Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Let’s look at closing the sale

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Closing the sale, sales closers, closers

When I started out in sales and marketing, it was all about closing the sale.

In fact, good salespeople were often referred to as good closers.

Decades later, I still see sales recruiters asking for candidates who have a proven record of closing.

Here’s why we need to be extremely careful before adopting the closing mindset, or any of the countless closing tricks and techniques.

Closing for business?

The challenge with the closing mindset, is that it positions the prospective customer as little more than a barrier. A hurdle between you and the sale. An obstacle to be overcome. Little wonder so many closing techniques are based on psychological tricks.

The use of long, uncomfortable silences at key points in the sales process, for example, is used to put pressure on the prospective client. So is refusing to accept a “no” from them, by asking what they need additional clarity on, each time they clearly just want out.

In a nutshell, the focus is on outmanoeuvring your opponent. It’s them against you. A confrontation.

Here’s a very different approach, along with why I strongly recommend you use it.

Opening relationships

I built my reputation in sales by adopting the polar opposite approach. Instead of focusing on closing, I focused on opening.

Opening relationships, to be exact.

I found (and still find) the idea of closing to be self-defeating. I discovered that you can achieve a great deal more, by opening relationships with people. This means taking time to listen to them. And then learning about their challenges and what they want / need. If our marketing is targeted correctly, we’re automatically only speaking with people who are our ideal profile of client.

When handled correctly, and preceded with effective marketing, this means there’s no need to close anything (or close on anyone).

The whole process becomes a naturally-flowing conversation, where we seek to help people overcome a challenge, with the products or services we provide.

It’s a beautiful, fulfilling way to do business.

It also means refusing to sell anything to anyone, if we believe it’s not what they need.

Too passive?

This approach may sound passive, but consider your friends. Consider the people you like. The people you trust. The people you love to have around you. Are they aggressive towards you? Confrontational? No! That’s because we prefer those who respect us and are open and honest with us.

We like people who are open and honest.

We buy from people who are open and honest.

We trust people who are open and honest.

We recommend people who are open and honest.

In short, the more open we are, the more opportunities we’re open to. And yes, the more sales we make, the more deals we make and the more referrals we get.

Image: Linkedin sales solutions.

The right way to write. Is wrong!

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How to write wrong

Some general advice is extremely useful or at least broadly correct. It applies to the majority of people in the majority of cases. You know… like, brush your teeth regularly.

Other general advice is a lot less helpful. It may work for the majority of people, but not for the rest of us.

The general advice on the best way to write is absolutely in that latter category. And as I get asked about this a lot, I thought I’d share some ideas with you.

The right way to write

When I started writing commercially, the general advice at the time was to get into a routine. This routine then became your recipe for writing. It was one less thing to have on your mind, so you were free to focus on your writing. From memory, some of the advice included.

  • Having a set time to write each day.
  • Writing from a familiar location; your office desk for example.
  • Avoid distraction. This one was huge.
  • Use the same keyboard, pen, paper, notebook etc.

I lasted about 2 days.

My recipe for writing turned out to be almost the exact opposite. For me, the most creative way to work is to mix things up. Some examples of how I do this includes.

  • I write from lots (and lots) of different locations. What Andy Ihnatko calls field offices. These range from my studio, my local coffee shop and Sherwood Forest, to a bench in the grounds of Lincoln Castle and a table on the canal that goes through the village where I live
  • I write using different devices. These include an iMac in my studio, my phone, an iPad Pro, a really old MacBook Air (used for the very last time to write this post) and a MacBook Pro.
  • I write in the morning before the world wakes up (often). In fairness, that’s when around 60% of all my writing is done. However, I also write at lunchtime (here’s a recent example) and in the late afternoon.
  • I write best with background noise. This is why I do so much writing outdoors. Even when I’m in my studio, I have instrumental music playing. I find lyrics distracting.
  • I always have a pen with me and a notebook. However, the pen could be one of a dozen or more that I use regularly. The notebook depends on what’s on my production table in the studio, what’s in my back pocket, my bag or my car. I have notebooks everywhere.

My recipe for writing is also wrong

Rest assured: My recipe for writing is just as wrong (for you) as the advice I was given when I started out.

So what’s my point?

