Jack D. Deal Business Consulting, Santa Cruz, CA

Sally and Jim are a nice couple.   30 years ago they started a business that they continue to run today.  Moderately successful, they pay the bills and have employees do the daily routine work.   

They have nice stores and all their employees smile and say 'good morning' and 'have a nice day.'   They have a very expensive website that does what it's supposed to do and covers the obligatories such as Site Map, About Us and Contact Us, though they seldom if ever get any requests for information.   

Their logo is artfully designed and the text they use on their website and other marketing collateral is scrubbed, spellchecked and sanitized.  Like all of their marketing efforts, their website is well done but ineffective.   All the marketing pieces are there but nothing happens.   Sally and Jim did everything by the book and now are getting the unexpected book results.      

Still, Jim vigorously defends their decision to do everything just right except the part about the desired results.   From the beginning they budgeted 3.75% of their gross sales to marketing.   They printed up media packets, marketing promos and slick handouts for their in store customers.   But nobody noticed the handouts.   Nobody cared. 

And nobody notices their website except to say 'that's nice'.    Their website takes no risks and makes no statement except that which is the usual and the customary.   Jim's rationale for putting all these ho hum traditional pieces in place was 'if everyone else is doing it, there must be something to it.'   Precisely the reason for not doing it but after 30 years Jim is still making the conversion from employee to entrepreneur.   

After 30 years Jim and Sally would like to sell off their stores but they are asking a high price with less than average sales.   Nobody is buying.   Jim and Sally are getting a little bit worried now and that checklist comfort zone they had sat in for so many years doesn't look so comfortable anymore.    The real icing on this upside down retirement cake is they are ready to exit their business but have no exit strategy.  Uh-oh. 

Jim and Sally's problem is and has been no one knows they are there.   Their management and marketing is safe, traditional and ineffective.   It does not stand out so it is not noticed.   They talk about great customer service, high quality and cheap prices; in other words, they say exactly what their unimaginative competitors all say.   So when new prospects are looking at Jim and Sally's industry for products and services, all the players appear to be the same because they all present the same image.   It's coin flip time. 

Although 'professional', their marketing is limp as it does not generate interest or 'buzz'.   Strong on structure and function; weak on message and appeal.

Jim and Sally started out with the marketing checklist strategy that has plagued them for many years.  Jim thought that as they went down the marketing list and could check off items on the list, the marketing would then become successful.  The checklist was the plan or rather completing the checklist was the plan.   Jim was never actually told this by anyone; Jim made this assumption all on his own. 

Later Jim learned that simply having a website, brochure or sales presentation is not enough.  "Take one of our brochures and be sure to check out our super well constructed website."   Right.  Will do.

Jim and Sally had an opportunity to get their company message out and to generate community and online interest.    Instead, they laid a marketing egg.  Too bad for their company.   By trying to look 'professional' they made themselves appear to be dull, which they are; 'we'll be safe and do it like everybody else.'   

Jim and Sally will continue to justify their lackluster marketing results by saying the big improvement is somewhere just around the corner.   In the end they will most likely cash out with a whimper for their many years of self deception.  No one will cheer.  The numbers aren't there; the numbers were never there.   Sally and Jim will go down with the ship. 

Maybe later they will wonder what if they had been more 'bodacious' or more likely they won't wonder at all.   It won't matter either way...they were too late.  They could have done something more imaginative but they didn't dare.   The truth is they didn't even try.

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Go ahead.  You might as well find out.  It's not hard.  Just Google, Yahoo or otherwise search for your company name in quotes and see what your footprint or search engine results bring up.   It's easy, it's quick and it won't lie or give you false readings.  Your footprint is your footprint...

Odds are you have a decent website.   Graphically, it is well balanced and maybe even designed by a webmaster or some such skilled webperson.   It probably is user friendly, intuitive and does what it's supposed to do; that is, no dead links, all spellchecked, scrubbed text and it all looks good and makes sense.

Most likely your site talks about quality, integrity, customer service and how you offer the best value proposition in the area, region, state, nation and world.   You maybe even have an interesting 'About Us' narrative, if there is such a thing.   Quite possibly you even state that your goal is to save the world or eliminate poverty in Chiapas and/or the Sudan. 

