Peter Ebner, Founder of Ebner Seminars

If you expect to be successful in print sales you must deal with a decision maker. So makes someone a decision maker? The decision maker is not the individual that can give you the order, nor is it the person that can sign the check. The decision maker is the individual that has ….

To listen to Peter Ebner’s sales tip of the week, click here.

Craig McConnell, President and Founder of PrintGrowPro, Inc.

I received quite a number of email responses to my March 28 blog that dealt with the concept of going ‘cold turkey’ with your communication devices for some period of time — an hour, two hours, a day? My suggestion was that this ‘found’ time could be used to think, to plan, to prioritize, or to review your goals. I am a firm believer that this exercise will greatly increase a sales reps long term productivity (think Stephen Covey’s thoughts about ‘sharpening the saw”) and income. However, most of the comments were of a similar vein: “no way; not going to happen; can’t risk it.”

Our tendency as sales people is to buy into society’s need for instantaneous, non-stop communications (think Blackberry, Ipad, Iphone, Internet – wired and wireless, cell phone, Facebook, MySpace, LINKEDIN, PDAs, CRMs, etc.), can be physically and mentally exhausting. It can also actually be a ‘crutch’ that keeps you from doing things that might actually grow your business.

By the way, as an aside, it is also dumb and dangerous: texting in the car? Reading emails while driving? Think those actions through the next time you get behind the wheel (Go Oprah!!!!)

Ask yourself if you’ve become a slave to technology. What is the first thing you do every morning? Read something motivational? Meditate? Exercise? Are addicted to your communication device? The receipt of an email does not mandate an immediate reply; it may not mandate a reply ever.

My brother, who is the assistant principal at an elementary school in Tampa, recently shared with me his frustration with parents who drop their kids off at school in the morning talking on the phone (there is no “have a great day”, “learn something new”, “I love you”, “be safe”) and pick them up in the afternoon still talking on the phone (there is no ‘how was your day?’, “tell me about school“, “great to see you”, etc.). Continuous, non-stop contact and communication is not essential – especially in this situation.

Have a great day and go sell something!

To read more from Craig McConnell or for more information on PrintGrowPro, Inc. please visit http://www.printgrowpro.com/.

Dale Rothenberger, VP of The Winters Group and Associates

I read an article recently about how our military is using business applications to be better able to communicate within government and media outlets.

One example of how this became so important was when a program for college reimbursement of dependents was out of funding appropriation, the wives knew about it before the “brass” because of Twitter and Face book.

Social media continues to evolve and grow. A recent CMO survey showed that 38 percent say they are exploring alternative media and new routes to market, while 62 percent will be crunching customer data with analytic software to improve segmentation and targeting. We all want our ideas to spread, our company to be recognized, and the medium you choose will change your ideas. As a marketing guru, you should think about creating unique strategies for different sales channels, and apply an integrated approach including digital and social media technologies in the marketing mix.

Creating a dialog and a conversation between your company and your customers and prospects requires thought, approach, and execution. Start thinking not about cluster segments (a group of people that share a demo- or psychographic), but rather a conversation of one. Gaining information that allows you to acquire Voice of Customer means you can create the proper message, at the right time, in the proper communication channel leading to a sale and more importantly, brand loyalty. You will be able to track both ROI (return on investment) and ROA (return on awareness).
The value for the print community in this new era of marketing lies in the high-value print component and fulfillment services.

If you only pay attention to the world from your comfort zone, you will stay in that space of never knowing how your marketing is performing, and lose the opportunity to grow your business.

We’ve come a long way from a marketer having just two channels for advertising and promotion.

Choose or lose.

To learn more about The Winters Group and Associates, please click here.

Linda Bishop, President of Thought Transformation

The shortest route to any sale is diagnosing pain and curing it. Here are five problems the CMO would love to solve and how you can help.

1. Declining Profitability: Storefront solutions can help organizations reduce overall costs by cutting soft costs and hard costs. Marketers can put all digital assets in one secure location and access it anywhere, any time. They can manage campaigns, order print-on-demand and access inventory. Talk to the CMO because they can authorize the purchase.