I’ve discovered that with any kind of creative work, we each need to find what works best for us. Our unique blend. Sometimes this means ignoring whatever the prevailing wisdom is. Just because something worked for one of those creative professionals selling online courses or books… it may not work for you or me.

If you have a set way to write (or do anything creative) and you’re keen to improve, here’s a suggestion. A general suggestion, which applies to almost as many people as, “brush your teeth”.

Try something new.

Mix it up (just a little).

This is especially the case if you’re struggling to create. It’s possible that a few minor revisions regarding the tools you use, the locations you create from and times of day you create, could improve things.

Good luck with discovering the right way FOR YOU to write. I Really hope you found this useful.

10 Important ways that successful business owners think differently

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Successful business owners think different

Image: Belinda Fewings.

Here are some very important ways that successful business owners think differently. I have also linked to additional resources, which you may find useful.

  1. They surround themselves with motivated people. They know that you can’t build a successful company with pessimistic, fear-focussed team members.
  2. They have the courage to back themselves, rather than wait for the blind to see their vision. Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, despite senior voices telling him Apple wasn’t a phone company and the marketplace was saturated.
  3. They proactively look for interesting, valuable problems to solve. Successful business owners know that the bigger the problem you solve, the greater the potential of your business. You’ll have fewer competitors and command higher, more profitable fees.
  4. They create a story around their business that’s worth sharing. If no one is talking about your business, it’s because you’re doing nothing worth talking about. Successful people understand this and get creative. The average business owner looks for excuses and complains.
  5. They listen to their marketplace and build value around what they hear. Social media gives every business owner an insight into what people want and need. The most successful business owners get this. They listen. The average business owner uses social media just to broadcast marketing messages.
  6. They commit to go the extra mile. And then do it! Conversely, the average business is exactly that. Average. They charge average fees and work with average clients, on average projects. That’s not going the extra mile.
  7. They refuse to surrender their focus to the never-ending stream of interruptions. The most successful business owners understand that whatever has their attention, is influencing what they think. They only pick their phones up to use them, so the phone is working for them. The average business owner checks their phone notifications regularly throughout the day. So, their attention is continuously interrupted and their focus constantly off-balance.
  8. They invest more in their professional development than their competitors do. They know their business development cannot possibly surpass their own development.
  9. They are willing to make tough decisions. Opportunities are a little like groceries: they come with a use-by date! The business owner who waits for fear-focused colleagues to see the opportunity, before taking action, is already too late. They’ll find that the opportunity has either gone, or at best, that they were too slow to fully maximize the opportunity. A casual approach to leadership causes casualties.
  10. They use fear as their compass. Successful business owners know that meaningful progress is always preceded by fear. That same fear stops the average business owner in their tracks. Ouch!

I hope you find these ideas useful. More importantly though, I hope you do something useful with at least one of them.

Your clients just raised the bar. Here’s what you need to know

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get visitors, marketing, post pandemic

Image: Brooke Cagle.

Over the past 18-months, just about everyone has experienced online shopping or accessed online services. These include all the people who value customer service. And all the people who wouldn’t previously have trusted or valued an online commercial experience.

Whether your business offers products or services, this is a huge change an a very short time. A huge change, which is radically raised the bar on what it will now take, to motivate people to visit you in person.

With your current and future customers / clients now aware of the simplicity, ease, speed and quality of transacting online, they need a lot more motivation to visit you in person.

  • Why should a customer waste 45 minutes driving to (and the same time driving from) a store, endure the stress of traffic, the hassle of parking and possibly pay more, when that product can be delivered to them effortlessly at a time that suits them?
  • Why should that client waste 45 minutes driving to (and the same time driving from) a meeting, with all the above hassle, when they can work with a service provider comfortably and securely, online… and save 90 minutes?

No, not every business will be directly effected, but every business will be effected. And some vendors and service providers will be hit harder than others. The thing is, business has changed and the change is becoming more obvious, the more we see economies reopening from the pandemic. It’s also effecting a lot more industries than most of us could have imagined a year and a half ago.

An important question to ponder now, if you’re committed to doing business offline when you ‘could’ switch to online, is this: What compelling reason can I provide, to motivate people to come and visit me?

Business owners unable to offer a very compelling answer to that question, will find fewer and fewer people willing to make a special trip just to visit them.

