Showing posts with label myspace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myspace. Show all posts

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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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Higher Performance - Greater Client Satisfaction!





A great deal of my training focuses on the demonstration of Professionalism. I believe that Professionalism Is Value and that the more professional we are in front of our clients, the higher the perceived value we have with our clients.

In this regard, the “Big Boys” have a huge challenge. Large organizations usually spread the span of supervision too far. This increased span of supervision results in less direct communication between the Manager and the TEAM members. Less direct communication usually results in less direction, development, and motivation. TEAM members are often left to fend for themselves and become beaten down by the demands of clients. All of this results in a deteriorated level of customer service.

We must reverse this concept by properly staffing our locations or teams to assure that managers have sufficient time to find, retain, direct, develop, and motivate key TEAM members. The result of this will be higher performance, more motivated TEAM members, less employee churn, and a higher level of service, which will result in greater client satisfaction.

For example:

"We typically have a TEAM of four or less people at our locations. Each Manager focuses on the results of their center. This results in a span of supervision that is about three to one. Because I have fewer TEAM members to manage, my Managers and I are able to spend more time with each TEAM member. My competitors across the street may have fifteen locations in our area, and that is quite impressive. Unfortunately, they often have one Manager responsible for managing multiple locations. I cannot imagine how I could hire, train, direct, develop, and motivate that many TEAM members and assure quality services to our clients. We have made a strategic decision to be smaller; more focused, and provide the highest level of customer service possible, rather than grow our business to a point where we cannot provide the level of direction and management necessary to assure service."


Do you know how the larger competitor operates so that you can use these ideas to differentiate your organization from theirs?













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