WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS NEED?

C.J. Hayden, MCC
“Every person who has ever started a business, I imagine, thought he had a good idea. It’s the smart person, and the rare person, who tries to find out the most important thing: do other people think it’s a good idea?”

Those words of wisdom come from Bernard Kamoroff, author of “Small-Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Small Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes and Stay Out of Trouble!” Whether you look at your ideas about what your business provides, or about how to market your business, Kamoroff is right.

Trying to get clients when you’re not really sure what they need or want makes you an answer in search of a question. You’re going to have to turn your key in an awful lot of locks before you find the one that it fits.

It’s not enough for YOU to know why they should hire you — THEY need to know. It’s hard enough to find clients without also having to educate them on why they would want you in the first place. The needs that your service fills should be important enough that clients are already looking for a solution before you make contact.

Find out what the “hot buttons” are for the people in your target market. What do they perceive to be the greatest problems they face, or the biggest goals they wish to achieve? Ask these questions of the people you serve and the other businesses who serve them. Read trade literature or special interest publications and educate yourself on the key issues in your marketplace.

When you have a clear picture of what your target market is truly looking for, you’ll be able to package your services as a solution. Design all your marketing tools — web site, brochure, telemarketing script, sales presentation — to show how your service addresses the hot buttons you identified.

Seasoned corporate consultants know that you always get in the door at a company to solve its “presenting problem.” If the company has already identified that they have a need it turns out you can fill, you stand a much better chance of being hired in the first place.

Once you are in and working for them, you will no doubt uncover all sorts of other issues that need to be addressed. And since you are already on the scene, building rapport and trust, of course they will retain you to help resolve those problems.

This is just as true for any service business professional, from psychotherapists to graphic designers. The client hires the designer to create business cards; then the designer discovers the client doesn’t have a logo.

When the designer shows the client how much more impressive the business cards would be with a custom logo on them, the client agrees to pay for one. But if the designer had approached that person about creating a logo, the client would likely have refused. In the client’s mind, it was business cards that were needed.

Don’t worry if the most popular issues aren’t the ones you most want to work on with your clients. Chances are that if you attract prospects by marketing to their perceived needs, you’ll create opportunities to explore other options with them. But if you market something they don’t yet know they want, you may never get to have that conversation.

Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden or subscribe to the GET CLIENTS NOW

5 Power Tips To Double Your Sales

“How Can I Double My Sales?” – that must be the silent prayer of thousands of webmasters.
There are two ways to do it: you can either double your traffic or you can double your conversion rate.
Let’s say you have a conversion rate of 2% (1 sale for every 50 visitors) and you get 100 visitors a day – you’re getting 2 sales a day. You could get 4 sales a day by increasing your traffic to 200 visitors a day.
But you can get the same result – with your existing traffic – by doubling your conversion rate (2 sales for every 50 visitors).
Here are 5 ways to double your conversion rate:
(1) Direct Response: Make sure your website is a ‘Direct Response Website’. A DRW is a site where the only options are to Buy, Bookmark, or Leave. The more options you give your visitor, the less likely they are to buy.
(2) Free E-Books: Include Free E-Books as bonus gifts with your product. This can easily double your sales – especially if the Free E-Books are genuinely useful. Here are some places you can find Free E-Books:
http://www.free-ebooks.net/” target=”_blank”>http://www.free-ebooks.net/ http://www.ebookdirectory.com/” target=”_blank”>http://www.ebookdirectory.com/ http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/download.html” target=”_blank”>http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/download.html
(3) Testimonials: Make sure you have plenty of testimonials on your website. Preferably, they should be from customers who have achieved results from your product (e.g. more traffic, more sales, saved time etc).
(4) Follow Up: You’ve probably heard this over and over again but it’s worth repeating – people have to see you your message about 7 times before they buy. The biggest mistake you can make is to try and sell your product on the first contact alone.
It just doesn’t work, and the statistics bear this out: the 1st contact produces 2% of sales, the 5th to 12th contact produce 80% of sales.
So in your ezine ads and at your website, offer something free in exchange for an email address. And then follow up with sequential (or follow-up) autoresponders.
Here are some sites that offer free follow-up autoresponders:
http://www.auto-responders.net” target=”_blank”>http://www.auto-responders.net http://www.informationbyemail.com” target=”_blank”>http://www.informationbyemail.com http://www.getresponse.com/orderfree.html” target=”_blank”>http://www.getresponse.com/orderfree.html http://www.rapidreply.net/free_features.htm” target=”_blank”>http://www.rapidreply.net/free_features.htm
(5) Backend Sales: It’s no secret that successful businesses make up to 80% of their sales from previous customers. Why? Because people who have bought from you before are much more likely to buy from you again (they know you, they trust you, they were happy with your product).
The hard work in marketing is getting a customer. Once you have a customer, they’ll buy from you over and over again.
Contact your previous customers and let them know about another product that compliments the product or service they bought from you. Experts reckon that the value of ‘a lifetime customer’ lasts about 3 years – make use if it.
If you follow these 5 tips, you may well find that you can double your online sales with the traffic you already have.
Wishing you every success!

