Showing posts with label selling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label selling. Show all posts

June 16, 2015

Local: Word-of-Mouth / Daytime Marketing and it's Overall Effectiveness


You can not forget what works best in marketing - Word-of-Mouth Daytime Marketing. I call this "Daytime" because it is the only time you can do it.

  • It has a 100% open rate.
  • The prospect knows you are real.
  • The referral is already given.
  • Conversion Percentage is high (Highest).
Internet Marketing would thus be "Nighttime" marketing. Yes, it gets to the masses but the returns are lower.

Do both - get out - see the sun - meet people - shake hands - make friends - create relationships - network - sell.

Remember when engaging someone (engagement) meant meeting someone.

"Getting a Foot in the Door" = "Clicks"

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell)
512-593-8830 (in Austin)

EDDM is a services provided by all LightsOn / Time4 offices.

 Connect to me on LinkedIn

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June 11, 2015

The One Thing We Can Count On – Change – A Changing Market

The Internet and social media, have changed so much about our businesses and the market(s) we sell to, no matter which one(s) they are.  Adapting to the changes is the key to being able to survive in the future.  I have seen four business environment changes (ice age type changes) in my adult life (the 4th being the current one).  Some companies survived because they were adaptive through entrepreneurship (dictatorship) control; some companies survived by refining their business model, sometimes through brute force and several mistakes until they get it right; sometimes the survivor was just a new entrepreneurial opportunists.

The natural tendency of change is towards chaos. It is imperative to focus efforts towards the vision. It is almost impossible that any complex change can be managed with any rigid structure and then deliver successful results - for change to succeed, frequent adjustments must be made – a fluid plan (of course, there are several MBAs and consultants, who have never done, who will tell me differently).

The art of success and management is to create harmony, order and direction from chaos.

Bob Leonard
561-371-4113 (Call My Cell)
512-593-8830 (in Austin)

EDDM is a services provided by all LightsOn / Time4 offices.

 Connect to me on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter

Add me to Your Google+ Circles

May 25, 2015

Sell, Sell, Sell - Business Does Not Occur Until a Sale Occurs


I used to do volunteer counseling and training work for an organization called SCORE, the "Counselors to America's Small Business".  I primarily talked to start-up businesses about the ideas.

What amazed me about many budding entrepreneurs is that they make "going into business" more complex than it needs to be.  Going into business is not about finding a good accountant, not about having a lawyer nor is it about finding the right computer, right sign or right office location.  It is about selling and selling and selling some more - selling cures all and selling makes all (this coming from an engineer).  I don’t need a plan but I need an idea and a set of business cards. Then, what are we going to do – sell, sell, sell that idea! I make only one assumption here, that if you are planning on going into business, say the chocolate business, you know something about chocolate.  If you are lucky enough to be successful at selling, it then becomes time to think (while you are selling more) about those other things you need to do when you are in business - a plan.

So then, I should tell you more about selling.  Yes I will do so will in the very near future.  The thing to remember is selling is a Game of Numbers much more than technique.

Happy Selling.

Bob


About SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit association consisting primarily of retired executives and business owners (almost all volunteer) dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

January 21, 2013

Local: Word-of-Mouth (Daytime) Marketing and it's Overall Effectiveness


You can not forget what works best in marketing - Word-of-Mouth (Daytime) Marketing. I call this "Daytime" because it is the only time you can do it.
  • It has a 100% open rate.
  • Prospect knows you are real.
  • The referral is already given.
  • Conversion Percentage is high(est).
Internet Marketing would thus be "Nighttime" marketing. Yes, it gets to the masses but the returns are lower.

Do both - get out - see the sun - meet people - shake hands - make friends - create relationships - network - sell.

~B

November 15, 2012

Localization - It's about Much More Than Printing.

Let's make this country a better place and there is no better place to start than in our own hometowns.

As anyone who follows this blog or knows the Time4 and LightsOn initiative; it is quite simple: Make Our Customer Succeed.  We are all about recreating local in a world that knows more about a Jersey Shore celebrity than their own neighbor.  Lets fix this by starting in our own home town.  The following three past articles give some background to this idea.
Over the last couple months we have been testing our "Buy. Eat. Live. Local." concept with the purpose of moving "Buy Local" from a lip service to a way of life - our lives and our future.  We have made the objective of "Buy. Eat. Live. Local." a product (evolving as it is) to help communities across the country by providing it to local entrepreneurs who, most importantly, live there, work there and buy there.  Have you ever been there?

