Salespeople are people, too

Most people are busy.  Demands from bosses, the public, family, friends.  None of it is malicious, but it all takes up valuable time and what I call "brain power," the power to keep motivation high enough to be productive, rather than just sitting back on the couch or taking a nap or going out for a drink with the friends.

Then there's the salespeople.  They come at you from all angles -- phoning just as you are sitting down to a meal, knocking on your door, stepping up to the counter -- wanting your attention when you need to stay focused on the project at hand.

What do a majority of people do?  Nothing.  That's right; they ignore the salesperson.  Salespeople are just one step up from used car salesmen, which is just one step  up from lawyers, right?

Here's the reality, not the stories masquerading as jokes.

Those salespeople phoning in, knocking on your door, stepping up to the counter may live in your area, this is their livelihood -- their bread and butter.  This is how they make their living, the same way that you make yours, by working hard and keeping to the tasks at hand.

Most salespeople are proud of what they do, even passionate.  Essentially, they help businesses market themselves, with direct advertising opportunities, services to improve business, products that may be best sellers.  That is something to take pride in. 

 Just like you take pride in your work and your business,and are even passionate. 

What would you do if someone ignored you on something you felt passionate about?   Get frustrated, feel snubbed, get angry?  Doesn't make for warm fuzzies, does it?

So, if you ignore the salesperson, you are ignoring a potential customer.  Time for them to get frustrated, feel snubbed, get angry... well, you get the picture.

You are potentially making them frustrated enough to be vocal about it.  We're not talking I'm-griping-to-my-wife frustrated; we've got larger ways of reaching out now.  With the plethora of social networks, texting and mobile phones and apps, frustrated/angry and vocal are not what you want your business to be associated with.

Then there are the business owners who don't want to say "no" to the business person, but also don't want their product.  So they give this "maybe" answer or an answer that doesn't commit to buying but tells the salesperson that there's a chance.

When a salesperson has to call or contact you numerous times, and you feel good because you managed to not say "no," when you have zero intention of saying "yes," all you've done is created the frustrated, snubbed, angry salesperson, who I remind you again, is a real person.  With real spending power of their own, and family and friends who they can talk to about your business.

Here's some hints on how to deal with a salesperson when you feel your brainpower fast dwindling away. 

1. The salesperson might want more of your time than you can give him.  Let him know that you only have x number of minutes today.  Have him give you his quick pitch on whatever it is.  If the pitch is good enough and the product is good enough, you can ask him to come back at a specific time that is better for you, when you can spend more time going over the products.

2. Don't say "no" before you've even heard of what it is the salesperson is offering.  Give him a minute to do his "elevator pitch," yes, that's the quick one, and listen.  This might be the only chance you have to make a decision that could change the course of your business and raise profits. 

Saying no before you listen, is like someone standing on the sidewalk outside your business and saying "no" about going in because the door doesn't look like the building will have what he wants inside.  That doesn't make sense in any form.

3. If it's just not what you need, tell him.  Tell him "no, I'm not interested" or "this isn't right for my business" or "not in the budget."  Tell him the truth.  If it's no, then it's no. A good salesperson will say thank you and go about their business.  A good salesperson doesn't take it personally when something they are selling isn't a good fit for you. 

The salesperson will also have respect for you in your ability to make a reasoned judgement and decision for your business. That's somewhere I'd like to shop.

4. If it's yes, that means it's a positive situation for both of your businesses,and hopefully, the bottom line.  Go for it.

But no matter what, remember that no one likes to be snubbed, or turned away without a fair chance.  Salespeople are people, too.

Creating Word Art

I just found out about something that was really fun.  Word Art.

Not only is this fun, but you can put in any words you like, do color combinations, change layouts and more.  For this font and design junkie, it's a great way to spend an afternoon.

For others, it's a potential marketing boon.  I just created one for Smithville Texas, link below. 

Link to higher resolution version of Smithville Texas word art.

It may seem "fuzzy"  here, but if you go to the link, the colors and styles are crisp and clean for printing. 

