Tag: Sales

How Storytelling in Sales Helps You Connect With Customers | AllBusiness.com

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Every opportunity to discuss your brand, service, or market position is a choice between simply pitching the benefits of your product or sharing a personal, meaningful story that connects you to your listener. One is low-hanging fruit that chases a dollar, the other creates differentiation and establishes long-term relationship potential. One is simple, the other takes effort and nuance.

Whether that interaction is one-on-one or delivered from a keynote stage to an audience of hundreds or thousands, the fundamental differentiation in message delivery is the same. When you pitch, you make your job and that of your audience harder; when you connect, you rise above the competition and empower your listener. The choice is yours.

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More Walmart ‘rollbacks’ are coming | CNN

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Expect to see more bright-red “Rollback” signs at Walmart stores as inflation bites, the company said Thursday.

Rollbacks, or temporary price reductions on an item, are Walmart’s version of a sale. Walmart decides which products to drop prices on based on factors like discounts it receives from suppliers or excess inventory.

Walmart had more products on rollbacks last quarter compared to the previous one — and the company will continue adding them to highlight value prices for shoppers. Why every Costco product is called ‘Kirkland Signature’

“We use rollbacks to communicate not only the reality of prices are coming down at some places, but the emotion or perception we want customers to have about us,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on a post-earnings conference call with analysts.

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Great Sales and Service People: Nature or Nurture? | Business Tips

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imagesWhen I encounter abominable customer service I can’t help thinking, How did this person ever get hired for this job, let alone pass their sales/service training course?

And that gets me thinking about something our clients often ask us: “If we want our people to have great sales and service skills, should we just search for “naturals” – people born with the disposition and ability to sell and serve skillfully?”  It’s the old “Nature or Nurture?” question.

Yes, you should keep a sharp eye out for naturals.  But I would add, “Good luck with that!”  Experience says you’re going to stumble across that miracle type only once or twice in your whole career.  Because think what it means to be a “natural.”  Courageous, or perhaps fearless.  Personable.  Persistent.  Attentive.  Thoughtful.  Conversational.  Positive.  Logical. And on and on.  Really, what are the odds?

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5 Simple Sales Lessons for Non-Salespeople | Entrepreneur.com

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Garrett Buhl Robinson is not your stereotypical salesperson. But he is one of the most effective salespeople I have ever come across.Robinson is the author of three self-published books and, as any author will tell you, writing a book is much easier than selling a book.

My wife Karen and I caught a glimpse of Robinson as we leisurely strolled through New York City’s Bryant Park. I watched with growing curiosity from a distance as he initiated contact with scores of park-goers.  And if you stop to chat with Garrett Buhl Robinson — trust me on this — you will buy a book.Robinson delivers a rock-solid presentation in his own very simple sales format.

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What Do I Do If My Sale Won’t Close and I’m Experiencing Delays? | AllBusiness.com

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Your customer said he was interested in buying from you and now you’re experiencing delays. What do you do when your sale won’t close? Here’s how you can restart your sales process and ideally get the sale.

Polite persistence. Your prospect told you he would get back with you in a week. A week goes by and there’s no response. What do you do? Contact your prospect no more than once a week. Caller ID is not your friend. All people have to do is see your name come up too many times and they’ll never want to speak with you.

Assume innocence. You may not reach your prospect when you call. You should leave a message that is strategic. It must allow your prospect to save face for not calling. You give them a plausible reason for the delay.

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Million-Dollar Startup Secrets | AllBusiness.com

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Most small businesses never reach $1 million in annual sales. Instead, they struggle just to survive. Of businesses started in 2004, barely more than half — 56 percent — were still around in 2009, a study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found.

In fact, cracking the $1 million barrier at any point in a company’s lifetime is a major achievement. U.S. Census data from 2007 shows that more than three-quarters of the country’s 6 million firms with employees made less than $1 million in revenue. And most solopreneur businesses don’t earn anywhere near that much: According to IRS data for 2008, the average solo business brought in less than $60,000.

Given these sobering numbers, reaching seven figures in a business’s very first year — and with a startup’s often-scarce resources — is nothing short of extraordinary.

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