Think Link

How to Stop Order Taking & Satisfy Customers by Selling What They Need Brought to you by Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard



Most sales trainers agree there are a certain number of steps that need to be taken towards making a sale; typically the steps are something like this:

1. Greet the customer, (or acknowledge, qualify & open the sale, etc.)
2. Probe to discover needs & wants, (or ask questions, sales interview, etc.)
3. Recommend product, (or demonstrate, make alternative suggestion, etc.)
4. Trial close, (or first attempt to open relationship, etc.)
5. Handle objection, (or overcome objection, re-state needs & wants, etc.)
6. Ask for the order, (or close sale, open the relationship, etc.)
7. Farewell and follow through.

In these seven steps a variety of nuances are included which allow for deviation so that the sale can be achieved/won at any point. Too frequently the sales person and prospect who are, 'Fencing' for the advantage, see the sale process as adversarial. Often an inexperienced sales person is so relieved at getting to 'Yes' that the thought of making sure that the customer has everything they need to gain full pleasure, enjoyment, benefit and satisfaction from the purchase by asking them to spend more is simply not an option. What a dreadful shame to all concerned!

How many times have you been left with a purchase that was exactly what you 'thought' you wanted but left you feeling less than satisfied with your new acquisition. Let's play with some examples:

� A camera with a standard lens but no telephoto lens to capture wildlife in Africa
� A tennis racquet with no case to carry it in
� A tin of paint with no brush to apply it with
� A new outfit without matching accessories
� A new car with no paint/rust protection
� A holiday with no insurance
� A McDonalds burger with no fries!

Testing and Measuring Part 2

This then leads to the balance of the phrase� testing and measuring. There is little point in going to the trouble of conducting a test in the first place unless one follows through with some type of analysis of the results. Imagine taking that new car out for a test drive and not paying any heed whatsoever to the quality of the ride, the noise levels and the engine performance. Not reasonable�is it? You would instantly compare this
new car to your old one or other new cars you were considering� wouldn't you? You would have your own form of measurement to compare the car with others. Your taste is a form of measurement when you try those samples in the supermarket. If you lost your ability to taste� why bother trying the sample at all? I believe you get my point!

Now, back to our business analogy� there is no point in testing the outcome of any type of marketing campaign with no measurement of the outcome. Careful measurement and analysis of the results of a test campaign will provide much needed information on which to base decisions. The results of the measurement will quantify the success of the test campaign. The results can then be extrapolated to test the soundness of the campaign. Example� a test mailing to 500 households yields 10 responses. Each response results in an average sale of $150 with a margin of 40% that adds $60 to the company's profits which is $600 overall ($60 x 10 responses). Let us assume the overall cost of the mailing is $1 each or $500 in all. The company then made a net profit of $100 ($600 profit less costs of $500). This campaign appears to be a winner!

Testing and Measuring

By Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard

Business coaches with Action International use the term testing and measuring frequently. This practice forms an essential part of our ongoing mentoring programs with clients. What are we talking about anyway? It's quite simple�read on.

Why is testing important? We don't realize it but we test everything in our daily lives. You always take a new car for a test drive before you sign on the dotted line. When you go shopping at the supermarket, clerks are standing in the aisles with samples for you to test before you buy. Waking up in the morning and checking the weather before selecting your clothing for the day is also a form of testing. See� we do it all the time� we just don't think about it.

Yet businesses persist in embarking on expensive marketing campaigns with little or no idea of the outcome. These same businesses will spend thousands of dollars on an ad campaign and hope they get a response. Action International firmly believes in testing a new ad campaign before the majority of the budget is committed. It may be a whale of an idea� but, face it�no one knows with certainty, the outcome of a daring new campaign. We at Action suggest that our clients commit 10 � 15% of the new campaign budget and test for the outcomes.

People Plus Systems Equals Great Sales Part 2

A sales script is a documented, methodical, learnable, effective system of selling your goods and services. It is a written process on paper designed to give the salesperson control of the call (while the customer 'feels' in control) and create a desired result � the sale! It is written by your number one salesperson, in answer to the question � Exactly what do you say to a prospect to get them to buy your product? You may even choose to reward your top salesperson for doing this by offering them a great incentive such as a percentage of extra sales.

Let us briefly outline key parts of the Action sales script. Obviously, there are differences between sales scripts used on incoming and outgoing calls; however, I will just detail some of the universally used key Action selling lines taken directly from our sales scripts!

