In This Edition
1. Six Successful Habits To Increase Productivity And Your Client Base
2. A Visionary Thinker
3. Quotes
4. Recommended Reading
Six Successful Habits To Increase Productivity And Your Client Base
New Year is that time of year when we all make commitments to do things differently or change a habit. For those of you in sales, this may include new ways to achieve your goals, and this article is written for you. But the principles are true even if you are not in sales, so please read on.
1. HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION
Real success is based on truly identifying your target markets, your ideal client base.
Prepare a list of your 20 top clients and your 20 top prospects and never let more than 30 days go by without being in touch with them.
Ask your clients for referrals. Who else do they know who might benefit from what you have to offer?
Plan every single day to maximize productivity.
Evaluate your client and prospect base regularly.
Set goals and high expectations for yourself.
Work outside of the box. Be prepared to do the things other people are not prepared to do.
Be prepared to work unsociable hours, weekends if necessary, doing what ever it takes to succeed.
Know where you want to go with your business. Work your plan consistently and plan to succeed.
2. BE IN BUSINESS FOR YOUR CLIENTS
Successful sales professionals know this and keep it top of mind in all their client interactions.
Think not what your clients can do for you, but what you can do for them. Always focus on building meaningful RELATIONSHIPS with your clients.
Do not think sale, think SERVICE. If you take care of serving your clients the sale will take care of itself every time, and your clients will refer and introduce you to your future clients.
Do not so much market your products or services, market what solutions and benefits your products and services provide for your clients.
Work with your clients to help them, and you, understand what their real NEEDS are. Put the fancy brochures away at first. Get to know your clients on a personal level. Earn the right to do business with them.
Remember. People do not care what you know until they know that you care. We do business with people we like, respect and most important, who we trust.
3. GET OVER REJECTION
Rejection and disappointment are part and parcel of the daily business of a successful sales professional. In fact, if you are not getting rejected often you are probably not speaking to enough people or making enough calls.
The failure of many potentially great sales people is taking rejection personally; remember a “no” is just a request for further information.
Successful people in business do not worry about failure. In fact, they know that every setback leads them closer to success. Henry Ford wisely said, “Failure is just another opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Talk to enough people in a day and you will ultimately succeed. Be patient, believe in yourself, your products and services, and be proud of the organization that you represent.
4. NETWORK
How often are you out there promoting your products and services? How often do you ask your existing clients for a referral and most important, an introduction to that person?
Every time you come in to contact with people is a golden OPPORTUNITY for you to promote your business both directly and indirectly.
Join your local chamber of commerce, board of trade, local business networking group etc.
Be seen, get involved and become known in your local community. Visibility breeds success.
5. DEVELOP EXCEPTIONAL LISTENING SKILLS
Dale Carnegie said, “You will make more friends in two months by being interested in other people than you will do in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” Most people are not very good listeners. Truly successful people in all walks of life have a skill for listening and it truly is a skill.
Make it a daily practice to do less talking and more listening to your clients. Try using the 80/20 rule. It is not easy; we all want to talk, about ourselves, about our products and services, about what we have to offer. The art of great communication, making a connection with people and building successful relationships with your clients, is to listen to what they are telling you and being truly interested in them.
Ask open-ended questions and than keep quiet and listen intently to their answers.
Great listening skills are one of the keys to increasing your success rate. No one has ever closed a sale while they were still doing the talking!
6. FOLLOW UP
Make it a habit to follow up with your clients and prospects. Sounds simple, right? In my experience, and surveys back me up on this, 67% (amazingly) of people in business do not follow up enough. Do not be one of them. Think long-term. Nurturing a relationship that eventually results in business takes time.
Keep in touch, stay in front of your clients and prospects. Often business is about being top-of-mind when the “buy” decision is made. Spending quality time in building and developing that relationship with your potential client is crucial and will differentiate you from the pack when a buying decision is being made. Patience is a virtue.
Set an appointment to follow-up, and keep it!
Return all your phone calls promptly! Keep in contact with your clients in every way possible!