What a great marketing tool.  It's fast, easy and all you have to do is be able to type or copy/paste some words.  The rest is pretty self explanatory. 

I was so proud of myself for this one.  All the wonderful, lovely, charming, quirky things about Smithville, Texas, the town I live in. 

I was so proud, I showed my teenage daughter.  She showed me how to make some words larger. 

Apparently, everyone already knew about this application.  I'll amend that, at least people my age, with whom I spend time.  I've never heard or seen of anything like this outside of art/print shops.  Guess I'll have to do more checking into this type of thing when I do see it. 

For those who want to try it out, it's free and easy.  Wordle.com  

For businesses, this is a wonderful way to put all of your services/product lines in one place in a very visual way.  All it takes is a bit of thought and you have a great marketing piece for the internet or to hang in your business.  And who knows more about you and your business than you do.  Piece of cake.  Get wordling...

Why Facebook's new Timeline should be popular

There hasn't been an uproar about a change since the Obama healthcare reform plan was announced, and I think Facebook's Timeline unpopularity, percentage-wise among users, is much higher than the scrap over any presidential act.  Timeline completely changes the look, feel and function of Facebook.  And people aren't happy.

Okay, technically, the function is the same.  But most of Facebook users aren't savvy enough to see it through the new photo blocks and information groupings.  Facebook, in its infancy, wasn't designed for people who understood computers or programs or anything much at all.  Facebook was set up for the kid who wanted to chat with his friend and post goofy photos or the grandma who wanted to see pictures of her granddaughter posted.

So, when did Facebook decide to be available for the higher end users?  The answer to that is -- all along.  Facebook staff have been refining the program since Day 1 and will continue to try and meet the needs and find answers for any issue that arises.  And becoming for graphically pleasing is what the younger generation is used to and clamoring for.  If Facebook expects to keep the 20 and 30 somethings, not to mention the teens, who are all being bombarded by Facebook-type social programs with a prettier look or a special feature, Facebook needs to keep evolving.

For businesses, Timeline is next to inventing a new wheel.  Very progressive, and it will be the marker used by other companies who hope to gain a share of Facebook's audience.

With Timeline, you can go back and re-create your "Milestones" of business.  What organization doesn't like that?  Timeline allows people to graphically see the most important moments in your business.  Amazing how something as simple as a photograph and a couple of sentences can change the way people view you.  Today's marketing at its finest.

(Example of a Timeline in updating process:  http://www.facebook.com/FranLanMultimedia )

Not only does Timeline give people (especially the younger generations who expect visual aids and small sound bites) a feel for your businesses and what you can do, done right, it can infuse your own employees and co-workers with a sense of pride in your accomplishments.  "This is where we started, and this is how far we've come."  The corollary to that is "and the sky's the limit on how far we can go."   This is parallel to the the hope and future of the younger generation.  A social statement within a social network.



So, before you hit the help pages trying to go back to the original format, give it a try.

The Corp - marketing against the odds and winning

My oldest who graduated high school in May has been at two days of orientation at Texas A&M University.  He was spending the time signing up for classes, learning the campus, reviewing programs, dorms and the like.  To my great surprise, he decided and did, join the Corp of Cadets.  Wow.  I am proud and excited for him.

As a former student (not of the Corp), I know something about the Corp.  The Corp is great for opportunities, a stable study environment with upperclassmen for assistance.  Yes, there will be early mornings, drills and group activities.  Yes, he will have to, in some ways, sublimate his personality part of the time to be a part of the team.  But the Corp is world-renowned in the leaders they built and he will always have some great memories and true buddies.

As recently as two days, he was anti-Corp. His father was Corp, had been pushing him all along to join, and my son didn't want to join.  As recently as two days ago, he was still finding out about costs and dorm living, stating he didn't want to be in the Corp; he didn't want to be involved.  Yesterday, he went from outfit to outfit to choose between his the two he liked best.  My son is a part of Squadron 12 Talon.  He was walking the dog and breaking in his combat boots this morning.