The opening: "Could I just outline the reason for my call?"
Permission: "Would if be okay if we go through the call that way?"
Rapport Building: "What's your biggest challenge right now in that area?"
Below Waterline: "What's most important to you in�"
Paraphrase: "Based on what you just told me, it sounds like�"
Temperature Check: "How does that fit with what you had in mind?"
Secure the Sale: "Would it be okay if I give you the steps in getting that process under way?"
Conclude the Encounter: "Congratulations and bye for now."

A script can be read, learned and must be practiced, used, measured and improved (if needed) to increase conversion rate of prospects to customers of all the team. Imagine taking the guess-work out of selling once and for all by using a system which makes your sales results less people dependant and more system dependant!

People Plus Systems Equals Great Sales By Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard

When you ask many of the greatest salespeople in history what their secret is many would answer � personality. But when asked how to quantify and teach personality to others, these super salespeople are often stumped. Teaching great sales involves a major re-education and a focus on systems that make sales simple.

Sales scripts not only increase the sales of top performers but also produce amazing results for the entire team. One rule of thumb, which can be used in selling and in life, is that what you can measure you can manage and grow! The ultimate test of a superior salesperson is how consistent their results are and how consistent the results are for the entire team. Using a sales script achieves this consistency and makes the training of new team members simple and effective.

By introducing a sales system like a script, you can then measure conversion on a daily basis and your sales will automatically increase � guaranteed. So, exactly what does a sales script look like, how do you write one and how is it used? Let's look at this now.

The Power of Priorities Part 2

Every businessperson needs to understand the Pareto Principle as it applies to the areas of customers, team and leadership.

In the area of customers, it is vital to identify the 20 percent who account for 80 percent of your business. These are your "raving fans" and strategies must be put in place to care for them appropriately.

For your team, you must identify the top 20 percent producers. Spend 80 percent of your people time with these people to develop them to their full potential.

In leadership, take an honest look at the question "What do I have to do that no one else can do?" Remember a leader can give up everything except final responsibility. You can decide whether you will be reactive or proactive when it comes to the use of your time. The question is not, "Will I be busy?" but "How will I invest my time?" It's not "Will my calendar be full?," but "Who will fill my calendar?," It's not "Will I see people?," but "Who will I see?"

Do this and watch your productivity and personal satisfaction rise to new heights!

The Power of Priorities Brought to you by Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard

There are two things that business people find very challenging: thinking ahead and doing things in order of importance
Doing these two things makes the difference between success in business and just surviving. And the same is true for all areas of our lives.

Leadership trainer and author John Maxwell says, "thinking ahead and prioritizing responsibilities marks the major differences between a leader and a follower."

Most people have heard of the Pareto Principle, more commonly known as the 80/20 Principle. Roughly stated this says that in most businesses 80% of your business comes from 20 % of your customers.

Other examples of the Pareto Principle are:
Reading 20 percent of the book contains 80 percent of the content.
Job 20 percent of our work gives us 80 percent of our satisfaction.
Products 20 percent of the products bring in 80 percent of the profits.
Picnic 20 percent of the people will eat 80 percent of the food!

So� when it comes to your priorities, 20 percent of your priorities will give you 80 percent of your production IF you spend your time, energy, money and personnel on the top 20 percent of your priorities.

When you do this you are getting a 400% or fourfold return in productivity. Think what this would mean in your business!

How to Sell Price Focused Shoppers Part 2

From these questions the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in their needs and the salesperson is able to offer options in the most suitable kettles for their needs. The price is therefore negated. It is just a matter of now asking the customer to buy.

A good salesperson would then ask, "well based on what we have just spoken about there are two options to choose from, model x and model y, which one suits you best? Great, I can either put that away for now or I can process it on credit card for you and have it delivered to you tomorrow � which do you prefer?"

If the option is credit card ask "which credit card is it easiest to process that on?" and make sure the prospect is aware there will be a delivery charge of x amount. If the option they choose is to have it put away, this gives the sales person the opportunity to get the customers name and contact details. If the customer chooses this option make sure the sales person gets a time frame for them to pick the item up. Be definite with the infinite. If the customer is in your business the sales person then simply takes them to the point of sale terminal and transacts the sale.

This example was based on a kettle, a relatively small dollar item. How does this apply to your business? This process works equally well on cars, houses, furniture, service based businesses and any other product I can think of, including funeral homes. You just need to work out what your customers are actually looking for when they ask for the price, and what's most important to them in their buying decision!

