Power Up - Marketing and Selling for Greater Success

Whose "Black Friday" is it?
The day after Thanksgiving this year was widely advertised as Black Friday. Why would one call a day of supposedly happy shopping and discount prices "Black Friday?" Of course it is due to the fact that on that day the retailers will make a profit and some will cross the line from a dismal year of sales to a profitable one. But for the retail customer the days should not be viewed as a dismal day which "black" denotes. The retailers are so self-focused that they are talking to themselves versus the customer. Why not talk in exciting terms the customer can relate to rather than industry jargon? Celebration Friday - Happy Friday - Sales Galore Friday, etc. all have a better connotation than "Black Friday."

The broker never showed up after the sale

Our neighbor is interested in selling his house in this crazy market and searched out a good broker to interview to see if he was the right fit to get the listing. The broker showed up on time, gave a very impressive presentation, showed how the homeowner could save money on the commission, and suggested some fast selling strategies that did not entail lowering the price of the home. My neighbor was sold and agreed that the broker should send him some paperwork so the process could continue.

The neighbor waited, and waited, and still did not get the paperwork. The time and effort put in by the broker was squandered. Why make the sales call is you are not going to follow through on the sale?

Rebounding the sale

While passing a local high school I saw some teens playing basketball. They were having a lot of fun tossing the ball toward the basket – sometimes it would go in and most of the time it didn’t. But what really caught my attention was the one guy who continued to follow up on his tosses and when the ball bounced off the rim or the backboard, he would jump up and tap the ball into the basket. Great technique. While the other players were satisfied to shoot for the 3 pointers and more glamorous shots, this player made more points by doing the follow up.

The sales message for me was clear and I hope it is for you as well. We may not be successful with the initial sales call but with follow up we improve our odds greatly. During the follow up call we know more about the prospect’s decision making process, we know more about their needs, what other companies they are considering, and their decision timeframes, etc. The follow up call provides us with the opportunity to tap our pitch and make it more perfectly turn into a score!

I wish you the best in rebounding efforts after your sales pitch.