Showing posts with label digg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digg. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2009





Large operators are so big and so powerful; they don't have to be good. You know what I mean; after all, they have 600 plus locations, or 5,000 employees, so they must think they are the best. Because they are already the best, they don't need to concern themselves with knowing what you are doing. After all, you are so small and insignificant. If this is the attitude of the “Big Boys”, let's use it to our advantage.

We need to know more about them, their pricing, their clients, their services, their systems, their buildings, their locations, than they do. This will give us a competitive advantage when talking to a prospect or a client.

Let's allow them to ignore us long enough for us to master our knowledge of their business. I know that it is not popular to shop the competitor, but it is essential for us to know them better than they know themselves. Websites are outstanding for obtaining competitive information. Telephone shopping a competitor can provide a great wealth of information. Let's know more about them than they know about themselves.

For example:

"You know, the “Big Boys” marketing is outstanding. I admit that their website is one of the most up to date in the industry. However, we are focused on understanding your business so that we can keep up with you. While our website is important, you are most important. We look at your website more than we look at ours. We focus on your business a great deal so that we can understand your needs now and in the future. I have some observations about your business that I would like to share with you when you have some time. I am confident that we can meet your needs and wants better because we spend more time understanding what you need and want.”

Information is Power. When you demonstrate to a prospect that you know the market and the competition, your credibility goes up.


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Thursday, October 29, 2009

How to Beat the Big Boys! Listen More & Talk Less



Listen More & Talk Less

“Big Boys” are busy. In fact, no one in the world is busier than the “Big Boys”. They run fast and hard and believe me, they are "soooo busy." “Big Boys” have a lot to do. Not only do they have to run their business, they also have to absorb all those acquisitions and standardize, standardize, standardize. Their managers are "soooo busy" incorporating new departments and organizations into their standardized system. There is soooo much to do!

We need to use this --too busy-- to our advantage. You see, we have time to think, listen and communicate effectively with our clients and TEAM members. We need to position ourselves as the attentive, concerned, and available providers of superior services to our clients. By taking the time to manage the details, we will send a clear message to our clients. We care about them and have the time to listen.

For example:

"I don't know how the large organization has time to listen to their clients. I know that we are busy, but if I had to double in size every six months, I doubt if I could keep up with all of your needs. You see, we have made a decision to be smaller, and very client centered. We know that an existing client that is happy is secret to growth and success."




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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Benefit Before Feature!






If you have attended one of my sales training seminars, you will remember me using this term. “Benefit before Feature” is a basic marketing philosophy and concept.

The fact that you have a great product or service is wonderful. The prospect or client is often bombarded with claims of superiority. What they really need to know is how it will impact them to use your services or products. You have to reduce it to benefit. This will be a different message than they are used to hearing. For that reason, you will get their attention and have a much better chance of creating a favorable buying environment.

The benefit statement, for example:

"Your clients will be impressed with our team’s knowledge of our business. You will find that we understand more and cut to the chase more quickly, saving you time and money. While many can provide a product or a service, few can meet your needs and make you more productive. Cost is not always what you pay for a product or service, but rather, how easily you can operate your business.”

Google Sonny!



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Sunday, October 18, 2009






Large organizations are sometimes more consumed with themselves than with clients. Many times managers, pressed with the day-to-day problems of operations and management, forget that clients are the greatest asset. Large organizations tend to evolve in this manner and the problems of daily management push the sales and client work to the lowest level of priority.

In order to compete and win against the “Big Boys”, we must focus on client knowledge. Client knowledge is more valuable than product knowledge. I have often said that if I know a great deal about a prospect, I can walk into any situation and have an excellent chance of closing a sale or meeting a client’s needs.

Client knowledge is the secret to meeting client’s needs and wants. As you know, people pay more for what they want than they do for what they need. So, our strategy for beating the “Big Boys” is pretty simple. Obtain and use more client knowledge than they do. Whether dealing with a prospect, or existing client, get to know the client and the clients business.

