Jazz Up Your Sales with Novelty, Surprise & Celebrity

I just lost my child in a weather balloon and he's flying over Colorado! A woman just delivered 8 babies! Someone just interrupted Taylor Swift receiving her VMA Award!

I've been reading an advanced copy of Own the Room: Business Presentations That Persuade, Engage and Get Results where I read that "our brains are hardwired to pay attention to novelty and surprise." I'd like to add that we pay attention to "celebrity" also.

What do you do in your business to surprise (and delight) your customers? Do you respond quickly? Provide free shipping? Call to check up on them? CareNow, the medical clinic near my house, called me the day after I was there with a sinus infection to see how I was feeling. I was shocked!

What tidbit will your customers tell others when talking about you? Do you have an unusual hobby? Are you a twin? Were you in a different profession and switched to your current business because of life changing event? My daughter's teacher used to work in a family business but always wanted to teach. When her family sold the business she became a teacher - a little later in life. She told us this story at Meet the Teacher Night. I've told a ton of people her story.

How are you a celebrity? Do you have a famous friend or family member? Did you work for someone before they became famous? Have you been on TV? Has your picture been in the paper? Were you quoted in a magazine? Do you advertise on TV or in the newspaper? Are you president of an association or group? Our local Chamber of Commerce has ribbon cuttings for new businesses. Photos from these events are frequently featured in the newspaper. I see my accountant in these pictures all the time and ask her for her autograph every time I see her.

Tips for an Un-Terrifying Sales Presentation

In my attempt to be an uber-cool Mom, I rode the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyland with my daughter a few weeks ago. You may have heard of it? It's a haunted elevator ride that takes you to the top floor and free falls at random intervals down a dark elevator shaft several times. I don't like scary rides - AT ALL. The anticipation of the ride led us to talk to others in line who had already ridden the Tower of Terror. We heard stories like, "it's not bad - just make sure you haven't eaten recently," and "it's not scary, it's fun."

Needless to say, once the ride got going I lost all sense of cool and proceeded to scream uncontrollably until the ride was over. Nevermind about my daughter - I was scared!

This scenario has played out in other areas of my sales career. I have gone to sales presentations where I am prepared but nervous. Once I start talking nerves get in the way I forget every thing I want to say and how I want to say it.

To jazz up your sales keep the following in mind when presenting a proposal to a potential client:

• Treat it like a dialog. One of my bosses told me, "Don't show up and throw up." When presenting a proposal involve the client in the presentation. Dumping a ton of information on someone will only confuse them. Plus, the conversation will ease your nerves.


• Be overprepared. Anticipate ANY question you could be asked PLUS how your client might respond to your answer.


• Dress nice - it will make you feel better.


• Don't overapologize if you left something out of your proposal. Simply say, "That is a good point and something I should have included. I will get this to you later today." And then use this as an opportunity to follow up.
  


• REALLY listen. I learned this from my boss, Grady Walters, at Otis Elevator. He would key in on what a customer said and bring it up later in the presentation - even if it meant getting off track for a moment. This made the customer feel like they were being heard.


• When in doubt, keep your mouth shut. You can't take back something you've said. Once you've said it - it's out there. When you are nervous it's easy to say things you normally wouldn't.


• Know how you want the presentation to end. Do you want to get a signed contract? Do you want to set up another meeting? Do you want to know the client's time frame and a good time to follow up?

Sales Tricks People Hate

Today I went shopping with a coupon I'd cut from the newspaper to a new store in town. The goal of the coupon was to get me in the store. Mission accomplished! Expecting to save 30% on my purchase, I was pretty excited.

At check out I was told I could NOT save 30% on my purchase. The sales clerk turned the coupon over to show me the teeny-tiny print listing all of the items that were excluded from this offer. It was a long list and excluded most of my items. Talk about having the wind taken out of my sails! I had been tricked.

Use the following practices so your customers won't feel tricked:

• Include the applicable sales tax amount with your quote.
• Include the shipping charge amount up front when quoting a price.
• Commit to a time frame that you know can be honored - even if it's not what your customer wants to hear.
• If you don't know the answer to a customer's question, say, "I don't know" and then find out the answer. Don't lie.
• Know your product/service well so that you don't unknowingly provide misinformation.
• Clearly explain special offers. Don't be vague to bait customers to call you. Better yet, make special offers simple. Avoid using the "teeny-tiny print."
• Don't oversell customers. They will eventually figure out that they've been oversold and resent you or your company.