"Buy. Eat. Live. Local." is the coming together of many environmental, business, social and economic factors.  One of the biggest factors is the forth coming re-urbanization of America over the next 20-30 years which I will be writing about extensively.  For those as old as I, think about it as Megatrends 2013.

How well grasped is this concept?
Here is the Town of Windham Maine's ad - a paid ad - giving 10 reasons why this just makes sense.  So Shop Smart and Shop Local.

 ....and here is what we say:

”Natural Communities Form Around Community and Commerce Centers”.
Buy. Eat. Live. Local
In almost all cases your Windham merchant will provide
Better Service at a Better Price with Less Hassle.
Why?  You know them – They depend on Windham people and they live in Windham.
Buy. Eat. Live. Local and watch Windham grow.

 This is not a concept coming to your home town, it's already there !!!
 


April 26, 2012

Who Me, “Who Three” - Fixing the Local Print Business – Part Three

Just in case you did not read the last blog entry, “Who Three” is the franchise local printer and the independent local printer.  Forget for a moment that this group is the second of the target markets as the obvious (IMO) is explained here.

Why does the local printer need to collaborate with printers in other local areas?  Then, why do they need to become part of the LightsOn network to do so?

The local printer can't compete alone with the online companies like Vistaprint, PSPrint, Over Night Prints, etc, etc, etc.  Why?  Very simply those companies have invested heavily in Pay-Per-Click and SEO marketing for their online sites.  Pay-Per-Click has lower cost of entry but has costs for every click through to your site.  SEO has high development and maintenance costs but minimal to no cost per click. Both are very complex and expensive and are a game of numbers.  In addition, when many many try alone, they simply end up being noise in the search.

The first step is to collaborate with other companies that are providing copy/print/graphic services; not only local to you, but local everywhere.  Regretfully, this is much more than providing a franchise website - just ask yourself how much business you get from that website; is ZERO the right answer?  Maybe this website thingy doesn't work.  Ask Vistaprint...

LightsOnGraphics.com has been built, from day one, as a site for collaboration with the objective of taking back and to stop the encroachment of that business that Vistaprint is taking from the local print service provider.  Our expertise in print, SEO and collaborative systems will make print local again and make you locally, the printer again.

The second step is to collaborate locally with other service providers.  Local printers need to recruit local graphic designers, web designers and advertising companies; there are many locally everywhere.  Make what you perceive as competition today, your sales rep tomorrow.  Collaborate with them a variety of products and services that let them make more money as well as you make back some of what you are currently losing.  This will take some proactive marketing, sales and networking.  Franchisors - make these non-retail mini-franchises (biz-ops) around your franchises - Please - Steal This Idea.!.!.!

Our objective at LightsOn is not to move your business to our website.  When a client calls you from the our LightsOnGraphics.com website (I include you in "our") we strongly suggest you provide the service and sell that customer directly, bypassing the LightsOn site.  Our objective is not to get your foot traffic, but to get the traffic you are losing to online.


Next, "Who Four" - why local postal stores may be the local graphics shop of tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading

Bob
561-371-4113



March 29, 2012

The One Thing We Can Count On – Change – A Changing Market – Case Study Chapter One

The Internet has changed so much about our businesses and the market(s) we sell to, no matter which one(s) we are in.  Adapting to the changes is the key to being able to survive in the future.  I have seen four business environment changes (ice age type changes) in my adult life (the 4th being the current one).  Some companies survived because they were adaptive through entrepreneurship (dictatorship) control; some companies survived by refining their business model, sometimes through brute force and several mistakes until they get it right and then sometimes the survivor is just new entrepreneurial opportunists.

The natural tendency of change is towards chaos. It is imperative to focus efforts towards the vision. It is almost impossible that any complex change can be managed with any rigid structure and then deliver successful results - for change to succeed, frequent adjustments must be made – a fluid plan (of course, there are several MBAs and consultants, who have never done, who will tell me differently). The art of success and management is to create harmony, order and direction from chaos.

