|
Tuesday, September 18 2012
12 Sales And Marketing Ideas
That Are Guaranteed To
Increase Your Sales
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 892
- Time To Read: 3.6 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
Are you having some challenges with your sales and marketing efforts? Or worse, are you spending money on marketing and not seeing any type of activity from your efforts? If you answered yes to either question, you will find this post timely.
The Key To Your Success Will Be This: Develop A Drip Marketing System For Your Business.
It's not unusual for a mediocre product or service with great marketing to outperform a good product that is poorly marketed. Face it; big businesses like Pepsi, Coke and GM can dedicate tons of money and staff to develop a marketing campaign, telemarketing team, national ad, etc. You, on the other hand, cannot afford to spend money without seeing some type of return. So what can you do to improve the ROI from your marketing efforts?
The answer is rather straightforward; the key is to set up a sales and marketing system. From my perspective, creating sales and marketing ideas is nearly an endless task. Nevertheless, it has to be done correctly or all that you will do is throw good money after bad.
12 Sales And Marketing Ideas For Your Business.
- Develop A Sales Compensation Program That Rewards A Hunter Mentality: Take a look at what you are paying your salespeople for a base salary, commissions, employee taxes, health, auto and phone. Then divide that number by their sales volume. Once you do this, you will be surprised to see how much you are paying in commissions. The next step is to create a comp plan that rewards sales success.
- Know This Salesperson Stat: Our research has proven that 99% of all salespeople stop calling a prospect after their third unsuccessful attempt at moving the sales process forward. That being said, you need to create and install a drip marketing system that automatically sends out a marketing campaign.
- Don't Let Salespeople Do Their Own Marketing: Salespeople in general are poor writers and ignore your brand's identity. Keep your salespeople focused on selling, not marketing.
- Set Up Your Sales Metrics For Your Sales Team Including:
- Sales pipeline report
- Tracking the # of F2F sales calls each week
- # of F2F sales calls for the following week
- Prospect database size
- Referral source database size
- Number of proposals presented and closed
- Number of referrals they received from a referral partner
- Ask Your Clients These Questions: Gather a list of your ten most recent clients and ask them why they bought from you. Additionally, I suggest asking what made them start looking for what you sell. What you hear will most likely shock you - and this information will help you construct your next marketing message(s).
- You Need To Know That e-Mail Marketing Is Not The Silver Bullet For Marketing Your Business: We will send close to 5 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of our clients this year. However, you can't just send out a campaign and watch a lead come in. The real sales success will come from a combination of efforts like postcards, lumpy mail campaigns, social media campaigns, etc.
- Schedule Phone Blitz Sessions: If a salesperson is at 79% or below of their sales quota from the previous month, require them to attend two (in the office), 60 to 90 minute phone blitz sessions each week to call prospects, past customers, referral partners, etc.
- These are mandatory meetings (you need to ensure there is a penalty for missing them) to establish a pattern of success.
- The objectives of these phone blitz sessions are to set meetings, following up with the prospects in their sales pipeline, establish referral partners, etc.
- Create A Business Development Center For A Salesperson To Tap Into:
- Sales scripts and questions to ask a prospect or a referral source
- Proposal and cover letter for proposals
- Ad slicks to send a prospect
- Buyer's scorecards
- Intro sales letters/e-mail campaigns
- Create A Sales Pipeline Report: Create a sales pipeline report that your salespeople fill out. Make sure they send it to their sales leader 24 hours before the next day's sales meeting (make this mandatory).
- Develop A Formal Referral Partner Program: Did you know that a lead from a referral source can have a 75% or more close ratio? Unfortunately, many businesses who have a referral partner program don't have a formal "kit" or "program" in place. Additionally, it is up to the owner or sales leader lead this initiative.
- Develop a Niche Market: You are better off targeting verticals and become the "expert" in this industry or segment.
- Send A Lumpy Mail Campaign To Your Top Prospects And Referral Partners: If you want to get the attention of your top prospects or referral partners, send a lumpy mail campaign on a quarterly basis. The results will amaze you. If you want to get some lumpy mail campaign ideas, turn to page 145 in my book. Click here to order your copy from Amazon.com.
Executive Summary: The key to your sales and marketing success is being proactive. Therefore, start doing something today - not tomorrow or the day after that. Developing a sales and marketing system for your business takes time. However, the best part is this: It doesn't take a whole lot of money - just time.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
Thursday, September 13 2012
How Many Times Has
This Happened To You?
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 605
- Time To Read: 2.4 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
You call a prospect on the phone and after a great discussion about what you can offer him, he tells you that his company isn't ready to make a buying decision. And after hearing this, you politely say, "OK, no problem. When you are ready to make a decision on this, keep us in mind." After hanging up the phone, you schedule a follow-up call in 90 days.
90 Days Later. . .
After 90 days go by, you call this same prospect only to hear, "Sorry to tell you this but your timing is off by two weeks; we just bought from __________ - they called me when we were having a problem with x, y and z. Thanks for the call and I wish you well."