Lessons from the Donut Shop

I love the donut shop near my house. (I know it's technically spelled "doughnut"). We've been going there since my girls were little. I remember thinking, "Who eats donuts? They are not healthy. And with the Atkins diet craze I bet no one goes there." But the place is always crowded. The same owners have been there for over 10 years and start preparing my order when they see me coming in the front door. They know what I'm going to order. On weekends I see little kids still in their pajamas eating at the small kid-sized tables. There are photos on the wall of customers enjoying their breakfast and my kids like to find the photos of themselves and their friends.

The owners don't ask me questions about myself. They aren't nosy. They just notice me. They remember what I like, what my husband likes and what my kids like. They notice when I get my hair cut. They notice that my kids are growing. They notice when my kids change their mind and order something new. And sometimes they throw in some extra donut holes just "because."

Somehow this donut shop has created a sense of family. So when another donut shop opened nearby I didn't even want to try it. And when I'm out of the area and go to other donut shops I compare it to the one where "my family" is.

The funny thing is: these aren't the best donuts I've ever eaten. They are just "okay." But I'd miss seeing my family if I didn't go there.

Be Human to Jazz Up Your Sales

A few weeks ago I blogged about words being powerful. And this week I read an article on Yahoo called 10 Boilerplate Phrases that Kill Resumes. It says that adding a human voice to your resume will help you stand out and is better than the stodgy boilerplate phrases seen on every resume. The same notion holds true for marketing your business.

The business world seems to be more human to me today. Companies align themselves with causes and charities to be socially responsible and also to boost sales. Business language has taken on a more casual tone as email has replaced the formal business letter. And business dress is more casual - even my bank has casual Fridays.

Take a look at these phrases businesses use on promotional materials and ideas for how to make the phrases more human:

"Maximize employee productivity" could be "Get the most out of your people."

"Increase sales" could be "Double your sales in 60 days."

"We are known for our high quality" could be "We are fanatical about being the best we can."

"We will help you be more successful" could be "We love it when you are a winner."

How are you making your business more human?

Chick-fil-A has MOOJo

What is up with Chick-fil-A? Every time I go there it is packed! Doesn't matter what time of day or what day (except Sunday because they are closed on Sundays). The drive-thru is constantly lined up all the way around the restaurant and people are piled up inside eating. Burger King and Wendy's next door don't have lines. Their parking lots aren't full. It would be easier to go to Burger King or Wendy's and not fight the Chick-fil-A crowd.

So what is it about Chick-fil-A?

I think it's because they've found their MooJo! Despite the struggling economy Chick-fil-A enjoyed unprecedented growth in 2008 - up 12% over 2007. Since its inception in 1967 Chick-fil-A has had 41 consecutive years of system wide sales gains. Amazing!

How did they find their MooJo? Here's what I think:

• Consistent message. I know that Chick-fil-A is family oriented. The restaurant has done a good job of staying true to their core values and the biblical principles of the founder, S. Truett Cathy. All Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays, without exception. They have Tuesday family nights where kids meals are half price and child entertainers perform (my kids beg to go). The "toys" in their kids meals are educational books about people of character.


• Catchy tagline. Their "Eat Mor Chikin" cows are part of an award winning advertising campaign. I know you've seen the billboards with the 3 dimensional cows and misspelled words. And my kids yell out, "Eat more chicken," between each verse when singing Happy Birthday!


• Great local marketing. Getting children to pull their parents into the restaurant is clever. When my kids reach their reading goal at school they receive a Chick-fil-A coupon for a free kids meal. When my kids completed their week at Vacation Bible School they received a coupon for a free kids meal. When I joined the PTA at my kids' school I received a coupon for a free adult meal. When our PTA needed a fundraiser they agreed to a family night where a percentage of proceeds would be donated to our school.

I think Chick-fil-A puts their MOOney where their mouth is. (Sorry for that one - couldn't resist!). They spend money in a way that stays consistent with their brand and their community involvement aligns with their core values. So I say, "Eat more chicken!"

Thank You Inc. Magazine

Wow! I was excited to see my letter to the editor of Inc. Magazine was actually noticed! Jane Berentson, Inc.'s Senior Editor, used my comments in the first sentence of her article this month. Click here to read her comments.

Other than trade magazines within your industry, a few magazines I recommend to help jazz up the sales of your business are Inc., Entrepreneur and People magazine. (Yes, People!).

In his book, Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch says, "...the one place I turn to keep myself rooted in how the world thinks and buys...is People magazine." For about 20 years more people turn to People than any other magazine. Jantsch goes on to list 3 reasons to read, or at least scan, People magazine.

1. Get a feel for what the majority of Americans want to fight, find, lose, gain, have, give or embrace.


2. See design copy that is easy to scan, read and digest.


3. Uncover story angles that could apply to your organization's PR.

Now when my weekly People magazine arrives in my mailbox I retreat to my office to read it because I'm doing marketing research!