And your search engine footprint likely shows your website is number one or two or maybe both.   Good job!  This is to be expected since as a savvy web marketer you have search engine optimized or SEO'd your website since it was a baby.  Good for you! 

After the search engine picks up your site, it picks up all your listings in various directories and databases.    Some of these are paid and others are just local or industrial listings...at one point you looked into all the listings and probably signed up for most of them.   They are still there; at least some of them.   And they are still just listings...

Next come your press releases or maybe that article that appeared in the local newspaper three years ago.    But then it gets real thin.  By page two you are running out of direct search engine hits and all the 'oddities' come in; other companies with the same name, foreign companies with the same name, odd strings of words that pop up regularly in text files and whatever garbage is left. 

This happens because your search engine footprint is shallow.  Technically you are allowing the flotsam and jetsam of cyberspace to pack your footprint because you are too lazy to do so yourself.   Or forgot.  This footprint packing could include material and websites of which you do not approve, yet you allow this junk to fill your search engine footprint. 

Business wise, you've got the look but lack the feel.   If 'look and feel' determine the viewer or visitor's experience, you are long on specs, data and substance but short on why you are different.  And better.  And more interesting.   You don't have that unique value that causes a viewer to look further, pick up the phone or zap an email requesting more info.  In other words, your look and feel doesn't stand out so nothing happens.  And of course that's the problem.

Now imagine a different scenario.  Your website is good and does what it should, you have a variety of local and regional listings and you even have a few press releases stating your latest company news.   But interspersed are a series of articles, blogs and other sources that have third party news and views about your company.   

This gives the viewer an impression of what others think of your products and services; a bit of 'feel' to go with that snazzy, professional website 'look' that you have so professionally adapted.  It's a bigger and better and more well rounded you...but how to get there?

First, take a good look at your marketing plan and give a realistic assessment of what you need.   Remember that what you need and what you want might be two entirely different animals but it's important to focus on what you need first.   What you need is the right look and feel that gets your message across in a number of different ways and generates prospect response.   

Second, take one or two strong competitive advantages you have and drive those advantages.  Several ways you can do this are through media coverage and self promotion.   Since increasingly media coverage is an iffy if not spotty proposition, your best bet is self promotion.  One good tactic is to use self promotion to attract media coverage.   

Your goal should be five or six pages of search engine results that show you have a varied, interesting and penetrating web presence.   That means your company name appears on many websites whether linked directly or not.   This gives a completely different 'feel' to your company that can make a difference in your first impression and whether your prospect becomes interested enough to respond or can't distinguish your company from all the others in cyberspace.

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cold calling is going extinct.  Even its contemporary translation to 'telemarketing' isn't enough to keep it going.   My take is that it will disappear altogether and then be resurrected as a new business and marketing strategy dubbed 'Direct Prospect Interphasing' or some such. 

Cold calling basically became popular in the past as a way to directly market to both warm and cold prospects, if there even is such a thing as a cold prospect.   It works great for selling goods or services that require timing and one just shows up and fills the order.  But to get that to work one has to play the numbers game and for many goods and services the best way to get those numbers is to volume cold call.  For many types of sales there is really no other way to accurately qualify a prospect. 

Cold calling is a percentage game and the closing ratio numbers are low because for most prospects the perceived timing is not right or they refuse to make an on the spot decision.   Or they feel that no one can walk in off the street and do them any good.   Especially if you are dealing with medium and small sized businesses you will find many owners that are clueless and simply don't care.   This also makes it a percentage game.   

After cold calling on 100 prospects take a step back and evaluate what you saw.  Hopefully you kept notes and each visit is clear in your mind.  Take what you learned on the first 100 and apply it to the next 100. 

If you sell into a specific industry, there is no better way to get to know it than to cold call.  Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut unless you ask a question.  If you can, ask open ended questions as folks tend to open up more.   Start with easy questions and get progressively more pointed as times goes by.   

If you are patient and just keep listening you will be amazed at what you can find out.  Each time you hear the responses you catalogue them in your brain and over a period of time you can recognize patterns and perhaps most importantly, trends.  Cold callers always know which way the wind blows because they are always taking the pulse from the street. 

