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Answer Upon - Overcome Small Business Sales Resistance
Avoid Slips, Trips, and Falls While Cleaning a Commercial Office Building carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front.In the cleaning business there are many conditions that exist where slips, trips or falls could occur. Keep yourself and others safe by being aware of them: Mopping or Waxing Floors - When mopping or waxing a lobby, kitchen, copy room or restroom, you are creating a potentially hazardous condition for yourself and others. You are required to put Wet Floor caution signs out in plain sight to warn people who might walk on the floor. It is also a good idea to verbally warn any person who walks on the floor with a courteous "please be careful, the floor is wet". You should also practice what you preach. Never hurry across a wet floor, even one that you just mopped yourself. 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront Who is in Control of a Sales Call – the Quiet One He calls it "the Extractor". Last week, my Guerrilla Marketing buddy (and top marketing consultant), Mary Eule went to the South Carolina State Fair. An inventor had set up a booth where he was selling a device he created for extracting nails. He was a contractor and he noticed that he spent too much time in renovations pulling nails.Have you ever asked a salesperson a question and instead of getting your answer, you are asked another question? While this may seem frustrating, it is common for an experienced salesperson to use this tactic. Experienced sales people understand the art of questioning and how to take control of a conversation by asking questions. It is the inexperienced salesperson who thinks that by talking or presenting, you'll take control of the conversation.Many salespeople never learn the power or value of asking questions and this can prevent them from reaching higher sales volumes. The most important thing to establish is a purpose for the conversation. I am surprised by how many salespeople initiate a sales conversa Here's a great product that uniquely solves a great need that makes people's lives easier. It should be a breeze to sell right? Well, when Mary asked him how many he had sold all day, his answer was one. One lousy extractor. No doubt the cost of the booth rental was far more than his revenue. Intrigued, Mary and her partner David jumped behind the counter - mostly for fun. In 1/2 hour they sold 4 extractors. That's four times his previous entire day's sales. It would have been more if the guy had been equipped to take credit cards or process mail orders. Why isn't this guy a millionaire yet? His idea is certainly worth it. You might argue under-capitalization, or any other MBA-BS, but the reality is he's only missing one thing - marketing. He's got a great idea but he's not a marketing or sales professional. Nor should he be expected to be. He should get help from an expert marketer. Experience tells us that he probably won't. Like most small businesses he will go it alone, struggle for a while, and never truly grow to meet his potential. If this guy's product is as good as it's reported to be, he should be in every hardware store in the country. Mary has made some of the companies she's worked with millions and millions of dollars. I have given one client a single suggestion that increased his profits 13X in less than a month. Either one of us could walk into almost any business and literally multiply its profits. It's frustrating for both of us when the people who deperately need our help won't get it. Small businesses are tough. I don't want you to think that I am saying there's anything wrong with this guy, he's got natural resistance. Marketing Comet Principle: Do not blame the customer for not buying. I've worked with small businesses for over 10 years and I know that small business owners have more sales resistance than anyone I've ever encountered. Let's talk about the reasons why. Here are some of the biggest small business sales objections: 1. No Money - Small business owners do not have unlimited budgets. They are frequently struggling and trying to preserve their limited capital. 2. No Value - Small business owners tend to be do-it yourselfers. They don't see the big advantage of hiring an expert, or switching phone service, or hiring a bookkeeper. 3. No Confidence - Small business owners are frequently over cautious. They simply don't believe that you're going to deliver the goods. 4. No Concept - Sometimes what you're offering is so far outside the the experience of the small business owner that they don't even grasp it. I feel that way with a lot of software packages that don't clearly describe what they do. Restaurant owners know they need food, wine, linens, a valet. They would benefit from a web marketing expert, but they are probably going to get their cousin's kid to do their web site for nothing. 5. Sales Overwhelm - Start a small business and get a listed phone number. Within three weeks you will be inundated with credit card offers, charities seeking donations, people selling toner, and people offering to switch your long distance carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front. 