Selling B2B can be easier if you follow this rhyme:

“To sell Jack Jones what Jack Jones buys is to see Jack Jones through Jack’s own eyes.”

A former colleague of mine rambled this one off as we were reminiscing our university days many many moons ago.

How do you become a better B2B seller?  Understand who Jack Jones is and become valuable to him.  What do I mean by this?  If you could imagine Jack Jones’ task list of running a department or running a business….where do you think you would rank on that task list?  I can pretty much guarantee that if you even make the list it’s going to be somewhere near the bottom.  Now, don’t take this as some slight against you because it’s not.  Your challenge is to get on that task list and move up the task list until you become the top 3 for Jack Jones.

How to move up on Jack Jones task list.

Help Jack Jones understand that you are more valuable in his life than out of it.  So if you’re selling to Jack Jones try to see his world from his eyes.  Running a business is about risk management.   A decision to buy from you will rest on primarily 2 things:

1. How will buying from you impact the organization.  How does it affect their quality, reliability, execution.  If they do business with you how deep is their commitment?

2. How does making the decision to buy from you affect the decision maker?  This is where emotions often come into play.  The biggest emotion that a seller needs to overcome is FEAR.  Is the buyer making the right decision?  How does the decision they are about to make impact the organizations resources of time and money?

Overcome points 1 and 2 and you will sell more.

The Key to Increasing your Sales…the Hidden Power of the Mind.

“Float like a butterfly…sting like a bee”

For me that phrase always conjures up an image of Muhammad Ali just like the one you see here.

For you golfers out there how many times do you hit the ball into the water? QUIKTIPZ of the day…STOP THINKING ABOUT THE WATER!

Or if I asked you…can you describe how big the the new Airbus A380?  What would you say? It’s 72.7m long, 24.1m high with a wing span of 79.8m…but does this actually paint a picture of the enormity of this aircraft?  In a word….NO.  But if I told you the A380 is 7 stories tall, can park 70 cars on each wing, and it’s length is almost as long as a football field…would that give you a clearer picture?  I think so.

Engaging the consumer’s mind is something that we often overlook whenever we undertake some sort of advertising…regardless of medium – radio, t.v., direct mail, new print, internet…you name it.

If you want to increase your awareness, response rates, overall advertising effectiveness….ENGAGE you prospects mind and inject with emotion.  If you want to read more about this…check out Michael Fortin’s article that I posted below.

Enjoy the post…as I imagine what it’s going to be like when I head down to the Mayan Riviera next month…white soft sand, warm gentle blue ocean water, sun drenched warmth embracing my soul….sound good doesn’t it?

Read the rest of this entry

In my opinion, the difference between earning and making money is subtle but once figured out can become a game changer for ANYONE and EVERYONE.  The majority of the population is brainwashed with the following notion: “go to school, get educated, find a job, and earn a living”. 

|J.O.B. IS AN ACRONYM FOR JUST-OVER-BROKE|

Layer in the idea that we are being programmed to consume and you quickly find out that a JOB really is an acronym for Just-Over-Broke.  What’s in the news these days? North Americans are at unprecedented debt levels, unemployment rates up etc…The reason for this is simple…they don’t teach how to make money in school.

 What most people do not understand is that they all have the ability to make money…they just don’t know it.  I came across a couple quotes today and it came from a guy born in the 1800′s.  Talk about wisdom standing the test of time…the quotes go like this:

  ”Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.” – George Clason

 And

 “Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” – George Clason

  Each and everyday opportunity to make money passes YOU by.  There is a VERY VERY simple formula to making money:

•  Find a product or service to SELL (S) 
•  Make sure that the price you charge for it covers off all the EXPENSES (E) related to selling it
•  At the same time leaving some money left over to reinvest/grow and keep- PROFITS (P). 

For those of you out there that like mathematical equations:

 Sales (S) minus Expenses (E) = Profits (P) ** as long as your Expenses are less than your profits. 

In fact, if you don’t employ this equation to your personal finances do this now!  But only after you make the following adjustment to above equation.  Your sales is what you earn from your job…what you earn is subject to income tax.  Your after tax income is the money you have to spend or save.  Your expenses include (but are not limited to) the following: mortgage payments, car loan/lease payments, loan(s), credit cards, food and entertainment, household utilities and maintenance.  At the end of the day, you want to make sure that your expenses are less than your after tax income.  A good rule of thumb is to make sure you save at least 10% of your income.  So if you make a $1000 a week you should be setting aside $100 for savings.  If you are not doing this, don’t panic there is hope for you yet.

|Being employed leaves you one step away from financial ruin|

Unfortunately, the majority of the population are one trick ponies when it comes to income…are you one of them?  What this also means is that YOU ARE AT RISK of getting wiped out financially…especially if you have a lot of expenses.  Let me list off the ways:

• you get fired,
•  downsized,
•  become obsolete,
•  get sick,
•  get injured – I think you’re getting the picture now. 

The smart ones out there are not the ones trying minimize expenses or whine about getting raises – sure you can try these tactics too.  But the money and the path to FREEDOM is in multiple streams or branches of income.  Large or small the key is to build as many streams or branches as possible.  Focus on building one stream at a time and keep adding and make sure they are diversified.  Ideally, the streams should also be passive – meaning money continues to flow with or without your input.  For example, in addition to the day job (that I do because I love) I have or have had income streams in real estate, restaurants, advertising businesses and investments.  I am comforted in knowing that if one stream dries up I have other sources of income that can cover off my expenses.  Imagine the stress relief you would have knowing that you could leave your job anytime you wanted…I think this is the number one stressor for North Americans – What happens if I lose my job?

 All is not lost.  There are three main take-aways from today’s post:

1.  Start getting educated TODAY on how to make money.  Research online/offline, study people who are making money, find a mentor that can guide you…LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVRYDAY!
2.  Believe in yourself.  The best investment you can make is in YOURSELF…you are the pilot to your destiny.  Opportunity comes to those who are prepared for it – Are you prepared?
3. Take action.  Implement something that you have learned.  Make it a habit, a routine, a discipline do it everyday – HINT – the right thing to do is one that gets results.  Repeat this step everyday and YOU will achieve what you thought was unachievable.

Well what are you waiting for?