Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tip 7: The Take Away Close, Not the “Take- it- or- Leave- it” Close.

Excerpt From the Ebook- "7 Tips to Close Every Sale."
This next tip is probably the most misused closing technique.  Used correctly though, it can exponentially catapult your income.  This is one of the most difficult techniques, but it can be very effective.

Tip 7: The Take Away Close, Not the “Take- it- or- Leave- it” Close.


The Take Away occurs when you remove the product offer from the client psychologically, during your presentation, and then remind them of this fact at the close.  It is important to remember that this is not the “Take-it-or-leave-it” close.  It is more of a “sense of urgency” close.  This technique has to be instilled by your company’s management. You must present a compelling reason for them to buy today and then amplify their desire for the product or service. When you remind the prospect that they could miss out on the special, they almost feel compelled to buy your offer!

Try this: Mr. Client we have a special running this week if you purchase ABC we can include XYZ but you must purchase now as there is a timeframe on this offer.  If we can get the application today, we can ensure the pricing that we have talked about.  But the agreement we have with the leasing company states, “With the economy, their rates could increase tomorrow.”  Yikes! You would have to pay a higher price!

Please use the take away properly.

Bottom line: a sale is a critical function that is more of an art than a science. And please share any of the sales tips you’ve learned with your staff, friends and loved ones who meet with prospects.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

How to Make Value Goal Setting a Part of Your Business

It's time to build your road map. You need to set some value goals that support the vision you created.

By now you've created a clear vision of where you're going to take your business, and how it's going to look when you get there. You've also learned a proven, step-by-step five-part formula for making that vision a reality. You're getting close to the end of the organization stage, and closer to great content that drives: (Step-one) Lead Generation.

Now......... First, you have to map out the route that you're going to take to achieve your vision, and establish which landmarks will tell you that you're headed in the right direction. You've got to set some value goals.

In this class we will cover:

  • What are value goals and why set them?
  • How is a value goal different from a vision?
  • Areas of your business that need value goals
  • What happens when I achieve a value goal?
  • The impact of positive thinking
  • Autosuggestion techniques and exercise
  • Visualization techniques and exercise
Goals are specific, attainable targets that bring you to your vision. They're the milestones (or landmarks) you need to reach along the way.

There are a lot of busy people out there. I’m sure you’re one of them. Just being busy is not accomplishing your goals. You know that but why? I know you work hard just like everybody else, and it seems like the only way to be successful is to “GET LUCKY.”

I was told a long time ago that LUCK is when: Living, Understanding, Connecting, & Kindness enjoy each others company or to put it in simple
terms: “When opportunity meets preparedness.”

Living- breathing, moving, thinking, and learning.

Understanding- knowing the opportunities, knowing something, and putting it to use.

Connecting- finding the right situation.

Kindness- knowing that you must put the needs of other first.

Alright, alright, alright……how does all this tie into goal setting and being successful.
When you set goals it is important to attach a value to that specific goal. Simply saying I want to buy a house is an idea but it is not a goal. Let us think about this for a second. What are your values????

Do you value family, wealth, security, teamwork, planning ect…… Now that you have determined some of your values…..every goal that you set should be formed around those values.

If you value

Family: I want to save/earn enough income so that I can help my family
Wealth: I want to save/earn enough income so that I can obtain wealth
Security: I want to buy a home so I have security

When you attach values to your goals the goals you set become important to you.
When you are working on value-goals those opportunities to get lucky open up.

Get lucky set a Value-Goal!!!


value goals focus your efforts and intentions, and direct your motivation in a productive direction. value goals outline a plan of action, while dreams are conceptual visions.

Your value goals are the milestones you will reach along the way to achieving your vision. They break down the process into smaller pieces; the little successes en route to the big success story.

Goals are different from your vision.

It can be easy at first to confuse a business vision with a value-goal. They are both projections of an ideal future situation that you have created based on your dreams.

Goal
Vision
Value goals are specific, measurable targets that a person or business sets out to achieve, that are structured around the emotional impact they will have on the goal-setter, because they reach the deepest values of the person. Value goals support the greater aspirations set out in the business vision statement.
A vision statement is a broad, inspiring image of the future state a business aspires to reach. It describes without specifying how aspirations will be achieved, or when. A vision is dream of what the world would like like with your business reaching full market share.   