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront What It Takes To be An Entrepreneur Series: Action cards or process mail orders.Many people have the professed desire to be their own boss, start their own business ecetera, ecetera...Trouble is, how many people actually take the steps necessary to fulfill their professed desire?A recent incident that actually happened brough this principle clearly into focus.I was recently told by someone who is quite well informed on the local stock market to invest into a certain stock as its value was about to increase substantially. Being the skeptic that I was, I just asked a few questions about the stock and left it as that, making no comments nor commitment.That conversation stuck to my mind and I monitored the stock and did a little reseach on it as well. During this monito Why isn't this guy a millionaire yet? His idea is certainly worth it. You might argue under-capitalization, or any other MBA-BS, but the reality is he's only missing one thing - marketing. He's got a great idea but he's not a marketing or sales professional. Nor should he be expected to be. He should get help from an expert marketer. Experience tells us that he probably won't. Like most small businesses he will go it alone, struggle for a while, and never truly grow to meet his potential. If this guy's product is as good as it's reported to be, he should be in every hardware store in the country. Mary has made some of the companies she's worked with millions and millions of dollars. I have given one client a single suggestion that increased his profits 13X in less than a month. Either one of us could walk into almost any business and literally multiply its profits. It's frustrating for both of us when the people who deperately need our help won't get it. Small businesses are tough. I don't want you to think that I am saying there's anything wrong with this guy, he's got natural resistance. Marketing Comet Principle: Do not blame the customer for not buying. I've worked with small businesses for over 10 years and I know that small business owners have more sales resistance than anyone I've ever encountered. Let's talk about the reasons why. Here are some of the biggest small business sales objections: 1. No Money - Small business owners do not have unlimited budgets. They are frequently struggling and trying to preserve their limited capital. 2. No Value - Small business owners tend to be do-it yourselfers. They don't see the big advantage of hiring an expert, or switching phone service, or hiring a bookkeeper. 3. No Confidence - Small business owners are frequently over cautious. They simply don't believe that you're going to deliver the goods. 4. No Concept - Sometimes what you're offering is so far outside the the experience of the small business owner that they don't even grasp it. I feel that way with a lot of software packages that don't clearly describe what they do. Restaurant owners know they need food, wine, linens, a valet. They would benefit from a web marketing expert, but they are probably going to get their cousin's kid to do their web site for nothing. 5. Sales Overwhelm - Start a small business and get a listed phone number. Within three weeks you will be inundated with credit card offers, charities seeking donations, people selling toner, and people offering to switch your long distance carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front. 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront Six Sigma In A Small Business y business and literally multiply its profits. It's frustrating for both of us when the people who deperately need our help won't get it. Small businesses are tough.As a small business owner, you will eventually sense the need for Six Sigma implementation in your business. Typically, yours is a 3-5 year old company on the threshold of expanding your operations to meet the growing customer expectations but is cornered to optimize your resources on generating more sales than anything else. Small companies in the bracket of 50-100 employees (most of them being non technical) and revenue of $10-15 million find themselves in this fix. The predicament at this stage is one of a person who is caught between a tiger and cliff.Finding A Way Out Of The JamThe situation needs to be given a rational thought concerning how many resources can be afforded and whether the time ha I don't want you to think that I am saying there's anything wrong with this guy, he's got natural resistance. Marketing Comet Principle: Do not blame the customer for not buying. I've worked with small businesses for over 10 years and I know that small business owners have more sales resistance than anyone I've ever encountered. Let's talk about the reasons why. Here are some of the biggest small business sales objections: 1. No Money - Small business owners do not have unlimited budgets. They are frequently struggling and trying to preserve their limited capital. 2. No Value - Small business owners tend to be do-it yourselfers. They don't see the big advantage of hiring an expert, or switching phone service, or hiring a bookkeeper. 3. No Confidence - Small business owners are frequently over cautious. They simply don't believe that you're going to deliver the goods. 