Author : Michael Southon
Source : www.sourceofarticle.com

Posted By : M. Mazhar Iqbal

10 Activities For Better Marketing

1. Business Cards

It is very important to market yourself via business cards. You should be making a conscious effort to hand out ten per day at the very least.
Have them on you at all times, and keep a supply in your car just in case.
When doing business with someone, don’t give them just one business card, give them two, and ask them to refer someone to you.

2. Mailers and Reminders

Keep a tickler file handy on all of your customers birthdays, kids birthdays, and anniversaries. Send them a card to wish them well on their special occasion. They won’t be expecting it, making them all the more appreciative, it also keeps you in their thoughts, reminding them that they know a mortgage specialist that they can refer should the topic ever arise. It also gives you a reason to send out more business cards and keep them circulating.
Remember, the average home owner refinances, or purchases on average every three years, so it is important to stay in front of your customer.

3. Phone Numbers

Giving your phone number to your customer seems obvious, but it is equally important to give them your cellular phone number as well as your work number, and let them know that they can feel free to call you at any time, this will personalize the relationship you have with your customer and give them a comfort zone where they feel as though they can really trust you.

4. Become Active

Become active in local organizations and charities, here are a few examples:

•Chamber of Commerce
•Rotary
•Lions Club
•Networking Groups
•Church
•Local Youth Athletic Associations

5. Apparel

Wear your company’s logo, It doesn’t hurt to have a few polos or dress shirts in your wardrobe with your company logo on it for attending special events or just going out to lunch, lets face it, it’s free advertising, and it shows that you take pride in the company that you work for.

6. Body Language

Your body language can speak volumes. Always smile when it’s appropriate, and speak clearly and slowly so that people will understand you. Eye contact is also very important when talking to people, it lets your client know that you are very confident in what you do, and that you believe in what you are saying.
It is also important to be empathetic when appropriate as well, sometimes it is better to listen than to speak. Not everybody is in the ideal situation, so it is important that you understand where they are coming from, and exactly what they will need.

7. Tag Lines

When your answer the phone, make sure you answer it in a professional manner and state your name. You can also add a tag line promoting a product or promotion. Here are a few examples.

•Hello, thank you for calling XYZ Mortgage Company, this is John Doe, how may I help you?

•Hello, thank you for calling XYZ Mortgage Company, this is John Doe, have you heard about our interest only loans?

8. Partnerships

Partner up with a few Realtors in you area, this way you can attend their open houses, this is a great way to make contacts and make people aware of all the programs you have available. Remember to be prepared with plenty of business cards and literature.

9. Product Knowledge

This is perhaps one of the most important marketing tools that you can posses. It is so important to have the ability to be able to speak off the cuff when asked about a particular product. It sends a clear message to the customer that you know what you are talking about, and the better you know the product the more confident you will be. Remember, your client is considering perhaps the biggest financial decision they will ever make, they need to trust you and believe in you! Take ten minutes out of every day to learn some of the benefits of the programs your company offers. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you become an expert.

10. Show them your appreciation

Over the course of the loan process, it is fair to say that you have built a very good relationship with your customer, and like all relationships you want this one to last. Once the loan is closed, take the time to thank them by sending them something to let them know that you appreciate their business.
It could be a thank you card, or a small care package.
My suggestion would be to send them a small care package, preferably to their work place, this way, all of their fellow employees will want to know who sent it and why, this is a great way to get them talking about you, which could easily lead to lots of referrals.

Author : Jay Conners
Source: www.spurceofarticle.com

Posted By: M. Mazhar Iqbal

Selling – Guaranteed Sales Strategy

By: Jenny Smith

Good salespeople are aggressive, dynamic types. Everybody knows that.

There are plenty of good salespeople out there. They have good product knowledge. They have good selling skills. And they are likable.

The more competition you have, the more products that can do the same or similar things as yours, the more you need to help and advise your customers, not just sell to them.

Great salespeople are an extremely valuable commodity because they are in such short supply. So, what are the bottom line differences between good salespeople and great?

Great salespeople are continually trying to better themselves. They are always layering on new skills while honing the skills they already have.

Don’t just be GOOD. Many of your competitors are good and they’re doing everything that they can to be better. Become dissatisfied with good. If you are good – want to be excellent. Then become dissatisfied with excellent. When you are excellent, want to be outstanding. Continue along this path as far as you can.

Great salespeople also have a higher level of ambition than ordinary salespeople. Sure, they want all of the things that money can buy, such as bigger houses bigger cars and more interesting vacations. They also want the non – tangible things that money can buy such as respect, admiration and more freedom.

Another big difference between good and great is that great salespeople have a love for selling.

Now, you and I both know that it’s possible to make a great deal of money selling without having any love for it. So, what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that at the end of a long career in sales, you have been competing against people who do love it. This means that for your entire career you have been competing against people who are willing to invest more time, and more energy in what they do for a living because they love what they’re doing.

Putting more time and energy into any endeavor will almost always lead to greater success. This is as true for selling as it is for playing chess, playing piano or playing baseball.

Imagine working for thirty years competing against people like that. For most of your career, you will feel like the salmon swimming upstream. You will have had a very long, very tiring journey, and, at the end of this long journey you will be completely worn out.