How To Avoid This Happening To You.
To optimize your sales efforts, it is essential to install a drip marketing system at your business - an automated system that stays in continuous contact with your database of customers, past customers, prospects and referral partners. Although a drip marketing system won't guarantee you or your salespeople a sale, it will put the odds in your favor of a prospect calling you when they have an issue or when they want to learn more about buying what you sell.
The Key Is Saying The Right Things At The Right Frequency.
Installing a drip marketing system at your business hinges on a number of key elements - elements that I have written about in my book on drip marketing and as well as in my massive Drip Marketing System.
Click here to visit amazon.com to purchase this book in the Kindle version.
To help you install a drip marketing system at your business, I have listed below some suggestions.
- Develop a multi-faceted approach to contacting your target audience. Use e-mail marketing, direct mail and lumpy mail campaigns - followed-up at specific intervals with a phone call. Don't forget to include your social media campaigns too. If you are ONLY sending out a series of e-mail marketing campaigns to save a few dollars, you are committing marketing suicide.
- One of the most critical things you can do is set-up a call-back schedule that touches a person every 75 to 90 days (this frequency depends on what you sell).
There Is A Huge Opportunity To Increase Your Sales.
The reality is that 50% of all salespeople give up on a prospect after their FIRST unsuccessful contact - this number skyrockets to 99% after their THIRD unsuccessful attempt. By the way, these statistics will NOT change, as most salespeople are laser focused on finding the immediate buyers in their database. Although this is fine to do, you need to know that your database of immediate buyers only represents about 1% to 3% of your entire database.
97% Of Your Sales Team's Database Is Being Completely Ignored.
If a salesperson only focuses on the immediate buyers in his or her database, this means that 97% of their prospects (clients, past clients, prospects and referral partners) are being completely ignored - or in effect, not being nurtured. Oh by the way, don't count on your salespeople writing great marketing copy. Their job is to sell, not market.
Executive Summary: Most people in sales spend a substantial amount of time calling/meeting prospects that never close - in essence, they spend a lot of energy heating up a prospect, but never keep the sales process simmering. What's more interesting is that these same prospects are the ones that will represent their future sales - or should I say sales that will go to a competitor.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
Thursday, September 13 2012
Three Powerful Voicemail Scripts
That Will Get A Prospect
To Call You Back
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 651
- Time To Read: 2.6 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
The reality is this: You will leave a voicemail message about 75% to 80% of the time. That being said, it is not surprising that many salespeople complain about their voicemail messages going unanswered.
There are many reasons as to why someone doesn't call a salesperson back, but the #1 reason is this: They are not leaving a compelling voicemail message. The biggest mistake that salespeople make when cold calling is that voicemail message isn't motivating someone to call them back. Ideally, you need to answer the "What's in it for me?" question that ultimately drives your prospect to really want to write your number down, pick up the phone and call you back.
This Is What A Salesperson Typically Leaves For A Voicemail Message:
"This is ________ with __________. I'm calling to see if you're interested in a competitive quote on your ____________. If you are interested, please call me back at (888) 555-1212."
Now Here Is The Problem. . .
All that this message has done is identify you as a salesperson that sells a specific product or service -- one who hasn't differentiated themselves from the rest of the market. The good news is your competition is making this same mistake.
To help you leave a more compelling voicemail message that gets people to call you back, I want to share with you three sample messages, for three different selling scenarios, that might be of interest to you.
#1. Voicemail AFTER A Proposal Is Sent:
"Hi __________, this is _____ calling from ________. As you know, I have studied your business rather extensively and know exactly how to make (your business money, reduce your _____ by X%, etc.). If you turn to page X of our proposal, you'll see exactly what I am talking about.
If you have any questions, call me at (888) 555-1212."
#2. Voicemail If You HAVE NOT Mailed Anything To This Person Prior To Your Call:
"Hi __________, this is ___________ with _________. The reason I was calling was to share with you three ideas that will ___________ (make you or save you XX% to XX% on your __________ fees).
"If you want to read how much money we (made or saved) companies (in your industry or identical to you), visit our website at www.your name.com or call me back at (888) 555-1212.
"Again my name is ______ _________ at (888) 555-1212."
#3. Voicemail If You HAVE Mailed Something To This Person Prior To Your Call:
"Hi __________, this is ___________ with _________. The reason why I called was to follow-up on the _____ we sent to you as I wanted to three ideas that will ___________ (make you or save you XX% to XX% on your __________ fees).
"If you want to read how much money we (made or saved) companies (in your industry or identical to you), visit our website at www.your name.com or call me back at (888) 555-1212.
"Again, my name is ______ _________ at (888) 555-1212. "
Grasshopper: Practice, Practice And Then Practice Some More.
Like most things in life, the more you practice using a script, the better you will get at it. More importantly, it will flow smoothly. All I can tell you is that you need to rehearse your script a lot. Some of my peers even recommend standing up when leaving a voicemail as it commands more energy and excitement.
