The elections are over. Thank goodness. Not all of my votes were on the winning side and contrary to what some of my fellow conservatives think, the sky is not falling. Something we did learn from the elections and should be applied to business is that even in a bad economy, there is security in the devil you know. (I stole this title from the Economist, I wish it were mine.)
(more…)
Cliches are tiresome, especially when their long term effect is negative. In traditional direct sales and retail marketing we focus on the product value statements to convince people to buy a product or service. For many network marketers brief lip service is given to the superior nature of the product before attention is then laser focused on the dough, the benjamins, the opportunity. I believe that is why so many opportunity based products have been hit so hard by the down economy. Where the product based opportunities are flailing, other superior product value based companies are thriving. Summed up, if you are basing your product value on the opportunity instead of better price, quality or efficacy; you are probably using cliches and white lies to sell your opportunity. (more…)
It’s the time of year for mistletoe, eggnog, caroling, friends, relatives, honey ham and excuses. My kids plan for it for five months, my wife scrutinizes the coupons for good deals and even wakes up at 4:00 am to get the best deals. I love this time of year for so many reasons, but it can be hard for entrepreneurs. Tis the season of excuses.
You know the drill, you had a great meeting with a prospect and everything looked and felt great during the meeting. But, a week has gone by and you have not heard back from the prospect and you are wondering what to do. Questions begin to enter you mind:
Anybody who has ever read a book on sales etiquette or has experience in sales knows that the follow up is just as important as the meeting itself. As entrepreneurs enter the 21st century is it ok to email or text the prospect, or should you just call? Even more important than how you get back with the prospect is when should you get back to the prospect? I have compiled a list of answers from some of the world’s best entrepreneurs in an attempt to give answers to when you should get back to your prospects without worrying if you are acting out of place or being a pest.
We’ll start this series of posts off with one of my personal favorites, Jeffrey Gitomer. In his book, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, Gitomer asks, “Are you a sales leader or a sales chaser?”
“Chasing your prospect too hard? People not calling you back? Pushing too hard for orders? Try running the other way – let the prospect chase you. It’s the best follow-up technique I’ve ever experienced.”
“If prospects are not returning your call, whose fault is that? You’re chasing too hard. They’re running away. You couldn’t get their interest. You couldn’t get them to chase you.
Here are some tell-tale symptoms the chase is going the wrong way:
If you have never read any of Gitomer’s books and you are an entrepreneur, it is time to invest in your education. The guy is funny and he can cut right through the bologna. His books are short and easy to read. If you want to learn more from one of the masters on how to get prospects’ attention and more on how to follow up with your prospects, he is a must read.
Recent Comments