How to Sell Price Focused Shoppers By Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard

The most common complaint we get today as business coaches to small to medium sized business owners is that, "we can't compete with the big guys on price."

The perception in the market place is that people are shopping on price alone. The only reason your customer asks the price up front is because that is what we as business owners have trained them to do.

How many times have you rung or gone into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features you were looking for and purely asked for the price? At this point did the sales person come back with "that is $29.95" or did they ask you some questions about what you were looking to use the product/service for? In this instance let's say it is a kettle.

Now in most people's eyes a kettle is a kettle; but, they have many different features and offer many different benefits. So what if the sales person simply said to you when you inquired about price, "just so I can help you best is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the kettle you are looking for?" Would you have answered yes? My bet is that the answer would have most definitely been yes!

The sales person could then ask questions like; are you looking to replace an existing kettle or is it a gift for someone? Do you regularly use your kettle or is it rarely used? Would you like a kettle with a quick boiling time? Have you seen the cordless options that are available? Are you looking for something to match your kitchen? So what color are you looking for? Is it important that it has an automatic cut off when the kettle is boiled? Are you after a stove-top option, or an electric kettle? Kettles come in different cup capacity; do you require 10 cup capacity or is 5 a better size for you?

Making Business Work Simply Part 2

Another business is a physiotherapy practice. Health professionals tend to think that they should not have to sell their services and skills; people should just discover them. The practice's Action Coach wrote a simple script for the physiotherapists to tell their patients that it is in their best interests to come back regularly for treatment until the injury they had was completely cured. Up until then they would just say 'thanks for coming I'll see you later'. This alone increased their number of patient visits from 190 per week to around 230�a 21% increase in business. Next, the practice discovered that their patients were leaving their office, walking around the corner, and buying strapping tape, etc. from the local chemist. We stocked the practice with these products. Sales of these have substantially increased the cash flow. This business has grown by some 30% in ten weeks without implementing any of the more impactful strategies that we had identified in their initial analysis.

In another of Action's mentoring businesses, we simply implemented a dress code for their sales team. The most dramatic impact of this came recently when their leading sales person had gone into the field in a dark blue shirt and tie. He spent six hours and had not made a single sale. He walked into a menswear shop, bought a white shirt and red/blue tie, he went to the dry cleaners and had it pressed and then he changed. Within 40 minutes of this change he had sold his entire inventory.

There are many more examples of this sort. The message is clear. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to make money in business. Unfortunately most owners are so close to the coalface that they cannot see the opportunities. That is why an outside mentor who can give advice, encouragement, correction and discipline is the best investment a business owner can make.

Making Business Work Simply Brought to you by Action International Business Coach Michael Bedard

There are some things in life that are supposed to be really complicated; being a parent, learning how to invest and running your own business. When you look at all of these things nothing could be further from the truth. Parents are taught by their children, investors are taught by their experiences and business owners should be taught by a mentor. Often when I look at businesses it is clear that the owners have given up trying to improve their lot in life because they think that it is too complicated an issue to generate more activity. They think they need to be Einstein to invent some radical new way of doing business. Let me give you a few real-life examples of how simple it can be to change the direction of a business.

Usually a business has no coherent direction established within its culture. The first thing I seek to have the owner and their team do is spend some time deciding exactly where they want to be in 12 months time. This process must include all of the members of the business, because they will all contribute to getting there. Once this is done the goals are well publicized. One of Action's clients implemented this as the first step and this alone without any other changes produced a very significant increase in sales.

The Business Building Process 11

Summary

It is hoped that this report has helped you understand what is necessary for a business to be profitable and sustainable. It has often been said, "It is far easier to know what is needed to be done than to actually do what is needed to be done". Ask yourself this important question, what are three things that you had intended to do for your business over the last 12 months but have not done and more importantly by not doing them how has that affected the profitability of your business. If you are brutally honest you will realize that there has been a lost of opportunity to grow and sustain your business.

Nothing that we value in life comes to us without effort and achieving sustainable success in your business is no different. The secret however is that it is much easier, more fun and more profitable to do it the right way and that is my primary aim as your business coach. It is important to remember that most businesses do not have to re-invent the wheel to be successful. Rather they just have to do what they do better than their competition on a daily basis and this is very hard to do if you are trying to run your business by yourself. Successful people in all walks of life have a dedicated team of professionals to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Why would you think that you would achieve success any differently?

I want to congratulate you on reading this report. I am confident that you are a better business person now than your were before you started.