Cold calling sharpened my wit and powers of observation and directly led to projects where I would do competitive intelligence or checking out the competition.   I got to the point I could just about find out whatever I needed to know about a company simply by walking in and asking a few simple questions and appearing interested. 

I would often come back with a company profile, sales and income figures, key employees, software, inventory, management style and even management/employee relations.   All this in maybe 10 or 15 minutes.  All this from having spent many days cold calling in many different jobs in many different industries.   

The really sharp cold callers don't go in with a preconceived plan.   They are savvy enough to know every business is different so no cookie cutter formulas apply.  That's if you are an independent and sharp.  You learn to adapt to the situation and not force everything through a numbers driven hole.  Consequently, it drives your numbers up.   

If you work for a company most likely they will have a presentation, portfolio and everything else you need to make the sale their way.  They don't want loose cannons and they want you to follow their script.  They drive you day after day to create volumes of contacts to keep your sales numbers up...once again, a percentage game.   The reason they do it is it works.  At least for them. 

Most companies will train you to give the presentation, ask a series of needs assessment questions and then teach you how to overcome common objections and close.   All this is done because it's a numbers game.  If you can't hack it, someone else will.   The turnover rate in these types of jobs is off the charts.

But I'm partly contrarian.  For me, good things happen whenever I decide just to walk in.  I see things I would not have seen.  Learn things I would not have learned.  Get pointers and contacts that I would not have gotten.  It may be a marketplace but it's also a school and information center.  For me after so many years it's not so much a matter of guts but effort...cold calling helps me reassess where my efforts are best spent. 

And it certainly is an adventure...who said business by definition has to be boring?

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Google or Yahoo "Jack D. Deal" for my portfolio.  Contact me at jddeal@jddeal.com  See http://www.jddeal.com and http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com for business articles, marketing articles, and photos.  In the marketing articles below Google or Yahoo the article's name in quotation marks:

1. "How a 'Look and Feel' Redesign Can Upgrade Your Stale Corporate Image" was distributed as an informational and positive image article for a Silicon Valley designer. 

2. "There is no Security with Shaking Ground, Mad Shoplifters, and Thieving Families" was distributed as a humor and informational article for a Security Guard Company.

3. "Welcome to California National Park!" was distributed as a humor and environmental article for an ecological landscaping company focusing on future severe droughts as an inducement to purchase.

4. "Toyz for the Big Boyz Also Toyz for the Baby Boyz" was written for a motorcycle distributor. It is a straight media teaser or internal commercial and was not distributed but does appear in search engines. 

In articles 1,2 and 3 companies form a relatively small part of the article and if they were omitted the article could stand on its own. This is why these articles were widely published and distributed on dozens of websites and article databases. They are not commercials.  Article 4 is a straight commercial example of niching an upper end market, a market that spends tens of thousands of dollars per year per customer. Most article databases will reject this type of article and I would not submit it for distrubution.

If the article is of good enough quality editors and publishers will normally allow small mentions of companies when in the proper article context. If the author has "Expert" or "Distinguished Author" status with the article database then publishing 'rules' often are relaxed. Anything containing a URL or looking or smelling like a commercial will be rejected.

A successful article is a combination of skill and art. A well written, fresh article can create a positive impression, attract media attention, be used as a powerful guerrilla marketing tool, improve search engine placements, and enhance your Google footprint .  Fresh content is always in demand!

Also see "How to Turn a Third Party Informational Article into a Power Marketing Tool". 

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Way back when I started my own business, I hung out my own 'shingle'.   One of the first things I did, and one of the smartest, was to have a professional designer do my business cards.  I could have done it cheaper by using business card templates and a quickie print shop, but I didn't. It was one of my very first business decisions and continues to be a very good one.

"The mamas don't like me very much when they first see what I'm doing to their babies," says Louie.  Louie is a big man and a powerful figure on the shop floor.   