I (the opportunist) am going to create a series of blog entries (my business plan) defining an opportunity (the changed market) in the local printing business.  I expect this to be both fun and rewarding to all the Time4 and LightsOn offices.  It’s somewhat complex (the opportunity) so I’ll be documenting my hypothesis and tests in small chunks.

I have been nurturing these ideas with the Time4 offices for the last six months and have started rolling out different segments.  The first was (and continues to be) establishing an SEO presence in the markets being targeted – success – we have 1st page Google presence nationally in several specific product searches – sometimes two, sometimes three, and a few times four different positions in the Top 10.  Maybe we should have been in the SEO business – NOT – way too much incompetent noise.

December 19, 2011

Sell, Sell, Sell – Part Two – It's a Game of Numbers


Non salespeople have the hardest time believing this one, but selling is simply a game of numbers.  Talk to X number of people and Y number will buy from you.  The bigger X, the bigger Y.  Yes there are techniques that will increase Y, but the biggest factor in making sales is talking to as many people as you can about what you do/sell..

Develop a strategy, a technique, a spiel – then go do it, don't rethink it until you have done it a few hundred times.  New sales people rethink their strategy with every person they talk to – don't - it slows you down – maybe that person just did not need what you were selling today.  Think about it – If I can close 1 out of 20 people I talk to – BAMM – I am a happy camper.  That is 19 rejections (as perceived in YOUR head).  In reality, those 19 rejections are notifications of the business you are in – remember, they just may not need a plumber today.!.!   It’s a process we call "Filling the Pipeline".  Leave business cards, magnets cards, sticker cards - again - over and over.

Watch the habits of great sales people and/or sales companies; watch how telemarketing firms operate – they are selling factories.

Great sales people are always selling – selling is socializing.  That plumber we mentioned earlier should be socializing and networking as much as possible – no one needs a plumber until they NEED one – the plumber's name should be in the customer's head when need strikes – who wants to flip through the phone book when the pipes burst - I wanna call a friend.

I know two very successful landscapers, one in Florida and one in California – both are "involved" - a fancy way of saying "well connected" through a variety of networks and their networking efforts (Parties, Chambers, Mixers, etc..).

So let's start getting rejected - You will be amazed how little you care on your way to the bank!!!!

Stay tuned for Part Three – Sell, Sell, Sell – Technique.

Go back and Read Part One - Sell, Sell, Sell – Business Does Not Occur Until Transactions Occur.

Bob

September 13, 2011

Sell, Sell, Sell - Part One - Business Does Not Occur Until Transactions Occur


I used to do volunteer counseling and training work for an organization called SCORE, the "Counselors to America's Small Business".  I primarily talked to start-up businesses about the ideas.

What amazed me about many budding entrepreneurs is that they make "going into business" more complex than it needs to be.  Going into business is not about finding a good accountant, not about having a lawyer nor is it about finding the right computer, right sign or right office location.  It is about selling and selling and selling some more.  I don’t need a plan but I need an idea and a set of business cards. Then what are we going to do – sell, sell, sell that idea! I make only one assumption here, that if you are planning on going into business, say the chocolate business, you know something about chocolate.  If you are lucky enough to be successful at selling, it then becomes time to think (while you are selling more) about those other things you need to do when you are in business - a plan.

So then, I should tell you more about selling.  Yes I will do so will in the very near future.  The thing to remember is selling is a Game of Numbers much more than technique.

Read my blog post Sell, Sell, Sell – Part Two – It's a Game of Numbers 

Happy Selling.

Bob


About SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit association consisting primarily of retired executives and business owners (almost all volunteer) dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

January 1, 2010

Quotes I Have Used in My Own Business Career / History.- Permission Given to use and Steal (with credit :) ) ~rel



Quotes I attribute to myself in my own business career / history.
If you find any that belong to someone else, let me know so I can correct the credit
SELLING

Career Path: It is always better to sell into your customer's sales side of their equation ~rel

Selling is Like Planting Grass Seed - Days End - No Results - Keep Planting - After a Month of Seeding You Will be Mowing ~rel

The Selling side of the business needs to lead with content and relationship / engagement building ~rel

It so rarely happens (like never) that someone you are selling to knows more about you, your product or your service than YOU. ~rel

Engagement has as much to do with timing as does quality content. Just like Life

"Great #Selling - Give the prospect all the #answers and then help them in asking the #questions" ~rel

"Top-Of-Mind" - #Key to selling anything - Personal Branding - When someone hears your product, they think your name” ~rel

MEDIA

"The media opportunities have not been taken over by one, they have been given up by many" ~rel

MARKETING

The Power of a Brand - How well you know (hear) the brand without anything more than the visual of the products ~rel

Advertising by itself isn't Collaborative. Collaboration requires common cause where conflict is minimal & reward potential is high ~rel

"Knowing why we do something is what allows us to adapt" ~rel.