Harvard Studies have shown that only three to five percent of people in the world have written goals - the same three to five percent who have achieved success in business and earn considerable wealth.
Setting strong value goals and committing them to paper and your sub-concious is the most effective way to achieve any form of real success. Goals will focus your time, energy and the outcomes that are the highest priority at a time. When you prioritize and concentrate your efforts, you avoid being stretched too thin, and produce greater results.

There are many areas in your business that you need to think about when setting value goals or targets. Let's create your unique list.

You have many areas of your business, and each need to do their part to contribute to the overall vision you have for the company. Set your value goals systematically. This helps to break down the process into smaller, achievable chunks.

Here are the marketing areas of your business that you'll need to think about when setting value goals:

Lead Generation
> In-store Leads
> Phone leads
> Return on Investment (of marketing campaigns)
> Weekly / Monthly / By Campaign Leads
Conversion Rates
> Individual Staff Targets
> Staff Development
> Conversion Rates
> Sales Targets
Transaction Frequency
> Sales Targets
> Customer Loyalty
> Average Transaction Frequency
Average Sale
> Sales Targets
> Revenue
> Add-on Targets
> Sale increases
Margins
> Product or Service Evolution
> Profit
> Cost Reduction
Personal
> Personal Development
> Personal Wealth Generation

What happens when you achieve your goals? What comes next?

You should reward yourself and your team each time a target is reached. ( If you would like more information on this email us at info@inbeefinancial.com we have got a list of low cost/ no cost ideas to supercharge rewards for your employees) This will not only teach your mind to associate hard work with reward, but will develop loyalty and morale among your employees. One giant happy office yah!

Once you've reached a target, ask yourself where the next rung of the ladder is. Can you improve upon the target you just reached? Can you stretch yourself and your team, or challenge yourself more? Get into the habit of setting a new, higher goal each time you achieve an existing goal. This will lay a solid foundation for consistent personal and professional growth and improvement.

To set value goals, you need to first reframe your thinking so you can support yourself and your efforts.
I talked a bit about the power of intention, and how a strong belief in yourself and your ability to be successful is the keystone to achieving great things. This part of a greater concept, called positive self-talk, and it has a powerful impact on your reality.
Positive thinking and self-talk is an important technique to practice and cultivate. When you program a positive stream of subconscious thoughts into your mind, you can control your reality, and ultimately the outcome of your goals.

When you set out to practice positive self-talk techniques like autosuggestion and visualization, you may find that you have a stream of negative thoughts that continually run through your mind. This is okay - you work is to correct each negative statement that flows through your mind.

For example, each time you say to yourself, "I'll never be able to finish this..." or "I'm a terrible public speaker..." take a moment to stop and correct the thought. Instead, say "I will do the best I can to finish this project," or "I will get myself some training and become a better public speaker."

Positive self-talk means getting rid of the negative thoughts that run through your mind on a regular basis - some that you may not even hear!

  • That's impossible.
  • Don't even bother.
  • It's already been done.
  • We tried that, and it didn't work.
  • You're too young.
  • You're too old.
  • You'll never get there.
  • You'll never get that done.
  • You can't do that.

Autosuggestion is a kind of positive self-talk that will improve your performance in all areas of your life, and give you a better shot at achieving the goals you set.
Autosuggestion is the technique that harnesses the power of your internal dialogue - your constant stream of thoughts and judgments and beliefs - and uses it for positive, affirmations. Often, this involves changing negative beliefs and perceptions that we learned from our parents, friends, partners and experiences.

You can practice autosuggestion anywhere, and at any time. It is especially helpful to spend 10 to 15 minutes practicing autosuggestion before a stressful situation, like a meeting or sports game. All you need to do is sit quietly, breath deeply, and allow yourself to be open to the thoughts and ideas you are about to tell yourself. Then repeat positive statements about yourself and the future outcome of a goal or intention or event.

Some examples of positive autosuggestions include:

  • I will close the sales presentation and secure this client!
  • I am a capable and positive person!
  • I deserve the success that I have achieved!
  • I am doing the best I can!
  • I will assert my needs in my relationship!
  • I will have all the information I need to ace my exam!
Here are some helpful tips for your autosuggestion process.