Executive Summary: Leaving a message when calling someone will happen more times than not. And statistically speaking, you will probably leave a voicemail message 50% to 75% of the time. The sooner you come to terms with this statistic, the sooner you will realize how powerful a voicemail scripts can be as a sales tool. Personally, I keep a voicemail script taped to my monitor to remind me what to say, even though I have made in excess of 150,000 cold-calls in my professional career.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
Thursday, September 13 2012
10 Things That WILL Help You
Close More Prospects
(Starting In 10 To 14 Days)
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 392
- Time To Read: 1.6 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
The key to your sales and marketing success is being proactive. Therefore, start doing something today - not tomorrow or the day after that. Developing a sales and marketing system for your business takes time. However, the best part is this: It doesn't take a whole lot of money - just time.
I am often asked by both business owners and salespeople what's the easiest way to land more new clients. The reality is this: There isn't a simple solution or answer as each and every business owner and salesperson is different. Not only that, you need to do a number of things in unison to achieve sales success. That said, I want to share with you some secrets to landing new clients starting in less than 10 to 14 days.
10 Secrets To Landing New Clients
- Start building a massive e-mail marketing database - make this a requirement for your salespeople to do. If you don’t, they won't make it a priority either.
- Focus on prospects that buy what you sell or are using a competitor.
- Develop a sales solution for a niche market or industry.
- Send an e-press release on a new/upgraded service/product.
- Survey your clients. Not only ask them how you are doing, but also ask them what other products or services they want or need (even if you don't offer it). Don't forget to survey your prospects too.
- Launch an online/print catalog of products and/or services.
- Create (if applicable for your business) a referral partner program; complete with marketing tools and campaigns.
- Pick up the phone and call 10 to 45 new prospects a day.
- Send a lumpy mail package to your top 10 prospects every other month for the next 6 months. Don't forget to call them on the phone.
- Launch a series e-mail marketing campaigns from e-newsletters, service/product spot lights, press releases, holiday cards, sales letters just to name a few.
Executive Summary: Remember, sales and marketing is a numbers game. And the more quality prospects you have in your marketing databases, the greater your sales results will be.
If you are looking for some shortcuts to sales and marketing, consider investing in a system for your business. If you don't have a system in place, you will end up wasting tons of time and money.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
Thursday, September 13 2012
How This One Franchise
Owner Lost $5,000
By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker
- Word Count: 520
- Time To Read: 2.1 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]
Since starting my consulting practice in 2002, I have seen many businesses fall victim to copying non-revenue-producing Fortune 500 Company marketing techniques. Why? They think that just because a business spends millions on marketing, their campaigns must be top notch. Right? Wrong.
Sure, big businesses are spending tons of money on marketing, but they are betting that "message repetition" will make the difference. Should you take this same approach, all you will do is waste your time and hard-earned money trying to duplicate this technique.
Read How Much These Companies Are Spending.
To put things into perspective, look at what some companies have spent (from 2010) on marketing:
- GM: $1.1 billion
- McDonalds: $2 billion
- Pepsi: $2 billion
- The Coca-Cola Company: $2.5 billion
- Wal-Mart: $2.3 billion
- Now write your annual marketing budget here: ____________________
How Bad Marketing Advice Cost This Franchise Owner $5,000.
I recently spoke with the owner of a professional training franchise who told me he paid $5,000 for a one-time direct mail campaign that didn't generate $1 in sales. And during this conversation, he told me that the corporate office was rolling out a national campaign featuring a well-known speaker and asked him to take part in it.
The plan was for this franchise to mail 5,000 flyers to a list of local businesses to promote this speaker's workshop. His out-of-pocket cost was $1 per flyer or $5,000.
The Results Were Disastrous . . .
After talking with this business owner, he told me he received zero calls from the mailing. This was no surprise, as he did not have:
- A telemarketing follow-up strategy.
- A game plan for promoting this workshop to his database of past clients/prospects.
- A way to capture someone's e-mail address who visited his website.
- Any type of marketing collateral to further educate a prospective attendee.
Three Additional Reasons:
- The person who designed the campaign (and gave the marketing advice) did not have any skin in the game; they would not lose their job or money if the campaign was not successful.
- The owner was relying upon the corporate office's expertise - again, from a person that didn't have any vested interest in the outcome of the campaign.
- There was no landing page on his franchise's website to further a potential customer's understanding on the subject matter.
By the way, he was not the only franchise owner who wasted thousands of dollars on this mailing.
Executive Summary: You and I can't afford to waste our money trying to emulate big business advertising - we simply don't have enough money to generate any momentum on a mass marketing basis.
Although it is easy to "write a check" for a marketing campaign, we are better off spending time doing these things:
1. Building a database of customers, past customers and targeted prospects.
2. Creating a proactive series of e-mail and direct mail campaigns.
3. Picking up the phone and calling prospects.
4. Targeting niche markets with our marketing messages.
5. Innovating our business to ensure we are the best value, not the best deal.
About The Author
Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc. He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist. He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayroll.com. His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.
To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales with our payroll marketing system, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.
|
|
