The Salesby5 Blog

Do you know what your customers need, or only what they want?  We make sure we sell what is needed, provide what is wanted and focus on the future. I was in a meeting where I gave a creative company a concept that was future focused for a client.  Their number one question was “are your customers asking for this?”  It’s more valuable to focus on what your customers will need tomorrow and one year from now and not what was popular two years ago. You should be learning at a pace that you never imagined or you will fall behind.  We interview college graduates that are behind.  We interview MBA students that are behind!  How well do you think the people are doing that have been out of college for 20 years?  If you want the best of the best education, and not the simple seminar that teaches cool tricks from 1997, send us an e-mail to increasedsales AT salesby5 DOT com and we will get you connected with the to the top minds in North America!

photo by Vermin Inc

I was talking to my dad yesterday about a story he read about T. Boone Pickens. He then told me that he called on Boone in 1964 to ask him to sell his production to Marathon Oil Company. Boone was in start up mode and was not the success he would be in the future. He told my dad he did not have production to sell, but confidently said “I will.” Boone made his fortune, lost it, and got it again. Although I don’t know him, the point is that in sales (and in life) you never know when you are dealing with a future fortune or a future failure. My dad was disappointed that Boone would not shake his hand. That impacted his wanting to follow up with him for the future. The key, you never know who is who and who they will be, or that they could have an impact on you or your life.

photo from blogs.kansas.com

I was at TMI-The Episcopal School of Texas Monday for a video and photo shoot. I attended part of their chapel and a few meetings after interviewing students on why they are in the residential life program. It, once again, blew me away and makes me want to send my kids there as soon as possible. Watching the students after chapel was enough to really fire me up! The looks on their faces and their attitudes were incredible. It is truly an exception to what you’d expect. The environment, campus, and people, can sell when you least expect it, let alone when you are already sold! Are you keeping a great environment at your company where your clients and prospects get sold every time they interact with you?

Have you ever typed in a website and gotten a 404 error telling you that the “page no longer exists or has been moved?”  These things are going to happen to you and to others.  You have an excellent opportunity to make even the most mundane experience pleasant.  How about sprucing it up with something more memorable?  Check out our 404 error page; it uses a touch of humor (we like to have fun) and it points people in the right direction, too!  What other changes can you make to the boring things in your business so that your customers will remark and want to show their friends?

404 photo by smashingmagazine.com

If you want sales by 5pm every day, you need a pipeline full of prospects. The correct number for this is 15 warm ideas/leads/clients/prospects. If you have more, great, but make sure they are truly warm. What you do with your prospects is key! Are you finding clients for your prospects? Are you saving them money before they are a client?  The world is becoming more of a competitive place. The strongest sales companies will provide so much benefit to their clients and such great communication in all areas that their competitors will not be able to compete. Which will you be and who are you working with to make sure you hold the favored advantage?

“No one has ever achieved peak performance without a coach.”
- Verne Harnish, Author of Mastering The Rockefeller Habits and contributory editor for Fortune Small Business magazine

Sales processes can be slow, cumbersome or downright fun and fulfilling. One can of Coke gets picked up and put down 30 times before it ever gets to your hands as a consumer. That same can took 319 days to make/process and eight companies participated in its life with 24% of scrap materials. What can you stop doing today that lets you focus on the way you really make money, while keeping your customers needs in mind?

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What percent of the time you spend in the lead time of developing your product or service is actually value added?  According to Guy Parsons, the numbers might shock you.  At best, he has seen the number at 5% but usually closer to .1% or less.  Typically, companies will try to make the design of their process faster.  Other times, companies will wish for just one more person to take them to the next level.  Doing these things will only be incrementally beneficial.  Comparatively speaking, the more beneficial approach is looking for ways to reduce waste in your processes.  How often do you complete a project to get it off of your desk instead of looking to see which project is ready to be handed off to a person ready to complete their part of the operation?  Lean works in manufacturing (obviously) and in service industries.  The difference is that it is a bit more difficult to see.  Do you make conscious decisions in your company to improve your processes and reduce waste?  Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

We feel before we think. We are emotional before we think and our emotions are contagious. Are your emotions worth catching today?

Inspiration of this message came from Annie McKee, PhD

photo by roycecarlton.com

How do you treat your co-workers or employees? Your actions can sell or unsell them. Remember, it isn’t about motivation, it is about not demotivating your team.

“You have to treat your employees like customers.” - Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines

photo from 37signals.com

When I owned my former company, I wanted my vendors paid fast. My CPA and financial advisers always commented that you need to treat your vendors better than your customers treat you.  Today, it is actually better!  We require their invoice on the 1st and pay on the 15th. If you look at the “dreaded” credit cards, such as American Express, you can pick your day of payment, pick your day of close out and actually extend your cash flow by 30 to 40 day.

It is time to work smarter and not harder with creative rules. What are you doing that helps sell your cash flow, your vendors and your payment methods?

photo by jenn_jenn