I told Louie I could not for the life of me understand why a parent would want their four or five year old flying around a racetrack on a motorcycle.   Louie admitted there were times when he asks the same question.  He thinks it has something to do with culture and competition and being number one but his is not to reason why.  Louie's reason is to race and that's why he started Toyz for the Big Boyz http://www.toyzforthebigboyz.com 

At first it's the dads that push it and then the kid comes along and develops some interest and then the dad finds out how expensive it is and the kid realizes how much hard work it is to compete.  They're both ready to quit but about that time mom has become fan numero uno and will hear nothing of it and that's when mama really starts to love Louie.

Strange.  Louie is a gentle man with not a vengeful bone in his body.  But he has picked a really funny line of work.  Louie sends four, five and six year olds sixty to seventy miles per hour around a motorcycle racetrack.  Louie has the ability to tune these mini-bikes into performance machines and performance is what Louie and pee wee competitive racing is all about. 

I first met Louie Peverini when he had a store in the depressed area of downtown.  He wouldn't open his store until late afternoon because he had a full time job as a roofer.  But Louie had a dream and his dream was to race winners.  The races are competitive, regulated and supervised.  And each year they get more popular. 

Louie is reluctant to give away his trade secrets but it comes with many years of experience.  He looks at the track, rider and bike and tunes the bike to get optimal performance.  Sounds easy but it takes hundreds of races to get really good. 

I keep thinking, why would a five year old want to train and compete?  By the time they are fourth graders they have five years of racing competition under their still small belt.  Makes Little League look well, little league. 

So it's Louie's job to make the bike jump.  It's part science but like the nitro dragsters the final touch comes down to a guy with a screwdriver listening to the motor.  That guy is Louie.   Louie becomes ma and pa's best friend.  Louie can make the bike sing.  Louie can make the bike sing when Junior rides it.  Louie is Picasso with a screwdriver.

Ma and pa do the rest.  Pa takes a big gulp when he sees 30 or 40 G's a year to enter races competitively.  To really win may take three or four times that amount.  Where is protective mother during all this nonsense?

Dear Old Mom has become Junior's spiritual advisor.  Her pre-race advice is 'nuke 'em.'  Thanks mom for being concerned about my health and welfare since I am only five and have no real business going 65 miles per hour on a motorcycle racetrack. 

Then there's Junior.  At first it was fun but with better competition it got downright nasty.  Junior really didn't have the stomach for it but ma thought it might help him grow a bit of backbone.  So be it.  As long as junior doesn't break his backbone.  Check any emergency room outside a dirt bike raceway and you'll find doctors waiting to treat your broken bones.  It's big business.  Broken bones?  Who cares?  It comes with the territory.  If you're scared you can go play dolls. 

All right.  The comment about dolls was uncalled for.  I can't say it's totally sexist because some little boys do play with dolls.  But many more little boys and bigger boys and real big boys play with motorcycles.  Such is life.  Young Junior can become a professional motorcycle racer before he can read.  What does that say about our culture, priorities and values?

If Junior doesn't hit the big time and get the big sponsorships?  Oh Well… That's probably all right with Junior.  Maybe he would rather play with dolls than broken legs…and grow up to be a lawyer or CEO and walk straight. 

That's OK.  But he'll always remember that day as a five year old when Louie tuned his bike and nobody, but nobody could beat him.   

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the good old days marketing and advertising were the same.  A new business found a location, placed some ads in the local newspaper and then sat back and watched the customer's line up. Well, maybe it didn't work just like that but it was a much simpler marketing world back then.

Advertising wasn't rocket science and it was easy to track the results. The ad was placed, the customers and sales were tracked and the business owner could see if the ad was effective. Many times it was and the business was off.

But not so anymore. Marketing, advertising and sales are increasingly complex and extend across multi media. Steadily over the years owners have been reporting that mass media advertising has become less effective. That is the Return on Investment (ROI) is diminishing.

As the sources of mass media have exploded consumers and prospects are bombarded with ads from every direction. This has made it very difficult for an individual ad to be noticed. Most ads sold in mass media are created by the media themselves. Joe and Sally Business Owner don't have marketing expertise so they leave it up to the 'experts'. The mass media experts are going to focus all their attention on Joe and Sally to get the sale and then proceed to create their ads the fastest and easiest way possible. Since Joe and Sally are marketing ignorant, they don't understand what is happening.