We might say:

"I guess you are pretty tired of me asking all these questions about your business. I hope you see that we are really focused on understanding your needs and wants. While many companies may meet your needs, we take the time to understand what will make you comfortable and successful in your business so that we can deliver better service to you. On a regular basis we sit down with clients and explore how they operate, so that we can find ways of serving them better. This commitment takes time, but we really believe in service."


Google Sonny!




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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Team Selling - Better Communication & Interaction Comes in Smaller Packages!



TEAM Selling



The large organization often has a difficult time in building teams because there are more people. Larger teams are more difficult to form, manage, and control. With a smaller TEAM, there is more communication and interaction among TEAM members.

The “Big Boys” have a challenge in this regard. As teams get larger and the span of supervision gets broader, the time and effort to build a TEAM increases. While large organizations have more people, they are not necessarily better staffed. When a large organization builds its business plan around a large corporate staff and minimal line employees the level of service decreases at the operating level.

Less focus on TEAM results in more bickering, quarreling, and conflict. Clients, who believe that our TEAM is their TEAM, do not like conflict, bickering and quarreling. The smaller organization, with a better span of supervision and more frequent communications, has the ability to construct and maintain a TEAM atmosphere more easily.

To compete against the “Big Boys”, we should focus on TEAM building and strengthening the communications between TEAM members and clientele. This will support our contention that we have a unified group and that our TEAM members are working together to assist our clients.

For example, we might tell clients or prospects:

"We spend a great deal of time on developing our TEAM. It is my belief that you want a cohesive group that works well together to support your goals and objectives. Our efforts to build a TEAM mean that we have less quarreling and conflict within our organization, and as a result, can provide you with better service. Our TEAM building includes you. We ask our TEAM members to understand completely your goals and objectives. Because we are a smaller group, we are able to interact more frequently and respond more readily to business challenges."

What are you doing to build TEAM in your organization?
Is “TEAM building” a priority or a lost art in your business?
How do you build involvement, interest, and participation with your TEAM?






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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Team Readiness!



Property Readiness



Sales Readiness is the term that describes a state of preparedness to sell; in short, what must be done to demonstrate professionalism to a prospective client! Only a small percent of the business I visit are ready to meet prospects on short notice. In most cases, the teams I visit are ill-prepared, materials were not available, or products were not ready to show to prospects. The Sales Readiness checklist assures that the facilities and the TEAM is ready to move into a professional sales presentation at any time. A lack of Sales Readiness often demonstrates that the TEAM does not see itself as a part of the sales TEAM.

The “Big Boys” must deal with bigness in this area. A larger company usually sees each client as less important, because each client’s expenditures are less of the total revenue.

As businesses get larger and staffing gets smaller, the demands on TEAM members increase and their ability to think about how things look or feel, diminishes. Larger organizations often put less attention to detail.

We need to compete with the “Big Boys” by outperforming them in the area of Sales Readiness. Our attention to detail must be greater and consistently higher than the competitors. This attention to detail must become a part of our daily thinking about what we provide to the client. When we approach Sales Readiness from this perspective, we start seeing our businesses through the eyes of a client.

You might say to a client:

"You know Tom; we understand that the devil is in the details. Each day our TEAM focuses on the details of keeping your needs and wants first and foremost in mind. We don't always achieve that level of perfection, but we strive for it on a daily basis. As you talk to our TEAM members, please notice the attention to detail orientation of our TEAM."


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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Small Business Advantage - Clientele Informed Better & Faster - Customized Fashion



This concept is an important part of my teachings and in my own business operations. This fundamental concept is that when people call or visit they most often want information, and until you give them the information they want, you have power. This is also true in the day-to-day operation of our business. When clients want information, they will always go to the fastest most competent source of information that they know about.