I will call you in the next few days to review the material you have read and answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact me earlier if you have any questions that need to be addressed immediately.

The Business Building Process Part 7

Building a winning team is a huge factor responsible for the success of a business. Prove strategies should be applied to influence people to work together towards end results and mutual gain. Businesses of all sizes experience greater tangible payoffs and reach levels of optimal productivity when people work together.

The underlying strength behind every team is the diversity each member brings to it. This blending of talent, attributes and experience often is a managerial and leadership challenge. But if you teams resources can be effectively managed and utilized your business will become more efficient and effective in accomplishing results.

You can empower your team by;
- Effective and open two way communication
- Providing opportunities for them to take risks and make mistakes so they can learn and grow,
- Giving them responsibilities and making them accountable. (Delegation)

It is important to remember that when you delegate that the person who will be doing the task knows exactly what to do, is trained appropriately to do the task, knows what the expected outcome is, knows who they are accountable to and who will be evaluating their work.

As the team leader it is important to remember that different people take instructions and learn skills in different ways. Only 20% of people are auditory learners, people that receive and easily comprehend verbal information. The rest are either visual learners that need to see a diagram, picture or read what to do or kinesthetic learners who need to actually do something before they fully understand. I have evaluation tools that help you determine which form of communication is best for each of your employees.

The Business Building Process 8

It is also important to keep reminding your employees what "TEAM" stands for;

T-Together
E-Everyone
A-Achieves
M-More

Creating the appropriate winning culture for your business, regardless of size, ensures increase innovation, productivity and fun for everyone. Remember, if it is not fun you or your employees won't be doing it very well or for very long.

5. SYNERGY

Synergy occurs when the performance of the whole business is greater than the sum of its parts. When the vision, mission and rules of the business are clearly defined, the systems are implemented, and an effective organizational structure and motivated team is in place, it becomes possible to work on synergy. My coaching process will show you how to integrate functions, develop creativity and build synergy in the team that, in a well-tuned business will extend to win-win relationships with customers and suppliers. Synergy ensures that the business has the capacity to constantly reinvent itself to maximize profits and stay ahead of the competition.

6. RESULTS

The results of my Action International Business Development Process are that you should become "Chair of the Board" strategically directing the business and with a stream of passive income. By structuring your business as I have outlined you now have the time, financial resources and the organization to pursue growth strategies such as;
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Broader ownership
- Increase stock liquidity and dilute risk
- Invest in and run multiple businesses.

The Business Building Process 9

As your business coach I can help you reach this stage and benefit from the opportunities that this stage presents.

Below are listed some of the key points to look for when considering a business acquisitions;

1. A business that is surviving with a lot of poor business habits.
2. A business that is still at the Mastery level. You will have taken a business well beyond this stage so you know how to do it and you will receive all the upside for doing so.
3. A business with low levels of fixed assets that produce positive cash flow.
4. A motivated seller that wants to do a deal fast. These people are less concerned about extracting a highest price possible and hence they leave room to make more gains.
5. A business that does not require highly skilled people to run it. For example, if you need PHD's to run your business, you have a smaller job pool to draw from and you will have to meet much higher human resource standards and practices.
6. A business that does little or no marketing and one that has no formal sales people or sales training.

The Business Building Process Part 2

2. NICHE

Identifying your specific target market is a key element at this stage. You occupy an effective niche market if your business has no price competition. To help identify whom your customers are it is important to re-establish your Vision (what customer needs are you trying to satisfy) for the business and develop your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your USP is, in your customer's view, what sets you apart from, and keeps you ahead of, your competition. It defines the competitive advantage of your business and is the cornerstone of your business strategy. It is what will attract customers to your business. Your businesses USP can be based upon features such as image and prestige (BMW), quality (Mercedes), exclusivity (Rolls Royce), safety (Volvo), industry standard (Jaguar), speed (Ferrari), reliability (Toyota), customer service (GM-Mr. Goodwrench and the NorStar tracking system) etc. My coaching process will show you a systematic way of developing your USP and a strategic planning, marketing and sales process that will exploit your USP and increase the five profit centres of any business;
1.Lead generation
2.Conversion rate of these leads
3.Number of Transactions per customer per year.
4.Average dollar sales per transaction.
5.Profit margins.