What is happening is the ads are boring, not targeted, safe and almost always ineffective. Not the best way to spend the marketing budget. What happened was Joe and Sally simply did not know so they trusted the media reps. Joe and Sally bought the old line that the purpose of marketing and advertising is to get your name out. The argument is that their media outlet has a target market of 10,000 or a million potential customers for your business. Joe and Sally think this is all too wonderful a deal and it is.

The potential target market numbers are actually meaningless for the owner. Potential target market is a sales tool developed by the media to fool folks like Joe and Sally. Since Joe and Sally don't know, they tend to follow the crowd. What the crowd and media won't tell Joe and Sally is that 'Get My Name Out' doesn't work unless you buy the deluxe monthly package for 15 years. And even that is no guarantee.

Joe and Sally left out one big step in their marketing campaign: how do we know if it works. The media will say that it works if a member of the target market now knows you are in business and what you are selling.

That's fine for the media to rack up numbers but those numbers simply do not translate into sales. Sales occur when a prospect that heard or saw the ad comes in and buys something. Any other scorecard for Joe and Sally's business is meaningless.

As you can see it's a cop out to say radio, TV and newspaper ads are marketing. Joe and Sally are only fooling themselves and hurting their business if they believe that.

There's a more fundamental reason why traditional marketing and advertising doesn't work: the design and attention getting are weak. Commercials and ads simply look and feel like commercials and ads. The consuming public sees this and immediately knows 'this is an ad'.

Shucks, what can poor Joe and Sally do? For starters Joe and Sally can stop whining and get to work. Joe and Sally need to create and execute their very own marketing and sales plan and not rely on some commissioned media sales rep to do it for them. The simplest way is to take their prospect profile or those who buys from them, and shake out the top customer benefit. The initial marketing focus is on creating a sense of urgency for obtaining this benefit.

The ad or 'hook' is then worked into the initial marketing piece. It doesn't have to be flashy or glamorous but it does have to laser beam in on that benefit. Resist the temptation to add a laundry list of benefits to this ad. Once the ad is developed then it is ready for execution. This execution strategy may or may not include mass media, depending on the marketing budget. The smaller the budget the less likely mass media will work.

What is important is that Joe and Sally constantly look for customer feedback on their ad. From this information Joe and Sally can refine or redo their ad. They can also create new ads and look at other customer benefits. The important point is that feedback is constant and the marketing strategy kept flexible.
 
Since Joe and Sally are on a limited budget, they will have to do most of the marketing work themselves. As their business grows they can evolve and expand their marketing plan and contract marketing services.

The good news this puts powerful marketing tools in the hands of owners like Joe and Sally. The bad news is that like all tools, these marketing tools don't do the work. If they are not used, nothing happens.

Joe and Sally have a choice. They can continue rat holing their marketing dollars in mass media which brings then little or no return on their investment. Or they can invest in computer and web technology, learn how to use it themselves and then control their marketing destiny.

It's Joe and Sally's choice because it's Joe and Sally's business that is on the line.

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Features:

1. 400-800 word marketing text in article format focusing on benefits
2. Can be customized to attract attention, generate interest and be 'bodacious'   
3. Text includes Your Company Name and http://www.yourwebsite.com
4. Included is concept, draft, edit and publish
5. Text will be published on http://www.jddeal.com and http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com and www.yourwebsite.com
6. Brochure/Article indexed by major search engines

Benefits:

1. Customized
2. Low Cost
3. Generates long term, positive exposure for Your Company
4. Enhances your current marketing plan or helps you start a new one
5. Media 'teaser' creates media exposure marketing opportunities
6. Print version can be mass distributed via postal bulk mail, in-house and in person
7. Digital version can be emailed as a text file, attachment or backlink
8. Article enhances your Google footprint/fameprint

Process:

1. Total process takes one week or less
2. Initial interview determines 'hook' for text   
3. Deal Business Consulting creates concept and emails first draft for approval
4. Upon your approval, text is published
5. Discussion of future and ongoing marketing if needed
6. Invoice due upon receipt

Google Footprint:

            "Jack D. Deal"

            "Jack Deal"

Cost and Contact:

1. $250.00 through November 30, 2007
2. Deal Business Consulting, 849 Almar Suite C-410, Santa Cruz,CA 95060
3. jddeal@jddeal.com or 831-457-8806

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite the fact that cyberspace seems filled, the world still craves fresh, interesting and unique content.  To be successful both online and offline publishers must provide a steady stream of zippy content to catch and retain today's demanding readers and viewers.   