Thankfully, coffee shops may have your answer

One place I strongly recommend you look for an answer, is coffee shops.

Yes, I know your business isn’t anything like a coffee shop.

But it doesn’t matter!

Coffee shops successfully solved this problem decades ago and pretty much every business can benefit from what they did. You’ll be pleased to know I wrote about it here: Has your business passed the coffee shop test?

That’s a useful place to start.

Grow your business bigger, faster, with this thought experiment

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thought experiment, business progress

Photo by Jesse Martini.

Here’s a powerful little thought experiment I often use, to help people massively increase the growth of their businesses. I thought you may find it useful, so here it is.

I’d like you to use your imagination for a few minutes and consider the following.

  • Picture a business, which offers a unique blend of services, rather than the same range of services as it’s competitors.
  • Picture a business, which dedicates time every week to the improvement of at least one key area of their operation.
  • Picture a business, which has a dedicated customer retention program, so it seldom loses a client or customer.
  • Picture a business, which goes the extra mile as standard.
  • Picture a business, which uses professional, highly effective marketing strategies, so it attracts the best clients or customers.

Here’s the kicker: Now, imagine what would happen if that business moved into your area, targeting your clients and your future clients.

Don’t wait for them to arrive. Do it first

Before something like that happens to you, I have a suggestion. Do it first! Take action on every item on that list and watch your business grow like never before.

Most business owners wait until their business is under a sudden, unexpected threat, before they seriously improve their game. As a direct result, their business achieves a tiny fraction of its true potential. All because they waited for something negative to happen, before they took action. That’s the price you pay for being reactive rather than proactive.

For example.

  • Sometimes a smart, highly motivated agile competitor comes to town and takes a chunk of their market share.
  • Other times, a business owner will lose a major client and see their revenues suddenly drop dramatically.

In either case, the business owner is forced to improve as a reaction to a problem. They no longer control the situation. They no longer have control of the time line. They’re forced into defensive mode. It’s about surviving, when proactive action would have seen them thriving instead.

In short: Don’t wait for a threat to arrive. And one surely will, because that’s what always happens. Instead, do it first. Be the threat. Choose to become the proactive, uniquely valuable, constantly improving, professional threat to your marketplace.

This is a smart way to operate in business at any time. But right now, with the global economy in such a precarious position, it’s the only way to move forward and plan ahead with realistic confidence.

If you want something done, DON’T ask a busy person

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want something done, ask busy person, need something done, busy people

Think for a moment about the following advice. If you want something done, ask a busy person. Like a lot of frequently shared quotes, that’s terrible advice. Provably, terrible advice in fact.

People of the internet. Let’s clear this nonsense up once and for all!

Okay, that’s never going to happen. So how about we dig a little deeper and examine why that quote makes no sense whatsoever.

Here’s the thing: The least efficient person, the least capable person, the least productive person, and the busiest person… is often the same person.

Really?

Yep!

Busy doesn’t equate to proficient or productive. It simply means active. And that includes a lot of active people who really wouldn’t want to help you or your business.

Allow me to explain why!

Don’t ask a busy person

Consider the busy people who put a massive amount of energy into doing the wrong things extremely well. And the busy people enthusiastically doing the right things extremely poorly. And let’s remember those busy people, who never seem to learn from their mistakes and continuously have to redo everything correctly, these people are really busy too.

Now consider… err… me.

I’m sitting here busily writing this post, whilst waiting for lunch at the coffee shop. It doesn’t mean the post will be any good, let’s face it, it’s pretty average up to this point, (*but I’m hoping to have a strong ending, so hang in there). It simply means I’m busy. And it gives no proof whatsoever that if you wanted something done, I’d be the best person for you to choose.

Clearly, a much wiser approach is required.

If you want something done

How about if you want something done, ask a competent person. Someone who knows what to do and also has the time and willingness to do it. An informed, motivated person is likely to be more useful than someone whose key attribute is that they’re always busy.

It’s not a snazzy quote.

It’s not a catchy quote, either.

It’s certainly never going to become a bumper sticker.

But when you need something done, it works a lot better, a lot more often, than simply asking a busy person.

* I had hoped for a much stronger ending, but lunch arrived.