gain market share and get more nurses and doctors accustomed to using their product. It was a huge winner and a big moneymaker for the client.</p>
<p>Here’s how can you apply emotional, psychological triggers to your sales letter copy:</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s say you have a slow time of year and you want to increase your <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> during this period. Write a simple sales letter to your customers making a special offer, only good during your slow period.</p>
<p>Maybe you&#8217;ll throw in extra free bonuses, extra services, or special discounts simply because it is your &#8220;slow time&#8221; and you need to pay your staff anyway.</p>
<p>Let people in &#8220;behind the scenes&#8221; at your company&#8230;</p>
<p>• Are you overstocked on merchandise because for some reason customers only want the deluxe widget &#8211; but you ordered tons of the basic one?</p>
<p>• Did you have a flood and you need to liquidate your inventory?</p>
<p>• Do you need to raise cash so you can pay for your nosejob?</p>
<p>Whatever the reason is, tell your prospects the truth.</p>
<p>For some reason everyone wants to be mysterious about their business. If you&#8217;re lowering the price nobody thinks you&#8217;re doing it just because you&#8217;re &#8220;such a nice guy.&#8221; So let people know the reason why.</p>
<p>I know this probably goes against every grain of business sense, but I promise if you give people a good, believable reason why they&#8217;ll respond with an open minds and more importantly, an open wallet.</p>
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		<title>SmartIdea: How To Respond When You Lose A Big Deal</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:06:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.santagnese.info/?p=139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the end of the day, a small biz lives and dies by its customers. Serve the existing ones; find the new ones.
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Every small <span id="IL_AD2"><a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a></span> is different; every <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/small-business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with Small Business">small business</a> is the same.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, a small biz lives and dies by its customers. Serve the existing ones; find the new ones.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re in the service industry &#8212; pr firm, ad agency, lawyer, architect, etc&#8230; &#8212; you&#8217;ll certainly identify with this blog post over at the Ad Age Small Agency Blog, which examines how to bounce back after a big loss:</p>
<blockquote><p>Win or lose &#8212; if you compete enough, your <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/brand-equity" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with brand equity">brand equity</a> goes up. After all, something good about the shop must be getting you in these pitches, right?<br />
<span id="more-139"></span><br />
I always say, &#8220;Never treat a loss as a closed door.&#8221; During the pitch process, you probably learned a hell of a lot about the client, itsbusiness and its competitors. If you were good enough to get on the short-list, something about your agency interested the client. Keep in contact with it; you never know when it might outsource an agency or, two years down the road, look for a new one.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>From Prospect to Client in Thirty Seconds</title>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:57:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[initial consultation]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.santagnese.info/?p=107</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The process of converting a prospect to a client can seem like it takes forever. You meet a prospective client, follow up with him or her over time, and hopefully have a chance to make a sales presentation or schedule an initial consultation at no charge. 
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The process of converting a prospect to a client can seem like it takes  forever. You meet a <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/prospective-client" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with prospective client">prospective client</a>, follow up with him or her over time, and  hopefully have a chance to make a <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/sales-presentation" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with sales presentation">sales presentation</a> or schedule an initial  consultation at no charge. Then you follow up some more, trying to close the  sale. Months can pass, or even years, between your first encounter and getting  the prospect to sign on the bottom line.</span></span></p>
<p>How do you keep following up for all that time without being a pest? Is asking  prospects over and over, &#8220;Are you ready to buy yet?&#8221; the best way to go about  it? How can you build the trust of your prospects enough that they become  willing to take the risk of hiring you?<br />
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The answer to these bothersome questions just might be found in this simple  idea. Treat those prospects as if they were already your clients &#8212; they just  haven&#8217;t paid you yet.</p>
<p>Imagine what it would be like to treat every prospective client you encounter as  if you were already working together. Every time you contact your prospects, you  offer an article they might be interested in, an introduction to someone who  might help them with a goal, or an invitation to an upcoming event in their  field.</p>
<p>When you meet with them, you listen to their problems and recommend solutions.  When you contact them after a meeting, you suggest resources for helping them  address the issues you discussed. The solutions and resources you recommend may  include your products and services, of course, but you don&#8217;t stop there. You  also offer answers that don&#8217;t involve hiring you.</p>
<p>The impact of this kind of generosity on your prospective clients can be  dramatic. Instead of considering your calls or e-mails an interruption, they  will welcome hearing from you. They will no longer count you as a salesperson or  vendor, but rather as a valuable resource and important person to know.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not talking about giving away the store. I don&#8217;t recommend providing the  client with free training, spending hours addressing their issues at no charge,  or otherwise practicing your profession without pay. It is completely  appropriate to ask for and expect payment for doing your professional work.</p>
<p>But what I am suggesting is a shift in your attitude, to being of service  instead of selling a service. Give your prospects a taste of just how valuable  you could be to them if they were to hire you. Be generous with the information  and contacts you already have at your disposal. It only takes a few minutes to  pass along a phone number, clipping, or helpful web site, but the impact can be  unforgettable.</p>
<p>The effect of this shift on you can be just as significant as the effect on  prospective clients. You will eliminate those dreaded sales calls from your  agenda and focus instead on what you do best &#8212; helping people. You will no  longer fear or resist making contact with prospects, but will begin looking  forward to it. Instead of selling, you will be serving.</p>
<p>The fastest way to turn a prospect into a client may be simply to change how you  think about them.</p>
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		<title>A Fork In the Road: Negotiation, Humor, and Business Moves</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:34:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[I'm no negotiator and I know it. If you want to read negotiation from a master negotiator, read anything, everything from Harvey Mackay. He lives on negotiation.