  • Believe in and feel what you are telling yourself. Linking suggestions to emotion increases their potency.
  • Talk to yourself like you would a close friend. Use a calm, considerate and gentle tone of voice. Remember that you are working to develop a good relationship with yourself.
  • Phrase your suggestions positively, and avoid negatives like "not", "less", "won't", "don't" and "can't."
  • Use the progressive form of the present tense to reflect acceptance of being "in progress." For example, say "I am becoming.." instead of "I am." Your mind may have an easier time accepting the statement.
  • Repetition is key. Each time you repeat a suggestion, try to find a way to make it a stronger, more powerful and meaningful statement.

Visualization complements autosuggestion and harnesses the power of your mind's eye to realize your goals.

Visualization is another mind tool that successful people use to program their brains for success. It's simply visualizing in your mind how something is going to happen or play out on a repeated basis. Visualization is commonly used in sports training, and has been proven to improve performance better than just practice alone.
The technique can be used by anyone, however, and will generate the same results on performance and outcome. When we visualize an event or situation, or an object or possession, we attract it into our life.

Teach yourself this step-by-step visualization exercise.

Visualization should be done with a relaxed and positive attitude, as well as with an openness and willingness to accept whatever outcome may present itself.

  1. Sit comfortably in a quiet space - your office, home, or in nature.
  2. Pick a goal or intention to focus on.
  3. Relax your entire body, and take several long deep breaths.
  4. Tune into your inner voice, and connect to the feeling that you truly believe this goal or intention.
  5. Begin to visualize the achievement of that goal, or realization of your intention.
  6. Create a clear and detailed mental picture, using all five senses.
  7. Allow yourself to feel how you believe you will feel when you have achieved your goal, and how much you desire to reach that goal.
  8. Finish with a positive affirmation about the outcome of your goal or intention.
  9. Repeat this process at least once per day, for about 10 minutes.

Powerful positive people have the strength to create powerful positive change in their lives and the lives of those around them.
You are a powerful, positive person! Successful people have no secrets - they're just determined, focused people who have set goals and programmed their brain to think positive, and think big.

Spend the next few days working on your autosuggestion and visualization skills. You might feel a little silly at first, but I promise that these are powerful psychological tools that will retrain your brain for success.

To your success!

Friday, December 2, 2011

How to Live and Breathe the Five-Part Formula


Checkpoint:

·         You've created a strong, clear business vision that is realistic and achievable.

·         You've posted your vision in a place where you and your staff will be able to see it on a daily basis.

You're going to achieve your vision (and your dreams!) by adopting the five-step process into all areas of your business.

It's one thing to try a new marketing strategy, but it's another to change your approach altogether. It's just like dieting. Sure, if you cut 20% of your calories for two weeks you're going to see some results. But, the minute you go back to your old patterns, the results quickly disappear.

Temporary changes generate temporary results. Sustainable results require changes in behavior; the removal of old habits and creation of new ones.

All of the advanced marketing strategies that you'll learn in our E-System will contribute to one of the five steps. By the end, you'll have worked through all areas of your business and optimized them for success (remember, a 10% increase in the 5 areas can lead you towards doubling your profits (not revenues!).

In this E-Class we will cover:

  • How the five-step process will impact all areas of your business
  • How to get used to working with the five-part formula
  • A review of the five steps
  • How to set yourself up for success with the program

The five-step process is a way of doing business. It's not a temporary strategy, and it won't generate temporary results.

The five-part formula is so effective because it touches on each and every area of your business. It will improve and increase and generate and sharpen and strengthen everything that you and your employees do.

Once you complete a step, you'll never go back to your old way of doing things again. This is a program for positive change and powerful results. The change is long lasting and the results are far reaching.

Choosing to begin the five-step process will have an impact on every area of your business:

Lead Generation
Conversion Rates
Number of Transactions
Any strategy you use to get people to call or walk through the door.
Any strategy you use to get people to BUY from you.
Any strategy you use to get existing customers to buy from you more often, or stay loyal to your business.
Advertising
Promotions
Press Releases
Listings
Website
Online marketing
Sales process
Sales staff
Sales scripts
Point of sale
Image Merchandising
Staff scheduling
Staff happiness
Staff training and development
Customer service
Customer loyalty program
Average Dollar Sale

Any strategy you use to get customers to spend more money in a single transaction.

Point of sale
Impulse items
Sales process
Sales scripts
Stock
Stock availability
Exclusivity of products/services

Profit Margins

Any strategy you use to maximize the percentage of the cost of each product/service that is profit.

Product or service costs
Expenses
Rent / lease
Business supplies
Pricing strategy
Salaries


Let's get used to working with the basic formula that the five-step process is based on. You'll want to post this formula somewhere visible, where you can see it on a regular basis.

