=======================================================================
July 28, 2005 http://www.thecompetitiveadvantage.net
=======================================================================
You have received this newsletter as part of your subscription to Sales & Marketing Strategies and News Magazine. Information on unsubscribing to this email newsletter is located at the bottom of this email.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
Lake Group Media helps companies develop new customers through direct and interactive marketing services.  We assist clients interested in creating and executing targeted direct mail efforts, e-mail campaigns, telemarketing and online lead generation programs.  Our comprehensive one-stop services including targeted list selection, merge purge, printing, and mailing.  Our list management division also helps companies monetize their customer list asset.  Clients include Harvard Business Review, American City Business Journals, American Bar Association, The Economist and Crain's NY. 

Email Ryan at Ryan.Lake@lakegroupmedia.com or call him at 914-925-2434 for more information.
=======================================================================
CONTENTS:

===================================================
Don’t sacrifice integrity by dropping your price
By Landy Chase

“That's too much money.” Is the client correct? Or do you believe in the value of what you are offering?

Most salespeople are caught off guard by this and try to handle the price objection by offering to lower the price. This approach sends three messages:

  1. The original price was inflated.
  2. You’ll drop price every time you do business.
  3. You don’t value your offering as you should.

I recently encountered this problem. About a week after an initial discussion, the prospective client told me: “We’d like to hire you for our program, but you’re significantly higher than the speaker we had last year, and I have a strict budget I’m working with. Can you do anything to help us out on your pricing?"

My response was polite but firm. "My policy on this issue is that it would be unethical for me to charge you a different fee for my services than I charge my other clients. However, I will guarantee that the value you receive from my presentation will be worth the investment. After my presentation, if you don’t feel that the value justifies the price, you may pay me whatever you think appropriate."

I was paid my full fee for services, have been hired twice since then and the price issue has not come up again.

It is unethical for you to ask two different clients to pay two different prices for the same amount of value. This means you may have to walk away from a sale rather than give away something for nothing.

The next time this issue is presented to you, try the following:

Finally, remember that a corresponding decrease in services rendered is the ONLY way to reduce price while maintaining your value position. If you can't do that, walk away. After all, what is your integrity worth?

Landy Chase is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Landy Chase Inc. He specializes in speaking to corporations and associations on advanced professional selling and sales management skills. Reach him at www.landychase.com.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
BEN…A One-of-a-kind Business Email Network
Reach over 5 MILLION qualified business professionals from 420 response list sources including magazine and newsletter subscribers, product buyers, book and seminar buyers, and conference attendees. Hundreds of selectable data elements available to make your campaign scalable. Select from job function, industry, sales volume, employee size, products purchased, and geography.

Email Chris at mailto: chris.longo@epostdirect.com or call him at 845-731-3824 for more information.
=======================================================================
Top 10 Tips for Creating an Online "Content Event"
By Larry Chase

At the time of writing, there are more than 10 billion pages on the World Wide Web. By the time you read this, there will be more than that.

With so many Web pages, e-mails, RSS feeds, podcasts, TV, radio and print ads competing for attention, you need to create an attraction that convincingly says, "Give me your attention over everything else hitting you right now." Since people use the Internet heavily to gather information, it's money well spent to create what I call a Content Event to successfully get that attention from your target audience.

A Content Event may take the form of a downloadable PDF white paper. It may be a Webinar, an RSS feed, a podcast or a regular e-mail newsletter. I've been creating successful content events online since 1993. Hereunder are my Top 10 Tips for Creating an Online Content Event:

  1. Answer the Question "Why Bother?": Decide what you want out of your Content Event. Leads, prospects or sales are the typical motives.
  2. Tightly Target: The more specific, the better. The smaller and more addressable your audience, the more relevant and attractive your content offering will be.
  3. Focus Group Your Audience: Chances are they're just as slammed with work and time-crunched as you are. Actively pursue them and throw out a few test titles that you're thinking about offering. If they say, "That's nice...", forget it. They just don't want to offend you. But if they draw in a deep breath and say, "I must read that, when will it be ready?", you may well have a winner on your hands. Also ask them what their "pain points" are and to list the top three things they need answers about. If you see a pattern emerging after talking repeatedly to target audience members, again, you've probably got a winner.
  4. Keep it Pithy: Online is a "give-it-to-me-quick" medium. People are simultaneously searching Google, checking their email IN box, IM'ing, hitting websites and talking on the phone. A 200-page PDF white paper is too much. People shouldn't feel obligated to read the whole thing. In fact, they may not download a huge PDF to avoid that very feeling of obligation. Make every word count, no matter what the format.
  5. Pay a Pro: Companies often pay a recognized expert to write their white paper or present at a webinar. I've had clients hire me to do both. If the expert is popular in the field you're addressing, it will increase the attention you get.
  6. Look In-House for Content: You may find that you have the expertise within your firm to produce a high-quality Content Event. If you're producing a "one-off" white paper, then maybe you're in good shape, so long as you have someone internally who can write with authority and avoid the salesy tone you often find in pieces produced and written in-house. BTW, if you're considering a periodic newsletter, be honest with yourself and ask if you want or can realistically commit to the periodic publishing business. Proceed with caution -- and here again, consider hiring a pro to show you the ropes until you can fly the plane yourself.
  7. Toot Your Horn: I do not mean to suggest that you should start shooting out bombastic, chest-thumping press releases. That's self-defeating. Allocate a significant amount of your marketing budget to getting the word out. This includes info-packed press releases (worth reading in their own right) and the use of guerrilla tactics like email newsletters, viral marketing and calling upon your personal relationships with journalists. Make sure you give them something real to write about. After all, they must interest their readers and editors as well.
  8. Skip the Hyperbole: Your press releases, ads, and Content Event itself should impress and inspire in their own right. The world won't believe you when you say your Content Event is amazing and revolutionary. Prove it. As they say in baseball, "let your bat do the talking". If you really have red meat in your press release, try my colleagues at http://www.seo-pr.com. They can help you get above the daily noise level by optimizing your press release for search engines, news sites, RSS feeds, etc.
  9. Use Bullet Points in Your Ads: As publisher of Web Digest For Marketers, I see what works and what doesn't work when promoting Content Events. Why should you use bullet points?
    They're easy to skim, which is what people do online.
    They force brevity on the part of the writer.
    Bullet points are much easier to read than long paragraphs.
  10. Talk to Yourself: When is the last time you downloaded a PDF white paper or attended a webinar? Ask yourself why you participated. In this interactive medium, the marketer is often similar to the target audience. In research circles this is called "Pulse Universe" -- meaning, if it resonates with you there's a good chance that it will resonate with your target audience as well.

Bonus Tip

  1. Be Authentic: Be clear about your agenda. People are suspicious online, with good reason. Don't drain all the life out of your copy, be it advertising, press releases or promo ads. In short, get people to identify with you and like you. Why? Because at the end of the day, people ask themselves if they either can or want to do business with you.

Larry Chase is the publisher of Web Digest for Marketers, a free weekly e-mail letter you may find at www.wdfm.com. He is also a speaker, consultant and author.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
Hiring the Wrong Person Costs You Three Times Their Annual Salary
The stakes are high when you're recruiting.  A $50,000 employee costs you $150.000; a $150,000 employee costs you $450,000.  That's for starters.  There's also lost opportunity cost…plus lost business, potential customers and momentum!  

With the Hiring the Best system, you'll know without a doubt which person is best for the job and your company.  This Multi-media program reveals a simple way to know your job applicants before you hire them. It includes the Top Performer Profiler, our data base of interview questions on CD-ROM and an audio cassette training tape.

For more information go to: http://www.briefings.com/promo_top.php?maingroup=PROMO_46
=======================================================================
Learn the languages of your 3 prospect groups
Business prospects speak three “languages” that you must speak, too, if you want to get their attention.

Lower-level managers are hands-on professionals who speak the language of feature/function. They ask things like, “Does your solution come with training?” and “Where can I see one working?” You need to be conversant in the feature/function lingo you learned during your product training. Say something like, “Our product can do the job 20 percent faster than your current way of doing things because of the XYZ component.”

Vice presidents are interested in one thing: How can you help them to increase revenue or decrease costs? Leave them a message like this: “I’d like to talk to you about a system that has cut inventory costs in organizations like yours by 20 percent.”

Senior managers speak a language shaped by two concepts: market share and market size. Your message to them might be: “The market is growing 14 percent over the next three years. If you adopt and approve my plan, we’ll grow the business by 19 percent and take significant share away from competitors.”