But, most importantly, great salespeople are great because they want to get the most out of themselves. The big money is a byproduct of being great. It’s just another way of keeping score.

Winner Take All

Selling is a ‘winner take all’ competition. The customer rewards the winner at the expense of everybody else. If you are even just slightly better than your competition, you will earn much, much more money.

Let’s say you and I are competing salesmen, going after the same big account. If you are only 2 percent better than I am – follow-up, service, closing ability, etc. – and you make the sale, do you get only 2 percent more commission than I do? Of course not. You get it all. You get 100 percent and I get nothing.

That’s why a very small increase in your ability or effectiveness can lead to a very large increase in your income.

Here is the one thing that you can do to give yourself that extra advantage over your competition. This is the one strategy that can catapult you from good to great. By adding this one weapon to your arsenal you can guarantee yourself that you will dramatically increase your income.

The solution is to study and understand how your customer is going to use your goods or services – in depth. The best salespeople see things through their customers’ eyes. You must not only profile your customer, you must profile their customer too.

That’s it. The fastest way to dramatically increase your sales is to understand and help your customers’ customers.

CONCLUSION

Each and every single day, we are being tested as salespeople because clients and prospects vote with the dollars they spend.

Show the buyer how they will make or save money by using your goods or services. It is even better if you can translate that into dollars and cents.

Do these things and I can assure you that you will have all of the great successes that your heart desires.

Article Source: http://www.go-see.info

Posted By : M.Mazhar Iqbal

Sales: Selling to the Opposite Sex

By: Jenny Smith

Through the ages, there have been many mysteries that have baffled the brightest scientific minds on our planet, none of which more elusive, defying deep rational explanation and causing more confrontation than the emotional differences between men and women. While this topic certainly invites much further in-depth discussion, this text is not intended to document or explain these various points. Like most men, I am certainly not qualified for anything more than a general observation, some admitted frustration and conservative commentary from my obviously male perspective. Yes ladies, I am playing it safe!

When you have the opportunity, type “http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/image-pump/women-brain.gif” into your browser and view an extraordinary image. I present this intriguing mind-map, this comical approach to the complexity of the female mind, to make a valid point. This image comically portrays a female brain in thinking mode. Complex? You bet! By comparison, a man’s brain might mimic a shovel. Yes, I honestly believe there is that much difference. For those of you who have may not have noticed, women process emotions, information and think quite differently than men.

Their brain chemistry and nervous system wiring is distinctly different than that of males. It also might be fair to say that women are generally far more complex in their thinking than men. Women tend to take in the larger perspective and develop pictures, numerous iterations of influences and results that their actions and relationships may create. Women, with all of their complexities, are divinely designed and created to complement men. While we males remain clueless, we also remain intrigued and smitten. We often just don’t get it. Women are generally more instinctive and smarter than that.

Men, while admittedly more simplistic, possibly more rational, tend to compartmentalize and are prone to quick decisions without the necessary complications of emotional influences. Men, relatively stable and balanced with our regular, relatively consistent brain chemistry and hormonal activity, differ considerably from the cyclical nature of our female counterparts. Making matters even more challenging is the fact that the average male has absolutely no clue as to what makes females tick. Males are driven by such very basic forces as the hunt, competition, conquest, adventure and sex. Women, on the other hand, are exactly the opposite, craving relationships and emotional bonds.

Please forgive any over-simplification and understatement in my synopsis of the differences between the human sexes as I believe that the point is well made. Men and women differ significantly at almost every level. So why talk about this here?

In business, sales and marketing in particular, men and women interact daily in professional relationships. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget about these physiological differences when both sexes are part of a business process. Effective communication is critical to any business relationship, especially those involving a mix of the sexes. Lack of understanding, empathy and judgement concerning perceived differences may lead to frustrations with either sex, thus inhibiting successful relationships and communications. Simply being mindful of the fact that the opposite sex processes information differently may keep you way ahead of the curve and generally more able to build a successful, empathetic relationship. To do or think otherwise does not work very well.

We must learn to see things from the other person’s perspective, especially when the other person is the opposite sex. I truly enjoyed the Mel Gibson film, What Woman Want, featuring a womanizing advertising executive, played by Gibson, suddenly finding himself reporting to a female boss and charged with developing an ad campaign aimed towards female customers. The film provided a comical plot in which a freak accident enabled Gibson’s character to develop the unique psychic ability to hear the thoughts of woman in close proximity to him. At first, this new ability was driving him mad, until he learned to view it as a gift that he could benefit from. He learned to embrace his new ability, and grew as a person from his newfound understanding of what drives women. He discovered, much to his surprise, that women are exceedingly different than men. He discovered that he only thought he understood the fairer sex.

I fully appreciate that men and women look differently and am quite thankful for that! I find those differences quite appealing. Selling to the opposite sex requires far more than mere recognition of physical differences. Gaining a better understanding of each other’s emotional positions, motivations and drives will surely ensure better quality, more successful relationships both at work and at home. That is good news, whether you are from Venus or Mars!

Article Source: http://www.go-see.info

Posted By : M.Mazhar Iqbal