Viewers want content that is relevant, interesting, informative, entertaining and makes them feel something.  Once viewers find good content they will keep coming back for more.   And publishers know that.  It's their business to know that.

This content can include a positive article about your company written by a third party.  You can take this story and use it as a promotional article for your business.

The article needs to be at least 700 words for widest Internet exposure and not be an obvious commercial for you.  In fact, your company name may only appear in the article a time or two…and probably not even in the title. 

There has to be an angle or hook about your company that lends itself to a good story.  Everybody has a story and most likely you have several angles a writer could use in an informational article.

The third party makes the article appear as if a reporter is doing a story on you and not a promotional public relations piece.  To pull this off requires it be written in a lower key.  Today's savvy viewers know when they see an advertisement.    

A good informational article writer will retain the copyright since many of the biggest article distribution services require the author own the copyright.  But you should be able to get the use rights so you can use the article as a multi-purpose marketing tool, especially if you are paying a fee.

Depending on the nature of the article, it is possible to gain widespread exposure for your company including having the article posted on dozens or hundreds of websites and blogs. 

You may even find that the article may be spreading across the World Wide Web and if you Google your company's name you might find your own website way down on the search results list.

But not to worry.  When your exposure suddenly leaps you should be glad.  Remember the article contains the backlink to you so if someone is curious about your business they can just click.   And the backlinks pull your own site's search engine ranking up which is what it's all about, no?   

The first step is to put the article on your website.  Make sure you use the author's resource box or byline to show readers it was written by a third party and not you.  If you have a company newsletter be sure to include your article there. 

The author can also put the article on his/her website and then distribute it.  A good, well written informational article can end up on hundreds of different web pages.   Some sites may include the article in numerous categories. 

When the article appears on other websites it also means you can print the article from those websites.   That means you have a fourth party website which further improves credibility and distances the article from looking like an ad. 

To track the article's exposure, do a Google search for the article name put in quotation marks.  This will give you a listing of where the article appears.   Give it some time as it can take up to four weeks or more to get picked up with some search engines. 

Check the websites that have the article to see which sites are more appealing and bookmark the best sites using them for your article reprint files.   Don't forget you have a third party article posted on a fourth party website. 

Article reprints can be used as handouts, flyers and brochures.  These can be used in word of mouth campaigns such as 'here is a story about us and an extra one for a friend you think might be interested.'  

Article reprints can be mailed out with statements or other mailed material. 

E-mail allows you to send the article's URL or Internet address and the viewer simply clicks on the link to view the article.  The article can also be cut and pasted as a text file in an e-mail message.  Either way there is no handling, paper or postage and those are big advantages.

One of the best uses for the article is in providing media leads.  Include the article in your media packet or use the article as a lead teaser for a reporter or interviewer.  Show hosts, reporters, and program managers are constantly looking for new and interesting material and the article you provide them can point them right to you.

Like any tool, a marketing informational article is best when used.   Its flexibility and low cost make it a perfect fit for any marketing plan. 

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Non-dairy creamer has to rank as one of the marketing coups of all time.  From a marketing standpoint the non-dairy creamer makes great sense.  From the consumers it is a big joke.

The premise is many fat folks like to put cream in their coffee or tea.  Why we put cream in our coffee is a question that puzzles the coffee purists...suffice it to say many have allergies or have problems with high fat dairy products.   So the ever astute marketers saw a market and went for it. 

Think of these dynamics: I can't use cream because I'm allergic to dairy products or weigh 400 pounds.  So I take a small container of non-dairy cream and open it.   I could even buy a half gallon milk carton size -- so  even the cartons are the same.   But the similarities end there...

Non-dairy creamer does not taste or smell like cream but why not put it on anyway...chemicals and all.   Why?  Because some marketer says it looks like cream when I stir it into my coffee!   I have faked myself out!   And my auto-suggestion allows me to know it's not cream but I'm happy anyway!