All I can say is that the Corp, along with the active students promoting the Corp at orientation, did an excellent job of marketing to turn my son in to an active part of their organization.  I wasn't there so I don't have a first hand knowledge of what went on, but if they can convert my son to a believer, then it must have been solid with fact and people to back it up.

That's really the key to marketing.  Have a great product to market with facts to back it up, know your audience and be enthusiastic, and get them involved (mentally, physically) in the product.  The Corp is one of the best in the nation... check.  Let's have our enthusiastic, intelligent, charismatic Corp members tell possible recruits all about it... check.  And let's give him part of his uniform (they also sized and gave him his dress shoes) so he's got something to think about, do and look forward to.  The product (The Corp) is so beneficial that the positives, which he just learned about yesterday, outweighed the negatives (early mornings and drills being cons to a teenager).

I am proud of my son for the ability to look at something in a new way, even against his set beliefs, and making an informed decision that will carry with him for the rest of his life.

Keeping an eye on the goal in 2011

No one wants to lose.  No one wants to get less than they believe they deserve.  Truth is, most of the time, you get back that which you put into your goals.   Not what you put into the project itself; but the amount of energy and time you put directly into activities that forward your goal.

I can do paperwork forever, organize my desk to an nth degree, and meet everyone in Smithville and Bastrop County, but none of that directly forwards my goals.  Those are tertiary activities only.  In business, the goal is the sale; the moment when an agreement is reached, followed by the exchange of services/products for currency, the most common transaction today.

Now, if you don’t have your paperwork complete and enough organization for the job to get done, then you won’t reach your goal either.  But there is a time when those activities can become a hindrance to the actual goal.   In some cases, a way to avoid work by doing “make-work”, which will be a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.  In others, a misappropriation of time.

For instance, you wouldn’t want to be doing your paperwork when you have customers who need you out on the floor, or for business-to-business, when your customers are open and available to talk to you.  If so, you are losing out on your goal of the moment of transaction.

If it’s a “make-work” issue, then it could be for several reasons.  A person who had extreme organizational capabilities may be more comfortable in that role, and they would need to find a way to step back from that aspect of their job.  A person who doesn’t know what to do beyond what’s in front of them, may also have a problem.  They would need more training to learn how to move ahead, or if they don’t have that capability, they would need to be in another position.

The most difficult situation is from the person who has a psychological reason for not moving beyond their paperwork; the one who has the ability and seems to know what to do.  Fear and anxiety are two of the biggest causes.  Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of people, fear of whatever.  The fear itself doesn’t matter.  What matters is that the person overcomes whatever is blocking them from reaching for the goal.

There are many calming techniques used throughout the ages.  Meditation, prayer, talking to another person -- anything that allows a person to mentally “step back” and start again in a new mental position. Regardless of the method used, ultimately, the goal is what matters.

Start the New Year focusing on your goal.  Quit “getting ready” to start.  Just start.  2011 is waiting for you.

How 'Shop Local' works so well

We recycle our paper, our cans, and our bottles; why not recycle (and control) our incomes?    Tricia Truit, Earth and Sky Collective

                Shop Local is a concept that money that is spent in an area, over and over again, creates a high local multiplier effect.  For example, $1,000 is spent in a town.  The business that receives the money spent it on wages, local accountant, local goods to stock the store; so the money is spent a second time in the area.  Those people who receive in the money turn around and also spend their money on goods and services locally.  That’s three times the money is circulated in town. So that one thousand dollars has, in effect, turned into $3,000 in the local economy. 

That’s the “Local Multiplier Effect,” a phrase coined by economist John Maynard Keynes in his 1936 book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.”  And the more times each dollar is circulated in an area, the higher the LME and the stronger the local economy.

HISTORY AND IMPACT

Over the past 50 years, the expansion of national businesses into local domestic markets has diverted this vital monetary stream and redirected it to centralized corporate coffers. There it is spent on large capital expenditures, overseas goods and all too frequently inflated executive salaries. This interception of funds has depleted local towns and cities across our nation of an important source of funds: recirculated income.