Often it is the little things that make a big difference. Send them a hand written note or card instead of an e-mail, send them an article you read that might be of interest to them. Personalize it, be different, and show them that you care.
To your success!
“It is the service we are not obliged to give that our customers value and remember the most”
A Visionary Thinker
After World War II, Dr W. Edwards Deming believed that the way for American companies to remain competitive was to make a firm commitment to quality production. He also believed that the average worker wanted to do a good job and wanted to be proud of the company they worked for, however, they also wanted to be treated fairly as individuals. For this to happen, management needed to know that all people are different. He put forward the idea that a good motivated worker with a strong work ethic would have the answer to many production problems as well as providing valuable input and ideas. What a novel concept!
Dr Deming tried to sell those ideas and concepts to American business without much success. However, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) heard about him and invited him to lecture in their country. JUSE wanted to rebuild Japan’s shattered industrial capacity after World War II and also overcome it’s reputation for producing second-class products. They decided Dr Deming’s “commitment to quality” and treating all workers fairly was the way to reach those goals. This approach was widely adopted by Japanese industry. The rest, as we say, is history.
We all know of the incredible success of Japanese industry over the course of the past 40 years or so: high quality products, strong work ethic and state-of-the-art technology. To honor Dr. Deming, JUSE presents an award every year to the Japanese companies with the most outstanding achievements in quality control. The Deming Medal, honoring the American visionary credited with changing the direction of Japanese industry, is the most prestigious and sought-after prize in Japan today.
In October 1999, the Los Angeles Times business staff compiled a list of the 50 most influential business people of the century. W. Edwards Deming was featured, along with General Douglas MacArthur, for their work in rebuilding Japan after 1945. Dr. Deming was credited as a catalyst for Japan’s economic surge in well-made consumer goods.
QUOTES
“To be successful you have to be better today than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you were today” Charles M. Marcus
“If you’re not enjoying the journey, the destination will almost be a disappointment” Joe Tye
“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art”
Eleanor Roosevelt
RECOMMENDED READING
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value by Bill George
The former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, Bill George, makes the case that we need new leaders not just new laws. He demonstrates how to develop the five essential dimensions of authentic leadership: purpose, values, heart, relationships, and self-discipline. George knows what the bottom-line results of this approach are; in his twelve-years in leadership at Medtronic, the company’s market capital soared from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35 percent per year. A true testimony to what authentic leadership can deliver.
Big Ideas For Growing Your Business: Successful entrepreneurs share 100+ ideas that will grow your business by Business Innovation Group
One hundred top entrepreneurs from all walks of life, including “yours truly”, share their expertise and secrets on what it takes to be successful in business today. This is a wonderful book that I am honored to be a part of. It contains lots of invaluable information, wisdom, common sense and strategies for growing a successful business. A must read for anybody in business today. Contact me at info@cmarcus.com to order copies. This book is not available for purchase in the bookstores.
A Cook’s Tour: In search of the perfect meal by Anthony Bourdain
For a complete change of pace I chose this marvelous book. Anybody who has seen Anthony Bourdain on the Food Network with his witty commentary, outrageous eating habits and interesting anecdotes will appreciate this book. I could not put it down. The author travels all over the world in search of the perfect meal. The people he meets along the way, the food he samples (nothing is off limits to his palate), and the exotic places he visits are all enchanting. I felt like I was right there in the action, with all the smells and sounds he described. Anthony is a real straight shooter, telling it like it is. Anybody who likes to experiment with their food and likes to have a good laugh will appreciate this book.
Copyright
Permission is granted to reproduce this newsletter in whole or in part provided the following byline below appears along with the article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you: To check previous issues for publication, please go to www.cmarcus.com and click on articles/newsletters.
Charles Marcus is an international motivational speaker. To subscribe to his FREE success newsletter, please send an email to subscribe@cmarcus.com. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. For more information on how Charles, his book and his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 905-847-2323. Toll-Free in North America at 1-800-837-0629, or visit his website: www.cmarcus.com