Through my Action Coaching system, if each of these five profit centres of your business increases only 10% your bottom line sales increase 46% and profits improve over 60%

An Example;
Five Ways to Super Profits

Current +10%
1.Number of Leads/yr. 4000 4400
X
2.Conversion Rate 25% 27.5%
=
Number of Customers/yr. 1000 1210
X
3.Number of Transactions/customer/yr. 2 2.2
X
4.Average Dollar Sale/transaction 100 110
=
Revenue $200,000 $292,820
X
5.Profit Margin 25% 27.5%
=
Profit $ 50,000 $80,525

The Business Building Process Six Steps to Massive Results

1. MASTERY- learn how to properly manage time and money.
2. NICHE- generating great cash flow by identifying and exploiting your niche target market.
3. LEVERAGE- systemizing the business so it assumes a life of its own.
4. TEAM-investing in people and their education so team members become well organized.
5. SYNERGY- exploiting your, niche, running systematically and creating a well-defined culture.
6. RESULTS- fulfilling your personal dreams.

Every business must progress through these 6 steps or stages before it can produce significant success. While businesses may have some concurrent activities that touch on the different stages, it is important at any point to focus the bulk of your efforts on one, the most appropriate step. Where is your business within these 6 steps? Below I will explain how you can move from one level to the next and the next.
1. MASTERY

Achieving Mastery is the basic process of gaining control of your business. At this stage we focus on;
1. Establishing positive cash flow and creating the profitability that will enable you to invest for growth.
2. Testing and measuring of financials (sales and costs), team productivity, systems efficiencies, marketing effectiveness, reliability of delivery and distribution of product and services. As well, we identify the Key Performance Indicators KPI's of your business and put in a solid financial plan to gain control of your financial resources (debt vs equity).
3. Owner's personal development in areas such as leadership, time management and delegation.

The Business Building Process Part 4

3. LEVERAGE

Leverage is the process of doing ever more with ever less and is the absolute key to growth. There are only 4 ways to leverage your business;
1. People.
2. Systems and technology.
3. Finance.
4. Marketing.

My coaching process will show you how to use these categories to achieve leverage in the proper order. For example investing in people before adequate marketing, systems and technology, and finance are in place could crash the business.

You need to create your own "franchise prototype". This is where you systemize your business so that every team member does the exact same work the same way every time. This does not mean we stifle creativity and innovation but rather systemize the routine so you and your team have more time and energy directed toward creating and improving the way you service your customers

If you really want to create a business rather than just owning a job, then change the type of work you do! Going to work "on" your business, rather than "in" your business, is the secret to creating a business that truly works. It is important that you learn how to delegate appropriately, document work through processes and develop policy and procedure manuals for every aspect of your business. This may seem like a daunting task but it really isn't if you are taught properly. You can start today by identifying jobs or tasks that you are now doing but want to delegate in the future. The next step is to identify, hire or train members of your team to be able to do these jobs. You then must establish ways in which these tasks can be monitored and evaluated to ensure that they are done appropriately.

The Business Building Process Part 3

A key question you need to answer is how many of these profit centres does your business focus on. Unfortunately, most businesses only focus on 1 or 2 and even more unfortunate is that they are usually focusing are the wrong ones to improve profits. Most businesses focus on trying to improve the most expensive profit centres; lead generation and number of transaction per customer and as a result this hinders profit generation.

FYI, my Action International coaching process has over 282 proven strategies for improving your profits. But more importantly than that, we identify which strategies, directed to which profit centre, will produce that most significant improvement in profits for your particular business.

Below is an embedded excel spreadsheet. Insert your businesses numbers and see for yourself what a difference small improvement in five profit centres can make to the profits of your business.


Instructions:

1. Double click on the chart. You will see it turn into an excel spreadsheet.
2. Type in tour KPI numbers for the past year under the column labeled "Your Numbers" in the appropriate rows (Yellow Highlighted);
1. Number of warm leads.
2. Your conversion rate of these warm leads to paying customers.
(Number of warm leads / total number of sales)
3. Average number of transactions per customer.
(Number of transactions / number of customers)
4. Average dollar sale per transaction.
(Total sales revenue / total number of transactions)
5. Profit margin
(Total Revenues-Total Expenses / Total Revenues x 100)
3. All the calculations are done for you automatically.

(Please Note-In my coaching program that we can choose from over 280 strategies to improve your businesses performance. It is not too hard to expect a 10 or 20 % improvement in each of these areas if the strategies are implemented and managed effectively. That is what my business coaching program is all about and the core part of the business development efforts at the Mastery and Niche stages. These are the foundation stages upon which the future stages must rest.)