Adapted from Knock Your Socks Off Prospecting, William “Skip” Miller and Ron Zemke, AMACOM, www.AmacomBooks.org.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
Double Your Sales Team’s Effectiveness
You’ll discover practical solutions in every issue of Team Management Briefings to build and maintain a productive sales team.  It’s an affordable resource for effective team-building.  You and your sales reps can use this 8-page monthly newsletter to learn how to:

For more information go to: http://www.briefings.com/promo_top.php?maingroup=PROMO_47
=======================================================================
Avoid Making These 10 Communication Bloopers

Sales and marketing are all about communication. The way you personally communicate reveals loads about your ability to handle the professional needs of others. Avoid making these bloopers:

Adapted from “39 Communication Bloopers and How to Avoid Them.” If you found these useful, please go to www.Briefings.com for more tips.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
Sales and Marketing Strategies & News Audio Conference Series
Do you have a predictable process for sales success?  Most salespeople today don’t.  As a result, they don’t have confidence, they work too hard, and they don’t earn the money they should.  Join Todd Duncan, Author of the Wall Street Journal Bestselling Book, “Time Traps” during a 90 minutes audio conference. You’ll learn how to:

  1. Build a predictable process for sales success.
  2. Use the four step sales plan to quadruple your sales.
  3. Why time management is a waste of time and why task management is where all the money is made.
  4. Do less and earn more through implementing "The 100% Question".
  5. Master the art of Time Blocking.

For more information, visit http://www.thecompetitiveadvantage.net/audio/audio35.asp or call (804) 762-9600.
=========================SPONSOR======================================
The Latest on CAN-SPAM Regulations & More!
Do you market products or services through e-mail? Do you distribute newsletters by e-mail or use e-mail to communicate information to past and present customers or clients? If so, you are bound to comply with the federal CAN-SPAM Act. The Federal Trade Commission is still in the process of developing its CAN-SPAM regulations, so the strategy for complying is continually evolving and poses ambiguities and concerns for businesses sending legitimate messages. Join Katie Harrington McBride, Attorney in the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Marketing Practices and David Straus, Washington Counsel for American Business Media and Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Thompson Coburn LLP, as they discuss the Act, what it means for legitimate businesses and recent regulations during a 90 minutes audio conference on May 24, 2005. 

For More information, visit http://www.thecompetitiveadvantage.net/audio/audio39.asp or call (804) 762-9600.
=======================================================================
SALES TALK 2: When They Won’t Return Calls

QUESTION: “When there’s no response from someone you have been trying to contact through direct mail, follow-up calls and e-mail, what other avenues can you use to reach a prospect? And is there a point at which it’s OK to go over that person’s head? Has it become customary for people not to return calls?”

A View from the Campus
By Jeff Tanner

ANSWER: I think it has become customary for people to not return calls, particularly given the increasing amount of direct marketing that “relationship marketers” are doing. Since you are asking about a prospect, I can only assume that this is someone who knows what you have to offer but does not value the opportunity to visit with you.

In my research over the past decade, I’ve observed that the downsizing among buyers has not kept pace with productivity gains. That means they are like everyone else; working harder just to stay even. At the same time, CRM systems have targeted them more effectively, meaning that they are getting bombarded with more marketing messages. In addition, since fewer buyers are buying more, more salespeople are knocking on their door. They don’t have time to waste.

The real issue, then, is to get their attention such that they want to hear what you have to say. That means one of two things is happening: your pitch isn’t good enough or it is going to the wrong people.

It’s hard to tell from the question whether this prospect is someone you have qualified or just how much contact you’ve had with them. For that reason, I’m going to raise some questions and ideas that may be helpful across a number of situations.

Too often, we focus our attention on the decision maker. My research indicates that decision makers rarely start the buying process; usually someone else at a lower level identifies a need and makes a case to move forward. If your problem is that you aren’t getting started with people you think should be interested, don’t go over someone’s head. Consider going the other direction instead and broadening the attack. Who is most directly affected by what you have to offer? Start with them.

Similarly, there are others who, as Neil Rackham calls them, are the focus of dissatisfaction. They may not traditionally initiate a purchase, but with a little push, they might. All you want them to do is to give you an audience with the buyer or decision maker.