4. No Concept - Sometimes what you're offering is so far outside the the experience of the small business owner that they don't even grasp it. I feel that way with a lot of software packages that don't clearly describe what they do. Restaurant owners know they need food, wine, linens, a valet. They would benefit from a web marketing expert, but they are probably going to get their cousin's kid to do their web site for nothing. 5. Sales Overwhelm - Start a small business and get a listed phone number. Within three weeks you will be inundated with credit card offers, charities seeking donations, people selling toner, and people offering to switch your long distance carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front. 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront You Need to Be Willing For Networking to Effectively Work For You , or switching phone service, or hiring a bookkeeper.The positive effects of networking – such as building a new relationship or finding a partner – don’t just happen by themselves. You need to be proactive and willing to put the time and energy into networking. You have probably met people who don’t see the benefits of networking. For the benefits to start to appear, you need to be motivated, you need to be patient, you need to set goals and you need to think positively. Stay MotivatedWithout the right amount of motivation, networking won’t be effective. Like anything in life, if you are motivated to succeed, the outcome will be favorable. Networking takes time and energy. If you want to effectively 3. No Confidence - Small business owners are frequently over cautious. They simply don't believe that you're going to deliver the goods. 4. No Concept - Sometimes what you're offering is so far outside the the experience of the small business owner that they don't even grasp it. I feel that way with a lot of software packages that don't clearly describe what they do. Restaurant owners know they need food, wine, linens, a valet. They would benefit from a web marketing expert, but they are probably going to get their cousin's kid to do their web site for nothing. 5. Sales Overwhelm - Start a small business and get a listed phone number. Within three weeks you will be inundated with credit card offers, charities seeking donations, people selling toner, and people offering to switch your long distance carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front. 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront Does Post Card Advertising Really Work? carrier. As a small business owner myself I could spend 24 hours a day just entertaining junk mail, spam, and telemarketers. It's too much and I frequently just reject all offers up front.You've decided to try advertising your business with post cards. The idea came to you from the post cards you receive from other businesses. You like the idea because it seems easy to do and economical. However, you've never tried this before so you question whether this method will bring you customers.Let me say this first, "All Forms of Advertising Work!" However, you have to clearly understand how the advertising medium works and realize that each form has it's limitations along with costs associated with it.At this time, I also I need to dispel a myth that has been around for as long as there has been printed advertising. Many, many business people believe that if they do a 1 time mass mailing it 6. Ego - This is the big one. Most people who start small businesses have a powerful sense of individuality and independence. To even suggest that they have been doing something wrong is an affront to their ego. While everybody expresses these aspects of sales resistance to some degree, in my experience, small business owners have it more. There's also Natural Sales Resistance. This is simply people's tendency to reject being sold anything - even if they need it. If you had the cure for cancer, some portion of the population would refuse to buy it. Why? Because people don't like to feel as though their freedom of choice is being taken away. Again, it's an affront to their ego. This is mostly a level of unconscious discomfort, rather than a conscious thought. I worked at a retail shoe store while in high school. We were required to greet customers as they came in. "Hello, how are you doing today" I'd ask. About 80% of the time people would zoom past me and grumble, "I'm just looking." People were so afraid I was going to sell them something that they had to shut me out - even though I made no sales approach. I worked with my friend Greg and we made up a little game. We got so good at identifying who would be a "just looking" person that we would say weird stuff to them when they came in and laugh they would zoom by and didn't notice. "Your shoes are untied." is probably one of the more innocent things we'd throw out. By the way - I'm almost one of those people. I hate being interrupted by sales people when I'm in a store looking around. I'll seek out help if I need it - just make sure it's available. However, I'm never rude to retail people - I've been there and it's a tough job. Ultimately sales is part of the marketing process. We have to understand the components of resistance and inoculate against it. We need to be better about really personally connecting with our customers and prospects. We need to be genuine, keep our promises, and help our customers do our sales for us. Copyright 2005 Marketing Comet
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