# of Leads
X
% Conversion Rate
=
# of Customers
X
# of Transactions
X
Average Dollar Sale
=
Revenue
X
% Margin
=
$ Profit

As you can see, each of the shaded lines is a factor that influences the bottom line - your profit. Each of the shaded lines is a step in the five-step process. You will work on each line sequentially, and the impact on your profit will build over time.

A nominal 10% increase in each of the five factors would look like this:

Starting Point
Goals (10% Increase)
Leads
4,500
Leads
4,950
Conversion Rate
30%
Conversion Rate
33%
Customers
1350
Customers
1633.5
Transactions
1.3
Transactions
1.43
Average Dollar Sale
$140
Average Dollar Sale
$154
Revenue
$245,700
Revenue
$359,729.37
Margins
24%
Margins
26.4%
Profit
$58,968
Profit
$94,968.55

Here are a few blank charts for you to use to see how a 10%, 20% and 50% increase in each of the factors will impact your profit.

Create the chart below on your pad of paper (use the same pad as last week ideally - the process of writing this down will give you a 400% better retention rate). Use the left side of the chart to fill in your existing numbers. If you don't know, take a guess. The point here is to understand how little increases will have big impacts on your bottom line profits. We'll show you how to start tracking your results at the beginning of each step in the program.

Starting Point
Goals (10% Increase)
Leads
(#)
Leads
Conversion Rate
(%)
Conversion Rate
Customers
(#)
Customers
Transactions
(#)
Transactions
Average Dollar Sale
($)
Average Dollar Sale
Revenue
($)
Revenue
Margins
(%)
Margins
Profit
($)
Profit



Starting Point
Goals (20% Increase)
Leads
(#)
Leads
Conversion Rate
(%)
Conversion Rate
Customers
(#)
Customers
Transactions
(#)
Transactions
Average Dollar Sale
($)
Average Dollar Sale
Revenue
($)
Revenue
Margins
(%)
Margins
Profit
($)
Profit



Starting Point
Goals (50% Increase)
Leads
(#)
Leads
Conversion Rate
(%)
Conversion Rate
Customers
(#)
Customers
Transactions
(#)
Transactions
Average Dollar Sale
($)
Average Dollar Sale
Revenue
($)
Revenue
Margins
(%)
Margins
Profit
($)
Profit

Step One / Lead Generation: How can you get more people to walk through your door, pick up the phone, and/or visit your website?

Your leads are your prospects or potential customers. They are people who have taken action in response to your ad or promotion, and have shown interest in your product or service, but have not become a customer because they haven't purchased yet.

Lead generation is important because you can't increase the number of customers you have. This is because customers are the by-product of two things:

# LEADS X % CONVERSION RATE = # of Customers

This means that you have to generate more leads and get more of those leads to make purchases in order to increase your customer base. Note; this a very important step because your 'cost of client acquisition' (price you pay to acquire a new client) is the most expensive function of your business. Yours, ours and every business on the planet btw...

So lead generation is about finding ways to reach the people who need or want what you have to offer and getting them to act - to pick up the phone, visit your website or walk into your business. This is what the majority of marketing strategies are trying to do.

  • advertising
  • business listings
  • direct mail
  • promotions
  • press releases
  • flyers
  • referral partnerships
  • publicity
  • coupons

Step Two / Conversion Rate: How can you get the people who walk through your door, pick up the phone, and visit your website to BUY something?

Conversions are the second factor in the customer equation. A conversion rate is simply our leads divided by our number of transactions in a specific time period.

# LEADS / # TRANSACTIONS = % Conversion Rate

This is a key focus of your business and your staff's time. After all, why spend time and money attracting tons of qualified leads if you can't make them buy when they're in the store? We call this confusing being busy... with being successful!! Do not let it happen to you.

Several aspects of your organization impact your conversion rate:

  • Your business image and the first impression customers have of you/your business
  • The strength and effectiveness of your sales team
  • Your sales process and staff training and development programs
  • The strength of your sales scripts (Do you want fries with that?)
  • The level of purchase risk involved in your product or service

Step Three / Transactions: How can you get your customers to buy from you MORE than ONCE?

The process of attracting and converting a customer is one that costs you money. Customers cost you money. They're an investment that you need to make the most of to stretch your lead generation dollars.