Understanding #Advertising: People that used the Yellow Pages or use #Google today know what they are looking for - they are #buyers" ~rel

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

"Who can" is an easy question to answer. "Who Will" takes an Entrepreneur ~rel

"The Biggest Obstacle to Wealth is a Job" ~rel - Be an entrepreneur

A true Entrepreneur thinks of business as a sport and competes like an athlete - Everyone else is in the stands ~rel

"An True #Entrepreneur does not think they can, they just don't know why they can't" ~rel 

#Entrepreneur Thinking - I shall not listen to past reason - I make new reason -rel

The 'whole' objective is made up of lots of little objectives ~rel

What makes the Biggest Difference in ones chance of success - Doing It  ~rel

An Opportunist is Now - An Entrepreneur is forever ~rel

Think of being an entrepreneur as being the Tip-of-the-Sword ~rel

Always Question Authority - Always Question Success - Always Challenge ! This what an entrepreneur does ~rel

An Entrepreneurs biggest StartUp need is Cash flow - Cash flow through their Wallet ~rel

"It's not teaching someone how to be an #entrepreneur - it's teaching them what they need to know after they realize they are one" ~rel

"Getting laid off from that #job and starting your own #business equates to being pushed into the deep end of the entrepreneurs pool" ~rel

"It is the few that action their ideas - we call them Entrepreneurs" ~rel

"Just Do It -you don't need a #game plan to practice" ~rel

"There are two types of entrepreneurs in the world . . Those who have nothing to lose and those who have everything to gain" ~rel

"Procrastination is the highest hurdle in that business track meet" ~rel  

BUSINESS / TECHNOLOGY

If it weren't for Disruptive Technology, we would likely be using improved Selectrics & a faster Horse & Buggy ~rel

Startup planning needs to include a "cost of money" target. Raising money costs more than you think ~rel

Glass Ceilings exist in Job Titles - not in business.

"You must compete to know you have a competitive advantage" ~rel

Is a Share Economy a fad or real (the Future)?  It Depends on Social Media tools - Yes?

Costs in Marketing should NEVER be about cost; it IS about diminishing returns on the next marketing dollar spent ~rel

Remember when Domain Names was a competitive biz? Registrars fought for our patronage. Today they got us by the URLs and they're squeezing ~rel

An impulse click will lose over 80% of it's users if a 2nd click is required. Take them to what they want to see – Deep Link always.

Why do I Love Twitter - It’s the ultimate testing environment - Test Everything from Elevator Pitches to Pickup lines ~rel

Genius Nike Sports and Business Terms - JustDoIt NoFear ~rel 


Great Decisions will remain a MANUAL process...  There is no AI yet to automate judgement. ~rel 


Definition: " Technical " How to use a tool. " Vision " What you can do with it ~rel

PRINT

Print comes from THE MOST renewable resource ~rel

HUMAN INTEREST

Boomers need to learn from Millennials - A Share Economy is in the future - embrace it. (IMHO) ~rel

"As we age, time accelerates, with each increment becoming a smaller percentage of what we have lived". ~rel  Think about it in real-time.

There is a Big Difference Between Teaching Your Children Not-To-Do the Wrong Things and Teaching Them To Do the Right Things  ~rel

"Empowerment is given - Power is taken or grasped.  To Empower, once given, is contagious" ~rel 

"Breakfast is your way of making tomorrow feel good" ~rel

"You know you have gone over the crest when you talk more about yesterday than tomorrow" ~rel 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media did not kill Privacy, it only proved we never wanted it in the first place ~rel

We are in a new era of sharing our ideas & thoughts - the outcome, IMHO, will be a new level of learning ~rel

Today's social selling tools and approaches are like wearing Better Glasses - They give you better Vision ~rel

Social Selling involves engagement and content - with honor - honesty and sincerity... Don't just shout - be there to help out ~rel