And non-dairy creamer has progressed to the point where it ihas its own line of products.   Many people now, who do not have health concerns, buy non-dairy creamer for their coffee.   Many now think it tastes more like cream than cream does...

So the next time you have coffee visualize yourself pouring non-dairy creamer chemicals into your cup.   The marketers are certainly planning it that way...

Jack D.  Deal

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. Cold calling develops character and fortitude by having to deal with 'internal demons' on every call.   
2. Cold calling keeps up the 'edge' and keeps salespersons sharp.
3. Cold calling is an excellent way to find out what is going on in different industries.
4. Cold calling is not a bread and butter marketing strategy so develop other strategies as well.
5. Cold calling is a matter of numbers and percentages.   Track them. 
6. Cold calling is perhaps the best way to determine prospects needs, problems and other research.
7. Keep your prospects on a database for a multi contact strategy.   
8. The psychological profile of a cold caller includes persistant, bold, courageous and crazy. 
9. Practice your approach and presentation.  Be prepared to ask 'What do you want?' 
10. Cold calling is an excellent way to find new, qualified buyers. 
11. Set goals and an action plan to reach those goals.   

     I have used cold calling sucessfully for clients in transportation, distribution, retail, manufacturing and many service industries.   Just because cold calling is difficult does not mean it cannot be highly effective.    

     Most likely your competition considers cold calling too difficult or 'too demeaning'.  Could cold calling possibly give  you a competitive edge? 

Jack D. Deal

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In business, not much happens until a transaction is agreed upon. The strategy of how these transactions occur is called marketing. The techniques and procedures are called sales. Without sales, there is no business. The successful business is always looking at ways to improve sales. Successful businesses become students of the sales process. That is important because the very way transactions occur is changing.

The nature of the sales process is changing. In the "commoditized" age, we focus on price and differentiation. Unless you are a monopoly, some combination of price and benefits are the driving factors in the sales process today. But just below the surface, we begin to see the real effects of this rapid change. Some of these are:

Smart customers are getting smarter all the time. Smart customers are value conscious when spending their money. This increased awareness and knowledge has changed the fundamentals of selling.

Relationships have become a key in selling. Value-hungry consumers know they will have a higher potential return on their investment if they can establish a good rapport with the vendor or seller. It is not only "How can I get more out of the company," but also "What solutions can you bring me today and in the future?"

Repeated contacts are needed to establish this relationship. Trust does not come quickly. The contacts should be part of an overall plan.

Fragmentation in the marketplace is continuing as the competition gets smarter too. Competitors are constantly looking for the competitive edge that will get them to their goals. Niche markets can provide high profit margins.

Price has become a primary concern -- usually falling in the top priorities. Customers want to get to price early and sales professionals want to get to price last.

Profitability is the name of the game. If you work on commission and you give your commission away in the negotiation process, what have you gained? It either generates profit or brings other benefits. If it does neither, then it hurts the business.

Sales potential is shifting from the immediate sale to a series of ongoing long-term sales. Although initial profits may be lower, the longer-term approach allows for increased profitability by stabilizing sales and allowing for lower cost of sales.

Organization provides a structure so return is maximized. The problem is usually one of balance. Regimented organizations are usually less productive in the newer business environment. Organizationally diffused businesses often waste resources.

Customer focus is shifting from a competitive advantage to a necessary ticket to play the game.

Adaptability and responsiveness are key skills for tomorrow's salesperson. The nature of the market shows no mercy. The wisdom of developing one's individual strategy to be adaptable and responsive will provide a key competitive advantage.

Enthusiasm must be generated by the customer. Good employees prefer to work in a business with enthusiastic customers.

It has become clear that the sales process of tomorrow will require more and deeper skills than are required today. Gone is the door-to-door peddler. Now the sales process must require greater coordination to best maximize value delivered to the customer. The individual salesperson must possess an array of tools and skills and know how to use them wisely. For those salespeople that can bring those kinds of skills to the marketplace the rewards are well worth the trip. They may prove to be the highest compensated employees in the business.

Jack D. Deal

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)