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m no negotiator and I know it. If you want to read negotiation from a master negotiator, read anything, everything from Harvey Mackay. He lives on negotiation. In one of his books, he mentions a key factor in negotiating is having superior knowledge to the person you are negotiating with.</p>
<p>Information is good, but, I will add, superior strategy is also useful.</p>
<p>Being able to target two purposes at once. In chess, weak moves tend to threaten the opponent in only one way. It only puts pressure on one opponent piece. It is hard to win if all you do is make moves that attack one piece.<br />
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The opponent will usually have a one-move response to effectively counter your single threat. The most effective moves are those which simultaneously threaten two of your opponent&#8217;s pieces.</p>
<p>Consider the powerful forking behavior of a chess knight. A knight can be very fun or a very annoying chess piece, depending upon whether you or your opponent is using it more effectively. The killer knight move is forking the opponent&#8217;s king and queen with your knight.</p>
<p>If, in one move, you can put your opponent in check and at the same time be threatening the queen, and no options exist for your opponent taking your knight, you have probably won the game. Doing the same to two rooks will probably put you up enough material so that you will win the game also.</p>
<p>Of course, this is easier said than done. But, the fact remains, threaten two pieces at once, and it is very difficult for your opponent to protect both with only one move. If you can make repeated moves, each targeting more than one helpless chess-piece victim, your position will gain immensely.</p>
<p>Now, as I said, I&#8217;m not a competitive guy. Personally, I think competition brings out the worst in me. I would rather seek a mutually beneficial deal. While aggressive negotiation is useful for some forms of negotiation, it is a deadly flaw in other negotiation arenas.</p>
<p>The other day, I was getting clothing from the laundry machine and the TV was on. A talk show host was interviewing some very attractive young ladies who wanted to be stars. I just caught one line of the show, but it was a great line.</p>
<p>This incredibly attractive blond said, &#8220;I&#8217;m a Barbie, living in a Barbie world. AND I WILL BE ON BAYWATCH!&#8221;</p>
<p>The audience happily applauded. I realized  two things.</p>
<p>&amp;nbspOne. I want to be a producer on <em>Baywatch</em>.</p>
<p>And two. No need for two. I got in the punch line.</p>
<p>Humor works because it makes a second implicit connection between what is said and what might really be meant. You see not just one connection, but two connections. One funny. Hopefully.</p>
<p>People are always looking for ulterior motives. And, I don&#8217;t use the term &#8220;ulterior&#8221; with derogatory connotations. I just mean more than one goal is being targeted. Often, the secondary goal is just as meaningful as the directly-stated goal. And, the unstated goal doesn&#8217;t have to be sinister.</p>
<p>Good films make use of this in humor, but also in another powerful way. They state something more significant or provide insight that resides just below the surface of what is directly said.</p>
<p>One of my favorite movies, <em>Rocky</em>, has a scene where Adrian has just been invited into Rocky&#8217;s apartment. He wants to show her his exotic pets, two turtles named Cuff and Link.</p>
<p>He holds them up and says, &#8220;These are the turtles I told you about.&#8221;</p>
<p>She says, &#8220;I know. I sold them to you.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Of course, you sold them to me. I remember that. I came in and I bought the turtles. Then I came in and bought the bowl. Then I&#8230; You know I had to get rid of that mountain cause it kept tipping over.&#8221;</p>
<p>Great writing. Who among people Stallone&#8217;s age who had a fish tank can&#8217;t remember having some silly mountain or such thing that kept tipping over? And, trying to get it to keep from falling was no small matter. Usually, it had to go. Beaten by an ornament. A great line. Small talk, but at the same time lightly touching upon a real minor life frustration. Tipping mountains.</p>
<p>But, is Rocky really an amphibian aficionado? No. Not that he doesn&#8217;t like his turtles. He does. We learned this in an earlier scene, so we don&#8217;t doubt that he is a good turtle owner, as well as a good guy.</p>