If qualified prospects (people you have talked with and identified that they have the money, authority, and a desire for a solution like yours) aren’t returning your calls, then you need to reconsider your presentation. The fault could lie in how you identify needs, how you present, and whether you are closing for the right level of commitment. Alternatively, it could be that the person isn’t the decision maker, in which case you need to work on how to identify the decision-making process. Again, they don’t see the value in your offer so no answer is the same as a no.

And in that case, it is perfectly all right to go over someone’s head, as long as you are willing to take the risks. Right now, you may think you have nothing to lose. But my research on buyers also indicates that those who are upset with the process in today’s purchase are more likely to participate more loudly in the next purchase. So if you make someone mad, then recognize that you’ll pay for it for at least one more decision and possibly more.

At the same time, you may have nothing to lose. If you are still thinking you should go over your contact’s head, consider ways to copy people in on emails and proposals as a way to keep them informed, rather than a blatant attempt to bypass a roadblock.

My own attempts at such strategies have never worked, but that may just be me. Rather, I’ve found it a lot easier to go find someone with an urgency to buy rather than create life where there was none.

Jeff Tanner, Ph.D., is research director at Baylor University’s Center for Professional Selling, Waco, Texas.

A View from the Field
By John Graham

ANSWER: This is the problem that baffles and frustrates everyone in sales. No matter what you do, there’s no response. What can you do next? The most common practice is to cross the person’s name off the list and move on. Why not? Beating your head against a wall is painful and wastes valuable time.

Not so fast! Most of us get upset with the prospect. “Don’t people return calls?” the questioner asks. Of course we return calls––but only those that are important to us at the moment. If it’s not essential, we don’t.

Here’s the point: the purpose of prospecting is to figure out ways to get qualified prospects to want to do business with you. Unfortunately, the customer sets the time schedule, not the salesperson. Just because you and I want to make a presentation doesn’t mean the person wants to hear it.

Actually, this turns out to be the good news! There is absolutely nothing worse that presenting to those who do not have a felt need for what we do or sell. Let’s get it straight. The goal is not making the presentation; the objective is for the prospect to ask for your presentation. What we as salespeople want is a motivated prospect, someone who recognizes the need for a solution, one who has come to believe in who we are, who we represent and who has a regard for our competence.

All this must happen before you make the presentation. Too many companies try to make a presentation to establish credibility. Credibility must precede presentation. Keep this in front of you at all times: The sale must be made before the presentation is given. If it isn’t, it’s no sale.

Those who think that all they need to do is get in front of the prospect to close the deal, don’t understand what’s happened with buyers today, be they businesses or consumers. Today’s buying signal is getting the go-ahead to make the presentation. The purpose of sending literature and other types of information, using email and even the telephone should be to help pull prospects closer to you, not to try to grab them by the neck and force them to their knees, even though there are salespeople and sales managers who subscribe to this approach. It’s a dead-end today.

Working with prospects requires a plan, not a random telephone call. Developing and then implementing a step-by-step strategy to educate and motivate prospects so they select you when they get ready is the goal. Today’s prospects want to be sure you know what you’re talking about and that you will be there when you’re needed. The overall prospecting process should be designed to show you can be counted on to deliver on that promise.

Now, a word about going over someone’s head. You may want to reconsider your decision about contacting this particular person. Could you be focusing on the wrong individual? Perhaps you should be cultivating two people instead of one.

Otherwise, it can be dangerous and dumb to go over someone’s head, unless you want to send the message that you will go to any lengths to get what you want. If that’s what you’re all about, do it. But don’t count on the order.

In other words, think about the prospecting process; don’t let yourself be preoccupied about just getting through the door. Where you really want to be is somewhere else ––inside the customer’s head.

John Graham is president of Graham Communications, Quincy, Mass.
=======================================================================
Sales and Marketing Strategies & News E-zine is published by Douglas Publications LLC.
Visit us at http://www.thecompetitiveadvantage.net.
=======================================================================
For information on sponsorships for the Sales and Marketing Strategies & News E-zine, contact Curtis Wharton, (804) 762-9600, ext. 254 or cwharton@douglaspublications.com.
=======================================================================
P.S. Help keep your co-workers informed! Pass this free e-subscription along!
http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB224A2BCPS6E
=======================================================================