Twitter can open doors - so when engaged - engage. - no simpler formula for success - There is no older business process ~rel

"Social Media is simply a tool - You do not measure the quality of carpentry by the hammer a carpenter uses" ~rel 

"Understanding the differences between Internet and social advertising options requires you to understand the options first" ~rel

"Top-Of-Mind" - Key to selling anything - Personal Branding - When one hears your product, they think your name ~rel

SPEAKING

Public Speaking Practice Practice Practice. Being a Cubmaster is what made me good at it ~rel

"Part of being a good speaker requires that your mouth remember the words even when your brain can't" ~rel

Grammar is secondary to the message ~rel

LIFE

Google owns everything data about us - Does that mean they own us? ~rel

The less you Live - the less you Live -rel

"You know you have reached the end of the trail - when they stop talking about you" ~rel 

Why is it that most people think they are underpaid and the remainder of the people think they are overpaying? ~rel

Analogous Situations are unprecedented -- I get it now - Historical knowledge does prevent making the same errors two+ times ~rel

"If They are Talking About You, You are Making a Difference" ~rel 

If you do not know what the questions are, how do you expect to get the right Answers ~rel

Hiding in the Weeds Only Works if You are a Weed ~rel privacy

Embellishment - The act of communicating that we 'want to be little more' ~rel

"There are people who don’t care if something is true or not. So long as it supports their position, they’re going to spread it" ~rel

People who describe things, as they want them, and as they want to be seen - Embellishers ~rel

There is a Big Difference Here - Teaching Ur Children not to do the Wrong Things vs Teaching Them To Do the Right Things ~rel

I have never been able to hide my mood - my different temperaments bubble through my skin without my mouth moving ~rel

"Never good enough" vs "there is always room to grow" ~perspective 

No religion should dictate over people and no people should dictate #religion; the #government body overseeing such should be #Family ~rel

"Knowing why we do something is what allows us to adapt" ~rel

"Someone who is 'always' innocent is usually guilty" ~rel

"You know you have gone over the crest when you talk more about #yesterday than tomorrow" ~rel 

HUMOR

Why do people send Faxes anymore? Do they? Do Faxes even send faxes to each other anymore? ~rel

I wish my body could still run as fast my brain thinks it can ~rel

"Have you ever opened a refrigerator's door and slammed it quick from fear of it walking away on its own?" ~rel

When you are young (40s) you ask woman, "Do you Like Older Men?"  When you are older (late 50s) you ask "Do you APPRECIATE Older Men?" ~rel

Serendipity's Definition - " Oops :) " ~rel

Yesterday I said to myself, "self, you must stop acting 1/2 your age." Luckily, today, I could not remember what I was supposed to do. ~rel

Just an FYI - My tweets are an eclectic cornucopia of ideas and actions - sometimes a bit eccentric ~rel

"Waiting for life to come to you is just so wrong" ~rel 

LOCAL

Identify yourself as, more than Local, but as a neighbor

Seeing Everyone’s Marketing Ideas Locally Makes That Person a Local Marketing Expert - Buy From Your Neighborhood Printer.

Is a Share Economy a fad or real (the Future)? It Depends on Social Media tools - Yes?

MOTIVATION

"When you encounter a first, don't consider the task, consider it as a first - you have done 100s before" ~rel

When you take the time to Think and Dream, even just a little, JustDoIt, Magic Happens ~rel

Sometimes we commit ourselves verbally to others, as a challenge to ourselves, at risk of failure ~rel

Success comes quicker to people who work Differently Better than people who do it the right way all the time ~rel

The difficulty in making a decision is directly proportionate to the number of choices available - a contrarian fact ~rel

"It is not ours to make the choice, it is only ours to provide the opportunity" ~rel

Henry Ford had it right: "... That model comes in only Black sir..." Genius

The Definition of Vision: "Having answers to questions that have not been asked yet" ~rel

"It's not our job to tell them what to do, but to give them the tools so they can determine what to do themselves" ~rel

"You possess the seeds of personality that will bloom in any soil"  ~modified from a Louisa May Alcott quote


"What is the one thing most of us already have enough of? Regret". ~Borrowed  "Try, even if you only try once (more)". ~rel


"I am a professional athlete; I play the contact sport of business" ~rel 


"Just Do It -you don't need a game plan to #practice" ~rel