<p>But, in a way, what Rocky is really saying is, &#8220;I like you. I kept coming to the store, not cause I needed a mountain, but because I wanted to see you.&#8221; He is sincerely interested in her. Hardly, conveying a sinister thought.</p>
<p>And probably not trying to convey a hidden implication at all. The beauty of such often missed implicit meaning is that it usually is true. Not planned at all. But, what is projected. What is understood.</p>
<p>If you try to force hidden meaning, you will probably fall into superficiality. But, once you learn that much more is nearly always conveyed than just what is stated, you will be able to do two things.</p>
<p>One, you will be alert for hints that the other person is giving you. About issues that concern them that they do not directly wish to state. They might think to do so is tacky. Yet, they have the concern.</p>
<p>Once you can see the concern, you can try to address it. Put the person at ease on the issue, maybe.</p>
<p>Two, you can be more alert to what you are saying. You can learn to spot verbal slips that might cost you. Giving away a concern of yours that you don&#8217;t want the other party to see, for example. Like the fact that you need the deal much more than they do.</p>
<p>Mackay says good negotiators often make a notebook history of what happens during a negotiation. Summarize what happened. Then you can examine it later and see how you can improve as a negotiator. Ask, &#8220;What were the deciding factors in the negotiation?&#8221;</p>
<p>I never have kept such a negotiation diary, myself. Then, again, I&#8217;m no Harvey Mackay.</p>
<p>To have a practical example of how you might approach making every opportunity count for two or more strong moves, consider the case of a consultant.</p>
<p>Your first goal as a consultant is, of course, to generate <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a>. Let&#8217;s suppose you have a client for whom you have just completed a project. That&#8217;s Move One. You generated the <a href="http://www.santagnese.info/tag/business" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag" title="Posts tagged with business">business</a> and earned some money.</p>
<p>But, now to maximize your payoff, do the following. First, ask the client if he or she knows anyone else who might be able to benefit from your services. If so, get the name of the person and ask the client if he or she will recommend you to the person. This way you are seeking referrals from every job you do. You add to your prospect list.</p>
<p>Second, ask if you can use the person as a reference. Some people don&#8217;t like to be bothered giving references, but others do. Many consultants neglect this. They are willing to generate the business, but then they never build more good references.</p>
<p>You have now created a very effective fork. You have not only served a client, but you have possible new clients and references to your prowess. But, you are not done yet.</p>
<p>A week or two after finishing your project, call the client and ask if everything is OK. Is there anything you can help them with? Free of charge, of course. Any other big projects they need? Not free of charge, of course. And, ask them to keep you in mind in the future if they might have needs related to what you do.</p>
<p>This helps build goodwill. It shows you are concerned about the client and at the same time helps ensure some future business.</p>
<p>Finally, a very interesting study showed that as some men age, they often seriously loose brain cells. Not the best thing! One of the first things to go is the sense of humor. This leads to the stereotype of the Grumpy Old Men.</p>
<p>Related to this, young and healthy chimps tend to be playful. Their brains are actively growing. But, as gorillas age, their brain shrinks. They become more morose. Less likely to enjoy a good gorilla joke.</p>
<p>Becoming more antisocial might be OK for a 300-pound gorilla who can stomp anything and anyone in his way, but in the human world, with that attitude you will lose. You can&#8217;t roll over everyone in your path and hope to succeed. You need to learn to negotiate for your benefit, but at the same time try not to exploit the other party. Take advantage and it will certainly be a one-time negotiation.</p>
<p>There is strategy in being good-natured. Keep sharp by laughing.</p>
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