The large operation is sometimes too busy and too big to spend the time that is needed to gather and then disseminate the information in a responsive manner. One of our goals should be to inventory the information requirements and then make that information available to our clientele in a fast, efficient manner. TEAM members should look for opportunities to provide specific and valuable information to clients. We want to reinforce the idea that we are there to assist them, creating a climate of responsiveness and support.

The age of the Internet has forever changed the way we provide information. TEAM members that have access to information via their desktop, and know how to get the information for clients, will be perceived as valuable resources.

We might say:

"Our TEAM members are all trained on the use of the Internet. We have identified and catalogued many Internet sites where we can obtain critical information to assist you in your everyday business activities. When you are sitting at your desk, wondering how to find something out, about a company, person, or opportunity, think about us. Each of our TEAM members has access to the Internet and can either get the information or tell you how to get what you want. If they don't have the information, they will let me know and I will respond accordingly. I have to admit, we have an advantage in this area over our competitors. Because we are smaller and have a less complex working environment, our TEAM members are highly responsive in this area. Give us a test, and you will see what I mean."

The organization that has the information will be highly regarded when compared to those organizations that are too busy, or too focused on meeting corporate TEAM requirements, rather than client needs. When your manager is too busy doing a report for you to respond to client needs, you have trouble.

What sources of information do we have available for our clients?
How can we do a better job of being on top of the information?
Google Sonny!
Sonny Moyers



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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Better People = Better Service

Better People = Better Service






Almost every Manager knows the challenge of finding and keeping superior TEAM members. As executive suite operations grow, and complexity increases, the ability to find and keep high quality TEAM members becomes more difficult. With more people, there is more management, problems, communication issues, and simple coordination.

The smaller organization has an advantage in this regard. By focusing on obtaining the best possible TEAM members, Managers can in fact be better than the “Big Boys”. Better people will result in better service and better service results in more satisfied clientele.

Finding star performers is difficult. Once you have them, training them to be special is even more challenging. Offer a work environment that is more connected than the working environment that the “Big Boys” provide.

Better TEAM members are better at seeing opportunity and seizing the moment. Better TEAM members care more about helping the TEAM to succeed. Expect more and get more with better TEAM members.

You Could Say...

"I know you realize how important the TEAM is to the operation your business. Our people essentially work for you. We take a very different approach to managing and developing TEAM members than many of the other operators in our industry. We have a comprehensive training program. We have a professional trainer that we bring in to help us train our TEAM members. We think that having better people will result in better service for you."










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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Family Counts!










As the '“Big Boys" grow and get more complicated, they are likely to forget how personalized business has always been. Most TEAM members will confirm that clients see themselves as part of the family. Largeness often reduces this family feel and makes the relationships with clients more impersonal. As businesses become larger in size and number of locations, and their ownership more corporate, many have not maintained that close relationship that use to exist between client and operator. Many larger owners use Voice over IP to provide call handling services. This lowers their cost of operations. Does it provide higher value and benefit to the client?

We should use this to our advantage. It is important that we personalize everything for our clientele. From birthday cakes to children’s gifts, let's develop a comprehensive program to build personal relationships with our clients.

For example:

"We are like a family here. We have celebrated twelve marriages, fifteen births, and countless birthdays. One way that we are different from other companies is that we value each client and try to make our facility a comfortable friendly environment. Don't get me wrong, we won't invade your privacy, but we do like to get to know our clients and I think that makes a difference."

“Bill, we do things differently here than many of our competitors. For one, we believe that our receptionist is an extension of your business. When Sarah answers your phone, she often knows where you are and if you are tied up or not. This is a more costly way of doing business for us, but we think it of more value to you. Many of our competitors have someone answer the phone from another city. They can’t know you, your clients, or your needs as well as Sarah because Sarah is right there with you. This is a good example of how we see our business model as more “client friendly” than our competitors. They may be bigger, but they certainly aren’t better when it comes to meeting your needs.

How will you as an organization, personalize your relationship with the clients?




Google Sonny



Sonny Moyers
sonny@sonnymoyers.com
972-464-4100
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