It has been estimated that about a century ago, thriving industrial communities had a LME in the high 20s or low 30s. Today it’s estimated to be in the single digits. This reduction in the number of rounds that monies make has had an extremely negative effect on our local economies. All areas of community life are affected by this deficit.²

PRESENT DAY

                Knowing this, why don’t people shop local more often?  Why do people send their money outside of their area via national chain stores, import companies and businesses which do not invest in the local economy by returning the dollars to the local market?   Here are a few reasons.

1.       Cost – Customers want a lower cost and national stores, including those internet stores, can sometimes provide a lower cost for the same product.  Even if the national stores cannot provide the lower price, if a buyer “thinks” they can, that’s enough for the buyer to shop national rather than local.

2.       Service – Customers “feel” that the services they want are not provided locally; either not provided at all, not provided at the standard they prefer; or the services cost too much.

3.       Product – Is the product available locally?  Sometimes, national stores have more variety for a buyer and sometimes a buyer doesn’t bother to search locally because they “believe” the national stores have what they want. Sometimes, the buyer only wants something that is not created locally, but is created out of the area.

All of these reasons are about perception, not about the reality of what is available locally.   The more that people believe in their local market, the more they will shop locally.   That’s where marketing and promotion comes in.  Marketing matters even in a concept on how to live healthier, more economical, greener.  Shop Local is the same sort of concept.  How do I change a perception to create a better solution for a healthier local economy and better lives.

This can be done and should be done in a several ways: verbal and written promotion, advertising, and setting a good example.

The first are probably self explanatory.  Create a campaign and get it out in the public’s eye.

The good example is much harder and more elusive, but it is effective is showing others that it can be done.  That’s where living examples, people who spend their money locally, are a huge impact on other people who view them. 

I do my best to Shop Local first.  If I cannot find what I am looking for in my hometown, either in products or services, then and only then, do I look elsewhere and I don’t look very far.  Second, I look to the products and services created and provided in my county; if I can’t keep my money home, then at least I can add to our county recirculated income. Third, I look for products and services created in my state. 

Note that the term “created  locally” means that I am not spending money on items bought nationally or imported.  By buying local products, I am also encouraging a stronger LME.

All of these “local” territories are important for a variety of reasons, including services provided by governments at city, county and state levels. I keep money in my “territory” to help create a higher LME and stronger economy.  Shop Local works if we all work it.

Parts of this article are taken from “Why the ‘Local Multiplier Effect’ Always Counts” by Tricia Truit, Earth and Sky Collective, ©2004 GEO, P O Box 115, Riverdale MD 20738, http://www.geo.coop ^1,2

It's Possible in Smithville

"It's Possible in Smithville!" This is the new slogan of the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce, and as a board member, I am privileged that I was able to be there at its inception.
But did you know that you, too, can be there at that table once a month to hear all the happenings of the chamber?  The meetings are not private, nor is the business discussed sacred.  As a matter of fact, the interested public is invited, especially chamber members.

The meeting is simply the chamber’s ongoing plan of action on the best ways to promote Smithville and through that, the community’s businesses.  It’s a plan of action that anyone can benefit from knowing and, in addition, acting on.

For example, do you know what movie production is coming to town?  Do you know how hard the chamber and its board and volunteers work to bring one to town?  Do you know how having a movie production team here helps Smithville and your business?  This is just one example of many.  Just think of the many events hosted by the chamber, the city and other organizations. How does your business "fit" into this picture?

There’s a saying that knowledge is power.  With that knowledge of current happenings, you could “leverage” your marketing.  Your business just might complement the town’s activities – otherwise, why would you be in business?  Use what others have put into action to move your business forward.  How does your business fit in with the economic development and tourism plans of the chamber?   In other words, how powerful are you?

Check out some of the activities of your chamber.  Find out what’s going on in this community.  And then put your plan into action.  Remember, it’s possible in Smithville.  For you as well as the chamber.