The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Newsletter
from Best@Selling
A free monthly newsletter of ideas to help make your selling easier.
Selling is the easiest job in the world…Just ask anyone who is NOT in sales! Best wishes for YOUR successful selling—Maura
April2007 This issue contains: The Selling Quote for the Month Upcoming Programs The Selling Ideas for the Month Action Items Selling Tips To Subscribe to the Selling Newsletter Need an article for your newsletter? About Maura Schreier-Fleming Contact Information ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Selling Quote for the Month “Talking with successful people is a great way to learn about what it takes to be successful—but not to bank on them helping you be successful in the future.”
Dave Packard, founder Hewlett-Packard (HP) Packard had a great idea. When you talk with successful people you can certainly get ideas on how to get better business results. It’s not enough just to have great ideas. You have to do something with them. That’s where your own motivation and persistence comes in. That’s what sales is all about. The best salespeople act on those great ideas. While it would be nice to think that other people will help you be successful, in sales it really is up to you. So get the great ideas, then make it your objective to do something with the great ideas. Knowing what to do is half of the battle. You’re halfway there!
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Do you have a Sales Question?
I’m a guest columnist for the Dallas Business Journal. My column is called “Customer Connections.”I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Winter Public Programs 2007 Winter Programs:
When : April 19
8.30 Am-11.30AM
Where: QUOIN Headquarters
What: Secrets of Persuasion for Project Success For more information and registration:
972-647-0697 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When : May 25, June 1, June 8, June 15 11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center 4800 West Park Blvd. Plano, TX
What: Master Selling Series: 1. Persuasion 2. Consultative Selling: Strategic Questions 3. Laser Listening Skills 4. Selling Strategy For more information: 972-985-3749 or 972-985-3758 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When : May 22 11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center 4800 West Park Blvd. Plano, TX
What: Power Persuasion For more information: 972-985-3749 or 972-985-3758
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The Selling Ideas for this Month
Hold For More Sales Try as you might, at some point a customer calling your office is going to be put on hold. What can you do about it? You now have the perfect opportunity to sell. Different options. Collier Communications is a Dallas, Texas based company that recognizes the need to make an important and lasting impression on the minds of customers, vendors, associates—anyone who is put on hold. They also believe that having customers on hold is a fact of life. Studies show the average executive is on telephone hold more than 15 minutes a day. Some companies choose silence or play music when their customers are on hold. Rob Eads, Production Guru at Collier (yes, that’s his chosen title!), thinks that’s a missed opportunity. He says, “When there’s silence the time on hold seems longer for the customer. The customer doesn’t know if you’re still there. Playing music is illegal unless the company has a license from ASCAP or BMI. Your on-hold message is part of the first impression your customers get of your company. You could have a memorable message that educates your customer.” What to do? Eads says that a good on-hold message is a short one that talks about the services you offer your customers. He’s had customers even ask to be put back on hold. Why? They were learning about a service they didn’t know the company offered. He’s had other customers tell him that after their clients heard their on-hold message, the client asked for more information about the services they learned about while on hold. Eads notes, “You don’t know how long your customer will be on hold so you have to write a message that takes only 7-12 seconds.” Some of Eads customers think a longer message with more information is better. Eads disagrees. He says, “The client listens more if he has questions. He’ll ask you those questions when you return to the line.” His messages never include an apology for putting the caller on hold. Eads strongly advises his clients never to apologize for being on hold. He says, “Being on hold is a fact of life now. Customers know you can’t be there live all the time.” His message never says the all too familiar “Your call is important to us.” Eads adds, “If the call were so important, you would not put your customer on hold. So why say it?” Make it memorable. Eads focuses on getting people to react to what they hear so that the customer remembers the message. Repetition is one way to help your customer remember your message. Humor is also perfect to accomplish that task. For one dentist, Eads wrote a complete fairy tale about the adventures of Flosserella. The on-hold message was complete with dental puns and sound effects. Eads says that sound effects help to make the message more memorable. The dentist told Eads, “Dentists are essentially the same. Most of us are good at what we do. If you come to my office what you’ll find is that we have a sense of humor and we can help you. Dentistry doesn’t have to be scary.” Using humor isn’t limited to a type of industry or company. Even though Eads finds that larger companies are more resistant to using humor, he has effectively used humor in on-hold messages for banks and other organizations. He adds, “It was the key people we worked with that had a fun spirit. They understood the power of audio.” Your customers are going to be on hold. Why not have a memorable on-hold message? You can educate your customers and show them what they can buy from you. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Action Items 1.What voicemail message could you create to engage your customers? 2. What information could your customers listen to while on hold that showcases your products or business?
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Selling Tips Get more selling tips from Maura’s ebook: 97 Ways to Sell More Now E-Book https://www.bestatselling.com/selling_tools.htm#5 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for new strategies to improve your persuasion skills? This easy to apply Audio CD will give you many new ideas to easily improve your persuasion skills so you can sell more and close business faster. https://www.bestatselling.com/Audio_CD.htm ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I’m always looking for success stories and other tips from sales professionals. Please feel free to email me at info@bestatselling.com with ideas that have worked for you. If you want to build customer relationships for long-term business, you can easily do it using Exacttarget (www.exacttarget.com) and their CANSPAM compliant broadcast services. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
To Subscribe to the Selling Newsletter Help us spread the word. Please forward this free newsletter to co-workers, friends and associates. Subscriptions are free. To subscribe to the Selling Newsletter, go to https://www.bestatselling.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi or send an email with NEWSLETTER in the subject to: info@bestatselling.com To unsubscribe, scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter and you can click on the “Go here to leave this list– (and why would you want to do that!!! 🙂 ) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Need an Article for Your Newsletter? Articles from this newsletter may be used in your free publications or posted on your web when given the following credit: Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, Best@Selling (www.BestatSelling.com). Maura works with business and sales professionals who want to sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results. For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters visit https://www.BestatSelling.com ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
About Maura Schreier-Fleming Invite Maura to speak at your next conference or sales meeting! Contact: info@bestatselling.com Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her Best@Selling clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP. She has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. With over 20 years of sales experience, she teaches the art and science of selling with a unique hands-on perspective and a great deal of real-life insight. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive. Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine and her column ‘Street Talk’ appears in Jobbers World. You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com Privacy: At Best@Selling we take privacy issues very seriously. Your information remains with us and will never be sold, shared, or distributed in any manner, for any reason. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Contact Information 1. Our Web site: https://www.BestatSelling.com 2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com 3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200 4. Write us: 6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711-183 Dallas, TX 752448 —————————————————————— (c) Copyright 2007 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved
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