2. Mature Markets: In our fast-paced world, new ideas are born, live and die quicker than ever. For marketers, that’s a problem because it’s harder to grow in mature markets because you must snatch market share from competitors. One success strategy in mature markets is niche marketing. Variable data printing is perfect for marketers who are targeting a niche. If your customer is in a mature market, find out if they’re exploring niches. Tell them how you can help them with targeted campaigns.

3. Increasing Competition : If your customer faces increased competition, they need strategies to stand out and get attention. If you sell wide format, introduce them to new ways to make an impact with banners, oversized posters, stand-ups and large-scale point-of-purchase.

4. Providing Sales with Quality Leads: I suspect you would like to solve this problem as much as your customer would! One way to do that is by well-thought out leads nurturing campaigns. This marketing tactic helps companies identify prospects who raise their hands and say, “tell me more,” and then provides them with information to generate sales. Learn more at http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/lead-nurturing-definitive-guide.php

5. Declining Customer Loyalty: Recently I read a great article called “The Decline of Brands” by James Surowiecki on www.wired.com. Suroweicki says we live in a “What have you done for me today?” economy and that’s why there are great opportunities for printers who help customers create loyalty programs. I recently spoke about this in LA at the PIASC Awards Luncheon. My presentation is posted at http://www.slideshare.net/thoughttransformation/piasc-keynote-presentation.

Good Selling!

Check out Linda’s blog by clicking here.

Brian Sullivan, President of PRECISE Selling

In this column we often talk about the importance of being a master questioner and listener. We teach that all the solutions to your professional success lie in the answers to the questions you ask of your customers and peers. But we don’t talk enough about how you can find many answers within yourself. And often the only way to find your answers is to make time to sit in silence. So turn off the computer, iPhone or TV, and find a quiet place. Take several minutes each week to silently interview YOU. Ask questions like, “What do I want? What am I doing well? Where am I falling short?” And while doing so, get out of the way of that truthful part inside of you that contains some of the answers you need.

In short, it is important to question, listen and learn from others. But everyday we miss the opportunity to get to know and better understand one of your most important customers…YOU. And once you get reacquainted with that “pretty cool” person, you can then attack your career and life with more peace and purpose.

Listen to Brian interview Trish Bishop, author of the book, The Question Journey, on his weekly radio program by going to www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm. This interview will teach you how to find the answers…in you.

Peter Ebner, President of Ebner Seminars

Not to undermine the importance of developing powerful selling skills that overcome objections and make closing easy, but in the overall scheme of things nothing is more important than ….

To listen to Peter Ebner’s sales tip of the week, click here.

Brian Sullivan, President of PRECISE Selling

“Technology sucks! I’m a relationship guy,” were words recently mumbled to me by a salesperson at a recent meeting. And the more he spoke, the more I thought that this fella was the Grand Wizard of the Anti-Geek Squad. But you and I know exactly why he felt this way…because technology scares the hell out of him! But here is the reality…even idiots can become tech savvy. How do I know? Because the idiot writing this article did! But it didn’t come easily. I punched my PDA, crushed my CRM tool, exploded over an Excel spreadsheet, and butchered countless PowerPoint presentations before “it” hit. And when I finally saw the “techno-light,” I felt the sudden urge to put masking tape around the center of my sun glasses. And through my geek goggles, I finally realized that if I could use these techno tools effectively, they would NOT distance me from the people I serve. In fact, technology just may help me serve them in ways I didn’t believe were possible.

For instance…is investing in and learning to use a CRM tool tough for businesses and salespeople? (Customer Relationship Management for you nongeeks) Sure…it could be. But on the other side of that pain are more customers, more orders and more profits. And yet, too many businesses and salespeople take the “I need to spend more time with customers and less time on the computer” approach. But I don’t buy it! Because I believe that if you commit to better understanding how technology can help you, you will then spend less time trying to figure it out and more time serving others.

So this week, think of that one piece of technology you loathe and “make up” with it. Stop fighting, give it a second chance and commit to the relationship. And as you grow closer to your new nerdy tools, watch how you grow further from the competition. And who knows, maybe I’ll even get to read all about it on your new BLOG.

For more information on PRECISE Selling, please click here.