You can reduce the cost of your customer by increasing the number of times that they purchase from you. This increases the total number of transactions in your business and the amount of money that flows in.

So instead of continuously chasing down leads and converting them to customers, increasing transactions is about keeping our existing customers loyal and coming back to spend money.

  • exceptional customer service
  • customer loyalty programs
  • incentives
  • newsletters
  • convenience services
  • bonus amenities
  • referrals

Step Four / Average Sale: How can you get your customers to buy MORE from you each time they buy?

Your total revenue is the product of how many customers you have, how many times they purchase from you, and how much they spend.

# CUSTOMERS X # TRANSACTIONS X $ AVERAGE SALE = $ Revenue

Increasing the average amount of money customers spend with you is the final way you can increase the amount of money that comes into your business. It's amazing how small increases in this value can have big impacts on your revenue. If I were to come into your business tomorrow and you IMMEDIATELY needed to increase profits - this is the first place I would look and the easiest area to make a large improvement in your profits.

You'll have to show your customer that they needed or want more than what they purchased. The amount that you are able to increase will depend on the type of business you are in - it's easier to sell gel pens than an additional dishwasher - but generally every business can find opportunities to increase this figure.

  • The strength of your sales team
  • Merchandising at your point of sale
  • Add-on items
  • Cross-selling
  • Usage of impulse items
  • The strength of your sales scripts
  • Upselling
  • Opportunities for packaging and widgets
  • Staff training, development and incentives

Step Five / Margins: How can you make more profit off each product and service you sell?

The last opportunity you have to influence your profit is your profit margin. Your total revenue times your margin as a percentage equals your total profit.

$ REVENUE X % PROFIT MARGIN = $ Profit

Essentially, your goal here is to make your profit margin as high as possible. As the final factor in the profit calculation, increasing your margin is a vital step towards maximizing your profits.

If your margins are too low, you'll never make any money - regardless of how many customers you have, how often they buy from you, or how much they spend. Your revenue will perpetually go back into your business and be spent on costs.

There are three ways to maximize your margins:

  1. Increase prices
  2. Cut operating and product/service costs (operating costs include rent, leases, salaries, commissions, and office supplies)
  3. Increase margins

Alarmingly, many business owners do not genuinely know their weekly/monthly/annual profit - you need to go into the business of generating a profit (this will be a paradigm shift for many - it is not about greed, it is about looking after those you care about. The more money you make, the more you can provide for your family, charity, your church etc...) and work towards increasing that profit each and every day, week, month and year.

Now that you have a good grasp on how the five-step formula works, and an idea of the marketing strategies you'll learn to work with, take a few moments and set yourself up for success.

1. Schedule time in your week to work through the E-Classes.

You'll receive an E-Class each week, and each will take approximately thirty minutes to three hours to complete, depending on the strategy or implementation requirements. Identify two timeslots in your weekly schedule that you can set aside for this task - it's important! This will keep you from putting the E-Classes off for later, and delaying the positive changes to your revenue stream. But remember that if you fall behind by a few E-Classes, don't worry. The program is designed to work at your own pace, with your own schedule.

2. Post reminders of your vision, goals and targets in visible places.

Keep yourself focused and on track by surrounding yourself with the positive changes you have already made, and will continue to make. Post your business vision, personal and business goals and targets in your office and staff rooms.

3. Include your staff in the process.

Your employees are a powerful resource in your business - they ultimately are the people that you will need to trust and empower to run the business without your own day-to-day involvement. They are the people that your customers come in contact with on a regular basis, and represent your business image, brand and message.

Let them in on what you're doing, and educate them on the five-part formula. Show them how their actions, input and skills contribute to the operations and profitability of the business.

4. Start paying attention to your current numbers and tracking systems.

Now that you have an idea of what factors and figures you'll be working to increase, start paying attention to what those numbers look like now. If you have tracking systems in place, run some reports and get an understanding of your current situation. Think about these questions:

  • where do your customers come from?
  • what marketing campaigns work the best?
  • what lead generation strategies work the best?
  • how many of your customers buy from you?
  • how often do they buy from you?
  • how much do they buy from you?
  • what do your existing profit margins look like?
  • what percentage of your items are high margin, and which are low?

Now that you have an idea of where your business is going, let's start mapping out how you're going to get there.

The next two E-Classes are about setting SMART goals and retraining the way that you think about yourself and your ability to achieve what you deserve. There's lots of important work to do!

Congrats for tuning in,